Something was standing in the doorway.

Not a person. Not a shadow. Not anything that should exist.

It looked like it was forming out of the darkness itself. Its shape flickered, broke apart, then pulled itself back together. Its face — if it could even be called a face — was distorted, like it had been pieced together from чужие memories.

— “I… I know it…” the other whispered, unable to look away.

— “What? No… that’s impossible…”

The thing took a step forward.

The floor didn’t creak.

It made no sound.

And yet, both of them felt a crushing weight press down on their chests. Breathing became almost impossible.

— “Do you remember…” the voice said.

It didn’t come from the room.

It echoed inside their heads.

— “No… no… this can’t be… we forgot… we were supposed to forget…” 😰

The light flickered again.

And for a brief moment, the room changed.

The walls looked old. Burned.

The floor was marked with black stains, like after a fire.

And the smell…

Smoke.

— “Do you feel that?”
— “Yeah… it’s… that day…”

The thing moved closer.

Now they could see its eyes.

Empty.

But inside that emptiness… something moved.

Something alive.

Something calling.

— “You closed the door…” the voice whispered.

And suddenly, they remembered.

That night.

The apartment.

The screams.

The fire.

And the door… the one they really did close.

Someone had been left behind.

— “We… we couldn’t… we were just kids…” his voice broke.

— “You could…” it replied.

And in an instant, it was right in front of them.

Too close.

Unnaturally close.

A freezing cold seeped into their bones.

— “I knocked…”
— “I screamed…”
— “And you… you walked away…”

— “I’M SORRY!” one of them shouted, collapsing to his knees.

But it was too late.

The thing reached out its hand.

And in that moment…

the clock on the wall began ticking backward.

One second.

Two.

Three.

The room started to shift.

As if time itself was tearing apart.

They were back in that corridor.

The door.

The fire behind it.

The screams.

— “No… no, not again…” 😱

— “This time… you won’t leave…” the voice whispered.

The door handle in their hands began to melt from the heat.

On the other side, someone was pounding.

Desperately.

Hard.

And then suddenly…

someone started pounding on the door of the room they were in.

One knock.

Silence.

Another — louder.

They froze.

Slowly turned their heads.

The door the thing had come through…

was closed again.

— “You… you hear that too?” 😨
— “Yeah… but… it’s already inside… so who’s…?”

The knocking grew louder.

And then…

a shadow began to seep under the door.

Alive.

Moving.

Then the voice, right next to them, whispered:

— “Now… there are three of you…”

The light went out.

And in the absolute darkness…

someone took a slow step right behind them.

…To be continued.