Drapetomania | Shadowhunters [Jace Wayland]

09; Mistake

It was a freezing cold morning. Tris had given up on her search for her brother long, long ago. She remembered sinking down against the wall, burying her face in her hands, just thinking about her brother, whether she would ever be able to see him again. She looked up at the buildings that formed New York's skyline and clutched her jacket tighter around herself. It didn't help since it was a thinner material, the breeze easily making its way through the tiniest gaps in between the sewn cloth she used to cover herself.  

She took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air that would only be accessible this early in the morning. She hadn't carried a watch around her wrist and her phone was still in the Institute, so she couldn't check the time. But she knew that the sun still hadn't risen. It was probably 2 or 3 in the morning. She exhaled loudly, almost seeing a puff of air release from her mouth. Her own breath, she realized.

Tris reached an abandoned house. She looked around, turning her head to the side, before turning her entire body, taking a full turn just to see if anyone was there. She looked up at the old villa. It was supposedly a white house, but Tris guessed that over the years, the colour faded, or pollution could've ruined it. It was a regular villa, a garage attached to the rectangular house. Beside the garage, there was a small porch with a roof and three steps leading to a singular door that was a dark wood, but the door handle was rusted. The second floor was decorated just with windows and a pretty standard framing work around the windows. There was moss covering majority of the house, which made it feel like the trees were groing over it, but they weren't. Of course they weren't. There was just moss, except over the roof, which was slanted and probably made of sheet metal.

She climbed up the porch steps, the wood squeaking beneath her. She opened the door and lowered her head at the loud creaking of the wooden door. She sighed as she stepped in the house, taking in the surroundings of the empty home. There was a staircase at the far end, towards the right. Beneath the staircase was a door, going to the basement. Tris decided not to walk in there. Next to the staircase was a passage way that might've led to the kitchen and to her left was one door, which she guessed was the bathroom. In front of her, there was a fireplace, staring at her. But there was something wrong about it. It was slightly uneven, making her move towards it.

Once Tris reached it, she ran a hand through the mantel, collecting dust on her fingers. She traced her hand downward to the head of the fireplace. That was where it was uneven. She pushed at it and it opened, like any other door. It led to a staircase that went downward. She debated whether she should go or not. She didn't want to be the one person in horror movies who walk down the basement and encounter spirits. She did go down anyway.

With each creak beneath her, her heart raced faster and faster, beating out of her chest. She had been taking shallow breaths and swallowing hard. She kept on looking at the narrow stone walls before she stopped at a door. She pushed at it a little and the door creaked, and opened a little. She opened it all the way and walked in the room. She tilted her head in confusion.