'I refuse to believe someone actually lives here.' I thought to myself as I gingerly pushed the wooden gate and entered the abandoned property.

I had already called my supervisor thrice to confirm the address.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself? I gave you a job, get it done!"

Yep, that's how the last conversation went. It wasn't even my shift, not was this the area I was in-charge of but hey, I needed the extra pay.

But here I was, caught in a loud, wet thunderstorm, delivering an urgent parcel to a dead house instead of hanging out with my friends. It couldn't get worse, could it?

The front yard was a complete mess with dead trees and overgrown grass. And for some odd reason I could feel my heart racing faster the closer I got to the house. I wanted to be gone. I wanted to be gone now.

Surprisingly, the house up close didn't seem all that bad. Sure, it looked ready to fall apart from the outside but now that I was on the front porch, I realised that the house just needed a little paint job and the front garden a little trim.

I knocked on the door.

There was no response at first and I wondered if the thunder was to blame. But just as I was about to knock again, I heard light footsteps from within and then the door gently swung towards the inside.

A delicate figure of a woman stood in front of me. Her dark hair fell over her pale face as she looked up at me questioningly.

"A parcel for you, ma'am" I said, ignoring my loud heart.

"Please sign here"

Before taking the delivery sheet from me, the woman handed the parcel to a small boy that had made it to the door as well and was looking up at me shyly. When our eyes met, he quickly turned around and ran away. Right as he did that, there was a thud and it was quickly followed by a piercing wail of the boy.

The woman turned around and raced inside so fast that I nearly missed her. Out of instinct, I followed the sound too. I needed to know the kid was okay. But as soon as I was inside the house, the crying stopped abruptly, the door slammed behind me and the power went out.

Suddenly I felt alone in the house. Very, very alone.

I shivered.

'Forget it, I'm out' I tried the door but it was jammed. Then I tried to kick it open.

Nothing.

'The window. I'll get out through a window!'

But as I turned away from the door, I was greeted by a pale face merely a few inches from mine with hair melting into the darkness and two deep hollow eyes. I found myself staring inside its maw that opened into darkness wider and wider and wider.

'It was the wrong address after all'