The whisper in the darkness made everyone freeze.
The house was now completely silent. The lantern outside had stopped flickering, and the only sound they could hear was their own breathing.
"What… what do you mean?" one of the friends asked nervously.
No one answered.
Slowly, one of them took out her phone and turned on the flashlight.
The small beam of light spread across the dusty room.
One by one, their faces became visible in the light.
They all looked terrified.
But something felt wrong.
The friend holding the phone slowly counted them.
"One… two… three…"
Her voice suddenly stopped.
Her eyes widened in horror.
"There are… five of us."
Everyone looked around in shock.
There were supposed to be only four friends.
But now… five figures were standing in the room.
The fifth person was standing quietly in the corner.
Not moving.
Not speaking.
Just watching them.
The phone light slowly moved toward the figure's face.
And when the light finally reached it…
All four friends screamed.
Because the face of the fifth person looked exactly like one of them.The four friends screamed and stepped back in terror.
The fifth figure in the corner slowly lifted its head. Its face looked exactly like their friend, but its eyes were strangely empty.
"Stay away from it!" one of them shouted.
The girl with the phone quickly pointed the light at the floor, trying not to look at the creature's face.
Suddenly, the shadowy figure began walking toward them.
Step… step… step…
The sound echoed through the silent house.
"Run!" the driver shouted.
The four friends rushed toward the back of the room, searching for another way out.
While running, one of them accidentally pushed against an old wooden shelf.
CRACK!
The shelf moved slightly… revealing a narrow door hidden behind it.
"Look! There's a door!" one friend shouted.
Without thinking, they quickly opened it and ran inside.
The moment they entered, they slammed the door shut behind them.
The room was small, dark, and filled with dust.
It looked like no one had entered it for many years.
Old papers were scattered everywhere, and strange symbols were drawn on the walls.
In the middle of the room stood an old wooden table.
On the table lay a torn map of the forest.
One friend picked it up and looked closely.
Her hands began to shake.
"This map… it shows something hidden deep inside the forest."
"What is it?" the others asked nervously.
She pointed to a dark mark on the map.
Under it, someone had written a warning:
"The Heart of the Forest — The place where the curse began."
Suddenly…
BANG!
Something hit the door from the outside.
To be continued....