Katie and I step into this new room illuminated only slightly in one corner from the street light poking through a slit in the window that someone had attempted to board up. Our lantern went out the minute we walked down the stairs. From this I could see an old lantern in the corner with a couple matches. I reach for my phone to shine some light so I can make it across the room safely only to remember it died a while ago.
“Katie, do you have any battery left on your phone?” I ask silently praying the answer is yes.
“Nah, it died shortly after I got here,” This is getting more like Harry Potter by the second. No electricity, no cellphones, and we’re trapped in a dungeon. Wait, did she say hers died shortly after she got here? That’s when mine died and I could’ve sworn I had like 50% battery…
“Eek!!” I scream as the biggest spider I’ve ever seen in my life crawls across my hand. Like I said, Harry Potter. “I’m going to try to walk across the room and light that lantern. Stay here by the door.” I start walking across the room gingerly worried that I’ll trip over something. Which I do. Twice. Before I can even realize what’s happening my foot is falling through the floor followed by the rest of my body. I hear Katie scream and start running to me.
“Katie no!” I scream. It’s too late. I hear the door we came through slam shut.
“Sorry…” Katie says. I’m a little alarmed but not really mad at her. How was she supposed to know? I never would’ve thought this mansion visit could get any more cliché.
“It’s fine. Do you think you can get down here through the hole without getting hurt? I landed on something soft so the landing’s not so bad?” I figured at this point we probably should stick together if for no other reason than I’m absolutely terrified of the dark. As much as I hate to admit it, I would’ve never lasted in the Order of the Phoenix.
“Yeah I think so,” Katie lowers herself down pretty gracefully. Now that I think about, she might be some sort of athlete. She lands and I feel a sharp pain in my right hand. “Did you feel that?” Katie asks me. This is getting weird.
“Yeah. I guess we should probably go that way…” I figure the ghost is a better guide than any other option we have. I stand up and realize that I’ve been sitting on a pile of papers. I grab a couple and start walking to the right. I’m hoping our ghost friend will lead us to a lantern eventually. Just because she doesn’t need light doesn’t we don’t.
We keep walking until our hand stops hurting and we hit a wall. A lantern on this wall lights and shows us—surprise, surprise—another door.
“Well, here we go again…” I say as I grab Katie’s hand and reach for the handle. I push open the door and a row of lanterns circling the whole room lights revealing the contents of the room.
“No freakin’ way.” Katie says in disbelief. I don’t blame her it’s pretty unbelievable. If I didn’t think this visit could get anymore cliché before I definitely don’t now.
“Do you think we can pay our tuition with this?” The room is totally filled with jewels coins and trunks of old documents like the ones I landed on before National Treasure style. Like I said, cliché.