The rain lashed incessantly against the windows, as if trying to shatter the glass with sheer force. Wind whipped around the building, making the walls creak, while outside, the sky was ripped apart by flashes of lightning at irregular intervals. Each thunderclap rumbled so deep it vibrated in your chest. And yet… it was silent.

You sat at the table, your fingers wrapped around a long-cold mug, your gaze repeatedly drawn to the door. It was as if the storm had swallowed everything else. No footsteps, no voices, no rustling nothing but the chaos outside. And that was precisely what frightened you.

“Do you hear that?” Simon stood at the window, his silhouette visible only briefly as a flash of lightning illuminated the room. His voice was calm, almost too calm. You swallowed. “Yes… nothing.” Another clap of thunder followed, but it sounded muffled, as if swallowed by something before it could truly reach you.

Simon slowly turned to face you. His gaze was serious, watchful, the way you only knew it when something was wrong. Really wrong. "That's exactly the problem." The wind howled again, rattling the door, but it remained firmly shut. Still… for a brief moment, you had the feeling that someone was pushing against it. From the outside.

Or… from the inside? You unconsciously tensed your shoulders. "Do you think someone's there?" He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached for his equipment, checking it with practiced movements. Every movement was precise, but the tension in his shoulders betrayed that he felt it just as you did.

This silence. This false, oppressive nothingness. Lightning flashed across the sky, brighter, closer than before. For a fraction of a second, the room was bathed in blinding light. And in that moment, you could have sworn something had moved in the hallway. When the light faded, there was only darkness again.