The Haunting Within by Michelle Burley Read Free Book Online Page B

was like Benji had known what was happening because, for the first time in weeks he perked up slightly. He had a little roll around on the floor with the children that morning, as though he was giving them the last precious memories of him before they were left alone; one family member gone. Benji was a beautiful black Labrador with soft, shiny fur and the biggest brown eyes they had ever seen. He had always been so loving and playful and they had all adored him - still did, if the truth be known. He was a ripe old age of fourteen when he was put down; he’d lived a good life with a family who had worshipped him like he was a tiny baby.
    “We’ve got no choice love.”              
    “Yes we have! How about if we go find a B&B? There must be one round here somewhere.” Aiden pointed out, too anxious to feel silly at his over the top outburst.
    “Well we’ll have to drive into town because there isn’t any round here as far as I know. There’s never been any point in building one round here. This is the only house for miles. It’s worth a try though so come on, let’s go.”
    Their spirits rose as they shut the doors of the manor behind them but soon came crashing down around them as Debbie delved into her handbag to retrieve the car keys only to realise she must have left them in the house somewhere. They all went back into the house and began searching frantically, desperately for the missing keys. After half an hour of searching every place Debbie had been in the house they had still not found them. She knew who had done this. She knew he wanted them in the house with him. And know she had to face the fact that they would have to spend the night in the house they hated so much.
    They gathered at the front room window just as dusk was setting over their part of the world giving everything an unholy glow. Debbie hugged her children close as they were silhouetted against the darkening sky. As they turned back to the room they knew something was getting ready to unleash itself on them and they were absolutely terrified.

16
    Lisa took her mother through to the kitchen, flicking on the light as they passed and sat her at the table. As she moved over to the kettle she felt better, more comfortable, as the long light overhead switched on with a faint hum of noise from the surge of electricity. It gave the whole kitchen a friendlier glow, even if it did make everything seem a little imposing and sterile. The light was shining on the stainless steel kettle and the taps at the sink and it appeared to bounce off everything, giving the whole room the appearance of being twice as bright as it actually was. If it wasn’t for the rustic worn wood dining table and authentic stone floor, Lisa thought that it would look almost surgical with the coldness of the appliances and the harshness of the light. As it was though, it was very welcoming to them. The only thing was with the light being reflected off all the surfaces, everything seemed to loom at them like over-sized jack-in-the-boxes. Their sizes distorted and their shapes in chaos. But that was a small price to pay for light and peace of mind.
    Although it wasn’t fully dark yet and wouldn’t be for another hour or so she felt their need for light. The house was eerie enough in broad daylight, let alone in the depth of night. She had never had a penchant for dark corners that couldn’t be seen and this house certainly had more than its fair share of them. The house was made of sharp angles and corners that protruded out everywhere; there was not one room in the house that had a soft shape to it. The corners gave way to darkness and it seemed like the purpose of the walls that stuck out so sharply was to shield the corners of the rooms from any light. There were so many darkened areas in the house that the dark appeared to reflect from wall to wall creating an extremely dull and oppressing atmosphere as though the walls were closing in. The darkness seemed to