Phantoms of the Past

Chapter Three: Who is She?

We all jumped, and I could see the panic etched across Madelyn's face.

"Nope, not funny guys!" she squeaked, her voice rising an octave as if she was trying to get the guys to hear her. "I'm not laughing anymore."

"I'm gonna text Derek again," I said, grabbing my phone. But before I could type a message, Claire, who had been standing closer to the wall, suddenly gasped and took a step back.

"Guys," she whispered, her voice trembling, "I think we should leave the room."

"Leave? What do you mean?" Madelyn's eyes widened, and I could see the rising fear mirrored in her expression. "Why would we do that?"

"Because I just heard someone whispering...like right there." Claire pointed at the wall, her finger trembling. "It sounded like it was right on the other side."

The hair on my forearms stood up, and I could feel my heart racing in my chest. "Okay, that's it. We're definitely not staying here," I said, my voice firm but shaky. Madelyn hastily packed her belongings in her duffel bag, face mask still on her face.

"Maybe we should check on the guys," Claire suggested, her eyes darting toward the door. "If they're messing around, they might know what's going on."

"Right," I agreed, my voice barely above a whisper. "Let's go see if they heard it too."

I nodded to Claire, and we stepped out into the hallway together, the silence around us feeling almost suffocating. The door to the guys' room was just beside us. As we gathered just outside the guys' room, the weight of what we experienced weighed heavily in the air. I could see the concern flickering in Madelyn's eyes, and the silence between us felt thick, almost suffocating.

"Wait, Claire," I said, breaking the tension. "What exactly did you hear? What did the whisper say?"

Claire hesitated, glancing around anxiously. "It was really faint, but..." She took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. "It sounded like someone saying 'get out.'"

"Get out?" Madelyn echoed, her voice rising slightly. "That's not good."

"I mean, it would make sense if the hotel is haunted or whatever," Claire said, her brows furrowing as she considered the implications. "But we can't just sit here and wait for something to happen."

Before I could say anything, another loud bang echoed down the hallway, sending a shiver down my spine. Madelyn stepped closer, instinctively hiding herself behind me. Thanks, Madelyn. Happy to be your shield I guess.

"Alright, let's check on them already," I said, trying to steady my voice despite the growing unease in my stomach. I raised my hand to knock, but before I could, it swung open, revealing Derek with a worried expression on his face. His gaze flickered between me and the girls, his brow furrowed.

"Did you guys hear that?" he asked, concern lacing his tone.

"Yeah," I replied, looking at him with concern. "What's going on?"

Will came to the door and exchanged a worried look with Derek. "Okay so we admit we were lowkey messing with you at first so it was just us for a while, but then we stopped. Then we realized it was genuinely coming from the walls."

Derek's protective demeanour only seemed to intensify. "We need to stay together and check it out. Something's not right."

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of their concern settle over me like a blanket. "Let's go then. We're better off as a group."