Contingency for the Contingency

The babysitter climbed to the top of the stairs and took the opportunity to listen for any signs of Roxanne. Nothing. This house was creepy, without any sound. If it weren’t for the lights, it would be like the quintessential haunted house.

She stuck her head into the dim corridor beyond and looked left and right. Again, nothing. Now she started to wonder whether Roxanne had even come this far up at all. After all, why would that balloon have been positioned where it was?

Aiko stepped into the dim corridor and immediately found her leg caught by something below. She screamed as she tried to get her hands up to break her fall. Aiko fell straight onto her front, the sudden **** knocking the wind out of her.

“Chikusho,” she hissed to herself.

This trend had become all too familiar since she’d arrived. Yet she didn’t hear any contraptions or any sound of Roxanne. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if this was one of those irritating yet harmless pranks.

Aiko lifted herself up. She couldn’t move.

“What’s going on here?”

Aiko attempted to move herself again. She was adhered to the ground. Like with the stairs, she couldn’t gain enough purchase to remove herself from her compromising position.