The air buzzed with summer heat. Crickets chirped beyond the open windows, and cicadas screamed in the trees like broken machines. The sun had just dipped below the horizon when Alex opened his eyes—only, they weren't his.
Not his body.
Not his world.
Again.
The Fear System had delivered him into another life.
He sat cross-legged on a plush carpet, hands resting on denim-clad knees. Nail polish chipped. A candy bracelet on his wrist. His name, according to the memories already stitching themselves into his mind, was Maya Ellison, age seventeen.
She was babysitting tonight.
And she was alone.
[Fear System Sync Complete]
New Host: Maya Ellison, Age 17
Arc: The Babysitter – Chapter 1
Role: Target
Primary Objective: Survive the Night.
Secondary Objective: Identify the Stalker's Entry Point.
System Difficulty Rating: 4.2/5
Warning: Entity Already Inside the House.
Alex's heart lurched in Maya's chest.
This one was going to be fast.
He scanned the room—polished floors, white walls, tasteful beige furniture. A house too clean, too quiet. The kind of silence you'd only find in places that didn't feel lived in. The little girl, Gracie, was already asleep upstairs. Maya's phone rested on the armrest, screen glowing dimly.
10:48 PM.
Just under eight hours to survive.
And something was already here.
Alex rose, her hand brushing her jean jacket as she approached the hallway. The creak in the floorboards was faint, but deliberate.
Too deliberate.
She paused.
Then the phone rang.
Shrill and sudden.
Alex jumped, pulse thundering in Maya's throat. She snatched up the phone.
Unknown number.
She hesitated, then answered.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
Just a faint hiss.
Then:
"I see you."
A chill slid down her back.
She hung up.
The second call came five minutes later.
She almost didn't answer, but the Fear System glowed red in the corner of her mind, pulsing insistently. This was part of it.
She pressed the screen.
"Hello?"
This time, a low breath answered.
Heavy. Wet.
Like someone standing just inches away.
Then a whisper.
"Do you see me?"
She slammed the phone down.
[System Notice: Entity Phase One Initiated – Psychological Infiltration]
Emotional Disruption Detected – Fear Level Rising.
Recommendation: Secure Entry Points and Observe Child.
Alex ran up the stairs, two at a time. Gracie's bedroom door was cracked.
The girl was safe—curled beneath a mountain of plush animals, her thumb in her mouth.
Still breathing.
Still sleeping.
But something was off.
The curtains were swaying.
The windows were shut.
Back downstairs, she bolted every door. Checked each lock twice. The back sliding door had no latch, just a flimsy bar.
She wedged a chair against it.
The kitchen window was cracked open.
She shut it tight.
Then the phone rang again.
She didn't answer this time.
Instead, she checked the caller ID.
No number.
Just a black screen.
And a slow, rhythmic beep.
Then—a knock at the door.
Not the front.
The basement.
Alex stood frozen in the hallway, phone clutched like a weapon.
Basements don't have external entrances. At least—not this one.
But the knock came again.
Three slow raps.
She stepped toward the basement door, careful, her breath shallow.
There was no window on the door. No way to see inside.
Just sound.
Another knock.
Then—
Her phone lit up again.
CALLING: GRACIE'S ROOM
Audio Feed Active
Her blood ran cold.
She hadn't set up a baby monitor.
There was no camera.
But someone was sending audio from upstairs.
She answered.
Static crackled.
Then—
Soft breathing.
A shuffle of fabric.
And a man's voice: "She's beautiful when she sleeps."
Alex bolted upstairs.
Gracie was still in bed.
But her closet door was open.
Just a crack.
Too small for anyone to squeeze through.
Or so it seemed.
Until it shifted.
A breath escaped.
From inside.
She slammed it shut, jammed a chair beneath the knob.
Then scooped up Gracie, careful not to wake her.
Back downstairs, she placed the child gently on the couch and turned on every single light.
[System Update: Entity Observation Escalating – Physical Presence Manifesting Soon]
Entity Pattern: Known as "The Caller" – Behavior: Invasive, Manipulative, Sadistic
Motivation: Fear Amplification through Psychological Collapse
Known Weakness: Exposure + Confrontation During Phase Two
Phase One Ending In: 23 Minutes
Time ticked forward.
The house grew colder.
The walls no longer felt secure.
And then the power cut out.
She scrambled for her phone flashlight. The room plunged into deep shadow. Gracie stirred on the couch, murmuring.
"Maya…?"
"Shh," Alex whispered. "It's okay."
It wasn't.
Footsteps echoed upstairs.
Heavy.
Slow.
Then a thud.
Something fell.
Or jumped.
Or was dropped.
She couldn't tell.
Then another sound.
A second set of footsteps.
Alex felt it in her spine: There was more than one presence in the house now.
She backed toward the kitchen, grabbing the biggest knife she could find.
Her phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown Number:
"Don't forget to check the basement."
She turned just as the basement door creaked open on its own.
And a voice echoed from below.
"You forgot to lock me in."