She didn't want to die.
And so, she took a step inside.
She had to be smart about this. It would be fantastic if the Thing was well and truly gone, but her gut was giving her a different impression. All she needed to do was to zip up to the second bedroom, grab the fur cloak, and skedaddle.
Lightning quick.
In, out, gone.
Just like that.
She could do it; she didn't have a choice.
The girl slunk up the stairs. It wasn't the easiest thing to do in knee high combat boots but taking them off and putting them back on again would have taken too long; especially considering she might need a quick getaway.
Once she was on the main floor she looked both ways. She had no idea if the Thing was waiting for her, just bidding its time until she fell into its trap. She could imagine its teeth tearing through her arm, she could imagine its ugly face burning a hole through her eyes. The girl shook herself. Now wasn't the time to imagine what the Thing was capable of.
Silent and slick, the girl darted down to the second room. The knob groaned and the hinges creaked as she slowly opened the door. The noise felt like nails on a chalkboard. Sweat rolled off the girls face as her heart hammered in her chest. She felt an impending sense of dread, but she had to persevere.
The girl rushed to the dresser, trying to be as quiet as one can be when half running, half crouching. She snatched the cloak and was starting to cross the room when she heard it.
The slow creaking. The sneaking static.
Coming closer.
Closer.
Cursing in her head, the girl dove under the split bed just as it stepped into the room. This time it walked through the room, no doubt knowing that something was in the house now that it had found the door open. At that moment, the girl would have given anything to reverse time and make sure that the door was nice and shut. Actually, scratch that, she would have rathered never falling into this hellhole in the first place!
It neared the dresser, and from the girl's hiding place she couldn't see what it was doing. She only spied an immaculate shoe and neatly hemmed dress pants. She could hear the dresser groan from protest at whatever the Thing was doing. Then it abruptly stopped.
The girl didn't hear it move to the bed but she knew it was next to her. She could feel it on the back of her neck, in the twitch of her muscles.
She did hear it sniff the air. The sound froze her blood.
It was right there.
She buried her face into the fur cloak, terrified of making the slightest warble and giving herself away. She didn't know how much she could take before she'd crack. She could feel her hot tears spilling onto the cloak and wetting the fur. She wished that she could remember her family so that she could hold onto them. But nothing came.
Boney fingers lightly trailed the wooden post of the bed. The static was all consuming. The buzzing filled her ears, her heart, her chest. It was electrifying, and she couldn't breathe without getting a shock. The Thing started to chuckle, a deep throaty sound that was oddly intoxicating.
It knew she was here.
It knew she was hiding.
And it knew where.
"Don't worry," It said, "You'll be mine very soon."
That voice…it tickled the back of her brain. It sounded so familiar?
With a faint snap it was gone once more. The girl slightly sagged, it felt like all her energy had been sapped. That electricity, that static…The girl shook herself.
She didn't waste anytime jumping up and running downstairs, through the hallway and to the door. She kicked it open and the cold air took her breath away. She had barley thrown the cloak around her and clasped it before she started running through the deep snow.
As she ran she could hear its low laugh and feel the static at her back.