I Care {Darkiplier}

(Chapter 24)

Your eyes are clamped shut now, trying your hardest to not let your panicked thoughts overtake you. This would be fine, everything would be fine. It has to be, it needs to be. You try to focus on your breathing when your swirling tornado of thoughts doesn't ease.

You need to breathe.

Breathe in...Breathe out...Your short breaths cut through the silence.

You're probably overthinking this...yeah that's it...you have to be. You pull your face away from your clammy hands, which were slightly twitching, shaking. Your heart is pounding so hard, you can hear it in your ears. You look around the kitchen, the appliances looked old, probably the best of their kind at the time. You will admit, even for current circumstances and discoveries, it was kind of cool to see such antiquated technology.

However...things don't be forgotten as easily. You detach yourself from the island counter, wrapping your arms around yourself as if you're physically trying to hold yourself together. Your flashlight is still switched on and face down on the grimy surface. You continue to focus on collecting oxygen, in and out, waiting for your heart rate to settle.

Your heart pumps begin to become hushed, and you're rooted to that one spot by the collection of counters floating in the middle of the room. You sigh and physically force yourself to relax your tense shoulders. Your wobbly arm, feeling like an inflatable tube man, reaches over for your source of light. You blow off the dust and wipe any excess remaining off the glass that the light shoots through.

Now that you are more prepared to explore further, you take a moment to gauge the room. It's around half the size of both living rooms you have seen so far, combined. It is still large but somewhat trimmed down. Counters line the walls, with cabinets hanging above each one. A few cabinet hinges are broken, making certain cabinet doors hang on by their last hatch. There is also a pantry or two, and a stove, fridge, and sink that interrupt the line of counters. There is a wide window to your left, that shows the gleam of the moonlight. It is faint, only because of how filthy the panes of glass are. In front of you on the right, is yet another doorway, that branches out to a different part of the home. Besides the wall that's along with the frame of the door, there is something that catches your attention. It is the stairway that leads downstairs...to what could be a basement of some sort. It is settled near the wall that holds the hallway. With your curiosity piqued, you tiptoe over to the railing that prevents you from falling down into it. There are two windows that are set adjacent to each other, that are just as hazy on the walls above the stairwell. There is a broken, rusted chain that looks like it was supposed to hold a lantern, hanging above the basement. The muted moonlight only illuminated the outline of the basement. On the walls of the foundation that is settled between the floor and cobblestone are what look to be farm fields, depicting a sunny day. There is some partial paint remaining that looks like it was supposed to be a tree that sprouts out on the corners of the walls adjacent to each other, as the windows are. You use your flashlight to observe the chipped, faded paint on the walls, before flicking your wrist and flashlight to face downwards, at the stairs themselves. They were made of the same stone texture, going downwards in a spiral. The fencing around the staircase is the same wood used around the other upstairs entryways. As you admire the design of it, you push against something, making you lean a bit too much, making you nearly slip headfirst. You are able to regain your footing by clasping your hand that was not holding the light to the other part of the banister, steadying yourself. You step backward away from it, a bit, before noticing it was a gate. With this new information, still keeping your distance, you tug on the gate, pulling it towards you.

With it now open, and practically inviting, you sluggishly make your way down the first step. You had no need to worry as the stairs were all solid, no way you could fall through the floor. You arrive on the ground floor and examine the space around you. On the floor, you are met with a wine cellar. Now that you were down underground, with the chilled air, you could not stay for long, so you make the decision to take a look at the bottles of wine that were here.

You were no wine expert, but seeing some of the dates on the bottles, ranging from decades ago, helped truly reinforce how much history this place holds.

A famous movie star lived here, people disappeared, Dark...originated here. This place was once a home to someone beloved by the public for his incredible roles. It was a man who threw a party, inviting seemingly all his most dearest friends over, for a week of fun, a week to spend time together...

...

Then everything fell apart.

You have seen enough and leave the wines that were never consumed, never shared, a way to collect dust.

____________________________________________________________________________

You step into the living room, your friend reading along in another book that they found, the spine on it nearly crumbled apart. You make a point to share a quick greeting, before shuffling over to the bags that rested against the walls near the front door and the small camp your friend laid out. You wanted to check the time, to get an idea of how long you have both been at this abandoned manor. You switch on your lock screen, ignoring any notifications in favor of looking at the clock.

It was around 9:53 pm. From what you saw on the dashboard before the car parked, it was around late 6 to early 7 pm. It has been a few hours. You are about to turn off your phone when to your dismay, you start to look at the notifications instead. You're surprised when you see a text message from Mark.

M - It was nice hanging with you and your friend the other day. We should get together more often! :D

M - Besides that, even if it has been a short while since I have seen you, how have you been doing? Your friend mentioned over dinner the other day, plans to go to a mansion of some sort?

You skim his texts, wanting to conjure up something to say. Mark was aware of this too, mayhaps not to the same extent, you did not think your friend mentioned any name of the place, but still.

Y - Thanks for reaching out in the first place! It was a nice time. And yeah, we decided to for Halloween, all their idea lol

At least, you could only hope so. You keep your message vague, giving some insight but neither too much at the same time.

You're caught off guard by how fast your phone buzzed.

M - Of course! That makes sense. You guys already there?

Y - Yeah, we got here awhile ago. They were totally right about the spooky vibes of the place, pretty interesting tbh.

You wait a moment, and are about to move over to one of the couches for somewhere more comfortable, being hunched over your satchel is not as great as it seems, your phone buzzes again.

Mans a fast walker and typer it seems.

M - From what I heard from them, it seems so. Be safe though, yeah? I can't have you getting hurt on me now lol

Y - I'll try Mark. I'll try

With that, seeing it as a conclusion to the conversation, you power off the phone, not completely of course, and are pondering whether to place it back in the bag.

That was interesting.