The Hallway

Chapter 3- The Hallway

July 7, 1992 - 3:00 A.M. - Flashback

I woke up at 3 AM, sharp... again. The moon was shining through my sheer white curtains that were blowing gently. I had left the window open ever so slightly. I feel something, something telling me to go to the basement. So, I do. Ever so slowly I walk out of my room and down the long, creaky stairs.

I reached my living room. The moon briskly came through the windows, creating a light passage on our floral sofas of our home in Kansas. I walk up and come face to face with a door. The door is wooden with a golden knob. I stand there, my hand wrapping around the knob. The door is bolted shut, not once, but 6 times. My fingers struggle to unbolt the door as my hands begin to shake at a rapid speed. My heart is beating out of my chest when the door finally swings open.

I walk down the long corridor leading to my basement. Its dark, there are spider webs draped from the ceiling. Mold, moss, and mildew cover the cold stone floors that my bare feet are stepping along. It is silent. As I continue further down the corridor and to the staircase, I hear something.

"Ring around the rosy.....pocket full of posies..........." My steps slowed as I reached the bottom of the stairs. I try to turn on the light but its out. My parents always told me to NEVER go in the basement. They bolted the door shut when I was only 2. Nobody's been inside since.

"Ashes...................ashes..................we all.......fall.....-"

Suddenly, the light turns on and stuns me. The light is flickering. Cockroaches crawl across the floor. The walls are stone and broken. I see the little dark haired girl in the corner, rocking back and forth, singing and humming. Her legs are bruised and her white dress is crisp.

She lifts her head. Instead of saying "down", the ending to the song, she screams. She comes running at me and I race up the stairs. I try to slam the basement door but she is pushing at the other side. I'm screaming, crying; how could my mom not hear me! I run ahead and look back. The door is wide open, but nobodies there. My breathing slows as I realize...

I'm alone again.

September 18, 1996 - 1:42 P.M. - Present Day

I woke up. I wasn't in the nurses office bed. Instead, I was in a hallway. Laying there, on the cold, rough floor of the hallway. The hallway was dark. The walls were stone. Mold and moss covered them. It was dark. There seemed to be no end. I began to walk down the hall. My footsteps made no sound. I glanced down. I was wearing no shoes. My feet were dirty and my legs were bruised. I was wearing a plain, white dress. It was short sleeved and the ends of the sleeves were ruffled. The dress was clean as day, but my body was dirty.

"Addison," I hear a mans voice call out. I recognize the voice anywhere. It was my dads. I begin running, sprinting down the corridor, but theres no way out. I kept running. I had to do something. But there was no way out. My screams echoed off the walls, my cries were made apparent. I was stopped in my tracks by a man in front of me. My cries became louder as he slapped me multiple times. Why was he doing this to me? I tried to get away, I was screaming louder and louder, trapped in this long, creepy hallway...

Thats when I woke up to a bright light in my eyes and a blonde haired lady in nurses scrubs shaking me gently. "Addison, Addison? Are you alright young lady?" Her blue eyes looked concerned as I slowly sat up. I looked around to realize I was in the school nurses office. "I- I uh..." I took a deep breath. "I must've fallen asleep madame, my apologies." I say kindly and stand up, straightening my dress. "Are you sure you shouldn't stay here? The principal said-" I shook my head and hurriedly walked to the door. "No thank you, I'm feeling fine, I need to get going to class." I quickly went out the door.

When the day was finally over, I was more than relieved to go home. I never wanted to go back to that place...but I had no choice. I reached my house and I took 3 slow steps to the front door. I unlocked it and went inside. Nobody was home. My mom was at her new job and my cat didn't care if I was home or not. I put down the leather bag and walked up the steep, creaky stairs. I was heading up when I slipped, caused me to go tumbling down the stairs. When I reached the bottom, I grabbed my arm. I pulled my hand off to find blood. My legs were all bruised up and my arm had a small cut from the fall. I went back up to the bathroom and cleaned off my arm using water and a clean rag. It stung a little, but it wasn't as bad as it looked.

Our sink was one of those that wasn't attached to any counter space, it was just the sink and it was on the wall. I noticed something coming from the pipe on the wall. I bent down on my hands and knees to see what it was. It was a yellowed, torn piece of papyrus, folded and slipped into the pipe of the sink. I pulled the paper out gently, careful not to rip it anymore than it already was. Still sitting on the floor, I slowly opened the paper. It read,

"Honey, I just wanted to tell you I love you...I hope you find this; I'm trapped in here and I need help. I left the book under the carpet in the bedroom. Please darling, this is the last tim-"

The words after that turned to scribbles. I folded the paper back up. I was a little creeped out, I saw something pass the door in my peripheral vision. I stiffened up and nervously stood and peered down the hallway. Victoria walked by the door, and I then realized I got scared for nothing.

I walked down the hallway. It was dark, for nobody was home except me at the time. I went downstairs to my moms room and looked under the bed, where I located my dads old briefcase. I pulled it out and opened it up, looking behind me. Inside was handkerchiefs, pocket knifes, and a gun. The gun made me shutter and made my heart stop. I began to cry hysterically and I became terrified. I couldn't breathe, so I quickly reached for a pocket knife, took it, and then shut the briefcase and shoved it back under the bed.

I was so freaked out because the gun is the exact gun I saw that night at 3 AM when I went out to the couch. I did my best to calm myself down as I went upstairs to my bedroom. I got down on my hands and knees and felt all over the carpet, trying to feel a bump of any sorts. Suddenly, in the corner of my room, I felt something....odd. I immediately went in with the pocket knife, cutting up a whole piece of the carpet. When I finally got under it, I found an old book. I went to pick it up when I heard the door downstairs unlock.

My mom was home.