One Step Too Far
“Oh shoot! Mom turn around, I forgot my wallet at the house!”
“Are you kidding me? I told you to be sure you had everything before we left the house.” The car did a complete U-turn and sped back to the house. “You need to hurry up okay? I’m serious!” Exclaimed Jan, Payton’s mom. Jan and Payton were on their way to Payton’s very first prom. Payton had been as nervous as a child before their first day of school. She was forgetting everything that day. If her mom wasn’t there to help her she probably would have forgotten her dress! However, Payton’s biggest concern wasn’t whether she looked perfect or not, it was not making it to the photo shoot on time and making everyone angry with her. So it would be just her luck to forget something this close to picture time.
Payton ran quicker than Usain Bolt into the house looking all around for her wallet, on the kitchen table, on the bathroom counter, in between the couch cushions, but there was no luck. Suddenly, her heart dropped. Just the thought of what she had realized sent a shooting pain all through her body, as if she had just become paralyzed. Had she left her wallet in the basement? Payton was no baby, she went to all of the scariest haunted houses, and always was the first one to want to see the scary movies, but when it came to the basement Payton wanted nothing to do with it. The basement made her feel as if any sense of security she once had vanished into thin air.
Payton’s eyes began to water. She knew if she went outside and asked her mom to come in with her she would get yelled at, but she also knew if she didn’t get down there quick she would be late to the photo shoot. She took a deep breath and began walking to the door. Her mouth went dry, she could taste her breath, she squeezed her eyes shut tight, clenched her fists, and took a deep breath. A tear ran down her face as she opened the door. The basement smelled of abandonment. Her insides collapsed with terror. She stared down the fourteen steps leading to the one and only light at the end of the tunnel… the light switch. “If I just run down the steps and get to the light switch I’ll be fine.” Payton spoke to herself motivationally. She took a long breath and began running down the stairs. About half way down she heard the loudest crack ever, and the small amount of light shining down the hallway vanished. The jolt of nerves that rushed through her body sent her tumbling down the stairs.
Payton sat up, head throbbing, mind spinning she rubbed the walls up and down franticly searching for the light switch. Her hand ran over the bump in the wall and she flipped it up, but nothing happened, she jerked the light switch up and down praying for results, but the light bulb was dead. Payton began screaming, nothing but the worst was running through her head. She flew to the top of the stair case as quick as she could, only to find herself locked in the basement! She began beating the door with her fists as if she were a UFC fighter, but the door wouldn’t budge her knuckles were blood. Her heart sunk and tears began streaming down her face. Payton knew the only other way out of the basement was through the door at the other end of the room which led to the garage. But Payton was frozen she couldn’t move. She began holding her breath hoping she would pass out and wake up when this was all over, but the moment she stopped hearing her own breath, she began hearing someone else’s. Payton clenched her chest with her hand, it was beating so fast and hard that it began hurting her. The breath slowly but surely crept closer and closer to her, a tall black figure with long limbs seemed to appear before her eyes, she watched it ascend from the opposite end of the room towards her, gaining speed as it got closer. As the figure reached out to grab her she let out a blood curdling scream!
“Payton! Payton!” cried Jan. Payton unclenched her hands and opened her eyes, still screaming. She was standing in front of the closed door at the top of the basement. “What are you doing in here? I told you to hurry up! You’ve been in here for like ten minutes!”
“Mom! I was…”
“I don’t want to hear it Payton! Come on lets go were going to be late. Your wallet is on the office desk.” Jan ran back out to the car. Payton was still shaking, she wiped the tears from her eyes, and as she brought her hand down from her face she noticed the blood trickling down from her knuckles.