“There,” Levi lets out a sigh of relief at the broken plate on a door. “‘Re..ooms’. Fuck me, it’s creepy as hell, but at least I can piss.”
Inside, toilets stand in a long row, the chipboard separations mostly crumbled or left with big holes.
My hands are getting tired so I stop recording and leave the camera on my chest.
“Look through the cabinet mirror,” Lea murmurs in awe. “You can see all the way to the end of the corridor and through the window. See the dark forest through the glass?”
I glance through them. “Wow, that’s…pretty?” And creepy. The view is eerily clear since the full moon lights the outline of the trees and…
A face.
My heart stutters in my ribcage, and I blink, then blink again.
Someone’s standing there, right in front of the window. He’s blanketed in an obsidian, golden glow and has light hair and eyes dark as the night. And he’s staring right at me.
Am I—am I going crazy?
“It’s not real,” I mutter to myself. “It’s not real.” But my eyes burn with trepidation.
Fumbling with my camera, I put it to my face and press record. Whoever he is, I will have him on camera.
If he’s really here.
Then the guy smiles. Right in the fucking camera.
And starts walking my way.
“Do you see that?” I hiss at my future audience. “There’s someone there. Someone—” I lower the camera. I can’t say the words.
He is coming my way.
A hand on my shoulder makes me jump.
“Jeez, buddy, calm down.” Levi shakes his head, laughing. “You’re freaking out.”
Lea leaves the closest toilet. “Okay, that wasn’t that bad. If you’re into filthy, old toilets with color-stained walls on which things are written and…what?” She stares at me, eyes widening. “Finn, what’s going on, sweety? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“There’s someone out there,” I whisper. My skin crawls, anxiety shooting through my veins. “I s-saw him. And he’s coming this way.”
3
FINN
“Finn.Finn.” Lea shakes me, eyes wide with worry. “Calm down. Just take in a deep breath.”
“He’s coming…I saw him—” I inhale through a rattling ribcage, eyes darting towards the open door. Why is it still open? We need to close it. Need to?—
“Let me go and check.” Levi walks out. My eyes close shut in horror, and if I try hard enough, I can imagine his cries in my mind. His blood smeared all across the walls…
“Finn.” Lea tilts my chin her way. I blink. “Look at me. Breathe in and breathe out. Again.”
I do as she says, but my eyes can’t stop tracing Levi’s flashlight.
“Where did you see this person?” He asks, facing the gardens. My heart thunders in my chest. “Or that way?”
“He was right there,” I whisper faintly. "By the window.”
“Well…it looks like your ghost has vanished.” I catch the humor in his voice.