The Tenants Below the Frost Line
horror◐ TeenI went down to find the frost line myself. Twenty steps, then thirty. The wine room glided past. Around step forty the air bit my lungs and my breath came out white. One more step and the cold turned solid, like walking into a wall of winter. This was it.
Right at the frost line, I found a small door I hadn't seen before, set into the stone wall. A brass plate read OWNER. I opened it. Inside was a list of every family that had ever lived in our house, each name crossed out. The last name on the list was mine, not crossed out. Yet.
What happens next?
1 ways forwardI tore the list out, ran upstairs, and showed Dad my name on it. He went pale and admitted the realtor had warned him about "the arrangement." We agreed to leave that night. But when I went to grab my bag, my name had already been crossed out on the page in my pocket. Down below, a new spot had just opened up, and it was waiting for me.