I was browsing /r/nosleep and I saw an advertisement that really intrigued me.
“Are you a fan of the paranormal? Do you want to experience ghost-hunting firsthand? Well, you’re in luck! Join the Society of the Anomalous and Paranormal today! (Only 99.99$ 29.99$) Learn more at https://*
I did indeed like horror so I decided to join along with my friend Avery. Thirty dollars seemed expensive but we’ve both been working our asses off the past month so I thought it’d be a fun little activity for the two of us.
I clicked on the website and it looked kind of sketchy and unfinished. Almost like something a kid would throw together for their school project.
It was just a comically large red arrow pointing at a location and a phone number under it, all on a blinding, white background.
“
(415)
The words “CALL NOW!!!” were written at the very bottom of the website.
I was skeptical so I decided call Avery to discuss this whole situation.
ME: Hey, Avery.
AVERY: Yeah?
ME: I saw this ad, like, 5 minutes ago. Some guys are gonna hunt ghosts with us at this abandoned mall. It seemed kinda fun at first but, like, it costs 30 dollars. Plus the whole thing kinda looks like a scam.
AVERY: I’ve always wanted to go ghost-hunting! We’ve basically been working for a month straight anyway. Feels like a well-deserved break. We could split the check when we get there, can’t we?
ME: Fine, I guess. We’ll do a fifty-fifty split, right?
AVERY: Yep. I’ll see you there then.
ME: See you later.
The drive to Illimitata Mall took about 40 minutes.
The road a smooth, straight line. And it wasn’t even on Google Maps.
After I got there, I looked the place up in case I was getting ripped off.
The area on the Internet looked like it was surrounded by trees. Like it was in the middle of a forest.
The area where I was had an empty field and two roads leading to the parking lot of the mall.
Avery’s car was already there. And so were three others.
AVERY: Hey! Josh! C’mere!
As I walked over to her, I noticed that five other people were waiting for me at the parking lot.
????: There you are! Your girlfriend told me you’d pay your fair share.
ME: Uhh… She’s not my girlfriend. She’s my friend.
I turned to Avery.
ME: Who the hell is this guy?
JACK: I’m Jack, leader of the SAP.
ME: What’s the S-
JACK: Society of the Anomalous and Paranormal. The thing you saw in the advert. Thought that’d be obvious.
Damn, this guy’s even douchier than I thought.
JACK: So, what’s your name?
ME: Joshua.
JACK: Nice to meet you, bud. I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.
ME: So, what exactly is your group and what do you do?
JACK: We go to an abandoned place, find somethin’ scary, collect evidence and scram. Simple as that.
ME: Wow, sounds… exciting.
I tried to hide my sarcasm and smiled.
JACK: I got 3 whole buckets of ectoplasm last mission. Safe to say we’re pretty damn experienced.
???: Yeah, we’re… we’re like the Ghostbusters. Wooooo.
JACK: That’s Sam.
Jack pulled Sam aside. I don’t think anyone else saw this.
JACK: C’mon, Sammy, ya gotta show a little more… enthusiasm, a bit more pizazz, got it?
SAM: Sorry, I’m just a bit tired. Ghost-hunting for 7 hours straight is a bit tiring, isn’t it, boss? Hahahah…
JACK: Look, you gotta pull yourself together. We’ve only got this one left. And then the other one. And then the next one. Get yourself an energy drink or somethin’.
SAM: I drank the last one yesterday. Haven’t slept in… one and a half days… I think.
Sam yawned.
JACK: Go talk to Hailey or somethin’. I’m busy with a few customers. I’ll keep ‘em entertained. You don’t need to be involved.
SAM: Okay, great…
Sam slowly stumbled over to the van. As soon as he got close to the seat, he fell on his knees, face-first into the fabric and instantly fell asleep.
HAILEY: Oh, fuck off!
Hailey violently pushed his head off the seat. Sam’s nose hits the dusty car rug and began to bleed.
SAM: Ow, what the hell!?
HAILEY: I have personal space, you asshole!
SAM: I was barely even conscious, Hailey!
Sam and Hailey started arguing. Jack quickly clapped his hands.
JACK: Enough’s enough. We gotta pack our stuff.
HAILEY: Fine. But tell Sam to respect me next time or he won’t come to work tomorrow.
SAM: Could I get a tissue or something? I’m losing blood pretty quickly. Getting a bit… dizzy…
??????: I got you, Sam.
The woman handed Sam a paper tissue.
???: John, you didn’t tell us you’d get more customers…
ME: Who are you two?
SOPHIA: I’m Sophia. Cameron is my cameraman.
AVERY: Cameraman? For what?
SOPHIA: I have a YouTube channel. It’s nothing, really.
CAM: I do the editing too, man. Takes a while.
SOPHIA: Let’s double-check if we brought everything. Laptop, check. Non-perishables, check. Backup batteries, check… Hmmm… Yeah, I think we’re good.
JACK: Sam, Hailey, you got everything?
SAM: Yep. Backpacks are ready. We’re good.
HAILEY: I triple-checked.
JACK: Alright everybody, let’s go!
We walked over to the mall’s entrance, but I noticed something odd.
ME: The sign looks a bit off.
“Illimitata Mall
est. ∞”
AVERY: Established in… infinity? How’s that possible?
JACK: That’s the thing; it ain’t. We’re goin’ straight to the ghouls.
Sam turned to Avery.
SAM: [WHISPERING] Someone prolly flipped an eight.
AVERY: Oh. Well, that’s lame.
SAM: There aren’t even any locks on the door. Sweet.
ME: You’d think a lavish place like this would have proper security measures.
JACK: Well, you’ve got the damn ghosts. That’s some proper protection for ya.
ME: I guess you’re right.
Jack pried open the automatic door with his bare hands.
A large cloud of dust flew out, causing him to cough.
HAILEY: Ew. Why’s there so much dust? This place shut down about a month ago.
JACK: Must be dried ectoplasm. That’s-…
Jack lets out a dry cough.
JACK: That’s pretty damn common. Must be a lotta ghosts.
As our group stepped inside the mall, the unusual humidity of the air was immediately noticable.
JACK: Here we are.
SOPHIA: Cam, start recording. This’ll be interesting.
Cam turned the Parasonic on, but he was only met with loud static.
CAM: What the fuck? I swear, this thing worked a minute ago. I gotta go back and check on it.
Cam turned around and his face went as white as a sheet of paper.
CAM: The fuck is going on!? The exit’s gone!
He was right. The entrance that we just walked through was replaced with a brick wall.
JACK: Must be an… ancient curse or somethin’. Haha…
SAM: It… It has to be. We’ve dealt with this kinda thing before, right?
JACK: Yeah, obviously. Obviously we have.
AVERY: You brought your phone with you, right, Josh? You should probably call 911. This isn’t… normal, you know?
HAILEY: You signed up for a ghost-hunting session and now you’re bitching about things not being normal. I swear to God, I’m working with actual toddlers at this point.
I tried to call 911, but again, nothing but loud, obnoxious static. I felt like it was taunting me. Mocking me
.ME: Are we trapped here?
JACK: Don’t worry, I’m sure there’s a back exit somewhere ‘round here.
ME: Have you even checked?
JACK: Well, no, not really. But y’know… I just kinda… feel like it.
I was starting to feel panicked.
ME: You’re telling me you led a bunch of people to an abandoned mall that might be haunted without a backup plan!? You’re a maniac!
SAM: I’m not gonna get involved in this…
Sam took a step backwards, stepping on a cracked floor tile and he fell through the floor.
And I’m not talking about the tile collapsing and forming a big, Sam-sized hole in the ground. It just looked like Sam no-clipped through the floor. Like his body was in the ground from the neck down.
Luckily, he held onto a non-cracked tile and Avery pulled him up.
He said he felt “a bunch of smooth pieces of paper” on the other side.
Right after Sam stood up, everyone in our group recieved a text message.
“RULE 1: Stay away from the cracked floor tiles. You don’t wanna find out what’s on the other side. If you see pale, thin hands appear from one of them, run. If you see a human hand, grab it and pull it up. Unless that hand has a blue rose tattoo on it. If you pulled Matthew out of wherever the hell he’s been, may God help you.”
I tried calling the phone number of the sender but, again, there was just static on the other end.
What if there wasn’t an exit? What if we were trapped in here forever? And all I wanted was just to have a break from the mundane monotony of life. And now I’ve doomed both me and my friend. I shouldn’t have dragged her into this mess. I should’ve never clicked on that advert, should’ve never talked to anyone about it. But I did, and now we’re trapped in this never-ending nightmare.
We’ve been here for the past 6 hours. We have enough supplies to last 3 more days, although we could steal some non-perishables from one of the department stores. I don’t know what to do. I need any help I can get.