Troll

‌⁠♡⁩ TL: Khadija SK

 

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“We didn’t say anything.”

 

Camilla, sitting in the back, glanced at Rob and James beside her, silently asking if either of them had spoken. Both shook their heads.

 

William also shook his head. He hadn’t heard anything either.

 

But Ian wasn’t convinced. His frown deepened as he glared at them.

 

“Are you messing with me? Trying to make me look stupid?”

 

“I’m telling you, we didn’t say anything!”

 

As their voices began to rise, James pointed towards the mansion.

 

“I think I saw something fluttering over there.”

 

“What?”

 

Everyone turned their gaze back to the mansion. Amidst the fog, something seemed to flicker near the center of the blurry structure. Normally, the group would have eagerly suggested heading closer to investigate, but today, an unspoken unease silenced them.

 

“Something about this place…”

 

“Yeah, it’s creepy.”

 

Their main content was exploring abandoned ruins, and they had visited dozens of sites over the years. Some were far older and more dilapidated than this mansion.

 

But Kno-Dearg felt unlike any of those places. A peculiar, sinister atmosphere seemed to surround it.

 

“Do we… really have to go there?”

 

The one who spoke up hesitantly was James, sitting in the back. Even Ian seemed a little surprised to hear such words coming from him.

 

James was the biggest member of the team. He used to be a professional athlete, though years had passed since he left the sport, and his body had traded muscle for fat. Still, his size made him a force to be reckoned with, and heavy lifting always fell to him.

 

He also had nerves of steel. Even when Colin hesitated to enter certain places, James would stride in without a second thought.

 

“I don’t get why anyone’s scared of ghost stories,” he would say. “I’d be more scared of a big spider.”  

 

His confidence often embarrassed the others into following him quickly, despite their initial hesitation. For him to falter now was… unexpected.

 

“Well, if we don’t finish the shoot today, it’s going to mess up next week’s schedule,” Camilla said cautiously.

 

As Colin’s girlfriend, Camilla managed the team’s schedule. If they didn’t complete the shoot as planned, it would cause her the most trouble.

 

Suddenly, Ian, who had been staring blankly at the mansion, flinched violently and shouted.

 

“Cut it out, damn it!”

 

His unexpected outburst startled everyone. Ian angrily scratched his ear as if someone had whispered directly into it, then threw open the car door.

 

“What the hell, you jerks! You’re all in on this, aren’t you?”

 

He stormed out of the car and began walking towards the mansion.

 

“I funded this whole thing, and this is what I get? Stupid pranks? Get your asses over here and start filming! If this is how you want to play, I’m cutting everyone’s pay this month!”

 

He shouted angrily, as if convinced they were conspiring to mock him.

 

The remaining three in the car exchanged irritated sighs. Ian’s obvious disdain for them as his subordinates was grating, but they had no choice but to endure it for now.

 

William pressed the accelerator again. No matter what Ian said or did, he held the reins over their livelihood. And this was, after all, their job in the first place.

 

With an uneasy feeling hanging over them, they all headed toward the mansion.

 

***

 

Up close, the mansion looked far more decrepit than they had expected.

 

“I thought it was only abandoned a few years ago, but parts of it look completely collapsed. It could be dangerous,” Camilla said, glancing around nervously.

 

What drew everyone’s attention immediately was the flag hanging from a window on the second floor. Once white, it was now tattered and stained gray from years of exposure to the elements.

 

“That’s probably where the corpse is,” Ian said, causing the others to swallow hard.

 

The mansion felt even stranger and more foreboding at this distance. William took out his phone. There was no signal—just a message indicating they were in a no-service zone.

 

Still, on a whim, he sent a message to Colin: ⟨Do we really need to shoot here? This place doesn’t feel right.⟩

 

The message stayed stuck on Sending…, with no response.

 

“What are you doing, William? Aren’t you going to film?” Ian snapped, glaring at him impatiently. With Colin absent, Ian clearly thought he was in charge.

 

William glanced at the others and gave them a look: Let’s get this over with quickly.

 

The others understood his silent plea, sighing in resignation as they began unloading the gear.

 

The filming routine was always the same: Colin would record an introduction on the way to the site, explaining its background and significance. After arriving, they’d launch a drone to survey the area and capture aerial footage. Next, they’d circle the perimeter to film the exterior before finally entering the location to explore its interior.

 

Though no one was eager to proceed, they quickly prepared. The sooner they finished, the sooner they could leave.

 

But the problems began almost immediately.

 

The thick fog was far worse than they anticipated. The drone captured almost nothing but swirling gray. It even crashed into a wall once, forcing them to retrieve it. Normally, they used the drone to assess the safest entry points or check for dangerous areas, but with visibility so poor, they had no choice but to go in blind.

 

The mansion’s first-floor windows were unusually high, making them difficult to climb through, even with a ladder. In the end, they decided to enter through the front door.

 

“It’s locked,” James muttered, shaking the doorknob. He gestured for the others to step back before ramming his shoulder against it with all his strength.

 

BANG!  

 

The lock was so sturdy that instead of the door opening, the hinges connecting it to the wall broke, and the entire thing tore off with a groan, leaving the entrance wide open.

 

“Go in,” Ian commanded, jerking his chin toward the dark interior.

 

Clicking his tongue, James reluctantly stepped inside. The others waited nervously for him to say it was safe to follow.

 

But before James could speak, Ian abruptly strode forward, disappearing into the shadows of the mansion.

 

“Ian? What are you doing?” William called out in surprise.

 

“What do you think? He told us to come in,” Ian replied sharply, turning to glare at the three still outside. “What, are you deaf?”

 

With that, Ian marched further into the mansion without waiting for an answer.

 

The three left behind exchanged uneasy glances.

 

“Did you hear that?”

 

“No.”

 

Given James’s voice, they should have heard it too. While the others hesitated, Ian’s angry voice came from inside.

 

“What are you doing! Why aren’t you coming in? Hurry up and film, so we can go back!”

 

The three of them grabbed the remaining equipment and headed inside. Once they entered the mansion, they saw a high ceiling and a partially broken glass dome ceiling that had collapsed.

 

Now that they were this far, there was no room left for hesitation. While continuing to film their way in, William set the camera he was holding down and pulled out another camera. The other team members also started unpacking their gear and prepared to look around.

 

“Doesn’t it smell strange?”

 

Just then, James, who was heading toward the second-floor stairs, suddenly stopped. Ian furrowed his brows at his actions.

 

“Isn’t that the smell of a corpse? They said it’s on the second floor.”

 

At those words, Camila and Rob covered their mouths. They were uneasy, wondering if the musty smell they were sensing was the stench of a decaying body.

 

“It’s been years, so it can’t be that. More like… the smell of moss or something…”

 

James paused, sniffing the air, then came back down. He kept sniffing around before suddenly lying down on the floor.

 

“It smells like it’s coming from below.”

 

“Is there something in the basement?”

 

William knocked on the floor. Instead of a short, solid sound, it echoed with a hollow thud, indicating there was a large space beneath the floor.

 

But even if there was a basement, could it make such an echoing sound? More importantly, why was the floor of the entrance so hollow?

 

Just as William, feeling increasingly uneasy, was about to move the equipment outside again…

 

“What’s this here?”

 

Camila pointed to a corner of the entrance where the floor met the wall. Everyone moved closer and looked at the spot she was pointing to.

 

“Is that a painting?”

 

“Maybe it’s writing?”

 

It wasn’t clear whether it was writing or something else entirely, but strange, primitive shapes that couldn’t be identified ran from the wall down to the floor.

 

“Something… feels off.”

 

Camila stared at it before stepping back. Even Rob, who had been quiet until then, slowly backed away and spoke.

 

“I think it’s best to wait for Colin before we look at this together.”

 

William turned off the camera and packed it all into his bag.

 

They all instinctively felt it. They needed to leave the mansion as soon as possible.

 

“You’re joking.”

 

Among those hesitating to retreat, Ian stepped forward alone.

 

He then approached the strange markings and lowered his pants. William, realizing what he was about to do, shouted.

 

“Ian! Stop!”

 

Ian giggled and shook his waist. Soon, a stream of urine poured over the dark red markings. William and the other three turned their heads away.

 

“Crazy b*stard.”

 

The four muttered in unison, as if it were a pact.

 

They were already trespassing, and now this—urinating on the markings. At least the camera was off.

 

“Look, it’s disappearing.”

 

Ian turned around, pulled his pants up, and casually tapped his foot on the spot where he had urinated. As he said, the markings were fading, becoming faint compared to what they had seen earlier.

 

The moment they realized this, the other four heard a powerful instinctive scream, stronger than anything they had felt before.

 

Get out. Run away from here!

 

“Now…!”

 

Just as William was about to shout to leave.

 

Crash!

 

With a loud noise, the floor collapsed beneath them. None of them had time to scream as they fell into the abyss.

 

They must have fallen from the first floor to the basement, but the time seemed to stretch endlessly, as if they were falling into an endless pit. And then, the moment their bodies hit the ground.

 

“Cough!”

 

A groan was heard, and a low voice that wasn’t any of theirs penetrated their minds.

 

―Finally.

 

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