*Sam's Pov*
The abandoned hotel was massive.
Even from the outside, it looked like it had been left to rot for decades. Broken windows covered nearly every floor, vines crawled up the cracked walls, and entire sections of the roof had collapsed. The place looked like it could fall apart at any moment.
And then there was the forest.
It stretched out behind the hotel, dark and enormous, with trees packed so tightly together that I couldn't see how far it went.
Colby and I had agreed on one thing before we even stepped inside.
We weren't going into the forest.
It was way too dangerous, especially at night. Honestly, the hotel itself was dangerous enough.
"Okay," Colby said, shining his flashlight down one of the dark hallways. "Let's split up. We'll cover more ground that way."
I nodded, though I wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea. "Fine. But stay inside."
"I know, Sam," Colby said with a casual smile before turning and disappearing down another hallway.
I sighed and headed in the opposite direction.
I made my way through the upper floors, checking empty rooms and documenting anything interesting with my camera. Every room looked worse than the last. Dust covered the floors, furniture was overturned, and pieces of the ceiling had fallen onto the ground.
Every few minutes, I heard distant noises coming from somewhere else in the building.
A creak.
A faint bang.
The sound of something shifting somewhere below me.
I tried not to think too much about it.
Eventually, I reached the back portion of the hotel.
That's when I heard him.
"Sam!"
I froze.
My heart jumped at the sound of Colby's voice echoing through the empty hallway.
"Sam!" he shouted again.
I quickly turned toward the sound.
It was coming from somewhere near the back exit.
"Colby?" I called.
No answer.
I frowned and hurried toward the exit. When I reached the heavy metal door, I pushed it open.
A blast of cold air immediately hit my face.
I stepped outside.
And that's when I saw him.
Colby was standing several yards away, already walking toward the forest.
My stomach dropped.
"Colby!" I shouted.
He stopped and slowly looked back at me.
It was pitch-black outside, and the only reason I could see him at all was because of his flashlight pointing below him.
"What are you doing?" I yelled.
Colby turned around completely.
"We should explore the forest!" he called back casually.
I stared at him in disbelief.
"What?! No!" I shouted. "We literally agreed we weren't going in there!"
