It was late at night, and Emily couldn't sleep. She had just moved into an old apartment building with creaky floors and dimly lit hallways. The kind of place where every sound seemed magnified in the silence.
She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, when she heard it—a faint whisper coming from outside her door. At first, she thought it was her imagination or maybe the wind through the cracks. But then it came again, clearer this time: "Emily... come out."
Her heart raced. No one knew her name here except for her landlord, who always called her by her last name. She sat up slowly, clutching the blanket tightly around herself. The whisper didn’t stop; it grew louder, more insistent.
"Emily," it hissed, closer now.
Terrified but curious, she got out of bed and approached the door. Her hand trembled as she turned the doorknob. When she opened the door, there was nothing there—just the empty hallway stretching out before her.
But then she noticed something strange. On the wall across from her door, written in red letters, were two words: "Look closer."
Confused and scared, Emily stepped into the hallway to examine the message. As soon as she did, the lights flickered violently, plunging the corridor into darkness. A cold breeze swept past her, carrying with it a low, guttural growl.
She froze, frozen in fear. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. Turning quickly, she found herself face-to-face with a shadowy figure standing at the far end of the hallway. Its eyes glowed faintly, and its mouth stretched impossibly wide in a grin that wasn’t human.
Before she could scream, the figure raised its hand and pointed directly at her. In that moment, Emily realized the truth: the whispers hadn’t been calling her name—they had been telling her to look closer at herself.
And then everything went black.
When she woke up, she was back in her room, safe in her bed. Or so she thought. As she sat up, trembling, she noticed something different about the room. On her mirror, written in what looked like blood, were those same two words: "Look closer."
