We finally pulled up to Eli's house the pregnant lady.
And soon as I stepped near the door, I felt it.
My whole body froze up goosebumps all over.
Something off was in that place.
Before I could even move, my legs locked. Felt like the air itself said nah, don't step in.
Behind me, Nami and Cairo were still followin' slow real careful.
Then boom they stopped.
Fog rolled in like smoke from nowhere.
Cairo squinted.
"Yo, what the hell? Where'd they go?!"
He looked around wild. "Ain't no way that fog just ate them in broad daylight!"
He grabbed the katana and took off runnin'.
Nami yelled, "Yo, wait for me!" She scanned around, panicked, spotted a busted pipe stickin' out a trash bin, yanked it out, and bolted after him.
Inside, I could feel it that same ghost chill from last night creepin' through my veins.
Eli was standin' in front of me, hand over her belly, smilin' like everything was fine.
"Won't you come in, Renji?" she said softly. "Come home."
My heart dropped. "Yo… what the hell you talkin' about?"
Then I heard Nami scream my name from behind
"Yo, Renji! Look back!"
Before I could turn, the floor vanished.
My leg sank then my whole body fell.
When I hit the ground, everything went black for a sec.
Then I woke up inside a room full of toys.
Baby dolls, rattles, toy cars, little plushies… all scattered.
"What the hell is this place!?" I yelled.
That's when I heard it.
That song.
That same damn creepy lullaby.
"La‑la‑la...
Mommy on... mommy don't...
Mommy fool... mommy loves you...
Mommy feels you...
Mommy's here for you...
Mommy wants you home..."
Her voice echoed everywhere soft, broken, twisted.
Then my brain clicked.
All the weird smiles, the way she talked to me like I was her kid...
The singing…
Bro.
Eli was the ghost the whole damn time.
I backed up, shaking. "Ain't no way… I've been eatin' and cleanin' for a damn ghost!?"
Eli lifted her head, eyes hollow but warm.
"You… you're inside here," she whispered, patting her belly.
I froze. "Nah, nah, nah "you trippin'. Ain't no way I'm your"
Then I bolted.
Toys crashed everywhere, spilling like a wave.
I was drownin' in toys, bro teddy bears, trains, plastic heads, all of it movin' like water.
Up top
Nami and Cairo dropped straight outta the sky.
"Yo, Renji!" Nami screamed, fallin' through darkness.
"Your heroes are here, baby! Don't die before we get there!"
Cairo yelled too, "If we survive this, I'm whoopin' your ass, bro!"
They both slammed the ground, surrounded by toys.
Cairo stood first, grabbin' the katana tight.
"This lady… nah, she's beyond weird. She got baby toys everywhere what kinda pregnant ghost needs this many toys?"
Nami rolled her eyes. "Dude, we're underground in a damn ghost nest you still talkin' too much."
From far away I shouted, "Yo! Run! Just run!"
Then the floor twisted toys melted into water
and boom, we fell again, right into another world.
When I opened my eyes, I was on top of an old roof.
Old houses, paper walls, wooden floors straight-up ghost village.
The air shimmered. Fish floated like balloons. Flower petals fell and turned into human hair mid‑air.
Nami woke up inside a dark room. She saw her pipe beside her, grabbed it tight, breathin' heavy.
Cairo stood face‑to‑face with Eli herself.
His katana was gone.
He cracked his knuckles. "Alright then. If I'm gonna die, I'm dyin' like a man."
He squared up like it was a street fight.
Hair dropped from the ceiling. One strand hit the floor
BOOM!
Ground shattered.
Cairo didn't even hesitate. "Yo hell no!"
He turned and ran. "That hair got explosions, bruh!"
Eli's voice echoed.
"It's your fault. My baby won't come home 'cause you talk too much!"
Cairo was sprintin' for his life. "Lady, I ain't your baby, and I ain't no therapist either!"
Eli laughed soft but deadly. "Then I'll devour him. When he's inside me, he'll become my baby. Forever."
Cairo screamed, "THIS IS CRAZY, YO!"
Nami found me soon after, in another hallway.
She swung that pipe so hard, it clocked me right on the head.
"OW! WHAT THE?"
She blinked, realized it was me.
"Oh my God, Renji, I'm sorry!"
I rubbed my head. "Where's Cairo!?"
She frowned. "Ain't with me. I've been searchin' for y'all!"
Before we could say more, we heard him yell
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
Cairo came barrelin' through the mist, hair chasing him like whips.
"Run, Renji! She's comin'!"
Nami gasped. "Wait, not me?"
Cairo shot back, "You fine! She want him!"
Nami glared. "Damn, guess I'm not important then!"
We all took off runnin'.
Fish in the air. Hair in the wind. Flowers turnin' into blood.
No exit. Nowhere to go.
Then I stopped. "Screw this! I ain't runnin' anymore!"
I turned to Cairo. "Gimme the katana!"
He froze. "…Uh, about that…"
My eye twitched. "Bro. Don't tell me"
He scratched his neck. "I lost it when I fell."
"YOU WHAT!?"
Cairo shrugged. "My bad! I was fallin', bruh, not posin'!"
Nami sighed, liftin' the pipe. "I got this, chill. We still armed."
I stared at her. "Girl, that's a damn pipe."
"At least it's somethin'!" Cairo yelled.
Then the air changed.
The ground cracked.
Gravity flipped.
We got slammed to the floor bodies pinned, can't breathe.
Eli rose from the shadows, her hair floatin' wild, eyes glowin'.
"You can't run from mommy," she whispered.
Her hair shot out, wrapped around my neck, tight as a noose.
I clawed at it, gaspin' for air.
Heart poundin'. Vision blurrin'.
And she smiled.
"Welcome home… my baby."