Door to the Right: Game Room

"Hello!" Roger calls out to no response. He looks at his wife. "These old places are well built. Probably can't here me through the walls."

They look at the various options. They could hear no sounds in the house over the howling wind outside to give them direction. Having nothing to guide her Becky chooses one at random. She motions toward the right hand door.

"Let's start here." She starts to move when she feels a tug against her jacket. "Quit pawing at me!" She gripes, waving toward her husband in annoyance as she continues on. "Come on."

"Huh?" Roger says. He hadn't touched his wife. Just a bit ago she thought a statue was a real person, the tension of the situation was clearly causing her imagination to start to run wild. He follows Becky to the door.

She turns the large brass knob. The door opens with a slow and low creak.

The spacious room was an ornately decorated Games Room. A large billiard table dominated the center of the room, the scattered ball and cue left atop it made it appear that it had been abandoned mid game. A dart board faced the pair from the far wall. A large open curtained picture window took up most of the right wall and another door was in the far left corner. The walls were lined with old oil paintings of just slightly bizarre looking people and landscapes. the largest of which was a painting of this very property. There was a seating area to the right and a table with a variety of liquor and glasses lined up on it. This immediately grabs Roger's attention.

"Holy shit." He moves toward the table as the door creaks shut behind them as if blown shut by some unfelt breeze. "Look at this Johnnie Walker! The label hasn't looked like this in...years! Ha! This has got to be a collector's item." He picks the mostly full bottle up and begins to inspect it.

Becky couldn't give a shit about old booze bottles. She was far more concerned with the fact that the lights were on and the room just had that feel to it that people had been here just moments before. She feels the light brush of what she swears is a finger across the side of her neck.

"What the...!?" She spins that direction swatting at the air. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Roger says looking up from the bottle.

"Roger...we should go. This isn't right. I don't like this place."

Setting the bottle down he goes to his nervous newlywed bride and takes her in his arms. "Baby. Calm down. It's just a big old mansion on a dark stormy night. Your imagination..."

"I am not imagining!"

"Becky..." He looks her square in the eyes. "...if Great Uncle was as rich as they say he was this inheritance could change our lives forever. I mean look at this place, he must have be loaded! Think about it. We could get a house. Go on vacation like you want. This could change everything baby."

Becky takes a deep breath, her shoulders relax, and she slowly nods. "You're right, of course. It's just a creepy old house." She laughs nervously. "It's just my nerves."

"There ya go." He smiles comfortingly.

Just then a flash of lightning lights up the front yard. Roger could see out the big window over his wife's shoulder and in that instant what he saw shook him to his core. He could have sworn in that split second he saw the little red Honda parked out front...and ONLY the little red Honda parked out front. Where had all of the other vehicles gone? His imagination must be getting carried away as well. He blinks and rubs his eyes but the outside was dark once more. Not wanting to scare Becky he forces himself to keep his calm smile.

He gives her a brief hug then, as casually as possible, he heads toward the window to get a closer look.