Rain pounded against the windshield as Detective Mira Lane arrived at the abandoned motel on Route 9. The place had been closed for over a decade, with no power, no guests, just dust and silence.
Yet, just an hour earlier, her missing partner, Detective Cole, had sent a text from this very spot.
"They found me. Room 6. Don’t trust anyone."
Mira stepped out, gun drawn, every nerve on edge. Room 6’s door creaked open with the wind, revealing darkness inside. She turned on her flashlight. The beam flickered across cracked wallpaper, shattered glass, and an old flip phone buzzing on the floor.
She picked it up.
New Message: You’re next.
Behind her, the door slammed shut.
By S. Sai Sri Udtkarsh