Okay, time to recap. I and my friends, Jack and Peter, were playing around an old, abandoned mansion. We were told that no one was allowed to enter. However, curiosity overcame us and we picked the lock, granting us entrance into the sacred lair of the unknown.

At the sight of the skeletons, the three of us were completely stunned. Our jaw hung wide open for a few minutes before we came back to our senses. My sixth sense told me that something was about to go wrong, so I urged the other two to back out of the mansion.

“Don’t be such a chicken,” said Jack, with a shaky voice.

“Aren’t you scared too?” I challenged him.

“Yes, but we might never get the chance to explore here again if we leave now.”

“…All right, but we leave as soon as the first sign of danger shows.”

We ventured deeper into the mansion. The design looked like some sort of torture room, or a prison. Even though I was afraid, I was eager to discover more. Throughout the lair, we did not lose sight of skeletons or spider webs. These were at every corner, at every turn. The occasional howls from a distance made the hair on our backs stand up straight. We finally arrived at a long hallway. Jack picked up a piece of wood and lighted it up with his lighter. The flame seared at first, but after it simmered down, I was able to see the walls clearly. There were ancient writings, the kind we usually see in an Egyptian grave robber movie. As the expert in history, Jack tried his best to decipher the carvings. Meanwhile, Peter leaned towards the wall to catch his breath. At that very moment, a cold chill went down my spine.

“Watch out!” I shouted.

Before he could react, that portion of the wall he was leaning against flipped, trapping him on the other side. All he could let out was a loud shriek and he vanished behind the walls. I pounded against the wall, shouting his name. Only then did I know what real terror felt like. However, the chance of rescuing him was bleak. I sank to the ground, desolated and hopeless.

“Let’s get out of here, we have to inform the adults!” suggested Jack.

I got to my feet swiftly and both of us sped through the building. My heart was racing. I knew that danger may be waiting at the next corner. I could hear blood pounding in my ears. Wait, was that a creak I heard? “Uh-oh,” I thought to myself. The ceiling began to crumble. My sub-consciousness took over. I sprang forward and tackled Jack. Both of us fell to the ground. Just as I thought that trouble was out of the way, the burning piece of wood slipped out of his hand and landed in a pile of grease. Fire started spreading like mad. I struggled to get up.

“Come on, there’s not much time left!” I screamed as I turned towards the exit.

“Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

In a split second, my head turned 180 degrees. A gigantic marble pillar fell on Jack. I

mustered all the strength from every single cell in my body, trying to lift it up, to no avail. My eyes were watery. I was completely out of ideas.

“Save yourself, leave me, please,” muttered Jack, with a weak tone.

This was certainly a tough decision for me. All the moments we had spent together flashed through my mind. How could I leave him now? As the fire was close to sealing my only exit, I knew that I had to be rational. I dived for my escape route.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as the mansion erupted into flames behind me.

Tonight was a cold and stormy night. The doors slammed shut as the rustling sound of the leaves could be heared. The storm had been like this for the past three days. I sat on my bed thinking if I had upset the Gods above in heaven. As I lay my head down soft and gently on my comfy pillow, I wondered if mom and

dad were ok. They had gone for a vacation to the bahamas and I had to stay back because of my exams. I wasn't worried about it as I've stayed alone many times. Suddenly, the lights went out. My heart raced in agony as the storm got worse. I could see lightning lashing onto my gate and the roaring sound of thunder that came along. I pulled myself together and realised I needed to light some candles. So I headed downstairs with my trusty torchlight and worked my way to the storage room. I found the candles and begun to light them all over the house. I couldn't stand the fact that the darkness was playing games with my mind. An hour had passed till I realised something wasn't right. I felt as if something else besides me was in the house. I panicked. My mind filled with fear but I had to be sure I was right. So, I searched all the rooms on the same floor and found nothing. So I carefully walked down staircase. As I was walking, I realised all the candles that I had lit were put out. I was surprised but aware that there could be someone else in the house. My mind pondered as to how i was going to sneak around without alerting the possibly dangerous stranger. Then, it happened. As I hid behind one of the room's doors. I saw someone walk by me. He was a huge muscular guy who wore a beard and had hair that was so curly a fly could get stuck if it went through it. I was puzzled. Why would someone want to break into my house, I asked myself. I noticed the man had a huge revolver on his belt. The same one the cops used. I didn't want to stick around and aak questions. I had to call the cops. So I crept towards the phone and thank God it was still working. I made a distressed call and the cops said they would be at my house in five minutes. As I crept back upstairs, I accidently knocked over a small lamp and it broke. By this time I knew the stranger had been alerted. I was scared and feared for my life. My fears turned into my worst nightmare as I heard a loud noise. I was shot in the chest. I could feel blood oozing all over my shirt. The stranger walked towards me while mumbling words I just couln't understand. I thought I was a dead man. Then a miracle happened just as the stranger was about to finish me off. I heard a second gunshot and the stranger was down. It was the cops who had arrived. I was rushed to the hospital and the doctors commenced emergency surgery on me to remove the bullet. I was then transferred to the Intensive Care Unit(ICU) as the bullet had hit my lungs and I was unable to breathe properly. My parents rushed back as soon as they got the news. I was lucky to be alive. The doctor had explained that if the bullet had hit me a bit more to the left , it would have hit my heart and I would be dead. Nobody knew who the stranger was or what he wanted. If only I had been more careful, that wouldn't have happened.