Chapter 8: Whispers in the Dark
The echo of the slamming iron door rang through the tunnel, sealingClaire and Samuelinside. Their breath came in ragged gasps as silence wrapped around them like a suffocating shroud.
Clairetightened her grip on the flashlight, its beam flickering against the damp stone walls. A slow, deliberate footstep echoed from the darkness behind them.
Someone—or something—was here.
Samuel's voice was barely a whisper. "Did you hear that?"
Claire swallowed, forcing herself to stay calm. "We need to find another way out."
They turned away from the door, pressing deeper into the tunnel. The air grew colder, thick with the scent of damp earth and something more—something old, metallic, like rusted iron. The passage twisted sharply, opening into a small chamber lined with rotting wooden shelves.
Claire's flashlight skimmed over the crumbling books and glass bottles, before settling on something that made her stomach clench.
A diary.
Again??
It lay on a wooden crate, its cover cracked with age, the initials E.B. etched into the leather.
Claire's heart pounded. "Eleanor Blackwood."
Samuel hovered behind her as she reached for the book. The moment her fingers touched the worn leather, a whisper rustled through the chamber, as if the very walls were exhaling.
"You shouldn't be here."
Claire's blood ran cold. "Did you hear that?"
Samuel gave a shaky nod. "Loud and clear."
Claire flipped open the diary, her fingers trembling as she scanned the faded ink.
***June 3, 1892***
***"I know now that they mean to keep me here. The rituals, the secrets—Blackwood Manor was never just a home. It was a prison, and I am its prisoner. But I will not stay. Tonight, I escape."***
The next page was smudged, as though someone had gripped it with shaking hands.
***June 4, 1892***
***"I failed. They found me before I could reach the passage. They took me back. But something is different now… something in the dark is watching me. Waiting."***
A chill crept up Claire's spine. The final page was torn, only a single phrase remaining.
"I am still here."
A low creak sounded from the passage behind them.
Claire spun, her flashlight catching a shadow shifting in the doorway.
Samuel stumbled back. "We need to leave. Now."
Claire tucked the diary under her arm, nodding. They had to keep moving.
The passage twisted downward, the air thickening with each step. The stone beneath their feet felt unstable, as if the earth itself resisted their presence.
Then, Claire's flashlight flickered.
And in the heartbeat of darkness, she saw it.
A figure—tall, draped in tattered black robes, its face obscured. Watching.
The light returned, and the figure was gone.
Claire's breath hitched. "Samuel—"
Then the ground gave way beneath them.
They fell.
Dust and debris exploded around them as they tumbled into an underground chamber, the impact knocking the air from Claire's lungs. Samuel groaned beside her.
Above, the tunnel entrance had collapsed.
They were trapped.
Clairecoughed, pushing herself upright. The chamber was massive, the walls carved with strange symbols, candles still burning along the edges.
And in the center—
A stone altar.
Samuel staggered to his feet. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."
Claire stepped closer, her pulse hammering. The surface was stained dark. Old. Blood.
The whispers returned, circling them like a breath of wind.
"The offering failed."
Samuel shuddered. "Claire… this isn't just a crypt. It's a sacrificial chamber."
Claire's hands clenched around Eleanor'sdiary. This was where she had been brought.
And something told her… she had never left.
A shadow shifted at the far end of the chamber.
Then, the candles flickered—one by one—going out.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
And the whispers turned to screams.
To be continued…
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A/N:Next ch tommaro. save this book pls.vote with gems.