Licensed For Evil

Spooky Hallway

Amy's POV:

To me, days and nights seemed to be the same. I stayed in my room almost all the time. I only went downstairs to get my meals. I did not know how much time I had spent in this house; all I knew was that I missed Bleakburn, Bleakburn high, and my friends, especially Jeff.

I was in a prison. I was the prisoner and prison warden all at the same time. I did not notice the hours I spent chatting with Jeff roll into days then weeks.

Every day I woke up, took a shower then waited for everyone to leave. When I was all alone, I hurried downstairs to grab a quick bite then go back to my room. I felt a little more comfortable with time and I learned to live with my bitterness and loneliness. Back at Bleakburn, I had lots of friends who I thought would still be my friends after moving out. I texted them often until I got tired of getting replies after hours or even days. This added to my loneliness. Thankfully, Jeff was in my life. Nothing changed between us even after I left, only my feelings for him. I loved him even more than I did when we were together. It was no longer a mere crush. We constantly texted and I felt a little less alone.

I had a virtual company when I stayed alone at home. Walking around the house was no longer hard but I felt some awkward presence around me.

**********

I was walking from my room to the kitchen to grab a snack. As I stepped into the hallway from my room, I could hear it again. That voice that echoed goodnight during my first night at that house. I was sure this was not an echo because I was alone in the house, unless, mom and Taylor hired somebody.

Get a hold of yourself. You're letting your imagination play you dirty.

I convinced myself that never happened amidst the fear building up in me. I kept moving until it came again. This time, the voice was louder and more demanding of my attention. I stopped and listened. The voice got softer but pricked my interest in the words. I must have been crazy to stand in a hallway, all alone in the house listening to something that probably did not exist. I stood still holding my breath waiting to hear something I could finally understand. All I heard in between breaks of the talking was my heartbeat loud in my ears.

The voice must have been a recording playing over and over again. The voices sounded the same and that was the only logical explanation for the echo. My mind did not buy that. I tried to lift my leg, but it felt too heavy. Everything in the hallway began to spin all around me.

My eyes felt confused and my mind spun together with the things. I shut my eyes and gave my head a quick shake to keep myself sane.

I opened my eyes slowly. No more spinning. No more dizziness. Silence filled the room. If anyone walked in at this time, nothing seemed off. But I was sure that it had happened. I looked around me just to make sure all was okay and it was. I walked towards the kitchen and got a bag of chips and headed back to my room.

At the end of the stairs, I looked at my room across the hallway. Something about the hallway gave me the creeps. Something about my room gave me the creeps. The same was true about the hallway near the kitchen facing the door and the kitchen too. I only felt at ease in the living room and that was there everyone else liked to stay. So, as expected, I preferred getting scared of the vibe I got in my room, to staying in the same room with them, especially after mom told me off for telling her about my scary and weird experiences at the house.

I no longer watched my horror films because my life felt like a horror movie in itself. I preferred to watch something that would not scare me because the house showed enough potential to scare the shit out of me.

After a long stare at the hallway, I mastered all the courage I could, not that I needed it, took a deep breath, and took my first step into the hallway.

It can't be that bad, right? It will be okay, I will just take a quick walk across the hall and that's it.

I got further away from my safety zone and deeper and deeper into the hallway. I was walking really fast and nothing seemed to happen. I suddenly felt confused. Was I hallucinating or something?

I cautiously walked looking on either side of the wall but never behind me. I did not want to see something that would scare the life out of me. I wanted to break into a run for my room but I had to maintain a calm demeanor. That would be like admitting to being crazy, yet I was not. I maintained the act until I heard something heavy drop right behind me. I let out a weak scream. The chips slipped through my hands and fell to the ground. My heart stopped. I secretly hoped I was dreaming of everything and I would wake up on my bed in the morning.

Just like before, I did not want to look behind me. I knew that whatever it was, I did not want to see. As soon as I had control over my weak body, I picked up my chips and ran towards my room. I was not the best there was at arithmetic, but I was sure that within seconds of running, I should have been in my room.

I had no watch on me, but I had been running for a very long time. Drops of sweat made their way down my face. My entire body was on fire, not just from the running but something seemed to be burning up inside me. I was exhausted.

The distance between my room and I did not change as I invested all my energy into my running. Honestly, I did not know what I was running for. At this moment, the will to run totally vanished and I gave in to the urge to turn and see what was behind me.

My knees shook violently beneath my weight. I took deep heavy breaths hoping to cool down my lungs. I was too tired to realize my eyes get wet with tears. Caught between maintaining my sanity by not looking at what stayed behind me and losing it in this crazy house I did it. I did what the house wanted me to do. I got more and more convinced that the house had a mind of its own. This was not crazy. What was?

I finally made my turn. What I saw made my jaw drop. As if all the heat in my body had been drained, I froze. My stomach gave a slight twist. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. I could not bear to look but I also could not look away. The house wanted me to see it. The house needed me to take a good look at it.