The Door at 9:17

Part 1 Every evening at exactly 9:17, the old clock in Emma’s room stopped

ticking. No one else noticed it, and no matter how often it was fixed,

it always froze at the same time. Emma tried to ignore it—until one night, the clock started

ticking again. Curious, she followed the sound down the hallway. The house felt different,

quieter, as if it were holding its breath. At the end of the hall,

a door she had never seen before stood slightly open.