Underlying Truths

Underlying Truths - Chapter Seven - "Illuminated"

Hello (:

New chapter.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Underlying Truths - Chapter Seven - "Illuminated"

I pulled up in front of bungalow #13 by the lake in which Spencer, Will, and I spent used to spend our summers together along with our families. Once Will moved away, the tradition left with him. If we couldn't go together, we wouldn't go at all. I killed the engine and stared at the small, wooden bungalow through the windshield of my car. From the dark windows, I couldn't be sure if anyone was inside. The place held so many memories since it was exact same bungalow Spencer, Will, and I shared whenever we spent our summers here. Our families would stay at the slightly bigger ones while the three of us shared the smallest one in the cluster that lined the lakeshore.

I glanced at the clock on dashboard, checking the time one last time before turning the car battery off. 10:50pm. I took a couple deep breaths in an effort to slow down my racing heart before finally unlocking my door and stepping out of the car.

The crunching gravel of the dirt road beneath my feet echoed against the trees around me and the empty cabins whose windows remained dark. Climbing the three creaking steps onto the small porch of the cabin, I glanced around me one last time to see no other car around and no sign of any other person here besides myself. Slowly, as if I was still trying to convince myself that I was making the right choice in doing this, I placed my hand on the bronze doorknob and turned it slowly, finding the door unlocked.

The dark living room was the first thing I saw of the small, one-bedroom bungalow. The lights were all turned off and the slight glow of the moonlight from the night sky above offered the only illumination for the sight before me. Vigilantly, I felt for the light switch on the wall to the left of me, right next to the doorway. As soon as the tip of my fingers made contact with the hard plastic of the tiny lever, I flipped it up and allowed bright light to flood the room before me.

"Hello?" I called out, trying my hardest to keep my voice steady.

My voice echoed faintly against the walls of the old cabin. I took light, cautious steps inside the holiday home before shutting the door gently behind me, all the while keeping my eyes trained directly before me. Not once did I turn around in fear of a sudden, blind attack.

Aside from the light in the living room, the rest of the bungalow's lights seemed to remain unlit. Taking a couple steps forward, I dared not stray too far from the closest exit of the house. I was standing almost halfway through the living room, meaning that I was also halfway between the front door and the hallway leading to the single bedroom and bathroom. My trembling hands were now buried deep within the large pocket of my hoodie, my right one clutching my cellphone tightly.

"I came," I taunted in a loud, challenging voice. "I came. So, where are you?"

A few seconds of deafening silence passed. I was sure that if the person behind all this were here, he would be somewhere down that hallway. I had both a clear view of the kitchen and the living room, making the bedroom and the bathroom the only areas in which I was blind.

A deep chuckle broke the silence that thickly surrounded me, causing my head to snap and lock towards the entryway of the bungalow's sole hallway.

I tried to keep my breathing in check, though when one's heart was racing, there wasn't much you could do. My chest heaved with every shallow intake of air, leaving me almost gasping for my breath.

A shadowed figure started to take form in the dark entryway, its tall stature scaring away what little courage I had mustered up to begin with. My heart threatened to jump out of my chest as the person inched toward the lit living room. Each second seemed like an hour as, little by little, this person's face was illuminated.