📖 Chapter 4: The Copy
296 Words
I couldn’t breathe.
The thing standing inside the dark room looked exactly like me.
Same face.
Same clothes.
Same terrified eyes.
For one horrible second, I thought I was looking into a mirror.
Then it smiled.
Its mouth stretched wider than any human mouth should.
“You found me,” it whispered.
My legs finally moved.
I turned and ran down the hallway, nearly slipping on the old wooden floor. Behind me, I heard the sound of slow footsteps.
Not rushing.
Not chasing.
Just walking.
That was somehow worse.
Creak.
Creak.
Creak.
Each step echoed through the house like it knew I couldn’t escape.
I reached the stairs and jumped down the last few steps, stumbling hard onto the ground floor. Dust filled the air as I grabbed the front door and pulled.
It wouldn’t open.
“No… no, no, no—”
I pulled harder.
Locked.
The footsteps upstairs stopped.
Silence filled the house again.
Then I heard another sound.
Knocking.
Three soft knocks came from the front door.
My blood ran cold.
Someone was outside.
“Help…” a weak voice whispered from the other side of the door.
Linh.
It sounded exactly like her.
I froze with my hand still on the handle.
“Please… let me in…”
My mind screamed at me not to open it.
But what if it really was her?
Another knock.
This time harder.
“Please!”
Tears filled my eyes. I slowly unlocked the door and pulled it open.
The outside was empty.
No Linh.
No one.
Only the quiet village road under the darkening sky.
Then I looked down.
Fresh footprints stood right in front of the door.
Bare feet.
Deep in the mud.
Leading inside the house.
Behind me, upstairs—
something started laughing.
- Writer
