Inspect the room some more

(chapter originally by Teraton at writing.com)

It took Melissa a second to register that Thomas wasn't heading for a door.

"What are you doing?" she asked, as Thomas examined one of the paintings, a portrait of a blond young woman in a white dress.

"Looking around," he replied. He only saw it out of the corner of his eye, but he was sure that woman's eyes had been looking straight at him a second ago.

"Shouldn't we be trying to leave?" Melissa asked, her voice a bit more forceful this time.

"Yeah." Thomas tilted the painting, but found nothing but the wall behind it.

"So...?"

Thomas turned and offered Melissa a reassuring smile. "These places are supposed to lead us in circles, right?" Melissa shrugged. "Well, I figure we might want to look around in here before moving on. Maybe we'll find a faster way out?" Thomas turned away a bit at his friends skeptical look. "Y'know, maybe...."

Melissa just sighed. "Alright, but let's make it quick." She started to follow close behind Thomas as he paced around the parlor. Thomas almost suggested they look separately, but he figured Melissa was staying close for a reason. It didn't matter much anyway; after only a few seconds of searching...