Janelle stood on the lawn, her breath slowing, but her heart racing. Every rational part of her screamed to walk away, to leave the house and never look back. But that wasn’t who she was.
She had escaped, but escaped from what?
And more importantly, why had it let her go?
Tugging the sleeves of her jacket tighter, she strode back toward the house. The grand entrance loomed before her, unchanged, as if it hadn’t just tried to trap her. She stepped inside, every creak of the wooden floors a reminder that she was stepping into the unknown, willingly this time.