Derrek shone his red light down the hall, where he had heard the sound. The light caught on something between the stairs and the second door to the left. A wooden handle with a rusty piece of metal in a half-moon. A piece he had seen before. Pigman's sickle.
Damn, someone is messing with me. I didn't hear someone rushing away so they're probably close by. He eyed the other door to his right, the one beneath the stairs, and the door leading to the kitchen. I would have heard the doors if someone used them, especially if they had to close them again. Or not? If they timed it exactly… No, no, that'd be near impossible. He eyed both doors and bit his lip.
Derrek treaded further down the hall, slow and quiet, toward the sickle. He restrained himself from opening the doors. Check the hall first. Focus. He breathed long in, short out. He got to the sickle, here he saw the handrail clearly. It was a classic wooden dark brown handrail, with ornamented spokes which were a hell to clean, a top rail with a glossy yet smooth finish. Something from forrty years ago, yet not aged a bit. It felt right here, would have been weird to find a modern staircase in this kind of house. The stairs themselves were also wooden. Probably oak? Well, I think I would call any wooden stairs oak, because, you know… Oak. One thing is for sure, these older stairs are bound to creak at some pieces. Derrek stepped over the sickle, making sure not to hit it, the stairs to his right.
He saw the front door now, where he'd been on the opposite side of not that long ago. To his left was a third door, going into a room that would be looking out on the front porch. So left: Pantry, kitchen, unknown and unknown. Possibly even another room deeper in one of those.
To his right, in front of the stairs was a majestic double door. Made out of the same wood as the stairs, with the same style of ornamentations. Waw, that's epic. A piece of art on itself. The doors had animals shapes carved in it. A deer, bird, swine, and wolf he recognized. Derrek stood looking at it for some twenty seconds. Focus, Derrek. Sickle, where did it come from? Could it have been this awesome door? Derrek felt at the door handle, it took some weight to open and it creaked a bit, as he expected. No way, I would have heard that. He wanted to peek in but refrained, worried he'd be too distracted with what he would find. If they mess up any of the woodwork, they will have hell to pay.
He went to the front door. Could it have been this one? Nope, locked. That leaves this one. Let's see. Derrek took the handle from the third door, the lock clicked open and he pushed open the door.