Daniel didn’t expect the wall to give way so easily. One swing of his hammer and the drywall cracked open like a shell splitting under pressure. A cloud of dust billowed out, thick and warm, clinging to his throat. He coughed, brushed it away, and lifted his flashlight toward the jagged opening he’d made. He froze. Something moved inside the cavity.
Not fast but enough to send a sharp, instinctive chill up his spine. His light quivered as he tried to focus on the shapes in front of him. Dark lines clung to the inner studs, wrapped around them like they were gripping the wood. A slow, pulsing sheen crawled across their surface… as if the wall itself were breathing.
He had torn open houses before. He had found nests, rot, old wiring disasters, but never anything that made his body react before his mind could catch up. Whatever was inside that wall hadn’t been meant to be found. And as the opening widened, something deep inside the cavity seemed to shift… just slightly… as though it had been waiting for the first crack.