The Room

The old house stood by the side of a dank and murky lake. It was a while since the last time fresh water had ran here. It was a while since the last family lived in the house also. The past family had left in a hurry. Packed only what they thought necessary and disappeared. If you were foolish enough to venture into the house, you would be able to see the left over's from the morning of the family's mad dash to get away. Bits of cutlery littered the dining room table along with a collection of chipped plates and saucers. Stale, stagnant water filled the sink, green around the edges and very viscous. The fridge door had been left open slightly, causing the food inside to well and truly rot and fester away, also allowing insects to work their way in and claim the area as their own. Cobwebs hung from nearly every corner of the house, though there were no spiders to be seen. You could hardly see out of the windows, as each of them were covered in a thick layer of grime and dirt. It had been years since the last foot steps had been taken here, all you had to do was have a quick glance around the house for it to appear true. A layer of dust covered the floor, so if someone was to take a step, you would clearly be able to see their print on the floor. This place had been abandoned for a reason, but what was that reason? Nobody knew.  

And the building remained. Year after year. It weathered storms, and snow falls, nearly everything nature could throw at it. Until one day, the house was put up for auction. It was bought for very little money by the Smite family.

The family consisted of five. David and Shelly, both proud parents of twins Jessica and Jamie, who also owned a large, bouncy dog called Dusty.  

David drove the car up to their new home with confidence. He got out of his car quickly followed by the rest of the family, locked it up, and approached their house with his head held high.  

Jessica and Jamie ran on ahead to the front of the house with Dusty bounding by their side, curiously looking around, taking account to everything.  

"Wow! Look at this place," Jamie exclaimed "this place had got to be, like, 500 years old. Minimum!"

Jessica looked up at the front windows. She placed a single finger against the panel of glass and gently drew a line down the front, taking off a layer of grime as she went. She pulled back with a gasp, clutching her finger. "Ouch!" She shook her hand repeatedly at an attempt to numb the pain, and looked down at her finger tip, which had turned an angry red. She sucked her finger, trying to rid her finger of the searing pain. She took another look at the end of her finger and muffled a cry. A small, yet very red, blister had appeared.

"Let's see Jess," Jamie interrupted and made a grab for her hand. He squinted slightly and raised eyebrow sceptically. "That's odd," he murmured to himself and released Jessica's hand. He then went over to look at the plate of glass. He brushed his fringe from his forehead and shrugged. "Do we tell Mum and Dad about this?"

Jessica shook her head "No. We needn't tell them anything. It's probably just a simple burn. The glass has most probably heated up because of the sun. I should've been more careful. We shouldn't worry them with my carelessness,"

Jamie nodded, and looked back at the glass "okay, if you say so,"

"Alright then..I'm going to take Dusty for a walk around. You coming?" Jessica looked over at Jamie who continued to look at the various panels of glass at the front of the house. She reached down and rubbed Dusty between the ears, who replied with a quick yet sloppy hand lick. Jessica giggles softly and looked back to her brother.  

"You go on ahead. I'll catch up with you in a bit," Jamie shrugged slightly and slowly reached out towards the glass.  

"Don't Jamie! You know that the glass is dangerous. Don't go putting your fingers to it,"