On a String

Chapter 16

And then Clarissa could rest peacefully once again.

As if sighing in agreement, the house creaked slightly around him and he smiled (lips twisting) distantly while walking through the kitchen doorway.

Then he was drawn back into the moment and froze.

Creaked.

"Did you hear that?" he asked Cole, voice suddenly ragged and soft as he barely dared to breathe, almost scared of the consequences which would occur if he did so. Next to him, Cole paused, and even in the darkness (that kept breathing in the chilliest of ways), Kai could make out the confusion on his face.

"Hear what?" Cole asked, looking around in obvious incomprehension.

Outside, the moonlit wind softly blew around the house, causing the shadowy trees in the backyard to sway and moan gently. But inside the house was silent.

"Listen," Kai instructed in the same hushed tone, instinctively pressing himself closer to the wall, trying to hide in darkness from darkness. Standing next to him in the shadowy light, Cole followed Kai's command and breathed as lightly as he possibly could while straining to hear what had made Kai so tense.

The house was still unnaturally silent (as if holding its breath), and despite all evidence pointing to them being alone, Cole sensed Kai stiffen further.

The wind outside died down, causing the shadows cast through the windows from the trees outside to suddenly become motionless on the walls- as if etched into the cream wallpaper with dark ink. Slowly, Cole turned to scan the living room and glance through the kitchen doorway. There was no visible movement in either room. He looked back and checked again; all of his senses pushed to their limits, but still, he found nothing.

"Kai, there's nothing here," he breathed. No verbal response was given, but Cole heard the muffled, panicked whoosh of Kai's breath and knew that he wasn't convinced. Heart beginning to beat quicker in anticipation, Cole took another step forward, but froze as one of the shadows on the wall began to move.

One shadow.

There was a click, and Cole suddenly realised that coming here had been a very bad idea indeed.

By the time Cole had registered the moving shadow, Kai had already sprang into action. His hand flew to the pistol on his belt, and Cole just had time to instinctively duck down while his team mate flicked the safety off and, without hesitation, let loose a barrage of bullets into the shadowy living room.

Glass smashed; broken shards glinting in the mottled silver light as metal tore at all angles through couches, tables, curtains and windows. It wasn't until his firearm was empty that Kai stopped shooting.

The ringing sounds of bullets and broken glass died away and there was silence once again. But this time, Cole could feel the edginess. They weren't alone. Something else was in here too; chasing them through this tomb. The darkness felt crowded.

But how had they missed this person's presence before when they'd been looking through the rooms?

(If it even was a person.)

Cole wasn't one to believe in the supernatural, but that thought made him shudder. Just what were they chasing?

Just what was hunting them?

Cole reached for his torch (why hadn't he thought of that before?) and flipped the switch, illuminating the small room. Every wall was ridden with random bullet holes from Kai's impulsive action (but that was odd because Kai was never impulsive now) and a low whistling sound was audible as the outside wind leaked in through the cracked windows.