Little Did I Know (unedited)

Chapter 15

Cole

I walked side by side with John as we made our way through the forest. Strangely, he didn't treat me like a prisoner, but more like someone he trusted not to run away. Which was exactly true in my case.

Without him I could be wandering around in the forest for days and still not find a trace of Sadie, and he knew that. So we tolerated each other, albeit in silence. However, I didn't know what he could possibly want with me other than to make Sadie suffer. I had no clue how all this was going to work out, but as long as she made it out, I would be alright.

"There it is." John said simply as he pointed to a house I hadn't been able to see until he pointed it out because of the thick brush and layer of trees obscuring the view. My heart picked up speed as I thought about Sadie being in there. I was so close.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go find your precious girl." John said. Without another word, I sprinted to the house, shoving my way through the monstrous green brush and ignoring the scrapes I got from it. I didn't pause as I threw grabbed the handle and threw the door open, not even thinking a thing about it being unlocked.

"Sadie!" I yelled, doing a quick but thorough search of the house. In a minute, I had searched the whole floor, but I still came up empty handed. Then it hit me, she had to be in the attic or the basement. I checked for any door or staircase leading to a floor above this one, but there was none. That left me with only one option. She was below me.

I ran to the right, almost missing a well concealed door, and threw it open, hurrying down it without bothering to close it. "Sadie" I yelled again, hoping with everything I had that she was down here. It was dark, and I couldn't see anything in what I assumed to be a hallway. I used my hand to feel the walls and guide me down the pitch black space.

Suddenly, a door appeared, out of nowhere, it's bleached white wood standing out against the shadows. I glanced back at the hallway I had come down, seeing nothing but more dark. I could've sworn the door wasn't here before. I shrugged the strange feeling off, not even caring enough to try to understand what John could have done to the hallway to make it an illusion.

I put my ear up against the faded door, and hearing nothing, I slowly placed my hand on the doorknob and opened the door. What I saw..... literally stopped my heart.