PHI AM – THE CURSE OF THE NIGHT

1. Awakening in Darkness

Lisa gasped for breath. The darkness around her felt suffocating, heavy, unnatural. A deafening silence filled the temple, broken only by her own rapid heartbeat.

She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the void. "Jake? Alex?" she whispered.

No response.

A chilling sensation crawled down her spine. She wasn’t alone.

A soft rustling echoed from the shadows.

Then—

A breath, right next to her ear.

"I found you..."

Lisa screamed, scrambling backward as something cold brushed against her skin.

Then, the lights flickered back to life.

Jake and Alex stood a few feet away, their faces pale with horror. Lisa turned, but the corner where the shadow had been was now empty.

2. Unraveling the Curse

"What the hell is going on?!" Alex demanded, his voice shaking.

Jake clenched his fists. "We saw it. We all saw it."

Lisa took a deep breath, trying to suppress her trembling hands. "Phi Am is real. We shouldn't have come here."

Jake, ever the skeptic, shook his head. "Maybe it’s some kind of elaborate trick. A hallucination or something."

Lisa shot him a glare. "You think that was a trick?! Something was touching me, Jake! It spoke to me!"

Than’s warning echoed in their minds.

Don’t open your eyes...

Alex looked at the amulets around their necks. "Than gave us these for a reason. Maybe they’re the only thing keeping us from getting completely consumed."

Jake exhaled sharply. "So what do we do now? Wait here until morning?"

Lisa shook her head. "No. We need to find a way to end this before it gets worse."

A sudden thump echoed from deeper within the temple.

Their blood ran cold.

Something else was in there with them.

And it was getting closer.

3. The Ghost’s Game

A whisper drifted through the room. Low, guttural. Laughing.

Lisa clutched her amulet. "We have to leave. Now."

Jake turned to the exit—

Only to find the doorway had vanished.

The walls twisted. The temple was shifting around them.

"Oh, god…" Alex whispered. "We’re trapped."

Then, the whisper came again.

"Let’s play…"

And the candlelight went out.

(TO BE CONTINUED...)