This one is themed Haunted House!
"Oh, I can't believe we're going into that thing!"
"It's not even that scary, Aerith."
A cold wind blew past their bodies and Aerith moved closer to Cloud, taking some of his warmth. The brunette woman couldn't believe what she and her boyfriend were about to do. It was dangerous. It was creepy. It was haunted. And most importantly, it was All Hollow's Eve.
The two lovers were standing outside of a huge, old building; one of the scariest places to visit in Nibelheim—the old Shinra Mansion. There were stories of scientific experiments and murders, and everyone made sure to steer clear from such a nightmarish place as it.
The mansion was tall and wide, dozens of windows lined the walls, and some of the windows were broken and boarded over either to keep others out or… to keep something inside. There was a tall broken metal fence around the entire area of the mansion. Browned vines crawled up the fence, blocking any view of the yard.
Aerith wanted to turn back and leave but she knew it was going to take a lot to get Cloud to back out of this scary journey. It was all Hollow's Eve and Cloud wanted to do something fitting for the holiday. And instead of dressing up in some stupid costumes he took Aerith here, to the scariest place around.
Cloud stepped forward and pushed open the gate, "Let's go."
Aerith hesitated at first, looking left and right, then back at the gateway. "Uh-uh. No way, Cloud. Can't we just go home?"
Cloud turned and faced Aerith; "Look, if you get really scared inside I'll take you out, okay?"
Aerith bit her lip and looked skyward; the moon was a bright yellow, a few clouds were floating pass. All of a sudden an owl hooted causing Aerith to jump with fright.
"Fine, I'll go! But I never said I was scared—"
Cloud turned and headed towards the door of the mansion, he felt Aerith grab onto his arm, making sure to stay close. They arrived at the doorstep. Cloud pushed open the door, making a quiet creaking sound. As soon as the door was opened Cloud and Aerith could see inside of the house, it was pitch black inside. Cloud took out his flashlight and switched it on. With Aerith still by his side, he stepped into the mansion.
The second the door behind them slowly closed, they could tell exactly where they were. The whole house smelled of dust and old furniture causing Aerith to sneeze. The broken windows allowed some of the moonlight to peek through, leaving blotches of orange tinted light on the old, rotted floorboards. Out of the corner of her eye Aerith caught sight of a silhouette, but it turned out to be a few white curtains blowing in the breeze from the broken panes of glass. Aerith drew a breath of bravery and continued walking forward with Cloud when all of a sudden he stopped.
"All right, we're gonna check this floor first then check up top. This is a pretty big mansion so we'll start with over here…"
Cloud walked towards the left side of the house. This room looked to be a dining room. A table was off to the left side of the room, surrounded by a round-cove-like area, a set of windows on the walls. Over to the right was a piano, dusty from the many years it's remained unplayed for. Cloud walked over to the old instrument and played a few random notes. The notes were a little off but sounded eerie nonetheless.
Aerith glanced around the dimly lit room, the broken window in front of her caught her attention. She walked over to it and peered outside. There was a thick forest surrounding the entire area, their branches were bare. Leaves were sucked up into the air as a large gust of arctic wind blew past. The moon's light was hidden as a group of clouds floated past, but as soon as they hid the light they were gone. And for a brief moment Aerith caught sight of something down below, rustling in the fallen leaves. She squinted her eyes to get a better look but all she could make out was a silhouette of some sort.
"What is that?"
She moved closer to the window, trying her best to make out what she was looking at. The shadow was hunched over under a tree, its limbs looked to be larger than average. The shadow looked to be moving its limbs, but why? Aerith's curiosity enticed her to look at it closer. She moved forward, her face closer to the pane of broken glass. All of a sudden the silhouette stopped, Aerith's breathing following its suit. Did it sense her watching it? The shadow turned around to face the window, its small eyes glowing a burning red. All of a sudden she jumped at the feel of Cloud's hand on her shoulder, tugging her to look at him.
"What are you looking at?"
Aerith caught her breath after realizing Cloud was next to her; "I think there's an animal or something down here…" the two turned back towards the window, glancing around the moonlit yard. It was empty, only the trees could be seen.
"Nothing's out there. Come on."
"No, Cloud. There was something down there."
Cloud and Aerith quickly left the dining room and headed upstairs to the second floor.
Once on the second floor, Cloud and Aerith saw two pathways, left…and right.
"Which way, Aerith?"
She looked left then right, trying to make a decision for Cloud's question.
Aerith looked up at Cloud; "Is neither an option?"
"No."
"Fine… right."
"Good choice."
They took a right and headed down the hallway. As they hesitantly stepped across the floorboards, Aerith could hear the weak wood crack under their feet. The walls were aged, paint was chipped and peeling everywhere. The windows lining the wall to Aerith's right had their glass intact but they were stained and covered with dust and some dried water marks. Aerith couldn't help but think of how gross the house looked. It was definitely something eerie enough to confuse for a horror film.
"This place looks like it's straight out of a scary movie."
All of a sudden the wind picked up and began to rumble the shutters of the windows. The whistling sound of the wind and the sound of the wooden shutters knocking against the house made Aerith jump slightly. Although she didn't say anything, Cloud could tell Aerith was startled by the way she was holding onto his arm.
"Relax— it's just the wind. "
"I know that! Sheesh!"
"Yeah, well, you seem pretty damn scared of the wind."
"Who said I was scared?"
"No one. Just the way your digging your fingers into my arm, that's all."
Aerith immediately let go of his arm as soon as she realized that she was holding on to him.
"It's dark, I don't want to trip."
She crossed her arms and bravely walked forward, opening the door to a long room. Four beds were aligned against the wall opposite of a door leading somewhere else. The walls were covered in peeling wallpaper; the floorboards were grey with dust. A small sheet-covered couch was placed along the opposite wall with an end table to its right, an oil lamp on top. There was a large set of windows, used to look over the small town. Cloud walked over to peer out the wide glass and noticed large clouds were brewing above them.
"It's going to storm." Cloud called out as he turned and saw Aerith heading in his direction.
"Then we should go before it gets strong."
Cloud's eyes locked with hers for a moment before his attention was drawn back to the hallway.
"Okay, we'll leave—"
"Good."
"After we check out that other room."
"What other room?"
Cloud walked to a closed door and opened it; "This room," Cloud leaned into the room, noticing it was a long spiral staircase leading downward. "Whoa, look at this, Aerith."
Aerith quickly ran over to Cloud's side and peered into the room.
"Oh, my god, Cloud. We're not going into a dungeon!"
"It's not a dungeon, it's more like a—basement if anything." Cloud grabbed Aerith's hand and started to walk down the long staircase.
To be Continued
