The Book of Plot Twists

The Beginning of the End

"You check around the living room, I'm going to look upstairs," Tanya said as she turned on her flashlight.

Emily grabbed the girl's arm. "Are you crazy? I'm not staying down here alone!" She protested. She may have agreed to come here with Tanya, but she never agreed to separating. That was the number one way to get herself killed.

"This whole experience will go by a lot quicker if you do. We can cover more ground in less time," Tanya argued. She had a point, but Emmy still wasn't sold on the idea. There was something about the way the floor boards creaked beneath her feat that made her feel severely uncomfortable.

"I'm not doing it," she stated.

Tanya sighed and sat down on the third step of the dull gray stairs beside them. "Look, nothing bad ever happens on the main floor. It's always the basement or the attic that's haunted, Emily. There's at least three windows and two doors you can escape from. Why do you think I put you here in the first place?"

Emily hated to admit it, but she actually was starting to agree with her friend. Looking around the dark room she could immediately spot the windows Tanya was talking about-they were the only source of light. The front door and the door to the back patio were only about forty-feet apart, so she could easily make it out either one of them. But that was also mean that Tanya was alone. Though she was a good fighter and a brave soul, there was no way in hell that Emily would leave her by herself.

Out of nowhere, a small flame of bravery ignited in Emmy. There was a reason why they were in this house in the first place and they had a mission to complete. If that meant that she had to take one floor while her partner took the other, then that was what would have to happen.

"Alright," she caved, "I got it down here. You head upstairs."

Tanya beamed, proud of Emily's decision. Then she hurried up the stairs to find exactly what it was they were looking for.

Emily started with the old dusty bookshelf that was opposite of the stairs. She read the spine of every book and closely inspected every knickknack and every trophy placed on the shelves. They were all old titles, old figurines, and old trophies for sports that she only ever read about in textbooks. It was slightly creepy, but still nothing out of the ordinary.

She made her way over to the kitchen by the back door. All the food cans in the pantry were way past their expiration date and the counters looked like they were about to crumble to the ground. There was a horrible smell radiating from the refrigerator, but other than that the kitchen held nothing important. She decided to investigate the smell.

Slowly, Emily opened the door to the fridge, slightly afraid of what she might find. It couldn't have been any worse than the impending feeling of doom lurking behind her. Finally, all that was between her and the worse thing to ever hit her nose was the skin of her eyelids that she hadn't realized she closed. It took some convincing, but she finally managed to open them and look at what was causing this place to smell like a mixture of death and year-old vomit.

"Oh my god," she whispered to herself as she tried not to gag. What was in the old food keeper was something she wouldn't have ever imagined seeing again. "Tanya!" She called as loud and panicky as she possibly could.

Tanya came rushing down the stairs, expecting to find her best friend laying in a pool of her own blood. By the sound of her voice, it sounded like Emily was in extreme danger. Tanya mentally cursed herself for forcing Em to stay down there alone.

"Emily! Are you okay?" She screamed, bile rising in her throat as she got closer to the kitchen. "What is that smell?"

"I'm in here!" Emily responded. Tanya ran into the room just seconds late. She quickly had to cover her nose and mouth to keep from throwing up.