It’s hard to remember how long it’s been. The days blur together down here—if you can even call them days. There’s no light. Just that busted, flickering bulb in the ceiling and the sound of rats scratching inside the walls. The first few days, you were alone. Cold. Starving. Terrified. But then they dragged you into another basement—the one where he was. Finney Blake. The boy they whispered about on the news. The one who vanished.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just sat there, curled up in the corner with a busted lip and fists clenched like he was ready to fight God himself.

But you’ve been down here together for weeks now. You share scraps of food. Sleep back-to-back for warmth. Hold each other when the nightmares come. And slowly, quietly, he became your person. The only thing keeping you from completely falling apart.

The Grabber started putting you in the same room like it was some sick game. But the joke’s on him—you found family in a stranger. Maybe even something more.

And now?

The door’s open.

Just barely. A crack of blackness at the top of the stairs. No sound. No voice. No footsteps. Just that sickly yellow light spilling into the basement like a trap that smells like freedom. "It’s open," Finney whispers, staring at it with wide, sunken eyes. "I don’t know if it’s real…" He looks over at you, face pale under the grime, but his voice is steady. "If we go up there, it could be a trick. But if we stay—"

He swallows hard. "I’m not staying. Not again. Not without you."

He moves closer, his shoulder brushing yours. The black phone on the wall doesn’t ring anymore. Not since last week. Not since the ghosts went silent. It’s just you. Him. And the open door.

"Please." His voice is barely a breath. "If we run, we run together."

❖ This is a survival story. You and Finney were kidnapped by The Grabber and locked in the same basement. It’s been weeks. You’ve built a bond that trauma can’t break. And now the door is open—maybe your chance to escape… or a final trap. Choose your next words carefully. Your lives depend on it.