“Where are we, what town?” My best friend of fifteen years says.

“Not sure but it’s my great uncles house, well, my house I think.”

Strolling, my eyes glance at the rotting oak tree in the front yard. Then they wander to the dingy white door, the paint peeling, the first sign of zero upkeep.

“What happened to him anyway,” Marley asked.

“He went missing, we don’t know... he’s probably dead.”

Saying that sentence didn’t phase me. Why didn’t this bother me? Why am I okay that my Uncle is gone? Yeah he was a complete psych, but nonetheless he was family.

I finagled the key to fit in rusted lock, the door opened half way and stopped. ‘That’s weird’ I thought. I let Marley in before myself, then I followed her to the kitchen checking behind the door first. A pile of moving boxes were stacked, all labeled “DONT OPEN WITHOUT ME!” written in sloppy lettering.

The orangey-brown hardwood floors were dusty. I made my way to the broom closet to find a mop. When I opened the door the odor of sulfur flooded the room, my first instinct was involuntary and I began choking on the air.

“Are you oka- what the hell is that smell!”

“I don’t know... but I want to.”

I pulled the Kiss tee over my nose and moved the brooms out of the way. ‘It’s stuck’ I thought, trying to push the dust pan out of the way.

“Let me do it, Armstrong,” Marley said sarcastically.

She put all of her weight and pulled. A loud sound emerged from the closet; crackling and the thumping of Marley falling back and hitting the floor.

“It’s a room.”

“A very bright room,” she said surprised. We had just found out the power had been cut off before making our way over here. As far as we could see there were no windows, the light source was anonymous from what we could tell on the outside.

“Wanna go in?” Marley has always been the daring friend as to me who’s always careful about everything.

“One second,” I replied, running to the kitchen to grab a towel in case of cobwebs.

I got the towel and ran back.

“Marley?”

She was gone; completely out of sight.

“Leave while you can, princess,” said his voice. But... he’s gone. A shiver ran down my spine. He’s not here I continued to think. He’s not here. A scream rang out through the musty house.

I left. I left Marley in there with him. The scream being the last thing I heard of her.

Crap. Her brother’s going to kill me.