Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you are planning a spook-tacular day. Let’s kick it off with a writing prompt. Everyone ready? then let’s go.
I like the thought of Kevin being tied to this house someway but not knowing how. I’m not sure of the story, but I think it could be fun to play with.
Tuesday, October 31st: He coughed.
He coughed. The sound was soft, yet with so little ambient noise it sounded as though it echoed through the space. Kevin walked into the room. It felt as though his cough disturbed something, even though nothing moved.
The house was quiet, empty. No one had been here in a very long time. That much was clear by the dust coating everything. He slid his shoes along the floor. He never thought of a hardwood floor as being gritty.
Surprisingly the house seemed as though it was in good shape. The ceiling and walls were still intact. There was some bubbling of the paint, but mostly that occurred on the walls directly across from the South facing windows. The sun from that direction was strong and without the protection of curtains, the pain blistered and started to crack.
Despite the dust, everything was in place. It was strange, like walking into a fairy tale. Kevin always thought this was what Sleeping Beauty’s castle was like when the prince found it. Everything still in place as though life just stopped in an instant. This was a bungalow not a castle, but the house had a bit of a fairytale vibe to it. All of the previous owners possessions in place, nothing moved or shifted as though someone left in a hurry. No sign of anyone packing up and moving at all. He wandered from room to room, trying to get a feel for the space.
Behind him, he could feel Mason, He was hanging back, giving Kevin room to move around unhindered, but Kevin could feel his presence like a warm shadow. He said nothing, grateful mason agreed to come here with him. That he didn’t have to do this alone.
Nothing looked familiar in the front room. The same could be said for all of the rooms on the first floor. If he had ever been her, then he had no recollection if it. He was a visitor. He took a deep breath, smelling dust and what he was certain was mouse poop. They hadn’t seen any mice, but Kevin was certain that there was some vermin somewhere. He climbed the stairs and heard Mason start up behind him.
The stairs looked like any other set of stairs. He looked at the worn spots on the treads and tried to recall if he put his feet there before. He tried to guess where the steps would creak. His guesses were all correct, but Kevin suspected that was more because every step creaked in multiple places more than he was remembering a specific squeaky step.
‘I think the squeaky steps were from a movie anyway,’ He thought as he reached the landing. There was a central hallway with four bedrooms and a bathroom branching off of it. He went through each bedroom. One looked as though it belonged to a couple. It had a double bed and matching furniture. The colors and styles looked like they were from the 1970s. In the closets there were clothes, one was filled with women’s clothing and another with men’s. There were suitcases on the upper shelf.
He left them where they were and move to the other rooms. The next one was a girl’s bedroom judging from the frilly pink and white adornments and the plethora of dolls and stuffed animals. The next bedroom also seemed to belong to a girl, older this time, with posters of teenage boys on the wall. The final bedroom was for a young boy. If he remembered anything, he knew it would be in this room. His palms were sweating as he stepped inside.
Ten til Midnight 