˗ˏˋNew Toy'ˎ˗

Chapter One

I glanced across the hall, squinting in the dark.
Quietly as I could, I stepped on the first wood platform of the doorway. Then another.
Then another. I was hopeful, maybe I'd be able to make it to the front door!

Then I carefully stepped on the last one, placed near the stairway. That's when it went downhill. "[Name]?" A harsh voice called out from behind me, making me pause. There stood my dad, in his night dressings and slippers. I started sweating, my face heating up from shame and guilt. "What are you doing up at this hour? And-" He stopped, only now noticing that I was fully dressed, gripping my handbag tightly.
He frowned. Then he sighed, shaking his head. "Just.. don't get hurt, okay?" I grinned widely running up and hugging him. He chuckled, then grabbed my shoulder. "I'm being serious kiddo, don't you go around getting yourself killed." His tone was serious, but he had a soft smile on his face.

Saying goodbye, I raced down the stairs, almost tripping on the last step. Racing out the door, I felt rain dripping on my jackets hood. Getting my bike out of the garage, I could help but grin. "Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh!" I laughed, thinking of what I was planning tonight.

Ducking under a sheltered park area, I pulled out my phone. One missed call and four messages. Calling back the number, I looked out into the distance. [Town/city name] was pretty at night, to say the least. The phone picked up, and a loud voice spoke from the little box. "Finally! Started thinking you got grounded!" I smiled mockingly. "Well, I almost did, but I didn't! And also, are you at the place?" The voice snorted. "Of course I am, doofus." Rolling my eyes, I hung up with a quick goodbye.

I made my way to the abandoned building, feeling anxiety and excitement prick my neck. On the way, I could sworn I caught a sight of yellow, but when I turned around there was nothing there, simply leaves blowing in the cold autumn wind. I shivered slightly, feeling my nose starting to drip. It took me a while, biking on the stone cold path. But up ahead, I saw a light. "Am I dying?" I mumbled, squinting. Oh. Nevermind. It was Fran, holding a flashlight standing next to a tree and tapping her shoe impatiently. She spotted me, looking relieved. "I thought you froze to death!" She said, rolling her eyes. Fran was pretty, with dark silky skin and a dark afro with bits of blonde showing. She was dressed in a rustic outfit, black combat boots, dark brown jeans and a light brown hoodie, with skeletons holding hands as a design. She had rounded gold glasses that often slide onto the bridge of her nose, making her push them up once in a while.

I dropped my bike. "Haha, I almost did, actually." I said sarcastically. She shook her head, then grinned. "Don't suppose you're too scared? Is that why you showed up late?" I felt my face heat up, and I frowned. "No! My dad just saw me that's all."
Fran raised an eyebrow. "And he didn't ground you for sneaking off?"
"Well he-I, um.. nevermind. Let's just get this over with." With that, we both walked up to the building door. It was a very odd house, abandoned in the middle of the woods.
The outside walls seemed like they were once a bright blue, now faded and dulled. Bits of paint was scratched out, by who knows what. Quivering slightly, I peeked through a window, and what was inside irked me. It looked like children's wall paper, colorful confetti and pale blue walls. There was a bunk bed, nothing more then one mattress on the bottom bunk. I shivered slightly, and Fran seemed to take notice. "You scared now?" She said, smirking. I shook my head, but didn't say anything. "So how are we supposed to get in?" Looking over I saw her holding a rock in her hand, staring directly at a dirty window. Suddenly it clicked in my mind. "Fran.." I said cautiously. She grinned, then pulled back her hand and smashed open the window. Brushing off shard of glass with a gloved hand, she turned to me, smiling. "Problem solved." She jumped up, tumbling through the now opened frame.

I sighed, starting to climb. But then something caught my eye yet again. Only for a second, it seemed like a figure stood, just in front of the tree line. But then I blinked, and it was gone. Breathing heavily, heart pounding, I turned back to the window frame. "You coming or what?" Fran said, giving me a weird look. I gulped, and nodded.
Jumping down and plopping my backpack down on the surprisingly hard wood floor, I took a breath. But immediately regretted it. There was a sickly sweet smell of rotting, and I quickly pulled a bandana out of my bag, sloppily wrapping it around my lower face. I almost gagged, but the [insert favorite smell here] scent from my bandana quickly tuned out the odd smell.

I became nervous, edging up behind Fran. "Do you smell that?" I whispered. "Smell what?" She replied, not looking back. She shined the light on the bed, grimacing at the oddly colored stains. Then she shined her light on the.. kitchen space? I wasn't sure what it was. It was a small kids table, a faded blue color. Next to it were three chairs, a red one, and green one, and a yellow one. They were dull, faded. Probably from the sun.

There was a sudden creaking sound, startling both Fran and me. "What was that?" Fran whisper-yelled. We watched closely, quivering from fear and anticipation. It was coming from the bunk bed. Fran pushed her light onto my chest, forcing me to grab it. "What are you doing?" I murmured, anxiously watching. She started to lift the mattress, so slowly it seemed like time stopped. Then she gasped, shrieking as rats came flooding out from under the mattress. But she didn't let the mattress fall, and soon every rat disappeared. She seemed shaking, her breathing rugged and her eyes wide. "[Name], look at this."

I stepped forward slowly, and when I saw what she saw I tilted my head slightly. It looked like a small door, but the bedframe was covering most of it. She set down the mattress with a thump, and stepped back. "We need to move the bed." She said slowly, sounding hypnotized. "What?" I asked, still shook from the rats. She repeated herself, sounding a little more like herself, confident and bold. Together, we pushed the skinny yet surprisingly heavy frame. After, both of us were almost out of breath, but we still crouched down near the little red door. The handle was round and blue, and there were words on the top that I couldn't quite read. "Don't.. me.. scared." I outloud. Fran frowned, dusting off the words. "Don't hug me, I'm scared."
"What in hell does that mean?" She muttered. I reached for the doorknob, but as soon as I touched the blue orb, a loud shriek scorched the night air. We froze, then scurried to our feet. "We gotta get out of here." I nodded in agreement. Hoping out the broken window, me and Fran raced to our bikes, hearts pounding. I hopped on mine quickly, and she did the same.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but I was thrilled.. not just in a scared way either.. We got out of there as fast as we could, soon reaching the outskirts of town. Soon we reached a fork, and waving goodbye we went our separate ways. Peddling hard, I soon came to a stop. I swore I saw the same figure, a dark silhouette, but this time again, there was nothing.