Chapter 7: The Door to the Past
The iron door loomed before them, its cold surface damp with time. Claire's fingers trembled as she turned the key, the metal groaning in protest. A rush of stale air escaped from the darkness beyond, thick with the scent of earth and decay.
Samuel shifted behind her, gripping his flashlight tightly. "Are we really doing this?"
Claire swallowed hard. "We have to."
With a final push, the door creaked open, revealing a stone corridor stretching into the unknown. The walls were rough, damp, and uneven, as if carved directly from the earth. Small alcoves lined the passage, their shadows deep and impenetrable.
Claire stepped inside, her boots echoing against the stone floor. Samuelhesitated before following, the iron door swinging shut behind them with an ominous clang.
The light from their flashlights barely pierced the heavy darkness.
"How far do you think this goes?" Samuel asked, his voice hushed.
Claire ran her fingers along the cold stone wall. "Eleanor was trying to escape. She must have thought this was a way out."
They walked cautiously, the silence pressing against them. The air grew colder with every step.
Then—
A whisper.
Soft. Faint. Almost lost in the stillness.
Samuel froze. "Did you hear that?"
Claire nodded, her pulse quickening. "We're not alone down here."
She tightened her grip on the diary, flipping back to Eleanor's last entry.
***"Tonight, before midnight, I will escape through the hidden passage beneath the house. If you are reading this, it means I was too late."***
Claire's breath came in short bursts. 'Eleanorhad never made it out.'
'So what had stopped her?'
A chill ran down her spine as they moved deeper into the passage. The walls seemed to close in, the shadows shifting unnaturally.
Then Claire's foot struck something solid.
She gasped, pointing her flashlight downward.
A wooden box lay half-buried in the dirt. Its surface was scorched, as if it had been partially burned. A tarnished brass latch kept it closed.
Samuel crouched beside her. "Should we open it?"
Claire hesitated. Then, slowly, she unlatched the lid.
Inside lay a collection of old photographs.
Black-and-white images, their edges curled with age.
Claire picked one up. A group of people stood in front of the manor—men in dark robes,their faces obscured by shadows. In the center, bound in ropes, was a young woman.
Eleanor.
Claire's blood ran cold.
"This isn't just a passage," she whispered. "It's where they brought her."
Samuel's breath hitched. "Brought her for what?"
Claire turned the photo over.
Scrawled on the back in smeared ink were three words:
"The Offering Failed."
The tunnel suddenly felt much smaller. Claire's mind raced. The diary had said Eleanor tried to escape. But what if she hadn't simply disappeared?
What if she had been taken?
A gust of cold air rushed through the corridor.
The whispers grew louder.
Then, somewhere deeper in the tunnel—
A footstep.
Slow. Deliberate.
Coming closer.
Samuel grabbed Claire's wrist. "Run."
They turned and bolted back toward the iron door.
The tunnel twisted, the darkness pressing against them. Claire's heart pounded. They had to get out.
Then—
The iron door slammed shut ahead of them.
And in the suffocating silence that followed, a voice echoed from the shadows.
"You should not have come."
To be continued…
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A/N:Next ch tommaro. save this book pls.vote with gems.