The group pushed forward, tension coiling like a tightened spring. The corridors seemed narrower, the walls creeping closer as they navigated the labyrinthine halls of the abandoned school. The faint echoes of whispers followed them, like phantom breaths grazing their ears.
Ellie wiped sweat from her forehead, her knuckles white around the broomstick handle. "Why does it feel like we're walking in circles?"
Barto remained silent, his eyes scanning for any subtle changes. Sofia stayed close, occasionally glancing over her shoulder, her unease evident.
Dami was still holding the diary, flipping through its brittle pages. "There's a passage here. Lila wrote about a basement—the heart of the school. That's where the ritual was performed. If the shadows are linked to that place, destroying it might break their hold."
Bryan grunted. "Sounds like a plan. How do we get there?"
Nancy hesitated. "The stairs to the basement were blocked off… remember? During the renovation years ago. They sealed it after the disappearances."
"Maybe not entirely," Barto said. He gestured to a nearby janitor's closet. "Maintenance tunnels. There might be a way down from there."
John frowned. "Why do you know that?"
Barto shrugged. "Just a guess."
The closet door creaked open, revealing a dusty storage space. Barto pushed aside old mops and buckets, revealing a trapdoor partially hidden under a pile of rags. He tugged it open, and the smell of damp earth hit them. A rickety wooden ladder led into darkness.
Ellie peered down. "Great. A creepy basement. Just what we needed."
One by one, they descended, the ladder groaning under their weight. The underground passage was cramped, the air thick and musty. The flashlight beams barely cut through the gloom, revealing cobwebs and rusted pipes.
Sofia shivered. "This place feels… wrong."
Dami nodded. "If the ritual room is down here, it makes sense. Lila wrote about feeling a presence—something ancient, drawn to the despair of the students."
Bryan scoffed. "Despair? It's just a moldy basement."
A loud clang echoed through the tunnel, making everyone jump. The sound seemed to come from behind them. Barto gestured for them to move, leading the way with purposeful steps.
Suddenly, Ellie grabbed his arm. "Wait… where's John?"
They turned, realizing John was gone. Panic flared.
"John!" Ellie called out, her voice bouncing off the stone walls. No response.
Bryan cursed. "We were right behind him. How did he just vanish?"
Dami's voice was barely a whisper. "The shadows… they isolate us. Separate the weak from the group."
A scratching noise erupted from the darkness—a scraping of metal against stone. The sound grew louder, closer, until a figure stumbled into view. John appeared, but his face was pale and vacant, eyes dull.
"John!" Ellie rushed to him, but Barto blocked her path.
John's lips moved, but his voice was hollow. "I… saw something. It whispered my name… told me… to follow…"
Barto eyed him cautiously. "Follow what?"
John's head jerked unnaturally, his eyes rolling back. "The voices… they said I'm… not real."
Ellie hesitated. "John, snap out of it!"
Without warning, John lunged at her, his hands clawing at her neck. Barto moved faster, shoving him back. John hit the ground, convulsing, his shadow writhing like a separate entity.
Sofia pulled Ellie back. "Something's controlling him!"
Dami shouted, "Hold him down!"
Bryan and Barto pinned John to the ground. As they struggled, Barto noticed John's shadow flickering erratically, like it was tearing itself apart. Dami opened the diary. "There's a passage—Lila wrote that reciting the original chant backward could dispel the influence."
He found the page and started chanting, his voice shaking:
"Ut la reve ni eno… fo ecneics eht esrevni…"
John's body arched, and his shadow detached completely, forming a skeletal, spectral figure that loomed over him. Its hollow eyes fixated on Barto, who didn't flinch. The entity screeched, the sound piercing and inhuman.
As Dami finished the chant, the shadow disintegrated, and John collapsed, gasping for air. Ellie knelt beside him. "John, are you okay?"
He nodded weakly. "It… it felt like something was inside my head… whispering…"
Bryan pulled him to his feet. "You scared the hell out of us, man."
Nancy wiped away tears. "We can't keep splitting up. These things are getting smarter."
Sofia looked at Barto. "Why didn't the shadow target you? You never seem affected."
Barto hesitated. "Maybe it's because I don't feel fear the same way. The shadows feed on it."
Dami closed the diary. "That might be it. If we can suppress our fear, they might lose power over us."
Just then, the tunnel walls trembled. Dust rained from the ceiling, and the faint sound of children's laughter echoed through the dark. A sudden chill enveloped them, and the smell of rot intensified.
Ellie pointed to a narrow passage ahead. "That must be the ritual room."
Barto led the way, the oppressive atmosphere growing thicker. They entered a chamber lined with worn, faded symbols. In the center was a stone pedestal, atop which rested a cracked music box.
Sofia frowned. "Is that… playing music?"
The faint, eerie tune drifted through the room. Dami whispered, "Lila mentioned the music box—she said it was the focal point of the ritual."
Ellie reached out to touch it, but Barto grabbed her wrist. "Don't. It might trigger something."
Before they could react, a figure appeared at the entrance—a girl with tangled hair and hollow eyes, her white dress stained with dirt. She smiled, the same twisted grin as the shadow creature.
"I'm Lila," she whispered, her voice distorted. "You're here to join them, aren't you?"
Barto stood his ground. "What do you want?"
Lila's grin widened. "To be remembered. To make sure they never leave."
Suddenly, dark tendrils erupted from the floor, snaking toward the group. Bryan swung the iron rod, but the tendrils phased through it. One wrapped around John's ankle, dragging him toward the pedestal.
Barto grabbed the music box and smashed it against the wall. The tune warped, distorting into a cacophony. Lila screeched, her face cracking like porcelain.
"You can't break the past!" she cried, her form splintering.
The chamber trembled, the walls warping as if reality itself was bending. Lila's figure dissolved into shadows, and the tendrils retracted, leaving John gasping on the floor.
Sofia looked at the shattered music box. "Did we… stop it?"
Dami didn't look convinced. "We might have disrupted it, but I don't think it's over. The shadows were just a manifestation… something deeper is controlling this place."
Barto glanced back at the entrance. "Then we'll destroy the source. Whatever's behind this… it's not done with us yet."
The group regrouped, determination steeling their nerves. But in the dark corners of the room, unseen eyes watched, waiting for fear to slip through once more.