The Last Winter

Chapter 1: The door

I paced around my room. Michelle and Jacob whispered back and forth to each other. I ran my fingers through my long hair and continued to pace. I need to talk to my dad. Maybe he'll know something about this.

"Kat, you need to calm down. It's not that big a deal. The police probably already found him." Michelle said standing up from my bed. Now I'm furious. "NOT A BIG DEAL? Are you insane?! How would you feel if some murderer was on the loose and YOU lived in his old house!??!" I screamed out. She remained quiet. Her green eyes fell into sadness as she took a step back. I let out a deep sigh, suddenly feeling bad for yelling at her like that. "I'm sorry Michy I'm just frustrated and scared." I said, my voice calming. I gave her a tight hug.

"I love you guys, but my mom said to meet her at the Walmart down the street. I'll walk. See you guys." Michelle said as she gave me and Jacob hugs and walked out of the room. I looked at Jacob and he gave me a soft smile. "Jacob, lets go downstairs. I need to show you something." I said softly. He nodded and was quickly at my side.

We quickly ran down the stairs, bumping into each other time to time. "Look, it's over here." I said as I worked my way across the large living room. The white leather couches we neatly squated by the fireplace along with a plasma TV on top of the mantle.

I squated by the fire place and waited for Jacob to catch up to me. "What are you trying to show me?" He asked as he squated beside me. "This." I replied. I moved a large potted plant that was next to me to the side. Jacobs eyes widened when he saw what revealed behind the plant.

A small wooden door. The wood chipping away and the silver handle with small spots or rust along the edges. The door was about 4 ft wide and at least 3 ft tall. Large enough for me to crawl through. "When did you find that?" Jacob asked, his lips slightly parted. "About a month after we moved in. I havn't told any one about it. But now that I know who used to live here I think it would be a good time to share." I explained as I sat my self cris-cross on the wooden floor.

Jacob copied my actions. He leaned forward and fiddled with the handle. "It's locked." He said. "Thanks for sharing captain obvious. I don't even know if there's a key." I replied as I pushed my hair behind my ears. Jacob sunk his shoulders. He stared blankly at the door. His hazel-green eyes searched the door as though the key would appear. "Bobby pin." He said barley enough for me to hear. "What?" "Bobby pin. Give me a bobby pin." He said louder, suddenly getting excited. I reached into the pocket of my jeans and pulled one out. He quickly yanked it from my hand and pushed it into the key hole. "You're picking the lock? Are you sure you even want to know what's in there?" I said. I felt my heart beat harder and louder. My stomach turned to knots. A small click came from the door. "Got it." Jacob smiled, obviously satisfied with his work. He gripped the handle hard and slowly opened it.

A revolting smell emerged from the door. Cobwebs and dust cluttered the entrance. I looked at Jacob and quickly crawled to his side. "Jacob I don't think we should've opened it." I said nervously biting my bottom lip. "Let's just see what's inside and then we'll never open the door again. Okay?" He suggested. He grabbed my hand and gave me a soft smile. "Get a duster and some flashlights." Jacob said. I nodded slowly and ran to kitchen. I grabbed the 2 flashlights and duster and ran back to the door.

Okay. I can do this. Jacob is gonna be right here. I'm 16. I can do this.

"I know you're 16, Kat. Are you okay?" Jacob asked. I was taken aback by his question then I remembered my stupid habit. "Sorry, it's a bad habit I think," I explained, "sometimes I say what I'm thinking out loud."

Jacob nodded in understanding and held out his hand. I handed the flashlight and duster to Jacob and turned on my flashlight. "You first and I'll follow." I said. He nodded. He turned on his flashlight and pointed towards the inside of the door. The little passage way was short and led to an opening to what looked like the basement. "Come on." Jacob said. He quickly dusted the entrance and began to crawl through the small space. I nervously followed him. My hand with the flashlight was shaking. I took a deep breath. The smell is disgusting. It makes me want to puke.

"Jacob? You okay?" I asked. "Yeah. I'm fine. We're almost to the end." He replied happily. "Okay." I said. I looked back and saw the opening to my living room. I sighed and continued to crawl behind my friend. Why can't I just move back to Mississippi?

"Kat. We're at the end." Jacob said. I looked to side of Jacob and saw a small window the same width and length of the passage. "Well let's see what we have here." Jacob said. He put his hand on the window and it suddenly pushed open. Jacob looked back at me with a sly smile and slowly pushed open the window. It creaked open and he slowly slid down. I heard his feet touch the ground. "Come on Kat." Jacob whispered to me. I looked down at him in fear. I gulped down everything that scared me and slowly slid down letting my feet hit the concrete below.

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