The shelter

A homeless man approaches a small abandoned cottage in the countryside, illuminated by the moonlight with a carpet of stars draped above a frosty world. The cottage sits in partial ruin with boarded up windows, and a sunken roof with many a tile missing. Slowly he approaches the discoloured front door with caution and presses it gently, whereupon a loud ‘creeeek’ pierces through the silent night and a patch of discoloured wall exposes itself. He presses further until a narrow dark hallway opens up in front of him, and a slight gust of cold air presses itself against his face for a brief moment. He pauses, looking down the hallway and thinks to himself ”I hope this place provides the safety and comfort I need to survive the winter, as these rags will not protect me alone outside in the forest. Maybe there is a fireplace in here? For as long as I can finally have safety after months of being on the streets, that is all that matters“.

Slowly with a touch of caution he takes his first step inside, followed by a gentle second step as he begins examining offshoots to other rooms, but as he does so a chilly sensation slowly makes its way down his spine. He turns back, but no one is there ”It must just be the cold" he mutters aloud to himself now partially closing the door. Stepping further into the hallway he turns right into a small empty room illuminated by the moonlight and which is void of anything, save for the wooden floorboards and the mold emanating down from the ceiling of each wall. He takes note of the room and continues further down until he enters what appears to be a kitchen, with a single sink intact and broken light bulb glass on the floor.

“That sink will be of much use if it still works” He murmurs to himself as he steps in and approaches it without much thought, but upon standing over it he senses a slight pressure around his neck, followed by a difficulty breathing and a force pressing his head down into the sink. Quickly backing off from the sink and into the hallway, he takes a moment to himself as his heart pounds against his chest like a bass drum at a concert.”I think it’s best to avoid that sink at night, as that was just strange what just happened, but still I think this place is alright so far. Still better being at the mercy of strangers at night“. He enters into a room at the end of the hall, filled with darkness save for a stray ray of light from outside the window. Inside there is a wooden bed frame devoid of any comforting mattress, and above hanging by the light, there is a single rope dangling downwards onto the floor. On the walls one can just make out faded pictures and paintings of skeletons in various poses. He thinks to himself ”This room looks weird with those pictures, but that bed looks very good for what I want if I can fill it with soft stuff or find a mattress“. However the comforting thought is broken by a soft chilling voice coming from beside him ”Yeeeeeees, yoooou will sleeeep well tonight“.

Feeling scared as a freezing sensation runs through his body, he throws himself round and begins looking all around him for the perpetrator of the voice, but no evidence presents itself to him. Once more backing off into the hallway he opens another door revealing a cupboard with a single dusty rucksack. Curious he opens the back and rummages around, at first pulling out empty packets, a chocolate bar, and a note which read as follows ‘downstairs box combo 3492’.

Reading the note he thinks to himself ”I wonder what is in the box downstairs, assuming this place has such a thing“.

Slowly making his way round the house inspecting each room for hatches or doors leading down, until finally the room opposite the empty room reveals a single discoloured door. He tries to open it softly, but the handle does not budge. It is only when he presses down with a great deal of strength does the handle move down, and slowly he pries the door open with all his might. Looking below he sees a scantly lit staircase, with the only light coming from stray beams piercing through imperfections in the walls and floorboards. The darkness is like a great abyss in which anything could be lurking, and l seems almost impenetrable by all means. Yet he thinks to himself ”It looks dark down there and I feel a chill emanating from the stairwell. I don’t think sleeping down there will be any good during the night, but I still wonder what is in that safe if it even still exists“. Slowly one foot is put forward and falls onto the first step letting out a loud creeeek, followed by a second foot. Slowly, but surely he creeps his way down into the basement where he steps foot onto solid round, and begins looking around for the safe among the stray beams of light for any tell tale sign of what may be a box shaped object. A few steps forward and he falls over something, landing face first onto the ground letting out a loud grunt.

Looking at where he fell over he tried to figure out what it was ”What was that I fell over. I see round and thin things, let’s go over and feel around for what it was“. Feeling around revealed bone shaped objects, until has hands reached a ball shaped object, which when felt below felt like a jaw with many rough and jagged surfaces. ”Is this a skeleton?" Peering around the room revealed another such object scantly visible in the light, not too far away. He hauls himself up ”Maybe I better get out of here, it’s not safe down here. If there are skeletons down here who knows what person with dark intent may stay here“. To the corner of his eye he glimpses an apparition which when he locks eyes with, sends a great sense of fear and horror through him. Without hesitation makes a run for the staircase, climbing it in what seemed to be seconds as his heart rapidly slams into his chest and adrenaline coursing through his body. Reaching the door he pulls the handle down with all his might and tries to force the door open with as much strength as he could muster, but it would not open. Taking a look behind him, he sees the apparition at the bottom of the stairs smiling menacingly up at him in the darkness, as fear takes hold within him, the horror begins its ascent.

Thank you very much for reading my first story on Inkitt, I hope you enjoyed reading it and stick around for more. I may only write one of these on rare occasions as I prefer softer and cosier writings, but this one came to mind and I thought why not just write it for fun.