It was the night of Halloween when Mark and I was assigned to investigate a mansion located in the middle of the wood. The drive was slow. All that was visible was the trees and the road ahead of us. No sign of the mansion as of yet.

"You think we're close yet," I asked, looking at Mark as he was focus on the road.

"We should be," he said, slightly turning his head towards me before turning back to the road. "What does the file says?"

With the manila folder on hand, I opened it and briefed him of our objective. "Says here, Squad A went to investigate a scientist that was conducting suspicious activity. They were to report back to HQ after the make contact with the suspect but that was weeks ago. No word from them after they confirm they arrived at the location."

"How many people?"

"Ten people all in total. Six people from Squad A, the scientist, his wife and two children." Seeing how it mentioned kids in the file have me feeling unsettled. How can a man bring his wife and kids into dangerous environment.

"Mission is to find Squad A," Mark stated. "I know you're worried about those kids. Don't worry, we'll find them, too."

"Ok...."

"Hey look, we're here." Looking ahead, I could see the house as we drove closer. It matched the picture in the file but more run down. Looks like no one lived here for a while.

"I wonder what happen?"

"I don't know but we're here to find out," Mark said as he parked the car. Setting the file aside, we proceeded to exit the car and headed to the trunk. As we were gearing up, I took a look at the surrounding. There was a light breezes blowing and crickets were chirping. You can hear an owl hooting here and there. One object I found across the yard was a swing set. One swing was swinging and the other one was broken on the ground. Looking away from it and towards the house, it was pitched dark. While looking, I noticed the front window was broken. It was probably caused by Squad A.

"You ready?"

Bringing me back from my thought, I turned to Mark. "Yeah." Adjusting the straps of my vest, we were ready to go in. A flashlight in one hand and a handgun in the other, we slowly approach the door which was slightly open. Looking at Mark and both of us giving a nod, I slowly push the door wide open while pointing both my flashlight and gun in. Moving the light from left to right, I proceeded to walk in as Mark followed right behind me.

"What a mess," I said as we made our way in. Everything seems misplaced and there were dust everywhere. In one area, there was a bookshelf that was knocked over and books scattered all over the floor.

"Look deserted for years," Mark said as we made half way through the room. Suddenly, the door behind us closed shut and the light revealing the whole room. "What the heck!" Running towards the door, we found it locked and wouldn't budge no matter how much we slammed our body on to it. "Damn, the window!"

"Right!" Quickly running towards it, I had to jump back as soon as metal bars came flying down from the ceiling and blocking our exit. "What is going on?"

"I don't know but it looks like someone doesn’t want us to leave," Mark said. "Let's try to find a way out."

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