“You wanna get out of here?” Jack asked, almost sounding angry. “We have to go back upstairs and find the main staircase.”

After speaking, Jack stared at Alex, and his heart tugged when he saw the fear in her eyes. He knew she was trying to rationalise the events that were happening, but how could she rationalise blood dripping down walls and ghostly wailing.

“Come on Jones,” Jack grunted as he tugged her up the stairs.

While they were going up the stairs, Jack began jogging. He wanted to get out of the narrow space as quickly as possible, and Alex kept up with him, never letting go of his hand. When they reached the top of the stairs, they burst out into the passage and were once again confronted with the mysterious red liquid dripping down the walls. Jack did not stop to investigate, he just gripped Alex’s hand tightly and pulled her down the passage with his flashlight bouncing around as he ran.

As they hurried down the passage, galloping past numerous rooms like mad horses, the doors began rattling, and a bright white light outlined each door as if the rooms were illuminated inside. Neither of them wanted to voice what was in their heads, so they both remained silent, focusing their attention on finding the main staircase.

As they turned another corner, they found themselves in yet another passage, and it felt to both of them like they were never going to find their way out. Jack came to a stop, panting for breath. Alex was still gripping his hand as she stood close to his back, and she looked around her surroundings for something familiar. Suddenly, Jack jolted and cursed under his breath. He then pointed his flashlight at the floor, and his eyes widened when he saw hundreds of spiders and bugs all over the floor, scuttling towards them. Alex inhaled sharply, then she looked at the walls to see the bugs there too, surrounding them.

“Jack,” Alex murmured, backing up while trying move away from the insects.

After a while, Jack began brushing frantically at his jacket and jeans as the bugs began crawling on him. “Jones, we need to get out of here …NOW!” he said, grabbing Alex’s hand, and together they ran back along the passage with desperation gripping their hearts.

***

Tell us: Do you think Alex and Jack will be able to get out of the house, or if they will meet their untimely demise at the mension?