You've got to be kidding me! I yelled internally, looking back around the room to find an exit. There was plenty I did not know, it was more than thirty years ago after all, but it didn't explain the tunnel I used before.
The axe slammed into the bookcase again, this time sending wood fragments through the room, one scratching my cheek as I kept turning. I could feel my heartbeat speed up, my eyes widening as I felt the warm liquid trickle down my face and drip from my chin.
I looked back near the bed, my eyes focusing on an object I overlooked when I first entered, a candle holder. Why would there be a candle holder in here? We have lights, there's a light switch on the wall. I glanced up at the ceiling, spotting a shattered bulb.
As the silver axe crashed through the wood again, this time allowing me to get a glance at eyes a shade of red so deep it could make jewel collectors jealous, a red darker than any ruby ever discovered, as if its eyes were made of blood itself.
It's almost in, I need to find a way out! I looked back at the candle holder above the bed, gripping my trembling hands together. Please be right.
I ran over, grabbing the candle holder as hard as I could, before slamming it to the right. A small click came from the bedside table before the floor under it shifted and opened up to let me view a staircase leading down, covered in webs and rotted wood walls.
"Stop running from your fateeeeee~" The deep voice shouted again with a hiss, this time closer than it ever was before.
I turned and could see it stick its eye through the hole made by the axe, followed by it shifting and showing me a mouth of pitch-black teeth, each sharp and chipped beyond recognition. Like obsidian blades were shoved in its bloodied gums.
"What the fuck did I do to you?" I asked, pausing before going down the dark stairs. I needed to know. Why was I here? What happened the night before? What was chasing me?
Instead of answering, it swung the axe again, this time opening a gaping hole in the door, enough for it to stick its leg through. Oh, fuck this!
My eyes widened further while my bloodied cheek dried over, without waiting any longer I ran down the staircase, which quickly slammed shut behind me, and was followed by another click.
Why the hell is this happening to me, what happened last night? Desperately, I wanted an answer, but the creature had already shown me I'd only find out after it killed me.
I kept going down the staircase, my heart thumping against my chest loud enough to sound like an earthquake. What would happen if it followed me? What about if I was walking into a trap?
Questions kept coming, but I couldn't answer them. As I kept walking, trailing my hand against the wood, it gradually began lighting up ahead of me. This time bright enough to be a lamp of some sort. Here goes everything.
I stepped into a brighter room, complete with a table and a few desks to the right. The wood wasn't as rotted as the ones before it, but bits were still crumbling on the roof, allowing dirt to show and fall.
Instead of a lamp, there was a flashlight on the desk, complete with a sheet of paper covered in what looked to be either dirt or sand.
Letter 3:
Uri, be quiet! I told you we shouldn't have snuck in here!
It looked abandoned, how was I supposed to know?
That witch already took Jackson! She kept mumbling something about debt to repay, and it literally looked haunted on the outside!
I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have taken us here. I miss mom.
I... I miss her too, let's go. Let's just try to find the other notes, we barely managed to get the third as is.
We should have grabbed the first, I can't remember anything it said.
There's no-
The letter trailed off, not having an end. "There were kids here," I mumbled, wiping the dried blood off my cheek as I reread the letter. The only thing the letter proved was there were people before me here, more than whoever left the first note, possibly even more than a few groups.
Are they dead? No, they had to have escaped, right? But, what if- What if this thing only takes people after the others have died off? I stopped shaking at the thought, a chill creeping down my spine as I kept thinking about it.
They have the third note, I just need to find them, if they're alive. Another dark thought entered my mind, threatening to make me panic more than I already was. I knew that name from somewhere, Uri. Stephen had mentioned it at some point, but when? Last night!
Flashes of the previous night flew through my mind, me drinking the water and getting dizzy, the two staring at me as I walked off to the bathroom and slapped water on my face. Then, when I came out, Stephen was talking about all the kids that had gone missing so far.
"I'm tellin' ya! Brother and Sister, the pair went missin' a week ago! I think her name was, er, Uriel? Ursula? Somethin' that started with a u!" Stephen's voice rang in my mind before it trailed off and I was back in my thoughts.
I clutched my head, clenching my veiny hand against my thick hair as a pulsating pain sent shocks through my body. Fuck, is that all I can remember?
As the pain got worse, I sat against the wall, staring at the flashlight and rotating it in my hand. Even if I did have a source of light for all the dark spots, even for night if it came to it, I still had to be cautious. There was no telling how long I had before the batteries died.
I guess Stephen wasn't joking when he said God has something against me. At the final thought, I stood up, my legs shaking, and glanced around the rest of the room.
A small handle stuck out on the roof, with a thin strand of rope attached to it, while closer to the back was empty, minus the table. I don't like how much it seems like I'm being herded somewhere.
My hand gripped the handle, pulling it down as slowly and carefully as I could. I didn't know what was on the other side, all I knew was it was quiet, too quiet, a disturbing quiet. My dad taught me one thing in the lumberjack industry, 'If it's quiet, you get the hell out.'
A dark ladder dropped down as I pulled the handle the rest of the way, extending to my feet and leading so far up I couldn't even see the top. I hesitated for a second, a tightness gripping around my veins and threatening to pull me down, but I wrapped my hand around the edge and started to climb.
The further I got, the more I started to realize. It was as if this place had rules, rules that the people before me discovered. Stay quiet and don't stay in the same place for too long, there had to be more, right?
The higher I climbed, a strong stench came over me, worse than rotted meat and dead fish combined, a smell no person would ever want to take in. The rank odor smelled like death as if an animal had died wherever I was climbing to.
Finally, I reached the last rung and pulled myself up, only to immediately almost fall down the ladder. There was a skeleton lying flat on its back, its jaw bones wide open as if it had been screaming.
I opened my mouth, ready to let out a shout so loud a tree falling could pale in comparison, before biting my hand hard. It was the most basic 'rule' don't scream, don't make sound.
The skeleton stayed still, yet I didn't approach. Not that I was scared of it getting up, I was scared of whatever the hell had made the skeleton. Who or what had killed the person?
The axe wielder? No, there aren't any severed libs, it's a full skeleton. That left two possibilities, either there were two creatures in the house, or it had pieced the person's body back together perfectly.
Think, you need to come up with something! The notes mentioned a she, it was always a she, but that doesn't explain the deep voice. Are there two? Are there more?
Questions kept coming, but I couldn't answer them. I looked back at the body, trying not to gag and throw up right there. Attached to its finger was a small slip of paper, complete with a brown stain, it was dried blood.
I took a step forward, covering my flannel shirt over my mouth and trying not to trip. The closer I got, the worse the stench was, yet it didn't seem to be coming from the skeleton, instead something beyond the wall.
I picked up the slip of paper, unfolding it to look at it, causing my eyes to go wide as I read the words.
Tip 1:
They're here. Nowhere is safe. I'm going to die. If anyone ever finds this, please tell my parents I'm sorry I yelled at them. Tell them I'm sorry I was such a piece of shit son. Please. She's scratching on the walls, the door, the roof, I'm so scared. Help me.
"Why- Why does it say tip? What does it mean 'they're'? What the fuck?" I could feel a cold air envelop my body once more as I dropped the slip of paper, my voice going quiet as I turned to face the door in the front of the room.
Hidden behind a pile of boxes, a pair of red eyes was staring at me, watching me move and back away from it.
I started to scream as the eyes got brighter and the boxes encasing it fell. "HELP ME!"