𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭'𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. | ˢᴮᴳ × ᵒᶜ / ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

[𝐒𝟏] 𝐄𝐏 𝟏𝟎 - 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

A scream echoed through the basement.

I lunged forward, rushing to get between Ashlyn and the phantom, shouting, "Ashlyn!" She turned abruptly, stumbling and falling. Suddenly, I felt a shift-the phantom was gone.

I heard Ashlyn hit the ground with a thud and gasp. Confused and shocked, I took a moment to collect myself before turning back.

I looked at Ashlyn with concern, then glanced over my shoulder repeatedly.

"Where did it go?" I wondered to myself. I looked back at Ashlyn, who was covering her face with her hand and sighing.

I gulped and tightly clenched my fists, mustering the courage to ask if she was okay.

I then asked, "You alright?" She removed her hand from her face, looked at me, and nodded. Her response reassured me that she was fine. I relaxed my grip a little, feeling the weight on my shoulders lift with relief.

I heard Taylor say, "Where did it go?" I turned my gaze to her and then to Logan, who, scared and with his camera still covering his face, responded, "I-I don't see it anywhere."

Taylor, looking around anxiously and scared, asked, "What was it?" Aiden smiled and said, "Maybe one of the ghosts?"

I sighed and thought, "Yeah right. Ghosts..."

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Tyler speak. "Are you guys stupid?" As I heard his words, I looked at him with a glare. He had his arms crossed over his chest and an angry expression on his face.

He continued, "Ghosts aren't real. This is just some stupid prank." Logan mumbled, "A prank?"

Tyler rolled his eyes and responded, "Obviously. A group conveniently cancels a reservation, and our guide just happens to have an excuse to leave? Then, when we're alone in a 'haunted' house, we have a scary encounter. Immediately after the so-called 'scary encounter,' the thing just disappears before we can confirm or touch it?"

He scoffed. "Yeah right. This is definitely a setup for some reaction video to make money. They probably have cameras and a projector hidden somewhere."

Tyler finished by yelling, "Screw you and your idiotic video! For the record, you don't have permission to use our reactions!"

He grabbed Taylor's wrist and led her out. "C'mon, Tay. We're going back to the bus."

I watched them leave, then lifted my hand to examine my palm. Since I had clenched my fist so tightly, the tips of my nails had left deep marks on my skin.

I grimaced before rubbing my palm to erase the marks and then walked toward the exit behind Logan. "Dammit.. I feel so uneasy with this situation that I didn't notice." I thought.

TIMESKIP: AT THE MOTEL

"I would have been in the same room with my male group members, but... ugh, I ended up with randoms," I thought, staring down at the sink as I finished taking a bath and changed into my sleeping clothes.

Rubbing my temple, I muttered, "I'll have to change back later at 11:57 pm."

I walked out of the bathroom and glanced at the three guys assigned to the same room. They were loudly playing a video game on their phones, which started to annoy me.

I rolled my eyes, then went to the bedroom and shut the door behind me. Sighing, I knelt down to grab my bag.

I unzipped it, moved some clothes aside, and checked to make sure the knife I bought was still wrapped in my towel. Satisfied, I zipped the bag closed.

I took out my phone and earphones, put the earphones on, and started playing a song.

After standing up and stretching a bit to prepare for the night, I thought to myself, "Too bad I can't bring my archery kit."

~629 Words
Released date : Aug 11, 2024.