Nightfall in the woods brought the bitter cold.
Jim zipped the sleeping bags together inside the pup tent.
They snuggled, jumping at every noise until they fell asleep.
The howling started around midnight and didn’t stop till light flooded through the trees the following morning.
A few hours of sleep was better than none.
There were no roads so they had to hike to their destination an abandon mansion.
Tales were told of vampires, haunting and witches for two hundred years. Still hours away, the sun would be going down by the time they arrived.
Tired and hungry Debra pushed her way up the cliff and through the over grown brush only stopping at first sight of the mansion.
It was exactly what she expected.
Stone lions guarded the entrance, columns holding the balcony that hung overhead.
French doors and stained glass adorned the upper floors.
Excited Debra was the first up the stone steps through spider webs; a cool breeze swept leaves around her feet she pushed her hair from her face.