Artenah

Prologue

Justin breathed hard, panting as he leaned against the outside wall of the old abandoned house on one of the lesser-known back roads. Now all he needed to do in order to be safe was get inside.

His god-forsaken aunt and uncle were looking for him again. Of course, he had run away, so it was no surprise. As long as he could remember, his parents were always on some sort of mission. He always thought that it was just a cover up for them really just being dead. He didn't know what to believe. 

Finally, he caught his breath, the cold air stinging his face as he turned toward the wind. He looked around the empty street to make sure no one was looking, then slipped inside the house through the creaky front door. He closed the door behind him and rummaged through the kitchen cabinets for the screwdriver he found so he could open the door to his "room"; the room he claimed as his once he discovered this place.

He found the screwdriver, making his way to the room. He pried the door open, pushing on it hard, and finally got in. He sat his bag down on the floor next to the pile of blankets he made for himself a few months prior. He sat down for the first time that day, leaning against the wall right under the window.

Justin listened to the howling wind outside. Surprisingly, there was no draft, so the air here was not too cold, but not that warm. He wrapped himself in a blanket, laid down on his side, then drifted to sleep just a few minutes later.

He jolted awake as soon as the front door opened. He laid still, hoping it was just the wind. He listened as best he could, hearing faint footsteps... the person is in the living room. He slowly sat up, finally realizing how cold and quiet it was. The temperature must've dropped. How long was I asleep? He held his breath as the footsteps got closer to his room.

He moved as quickly and as quietly as possible behind an old wooden structure(the wood was so rotten, not even Justin could've told you what it used to be) as the footsteps came even closer. Every step the person took was careful, maneuvering around the creaky floorboards in the hallway. Justin took note of this.

The person stopped outside of Justin's room. The boy held his breath once more. There was a soft "huh" from the person, as if they've never seen this room open before... likely not, as the door was so hard to open, Justin remembered. The footsteps continued, quicker as they entered a different room further down the hallway.

Justin stayed still. After a few minutes of dead, still silence, he reached for his bag. He dug through it, found his burner phone and checked the time. 02:43. It's been hours.

He thought about his options. He could run, but then he'd leave his door open, exposing the only form of security he had. There was also a chance he would get caught. He could stay the night, worrying about when the other person would leave. He thought about food. When he would have any time to eat.

He softly sighed. How am I going to get out of here?

There was snoring from another room. They're asleep.

He decided he'd leave.

Now or never.

He took a deep breath and stood up. He grabbed his bag and hoisted it over his shoulder, swiftly making his way out of the room. He pulled the bedroom door closed, but the door creaked loudly...

He froze, the house was quiet. Too quiet. A floorboard creaked from another room...

"Hello?" A voice said from the dark.