Ninjabi: The Beginning | #AdventureInAction 2024 [COMPLETED✅]

Prompt #2: Don't touch! (Mystery)

"There are some words you don't want to hear in an abandoned house. Like 'don't touch it' and 'what are you doing here?'" 

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I hate this, I thought as I pulled back the dingy curtain, thankful that my niqab protected me from the waves of dust it released as it moved.

It has been three hours since I entered this desolate, forlorn, fright-inducing mansion. I had received a call from my friends who had decided to 'explore' this century-old dwelling 'just for fun' because nothing says 'fun' more than trapping yourself in an old mansion that was the abode of dozens of jinn. Ghosts may not be real, but jinn were an entirely different story altogether.

The mansion in question was built a hundred years ago, during the days of the British Mandate of Arabia. It belonged to a high-ranking British officer, who struck it rich with the boom in the local pearling industry. It was a large Arabian home built in the style of the eastern parts of the Gulf region. On the outside, the house's muddy brown colour was faded to almost white, with green and black stains tainting its walls with filthy shades of green and black. The tall wind-catching towers, burjeels, loomed over the house's surroundings, their large cavities adorned with drab pieces of cloth and plastic that it had caught over the decades and spider webs that became the station of many spiders and their tiny victims. There were also crow nests built in the holes in the wall that were once lovely windows that brought light into the house while protecting it from sandstorms and dust. 

On the inside, however, things were much worse, with the house's rooms being almost bare and only the much bigger furniture like sofas and cupboards left alone to face their demise as furniture in this forgotten house. The floor was flooded with dust and spiderwebs, and the walls were stained from the inside. The brocade curtains that were once golden with delicate floral designs were now an ugly brown and were falling apart. The well in the big courtyard in the middle of the house was dry, its base only a deep, dark abyss that seemed to have no end. The old ghaf was once a mighty tree providing shade for the house's inhabitants, but now, it stood hunched over the well, nearly falling into it. Its branches were bare, looking like thorns now that the leaves were dead long ago.

As the wind blew, the old wooden doors creaked, sending chills down my spine. I didn't understand what these girls thought when they decided to enter this place. Even though it was highly that this house was inhabited by jinn was just a myth, considering they were very real, which made it very likely they would inhabit it, according to me, at least, and I didn't want to take the risk of finding out. 

My heart raced as I moved through the kitchen, which looked like the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. The dust around the house was handy as it made tracking my friends easier. I followed the footsteps scattered on the floor and recognised the marks left by the soles of my friends' shoes. Their random arrangement told me they were terrified of their wits and scrambling to escape this house.

Maybe they did manage to escape, after all, I thought. There seems to be no human presence here.

However, I was soon corrected when a sharp, piercing scream cut through the silence like a blade, causing me to jump.

"That's Sheena's voice!" I cried. "Sheena! Maariyah! Salma! Where are you?!"

"Help!" they creamed collectively, their voices like the wailing of banshees. 

After praying for God's protection, I ran across the courtyard, following their screams. I nearly tripped on a broken ledge, and my hand slammed into the pillar in front of me. I winced as pain shot through my wrist and my entire arm, and I wiggled my hand to shake it away. My friends were in danger; there was no time to waste.

The yelling became louder as I neared the master bedroom, and I immediately skipped the other rooms and went straight into it. Indeed, the screaming was coming from inside, but I was baffled as nobody could be seen. There was nothing but an old wooden bed in the middle of the room with an ancient mattress bare and stained yellow. The cupboard next to the bed was empty, and the vanity on the other side of the room was empty, with the mirror broken and drawers pulled apart.

"Sheena! Maariyah! Salma! I'm here!" I called out again. "Where are you?"

"In here!" the girls screamed, their cries accompanied by harsh knocking sounds.

I turned towards the noise and found a large wooden chest fastened with a brass lock. I frowned as I wondered how my three friends were supposed to be there when it wouldn't fit one. However, I pushed that thought aside as the chest shook violently, and the screaming became louder and louder. I pulled out my sai and trod towards the wooden chest carefully. I stretched my fingers out, ready to touch the box, but a shrill voice came from behind, causing me to freeze.

"Don't touch it!" it said.

Sweat trickled down my arms as I held my breath. Terror gripped me as I felt someone standing behind me, their breath warm against my clothes.

"Walk backwards," he ordered. "Slowly. Hands where I can see them."

However, I didn't listen. I quickly stabbed my sai backwards, aiming for the man's vitals. However, I missed, and he grabbed me by the arm, twisted me around and pulled me, bringing me close to him. My sai dropped to the floor with a clang echoing through the room.

He was a man of short, lean build with a pale face and bloodshot eyes. His facial hair was sparse, and his beard was not appropriately formed. His clothes were happy, and he smelled like sewage. As his face neared mine, I could smell the toxic cigarette fumes coming from his mouth, among other pungent things. 

"So, you have come to rescue your friends," he purred. "How sweet."

"I think you need to get your hands off of me if you want to live," I said as I struggled in his grip.

"Really," he chuckled. "Let me see you try."

Without warning, I headbutted him, causing him to let me go and stagger backwards. I dived down for my weapons and charged at him with my full strength. With a defiant cry, I managed to stab my enemy in the heart, causing him to gasp and fall to his knees. The man bled profusely until his body went limp. When I made sure he was dead, I took a deep breath, adjusted my niqab and quickly hurried over to the chest where my friends were held captive.

"I'm here, guys!" I shouted. "Don't worry, I'll get you out!"

A bright white light shone as I opened the chest, nearly blinding my eyes. A strong gush of wind blew in my face, threatening to pull my veil off. The wind carried my friend's screams, and they raged in my ears as I tried to understand what was happening. Suddenly, the wind's direction changed, and I screamed.

I was sucked into the white light, and I screamed as I fell into the unknown.