BXBX NOVEL Chapter 253: Towards the Light
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.
--To be continued…