The 13th Floor

Chapter 1: The Thirteenth Stop

The rain had been falling since sunset.

Blackridge Academy stood on top of Raven Hill, its towering stone walls disappearing into thick fog. Lightning flashed across the sky, revealing gargoyle statues that seemed to stare at anyone approaching the front gate. Students hurried inside, keeping their heads down as the old iron gates slowly closed behind them with a loud metallic groan.

Kai Ashford stepped off the school bus and tightened his grip on his backpack.

"This place feels... wrong," he whispered.

The academy was famous for producing brilliant students. Parents dreamed of sending their children there. Teachers called it the safest boarding school in the country.

Yet no one smiled.

Students walked through the halls in complete silence, avoiding eye contact. Some looked over their shoulders as if expecting someone—or something—to be following them.

Kai frowned.

Maybe they're just nervous because it's the first day.

An elderly caretaker suddenly appeared beside him.

"You must be the new student."

Kai jumped.

The old man's cloudy eyes never blinked.

"I'm Mr. Graves," he said. "Follow me."

His voice echoed strangely through the empty entrance hall.

As they walked, Kai noticed portraits of former headmasters lining the walls. Every painting looked ordinary except for one.

The man in the portrait had no face.

Only darkness.

Kai stopped.

"Why doesn't he have a face?"

Mr. Graves continued walking.

"Don't ask questions about things that watch you back."

Kai laughed awkwardly.

"That's... a weird joke."

The caretaker didn't laugh.

Instead, he handed Kai a small silver key.

"Room 217."

Then he leaned closer.

"There are only three rules every student must obey."

Kai nodded.

"First..."

The old man's voice became almost a whisper.

"Never leave your dorm after the third bell at night."

Kai nodded again.

"Second..."

"If you hear someone calling your name in an empty hallway..."

He paused.

"...don't answer."

A cold breeze swept through the corridor.

"And the third rule?"

Mr. Graves stared into Kai's eyes for several seconds.

"If the elevator ever stops on Floor Thirteen..."

He swallowed.

"...don't get out."

Kai frowned.

"But elevators don't have a thirteenth floor."

"They don't."

The caretaker walked away before Kai could ask another question.

That evening, Kai unpacked his belongings.

His roommate, Noah Carter, looked up from his desk.

"You actually spoke to Mr. Graves?"

Kai nodded.

"He gave me three rules."

Noah's face turned pale.

"He still tells new students those?"

Kai laughed.

"Don't tell me you believe ghost stories."

Noah didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he closed the curtains.

"My older brother disappeared here."

Kai blinked.

"What?"

"Three years ago."

"The school said he transferred."

"But my parents never heard from him again."

Silence filled the room.

Noah finally whispered,

"People disappear every year."

Kai forced a smile.

"That's impossible."

"I used to think so too."

A loud bell echoed across the academy.

One...

Two...

Three...

The lights flickered.

Every student in the dormitory immediately closed their doors.

The hallway became completely silent.

Kai checked his phone.

No signal.

The rain outside had stopped.

Then...

Ding.

The sound came from the elevator at the end of the corridor.

Kai looked through the small window in his door.

The elevator doors slowly opened.

No one stepped out.

Inside, the floor indicator glowed bright red.

13

Kai stared.

His heart began to race.

There isn't supposed to be a thirteenth floor...

The doors remained open.

Waiting.

A faint whisper drifted through the hallway.

"Kai..."

He froze.

The voice sounded gentle.

Almost familiar.

"Kai..."

It sounded like his younger sister, who had disappeared years earlier.

His breathing became uneven.

"No..."

The whisper came again.

"Please help me..."

Against his better judgment, Kai unlocked his door.

The hallway was empty.

The elevator still waited with its doors open.

A freezing wind flowed from inside.

His feet moved on their own.

One step.

Then another.

The red number 13 flickered.

The whisper became clearer.

"I'm here..."

Kai stood in front of the elevator.

His hand trembled as he reached toward the opening.

The lights across the hallway suddenly went out.

Darkness swallowed everything.

Then—

A pale hand slowly reached out from inside the elevator.

It wasn't human.

Its fingers were impossibly long.

Its skin looked like cracked porcelain.

And it was reaching...

...for Kai.