A Collection of Short Stories

7: Three Down, One To Go

The thunderstorm draws nearer. I look around the room at these complete strangers. One said that her name was Abigail. Another said that their name was Erin. The third said that his name was Jacob.

They stare back at me. I suggest we split up into two groups. We shouldn't be alone. The room is illuminated through a flash of light. 4 seconds later, thunder follows. The others agree with my plan. I go with Erin while Abigail and Jacob stuck together. We head in opposite directions and explore the house.

The house was a lovely Victorian mansion with a more modern interior. Erin and I make our way around the first room. It looks like a large living room, although I guessed that this was probably the sitting room. It had a nice cosy fire and a couple of armchairs. The warm glow illuminated the room.

I continue to wander. We guess that Jacob and Abigail aren't doing anything either, so we decide to sit down in the armchairs. We start chatting with one another. "Do you know any of the people?" I eventually asked.

"Nope. Jacob and Abigail seem to know each other, though," Erin says.

"Yeah. Do you think they set this up?"

"Doubt it. They seem too stupid to set something like this up. They would have the money, but the brains? No way!"

I giggle together with Erin. The lightning flashes, illuminating the room even more. Suddenly, a cold gust of wind comes through the chimney and door. It somehow manages to extinguish the fire. I shiver not only because of the lack of heat from the fire, but also because a weird feeling start building up in the pit of my stomach.

I look over at Erin. It looks like they had the exact same feeling. Another cold breeze comes in, this time carrying a message. "One down, three to go," It said.

I shake off the nauseous feeling and continue with Erin. I see them shake violently in dim glow. I grab their hand and squeeze it tightly in reassurance. They squeeze back gratefully.

We continue walking, occasionally taking in the scenery when the lightning strikes. We make our way around the half of the house. The next lightning strikes and I frantically look around, taking in everything while walking forwards. I freeze.

I stare at the wall, opposite a window, where I saw the silhouette of a person hung by their neck. I slowly turn around, but Erin is quicker. They scream loudly. I want to calm my beating heart, but to no avail.

Outside the window is a person, just as the shadow on the wall was. I press my face against the glass to identify the person and I stumble back. The person- or should I say man- hanging limply outside the window was no other than Jacob. I scramble back towards the window to try and reel him in.

I forgot my phone, but I brought my pocket knife. I sigh. I wonder how helpfully stupid I am sometimes. Not that the phones would have helped. There was, of course, no signal out here. I manage to heave Jacob inside, while Erin stands back and watches.

When I am done dragging him back inside, I am completely soaked from the rain. Erin frantically closes the window I had opened. The same breeze from earlier cam swooping in. I swore I could have heard a giggle. It was faint, but I was sure that it was there.

I look at Jacob. His face is frozen in a scream. I doubt it would have done him any good though. Because he was hanging I would have guessed the usual bloody fingertips and last gasp of air moments, but none of those were present.

I then notice the blood matting his hair. I lean closer and see that there was a possible wound at the side of his head. His limp body could have been swaying in the wind and hit the wall. I look around his body for more injuries, but I found none.