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I hammer on the door, my fists aching. “Help! Someone, please! I’m stuck!”

But there’s no answer. Of course not. Everyone’s gone. I’m alone.

My breaths come faster and faster. I can’t get out.

The room around me dims and shifts, replaced by shadows and dust. An antique sewing machine looms before me, blood clinging to its wheels. The floor creaks under my feet as I take a step back, my heart pounding.

Hide.

Not again. Please, not again.

I squeeze my eyes shut, drawing in deep breaths. I’m not there. That place is gone. I’m in my classroom, and everything is fine.

Everything is fine.

The whirring sound fills my head, and nothing is fine.

Someone hums in the distance.

A pound on the door, and the humming stops.

Be quiet. Don’t come out.

I sink to the floor, hands over my head.Hide. I have to hide. Or the monster will find me like it always does.

The pounding grows louder.

The metallic tang of blood fills my mouth as I bite down harder on my lip. If I make a sound, it will find me. Screams appear on the other side, and a pool of blood fills the room.

Red. Everything is red.

I open my eyes.

Silence.

It’s… gone.

My phone. I grab it from my pocket, fingers shaking so badly it slips from my hands. Shit. Unable to see where it is, I search the ground with my hands and—

Ouch. I snap back, holding in a whimper. Something warm drips down my hand, and the whirring begins in the back of my mind again.

Hide and don’t make a sound. It’s a game, remember?

No. I squeeze my eyes shut. I don’t want to.

My phone buzzes, lighting up, and I snatch it. The bright light stabs at my eyes, but I blink past it as I struggle to unlock the screen, smudging it with blood.

Barely seeing through the tears that gathered in my eyes, I tap on the notification and start typing.

A knock sounds at the door, and I freeze. Is it real, or is it my imagination?

Another knock. “Hello? Somebody in there?” A female voice calls from outside.

Relief floods me, and I scramble to the door. “Yes. Please. I’m in here.”

The door swings open, and I stumble out, gulping and blinking as my eyes adjust to the brightness.

A blonde girl stands beside me. “Are you okay?”

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