Chapter 7 - The Locked Door
Absolute darkness enveloped the guest room like a physical blanket, suffocating and heavy. Sarah let out a sharp cry, her hands frantically searching in the dark until they brushed against Lily’s teal knitted sweater.
"David! Your phone! Turn the light back on!" Sarah shouted, panic overriding her caution.
"It died! The battery just flatlined!" David’s voice came from near the door, accompanied by the sound of him slamming his palm against the wood. "The latch is stuck! It won't budge!"
"Let me help," Sarah said, stepping forward in the pitch black and joining her weight to David’s. Together, they threw their shoulders against the door, but it didn't even rattle. It felt as if it had been welded shut from the outside by an invisible, immovable force.
From the corner of the dark room, a soft, childish giggle echoed—light, melodic, and chillingly close.
Lily didn't cry. Instead, she took a small step away from her parents into the dark room, her voice clear and unafraid.
"I see you hiding over there," Lily said softly to the empty air. "You're behind the old wardrobe."
"Lily, stand still!" David barked in a desperate whisper, abandoning the door to sweep his hands blindly through the dark in the direction of his daughter's voice. His fingers brushed against her sweater just as a brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the room through the window.
For one terrifying second, the flash revealed a small figure standing directly beside the antique wardrobe—a little girl wearing a damp dress, holding a dripping white stuffed bunny, staring straight at Lily with sunken, hollow eyes.
Then darkness returned, heavier than before.
Sarah dropped to her knees, pulling Lily into her arms and burying the little girl's face against her shoulder. "Leave us alone! Whatever you want, just leave my family alone!" she screamed into the dark.
A cold gust of wind swept through the closed room, carrying the scent of river mud, stagnant water, and decaying wood. The music box on the table suddenly popped open again, its haunting lullaby resuming its slow, mechanical rotation without anyone touching it.
David gritted his teeth, abandoning all reason. He stepped back and delivered a brutal kick right beside the brass doorknob. The old wood splintered with a loud crack, and the door burst open, spilling the dim amber light of the hallway back into the room.
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Without a word, David grabbed Sarah’s hand with one arm and scooped Lily up into the other, carrying his daughter's white stuffed bunny tucked securely under his elbow. They bolted down the stairs, bursting into the safety of the illuminated kitchen, only to find the back door standing wide open to the storm.
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