A Nightmare In One Week Chapter 1

Darlene was in college studying to be a nurse. During her time in school, she worked in the schools's office for money. Now that it was summer break, she needed some money so she didn't have to live at home. Not there was anything bad living at home, she just wanted to do her best to make it on her own. She would rather try and find a good paying odd jobs because she hated to start and end a decent job within a few months.

One day she went to the lake to try and clear her mind and see if she could come up with some ideas. A gentleman in his early fifties sat down next to her. He introduced himself as Hedley and they started talking. During the conversation, she mentioned she was looking for odd jobs that pay well.

"This may be a little weird but I need someone to house sit for me for about a week. I've tried asking my friends but they already have plans. The job is yours if you want it. I will make sure you have all the food you need. All you have to do is clean and check the mail every day. I will pay you $500."

Darlene thought it was odd that he would ask her since they just met but hell why not? She needed the money and he needed someone to house sit. It did make her a little nervous but she had pepper spray and she knew self defense.

"Okay, I will take it."

"Great. Here is the address and my number. Be there by Sunday. I will be back the following weekend. If there is any kind of food that you want or don't like etc., just let me know and I'll get it. Just let me know as soon as you can. Oh and if something comes up and you can't house sit for me, please let me know by Wednesday so I can try to find someone else. I have only one rule, no parties."

"Will do and no worries about the party thing, I'm not much of a party person."

     They talked for a little longer about her staying there and she went ahead and told him the foods she liked. She was looking forward to this little getaway. She needed it after a long and hard semester.

There was now only a few days left before she had to leave for her house sitting job. When she told her roommate and her family what she was doing, her family wasn't happy and tried to talk her out of it. She re-assured them and gave them all the information including the guy's name and number.

Darlene started packing and trying to figure out what she wanted to take to keep her busy while she was there. She decided to grab a couple of books, her laptop, some movies and some knitting stuff. Knitting is what she loved to do on her down time especially if it was something for other people.

The day for her to leave finally arrived. She had to get up early so she could be there by 10:00 am. She thought the house was between a medium size and a big size. The nearest neighbor was five to six blocks away. The plot of land that the house sat on was huge. The front yard was big and had a gravel drive way that led up to the house. 

The house was tan with a brown trim and had two stories. It had a covered porch with a porch swing. That would be a perfect place to read and knit she thought. While taking everything in, she knocked on the door.

Hedley answered pretty quickly. For some reason, he seemed kinda out of it and was nervous. Darlene figured it was because they barley knew each other so everything was kinda weird.

"Hi Darlene, come in. Did you find the place okay?"

"Yeah. Luckily google maps was pretty accurate."

"Yeah. Sometimes that thing gets weird. Here let me take your bags and show you around."

"Thanks."

Inside was pretty big but a closed concept so it looked kinda small at the same time. It was also gloomy and dark. It looked like it was built n the 60's or 70's. There were updates but it mixed with the old. Upstairs were two bedrooms and a small bathroom.

"Here is the spare room where you can stay. It isn't much but it's comfortable."

"That's okay. I don't need much anyways. Thank you."

At the end of the hall was another set of small stairs that led to a closed door.

"There is the attic. It's locked and no one is allowed in. I have the key on me at all times." Hedley said in a creepy warning tone.

The last thing he showed her was the backyard. It was pretty big. It didn't have much going on though which was a shame. There was enough room for a nice sitting area with a nice BBQ grill, a pool, hot tub and more. He just had a few outdoor chairs with a table. There were some woods surrounding he back.

"Just through the woods and off to the right is a trail that leads to a creek and a lake. I must warn you, stay away from those woods even to go to the lake. There are things in there....just don't go in there, understood?"

"Um, yeah sure. Stay out of the woods."

This kinda crept her out but mostly how he was acting and talking. What was the big deal about the woods she thought. They finished up the tour and he went on his way. 

Chapter 2: Click Here

Chapter 3: Click Here

Chapter 4: Click Here