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Under the old trees of the forest, where sunlight had trouble getting through, my friends and I walked ahead. Our goal was simple: collect supplies for our weekend camping trip. The air smelled of wet earth and rotting leaves, and the only sound was the crunch of twigs under our boots. The place felt strange, like you might turn around and see something behind you, though you couldn’t explain why.Then, Ace suddenly stopped. "Guys," he whispered, so quietly we could barely hear him over the rustling leaves. We followed his gaze and saw it—a mansion, its grand appearance now hidden by nature. Vines covered the crumbling walls, and weeds grew everywhere. It seemed like the forest had slowly taken over the building over many years. The sight sent a shiver down my spine, not just because of the cold, but because the place felt strangely quiet and unsettling.We looked at each other, silently asking, What happened here? But curiosity got the better of us. Slowly, we moved closer and closer.Just then, Laut pulled my shirt, clearly uncomfortable. She didn’t want to go near it, but I was too curious to stop. I thought about sneaking a quick peek inside—just a look, nothing more. Moki, though, didn’t think it was a good idea. He reminded us that there were only four of us, and we didn’t have the right gear to explore an abandoned building. His words made sense.Reluctantly, I decided to give up on the idea for now and headed back to our campsite. Laut, looking really shaken, was shaking. It wasn’t surprising though—typical Laut. She was never good with anything that had to do with the supernatural. Her nervousness was kind of cute, but it didn’t stop the curiosity that kept bothering me.As we walked back, I started thinking about asking Ray and DS to come with us to explore the abandoned building. They were the adventurous types who were good at dealing with strange things. After thinking about it for a bit, I decided it was a good plan. I’d invite them, but I knew I had to remind them to bring the right equipment. We couldn’t go in unprepared.I pulled out my phone and quickly sent Ray a message:“Hey, Ray. Found an old abandoned building while exploring the forest. Can you bring some gear so we can check it out? And bring DS too. We’re going ghost hunting.”I put my phone down, feeling the weight of responsibility. Being the oldest in the group meant I had to make most of the decisions and do the planning. It wasn’t always easy, but it was part of my role—especially with something as unpredictable as this. The mansion’s secrets wouldn’t go anywhere, and with the right people and tools, we’d be ready to discover them.~About thirty minutes later, they arrived with all the necessary gear and supplies."Ray? DS? What brings you here?" Moki asked, looking completely confused."Well… Crispy texted me about your ghost-hunting trip. I was curious, so I decided to join you," Ray explained."What's up, bro?" Laut said, offering a dap, which Ray returned."Not much. You’re going ghost hunting, right?" Ray asked."What? What are you talking about?" Laut asked, clearly confused."Crispy said you guys were planning to explore some old abandoned building," Ray explained."Oh… that," Laut replied, sounding both hesitant and resigned."So, guys—flashlights, EMF reader, camera—do we have everything?" I asked.Ray and DS nodded, ready to go."Great! Let’s do this," I said excitedly.As we approached the abandoned mansion, its walls tangled in overgrown weeds, I kept glancing at Laut. She looked uneasy, like she’d rather be anywhere else. But why? What was it about this place that unsettled her so much? Surely, it wasn’t as bad as it seemed… right?When we reached the front door, I gave it a gentle push. To my surprise, it groaned and collapsed inward. Wow. A clear sign of just how much time and neglect had worn it down.The broken door was the least of my worries as I stepped over it and into the dark buildiing. The air was thick with dust, which wasn’t surprising since the place had been abandoned for so long. I turned on my flashlight, its beam cutting through the darkness and revealing how huge the place was. The entrance led into a big foyer, with hallways stretching to the left and right, and a grand but crumbling staircase in the center. As I walked further in, my light caught a trapdoor under the stairs—probably leading to the basement. I decided to save that for later, after we explored the ground floor.The others followed, their flashlights shining through the dusty air. Dust covered everything and hung in the air like a mist. Laut, always the cautious one, suggested we stay together for safety. At first, I thought about splitting up—three people going left, three going right—to explore faster. But something about the building made me uneasy. Laut had a point, so I agreed to stick together.Moving as a group, we cautiously turned left, our flashlights lighting the way as we ventured deeper into the eerie mansion. The hallway stretched on and on, lined with doors on both sides. One sign caught my eye: “GUEST ROOM.” Curiosity sparked in me. What could be inside? Maybe something valuable, something worth taking. The idea of finding hidden treasure crossed my mind as I stepped toward the door.Inside the room, there was a lot of dust and signs of the old building. Honestly, whatever I expected to find was not there. Among the broken items, there were some things that looked like they were worth taking, but they were in such bad condition that I didn’t think they were worth picking up. They were too damaged to be useful.I turned around and walked back to join the group.“Did you find anything important?” Ace asked, sounding hopeful.“Yeah, I found some things, but they were in such poor shape that they weren’t worth taking,” I replied calmly.We kept walking through the maze-like hallway, still searching for the ghost. So far, there had been no signs of anything supernatural, so it seemed like our ghost-hunting trip was going smoothly. I figured that if we were going to see anything supernatural, it would probably happen at night, since that's when these things are usually believed to show up. But the idea of exploring this creepy place after dark made me nervous, especially with our current situation: the weak phone signal made it almost impossible to stay in touch with each other. Without that connection, we were more vulnerable, and things could quickly go wrong without us being able to warn each other.I couldn't help but feel frustrated, wishing we had a walkie-talkie or some other way to communicate. It would have given us a sense of security, like a link to the outside world—or at least to each other. But with the way things were, the situation felt far from ideal, and it was hard not to be annoyed by the limits we were dealing with.We moved carefully from door to door, slowly making our way through the winding, crumbling halls of the old mansion. So far, nothing unusual had happened; everything looked just like you’d expect in a long-abandoned place—dusty, falling apart, and eerily quiet. But just as I was starting to relax into the routine, something strange caught my eye: a shadowy figure, almost ghost-like, drifting through the walls. I blinked, wondering if I had imagined it. Was I seeing things? The EMF reader didn’t show any signs of activity—it was steady and normal, so surely that meant we were fine, right?Even though the sighting left me uneasy, I decided not to mention it to the others. I didn’t want to worry them without any solid proof. Instead, I kept moving, staying with the group and trying to stay alert, my senses on edge as I quietly watched for any other strange occurrences.My heart raced in my chest, each beat pounding so loudly I felt like it might burst through my ribs. So it was true—ghosts, or something strange, really did appear once the darkness settled in. I mentally braced myself for whatever was coming, but the uncertainty still gnawed at me, threatening to shake my nerves.After a few tense minutes, the rest of the group finally saw the shadowy figure too. A strange relief washed over me—it was a comfort to know I wasn’t imagining it.“Dude, what the fuck was that?!” Moki said, his voice shaking with fear.“Looks like something’s finally happening,” Ace said, his voice a mix of nervousness and dark curiosity.What really stood out to me, though, was that the EMF reader still wasn’t reacting. Even with the shadowy figure clearly in front of us, the device remained quiet, showing no signs of anything unusual. That didn’t make sense. It left me wondering if the tools we were using were just useless, or if whatever we were dealing with simply didn’t follow the rules we thought it did.II felt a strange sense of satisfaction as I thought about what we had discovered. The mansion clearly had paranormal activity, and seeing the shadowy figure confirmed it. But the growing tension and the bizarre atmosphere made it clear that we weren’t ready to go any deeper into the place. Reluctantly, I suggested we end our exploration for the night and return later when we were better prepared—both mentally and physically—for whatever was waiting.“Hey, guys,” I said, trying to sound calm even though I was shaken, “since we’ve already seen the shadowy figure, let’s call it a night. This place is giving me bad vibes, and I think it’s better if we regroup and figure out what to do next.”Ray agreed, his face serious. “You’re right. With the ghost activity picking up, it’s not a good idea to keep going.”With that decision, we made our way back to the collapsed entrance and headed to the campsite. The night’s events weighed on us, but there was also a feeling of accomplishment—like we’d uncovered something important.Before I crawled into my tent for the night, I pulled out my phone and started writing down everything that had happened. I made sure to note every detail—from the shadowy figure to the weird silence of the EMF reader. I knew this record would be useful later, either for future investigations or just as proof of the strange things we’d witnessed. As I zipped up my tent and lay down, my mind raced with questions and theories, but one thing was clear: this was just the beginning.