A spider, one stupid spider is what scared her so bad the journal flew out of her hands. “I thought I told it to stay up there,” Chaerin grumbled, kicking at a door.

The journal was right on the other side of this door, it must have slid underneath when she’d freaked out. No matter how hard she pushed the thing it didn’t budge. Not even a little bit.

Chaerin pushed her fringe from her face, irritated. Just when it was getting good too. She ran her thumb along the key. She still had that at least.

Where there’s a key there’s a lock and she was going to find out what was behind this one.

-

"What's this?" Chaerin grinned to herself in the darkness. Stairs, finally some progress. It must of been twenty minutes already, best to find the lock and get out before Bom jumps to the conclusion that she was lying in a pool of her own blood somewhere.

Chaerin crept up the stairs carefully. If it was possible it was even darker in the upper half of the house. It was an opaque kind of darkness like she was trying to see through ink. The light from the flame was barely enough for her to be able to make out her own feet. 

Let's try something a little different. Chaerin flicked off the lighter and tucking it away. Stop fighting the darkness and become a part of it. She stood motionlessly for a minute immersed completely in the blackness. Slowly her eyes began to adjust, the vast expanse shrunk down into a narrow hallway. Her eyes narrowed in on a sliver of light pouring out from beneath a door at the end of the hallway.

Something about that door, felt, different. As if it was calling her.

The key dug painfully into her hand she was gripping it so hard, but she could hardly feel it. "What are you waiting for?" It seemed to ask. Her legs moved on their own. "Come closer," the voice was commanding and masculine. The cold of the doorknob pressed into her hand. "Just a little more..." 

-

Bom sighed loudly, this was killing her. I knew I should have gone inside with her. So stupid! She pressed her hands over her eyes and groaned. What if there was some crazy psycho in there waiting to tear her to shreds? One eye peeked out from beneath her fingers. She twisted her head to the side doubting what she seeing.

One of the top floor windows was clear, the only one not boarded up, she could have sworn she'd just seen something pass by the window, or rather someone. Someone tall, much taller than Chaerin.

She clapped a hand over . Someone was in that house with Chaerin.

Bom ran, no she sprinted, for the door. "Don't you dare touch her!" As soon as her hand touched the doorknob she pulled it back. It was searing hot.

Bom pulled her sleeve down over her hand for protection and grabbed the knob again. She twisted it hard, but the knob didn't turn. She let out yelp of pain, and released.

All along her palm and fingers was bright red and throbbing. She gritted her teeth against it.

The only thing that mattered right now was getting in that house. Bom jumped back off the porch and took off toward the door again, but this time she didn't stop. At full speed, her shoulder hit the thick wood.

 A thin crack split across its right side.

The spell over Chaerin was broken for a split second. She turned a questioning look in the direction of the noise.

"The key!" the voice hissed. Her gaze snapped back to the door like she'd been slapped.

Bom stumbled back off the porch, her shoes dug deep into the dirt. "Chae!" She threw all her weight against the door breaking it with a loud crack.

Frantically she ran through the house calling Chaerin's name. She darted through the center of the house ignoring all else. Even as she came to the stairs a horrible sinking feeling overcame her.

Please don't let me be too late.

The key fit in the lock perfectly. Just one turn would-.

A sound like a tree branch breaking shook the entirety of the house. Chaerin was suddenly jolted back to consciousness. What happened? She'd been standing at the top of the stairs and now she was at the end of the hallway. "Turn it!" The voice roared at her.

"Don't!" Bom yelled, but it was already done. She looked back at her friend as the door swung open drowning them both in a blinding light.

Their eyes connected, both full of shock, and then Bom's moved past to the figure behind Chaerin, a man shrouded in shadow, smiling at her, before he drug Chaerin away and the door slammed shut leaving only an echo of a scream.