Episode 4: "The Horror World"

By: Adam ALamr

Salma throws her phone on the floor. The image of Karim is still engraved in her eyes: gagged, tied to a chair, with a woman's shadow smiling behind him.

She looks at the sky from her balcony. The cold wind pierces her body. She whispers: "I'm coming... I'll save him."

She closes the balcony. Opens her laptop. Writes to the writer in her head: "Where is he? Where is Karim?"

Silence. Then a faint whisper:

The writer: "In the same place. The old military hospital. The basement... where light doesn't reach. But she knows you're coming. She'll set a trap for you."

Salma: "It doesn't matter. I'll go now."

The writer: "Wait... take the silver pistol. It might not hurt her, but it distracts her. And this time... you might need another weapon."

Salma: "What weapon?"

The writer: "The truth. The truth about her past. She's not purely evil. She's wounded. If you can make her remember who she was... she might retreat."

Salma puts the pistol in her bag. Rushes out.

---

The military hospital at night. Darker than before. The broken windows look like eyes watching her. Salma stands at the entrance. Breathes deeply. Enters.

Long corridors, discarded medical equipment on the floor. Every step echoes. She reaches the stairs leading to the basement. A rusty iron door. She pushes it open with difficulty.

The basement is different. Not ordinary hospital corridors, but narrow streets, old houses, faint lighting. As if she entered an underground city.

Salma whispers: "Where am I?"

A voice from behind: "In my story."

She turns. A little girl about ten years old stands behind her. Long black hair, wide eyes, smiling a strange smile.

The girl: "Welcome to the horror world. I'm Lynn."

Salma steps back: "Lynn? You're... the girl who heard the voice?"

Lynn: "Yes. And the evil one loves me very much. She visits me every night. Tells me her stories. Says I'll be the heroine of her new story."

Salma: "But you didn't join her?"

Lynn: "No. I love my horror stories. But I don't love her. Her eyes are sad. She told me once that the writer was her father. And that he abandoned her. Do you love someone who abandons you?"

Salma kneels before her: "Lynn... did you see a man named Karim? Did they bring him here?"

Lynn points to the end of the street: "There. In the big house. She's waiting for you."

---

The big house. Old, abandoned, windows boarded up. Salma pushes the door. A long creak. Inside, a large hall. In the middle, a chair. On it, Karim, his head drooping, seemingly unconscious.

Salma runs toward him: "Karim!"

But before she reaches him, the shadow forms before her. The evil one. This time clearer. A beautiful woman, but her eyes burn with ancient sadness.

The evil one: "Welcome, Salma. You came as I expected."

Salma draws the pistol: "Release him!"

The evil one laughs: "First, the pistol doesn't hurt me. Second, he's not a prisoner. He's my guest. Isn't that right, Karim?"

Karim lifts his head. His eyes are white, no pupils. He smiles a cold smile: "Salma... join us. The writer abandoned us all."

Salma screams: "Karim! No! What did you do to him?!"

The evil one: "I did nothing. He chose. I told him the truth: that the writer writes his stories without caring about our fate. That we're just ink on paper. So he chose to be with me."

Salma: "That's a lie! Karim isn't like that!"

The evil one approaches her: "We're all like that when we know the truth. You too will join me one day. But not today. Today I'll give you another chance: go to the writer, tell him to write me a new ending. A happy ending. If he doesn't... Karim will be your first corpse."

Salma: "I can't reach him like you do!"

The evil one: "But you can send messages. Do it. You have 24 hours."

She disappears. The house disappears. The city disappears. Salma finds herself standing in the ordinary hospital corridor. Beside her, Karim sits on the floor, breathing with difficulty, his eyes normal.

Karim whispers: "Salma? Where are we? What happened?"

Salma hugs him: "Karim! You're alright!"

Karim: "It was... a dream. I saw a beautiful, sad woman, telling me you were in danger. I remember coming to protect you... then nothing."

Salma sighs: "I saved you. Come, let's get out of here."

---

Outside the hospital. Dawn approaches. Salma sits on the sidewalk. Karim beside her, still confused.

Karim: "Can you tell me what's really happening?"

Salma looks at him: "I'm not ready yet. But... trust me. I'm trying to protect us all."

Karim: "I trust you. But I feel there's something bigger than us."

Salma pats his shoulder: "There is. But we'll face it together."

She opens her phone. Sends a message to the writer: "I saved him. But the evil one wants you to write her a new ending. What do I do?"

A quick reply:

The writer: "I can't. She's an old character, her story ended. If I write her a new ending, I'll create a dangerous precedent. Every neglected character will ask for the same. But... maybe there's another way."

Salma: "What?"

The writer: "Lynn. The girl you saw. She's the key. The evil one loves her. If you can get Lynn to convince her to back down... maybe the battle can end without fighting."

Salma: "And how do I get a ten-year-old girl to convince a powerful evil one?!"

The writer: "Lynn isn't an ordinary child. She's my oldest character. She's lived in a horror story for ten years. She's seen her heroes die. She knows what fear means. But she also knows what hope means. Find her again. She trusts you."

Salma closes the phone. Looks at Karim, who has dozed off on her shoulder. Then looks at the hospital behind her. She decides.

---

Morning. Salma in her apartment. Searches through her old papers. Finds Lina's notebook. Reads what she wrote about Lynn: "A little girl, black hair, wide eyes. Lives in the story 'The Doll's House,' one of the writer's old horror stories."

She opens her laptop. Types in the search engine: "The Doll's House story." Finds an old link. Opens it. The complete story. She begins reading. Every word brings her closer to Lynn's world.

Suddenly... a whisper in her head:

Lynn: "Salma... read the last page."

She flips through the pages. The last page. There, written by hand: "If you're reading this, you're in my world. Come to me. I'm waiting for you."

Salma closes her eyes. When she opens them, she finds herself in the narrow underground street. The same place she saw last night.

Lynn stands before her, smiling: "Welcome back. Now, let's save her together."

(To be continued...)

Did you get here by chance? The story started here 👇

https://misbaradel.blogspot.com/2026/03/salma-beyond-narrative.html