Super Villain Alter Ego

Prompt: Create your super-villain alter ego

Fire and smoke flew all around me, part of the building I had lit ablaze crashed to the ground. People screeched and ran in horror. I laughed perniciously, "You now know you should never have crossed me!" I shouted at the man cowering in the corner who covered his face from the smoke. "Was it worth it?!" I screamed, "what did they promise you?! Money?! Safety?! In exchange for what? My location? HA! That worked well!"

The local news stations all had their camera's pointed at me as I scorched this mans home, I turned to them and roared, "May this be a lesson to all! You will never catch me, you will never find me, and you will never stop me!"

I disappeared into the dark of the night, the police and fire department had just arrived, too late, I thought.

My dark black hair flowed in wind as I walked down the dark street towards my lair. Sirens screamed from across town. "My work is done," I laughed maniacally. I swiped my entrance card on the reader and the invisible door opened. Stepping through the wall I was greeted by the hideous animal that I called my pet. It snarled at me as I walked passed it.

I clicked the giant TV on to the news. The recap of my word was playing, the newscaster said, "A horrible event has occurred tonight. Business man Harold Hover's home was burned to the ground by notorious super-villain known as Black Snake," the video of my last words at the burning was played, "if anyone has any information about where this dangerous criminal is, call the number on the screen." I snapped off the television, discussed with humanity.

A One dollar Bill

Phillip sauntered down the crowded Manhattan streets with a grin on his face and a spring in his step. In his pocket was his first huge paycheck. The 20 year old boy headed straight for the bank. Time to get some cash, he thought to himself, I'll be a rich man.

Walking into the bank he went straight to the first teller he saw. Placing his check on the counter he stated, "I want this cashed."

The lady looked annoyed at his bluntness, "Okay," she replied, "sign the back." He grabbed a pen and quickly scribbled his name where she pointed. She placed the paper in her little machine and handed him the $651 in cash. He thanked her and walked out, counting it as he marveled at the six one hundred dollar bills he held. 

He folded the paper up and just as he was about to put it in his pocket, a boy in a hood ran in front of him, snatching the money right out of his hands. "Hey!" Phillip yelled and chased after him. He pushed his way through the clumps of people, knocking over an old lady and pushing children aside. He was too slow; the boy was already half a block ahead. "Stop him!" he yelled, but the New Yorker's just continued on their way, ignoring the theft. A gust of wind blew through the streets and a bill flew out of the robber's hands. Phillip caught up to the green paper, picking it up, he unfolded it and looked at the amount, praying it was a one hundred. His heart sank, he stared at the lonely one in the corner. He really only had a dollar to his name. 

"One dollar," he said aloud, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that that was all he had, "what can you do with one dollar?" Phillip stood in the middle of the sidewalk, people bumping him left and right, some telling him to get out of the way, but he just stood there in disbelief. 

A thought popped into his head, he didn't know where it came from, but it was there, and it was big. A couple streets over was the casino that he would go to to meet girls, he had never had much luck at the slot machines, but what did he have to lose? 

Phillip raced to the casino, the marquee above the entrance was blindingly bright, even in the daylight. He pulled open the heavy door and drifted to the closest slot machine. The hustle and bustle of the casino filled his ears. Dinging machines, cheering people, angry people, and the clanking of glasses at the bar seemed a little louder than normal. He shook his head, trying to focus. Taking a deep breath he pushed his only dollar into the slot, the machine dinged with a "whoop" and the words "Push button when ready!" appeared on the screen.

He took a deep breath, and as he hit the little red button he fully understood what he was doing. He had either just made a huge mistake or the best decision in his life. The three reels turned and turned. One by one they stopped rotating. The first was a seven. The second was another seven. He waited in anticipation for the third one to stop. It seemed to spin for a full minute before it rested on the one picture that changed Phillip's life. It too, was a seven.

The machine dinged loudly for the whole casino to hear. Gambler's around him stopped paying attention to their games and stared as the slot machine rang and flashed fancy lights. A huge $500,000 appeared on the tiny monitor. Phillip couldn't believe his eyes. He sat on the tiny stool just staring at the dollar sign. 

A receipt printed out next to the buttons, he took it, still not fully understanding what was happening. One of the casino workers, a bright eyed showgirl, rushed over to him, she grabbed his hand and said something that Phillip couldn't understand. Everything around him seemed to be in slow motion, words were mumbled and sounds were muffled. She took him to the payout counter, just as she turned to him to tell him what to do, his hearing returned and everything was a normal speed. "Just give them your receipt," she explained, with a wink, she continued, "and then maybe we can spend some of it."

Walking past her, ignoring her attempt to flirt, he placed the ticket on the counter, pushing it towards the teller. Without a word the man behind the metal bars grabbed it, looking at the piece of paper his eyes widened. He told Phillip he would have to have the manager get the money from the vault and that it would be a couple minutes. Phillip nodded and the man went to get his money. 

When he returned he carried a silver briefcase, which he slid through the opening in the bars and said, "Don't spend it all in one place." Phillip pulled the case towards him and opened it, marveling at the stacks of one hundred dollar bills. He shook off the feeling and closed the case; he thanked to the man and walked straight out the door, passed the showgirl. The bright lights of the daytime momentarily blinded him. He blinked a couple times and walked right to the bank.

"I'd like to open an account," he told the teller...

The Bedside Murder

The Bedside Murder

Journalist Margo Keys

     On the morning of July 2, 2013, the body of Mr. Caleb Saxon was found in his bedroom. It appeared he had a heart attack and collapsed on the floor just before reaching his bed. However, upon further investigation, it was discovered that Mr. Saxon was injected with a virtually undetectable poison. It was only discovered because of the efforts of Head Detective Sarah Holmes. "I had a hunch," comments Detective Holmes, "so I had the lab search for any and all poisons in the database."
     The body was discovered by the wife of Mr. Saxon, Jessica Anderson-Saxon. She came in after a long day of work to find her husband on the floor with no pulse, she called 911 to report her findings. Despite that she was unavailable for comment, she was overheard saying that she was not surprise this happened. The police department questioned her, but soon eliminated her as a suspect due to her airtight alibi. A friend of the victim stated to the police that he knew who killed Saxon. "[Saxon] was reviewing an employee at his legal firm after he got his second DWI, and he told me that he was going to fire [the employee]." Detective Holmes questioned the employee, Clive Prescott, and took him into custody.
     Prescott claims to have been home alone during the time of Saxon's death; without an alibi, the police questioned his motive and opportunity. Saxon's power to terminate Prescott was determined the motive, and without an alibi, his opportunity was obvious. Prescott declared that he had nothing to do with Saxon's murder. "He was our best suspect," Detective Holmes noted, "but there was something that didn't sit right with me about him. So we looked elsewhere."
     After searching deeper into Saxon's life, Detective Holmes discovered some stipulations in the accounting books at his firm. It appeared Saxon had been embezzling money from his office for the past 3 year's. His boss had uncovered this information the day of Saxon's death; however, when questioned, it was discovered that he was on a business trip and couldn't have possibly killed Saxon. With no other suspects besides Prescott, the police almost gave up hope looking for more. That is until a woman came forward and confessed to the police that she had been having an affair with Saxon.
     Detective Holmes commented, "We immediately suspected her as the killer...but after talking with her we brought Saxon's wife back in for questioning. When we told [his wife] about the affair and asked if she knew, she began sobbing and apologizing." Then, after investigating her financials, they asked her why there was $20,00 missing, she immediately confessed.
     Mrs. Anderson-Saxon had discovered her husbands affair a month before his death. She soon began devising a plan to rid herself of "that cheating scum," she commented. She confessed to hiring a hit man to inject the rare poison into Saxon's bloodstream. He died within ten minutes of the injection.
     The Saxon trial will be held on August 27, 2013 at the courthouse at 8:00AM.
     The memorial service for Caleb Saxon will be on July 7, 2013; it will be open to the public.

Escape: Part One

Once upon a time there was a very beautiful girl. She was always locked away in her room, reading, writing, and learning new things. Her parents had always encouraged her to do everything to gain all the knowledge she could, for that was the only thing that would give her any sort of life when she was older. The town she lived in was not a rich, fancy town like the ones by the capital. 

The girl never met anyone she particularly liked in any way. They were rude, angry people, people who could kill you by giving you a glare. They had ugly faces that were riddled with dirt and anger. Scowling everywhere they went, they made no friends and what family they had hated them. The girls parents had moved to this town after they lost their jobs in the big cities, not knowing who lived there when they purchased the house. 

They moved when the girl was six, her parents decided to keep her from the anger and the hate of the town. They home schooled her and brought only people from the capital for outside interaction. She grew up sheltered, confused about why she was never allowed outside. The only time she got to go off her family's property was when they visited other towns. 

Her parents, Simon and Lara, named their daughter Kathryn, in an attempt to help her through life. With a name like Kathryn, she was always expected to do her best, be proper, always be respectful; in other words, she had to be the perfect daughter. But with all this expectation on her shoulders, she was never a very happy girl. The only comfort she found was in her books. She loved to read the old stories, of a world that existed long ago, of simpler times, when the biggest worry was whether or not there was enough pie to go around. She'd never had the kind of life like she wanted, like the ones in her books, when everyone knew and loved everyone else. 

This was no way for a girl to grow up -- sheltered, naive, wondering what life was about, longing for adventure but never being allowed to go on one. Oh, how she longed for adventure, like her favorite story; if only she could be taken on a quest to fight a mighty dragon and retrieve stolen treasure like Bilbo Baggins.  Or maybe catch a killer with her best friend like Sherlock Holmes. Every time she expressed interest in leaving her parents would lock her away in the only room without windows, telling her that leaving was not an option and that she should giver up her childish dreams.

By her 19th birthday, she had read every book in her parents vast library -- multiple times. She had almost every great story memorized, every poem, every snippet of excellence was up in her mind, and all she had to do was be remembered of one word of phrase and she could quote it perfectly. When she turned 15 she began to run out of new books, so in an effort to keep the adventures coming, she began to write. Her stories often consisted of wild ideas, with heroic princes who saved the damsel in distress; usually that damsel was her, being trapped in her own home. She kept these stories hid inside of her favorite books, books her parents never read, so they would not be found. 

When she was 20, she decided enough was enough. She was old enough to make her own decisions, and she wasn't going to take it any longer. What she was going to do, she didn't know, but she was going to do something. For the next couple days she began hinting to her parents that she was getting restless inside the little home. She would gaze out the window, saying things about how beautiful it was. Her parents didn't get the hint, they would agree it was a nice day, but the conversation would never go anywhere else. 

One day her mother came to her and stated, "Your father and I are going on a business trip, we must leave you here with the butler and we are hiring a mercenary to protect you. We will be gone for a fortnight; however, we will make certain you have plenty of everything, the maids will make your meals. I trust you will behave while we're gone." upon hearing this news, Kathryn new this was the perfect chance for her to escape. The mercenary would complicate things, but she would manage. 

She began planning right away, slowly collecting foods from the kitchen, washing almost all of her dresses, and studying maps. The morning her parents left, she sneaked into her their room and stole the only suitcase they did not take with them. Taking it back to her room, she was very lucky that she did not get caught. All the secrecy was very exciting for Kathryn as she had never done anything like this. She packed all her clothes and food into her suitcase and hid it under her bed. She would escape during the night. 

As soon as the sun went down she told everyone she was going to bed, but she sat in her dark room until all the lights were out and all the talking stopped. Then she waited longer.After she was sure that everyone was asleep, she opened her window as quiet as she could, and dropped her suitcase out the window. She stuck her head out an looked both ways, then she quietly moved her desk chair to the window and used it as a stool to get out the window. Sticking her feet out first she pushed off and landed on her feet. She turned around and closed the window. With her heart racing and her mind screaming, she grabbed her suitcase and ran towards the road. 

Kathryn walked quickly and quietly along the dirt road that lead out of town. There was only the town behind her and the world staring her in the face. Her destination would take days to reach, maybe longer than she expected. Before she had left she grabbed her parents emergency money from their room, hoping it was enough to by lodging for the next couple nights. 

With the rest of the world living in civilization, she didn't know what to expect. Her town was one of only towns that used dirt roads, no cars, and had no electricity. The rest of the world was going to be so different than what she knew, and she could barely wait to explore it. She reached the paved road after an hour, and withing minutes she could see the bright lights of civilization. Cars began to fly by her, going faster than Kathryn had ever imagined they could. Looking around for a motel, she could tell that she looked out of place. People would stare at her as she walked by, some would ask if she was lost or if she needed help, but she would shrug them off saying that she was fine. 

She soon found a cheap place to stay the night. The man at the front desk looked like he was on drugs and the place smelled like cheap alcohol. As soon as she saw the inside she turned around and almost ran out the door. A man was walking by the same time she came out the door and she bumped into him. Before looking up she apologized profusely. The man laughed and said, "It's okay, I would run out of that place too," he looked her in the eye, "you're not from around here are you." 

"No," she answered in a quiet voice, "I'm from a little town about an hour down the road." 

"Have you ever been outside of it?" he asked.

"Not exactly. We moved there when I was little but I don't remember where I was born." 

He nodded, "Why don't you come with me, I'll help you find a place better than this dump to stay." 

Kathryn was skeptical, "Okay," but she hesitated to follow when the man started walking. 

He turned around, noticing she was not following, and assured, "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," he laughed a little. Her face turned a little red and she walked toward him. They traveled down the street. He asked, "What's your name?"

Pondering whether or not she should give him her real name or not, she took a second to answer him. Eventually she replied, "Kathryn, what's yours?" 

"Charles. You have a pretty name."

She blushed, "Thank you." She began to study this man. He was tall and handsome, his brown hair was cut short and his blue eyes shined, even in the dark of the night. He began asking her questions, making small talk, asking her where she was headed, why she was walking, and how old she is. She replied with, "I'm going anywhere, I don't have a car, and I'm 20 years old." 

"You're going all by yourself? That sounds risky."

"Well, I don't really have much of an option," then she told him a little lie, "My parents left and gave me everything, only the town I lived in was old and dirty, I needed something else, so I left." 

They were walking for what seamed like a while when they finally reached a motel that looked acceptable. Kathryn thanked him and Charles bid her goodbye as she walked in the door, then he walked back the way they came.

A Mysterious Key

Alice tried to remember who had given her the key. It sat on her dining room table, she sat and stared at it, questioning its existence. She found it in her pocket when she got home from work. It had been a rather unusual day...

Waking up at 6:30 AM, Alice turned off her alarm clock. She looked over at her dog, who was standing in the doorway, wagging his tail. When she put her head back on the pillow the dog ran up and jumped on her, like he did every morning. She got up to feed him, "Okay, Max. Let's go," she started walking upstairs as Max sprinted in front of her to the back door. She followed him outside. After starting the coffee maker she showered and got dressed.

There's no key in my pocket, I must have gotten it at work. Let's see, it started off like this...

"Hey, Alice!" shouted a voice far behind her, she barely heard it, and turned around. "Alice!" the voice said again, she looked around, a tall man was waving his arms. It was her best-work-friend, Charles; he waved her over. She pushed her way through the crowd, she felt like a fish swimming upstream.

When she finally reached Charles, Alice asked, "Yes?"

"The boss-man wanted to talk to you." he replied nodding upwards, towards her office, "it didn't look good, you better go now."

Alice sighed, "Okay, do you know what he wants?"

"Just to see you, and he's impatient."

"Okay, see you later, maybe," she smiled and walked into the open elevator behind Charles; the doors closed and opened again on every floor. Alice was tired of the ever present ding when the doors open by the time she reached the seventh floor. She walked down the long hallway and opened the door that read The Daily News with Gloria Gunderson and Michael Meyers.

The receptionist, Clara, said, "Good morning Alice, Mr. Montgomery wants to speak with out as soon as possible."

Alice smiled, "Okay," and headed up to the largest office on the floor. Before she reached the glass walls of Troy Montgomery's office, she took a deep breath, this couldn't be good. She gathered her strength and walked over to the glass door. As she knocked he looked up from his computer and waved her in.

He was a young man, at 32, the youngest person to run The Daily News. He had short blond hair and blue eyes, his suit was neat and his tie was straight, he looked way too put together. "Take a seat," he offered. Alice sat in the left chair, diagonal her boss. "You've been working here for a year now, correct?"

"Yes, sir." Alice replied.

"You've never had a promotion either, right?"

"No, sir."

"Does that bother you?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"No, sir. I didn't expect one very early." she answered, confused about where this conversation was headed.

"That's good. It's bad to expect so much. How would you feel about one now?" his stern face broke and Alice saw a little grin.

"A promotion?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, a promotion."

Alice couldn't find the words to say what she wanted, so she sat there with the biggest smile on her face.

"I'll take take that as a yes." concluded Mr. Montgomery, "Instead of writing stories for the website, you are now in charge of celebrity guests. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Celebrity guests? Of course I can handle that," she almost yelled with excitement.

"Excellent. Pack up your desk, for this job, you get your own office."

Alice's eyes got wide, her mouth hung open a little, this was her first promotion and her first office, she couldn't believe it.

Her boss laughed as he stood up, "Come, I'll show you to your new desk." Alice stood up quickly and gathered herself. It was time to be professional.

Still no key. Where did I get it?

Alice sat down in her new office, he desk all set up the way she liked it, her new computer on, and her phone dinged. A text from her mom congratulating her on her promotion. Charles burst through the closed door. He had a huge smile on his face as he ran around her desk, he gave her a gigantic hug before she could react. "Congratulations!" he yelled in her ear.

Nope. Not where I got it.

Mr. Montgomery walked into her office and Alice looked up. "Your first assignment is here. Walk with me," he turned back around and walked out the door.

Alice was caught off guard and collected herself quickly. She stood up and walked out the door. She half jogged half-walked to catch up to her boss. "What is it?" she asked.

"Not what, who," he turned into the only room without glass walls and held out his hand, his way of pointing, to Lucas Levi; who was sitting at the big table. Lucas Levi was Alice's all time favorite actor. He stared in her favorite TV show and was in her favorite movie. She tried her best to stifle her growing need to fan-girl, so she stood there with a dumb grin on her face while Mr. Montgomery introduced them. "Lucas, this is the new Celebrity Manager Alice. She will be making sure you get whatever you need to make your visit as comfortable as possible," he turned to her, "Alice, say hello."

Alice snapped out of her trance and said sheepishly, "Hello, it's nice to meet you," suddenly she had a huge, dorky smile on her face.

Lucas' voice, what Alice described what silk sounds like, said, "Hi, it's nice to meet you too," then he stuck out his hand to shake her's, she stared at it for a second and then remember what to do.

"You'll have to excuse her," said Mr. Montgomery, "this is her first day and you're probably the first famous person she's met."

"That's okay," Lucas laughed, "I remember the first time I met an actor, it was the best day of my life."

"Alice," Mr. Montgomery handed her the file that was sitting on the table, "it's time for you to show Mr. Levi to his dressing room. Everything you need to know is in here."

She took the file and opened it, the first thing she looked for was his dressing room, when she found it, she took a second to gather her thoughts and announced professionally, "Okay, this way please," Lucas stood up and they walked out the door.

Alice led Lucas down the hallway and around the corner. He spoke, "You look nervous, you don't have to be, people tell me how easy I am to talk to."

Alice opened up a little and they talked for a couple minutes until they reached Lucas' dressing room. She told him that if he needed anything he could call her office, and she set her business card on his desk.

This is ridiculous. Still not a sign of any key.

She didn't hear anything from Lucas all morning. An hour before it was time for him to appear on The Daily News Alice walked to his dressing room and brought him to sound check. While walking he handed her something.

What was it? It must be the key! But what's it for? What did he say?!

"Here," he said to Alice, handing her the key, "when I leave, go into my dressing room and open the box on the desk," Alice took the key hesitantly, she was confused and Lucas could tell. He reassured, "It'll make sense when you open it," and she stuck it in her pocket.

"That's it!" Alice exclaimed at her dining room table. She jumped up, snatched the key, and ran out the door. She reached Lucas' dressing room just before the cleaners did. Sure enough there was a box on the desk, it was really more of an old fashioned treasure chest. She took the key out of her pocket and stuck it into the lock. Opening the lid and seeing what was inside brought a tear to her eye...

That Old House

Two young men hopped excitedly up the concrete stairs to the old house. Kevin Ricardo inherited the 150 year old house from his great-grandfather, and decided to take his best friend Fredrick to look at the house. The house sat alone on the corner of an empty street. Fields of grass surrounded it. The corner house's huge yard was overrun with weeds and the grass was knee-high. Kevin jiggled the key in the door's old lock, it finally opened with a thrust from both of the men.
The outside of the house was dark and worn by the weather. The windows were impossible to see through and half the siding was missing. The inside appeared to be well kept, despite the cobwebs that hung in the tall corners. Directly inside to the right of the door was a small bench chest. it was open and inside was a red plaid blanket. A single shoe sat on the floor next to the bench. The walls were covered in brown wall paper, which was ripped in places, mostly around windows and the huge fireplace. The living room was furnished with a single couch, which was ripped and had stuffing coming out the cushions. The sofa was in the middle of the room, facing the fireplace. Next to the couch a small end table sat, the finish was chipped and one leg was shorter than the rest. On top was a dusty candle. The house was not equipped with electricity so consequently there were candles everywhere.  There was a gas heater in the kitchen, which was through a small hallway left of the front door.
Kevin and Fredrick walked into the kitchen where a note was stuck on the old refrigerator with a letter magnet K. This is what it read:

Dear Kevin, 
      This house has been in our family for generations. Take great care of it. In my last years I've grown too old to mow the lawn and fix the siding, but I trust that you will do everything you can to make this house as wonderful as I imagine. Even though I am no longer there, this house was a dream of mine, I wanted it to look the way it did when it was new. 
     I don't ask that you fix it up like I imagined, my only request is this:
There is a mirror in the upstairs bedroom, it is 100 years-old. DO NOT break it.
                           Sincerly,
                                 Your Great-Grandfather Richard

As Kevin read the words of what might be the last thing his great grandfather had written, tears weld up in his eyes. He folded the letter up and stuck it in his coat pocket. Wiping his eyes, he looked around the old room at all the antique decorations. A clock hung un-working on the wall next to the sink, no water came out of the faucet, and instead of a refrigerator, an empty icebox sat in the corner.
Stairs led up to the second floor on the other side of the small kitchen, Kevin walked towards it glancing at the cracked linoleum floor, the stairs squeaked as he remembered coming here as a boy. Running up the stairs to the little back bedroom playing superheros with his cousins. Oh, memories. reminisced Kevin. He couldn't wait to see what that old room looked like.
The stairs were narrow as they spiraled upward, small steps made it difficult for the men's large feet to make it up without tripping. "I want to show you something," Kevin stated to Fredrick, "down the hallway." At the last door on the left was an open door. The two men  walked through, one after another. A bed sat on the right side of the room, in the middle of the back wall there was a window. Kevin walked slowly over, after wiping it off, he crossed his arms on the window sill, remembering all the great times he had in the old house.
Fredrick sneezed, he had picked up a dusty photo album off the bookcase opposite the bed. After flipping a couple pages he walked over to Kevin, book in hand, pointing at a black and white picture he asked, "Is this your dad?" Kevin looked at the photo, it was of four men: a really old man who looked to be 100 years old, a slightly younger man, an even younger man, who looked about thirty, and a baby. Words were written in cursive underneath the picture, they read: Four generations of Ricardo men. Jesse, Richard, Tony, and baby Lorenzo. 
"Yeah, the baby is my dad. Wow, so that's what Richard looked like," answered Kevin.
"You never met him? I thought you said you used to come here a lot," questioned Fredrick.
"I did, but I was so little that I didn't remember what he looked like."
Fredrick closed the book and put it back on the shelf. Kevin led the way out of the room and into the one across the hall. "This is the master bedroom," announced Kevin. A large bed lay at the center of the wall opposite the door a window was directly above the middle of the bed, short blue curtains covered it. Kevin walked quietly over the bedside table, an old picture sat upright of a young lady; she was beautiful, with short hair and a pearl necklace, she looked like she belonged in 1930-something. There was a wardrobe that sat on the left side of the room, next to it on the wall a mirror hung delicately. It was large and round, coming off the mirror was an intricate silver design that looked like the tentacles of a hundred squid. Fredrick walked up to the antique and stared at himself, trying to imagine what it was like to live there. "Look at this," directed Fredrick.
Kevin walked over to the looking glass, "This must be the 100 year old mirror Richard mentioned in the letter."
"It's gorgeous," commented Fredrick, after a silence he added, "This place is warm and friendly, it's full of memories and wonder, but it's almost creepy, with the emptiness of the rooms and the lack of light. I couldn't live here."
"Neither could I," Kevin reached out with his hand and caressed the side of the mysterious glass delicately. He felt something on the back of the mirror, with his index finger he pushed on the strange shape.
Suddenly a chill swept into the room, and a loud noise sounding like a large rock was being rolled away; the boys looked around, trying to discover the source. They walked out of the bedroom curiously and cautiously. They looked around, the breeze was coming from downstairs. Creeping down, they got colder and colder. Out of the kitchen they walked back into the living room.
The wall to the back of the couch, which was previously empty, caught there attention. Instead of the hideously old wallpaper, the middle of the wall, the size of a large door, was empty. Concrete stairs led down underneath the house, but all the boys could see was a couple steps; darkness consumed the rest. A cold breeze was emanating from that point, it smelled musty and old, like the air down there had been sitting still for a hundred years.
The men looked at each other, with wide eyes they knew the question in the others' mind. Kevin nodded and put one foot hesitantly in front of the other, he ventured down the stairs cautiously. Fredrick followed slowly.
The stairs turned left every now and then. They seemed to go on forever. Cobwebs hung from every corner -- spiders hanging off some of them -- and the air smelled cold and damp. When they finally reached the bottom, a huge corridor opened up in front. Marble statues of men and women stood around the room, each holding a different weapon. There were nameplates underneath each of them, a particularly tall statue, holding the largest weapon, had a name plate that read:

Hugo Ricardo

Rank: Master Assassin

October 5, 1797 - July 3, 1850

Fredrick read the nameplate's of some of the other statues out loud. They were all a lesser rank than the first. "Dude," said Fredrick, "I think you're related to assassin's."
"Yeah," said Kevin, so quietly Fredrick almost didn't hear him.
"That's awesome," Fredrick smiled, but Kevin didn't. He couldn't believe it; how could his parents not tell him about this, his own history!
Kevin walked slowly around the room, looking at all the statues and reading the nameplates. When he got to the last statue, which looked to be the oldest, after reading the name, he noticed a door hidden in the shadows. He waved Fredrick over and with one hand saying, "Over here! Did you see this?" he parted the cobwebs and stepped through; Fredrick shook his head and followed.
Kevin grabbed the dusty handle and pushed the door open. Through the door was a small room, inside by the back wall was what looked like a coffin. It was made of marble, carved in the middle on the side facing the door was a crest, Kevin recognized it to be his family one. Neither of them could believe what they were seeing. All around the room there were little treasures. Gold statuettes, expensive cloth's, and treasure chest's. Kevin crept over to one of the old dusty wooden treasures, he opened it using all his might; inside was full to the top with shining gold chips. Kevin sat amazed for a moment, he just discovered what could be millions of dollars. Knowing he couldn't take it, he closed the lid and stood up.
"This is crazy," stated Kevin, he put his hand on the pedestal he was standing next to.
All of a sudden they heard the same loud rumble from before. The two men looked at each other in panic and ran out of the room and up the stairs. When they got to the top the wall had closed back up. They stood, breathing hard, panic on their minds; they had been left to die. Horror was evident in both their eyes; it was so dark that they could barely see anything. Left with nothing else to do they walked back down the stairs, into the waning light from a hole in the roof.

Here's another story from the same prompt by my sister, Teacher, at her blog.

Forbidden Room

            The hallway was silent. George crept out of his bedroom and tip toed down the long passage. When he reached the door at the end he stopped and looked all around. The 12 year old new he shouldn't be doing this, but he couldn't help not knowing. He had to know. Know what was beyond the door. He had been told to not even look at the door, but he couldn't help it. He was too curious. “What was that saying?” he wondered, “Curiosity killed the cat? Yes, that was it. I don’t care, I just have to know!”

            He slowly lifted his hand to the knob on the door, quietly turning the handle, it swung open easily. “Unlocked! Fantastic!” he thought. There was an old desk in the middle of the room; behind it sat a chair covered with a large furniture cloth. When George turned to close the door, he heard another door opening at the other end of the hall. “That’s Mother’s room!" he thought, "She’ll kill me if she sees me in here!” He left the door open as he panicked; his eyes ran around the room, looking for a suitable hiding place. To the right of the door was another door, George crept as quickly and as quietly as he could to the closed oak door. He jiggled the handle, it was locked! He could hear footsteps coming closer. Hiding behind the desk was impossible, she would see him before he even got there, “The window!” he thought. He could hide behind the long curtain, it would suffice long enough.

            George ran over to the window and hid behind the long blue curtain; he tried to calm his heart and silence his breathing, but he was filled with adrenaline and he couldn’t be silent. He heard the footsteps stop at the doorway, they didn’t move for a minute but then took a few more steps into the room. George held his breath. The feet walked out of the room after what seemed like minutes, closing the door behind them. George let out a huge sigh of relief, he moved out from behind the curtain. Proud of his hiding skills he took a second to congratulate himself, like every 12 year old does after he accomplishes something.

            Most of the rooms in his grandfather’s mansion were modernized, but this room seemed to have missed the renovation. It was dusty and smelled old. An antique rug was lying on the wooded floor under the desk. George lifted the cover on the chair to reveal a small wooden one with a small cushion on the seat. He dropped the cover, allowing it to fall back in place. On the desk there was a small lamp with a chain to turn it on, George pulled on the little chain, but nothing happened, there was no bulb. “That’s odd,” he thought, “why would you have a lamp that didn’t work?” By the moonlight George could see the headline of the newspaper article sitting by the lamp. America Officially joins WW11. There was a huge bookshelf the covered the length of the left wall; it was covered top to bottom with old books, a small globe, what appeared to be a whole shelf a journals, and a couple awards that George had never heard of. Opposite the lamp on the desk was a figurine of a horse head, there was an engraved plate on the bottom but it was too dark for George to read, he tried to pick it up to get a better look. It wouldn’t move. It seemed to be stuck to the table, he twisted it, checking to make sure there wasn’t anything keeping it there; as he twisted, the bookshelf creaked. George jumped and stared as the middle of the bookshelf turned, revealing a secret room behind the wall. Little George, amazed and excited, crept into the little room.

            It was furnished relatively the same way as the office, bookshelves all around it, no windows, however. Instead of a desk in the middle there was a small stool facing an easel. Upon the easel was a painting of a lady, one he’d never seen before. He’d never known his grandfather to be creative at all, this couldn’t be his painting. “Who did this?” he wondered aloud.

            “It’s mine,” said an old voice. George jumped around, terrified, he saw his grandfather leaning against the wall in his pajamas, holding his cane in one hand.

            George tried to speak, but nothing came out, he was too stunned.

            “Don't worry, I was a curious lad once too,” his grandfather walked over to George, limping with the cane. He brushed off the stool with his free hand and sat down.

            “Who’s the lady in this painting?” asked George.

            The old man patted his good leg with his hand, “Sit right here, let me tell you the story of the most beautiful girl I've ever met…

They had nothing to say to each other

They had nothing to say to each other. The two 6 year old boys sat in little chairs facing each other in the small living room; which was a mess. Kevin and Artie received a huge lecture about how fighting was wrong from their mother, who was standing over them, waiting for the two to apologize.

            I couldn’t help it though, thought Kevin, he took my favorite truck. I had to beat him up! Kevin was the oldest of the twins, and by his standards, the cutest, which gave him a big ego. Artie disagreed though, He thinks he so much better than me because he’s older! I just wanted to play with his truck but he wouldn’t let me!

            “Come on boys, apologize!” their mother demanded.

            They stared at their feet, unwilling to say anything. Their mother then commanded them to stand up, she turned their chairs around to face opposite walls and said, “Now, you both can sit there until you are ready to apologize,” the boys sat down and she walked into the kitchen. They crossed their arms, refusing defeat. 

Cinderella

Cinderella's step sisters were giddy with excitement when the prince was at their door. He wanted them to try on the glass slipper that his assistant carried on a red plush pillow. If the shoe fit, the handsome prince would take the lucky girl to his castle and marry her. They screamed with anticipation to see if it would fit their rather large feet. Drizella went first. She sat down in a chair and lifted up her skirt just enough for the prince to see her hideous feet. She rarely washed them as they stank miserably.

Prince Charming winced as the stench reached his nose. Drizella was smiling idiotically and Anastasia stood off to the side, smirking, knowing that her sister's huge feet would never fit in shoe that small.

Cinderella was peeking out from around a door, she saw the prince, and remembering the events of the night before, she wanted to run up to him and say, "It's me! I'm the girl you're looking for!" and throw her arms around his neck as he kissed her passionately. But who was she kidding? She was the stepsister/servant of Drizella and Anastasia and the stepdaughter of Lady Tremaine. He rags had rips in them and she looked nothing like she did the night before. Prince Charming wouldn't give her the time of day. He would take one look at her and say, "Why does anyone like that even exist?" She thought it better to stay behind the wall and watch.

Everyone's breath was held as Prince Charming slid the shoe onto Drizella's foot, only her heel fit; she curled her toes, making them as small as possible, but her foot was simply too big. The prince sighed with relief and pulled the shoe away from the stinky ankle attachment. Drizella cried with disappointment, "NO! It'll fit! Try again!" she grabbed the shoe from Prince Charming and stuck her toes in first, slamming her foot to the floor, trying to shove her obnoxiously huge foot into the tiny shoe. The prince's assistant ran up behind Drizella, grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her away from the shoe. She screamed so loud the ears of every one on the street rang. Lady Tremaine said sternly, "Drizella, control yourself!" she turned to her other daughter, "Anastasia, your turn." 

Anastasia glided over to the chair her sister had recently vacated. She sat down with an elegance suitable for a princess. She smiled at Prince Charming, who grabbed the slipper off the floor. 

Cinderella had grown anxious behind the door. Watching Drizella make a fool of herself, she decided that if the shoe didn't fit Anastasia, she would go out and meet the prince. She hoped it would fit her sister only because she didn't want to have to face the man she loved and explain why she was the servant of the worst family in town.

Prince Charming gently took hold of her ankle and slid her toes into the glass slipper. They were all amazed when her heel slid perfectly into place. They all sat and stared at her foot for a moment, processing the fact that the prince had just found the girl he was looking for. Or at least he thought he did. Anastasia and her mother yelped with glee as she jumped up from the chair, showing off her shoe. Drizella, who was standing off to the side next to the princes' assistant, screamed, "NO! IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ME!" and she fell to the floor like a pile of dirty laundry and wept. Cinderella's eyes teared up, this was not supposed to happen. She was supposed to waltz in after the shoe was too small for both of her sisters, just before the prince left, put on the shoe and have everyone see that it was her that the prince had met at the ball.

The prince stood up, still stunned that a girl with a personality like that could be the girl that he fell in love with at the ball. Anastasia threw her arms around Prince Charming and kissed his frozen face. The assistant stood by the pile of Drizella and smiled brightly, he was just happy he didn't have to go to any more houses filled with girls that would do anything to get their foot into a shoe too small for them.

The prince took a step back and Anastasia stood confused. He said, "No, there's no way YOU are the girl I met last night!" she asked confused, "Why not? My foot fits perfectly!" he replied, "Your personality is all wrong! The girl I met last night was incredibly nice, humble, and shy. She had beautiful blond hair, not red! And she had the face of an angel, not the result of inbreeding! I have been tricked!" He turned to his assistant angrily and added, "Come, we must go to the next house!" Cinderella couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. She stepped out of the door as her sister and stepmother cried out in anguish. "Wait!" Cinderella shouted, the prince turned around, "you haven't put the shoe on me yet."

Prince Charming laughed, "and I'm sure your foot will fit, just like all the other girls say. Goodbye," he and his assistant walked out the door; Cinderella stood in her rags as a tear fell from her eye. Both her sisters were on the floor in tears and her mother comforted Anastasia. Cinderella never saw the prince again, and the prince never found his true love.