The elevator doors slid open to their floor, and the girls burst out like sprinters at the finish line. Hannah, in her panic, pulled a crumpled pillowcase from her pocket and stuffed herself inside mid-run.
Kate groaned. “Seriously, Hannah? You look like a runaway laundry bag.”
“Camouflage!” Hannah shouted from inside the fabric as she waddled down the hallway.
They didn’t stop until they reached Kate’s flat. With shaking hands, Kate shoved the window open, and the three of them scrambled through, tumbling into her bedroom in a heap. She slammed the window shut, clicked the lock, and yanked the curtains closed with such force they nearly tore off.
Emily collapsed against the wall, panting. “We’re safe. Tell me we’re safe.”
“Safe-ish,” Kate muttered, flicking on every light in the room.
Without another word, the three girls flopped onto the bed, their chests rising and falling like they’d just run a marathon. The room felt warm and normal again, but the silence pressed against their ears like cotton.
Emily curled onto the nearest pillow, squeezing it tight, until the pillow shrieked.
“HEY! GET OFF ME!” Hannah’s muffled voice shouted.
Emily yelped and rolled onto the floor as Hannah kicked her away, hair sticking up like an angry porcupine. “First ghosts, now YOU trying to squash me?!”
Kate cracked a smile despite herself. “Well… at least we know Hannah’s still alive.”
They laughed weakly, the sound hollow compared to earlier.
Minutes later, the door creaked open. Their moms peeked inside, smiling at the chaos. “Girls, it’s late,” Kate’s mom said gently. “Time to call it a night.”
“Sleep tight,” Emily’s mom added, switching off the lights.
The room sank into darkness again as the door clicked shut.
Kate’s breathing steadied, and Hannah rolled onto her side, already mumbling something about popcorn in her sleep. Within minutes, both had drifted away into dreamland.
But Emily lay stiff and wide-eyed, her heart still hammering. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw those distorted faces again, the glowing eyes, the tattered robes, the sound of that laughter scraping at her ears.
She imagined them tearing through the hallway, rushing toward her, their voices rising in shrieks that sounded like broken glass.
Her fingers dug into the blanket.
Finally, exhaustion pulled her under, and Emily slipped into a restless sleep, still haunted by the twisted smiles of the ghosts from the 14th floor.
🌀 What Just Happened?
- The girls sprinted out of the elevator with Hannah hiding inside a pillowcase.
- They climbed back into Kate’s room through the window and locked everything.
- Emily accidentally sat on Hannah and started another mini-panic.
- Their moms sent them to bed and turned off the lights.
- Kate and Hannah fell asleep while Emily stayed haunted by ghostly memories.
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