The message written on the wall remained there even after everyone had stepped away from it. Nobody wanted to touch it, and nobody wanted to admit what they were thinking, but the meaning behind those words was impossible to ignore. The hotel was not simply trapping them inside anymore. It was communicating with them. It wanted them to know that it was aware of their presence, aware of their number, and aware of what had already happened. The words “SIX REMAIN” felt less like a warning and more like a promise. Blackthorn Hotel had taken Daniel, and now it was reminding them that there were still more people left inside its walls. For several minutes, the six friends stood together in silence, each of them dealing with fear in their own way. Ryan kept looking toward the hallway, as if expecting Daniel to suddenly appear and tell them that everything had been some strange misunderstanding. Emma held onto Lily’s notes tightly, rereading every warning they had found, searching for something they had missed. Noah stood beside the wall, staring at the message with a confused expression because, despite everything he had seen, part of him was still trying to understand how something like this could happen. Alex, however, looked different from the others. He was no longer looking for an explanation. He was thinking about Daniel. He was thinking about the moment they entered the hotel together, the jokes they made, and the confidence they had that they would solve the mystery and leave safely. Now one of them was missing. And the rest of them were trapped. Mia noticed Alex’s expression and understood what he was feeling. Everyone blamed themselves in some way. They all believed that if they had reacted differently, Daniel might still be with them. Maybe if they had stopped him from leaving the living room. Maybe if they had followed him sooner. Maybe if they had never entered Blackthorn Hotel at all. But Mia knew the hotel was exactly what Elena had warned them about. It did not need to force people. It waited until someone made a choice, and then it used that choice against them. They gathered everything they had discovered and decided their next step was to find more of Elena’s writings. If she had managed to survive inside the hotel long enough to understand what was happening, then there had to be more clues hidden somewhere. They could not fight something they did not understand. The problem was that every part of the hotel seemed designed to confuse them. The hallways they had walked through earlier no longer looked the same. Paintings had moved from one wall to another. Doors that had been locked before were now slightly open, revealing rooms filled with darkness. The building felt like it was rearranging itself around them, almost as if it was creating a path for them to follow. As they explored deeper into the hotel, they discovered an old office that was hidden behind a damaged wooden door. Inside, they found boxes filled with documents from when Blackthorn Hotel was still operating. There were guest records, employee reports, and old newspaper articles that had never been released to the public. Lily immediately began searching through everything, hoping to find something connected to Elena or Room 13. After several minutes, she discovered a folder that contained reports from the final days before the hotel was abandoned. The information inside made everyone uncomfortable. The disappearances had not started suddenly. They had started slowly. First, guests complained about hearing voices. Then workers began reporting strange events. After that, people started disappearing. But what frightened them most was the pattern. The people who vanished were not random. Each person had a reason to enter certain areas of the hotel. Some followed sounds. Some followed voices. Some believed they were helping someone. The hotel never chased them. It invited them. While Lily continued reading, Ryan wandered around the office, looking at the old shelves and forgotten belongings. He was trying to distract himself because standing still inside the hotel made his thoughts worse. Every shadow seemed suspicious. Every sound made him turn around. He hated admitting that he was scared, especially because he had always been the person who encouraged everyone to continue exploring. Then he noticed something. A photograph. It was lying inside one of the drawers, covered by years of dust. Ryan picked it up and wiped the surface clean. The photograph showed the inside of Blackthorn Hotel many years ago. Employees stood together in the lobby, smiling for the camera. Behind them was the staircase leading to the upper floors. Ryan almost put the picture down. Then he noticed something strange. In the background of the photograph, standing near the staircase, was a person who should not have been there. A person who looked exactly like Daniel. But the photograph was taken decades before Daniel was born. Ryan stared at it, confused and frightened. “Guys…” Everyone turned toward him. He slowly held up the photograph. Nobody spoke. Because they all saw it. The person standing in the background looked like Daniel. Same face. Same expression. Same eyes. Before anyone could understand what they were seeing, the lights inside the office suddenly went out. The darkness surrounded them instantly, and everyone grabbed onto each other, trying not to panic. They could hear movement outside the room, slow footsteps passing through the hallway. Someone was walking. Everyone stayed completely still. The footsteps stopped outside the door. Then they heard a voice. “Ryan?” Ryan froze. Because it was Daniel’s voice. His best friend’s voice. Calling his name. The others immediately looked at him, remembering Elena’s warning. Do not answer. Do not follow. Do not believe. Ryan looked toward the door, his expression filled with confusion and fear. He wanted to believe it was Daniel. He wanted to believe that somehow Daniel had escaped and was waiting outside. But deep down, he knew. Daniel was not outside. Something else was. The voice called again. “Ryan… please open the door.” The handle slowly moved. Everyone backed away. And in that moment, they understood something terrifying. The hotel was not just taking people. It was learning how to bring them closer.

Chapter 9: The Seven Become Six