The Breakthrough

Part 2

With his handkerchief, Ridley wiped down his forehead. Ridley wasn't injured at all. He had drawn his gruesome wound with charcoal. Similarly, Ridley faintly rubbed charcoal on his face to create bruising. For blood, he stopped by a local butcher's shop. The difference between real and fake was indistinguishable in the nighttime.

Ridley shoved the dirtied rag into his pocket and strode further into the house without much care. The house was pitch dark, and he couldn't see anything, let alone hidden treasure. There was a candle in his backpack that Ridley quickly lit. The dull yellow light did little to illuminate the house, but he used the flame to light up the gas lamps in the foyer.

He already knew the house would be empty for some time, which made him complacent. Ridley didn't muffle his steps, practically stomping further into the house. While in the kitchen, he made a complete racket riffling through pots and pans. In the living room, he pushed the furniture out of place, creating screeching sounds. Throughout the house, he tore paintings from the walls to look for secret compartments.

The result was finding nothing. Though Ridley checked every room twice, there was nothing of real value. He even searched for a secret room or compartment. There was nothing. While contemplating this, he returned to the living room. Illicit dealings had been taking place in the house for weeks, and his informant told him that something was left: something of great value.

He began tapping his foot as he thought. As he did so, his eyes stayed on his foot. Slowly, his foot began to tap at an increasingly fast pace. His eyes drifted upward. His foot immediately stopped. The only thing he hadn't checked yet were the ceilings.

With this thought, he went to a storage room and grabbed a wooden broom. Holding the broom, he wandered the house while tapping the ceiling. Eventually, a part of the ceiling shifted. His heartbeat sped up in excitement. With renewed vigor, he used his full strength to jam the broom into the ceiling. The trap door cracked open, but it immediately slammed back downwards. He needed to be taller. With difficulty, he pushed a coffee table underneath the trapdoor for extra leverage.

After trying again, he was able to open the trapdoor successfully. Using the table as leverage, he managed to grip the opening in the ceiling. The ceiling crumbled a little in his hands, and he worried it might collapse under his weight. However, he sneered at himself for being cowardly. Swinging his legs haphazardly, he pulled himself through the ceiling.

Ridley found himself in a dark, narrow hallway. He thought he could hear vermins crawling around on the floor, causing his skin to tingle with apprehension. Without vision, Ridley felt around the small hallway to direct himself. When he reached his hand to the wall, something pricked his fingers. Screaming, Ridley jumped back, almost falling straight through the open trap door. After calming down, he realized it was just a rope. Furrowing his brows, he kicked the rope through the opening, watching the rope fall to the mess of tables and chairs below him.

"How stupid," He murmured, embarrassed. Shaking his head clear, he reached for the wall again to go further through the hallway. He walked forwards hesitantly. Every step made the floorboards creak and moan. The creepy sounds echoed in his ears constantly, and his heart beat faster and faster.

The hallway led to a spiral staircase. When Ridley's right foot jammed into the first step, Ridley almost cried out from fear. However, he quickly realized it was a staircase, and the excitement made him forget the tension. The higher he went, the closer he felt he was to his goal. The stairs ended with a closed door. Trembling with anticipation, he gripped the handle and turned it in. The door swung open, and gentle moonlight flooded his eyes.