Leave This House

Day 1 - Unfortunate Circumstances

Corbin's car began to shudder and choke. "You have got to be kidding me," he muttered. He pulled the steering wheel to the right and the car shook to a halt, rolling to the side. Swearing under his breath, he climbed out of his car.

The gravel crunched under his sneakers. He kicked a stick in the road and threw open the hood of the old Volvo. A cloud of steam wafted into his face. He waved it out of his face. Water hissed from the radiator. "Oh, jeez," he said. "Dad's not going to be happy."

He dropped the hood and pulled out his cell phone. NO SERVICE blinked at him. Corbin ran his hand down his face. This was not good. He looked around the dark back road. In the distance, he could see a pin prick of light. Sighing, he began the trek through the trees.

'Take the back road' he said. 'It'll be faster' he said. Frustrated thoughts thundered through his tired brain. Corbin knew he should have begun the drive back to the motel sooner, before it got dark. He had lost track of time at the Fair 30 minutes away. His parents would be worried.

The light grew brighter and to his relief, it was a house. "I can call my parents and a tow truck from there," he thought. As he walked up the broken cobblestone walkway, the door flew open. A flood of light shone in his eyes. He could see the outline of someone standing in the doorway.

"Hi, excuse me?" Corbin called out. "My car broke down a little ways back and I was wondering if I could use your phone."

There was no answer. Corbin continued walking to the door, a little uncomfortable now. "Would, would that be okay?"

The arm of the person suddenly shot out. Right before it made contact with his skull, Corbin could see the worn gray bat clutched in the person's veiny hand.

His vision went dark and he collapsed on the wooden steps of the porch. Someone picked him up and dragged him into the house. His vision began to cut in and out. He was at the bottom of the stairs. Now he was somehow at the top. His feet thudded on the last step. Heels scraping on the worn wood floors, he was thrown onto a bed in a room. He strained to keep his eyes open. Pain thundered in his head as he forced himself to look around the room. His eyes caught hold of a young man, huddled in the corner. He was shaking and covered in blood.

Corbin could no longer keep his eyes open. He gave up on staying awake and went limp.

••••••••••••••••

After an unknown length of time, Corbin's eyes creaked open. His head was pounding at his temples and he groaned.

"What did I do last night?" he mumbled.

"Got a hit in the head," a voice said. Corbin shot up, ignoring the pain in his head. He looked around the small room. Five people were sitting and standing around. Three girls and and two boys. A girl with piercing blue eyes was staring up at him. Her blond hair was frizzy and blood caked one side.

"Who are you?" Corbin asked. "Where am I?"

"Don't you remember last night?" the girl said softly. "I-" Corbin suddenly stopped. All of last night came flooding back. He leaned against the wall. "Have we all been kidnapped?"

A boy with dreadlocks nodded. "Yep. And we are here until we escape. Or I guess, we are here for five days."

"Five days? What happens then?"

"She kills you," another girl said simply.

Corbin's heart began to pound. He clenched his teeth. "How do we get out?" he asked.

"We escape," they all said together. Corbin stood up and strode across the room and back. He turned around and kicked a table with a vase on it. The round table clattered to the ground, the black and white vase shattering. Immediately, everyone scattered about the room. The blond girl grabbed Corbin and shoved him under the bed. A girl with auburn hair slid under next to him. Another boy folded himself under the bed.