Sorry, No Exits
Courtney had made her way to the kitchen through the maze of a house in search of a backdoor. The floorboards groaned and creaked with every step she took and the lights along the walls flickered causing her anxiety to spike. All but one of the chairs that should have been at the kitchen island were missing and the canary yellow paint on the walls was peeling, the old crimson paint appearing where the strips of yellow were missing. Now she was beginning to wish she’d asked for someone to come with her.
There was a distant drip, drip, drip that echoed through the halls and the chill in the air that made her shiver. She quickly walked to the backdoor, a bit unnerved, and pulled.
Unfortunately the door remained closed. She sighed before turning the lock to see if that was the issue then she placed her hand on the bronze doorknob and went to open the door again. A pale, ice cold hand reached over her shoulder, grabbed her wrist and yanked her hand away from the doorknob before locking the door back.
“No one leaves,” a whispery voice echoed behind her, causing her to freeze in place.
When Courtney turned around there was no one behind her and the kitchen light had stopped flickering but for some reason it did nothing to steady her nerves. The only sign that any of it had been real was the light red mark closed around her wrist in the exact shape of a hand.
Pov Change
After wandering the old halls for a while Tracy and Luke arrived in the old sun room. Most of the chairs were broken and the windows had been boarded up while others were covered in vines that had broken in from the outside. Some of the light wood floorboards had gone missing and the light green rugs were worn from being treaded on in the past. Sun streamed in through cracks in the dusty windows.
“I bet this place was absolutely beautiful before it fell into disrepair,” Tracy’s voice was light as she headed for the patio doors. She didn’t seem alarmed that they were all in a strange place with no memory of what happened or how they came to be there.
“The only way this house would have been halfway decent back then was if it didn’t give me serious old lady vibes,” Luke said, rolling his eyes as Tracy tried opening the door, “Most of the furniture here is ancient.”
“Don't be rude,” Tracy fired at him, making another attempt to open the door. Suddenly a pale figure appeared before Tracy and pushed her back without a word. Then soon after there was a high pitched wail as Luke got thrown up in the air. There was a loud grunt as he hit the floor with a loud thud.
The trees outside banged on the windows threatening to break the windows in. Tracy crawled back quickly with fear in her eyes. She wanted to scream but the sound caught in her throat. Luke got up regaining his bearings. He moved towards Tracy hoping to get out of there.
“What are you, psycho?!” Luke yelled, his head turning to where the figure had been.
“Where’d she go?” Tracy’s voice shook as she asked the question. The wind outside had calmed down but the temperature was still freezing.
“No one leaves!” a distorted voice echoed loudly through the room as the walls shook causing old paintings and faded pictures to fall off the walls.
“Let’s get back to the others,” Tracy said, getting back to her feet and racing towards the door. Luke followed after her quickly. The second they were out of the room the doors slammed shut and the bookcase in the hall slid over to block the doors leading into the sun room.
Pov Change
Alex and Sam had moved into the living room where Alex was busy reading an old book that didn’t have a title and Sam was dusting the old piano intending to play it when and if he found sheet music. Courtney entered the room still a little unnerved and plopped down beside Alex on the dusty sofa.
“There’s no way out that way,” she said pointing in the direction of the kitchen.
“Oh, I know,” Sam said, turning to look at Courtney, “There's always this old lady that stops me when I try to leave.”
“And you couldn’t have warned us beforehand!” Tracy said exasperated as she and Luke entered the room. Luke was as white as a ghost and Tracy looked agitated.
“What happened to you two?” Alex looked up from his book noting their rattled appearance.
“Oh the usual y’know. A minor attack from a non-existent lady,” Luke spat at him.
“You usually get attacked by people who aren't there?” Alex's eyebrows raised as he looked at Luke confused.
“He's being sarcastic,” Sam said softly, noticing Alex's misunderstanding.
“Oh,” Alex muttered, shrinking back into a corner and turning back to the old leather bound book. Sam's eyes followed Alex while the others settled in the couches and chairs around the living room.
“There's a library upstairs if you wanna go check it out with me,” Sam got up from the piano taking note of the way Alex tried to disappear. Alex didn't answer as Sam turned and left the living room. Moments later though Sam heard quiet footsteps following him up the stairs as he made his way to the library.