Episode 4 – The Handprint
Hamza slowly turned around.
Nothing.
No one was standing behind him.
His face went completely pale.
Ayesha looked at him.
"What happened?"
Hamza pointed toward his shoulder.
"Someone..."
"Someone touched me."
Bilal immediately stepped backward.
"Okay."
"That's enough investigation for tonight."
Zayan gave him a cold look.
"We just arrived."
Bilal frowned.
"Exactly. We should leave while we're still alive."
Ayesha rolled her eyes.
"You're an SDU agent."
Bilal pointed toward the door.
"Yes."
"An SDU agent who believes in strategic retreat."
Hamza ignored them.
He slowly looked around the room.
"Someone definitely touched me."
Ali walked toward him.
"Don't move."
Hamza froze.
Ali carefully examined the shoulder of his black jacket.
There was something strange on the fabric.
A faint wet mark.
Ali touched it with a gloved finger.
Then he looked at it closely.
"Water."
Hamza blinked.
"Water?"
Ali nodded.
"Cold water."
Ayesha looked toward the ceiling.
"But the roof is dry."
Ali didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the old window.
The window was broken.
Rainwater was coming inside.
But Ali immediately noticed something.
The water wasn't coming from the window.
He looked down.
A small trail of wet footprints crossed the floor.
Everyone became silent.
The footprints were tiny.
They belonged to a child.
And they were moving toward the hallway.
Ali followed them.
One step.
Then another.
The footprints suddenly stopped in front of an old wooden wardrobe.
Hamza whispered,
"Why does every clue in this mansion have to involve something creepy?"
Ayesha replied,
"Because it's a haunted mansion."
Hamza stared at her.
"Thank you, detective."
Ayesha smiled.
"You're welcome."
Ali placed his hand on the wardrobe.
He pushed.
It didn't move.
Zayan stepped forward.
"Let me."
He grabbed the side and pushed hard.
The wardrobe moved several inches.
Behind it...
Was a hidden door.
Bilal stared at it.
"Of course."
"Because apparently normal doors weren't terrifying enough."
Ali examined the edges.
There were fresh scratches around the lock.
Someone had opened it recently.
Ali looked at the team.
"Nobody touches anything."
Hamza raised his hand.
"What if something touches us?"
Ali looked at him.
"Then try not to touch it back."
Hamza slowly lowered his hand.
"That's not very reassuring, sir."
Ali opened the hidden door.
A cold wind rushed out.
The lights on their equipment flickered.
Inside was a narrow secret passage.
The walls were covered with old photographs.
Ayesha stepped closer.
"These aren't random pictures."
She pointed toward one of them.
It showed the Carter family.
The same family that had disappeared five years ago.
But there was something strange about the photograph.
The little girl was standing beside her parents.
And behind her...
Was another figure.
A little girl wearing a white dress.
Her face was hidden by long black hair.
Ayesha's expression changed.
"Ali..."
Ali looked at the picture.
His eyes narrowed.
"Don't touch it."
Hamza leaned closer.
"Who is that?"
Ali didn't answer.
Noor suddenly appeared beside him.
Her expression was worried.
"Ali..."
"That's not a photograph of the past."
Ali looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
Noor pointed toward the photograph.
"The shadow behind the girl..."
"It is moving."
Ali stared at the image.
For a few seconds...
Nothing happened.
Then...
The shadow slowly moved its head.
Everyone jumped.
Except Ali.
Zayan immediately pulled out his sword.
Bilal grabbed Hamza's arm.
"Did you see that?"
Hamza swallowed.
"Yes."
Bilal whispered,
"Good."
Hamza looked at him.
"Why is that good?"
"Because I thought I was imagining things."
Ayesha suddenly pointed toward the wall.
"Guys..."
Another photograph had fallen onto the floor.
Ali picked it up carefully.
It showed the mansion from outside.
But the date written on the back made everyone freeze.
1978.
Ayesha frowned.
"That's impossible."
Hamza looked at the picture.
"The mansion looks exactly the same."
Ali turned the photograph over.
On the back was a handwritten sentence.
SHE WAS NEVER THE FIRST.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Zayan looked at Ali.
"What does that mean?"
Ali's eyes remained fixed on the words.
"It means..."
"The girl in the white dress isn't the beginning of this case."
A loud sound suddenly came from deeper inside the passage.
BANG!
Everyone turned.
Bilal nearly jumped out of his shoes.
"What was that?!"
Ali raised one hand.
"Stay here."
Hamza immediately stepped forward.
"I'm coming with you."
Ayesha followed.
"So am I."
Zayan silently followed them.
Bilal stared at the three of them.
Then at the dark passage.
Then back at the three.
"Fine."
He took a deep breath.
"I'm coming too."
Ayesha smiled.
"Good."
Bilal pointed at her.
"But if I die..."
"Tell everyone I was extremely brave."
Hamza laughed.
"You were hiding behind me thirty seconds ago."
"That was tactical positioning!"
Ali walked deeper into the passage.
The walls became older.
The photographs disappeared.
Then they reached a small underground room.
There was an old wooden table in the center.
On it...
Were five files.
Ali slowly approached.
The first file had the name:
CARTER FAMILY
The second:
INVESTIGATION TEAM – 01
The third:
INVESTIGATION TEAM – 02
The fourth:
INVESTIGATION TEAM – 03
But the fifth file...
Had no name.
Only one symbol was drawn across it.
A black circle.
Ali's expression changed for the first time.
Noor whispered,
"Ali..."
"Don't open that file."
Ali looked at her.
"Why?"
Noor's voice became quieter.
"Because that symbol..."
"I've seen it before."
Ali froze.
"Where?"
Noor looked toward the darkness behind him.
"Five years ago."
Suddenly...
The underground door slammed shut.
BANG!
Bilal screamed.
"WHY DOES EVERY DOOR IN THIS PLACE DO THAT?!"
The lights went out.
Complete darkness.
Ayesha whispered,
"Ali?"
No answer.
"Zayan?"
Silence.
"Guys?"
Nothing.
Bilal's breathing became nervous.
"Okay..."
"Nobody panic."
A voice whispered directly beside his ear.
"Bilal..."
His entire body froze.
The voice sounded exactly like...
his own voice.
"Bilal..."
He slowly turned around.
Nothing was there.
Then a second voice whispered from behind him.
"Run."
Bilal's eyes widened.
He suddenly ran forward.
"ALI!"
Ayesha heard him.
"Bilal! Stop!"
But Bilal couldn't see anything.
He ran straight into someone.
He nearly screamed.
Then a flashlight switched on.
Ali was standing in front of him.
Bilal grabbed his arm.
"Don't ever disappear like that again!"
Ali calmly looked at him.
"I didn't disappear."
Bilal froze.
"Then..."
"Who was standing beside me?"
Ali's expression became serious.
Before anyone could answer...
A tiny girl's laughter echoed through the passage.
"He... he... he..."
Then a whisper followed.
"You found the wrong door."
The black circle on the fifth file suddenly began to glow.
Ali stared at it.
And for the first time...
The Shadow Walker looked genuinely concerned.
To Be Continued...
