What Lurks in Silence

"..."

No… one?

Behind the door, the house was empty. No figures waiting, no ambush in the shadows. I had braced myself for something terrible, but instead, there was nothing.

Eventually, Karen and I caught up to Alice, who stood hesitating at the entrance. Together, we stepped inside. Candles flickered along the hall, their flames casting long shadows across the gold-plated handrails of the staircase and glinting off the marbled floor. The upstairs remained cloaked in darkness, as did the living room to the left, the riskiest place of all, and the kitchen to the right.

Alice and Karen both sighed in relief, but unease gnawed at me. It felt too perfect, too carefully arranged. Surely something was lurking here.

"!"

“Grandma? Father? We’ve returned!” Alice called out, her voice carrying far louder than I had wished for. “Are you here?”

“Alice!” I hissed, my tone sharp with warning.

She flinched, then offered a sheepish smile. “S-sorry, Elias.”

“But it should be fine now, shouldn’t it?” Karen asked, tilting her head, curiosity outweighing her worry.

I narrowed my eyes. “If that’s true… then who could have possibly lit these candles?”

The three of us fell silent, staring blankly at the flickering lights.

“Surely, it must have been Grandmother or Father,” Alice reasoned.

“But they’re not here,” I countered.

“Then perhaps they stepped out, or maybe they’re upstairs and simply didn’t hear us.” Alice’s voice trembled slightly as she continued.

Karen turned to me. “What should we do, Elias?”

"..."

I exhaled slowly, thinking hard.

“Alright. Let’s head to the kitchen. We’ll avoid the upstairs and stay away from the living room. Standing here in the open may be equally worse.”

Alice frowned. “I understand about upstairs, it’s pitch black, but why not the living room? And why the—”

“That’s where it is!” The words tore out of me before I could stop them. I clenched my fists. “Or… at least that’s where I saw it.” Catching myself, I lowered my voice. “…Sorry for shouting.”

“No, it’s fine,” Alice said quickly, shaking her head. “Then let us head to the kitchen.”

She took the lead toward the darkened right corridor. It was still a risk, but the least risky of the other options.

The moment Alice stepped into the kitchen, the shadows swallowed her whole. It was as if she had been erased, her figure, her sound, even the soft patter of her steps vanished completely.

"..."

“Alice!?” I called, with unease prickling down my spine.

There was... no answer.

“Alice!”

Still nothing.

"ALICE!!"

My voice echoed uselessly against the walls. Karen clutched at my sleeve, her eyes wide with fear, her grip trembling.

“Karen… wait here,” I urged, trying to step forward alone. But her hands tightened around me, desperate.

“No! Don’t leave me, Elias… don’t.” Her voice was fragile, breaking with fear.

She was right. If I left her behind, she could disappear too.

“…Alright. But stay close behind me, no matter what.”

Karen nodded, though her steps were timid. Together we entered the darkness, with me leading, her just a breath away.

The further we went, the thicker the shadows grew, swallowing every trace of light. The silence pressed down, suffocating.

“Alice…?” My voice was weak, uncertain.

No response.

I turned my head slightly, checking for Karen. But…

Her grip was gone.

"..."

She had vanished, as panic surged through me.

“Karen!? Karen!” I stumbled forward blindly, hands outstretched, clawing at the air as though I could pull her back from the void.

But there was nothing. No warmth. No touch.

I spun and tried to retreat, to run back toward the light outside, but the threshold rejected me. I struck against it as though against an invisible wall, rebounding into the suffocating dark. I could still see the glow of safety just beyond, but Karen was nowhere in sight.

“...”

I was trapped.

"..."

Then a thought struck me, I had forgotten that we were in the kitchen, a place where the matches were kept. And based on the previous iteration, I knew more or less where they were. I stumbled toward the counter, desperately searching until my fingers brushed the small box. A wave of relief washed over me the moment I felt it in my hand.

I struck the first match against the rough strip in panic.

Nothing.

Again.

And again.

Finally, after what felt like endless tries, perhaps more from my trembling nerves than the matches themselves, a tiny flame flared to life. The dim light pushed back the darkness just enough to reveal the kitchen utensils lined neatly where they should be. Nothing unusual. Nothing threatening.

But behind me…

I slowly turned, extending the trembling match toward the suffocating dark.

"..."

The flame quivered. My knees slightly buckled, almost collapsing.

"..."

Before me loomed a hideous creature, nearly nine feet tall, its head brushing the ceiling. Its flesh was ghastly pale, tinged with bluish veins. Two bulging eyes stared without blinking, above a flat nose and a grotesque grin, a lipless mouth stretched wide to reveal row upon row of jagged teeth. A curtain of matted hair dangled down to its lower half. Six arms jutted from its body: the upper pair disturbingly humanlike, while the lower ones tapered into long, blade-like appendages.

And impaled upon those knives...

Alice.

Karen.

Or rather… their severed heads.

Their bodies were gone, the fresh stumps dripping, the silence so sharp that I could hear every drop spattering against the floor.

No.

No, no, no…

“Alice! Karen!” I screamed, my voice breaking as I fell to my knees. Tears blurred the horrifying sight, but the nightmare did not fade. The creature let out a guttural, mocking sound, a laugh twisted into a shriek.

It stepped closer. One blade-arm extended forward as if to offer me the heads, rocking them slightly as if they were toys.

“No! Get away from me! Get away!” I scrambled backwards, clutching the burning match like it was my last defence.

The flame sputtered.

And died.

"..."

Darkness swallowed me whole.

I felt my body go limp, my head sinking to the floor, as the creature howled with glee over its hunt.