Long Horror Story (2)

Chapter 2: An Anomaly in the Mirror Lin Mo spun around abruptly, but the corner behind him held only a pile of tattered old newspapers and a fallen wooden cabinet. There was no woman in red. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, telling himself it was just a hallucination from staying up too long, or a trick of the light from the flashlight. He turned back to the mirror. The reflection had returned to normal, showing his own pale face, slick with cold sweat. To document it, Lin Mo raised his camera, aimed it at the mirror, and pressed the shutter. The flash instantly illuminated the entire dim living room. After the bright light, the house plunged into even deeper darkness. Just then, faint but distinct footsteps suddenly came from the second floor. The sound was extremely regular, as if someone was slowly patrolling the hallway in hard-soled leather shoes. Lin Mo's body froze instantly, his heart pounding like a heavy hammer against his chest. But his inner desire for the truth ultimately overcame his fear. He reached out and gripped the wooden handrail of the stairs leading to the second floor. The wood of the handrail was as cold as a dead person's bones. With each step he took upwards, the steps below groaned as if unable to bear the weight. The moment he finally stepped onto the second-floor hallway, the footsteps stopped abruptly. The entire floor fell into a deathly silence, broken only by a faint, eerie blood-red light seeping from under the door of the room at the end of the hallway, which was secured with a brass lock. To be continued in the next installment……