The Switch

Chapter One

Chapter One ~ Home

Three Months Earlier

Alison Kingsley, looking up at the eighteenth century farm house and let out a deep sigh. The grim and gloomy building was the worst excuse for a house she's seen.

The isolated house had dissolved into the unearthly shrubs. It was more like a long abandoned prison or insane asylum rather than a once glamorous house. On the second floor there was a long balcony overlooking fields on one side and woodland on the other. The wall paint was weathered and peeling off in spots and most of the windows looked dirty with dust.

The small old black gate, creaked loudly as she pushed it open. The house itself was a dark sinister colour and it didn't help that it was in the middle of nowhere. Literally. It was the very beginning of a horror movie.

The garden was alarmingly overgrown from neglect. The slickly green weeds had crept over the stone path leading to the front porch and the small pond was covered in slime. A small popping sound comes from the pond, as if something is somehow still alive in there.

As her black boots stepped onto the front porch it let out a loud moan. The stairs up to the porch were old and worn. Alison was hesitant to step on the scared they might break through her weight. Cob webs hung around the place that added age to the ancient house. Alison watched as a fly flew into a spiders trap and slowly devoured it.

"Disgusting." Alison muttered, shifting her feet nervously where she stood.

"Your disgusting." a mocking tone filled her ears.

Looking over her shoulder, a boy no older than eighteen and black hair walked up behind her.

"Shut up piss-face." Alison said, dryly and gave her brother a hard glare.

"Love you too, puss-face." Dan smiled devilishly.

The main door stood latter than her, with two knocker and a golden metal door knob. There was no windows on the doors, only an eye hole so the person inside could see out.

Harli Day, followed behind her second child and spent a great deal of time turning the key into the lock.

"I guess it hasn't been oiled in a whole." was her explanation.

The door creaked open, moving a centimetre at a time. It could've moved faster, but the wood of the door had grown stiff from a result of age and carelessness. The trio were attacked by a cloud of dust and the strong stench of stale air that left Harli coughing.

Inside, dust laid over every surface like dirty snow, not a footprint anywhere as if the house hadn't been inhabited for decades. Alison moved through the house kicking up more dust until it was difficult to see through the billions of particles that now swirled in the air.

The kitchen was large, cluttered and dusty. The brown cupboards were faded with green wallpaper decorated with white and pink flowers. The tables were covered in white sheets and the counters were a dark brown and white marble surface with a coat of thick grey dusk covering it. The sink was grey and also very dusty. The tiles on the floor were white and cream, and the most clean. As unused and abandoned the place looked, the light shining through the glass pane windows seemed to give the house some life.

Harli flipped the light switch, only to see the overhead lights flicker with a worryingly electrical sound before blowing out completely.

"I'll call the maintenance guy tomorrow." Harli's voice echoed throughout the old house like an undying whisper.

Alison appeared back into the hallway and jogged up the carpet staircase. "I'm gonna pick room." she announced. "You coming, Dan?"

"I'm ordering pizza." Dan answered.

Harli smiled, sweetly. "Alright, be careful."

Ignoring her mother she made her way up to the second floor, strolling through the long corridor, then she came to a white door, faded with age. Reaching out, she grasped the golden metal handle and turned it

Alison looked around in amazement. This was most definitely her room! it was the biggest bedroom she had ever seen, more spacious than she expected. The bedroom walls were a plastered colour, that hadn't been painted over yet. The floor a smooth wood, and as she investigated further she discovered a walk in closet that she was going to use as a wardrobe and spotted a mysterious door, she looked in and discovered a second bathroom.

"This is most definitely my room." Alison's smile grew even wider.

A large spacious room with a small bathroom with a balcony, this was far better than her previous room. Her last bedroom back in could fit in this room at least three times, never mind the rest of the house.

Suddenly, she thought that moving to wasn't such a bad idea.

But, god was she wrong.