THE ALGORITHM OF FEAR

5~THE LAB TECH

Eve found herself driving towards the outskirts of the city, the road to her old mansion winding and eerily silent. something compelled her to go, as if an invisible force was guiding her every movement. Despite knowing all the directions ..

Her car's headlights cut through the darkness as she pulled up to the massive iron gates. They creaked open with an unsettling ease, even though she was sure she hadn't touched the remote. The place she lives everyday was now looking like an unrecognized place...The mansion loomed ahead, its towering facade casting long shadows under the pale moonlight. But now, she felt like she had no choice but to step inside.

She parked the car and climbed out, her footsteps crunching against the gravel. As she approached the front door, her hand trembled slightly, but she pushed it open. The air inside was cold and still, carrying a faint, musty scent of abandonment even after the whole furnished place it seemed like an abandoned mansion.

Eve stood in the grand foyer, the dim light from the chandelier barely illuminating the room. She couldn't remember why she was here... because she was going to stay at her office.what had brought her to this place tonight?

Her phone buzzed again, pulling her from her thoughts. She glanced at the screen.

"Welcome home, Eve."

Her blood ran cold. Whoever was doing this knew it was here. Taking a deep breath, she moved deeper into the house, the sound of her shoes echoing on the marble floors. Everything looked untouched, just as she had left it years ago. But as she stepped into the living room, something caught her eye.

A photo album sat on the coffee table. She hadn't left it there.

Cautiously, she approached it. The album was old, its leather cover worn and cracked. She opened it slowly, flipping through the pages. The pictures were familiar at first-family photos, birthday parties, holidays.

But as she turned the pages, the images grew darker. There were photos she didn't remember being taken: her, standing in her bedroom at odd angles; her, sitting at her desk at work, unaware of the camera; her, walking alone at night.

Her hands shook as she reached the final page. It was a picture of her, taken from outside the mansion's window. The timestamp was from tonight. The sound of footsteps on the floor above startled her. She froze, her pulse racing. Someone else was in the house.

Gripping her phone tightly, she slowly backed away toward the door. But before she could leave, a voice called out from the top of the stairs.

"Eve... you can't keep running."

She looked up, her heart pounding. A figure stood in the shadows at the top of the staircase. She couldn't make out their face, but their presence sent a chill down her spine.

"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice shaking. "What do you want from me?"

The figure stepped closer, just enough for the dim light to catch their face.

It was her!

Or rather, someone who looked exactly like her, wearing the same expressionless smile.she stared her with confident eyes yet being scared of the figure.The figure started moving away but Eve stepped closer to her and repeated the words... "who are you?"

She noticed that with her terrifying voice the figure was looking tense and she started to move in another direction and at last it faded in just a blink of an eye. Eve noticed how the figure got scared with her voice raising. She started to think about it that how could someone have the face so damn matching with her. The figure was totally looking like Eve but she was sure it was some illusion or something. She wasn't ready to believe that the shadow was actually her with her almond eyes, small nose, lips and the hair's length was even same as her. Her thoughts were just messed up...