It was half past five and already the sun was beginning to go down; the colors in the sky were darkening, becomng a dark blue color speckled with white spots. No moon tonight.
I was staring in wonder at the presumed murder house, three of my friends waiting behind me. The game of truth or dare had escalated into something dangerous; who knows what would happen when we got , a short blond with dark eyes, called attention to himself. The rest of us gathered around him, shivering and drawing our jackets closer to ourselves. It was a cold night, so very cold; I could see my breath and remembered the days when I was younger, when I'd pretend I was smoking. Those were the days where I didn't worry about...
"We'll draw straws on who has to go in for the dare." He reached into his coat pocket, pulling out the straws. They were gripped tightly in his hands as to not give away the lengths. He held them out, each one of us slowing sliding a straw out from underneath his fingers before comparing the sizes. Just my luck, my straw was the shortest of the bunch. I got 'good luck' pats from my so called friends, each worriedly watching me as I approached the house that seemed to be looming over me. With a gulp, I nervously made my way up the stairs that led to the house. It had this air about it that made this moment all the more tense for me; my heartbeat was quickening and I clenched the pills I had in my pocket tightly. My anxiety was bound to act up while I was out at night, so I had brought them along just in case. This wasn't a good idea at all in the first place, but at the same time I could satisfy my curiosity of the so called murder house. Maybe I'd even see a ghost or two.
The front door creaked open; peeking my head inside I saw the coast was clear and stepped inside. I shivered immediately upon entering,there was something not right about this house and I could feel it. I began to step through the house, deciding the basement wouldn't be the destination thatI'd be heading for. Upstairs would be much safer; I had to spend at least ten minutes in the house without running out after all. I'd always heard terrible stories about things that happened in basements, and attics, too. Maybe I should've just stayed by the front door and out of sight so that as soon as my time was up, I could dash out and that would be the end of it... I was already walking though, my brain screaming for me to pull back but my body wouldn't listen.
I began walking upstairs, the only clear sound the echo of my footsteps. All the doors in the hallway were shut and locked; I had tried to enter a few of them to no avail. Why were all of them locked? Were the current owners that paranoid about burglars that they locked the doors before leaving? It wouldn't surprise me, there'd been another rooms about this crazy old couple that lived here currently. I mean, they're pretty crazy, the old woman believes in all these odd fairytale stories and her husband used to be in jail. The rumors that milled around the school about them were relentless; they hadn't been in this town for more than a month and already they were being butchered...
I spun on my heel suddenly, my heart beating ten miles per minute as I glanced into the dark end of the hallway. I thought I'd heard something, a squeaking sound of latex but the hallway was empty… right? I bit my lip, taking careful steps forward as the sudden sound of footsteps made me stop. I turned back towards the stairs again, seeing nothing and deciding to continue on my walk. Nothing was there, I thought silently to myself, nothing is there and you're being a fool! Nothing is there, nothing is there, nothing is there-
"Shit-" A silhouette stood out against the darkness, and began to rapidly approach. It looked like a man in a full black suit, I could hardly make out its shape as it was illuminated against the window, and now it was taking quick strides towards me. I began to panic, turning around and starting to run back towards the stairs. Screw this stupid dare, forget it! I was getting the hell out of here! I felt a hand grab hard onto my shoulder, letting out a loud cry of surprise as I was suddenly pushed down to the floor. My head cracked hard against the wood, bright lights flashing before my eyes as I rolled along the carpet. Stars danced around my head as I tried to think of where I was again, the jolt to my head had gotten me mixed up and confused. Something was wrong, something was going terribly wrong and...
I winced, touching the wound now on my head and crying out in surprise again as the figure loomed over me. I pushed myself backwards quickly, my sneakers squeaking against the wood as I pulled myself closer to the stairs. I was so close, I just had to get control of my legs again. I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to convince myself I was just seeing things. This was all an illusion, just something I'd seen in a horror moviesomewhere and I was associating it with the murder house and-
I reopened my eyes, glancing around quickly. No one was around anymore, not a sign of a single soul. I tried to stand up again but it felt as though I were being clawed at; I let out another scream and tried to move away from whatever was attacking me; I felt smothered in a world of darkness as I pulled myself across the floor. I couldn't stand up without getting pushed away from the stairs and further towards the room at the end of the hall. I couldn't move without pain shooting through my body. The door towards the end of the hallway began to open, and in a panicked state I crawled inside, slamming the door shut and collapsing onto the bed.
My breath began to become shortened, I couldn't breathe and my mind was racing on the illusion. I gasped for air, grasping at my throat as I felt my vision go blurry. I-I can't breathe, I can't think straight, I was having a panic attack! I couldn't think clearly about what pocket held my medicine; I patted at the jacket I had on for it but it was nowhere to be found. It must've fallen out of my pocket while I was freaking out. Even now I can picture it clearly rolling from my pocket, the sound of the pills shaking in its container as it rolled down the stairs. I couldn't breathe, and I could now no longer see; soon I felt nothing, falling limp on the bed.