The Shedding Skin

Chapter Seventeen

For a while, they found nothing in the woods. Not a squirrel or bird anywhere. It was as if the animals had fled from something. And as they got deeper in, it got even darker than it normally should have. Forcing them to turn on their lights as they walked in. Then they saw it. A dilapidated house that was at least two stories. The paint might have been white at one point was now a grimy gray color. It had boarded up windows and looked like it was ready to collapse. Naturally the place seemed to scream 'there's a freaky little monster hiding inside of me'. Mortica gave a soft sigh as she took the house in. In a soft voice, she asked,"Why don't evil things ever live in places that are nice looking, super clean, and brightly light?"

"Because horror movies and books wouldn't sell real well if they did?",Rebecca suggested. They made their way towards the front door cautiously. All of them keeping close together as they climbed the concrete steps. Morticia gripped the doorknob carefully then gave it a very gentle twist. The knob came off in her hand. Glancing down at it, she gave a low groan. Paulina moved her aside as she said,"I've got this. Everyone back up a little."

The girls moved down the stairs as they watched her raise up her leg. With all her might, she kicked the door hard and it swung open. A cloud of hot, musty and dirty air hit them. Raven coughed as she said,"Nice one, Paulie. Good thing we brought you."

Paulina didn't say anything as she walked into the place. The others walked quickly behind her as they glanced around. Despite the weird exterior, the inside wasn't in that bad of shape. It was dirty and had cobwebs in the corners of the cielings. But the floors seemed sturdy and the walls were fairly intact. It was like something out of a Scooby Doo episode. Only the monster wasn't fake and there weren't any obvious traps. Morticia hoped there weren't going to be. And they slowly made their way down the hall. Checking each room as they passed them. Paulina asked,"Do you think she's still here?"

"Probably not. She would've made her presence known by now.",Raven answered in a soft voice. That was one thing that was good about the 'little girl'. She was as hammy as a Bond villain and didn't seem to know how to be stealthy. And when they reached the end of the hall, she continued,"She's not exactly subtle when she's around people."

"That's a good point.",Paulina said. She got her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. There were at least three hours before she had to head into work. Telling the girls this, she said,"I don't wanna be that idiot who dies in a horror movie but..."

"You want us to split up?",Rebecca asked in a shocked tone. The other girls stared at the nurse as she nodded her head. Then she continued,"That's not a good idea, Paulie. That thing could turn itself into something and trap us."

"I know but it makes checking things easier.",Paulina said. Morticia rolled her eyes at this and pressed her hand to her face. Anyone who ever said that in a horror movie usually didn't live long. And it never seemed like a smart idea in real life either. Raven suggested,"Sure. But we probably should check in groups of two."

"Okay. I pick Rebecca.",Paulina said. She glanced at the younger girl with a small smile. Rebecca shrugged her shoulders and said,"Sounds fine to me."

"Alright. You two should probably go search the rooms upstairs and we'll check for the doll down here.",Morticia said. She glanced over at her girlfriend who seemed to be fine with the idea. Then she told them that if they run into any trouble to call them. And that they'd check in every ten minutes to be sure that they were fine. Their friends nodded as they hurried to the staircase. When they were out of sight, Morticia said,"This feels like a seriously big mistake."

Raven agreed but reminded her that it would cover more ground. And that they couldn't waste any more time. As they searched what used to be the living room, Raven asked,"Do you think we'll be able to find that doll?"

"Maybe. I mean she might have hid it somewhere stupid.",Morticia answered. Though the 'little girl' wasn't stealthy, she wasn't really stupid. She seemed to know where they'd be at any time. Had plans to torture them without doing much. And had almost as many disguises as Pennywise did. Though there was the possibility of her being arrogant enough to be sloppy. The 'little girl' didn't seem to even bother hiding her little secret lair from them. Morticia pulled open a drawer on a desk and said,"I don't think we're going to find that doll in here. Let's go check out the kitchen and see if we'll have better luck."

Before Raven could talk, her phone rang. She quickly pulled it out, hit accept and asked,"What's wrong?"

"We found the doll in this little kid's room.",Rebecca said. She sounded excited and was telling them that they'd be down in a few minutes. Then she hung up. Morticia told Raven what they had found and she smiled. It would seem their luck was finally picking up. As they turned to leave, the floor made an odd creaking noise. Both girls glanced at each other then down at their feets. Groaning, Morticia muttered,"Of fucking course."

Suddenly the floor gave way under their feet and they screamed as they fell. Letting go of their weapons and flashlights as they dropped. It felt like they were falling forever before they hit the floor. Both girls groaning in pain and annoyance. They heard their flashlights smash into the hard floor. Watching the lights flicker for a moment before they shut off completely. Morticia checked her limbs before she tried moving. Her legs and back were sore but other than that she was fine. Pushing herself up to her knees, she turned to Raven. In a hoarse whisper, she asked,"Raven? Are you okay? Is anything broken?"

"No. I think I'm okay. I don't think anything's broken.",she answered. Raven got to her knees and turned to Morticia. Both girls were bruised but otherwise fine. They heard footsteps approaching the hole and glanced up. Their friends carefully laying near the hole. Rebecca called down,"Are you guys okay?!"

"Yeah, we're okay!",Raven called up. They told them to hang tight and that they'd try to find stairs to the basement. Paulina told them to stay there. And that if they saw anything to shout as loud as they could so they could find them easier. When their friends were gone, Raven muttered,"It's not like we're going to go anywhere."