The Haunting

Eighteen

Quinn

The other realm looked weirdly different, even though I was still in our house, it looked bizarre.

Fog filled the atmosphere, and I could barely see anything clearly. My vision was cloudy and I blinked several times to clear it, but I still was incapable of beholding my surroundings. Glancing at the couch where April sat, I could no longer see her there, nor any of my family members. An abrupt feeling of loneliness and trepidation struck me as I acknowledged that I'm completely unaccompanied, but not alone because I'm sure other invisible things are roaming around me. 

A few ambiguous and distant voices resounded; they sounded like non-stop pleas for help. They were so far away that I couldn't interpret what they were saying. The house looked exactly the same, except that it was somewhat bigger. The stairway leading to the upper floor was darkened, and as I could see, there were tapes prohibiting anyone from going there. As I coincidentally glanced beside the staircase, I saw an unfamiliar dusk pathway that lead to somewhere unknown.

I decided to walk into the mysterious pathway, having a weird gut feeling that this was where I was supposed to go. Slowly ambling into the long, anonymous path, the pleading voices commenced growing louder and more audible, making me assume that the voices were trying to lead me to where Judy was. I followed the voices until I found a door left ajar. I didn't know whether to push it or leave it and continue my journey, but my curiosity eventually won. Pushing the door open slightly, I could see nothing but darkness filling the room. I was about to leave when someone abruptly came out of the room, making me jump in shock.

"Hey hey! Don't worry, I'm not one of them," it was a girl with waist-lengthed black hair and a scarred face. "I'm here to help you. You are looking for Judy Smith, right?"

"Yeah," I retorted, sounding reluctant. The girl acknowledged my hesitation so she quickly smiled warmly, trying to comfort me that she doesn't have bad intentions.

"Come on, I'll lead you there," she said, gesturing for me to follow her. I followed closely as she walked confidently through the long hallway, seeming like she knew exactly where she was heading. I tried to quicken my pace so that it matched with hers, as she was quite a fast walker.

"Judy has been looking for you too," the girl said, not looking at me. "She came here a week ago or so and couldn't find her way back. I'm glad you came here early, otherwise, she would have killed her."

Chills ran down my spine as my mind immediately thought of Laura. I tried to normalize my breathing and form an understandable sentence, but my voice quivered once I enunciated a word.

"Who would have killed her?"

The girl stopped walking suddenly, and slowly turned her head to look at me. A terrified expression was plastered on her face, and the details of her bruised face seemed more noticeable now that it sent a chill down my spine. She paid a quick look behind her before she turned her gaze to me again.

"VS..." She muttered before taking a necklace off of her neck. She handed it to me and I examined it, realizing it had a key. "Look, I have to go. You will have to continue your journey alone, but I'll give you a little hint to help you."

She looked around her once more before she approached me and whispered in my ear. "Always remember to look behind you. Good luck!"

She began to run away, back from where we came. I was left there, utterly confused not knowing what to do. Doing as told, I looked behind me and found a huge wooden door. I presumed the key to be the door's, and as I tried inserting it, it fit. Twisting the key, the door was unlocked.

Creaking clamorously, the door widely opened, disclosing what was behind it. It was a vast room, crowded with a countless number of doors that were lined up perfectly. Each of the doors had a silver signboard attached to them, with letters and numbers engraved on it. One of the doors was attention-grabbing, as it was painted red whilst all the other doors were pained plain white. The letters and numbers engraved on its signboard were; J and S, 12. I knew that Judy was behind that door, as the letters and numbers explain it all. Judy Smith, 12 years old. My eyes sparkled in joy as I went for the handle, but before I could twist, something sharp was plunged into my stomach.