CHAPTER 3 The Dark Edge
My mouth was still wide open. I did not even care about the man's harsh voice anymore. I could not hear anything else except the loud pounding of my own heartbeat in my ears. My eyes were stuck on that tall, golden gate. It was opening by itself, and there was no one there. No guard. No button. Nothing. Just slow movement. The gold bars glided apart like something invisible was controlling it from somewhere far. Maybe a camera. Maybe a remote. Or maybe something else. Something worse.
My heart beat faster. I was frozen.
My mouth stayed open like a fool. I could not shut it. I tried, but it stayed like that. That was how shocked I was. My body refused to listen to me.
What kind of place is this?
I darted my eyes to the left, then to the right, trying to get a full look at the compound as the limousine rolled forward slowly. My head kept turning, my eyes chasing shadows and walls. Everything inside was strange. Strange and quiet. Too quiet. It looked like a world that never saw sunlight. The ground was shiny black tiles. The walls were high and painted like polished stone. On the walls were red flowers, the type you only see in horror movies. They were real, not painted.
But no people. Not one.
Not even a bird flew past. Not even a dog barked.
As we drove in, my mind went straight to the rumors. Those terrible things people said about a certain mansion that was hidden at the edge of town. People used to whisper about it in school, in the market, even in my father's store. They said strange things happened there. Some said the house had ghosts. Some said it belonged to a man who was half human, half something else. They said once you enter, you do not come out.
I always thought it was just stories to scare children. But now I am not sure.
Could this be that same house?
I was still deep in thought when the car door opened suddenly.
I gasped. I never saw that coming.
The man with the black shades was standing right there. His face was still as hard as before, like it was carved from a block of rock. He did not smile. He did not blink. He just said two words.
"Get out."
I swallowed hard. My throat felt dry. My legs shook when I tried to move. But I moved anyway. I had to. I told myself I had to do this for my brother.
I stepped out slowly. The cold air outside hit me in the face. It was different. It smelled like old metal and something rotten. I did not want to think about it.
The man did not wait. He turned and began to walk towards the building.
"Follow me."
His voice was flat like a robot's. No life. No care.
I clutched my bag tightly as I kept my phone inside my bag and walked behind him. I kept looking around, searching for someone. Anyone. A woman. A maid. Even a crying child. Just a sign that there were humans here.
Nothing.
We walked in silence across a wide space that echoed our footsteps. My own feet felt too loud, like they were shouting for help.
Then we stepped into a big hall.
The floor was white and shiny like it had been cleaned a thousand times. The air was cold and smelt like expensive perfume mixed with dust. On the left side, there were lights hanging from the ceiling. The chandelier was huge. Crystal and glass. But only one side of the hall had light. The right side of the hall was in complete darkness. Not dim. Not low light. Just dark. Like someone had swallowed that part of the room.
I stopped walking. My eyes could not stop looking at the dark part.
Why is it so dark there?
Why is the light only on this side?
The man walked into the dark without saying anything. I watched him vanish into it like a shadow swallowed him.
I waited.
One minute passed. Two.
Then he came back. Still no expression.
He walked toward me slowly and said, "Wait here."
I stared at him. Confused.
Wait here?
I am tired. I have been in that car for hours. I want to rest. I need water. A seat. A bed. Something.
But I nodded like a fool. What else could I do? Run?
I stood in the middle of that hall, holding my bag, trying not to cry. My legs were weak. My arms hurt. My stomach felt tight. And then I heard it.
A sound.
It was a sharp, dragging sound.
It was long. Slow. High-pitched.
Like wood scratching stone.
Like something was being pulled.
A screech. A terrifying screech. My heart jumped into my throat.
It came from the dark side.
From deep inside that thick, black darkness.
A chair.
Something had moved.
Something, or someone, was there.
I held my bag tighter.
I could not breathe properly.
And then I heard it again.
Screechhh.
From the dark side.
And I knew, without anyone telling me, that I was not alone.
Someone or something was in that darkness.
Watching.
Waiting.
And maybe, just maybe, it had been there since the moment I walked in.