The Vault

10.

10.

Alice hadn't missed the sight of Templeton Manor sticking out like a growth amongst the forest. Nearly four weeks away from the house had been a delight, and it was with a strong sense of reluctance that she found herself heading for that old wooden front door.

Standing in the opening in front of the house, she inhaled a sharp intake of breath. The eerie silence that blanketed the house came back to her, and suddenly she missed the noisy ambience of the inn she had been staying at.

Approaching the door, she realised that it hadn't been closed properly, and she discretely pushed it open before cautiously entering the house.

Alice shook her head as she walked along muddy footprints that covered the hallway from the hole in the wall up to the kitchen.

The place was trashed; with empty pots, pans and plates scattered across the table and floor. Every draw or cupboard had been ransacked, and there wasn't a drop of food in sight.

After checking upstairs, which was similarly empty, she walked to the entrance down to the vault. Knowing all too well that he would be down there, she let out a frustrated sigh and fearlessly stepped over and into the dark.

Using a hand on the wall to guide her, Alice carefully stepped down each narrow, spiralling step that descended into the darkness. She had been down there too many times to be worried about it by now, and as she approached the bottom, she quickly realised that the torches on the wall had been extinguished. The pitch-black darkness gave the bottom of the stairs a sinister atmosphere.

Carefully stepping further into the shadow, Alice drew closer to where she thought the vault was.

"Father?" She called out, but no noise came.

Feeling out in the dark, her fingers touched the cold iron bars of the gate, and closing her hand to grip them, she called out once again, but nothing answered.

Shaking her head in annoyance she came to the assumption that Abraham must have been out getting food and supplies, or even out looking for her somewhere. She cursed herself for needlessly climbing down to the bottom of this creepy place, and turned to make her way back to the staircase.

A gentle gust of wind slithered past her as she retreated, and a metallic screech echoed from outside the vault.

Turning back, she squinted into the dark, and was certain she saw the outline of the gate creeping open.

"Dad?" She called out as she began walking back towards it.

To her astonishment, the gate was now slightly opened. Pulling it further, the metallic screech once again echoed throughout the deep descent.

Inside the vault for the first time, the claustrophobic choke from each harrowing corner felt like it was closing in around her. The warm air was stuffy, and even though she had noticed a breeze crawl inside just a few moments ago, the vault itself was totally unventilated.

Somehow, the vault was darker than the opening outside, and the absolute darkness completely engulfed her. She suddenly realised she had lost her bearings, and did not know exactly where she was.

Trying not to panic, she walked in a straight direction, and holding out her palm to feel for a wall, which in such a tiny space should have been easy to find, she found nothing.

A dizziness ran through her as the distorting darkness continued to confuse her, when finally, her hand bumped a wall.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she regained her sense of direction, and patted up and down to make out the wall in front of her. The unevenness of the surface was peculiar as she grasped blindly into the dark.