{"id":52,"date":"2026-08-27T14:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/?p=52"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:30:39","slug":"chapter-2-under-the-couch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/2026\/08\/27\/chapter-2-under-the-couch\/","title":{"rendered":"CHAPTER 2 – UNDER THE COUCH"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n \n
\n \u2190 Previous Chapter<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n
\n Next chapter \u2192<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
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The note stayed folded inside my palm.<\/p>\n\n

IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, GO TO THE BATHROOM BY THE STAIRS WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE.<\/p>\n\n

I wasn\u2019t sure what scared me more: the three people above me, or the woman who had found me and decided not to say anything.<\/p>\n\n

I crushed the paper into a tighter square so it couldn\u2019t slip from my hand.<\/p>\n\n

Across the room, the man in gray sneakers kept talking.<\/p>\n\n

Boots had called him Horseman. Probably a screen name. Maybe just what he used for tonight.<\/p>\n\n

It didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n\n

What mattered was that Horseman was describing Lena Tran\u2019s murder as if he\u2019d done it himself.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHer hair was still wet when I dragged her out of the bathroom,\u201d he said. \u201cWater kept dripping off her onto the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Boots asked, \u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBalcony.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cRight away?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n\n

The water trail I remembered didn\u2019t run in a clean line from the bathroom to the balcony.<\/p>\n\n

It broke in places. One section even curved back toward the living room.<\/p>\n\n

I remembered because I\u2019d nearly stepped in it while looking for a way out.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman went on. \u201cI wanted the cops thinking jealous ex, revenge, something like that. Women like her-\u201c<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHow did you know she was cheating?\u201d the woman above me asked.<\/p>\n\n

Her question came too fast.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman paused.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI told you. I watched her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cLong enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou have proof?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou interviewing me now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Boots gave a short laugh.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cLet her ask.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The air above me changed.<\/p>\n\n

I couldn\u2019t see faces, but I\u2019ve learned not to trust faces anyway. Feet are better. People forget what their feet are doing.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman\u2019s sneakers turned toward the woman. His stance widened.<\/p>\n\n

Defensive.<\/p>\n\n

The woman \u2013 Fox, Boots had called her \u2013 stayed seated above me. One heel planted. The other trembled.<\/p>\n\n

Boots didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cKeep going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman snorted. \u201cShe had a husband who traveled all the time. Guys came by when he was gone. What more proof do you need?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

That was specific.<\/p>\n\n

Specific enough to mean Horseman might actually have watched Lena.<\/p>\n\n

But stalking someone and killing them aren\u2019t the same thing.<\/p>\n\n

I started dividing everything he said into two piles.<\/p>\n\n

Things a stalker could know.<\/p>\n\n

Things only someone inside the crime scene should know.<\/p>\n\n

The second pile was getting thin.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe cord,\u201d Boots said. \u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cA cord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman waited too long.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhy do you care?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBecause people remember the tools they use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Silence.<\/p>\n\n

My heartbeat picked up.<\/p>\n\n

Boots wasn\u2019t trading murder stories.<\/p>\n\n

He was testing one.<\/p>\n\n

Blood.<\/p>\n\n

The cord.<\/p>\n\n

Timing.<\/p>\n\n

Each question was a pin pushed into the same balloon.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman might not have noticed yet.<\/p>\n\n

Fox had.<\/p>\n\n

So had I.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s one rule on the board,\u201d Boots said. \u201cAnybody can lie online. The person who really did something remembers what nobody else knows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The room went still.<\/p>\n\n

So this wasn\u2019t just a meetup.<\/p>\n\n

Not for him.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman tapped his knee. \u201cYou think I\u2019m lying?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re interrogating me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cFeeling guilty about something?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman gave a dry laugh. \u201cFine. You want details?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He gave them.<\/p>\n\n

Bathroom shelf.<\/p>\n\n

Towels.<\/p>\n\n

The cord.<\/p>\n\n

Water.<\/p>\n\n

Balcony.<\/p>\n\n

Sliding door.<\/p>\n\n

I listened to every word.<\/p>\n\n

Part of me wanted him to stop.<\/p>\n\n

Another part wanted him to keep digging.<\/p>\n\n

He knew Lena kept a narrow wood shelf beside the bathroom sink.<\/p>\n\n

Right.<\/p>\n\n

He knew the balcony door slid sideways.<\/p>\n\n

Right.<\/p>\n\n

He knew there was a framed photo on the nightstand \u2013 Lena at the beach with a man beside her.<\/p>\n\n

Right.<\/p>\n\n

He said the frame sat to the left of the lamp.<\/p>\n\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n\n

It had been on the right.<\/p>\n\n

He said he\u2019d gone back for a towel after moving the body.<\/p>\n\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n\n

The towel had still been in the bathroom.<\/p>\n\n

He said the words on the glass were written in blood.<\/p>\n\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n\n

Small mistakes.<\/p>\n\n

If I hadn\u2019t been there, I might have believed him.<\/p>\n\n

But I had been there.<\/p>\n\n

I remembered the room.<\/p>\n\n

The scent of citrus body wash in the bathroom.<\/p>\n\n

The bottom drawer in the bedroom that had to be lifted before it would open.<\/p>\n\n

The lipstick tube near the balcony door.<\/p>\n\n

I knew too much.<\/p>\n\n

That was what finally made me cold.<\/p>\n\n

If Horseman wasn\u2019t the killer, why was he claiming the murder?<\/p>\n\n

And worse \u2013<\/p>\n\n

if he wasn\u2019t the killer, the real person who killed Lena Tran had never been caught.<\/p>\n\n

Fox tapped the couch once with the toe of her shoe.<\/p>\n\n

Not an accident.<\/p>\n\n

I tightened my hand around the note.<\/p>\n\n

Wait.<\/p>\n\n

That\u2019s what I thought she meant.<\/p>\n\n

Not yet.<\/p>\n\n

Then Boots said, \u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Horseman sounded offended. \u201cEnough?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard what I need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhose turn now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Boots laughed softly. \u201cIn a hurry?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThought that\u2019s why we came.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAll right. Want to see mine first?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The boots stood.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman stood too. \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cUpstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n\n

The safe.<\/p>\n\n

The head.<\/p>\n\n

Horseman sounded almost excited. \u201cYou\u2019re serious?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhy else would I bring you here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Fox stayed seated for half a second too long.<\/p>\n\n

Boots said, \u201cYou coming?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

A pause.<\/p>\n\n

Then the heels lifted from the floor.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

All three sets of footsteps moved toward the stairs.<\/p>\n\n

I didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n\n

They went up one flight.<\/p>\n\n

Then another.<\/p>\n\n

Silence.<\/p>\n\n

I counted to twenty.<\/p>\n\n

Still nothing.<\/p>\n\n

I pulled my tool bag under the couch first, then crawled out.<\/p>\n\n

My back felt like somebody had folded it in half.<\/p>\n\n

For the first time, I saw the full living room under bright lights.<\/p>\n\n

Three empty glasses on the coffee table.<\/p>\n\n

And a black handgun near where Boots had been sitting.<\/p>\n\n

I looked at it for one second.<\/p>\n\n

Didn\u2019t touch it.<\/p>\n\n

If you find a gun in a killer\u2019s house, leaving your fingerprints on it is a poor career move.<\/p>\n\n

I went straight for the front door.<\/p>\n\n

Quiet.<\/p>\n\n

Fast.<\/p>\n\n

No running.<\/p>\n\n

Running makes noise.<\/p>\n\n

The lower lock opened.<\/p>\n\n

Click.<\/p>\n\n

The upper one didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n

It wasn\u2019t the way I\u2019d left it.<\/p>\n\n

A reinforced slide bolt had been thrown across the door and secured with a small keyed lock. The key wasn\u2019t hanging nearby. Not in the shoe cabinet. Not on the narrow entry table.<\/p>\n\n

Boots had locked the house from the inside.<\/p>\n\n

I took out a pick.<\/p>\n\n

Given three minutes, I could open it.<\/p>\n\n

Two, maybe.<\/p>\n\n

Thirty seconds?<\/p>\n\n

I wouldn\u2019t bet my life on thirty seconds.<\/p>\n\n

I knelt and started working.<\/p>\n\n

Tick.<\/p>\n\n

I stopped.<\/p>\n\n

No sound upstairs.<\/p>\n\n

Again.<\/p>\n\n

Tick.<\/p>\n\n

The mechanism shifted.<\/p>\n\n

Good.<\/p>\n\n

I adjusted the angle.<\/p>\n\n

Footsteps sounded above me.<\/p>\n\n

I looked up.<\/p>\n\n

Someone was coming down.<\/p>\n\n

Fast.<\/p>\n\n

I yanked the pick free, shoved it into the bag, and looked at the door.<\/p>\n\n

One more minute.<\/p>\n\n

I didn\u2019t have it.<\/p>\n\n

The footsteps hit the second floor.<\/p>\n\n

The couch was too far away. If I tried to get back underneath, whoever was coming down would see me crossing the room.<\/p>\n\n

The staircase opened beside a short hallway.<\/p>\n\n

At the end of it was a door.<\/p>\n\n

The bathroom.<\/p>\n\n

Fox\u2019s note.<\/p>\n\n

I didn\u2019t have time to decide whether I trusted her.<\/p>\n\n

I crossed the hallway, slipped inside, and eased the door shut without turning on the light.<\/p>\n\n

I didn\u2019t lock it. A bathroom latch clicking now would be as good as shouting.<\/p>\n\n

The room was almost black. A thin strip of light showed beneath the door.<\/p>\n\n

I pressed my back to the wall and slid one hand into the tool bag.<\/p>\n\n

Found the hammer.<\/p>\n\n

Footsteps reached the bottom of the stairs.<\/p>\n\n

Stopped.<\/p>\n\n

Boots called from the living room. \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

No answer at first.<\/p>\n\n

Then Fox\u2019s filtered voice.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBathroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

I tightened my grip.<\/p>\n\n

Her heels came toward me.<\/p>\n\n

Tap.<\/p>\n\n

One step.<\/p>\n\n

Tap.<\/p>\n\n

Another.<\/p>\n\n

As I glanced toward the living room, I caught a tiny red point near the corner of the TV shelf. Probably the standby light on some piece of electronics.<\/p>\n\n

Then Fox\u2019s shadow filled the gap under the bathroom door.<\/p>\n\n

The handle began to turn.<\/p>\n\n

Click.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n \n
\n \u2190 Previous Chapter<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n \n
\n Next chapter \u2192<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2190 Previous Chapter Next chapter \u2192 The note stayed folded inside my palm. IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, GO TO THE BATHROOM BY THE STAIRS WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE. I wasn\u2019t sure what scared me more: the three people above me, or the woman who had found me and decided not to say anything. Read More “CHAPTER 2 – UNDER THE COUCH”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-https-horrorstories-online-index-php-2026-08-27-i-broke-into-a-killers-house-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":194,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions\/194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/horrorstories.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}