Stillness

He kept absolutely still as the footsteps got louder.

He tried to quieten his panting breath as his chest grew tight. It felt like he couldn't get enough air into his lungs, the air felt thick like he couldn't swallow it properly. His lips were dry, caked in blood and rough from where he had been biting them. Back pressed against the wall, he tried to make himself as small as he physically could. Not easy for a man of six feet. But the last thing he wanted was to be seen.

The footsteps stopped suddenly. The creak of a floorboard made Luke wince in fear. His hands were shaking as he clutched his torch, his only form of protection against his attacker.

He realised now that he truly was on his own. He had no idea where Frank, Sara and Mitch had gone. One moment they were there with him, right next to him. The next, it was like the darkness just made them vanish into thin air. It was too still like no living thing had been in the house for a very long time.

His friends never made a sound as they disappeared. He was too afraid to call out to them. The house had been silent until the sound of footsteps stomped up the stairs.

The footsteps continued, they are getting closer and closer. Luke had no idea where the nearest exit was. They were so stupid to explore an abandoned house.

They thought it would be a laugh, a couple of days before Halloween. Start the holiday off properly, that's what Mitch said. After all the games online hunting ghosts and figuring out how to defeat them, they got lost in a house that was meant to be a two up, two down. But it was like the house was expanding on them, there were a lot more rooms. Yet on the blueprints, it was only meant to have a bedroom and a bathroom upstairs.

The footsteps stopped again, closer this time. Luke could almost hear the other person breathing. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck.

That was when he heard the scream downstairs.

It stopped as soon as it started, leaving an eerie silence behind. Luke's stomach twisted, nausea washing over him. He shut his eyes as something creaked to his right. The darkness was creeping in towards him. His eyes were slowly adjusting to the dimness. He could vaguely make out shapes around him. He was in one of the bedrooms, he'd already been in two bedrooms, stacked with furniture. He had tried to keep track of what was around him. Shelves, bookcases, desks. He had studied them. But when he looked back, there wasn't anything there. Like the furniture had moved.

He had no idea what or rather who was in the room with him. He had crawled out of one bedroom into another room without turning his torch on. He had found a solid wall to crouch down next to. The room could be barren for all he knew. Or it could be stacked with furniture like in the other room.

Again, a female scream ripped through the air. It sounded closer this time. Luke shut his eyes tight and ducked his head down. The footsteps had started again, determined and sure-footed.

Right in his direction.

He never heard his own scream, nor the torch smashing on the ground. The house was still as it was before four teenagers ventured inside.

Dear reader, they never stood a chance.