Horrors from Around the World

Night 027 - Red Lantern of Chinatown (2)

Anna's legs trembled beneath her as she backed away from the red lantern. Her heart pounded in her ears, and her mouth had gone dry. Every instinct screamed at her to run, but the alley seemed to close in around her, making escape feel impossible.

The lantern across the street swayed ominously, its blood-red light flickering like a heartbeat. The door beneath it, half-open, seemed to beckon, as if daring her to come closer.

"No..." Anna whispered to herself, shaking her head. She wasn't going in there. She wasn't falling for the same trap twice.

But as she turned to leave, she heard a voice—a voice so familiar it stopped her cold.

"Anna?"

She whipped around. Standing just outside the open door beneath the red lantern was David.

He looked disheveled, his hair matted with sweat, and his eyes were wild with fear. He waved her over frantically.

"Anna, please! You have to help me!" David's voice cracked, his words rushed and panicked.

Relief flooded Anna's chest at the sight of him, but something wasn't right. David's face was pale, almost ghostly, and the way he stood—stiff and unnatural—sent a wave of unease through her.

"David?" she called, her voice shaking. "What happened? Where have you been?"

David didn't answer. He only gestured toward the door behind him. "Come inside. It's safe in here."

Safe? Nothing about this felt safe. Anna's gut twisted. She remembered the wails of the ghost in the teahouse, the sense of being watched, the way the red lanterns seemed to pulse with some malevolent energy.

She took a step forward, unsure. "Are you okay? You look... different."

David's expression flickered, almost like a glitch. For a moment, his eyes went dark, hollow—just like the ghost's—and Anna froze.

Then, just as quickly, his face returned to normal, his eyes wide and pleading.

"Please, Anna. Hurry!"

But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The lantern's glow bathed David in an unnatural red hue, and the shadows around him seemed to writhe and twist. The smell of decay was stronger now, the same rancid stench she had smelled inside the teahouse.

Something deep inside her clicked—the realization that this wasn't David, or at least not anymore.

She took another step back, her heart thundering in her chest. "No... I don't think I can."

David's face twisted into an expression of rage, his features warping in the lantern's light. "You have to! You can't leave me here!"

His voice was wrong now—distorted, echoing like it came from somewhere far away. His body moved forward, but it didn't seem like he was walking. It was as though something was pulling him toward her.

Anna's breath caught in her throat. "You're not my brother."

The thing wearing David's face stopped, its mouth curling into a twisted smile. "Smart girl."

Anna stumbled backward as the thing lunged toward her, its body flickering like a candle flame. But before it could reach her, a gust of wind blew through the alley, snuffing out the lantern's light. In an instant, the figure disappeared, leaving nothing but the cold, suffocating darkness.

Anna collapsed against the wall, gasping for air. Her body shook uncontrollably, and her mind raced to make sense of what had just happened. Whatever that thing was, it had been using David's image to lure her in, just like the ghost in the teahouse.