The journey back toward Room 13 felt different from the first time they had walked through those hallways. Before, they had been searching for a mystery. They had been curious, excited, and almost proud that they were the ones who had discovered what countless people before them had failed to find. But now, every step toward that hidden door felt like they were walking deeper into something they should have never disturbed. The hotel was quiet around them, but it was not the peaceful silence of an abandoned building. It was the silence of something watching, something waiting for the exact moment they would make their next move. Alex and Mia followed the old map they had found underground, though even the map seemed unreliable. The hallways of Blackthorn Hotel continued changing, twisting into different paths than the ones shown on the paper. Doors appeared where there should have been walls, and rooms that once existed were suddenly gone. It felt as if the hotel itself did not want them to reach Room 13, but at the same time, it was guiding them there. Because the hotel knew something they did not. Room 13 was not just a room. It was the centre of everything. As they moved through the second floor, they finally heard something that made them stop. Voices. Not whispers. Real voices. At first, Alex thought it was another trick from the hotel. After everything they had experienced, trusting any sound inside Blackthorn Hotel felt impossible. But then Mia heard something familiar. Her name. Someone was calling her. They followed the voice carefully, keeping their distance from every open doorway. Eventually, they reached an old storage room hidden behind a damaged wall. The door was slightly open, and inside they found something they never expected. Noah. Emma. Lily. They were alive. For a moment, nobody moved because they were unsure if what they were seeing was real. After losing so many of their friends, seeing the remaining members of their group standing in front of them felt almost impossible. Mia immediately ran toward Lily, asking what happened and where they had been, while Alex helped Noah and Emma out of the room. The three explained that after they separated, the hotel had changed the paths around them. They had searched different sections of the building but eventually found themselves trapped in the underground area. They discovered the hidden notes and learned more about Room 13, but every time they tried to return, the hotel moved the hallways and forced them into different directions. Then they found the storage room. And inside, they discovered something terrifying. The room was filled with belongings from previous visitors. Cameras. Bags. Journals. Objects belonging to people who had entered Blackthorn Hotel and never returned. The hotel had been collecting pieces of everyone who disappeared. Not because it needed them. Because it remembered them. The group reunited, but their relief did not last long. They knew they were still trapped, and they knew the hotel was not finished with them. Lily showed them the notes she had found underground, explaining that Room 13 was not the source of the evil inside the hotel. It was a prison created to contain whatever had been trapped there. But something had changed. When they opened the door earlier, they had weakened whatever was inside. And now the hotel was trying to break the last remaining barrier. Emma looked worried. “So how do we stop it?” Nobody answered. Because the truth was terrifying. They did not know. The only clue they had was the message from the person who escaped before. Enter Room 13 only when you are ready to leave something behind. But what did that mean? What did they have to leave behind? A memory? An object? A person? They decided their only option was to search for another way out before returning to Room 13. If there was another entrance, another hidden passage, or another explanation, they needed to find it before making their final choice. The six friends moved together through the lower floors, refusing to separate again. They checked every room they passed, searching for anything that could help them escape. The hotel seemed almost angry that they were staying together. The whispers became louder. The doors began opening and closing on their own. The voices started calling their names from different directions. But this time, nobody answered. They had learned. They had finally understood the rules. While searching an old hallway filled with broken furniture, Noah noticed something strange. A large cardboard box was sitting in the corner. It looked completely ordinary. Almost too ordinary. In a hotel filled with impossible things, something normal felt suspicious. Noah approached it carefully. “Maybe there’s something inside,” he said. The others warned him to wait, but Noah carefully lifted the cardboard cover. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the inside of the box moved. Not slightly. Not from the wind. Something inside moved. Everyone froze. Noah slowly stepped back. “What is that?” Before anyone could answer, Ryan’s voice came from inside. “Noah…” Everyone stopped breathing. Ryan. It was Ryan’s voice. The missing friend they thought was gone. The voice sounded weak. Scared. Real. Noah immediately leaned closer, believing Ryan was trapped inside. “Ryan?” The moment he looked inside… Something grabbed him. Everything happened too quickly. Noah was pulled forward, disappearing into the darkness inside the box. Emma screamed and grabbed his arm, but she could not hold on. The cardboard box slammed shut by itself, and the sound echoed through the hallway. Everyone stood frozen. They had lost another person. The hotel had taken Noah. Panic finally took over. They ran. They did not stop. They did not look back. They moved through the hallways as quickly as they could, following the only place they knew mattered. Room 13. Because now they understood. The hotel was not going to let them search for an escape. It was hunting them. And the only place where they could find the truth was the place where everything began. When they reached the hallway, the door was already open. Room 13 was waiting. But this time, something was different. Inside the room, written across the wall in Elena’s handwriting, was a message they had never seen before. A message that explained why the hotel had chosen them. A message that revealed the truth about what happened to everyone who disappeared. Mia slowly stepped closer. And read the words. “THE FIRST PERSON WHO ENTERED THIS ROOM WAS NEVER A VICTIM.”

Chapter 14: The Door That Should Never Open