Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 545  The strangeness of Point Z [4]

Drrrrring—! The landline continued to squeal into the silence, the shrill ringing drilling into every corner of the isolated home. Joanna’s entire body stiffened at the sight of it. Her shoulders locked, her fingers tightening slightly around her flashlight as the sound echoed off the walls.

‘What’s going on? How is this possible?’ Despite the confusion tightening in her chest, Joanna forced herself to stay alert. Her gaze swept carefully over the living room, windows, hallway, and staircase, cataloging every shadow and corner as the phone continued to ring behind her.

Drrrrring! Drrrrring—! It was waiting for her. Waiting for her to answer. ‘No, I need to get out of this place.’ She turned toward the front door, deciding not to entertain whatever this was. Stepping quickly across the creaking floor, she reached for the knob and twisted it, trying to pull the door open and get out of the house.

Clank! Clank! But it was no use. The door was completely locked. ‘Should I just break the door?’ Joanna’s mind raced, her body tensing further as she prepared to break the door down. At the same time, her node flared to life as she exerted even more force onto the door. She drove that force into the door, the impact rattling the frame. The wood groaned loudly under the sudden pressure, cracks spidering faintly along the surface as it struggled to withstand the strain.

And then—

The landline stopped.

The ringing cut off so abruptly that it caught Joanna off guard, like something had severed it mid-breath.

Silence flooded the house in its place.

The air grew noticeably thicker, heavier in her lungs, as if the entire room were holding its breath along with her.

‘Ariel. Ariel. Can you hear me? Ariel…?’ Joanna didn’t stop trying to force her way out of the house, exerting even more pressure. But for some reason, the door appeared a lot more durable than she had initially expected it to be, as it refused to break apart. Normally, under such strain it should’ve broken down… ‘Ariel, can you hear me?! Where are you guys?’ Joanna continued to call out for Ariel in her mind. With her ability, it was possible to communicate through their minds. However—

‘Ariel? Ariel!?’ Regardless of how much Joanna shouted in her mind, no voice replied back. Bang! Bang—

She slammed her shoulder into the door again, the impact reverberating up her arm and through her ribs. The frame shuddered violently, dust shaking loose from the hinges, but the door stubbornly remained in place.

Breathing harder now, Joanna stepped back. If the door wouldn’t give, then she’d find another way out.

Her gaze shifted sharply toward the nearest window.

Maybe… Brrrrrr! Just as Joanna was about to move toward the window, the ringing came again.

It echoed sharply through the room. But this time, it wasn’t coming from the landline. The sound was closer. It was coming from her pocket.

Brrrrrr! Brrrrrr—! Joanna froze. The vibration buzzed faintly against her thigh, and her expression shifted to something far more unsettled as the realization sank in. Slowly reaching for her phone, Joanna retrieved it and looked at the caller ID. [Unknown Caller] Click! The line went through before she could press the phone. —Haa… Haa… Haa… Heavy breathing filtered through the speaker. It felt disturbingly close, as if the caller stood just on the other side of the line… or the other side of the room.

Joanna’s fingers tightened around the phone, her pulse thundering as she listened to the sound continue, each breath growing heavier than the last. The heavy breathing dragged on for another second before it abruptly stopped. Then, without warning, a man’s voice pierced through the silence.

—Did you go upstairs? Du—

Joanna hung up the call. Her breathing was now rougher than before, her entire body sharp, and her mind alert as she moved towards the window. The wooden floor creaked beneath her steps as she raised her flashlight and swept the beam across the dusty glass. But just as her fingers brushed against the window latch, her phone vibrated again.

The phone answered on its own again, automatically turning on speaker mode. —Why haven’t you gone upstairs? BANG! Joanna urgently smashed her fist against the window. The impact should have shattered it.

Instead, her knuckles ached. A dull thud echoed through the room as her fist bounced off the glass, pain jolting up her arm.

The window was completely unharmed. ‘What’s going on? What is this window made out of?’

—…You need to go upstairs. Joanna’s mind reeled, but the voice continued to whisper from her phone, filling the entire room with a chilling calmness that made every hair on Joanna’s body rise. Without waiting for the voice again, Joanna retrieved her phone and turned off the call, silence again settling over her surroundings as her heavy breathing filled the silence. Biting down on her lip, Joanna slowly turned, raising the flashlight behind her. The beam cut through the dim living room and settled on a narrow flight of stairs leading upward into darkness.

The upper floor was swallowed in shadow, the railing casting long, distorted lines across the wall. The tension felt unbearable as Joanna kept biting her lip, her gaze flicking between the stairs, the door, and the landline.

For a brief moment, she stood there, frozen.

Then she exhaled sharply and shook her head, forcing herself out of it.

‘Get a grip on yourself. I can’t panic at this time. If I lose control here… then it’ll just prove everyone who ever doubted us right.’ Right, this wasn’t just about herself. This was also about the Squad Leader. He trusted her enough to lead the team. She couldn’t allow herself to panic. Taking a deep breath, Joanna calmed herself down further. Holding the flashlight steady over the staircase, Joanna pressed her lips into a thin line. The beam stretched upward, swallowed quickly by the darkness above.

The doors were locked. The windows wouldn’t break. Forcing her way out clearly wasn’t an option.

Her grip tightened slightly.

If escape wasn’t possible… then that left only one direction.

Up.

But wouldn’t this be the exact thing that the voice wanted? Why did it want her to go upstairs? What if it were a trap? There was no doubt about the fact that it wanted her to go upstairs. ‘Do I really have no choice?’ Joanna lowered the torch from the stairs and swept it slowly across the rest of the room instead. The beam passed over faded paintings hanging crookedly on the walls, their images too washed out and worn to make out clearly. Dusty picture frames lined a nearby shelf, the photographs inside bleached and hard to make out. She scanned every corner… searching for anything she might have missed.

After a long moment, her jaw set.

Clutching the torch firmly in her hand, Joanna placed her foot on the first step and began to walk up. Creaaaaak—

The stairs let out a long, drawn-out creak beneath her weight, the sound echoing unnaturally through the house. Continuing to walk up, she could no longer see the living room as she fixed her gaze away, a lump forming in her throat. ‘Joanna? Joanna…? Can you hear me?’ Joanna stopped all of a sudden. ‘Ariel?’ Her eyes lit up. ‘Ariel, is that you? Can you hear me?’ ‘…I can hear you. Where are you? What’s going on? I lost track of everyone.’ ‘What? Everyone?’ ‘Yes, you’re the only one I can get in contact with. What’s going on? Where are you? Right now, I am standing in front of an old house.’ ‘Ah!’ Joanna turned around, ready to walk down.

‘I am there. I am in the house. Can you get in?’ ‘Hmm, wait… I think I see you.’ Joanna’s steps froze, her face freezing along with the steps. ‘The windows are a bit faded, but I can see an outline. Are you on your phone? Is that you?’