Chapter Ten: What Lucas Found
429 Words
After the meeting, everyone dispersed.
No one wanted to stay with anyone else any longer.
Even the corridors seemed to be traversed quickly.
It was as if everyone was afraid of being alone...
And even more afraid of being with someone.
That evening, Lucas couldn't sleep.
Ever since Maya had indirectly accused him, he felt something was off.
He wasn't angry with her.
But with himself.
Because he wasn't entirely sure what he'd done that night.
He left his room.
The resort was silent.
Only the wind drifted through the old windows.
As he passed the old storeroom in the west wing...
He noticed something strange.
The door wasn't fully closed.
He stopped.
He looked left and right.
Then he pushed the door open slowly.
The smell of dust filled the air.
The storeroom looked like it had been abandoned for years.
Old boxes.
Files.
Furniture covered in fabric.
Then he saw something that made his heart stop for a moment.
On one of the shelves...
There was an old group photo.
He moved closer and brushed the dust off it, and then he froze.
In the photo... there were children.
Seven of them standing in front of an old building.
But the shock wasn't in the children.
The shock was that one of them...
looked terrifyingly like Ethan.
And another girl...
looked like Maya.
Even a boy at the edge of the photo...
looked like Lucas himself.
He took a step back.
Lucas (whispering):
"Impossible..."
Then he turned the photo over.
And on the back was faded writing:
"The Hawthorne Program - Third Installment"
Lucas felt a chill run through him.
Hawthorne.
For the first time, the name was written in real form.
Not a hint.
Not a passing mention.
But physical evidence.
And at the bottom of the phrase...
There was an old date.
Much older than he expected.
A date that meant something terrifying:
If the photograph was real...
Some of the people at the resort had known each other since childhood.
And they hadn't told anyone.
At that moment... a faint sound came from behind him.
The sound of footsteps...
Lucas turned quickly, but the storage room was empty.
Or so it seemed... Then he caught a glimpse of something by the door.
A shadow disappeared down the corridor... Someone had been there.
And had seen everything.
End of Chapter
Lucas gripped the photograph tightly.
And looked at the small faces again.
Then he whispered:
"Who are you... really?"
And outside...
Someone was moving in the dark corridor.
And knew the photograph had been found.
- Writer
