The Party That Killed || Hyunlix

74 🕸️

3rd person pov.
Jisung stared at the strange object, terror etched across his face, until he could no longer hold it in and screamed:

“What the hell is that?!”

Everyone turned to him, their gazes following his to a transparent tube containing something that resembled a brain but bore no resemblance to any natural organ.

Seungmin, standing closest, hesitated momentarily, pondering how to respond. After a brief pause, he said:

“It looks like a brain, but... experimental. It doesn’t look natural.”

Minho stepped closer, his growing unease evident. What they had discovered made no sense. The brain floated in a transparent liquid with an unsettling, almost otherworldly tint.

“What even is this?” he asked quietly, trying to mask the fear creeping into his voice.

Jisung, still fixated on the tube, rolled his eyes.

“I think we’re better off not knowing what it is” he added with a hint of sarcasm, though his voice betrayed his tension.

The atmosphere around them grew heavier, each of them sensing that whatever they had stumbled upon was far beyond anything they could have imagined.

While the others busied themselves sifting through other odd and increasingly disturbing items, Jisung remained transfixed on the floating brain. His gaze hardened as each grotesque detail became more pronounced. Finally, with a shudder of disgust, he turned away, unable to bear it any longer.

Minho’s attention, however, was drawn to tapes lying on a nearby desk. Their faint gleam under the dim light caught his eye. Before he could reach for them, he noticed Jeongin watching him with curiosity, as though waiting for his reaction. Raising an eyebrow, Minho gestured toward the tapes.

“What are these?” he asked.

Jeongin shrugged, his expression indifferent but tinged with something Minho couldn’t quite place.

“Not sure exactly...” he replied calmly. “I’ve seen them before, but I never got a chance to check what’s on them.”

≈🎃≈

Minho inspected an old tape player he had found in one of the boxes. Opting for the oldest model that seemed functional, he fiddled with it until he managed to connect it to power. As the machine whirred to life, a mechanical screech filled the room as the tape began to play.

The first sounds were bizarre—muffled, rhythmic, almost like an incantation spoken in an unfamiliar language. Seungmin raised an eyebrow, listening intently.

“What language is that?” Jeongin whispered, glancing at Minho.

Minho shrugged, his eyes fixed on the machine as the tape’s words became clearer. Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. From behind a curtain that they had all been ignoring, strange noises began to emerge. These sounds mirrored the tape: low, guttural noises that defied logic. A rustling, a heavy sigh, and then a distorted growl echoed through the room.

Jisung turned toward the noise, his heart pounding faster. This was not something he wanted to deal with. The words from the tape grew more unnerving, and the sounds behind the curtain started mimicking them.

Shivering, Jisung instinctively grabbed Minho’s wrist.

“Turn it off!” he shouted, staring at Minho with growing panic.

Minho, wide-eyed, immediately understood the urgency. Though on the verge of panic himself, he swiftly turned the knob, silencing the recording. As the room fell into an eerie stillness, the sounds behind the curtain ceased. The group stared into the void, unsure what to make of what had just happened.

“What the hell was that?” Changbin asked, his jaw tight.

Jeongin, standing closest to the curtain, didn’t move. His gaze shifted between the others, and then he spoke:

“This... this can’t be a coincidence. Something’s happening. This isn’t a joke.” His voice was graver than anyone had ever heard before.

Seungmin exchanged a glance with him, his pulse racing faster than ever. Their worst fears were beginning to take shape.

Still clutching Minho’s wrist, Jisung stared at the source of the earlier sounds. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’d rather be anywhere else right now.” His voice wavered but carried a firm resolve. “Whatever this is... it’s not natural.”

Changbin frowned, glancing at the others before turning his focus to the curtain. “Do we pull it back?” he asked, though the answer was already clear. There was no turning back now.

With a deep breath, Changbin approached the curtain. He looked over his shoulder at the group, their uncertain gazes meeting his. But he knew retreat was no longer an option. Resolutely, he grabbed the fabric and began to pull it away, inch by inch.

What lay hidden behind it was unlike anything they could have imagined.

The creature standing before them was otherworldly. Its body was thin, almost translucent, as though sculpted from a pale, gelatinous substance. Its face twisted unnaturally, covered in eerie, glistening wounds. Its eyes—wide open and lifeless—stared blankly, as if its very soul had been extracted. The body twitched and shifted, its thin arms suspended unnervingly in midair, trembling as if awaiting a command.

The moment it came into view, the creature emitted low, continuous noises. They mirrored the incantations from the tape but now resonated directly from its being. As the group watched, horrified, the creature seemed to react to their presence.

Seungmin, closest to the creature, felt his legs tremble uncontrollably. Before he could utter a word, the entity raised its arms, moving them rhythmically as if caught in an invisible current. Jeongin stepped up beside him, sensing the suffocating weight of the air around them. At first, neither could comprehend what was happening, but as they exchanged glances, an unsettling realization dawned.

The creature wasn’t just reacting to them—it was feeding off their energy.

“It’s happening again,” Seungmin murmured, his voice barely audible.

Jeongin nodded, his voice a hushed whisper. “We have to get out of here.”

But as soon as the words left his mouth, the creature let out a deafening, guttural sound—a sound that seemed to draw in all the noise they had heard before. It echoed through the room, reverberating in their very bones.

Time seemed to slow as they stood frozen in fear.

“What the hell is happening?” Jisung hissed through clenched teeth.

And then, as if sensing their collective terror, the creature locked eyes with Jisung. Its gaze, like two black voids, bore into him. It began repeating the same chants from the tape, its haunting voice filling the room.

“What now?” Changbin asked, holding his breath.

Jisung’s heart raced as he glanced at the others. Whatever was happening, one thing was clear—they needed to leave.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not staying here any longer,” he said, his voice firm but laced with fear. “I want to get out of here. Now.”

Seungmin and Jeongin exchanged glances, and after a moment, they both nodded silently in agreement. They’d all had enough. Besides, seeing the creature fall into a trance again only strengthened their resolve. Minho, looking at the others, made the decision—they wouldn’t stay there a second longer.

Changbin was the first to move forward, throwing a curtain over the creature, momentarily concealing it from view. The rest followed close behind. As they entered the hallway, they headed straight for the exit as if a demon was chasing them.

“I don’t think we’ll be coming back here anytime soon,” Minho said, trying to sound calm, though he felt like his legs were trembling. “But we have to come back. To retrieve those documents. To investigate this.”

“Definitely,” Changbin added, feeling the tension within him start to ease. “This isn’t over.”