dark things

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Title: Shadows Beneath the Skin

Chapter 1 - The Whispering House

The old Ashford house had been abandoned for twenty years, but its windows still seemed to watch. Every time Elena walked past it, she felt an invisible hand tracing the back of her neck.

She told herself it was just the wind. But wind didn't whisper her name.

The night she finally stepped inside, the floor groaned like it was waking from a deep sleep. The air smelled of damp earth and something... metallic. Blood? She couldn't tell. Her flashlight flickered once, twice, and then went out completely.

In the dark, a voice breathed right beside her ear.
"You shouldn't have come back, Elena."

Her stomach dropped. She didn't remember ever being here before.

But the house remembered her.