Chasing White

Chapter four:

When Hazel found herself laying in the same bed in the scarily familiar house she remembered from before, she was unsurprised to hear the same bloodcurdling screams reverberating through the walls.

Some instinct told Hazel to move, to run, to get as far away from this strange house as possible, yet, deep down, Hazel couldn't shake the feeling that the person screaming needed her help. Ignoring the strong urge to flee, Hazel crept out of bed and padded towards the door.

Once again, she opened the door silently and peeked into the hallway. It appeared the same as before: clean and nondescript.

Deciding to follow the screams, Hazel began to turn towards the direction that she had chosen to ignore last time that she had to make a decision on which direction to go.

However, as soon as Hazel stepped down onto the soft, white carpet, the screams were cut short. A deafening silence followed. All of Hazel's muscles stiffened with fear, screaming in protest when she began to venture further down the dark hallway.

She stopped outside of a door, listening for the slightest sound to indicate someone else's presence.

Heart racing with adrenaline, Hazel placed her hand over the doorknob, instantly hissing through her teeth and jerking her hand back.

The doorknob was scorching hot. Blinking back tears, Hazel scrutinized her hand. Pink and black singe marks covered her palm, blisters forming on her swollen skin. Hazel looked down at the doorknob. It was now glowing with a fierce red light, which seemed to be growing brighter by the second.

Hazel stared, mesmerized by the white hot light, until it glowed with the intensity of a supernova. Peeling her eyes off of the glowing doorknob, Hazel looked down each ends of the hallways, spots dancing in front of her vision.

However, when Hazel finally glanced back at the doorknob, its glowing aura of light had been replaced with it's normal cold, metal appearance.

After blinking and rubbing her eyes, Hazel looked back down. Nothing had changed, and the doorknob looked the same as ever. With a new courage, she reached out and grabbed the doorknob, pausing for only a moment before slowly opening the door.

A strange sensation spread through Hazel's body as she looked into the suffocating darkness that pressed on her from behind the frame of the door.

A cold wind blew in on Hazel, making her consider turning around and running.

Before Hazel had the time to process what to do next, a soft whimper escaped from the seemingly empty space in front of her. Holding her breath, Hazel waited for another sign of where the sounds were coming from. When she heard nothing else, Hazel took a deep breath and stepped inside of the choking darkness.

Instantly, two dingy, dirty light bulbs, swinging from the ceiling above, flashed on. A dim light illuminated the room, and Hazel glanced around. The first thing she noticed was the large wooden chair against the wall behind her. As Hazel's eyes darted to the far corners of the room where the dim light could not reach, she saw a thin silhouette leaning against the wall, huddled into a low crouch.

"Hello...?"Hazel whispered, her voice cracking.

When nothing but silence answered, Hazel tiptoed over to the small person in the corner.

She crouched down next to the woman, noticing that she was the same one from the pictures in the living room. This must be her mother.

With trembling fingers, Hazel reached out to lay a hand on the woman's shoulder.

Before Hazel could reach her, however, the woman lifted her head up, staring at something over Hazel's shoulder. Her eyes sagged with purple rings, and the once bright irises were a dull gray.

Suddenly, the woman let out a shrill wail, focusing on something now just behind Hazel. A sudden chill made Hazel's spine tingle with fear. Slowly, she turned around.

Hazel screamed as a tall man reached for her.