THE MAN AT THE DOOR
1898 Words
The shadow beneath the door remained perfectly still.
Elena stared at it.
Her fingers tightened around the black card.
The voice came again.
"Elena, open the door."
Adrian.
It sounded exactly like him.
The same deep voice. The same calmness underneath the words. Even the slight roughness that appeared whenever he was irritated was there.
She took one step toward the door.
Then stopped.
The card in her hand felt heavier.
NOT FROM HIM.
She looked at the words again.
The voice outside knocked twice.
"Elena."
She swallowed.
"Adrian?"
"Yes."
"Where are you?"
A pause.
"I'm outside."
Elena glanced around the room.
There was nowhere else he could have gone.
The door behind her had been locked.
Mara had disappeared.
The office was empty.
She moved closer to the door.
"Why can't I see you?"
"I'm standing on the other side."
"Then move away from the door."
Silence.
Elena waited.
The shadow remained exactly where it was.
"Move away."
Nothing happened.
Her suspicion grew.
"If you're Adrian, move away from the door."
The voice came again.
"Open it."
Elena stepped backward.
It had failed the test.
She looked around for something she could use to protect herself, but there was nothing useful. The overturned chair was too heavy, the computer monitor was fixed to the desk, and the metal cabinets were locked.
The shadow suddenly moved.
It slid beneath the door.
Not like a person walking.
Like darkness itself was being poured underneath it.
Elena stumbled backward.
The blackness spread across the floor toward her.
She climbed onto the desk.
The shadow reached the edge of her shoe.
She kicked her foot away.
The darkness stopped.
Then it slowly retreated.
Elena's breathing became shallow.
The voice changed.
It was still Adrian's voice, but the warmth had disappeared.
"You've become difficult."
Elena said nothing.
"You weren't difficult before."
Her heart thudded.
"What do you mean?"
"You used to listen."
The voice became quieter.
"You used to trust him."
Elena's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
No answer.
Then the shadow vanished.
The door unlocked.
Elena didn't touch it.
She waited.
Nothing happened.
After almost a minute, she slowly approached.
She placed her hand on the handle.
Cold.
She opened it.
The corridor was empty.
Adrian wasn't there.
Neither was Mara.
The hallway stretched in both directions, dim and silent.
Elena stepped outside.
"Adrian?"
No answer.
She looked down.
A black card lay on the floor.
She picked it up.
GOOD.
She frowned.
The word disappeared.
A new sentence appeared.
YOU DIDN'T OPEN THE DOOR.
Another line formed beneath it.
THAT WAS YOUR FIRST CORRECT CHOICE.
Elena stared at the card.
Then the final line appeared.
ONE HUNDRED POINTS.
She nearly dropped it.
"Points?"
A soft bell sounded somewhere above her.
The card went blank.
Elena slipped it into her pocket.
She didn't know what the points meant, and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.
She started down the corridor.
The office where Marcus had disappeared was still open.
She stepped inside.
The computer remained on.
She approached it cautiously.
The screen showed a black background with a single white number.
100
Then it changed.
99
98
Elena frowned.
The number kept decreasing.
She looked around.
There was no explanation.
A faint ticking started.
She searched the desk.
Nothing.
She checked beneath the keyboard.
Nothing.
Then she noticed a small red light blinking beneath the desk.
She crouched.
There was a device attached to the underside.
A timer.
00:09:42
Elena's heart jumped.
She reached for it.
The screen changed.
00:09:41
A message appeared.
FIND MARCUS.
Then:
OR LOSE YOUR POINTS.
Elena stared.
"What happens when they reach zero?"
A voice answered from behind her.
"You don't want to know."
She spun around.
Adrian stood in the doorway.
Elena nearly screamed.
She grabbed the edge of the desk.
"Where were you?"
"Looking for you."
"You disappeared."
"So did you."
"I was here."
"I know."
She stared at him.
"You sound different."
Adrian frowned.
"Different how?"
She studied him.
The voice from the door had sounded exactly like him.
This one did too.
She remembered the card.
NOT FROM HIM.
"How do I know you're really you?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked into the room and stopped several feet away.
"You don't."
Elena blinked.
"That's not reassuring."
"I know."
He glanced at the timer.
"What did you do?"
"I didn't touch it."
"Good."
"You were gone."
"I had to find Mara."
"Did you?"
"No."
Elena looked at him.
"Then where is she?"
"I don't know."
She didn't like the answer.
"What about Marcus?"
Adrian's eyes went to the computer.
"Still missing."
"The screen says I have to find him."
He stepped closer.
"Don't."
"Why?"
"Because that's what it wants."
"What exactly does it want?"
Adrian looked at the timer.
"Your attention."
The number continued falling.
00:08:17
Elena folded her arms.
"It's already got my attention."
"Exactly."
He walked toward the computer.
The screen changed.
00:08:03
Then:
THE BOSS HAS ARRIVED.
Elena looked at Adrian.
His expression didn't change.
"Who is the boss?"
He stared at the screen.
"You've already met him."
Elena felt a chill.
"The first boss?"
Adrian nodded.
"He's here?"
"Apparently."
"Where?"
Adrian didn't answer.
The screen went black.
Then a camera feed appeared.
Marcus was still trapped in the strange room.
This time the audio worked.
He was shouting.
"Can you hear me?"
Elena rushed toward the monitor.
"Marcus!"
He looked directly at the camera.
His eyes widened.
"Elena?"
"Yes."
"Don't come here."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Where are you?"
Marcus looked around.
"I don't know."
"What's around you?"
"Nothing."
"Look behind you."
Marcus turned.
There was a wall.
Nothing else.
"There's a door."
"Open it."
"I tried."
"What happened?"
Marcus swallowed.
"It opened."
Elena frowned.
"Then why are you still there?"
Marcus looked toward the camera.
"Because there's another room behind it."
A pause.
"And another."
Elena's stomach tightened.
"How many?"
"I stopped counting."
The timer on the computer reached:
00:06:41
Marcus suddenly looked frightened.
"Wait."
He stepped away from the camera.
"What?"
"Someone is here."
Elena looked at Adrian.
Marcus turned toward the far corner of the room.
"Who?"
Marcus whispered something.
The audio crackled.
Elena couldn't hear him.
Then the microphone cleared.
"Elena."
"What?"
"He says you shouldn't be here."
Adrian's face hardened.
"Who?"
Marcus looked directly at the camera.
"The first boss."
The feed went black.
Elena stood frozen.
Then the computer displayed another message.
MARCUS HAS CHOSEN.
Adrian stared at it.
"Chosen what?"
A second line appeared.
HE CHOSE TO SPEAK.
Then:
NOW HE PAYS.
The monitor switched back to the camera.
Marcus was gone.
Elena stared at the empty room.
"Where did he go?"
Adrian didn't answer.
The timer continued.
00:05:19
Elena suddenly noticed something beneath the computer.
A drawer.
She opened it.
Inside was a small brass key.
She picked it up.
Adrian immediately stopped her.
"Put it down."
She looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because that key opens something."
"What?"
He stared at it.
"The room where the first boss kept the records."
Elena looked at the key.
"Then we need it."
"No."
"We need to find Marcus."
"Not like this."
"Then how?"
Adrian looked toward the corridor.
"We find the room without using the key."
Elena shook her head.
"That makes no sense."
"It doesn't have to."
He walked toward the door.
She followed.
"You're avoiding the key."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because the last person who used it didn't come back."
Elena stopped.
"Who?"
Adrian looked at her.
"Your father."
She felt the room grow colder.
"My father used this key?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Sixteen years ago."
Elena looked down at the brass key.
"Then why is it here?"
Adrian's eyes moved to the drawer.
"It shouldn't be."
The timer beeped.
00:04:00
Elena looked at the screen.
"Four minutes."
Adrian grabbed her hand.
"We're leaving."
They hurried through the corridor.
Elena kept the key in her palm.
The building seemed different again.
Doors had appeared along both walls.
Some were open.
Some were locked.
Some had numbers.
Others had names.
She saw MARCUS written on one.
Adrian stopped.
Elena stared at the door.
"That's him."
He shook his head.
"Don't."
"But his name is there."
"It wants you to go inside."
"We need to find him."
"Not through that door."
"How do you know?"
Adrian looked at the handle.
"Because there was no door there before."
Elena stepped closer.
The name MARCUS was written in fresh black paint.
Underneath it was another sentence.
HE'S WAITING FOR YOU.
The timer beeped again.
00:03:21
Elena's chest tightened.
"Adrian."
"No."
"What if he's really in there?"
"Then we'll find another way."
"You keep saying that."
"And I'm still keeping you alive."
She looked at him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then something slid beneath the door.
A photograph.
Elena crouched and picked it up.
It showed Marcus sitting at his desk.
The timestamp read 7:58 p.m.
The photograph had been taken only minutes ago.
On the back was a message.
HE'S NOT IN THIS ROOM.
Elena looked at Adrian.
"So where is he?"
A soft voice answered from behind them.
"Below."
They turned.
Mara stood at the end of the corridor.
Her hair was disheveled.
There was a small cut across her forehead.
Elena hurried toward her.
"What happened?"
Mara looked at Adrian.
"He knows you're here."
"Who?"
"The first boss."
Adrian's expression darkened.
"Where is Marcus?"
Mara looked at Elena.
"Below the thirteenth floor."
Elena frowned.
"There is no thirteenth floor."
Mara gave a tired smile.
"That's what everyone thinks."
The lights flickered.
The timer on Elena's phone suddenly appeared.
00:02:00
Mara's expression changed.
"How much time?"
Elena showed her.
Mara went pale.
"Then you have to decide."
"Decide what?"
Mara looked at Adrian.
"Whether you're willing to break another rule."
Adrian didn't respond.
Elena looked between them.
"What rule?"
Mara whispered:
"He cannot enter the room beneath the thirteenth floor."
Elena looked toward Adrian.
"Why?"
Mara's eyes stayed on him.
"Because that's where he died."
Adrian's face became completely still.
Elena stared.
"Who died?"
Mara didn't answer.
The timer reached:
00:01:29
Then every light in the corridor went out.
A voice whispered through the darkness.
Not Adrian.
Not Elena.
Not Marcus.
An unfamiliar man's voice.
"Adrian."
A pause.
"Bring her down."
Adrian tightened his grip around Elena's hand.
Mara stepped backward.
The voice laughed softly.
"I want to see if she remembers me."
The emergency lights returned.
At the end of the corridor, a new staircase had appeared.
It led downward.
Not upward.
A sign hung above it.
THIRTEENTH FLOOR
Elena stared.
The timer reached:
00:59
Adrian looked at the staircase.
Then at Elena.
"We're going down."
Mara shook her head.
"Adrian, don't."
He ignored her.
Elena held the brass key tighter.
"Why are we going down?"
Adrian looked at her.
"Because Marcus is down there."
"And the first boss?"
His eyes moved toward the darkness below.
"Probably."
The timer reached:
00:42
They stepped onto the first stair.
The door behind them slammed shut.
Elena looked back.
Mara was on the other side.
She pressed both hands against the glass.
"Don't let him see your face!"
Elena stared at her.
"What?"
Mara's voice broke.
"Whatever happens, don't let him see your face!"
The lights went out.
The staircase disappeared into darkness.
And from somewhere below came Marcus's voice.
"Elena..."
A pause.
"Please hurry."
Then another voice whispered directly behind her.
"Don't listen to him."
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