Poison- H.S

ten

Songs of the chapter

Pyre – Son Lux

High in the woods - Johan

Without thinking, I make a u-ey and drive until I see the sign for the street 1409, turning onto the road.

It's dark and there aren't any street lights, so I turn on my high beams. The more I drive down the road, the narrower it gets, so I have no idea what I'm going to do if another car comes driving up in the opposite direction.

Turn around, turn around, my heart knows what's best for me, but my mind is curious and I cannot turn around.

Something hits the passenger seat window and I slam on my breaks. My breath is uncontrolled as I turn my head to see what it is. I sigh in relief as I see a couple of branches pushed up against my window. The road is so narrow that two cars heading in opposite directions would most likely collide head on if trying to pass through.

A dim light appears in the distance and I drive slowly towards it. The street comes to a dead end and all that's here is a street lamp and a vacant building.

The building looks run down, abandoned. Grey paint chips peeling from crumbly concrete walls, minimal boarded up windows and doors, and a rusty corrugated roof make up the exterior of the building. A crooked sign hangs above the front doors but the text is too faded to make out what it says. I've driven past this road millions of times before, but have never paid much attention to this street in particular to know that there has been a nightmarish building here this whole time.

I park near the front of the building where the front doors are opened by a doorstop and sit in the car for a second, contemplating my choices. I have two; I can be safe, turn around and go home, pushing the mystery texter to the back of my head to deal with later, or I can get out of the car and check around inside the building for my best friend. Regina.

There's no way I can just leave. I was a coward once and I will not be a coward again.

My heart thuds loud against my chest and I can feel the entirety of my body shake. Though it is chilly autumn night, it is not the reason why my body is shaking like this.

I take the keys out of the ignition, stuff them in my pocket and quickly get out of the car before I change my mind. As I approach the door, I scan my eyes at my surroundings making sure there's no one lurking in the trees behind me.

When I see that I'm in the clear, I push the door open and step into the building. The door slowly shuts behind me and the only light comes from the moon, letting in rays of white light through a couple of broken windows near the top of the building.

Being surrounded by darkness with only a small amount of light, I feel naked; exposed to danger. My hands automatically come up to hug my arms close to me as I walk down a dark hall. I can't see much, only outlines of broken down, stacked up furniture pushed near the walls of the hallway, making it much more narrow.

There are doors along the hallway so I try to open them but they're all locked. "Regina?" I call out in a quiet whisper as I reach the end of the hall, which opens up into a huge room.

Broken down arcade game machines are scattered throughout the room, some pushed over with broken screens, some stacked up against the walls, and some that look in perfect condition. All of the games are classically retro, Pac-Man, Galaga, Mappy.

"Regina?" I call out again, a little louder this time. "Regina, are you here? It's me, Hunter."

I stand perfectly still, waiting to hear a response but don't hear one. I'm about to walk further into the large room when I hear a song start playing. Not a song that plays on the radio, but it sounds like one of the games theme song.