The House on the Hidden Hill

The music pounded in Violet's ears as her feet hammered down the sidewalk. Her long, brown ponytail swooshed back and forth as her long legs carried her down the sidewalk. It was a beautiful summer day and Violet was spending it by running around the Hamptons. She had been swamped at work and she was glad to get away from it all. She smiled at the thought of being free for the entire summer. Suddenly, she noticed a trail she'd never seen before. It was so easy to miss, it was covered by vines and branches.
Violet began to run down the trail, for she loved a change of scenery. She was enjoying the trail so much, she didn't even realize the trail had faded away. She didn't notice the "No Trespassing" sign or the house on the hill in the distance, and she certainly didn't notice the strange man lurking in the shadows.
Violet stopped once she reached the hill. She didn't even know there was a hill behind the trails she ran. She decided to trek up it and see what lie on top.
When she got to the top of the hill, she saw a large house. The paint was peeling off the walls of the house and the porch was almost nonexistent, for the wood was rotting away. Most of the windows of the house were boarded up and the grass around the house was extremely tall.
She spun around, confused as to how she got there. One minute she'd been running down the new trail, and now she was at a large house. She turned to go back down the hill, back to her summer house in the Hamptons, but her curiosity got the best of her and she decided to explore. After all, the property looked deserted. Violet wandered around the property looking for signs of human inhabitation. The land seemed normal, except for a few snake holes here and there. She decided to explore the house.
She walked up the front porch steps, each step creaking as her foot landed on it. Clouds of dust erupted from the doormat when Violet stepped on it. She knocked on the large wooden door. No one answered. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. She searched the porch, and to her excitement, found a brick by one of the dusty windows. It was as if someone wanted her to break into the house. Violet threw the brick at the window and it shattered into a million pieces. She stepped through the medium sized hole in the window, careful not to get cut by the broken glass.
The room she had broken into appeared to be a living room. A large floral sofa was in the middle of the room. Violet walked over to it and hit the sofa with her hand. She was hit with a giant cloud of dust.
"No one has been here in ages," Violet whispered to herself.
Suddenly, she heard a creaking noise coming from the hallway.
"Hello?" Violet called out as she walked towards the hallway. No answer. "I'm sorry I broke in, I didn't think anyone lived here. I just wanted to explore." Still no answer.
She creeped down the hallway, the floorboards creaking with her every step. When she got to the end of the hall, her hand grazed against something cold. Violet shuddered at the touch. She pulled on the object, but nothing happened. She twisted the object and a door creaked open.
"It was just a doorknob," Violet laughed at herself.
She creeped through the door and into the dark room.
"Why aren't there any windows?" Violet questioned.
She moved her hand around, trying to locate a light switch, but it landed on something warm and firm instead. That's when she heard it. The sound that she'll never get out of her head. The sound that will haunt her for eternity. The ragged, heavy breathing coming from the thing Violet had her hand on. She tried to pull away, but a hand grabbed her.
"I don't think so," uttered a raspy voice.
Violet tried to scream, but nothing came out. She felt a sharp pain blast through her head, then everything went black.
Violet woke hours later. She sat up harshly, causing pain to rip through her head. She collapsed and screamed out in agony. She heard footsteps approaching her. The light flicked on and Violet saw a man standing before her. He was tall and looked about thirty. He had dark brown hair and light blue eyes. He looked normal, but he had a darkness about his face which made you think something wasn't right about him.
"Hello," the man said with a sly smile.
"Who are you? Where am I? What are you going to do to me?" Violet demanded.
The man chuckled. "You don't need to know who I am or where you are. All you need to know is that the end is near," he said, and he left the room.
Violet studied the room. It was very small, a perfect square. There were no windows and the walls appeared to be made out of dark purple painted wood, making the room even darker. There was a closet on one wall and a small dresser on another wall. Violet was sitting on a small lumpy bed with a wire headboard. The sheets were light pink and the pillow was a clean shade of white. She examined the bedding more closely. It appeared brand new and very clean.
"Did he plan for me to be here?" Violet wondered aloud.
She got out of the bed and walked to the door. She reached the door and turned the dusty knob. It was locked. She sighed and began to trudge back to the bed when she heard a noise coming from the closet. She turned her head violently toward the noise, earning her a sharp pain to rip through her head. She groaned and began tiptoeing toward the closet. The closet door was caked in dust. The noise got louder and Violet felt as if her heart was going to beat out of her chest. She yanked the closet door, but it didn't budge. She pulled on it again, but it refused to move. Violet sighed when she noticed the dusty golden lock on the closet door.
"Yet another locked door," she said to herself.
She held her ear against the door and heard breathing. She pulled her head back sharply, ignoring the pain it caused her. She threw herself onto the bed and pounded her fists into her pillow.
Suddenly, the bedroom door flew open and the strange man appeared in the doorway.
"Did you try to open the closet door?" he growled. Violet nodded, thinking whatever he was going to do to her would be better than being held captive. "Don't ever go in there! There's just rats and dust. Not worth your time and certainly not worth the diseases. Stay in here. Never leave," the man barked and he left the room. Violet heard the click of the lock and his footsteps pounding down the hall. She sobbed into her pillow until she fell asleep.
Violet woke with a start hours later. Even though there were no windows, she knew it was nighttime. She was unsure of why she awoke. She just had a feeling that she needed to be awake. She turned on the small bedside lamp and walked to the door. It was still locked. She tried the closet door. Locked. Realizing there was nothing she could do, Violet decided to try to go back to sleep.
It was cold in her room and she yearned for another blanket. Since the closet was locked, she decided to check under the bed. She got on her knees and looked under the bed. There were no blankets, but there was a shiny object that caught Violet's eye. She reached her hand under the bed and grabbed the object. It was cold and felt like metal. She pulled the object out from under the bed and examined it. Violet held in her hand a golden key. She beamed and darted to the door. She slipped the key in the lock and turned. To her dismay, the door didn't open. She kicked the door, frustrated by the entire situation. She was trapped in a mysterious house with a strange man and she didn't even know why. Would he ever let her go? Was he going kill her? She slumped to the ground and began to sob at the thought of never seeing her family and friends ever again. Suddenly, she stopped crying and pushed herself up harshly.
"No! I'm going to get out of here," she told herself confidently.
She began to think of everything that had happened since she got in the house. Everything she'd seen or heard, anything to help her get out. The only thing she could think of was the closet. The closet! Violet looked at the key in her hand.
"Only one way to find out," she whispered.
She walked slowly to the closet. She slipped the key into the lock, her hands shaking furiously. She turned the key and heard the click of the lock. Violet took a deep breath and pulled the door open slowly. She gasped at the contents of the closet. Shock overcame her and she fell to the ground. She couldn't handle the sight of it and she began to weep uncontrollably. It smelled so bad and the stench tickled her nose, threatening to make her puke. The closet was freezing and the air was as cold as ice. A spine chilling whoosh of cold air went through her. She shuddered at the feeling. Then it started to sink in: she was going to die. Violet eyed the dead body. Her body.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, a tear falling down her cheek.
Violet woke with a start. She was laying in a pool of sweat and her body was covered in goosebumps. She let out a sigh of relief.
"It was all a dream. A terrible dream," Violet said to herself.
She sat up and looked out the window. It was a beautiful day, but she certainly wouldn't be running. She laughed at the thought.
She got out of bed and was about to get in the shower when she heard a knock at the front door. She made her way to the door, confused as to who would be at her home so early in the morning. She looked through the peephole and saw a man. He was tall and looked about thirty. He had dark brown hair and light blue eyes. He looked normal, but he had a darkness about his face which made you think something wasn't right about him. He looked oddly familiar, but Violet couldn't place where she'd seen him. Shaking the feeling away, she opened the door.