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Claire Monroe drew in a steadying inhale, her fingers trembling inches above the doll’s unfinished porcelain face. Candlelight danced nervously across the stone walls of Fort East Martello, illuminating forgotten relics—each object holding its silence.
“Are you ready for this?” David Sloan murmured, eyes narrowed with grave intensity. His practiced but hesitant hands rested upon the doll’s blank torso, as though it might recoil beneath his touch.
Claire exchanged a brief glance with Dustin Pari, who lingered slightly apart, jaw clenched tightly, his gaze fixed unblinkingly upon the doll. “We’ve conducted experiments before,” he said slowly, voice low and cautious, “but never here—not in Robert’s home. This place feels…hungry.”
Ignoring the chill snaking down her spine, Claire straightened her posture. “We came for answers, didn't we? If the Philip Experiment worked once, it can work again. Belief makes it real.”
Dustin's expression softened cautiously. "Then let's begin."
Their voices melded seamlessly into rhythmic chants, each syllable softly reverberating within the fortress walls. As shadows deepened, the air thickened, pressing closer with an almost tangible presence. With sudden intensity, temperatures around them plummeted, their exhales visibly clouding the oppressive chill.
“It’s working…” David whispered urgently, voice tight with awe and dread. “The eyes—they’re moving.”
Claire stared as the doll’s glass irises shimmered faintly, reflecting something deeper than candlelight. Her pulse thundered louder, chants faltering while an electric current of fear and exhilaration surged through her fingertips.
A violent crash shattered their concentration. Claire jerked backward, heart jolting painfully in her chest as dust cascaded from the ceiling. Objects rattled furiously upon shelves, and candles flickered desperately, threatening extinction.
“Did you feel it?” Dustin demanded harshly, voice brittle, flashlight trembling in his grip while piercing the suffocating gloom.
“Something touched me,” Claire whispered urgently, tugging her jacket tighter around herself. Her voice strained under surging panic, pulse drumming in her ears. “Cold—small fingers.”
David Sloan narrowed his eyes at the doll, its stitched lips twitching beneath wavering shadows. Tentatively, his fingers stretched toward the porcelain form. “We need to move it. Whatever awakened is centered here—”
“Don’t!” Claire snapped sharply, but Sloan’s fingertips brushed the doll’s surface too soon.
Instantly, temperatures plunged, frost crystallizing midair as an inhuman scream erupted from deep within the fort’s darkness—raw, agonizing, and piercing. Staggering backward, the three investigators shielded themselves from invisible fury.
“It’s awake!” David shouted desperately, clutching a frostbitten hand close to his chest. “We awakened something—something worse than Robert.”
Immobilized by dread, Claire watched helplessly while the doll toppled from the table, landing upright with unnatural precision. Its empty eyes awakened into pools of absolute darkness, fixing upon her relentlessly.
“It’s inside,” Claire whispered hollowly, limbs numb, voice barely audible above her racing heartbeat. “We didn’t create a haunting—”
Dustin completed her sentence shakily, eyes widening in horror. “We gave it a body.”
Shadows deepened around them, creeping hungrily forward. Impossibly, porcelain fingers twitched and moved, creaking softly as the doll took one trembling step toward them.
Claire swallowed sharply, terror tightening her throat. “Run.”
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Exciting news! My book, Cumberland Chronicles at Books2Read, is now available! If you enjoy the supernatural, horror, and the weird, I’d love for you to check it out. Even if it’s not your thing, a quick share would help me reach the right readers. Thank you for the support!
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