Cal's POV
August 28th, 2022
Through my strained senses, I reached out my cold and clammy hands to open the door. The door swaying open elicited a sharp creak that sent a shudder to my brain, disquietude flooding my whole being. An old, musty smell filled the air. A strong unpleasant feeling formed in my lungs. Instinctively, I pulled up my shirt to cover my nose from the pungent smell. How old is this freaking house?
I heard the cautious footsteps of my siblings that was followed by a light tap on my shoulder. "Cal, are you okay?" I turned my head to find Adele, her eyebrows knitted. "Yeah, there's just a repulsive smell that hit me pretty hard." I paused for a second, my hand still on the door handle. I looked at my siblings. "Well, this is it. The only way to find the truth of what happened to our parents." I sighed heavily. Two days ago, Mom and Dad went to what they call a "research site", which sounds totally normal. But it wasn't. They had gone and didn't come back; they disappeared without a trace, which brings us to where we are now.
Glancing around the house, the old furniture lay misplaced and broken on the floor, the wobbly chandelier hung unsteadily from the ceiling, the broken shards of crystals bumping into each other, causing a tingle in our spines. As beetles and arachnids crawled on the floor around the broken furniture, the lights flickered occasionally, casting eerie shadows around us. "Let's go," I whispered, cautiously stepping into the house, my siblings following close behind.
The eerie atmosphere seemed to cast a shadow over us as soon as we entered. As we let our gaze wander to the left and right, a "BANG" suddenly sounded behind us. The unmistakable sound of a sharp door slam made us all cry out in fright. We immediately turned our heads to find that the door had slammed shut, blocking out all sound from outside.
Panic seized our brains as Kiera hesitantly pulled the door handle, exerting greater force each time but to no avail. "Fuck, we're trapped in here. The windows are tightly shut too." Faint gasps could be heard among us, but the frantic breathing of one particular person could be heard clearer than anything else. "No no no no, try again! Maybe because it's so old that we just have to all push it together, it might just open!" Yan began pushing the door, prompting us to follow. We pushed the door with huffs and groans, using all the strength we could suck out. However, the door remains tightly shut.
"It's not gonna work... It's as if the door was designed to trap people forever..." Travis said, taking big gasps of air. "No no no, there's definitely something we can do!" Yan's lips quivered as she waved her trembling hands in the air. "What the hell are we gonna do? We literally just entered. Might I remind you that we're here to find our parents? So stop being a chicken and pull yourself together," Kiera hissed scornfully. Yan lowered her head, biting her lip despondently before giving a slight nod.
I placed a comforting hand on Yan's shoulder. "Remember what we came here for. We have to find out what happened to Mom and Dad. But we'll definitely find a way out." I smiled gently, suppressing the undeniable terror in my heart. "Okay..." Yan gulped, the panic flaring in her eyes slowly fading. There was a fraught silence, the only audible sound being our slow, unsteady breathing and the impulsive throbbing of our hearts. The silence was finally broken off with a click.
Kiera held out the flashlight that she prepared beforehand. "Well, let's explore the place and see what we can find." Kiera's eyes darted left and right, before pointing to an area which looked like a living room. "Let's start with that... Living room." Everyone nodded and we made our way slowly to explore the secrets the mansion could contain...
Our investigation begins, regrettably or not, it is too late to turn back now.
