chapter two: exploring the house
3:30 a.m.
I placed my hand on my cheek to feel the warmth from where his hand was. Only to jump when the lighting strikes right outside my window. It lit up the whole room and showed a hand print on the mirror for a split second. The thunder roared throughout the house, rumbling the walls. I looked back at the mirror and the hand print was gone.
I couldn't figure out if I was just imagining thing because of my dream or dreaming weird dreams because I think this house is haunted. But I don't feel like I'm alone either. No not my dad, but someone else is here as well. I never believed in that kinda thing before but I'm starting to real quick here.
There was no use going back to sleep. It was almost 4 in the morning. And the thunder and lightning kept me from keeping my eyes closed. So I put on my sweat pants and a hoody but i left it unzipped. It was chilly in the house. I started to wander down the hall for no specific reason. It was a large house and I have yet to explore the place.
The house had 2 floors, a basement and an attic. It also had about 13 rooms including the kitchen, dining room and 2 bathrooms. With each step I took, the floor would creak each time. The lights were off, but the lightening was so frequent that it kept the hallway lit up for the most part. I opened each door as I passed by to take a peek inside. Most of the rooms were empty and had no curtains. Some had the boxes that have yet to be unpacked.
I reached the end of the hall and noticed that the paint had been faded as if the mirror use to hang on the wall. I placed my hand where it use to be and felt a warmth coming from the wall. A flash of the mirror appeared in front of me as the lightning stuck through the nearby window then disappeared. I had a glimpse of myself in it as well.
I rubbed my eyes to see if I was seeing things or not but it wasn't there. Having a creepy feeling, I still decided to roam the house. I walked back through the hall until I reached the living room. The living room was huge, you could probably park at least three cars inside. The window was tall and wide which lit up the whole room with the lightning. Right before you get to the hall, there is a set of stairs with a wooden rail that spiraled at the bottom.
I walked past the staircase and through the living room and into the kitchen. The kitchen had an old refrigerator like it was from the 50's which buzzed very loud. I'm surprised it still worked. The stove was the only thing that was recently new. The sink was a pale green color with water stains on the bottom from a leaky faucet. I grabbed a glass out of the cabinet above the counter to get some water. The countertop was a white and black marble but was chipped in random spots.
The walls had wallpaper with lines running up and down and between the lines there were grains of wheat, cows and forks. But they were pealing off of the wall. The floor had black and white squares, with cracks in a few of them and stains from unknown things.
So I set my glass under the faucet and turned the water on, the pipes rumbled for a second before the water started to flow through. I filled up my glass and started to take a drink. It tasted like iron and rust. So I poured it out and walked to the staircase. Once I reached it, I grabbed ahold of the railing and began to make my way up. The further up the stairs, I felt the heaviness of my body. The air was beginning to get thicker and harder to breathe. The walls had faded spots where pictures use to hang. Once I reached the top. I clap of thunder rumbled the house shaking the walls and the floor, scaring me slightly almost losing my balance and falling down the stairs.
I gained my balance and noticed that it was even darker upstairs. I began walking through and opening the doors but half of the wouldn't open. Some would turn the doorknob but wouldn't budge. Others wouldn't even move at all. I got to the last door and it had a lock on it. But I didn't have the key. So I turned back and headed back towards the stairs.
I saw a dark figure staring down the hall at me then ran off down the stairs. The footsteps echoed through the hall. I ran after him but before I got to the stairs, the footsteps started to follow me from behind. I turned around to see who was there but there was no one around. I heard a door slam at the bottom of the staircase, I jumped and started to run again. I tried to ignore the fact that I kept hearing footsteps other than mine behind me but I was starting to freak out a bit.
I reached the bottom of the steps and swung my body around to the door by the steps but it was locked as well. I thought that it might have been the basement but it only locks from the outside. I tried to turn the knob and it wouldn't budge at all. A hand is placed on my shoulder and I screamed.
"Whoa whoa calm down son." Dad said in a calm voice. "What's with all the noise? Its 5 in the morning. Shouldn't you be in bed?" He asked.
"I can't sleep. This place is haunted I know it. I've seen someone in here and they went into the basement." I said shakingly.
"Calm down. There's no such things as ghosts or anything like that." He said as he patted me on the head. "Let's take a look yeah?" He said.
I shook my head as he pulled out an odd looking key. He said it was a skeleton key which unlocks every door in the house. So it must unlock the last door upstairs. He put the key in the door and wiggled it around for a second before it finally clicks and the door slowly opens on its own as it creaks the whole way. He flipped the switch and saw nothing but cobwebs down the stairs. Nobody would have gotten very far if the cobwebs were still there.
"See nobody there. No way they could have gotten in there, especially since I'm the only on with the key" dad laughed.
"Come, let's go have breakfast at the diner down the street. They should be open in an hour " he said as he closed and locked the basement door.
I knodded my head and headed to my room to change. Might as well since its already morning I thought to myself. As I put my shirt on, with it still being over my face I hear a whisper from the other side of the room.
"Don't leave me. Come with me. Be with me. Forev..."
Before it finished, dad opens the door and asked if I was ready yet. Then he looked around the room for a minute with a confused look on his face.
"I swore I heard music playing." He said as he looked down and spotted the magazines. "Well now, I see my little boy isn't so little anymore haha." He laughed
I didn't know what he was talking about until I looked down the magazine was wide open in the middle of the floor. My face turned red and I just smiled and shook my shoulders.
"Well, are you coming or not?" He asked.
"Yeah I'm ready." I said.
We both headed out to the porch and the sky cleared up instantly. Bizarre whether out here. We headed to his truck and got buckled in. When we backed out of the drive, I could see what looked like a face that I couldn't make out in the tiny round window in the attic. But I knew if I said something, my dad would just laugh at me.