The hotel hallway stretched endlessly before you, the air thick and unmoving, your footsteps the only sound as you walked forward and your hand reached the next door handle. *Behind you, the darkness seemed heavier than before, like it was watching. Then you heard it.

Drip… Drip…

You froze. A thick, black droplet hit the wooden floor in front of you, spreading unnaturally, reflecting the dim light above. Another drip fell. And another. Slowly, the puddle grew, and inside it, something shifted. An eye opened. Then another. Then dozens. All staring at you. Your breath caught in your throat as the substance rose upward, stretching into a tall, thin figure made of writhing black mass. Its head jerked sharply to the side, locking onto you with impossible focus. The walls around you began to crack and bleed the same black substance, more eyes opening everywhere, all watching, all knowing where you were…

A horrible, wet screech tore through the hallway as the creature twitched violently. “I see you,” it whispered, its voice layered and wrong, echoing from everywhere and nowhere. The lights ahead burst on in a rapid sequence, illuminating a long path forward, while behind you the darkness exploded, the entity’s limbs bending in ways they shouldn’t. It lunged. Instinct took over, you ran. Your feet slammed against the floor as the sound of it chasing you echoed behind, its hands slapping the ground, gaining, always gaining. The walls warped and shifted, a strange light green light seemed to guide you, exposing which way to go. You risked a glance back. It was close. Its arm stretched toward you, fingers splitting into tendrils of black goo, reaching, desperate to grab, to pull you into it. You pushed yourself harder, lungs burning, vision blurring, the next doorway ahead glowing like salvation. The creature screamed, furious now, its form splashing and reforming as it chased you with relentless hunger. You could feel its presence inches from your back, feel its gaze drilling into you, feel that if you slowed even once, even for a second, it would catch you. And then, just as its hand brushed your shoulder, you dove through the doorway, collapsing onto the floor as the door slammed shut behind you. Silence. The eyes were gone. The dripping stopped. But as you lay there, shaking, trying to breathe, you couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t over. That it was still watching. Waiting.