I know it was a bad idea, okay? So please, don't tell me I shouldn't have. I just need help.

I'm from a small town in buttfuck nowhere Indiana. The whole town is surrounded by cornfields. All of the fields have these big grand farmhouses on them.

All except one.

On the east side of town, a small winding path leads through the overgrown, wild corn to a decaying house. It's obvious that it used to be beautiful. Large wooden pillars hold up a wide balcony. It has a huge wraparound porch. But the paint is peeling and the woods is cracked. Of course, there's rumors that it's haunted. No one has proof though.

My friends and I decided to camp in the house overnight. It wasn't Halloween night or anything like that, just a perfectly sunny day in June.

Allison was the one who had the idea. She decided we had to do something fun before we all go off to college in the fall. I mean, I get it. I'm the only one staying in Indiana, I got accepted into the mechanical engineering program at Purdue.

Anyways, Allison dragged me, Jasper, and Kai to the house. We headed there in the afternoon. We made our way through the corn, keeping arms tucked in to prevent getting cut by the sharp leaves, and made it to the door.

"Maybe we shouldn't." Kai said anxiously. Allison shoved her twin sibling and laughed.

"It's literally just a house. Don't be a pussy," she responded.

With that, she shoved the door open. The frame splintered, years of rot and termites having weakened it, and she stepped into the entry hall.

It was just as grand inside as it was outside. A large dining table sat before us, two of the legs were broken, so it leaned down like a lame horse. A massive cabinet sat to my left. It had glass doors on top showing off fine glassware. Most of the pieces were broken, but a few remained intact. Two sets of stairs led to the upstairs and doors lined the walls leading to the other rooms. Light filtered in through the dirty and broken windows.

"See?" Allison said, gesturing to the room. "There's nothing bad in here. It's just an old house."

Something skittered. I heard it to the right, through a closed door. It sounded like rats. Lots of them. Without thinking, I walked towards the door, reaching for the handle.

"Laura. You coming with?"

I looked up, heading snapping towards Allison. The other three were already at the top of the stairs.

"Oh. Yeah." I muttered. I gave the door one last look before rushing up the stairs behind them.

The rest of the house was just as dilapidated as the dining room. My general unease began to settle the longer we were there, but I kept hearing the skittering. No one seemed to hear it, but that was fairly usual. I had the best hearing of the group. Everyone else was in marching band, so their hearing was absolutely shit.

Night began to fall and we unpacked our sleeping bags in the dining room. Kai insisted, that way we could make a quick getaway in case the ghosts got to us.

It was so much worse than ghosts.

The skittering was getting louder. We were all laying in the living room. Kai was closest to the door, just in case. Allison was making jokes the whole time. She was recording a tiktok.

The skittering was right above us. Rats, I told myself again. It was just rats.

Although, we hadn't seen any the whole time we were in the house.

But there was no other explanation.

Everything happened so fast. The ceiling broke right over Kai. They were showered in dust and moldy wood. And then it landed on top of them.

It was almost human, but it had empty eyes and long claws instead of nails. Its arms were unnaturally long and it had an elongated snout. It was humming, a low rumbling sound in the back of its throat, occasionally broken up by sharp clicks.

Kai screamed. They fought to get out from under the pile of wood crushing them. The creature silenced them. I scrambled out from my sleeping bag, not wanting to look at the scene.

Jasper began running up the stairs. They creaked under him. The creature clicked, then leapt. Its powerful legs sent it flying towards Jasper. With the distraction, Allison made a mad dash towards the front door. I didn't see if she made it out. I threw open the door to the glassware cabinet and climbed inside. I shut the door and peered out through the peephole.

The creature was tearing the meat off of Jasper's bones. Once it was done, it grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dragged him up the stairs.

That happened about twenty minutes ago. Since then, it came to collect Kai as well. I still haven't seen Allison. I tried to text her but she won't answer. I don't hear her phone chiming though, so that's a good sign. I turned my volume off.

I think the creature is blind. It keeps walking around, clicking. I think it's looking for me. I want to make a run for it, but I know it can catch me. If I could just make it out of the house I might be safe. I can't tell if it wants to stay here or if it just wants me.

I don't know what to do, but I have to get out. I have to tell people what I've seen so we can destroy this place and destroy this creature. How do I get out of here? What should I do?