Chapter 4: A Fearful Encounter

When I stepped inside, the floorboards creaked, and I froze, staring at my shadow in the moonlight. Tim and John looked back at me, and John put his finger on his mouth, motioning for me to be quiet. I frowned at him. After all, how could I know the board would make a sound?

Moments later, my gaze fell upon the pitch-black hallway that ran right next to the staircase. John, who was leading the way, turned on his flashlight and decided to go up the stairs. Like slugs, we made our way up the steps, picking and choosing which boards to step on as if we knew which ones didn't make sounds.

I don't know when, but at some point, we all bent our backs and crouched as we climbed the steps, hugging the wall. Not a sound was made. Somehow we managed to evade every squeaky board, but our good fortune didn't last long.

Tim stepped on a board, and we heard a "Crack!" then he hollered, "Help!" John spun around with his flashlight. I could see Tim's head protruding from a hole in the stairway, with his hand holding onto another step. Both of us froze staring at Tim, but then at the same moment, we rushed to his aid.

"Quick, grab his other hand," John exclaimed. I grabbed Tim's hand while John held the other, and we pulled him out. It was exhausting, and for a moment, we remained on the stairway, trying to catch our breath.

Then, I decided to use the situation to persuade them, "Let's just leave this place." I suggested in a soft tone. However, Tim protested, saying he wanted to find at least one bit of evidence that someone actually lived here.

I looked at John, who said, "Alright, let's go and check the rooms upstairs." I sighed and followed them, making sure to skip the missing floorboard on the staircase.

As we approached the top floor, I couldn't help but notice that John was no longer listening to me. Ever since Tim appeared in our lives, he's been pushing me away, but I didn't mind since summer would be over soon, and Tim would have to leave.

Once we reached the top floor, the windows on the left wall lacked curtains, which allowed the moonlight to flood in, illuminating the short corridor. As we remained there in a crouched position, a sudden strong breeze blew over the place with a vicious howl, and the house rocked from side to side. Everything that could creak in there creaked.

My heart started pounding and cold sweats overtook me. I looked around at Tim, who was next to me. I didn't have to ask. His ghastly face said it all: he was dead scared but curiosity guided that boy.

He gestured to the door in front of us, then looked around at John, who looked dumbfounded. He raised his shoulders, shook his head, then mumbled something. Anyone could tell he was drowning in fright, so Tim got up from the crouched position and approached the white door.

John and I looked at each other, then we decided to follow him. He turned the knob as quietly as possible and opened the door. It made a deafening creak as it opened, like when a door needs oil. Afterwards we entered a dimly lit room cluttered with items. Once inside, John closed the door, locking us in.

There was an aged dresser in the corner of the room with a lit candle on it. Cardboard boxes packed with clothes lined the side wall, and there was an old mattress on the floor. As I surveyed the place, I noticed a hunting rifle perched on the wall, which made me wonder if the person living here hunted animals, but I didn't dwell on the thought.

As I stood by the door, trying to ignore the smell of old socks and unwashed clothes, Tim and John started looking around the place. I grew concerned because we were here for far too long, and there was a high possibility the sleepwalker might catch us, so I started to murmur, "Come on, guys, isn't this enough to determine that someone lives here?" John looked around at me as he checked a drawer, "Let's go now before it's too late." I demanded.

"Just a little longer, Lucy, we're looking for something," John's reply only increased my anxiety, as I started to imagine what would happen if we were caught. Then, as if it wasn't too coincidental, I heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Clomp, Clomp, Clomp." We all froze and looked at each other, "Clomp, Clomp, Clomp." Then it stopped for a brief moment. I could only assume the sleepwalker had noticed the hole Tim created, then the footsteps continued.

John and Tim rushed to the side of the door where I was. Finally, the person had reached the top floor and now stood in front of the door. Their shadow could be seen from the space beneath the door. I swallowed my spit, and my heart beats intensified rapidly, then I looked behind me and saw John standing erect with a square board in his hand. His eyes glanced at me, and he filled me in.

"When I hit him, we'll all dash outside the room." He was dreaming if he thought I was gonna wait for him to hit the sleepwalker. Then the knob on the door turned and it opened slowly, but I couldn't wait, so I yanked the door open and dashed outside in full speed, not taking a moment to look at who it was.

As I trampled down the stairs, I managed to hear a loud, "bonk!" which I assumed was John hitting the man with the board, but I couldn't be bothered to look back. I galloped down the stairs and jumped out the back door, negating the use of the steps.

Then I stumbled through the side gate and rushed up the sidewalk until I reached the intersection. Everything happened so fast that when i stopped i started to breath heavily then I decided to look back. But to my surprise, Tim flew by me with a gust of wind and I heard John behind me panting, saying, "Run, Lucy, Run!"

So I continued in the direction of our apartment until I reached the safety of our apartment lobby. I crashed onto the ground and braced myself against the wall, shortly after I saw John stagger inside the lobby, then he collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat.

"Was the Sleepwalker following you?" I asked.

He shook his head from on the ground. That made me a bit less concerned, but I kept my eyes on the door. I kept watching and waiting as my body cooled down. Then After a few minutes, my brother got up, "Alright Lucy, let's get back to the apartment before someone catches us."

So once again we crept up the stairs, and John made sure to check every corner as we went up, and once again, everyone was asleep. When we reached our apartment door, John turned the knob softly and opened it.

The place was pitch black as we crept across the floor. The one sound being made was our fridge, but it didn't bother us since it was normal; however, as we approached the corridor, it suddenly shut off, which startled me for some reason I had never noticed that the fridge turned off periodically.

We continued down the hallway. Our parents' bedroom door was still shut, and my father was snoring heavily, a sign that our operation was a success. So John followed me to my room with the flashlight and told me not to turn on the light. After getting into bed and telling him good night, I fell fast asleep, and I could only assume he did the same.