Guardians of Evergreen (Forever Ever #1)

Colorful *

Calvin and his friends burst into the darkness, their hearts pounding in sync with Vera's piercing screams. Following her desperate cries, they raced through a labyrinth of corridors, each step plunging them deeper into the maze.

 The flickering lights above them ominously went out one by one, enveloping them in darkness. Laughter and chants from an unseen presence echoed, growing louder with every stride. Calvin's lungs burned, forcing him to halt and catch his breath. Shine, determined, urged him to continue, insisting they stay on Trae's trail.

Calvin and Shine hurried toward Trae, who had just prodded a strange, gooey substance with his finger. Trae winced, jerking his hand back as the goo hissed and fizzled upon contact with his skin. The glittery remnants splattered against the wall, dissipating into a cloud of smoke.

"What the hell was that?" Calvin asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I've been seeing it all around my house," Calvin replied, his voice tense. "I have no idea what it is."

Vera's voice rang out again, accompanied by the slamming of a distant door. "She's still here, trapped by something," Trae declared, his nostrils flaring. "You all heard her screams and that wicked laughter."

Shine and Calvin nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with fear.

Trae strode down a dimly lit hallway, their footsteps echoing. Approaching a door covered in globs of glittery goo, with scratches marring its surface, Trae motioned for Shine to try opening it. She wrapped her hand around the doorknob, jiggling it and flipping the locks, but it stubbornly refused to yield.

 A warm gust of air brushed their faces, followed by eerie snickering emanating from within the room. Their shadows stretched and grew larger as the lights flickered on and off.

In a desperate attempt, Trae slammed his shoulder against the unyielding door, hoping to force his way in. But Vera's cries had ceased, replaced by a deafening boom that reverberated through Calvin's skin.

A magenta glow seeped from beneath the door, accompanied by a chilling bellow that echoed through the mansion. As the magenta light flickered off, the darkness enveloped them once more.

Footsteps resounded from their right, the same ones they had heard before. Suddenly, the footsteps ceased, transforming into a cacophony of crawling and scratching on the wooden floors. Shine gripped Calvin's hand tightly, seeking solace in his touch.

"Your friend is dead. She belongs to us now," the sinister voices taunted from the darkness. "Who will be next? We relish the chase. Who's next to taste?" With those words, the voice morphed into a raspy, malevolent tone.

The scurrying grew louder, surrounding them from all directions.

Calvin glanced to his left, where Trae and Shine darted down the hallway. He could feel Shine's racing pulse as she clung to him. Exhaustion gripped Calvin, making his chest ache with each breath, as the air turned colder, leaving a searing trail in his throat.

Finally, they reached an overhead light, standing together in its feeble glow. A warm gust brushed against their chins and cheeks, but as bony fingers reached into the circle of light, they recoiled, their exposed skin sizzling. The glittery goo that clung to the fingers dripped onto the ground, fizzling away.

The fingers withdrew from the light, and the floor creaked with the sound of more crawling. Another set of hands reached for Shine, but met the same burning fate. Shine let out a screech, holding onto Calvin with desperation.

"We know who you are. Your mother tried to imprison us, Ever and Ever the precious mother of Calvin," the voices hissed, their wickedness amplified by the flickering light. Calvin glimpsed Trae, who was circling around them, his fists clenched in anticipation.