"Um, guys... what the fuck is going on!?" she exclaims breaking her calm composed nature, her voice cracking as she stumbles backward, nearly knocking over her chair. Her foot lands in something sticky, eliciting a wet, unnerving squelch that sends a shiver up her spine.

Her gaze snaps downward, and she freezes. “What the hell is this?” she whispers, trying to lift her foot, but the substance clings stubbornly to her shoe, stretching like some slimy tar substance.

The dark pink, gelatinous meaty blob seems to pulse faintly as if alive, squirting out puss under the flickering overhead lights.

The others turn to look, and Harunosuke’s face twists in alarm. “Did something spill down here?” he says, though his voice betrays a lack of confidence.

“No,” Satoshi says flatly, his sharp eyes narrowing as he crouches for a closer look. “This… isn’t anything normal. It looks... organic.” He grimaces, pulling out his phone for light, but the screen glitches and refuses to turn on. “What the fuck?!” he says as he taps his on the palm of his hand

Meanwhile, Natsumi clutches her chair, her normally bold demeanor shaken. “Okay, seriously. The joke’s over! This isn’t funny anymore!” she shouts, her eyes darting around the room as if expecting something to lunge from the shadows.

The sticky meaty goop begins to spread, crawling across the carpet with an unnatural slither, heading toward the bookshelf for cover. The tar-like goo advances every flicker of the lights, ominously squirming against the floorboards, almost as if it’s alive.

"Do not touch it!" Harunosuke warns, pulling Kaida by her arm, careful not to let her other foot sink into the substance that the creature left behind.

“I didn’t exactly plan on making friends with it, thanks!” Kaida snaps, her voice shaky but regaining a hint of her usual sass.

The flickering stops, plunging them into absolute darkness for several suffocating seconds.

Kaida screams, clutching Harunosuke’s sleeve. “Tell me that’s just the power grid messing up!”

But Satoshi shakes his head, his tone grim. “That still doesn't explain the thing you stepped on.”

Natsumi stumbles back toward the stairs, shouting, “We need to get out of here right now!”

“Wait!” Satoshi exclaims, “We don’t know if it's safe up there.”

Kaida scoffs “And we don't know if it is safe down here either especially with whatever the hell that was down here!”

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“Everyone relax, this is no time for arguing I'll go upstairs first to see if it's safe,” Harunosuke says unsurely not knowing why he stepped up for this possession.

Natsumi trying to put her brave persona back on says “Don't be a Dumbass you know what happens when people split up in horror movies! I-if you are going, I'm coming with you.”

Satoshi sighs “I can't just let you two go up there alone,” he says thinking of all of the possible ways that something could go wrong for both groups if they separate.

“And I'm definitely not staying down here by myself, So I'm coming too!” Kaida says not wanting to be left out.

Harunosuke smiles as he starts making his way up the stairs “Ok so the plan is to search every room to see if it is safe to be upstairs”

“And what if it's not and we have some abomination chasing us?” Says Satoshi trying to get Multiple plans just in case the first one doesn't work.

Natsumi says confidently “Easy run outside”

Satoshi looks at her like she's an idiot. “If there is something inside what makes you think there won't be something way worse outside!?”

They finally get to the top, And as Harunosuke cracks open the door, it makes a slow creaking sound. The air feels heavy, and the atmosphere tense a red glow from outside seeps through the cracked basement door. He eases his head through the door looking left to right to see if the place is clear.

“Then we will just have to run back down here,” Harunosuke says in a whisper as he sticks a foot out. As he does so the floorboard squeaks from the pressure of his foot sending a shiver down their spines. Slowly but surely, he musters up the courage to walk out followed by everyone else.

It's quite extremely quiet where it's unsettling not a bird chirping or motor running. A haunting, dark red glow seeps through the gaps in the living room curtains, casting eerie shadows that dance across the walls. The couch looks like it has been weathered while the TV and its stand have a layer of dust accumulating.

Kaida looked out the window in bewilderment and said with certainty “I don't think the sky should be this color”

“No shit Sherlock,” Natsumi says sarcastically.

“I vote Natsumi to go out there and check it out,” Kaida says

Harunosuke smirks “Nobody is going out there yet… We still have to use her if there is something inside”

“Wait- What!?” Natsumi says as Kaida chuckles at his remark

In a concerned tone, Satoshi says “Hey guys sorry to ruin the moment but, have you noticed it is extremely quiet outside”

Harunosuke looks a little unsettled “Yeah but I was trying to ignore it”

“So? How is that important” Natsumi says

Satoshi let out a heavy sigh, leaning slightly forward. “Alright, let me break it down for you,” he began, his tone steady. “Normally, you’d hear cars driving by or maybe even a dog barking somewhere, right?”

Natsumi nodded, her brows furrowing in curiosity.

Satoshi's gaze turned serious as he pressed on. “Now think—when was the last time you didn’t hear or see a single car on the road... in the middle of the afternoon?”

Natsumi frowned, her eyes narrowing as she mulled over Satoshi’s question. “I… I can’t remember,” she admitted hesitantly. “It’s always busy during the afternoon.” Her voice trailed off as unease crept into her expression. “What are you trying to say?”

Kaida chimes in “It means it's not a fun time out there dumbass”

“Hey on the bright side the living room is cleared just four more rooms to go,” Says Harunosuke, “I think we should go to the kitchen to at least get some weapons if we need to protect ourselves.”