The Inheritance

Chapter Seventeen - The Pull of the Shadows

The next few days passed in a haze. Mike didn't leave his apartment. He barely ate, barely slept, his mind too clouded by the lingering presence of the haunting. The shadows no longer flickered in and out of view—they were always there, watching from the corners of his vision, waiting for him to let his guard down.

His mother called again, but Mike couldn't bring himself to answer. The fear in her voice during their last conversation had been too much. She had fought the same battle years ago, and though she had survived, she had been left broken, haunted. He didn't want to hear her fear for him. He didn't want to face the possibility that there was no escape.

The journal sat on his desk, taunting him with its unanswered questions. Abraham Dunn had believed the house was the key to ending it, but Mike hadn't been able to go through with destroying it. He hadn't been able to do anything.

Late one night, as Mike sat in his darkened living room, the weight of the shadows pressing down on him, he heard a knock at the door. The sound was so unexpected, so startling, that for a moment, Mike thought he had imagined it.

But then the knock came again, louder this time, more insistent.

Mike rose slowly from the couch, his heart thudding in his chest. He approached the door cautiously, peering through the peephole.

It was Sara.

Mike hesitated, his hand resting on the doorknob. He hadn't spoken to her since their last encounter, hadn't told her anything about what was happening. But there she was, standing on his doorstep in the middle of the night, a worried expression on her face.

He opened the door.

"Mike," Sara said, her voice quiet but firm. "I know something's going on. You don't have to tell me everything, but I'm not leaving until I know you're okay."

Mike stepped aside, letting her in. Sara entered the apartment, her eyes sweeping over the dark, cluttered space. She turned to him, her face softening as she took in his appearance—the hollow eyes, the disheveled hair, the weariness that clung to him like a second skin.

"You don't look okay," she said gently.

Mike slumped onto the couch, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not."

Sara sat beside him, close but not intrusively so. "Then talk to me. Please."

For a long moment, Mike was silent. He stared at the floor, the weight of everything pressing down on him. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to spill everything—the shadows, the voices, the haunting that had consumed his life. But the fear held him back. What if she thought he was crazy? What if the haunting latched onto her too?

But he couldn't keep it all inside anymore. He couldn't bear the isolation any longer.

"I've been seeing things," Mike finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Shadows. Voices. They're always there, watching me. I can't get away from them."

Sara didn't react immediately, but her expression didn't change. She just listened.

"It started as sleep paralysis, but now it's more than that," Mike continued, his words tumbling out faster now. "It's everywhere. It's like they're following me, waiting for me to lose it."

Sara stayed silent, her gaze steady and calm.

"I don't know how to stop it," Mike said, his voice breaking. "And I'm scared that... that it's going to end the way it did for my grandfather. He went mad, Sara. He didn't make it."

Sara reached out, her hand resting gently on Mike's arm. "You're not going mad," she said softly. "You're scared, and you're dealing with something none of us understand. But you're not alone, Mike. You don't have to go through this by yourself."

Mike swallowed hard, his chest tight with emotion. He wanted to believe her, wanted to trust that she could help him, but the shadows still loomed in the corners of his vision, a constant reminder of the darkness that had already taken root.

"I don't know what to do," Mike whispered.

"We'll figure it out," Sara said. "Together."

For the first time in weeks, Mike allowed himself to believe that maybe—just maybe—there was a way out.

But as the shadows lingered in the corners of the room, Mike couldn't shake the feeling that they were waiting. Waiting for the moment when he would finally give in.