Hunted - The past that kills [COMPLETE]

14 - Out of Time

The clock had been ticking. By the time Nate's Holden Commodore pulled into the correct street in the now quiet suburb of Belvidere, there was barely ten minutes to spare before the deadline. Finding the address hadn't been easier on Devon's end, so it was barely a surprise when Claremont Boulevard didn't show up on any GPS or phone map. Hayley had thankfully taken one of her dad's maps of Alton Point and its nearby districts with her, so after a fair amount of navigation, they found the right place.

As Nate pulled up across the street from the old house, Clara stared up at the eerie exterior of the building. Truthfully, if the home had been maintained it would've looked quite beautiful. The house itself was an olden day home clearly once built with plenty of love, with two stories, old yet intact fixtures, and what once would've been a grand first impression. It would still remain that way today, if not for the vandalism and murderous details.

The once white garden fence was now chipping, with some of its wooden planks broken and graffiti scrawled across it. The front yard was overgrown and dying, infested by weeds. A couple of the front windows were smashed, and the occasional empty glass bottle was shattered on the front porch. The roof looked like it had a few tiles missing or just damaged and the outer walls were missing large chunks of plaster here and there. The front door hung on its hinges, with a huge 'GET OUT!' scrawled across the front in red spray paint. At least, the teens were all hoping it was paint. However, there was no denying that as they walked across the road and stepped onto the front lawn, a clear metallic scent that could only be blood hit them hard.

Clara pressed a finger to her earpiece for a moment "Devon, are you seeing this? God, I can't believe I was named after this street... I would've felt honoured if not for the damage and the blood" she said.

The earpieces of all three of the teens crackled for a second, then they heard a familiar voice replying. "Yeah, looks pretty horrible. What's the scent like?" Devon asked curiously.

"Ugh, I feel like I'm gonna be sick it's that bad" Hayley groaned, covering her nose. "You can literally smell the metal in it from here, and we aren't even at the door!"

"Just like a classic horror movie then," Nate said in a low voice, with Devon giving a hum of agreement.

Clara slung her bag over her shoulder more securely, her grip tightening on the strap. She was thankful for her fingerless gloves; at least they would prevent her from digging her nails deep into her palms from stress or nervousness. With a deep breath, she flipped the hood of her dark gray hoodie over her head and stared up at the building again.

"Well guys looks like this is it," she said.

Hayley looked up once more and gulped, "I'm not sure about this now. Don't get me wrong, I'm fully supporting you but this place... It's so creepy" she mumbled.

"Oh Jesus, you're pulling out before you even get in there? You know the first one who backs out of these sorts of things is the first one to die in horror movies" Devon said, the other two knowing very well that she was lying but not correcting her, for the sake of keeping Hayley on board with the plan.

Hayley became paler than she already was. She shook her head quickly, "On second thought, everything's better in numbers" she said as she hugged Clara's arm.

"You want to do the honours?" the brunette asked Nate as they approached the front door, the floorboards that made up the porch creaking under their feet.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm good" he stuttered, clearing his throat in an attempt to cover his nerves.

"Oh come on! You're the only guy in our little mystery gang, you need to defend your manly reputation" Devon teased through the earpieces, amused yet disappointed by Nate's sudden cowardliness.