Finding the bones of a small bird in a carved out bible should’ve been the sign to leave the house. Instead, we kept digging through forgotten rooms— hoping to find something worth taking.

The curse of all young thieves is undiscerning greed. Each opportunity seems to possess life altering riches without lasting danger. That’s how Lawerence and I found ourselves inside the manor. We were on the edge of darkness and each minutes spent in that house brought us closer to it.

The Wynwood manor was said to be vacated after a family disagreement. They failed to mention the following family they replaced them. Lawrence and I had only been working together for a couple weeks at that point and we were both eager to gain the praise of our boss, Samantha. I can see now, that if we had waited a day longer everything would’ve been different.

A gentle knocking rose from the basement and echoed through the house. It began to build as Lawrence and I crept around the second floor. We soon gave up trying to hide the sounds of our footsteps. I tried to ask him what was happening but I was too scared to get the words out. I doubt Lawrence would’ve been able to respond anyway his eyes were wild with fear and I knew mine to be the same. My back had slicked with sweat And I prayed I would not have to face whatever was knocking.

It grew louder and louder as a house began to shake around us and with it came a wicked laugh. It had a dry rasp That would make calm minds think of shuffled papers. My legs stayed locked as I struggled to not let out a scream. I saw Lawerence’s hand run with blood as he bit down to keep quiet. Tears flowed from his eyes as he clenched them shut. I tried to pray, but the words escaped me.

Shaking, I placed an old golden stamp on the ground. I grabbed at Lawerence’s arm, “We have to get out of here.”

He shook his head back and forth. I grabbed him again.

“If you don’t open your eyes, we’re never going to get out of here.” I hissed. He peeked an eye open and looked over my shoulder. His face turned white and he dropped to the floor. I stood frozen in place— I couldn’t turn around to whatever stood in the doorway

I felt a hot breath on my neck as the laugh returned to my ear. A grip of iron caught my arm as I made to turn.

“Shh, shh, don’t cry out. You can still be brave if you stay silent.” The voice crooned as it’s fetid breath wafted towards me. “Join your friend in his sweet slumber and maybe you’ll be lucky to forget this wasn’t a dream.”

The iron grip pushed me to the floor. I didn’t try to fight it and quickly wrapped myself in a ball. Careful to keep my eyes shut. The last scraps of courage melted as a blank sleep snatched me from the nightmare.

In the morning I found myself alone in the room. The only sign of Lawerence were some drops of blood from his hand. I slowly got my feet and scanned the empty room. The sunshine felt like false safety, but I began to inch towards the doorway. My chest tightened as I strained to hear anything in the house, but it was a stale silence.

Once through the doorway I began to speed up as I made for the front door. I started down the wide staircase when I saw the door the manor stand wide open. Lawerence had already escaped— I lost control and broke into a sprint. The first step into the world paired with a boom as the door slammed behind me. I saw a flash of shadow and a twisted, grey face smiling from the second floor. It’s wicked laugh filled the air as I ran to the street. I ran until I couldn’t breathe— but even then the fear remained. As did the creature within the manor.