The dim, flickering light in the stairwell cast long shadows across the cold concrete steps, each flicker threatening to plunge the narrow space into total darkness. The air was heavy, stale, carrying the faint scent of mildew and something metallic, like rusted iron or… blood. The walls were close, suffocating, the sound of each step echoing too loudly in the confined space.

David’s breath came in short, ragged bursts, the muscles in his legs burning as he descended yet another flight of stairs. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, thudding harder with every step, every quick glance over his shoulder. But no matter how fast he moved, how many flights he covered, the second pair of footsteps was always there.

Following him.

The sound of it was faint at first, almost imperceptible, like the echo of his own steps. But as the minutes stretched into an eternity, the distinction became clear. The footsteps didn’t sync with his. They were just behind him, the soft tap-tap of shoes on the concrete a hair’s breadth away, always following, always closing in.

"God... no," David muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible over the rhythmic pounding of his heart. His throat was raw, dry, and the air felt heavier with every breath. He couldn’t remember how long he had been running—up and down these endless stairs—but time had begun to lose meaning, twisted into some cruel, looping nightmare.

His hand grazed the cold, rough surface of the railing as he descended, the metal biting into his skin, slick with sweat. He had tried going up, tried going down. Neither direction seemed to matter. No doors marked the landings, no windows allowed in the faintest trace of light from the outside world. It was just him, the steps, and whatever was behind him.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The footsteps were closer now, louder, more insistent, as though whoever—or whatever—was behind him had grown tired of simply following and was ready to close the distance.

David stumbled, nearly losing his footing, his hands scraping against the wall to catch himself. The skin of his palms stung, raw from the rough concrete. He cursed, pushing himself forward, refusing to look back. Every instinct screamed at him to turn, to confront what was chasing him, but he didn’t dare. He couldn’t.

He knew what was back there.

The flickering light above sputtered, casting the stairwell into brief darkness. For a heartbeat, there was silence. The footsteps stopped. David froze, his breath caught in his throat, his entire body tensing like a spring wound too tight. His eyes widened, his mind racing as he stood there, his chest heaving in the pitch-black void.

Then, a soft whisper brushed against his ear, colder than the air around him.

"How much blood do you think it takes to disappear?"

The voice was familiar—low, mocking, filled with the same cruel amusement that had torn apart those others before him. It was the same voice the town had whispered about, the one tied to the disappearances, the one that haunted Ridgemont. The Crawler.

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David’s heart plummeted, his pulse spiking in pure, visceral terror. He spun around, finally giving in to the urge to look, but the stairwell was empty. Nothing but the bare concrete steps stretching both up and down into infinity. No shadow, no twisted figure with pale skin and jagged teeth.

But the footsteps… they had started again.

Louder now, faster, they echoed through the stairwell, pounding like a drumbeat of death. He could feel it—something breathing behind him, something lurking just out of sight, waiting for him to tire, to falter.

Panic surged through him, and David broke into a desperate sprint. His legs ached, his lungs screamed for air, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t. His sneakers slapped against the concrete, the rhythm of his own footfalls merging with the relentless pursuit of whatever was behind him. The stairwell twisted before him in an impossible loop, the flights of stairs folding over themselves like a snake devouring its own tail.

The walls were closing in now, narrowing, suffocating, the concrete pressing tighter against his body. His shoulder scraped against the rough surface, and he hissed in pain as the skin tore open. The scent of blood filled the air—sharp, metallic, like copper pennies on his tongue.

Thud-thud-thud.

The footsteps were deafening now, right behind him, so close he could feel the cold breath on the back of his neck. A laugh—low and guttural—rumbled through the stairwell, sending a fresh wave of dread coursing through his veins.

"You’re so close," the voice taunted. "Can you feel it?"

David didn’t respond. He couldn’t. His breath was coming in shallow gasps now, his vision blurring with each desperate step. The pain in his legs had become a dull, throbbing ache, his body on the verge of collapse. But he kept running, kept descending, praying that somehow, somehow he could outrun the inevitable.

Then, with a suddenness that sent his stomach lurching, David's foot hit something soft. He stumbled, nearly pitching forward, but managed to catch himself on the railing. Gasping for breath, he glanced down, the flickering light casting just enough of a glow to reveal the horror beneath his feet.

It was a body.

Lying sprawled on the steps, broken and bloody, its limbs twisted at unnatural angles. The clothes were shredded, soaked with dark, congealed blood that dripped down the steps in thick, oily streams. But it wasn’t the body that made David’s stomach churn with dread—it was the face. He recognized it.

It was him.

His own face, slack and lifeless, staring back at him with wide, unseeing eyes. The mouth hung open in a silent scream, a gaping wound where his throat had been torn open.

David staggered back, bile rising in his throat as the realization hit him like a punch to the gut. The Crawler wasn’t just following him.

It had already caught him.

And as the footsteps closed in, the walls of the stairwell began to shift, the concrete groaning as they warped and twisted, bleeding, the floor beneath his feet slick with crimson.

Something cold and slick brushed against his arm. He turned, but it was too late.

The Crawler’s face was inches from his own now, its jagged smile stretching impossibly wide, its hollow eyes locking onto his. Blood dripped from its claws, still wet and glistening with the remains of its last victim.

David tried to scream, but the sound died in his throat as the Crawler’s hand shot forward, its claws sinking deep into his chest. Pain exploded through his body, white-hot and searing, as the creature tore into him, ripping flesh from bone with sickening ease. His blood splattered the walls, the stairs, dripping down in thick rivulets as the Crawler carved him open.

"Do you feel it now?" the creature whispered, its voice a dark, mocking lullaby. "How much blood, David? How much?"

The last thing David saw was the twisted grin, the sharp, jagged teeth closing in as the darkness swallowed him whole. His body crumpled, lifeless, on the endless staircase. The Crawler crouched over him, its smile never fading, its hunger never sated.

And somewhere, in the endless loop of that cursed stairwell, the sound of footsteps began again.

Another victim. Another hunt.

The stairs would never end.