As they approached the house, darkness wrapped around them, thick and suffocating. The windows appeared like dark eyes, watching their every move. They entered slowly, the door creaking ominously as they stepped inside. The air felt heavy, charged with an energy that both frightened and empowered them.

“Stay close,” Sarah instructed, her heart pounding. They moved cautiously through the hallway, aware of the shadows that danced just out of sight.

“Karl!” Tom called, his voice echoing through the empty halls. “We’re not here to hurt you! We want to understand!”

The boy’s laughter erupted from the shadows, mocking them. “You think you can understand me?” His voice dripped with anger, reverberating off the walls. “You’re trespassers!”

“We don’t want to take your home!” Emma shouted, her voice steadying with determination. “We want to help you!”

For a moment, silence enveloped the house. The air shifted, and the shadows coalesced into the figure of Karl, his angry eyes piercing through the darkness. “Help?” he spat. “No one helped me! I was abandoned!”

“We’re here now,” Sarah said, stepping forward, her heart racing. “We don’t want to hurt you. We want to understand your pain.”

Karl’s expression flickered between rage and something softer, something vulnerable. “They laughed at me,” he murmured, his voice a whisper now. “They didn’t care.”

“We care,” Jake said, his small voice breaking through the tension. “We’re not like them. We just want to be a family.”

The boy’s fury wavered as he looked at Jake, something in his eyes shifting. The shadows around him flickered and waned, revealing the hurt behind the anger.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally, his voice trembling. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted someone to stay.”

Tears welled in Sarah’s eyes as she took a step closer. “You don’t have to be alone, Karl. We’re here for you. We want to help you find peace.”

The boy hesitated, his features softening as the shadows receded. For a moment, it seemed as if he might understand.

But before they could grasp the moment, the house trembled violently, as if protesting the change. Dark energy swirled around them, pulling Karl back into the shadows. “You can’t take me away!” he cried, anger flaring anew.