The Empty House
340 Words
The front door groaned open.
Mira’s heart pounded so hard she could barely hear herself breathe.
“No…” she whispered, taking a step back.
“Run!” the distorted voice shouted through the phone.
Before she could move, the call disconnected.
Silence swallowed everything.
The wind died. The birds stopped singing. Even the leaves seemed frozen.
Mira looked around. There was no one outside.
Then why had the door opened?
Her eyes dropped to the brass key still lying beneath the step. Ignoring every instinct telling her to leave, she picked it up.
It was surprisingly warm.
A strange symbol was carved into its handle—a circle with a line running through its center.
She slipped the key into her pocket.
The moment she did, the front door slammed shut with a deafening bang.
Mira screamed.
Her phone buzzed again.
A single text appeared.
DON’T LET THEM SEE THE KEY.
She spun around.
The street behind her was empty.
Or so she thought.
A movement caught her eye.
Across the road stood an elderly woman dressed in black. She stared directly at Mira without blinking.
Then, slowly, the woman raised one finger to her lips.
“Shh.”
A truck passed between them.
When it was gone, the woman had vanished.
Mira’s pulse raced as she hurried back toward her car.
Just before reaching it, she noticed something tucked beneath the windshield wiper.
A faded newspaper clipping.
The headline made her blood run cold.
LOCAL COLLEGE STUDENT VANISHES AFTER STRANGE PHONE CALL
The article was dated twelve years ago.
Attached to it was a handwritten note.
You are the seventh.
Before Mira could read another word, her phone rang once more.
Unknown Number.
She answered without thinking.
The voice was barely a whisper.
“They know you found the key.”
A pause.
Then a sentence that turned her blood to ice.
“Whatever you do… don’t go home.”
The call ended.
At that exact moment, Mira received a security alert from her apartment.
Front door opened.
- Writer
