Chapter 23


    To my surprise he jogged down the hallway, intent on getting to the kitchen as fast as he could. I stood


    there dumbstruck, wondering about the tant fear that had suddenly crossed his eyes when he


    looked at me. I could hear his feet shuffling across the floor, hard and fast with staggered movements.


    “Where is it?” echoed down the hallway. “Where did I put it?”


    I took a step forward, before I recalled his stern warning to stay in front of the door. I crossed my arms


    with impatience, and looked around the empty hallway where only the old grandfather clock stood. The


    dim silhouette of the staircase could barely be perceived, mostly because that part of the hallway was


    shrouded in darkness. The crackling of wood struck the air,ing from the firece that Teddy had


    left on. I thought it would be wise to put it out, so I disobeyed his orders and made my way back to his


    study room. The room had be umonly dark now, the sun’s rays were faint upon the smooth


    hardwood floor. From the open window, I could see the deathly pale crescent moon. Blinding stars of


    silvery white besieged the once blue skies, determined to blot out thest of the sunlight with their own


    source of illumination. I stepped forward a little more, noticing the creaking to the floorboard that wasn’t


    there before. The curtains billowed from the tiny crack of the window, gusting forward in the greatest


    effort to touch the corner of the piano. The mes were bright as ever; almost enchanting-like. I


    stepped forward more, while clutching the corner of my dress.


    “S!” I heard Teddy call out. His feet were pounding against the hardwood floor, determined to get to


    the front door. “I thought I told you to stay where you are.” He stopped in front of the entrance way of


    the study room with his hands resting over his hips. “Why can’t you listen-?”


    “-I was going to put out the fire,” I cut in. “You can’t let it stay like this when you are driving me home.”


    “Right!” he shouted out with a fling of his hand upwards. “Just do it quickly. There is a poker over there.


    Yes, that one! Use it to spread out the embers.” Teddy turned around suddenly and yelled over his


    shoulder, “I’m going upstairs!”This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org .


    I took his advice and lifted up the bronze hued poker, feeling the full weight of it in the palm of my hand.


    I was too busy admiring the tip of it, taking in the round hilt with an image of a full moon pressed on top.


    My thumb ran over the detailed engraving that was etched into the hard material. The curtains pped


    higher, smacking together in a stronger fashion than before. There was no wind to carry it that way, but


    there it was, whipping higher as if it could reach me from whence I stood. The moon beams steamed


    through the coal ck fabric, radiating the very room into an eerie glow. The house began to creak all


    around me, like a low moan of wind on a stormy day. I swallowed hard and clutched the poker for the


    firece tighter in my hand, extending it upwards so I could grip it with my left hand as well. I could feel


    my senses be more alert, noticing the way the hairs at the back of my neck perked upwards. The


    fire zed higher than before, wood copsing heavily to strike up flickering mes. I stepped


    backwards, feeling my bare feet shuffling over the cold floor. There was something not right about this


    room- this house.


    A sharp hiss ignited in the air, and then a loud shrill that could have onlye from Luna. I ran down


    the hallway, watching her paws pad hard across the floor to get to me. I bent down quickly, wanting to


    touch her, but she bypassed my hand and fled into the music room. I followed Teddy’s cat, unaware of


    how umonly silent he was upstairs when all of these events had ured. The poker rested


    loosely over my hand as I stepped into the room, observing the way Luna was shoving the front of her


    head desperately through the small crack of the window. I ran over to the window and thrust it wide


    open, startled to see her leap off the tiny ledge to get outside. Her pale white form pounced over the


    lush green grass, and before I knew it she was gone. “Luna!” I called out in hysterics, not wanting her


    to depart from me. “Luna!”


    The curtains of the window pped higher all around me. They twisted and contorted, scrapping over


    the sides of my body like long deathly tendrils, until I thought it was best to step away from the window


    with my poker armed high over my head. Luna had the good sense to get away from this house that


    had suddenly be alive, and so should I.


    I stepped further away from the window, noticing the fact that the mes were flickering higher and


    higher to a dangerous level. It was beyond my control now, so I sprinted out of the room and entered


    the hallway instead. “Teddy!” I cried out, while gripping onto the poker with a deathly grip.


    I stepped down the hallway at an incredibly slow pace, searching the long, narrow hallway that was


    mysteriously quiet. I held my breath after a time, fearful of the ongoing silence. There was a faint


    crackling of fire behind me, a sound generating from the uncontroble firece that desperately


    needed to be put out by the owner of this house. Steadily I walked forward with the poker raised higher


    above my head like a baseball bat. There was something in my spirit that warned me of iing


    danger, and it was worse than I could have possibly ever imagined.


    As I approached the staircase, I could hear hush murmuringsing from upstairs. I peered into the


    darkness, wondering if I should sneak upstairs to find out the truth of the matter. Teddy’s voice was


    filled with agitation, sharp and controlling-like that sounded almost unnatural to him. I could not make


    out his words however, and I knew once I went up a step it would creak loud enough for him to hear. I


    stood there patiently, trying to make out his sentences that continued to be lost to me.


    “That’s not true!” Teddy shrilled out sharply. “And you know it.”


    I took another step forward, finding my bare foot pressed against the first step of the staircase.


    “I have kept my word,” Teddy pleaded with his voice fraught with pain. “All this time, and I’ll continue to


    do so.”


    The person that he was speaking too was not responding, and if they did, I could barely make it out.


    The sound of Teddy pacing was loud upstairs, creaking the floorboard beneath him.


    “No,” he growled out threateningly. “I will not let you do that again.”


    I took a step backwards, feeling terrified that he should be even speaking to someone up there. How


    many times had Teddy assured me that he was the only one in the house? How many times had he


    lied to me right to my face? I stepped away from the staircase with a lowered head. I tasted defeat as I


    acknowledged his sordid act of betrayal. All this time, everything that he had ever said was just a lie.


    The palm of my hand leaned against the wooden door frame that was connected to the hallway and the


    kitchen. The heavy poker for the firece was lowered downwards until it rested over the side of my


    frame. There was no room for escape for me, his house was miles from anywhere else. Besides, he


    had the car keys, so there was no way for me to steal his car and have a quick elusion. I looked over to


    the kitchen, wondering if I would need a weapon that was better than the iron rod. For once in my life I


    did not trust Teddy, and as his house became more vile and malevolent, I found my only option was to


    leave as soon as I could. I stepped into the kitchen, desperate to find a knife in any of his drawers. I


    pushed them open with a heavy m, trying to decipher anything long and sharp in the shadows. It


    would have been smarter to turn on the light, but time was running short and pretty soon he would


    come downstairs again. My heart was pounding so fast it was hard to focus. The curtains in the kitchen


    began to whip as well, frightening me to an unstable level as my fingers quickly brushed aside the


    cutlery to find a kniferge enough to do some damage.


    “We are finished here,” echoed above me, seeping through the floor that was right above my head. “I


    won’t let you.”


    I found a knife while slicing the tip of my finger in the process. My hand recoiled backwards, bringing it


    up to my mouth to suck it dry. The sound of Teddy’s footsteps became louder, moving over to another


    part of the house that was away from the kitchen. It was clear he was speaking to someone, and he


    was not happy with what they had just said.


    My hand dove downwards to snatch at the bread knife, knowing it wasn’t the best weapon to choose,


    but I could use it anyways. The next n of action was a line of escape, so I leaned over the kitchen


    countertop and tried to pry at the windows. They were sealed shut, and not even the buttons that I used


    to utch them would prop it open. I lowered the knife down into the kitchen sink and tried multiple


    times to unlock the window, but to no avail. Trapped, I began to panic and grabbed a hold of the knife


    and poker with a defensive stance. It was just when the house fell into an eerie silence that I heard a


    ringing of a metal chain. My weapons were lowered as I turned my head to the right, realizing that


    sound could onlye from one ce - the chained up door to the cer.