Chapter Three: Don't Open It
Lina didn't move.
She couldn't.
Her eyes were locked on the mirror.
That thing—
It was still there.
Still smiling.
Still watching.
"Lina…"
Her name came again.
Soft.
Gentle.
Wrong.
"Open the door."
Her throat tightened.
"No," she whispered.
The word barely came out.
The thing in the mirror tilted its head.
Just like she would.
But slower.
Unnatural.
"Why not?" it asked.
Lina stumbled back, her legs weak.
"That's not real… that's not real…" she muttered, shaking her head.
But the house didn't care what she believed.
Knock.
Lina froze.
Her heart stopped.
The sound came from her bedroom door.
"Lina?" her mother's voice called.
Soft.
Familiar.
Safe.
Tears instantly filled her eyes.
"M-Mom?"
"Open the door," her mother said gently. "You're scaring me."
Lina rushed forward without thinking—
Then stopped.
Right in front of the door.
Her hand hovered over the handle.
Shaking.
Something felt wrong.
Again.
Slowly—
She turned her head.
The mirror.
The thing inside was gone.
But carved faintly into the glass—
Were words.
DON'T OPEN IT
Lina's breath hitched.
Her heart started racing again.
Faster.
Louder.
"Lina?" the voice outside said again.
Softer now.
But different.
Too soft.
Too careful.
"Open the door…"
Lina stepped back.
"No," she said, louder this time.
"I—I'm going to sleep!"
Silence.
Then—
Bang.
The door shook violently.
Lina screamed and stumbled backward.
BANG.
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
That wasn't her mother.
Not anymore.
The voice twisted—deeper, louder, layered with something inhuman.
BANG.
BANG.
BANG.
The entire room seemed to tremble with each hit.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The walls creaked.
And then—
Everything stopped.
Silence.
Heavy.
Thick.
Waiting.
Lina didn't breathe.
Didn't move.
Didn't think.
Minutes passed.
Or maybe seconds.
She didn't know.
Slowly…
Very slowly…
She turned toward the door.
Something slid underneath it.
A shadow.
Long.
Thin.
Stretching across the floor toward her.
Lina backed away until her legs hit the bed.
She climbed onto it quickly, pulling her knees to her chest.
The shadow stopped.
Right at the edge of the bed.
Then—
It moved again.
Up.
Climbing.
Lina's vision blurred with tears.
"No… no no no…"
The shadow stretched higher—
Reaching for her—
Then suddenly—
It snapped back.
Like something had pulled it away.
The room went still.
Lina gasped, her body shaking uncontrollably.
And then—
From downstairs—
She heard it.
The front door.
Opening.
Her mother's voice echoed faintly through the house:
"Lina? I'm back."
Lina's blood ran cold.
Slowly…
She turned her head toward her bedroom door.
Which had never opened.
Which no one had entered.
Which something—
Had just tried to break through.
Her lips trembled as the realization hit her.
"If that's… my mom…"
Her voice broke.
"…then what was outside my door?"
The house didn't answer.
It didn't need to.
Because now—
Lina understood the truth.
There was more than one thing in this house.
And not all of them…
Were pretending.