THE HOUSE OF ENDINGS

THE SUBSTITUTE 4

The darkness swallowed Daniel whole. His screams echoed, then faded, leaving only silence. Above, the abandoned house stood quiet, its candlelight flickering as though nothing had happened. But outside, the storm had passed. The school bell rang in the distance, signaling the end of classes. A figure approached the house not Daniel, but his friend, Claire. She had noticed his empty desk, his absence during roll call, and the way he had been staring at the house for weeks. When he didn’t return, she knew exactly where he had gone.

Claire stepped through the broken fence, her shoes sinking into the mud. The house loomed before her, its windows dark except for one faint glow. She shivered, remembering the warnings whispered by teachers and older students. Don’t go near it. Don’t even look at it too long. But Daniel was her friend, and she couldn’t leave him behind.The porch groaned under her weight. The door was ajar, just as if it had been waiting. Inside, the air was thick with dust and something sharper the metallic tang of blood. Portraits lined the hallway, their eyes following her. One painting, a cruel woman with a twisted smile, seemed to lean closer as she passed.

“Daniel?” she whispered, her voice trembling.

No answer. Only the creak of floorboards above. She climbed the staircase, her hand trailing along the banister. At the landing, she saw the bedroom door, cracked open. Candlelight spilled out, flickering unnaturally. She pushed it wider. The room was empty no Daniel, no bed, only the shattered remains of a mirror. Its shards lay scattered across the floor, each reflecting her face at odd, distorted angles. But in one shard, she didn’t see herself. She saw Daniel, screaming, his hands pressed against invisible glass. Her breath caught. “Daniel!”The shard rippled, his voice faint but desperate. “Claire… run!”

Before she could react, the floorboards beneath her groaned. The pit yawned open again, darker and wider than before. Hands clawed upward, pale and skeletal, reaching for her ankles. She stumbled back, but the cruel woman stepped through the shadows, her smile stretching impossibly wide.“You came for him,” the woman whispered, her voice echoing from every shard of glass. “Now the house will have you both.”Claire’s heart pounded. She had a choice flee and abandon Daniel, or descend into the nightmare to save him. She clenched her fists, her fear hardening into resolve.“I’m not leaving without him.”The woman’s smile widened. “Then welcome to the library.”The floor gave way, and Claire plunged into the abyss.