Day 8 started with a hint of hope and unease for Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley, and Christopher Diaz. It was Christopher's first day of school at L. Frances Smith Elementary, and though Eddie and Buck were nervous about how he would adjust, they hoped that getting him back into a routine might help him move past the strange events and his unsettling connection to the imaginary friend, Ken.

As they dropped Christopher off, they waved him goodbye, watching him walk into the school building with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Eddie couldn't help but feel a tight knot of anxiety in his chest. Buck gave him a reassuring pat on the back.

"He'll be fine," Buck said, though his voice lacked the usual confidence. "This might be good for him. A fresh start."

"Yeah, let's hope so," Eddie muttered, not fully convinced.


After returning home, Eddie and Buck decided it was time to tackle some deep cleaning. They had hoped that by clearing out the lingering sense of dread in the house—along with the clutter—they might find a way to move forward.

Eddie took charge of cleaning Christopher's bedroom, focusing especially on the closet, where Christopher had repeatedly mentioned Ken was hiding. As Eddie began clearing out some of the clothes and old toys, his attention was drawn to a rip in the closet wall, where the wallpaper had begun peeling. Something about it seemed out of place, so he carefully tugged at the edges, pulling the wallpaper back.

What he found underneath made his blood run cold.

There, drawn crudely in crayons on the inside of the closet wall, was a series of child-like sketches. The drawings depicted a house, a little girl, and what appeared to be a doll. But what unnerved Eddie most was the large, sinister figure—drawn in black crayon—standing ominously over the little girl. The figure had unnaturally long arms, detailed with jagged edges and red eyes scribbled in a rough, chaotic manner.

The figure's presence loomed large over the other drawings, casting a shadow over everything else.

"Eddie!" Buck called from the hallway, concerned by the sudden silence.

"Come here," Eddie replied, his voice tense. Buck entered the room and immediately saw Eddie staring at the wall. "Look at this."

Buck's eyes widened as he stepped closer to examine the crayon drawings. "Holy... what the hell is that?" Buck muttered, pointing to the dark figure. "Who drew this?"

Eddie shook his head, his voice shaky. "I don't know, but it's been here for a long time. This isn't new."

They both stared at the drawings in silence, trying to make sense of it. "You think Christopher did this?" Buck asked, though even as he said it, he knew it didn't seem possible. The drawings looked too old, too faded.

Eddie frowned, his gut telling him otherwise. "No... I don't think so. This was here long before we moved in."

Without saying anything more, Eddie pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the drawings. They needed answers, and there was only one person they trusted to help figure it out.


They FaceTimed Bobby Nash and explained everything—showing him the photos of the drawings, explaining how they found them hidden in Christopher's closet. Bobby's expression darkened as he studied the images on the screen.

"This doesn't look like something Christopher would've drawn," Bobby said, shaking his head. "It looks like it's been here for a while."

"That's what I thought," Eddie replied, running a hand through his hair. "But the black figure, it's... it's too similar to what Christopher's been saying about Ken."

Bobby called for Athena Grant-Nash to take a look, hoping her instincts as a police officer would provide more clarity. Athena studied the images with a furrowed brow, her expression serious.

"That figure," she said, pointing to the tall, sinister shape, "It looks like something that might've been drawn by a child... but not just any child. Whoever drew this was trying to express fear. That figure... it's what's scaring them."

Eddie and Buck exchanged worried glances.

"You need to find out who lived in this house before you," Athena continued. "This isn't just an imaginary friend. There's a history here."

Before they could discuss it further, Eddie's phone rang—it was Christopher's teacher. Eddie answered quickly, listening as the teacher explained the strange behavior Christopher had displayed in class.

"He's been... acting weird today," the teacher explained. "He told me he was talking to his friend Ken, and when I asked him to draw a picture of Ken, he drew something... unsettling. I think you need to come to the school and see it."

Eddie's heart sank. He quickly ended the call and told Buck they needed to head back to the school.


When they arrived at L. Frances Smith Elementary, they were ushered into a meeting with Christopher's teacher, who handed them the drawing Christopher had made earlier that day. Eddie's stomach dropped when he saw it.

It was the same sinister figure from the closet, drawn in black crayon with long, jagged arms and red eyes. The only difference was that Christopher had added a speech bubble next to the figure, where the words "Ken wants to play" were scrawled.

"This is exactly like what we found in his closet," Eddie said, his voice barely above a whisper. "But this one is fresh. He drew this today."

Buck leaned over, his face pale. "This isn't normal, Eddie. Something's really wrong here."

The teacher looked at them both with concern. "He's been talking about Ken a lot. I tried asking him more about it, but he just says Ken doesn't like to be talked about. He's withdrawn, distracted... I'm worried."

Eddie thanked the teacher, but his mind was racing. They drove back home in silence, trying to process what they had just seen.


Later that evening, Christopher sat at the kitchen table, attempting to work on his math homework. But Eddie and Buck were too unsettled to let the day's events go. They watched Christopher carefully, exchanging uneasy glances before Buck finally spoke up.

"Chris, we need to talk," Buck said, his voice gentle but firm.

Christopher looked up from his homework, confused. "About what?"

Eddie sat down beside him. "About Ken. Your teacher told us you've been talking to him again... and you drew another picture of him."

Christopher's expression hardened, his young face becoming guarded. "Ken doesn't like it when you talk about him."

"Ken isn't real, buddy," Eddie said, trying to keep his voice calm. "And we can't keep pretending like this is okay. You're grounded for a day. No more Ken."

Tears welled up in Christopher's eyes, and Eddie's heart broke, but he knew he had to be firm. "Go to your room and finish your homework. We'll talk more about this later."

Christopher didn't argue. He simply nodded, gathered his things, and walked down the hallway to his room, his small frame tense with frustration and fear.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Buck leaned toward Eddie. "Do you think grounding him will work?"

Eddie rubbed his eyes, exhausted. "I don't know. But we can't let this go on. We need help, Buck."

Buck nodded. "We need to figure out who lived in this house before us. And fast. Whatever this is... it's not going away."


As the night descended, the house once again felt filled with an unnatural stillness. But Eddie and Buck knew that the drawings, the doll, and Ken were all part of something far more sinister. Something tied to the house's dark history. And whatever had happened in the past was now reaching out to Christopher, threatening to pull him into its shadow.

And as much as they wanted to protect him, they were running out of time.