#storytime #scary #horror #animation #unitedstates

Did you know your group of friends might have someone who was never meant to be there? During a trip, eight friends rented a single van. They remembered it clearly in four rows, two per seat. No one stood. But when they stopped at a gas station halfway through, something felt wrong. I think we're one too many, Camilla said.

They laughed it off. But then they counted. Nine. A hush fell. They counted again. Moved seats. Swapped positions. Still nine. No one remembered inviting someone new. Yet no one looked unfamiliar. Every face was almost right. Except none of them could agree on which one. Their minds grew foggy like trying to remember a dream while still inside it.

One smile seemed off but only for a second. One voice too soft, too delayed. Whoever the ninth was, he fit. In a way that felt unnatural. Panic set in. The air inside the van felt heavier. The windows wouldn't open. The dashboard clock kept resetting. They rushed out. All of them. One by one.

They counted. Eight. But the moment they tried to leave the station, a man at the pump asked, Didn't one of you stay in the van? The doors were locked, the windows dark. and inside in the last row someone sat. Still, facing forward, they reported it. Police searched. No one was found. Not in the van, not on the cameras.

Two weeks later, Camilla was scrolling through the trip photos on her phone. One image made her stop. The group back in the van. Everyone smiling. Nine people.