Five!

The teens darted for the one at the end of the hall. The thought crossed their minds that the end door only heralded another closet, but as Brandon turned the knob, they happily discovered a large, darkened room. Chloe fumbled for a light switch, and she revealed what appeared to be a disused ballroom. A raised, wooden dance floor dominated the room, dotted with cuts and scrapes that dug into the varnish. The curtains on the far wall, faded and thick, blocked the mid-afternoon sun more completely than any solar eclipse. Equally worn chairs with equally faded upholstery lined the area around the dance floor, and matching tables orbited by more chairs lay off to either side.

Chloe stepped inside, absorbing the site with intense curiosity while completely missing the sound of the kitchen door swinging open. Brandon, thankfully, remained alert, and closed the door behind them. Chloe reentered reality for a moment, giving her friend a look of **** gratitude.

"Weird place," he said, acknowledging their surroundings. "What is it?"

"Looks like a ballroom or something," Chloe answered. "It's old though, looks like it hasn't been used in a long time."

"Ballroom? Like in that game, Clue?"

"Well, once upon a time, it was a fad to have a place where people could dance. Parties and stuff."

"I know, I just thought that was for mansions and back then. I don't expect something like this in a farm house."

Chloe strode across the dance floor, her sneakers emitting soft squeaks. "Yeah it's weird... Look, I don't know, but let's see if there's a way out behind the curtains."

Brandon hopped along behind her, but she reached the curtains first and threw them open. A lovely view of the sloping hillside greeted them, cast through a bay window. Chloe played with the frame of a pane, but she found no latch or lock. No exit. Shit, they thought in unison.

"Hey what's this?" Brandon said, reaching for a door on the wall. Chloe had seen it when they entered, along with its five other compatriots around the room.

"It's probably a closet or something, Brandon, and... well, that didn't help last time." She blushed.

"Well it'll give us another place to hide! They have to be searching the house now, it's only a matter of time."

"Don't you think I know that! I wanna get out of here! We're trapped!"

"I know that too! I'm not an idiot!"

"Then quit saying the obvious!"

"You quit that too!"

Chloe opened her mouth to yell again, but closed it. She turned away, disheartened. "Damnit, I'm sorry Bran," she said. "God, this day has been..."

"Weird?" Brandon finished her thought. Chloe flashed him a quick glance and nodded "Look," he started, "I'm really sorry for what happened in the closet. I think that's just made everything really strange."

"N-No, it's... well, honestly Bran, I... was surprised more than anything." Chloe flushed madly. "I didn't think I could do that to a boy."

Brandon blinked. "Uh, what?"

She crossing her arms over her chest. "I... oh man, this is embarrassing."

"I... think we've already past that." Brandon placed an arm around her shoulders, a friendly gesture but Chloe felt her heart flutter momentarily. "What is it Chloe? It's okay if you don't want to tell me, but I don't think we can get past this if you don't talk about it."