What lies in darkness

Jared awoke with a throbbing head ache. He reached out into the darkness grasping for something that would hold his weight. Rain silently pattered on the window and lighting peirced the sky. Jared's hand found the night stand and he desperatly clung to it. Lifting himself up, he tryed to make it to the door. Thunder crashed outside bringing him to his knees. He tried getting up again but failed. He needed asprin. He made it to the door and reached for the knob. Another crash of thunder caused his headeache to erupt. He clutched his head out of sheer agony. He tried for the door knob again and pulled the door open.
He crawled out and dragged his body down the hallway. Thunder explosion outside. Every sound was magnified in Jared's head. This last crash of thunder was the last thing Jared heard that night. He passed out on the floor.
When he awoke, Jared was on the couch. Confused, he got up and staggered into the kitchen. A note was on the fridge.
"Jared, I had to leave for work early this morning and hope you can make yourself something for breakfast. I won't be back until late tonight so might have to make dinner too. Please don't stay up to late tonight, I don't like it when you don't sleep, it's not healthy. Love, mom."
Great, he thought, I have to cook.
The rest of the day went by like any other. It was Saturday so he was free to do whatever. A good majority of the day was spent was T.V. or on the computer. When everything else ceased to entertain him, he went outside and grabbed his bike.
Jared began his ride down his street. Looking around, he thought of how he and his old friends had hung out around town. He wanted to see all of the old places they had gone to. Most of his friends had moved away or just stopped talking to him. It was weird. He passed his old best friend Joseph's house. The first he had lost contact with.
Joseph was his best friend. There wasn't a single secret between them. They shared everything since the age of two, when they met. They had gone to the same pre school, grade school, and high school. Until Joseph moved away. After that day, his old friends had slowly drifted away from Jared. He had tried to call Joseph, or write to him. But he never answered him.
Jared came to the end of his street. He turned right, feeling slightly nastalgic. There was the store that they had always gone to to get sodas on a hot day. It had closed due to a rat infestation. He continued. An old parking lot where they'd always skateboard. Jared remembered when he had crashed and broken his arm. His mother had forbid him to skate ever again. He kept riding. He reached an old street that a couple of friends lived on. He rode down it, passing old houses that had been destroyed by either weather or vandilism. He got off his bike when he reached the last house. The oldest house on the street that had survived. Paint was peeling off, the side walk leading up to the porche was cracked and covered in weeds. An old dying tree was in the un kept yard. Grass up Jared's knees. Windows were knocked out, the door was falling off it's hinges. The house was incredibly old, housing no one for decades. This was once a beutiful house, years ago. Time hadn't been kind to it.
Jared looked at it, thinking of how he and Joseph used to think this house was haunted. They'd dare each other to run up and knock on the door, or throw a rock at it. They'd knock out windows thinking it was cool. He hadn't been here for years but the house was still familiar. They had spray painted their names on the front door to show that they weren't afraid. This was a lie though. Each time they walked up to it they were terrified. Each time they knocked on the door they feared that the spirits inside might gobble them up. But it gave a certain thrill that nothing would give them. As they grew older, the fear grew smaller. As the fear grew smaller the dares grew more intense. Instead of knocking on the door, they would kick it, then they would try opening it, then they would knock out a window, then they'd go inside. The week before Joseph moved away, they had gone inside. Jared had to leave because of a head ache, but Joseph stayed inside. They hadn't talked to each since. He had always wandered what had happened to Joseph inside here. What had scared him so much that he had moved away.He walked up the cracked sidewalk and onto the porch. The door creaked open, welcoming him. Jared stepped inside.
The main room had a sofa that had been ripped apart. A cracked chandelire hung from the decrepid ceiling. Pictures on the wall showed previous inhabitants. A grand staircase in the center. The house itself seemed like it was from a horror movie. Stains that looked like blood on the wooden floor. Wall paper peeling off of the walls. Scary.
Jared walked into the kitchen. The cracked linoleum floor was white. Counters rotting, the sink was stained. A table missing some of it's legs sat upside down in the middle of the room. A chair was proped up against the door on the side of the room as if to baricade it.
Curiosity overwhelmed Jared as he moved the chair. The door creaked like a living thing as he opened the door. He walked down the old staircase cautiosly, afriad that the boards may break. He reached the basement. Suddenly, his head began to hurt. Just a little at first, but it quickly evolved into a migrane. He yelped as his vision began to fade. Then, as quickly as it had came, the pain ceased to exist. Confused, looked around. Nothing had changed, he was still in the basement. The walls were stone and the floor was dirt. Footsteps in the dirt showed that someone had been here, and recently. Jared decided to leave.
He walked up the stairs and through the kitchen. Upon reaching the door, he found it was locked.
Impossible, he thought, it was open before.
He tryed to kick it down, but failed. Fear shot though his body. Thumps sounded from the ceiling as if someone walking. Someone, or something, was upstairs, possibly looking for him. He looked desperatly for somewhere to hide. A door was in the corner of the room. He tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge. The knob was turning, but something was holding it shut.
Shit, he thought, Shit!
He began to cry. He hadn't cried in so long, but in his situation he felt crying was the only option. Cursing under his breath he slowly crept up the stairs.
He was in a hallway, and, like every other room of the house, it was old. Three doors on the right, four on the left. The noises were still above him so one of these doors led to an attic. There were two choices. Hide, or confront the thing up stairs. He chose to hide knowing that what ever was above him was probably hostile.
The first door on the right was locked, so he tried the next one. Locked again.
Are any doors unlocked in this god farsaken house? He thought.
The next was unlocked. Finally. Inside was a stinking bathroom. A tub in front of him had brown stains on the bottom, the sink had similar markings. The smell, Jared discovered, came from the toilet. The seat was closed and he intended to keep it like that. He couldn't crouch behind anything or take cover anywhere, so he decided to try his luck with the next four doors.
The first one he tried was unlocked, but the rust that had eccumulated over the years made it impossible to open. Knowing that if he knocked it down, whoever was upstairs would hear it, rush downstairs, and probably kill him, he tryed the next door. Locked. The next door was unlocked and led to a closet. His last option. He got inside, and shut the door. When he shut it however, it let out a long squeal. The noises upstairs stopped abruptly.
Oh shit, oh shit, Jared thought, oh shit, oh shit.
Death was close. He began crying again feeling childish. If he survived, it would be a miracle. Time passed. First it was a minute, then five, then ten. It felt like forever before Jared began feeling claustrophobic. He opened the door slightly and peered out. Nothing was there. He crept out of his hiding spot and looked around. Nothing had changed, the thing upstairs hadn't come down. He knew he wasn't going to try the last door. He walked towards the stairs. He tried walking down them but his legs wouldn't move. Confused he tried again. He began turning around.
No!!! He though frantically, What am I doing?
He, no, his body began walking towards the last door. He wasn't in control. He was nothing but a puppet. Just a body being controlled by some higher power. He reached for the door knob, turned it and walked up the stairs.
Jared was in the attic. Still nothing but a marinette. He saw a small child curled into a ball in the corner.
"Who are you?" Jared said against his will
"Please," the child said "Don't hurt me."
"Who are you!" Jared yelled
The child turned towards him. He was about Jared's and....no....impossible.
"My name is Jared" he said fearfully
His head exploded. Pain shot through every part of his body. He still couldn't move. Everything hurt. Sheer agony. He could't scream he couldn't cry. He just had to take it.
"Please, don't hurt me" the boy said
Everything went dark. Then, he was on the ground. A tall man stood above him.
"Trust me," he said menacingly "I won't"
Everything went dark again. He was standing over the boy, dragging him away.
"No!" he screamed "Let go"
The boy began kicking Jared. It hurt. Darkness again.
He was being punched. The man was hitting him. He stopped kicking. He coughed up blood and lay still, letting his attacker drag him down the stairs. Each step hitting his head on the way down. He began to feel dizzy. Then he felt nautious. His vision began to fade. Everything went dark.