Hey there.

  I hope this letter reaches you. You’re probably wondering who I am—or was—but that’s not important. After all, I don’t know who you are either. You picking up this letter is entirely coincidental. Chances are, my body is probably lying around on the floor somewhere. Or maybe not. I can’t guess what would happen to me after I die, but I doubt I would like it. But at the same time, maybe I’ll be the only one who ever reads this.

  Crazy times we live in, innit? I had a hard time getting here and I’m guessing you did too. You’re probably one heck of a resilient guy, or girl, to have made it this far alive. Unfortunately, if you’re here it also means you’re trapped just as I was. I tried a couple of things to get out but ultimately failed. I’ll tell you what those attempts were in a sec so you won’t waste your time and energy on pointless routes. I kind of think getting out is hopeless but who am I to make that assumption? I’m just some guy slowly losing his mind in this decrepit place.

  It’s really hard to get away from them, those creatures. Or spirits. Or demons. I’ve met all kinds of folks who called them different things. We can’t see them, hear them or even smell them. The only way we know they’re there is when they interact with the things we can see. And usually all we just see is someone’s head getting twisted off, then we all make a mad dash in every possible direction hoping we’re not the next landmark for it to declare its presence. Every day is a nightmare. We don’t know how many of them there are or what their weakness could be. All we can do is cower in fear in a room, hoping they aren’t in there with us. Kind of like what I’m currently doing actually. However, there’s two things I know for sure. One is that I happened to pick the one place that’s crawling with these things as a hiding spot, and two is that your luck is just as rotten as mine, hehe.

  As your fellow unfortunate comrade, let me fill you in on those routes I found and how I managed to try them out without getting killed. First things first—and I’m sure you’ll love to hear this—those things aren’t as undetectable as they seem. Sure, with our five senses it’s practically impossible. But those eyes of yours can still come in handy. Remember how I said we can only see them when they interact with other objects? That’s the key. I’m sure you already have some idea of what I’m hinting at considering that you likely took the path I took and saw what I saw.

  Dust.

  This place sucks in every way imaginable. But its suckiness is probably the only reason why we both survived. This rundown building has been amassing dust for years. It’s practically a choking hazard for people with allergies at this point, and if you fall into that category then I’m sorry to break it to you, but that could be what kills you instead. There’s so much dust that it stirs around with the slightest movement. When those things move, it moves too. With a keen eye, you can see them moving about in the halls. That’s how I knew there’s a ton of them here.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Some hallways don’t have as many of them. Those were the ones I tried to get through. Sadly, all the exits they lead to are locked and trying to break them open only leads them to you. They can hear but they can’t see, so just make sure to shut up during your stay here. I know that’s a tough ask since the dust would have you sneezing every few minutes but try and hold it in. I mapped out the hallways at the bottom of this letter, with the exits I tried being crossed out. You might be thinking of going back the way you came but I also crossed it out for a reason. The window you had to come in through is rather high—and I hope you didn’t sprain your ankle during the jump like I did. I tried finding a ladder but came up empty. You could still try looking for one but I wouldn’t count on it. I’ve searched all the safe areas.

  All that leaves both of us is the one place that’s packed full with those things. It’s a gamble, honestly. Even if we manage to weave our way in between those spirits, the exit could also be a dud. But if I stay here any longer, I would die just the same. As it is, I’m fresh out of food and there isn’t much that’s edible in a building that’s been abandoned for so long. All I found during my search was this notebook and pen. I decided to pick it up and write this out in case another poor schmuck found their way here.

  There really is something off about this place. The reason why it was abandoned, the number of spirits here, the strange markings on the floors and walls. A part of me thinks this is where they all came from, but that doesn’t make much sense. This place hasn’t been used in years, but these things only started popping up a few weeks ago. If this is where they all come from, then why show up now? What part of this place spawns them? Why wasn’t the building demolished all this time? There are probably answers here somewhere, but I don’t care enough about mysteries to put my life on the line to solve them. But maybe you’re different and would find out the truth. Maybe our coming to this place isn’t as much of a coincidence as we think.

  Bah! Now I’m getting all superstitious. I truly am losing my mind. We’re probably both going to die painfully anyway, hahaha! You’ve probably noticed how many times I’ve been saying ‘probably’ all through this letter. That’s because I have no clue what the hell’s going on or what will happen. I’ve given you accurate information to the best of my ability, but if I’m wrong about any of it then don’t go cursing me out. I’m cursed enough as is. Anyways, I’m going to take my chances and try to get to that darn exit. Hopefully I make it. If not, you’d probably see a corpse on the way while making your own attempt. And if you don’t make it either, then you can tell me just how cool my handwriting is in the afterlife!

  Yours sincerely,

  Henry.