The rain had returned that night, heavier than before, drumming against the cracked windows of the Haven Complex on room 304 as the group of five moved carefully through the narrow hallway, every creak of the floorboards making their hearts race. The dim corridor light flickered, half-dead, throwing their shadows against the peeling walls.
They had come for answers but instead, they found only questions — and the echo of death still lingering in the air. It is proven in his letter that the killer is still on the loose and they might come and find them next. They were terrified but they must know the truth— before the killer could come up to them and kil them.
They had just finished copying Leonard's files and packing the letter away while Sean kept his flashlight aimed ahead, his other hand gripping the handle of his knife. Then he interrupted the silence.
"Alright," he said quietly, glancing back. "We've got the files, and we've got Leonard's letter. We're done here. I got a feeling that something is wrong so let's go."
But Mia wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on the cracked glass of the nearby window, her reflection flickering with every flash of lightning. She didn't notice the small shadow that passed just beyond it.
No one argued with his word since even the others can feel the eerie atmosphere that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The weight of the apartment pressed against their chests — the silence, the smell of iron that still clung to the floor.
"Yeah, you're right. Let's get out of here." Luna swallowed hard. "It feels wrong staying any longer."
Theo nodded and agreed with Luna's word. "We'll talk later—just get out first."
Mia hesitated by the door, glancing one last time at Leonard's desk—the lamp still flickering beside the dried streaks of blood. Her stomach twisted.
"Come on," Eryos said softly as he offered his hand towards her— it sounds comforting for her when she heard this so she just nodded her head and grab his hand. "We'll figure out what this means later."
"Yeah, thanks." She replied with a grateful smile on her face as Eryos guided her out of the room with the rest of the group.
They stepped out into the hall and for a moment, only silence followed them as they went farther and farther from the room. Until—
*CRASH*
A sudden crash suddenly filled the whole silence. It sounded like a glass shattered from somewhere deeper in the hallway which made everyone froze from their spot. Sean tightened his grip on his pocketknife as he went infront and shielded his friends— ready to shield them from any attack.
"That wasn't us but," Theo whispered, "It sounded like it came from the other end."
Sean tightened his grip again on the knife. "Stay behind me and be quiet."
Luna nodded nervously, clutching her bag. "Feels like someone's watching us."
Theo muttered nervously, "Don't say that."
Behind them, Eryos gaze swept the corners of the corridor, every sense alert though his face remained calm. He noticed that Mia was shaking so he tightened his grip on her hand and looked at her softly.
"Stay close," he said gently. "We'll be out soon."
Mia nodded her head and just stood behind Eryos and Sean together with the Luna and Theo. Sean scanned their surrounding and knew something was off— someone is here, he can feel it.
Sean motioned for them to continue to stay back, eyes narrowing as he looked at Eryos— motioning him to stay alert and protect the others. "Someone's here."
Before anyone could respond, the overhead lights flickered once—then again and again until suddenly it went dark. The hallway was suddenly filled with darkness, but, only the faint red glow of the EXIT sign and the lights of each room are the only light left.
A moment of silence had filled the room as the group was filled with fear and nervousness as they remained standing there waiting and preparing for anything that could attack them in any moment now. Suddenly, a loud thud suddenly echoed from the hallway— coming from the other side of their direction.
The sound of thud continued then a sound of heavy footsteps can be heard after every thud. The footsteps were slow, heavy, and deliberate which was echoing throughout the whole hallway.
Luna's heart hammered. "Theo—"
"Quiet," Theo whispered, flashlight trembling in his hand.
A moment had passed the footsteps continued then suddenly a shadow emerged from the dark hallway across them. They soon saw a man wearing a mask— Same mask as the killer from the massacre. Soon the mask man suddenly ludge towards them with a knife on their hand.
Sean barely managed to block the first strike, the blade scraping inches from his face. The attacker moved fast—too fast—swinging again. Sean countered, but the impact sent him stumbling backward into the wall. While he was on the ground— gathering up air, the killer strike again, slashing toward Sean's throat. He blocked it just in time, his pocketknife was screetching against the knife of the other party.
"Go!" Sean shouted while gritting his teeth and forcing the figure back with his shoulder. "Run!"
Theo pulled Mia and Luna toward the stairs. The hallway erupted into chaos — the crash of furniture, the clang of metal, Sean's heavy footsteps as he countered blow after blow.
The attacker was fast. Inhumanly fast.
Eryos grabbed a broken pipe from the ground and swung hard, knocking the attacker off balance. "Go! I'll cover him!"
"Not without you!" Mia shouted.
"Now!" Eryos barked — sharp, commanding.
They hesitated for only a second before obeying, sprinting toward the stairwell as the battle behind them echoed off the walls. While they were escaping, they saw neighbors' doors began to creak open and they heard someone shouted from down the hall: "Hey! What the hell's going on out there?"
Then another voice came yelling, "Call the police!"
Lights flicked on in several rooms, the glow spilling through cracks in the doors. A baby started crying somewhere above them and many neighbors began screaming for help while some are shouting that there had been a fight inside the apartment.
Meanwhile on the battlefield, Eryos and Sean worked together to fight back the attacker as Sean realized that Eryos stayed behind to help him so he couldn't help but looked at him and grabbed Eryos shoulder while the attacker was on the ground.
"What are you doing?!" Sean barked. "Get them out of here!"
"I've got you!" Eryos snapped, eyes narrowing as the attacker got up and tried to attack him but he deflected another swing. "I won't leave without you!"
The attacker struck again—Eryos barely dodged, the blade grazing his sleeve. Sean hit back with a knee to the ribs, forcing the stranger a step back but he didn't expect that the attacker to react fast after stumbling back and they attacked again towards him.
"Dammit!" Sean grunted, blocking the strike. It was a miracle that the attacker's blade missed his ribs by an inch and it only slice his jacket. He let out a sigh of relief and Eryos ducked low, slamming the pipe into the attacker's knee. The man stumbled, giving Sean a second to grab Eryos by the arm. "Go!"
They both bolted toward the stairs and behind them, the attacker straightened slowly, head tilting unnaturally — almost curious and interested at their courage to fight back against him, as if they were only playing with them.
Eryos and Sean managed to catch up to Theo, Luna, and Mia. Then Sean slammed the stairwell door shut, locking it behind them as heavy footsteps followed. They continued to run towards the exit as they didn't care anymore if other neighbours are looking at them strangely.
Mia looked back in panic. "Did we lose him?"
"Keep moving!" Sean ordered, breathing hard.
The building was waking up now — confused residents peeking through doors, whispering, clutching their phones. Red lights from the stairwell alarms began flashing, adding chaos to the noise of the storm outside.
By the time the group burst through the lobby doors, rain had already swallowed the night. They didn't stop running until they reached the corner alley two blocks away. They all collapsed in the ground when they made sure that they were all safe from the attacker.
Sean collapsed against a wall, blood seeping through his sleeve and he was panting heavely. "The attacker.. Haa... Haa… It is the same attacker than before." he muttered.
Theo began counting everyone and realized that someone is missing so he turned in shock and looked at Sean. "What about Eryos—?"
Before he could finish his sentence, a shape emerged from the mist and they saw Eryos, drenched, half-breathless but walking there towards them.
His face was pale but his expression were calm. "He's gone," Eryos said quietly. "I stayed behind to make sure. We lost him near the back fire exit."
Theo looked at Eryos and sighed in relief then he fall down on his knees as his knee suddenly gave up from exhaustion. "Thank goodness."
Mia's relief broke through her exhaustion and she looked at Eryos with a grateful and relieve smile on her face. "Thank you for supporting Sean back there. I'm glad you are not hurt or anything."
Eryos offered a small, reassuring smile. "Ofcourse, you guys are my friend now and friends help each other, right?"
Sean chuckled at his words and just smiled. "Thank you again."
Luna exhaled shakily. "We have to lay low. Someone definitely called the cops."
Sean nodded weakly. "We'll split up. Meet tomorrow night."
They agreed, exhausted, trembling, and parted ways into the storm. As Mia turned the corner, she glanced back once.
Eryos stood under the flickering streetlight, head tilted slightly, watching the rain fall. Then he looked up — as if sensing something above them — before quietly turning away.
---
June 12, 2039.
The city was busy the next morning and inside the sterile light of the morgue, Detective Rowan Vale stood beside Officer Darius Lorne. While on the table lay Leonard Greaves — pale, cold, and silent.
They had received an approval for them to check the body for more evidence once the autopsy was completed so they arrived early to gather more clues on whenever the case is really a suicide or a murder case. Two days after the event, those people on the internet that heard the news had suspected that it might be suicide for the guilt for his father's crime while some, thought that there might be a killer on the loose.
They both stand on the side— waiting for the result of the autopsy. The examiner flipped through his clipboard. "Autopsy confirms cause of death — slit throat. Angle and depth suggest self-infliction. No sedatives, no defensive wounds. It is also been found that there is no signs of restraint and it is an self-inflicted wound due to the consistent angle." After saying that report, the examiner excused himself and left the room.
Darius exhaled sharply as he turned his head towards Rowan— trying to see his reaction to the result. "You mean to tell me he did this to himself? You've seen suicides before, Vale. They don't look this… clean."
Rowan's tone was soft, almost distracted. "You're right. It doesn't make sense at all especially, if he is going to kill himself then why does he still push on in proving his father's innocent."
He leaned closer to the body, eyes thoughtful. "There is no hesitation marks in his body and the cut was too precise— like he was guided."
"Guided?" Darius frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Rowan didn't answer directly. "Sometimes, control isn't just physical, Lorne. It's something deeper."
Darius scowled and just looked at Rowan with a confused and fruatrated expression on his face. "You're speaking in riddles again. If this connects to that damn massacre, I swear—"
Rowan straightened, cutting him off gently and he tap on his shoulder before heading towards the table where the file is put on top by the examiner. "Keep your daughter out of it. Whoever's stirring this back up… they're not finished yet."
Darius's fists clenched and his expression hardened slightly. "You think she's in danger?"
Rowan's eyes flicked to him, unreadable. "A letter addressed to her, a dead man tied to the massacre, and a killer who vanishes without leaving prints. What do you think?"
"I—" He sighed and knew that Rowan was right but he couldn't help but be worried for his daughter. "I know but my daughter— she can barely slept and she's been shaking since the news broke. I keep telling her to stay out of this mess, but…" He stopped himself, frustration crossing his face. "You know how she is."
Rowan gave a faint smile. "She's brave, but, being brave sometimes that's dangerous. Too dangerous."
Darius huffed and slightly rise his eyebrow while looking at him curiously. "You sound like a father."
Rowan's expression didn't change, but something flickered in his eyes — a shadow of emotion he didn't let surface and Darius noticed that Rowan paused for a moment before answering. "I used to be."
Darius blinked. "Used to? Did you lost your child, Vale?"
"Doesn't matter," Rowan said quietly and he just looked down at the file. "It is all in the past anyway so there is no need to relapse on those things."
For a moment an uneasy silence settled between them. While Rowan opened the file on the table. Inside was a photo of a single slip of paper, half-bloodstained and our words scrawled across it:
If he smiles, run.
Darius frowned as he walked towards next to Rowan and saw the photo. "This is the letter that was one found in the apartment? The one with my daughter's name written on it?"
"Yes," Rowan said softly then he murmured, his gaze unfocused, "The writing was rushed, uneven — desperate. So I think he managed to write it before he lost control."
Darius's brows furrowed even more— trying to understand Rowan's words but all his words doesn't make sense at all. "Lost control of what?"
Rowan smiled faintly — tiredly. "It's nothing." But his eyes told another story — one of quiet recognition. Darius didn't pay attention to his reaction and just continued investigating the scene and gathering Rowan's insights about this.
When Darius left, Rowan remained by the table for a long time, staring at Leonard's lifeless form. His expression softened — something unreadable flickering behind his calm eyes.
Rowan finally turned away, murmuring under his breath. "I told you, Amon… this would never end. It such a shame, you brought your own son's doom with your sins."
Then he walked out of the room.
---
Later that night at the Alley Street behind the Haven Complex Apartment, a black cat prowled between puddles before walking toward a crouched figure beneath a lamppost as if the man had already expected for it to come at this place in this time of night.
The man extended his hand, gently brushing his fingers over the cat's head. "Good girl, you are really a great eye for me." he whispered. The cat purred, curling against his leg. The man's voice was calm— too calm, while a faint smile touched his lips, one that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Then suddenly, from deeper in the alley, another figure stood watching — half-shrouded in the dark. The figure didn't step anymore forward and only spoke softly, his tone almost amused. "They ran faster than I expected. I see now why you are still keeping them alive."
The man just chuckled at his words and he continued to pet the cat as lightning flashed once, illuminating both silhouettes — one kneeling in the rain, one standing still in the shadows and when the thunder faded, only the sound of rain remained.
The cat purred again and the man whispered then he turned to face the other figure, "I'm glad that you are having your fun, it's better to play with your prey before attacking it. You have your own plaything for free and— You can just throw it away if you wanted to."
And as the next flash of lightning came—
They were both gone.