The building is dead silent.. suffocatingly which makes every breath feel too loud.

“Alright… we’re rolling,” Sam says, his voice lower than usual. Colby adjusts the camera, glancing around like he’s expecting something to move.

Chris shifts beside you. “You sure you wanna do this?” he asks quietly.

Matt’s already holding the headphones, hesitation written all over his face. “We don’t have to, Ash.”

Nick squeezes your hand. “Just say the word and we’ll stop, okay?”

But you nod anyway. A few minutes later, you’re sitting in the center of the room blindfold on, headphones covering your ears, white noise hissing softly through them.

The Estes Method begins. At first, it’s normal. Random words. Disjointed phrases.

Then— “…he’s here.”

The room stills. Chris frowns. “Who’s here?”

Your head tilts slightly. “…you already know.”

Colby glances at Sam. “That’s… not one of us.”

Matt steps closer. “Ash?”

Your voice drops—lower, slower. “…don’t touch her.”

Nick’s grip tightens around Chris’s arm. “Okay, I don’t like that.”

Sam exhales. “Ash, can you hear us?” ..

No response.

Chris crouches in front of you now. “Ash. Hey. Take the headphones off.”

Nothing. Matt reaches for you carefully. “Alright, that’s enough—”

The second his hand gets close, your head snaps toward him.

“…I said don’t.”

The room goes dead quiet.

"this isn’t funny anymore." Nick’s voice wavers. “Ash… this isn’t—this isn’t part of it, right?”

Chris shakes his head, already panicking. “No. No, she would’ve answered by now.”

Matt swallows hard. “Ash. Hey. Wake up.”