Pryor's Hill (solo)

[Dracosius]

THUD...THUD... THUD…

ZJ looked at his brother, his face pale in the moonlight, “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah… we should probably check it out. Let’s split up and find out who else is here.”
Though ZJ was only a few minutes older than his brother, sometimes he felt like the difference was in years. While the thought of splitting up in an unknown area didn’t precisely scare him, he wasn’t certain that it was a good idea. However, AJ was already well on his way elsewhere and he didn’t want to seem afraid of being by himself in an abandoned house.

AJ had gone outside, so ZJ stayed in the house. As he walked around a corner into the main hallway, he thought he saw something flit around the corner at the far end. A whisper in his ear caused him to turn, but nothing was there. He walked on, but could not deny the feeling of the hairs rising on the back of his neck.

Outside, AJ slowly walked around the outside of the house. The mysterious thudding had faded out, but there was no reason for the source to have just disappeared. As he patrolled around the building, he noticed a set of large footprints. Footprints that hadn’t been there before. Puzzled, AJ called out in a quivering voice.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Silence greeted the teenager. He followed the footprints. An odd furrow ran alongside them, unbroken, as though something was being dragged on the ground. The footsteps led toward the backside of the house. Then, as suddenly as they began, they stopped. They didn’t lead anywhere.

THUD… THUD.... THUD…

AJ looked around. The sound was louder this time, but he could still see no source for the noise.

“Run! Flee for your life, foolish child!”

The voice was soft and wispy, barely loud enough to be heard and distinctly female. Inside, ZJ heard the urging to run as well. He hurried outside, nearly running into his brother.

“Was that you?”

“No! I thought it was you!”

“Well, if it wasn’t you and it wasn’t me, then who was it!?”