"That could've gone better," Harriet grumbled, lying face-down in the overgrown grass on the other side of the Smith mansion fence. It was all going so smoothly just minutes before...
---
While the mansion was abandoned enough that there were no guards or groundskeepers to worry about, there was a tall, stone wall lined with spikes on top surrounding the grounds. The only way in was a metal gate which was locked by a metal lock wrapped with heavy chains that had long since rusted, preventing normal access.
Not one to be stopped by total lockdown, however, Harriet had quickly found her method of entry: a tall tree outside the fence that had a branch overlooking the grounds. Climbing the tree was simple enough, even with her old lantern hanging on her hip, but the branches were covered in thorns, which picked all over her body and pulled at her costume: a japanese schoolgirl uniform worn by the heroine of a recent anime. She liked the character well enough and had decided on the costume for maneuverability (as well as appreciating how she looked in it,) but had she had known that there would be so many thorns, Harriet probably would've dressed in the character's casual clothes instead, which offered a bit more coverage. At least there was a glove as part of the costume that offered at least some protection.
Soon enough, Harriet made it to the end with only a few tears along her costume. She was now above and slightly in front of the wall. It would be a bit of a drop, but nothing she wasn't prepared for. Unhooking the lantern from her skirt, Harriet tossed it over the wall into the yard, hearing a subdued rustle as it landed. "Should be safe," she said to herself as she readied her jump and leapt.
Unfortunately, when rocked back and forth to prepare for her leap, her skirt had gotten snagged and hooked onto a thorny branch on the upper side of the one she was on, slightly behind her. The branch held strong as Harriet leapt forward, causing her to leap out of her own skirt!
"Ah?" she uttered as she felt the tug, followed by fabric moving down her legs.
But Harriet had no time to worry about her skirt, that tug had lowered her speed, setting her on a crash course for the top of the wall and its sharp, pointy spikes. Harriet flinched and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the worst.
But, miraculously, it was only the sides of her costume the got impaled by the spikes, with her landing right in the middle, leaning over the edge of the wall. Harriet sighed in relief, only for her costume to give way again, sending her spilling out of the shirt and into the lawn.
---
Picking herself up off of the ground, Harriet saw her lantern a few feet in front of her. Scooping up the lantern, she turned back to her shirt, stuck on the spikes too high for her to reach. She was shocked and disgusted to see that it was the shoulder seams that had given way completely, which hadn't been damaged at all during her climb earlier. "Last time I go with that costume maker," she said, as she turned toward the mansion, now wearing only her personal blue-and-white striped bra and panties, as well as the costume glove, shoes, and socks.
Now, being stripped to her underwear just as her adventure was beginning probably should have been a warning sign, but Harriet wasn't too concerned. First, this was an abandoned mansion, there shouldn't be anyone besides her there at this time of night. Second, and more importantly, walking around in her underwear should be way more scarier than walking around fully clothed. She could swear that with more of her skin exposed to the elements, her senses were heightened too. The chill of the night air, the silence and dread of the old mansion, the wetness of the rain...
"What?" Harriet gasped. It was suddenly starting to rain! When did that happen? Doubling her pace, she booked it up the rest of the overgrown path to the front door of the mansion. Seeing no locks or bars like the front gate, Harriet tugged on the handle. The door opened up with a loud creak, and Harriet quickly dashed inside, shutting the door behind her.
"Phew," Harriet sighed, catching her breath. Realizing that it was very dark inside the mansion, Harriet brought forth her lantern to look at her surroundings.
She was in a foyer, with stairs going up and down in front of her and rooms off to the sides. She could see that there was a second and third floor that could be reached by going up, but the light beam wasn't strong enough to see any further. Aside from her somewhat narrow light beam, everything else was shrouded in darkness.
Harriet smiled, her heartbeat quickening. An entire old mansion all to herself. Where to begin?
*Achoo!*
That's right, she was soaked! Her short hair would dry out soon enough, but she could feel her damp underwear clinging to her body. She needed to take care of this problem first before she could enjoy the frights of this mansion, but there was no way she was going to be walking around a place like this naked!
Harriet shivered, looking back and forth at her available paths. There was no way she would be going to the basement first, that's where the scariest stuff would be, after all. What she needed to do instead was to explore...
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