Curiosity Kills

Chapter 9

As soon I started moving forward instead of back, my feet didn't just pass through them anymore.  They became physical forces and it became much more difficult to walk through them.  I could feel them crawling up my legs and trying to hold me back.  As I got closer, they gave up trying to hold me back and started to race me back to the hole in order to protect whatever was inside.  I, being much bigger than them, got there first of course.  They weren't far behind me though and I could feel the ones on my legs start to bite.  Their bites stung like nothing I'd ever felt!  It took every ounce of my strength to lift my arm and reach inside the hole again.

The moment I touched the mysterious object, all the pain stopped.  The spiders simultaneously disappeared in a cloud of black soot.  Hayden was cowering in a corner where the spiders hadn't yet reached him.  I grasped the object and pulled it out.  Believe me or not, but it was a key!  There was hope after all!  Of course, it was in the last room we looked in, just like any stereotypical horror story.   The key was old and worn and I couldn't quite figure out what it was made of.  I hoped and prayed that this would bring us our freedom by being the key to the front door.  I looked over at Hayden who had gotten up and moved back to where the picture frame was hung.  He was looking at me questioningly.

"I found a key!  Let's go!"

"How?"

"What do you mean how?" 

I started walking towards the open door, at least I thought I was walking.

"Have you noticed you aren't actually moving?  Look down, David."

I gave him a questioning stare but looked down anyway to see what he was talking about.  The floor beneath us was no longer solid.  The wood that was there before had been turned into some sand and by the looks of it, quick sand.  I was already down to my knees.  Hayden stood still but I could see panic in his eyes.

"Don't move Hayden."

"I know!"  

His voice shook as he said that and he looked like he was ready to cry again.  I felt so bad for my little brother right then.  

"What do we do??"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!  There must be something we missed!"  

"Tara is intent on killing us!  I really doubt she gave us a way out of this!"

I hated to believe him but he was probably right.  She obviously didn't want us to leave.  Nothing in the room stood out as it was just as empty as it had been when we first entered.  The only thing that was there was the picture.  I knew it was a long shot but I went for it anyway.

"Hayden, reach up and take the picture frame off the wall."

"But you already did that!  Didn't you see anything before?"

"No, but I wasn't exactly looking at the wall when I did.  Please, it's the only thing we have to work with."

He sighed, reached up, and took the frame off the wall.  At first, it looked like I was wrong and that it was just the wall behind it but, as I watched Hayden examine in further, I could see a small indentation in the wall as if wasn't completely whole.  Hayden ran his fingers over the indentation and, sure enough, that small part of the wall slid away revealing a new hole.  

As soon as he did that, I saw him start to sink faster.  He started panicking and pulling at his legs in a desperate attempt to free himself.

"Hayden, Stop!"

That caught his attention and he came back to his senses.

"What's in the hole?"

He looked inside again and his face showed a little bit of hope.  He reached inside and pulled on something.  He started rising out of the sand and I could feel myself being freed of my sinking prison.  I checked my hand to make sure I hadn't dropped the key into the sand and lost it.  I still got it.