The darkened path stretched away from the main road and further into the dark forest. It was littered with dried leaves and dead branches fallen from the huge pine trees and looked as though made from someone rushing through the brush.
A few beams of moonlight shone from in between the branches of the trees.
The silence hung heavy over the forest and was only broken by the snapping of leaves and branches as two girls raced into the clearing.
They stopped for a moment to catch their breath. Their workout clothes, which they were now glad to wear as it made running easier, had small tears from the branches sticking out onto the main path.
"Do you think it's gone?" the shorter of the two asked. As she tied her long brown hair back, she glanced around to make sure nothing was following them.
They had been casually taking a walk through the forest by their neighborhood when something, they didn't know what, tried to attack them. Which was why they were running in the first place.
The two girls held their breath for a moment and silence covered the forest once again. After a while the second girl spoke.
"I think we are safe for now, but we should still continue so it won't catch up," she replied. "Okay Ria?" She looked back at the direction they came from. "I don't think we should follow this road anymore. If we leave, then it will be harder for it to find us." Ria nodded in reply.
The girls stared at the entrance of the path leading away from the main road. After glancing around again, they set off, trying to move as quickly and quietly as possible.
The light from the moon grew dimmer and dimmer as more branches blocked the light out.
The path continued straight for a mile then curved left before ending in another clearing.
As the trees grew thinner and the light grew stronger, the end of the forest came into view.
"Do you think it's safe Katie?" Ria asked her friend nervously. They both stared at the mansion, which looked brand new.
No broken steps, or cracked windows. No dark storm clouds covering the moon or rain. The grass was dark green and looked as if it was just watered.
Smoke billowed out of the chimney and vanished into the dark night sky. It seemed like someone was home.
"Maybe they can help us," Katie whispered. Both girls jumped as they heard an ear splitting screech.
They peered into the forest fearfully and saw a dark shadow slowly moving closer. Without waiting to see exactly what is was, they turned and raced to the door of the house.
Ria pushed the door and without wondering why the door was already unlocked and open, they rushed inside. Slamming the door and locking it, they listened to the echo around the house. They slumped to the floor and glanced around.
The hall opened up to the living room, which was comfortably furnished with several couches all with a dark oak color and a dark red fabric. In fact, all the furniture had a dark oak color and dark red fabric.
The walls all had dark gray wallpaper and the floors were also a dark oak color, to match the furniture. The walls had a few pictures with gold frames. Each of the pictures was the same. All of them were empty.
The living room connected to the kitchen on the right side and the bathroom to the left. The kitchen opened up to the dining room, which had a door leading to the deck and backyard.
Straight ahead, there was a grand staircase leading to the second floor of the house. The house was silent. Trying to make as little noise as possible, the girls stood and crept to the kitchen.
