Leave This House

Day 1- You're Not Safe

Contains Multimedia. Please read with internet connection.

Corbin rushed to the bedroom door and watched as the three teens raced across the entryway and into the living room. Granny appeared in the doorway of the kitchen and followed them.

Corbin didn't know what to do. He began to panic, knowing if someone got hurt or killed, it would be his fault. An idea suddenly popped into his head. He ran into their bedroom and picked up the table, holding it above his head. With a roar, he threw the table down the stairs.

The living room and kitchen must have made a loop because Becca, Flint, and Solomon burst through the doorway and ran up the stairs. The table, which was laying at the bottom of the stairs, caught Flint's foot just right. He yelled as he tumbled over it. His jaw met the stairs with a sickening thud. Becca turned around to pull him up but Granny appeared in the doorway. She cackled and reached for Becca's long hair. Becca shrieked and fell backward on the stairs. She scurried up the stairs backward. "I'm sorry!" she cried as she turned around and ran up the stairs.

"Hide!" Corbin yelled at the girls. They scrambled for the nearby bed. Corbin slid under the bed, floorboards scratching up his side. He was under before Iris and Elvyne. Corbin reached out his hand to Elvyne and she took it. He yanked her under, her forehead smacking against the bed frame. "Ahh!" she exclaimed. Corbin looked around for Iris. She was still in the closet. "Iris!" Corbin hissed. Her head snapped up.

"Do you want to play Hide and Seek?" Granny said. She came into the room.

Corbin waved Iris into the other room. She looked around and dove. Anyone could hear the thud she made as she hit the floor. Granny smiled and walked quickly into the closet, and into the other room. Corbin crawled out from hiding. "Where are you going?" she whispered. Corbin put a finger to his lips and carefully ran into the room. He stopped suddenly as he came face to face with the back of Granny's nightgown. He watched as Iris crawled under the bed, whimpering. Granny stopped at the bed. Relieved, Corbin knew she couldn't get Iris if she was under the bed. Granny paced by the bed and Corbin hid around the corner. He peeked around and saw that Granny had stopped in front of the bed.

Corbin began to get an awful feeling.

***

Iris covered her mouth so Granny wouldn't hear her. She could see Corbin watching from the closet. She wanted to tell him to hide. When Granny stopped by the bed, she began to panic. Granny hadn't just waited before. Iris licked her dry lips. Her heart was pounding so loudly, she thought Granny could hear it. 

Then suddenly,

"Nooo!" Iris shrieked. Granny grabbed her wrists and pulled her out. Granny dropped her at her feet then lifted the bat. 

***

Corbin gasped as Iris crumpled to the ground. He turned around and crawled under the bed. Elvyne scooted over. "What happened?" she whispered. Corbin didn't say anything. The floorboard creaked and they both swung there heads at the closet. Granny was dragging an unconscious Iris. Her pale blond hair stained red now.

They held their breath as she walked past. She went out the door. Corbin crossed his fingers that Becca and Solomon were hiding. After a few moments, Corbin and Elvyne got up. When Corbin peeked out the door, Granny, Iris, and Flint were nowhere to be found.

In the bedroom, Corbin helped Becca, and Solomon out. While Becca gave a quiet thank you, Solomon merely growled. "See. This is what happens," he said. Corbin hung his head. "I know. I feel so bad."

Becca said, "We have about 5 minutes before Granny come back up. She's keeping them hidden somewhere until we go to sleep. The best time to look around is now."

Corbin nodded. "Did you guys find anything?"

Solomon held up a key. "This was in a desk drawer." Corbin reached for it but Solomon held it above his head. "I keep a hold of this," he said.

Elvyne piped up, "We found something in the closet. Maybe a passageway. Follow me." She led the way into the bedroom and into the closet. Solomon pushed over the boxes with ease. And there it was. A skinny doorway leading into a room. Elvyne squealed softly and turned sideways to slip through it. Solomon stopped her. "Are you crazy?" he exclaimed. "It could be dangerous."

Elvyne shrugged. "Fine. Go search downstairs." Solomon took a step back and sighed. Elvyne smiled and stepped into the small lighted room.

"What's in there?" Corbin asked.

"Nothing much," Elvyne called. "Just a table. Hey! There are stairs going down."

Corbin stepped over the boxes carefully and into the room. There wasn't much in here. Just a table and stairs going into a dark place. There was a noise behind Corbin and he whirled around. Becca held up her hands. "Just me," she said. Corbin laughed nervously.

Solomon had a hard time getting through the small doorway. He was too tall and his torso was too thick. Corbin had to grab his hand and pull him through.

"Come on," Elvyne said. She turned down the stairs and everyone followed closely behind. The stairs led into another small room with a dresser. Becca opened the drawers. Empty.

The floor creaked above them. "Where are you?" a muffled question came. There were footsteps on the stairs.

"Go!" Corbin mouthed. There was another set of stairs. They all ran down them, shoes thudding on the wooden stairs. At the bottom of the stairs was another room, completely bare except for a shelf with an empty bottle precariously placed near the edge. Corbin spied a wooden door, barely visible in the dimness. "Go, go, go!" he whispered. Solomon opened the door and herded the girls in. Corbin pushed Solomon in and then pulled the door closed, encasing them in darkness.

They could hear Granny coming down the stairs. All four of them stayed completely silent. Something landed on Corbin's cheek. It felt like a fly and he brushed it off. Someone tugged on Corbin's sleeve. "Corbin?" Elvyne breathed. "There are flies everywhere." He stayed silent, annoyed that she had to talk for that. He could feel her waving away things. The floorboard creaked right outside the door. Someone muffled a whimper.

Something dropped on Corbin's forehead. He wiped it off. Elvyne winced at his elbow. He blinked to get his eyes to adjust. As he did so, someone pinched his arm. He turned and could finally see Becca's face. It was filled with horror. She pointed towards the ceiling. Corbin slowly looked up.

Hadley Lucas's glassy eyes filled his vision. Blood rolled down off the dead boy's cheek and onto Corbin's chin. He took a deep breath and looked down. He was standing in a pool of blood.

The floorboards creaked again and Granny moved back up the stairs. Elvyne sighed in relief. "We made it!" she said with a smile. She looked at Becca and Corbin's faces. "What's..." she looked up as blood dropped on Becca's nose. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as she took in the scene of Hadley's twisted and folded body. It was shoved onto the deep shelf above their heads. Rope held him to the ceiling by his wrist, maybe for extra security so he didn't fall off the shelf. His head and upper body dipped down but his arms stayed behind him, tied up.

Elvyne backed away, gagging. She ran into something else. As Corbin looked closer, it was slabs of meat hung by a hook.

Elvyne through open the door. Corbin ran out after her. She tried running back up the stairs. Solomon grabbed her and put her in a bear hug. She whimpered, trying to break out. Tears fell down her pale cheeks. "Stop it!" Solomon finally said and shook her hard. She stopped thrashing. "Keep your head or we will all be killed."

The floorboards above squeaked. Corbin led the way down concrete stairs. There was nothing in this room. Corbin looked around, trying to find something useful. There was a metal on the stairs but it was screwed in.

"Corbin," Becca whispered. "In here." She crawled in a short doorway. Solomon led Elvyne into it then crawled in himself. Corbin prayed everyone would fit. Just as he folded himself in and pulled his feet against him, Granny's grimy gown could be seen at the top of the stairs.