Baltimore. 2:47 AM. August 11, 2028.
The house was normal. Too normal.
White paint. Small porch. One light on in the kitchen.
Umi got out first. Cat carrier in one hand. The book in the other.
"Something’s wrong," she said. "No bugs. No crickets."
Fritz cracked open an energy drink. "Maybe the bugs are inside. Joining the book club."
Miri flinched. "Not funny, Fritz."
Alex tuned his guitar quietly. "If we die, I want it on record that I called this dumb."
Claire and Daniel stayed in the car. "We go in together," Claire said. "No splitting up."
The front door was unlocked.
Inside: kitchen. Clean. One table. Four chairs.
And on the table, 4 plates. White. Blue rim.
And the book, open to page 51.
New writing. Four different inks.
Umi - Seat 1. You don’t trust. Good. Don’t trust us.
Miri - Seat 2. You’re scared. Good. Be scared for us.
Alex - Seat 3. You’re sneaky. Good. Lie to us.
Fritz - Seat 4. You’re surprised. Good. Be surprised by us.
Fritz read his out loud. "Damn. Roasted."
Miri sat down immediately. "We shouldn’t sit."
She was already sitting.
Alex followed. Smirked. "If I’m gonna die, I’m doing it in tune."
Umi didn’t sit. She put the cat down. It ran under the table and froze.
Fritz shrugged and sat. "Plot twist."
click
The kitchen light flickered.
The temperature dropped.
From upstairs, footsteps. Slow.
Then a voice. Not one voice. Many. Whispering together.
"We’re hungry."
The book flipped to page 52 by itself.
New names. Dozens.
And at the top: The Hosts Have Arrived.
Umi stepped forward. "What do you want?"
The whispers answered from the walls:
_"To eat. To wait. To be remembered.
You four are different. You’re not afraid.
You’re... interesting."_
Alex leaned back in his chair. "Cool. We’re interesting. So feed yourselves."
The plates rattled.
Miri grabbed Alex’s sleeve. "Don’t be rude to the hungry ghosts, Alex."
"I’m not being rude," Alex said. "I’m being lazy. There’s a difference."
Fritz stood up. Walked to the fridge. Opened it. Empty.
"Yeah no food. Classic. What’s for dinner, trauma?"
The lights went out.
Darkness.
Then 4 cold hands on their shoulders. One for each of them.
Umi didn’t move. "Let go."
Miri whispered, "Please don’t hurt us."
Alex started playing a quiet chord on his guitar. Defiant.
Fritz just said, "Whoa."
The lights came back on.
The 4 chairs were empty.
The 4 of them were standing behind their chairs.
And sitting at the table were 4 shadows.
Not the 9. New ones. Smaller. Younger.
One of them looked up. A girl. Maybe 12.
She pointed at Miri.
"You’re kind. Will you remember me?"
Another pointed at Umi. A boy with a dog.
"You’re cold. Will you protect me?"
Third pointed at Alex. A man with a guitar.
"You’re sneaky. Will you play for me?"
Fourth pointed at Fritz. A kid with headphones.
"You’re surprised. Will you stay surprised for me?"
The book slammed shut.
Claire burst in from outside. "What happened?"
Daniel was scanning the room with a flashlight.
Umi looked at the shadow girl. Then nodded once.
Miri was crying but nodded too.
Alex sighed and played one note.
Fritz, for once, didn’t make a joke. He just nodded.
The 4 shadows smiled. Then faded.
The plates cracked.
The book went blank.
Silence.
Miri wiped her eyes. "I think... I think they just wanted someone to see them."
Umi picked up the cat. "No. They wanted someone to not be afraid of them."
Fritz looked at his empty energy drink. "That was weirdly wholesome. 3/10 would not recommend."
Alex strummed his guitar. "So what now? We’re the new wardens?"
From the book, one last sentence appeared:
The table is gone. The book has 4 authors now.