Beneath The Floor

After What Happened That Night. Vance Did Not Sleep.

At Dawn, He Returned to The Mansion with Margaret’s Ledger, Clara’s Notebook, And A Small Recorder.

He Needed Evidence.

He Needed the Truth.

Most Of All, He Needed to Know Whether His Sister Was Alive.

The Basement Door Was Hidden Behind a Bookshelf in The Library. He Found It by Following a Trail of Muddy Footprints That Ended at The Wall.

Behind The Shelf Was a Narrow Staircase Descending into Darkness.

The Air Grew Colder with Every Step.

At The Bottom, He Found a Long Stone Corridor Lined with Locked Doors. Their Surfaces Were Covered in Names, Dates, And Strange Symbols.

He Recognized Some of The Names from The Ledger.

People Who Had Supposedly Died Decades Ago.

People Who Had Supposedly Moved Away.

People Who Had Supposedly Never Existed.

At The End of The Corridor Stood a Black Iron Door.

The Words Carved Above It Read:

What Is Lost Must Be Remembered.

Vance Tried the Handle.

It Opened.

Beyond It Lay a Chamber Much Larger Than the Mansion’s Foundation Should Have Allowed. Its Ceiling Disappeared into Darkness. Hundreds Of Photographs Covered the Walls, And Candles Burned Along the Edges of a Circular Pit.

The Pit Was Filled with Water.

At Its Center Stood a Wooden Chair.

Someone Was Sitting in It.

A Man in A Bloodstained Shirt.

Adrian Vale.

Vance Stopped Breathing.

His Father Looked Exactly as He Had on The Night of The Tragedy, His Hair Dark, His Face Exhausted.

“Son,” Adrian Spoke in A Low Voice.

Vance Raised the Recorder.

“Are You Real?” Vance Said with Doubt in His Voice.

His Father Smiled.

Vance Felt Chills Run Down His Spine.

“Does It Matter?” His Father Stared at Him Straight in His Eyes.

“Where Is My Mother?” He Said, Holding the Recorder Tightly in His Hands.

“Waiting.”

“My Sister?”

“Waiting.”

“What Happened That Night?” He Asked, Anticipating His Father’s Answer, While His Heart Beat Fast as If He Were Running.

Adrian Looked Down at The Water.

“I Made a Mistake.” His Father Answered Blankly.

“You Murdered Them?” He Said, Staring Daggers at His Father’s Exhausted Face.

“No.”

His Father’s Answer Came Too Quickly.

Vance Stepped Closer.

“Then Tell Me the Truth.”

Adrian Closed His Eyes.

“I Opened the Door.”’

He Explained That He Had Discovered the Chamber While Investigating the Disappearance of a Patient. Beneath The Mansion, He Found a Place Where Voices Seemed to Echo from Years That Had Already Passed.

He Believed That the Chamber Preserved Memories.

He Believed He Could Use It to Speak to The Dead.

But The First Time He Heard His Mother’s Voice, He Had Understood Too Late That It Was Not His Mother.

It Knew Things No Stranger Could Have Known.

And It Wanted Something in Exchange.

“A Life,” Vance Whispered.

Adrian Nodded.

“The Village Had Been Feeding It for Generations. Not Always with Blood. Sometimes With Silence. Sometimes With Lies. People Disappeared, And Everyone Agreed to Forget Them. The House Grew Stronger Every Time We Chose Not to Look.”

“Then Why Did It Take Our Family?” Vance Said in Frustration.

“Because I Refused to Pay What It Demanded. I Believed I Could Trick It. I Believed I Could Bring My Mother Back Without Sacrificing Anyone.”

Adrian Looked at Him.

“It Chose Your Sister.”

Vance Felt the Chamber Tilt Around Him.

“No.” Vance Shaked His Head in Disbelief.
“Clara Heard the Voice Before the Rest of Us. She Understood What It Was. She Tried to Stop Me”

“No, That’s a Lie.” He Said in Anger

“Your Mother Tried to Save Her. I Tried to Close the Door. But The House Had Already Learned Our Faces.”

Vance Grabbed the Edge of The Pit.

“What Happened to Them?” His Jaws Tightened.

Adrian’s Face Crumpled.

“I Don’t Know If the Things You See Are Truly Your Family. I Don’t Know If Any Part of Them Survived. I Only Know That the House Keeps Their Memories and Uses Them to Lure People Inside.” His Father Said in Exhaustion.

“Then What Are You?”

His Father Looked Up.

For A Moment. His Expression Became Unfamiliar.

Too Still.

Too Pleased.

“I’m What Remains.” He Smiled and Stared at Him.

Vance Flinched and Backed Away. He Could Feel the Cold Air Around Them Sending Chills into His Entire Being.

Adrian Rose From the Chair.

Water Dripped from His Clothes, Though the Chair and Floor Were Dry.

“Listen To Me.” He Spoke. “You Can Still Leave. Forget This Place. Forget Your Sister.” The Man Said as If Mocking Him for Coming Back.

Vance Drew the Pocketknife from His Coat.

“I Spent Twenty Years Forgetting,” Vance Shouted in Anger. Pointing His Pocketknife at His Father.

His Father’s Smile Widened.

“Then You Understand Why I Want You to Stay.”

His Father Walked Towards Him Slowly.

The Candles Went Out.

In The Darkness, Something Seized Vance’s Wrist.

A Voice Whispered Directly into His Ear.

“Little Brother.”

Vance Stood Frozen; He Knew That Voice.

Clara.

And It Was Coming from Inside the Pit.

Then Everything Went Black.

Chapter Five: The Truth Behind the Door.

Vance Awoke in His Childhood Bedroom.

The Window Was Gone.

Instead, He Stood in A Perfect Replica of The Dining Room, With the Family Seated Around the Table.

His Mother Played with A Fork. His Father Read a Newspaper. Clara Sat Beside Him, Twelve Years Old and Smiling.

A Warm Fire Crackled in The Fireplace.

Rain Tapped Gently Against the Windows.

Everything Was Exactly as It Had Been Before the Tragedy.

“You’re Home,” Eleanor Said, Smiling at Him.

Vance Stared at Her.

For Twenty Years, He Had Dreamed of Hearing His Mother’s Voice.
Now That He Could Hear It, He Wanted to Run.

“Is This Real?” Vance Looked Around in Confusion.

She Reached Across the Table and Touched His Cheek.

“Of Course, Darling.”

Her Hand Was Ice-Cold.

Clara Leaned Toward Him.

“Don’t Listen to Them.” She Whispered.

The Room Fell Silent.

His Mother Slowly Turned Her Head.

“What Did You Say, Sweetheart?” She Smile.

Clara’s Smile Vanished.

“Vance, You Need to Wake Up.” His Sister Demanded.

Adrian Put Down the Newspaper.

“Your Sister Has Always Been Difficult.” The Man Said in A Serious Tone.

Vance Stood Abruptly and Slammed the Table.

“You Aren’t My Family.”

His Mother’s Face Twisted with Grief.

“After Everything We Have Done for You?”

“You Aren’t My Family!” He Shouted in Anger.

The Chandelier Began to Sway.

His Father Rose from His Chair, Revealing A Long, Black Shadow That Stretched Across the Floor.

“You Wanted the Truth,” His Father’s Face Darkened. “The Truth Is That You Left Her.” His Father Snickered at Him.

Vance Froze.

The Room Changed.

He Was Eight Again.

The Wardrobe Door Stood Open.

Clara Lay at The Foot of The Stairs, Reaching Toward Him.

“Vance, please!” His Sister Plead, Holding Her Tears Back.

He Remembered.

He Remembered Hearing Her Scream That Night.

He Remembered Opening the Wardrobe.

He Remembered Seeing His Sister Standing at The Top of The Stairs Holding Their Mother’s Hand.

Then A Tall Figure Had Emerged from The Basement.

Its Face Had Been Eleanor’s.

Its Eyes Had Been Completely Black.

Clara Had Pushed Vance into The Wardrobe and Shut the Door.

But Before the Darkness Swallowed the Hallway, Vance Had Done Something He Buried Deep Inside His Mind.

He Had Opened the Wardrobe Again.

He Had Seen Clara Looking Directly at Him.

She Had Mouthed Two Words.

Don’t Follow.

And He Had Obeyed.

He Had Hidden.

He Had Survived.

The Memory Hurt More Than Any Nightmare.

The House Whispered Through the Walls.

“You Left Her.”

Vance’s Knees Weakened.

Clara Stepped Between Him and The Thing Wearing Their Mother’s Face.

“No,” she Said. “He Was a Child.”

Her Voice Was No Longer Frightened.

It Was Furious.

“You Promised Me You Would Tell Him the Truth,” she Said to The Creature.

The Creature’s Smile Disappeared.

Clara Turned to Vance.

“Listen Carefully. Father Opened the Door, But the Village Kept It Open. Everyone Knew People Were Disappearing. They Watched Children Vanish, And They Called It an Accident. They Let the Families Grieve Alone Because They Were Afraid of What Would Happen If They Spoke.”

She Pointed Towards the Fireplace.

Inside The Flames, Vance Saw Dozens of Faces.

Men.

Woman.

Children.

The Missing People of Nokin.

“The House Doesn’t Just Eat People,” Clara Said. “It Eats the Truth. It Makes People Believe That Forgetting Is the Same as Surviving.” She Said with A Sad Voice.

The Creature Suddenly Lunged at Them.
Clara Shoved Vance Backward.

“Find The Original Ledger! It’s Beneath the Church. The Names Are What Bind It Here!”

The Floor Split Open.

Hands Emerged from The Darkness and Seized Clara by The Ankles.
Vance Grabbed Her Wrist.

For One Brief Moment, He Held Her Sister’s Hand.

It Was Warm.

Real.

“Come With Me!” He Screamed, Tears Streaming Down His Face.

Clara Looked at Him with The Same Gentle Smile She Had Worn When She Tucked Him into Bed as A Child.

“I Can’t.”

The Darkness Pulled Her Away.

Her Final Words Followed Him into The Void.

“Remember Us.”

The Room Fell into Silence, And He Was Left Alone.