The air around the broken mansion was still with the smoke. The ground shook not long ago, and the giant structure had collapsed into ruins. Tom, Liam, Allisa, and the others stood frozen, staring at the destruction. Their voices cracked as they shouted.
"Steve!" Tom's throat burned, his voice breaking. "Where are you?"
They scrambled over the rubble. Every heartbeat felt like a hammer in their ears. No one wanted to say it, but the thought hung in the air—what if he didn't make it?
Allisa spotted something. A faint hand sticking out from under the blackened wood. She dropped to her knees, clawing at the debris with frantic hands. "Here! He's here!"
Liam and Tom rushed to help, pulling chunks of stone and wood away. Their fingers bled, but they didn't stop. Piece by piece, they uncovered Steve's body, burned and covered in ash. For one terrifying moment, he looked lifeless.
Then his chest rose, just barely.
Tom's tears spilled. "He's alive… oh thank God, he's alive!"
Liam grabbed Steve's hand, holding it tightly. "We've got you, brother. We're not leaving you here."
Together they carried him out, their shoulders trembling with exhaustion, but not once did they let go. They didn't look back at the cursed land that had nearly swallowed them all.
The next morning, sunlight warmed the sterile hospital room. Steve opened his eyes slowly. His body felt heavy, but when he turned his head, he saw them—Tom sitting at the side of his bed, Liam leaning against the wall with red eyes, Allisa standing near the window, holding back tears.
"You finally woke up," Liam said with a smile that couldn't hide the crack in his voice.
Tom leaned closer, his grin shaky. "Don't you dare scare us like that again, man. You almost gave me a heart attack."
Steve let out a weak laugh. "Looks like… we made it." His eyes softened as he looked at them all. "For you guys… we really did it."
Then his face grew serious. "The students… what happened to them?"
Liam's voice steadied. "They're safe. Every one of them. They're back home now."
Steve closed his eyes in relief. "Good… I'm glad."
The room filled with silence, but it wasn't heavy anymore. It was the kind of silence where everyone's hearts were full.
On the hospital TV, a reporter spoke clearly into the camera.
"Breaking news. The missing students have been found alive and returned to their families. After days of unexplained disappearance, relief has finally come to parents across the city. Authorities are still looking into what happened at the old mansion, but tonight, families are whole again."
The screen cut to live footage of parents hugging their children, crying, and holding on as if they'd never let go again.
Among the crowd stood Raiyan and his bully. Their faces were pale, their eyes blank, but they were home. Nearby, Dev and Sara held their parents tightly. More names, more children, all safe now.
The nightmare seemed over.
Days passed.
Steve's body healed, though his mind was scarred with memories. One morning, he left the hospital quietly. His steps carried him back to the outskirts of the village, where the mansion had once stood.
Now, there was nothing but ruins and silence. The cursed door was gone, the roots burned away.
In front of the ruins, rows of old graves stretched across the ground. These were the villagers who had once been trapped by the curse, their spirits bound for centuries. Now they were finally free.
Steve stood before the graves, the wind brushing softly past. He lowered his head. "You're free now. Rest easy."
He stayed there for a long time. When he finally turned to leave, there was a faint smile on his lips.
For the first time, he felt the air of peace
That night, the city was quiet. Families slept soundly. The streets were empty, calm, and safe.
But in the forest, far from the houses, the silence broke.
A voice whispered through the trees, sharp and playful.
"I see you… Where are you? Do you want to play… hide and seek?"
The sound carried into the night, twisting through the dark like smoke.
And then, silence returned.
The End.