A Life Is Loading

The room was drowning in silence, except for the sound of their rapid breathing. The air was thick, cold, and heavy with an unseen force pressing against them. Clay felt like he was suffocating in fear, in uncertainty, in the horrifying reality that the thing haunting them had just spoken the most terrifying words of all.

"Because of your wife."

Clay's eyes were locked onto Emily, searching her face for answers. She looked pale, her lips trembling, her entire body shaking as she stood frozen.

"Emily," Clay whispered, his voice hoarse. "What is it talking about? What did you do?"

Emily shook her head violently. "I don't know, Clay! I swear, I don't know!" Her voice cracked, desperate, pleading.

But Clay didn't believe her. He couldn't.

The shadow in the room moved again, shifting, twisting unnaturally. The walls seemed to stretch and contract as if the house itself was breathing with it.

Then, it laughed.

Low. Cold. Amused.

"She lies."

The words slithered through the air, and for the first time, Clay felt something different—a sharp pain in his chest. It was the pain of betrayal.

Lily whimpered, gripping onto his shirt. "Daddy…" she whispered. "Ben said we don't have much time."

Clay stiffened.

Not much time for what?

He turned to Emily again, his hands trembling. "Tell me the truth." His voice was steel, no longer pleading, no longer gentle. "What does this thing mean? Why is it doing this to us? Why did it take our son?"

Emily's eyes darted around wildly, as if looking for an escape, but there was none.

The shadow loomed closer.

"Tell him, Emily," it crooned. "Or should I?"

The room darkened, the very air shifting with unnatural energy. The walls groaned, and from somewhere deep inside the house, a sound like distant wailing echoed through the halls.

Emily gasped, covering her ears, as if the noise was burning into her soul. "No… no…" she sobbed.

Clay grabbed her arms, shaking her. "Tell me, damn it! What do you know?!"

And then, it happened.

Emily dropped to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. And the truth spilled from her lips like poison.

Emily's Secret

"I—" Emily's voice cracked. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I swear, Clay, I never wanted this!"

Clay felt his stomach twist. "Wanted what?"

Emily's face was soaked in tears. Her hands clutched her chest as if the weight of her own secret was suffocating her. "It was years ago… before we got married…"

Clay's breath hitched.

Emily squeezed her eyes shut. "I made a deal."

The words hit him like a punch to the gut.

Clay staggered back. "A deal? With who?!"

Emily sobbed harder, her nails digging into her skin. "I—I didn't know what I was doing! I was young… desperate… I just wanted a better life. I wanted a family. I wanted happiness." She looked up at Clay, eyes filled with guilt. "And I got it, Clay. I got everything I wanted. But—"

Her voice broke.

Clay's chest tightened. "But what?"

Emily's breath shuddered. "But the price was my firstborn."

The world stopped.

Clay felt like he had been punched in the lungs.

His heart pounded. His vision blurred. His mind refused to process what she had just said.

A deal.

A price.

Ben.

Clay stumbled back, his legs weak. "No…" His voice was barely a whisper. "No, that can't be true."

Emily sobbed. "I didn't think it was real! I thought it was just… I thought it was just a stupid story, a myth, something that didn't actually happen in real life! I never thought—"

She broke down, shaking her head violently.

"I never thought it would come for him, Clay," she whispered. "I never thought it would come to collect."

Clay's world shattered.

His son. Their son.

Ben had died because of a deal his mother had made before he was even born.

He felt sick. Angry. Betrayed.

And above all… helpless.

A slow, satisfied laugh echoed in the room, cutting through the suffocating silence.

"Now you understand."

The shadow shifted, spreading like ink against the walls. The air in the room thickened until it was almost impossible to breathe.

Clay's hands balled into fists. His body shook, his mind raced.

Ben was gone.

Lily was next.

Unless he did something.

The Deal with the Stranger

Clay inhaled sharply, his mind racing. Who had Emily made this deal with?

"Who was it?" he asked, his voice shaking with rage. "Who did you make this deal with, Emily?"

Emily trembled. Her lips parted, but no words came out at first. It was as if she was too afraid to speak the name.

Then, in a whisper, she said, "The Man in the Black Veil."

A chill ran down Clay's spine.

Lily whimpered. "Ben… Ben told me about him," she murmured, pressing against Clay's side. "He said he's been watching us."

Clay's breathing grew heavy. "Who is he, Emily? What does he want?"

Emily wrapped her arms around herself, shaking. "He's not human, Clay," she whispered. "He's something else. He gave me everything I wanted, but I didn't realize…" Her voice cracked. "I didn't realize I had signed away my own son's life."

The room grew darker. The shadow laughed again.

"And now, you will pay the price for what she has done."

Clay clenched his fists. No. Not again.

He wouldn't let Lily be taken too.

The Night Just Began

The shadow loomed closer, stretching toward Lily.

Clay snapped out of his shock and pulled her behind him.

"No," he growled. "You're not taking her too."

The shadow chuckled.

"You have no choice."

Clay's breath came out in sharp, furious bursts. His mind was racing, his hands trembling. He had to do something. He had to find a way to stop this.

Emily was sobbing, Lily was clinging to his side, and the room was closing in on them.

But Clay refused to lose another child.

The night was heavy.

The night was dark.

And the night had only just begun.

Somewhere in the distance, a whisper echoed through the house.

"A life is loading."

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Do Comment and Donate power stone !!!

If you're enjoying the story , don't forget to leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Rating🫡