**Chapter 14: One Last Thing** *(Epilogue)*
385 Words
It had been exactly **four weeks** since the house vanished like a therapy session we all hallucinated together.
Things had mostly gone back to normal.
Zoe started a webcomic called *Haunted But Functional.*
Max joined drama club and somehow became their most convincing tree.
Amber was volunteering at a hotline for stressed-out teens, which honestly scared her more than any ghost.
Riley dyed her hair purple and decided she *liked* being loud.
Nate was journaling. Unironically.
And me?
I started writing it all down.
Because even if no one believed us, even if the house never came back, I needed this to exist outside of my brain.
Proof that what we survived was real.
That *we* were real.
Then one day, I got a letter.
No return address.
The envelope was sealed with red wax, like something out of a Victorian murder mystery or a Harry Potter cosplay meetup.
Inside was a single note. Typed.
> “Not every haunted house stays in one place.”
And beneath that:
> “You’re not done yet.
>
> * Sincerely, The Architect.”
I stared at the letter.
For the first time in a month, my hands shook.
Because suddenly, I remembered what the kid in the house had said.
> “I’m everyone who never made it out.”
But we had.
We’d made it.
So why did it feel like something—or someone—was still building?
Still watching?
Still *waiting*?
Behind the letter was a photograph.
It showed a new town.
A new group of kids.
A new house.
Same door.
Same windows.
Same hungry shadow in the attic window.
And on the back of the photo, scribbled in shaky handwriting:
> “It’s starting again.”
I took a deep breath, picked up my phone, and texted the group:
**👻 Group Reconvening Time? We’ve got company.**
Within seconds, my screen lit up.
> Zoe: *Ugh. Let me grab my sketchbook.*
> Max: *Time to weaponize sarcasm again.*
> Amber: *Let’s ghostbust some emotional demons.*
> Riley: *Bags packed. Snacks locked. Let’s go.*
> Nate: *We’re not running from it this time.*
> Me: *We’re not running at all. We’re walking in with the lights on.*
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**THE END (for now...)**
👻🏚️💥
**Stay weird, stay real — and always check the attic.**
- Writer
