â€œThought so,â€ he murmured to himself with a smirk, continuing to make mental notes for himself. Nick was always making mental notes, in his profession it was kind of a given and it was something to give him a sense of security since he didnâ€™t have his camera to take the pictures. Things like different â€˜anglesâ€™ of people and things so to speak, very useful in the end. Pictures were something he knew oh too well as deceitful as they could be; he knew that there were some people who would deliberately strike a pose to satisfy. But it went both ways sometimes as well, and the photographer had to create the image. In a situation like this it was just better to look out for yourself and not worry about people you donâ€™t trust â€“and so he would pretend to go along with this idea of sticking together.<br/><br/>â€˜Friendsâ€™ and allies were more useful than enemies in the long run. And there were more people arriving, he noticed, as yet another entered the scene seemingly out of nowhere. They exchanged names but he remained silent; he didnâ€™t want to get friendly with these people just yet. For now he would only stick close to them since sticking together was wiser than wandering off alone. Nobody wanted to be alone when they were afraid. And letâ€™s be honest: Nick has never been that brave where he would look at danger straight in the eye and spit on it. He has run away from a lot of things in his life. Looking back he regrets most of those times, if he wouldnâ€™t have run so much maybe he would be a bit more courageous than he was todayâ€¦<br/><br/>While everyone else decided to follow the man with the cigarettes to see what was in that room, Nick stayed behind, absently staring into the dark hallway almost as if he was unable to move. As he continued to peer into the darkness Nick could have sworn he felt something breathing on him; the house itself was a live and at the end of the hall there was a beast patiently waiting to devour him.  He knew he couldnâ€™t stand there forever since everyone else seemed to be venturing into the hallway, most likely to keep their little â€˜safety in numbersâ€™ reassurance in this little group. If he didnâ€™t act now they would surely catch on and begin to mock him wondering why he was staying behind. With the lack of trust running around the group cowardice was not really something he wanted to establish despite the fear being written all over his face. For now all he could do was remain calm, continue telling himself to remain calm.<br/><br/>And eventually, when he felt he was ready but it was actually because he didnâ€™t want to be left behind, he mustered courage and walked down the hallway. The moment he set foot, he felt like his equilibrium had been thrown off, sort of like when someone pulls a rug out from under you and you end up falling on your ass. Only Nick didnâ€™t fall on his ass, thankfully. With nothing to hold onto in the hallways so he settled for leaning against the wall for a moment. He felt the cold air sweep past him again; the breath of the beast. It was daring him to take another step, beckoning, almost taunting, to enter the room like the rest of the group. Since they insisted on sticking together, he figured he should at least take a peek in there.<br/><br/>Grow some fucking balls, Nick! Youâ€™re getting worked up over nothing at all; this is just a house for crying out loud.<br/><br/>But even his thoughts werenâ€™t that reassuring. No, no this thoughts but what he was seeing. The room looked ordinary enough to the point where he wondered what had gotten everyone all worked up. â€œSo this is what has everyone petrified? To think I was afraid to come in here myself,â€ he mumbled, hoping the others were too preoccupied with seeing what was up with the cigarette man and checking out the rest of the room. Completely ignorant to what had happened since he had been one of the last to enter the room he almost wanted to laugh. Nick glanced around the room, his eyes falling upon the phone once people started to gather around it. It was almost like someone was releasing a vicious lion the way they all stood there gawking with anticipation. Were they expecting someone to pick up if they attempted to make a call? From what he could tell the phone didnâ€™t seem to be working.<br/><br/>Even the light switch next to him, when he flicked it nothing happened. The only light, oddly enough, came through the windows dully. Unrelated to the lighting of the room, it was six twenty two in the evening. That was what the clock was stopped at. There was no telling how much time had passed since that particular time, or if the clock was even correct.<br/><br/>â€œHey, if this door opened maybe the others will, too.â€ He spoke again, this time so the whole group could hear him, his voice holding more emotion than it had previously. â€œWho knows, just maybe weâ€™ll be lucky enough to find the key to the front door.â€ However, this newfound confidence was more or less just another result of how afraid he was. He wanted to get out of this room as soon as possible, move on, not exactly willing to linger in one area especially if there wasnâ€™t any food or other useful things in here.<br/><br/>In horror movies, continuing with that mindset, bad things happen to those who lingerâ€¦