The Mind’s Graveyard

The laughter behind the door is wrong.

Not human. Not lizard.

A deep, gurgling mockery of something human.

Jason backed away as the metal door bulged inward. The thing on the other side isn’t trying to break through.. it is playing with them. Testing its strength.

Ryan swallowed hard. “That thing… it used to be a person, didn’t it?”

Elena didn’t answer.

Jason didn’t need her to.

Mia grabbed his arm. “We need to move.”

Jason nodded, forcing himself to focus. “Where’s the control room?”

Elena motioned to the corridor ahead. “Three levels down. But if that thing isn’t the only one left down here…”

Jason finished her thought. “Then we’re running out of time.”

Behind them, the laughter stopped.

Then..

Silence.

Jason’s gut twisted.

That is worse.

Because now, they didn’t know where it is.

⸻

They moved quickly, sticking close together.

The air grew colder as they descended, the facility’s old, rusted walls narrowing around them. The deeper they went, the more Jason felt the weight of something watching.

Ryan whispered, “Feels like we’re in a tomb.”

Jason didn’t argue.

The bodies above had been ripped apart. But the ones down here..

They are lined up.

Some against the walls. Some still strapped to chairs.

One had been arranged sitting at a desk, head tilted, as if pretending to be alive.

Mia tensed. “What the hell are they doing down here?”

Elena’s voice is barely audible. “They aren’t just making weapons. They are making… something else.”

Jason exhaled slowly. And they lost control of it.

They passed an open doorway, and Jason caught something out of the corner of his eye.

A message.. scratched into the wall.

DON’T LOOK AT THEIR EYES

His skin crawled.

“What the hell does that mean?” Ryan asked.

Elena didn’t respond.

Jason forced himself forward. He didn’t want to find out.

⸻

They reached another intersection.

Elena pointed left. “Control room should be this way.”

Mia hesitated. “And what’s down there?” She gestured to the right.

Elena’s face is grim.

“The holding cells.”

Silence.

Ryan took a step back. “Yeah, let’s not go there.”

Jason agreed. But before they could move..

A sound echoed from the hallway.

Not the wet gurgle of the thing they had seen before.

Something… lighter.

Footsteps.

Jason’s pulse spiked. Not running. Not dragging.

Just… walking.

Slow. Steady.

And coming closer.

Elena raised her rifle. Jason tightened his grip on his knife.

Then.. a voice.

Low. Almost human.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Jason’s breath stalled.

The voice came from the darkness ahead.. but the way it spoke wasn’t right.

Too calm. Too controlled.

Mia took a step back. “Jason…”

Then..

It stepped into the light.

Jason’s stomach dropped.

It looked human.

Or at least, it used to be.

The proportions are… off. Its arms slightly too long, its head tilted at an unnatural angle. Its eyes.. black and sunken.. locked onto Jason.

Ryan barely choked out a whisper. “Oh my god.”

Jason didn’t move.

The thing smiled.

It had too many teeth.

The voice came again.. but the lips didn’t move.

“You should have stayed up top.”

Jason lunged.

⸻

Everything happened at once.

Jason slashed with his knife.. but the thing moved. Faster than anything that size should.

Elena fired.. the bullets barely slowed it down.

The creature lunged at Ryan.

Jason grabbed his brother, pulling him back. The thing skidded to a stop, head tilting, watching them.

Studying them.

Mia fired.. a perfect shot to the chest.

The thing staggered.

Jason’s heart pounded.

Then..

It laughed.

Low. Echoing.

Elena hissed. “Run.”

They ran.

Jason grabbed Ryan, hauling him toward the control room. The thing behind them didn’t chase.. not immediately.

It let them run.

Like it wanted to see where they are going.

⸻

They reached the final door.

Elena punched the control panel. Nothing.

Mia cursed. “It’s locked?”

Ryan turned, his breath ragged. “That thing.. where is it?”

Jason turned back down the hall.

Empty.

That is worse.

Much, much worse.

Elena checked the panel again. “It’s on backup power. I can hotwire it, but it’ll take time.”

Jason wiped sweat from his forehead. They didn’t have time.

Then..

A whisper.

Close.

Ryan’s body locked up. “Jason… it’s here.”

Jason turned..

And saw its face staring at them from the darkness.

It isn’t running.

It isn’t attacking.

It just stood there. Watching.

Like it is waiting for something.

Jason’s breath came shallow.

Then..

It spoke.

But this time, it isn’t its own voice.

It is… his mother’s.

“Jason,” it whispered. “Come here.”

Jason froze.

His mind snapped back to another time, another place.

The sound of his mother calling him for dinner.

The warmth of her voice.

Ryan grabbed his wrist. “Jason. It’s messing with you.”

Jason’s vision blurred.

The thing in the dark tilted its head.

And smiled.

Because it knew.

It knew what Jason is thinking.

It had been inside his head.

And now..

It is inside Ryan’s, too.

Jason’s grip on his knife trembled.

His mother’s voice still echoed in his ears. But it isn’t real.

It couldn’t be real.

Ryan’s fingers dug into his wrist. “Jason, don’t listen.”

Elena is still working on the door’s controls. Her breathing is sharp, controlled. Focused. But Jason saw the slight shake in her hands.

Mia whispered, “It’s not moving.”

She is right.

The creature still stood in the hallway. Watching. Waiting.

Then.. it took a step forward.

Jason’s whole body tensed.

And then..

Another voice.

His father’s.

“Jason,” it whispered from the dark. “Why did you leave us?”

A cold wave crashed over him.

Jason couldn’t breathe.

His father had been gone for years.. but hearing his voice now, so clear, so close…

It isn’t possible.

Ryan shook him. “It’s lying.”

Jason clenched his fists. His heartbeat slammed against his ribs. He forced himself to look at the thing’s face.

It isn’t changing shape. It is still the same stretched, wrong human figure. But the voices..

It is using their voices.

Jason exhaled sharply. It had been inside their heads.

And that meant..

It knew everything.

Mia suddenly lifted her gun. “I don’t care what it’s doing. We need to kill it.”

The creature’s mouth stretched wider. It grinned.

“You can try.”

It charged.

Mia fired.. but it moved like a shadow, twisting unnaturally, dodging every shot.

Elena yanked wires from the door panel. “Hold it off! I just need.. ”

The creature lunged.

Jason threw himself forward.

His knife sliced into its side.

The creature shrieked.

Not in pain.. in amusement.

Then it grabbed Jason’s arm.

And suddenly..

Jason isn’t in the hallway anymore.

⸻

He is home.

The old apartment. The smell of his mother’s cooking, the faint hum of a TV in the background.

He turned..

Ryan sat on the couch. Their father at the table, reading the newspaper.

Jason’s breath caught in his throat.

No.

No, this isn’t real.

But it felt real.

His father lowered the paper, smiling softly. “Son.”

Jason took a step back. “This isn’t real.”

Ryan turned toward him. “Jason, what’s wrong?”

Jason’s pulse thundered.

This isn’t real.

But the walls felt solid. The air is warm.

And when his mother stepped out from the kitchen, her face is exactly how he remembered it.

“Jason,” she said. “Come eat.”

His stomach twisted.

Something isn’t right.

Then..

His mother turned her head too far.

Her neck twisted, stretching. Her mouth split into something too wide.

Jason staggered back.

His father’s smile didn’t change. “Stay with us, son.”

Jason’s breath came shallow.

Then..

A voice cut through the illusion.

“JASON!”

It isn’t his family’s.

It is Ryan’s. The real Ryan.

The memory around him cracked.

Jason ripped free.

⸻

He is back in the hallway.

The creature is still gripping his wrist. Its black eyes bore into him.

Jason shoved his knife into its neck.

It screamed.

Not words.. just raw, mind-breaking noise.

Then it staggered back.

Jason fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

Mia and Ryan pulled him up.

Elena ripped the door open. “MOVE!”

They stumbled inside.

The door slammed shut.

Jason turned, chest heaving.

The creature stood outside, staring at him.

It tilted its head.

And grinned.

“You can’t run forever,” it whispered.

Then.. it faded into the dark.

Jason’s pulse wouldn’t slow down.

He looked at Ryan. His little brother’s face is pale, his breathing uneven.

Jason realized.. he hadn’t been the only one trapped in a false memory.

Ryan’s voice is small. “It is using Mom’s voice.”

Jason swallowed hard. “I know.”

Mia ran a hand through her hair. “What the hell is that thing?”

Elena’s voice is flat. “Not the worst thing we’ll find down here.”

Jason didn’t ask what that meant.

Because he already knew.

They are running out of time.

And this nightmare is just beginning.