I Write In 2016

You Bet Your Life

Dark had settled like death.

Fog slipped in under the garden fence and clung to the overgrown vegetation.

The bricks of the house had crumbled with age and decay had set in for the long haul.

Ebby entered through the front door finding it left ajar. The hinges creaked and sent a chill running like wildfire up her spine. She stood stalk still waiting, her senses straining for any signs of life.

The place seemed hollow, gutted out by so many fires. Abandoned. Haunted.

Then she heard a faint clanking sound... distant and faint.

Her heart stuttered, then sped. Her body refused to move. With effort she managed to pull air into her lungs. She tried to find some semblance of calm.

After a moment or two, she was able to move forward creeping along the well worn hallway carpet. Her footsteps echoed, even as she tried to stay quiet.

The clanking sound rose up again, followed by a shuddering of pipes that seemed to rattle the whole house.

Ebby froze peering into the darkness willing everything to be all right, but she knew she shouldn’t be here. No bet was worth this amount of terror. When she began to shift back along the wall something veiled in death rose above her. She felt the coldness wrap itself around her body, then squeezer.

Her screams cut the night.

Then silence fell.


Word Count = 230

Prompt for 8/21
Write a story that includes the words: brick, pipe, garden

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