The door closed without a sound.
No slam, no click and no warning.
One moment Ethan stood in the corridor with the others at his back, and the next the door behind them was simply no longer an option.
It had sealed itself with a finality that felt deliberate, like a decision already made.
The hallway stretched ahead in a straight, blinding line.
The light was too bright but not warm or welcoming rather, it flattened everything it touched, be white walls, pale floor, and five doors spaced evenly along the right side.
Each one identical except for the names carved into the wood.
Liam's name was first.
Maya's was second.
Noah's third.
Chloe's fourth.
Ethan's waited at the end.
He did not want to look at it, but he could feel it watching him anyway.
Noah broke the silence first, because Noah always did. "Okay. So, group decision: do we pretend this is an escape room and rate it one star later, or do we scream until something eats us?"
No one laughed.
Even Noah's voice sounded thinner than before.
Maya hugged herself, fingers digging into her sleeves. "Why are there names?"
Chloe stepped closer to the nearest door. She did not touch it yet. She just studied the carving, the grooves sharp and deliberate. "Because this place is obsessed with symbolism, or control or even both."
Liam rubbed his palms together like he was trying to warm them. "The man said rest. That implies these are rooms."
"Or cages," Noah said.
The lights hummed softly above them, too stable, as just present. Watching.
Ethan's head throbbed. The pressure behind his eyes had not faded since the staircase. If anything it had grown heavier, like something pressing forward from inside his skull. He swallowed and forced himself to speak. "We should open them. Together."
Chloe looked at him sharply. "You sound very sure about that."
"I am not," he said. "But the house does not seem to like waiting."
As if in response, Liam's door creaked.
Just a fraction. A thin line of darkness appeared along its edge.
Maya gasped.
Liam stepped forward immediately. "It is fine. I will go first."
"No," Maya said. "Do not."
He turned to her, trying to smile. It did not quite work. "We are not splitting up. We open them one by one. We stay close. Nothing happens unless we let it."
Ethan felt a cold certainty settle in his chest.
'That was not how this worked'
Liam placed his hand on the handle.
The door swung open, the light inside was different, it was dimmer and warmer so that spilled into the hallway in a soft amber glow that did not reach very far, as if it respected boundaries the corridor did not.
Liam's room looked like a study with a heavy desk sat near the window, bookshelves lined the walls, filled with neatly arranged volumes, framed photographs rested on every surface, and a couch faced a low table.
The air smelled faintly of old paper and something metallic beneath it.
"This is not so bad," Noah said.
Liam stepped inside.
The door closed behind him.
Maya screamed ''LIAM!!"
Chloe lunged for the handle. It did not move. She slammed her palm against the wood. "Liam. Liam open it."
Nothing.
The name carved into the door darkened. The hallway lights dimmed slightly.
Maya slid down the wall, shaking. "We are not supposed to go together."
Chloe's jaw tightened. "No. We are not supposed to go at all."
Another door creaked.
Maya's.
She backed away, eyes wide. "No. No please."
Ethan grabbed her arm before she could bolt. "Listen to me. Whatever is in there is tailored, it wants you inside , and If you fight it here, it will make it worse."
She stared at him, tears streaking down her face. "How do you know that"
He did not answer.
Her door opened fully, and inside was a bedroom, and with soft lighting, pale curtains fluttering gently despite no visible breeze, a bed neatly made with familiar blankets, and a dresser with a cracked mirror.
Stuffed animals arranged carefully along the headboard.
Maya's breath hitched. "This is my room."
Noah whispered, "How would it know that"
Maya took a step forward.
Then another, the door closed with three doors remained.
Noah tried to joke again. "Okay. So, pattern established, and personalized nightmare rooms. Love that for us."
Chloe rounded on Ethan. "You recognized this. You knew and back in the foyer, what is your relation With that man."
Ethan's hands shook. He clenched them into fists. "I recognized the emotions. Not the place."
"That is not an answer."
Before he could respond, Noah's door opened.
Inside was a cluttered space. Posters plastered the walls, old arcade machines blinking softly, a couch sagging in the middle, and empty bottles on the floor. A microphone stand in the corner.
Noah laughed, relieved. "Oh come on. This is easy. This is just my mess."
He stepped inside, and the door closed.
Silence returned, thicker now.
Chloe stood very still.
Only her door and Ethan's remained.
"Whatever happens in there," she said quietly, "it is trying to isolate us. Break us down individually."
Ethan nodded. His throat felt tight. "Yes."
She studied his face. "You are not as scared as you should be."
"I am terrified," he said honestly. "I am just familiar with terror."
Her door opened.
Inside was not a room.
It was a police station.
Cold fluorescent lights. A metal bench bolted to the floor, and a desk piled with folders. A whiteboard covered in notes and timelines. Photographs pinned with red strings connecting them.
At the center was a phone, started ringing, and Chloe stared at it.
Ethan felt the whisper return. 'Louder now.
This is where you failed.
Chloe stepped inside without another word, and the door shut.
Only Ethan remained in the hallway.
His name waited for him.
Carved deeper than the rest.
The lights dimmed further.
The corridor seemed longer now. The air heavier.
Expectant.
His door opened slowly, with inside was darkness.
Not empty darkness, nor a void, rather it was layered, textured and thick with memory.
He stepped forward then door closed and room lit up.
Ethan found himself seated in a chair.
Straps locked his wrists and ankles in place, with cool metal biting into his skin, and a single light hung above him, swinging gently , and cross the room stood a mirror, and except it was not a mirror, but rather it was glass.
On the other side sat five chairs.
Only one was occupied.
The man who explained nothing watched him calmly.
"You are progressing faster this time," the man said.
Ethan struggled against the restraints. His heart hammered. "You said rest."
"This is rest," the man replied. "For the house."
Images flickered on the glass.
Liam in his study, standing at the desk, while reading a letter with shaking hands.
Then Maya in her bedroom, sitting on the bed, surrounded by stuffed animals that slowly turned their heads toward her.
Later, Noah in his room, laughing too loudly at nothing while the lights dimmed one by one.
Finally,Chloe in the police station. Holding the phone. Listening.
Ethan's breath came in shallow gasps. "Stop."
The man tilted his head. "You asked for truth."
"No," Ethan said. "I asked to forget."
The man smiled faintly. "The house does not allow refusal."
The images sharpened.
Liam fell to his knees.
Maya screamed.
Noah's laughter broke into sobs.
Chloe closed her eyes and lifted the phone to her ear.
The room vibrated.
"You are not ready for the first round," the man said. "But the house insists."
The restraints loosened suddenly.
Ethan gasped and slumped forward.
The glass went dark.
The man stood. "Sleep now. Tomorrow you remember more."
The light snapped off.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Somewhere far away, a clock began to count down.