The first thing the seven friends noticed when they stood in front of Blackthorn Hotel was how quiet the place was. It was not the peaceful kind of silence that came from being surrounded by nature. It was the kind of silence that felt unnatural, as if the entire forest surrounding the building had become still for a reason. The trees moved slightly in the cold wind, their branches brushing against each other, but even the sounds of nature seemed distant from the abandoned hotel standing in front of them. Nobody spoke for a while. They had all imagined this moment differently. They thought they would arrive laughing, making jokes about ghosts, and feeling proud that they were brave enough to explore a place everyone else feared. But now that they were actually standing there, looking at the enormous building hidden deep inside the forest, the excitement they had felt earlier had been replaced by a strange feeling they could not describe. Blackthorn Hotel looked like it had been waiting for them. The entrance was covered with old vines that had grown around the stone walls. The large windows that once showed beautiful views of the forest were now cracked and covered with layers of dust. The sign above the entrance was almost impossible to read because years of rain and weather had damaged the letters. Yet despite being abandoned for so long, the building still carried a strange sense of importance, almost like it was not a forgotten place but a place that had chosen to remain hidden. Ryan stepped forward first, trying to bring back the confidence they had earlier. “Well, we came all this way,” he said, looking back at the others with a small smile. “We can’t just stand outside all night.” Everyone knew he was trying to make the situation feel less frightening. Alex smiled slightly, but even he could not ignore the feeling in his chest. He had dreamed about discovering Blackthorn Hotel for weeks. He had imagined finding hidden rooms, old documents, and forgotten secrets. But he had never imagined that the building itself would feel like it was watching them. Daniel lifted his camera and started recording. “Blackthorn Hotel,” he said quietly into the camera. “The place that disappeared from history. The place where Room 13 was supposedly discovered.” He turned the camera toward his friends. “Seven people entering a place nobody has entered for years.” Noah rolled his eyes slightly. “Don’t make it sound like we’re already in a horror movie.” Daniel laughed. “Maybe we are.” Nobody knew that those words would become something they remembered forever. The entrance doors opened with a loud creaking sound when Alex pushed against them. The noise travelled through the empty lobby, echoing through the enormous building before slowly fading away. Everyone stopped for a moment, listening to the sound disappear deeper into the hotel. Inside, the lobby was even more impressive and terrifying than they expected. The ceiling was incredibly high, with a large chandelier hanging above them. Many of the crystals were broken, and thick layers of dust covered everything. Old chairs and tables remained where guests had once sat, but now they looked like forgotten objects from another lifetime. A large staircase stood in the centre of the room, leading toward the upper floors where hundreds of rooms waited in darkness. The hotel looked frozen. Almost as if everyone had left suddenly. Lily walked slowly around the room, studying everything carefully. “This place was supposed to be closed for decades,” she whispered. Mia looked at her. “What?” Lily pointed toward the furniture. “Look at this. Everything is still here. Usually abandoned buildings are emptied before they’re closed. But this place…” She looked around. “It’s like people left and never came back.” The group became quiet again. Because that was exactly what happened. People entered Blackthorn Hotel. And they never came back. They spent the next few hours exploring the first floor. Their original plan was simple: search the hotel, find information about Room 13, document everything, and leave before sunrise. At first, the exploration seemed normal. They found old guest rooms, abandoned offices, and storage areas filled with forgotten objects. But the deeper they went, the stranger the hotel became. Some rooms looked untouched. Others looked like someone had searched through them. In one room, Mia found an old photograph lying on a table. It showed the hotel when it was still open. Hundreds of people stood outside, smiling and enjoying their time there. She looked closely. Then she noticed something. One person in the background had been scratched out. Not accidentally. Someone had deliberately removed them. “Mia?” Alex called. She quickly put the photograph away. “What is it?” She looked back at the picture. “Nothing.” But she knew it was not nothing. As evening turned into night, the group finally reached the hallway where Room 13 was supposed to be located. According to the old records Lily had found, Room 12 was the last room on that floor. And after that… Room 13. They walked slowly down the hallway. Room 10. Room 11. Room 12. Everyone stopped. The next place should have contained Room 13. But there was only a wall. An ordinary wall. No door. No number. Nothing. Ryan looked confused. “So that’s it?” Noah immediately looked relieved. “Maybe the whole story was fake.” But Mia did not move. She stared at the wall. Something about it felt wrong. The wallpaper looked newer than the rest of the hallway. The wall itself looked slightly different, almost like it had been built to hide something. Then suddenly… A sound came from behind it. A quiet sound. A whisper. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. Because they all heard the same thing. A girl’s voice. “Help me…”

Chapter 4: The Hotel With Two Hundred Rooms