Crossing the Line

Chapter Seven

This chapter was made possible by @fallen-angels-vow, who always manages to get me un-stuck, even if no writing is actually done! :D
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As it turned out, finding a place to sleep ended up being harder than the students had expected. They'd explored the entirety of the first floor the previous day - nowhere to sleep there, aside from perhaps the living room. That was kept for a 'just in case' scenario, especially with whatever Richard had let out of the basement possibly wandering around. Moving on to the second floor, which had even more hallways and even less light than the first, they found that a vast majority of the doors were locked tight, or perhaps stuck. The house was way too big - it took almost an hour to find a single door that would actually open.

From what feeble phone light could provide, the inside of the room was just as old-fashioned as the rest of the house, but more grand. A large canopy bed sat in the centre of the far end of the room; pale, frilly covers spread atop the mattress. A delicate chair sat in front of an old vanity with a cracked round mirror. Exchanging cautious glances, the teens ventured inside. Stepping through the doorway, they felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.

"Well," Bonibell stated, making her way to the large bed. "That's one room found." She collapsed onto it, arms outstretched to her sides. The mattress felt as soft as clouds, and immediately, she felt drowsiness overcome her. She was about to fall asleep then and there when Asiyah's voice ripped her back to reality.

"Don't fall asleep yet," she scolded lightly. "We still have to find a room for the boys." She laughed when Bonibell groaned, getting back up with her glasses askew.

"Can't they go by themselves?"

"I wish. We've gotta know where to find them - just in case..."

"You really think something will happen?" Miki asked, worry thick in her voice. Asiyah wished she was able to just ignore the question, but over the past hour, feeling watched, hearing sounds, she had begun to fear the worst.

"I don't know, Miki. But in any case, it's better to be safe."

Fortunately, the next room they found was just a few metres down the hallway. Although it was fairly close, it was still too far apart for everyone's liking, regardless of the fact that each group would be able to hear if the others called out. The room was also by far not as nice as the first. The unease that had fallen upon the group as they exited the previous room did not go away, and the boys found themselves seated on rusty twin-sized beds on opposite sides of the small room. Dust flew everywhere, visible in their torches, when they touched anything, and Richard found out he was able to poke a hole in the threadbare sheets without even trying.

The girls felt a little guilty, leaving Richard and Nikolai here, but there was no other option. By now, everyone was exhausted; traipsing around with filming equipment for over an hour was not exactly a livening activity, and several parents would have lost it if they had found out their children had slept in the same room as a person of the opposite sex (not that they weren't in enough trouble already, being stuck in the house overnight.)

"I'm so sorry, guys, but it's either here or the couches downstairs," Asiyah said. "But personally, with that thing you let out Richard," she added, seeing his distasteful look, "I'd rater stay in a closed off, smaller room than an big, open one."

Richard bit his lip, eyes falling to stare at the floor. "Like I wasn't thinking that," he grumbled.

"Maybe we could all hang out in your guys' room for a bit?" Nikolai asked, hoping his voice didn't sound as pleading as he felt it did. He wanted to get back to the safe feeling the other room provided.