The door opened slowly.

  Scott, Carter and Kane stepped into the luxurious room. Unlike the rest of the hotel, it looked

  untouched it was clean, warm, and filled with scent of old wood

  . A golden lamp glowed softly in the corner, creating long shadows across the room. The smell of roses was all around, though there were no flowers.

  "This room... it's like it doesn’t belong here," Carter whispered.

  Scott nodded. "It feels alive here."

  Kane walked toward the large mirror on the wall. “This is where the Shiner appears, right?”

  Scott's eyes narrowed. “Yes. The spirit is said to kill anyone who looks into the mirror.”

  Carter stepped closer, staring at his reflection. For a second, nothing happened. Then a flicker.

  A second face appeared behind him.

  He turned around no one was there. His heart raced. “I saw something.” Scott moved forward.

  “It’s starting.”

  Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind them with a loud BANG.

  They were trapped.

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  The sound of the door slamming shut echoed through the room, sending a shiver down their spines. For a moment, no one spoke. There was total silence. The three of them stood frozen, staring at the mirror, as though the glass itself might have the answers to the mystery they were unraveling.

  Suddenly, Scott noticed an old wooden desk in the corner of the room. It looked different from the rest of the furniture darker, almost untouched. He walked over and tried opening the drawers. Most of them were empty, except one.

  “It’s locked,” he said.

  Kane came closer. “Try using your room key.”

  Scott inserted the key it didn’t fit. Carter found a small metal rod on the floor, maybe part of a broken coat hanger. He bent it and carefully worked the lock.

  After a few tries—click—it opened.

  Inside, there was a small book covered in dust and an old black and white photo. The book was a guest list. But many pages were torn out. The photo showed a family standing outside the hotel. Carter picked it up.

  “Wait... this is Marie. And George. And... Emily?” he said slowly.

  Scott looked at it closely. “Emily Carter… your wife?”

  Carter nodded, confused. “But this picture looks... old. Much older than when she died.”

  There was something strange about the faces. They looked happy, but their eyes seemed distant. Al

  most... lifeless.

  Suddenly, the mirror in the room started to fog up, like someone was breathing on it from the inside.

  Scott backed away. “We’re not alone.”

  The mirror fogged up more and more, until it was fully covered in white mist. Then, slowly, a handprint appeared on the glass from the inside.

  Kane stepped back. “No way…”

  The handprint dragged downward, leaving a streak. Then, letters began to form in the fog like someone was writing from the other side.

  It said: “HELP ME.”

  Scott’s heart was racing. “This… this is not just a spirit. Someone’s trapped.”

  Carter stared at the mirror. “Or… something wants us to believe that.”

  Suddenly, the lamp in the corner flickered and went out. The room went dark only the pale glow from the mirror lit their faces.

  A soft knock came from the other side of the wall.

  Then again.

  And again.

  Scott whispered, “There’s something behind this wall.”

  Scott walked slowly toward the wall next to the mirror. He placed his ear against it. There was a faint sound like someone whispering, but it was too quiet to understand.

  He tapped the wall. It sounded hollow.

  “There’s a space behind this,” he said. “Maybe a hidden room.”

  Carter looked around. “There must be a way in.”

  Kane ran his fingers along the wall’s edges and noticed a small crack in the wallpaper near the floor. He pulled at it and part of the wall creaked and opened, revealing a narrow, dark passage.

  It smelled of damp wood and something older… something rotten.

  Scott held his breath. “Let’s go.”

  Carter hesitated. “Are we really doing this?”

  Kane nodded. “We’ve come this far.”

  They stepped into the passage, one by one, as the hidden door slowly creaked shut behind them.

  The only light was from Scott’s pocket flashlight.

  Ahead, the darkness was thick and something was waiting.