Echoes of the Silent Realm

Chapter 10:(brother) Luke's Restless Night

**Chapter 10: Luke's Restless Night**

Luke Worthington had always been the curious one. At nine years old, he was fascinated by everything—bugs in the garden, how machines worked, and especially the stories his dad, Allen, would tell him late at night about history or faraway places. But ever since they moved into the big old house on the outskirts of town, Luke's curiosity had started to turn into something darker. There were too many things in the house that didn't make sense.

The first thing that bothered him was the shadows. They didn't behave the way shadows were supposed to. In his old house in Chicago, shadows were just dark spots on the walls or floors, where light didn't reach. But here, they seemed to move on their own. Sometimes, out of the corner of his eye, Luke thought he saw them shift, as if they had a life of their own. But every time he turned to look directly at them, they were still, like nothing had ever happened.

Tonight, Luke lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. His room was quiet except for the soft breathing of his little brother, Isaac, who was asleep in the bed across from him. The air felt heavier than usual, and the silence was thicker. It was one of those nights where every small sound—the creak of the floorboards, the groan of the wind outside—seemed amplified.

Luke shifted under the blankets, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling creeping up his spine. He had spent the day exploring the attic, a place he usually avoided. There was something about the attic that felt wrong, like it didn't belong in the rest of the house. It was cold up there, even in the middle of summer, and the dust that hung in the air seemed older than anything Luke had ever seen. He had found an old book up there, its pages yellowed and brittle, but when he opened it, he couldn't read a single word. The letters were strange, twisted, like they were written in a language no one should ever speak.

He had brought the book downstairs, intending to show it to his mom or dad, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the feeling that he shouldn't share what he had found. Or maybe it was the whisper he thought he heard when he touched the pages—a low, raspy voice that seemed to come from inside his own head, telling him to put it back. Luke didn't mention the book to anyone, not even his sister Aaly, who always had a way of knowing when something was wrong.

Now, lying in bed, he couldn't stop thinking about it. The attic. The shadows. The way the air in the house felt different. He turned over, facing Isaac's bed. His little brother was fast asleep, clutching his favorite stuffed rabbit. Isaac was different from other kids—he was quiet, often lost in his own world, and Luke always felt like it was his job to look out for him. But lately, Isaac had been acting even stranger than usual. Sometimes, he would wake up in the middle of the night, just sitting up in bed, staring at the door like he was waiting for something. It was like Isaac knew something about the house that no one else did.

Suddenly, Isaac stirred in his sleep, mumbling something Luke couldn't understand. Luke sat up, his heart racing. He glanced at the door. It was closed, but the shadows underneath it seemed to flicker, like someone was walking past on the other side. Luke's stomach tightened. He wanted to tell himself it was just his imagination, but the uneasy feeling wouldn't go away.

Then came a sound—a soft, dragging noise, like something being pulled across the floor. It came from the hallway outside their room, just beyond the door. Luke froze, holding his breath. The sound was faint, but it was there. His eyes darted to Isaac, who was still asleep, then back to the door. The dragging sound stopped, replaced by an even worse silence, one that pressed down on Luke, making the air feel thick and heavy.

He couldn't stay still anymore. Quietly, he slipped out of bed and tiptoed across the room, his bare feet barely making a sound on the wooden floor. His hand reached for the doorknob, hesitating for just a second before he turned it. The door creaked open, and the hallway stretched out in front of him, dimly lit by the faint moonlight coming through the windows at the far end.

There was nothing there. No sound, no movement. Just the same dark shadows cast by the moon.

Luke stepped out into the hallway, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn't know why he was doing this. Every part of him wanted to crawl back into bed and hide under the covers, but something—some pull he couldn't explain—was drawing him forward.

He took a few steps, his breath coming in shallow, quiet gasps. As he reached the top of the stairs, he heard it again. The dragging noise. This time, it was coming from the floor below. Luke gripped the banister tightly, peering down the stairs. The house was dark, but not completely. There was enough light to see that the living room below was empty.

But then he saw it—a shadow, darker than the rest, moving slowly along the floor. It wasn't like a normal shadow, one cast by a person or object. It was more like a stain, creeping across the wooden floor, and it was moving toward the stairs. Toward him.

Luke's heart leapt into his throat. He backed up a step, nearly tripping over his own feet. The shadow stopped at the base of the stairs, hovering there for a moment as if it was aware of him, as if it could sense his fear. And then, slowly, it began to climb.

Luke's legs finally obeyed his brain's desperate command to run. He bolted back down the hallway and into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. His breath came in ragged gasps as he pressed his back against the door, his eyes wide with terror. For a few seconds, he just stood there, listening, waiting for the shadow to follow him. But the hallway outside was silent again.

After what felt like hours, Luke slowly slid down to the floor, his body trembling. He glanced at Isaac, still sound asleep, completely unaware of what had just happened. Luke's mind raced, trying to make sense of what he had seen. Was it real? Could shadows really move like that?

He knew one thing for sure: whatever was in the house, it wasn't just his imagination. And it wasn't going to leave them alone.

Luke didn't sleep that night. He stayed on the floor, his back against the door, listening to the silence, waiting for the shadows to return.