What was that I thought, my heart in my mouth. I slowly turned around. I didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean that there couldn't be someone else in the house with me. It was a large house. I examined the inside of the grand hallway, some of the floorboards where missing, there was holes in the walls and everything I done was amplified. I hesitated before I went into the living room. My cigarette lighter was my best friend at the moment, showed off ancient paintings and a host of antiques. Over a marble fireplace, in the far side of the room, hung a silvery mirror with small cherubs surrounding it.
There was a crash from upstairs. My heart began to race. Who was it? What was it? I could only hear my heart as I listened for another sound. The silence throbbed in my ears; I stood at the bottom of the staircase. The sounds had come from upstairs. My curiosity and swallowed my fears and nervously ascended the battered and dilapidated stairs, not knowing what I was going to encounter.
On the second floor I found a bathroom furnished in an old murky green with scale on it, I left it undisturbed as the floor looked unsafe. I found several bedrooms laden with cloth-covered antiques, clothes that might have been beautiful at one time, and tarnished jewellery. The walls and floor where all wooden, they were illuminated by the constant stream of lightning flashes that came through the stained window that towered over me.
At the end of the second floor, I found yet another stair well. This one was dark and coated with lacy spider webs. It led to what must have been the children's floor at one point. There was a play room that took up most of the space, along with two bedrooms with dainty furniture, and the nurse's room. What I mistook for a closet at first was really a narrow flight of stairs that lead into the attic.
A giant rat scampered across my feet. Its beady eyes glowed red in the flicker of my lighter. It hissed at me. I screamed and dropped my lighter, breaking the flint. Suddenly, I was plunged into utter darkness. I took several deep breaths to calm my trembling body and finished my trek up the stairs, now not able to see what was even two feet in front of me, my hands where now going to be my eyes.
Vivid flashes of lightning illuminated the attic. A vase lay in pieces in front of the broken window. Well, at least I know what caused the crash I thought to myself. I found an old trench cloak and had intended it used it to cover the broken window, but on my way there, I tripped over a large box.
The box wasn't locked, but age had rusted it shut. I gripped the top and pulled with all of my strength. The box protested, but finally gave in. Another rat jumped at my ankle. I yelled and lunged forward. I hit something solid inside the box. Whatever I had hit, it didn't feel like antiques or clothes. My hand wondered upward and found a large protruding....nose! I turned my head and gasped.
A flash of lightning briefly seared the sky. The harsh light highlighted a wide mouth, glowing canines, a nose, red curly hair and stern eyebrows. The man's eyes were open and staring at me.
Suddenly, the faint, choking smell of wood smoke reached my nose. I felt something burning me I quickly pushed the box away and cried out. The Fire felt like it was licking at me. I backed up against the far wall; the flames had already engulfed the box. As a second flash of lightning suddenly blinding me. I Opened my eyes to see that the bottom half of the room now in flames, I made my way to the broken window and used the old trench coat to break the remainder of the razor-sharp glass. The fierce flames were approaching me rapidly, I didn’t know what to do but in the distance I could hear the wail of a siren cut through the crackle of the burning house, would they reach me in time...
