Stacie stood up and wrapped her arms around Kellys neck and sobbed hysterically. "Kelly!" she sobbed.
Kelly was stuck trying to be there for her friend and tend to herself at the same time. She still couldn't speak very loudly, especially over Stacie's howling, so she just settled on pulling herself out of Stacie's embrace and to gently pull her forward as the two girls moved ever slowly upward.
The opening Kelly spoke of earlier was indeed for the staircase that went up to the final floor. I've got to hurry and get myself seen by a doctor, Kelly thought. She took the first step up and clutched at Stacie at the same time.
Overhead, you could hear more radio blasting ghost like laughter in the air. Stacie continued to sob and to hold onto Kelly for dear life.
They made their way up the staircase one step at a time, and slowly. Kelly was so afraid she was going to fall, and temporarily got frustrated with Stacie. When they finally made it to the top, she pulled Stacie back face range, and slapped the piss out of her.
"Snap out of it!" was all Kelly could get out.
Stacie, for the first time, took a good look at her friend. Shocked over the slap, but even more shocked over the blood pouring from her face. With her son's stifled, Stacie ran her hand near the injury.
"My God Kelly, what happened?"
Kelly shook her head. "Let's get out of here Stacie. This gap on my forehead needs to be seen. We can take it up with the haunted house staff later. I don't feel good, faint and weak to be honest."
Stacie's resolve strengthened somehow. She grabbed her friends hand, and together, they turned to face the final floor.
Stacie Rasp and Kelly Martin turned to face the final floor. Kelly had to lean on Stacie for support. The end of the hallway loomed ahead. Stacie and Kelly slowly made their way. "I'll open the door," Stacie said. She pushed Kelly towards the wall hinting for her to use it as a balance for support while she went for the door. It was hard! Despite the love she had for her friend, she could not overcome her fear of this place. Her hands were shaking worse than an old ladys'. She gripped the door knob and had to use both of her hands to open the door. When the door opened and Stacie peered through the other side, she found a circular stairway that went up to the forth and final floor. She turned around. "Kelly! There's a circular stairway leading up the next floor." Kelly, who had had her eyes closed for a moment, leaning on the wall, opened them suddenly and looked at Stacie. "Let's go!" she replied. Stacie could see Kelly needed to get out of there and to a hospital where she could be seen. Stacie left the door opened and rushed over to take her friend once again to her shoulder and the two girls slowly made their way through the door and over toward the stairway. "You go first Kelly." Kelly raised her eyebrows. "Why me?" Stacie looked at her for a moment. "So I can catch you if you lose your balance or something. Plus, if there's a ghost behind the next doorway, it'll get you first before it gets me," Stacie snickered, despite herself. Kelly rolled her eyes. As they made their way up the staircase, Kelly didn't have much of a problem climbing the stairs due to the side railing. It took longer than usual making it up the whole staircase. Finally, Kelly got to the door and paused. Thinking for a second, she decided to place her ear against it to see if she could hear anything. After realizing she couldn't, Kelly grabbed the door handle and turned it. She pulled the door open and what waited for them on the other side was what appeared to be an attic. You could tell you were in the attic. Kelly stepped lightly through and allowed her friend to join her. They entered into a really big room with a lot of old furniture. Stacie was right behind her holding Kelly's hand. "This place gives me the creeps," Stacie said. Kelly vaguely paid attention to Stacie as she surveyed the attic, standing near the staircase. The first thing on Kelly's mind was to look for an exit door. She looked along the walls for any sign. "How long are we going to stand here, Kelly!? The sooner we start moving the faster we can get out of here." Stacie let go of Kelly's hand and walked away. She stepped along the attic floor and began to look around. The attic had a bunch of creepy old walls stained grey and white. When Stacie disappeared around the corner, Kelly finally found her voice. "Stacie! Not without me." Caught off guard, Kelly nearly fell as she sprang forward after Stacie. She had to back up and grab the railing. It was cold to the touch, but somehow, the icy metal consoled her. Through the wall came three loud bumps. And a scream. Kelly's heart pounded through her chest. Adrenaline flowed and Kelly found inner strength. She stepped forward and walked quickly. She kept one hand glued to the wall to help her walk and balance. She had a wound on her head, so she tried to be careful moving around. The wrong move made it ache. For a moment, rage went through her over thoughts of Stacie. Kelly felt abandoned. "Stacie!" Kelly called out. "Where are you?" There was little to no light in the attic. There may have been a slight glow thanks to the moon and to a few windows high above Kelly's head, but that's about it. There was faint light flickering somewhere in the distance through a bulb on the ceiling, but Kelly couldn't identify it. She circled the same corner Stacie had and froze. The only thing that could be seen was an empty corner, then a hallway that stretched forward. Kelly suddenly stood on hardwood floor. The floor changed. A moment before it had been concrete. She walked toward the corner and looked left to peer down the hallway. The hallway had five doors on the left and four doors on the right. There was also a door at the end of the hallway, and an opening turning right. Kelly walked slowly along. She ran her hand along the wall and passed by the first door. She ran her hand along the wood and went for the doorknob. She tried to turn it. It wouldn't budge. Locked? Kelly put her ear to the wood to see if she could hear anything. She heard what was thought to be whimpering. "Hello," Kelly called, concerned. She knocked on the door and placed an ear back to the wood. "Stacie, is that you?" Suddenly Kelly's head began to ache again and a sharp pain cut across the left part of her upper head. "Oh my God," Kelly cried. She literally staggered back a foot because it was so intense. Stress is what's got to be doing this, Kelly thought to herself. I'm leaving. If I don't get out of here soon I'm gonna have a stroke or something. Though Kelly didn't consider herself a qualified doctor, it was easily seen she wasn't faring so well, and her head continued to bleed to! She literally gave up on Stacie and walked though the corridor at a very quick pace and didn't even bother relying on the wall for balancing. She made it to the end of the hallway and turned right and finally saw a door that said exit. When Kelly opened the door, she found herself outside at the back door. There was a small sidewalk/concrete path that took Kelly back out toward the street and into the square. Kelly hurried and made it back to where people congregated and shopped. Many were gathering around at various spots and acting as though they hadn't even seen or noticed Kelly. Kelly made it to a shop without many people around and she entered. It was a lamp shop, and the custodian was about to close for the evening. "I'm sorry miss but I am about to close up." "I need an ambulance," Kelly blurted out. "I hit my head earlier and dropped my phone. Can you please call the police?" Kelly then dropped from exhaustion. Fainted. Passed out. It was a welcoming feeling. Kelly had finally won and was happy to be out of that awful place.
To be continued...
