Her golden hair cascaded down her shoulders as she threw the kickstand down with a sigh. "Ah, here we are," she said, the engine sputtering to a quiet whine. You reluctantly untangled your fingers from her waist and climbed off the scooter.

Squinting through the rusting bars of the gate, a sprawling mansion loomed in the distance, its shadowed windows seeming to watch their approach. A knot of unease tightened in your gut.

"Maybe we should just call it a night, huh?" you offered, your voice barely a whisper.

"Scaredy-cat? We came this far!" she smirked, her voice holding a teasing edge. "Now stop complaining and grab that bolt cutter in the scooter out."