Chapter 8 - Ryan's Dark Secret
The master hallway was unrecognizable; the familiar floral wallpaper had been stripped away, exposing cold, gray drywall panels dotted with hundreds of small glass lenses peering into the bedrooms. Leo was nowhere to be found. Panic consumed Ryan and Sarah as they tore through the rooms, calling their son's name into the empty air. Entering the master bedroom, Ryan froze as he noticed his own heavy winter coat hanging neatly inside the walk-in closet—even though he had packed it away in the attic months ago. Sticking out of the coat pocket was a heavy set of master keys labeled with numbers corresponding to every single vent in the house. Sarah stared at the keys, then slowly looked up at Ryan, betrayal and sheer terror flashing in her eyes. ""You had the keys all along,"" she whispered, backing away toward the door. Ryan shook his head in absolute denial, but as he raised his hands in defense, he noticed his fingernails were caked in fresh gray drywall dust and dried red clay.
Before Sarah could reach for the doorknob, the heavy bedroom door slammed shut of its own accord, and from inside the bedroom walls, Leo’s muffled, terrified voice screamed out: “Mom! Help me! The wall is swallowing me!”
