Power Cut - #JustWriteIt Wattys2015

Two

We made our way through the silent town. The streets were empty, everyone was inside, trying desperately to keep cool. A warm breeze blew, taunting us. A breeze that could have been cool and refreshing, but instead just blew the warm air around, just to spite us. The sun shone bright in a cloudless sky and the air outside was warm and dry, as apposed to the sticky humidity of being indoors. But the light was blinding, and the leafless trees that lined the roads provided little shelter. Our footsteps echoed loudly along the desolate streets as we made our way towards the eerie houses, creating our plans as we walked.

"What exactly is it we are looking for?" Brandon asked, breaking the heavy silence.

"Anything." Jayden replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Books, notes, anything that could be a clue."

Jayden wasn't exactly the best at forward thinking, he usually would just have an idea and roll with it. When it came to ideas for adventures, he would just pack the necessities and set off, never really thinking about what could go wrong. He seemed to think that he was invincible. The worrying was up to Amelia, she cared a lot about everyone, and couldn't stand to see any of us in danger. She was always the one that thought of all the possible problems, and for this reason it was her that began to have doubts first.

"What if we go missing like all the others?" she asked, looking up at Jayden with worry.

He placed his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring fashion. "Don't worry." He replied. "There are five of us, we can keep each other safe. Besides, they don't just go missing, they get forgotten, and I wont forget about you. Okay?"

"Okay." She replied, looking only a little bit relieved.

Brandon let out a groan. "Come on lovebirds, lets get going!"

Amelia blushed and hid behind her hair, whilst Jayden just rushed ahead with an embarrassed look.

"Come on then, lets go!" He stormed off in a hurry, not letting Brandon look at his face, which had turned to a deep shade of red.

We continued along the empty streets, and after many twists and turns we found ourselves in front of our first abandoned house, an old fashioned wooden mansion. A white pebble path snaked its way up through the overgrown garden. Spindly old trees cast shadows over the lawn and the roses vines climbing the lattice were withered and brown. Unlike the rest of the town, this place felt cold. The breeze here was chilly and the grass glistened with dewdrops. As we walked towards the house I realized that it was not old fashioned, just old. Looking more closely at it, I realized just how old it was. It had clearly been abandoned for a long time, a thick layer of dust coated everything like freshly fallen snow. An unnatural silence enveloped the house and everything near it.

We tiptoed up the creaky wooden stairs and made our way across the porch, towards the front door. It was made of solid oak and had a large brass lock that was tarnished with age. Jayden went to turn the door handle, but no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't move. He swung his backpack around and pulled out a little box, filled with bits of wire that he used to pick locks, then set to work. He struggled with the lock for a few minutes, and as he did so the rest of us started looking around.

I decided to take a look at what was inside and walked back across the porch to the windows, gently wiping off the layer of dirt covering it with my sleeve. Clearly the window putty had deteriorated over the years because as I pressed my hand against the glass, the entire windowpane came loose and shattered to the floor inside. The sound of shattering glass pierced through the silence, making everyone jump in fright.