The corridor no longer felt like a corridor.
It felt like a throat.
Narrow.
Shifting.
Alive.
Andi stumbled slightly as Rina pulled him forward, her grip tight enough to hurt. The walls on either side seemed closer than before, the peeling paint stretching and contracting like something breathing just beneath the surface.
"Rina—slow down!" he hissed.
"Can't," she replied without looking back.
That was new.
Before, she had always been careful.
Measured.
Now—
She was rushing.
And that terrified him more than anything else.
Behind them—
The sounds multiplied.
Not one.
Not two.
Many.
Dragging.
Scraping.
Uneven footsteps.
Something knocking against the walls.
Something crawling.
Something—
Laughing.
Andi's chest tightened.
"…those aren't all the same, are they?" he asked, breath uneven.
"No," Rina said.
Simple.
Flat.
Final.
Andi didn't ask again.
They turned sharply into another hallway.
This one was darker.
The lights above flickered weakly, some completely dead, leaving pockets of pure darkness between dim pools of sickly yellow light.
"Where are we going?" Andi pressed.
Rina didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes scanned ahead, calculating.
"Somewhere they don't gather," she said.
"That's not reassuring."
"It's not supposed to be."
A sound cut through the noise.
Clear.
Close.
A voice.
"…help…"
Andi froze.
"…did you hear that?"
Rina didn't stop this time—but her grip tightened.
"Don't."
"That sounded like—"
"I said don't."
Her voice was sharper now.
Almost harsh.
Andi clenched his jaw.
"But what if it's someone like me?!"
Rina stopped so suddenly he nearly crashed into her again.
Then she turned.
Fully.
And this time—
There was no softness left in her expression.
"If they're still alive," she said quietly, "they're already running."
Andi opened his mouth.
But nothing came out.
Because deep down—
He knew she was right.
The voice came again.
Closer.
"…please…"
Andi squeezed his eyes shut for a second.
Then shook his head.
"…I hate this place."
Rina didn't respond.
They kept moving.
Faster now.
The air felt thicker with every step, harder to push through, like walking underwater. Andi's legs ached, his lungs burned—but he didn't dare slow down.
Because the sounds behind them—
Were getting closer.
Then—
The corridor opened.
Suddenly.
Without warning.
One step they were in a narrow hall—
The next—
They stood at the edge of something vast.
Andi stopped.
"…what is this…?"
It looked like the main hall.
But wrong.
Too large.
Too tall.
The ceiling stretched impossibly high, disappearing into darkness. The floor below was cracked and uneven, covered in long streaks of something dark that reflected the faint light in dull, wet patches.
And in the distance—
Shapes moved.
Many of them.
Slow.
Wandering.
Not searching.
Not yet.
Just… there.
Andi felt his breath hitch.
"…Rina…"
"I see them."
Her voice had dropped again.
Careful.
Focused.
"…we're not going through that, right?" Andi asked.
Silence.
Rina didn't answer.
Instead, she stepped forward.
Just one step.
Testing.
Andi grabbed her arm.
"Rina."
She glanced back.
"We don't have a choice," she said.
Andi looked behind them.
The corridor they came from—
Was darker now.
The sounds louder.
Closer.
Trapping them.
He swallowed.
"…of course we don't."
"Listen carefully," Rina said, her voice low and controlled.
Andi nodded quickly.
"This is where people mess up."
"Good to know," he muttered.
She ignored that.
"They're not all active at the same time," she continued. "Some of them only react to specific things."
"Like what?"
"Movement. Sound. Eye contact. Recognition."
Andi blinked.
"…recognition?"
"If you realize what they are," she said, "sometimes that's enough."
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
"That's insane."
Rina met his gaze briefly.
"Yes."
She turned back toward the hall.
"We move slowly," she said. "No sudden movements. No talking unless necessary."
Andi nodded again.
"And if they notice us?"
Rina paused.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Then—
"We run."
They stepped into the hall.
The space swallowed them instantly.
Every sound they made felt amplified, even the soft scrape of their shoes against the cracked floor echoing faintly into the distance.
Andi kept his eyes forward.
He didn't want to look.
But he couldn't help it.
To the left—
A figure stood near the wall.
Completely still.
Its body bent at an unnatural angle, like it had folded in on itself.
Its head—
Faced the wall.
Not moving.
Not reacting.
Andi forced himself to keep walking.
To the right—
Something crouched low to the ground.
Too many limbs.
Too thin.
Its back rose and fell slowly.
Breathing.
He looked away.
Immediately.
"…Rina…" he whispered.
"No," she said softly.
"Don't describe them."
"I wasn't—"
"Don't think about them either if you can help it."
Andi almost laughed.
"Yeah, that's easy."
They moved deeper.
Step by step.
The distance stretched longer than it should have.
The exit—
A set of large double doors—
Sat at the far end of the hall.
Closed.
Of course.
Andi's chest tightened.
"…please tell me that's not locked too."
Rina didn't answer.
Halfway across—
Something moved.
Directly ahead.
Andi froze.
A figure slowly turned.
Its head rotated first.
Then its body followed.
Too smoothly.
Too slowly.
It was facing them now.
Andi's breath stopped.
"Don't stop," Rina whispered.
"I can't—"
"Keep walking."
The figure tilted its head.
Just slightly.
Then—
It took a step.
Not dragging.
Not stumbling.
Walking.
That was worse.
Andi's pulse exploded.
"It sees us," he whispered.
"I know."
"It sees us, Rina!"
"I KNOW."
Her voice snapped this time.
Sharp.
Controlled panic.
Another figure moved.
Then another.
Not all of them.
But enough.
Heads turning.
Bodies shifting.
Awareness spreading.
Like ripples.
Andi felt it.
That invisible shift.
From passive—
To hunting.
"Rina…" his voice broke.
"…we need to run."
"Not yet."
"Are you insane?!"
"If we run too early, they all move!"
"And if we don't—?!"
KRRRIIINNGGG…
The bell rang.
Again.
But this time—
It wasn't deep.
It wasn't heavy.
It was sharp.
Piercing.
Like something tearing through the air itself.
Everything stopped.
All movement.
All sound.
All of it—
Paused.
Even the things in the hall.
Frozen.
Mid-step.
Mid-turn.
Mid-breath.
Andi blinked.
"…what just happened?"
Rina didn't look at him.
Her eyes were locked ahead.
"This is it," she whispered.
"…what is?"
Her voice dropped.
Barely audible.
"The second bell."
The silence that followed—
Was worse than anything before.
Because it wasn't empty.
It was waiting.
A low sound began to rise.
Not from the hall.
Not from the walls.
From below.
Like something waking up beneath the floor.
The cracks in the ground trembled slightly.
Andi stepped back instinctively.
"…Rina…"
She didn't respond.
Her grip on his wrist tightened again.
Painfully.
"They're choosing," she said.
Andi felt his stomach drop.
"…choosing what?"
Rina finally looked at him.
And for the first time—
There was no control left in her expression.
Only fear.
"Who gets to leave."
The frozen figures—
Twitched.
Just slightly.
Then—
All at once—
They moved.
Not toward the doors.
Toward them.
"RUN!" Rina shouted.
And this time—
She didn't hold back.
Andi ran.
No hesitation.
No thought.
Only instinct.
His feet slammed against the cracked floor as the entire hall erupted into motion behind him.
Dozens of them.
Maybe more.
Different sounds overlapping into something chaotic and overwhelming—
Dragging.
Scraping.
Crawling.
Sprinting.
Too fast.
Too many.
The doors ahead—
Still far.
Too far.
"…we're not gonna make it—!" Andi gasped.
"Don't look back!" Rina yelled.
"I'm serious—we're not—!"
Something brushed his arm.
Cold.
Fast.
He flinched violently.
Almost tripped.
"Keep moving!" Rina shouted.
"I CAN'T—"
Then—
A hand grabbed his shoulder.
Not hers.
Cold.
Wet.
Unnatural.
Andi screamed