Eli swung the machete wildly, trying to create some distance between himself and the woman, his breath shallow and rapid. “Get out of here!” he shouted over his shoulder, his voice strained but urgent. “Go, now!”

The others hesitated, fear rooting them in place as the woman danced around Eli’s attacks, moving with unnatural grace. Her eyes gleamed with cruel amusement, her wide smile never wavering. “Oh, little boy,” she taunted, sidestepping another swing. “You’re trying so hard, but it’s all so pointless. You can’t protect them.”

“I’ll try,” Eli grunted, swinging again with all his might, but she dodged effortlessly, her laughter filling the basement. She wasn’t even breaking a sweat—this was a game to her.

Without warning, she darted forward and grabbed Eli by the arm, her long, claw-like nails digging deep into his skin. He gasped in pain, trying to pull free, but she held tight, her grip like iron.

“Enough playing,” she whispered, her voice soft but filled with malice. With a quick, brutal motion, she raked all five of her nails across Eli’s back, slicing through his clothes and flesh. The pain was immediate and excruciating. Eli cried out, stumbling forward, only to be lifted and thrown against the wall with a sickening crack.

“Eli!” Lilian screamed, rushing forward, but Mike held her back, eyes wide with terror.

Eli slumped to the ground, groaning in pain, his vision swimming as he tried to catch his breath. His back was on fire, every movement sending waves of agony through his body. He could barely move.

The woman slowly turned toward the rest of the group, blocking the stairs, her smile stretching impossibly wide. “Now, what shall I do with the rest of you?” she mused, her voice a low, menacing purr.

The group froze, terror flooding their veins as they watched her approach. She took one slow, deliberate step forward, then another.

“You’re quite lucky,” she said suddenly, her voice eerily calm. Her eyes glinted with something dark and ancient as she studied them. “For tonight, I’ll spare you.”

And just like that, as if a switch had been flipped, the atmosphere shifted. The air, heavy and oppressive just moments before, felt different. Reality itself seemed to warp for a brief second—the room blurred and bent at the edges—and then the woman was gone.

There was silence. There was a thick, heavy silence.

“Eli!” Lilian cried, rushing to his side the moment the woman vanished. She knelt beside him, her hands trembling as she gently touched his arm. “Eli, are you okay? Talk to me.”

Eli groaned, barely able to move. “I’m... fine,” he managed to say through gritted teeth, though the pain in his voice was evident. “It’s not... that bad.”

“You’re bleeding, man,” Mike said, kneeling beside him, his face pale. “We need to get you to a hospital. Now.”

“We can’t stay here,” Rae added, her voice shaking. “Not after that.”

Sam was already on her phone, her fingers trembling as she dialed for help. “I-I’m calling an ambulance. We need to get him out of here, fast.”

Lilian nodded, tears in her eyes as she held onto Eli’s hand. “Hang in there, Eli. Help’s coming.”

The group stayed close, keeping their eyes on every shadow in the room, terrified that the woman might return at any moment.

The flashing lights of the ambulance painted the walls of Eli’s home in red and white. The paramedics rushed inside, quickly assessing Eli’s injuries as his friends stood back, their faces pale and eyes wide with shock.

“Let’s move him carefully,” one of the paramedics instructed as they lifted Eli onto a stretcher. His family, having finally come downstairs, stood frozen, concern etched into every line of their faces. Eli's mother gasped, hands flying to her mouth, while his father hurried to the paramedics, demanding answers.

“What happened?” his father asked, panic creeping into his voice. “How did he get hurt?”

Mike stepped forward, his voice shaky. “It was an accident... he, uh... there was a shelf in his room, and it—”

“Fell on him,” Sam interrupted, jumping in. “He was... moving some stuff around, and the tools fell.”

Eli’s mother’s eyes filled with worry as she turned to the paramedics. “Is he going to be okay?”

“He’s stable for now, but we need to get him to the hospital to check for internal injuries,” one of the paramedics replied as they carefully lifted the stretcher.

Eli groaned weakly, his eyes half open as they wheeled him toward the ambulance. Lilian stayed close to his side, refusing to leave him, her face streaked with tears.

The ride to the hospital was tense, filled with whispered prayers and nervous glances.

Hours later, Eli lay in his hospital bed, his back bandaged, an IV drip hooked up to his arm. His eyes fluttered open as the room slowly came into focus. His friends surrounded him, their faces a mix of relief and guilt.

“Eli,” Lilian whispered, her hand clutching his. “How are you feeling?”

“Like... I got hit by a truck,” Eli muttered, his voice strained. “Where... what happened?”

“You’ve been in the hospital for a few hours now,” Mike said, standing at the foot of the bed, looking down at him. “We didn’t know what else to do, man. That... thing...”

Sam cut him off, glancing toward the door where Eli’s parents were talking to a doctor. “His parents are asking for an explanation.”

“They think it was the shelf,” Rae said quietly, her eyes darting between the group. “But they keep asking how it happened. They don’t believe it.”

“Of course they don’t,” Izzy added. “A shelf? Really? After what we saw?”

Sam sighed, running a hand through her hair. “What else can we say? We can’t exactly tell them about... her. They’d never believe us.”

Lilian squeezed Eli’s hand tighter, her voice soft and uncertain. “We can’t keep lying. But... we can’t tell the truth either.”

“What are we supposed to say?” Mike asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “That a freaky tall woman with claws tried to eat him?”

The room fell into silence, each of them lost in their thoughts. The truth was too bizarre, too terrifying to admit, even to themselves.

Eli shifted in the bed, wincing in pain. “Look... I’ll... deal with my parents. Just don’t say anything for now. We’ll figure it out later.”

The group nodded, though the weight of the situation lingered heavily over them.

Eli shifted uncomfortably in his hospital bed, wincing as the movement pulled at the bandages on his back. He glanced at the door as his parents entered, their faces filled with worry, but also something else—an unreadable tension.

His mother sat down beside him, gently brushing her hand over his arm. "Eli, sweetie, we just... need to know. What really happened?"

Eli sighed, leaning his head back against the pillow, the memory of the grotesque woman still fresh in his mind. He hesitated for a moment, glancing at his friends, who gave him a silent nod of support. They were all in this together now.

“It wasn’t the shelf,” Eli began, his voice low but steady. “Something else happened... something weird. We saw this... this thing. A woman, but she wasn’t normal. She was tall and pale, with a twisted smile. She... attacked me.”

His mother’s eyes widened, and she shot a quick, confused look at Eli’s father. His father, however, remained calm, his expression unreadable.

“I know it sounds crazy,” Eli continued, “but it’s the truth. We all saw her.”

Lilian, standing by the foot of the bed, nodded quickly. “She wasn’t human. She said she wanted to break Eli’s spirit. We all tried to get out, but she—she was blocking us.”

Eli’s father stood silently, arms crossed, staring intently at his son. After a moment, he let out a deep sigh.

Mike added, "We were all there. We know how insane it sounds, but she was real. She hurt him—tossed him across the room like he was nothing."

Eli’s mother covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. “Oh my God...”

Eli’s father finally spoke, his voice calm, almost resigned. "Hmm. I guess it continues with you."

Eli frowned, not sure what his father meant. “What?”

His father glanced at the rest of the group before looking back at Eli. “This... what you’re describing... It’s real. And it’s been going on in our family for generations.”

The room went silent. Eli’s friends exchanged confused glances, and Eli’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You knew? You’ve known about this?”

His father nodded slowly. “I don’t know everything, but enough. This... entity, whatever it is, it’s been a shadow over our family for years. My father dealt with it, and his father dealt with it before him. It’s not something we talk about because it doesn’t happen to everyone. But when it does...”

His voice trailed off, and he looked at Eli with a mixture of regret and sorrow. “There isn’t much I can tell you beyond that. My father never spoke of it much. But I know this—whatever it is, it’s not going to stop easily.”

Eli’s mother wiped her tears, her voice shaky. “Why didn’t you ever tell us?”

“I didn’t think it would happen to him,” his father replied, his voice heavy with guilt. “I hoped it had skipped this generation. But clearly, I was wrong.”

Eli sat back in shock, trying to process the revelation. The room seemed to close in around him, the weight of his father’s words pressing down like a heavy blanket. “So... what do we do? How do we stop it?”

His father shook his head. “I don’t know, son. I really don’t. But now that it’s come for you... We’ll figure it out. Together.” 

The room fell silent again, the weight of the situation hanging in the air. Whatever had started, it was only the beginning.

After a long, tense conversation, Mr. and Mrs. Jameson exchanged a few quiet words with each other before turning to the group.

“We’ll give you all some time,” Mrs. Jameson said softly, her voice still shaky from the weight of the revelation. She gently squeezed Eli’s hand before stepping toward the door.

Mr. Jameson nodded, placing a hand on Eli’s shoulder. “We’ll talk more about this later. For now, just rest, alright?”

Eli nodded, his head spinning. As his parents left, the door softly closing behind them, an overwhelming silence settled over the room. No one really knew what to say or how to react. It felt like they were all standing at the edge of a cliff, unsure whether to jump or step back.

Lilian, who had been unusually quiet, suddenly got up from her chair and walked over to Eli’s bed. Her eyes were red and swollen with unshed tears as she looked at him. Without a word, she bent down and hugged him tightly, pressing her lips softly against his. Eli froze for a second, surprised by the sudden gesture, but then he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

“I was so scared,” Lilian whispered, her voice trembling as she buried her face in his neck, her tears soaking into the fabric of his hospital gown. “I thought I was going to lose you…”

Eli held her tighter, feeling the warmth of her body as her sobs racked through her. “I’m still here,” he whispered back, trying to stay strong for her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The others, seeing Lilian break down, felt the weight of the night press down even harder. Mike shifted uncomfortably, his tough exterior cracking as he rubbed the back of his neck. Sam stared at the floor, biting her lip as her eyes filled with tears.

Finally, Sam let out a shaky breath, unable to hold back anymore. She leaned against Mike, tears falling freely now. "I don’t know what to do," she whispered. “This... it’s all too much.”

Mike, though visibly shaken, reached out and hugged her tightly, his own resolve faltering as his hand trembled. "We’ll figure it out... somehow.”

Rachel and Izzy, sitting on the other side of the room, hugged each other as well, silent tears running down their faces. Even Alyssa, who always tried to keep her emotions in check, was wiping at her eyes.

The entire group was a mess of tangled emotions—fear, confusion, sorrow, but also an overwhelming sense of gratitude that they were all still there, alive and together. No one had the answers, and the unknown loomed over them like a shadow. But at that moment, they found solace in each other’s presence, knowing that whatever came next, they wouldn’t face it alone.

The quiet sounds of their sobs filled the room, each tear a release of the fear and tension they had held in for too long. Eli, still holding Lilian close, stared at the ceiling, his heart heavy with the knowledge of what his father had told him.

“I won’t let it take me,” he whispered to himself, his grip on Lilian tightening. “Not without a fight.”

Weeks passed, and Eli's wounds gradually healed. The hospital room that had been a space of pain and uncertainty was now filled with optimism. Eli sat on the bed, staring out the window, deep in thought, when the doctor walked in with a warm smile.