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She rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs and slowed her pace as she ascended to the top floor. The wooden stairs creaked with every step, and she cringed at each noise. If there was anyone upstairs, they would definitely know she was there now.
When she reached the top, she checked right and left down separate hallways. A small landing with a white railing wrapped where she stood, revealing an easy view of the entryway below. It’d be good to have a vantage point of the front door from up there.
She went down the hallway to the left first, shining her flashlight into each of the open rooms. With each one, she repeated the same quick process, walking in, then scanning the room and checking each closet. Maybe, if she had the energy later on, she'd look through each room in detail for supplies. But for the time being, rest was more important.
After she repeated her checks on the other side of the upstairs, she descended, making her way back to the kitchen.
"Saff?" Maddie called out, her head snapping up in her direction.
“Yeah.” Saff watched the tension leave her face.
"Any issues?" Maddie asked.
"No," Saff answered. Then she added, "There's a bathroom right here by the entryway."
Maddie hopped off the stool where she sat and grabbed her cane from where it rested against the countertop beside her. "Can you show me?" she asked, holding her free hand out in the air.
Saff walked to her and looped her arm over hers. She led her down the hallway, then pushed the bathroom door all the way open for Maddie to enter.
"Is there—" Maddie paused, standing in the bathroom. "Is there any toilet paper or anything?"
Saff pointed her flashlight to the wall near the toilet, searching. "On your left."
Maddie nodded, and Saff watched her for a second before clearing her throat awkwardly. "I'll close the door," she muttered.
She pulled the door shut, and leaned back against the wall beside it.
Dim light trickled through a glass window near the top of the front door, casting the narrow entryway in a solemn gray.
Pictures lined the wall in front of her, and with only the faint light, she could make out the figures in the pictures, but not the details of their faces. And she preferred it that way. It was better not to know the ghosts of the people who once lived their lives in the house.
A minute later, the bathroom door opened, pulling her out of her daze.
"Here," she muttered, pushing up off the wall as Maddie stepped out.
"I'm starving," Maddie said, holding her hand out. Saff looped her arm around it and led them back to the kitchen.
She scanned through a few of the open cupboards without any luck. Not that she expected to find much. The family living there seemed to have cleared out pretty well. Or at least they cleared out the necessities.
In the last cupboard she opened, there was a bag of coffee beans. She grabbed them and removed her backpack, dropping it onto the floor before stuffing the beans into the large pocket. At least one good thing would come from the detour.
"There's no food in here," Saff said, leaning against the granite island.
Maddie frowned slightly, then removed her own backpack, setting it on the counter in front of her. She unzipped the top and rifled through it for a moment before removing a clear plastic bag with what looked like smashed protein bars inside of it.
Saff watched her unzip the bag and pull one out, holding it out in front of her.
"Here.”
Saff stared at it for a moment. In any other case, she would have taken it without a second thought. But this time, she hesitated. She blamed it on the nausea that had begun to reemerge when they reached the house.
"I'm not hungry," she replied.
Maddie frowned again. "You should eat something," she said, holding the bar further out in the air. "Seriously, I don't want to have to deal with you passing out or something.”
Saff snorted, shaking her head before reluctantly taking the bar from her hand.
She walked to the other side of the island and sat in a chair at the kitchen table a few feet away from Maddie. Then she pulled small pieces off of the bar and chewed them as she watched the rain stream down the sliding glass window that led to the backyard.
