The old wooden house sat alone on a dead-end road. Paint peeled from the weather siding and golden weed sighed against the foundation. A porch sagged in front of a rusty screen door that swung and squeaked in the breeze. Blank windows stared out, reflecting the line of fire that was on the horizon.
I slowly pulled my little red car off the road into the weeds and stared at the house which was about to be my final destination. This had to be one of the dumbest things I had ever done in my life. I remembered that second only to the night I had picked Gregory up in the bar and taken him home. (What am I doing?). I had gone for food and some snacks. I had made a mental list in my head that included ice cream and hot fudge and some ginger biscuits, of course, but then I had driven right past the mall.
I suppose it was curiosity and a desire to have the entire disaster over and done with. I really wished to have all these sagas off my head, I desperately needed to move on.
I shut the car off but stopped for a short period of time, not getting out of the car. I remained calm and wondered- Should I take all of my staff with me? My purse? Money? What if someone was really watching over there to mug and get to benefit from me? "Not any stupider than coming in the first place," I mumbled as I dug out my phone. I cast about for a suitable hiding place for my purse, and finally jammed it under the back seat.
The evening air was chilly, but it wasn't yet night. I checked to make sure that the doors were locked, then gave my car a final look. "It surely would be okay" I assured myself. Everything would be okay.
I thereafter circled the house. Through an open front door, I could see a swath of an old, empty visitor's room. Dead leaves littered the door and cobwebs hung in profusion. It only took me a second to decide that I didn't want to go inside.
With nothing else to do, I made my way back to the back of the house and dropped to the ground. There was an empty kitchen with dead leaves all over, and some old furniture covered the way inside. Suddenly, I could feel the comforting weight of my cellphone in my pocket. A connection to civilisation: a lifeline. Still, the sun was dropping rapidly and soon I'd be lost in darkness. I shivered, whether from chill or anxiety, and Layla's words played through my mind, "That's how people get killed. I have heard a lot of stories about strange deaths!" The night was getting nearer, and those words seemed wiser and wiser with each second.
I should have just called the police and stayed in my apartment; safe and secure in my contented shoe box of plasterboard and wood.
All of a sudden, something crunched, and my head snapped up in response. A long figure walked slowly towards me from around the house. The hair and clothing were all black, as it was a part of the night: a shadow wraith formed from my fear, with only its pale face to give it the illusion of reality.
The person came to stop in front of my eyes and gazed down. The person was tall and broad-shouldered with a slim waist. He had long hair that fell down his back to blend into the long-sleeved pullover. His mouth remained a tight-lipped line, though his eyes, dark and warm, seemed to be smiling at me in the darkness.
I scrambled to my feet and brushed uselessly at my clothes. My eyes hurried to meet his and assured him that I was as much in control as he was, though I had felt something. When he spoke, it was the same voice that I had heard over the phone, deep and lyrical. "So you finally came?" I had no confidence to say any more words. " I did". " And you are alone?" his tone seemed polite, almost friendly, as if he was trying to assure that he wasn't a villain.
Despite his effort, a vision swam behind my eyes of black garbage bags in a ditch, filled with my own dismembered body parts, and I wondered if it was too late to go home. Maybe I should have lied and said I had a friend somewhere? But what if that could blow the deal?
"mh!" I took a steadying breath and prepared to gauge his reaction. "I am alone like you said"
"Good", I noticed that he spoke low, and that his mouth barely moved, as if he was afraid someone might overhear him. "Follow me, ma'am", he said as he walked towards the house.
I stared at the old house for a moment and the blank windows stared back at me. Though he hadn't cackled like a villain, I still wasn't sure about him. He knew that I was alone, and now he wanted to bring me with him into an empty house that could possibly have anyone or anything hiding inside, just waiting, as I had just been waiting.
He paused at the porch and turned back."Do you think I'll hurt you?" in the dusky sky, as I wasn't sure if his half-smile and smiky smile were sinister or appealing.
"You possibly might", I said quietly as I was half afraid, as though saying it could make it happen. "I don't know you, nor your name!" I politely asked, crossing my fingers.
"Shawn, I hope that makes you feel better!"
I suddenly could sense his amusement and waited for him to laugh. And when he didn't, I answered truthfully, " not really" his smile almost curled into a smirk, and in another desperate attempt to control the situation, I quickly added, "people out there know that I am here" I realised in a rush of heart that no one really did. I had told Layla about the call but not the location.
Shawn raised his eyebrows in mock surprise and the smile deepened at the corner of his mouth. "Good. I would hate to think you take such chances, Anya! ". " Wait! What? How the hell did you get to know my name? And how did you get my office number?" I raised my voice and asked.
His smile faded. "If you want to know who killed your fiancée, you will have to follow me inside. If you don't, then you can see the door!" he shrugged and instructed as if it was of more consequence either way, then he opened the doors. " It is your decision, so be wise!" With those words, he stepped over the threshold and disappeared inside.
I bit my lip and kicked the foundation for good, cursing silently. Thanks to my stupidity, I was sure that I would end up dead before the night was over. Why had I not stayed at my place? And why can't I leave at the moment?
- Just because I really wanted to know.
My mind echoed a question, "Are you willing to die for this? Someone you really weren't sure if you are in love with? Someone whom you were being forced to marry?" but I ignored the voice.
Maybe I could get this Shawn guy to come back outside? He seemed reasonable, and maybe if I pointed out how sinister it appeared. The only thing I could do was to try. I took a deep breath and forced myself onto the porch. He appeared in the doorway holding a candle. The light gleamed on his skin and turned his impassive face to marble. "Are you coming in or not?"
My heart pounded, and a thought, unbidden, appeared in my mind: he was cute. His eyes were the colour of dark wood, fringed in heavy lashes and framed by thick, dramatic eyebrows that arched over so slightly. His lips were full and his skin was flawless and pale: perfect.
I couldn't explain what happened next. One minute I stood on my porch, my mind tumbling in confusion. Next, I was inside the sad house, and the door closed behind me.
The sound of the chirping crickets cut through my uncertainty, and slowly the world came into focus. I looked around the small room quickly. Water-stained wallpaper sagged from the walls, a nondescript colour. A mass of footprints marked the dust-covered floor. There was no furniture, only two grimy windows and a yawning doorway.
"Come this way"