Inside the house
“What the...what is this place?” Pammy asked.
David wished he knew. And he was going to find out. He stepped forward when a hand gripped his shoulder and held him tight. He turned and Pammy looked at him wild eyed. “You’re not serious about going in there, are you?”
“Pammy, Daniel and Jake could be in there. Or at least the people who live here could have seen them. We have to check. You can stay here but I’m going inside.”
She locked gazes with him and finally relented. “Fine. If it gets us out of this goddamn forest.”
David offered her a smile. “That’s the spirit.”
They cautiously crossed the clearing towards the eerily silent house. Pammy crept closely behind David to where he could feel her hot breath on his neck. Their hearts began to beat faster with every step, and their bodies began to feel warmer.
Finally, they made it to the porch. They climbed up the creaking steps as slowly as they could, making sure to not alert anyone, or anything, that may be living in the house. Pammy held her breath as David crossed the final steps and the door hung over them, studying them.
He paused, staring at the intricate carvings on the broad oak. He couldn’t make out anything, save for some type of animal with nine tails. Pammy stared at the door with him. She was the first to break the trance. “Are you sure about this?”
David watched the door for a couple more seconds before turning to her. “Pammy, we need to find them. Everyone thought that we would be the best bet, we can’t let ‘em down.”
She thought about this for a few moments. “Fine.”
David exhaled and reached for the door handle. His hand paused in the air, as if the door would come alive and swallow them up whole. What if they were not in there? What if it was just an abandoned house?
What if they are, though.
He sighed again and gripped the handle. He pushed in and the door swung open at a slow pace. Dust assaulted their nostrils as the large panel came to a halting stop. David stepped forward, his foot causing the dust to scatter like flies. The interior was bare. There wasn’t a piece of furniture in the old house. There was a large double staircase that led to the upper levels.
David’s eye caught something reflecting in the moonlight. Towards the middle of the staircase was a picture. David leaned in and squinted his eyes to get a better view. It was a picture of a fox. Except, this fox had nine tails and pale, almost beige fur.
“What the-”
His sentence was interrupted by something corrupting his vision. Then the next second, his mind went blank.
Written by Cole Stryker on 02 April 2015
