Towards the Light
Towards the Light
“Little Hayden…?” I whispered.
I knew that I wasn’t supposed to be here, and my fear was quickly taking over me. I didn’t know what I
feared more, not being able to find Little Hayden or getting caught that we were in here. It was so dark
in the hallway and the sun had probably set. Unlike the first part of my journey in here, I had stopped
running and was now proceeding down the dark hallway at a slow walk on my very shaky legs.
Where did Little Hayden go?
The hallway seemed much longer than I had initially imagined. Just how far does this hallway lead? At
first there was nothing but empty walls with lamps fixed at even intervals along the wall. However, since
none of them were switched on, they were useless and did not provide any light to light the way. I
couldn’t see very far in front of me, and Little Hayden was no where in sight.
“Little Hayden! Where are you? Come back to me now…” I shouted in a whisper.
Shouting wasn’t an option because people might find out that I’m in here. I wondered if Little Hayden
could hear me because I surely couldn’t hear him. The hallway was completely silent and apart from
my rapidly pounding heart, I couldn’t hear anything. Although I strained my ears, I couldn’t hear the
familiar sound of Little Hayden’s soft panting.
Just how far did he run off to?
The more I walked forward, the darker it got. I had no idea how far I walked but I presumed that it
wasn’t as far as I had thought. It just felt like I’ve walked in so far because I was scared. The
atmosphere was silent, desolate, and dark. If someone told me that this place is haunted, I would
believe them without a second thought. A shiver ran through my body, and I stroked my arms up and
down with my hand to get rid of the cold.
Goosebumps formed on my skin, but I decided to continue pressing forward. I called in a hush voice to
Little Hayden but there was no response. Unfortunately, I couldn’t feel the dog’s presence close to me
at all. After walking further, I must have reached the start of what must be Harvey’s wing of the
mansion. It was equally as dark as the hallway that led me there. The only thing that made me feel like
I had arrived was the fact that there were now doors on either side of the walkway.
The doors were closed, and I could just about make out their shape. Since the doors were closed, I
figured that Little Hayden must have continued running forward along the hallway. I continued along on
shaky legs while I wondered how long this hallway was and where it led.
“Little Hayden! Where are you?!” I shouted in a hushed whisper.
Suddenly, just like a miracle, I spotted a ray of light in the distance. It felt like I had literally just seen the
light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel. Is Little Hayden there? He must be.
As if the light gave me courage, I started walking faster and faster towards it. I passed along many
closed doors as I got closer and closer to the ray of light. It was like having a target gave me strength
and I found myself heading towards the light without any hesitation. It didn’t take very long for me to
arrive where the ray of light shone onto the floor in the hallway.
When I arrived, I quickly realized that the light came from an ajar door. The door was opened just wide
enough for a dog of Little Hayden’s size to slip in. I knew without a doubt that Little Hayden had entered
this door and was somewhere in the room beyond. I reached for the door but when my hand touched
tis surface, my body froze as questions entered my mind.
How can the light be on? Why is…the light on?
More precisely, who turned the light on? Someone…human is here. Little Hayden could never turn the
light on. Did Little Hayden come in here because he knew that someone was in here?
I stood there in front of the door as my mind raced through many questions that didn’t have any
answers. My head felt like it was going to burst and so did my heart. I felt like I was about to discover
something that I wasn’t supposed to know, and I wasn’t quite ready to take on another shock. My mind
conjured up a memory of a recent day in the past where I had walked past this hallway and thought
that I saw Hayden walking into the hallway that led to Harvey’s wing of the mansion.
Is…Hayden here? Why is he here?
After taking in a deep breath to steel my nerves, I slowly applied pressure to the door through my hand
and began pushing the door open. I had no idea what to expect beyond the door, but I just prayed that
Little Hayden was there and that he was safe. Maybe the room is empty, and I can just grab the dog
and get my ass out of here before someone finds us.
The room was silent, and I couldn’t hear any sound coming from the inside. Thankfully, the door didn’t
creak when I began pushing it open. Inch by inch, the door opened, and more light flooded into the
hallway. When the door was open wide enough, I counted silently inside of my head.
3…2…1!
I stuck my head in through the opened door and peeked into the room. I wasn’t sure what to expect but
the clean and luxuriously decorated room wasn’t quite what I had in mind. The room must be very large
because from the angle that I had shoved my head in, I couldn’t see much apart from the wall on the
opposite side. I had no idea how large the room was. If there was someone inside, that person had not
yet realized that I had started peeking into the room. Belongs © to NôvelDrama.Org.
--To be continued…