Ready or Not, Here I Come!

Five, four, three, two, one. I removed my hands away from my eyes, and I can finally see properly again. As my vision adjusted once more, I prepared myself for the game that was to come. Four friends, one abandoned house. It was never my decision to come here in the first place, but what's better than playing Hide and Seek in an isolated mansion that's been deserted for many years? Apparently, nothing.

I stood on the first floor, directly in front of the grand staircase that acted as a transport system to the floor above. Behind me, stood two imposing windows, allowing the moon's silvery glow to splash my shadow across the withering floorboards. We had decided that our game was to only span out on the ground floor, and nothing beyond that. If any of us were to break this rule, we'd be immediately disqualified. Being in a mansion, one floor corresponded to three in an apartment building, and I wasn't prepared to tire myself out in a foolish game like this.

Already, I could hear shuffling near the eastern side of the mansion, they're making it too easy. I entered the first room on my right, the living room. Opening the door was a giveaway. Never have I heard a door creak and groan so tremendously upon opening it, and it seemed the harder I tried to quieten this ancient creature, the louder it moaned and screeched. Finally, I overcame my first obstacle, and set foot in the living room.

Darkness washed over me like a wave would at sea. Had I expected the room to be flooded with the moon's glorious lustre as it had at the entrance? No. But I was at least anticipating some semblance of light, enough so that I would be able to see a few metres ahead of me. I felt close to blind in this room, and in such darkness, one's mind tends to conjure up creatures of the unknown that can only belong to a child's nightmare. My mind was no different. My hands fumbled across the walls, hunting for a switch. I realized, there would be none. I'm in an abandoned mansion, for God's sake! Evidently, no one's even set foot in this place for over one hundred years, and honestly, I wouldn't blame them. I reached for my phone in my back pocket and put on the flashlight installed in the device. A small glow sliced through the darkness, and I could finally see again.

The room was dusty, to an unimaginable extent. The floor was dusty, the walls were dusty. It seemed that there was no escape from the powdered mud that covered everything in this room. I stood on what appeared to be a carpet, frayed and tattered over the years. Its design was the most peculiar, I had never seen anything like it before. On the wall, a roman battle raged on, painted in the colours of red and black. It seemed that whoever had designed this room, held a certain affinity to the Roman style and architecture. In fact, as I waved my phone around the rest of the room, I uncovered more Roman antiques and furniture. Vases of different sizes and patterns stood on many tables. I moved cautiously around them in fear of tipping one over. A vast, wooden couch stood against the wall as if picked out from the Roman era. For indeed it appeared as if this whole room had been taken out from a Roman History book, an oddity to our modern world. I continued my search for the source that had produced those shuffles and only turned up with more imitations of Roman monuments. Whatever shuffles I had once heard, now ceased to exist.

In the far corner of the room, stood another wooden door, seemingly connecting to another chamber. As I approached, I could hear more shuffling, even words from the other side. They must be in there. My hand reached for the knob, but surprisingly, was only met with a flat surface. There was no knob? What kind of door doesn't have a knob? Examining the door, I decided that the only way I was going to enter the second room, was by force. Raising my foot, I kicked down the door and the wooden pieces of the structure crumbled beneath my strength. I had expected more resilience, it seemed almost too fragile to have collapsed so easily.

Stepping over the fallen pieces of wood, I ran inside an effort to catch one of my friends, this was getting a bit annoying. But, the room was empty, vacant. It seemed impossible that just a second ago, I had heard words coming from this very room, and I've known my friends for long enough to realise that they are not of the athletic kind. Was there someone else that I didn't know of playing this game? I dismissed the thought immediately. I came here with three friends, and there are only four people altogether in this blasted house! No more!