Kaltain

3.A nightmare?....

Ava's retreat from the door was swift, her movements driven by primal instinct as she sought to escape the nightmare that lurked beyond. Her body quivered uncontrollably as she pressed back against the cold metal railings of the stairs, the chill seeping into her bones like icy tendrils of fear.

A stifled gasp escaped her lips, muffled by trembling hands as she desperately sought to contain the rising tide of terror threatening to consume her. But the image burned into her mind's eye was relentless, haunting her every thought with its grotesque visage.

With a shaky breath, Ava squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to banish the horrifying apparition from her mind. Yet, when she opened them once more, the darkness that greeted her offered no solace, only a void of emptiness that mirrored the abyss of her own fear.

Panic surged through her veins like wildfire, igniting every nerve ending with searing intensity as she scrambled backward, seeking refuge beside the familiarity of her own room. But even there, the shadows seemed to close in around her, suffocating her with their malevolent presence.

Her chest rose and fell in rapid succession, each breath a struggle against the suffocating weight of dread that threatened to crush her spirit. In her mind's eye, she replayed the scene over and over again, trying desperately to convince herself that it was nothing more than a trick of the light, a figment of her fevered imagination.

But deep down, Ava knew the truth. The gaze that had met hers with such unbridled malice had been all too real, a harbinger of violence and despair that lurked just beyond the threshold of her grandmother's room. And as she grappled with the horror of what she had witnessed, she knew that the nightmare was far from over.

Ava's hand fell away from her mouth, her fingers trembling as she drew in a ragged breath, her chest rising and falling with the effort. She leaned heavily against the wall behind her, the cold surface providing a faint sense of stability amidst the chaos that threatened to engulf her.

Her voice, a mere whisper in the oppressive silence, carried the weight of uncertainty as she muttered to herself, "I must be hallucinating, there is no other explanation." Yet, even as the words left her lips, doubt gnawed at the edges of her mind, a shadow of fear that refused to be dispelled.

She stood up and with tentative steps, Ava moved forward, her gaze fixed on the door to her grandmother's room, the source of the inexplicable terror that had gripped her heart. The urge to barge in and demand answers tugged at her like a puppeteer's strings, but her instincts held her back, a silent warning against the unknown.

As she drew closer, the eerie greenish smoke seeping through the cracks in the door cast an otherworldly glow upon her surroundings, bathing the hallway in an unnatural light that seemed to distort reality itself. Ava's breath caught in her throat, a cold shiver coursing down her spine as she contemplated the sinister forces that lay beyond.

'Or perhaps I'll just ask her in the morning I guess,' she thought, her mind racing with uncertainty as she retreated into the safety of her own room. With cautious steps, she surveyed the darkness, her senses on high alert for any sign of danger that might lurk in the shadows.

Satisfied that her sanctuary remained undisturbed, Ava turned to close the door, a sense of unease lingering in the air like a foul scent.

As Ava's trembling fingers grasped the door handle, a sudden resistance halted her motion, sending a jolt of terror coursing through her veins. The touch against the wood was not her grandmother's gentle hand; it was something altogether more sinister. A cold, bony hand, sickly pale, coiled around the door, its presence sending a shiver down Ava's spine that seemed to reach into the very depths of her soul.