Suspense
رد مع اقتباس
Here is the text of the story
/////
The wind howled eerily through the broken glass.
...And the flashlight went out — right then and
there. She had known this was going to happen.
But now? Did it have to happen now, precisely
when Estelle was alone in the abandoned
house? With no light, there was no choice but
to move about in the dark as best she could.
Estelle’s birthday had begun so well. As every
year, her parents had planned a bonfire in the
woods. She always had s’mores instead of
birthday cake, and instead of blowing out candles,
she blew out a flaming marshmallow on a
stick. This year, on her 14th birthday, she and
her friends had stayed by the bonfire after all
the adults had gone to bed.
An hour or so later, the conversation had died
down, and Estelle was feeling pleasantly sleepy
by the fire. She was thinking that perhaps she
could manage to eat another marshmallow.
Then suddenly she heard a scream. She looked
round and was shocked to find herself alone.
What had happened? Were Estelle’s friends
playing a trick on her? Had a madman abducted
them perhaps, or had all the ghost stories
around the campfire made her believe that she
was hearing noises?
There was no way to know. And now, there was
only one way to find out.
Slowly and quietly, she felt her way along the
wall to the door. She knew this house well
enough to avoid the creaky floorboard. She had
hoped to stay here, hidden under a blanket in
the upstairs room until the sun came up. But
with no light... No, she couldn’t bear it.
It was cold. She had considered bringing the
blanket with her and wrapping it around her
shoulders, but she had decided against it.
Carefully, she eased the door open. All was
quiet. She could still choose to turn around, to
close the door, return to the blanket and wait
until the morning. But she knew she must keep
going. She could not stop. She needed a light,
and she thought she knew where to find one.
Her heart beating fast, she tiptoed toward the
staircase. What made houses so frightening in
the dark, she wondered. By daylight, she knew
it would look ordinary. But now... now, just
enough moonlight shone in through the windows
to throw shadows into places where they
shouldn’t be.
One step at a time, she went down the stairs. So
far, so good. She jumped, as a clock in another
room began to chime. One, two, three, she
counted. The sun would be rising soon. There
would be little sleep for her tonight.
A coyote howled in the distance, and she shivered.
What had happened at the bonfire? The
only thing Estelle had been sure of was the terror.
She had run, and run, and run. When she
heard another scream, she had run even faster.
And then she had seen the roof of the house
silhouetted against the moonlit sky. How many
people knew about the key hidden above the
door frame? Estelle had locked the door behind
her. She hadn’t known at the time that most of
the windows were already broken.
Somehow she had to get back to the upstairs
room. First, though, she needed a light. But
where was she to find a light here? Perhaps the
radio in the kitchen might still have batteries
in it. Holding her arms out in front of her, she
slowly walked through the living room, past the
dining room. Almost there.
She found the radio in the corner of the kitchen.
She felt along its back and flipped the battery
compartment open. Yes! She could see the glint
of two AAs. She stuffed them into her pocket.
She walked back quietly, first through the living
room, then up the stairs. She closed the
door behind her softly and curled up again
underneath the blanket. The flashlight was
there, right next to the book. She slid the batteries
into the compartment, moved the switch
to “on” and sighed with relief when a bright
stream of light appeared.
Soon she would know how Estelle’s story ended.
She picked up the book, found her place
and continued reading.
The wind howled eerily through the broken
glass...
/////
المفضلات