The Mansion

Chapter 8

I stumbled backwards, hands clapped over my mouth in terror. A muffled scream escaped my lips. My stomach lurched in fright and disgust at this sickening sight as I fought an urge to throw up. Trepidation was all I was experiencing right now.

My dim torch illuminated the ghostly corpse lying in front of me surrounded by a large pool of black water which reeked of blood. His dead eyes fixed upon me, pinioning me with a look of horror. His bloody mouth was opened to call for help before the murderer finished him off. It was indeed a haunting sight.

Questions flooded my mind. But the most important question arose in my head: Who killed him? Then my mind started to project a thousand possible answers. A likely assumption stood out immediately—some psychopath had entered the house and murdered the gatekeeper. A spasm of horror shot through me as I realized my assumption. If he was killed not long ago, then there is a chance for him to still be here, hiding in the shadows and waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on me and slit my throat.

Horrified, I scrambled back to my door, only to find that it was locked. Wait, did I lock the door? No. Then, who was it? I immediately felt panicky. I had to run away before the killer found me. I darted towards the spiral stairs, legs fueled by fear and anxiety. My useless torch flickered dangerously as I ran through the darkness which –luckily—was lit by the lightning. It was like the darkness closed into me, entrapping me into some kind of a cage like a helpless animal. Claustrophobia started to fill my thoughts as I ran through the dark hallway. The howling wind and the deafening thunder doubled my fear. It was the same familiar feeling like yesterday. Pieces of puzzle started fixing by themselves and I remembered a little about last night.

Just as I thought about it, my torch gave out and the darkness engulfed me, allowing no way of escaping. Alarmed, I started shuffling to the nearest wall with the help of the light that lit the hallway but it disappeared before I could make out which direction was the wall located. My hand thrust forward—now my hands were as useful as my eyes now. I would occasionally look over my shoulder whenever I heard a squeak of the floorboards. The hairs on my hands stood upright whenever I looked back. Then, several things happened simultaneously. The thunder cracked – louder than usual—making me jump. Frightened, I took another careless step forward and instead of feeling the carpet, I felt myself falling into a black void. I kept falling and falling into oblivion when suddenly, something hard hit my shoulder, sending a throbbing sensation throughout my body. I screamed but a mere whimper escaped my lips as my body barreled down the stairs. Merciless pain jabbed me everywhere and I struggled to hold on to my slipping conscious. After what seemed like eternity, I landed on the floor and stopped rolling. I lay there motionless, suffering in agony as the pain continued to torture me. I wished my body would go numb but it was not happening fast. I groaned in anguish, feeling weak and fragile. Even a slight movement sent pain through my body. I closed my eyes, hoping the pain would go away. Suddenly, I heard quiet footsteps getting nearer and nearer. My eyes opened in fear and desperation to get away. Summoning up all my strength and gritting my teeth, I tried to sit up. Even this simple movement sent an unbearable feeling to my shoulder. I even wondered if my bones were broken. I tried standing up which only resulted in toppling down again, sending another set of arrows jabbing me. I moaned in excruciating pain.

Is this how I end?

Suddenly, something icy grabbed my arm. Alarmed, I looked up, ready to die fighting. There was a sudden rumble of thunder and lightning illuminated the room, revealing the owner of the icy hand. It was a familiar little girl staring at me. Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders and she held out her hand.

“I’ve seen you before,” I asked only to be replied by silence.

I heard the footsteps getting louder and realized that it was more than one person. Fear struck my hopeless soul and all I thought was to save the girl.

“Go! Run!” I told her.

She did not move an inch.

“Run!” I repeated but it was futile.

I had to save this girl. Maybe it was because of the adrenaline rushing through me because I stood upon on my wobbly legs. I tried ignoring the sudden pain jabbing in my shoulder. I prayed quietly that nothing serious would happen to it. The girl took my hand and pulled me forward. No matter how small she looked, her grasp was too strong. She ran through the hallways, not even stopping for a second, it was like she could see in the darkness. I just limped behind her, trying not to stumble over myself. She took a few sharp turns and ended up climbing flight of stairs. I tried to reject the agony I was facing now and struggled not to trip. After a long time of climbing the stairs, my legs were about to give out but the girl tightened her grip as if denying what I was thinking. I looked behind me but it was useless. There was nothing but darkness but I still could hear the footsteps. I turned back to the front and found myself in front of a huge door decorated with wood carvings of flowers. I could not help but to admire them at this life-or-death time. She placed her pale hand on the door and braced herself to push open the door. The door opened with a loud creak and she darted through the entrance.

Forget about the dining room—this room was enormous. There were large windows on the located on the side of the room with light streaming. Golden ornaments were decorated everywhere and expensive looking furniture laid everywhere. There was a huge chandelier on the roof and the roof was beyond words to explain. It was made only of glass and we could see the dark clouds floating above. Dark shadows were cast by the light, threatening to grab me with their arms. The whole room smelled of roses for some odd reason.

The girl pushed another door and rushed outside, yanking me forward. She dashed forward and climbed another flight of stairs. I looked behind me only to realize shadows following us.

“They’re catching up with us,” I told her, panicked.

She kept silent and pushed another antique looking door. When she opened the door, I gasped in shock. I was standing on the balcony of the topmost floor. Horror overpowered me and I refused to go any further. The rain cascaded down on us, illuminated by the lights of the lamps faraway, some soaking up and some beat harshly against the marble floor of the balcony. The cruel wind slapped against us and deafened our ears. Lightning streaked upon the black sky.

“No!” I cried. “I’m not going forward,”

The girl looked at me sadly and pulled my hands. 

"We have to or you're going to be kill!" she whispered so softly that I wondered if the wind said that.

She let go of my hands and walked backwards, and climbed over the railing. She looked at me again and held out her hands.

"The only escape for you is to die," she whispered again.

Suddenly, escape seemed so heavenly in this cruel world. My hand reached out automatically. Our fingertips touched when suddenly, something gripped my shoulder.

 I screamed, both in pain and fright. I wrestled my way out but this shadowy figure kept shoving me back inside.

"No!" I screamed.

I shrieked and pounded my hands one of the figure and it grunted. I kicked the other figure and managed to escape. I ran towards the railing again and I had no choice.

Kill myself or be killed.

I braced myself for the worse and climbed up the railing. Hands wrapped around my waist and I fell backwards back to the balcony.

“Let go of me!” I screeched.

I kicked and wrestled with all my might while holding the railing. But then the figure did something strange.

“Genessa!” the figure cried.

I stopped struggling. Wait, I know that voice. That deep, mysterious voice. Lightning flashed and I saw the bearer of those restraining hands.

Alex Winchester.

Thanks for reading my story. If you like it, don't forget to vote, comment and fan. :D Dedicated to Coldsky who always read my work and kept pushing me forward to write more. Thanks. :D