Chapter 13

We were walking down a rough path in the creepy ass woods. The sun was shining through the treetops and we were cautiously observing our surroundings. It seemed calm, for now.

“So, Leon, if you saw everything happening yesterday, how did you know how to find us?" I asked. 

Leon seemed to pause to consider something before starting: “When I fall asleep I start to ‘see’ based on where I am. I actually wake up in a dreamscape. It looks exactly like this world, but there is a haze to it…there are also no people." 

“No people? Then how did you follow Kendrick?" I asked.

“That's how I know who to follow. They are the only ones I can see. When I start following them I see the shadows of the people they interact with and some echoes of their conversations. I don't know anything more than what n the person I follow does though." 

If he only knows what Kendrick knows, then he probably doesn't know what my gift is. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

“So, we met again quickly because you were in the same town as me?" Kendrick asked.

“Yes, I was actually thankful that I found you so fast when I fell asleep. Sometimes it takes me days to find the person I need to follow." Leon lemented.

“Wait, days? What are you talking about?” Fenton stopped walking and stared at Leon. 

Leon sighed, "I already told you, I can't wake up until I follow who I need to follow.”

"Yeah, but we can't wait days for you to wake up every time we stop for the night. How's that going to work for what we need to do?” He yelled.

He did have a point. Our two day trip was going to be extended if that were the case.

"Nah, it will be fine guys. I'll just carry Leon if he's asleep. Will that work? Or can you not move or something?” Kendrick pondered. 

Leon blushed, "I mean, you could, but I can also try to catch up too. I'll skip sleep until we get to the library, and hopefully I'll be awake again when you're ready to leave. I can go three days without sleep, so I'm hoping I won't be too much of a burden." 

“Don't think of it that way, if there is even a possibility that you can use your gift then that will be really useful!" Kendrick said with a smile.

Leon smiled back at Kendrick and then looked down at the ground, “I'd be glad if that would be the case…" 

“Alright, I guess we will make a plan when we get there, but if you randomly fall asleep we are going to leave you." Fenton grumbled.

Kendrick leaned over to Leon and whispered something in his ear. I couldn't quite make out what he was saying though, as I was more distracted by the ever growing darkness around us.

The forest had begun to get darker the deeper we went. The trees along the path were getting more dense and it was getting harder to see the sky through the canopy. What was more eerie was the sounds though. The chirping of birds, the sound of insects, even the wind, they all stopped. 

“Hey…um, if we were in a horror movie, we would be walking into danger. Don't you guys think?” I asked as nonchalantly as I could.

The others also seemed to notice how eerily quiet it had become. 

We all paused and looked around. There didn't appear to be anything dangerous, just trees, trees, and more trees. 

We continued walking and watched as the forest started pressing in on us more and more. It didn't take long before we could see something off in the distance. It looked like a house. 

As soon as it was in eyesight I pulled Fenton over to me. “I'm being one thousand percent serious right now, we need to turn around." 

“What? Why?" He asked, looking back at the old Victorian building.

“What do you mean why? We're clearly approaching a haunted house?" I gestured at the looming building. 

It looked like it was three stories tall. The paint on the exterior was old and faded. Shutters adorned several windows, but some of them were hanging on for dear life. The house looked abandoned, but what made it even more bizarre was the fact that you couldn't go around it. The woods had continued to close in as we approached the house. The trees were so dense alongside it that a small child couldn't even squeeze through them. 

"I mean, you're right, it's probably haunted or something…but we don't have a choice. This is a game after all, anything in it worth fighting can be beaten too. Let's just stay on our toes. We can see if there is a back door we can get through to the other side,” Fenton said as he patted my arm and started heading towards the house. 

Leon and Kendrick were already heading towards the front door. If I had been by myself I would have ran away. Better to avoid conflict if you can than charging into it. They weren't really giving me a choice though. 

I caught up with the group and grabbed onto Fenton’s hand. He looked up at me surprised but didn't shake me off. 

“So, do we knock?” Fenton asked. 

"Wait, Leon, did you dream about this part?” I asked hopefully.

"No, my dream left off with you all being sent back in time. So I didn't get to see this.” He was staring at the house, Leon didn't seem as sure as the others did. 

Our lovable optimist stepped in, “It will be ok guys. I've done a ton of the dungeons in this game, I'm sure there isn't anything in this house we can't handle.”

As if on cue, the old rickety door to the house creaked open. None of us were anywhere near it yet, and the door had opened outward, so it wasn't the wind. 

I stared for a moment, “Nope. Nope. NOPE." 

I turned to walk away when a loud scream came from behind us. Along the path, where we had just been, was…something. 

It was large and took up the entirety of the path. Its mass was made up of darkness that seemed to swallow everything and leave nothing behind. It pulled itself along the path clawing and grabbing its way towards us. It screeched louder. The sound alone was enough to make my knees feel weak. 

I felt a tug, it was Fenton pulling me towards the house. "Get inside!” He yelled. 

We raced up the old stone steps onto a large wooden porch. We didn't have time to look at anything before all four of us tumbled into the doorway, the door slamming behind us. 

Kendrick and Fenton were on their feet and pulled out their swords, readying themselves to fight.

We expected to hear, whatever that thing was, to be hitting the door, screaming, yelling, clawing, or something. Nothing happened though. It was silent.

Kendrick took some tentative steps towards the front door. There was a small stained glass window at the center. He peered out.

“I don't see it," he said at last. 

"What do you mean? Where could it have gone?” I asked. 

Fenton went up to the door and peered out. "Yeah, I don't see it either." He grabbed the handle to the door.

“Don't open it!" I yelled. I immediately covered my mouth, realizing I was being too loud.

 The fear of what was on the other side was overshadowed by the fact that the door would not open. Fenton tried to turn the handle, pulled, pushed, and shoved the door as hard as he could. The door wouldn't budge. 

Fenton took a step back and let Kendrick give it a try, but he had no luck either. The door was locked.

He turned back to look at everyone, "Well, at least we didn't have to fight whatever that thing was,” he joked.

"Yeah, but what was it?” I asked. 

No one answered. 

We turned to take in our surroundings. The door leads into a wide entryway. In front of us was a large grand stairway that led to the second floor. To our right was a set of pocket doors. To our left was a single door and a small hallway that had a few doors on each side. The walls were dark wood with intricate designs carved into them. In any other circumstance I would have wanted to take pictures or draw my surroundings. It really was a beautiful room. 

“So, do we call out to see if anyone is here? Walk around and explore, or go straight for the back of the house?" Fenton asked. 

"...I feel like calling out to someone is a little dangerous. And we will need to look around to find a way out anyway,” I said. 

"Systematic exploration it is,” Leon whispered.