Damned Desire

Prologue

Knock knock!

"Ike, are you there?" Shu asked as he knocked on the front door of Ike's house.

"What if he's outside right now? Maybe we should've called him before coming here?" asked Luca.

"We tried that, but he didn't answer for the past few weeks. No calls, chats, nothing. I'm sure he's in there anyway," answered Mysta.

"Oh, how did you figure that one out, detective?" Vox asked expectantly.

"I don't know; I just guessed," replied Mysta.

"...My fault for asking you, I suppose," commented Vox.

The group had arrived in front of Ike's house uninvited. Although it's because none of them were able to get into contact with Ike for the past few weeks. He often went off the grid while focusing on his writings, but it hadn't gone on for this long. Concerned for him, they decided to gather together to visit Ike.

"I really wish he would inform us before he goes on his writing spree; he's getting us worried for nothing," Mysta complained.

"That's rich coming from you, Mysta. The way I recalled it, you were the one that went missing a few months ago without any news," Vox snarkily replied.

"Hey! I already apologized about that, didn't I?" commented Mysta.

"What were you doing back then anyway? Got a case or something?" Luca asked.

"I dunno, forgot about it already," Mysta answered curtly.

"Classic Mysta..." Vox sighed upon hearing his answer.

"Wait, guys! The door wasn't locked!" Shu spoke in surprise. His attempt at turning the doorknob in curiosity revealed that the door was open.

"Huh? That's odd, Ike wasn't the type to forget something like that..." Mysta muttered to himself.

"Ike! Helloooo? Are you alright?!" Luca began shouting from the entrance, but the empty hallway only responded with silence. The inside of Ike's house looked ominously dark, despite the fact that it's currently noon outside.

"Ugh, nothing... Let's just go in, guys. I'm getting worried about Ike," Luca spoke with concern in his voice.

"Into this ominously dark hallway? Hell no, this is straight up a horror movie plot!" Mysta protested.

"Yeah, I see that... But I'm more worried about what's going on with Ike right now. I'm sure you're worried too, right?" said Vox.

"...Fuck, I can't deny that." Mysta scratched the back of his head.

"Come on Mysta, cliché stuff like that doesn't usually happen. Let's just check on Ike real quick," said Shu as he walked into Ike's house with everyone else following him.

"Fine..." Mysta begrudgingly followed them.

As they walked in, they noticed that the inside of the house was dark all the way through. There were some dim wall lights that barely let them see the hallway in front of them, but their only reliable source of light was from the open door behind them. They pulled out their phones to use it as flashlights, only to find them not working.

"Pretty sure my phone was working fine earlier... Can you guys use yours for light?" asked Vox.

"Hmm, mine's not working as well? Weird..." Luca replied as he kept tinkering with his phone.

Shu tried messing with the light switches next to the entrance, but nothing happened. "None of the lights are working as well, guys."

Suddenly, the front door slammed shut behind them, cutting off the source of light behind them.

SLAM!

"Jesus! For fuck's sake, Mysta, you didn't have to close the door that hard." Vox spoke in surprise.

"That's not me, dude! This place's creepy enough with the door open!" replied Mysta.

He attempted to open the door to let some light in, but the door refused to budge.

"...Guys? The door won't open?" Mysta asked, his eyes shook nervously.

"No way, you're kidding, right?" said Luca.

Luca grabbed hold of the doorknob and twisted it as hard as he could. His arms tensed from putting all his strength into it, but the door showed no signs of opening.

"Gah, it's not working!" Luca eventually gave up and released his grip.

"So... We're stuck here, huh?" commented Shu.

"I guess," Vox shrugged. "Well, there's only one way for us to go."

The group looked ahead into the dark hallway, which seemed to invite them to go further.

"Ah, fuck..." Mysta swore.