Chapter 1 - The First Shiver
The storm pressed hard against the glass of the living room window. Outside, the world was a blur of slate gray and rushing water. Seven-year-old Lily stood on her tiptoes, her small fingers pressing into the cold pane. In her right hand, she clutched her favorite stuffed white bunny close to her chest. Her long light brown hair fell over the shoulders of her teal knit sweater as she pointed a trembling finger toward the darkness beyond the swollen creek.
Mommy, there's a little girl in that house, Lily whispered softly, her big blue eyes wide with a quiet, inexplicable dread.
Clara paused by the kitchen counter, her burgundy cardigan shifting as she turned. She wiped her hands on a dish towel and walked over to where her daughter stood. Through the rain-streaked window, an abandoned, waterlogged house stood in the distance, its rotting timber skeletal against the howling night. A pale figure flickered in the upper window, barely visible behind the grime. Clara felt a cold knot twist in her stomach.
Ethan, come look at this, Clara called out, her voice tight with sudden unease.
Ethan stepped out from the hallway, his dark green sweater pulled neatly over a plaid shirt. He frowned at the urgency in his wife’s voice and walked toward the glass. He squinted through the distorted glass, his jaw tightening as he registered the dilapidated structure across the rising water. He crossed his arms over his chest, his expression hardening into one of absolute disbelief and skepticism.
That house is empty. It's been abandoned for eighteen years, Ethan stated, his tone flat, attempting to dismiss the chill in the room.
Lily lowered her gaze from the terrifying distance. She looked down at the soft, worn fabric of the stuffed white bunny clutched tightly in her arms. A heavy, suffocating realization settled over her young mind as she remembered the pale figure holding a matching silhouette in the window across the creek.
Mommy... she has my bunny, Lily murmured, her voice cracking with terror.
May you like
Ethan stared out the window, his breath catching in his throat as a sudden flash of lightning illuminated the dark, flooded landscape with blinding clarity. His face widened in sheer terror, his eyes bulging in shock as he saw the exact duplicate of his daughter's toy pressed against the glass across the water.
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