The Room That Wasn’t There

Ethan had lived in his new apartment for a month before he noticed the door.

It was strange—he had never seen it before. It was in the hallway, near his bedroom, blending in with the wall so well that he could have sworn it hadn’t been there when he moved in.

Curious, he turned the knob.

Locked.

He frowned. He had been through every inch of the apartment, and there was no mention of an extra room. No key, no explanation.

That night, he dreamed of the door.

In his dream, it was open.

A dark, endless void stretched beyond it, and something watched him from the shadows.

He woke up sweating.

The next day, he asked his landlord about it.

“What door?” the landlord asked, confused.

Ethan hesitated. “The one in my hallway, near my bedroom.”

“There’s no door there,” the landlord said. “Your apartment only has four rooms.”

Ethan didn’t argue. But when he returned home, he found the door slightly open.

A thin crack.

Enough to see pitch-black darkness inside.

His stomach twisted. He approached slowly, heart pounding.

As he reached for the knob—

The door SLAMMED shut.

Ethan stumbled back, his breath catching in his throat.

This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

That night, he barricaded the door with a chair. He told himself he’d leave in the morning.

But at 3 AM, he woke up to a sound.

A creaking noise.

The sound of a door slowly opening.

Ethan turned his head.

The door was wide open.

The chair was gone.

And something stood inside the room.

A tall, shadowy figure with glowing white eyes.

It didn’t move. Didn’t speak.

It just watched him.

Ethan couldn’t breathe. He wanted to run, to scream—but he was frozen.

Then, the thing took a step forward.

And whispered in a voice that wasn’t human—

"You opened the door. Now you belong to us."

The next morning, Ethan’s apartment was empty.

His things were still there. His phone, his wallet, his keys.

But Ethan was gone.

And the door?

It wasn’t there anymore.