The Man Inside The Walls

Chapter One:

I stared on in shock as pieces of the once body length mirror went flying through the air. All of the adrenaline and fear I had while watching Cole parade around vanished while I stared on at the dark hole that now took the place of the broken object.

I had come up to stay with Greta in the beginning of her job with the Heelshires; something about her being alone in a gigantic castle just didn't sit right with me so I made it a point to come up to stay with her. I wasn't really being paid of course, but the old couple did know that I would be staying along side their new Nanny. I had been friends with Greta since our senior year of college, and I've always known that Cole was a bad egg. I knew he was going to do something stupid like showing up to her employers house like he owned the place; and low and behold the idiot did show up, he showed up and royally pissed off a goddamn poltergeist.

Reaching out towards my dear friend I opened my mouth to tell her that we needed to leave, we needed to run as far and as fast as possible but no words came out. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end as all four of us stared on in shock and bewilderment. I stared on into the blackness only to make out eyes; human eyes. Human eyes that were slowly coming out of the darkness along with a gigantic body that was also slowly appearing out of the new hole in the wall.

"We need to leave!" I ordered before grabbing the back of Greta's hoodie and beginning to yank her out of the room; though I didn't get very far considering when a person is afraid or in shock their body normally locks up out of fear. Greta's knees were locked, and there was no way I was going to pull her out of the room easily unless she was unconscious.

"It's Brahms!" Malcolm declared while he and Greta were continuing to stand there shocked. I looked back at the man appearing from the darkness only to see that he was wearing a doll mask identical to the small 'boy' that we had been caring for. That only elevated my 'fight or flight' response and I was ripping on the back of Greta's hood at this point; I didn't care if I choked her or not, there was absolutely no way I was just going to leave her there.

In almost a blink of an eye, well sorta kinda considering I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on exactly since I was more focused with trying to yank my best friend out of harms way; Cole was on the ground being beaten to a bloody pulp. Part of me wanted to laugh at his expense while the other was just too bewildered to really speak about what I was seeing. I had never been up-close to watch someone be savagely beaten; kinda hot not gonna lie, if this was like a bar fight I'd totally be digging it. But right now, in this particular scenario this was our damn cue to get the hell out of here.

"No! Don't!" Greta and Malcolm screamed out together while going forwards to try and protect my best friend's long time abuser. I stood there stunned at first before rolling my eyes.

"Oh come on!" Cole dug his own grave by being an idiot and breaking the doll. He wouldn't be getting this if he had just stayed in his lane and not randomly showed up here. I don't see a point in trying to save someone who doesn't deserve pity or affection. When Brahms reached for a large piece of the doll's face and threw both of my friends from his body, I knew that he meant business. Cole was a goner, and unless we made it out while he was occupied, we would be too. Looking toward Greta I saw Malcolm pulling her up to her feet, she had been thrown to the ground minutes ago when she tried to stop the man from beating up Cole.

"We need to leave." I said steadily as Cole was stabbed in the neck. My eyes were glued on Brahms's back as he huffed in air; we missed our chance to escape. I stood tall while reaching for Malcolm's back trying to get him in gear to run. Now was not the time to be frozen in place, we needed to get out of here now; there was no more time to stand and gawk at him. This man meant serious business and we were in the way of whatever he wanted. My breath caught in my throat as Brahms pulled himself away from his victim and slowly rose up to his full height; this guy was easily over six foot, and he was built. He looked very intimidating while he stood straight scanning from Malcolm, to Greta until his gaze finally landed on me. He and I stared into each other's eyes for multiple moments before I felt a hand grasp hold of my upper arm and begin yanking me from my spot. Malcolm had finally decided it was time to run; he had grabbed Greta and I while pulling us from our spots. Once out of the room the three of us began the desperate attempt at running away; at this point I felt like it was absolutely pointless.

If this guy really was Brahms, the Heelshires's kid, then of course he knew this house like the back of his hand. There was no where to hide, run, or escape. My pace began to slow as I thought over the odds of actually managing to get out; unfortunately though it seems that Greta had grasped hold of my hand at some point and was ripping me along behind her while they ran like rats trapped in a maze.

The only way for them to escape would be for someone to stay behind and distract him; that's the only way. Pulling my hand free I stopped in my tracks and locked eyes with Malcolm when Greta stopped as well terrified.

"Alice what are you doing?!" she all but screeched, I didn't look her way but instead sent the most intense look I could muster towards our new friend.

"Listen to me-" I said evenly still giving him an intense look until he nodded his head reluctantly seeming to understand what I was trying to portray. "Head for the walls okay? If he came out of them then that must mean that there's a passageway. And if there's a passageway then there's an out." I said steadily while grasping Greta's hands which were reaching for me; she was shaking her head aggressively while looking at me with tears in her eyes.

"I have a plan and it'll only work if you aren't around okay?" I said while rubbing her hands quickly trying my best to comfort her; I could hear Brahms's footsteps coming closer. I smiled at her the best I could before pushing her towards Malcolm's open arms gesturing for him to take her.

"N-no! Please Alice you don't have to do this!" my best friend cried while she was drug down the hall the rest of the way, her eyes never leaving mine, and her arms still reaching for my own. I gave her a wide closed eyed smile before she disappeared around a corner; slowly I opened my eyes until I took a deep breath and nodded my head. If this is what it would take to make sure that they get to safety, then so be it.

I heard footsteps getting closer and closer showing me that the man was most definitely close, he was close and was calm. He may have appeared frantic and discombobulated when he murdered Cole, but in reality I think he knew exactly what he was doing. I think he knew that there wasn't any way we could escape easily. I stood perfectly still until I heard him even closer, right at the last moment where I knew that he could either see me, or at least hear me, I darted into a nearby room and slammed the door as hard as I could so he would know where I was.

After doing so, I looked around quickly noticing that I was in some kind of dinning room. I couldn't see much with the lights off, but I could make out the large table in the center of the room. Thinking on my feet, I backed up and squished myself against the wall close to the fireplace; I knew that it was an obvious place, but I thought it was at least better than hiding under the damn table. I mean how clique can you get right?

After a moment of calming my breathing and trying desperately to calm my racing heart I tried my best to listen carefully to the sounds around me. It was eerily silent until I heard it; heavy breathing and a locking noise. Panic set in when I realized what had happened; the bastard had just locked me in the room. Quickly I rushed to the door and tried to turn the fancy long door handle only to stop and immediately pound on the door on instinct.

I've watched hundreds of horror movies and this shit has never happened; what kind of killer locks their prey away and decided not to come after them? Turning around quickly I flicked on the light and realized that I had no escape; this place had no wide windows. The only window that was visible was one singular circle on the ceiling, it was a skylight. Scanning around the room I didn't see any other exit other than the large entrance door. Out of all the rooms I could have picked to make my last stand in, luck would have it that I get this one.