Abandoned child

Ahead of me the hallway light flickered on and off until going out completely, shrouding me in darkness. The only light was from the moon shining through the tiny hallway window, casting the old wooden staircase at the end of the hall in a silver luminous glow. “Where are you?” I asked when I reached the end of the hall. No reply came, only a soft giggle from the top of the stairs so I began climbing up the narrow steps to the next floor. I had heard rumors of a forgotten child living in the abandoned house and being the new detective in town I investigated. The next floor looked as if no one had been there for centuries; the air was hot and damp. Cobwebs covered almost every inched of the ceiling. Dust had built up into a thick carpet the covering floor. Mould lined the walls and a vase on the hallway table contained dead flowers that turned to dust at the slightest touch. I followed the giggling and pattering feet though the hallway until they stopped at an old wooden door. I hesitated, but I heard the child’s voice again; “ Come on Victoria... I want to play with you...Please open the door...I NEED you Victoria!” Turning the brass knob I pushed the door open...I nearly fainted as my eyes came to rest upon the center of the room. Hanging by a rope in the middle of the ceiling was the small, shriveled, grey body of a child in a torn, faded pink dress. One of her hands was reaching up to the rope as if protesting and the other was stretched out in front of her, asking for help. A gust of wind came in through a broken window, causing the rope to spin the carcase around in slow, steady circles. Sounding closer now, the little girl’s voice spoke; “Please hold my hand... please help me... it hurts...” My maternal instincts did the thinking for me and I reached out and touched the body’s outstretched hand... The body’s fingers suddenly closed tightly around my wrist; pain shot up my arm and radiated through my body. I let out a scream as my soul was slowly being pulled out of my body and into the child’s carcase. The little girl started to giggle madly as I struggled to free myself of the child’s tight grasp. I saw a shard of glass lying on the floor from the broken window. I reached as far as I could and caught it between my fingers. Picking it up I began slicing through the corpse’s hard fingers. Finally the grip was released and I fell backwards. I quickly got up and ran out the door. The girls voice cried out from behind me “ Come back Victoria... We haven’t finished playing yet... I NEED YOU!” I didn’t stop to look behind me. I ran back down the stairs, down the hall and out the front door. Safe at last, case closed.