Dark Falls - horror novel

Dark Falls

2025, Angela Welch

Horror Novel

when a cryptic letter from her long-lost sister, Heather, leads her to an abandoned asylum. Haunted by recurring nightmares mirroring the asylum's horrors, Holly navigates unsettling discoveries like bloodstains, ominous recordings, and chilling messages, all while a ghostly girl and unseen presences hint at a dark family secret and a looming danger, blurring the lines between reality and nightmare.

Holly Stonehouse

The protagonist of the story. She's a young woman pulled into a terrifying mystery after receiving a cryptic letter from her long-lost sister. Holly is observant and determined, but also prone to fear and confusion as she faces a series of increasingly bizarre and frightening events that seem to mirror her own nightmares. She's actively trying to piece together the truth about her sister and the Dark Falls Asylum.

Heather Stonehouse

Holly's older sister, who mysteriously disappeared almost ten years prior. She is the catalyst for Holly's journey, sending the enigmatic letter. Her diary entries reveal her own unsettling experiences and fears, suggesting she was being watched and haunted by something or someone, linking her directly to the asylum and the unfolding horror.

Dahlia

A mysterious character whose name appears in connection with the Dark Falls Asylum and in Heather's notes, as well as on a magnetic list with Holly and Heather's names. She is strongly implied to be the ghostly, disheveled girl with black hair and white eyes that Holly repeatedly encounters in the house and in her nightmares, hinting at a central, perhaps malevolent, role in the asylum's secrets.

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Classical music drifted from the worn-out wooden desk's radio. A newspaper lay on it, dated Friday, January 22, 1984, with the headline: "Dark Falls Asylum." A badge lay nearby. For a moment, everything seemed normal, but then...

I glanced at the coffee cup knocked over on the floor and saw a bloody handprint. Next to it was an investigation memo about a mysterious figure, described as a demonic spirit or something similar. My gaze shifted to one of the many surveillance monitors in front of me. Doctors and nurses were sprawled everywhere, drenched in blood. I looked at the screen next to it and saw someone dragging a nurse, leaving clear blood trails. I quickly looked at another screen and saw the same person dragging another doctor into a room with thick, black, tree root-like lines carved on its door!

I followed the person to that room. As I pushed the door open, a girl with long, messy black hair, white eyes, and a pale, blood-stained face lunged at me. She was wearing a torn, blood-soaked white dress!

The sound of knocking on the front door instantly jolted me awake from that terrifying nightmare. I turned on the lamp beside my bed and went downstairs to see who it was. I looked through the peephole and saw a mailman standing in the rain, holding a letter. It was a little strange. I put the security chain on before opening the door. He held out a wooden board with some papers clipped to it and asked me to sign for the letter he had. I signed with the name "Holly Stonehouse"—that's my name.

After I signed, the mailman left, and I closed the door. It was three in the morning, and getting a letter at that hour was really weird. I opened the letter, and inside was a picture and a short message.

I read the message, which said...

To my younger sister...
I'm so incredibly sorry. I disappeared and haven't contacted you in years. All of it was for your own protection! Unfortunately, it's time for you to know the truth—about me, about our mother, and about you too. The address is on the back of the photo that came with the letter. Please come as soon as you get this. I've always loved you... I'm so sorry, please understand.

Your loving sister,
Heather

I looked at the picture. Yes, it was me and my older sister, Heather! My older sister! I hadn't heard anything from her in almost ten years.

I rushed out, got in my car, and headed for the address on the back of the photo. I put the photo and letter on the passenger seat next to me and started driving, thinking to myself:

"My sister and I used to be super close. Soon after our mother died, she just vanished. It's been almost ten years, and I haven't heard anything from her again."

I paused for a moment, then looked at our photo together and asked myself:

"What could have happened to her?!"

I turned back to continue my drive, and that's when something really creepy happened. Heather's face in the photo had changed! Her eyes were completely black, and she had terrifying fangs in her mouth!

The place was shrouded in darkness, and because of it, I found this location after a lot of trouble. It was a house located in an isolated area, far from people, deep within the shadows. I approached its gate, which was securely fastened with a bunch of wood. The house looked like it had been abandoned for a very long time. Next to the gate was a wooden box.

I searched through it and found a letter envelope that read: "To Heather Stonehouse, Rosemary Street." I held the envelope, thinking to myself:

"My sister's name! Will I really find her after all these years?!"

There was a hammer lying next to the door. I used it to remove the wood blocking my access to the gate's lock. Then I started searching the mailbox for the key, as it's a family custom to leave keys in places like that. And sure enough, I found the key among a bunch of letters. But one letter caught my attention, and I started reading it. It was an invitation from a hospital with a very strange name: "Dark Falls Asylum." The letter read:

Dear Ms. Stonehouse,

We have received your inquiry regarding patient Dahlia S. We are honored to extend an invitation for you to visit us, with the opportunity to answer all your questions. If we do not see you soon, we may need to make a special house call.

Sincerely,
K. Chuwache

After reading that letter, I thought to myself:

"This doesn't look like any official letter I've ever seen. And who is Dahlia S?"

After a few moments of contemplation and deep thought, I decided to go in. And I wish I hadn't, because after I stepped past the house's walls, the course of my life completely changed. I became entangled in a series of terrifying events within those dark shadows, all to uncover this perplexing mystery...







When I opened that gate and got past the fence, I reached the main garden. There, at the entrance to the house, I saw a girl with long, messy black hair, wearing torn, blood-stained white clothes. Her back was hunched. I never saw her face; I just watched her limp quickly into the house. For a second, I thought she might know where my sister was, so I started calling out to her, but she didn't respond. She just went inside and completely ignored me. Silence surrounded me from every direction.

I scanned the area and saw a rocking chair with a doll placed on it. I got closer and examined it. I knew that doll well. It was my sister's, and sometimes we'd share it when we played in the treehouse back at our old place. I headed to the main door of the house, and there I noticed some strange things: candles by the door, an animal horn, a doll with its hands and feet tied, and another doll hanging, looking like it had been strung up, right at the entrance. Those dolls looked like the ones used in black magic, where the doll represents a person, and if you hurt the doll, that person suffers just the same.

The house door was open, but as soon as I got near it, it suddenly slammed shut on its own. Yep, just like that, without any warning. I tried the doorknob, but I couldn't open it. Luckily, the door had a glass pane, so I figured I'd break it and get in. There was a bunch of stuff scattered all around me, so from the junk pile, I found a piece of wood and some gloves. I used the wood to break the window on the door, and I put on the gloves to reach inside the shattered glass without cutting myself. That's how I unlocked the house from the inside, and then I went in.

The place was dark, like no one had been in there for ages, which made me wonder who that girl really was. I turned on the lights to see the room clearly. It was the main entrance of the house. The wallpaper was torn, and there were cobwebs everywhere. At the end, there was a coat rack with a rain jacket, a wool shawl, a black umbrella, and a bunch of rain hats in different colors. I noticed something in the pocket of the brown rain jacket in front of me. I walked over and pulled it out—it was a piece of a picture. It showed some trees and a starry sky.

I looked around the room and saw a first aid kit on the wall, and next to it, an old piece of paper hanging. I pulled the paper off the wall and started reading what was on it...

The same dream, over and over again... some kind of hospital... All that blood! I feel like I've actually been there. That place looks so familiar, but I've never been there before. This makes no sense at all...

At the bottom of the paper, there was a drawing of an entrance to some place, and on that entrance, in bold letters, it said: "WELCOME."

It looked like this was a page from my sister Heather's diary. Just like my dream! It keeps getting weirder and weirder...

I put that page and the piece of the picture I'd found into my journal, which I carry everywhere. I tried to open the first aid kit, hoping it might be useful, but I couldn't. It was nailed shut with bent, firmly secured nails. When I couldn't open it, I decided to keep going and headed further into the house. I found the staircase leading to the upper floor, but its wooden steps were broken, and I couldn't go up.

Near that staircase, there was a picture of my sister, Heather. I got closer to see it, but instead, I saw something that froze me in fear. Like a flash of light, something appeared and vanished. It was a monster, if you could call it that. It—or she—had long, messy hair, dark black eyes, and really scary fangs!

Suddenly, Heather's picture shattered and fell to the floor. That made me jump and step back. I tried to think logically to calm myself down, telling myself that these were all illusions, or maybe it was the wind or a rat living in the walls. That's how I convinced myself these were all illusions. Then I started to pay attention to what had just happened. Oh yeah, the picture that just fell—a key had dropped with it! It had to help me.

I picked up the key and started looking through the rooms around me. There was a kitchen at the end of the hall, and a wooden staircase I couldn't go up unless I found some wood to fix it. And a locked room, near the kitchen and the stairs, in between them. I approached the door to that room, put the key in the lock, and turned it until it opened in front of me. That room was a living room with a torn red couch and a TV spitting out sparks because someone had thrown a metal hammer at it. In the corner, there was a huge clock, and next to it, a wooden board and an empty bookshelf with a wooden cabinet underneath. The window was completely boarded up from the outside. Near that TV, which was practically about to explode, there was another piece of paper. I cautiously approached it, pulled it off the wall, and started reading what was written on it...

It seems that asylum closed years ago. But... who's answering my letters?! They've sent me dozens of invitations to visit that place.

At the bottom of that paper, there was a drawing of a sign for some place, and on that sign, in bold letters, it said: "DARK FALLS ASYLUM."

It was another mysterious page from my sister Heather's diary. What's the secret of this hospital whose name keeps popping up everywhere? What's the secret of Dark Falls Asylum? Will I meet my sister here? Or will my story take a completely different turn than what I might want?!

I looked at the wall in front of me. There were words written in blood that chilled me to the bone...

It said:

Someone's watching me here.
They know all my secrets...




I hurried towards that small cabinet and tried to open it, but no luck. The amount of junk in that house was unbelievable. I rummaged around until my hand landed on a thin metal ruler. I immediately knew it would help me open the cabinet's lock. And sure enough, I slid the ruler between the cabinet doors and tried to lift the latch to open it...

It didn't have anything important, unfortunately, just some old dishes, an old scalpel, and a small power adapter. I grabbed the scalpel, just in case I needed to defend myself if someone or something attacked me.

I stepped back out of the room and stood right between the broken wooden stairs and the kitchen. I looked at the stairs, trying to figure out a way to get up them, but no ideas came to mind. There was some loose wood I could probably use to replace the broken steps, but it might not be stable, and I could fall.

Yeah, no other choice but the kitchen...

I headed into the kitchen. It was dark. I reached for the light switch and flipped it. As soon as the light came on, the power suddenly went out. Just like that, without any warning...

I looked at the power strip, which, luckily, was in the kitchen. I saw that one of the power adapters had burned out, and that's what caused the sudden power outage. I remembered the cabinet in that other room; it had a spare adapter. I rushed back to that room. It was completely dark since the power was out in the house, but the thing that made my hair stand on end was that the TV, which had been hit by a hammer, was still working and sparking. I had no one but the Almighty to rely on. I prayed and avoided getting close to that TV, fearing the same thing that happened in my recurring nightmares would happen to me. That sentence, Heather must have written it, but for heaven's sake, what is this? Why did she send me a written letter? She could have called. She could easily get my phone number. And since she sent the letter to my home address, she must know it. So why didn't she just visit me? Why did she send me the address to this place and ask to meet me here? If she lives here, why does this house look like it's been abandoned for years? I hurried to grab the adapter.

Then I left that room, mulling over all those thoughts. I went back to the kitchen and replaced the burned-out power adapter with the one I had, and the lights came back on in the house. I looked at the kitchen entrance. There was a bloodstain on one of the walls of the entryway, and in front of it, there was a door that looked like a basement door. But it was shut with a bunch of wood, and each piece of wood had two locks on it, eight locks in total, to make sure it wouldn't open. That was really suspicious. Why would anyone lock a place up like that?

Next to that basement door, there was a black light lamp, but it was missing a power cord, and the lamp's plug was cut, with two wires in its place, one red and one blue. Across from that lamp was a phone call recording device. I carefully approached it and played the last audio recording. The tape started, and it was a woman's voice, like the ones you hear answering machines at TV stations or home shopping companies. She said in a gentle, friendly tone:

"Dark Falls Asylum. You'll be connected to the next available representative. Please wait."

The woman fell silent for a few moments, then someone spoke in a hoarse, terrifying voice, saying:

"...If you said you wouldn't come see us...
Then I guess I'll be forced to come see you now!"

The call suddenly disconnected. It seemed like someone hung up, and it could have been my sister or that person with the creepy voice. Dark Falls Asylum! That name was in my nightmare. Yes, the place I'd been dreaming about was that asylum or hospital... It was Dark Falls Asylum itself!

What is all this madness?! Why do I keep dreaming about that place? All that blood and the doctors killed in the most horrific ways, the girl! Yes, the girl with the messy black hair, she must be behind all of this. She must have done something to my sister Heather. I tried to see if there were any other phone recordings, but there was nothing. So I decided to keep the recording I had and proceed further into that kitchen.

I went into the kitchen, and as I turned my back to that strangely locked door, someone moved the doorknob, trying to open it from the other side! I felt the doorknob move, so I quickly turned around, but I didn't see anything. I figured I was imagining things. I looked at the bloodstains on the wall and thought to myself:

"Those stains are giving me the chills."

I headed further into the kitchen...

The kitchen was like all the other places I'd been through or entered: completely messy. I went towards the fridge, figuring if there was food in it, there was definitely someone alive in this house. The fridge door was an old model, with a handle like a car door, but it was wrapped in tape, preventing me from unlatching it to open it. I remembered the scalpel I had!

I pulled it out of my pocket and started removing the tape from the handle. As I was about to open it, something stuck to the side of the fridge caught my attention and completely confused me. It was a bunch of magnetic letters arranged in a list with three names like this:

A R D
HOLLY L
HEATHER S
DAHLIA G
T F J

Holly / Heather, that's my name and my older sister's name, but... who is this Dahlia person? I read her name in the letter too (Dahlia S.). Could she be that girl with the black hair?!

Well, if I want to know, I have to search and dig deeper. I reached out and opened the fridge door. I hoped with all my heart to find food in the house, but instead, I found cobwebs. I couldn't remove the cobwebs from the top part of the fridge, so I decided to look for a broom or anything that could help get rid of them. Since that was another dead end, I decided to search around the kitchen, like the cabinets and stuff.

I didn't find anything useful. Near the sink, there was a novel, "Valley of Mystery." It's one of my favorite novels. It seems my sister shares the same taste. Yeah, we're kind of similar. I haven't seen her since I was eleven. I wonder how this reunion will be?

I opened the cabinet under the sink, and there was nothing but a dishwashing glove. The oven was full of cobwebs, and there was a dining table near the room connected to the kitchen. On it, there was a box with a carved statue that had two hands, but one was missing. Below that box, words were carved that read:

"You must adjust the hands in the correct order to open the box."

I finally decided to enter that room connected to the kitchen, which seemed to be a passage to a pantry. There, in that room, I saw a dusty glass cabinet, and to my left, there was a door to another room with a star-shaped doorknob.

A devil-worshipping offering!

That room's door! It looked like that terrifying door... the door I saw every night in my nightmares...

 
 
 
 

I rushed to the small cabinet and tried to open it, but it was no use. The amount of junk in that house was unbelievable. I rummaged around until my hand landed on a thin metal ruler. I knew right away it would help me open that cabinet lock. And sure enough, I slid the ruler between the small cabinet doors and tried to lift the latch to open it...

There was nothing important inside, just some old dishes, an ancient scalpel, and a small power adapter. I grabbed the scalpel, just in case I needed it to defend myself if someone or something attacked.

I went back out of that room and stood right between the shattered wooden staircase and the kitchen. I looked at the stairs, trying to figure out a way to climb them, but I couldn't come up with anything. There were some wooden planks I could use to replace the broken steps, but they might be unstable, and I could fall.

Yep, no other choice but the kitchen...

The Kitchen and a Mysterious Call
I headed for the kitchen. It was dark. I reached for the light switch and flipped it on. As soon as the light came on, the power suddenly went out. Just like that, without any warning...

I looked at the power strip, which, luckily, was in the kitchen. I saw that one of the power adapters had burned out, causing the sudden outage. I remembered the cabinet in the other room; it had a spare adapter. I hurried back to that room. It was completely dark since the house's power was out, but the thing that made my hair stand on end was that the TV, which had been hit with a hammer, was still working and sparking! I had no one but God to pray to. I kept praying and avoided getting close to that TV, afraid that what happened in my recurring nightmares would happen to me. That sentence—Heather must have written it, but seriously, what is this? Why did she send me a written letter? She could have called; she could easily get my phone number. And since she sent the letter to my house, she must know where I live, so why didn't she just visit me? Why did she send me the address to this place and ask to meet me here? If she lives here, why does this house look like it's been abandoned for years? I quickly grabbed the adapter.

Then I left that room, my mind racing with all those thoughts. I went back to the kitchen and reinstalled the power adapter I had, replacing the burned-out one, and the lights came back on in the house. I looked at the kitchen entrance. There was a bloodstain on one of the walls, and in front of it, a door that looked like a basement door. But it was barricaded with several planks of wood, and each plank had two locks on it—eight locks in total—to make sure it wouldn't open. That was really suspicious. Why would anyone lock this place up like that?

Next to that basement door was a black light lamp, but it was missing a power cord, and the lamp's plug was cut, with two wires in its place, one red and one blue. Across from that lamp was a phone call recording device. I carefully approached it and played the last audio recording. The tape started, and it was a woman's voice, like the ones you hear answering machines at TV stations or home shopping companies. She said in a gentle, friendly tone:

"Dark Falls Asylum. You'll be connected to the next available representative. Please wait."

The woman paused for a few moments, then someone spoke in a hoarse, terrifying voice, saying:

"...If you said you wouldn't come see us...
Then I guess I'll be forced to come see you now!"

The call suddenly disconnected. It seemed like someone hung up, and it could have been my sister or that person with the scary voice. Dark Falls Asylum! That name was in my nightmare. Yes, the place I'd been dreaming about was that asylum or hospital... It was Dark Falls Asylum itself!

What is all this craziness?! Why do I always dream about that place? All that blood and the doctors killed in the most horrific ways, the girl! Yes, the girl with the messy black hair, she must be behind all of this. She must have done something to my sister Heather. I tried to see if there were any other phone recordings, but there was nothing. So I decided to keep the recording I had and move further into the kitchen.

A Chilling Presence
I stepped further into the kitchen, and as I turned my back to that strangely locked door, and without me noticing, someone moved the doorknob, trying to open it from the other side! I felt the doorknob move, so I quickly turned around, but there was nothing there. No one behind me. But I swear to God, I felt it. It really touched me!

I headed towards the back door of the house, but its lock was broken, so I couldn't move it. I tried to break the door, but it was no use. It looked like I'd have to remove the lock's screws to open it. Finally, I gave up and went back to the starting point, that room with the weird TV, the kitchen to my left, and the stairs to my right. I looked at those stairs, specifically at the missing steps: one, two, three, four, five wooden steps torn from the staircase. I needed to find some wood and secure it with nails...

And sure enough, I started my search at the house's entrance. There was a long piece of wood, and also in the kitchen, and the passage that connected the kitchen to the pantry, and in the living room, there was another wooden board. Finally, in the pantry, I found the last piece.

I laid out the wood and got the nails ready, but what about the hammer? The one I used to open the door wasn't enough. I needed a thick steel hammer. Oh, right, the hammer that was thrown at the TV screen! That would work, but I couldn't just grab it because it was connected to the electricity, and if I touched it, I'd get zapped immediately.

What to do then?? After a few moments of thought, I remembered the glove that was in the kitchen. It had to be an insulator from the electricity, and that way, I could easily grab the steel hammer. I put on the glove and approached that strange TV. I won't lie, I was terrified. I just prayed to God as I got closer, and quickly, I grabbed that hammer. That's when something unexpected happened. That TV suddenly turned on by itself. It had a picture or a clip of... of... me!

I was watching myself on the TV from behind, looking at the TV! It was really strange, but that was just the beginning. I saw myself looking at the TV, and after a few moments, a girl passed by!

A girl with long, messy black hair, wearing a torn, blood-stained white dress, limping quickly behind me. Suddenly, the TV turned off, and the screen went completely black. What... what... what did I just see?!

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The Farm's Shadow - Horror Story

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The Farm's Shadow

2025, Amrit Michael

Horror Novel

After a friend vanishes, Faisal is drawn into a terrifying mystery at a remote farm. He encounters hostile supernatural beings, including shapeshifting jinn and a chilling entity mimicking his loved ones. Battling fear and disbelief, Faisal must confront these dark forces to find his friend and survive the haunted location. Trust is tested as bizarre events unfold and the line between reality and the supernatural blurs. It's a desperate fight against ancient evils that want him gone.

Faisal

The protagonist and narrator. He's searching for his missing friend Ahmed, is prone to anger and impulsive actions, and becomes the primary target of the supernatural forces at the farm, experiencing terrifying visions and attacks.

Abdulaziz

Faisal's friend who accompanies him to the farm. Initially skeptical, he witnesses the strange events alongside Faisal but struggles to understand them, showing loyalty despite his fear and confusion.

Khalid

Faisal's friend who seemingly knows about the haunted nature of the farm and deliberately sent Faisal there. He is openly hostile towards Faisal and appears indifferent to the danger.

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I didn't snap until one of the guys said,
"Where's Ahmed?"

...................

I shot back right away, "First off, where's Khalid?"
One of the guys pointed me to the room Khalid always slept in.
That's when I started running. The guys were asking me, "What's up? What's going on?" I went into the room and Khalid was asleep. I went over to him and gave him the hardest slap you could possibly give a sleeping person. He jumped out of bed, startled, and started looking around everywhere. He looked at me, then at the guys standing by the door, who were totally weirded out by what I'd done. Then he looked at me, stunned, like it was just hitting him, and said, "What are you doing here?"
I said with a laugh, "Well, hey there! My bad, woke you up by mistake!"
He glared at me and said, "Get lost!"
I couldn't hold back then. I grabbed the glass that was on the table and smashed it over his head.
I felt this rush of happiness when I saw the blood pouring from his head and his screams filling the place.
Some of the guys crowded around Khalid, and the rest grabbed me and pulled me out. They started yelling at me. I was laughing my head off, a totally hysterical laugh.
The guys started getting scared of me. They backed away and started whispering, "Man, what is this guy drinking?"
Then one of the guys came over and said, "Dude, don't just drink anything you find lying around. We're in America, man. Be careful!"
I looked at him and said, "You be careful what you say, or I'll bury you alive!"
He got scared and shut up, then pulled himself away and left. Everyone went quiet. Some of them went over to Khalid to see what happened to him.
Time passed, and then one of the guys came over and was talking to the rest of them. He said, "Hey everyone, call Mashari. Get him to come over. He's the only one who knows how to handle this crazy guy."
(He meant me.)
(Mashari is a good guy, got a pure heart. He lives with us in the apartment, and honestly, he's the only one I can vent to and tell everything that's on my mind. He listens and understands me. And whenever he sees me sad, he turns that sadness into happiness. Just seeing him is happiness.)
I felt sleepy right then and fell asleep right where I was. I woke up to Mashari's voice trying to wake me up, saying, "Faisal, get up. Faisal."
And one of the guys was telling him, "Be careful with him. You saw what he did to Khalid."
Mashari looked at me and said, "Faisal, what's up, man?"
I said, "Nothing, I'm fine!"
He said, "Okay, where's Ahmed...?"
I said, "Ask the donkey named Khalid!"
He said, "How would Khalid know? And why did you do that to him?"
I said, "He knows!"
He said, "Man, I'm asking you and you're telling me to ask Khalid, and 'he knows'!"
After Mashari trying to get me to tell him everything... I told him everything, from the start of the story until I got back to the place...



After Mashari tried to get me to tell him everything...?
I told him everything from the start of the story until I got back to the place.

...............

Mashari's face didn't exactly show he believed what I was saying, but he was trying to make me think he did. Then he said he was gonna go to sleep.
I grabbed him and said, "I just spent an hour telling you the story, and now you're gonna go to sleep?!"
He said, faking it, "Okay, so where do we look for Ahmed? You know the place?"
I went quiet and didn't answer him, I was so mad at him.
He got up and went to his room, and I just sat alone in the living room with the guys – some were asleep, some were on their beds, some were messing with their phones. Basically, everyone was in their own world.
Time passed, and my head was pounding from thinking about Ahmed's situation and how I could possibly help him, and these guys weren't even believing me.
A little while later, Khalid came out of the room. He had his head wrapped in bandages and was holding his head with his hand. He looked at me with contempt, then went to the kitchen. He came back, and before he went back into the room, I said to him, "Why are you doing all this to me...?"
He pointed to his head and said, "And why did you do this to me...?"
I said, "No, seriously... I didn't kill anyone in your family for you to take me to a place haunted by جن (jinn)!"
He said, "Honestly, Faisal, I can't stand being in the same house as you anymore. And from what I heard, that place either makes you crazy or makes you kill yourself, but honestly, it just made you crazy. And I wish you'd kill yourself, seriously, you'd be doing me a favor."
I looked at him with hate and said, "Okay, fine. The hate between us is just getting bigger and bigger, to the point you want me dead. Okay, whatever, but what's poor Ahmed got to do with it?"
He said, "Look, I like that kid, but what could I do for him? I warned him and he didn't listen. And if I'd gotten him out by force, you would have suspected something!"
I said, pissed off, "God take you! And this is you liking him?!"
He laughed, a laugh that just made me angrier. I said, "Get lost, seriously, or I'll kill you. Nobody's gonna save you from me this time!"
He said mockingly, "You? Kill me? Okay, come on, show me!"
I started getting nervous, but my tension eased up a lot when I saw Mashari, who looked shocked. Mashari said, "Khalid, is what I heard true...?"
Khalid told him, "Nah, relax, I was just messing with him, playing dumb!"
Mashari said, "You're taking me to that place right now?"
Khalid started looking at Mashari scared.
Mashari said, "Seriously, Faisal's story is true!"
Khalid said, "Dude, you believe things too easily!"
Mashari said, "No, I just got online and typed in 'story of the farm where the grandfather and his grandsons died on the same day,' and the description that Faisal gave popped up. I was just coming to ask you what happened to double-check, but okay, you just saved me the trouble and confirmed that the story is real!"
Khalid scratched his head and started looking at the ground.
Mashari was yelling at Khalid, and I wasn't even paying attention. Ever since I left that place, I've been feeling something... something around me. I even felt like I wanted to throw up. I got up, and Mashari was still yelling at Khalid. I went to the bathroom to try and throw up. I looked at myself in the mirror, but... it wasn't me...
In the mirror was someone else, an old man. His features looked a lot like Ahmed's. I turned my face away, I couldn't look anymore.
And I kept saying and repeating, "No, no, I'm just imagining things because I'm thinking about Ahmed so much." I turned to see if the mirror was still showing the man?
I turned back because I was freaked out. But what was that?
Something was written on the wall in English: "Jack and Sam." And it was written in red, looked like blood. I went crazy, lost it completely. But I wish it had stopped there. The power went out. From fear, I put my hands over my eyes so I wouldn't see, and the place was already dark!
And I leaned against the wall, remembering God. I heard someone sigh, like they were right next to me, that's how loud the sigh was.
He was whispering in my ear and saying, "Don't think." And he'd sigh and finish, "Don't ever think about going to the farm." And he kept repeating, "Don't try to go." And I still had my hands over my eyes and was remembering God. Then the power came back on, and I ran and opened the bathroom door like a maniac and bolted out until I bumped into one of the guys named Abdulaziz. He said to me, "Whoa there, what's up? What's got you in such a hurry?"
I was out of breath and said, "Did the power go out?"
He told me, "No, the power didn't go out!"
And he left me and went to the bathroom...
At that moment, I was sure that what I saw was some kind of magic that only I could see. But I found out that wasn't true when Abdulaziz called out to me and said, "Faisal, what's this written on the wall?"
Then he said, "And who are Jack and Sam...?"
I went over to him, and those two names were actually there. I looked at the mirror, and thanked God I could see myself again!
I asked Abdulaziz, "Where's Mashari?" He shocked me by saying, "He left with Khalid. He said he was going to..."
I said, "The farm..."
He told me, "Yeah, yeah, the farm!"
That's when I remembered that moment when the power went out in the bathroom and the thing that came to me in the bathroom said, "Don't try to go." He must have said that because something is going to happen.
I got angry and started yelling, "Why is all this happening to me? What did I do?"




I got pissed off and started yelling, "Why is all this happening to me?! What did I do?!"

.................

Abdulaziz and I left the house. I let Abdulaziz drive 'cause I was tired and dizzy. The whole way, Abdulaziz kept saying, "Why are we going out at this hour?"
It was 7 AM, and the sun was already up. (Man, I didn't expect to be up this late.) We were obviously heading to the farm.
I found the way online and showed it to Abdulaziz. It was gonna be a while before we got there, but the thought that it was daytime made me feel better. Even with how tired I was, I couldn't keep myself awake and fell asleep...
I woke up to Abdulaziz's voice telling me, "Get up, we're at the place you wanted to go." I got out of the car, looked around, and it was the same place I'd been before. Abdulaziz looked at me and said, "It's all trees. What do you wanna do here?"
I said, "Just follow me." I walked through the trees to get to the farm, and after a bit, we got there. It looked different than it did at night.
I yelled out, "Mashari!"
Abdulaziz said, "This is the farm Mashari and Khalid went to?!"
I said, "Yeah."
He said, "Dude, you don't have to go everywhere they go!"
I said, "Just be quiet, seriously. And besides, logically, would I wear myself out and come here just to go where they go?"
He said, "Okay, then why are you here...?"
I said, "So nothing happens to them. And more importantly, for Ahmed."
He went quiet after that, and I went to look for Mashari and Khalid. After I gave up hope of finding them, I thought to myself (Maybe they didn't even come.)
I went looking for Ahmed everywhere, and time passed until I was tired. I was heading back to Abdulaziz, who was sitting far away, looking at the place. But this time he wasn't alone. He was talking to the little girl. Yeah, the one I saw the first time I came to this place. I saw her and ran toward them and yelled, "Abdulaziz, don't let her leave!" Abdulaziz looked confused.
I got to them, and the girl stood in front of me and said, "Hahahaha, I won't try to go, but you..."
I got nervous, especially since I knew what she was. Of course, since we're Muslims, we know there's no such thing as spirits, that spirits are with God. But we do know about something called jinn! Jinn that can shapeshift, hurt people, do magic. I started reading Ayat al-Kursi out loud. I noticed the girl moving back little by little. I stopped reading just to catch my breath and keep going, but she took her chance. She ran toward me, grabbed my hands, and bit me. I screamed. She was tearing at my flesh and eating. Yeah, eating. And blood was spraying everywhere. I started screaming and crying from the pain...

..................

I screamed. She was tearing at my flesh and eating. Yeah, eating. And blood was spraying everywhere.
I started screaming and crying from the pain.

..................

I fell to my knees, and she was still eating.
Abdulaziz was standing there, stunned by what he was seeing.
He snapped out of his shock and hit her on the head with a rock. And then the girl ran off, spitting out the blood she had in her mouth. I grabbed my bleeding hand with my other hand, hoping to stop the blood, but it was pouring out between my fingers. Ah, the pain was unbearable. Abdulaziz sat down in front of me, took off his jacket, and wrapped it around my hand. He said, "I'll go get the wound disinfectant from the car right now and come back and get you, and we'll get out of here!"
I nodded my head at him, meaning (Don't go, Abdulaziz), but he got up and ran off. I just sat there fighting for my life, my blood everywhere around me. Two wounds, one on my hand and the other in my heart!
My cell phone rang. It was in my pocket. I was in pain and couldn't get it out. But wait... what's this? Seriously? There's reception in this place?
No, no way. I took it out and looked at the caller ID, and that's when I was shocked...? The name was "Your Double." No, no way. I don't remember saving this number or writing this name for anyone I know... Wait... wait... there's no number, just a name?
I forgot about the pain in my injured hand, especially since there was no reception on the phone. I threw my phone as hard as I could, hoping to break it and get rid of what I was seeing, but the screen just cracked, and it was still working and still ringing. I started screaming and calling out to Abdulaziz: "Abdulaziz! Abdulaziz!"
Wait... I hear someone calling me...? No, no, that's not Abdulaziz's voice. It was a hoarse voice, and I heard it close to me. I looked at the phone, and that's when I was surprised... The voice was actually coming from the phone. Who is this "Your Double" person?
I didn't answer the call, how was the sound coming from the phone...? He was calling me, "Faisal."
My tongue was tied, and I couldn't say a word. And then he said, "It's better if I come to you, right?"
As soon as he said that, I started looking around everywhere. From fear and moving around so much, I hit my injured hand hard against my leg, and it started bleeding again. I screamed "Aaahh!" and started crying tears of pain.
But at that moment, I felt someone behind me. I was gonna turn around and see who it was, but something was stopping me, I don't know why.
But I felt relieved when I heard Abdulaziz's voice saying to me, "Why are you crying?"
I didn't answer him because his question was beyond stupid!
And then he sat down behind me and grabbed my injured hand and said, "It's not the first time I've seen you, but it's the first time you've seen me...?"
Right away, I turned my face, and that's when I saw something I hadn't seen in all the years I'd lived, something that froze my limbs...
From fear, I got up and ran and ran and didn't look back. I was running through the trees toward the road where we parked the car, hoping to find Abdulaziz. And my injured hand was hitting the trees and bleeding, but I didn't stop. I was running and seeking refuge in God. What I saw was disgusting and terrifying. The body was Abdulaziz's body, and even the hair was Abdulaziz's hair, but the face, God protect us. Finally, I reached the road where we parked. But wait... where's the car?
No, no way. Abdulaziz wouldn't leave me. There's no way he'd do that. Khalid did it, and I let it go 'cause he hates me, but Abdulaziz... I'm sure it's a dream... You know that feeling when you live with someone you love and who loves you, and the moment you need someone, they leave you.
Anyway, I felt that feeling, and there was something else telling me, "No way, this is your friend, he wouldn't do that."
And in an instant, I heard a sound behind me. I turned around, scared, and it was that thing with the terrifying face. And as soon as I saw it, I broke down and sat on my knees, saying, "Fear God in me! You've ruined me and fried my nerves!"
It smiled at me, a smile that made its face even more hideous, and said, "I am your double, and the jinn who live on the farm asked me to get rid of you because they can't hurt you any more than this, and they can't get you away from their home. And since I am your double, I advise you to leave this place, or their strongest devils will get you and won't leave you until you're dead."
It went quiet and stared at me, and then it turned and walked away. Can you imagine... I wanted to ask it a lot of things, but, I kept telling myself (No, I've definitely gone crazy.) I won't lie and say I wasn't scared of it, but I think I'd seen worse.
And minute after minute passed, and hour after hour, and I was in the same position, scared and thinking, until I saw Abdulaziz coming, running through the trees in the opposite direction of the farm. He stopped running and looked at me, smiling. That's when I got up quickly and backed away and said, "Are you Abdulaziz?"
He looked surprised and said, "Can't you see...?"
I said, "Swear you're Abdulaziz."
He said, "I swear I'm Abdulaziz. What's wrong with you?"





He looked at me, smiling. I got up quickly and backed away and said, "Are you Abdulaziz?"
He looked surprised and said, "Can't you see...?"
I said, "Swear you're Abdulaziz."
He said, "I swear I'm Abdulaziz. What's wrong with you?"

..................

Right then, I ran to him and hugged him and said, "So you didn't leave me?"
He looked surprised and said, "Why would I leave you? Am I crazy? And besides, you idiot, why did you come here? Man, I got tired looking for you, God forgive you. And look at your hand, you jerk, the wound got way bigger than before, what did you do...?"
I said, "Forget all that talk and cussing, and answer me, where'd you take the car?"
He said, "I didn't take it anywhere. That's why I took so long, because I was looking for it. It's really weird!"
Then he gasped and said, "Man, when I went to look for you, I decided to go into the shack. I thought maybe I'd find you in there. And while I was looking in the shack, I passed by a room that was open, and there was someone sleeping in it. And that person was Ahmed. And I was about to go in and wake him up, but an old man who looked like Ahmed came up behind me and grabbed me and told me, all angry, 'Get out of this shack and don't let me see you again!' I told him, 'This is my friend,' but he kept repeating, 'This is my son, not your friend.' And I left after I lost hope, but seriously, Faisal, it was Ahmed, I'm sure of it. And besides, Faisal, you didn't tell me that the house had people in it. Man, I was so embarrassed, God forgive you...?"
I said, "Seriously...? Let's go to the shack right now!"
Abdulaziz started yelling at me and saying things like "You want us to go into someone's house?" and all that.
And in the moments he was yelling, Abdulaziz suddenly went quiet... and started looking behind me. I got scared and slowly turned my head to see what had caught his attention, and that's when I was shocked.....?
I saw my little brother? And he was pointing to the road that leads us out of this place?
Abdulaziz said, surprised, "Doesn't that look like your brother whose picture you showed us...?"
I said, "That's not just like him, it is him!"
Abdulaziz said, "So your family is living in America now, or what...?"
I screamed, "No, no!"
And I turned to see what he was doing, and he was... in the same position. Then he said in that childish voice I hadn't heard in a long time, "Faisal, this is the road that will take you out of our home!"
And he went quiet... And then he said, "We don't want anything from you!"
And then he just stared at us, silent, as if he was waiting for us to leave. Of course, there's no way I'm going back after all this, and I'm not leaving without Ahmed. Abdulaziz yelled, "Man, explain to me what's going on here! My brain is messed up, seriously! And God knows I don't want to scare you, but I have a feeling this place isn't a place for us humans...?"
I said, "You got it!"
He looked at me scared and said, "What do you mean...? What are you getting at...?"
I said, "I'll explain later!"
And I turned back to see where my brother, or my brother's double, was, but... he wasn't there. He disappeared, but I heard his laughter close to me. And I turned, and he was standing next to me, smiling at me and telling me, "I love you, Fisooli..."
That's when I went crazy. I pushed Abdulaziz, who was standing next to me, and walked away, saying defiantly, "I know you're not my brother, and I know you just want to get me out. And I'm not leaving here without Ahmed. Got it? Ahmed is my friend, and I'm not leaving him. Besides, Ahmed hasn't done anything to you. What do you want with him? May you all go to hell!"
My brother's double smiled at me and said in a childish way, "I'm your brother. Why are you yelling at me?!"
I said, "I know you're planning to take advantage of the fact that I'm an expat and I miss my family, but seriously, nothing will weaken me, nothing will stand in my way, and no one will harm me unless God wills it!"
The expression on my brother's double's face started to change from a smile to a frown and anger.
And he walked away between the trees until he disappeared from our sight. Abdulaziz looked at me, came over to me, grabbed my hand, and whispered angrily, "You're gonna tell me what's going on right now, or I'll kill you!"
I pushed him away and said with a laugh, "It's not that serious!" He said, "No, seriously, my brain is messed up!"
I said, "Okay, okay, fine. Look at my hand, it really hurts... Ow."
He said, "You're talking with your mouth, not your hand!" I ignored him and sat on the ground, holding my hand. Man, the wound is really getting bigger every moment. It looks gross. I was really disgusted by my hand. After about fifteen minutes of just staring at my hand, Abdulaziz yelled, "Dude, I'm tired!"
And he was walking back and forth on the road.
I said, "Okay, sit down."
He said angrily, "No, I don't want to. And it's up to me if I sit down or not!"
I looked at him and said, "Whoa, what's up? Why are you so mad?"
He said with the same anger, "Because I realized I was an idiot for coming with you!"
I said, "Okay, my dear Abdulaziz, go ahead and leave me alone. And hopefully nothing stops you!"
He said angrily, "I wanna call someone to pick me up from this gloomy place, but my phone was in the car, and the car disappeared or got stolen!"
I said, "Don't worry about it. Get out of this place and go to the main road and flag down a car passing by and have them take you home, just like I did. It's simple!"
He said, "Seriously, give me your phone."
I said, "My phone's at the farm."
He said, "And what's it doing at the farm, I hope?!"
I said, "Whatever, I broke it!"
Abdulaziz grabbed his head and started pacing back and forth, repeating, "Why did I come out with this crazy guy?"
And then Abdulaziz gasped and said, practically jumping with joy, "Faisal! Faisal! Look, the car is over there between the trees!"
I looked where he was pointing, and it was actually there. But I swear to God, it wasn't here before. God help me, they're messing with my head. To be honest, I wasn't happy at all because I didn't want to leave without Ahmed. As I was looking at the car and thinking, Abdulaziz pulled me by the hand, got me up, and said, "Come on, come on, let's go!"
I sighed and said, "What about Ahmed...?"
He told me, "If he gets bored, he'll go home by himself. Nobody has to bring him."
I yelled in his face, "Man, understand! Jinn! Jinn! Jinn!"
He looked at me, stunned, and stammered, "Uh... what jinn?"
I said, all angry, "This place has jinn, and they took Ahmed! You get it or not...?"
He started looking at the ground. I felt his behavior had changed, and I started thinking. And after thinking, I decided and said, "Abdulaziz, okay, let's go now. But I'm coming back, got it?!"
I was waiting for Abdulaziz to tell me "Let's go" or "Come on," but he didn't answer me, didn't pay attention to me, didn't even look at me. It was like I was talking to a wall or in a language he didn't understand.
I yelled at him, "Abdulaziz! I'm talking to you?!"

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The Deserted Farm - a Horror Novel

519658

The Deserted Farm

2025, Amrit Michael

Horror Novel

A scholarship student in America finds himself trapped in a terrifying situation when a spontaneous outing with a disliked roommate leads him and a friend to a desolate, haunted farm. After his friend disappears into a hidden underground area and returns unsettlingly changed, the narrator flees, learning the chilling history of the place and the tragic, possibly vengeful, spirits within. He makes it back to his apartment shaken but safe, only to realize the full horror of what happened when his roommates ask about his missing friend.

Faisal

The narrator and protagonist, a focused scholarship student living in America who initially strongly dislikes his roommate Khalid but ends up on a frightening trip with him and another friend.

Khalid

Faisal's disliked roommate who unexpectedly suggests they hang out, drives them to a remote and eerie location, seems to have planned something sinister, and abandons them there.

Ahmed

Faisal's friend and roommate, typically cheerful and easygoing, who tags along on the trip and experiences something traumatic at the creepy location, leading to a disturbing change in his behavior.

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I'm a young guy on a scholarship studying in America.

My name is Faisal. All I cared about was my studies, really. I wanted to graduate from college with a high GPA and make my folks proud.

I was living in an apartment with a bunch of guys, and I considered them like brothers, maybe even more. We spent a lot of years together, and we had a good time. I liked all of them except for one guy...?

To be honest, I totally despised this one guy. And he knew I hated him and couldn't stand him, and he hated me too. Everybody knew we couldn't stand each other and we were always arguing and fighting over the dumbest stuff.

His name was Khalid, and he didn't pray or fast, and he also drank (alcohol). Man, I hated him and despised him.

And he was the reason for some of the trouble we got into. Every time I told the guys to just kick him out of the apartment, they wouldn't listen to me. They'd say, "We're all one, and nobody ditches anybody."

And they'd also say, "Just because you hate him doesn't mean we all have to."

And I just put up with seeing his face every single day.

Anyway... days went by, and there came a day when all the guys went out to hang out and have some fun, except for two of us. That was me, 'cause I was feeling a little under the weather, and the other was Khalid, the guy I hated, even though he was the one who suggested going out and he didn't go with 'em!

It was just him and me in the living room. I was on my laptop, and he was on his phone. I considered him invisible, like nobody else was even in the living room with me! And he was ignoring me too, so, you know, mutual feeling!

It was quiet between us, until Khalid broke the silence with a laugh... Then he stopped and just stared at me...?

I said to him, "What's up?"

He said, "Hey Faisooli, what do you say we go out together, hang out, have a good time, and be buddies?"

I said, kinda surprised, "Go out with you...?"

He said, "Yeah, why not..."

Honestly, I refused to go out with him, and he kept trying to talk me into it, swearing I had to go out with him. He kept saying, "Let's forget everything that happened between us, all the hate, and start fresh." He bugged me until I finally agreed to go out with him!

He was thrilled! I agreed, but I wasn't really sold on the idea.

Anyway... we left the apartment, and it was after dinner time. We had two cars that all of us guys shared. The guys had taken one, and the other one was there.

I got in the car with Khalid, and just then, one of the guys, his name was Ahmed, opened the car door and got in with us.

Ahmed said, "Whoa, you guys together? What's going on? How'd that happen...?"

I said, "You seein' this?"

Ahmed said, "No, seriously, what happened? You guys make up?"

Khalid said, annoyed, "Yeah, we made up! What's it to ya? And what'd you come back from the guys for anyway? C'mon, get out, we wanna go!"

Ahmed said, "Dude, what'd I do to make you mad at me? Besides, I got bored hanging with the guys and came back. But hey, it's cool you guys are going out, and I don't wanna be home by myself."

Khalid said, "Listen, just quit yakkin' and get out before I smack you with this can."

Ahmed said, "I'm not gettin' out of the car no matter what happens! And why don't you want me with you guys? Where are you headed?"

I said, "Nah, it's cool, come with us. Just ignore Khalid. Seems like he wants me to bail. And seriously, Khalid, if you get pissed off, I swear I'll hate you even more than I did before!"

Khalid said, "Alright, fine. And listen up, Ahmed, seriously, you'd better get out!"

Ahmed said, "Don't even try it, I'm not gettin' out!"

Khalid said, "Alright, you asked for it."

I was thinking to myself, "You asked for it." What did he mean by that?

Khalid started driving the car, and minute after minute, time just kept ticking by. We'd been driving for an hour.

I lost my patience and yelled, "Where the heck are you taking us?!"

Khalid said, real calm, "Just hold on a sec!"

So we waited and waited and waited... I checked my watch, and it was 1 AM.

Finally, Khalid stopped the car. But where'd he stop...? Some place that was just trees, no sign of life, totally deserted. Basically, it was a creepy place.





Finally, Khalid stopped the car. But where'd he stop?

Some place that was just trees, no sign of life, totally deserted. Basically, it was a creepy place.

................

Ahmed said, kinda ticked off, "Man, if you guys were comin' here, you should've told me! I wouldn't have bothered comin' with you. What a waste of a trip!"

I said, "Seriously, I didn't know he was bringing us here either, or I wouldn't have come."

Khalid said, "Pipe down, both of ya, and get out. You'll see this place is way cooler than those malls you guys hang out at!"

Me and Ahmed got out and started walking behind Khalid. And I gotta tell ya, this guy Ahmed was a total riot, loved laughin' and havin' a good time, even when it wasn't exactly the right moment. I was swatting away branches hitting me in the face, and Ahmed was singin'. Told ya, even at the wrong times.

Anyway... we kept walking behind Khalid, and it felt like forever. We were getting tired.

Ahmed yelled, "Dude, where the heck are you taking us? We're beat!"

Khalid said, "Almost there, almost there!"

A few minutes later, we got there. And the place was like a farm with a shack, and next to the shack was a super small house, so small I couldn't even stand up inside it. On the other side, there was a well. The whole place was deserted, no life anywhere. Everything about it told you nobody had lived there for years!

Khalid said, "Where's the flashlight?"

Ahmed said, "I dunno. And seriously, what is this place?"

Khalid said, "Hold on, let me run back and grab the flashlight from the car. I'll come back and tell you guys why I brought you here and what this place is."

And he took off running.

Ahmed started walking towards the shack.

I said, "Hey Ahmed, stick around here till Khalid gets back with the flashlight. This place is spooky. You never know, there might be snakes or scorpions."

Ahmed said, "Nah man, let me check it out."

And Ahmed kept walking towards the shack.

A nearby dam caught my eye, and I was curious what was behind it...?

While I was checking out the place, I heard a moan behind me. I spun around, looking left and right, but there was nobody there...

I said, "Khalid, is that you...?"

Just then, I heard Ahmed scream, and I whipped my head around towards the shack. And I saw a whole bunch of bats flying out...?

I freaked out and my limbs felt frozen with terror.

I took a deep breath and ran towards the shack and stood in front of it. I looked around, left and right. I yelled out, "Ahmed! Hey Ahmed, where are you?" I didn't get any answer. My heart was poundin' from fear, I couldn't even breathe. It was dark, I was alone, scared... That was the situation.

Terror had a hold of me, but... my spirit came back the moment I heard Ahmed's voice in pain.

He sounded like he was hurt by something, but I was just happy I heard his voice. I followed the sound till I reached that tiny house next to the shack. I lowered my head and looked, and this house was actually an entrance going down. There was a ladder going down.

And I could hear Ahmed moaning down there... I yelled, "Ahmed! Can you hear me?!"

Ahmed's painful sounds were still there, but he didn't answer me...

I thought about going down, but... the look of the place spooked me.

I sighed and started trying to go down, but... something inside me was telling me, "Don't go down." While I was thinking, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around scared, and it was... a little girl, fair-skinned with long black hair, wearing a black dress as black as night. She had a little red bag with her, and her big black eyes were full of tears. She whispered sadly to me, "What are you looking for?"

I didn't answer her and just kept thinking where she came from, and why was she crying?

She looked at me with clear sadness and pain and said, the tears racing her words, "Are you looking for your friend, like I looked for my grandfather?" This made me nervous, and I asked myself, "How did she know I was looking for Ahmed, and what's the deal with her grandfather?"

I said, sadly and feeling sorry for her, "Where's your grandfather...?"

She told me, "He went far away, very far away."

This girl was starting to freak me out??

I said, "He'll come back, don't worry. But what's your name...?"

She told me, "Wafaa. That's the name my grandfather chose for me!"

I said, "Okay. Where are your mom and dad...?"

She told me in a spooky way, "I don't have a mother or father. I have my grandfather, and he's gone!"

I thought maybe she was an orphan and her grandfather had passed away, but what was her story, and what was she doing in a place like this...?

I said, trying to get rid of her 'cause I was starting to get scared of her, "Okay, I'm going down there!"

She shook her head and turned and started walking towards that dam that had caught my eye earlier. I watched her till she went around the dam and I couldn't see her anymore.

I went back to what I was doing, but this time the sound was gone. Ahmed's painful sound was gone, his moaning sound was gone.






I went back to what I was doing, but this time the sound was gone. Ahmed's painful sound was gone, his moaning sound was gone.

...............

I just put my trust in God and went down... Man, it was a long, long ladder. It took me a while to get to the bottom. Finally, I made it. It was like a room, not big, not small, just medium size, totally dark. The walls were made of mud, and the wooden doors were pretty much busted. It looked weird and creepy, like a bad omen. I didn't take a single step. I just stood there by the ladder, looking around. I tried to move 'cause the ladder was on the right side of the room and I couldn't see the left side.

I started walking and turned to see the rest of the room, and the shocker? Ahmed was on the ground. I ran over to him and started shaking him. "Ahmed... Ahmed!" I gave him a couple of light slaps and put his head on my lap and tried to wake him up. A minute later, I saw him open his eyes.

He said, kinda groggy, "Faisal, is that you...?"

I said, "Yeah, it's me, Faisal. What happened to you?"

He got up off my lap and stood up on his own two feet. He held out his hand and said, "Faisal, we gotta get outta this place fast!"

I just stared at his hand and then at his face, totally confused...?

He yelled at me, pissed off, "I said, FAST!"

It was the first time I'd ever seen him that mad. I was used to seeing him laugh and smile all the time, no matter what happened, he never got mad.

I grabbed his hand and walked with him, and we got outta that place. We got up top, and I was walking behind Ahmed as he got away from the shack. Then he stopped and turned around to me and said, all worked up, "Where's that jerk Khalid?"

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot about Khalid."

I said, "Honestly, I dunno!"

He started yelling at me, "God take you and Khalid for bringing us to a place like this...!"

I said, "What's that got to do with me? Seriously, I didn't tell him to bring us here!"

He said, "I figured out you're clueless, Faisal! You guys haven't gotten along for years, and all of a sudden he comes and says, 'Let's be buddies,' and takes you to a place like this? Don't you think? Khalid ditched us! I hope God takes his soul!"

I was totally spaced out right there. I'd never in my life thought Khalid would do something that awful. Now I knew why he kept trying to get Ahmed out of the car and why he told him, "You asked for it."

While I was thinking, Ahmed sat down on the ground and started crying. Yeah, crying?

I sat down next to him and put my arm around him and said, "Why are you crying, Ahmed? We've never seen you like this."

He said, trying to wipe away his tears, "You didn't see what I saw. You didn't see anything? This place isn't just a farm with a shack, and a tiny house next to it, and a well. This place is WAY, WAY bigger than that! I saw something in this place you wouldn't even imagine. This place, and this place is..." And he trailed off, just staring at the place with fear and sadness.

Then he got up from next to me and stood in front of me and said, "So what do we do now...?"

I looked at him, feeling hopeless. Minute after minute, we were just standing there. And then I heard that same moaning sound behind me again. I jumped up and looked behind me, left, right, up, down. Nobody was there?

Ahmed said, "What's up?"

I said, "Do you hear that sound?"

And it kept getting louder, like it was getting closer?

He told me, "No, I don't hear anything!"

I yelled, "Oh my God!"

Then the whole place went silent...

Time went by, and kept going, and the fear of the place kept growing, even the sound of the wind was scary.

Then I turned and started looking at that dam again. That's when I saw something. Something moving faster, faster, faster than you could imagine. It was black. I shook Ahmed while I was looking at the dam. He wasn't paying attention to me. I turned my head to see what Ahmed was doing, but... he was standing there with his mouth open, staring towards the shack. I turned to see what Ahmed was looking at, and that's when... my limbs froze and terror took over. It was a person, really TALL, black, with red eyes. It was staring at us, standing by the shack.

This time it was staring specifically at me. Right then, I kinda lost it and gave Ahmed the hardest slap I could. Ahmed jumped like he'd been asleep, and he looked at me all surprised.

I grabbed his hand, and he didn't want to move.

Then he turned his face towards the shack and saw that terrifying person. That's when Ahmed freaked out and took off running, and I ran after him.

We ran back the same way we came, through the trees covering the path. We ran and ran, but something stopped us...?

A small boy stood in front of us and let out a death scream, and then he jumped on Ahmed and knocked him down. And he started whispering in Ahmed's ear, and Ahmed was screaming.

I didn't help him? 'Cause I felt a hand grab mine.

And it was COLD. I turned, and it was that little girl, but this time her neck was bleeding and she had scratches and wounds on her. I yanked my hand away and fell to the ground. The girl yelled in my face and said, "Don't even try! Your friend is ours!!"

("What do you mean, your friend is ours?")

I turned to see where Ahmed was, but he was... he was standing there, looking at me with anger, and that boy was gone. I turned to see the girl, but she was gone too. I got up and went over to Ahmed and said, "Ahmed, we gotta get outta here!" He looked at me with a weird look and said, "You go!"

I yelled in his face, "What's up with you? Are you crazy?!"

He laughed and said, "I'm not leaving here, this place is my home!"

And he left me and walked towards the shack.




He laughed and said, "I'm not leaving here, this place is my home!"

And he left me and walked towards the shack.

................

They had a hold of Ahmed, and what was I gonna do? Go back and get him? But how? Or should I just leave and bail on him? I didn't think about it for long. I decided to get outta that place.

I walked through the trees for a long time. Finally, I got to the spot where Khalid had parked the car.

But of course, Khalid and the car weren't there anymore. I walked along the road we came on, but going the other way, just to get outta that creepy place. As I walked, I checked my watch, and it was 3 AM. That meant two hours had passed since we got there. I kept walking. The place was dark, and the wind was blowing hard. I walked and walked, until I started seeing light... Yeah, the streetlights, and cars going back and forth. I wasn't sure what to do. Okay, I got outta that cursed place, but where do I go? Khalid took us way out here. Even this highway, this street, this whole area, I'd never seen it before since I came to this country, and I've been living here for years.

I flagged down a car, and there was a young guy and his dad in it. I asked the guy if he knew a certain street in a certain neighborhood, and he said he did, which was great, but it was far away.

Anyway... they agreed to give me a ride. They were Americans, of course. The young guy started driving, and I just kept looking back at the place I came from, that cursed place. The old man saw me and said, speaking English, "What are you looking at...?"

I said, "At that place!" And I pointed at it.

He said to me, "Do you know what that place is, and why it's deserted while the road next to it is full of people...?"

I said, "No, I don't know, but I went in there and found a farm!"

He said, "Did you run into anything?"

I said, "Like what?"

He said, "Did you see anyone, or were you spoken to by strange people and children...?"

I was shocked by what the old man said, and I said, lying of course, "No, but what's the story of the children and the strange people, and the whole farm?"

The old man said, "Many years ago, there was an old sorcerer in that farm. He used to live with friends from the Jinn, and his human friends rarely visited him. His wife passed away when she was young, and they only had one son.

His son got married years ago and had two children, a boy and a girl. He used to visit his old father at the farm constantly, and his father loved him very much and loved his two grandchildren.

One time, his son left his children with his old father and went with his wife out of the country. A few days after they left, the old man got the news that his son and his wife had died in a car accident. He was very sad because he loved his son deeply. So he was the one who raised his two grandchildren, and he treated them kindly and with love. Everyone who visited him said he was the best grandfather.

He lived with his two grandchildren and his friends from the Jinn. And he let his grandchildren get to know the Jinn, and they became their friends too.

One day, the grandfather died during one of his rare meetings with his human friends. So they decided to bury him next to his farm and put a dam around his grave. Before they buried him, they told the two grandchildren that their grandfather had left.

They cried and screamed and refused to go bury their grandfather and stayed in the shack.

The people went to the burial, and after they finished burying him, they went to see the two children to decide if they would go to an orphanage or if someone would adopt them.

But... they found them dead in their grandfather's room. The girl's neck was full of scratches and knife wounds, which caused severe bleeding that led to her death. As for the boy, after the examination, they discovered he died from suffocation, and there were marks from his sister's hand on his neck.

And they found a piece of paper on the grandfather's bed, and it said, "My sister and I are going to kill ourselves because our grandfather was everything in our lives, and he is gone, so what do we want after him?"

And they buried them next to their grandfather.

The old man stopped, and then continued, "Many people said that after the death of the grandfather and the two children, the spirits of the two children took over the place. And they might take revenge on anyone who enters that farm. Everyone who went there came back either crazy or they would come back later and commit suicide."

I said, "Okay. Did anyone go in there and get taken by the children...?"

The old man said, "No one ever went in there without coming back. But they come back to commit suicide or to live in a room with a bunch of crazy people."

The old man was quiet after that, then said, "I can't believe you went into that place?"

I said, "Why?"

The old man said, "Nobody goes in and comes back okay. Did you do something specific for them to leave you alone?"

I said, "No!"

He said, "That's strange!"

After that, we finished the trip in silence.

We finally arrived, and I thanked them very, very much.

And I got out fast. I ran until I got in front of the apartment. And before I could knock on the door, I felt dizzy, and that's the last thing I remember.

I woke up, and I was in the living room, and the guys were moving around. One of the guys saw me and yelled, "Hey guys! Faisal's up!"

They all crowded around me, asking what happened, what was wrong, how did it happen. I wasn't really processing anything, and I didn't really focus until one of the guys said,

"Where's Ahmed?"

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