Out of the Darkness

128

Ash shook his head slowly, and swallowed hard. "I can't. I've already tried. I can't do anything in this realm. We have to physically find the way out, or..." His voice trailed off, leaving a sick feeling in my stomach. "Or what?" He didn't answer. "Or WHAT, ASH?!" I yelled, anxiety starting to claw it's way up my throat. He sighed, and looked to the ceiling before answering me. "Then we'll be stuck, I guess. I don't really know. We don't really have records of people who get stuck, now do we? They never come back, so we don't know what happens. Only one person has come back, after being in a 'coma' for 5 years. Sadly, no one was ever able to get a coherent recording of what happened to her, while she was gone. I personally don't think she came back. I think her body just somehow woke up without her. It's a rare thing, but I'm guessing that getting stuck in the demon realm is probably worse than the dream realm. I-" "Stop talking," I said sternly, holding up my hand. I didn't need him saying all of those things, making the anxiety and fear even thicker in the air. "Sorry," he replied, sheepishly. "I really am. I didn't know this was going to happen. I still don't understand why it did. Something really dark has it in for you guys, or for your ghost friend." I groaned, and snatched the flashlight from his hand. I was frustrated, and terrified. I knew that sometimes that could come out of me as anger, but right now, I didn't care to try to reign it in. I would rather be angry than terrified and out of control. At least being angry, gave me some sense of control. I started to turn back to Sam, to tell him to come on, so that we could just get this over with, but something caught my eye. A movement, a dark shadow in the corner of the room. I barely caught it, just a slight shift from the corner of my eye, but I knew that I had definitely seen it. I wasn't going to leave anything to chance in this damn place. Not anymore. I turned fast, trying to catch whatever it was before it disappeared. "WHOA!" Sam yelled, as I spun around, my feet scrubbing on the old wooden floor. I flinched at his yell, and involuntarily looked back at him. I caught myself, and turned to look back at the dark corner, just in time to see a few black tendrils almost lick their way up the wall and into the ceiling of the room. "Did you guys see that?" I asked, feeling almost breathless. "I didn't see anything!" Sam replied, his voice breathless, as well. I turned back to him, to see what was wrong. "What's wrong then? Why did you yell?" He looked at me, disbelievingly. "Are you serious? We're in a dark, creepy ass, old house, with demons and shit all around us, where fucking perfume bottles are making you go crazy. Then I hear something scrubbing on the ground, right before I see you spinning around so fast, I'm surprised you didn't break your neck! You scared the shit out of me, Colby!" "So, you didn't see that? That black shape or whatever in that corner? You either?" I asked, looking towards Ash. He had his gaze pointed in the direction of where the thing had just disappeared, then turned to look at me. He shook his head slowly. "I saw...I don't know what I saw. There was nothing there. I didn't see a black shape. It's too dark in here for that. All of the corners are black. It was just...warped or something. Not quiet right." "There was something there," I said quietly, staring at the corner again. "It's watching us. Waiting." "Waiting for what?" Sam whispered, stepping up next to me, his eyes on the corner. "I don't know...and that might be the scariest thing of all," I replied. Sam shivered, visibly. Starting from his feet, all the way up his body. He trembled, then let out a heavy sigh, before dragging his hand through his not so perfect hair. I absentmindedly reached up to do the same to mine. "Let's just keep looking," I said, walking towards the open doorway, back into the dark hallway. "Looking for what exactly?" Sam asked. "A way out," I answered. This was getting too dangerous and I wasn't willing to risk my friend's life this way. I wanted to help Anna. I truly did, but she was already dead. I didn't want any of us to join her. We stayed quiet, listening to all of the creaks and groans of the house, as we explored each room. It seemed to never end. The hallway seemed to just go on forever, room after room. Bed after bed, table after table, closet after closet. They were almost always the same. I would start getting discouraged, then I would notice one little detail that different in the next room, and my hope would rise. Only to fall hard, and shatter at my feet, when the little unicorn trinket, or the odd shirt on the bed, turned out to be nothing. When we entered yet another room that was exactly the same, I broke. All of my fear for Anna, for my friends, my frustration, my anxiety, and the need to be done with this, just overflowed, leaving my body in an anguished yell. I clenched my fists tightly, my nails biting into the palms of my hands, and squeezed my eyes shut, as I poured everything I was feeling into that yell. When I was finished, the silence in the room seemed to be almost deafening. I opened my eyes, and saw Sam's concerned gaze, along with Ash's frightened one. "Feel better?" Sam asked. I nodded, and went back to exploring the room. "Come on, there's nothing here." We walked back out into the hallway, and I yanked the next door open. "Whoa," I murmured, staring down into a pitch black hole.