| |
TILLY SWALLOWED NERVOUSLY and felt a lump go down her throat. She wiped the trickling sweat off her brow and glanced over at her friend, Ben. He didn’t look worried at all. In fact, he had a big smirk across his face.
“Are we doing this, or what?” said Ben, with a shrug.
Tilly hesitated, before whispering, “Yeah. Just give me a minute.”
Ben sniggered. “What are you scared of? Don’t forget this was your idea.”
Tilly shook her head. “I’m not scared. I just need to tighten my shoelaces,” she replied.
Tilly bent down and placed her torch next to her right foot. She undid her laces and retied them using a double knot. The full moon was the only source of light within the derelict neighbourhood. Fortunately, Tilly and Ben had travelled along a lonely stretch of road carrying her powerful torch, which provided a safe passage all the way to the haunted house. She glanced up, staring at the eerie sight in front of her. The decaying roof had two towering gargoyles perched on either side. They sat proudly, with sinister looks on their faces, relishing their role as gatekeepers to the underworld. A smoky mist blanketed the perimeter of the two-story property like it was under a demonic spell. And the midnight breeze rustled through the cracked windows which sounded like forlorn moaning, a cry for help.
Tilly shook her head.
“I’m not scared. I’m not scared,” she whispered under her breath.
Ben tapped her on the shoulder.
“Hurry up, slowcoach. What are you knitting new shoelaces or something?”
Tilly brushed his comment away and picked up the torch. She stood up cautiously and shone the light in his face.
“Let’s go!” she said.
Ben closed his eyes and placed his hand over his face.
“Hey . . . stop that!”
Tilly giggled.
“I’m just mucking around.”
Ben sighed. “We can muck around here, or we go inside. What do you want to do?”
“Ummm. Like, go inside,” said Tilly, in a sarcastic tone of voice.
Tilly and Ben had only taken two step forwards when they heard footsteps behind them.
Tilly spun around in fright. She lost her grip on the torch. It flew into the air before falling violently onto the ground.
Thud!
The torch blinked twice, before the light disappeared.
Tilly screamed. Ben grabbed her hand. “Who’s there?” he shouted into the darkness.
“Hey, don’t be scared,” said a young female voice. “My name is Abigail and I’m here with my brother, Gavin.”
Tilly stared into the distance as two silhouettes walked towards her. They were of a similar build to Ben and herself and were waving at them in an enthusiastic manner.
“What are you doing here?” said Ben, still with his guard up.
“What are you doing here?” said Gavin, stopping a meter in front of them.
“I asked you first,” said Ben, stubbornly.
“We were walking towards the house and saw you guys holding a torch. We wanted to know if we could join you.”
Tilly rubbed her forehead. “So, you’re here to see the haunted house?”
Abigail giggled. “Yes, isn’t everybody?”
Ben shook his head.
“This doesn’t make sense. Why are you walking around in complete darkness? And how did you get here?”
Gavin held up a torch. “It stopped working. And we walked.”
“We can’t drive as yet,” said Abigail, chiming in.
Tilly nodded. “Neither can we.”
The four teenagers stood in a minute of silence, before Ben finally spoke.
“Fine, you’re in. But you stick with our plan, okay?”
Gavin groaned. “Fine,” he muttered. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Tilly walked towards her broken torch and gently picked it up. It wasn’t cracked, only dented.
“Okay guys, here’s the plan. We’re going to walk around the house first and see if it’s safe to go inside. And if it is, we’ll go through the front or the back door, whatever seems like the safest option. And don’t forget, we need to stick together. If anyone sees, hears or feels like they’re in danger—we get out immediately!”
Abigail scratched her head. “And how do you know that there’s nobody inside?”
Ben scoffed. “It’s abandoned. Nobody lives here . . . except maybe some ghosts.”
Gavin laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Besides, that’s why we’re all here, right? To witness something paranormal.”
Tilly tapped the torch firmly against her palm. “Come on. Come on.” After the fourth attempt, a feeble light returned. She switched it on and off until the torch slowly returned to its full strength. “Finally!” she said, with a sigh of relief.
Tilly shone the torch into Ben’s face with a big grin.
“Are you ready?” she said, with a chuckle.
Ben closed his eyes and growled.
“Tilly, I shouldn’t have to tell you a second time. Take the stupid thing off my face!”
Tilly did as she was told. “Relax. It’s just a joke,” she mumbled.
Tilly shone the light towards Abigail and Gavin.
“Guys are you ready?” she asked.
Tilly froze, and her heart started pounding. She opened her mouth and let out a bloodcurdling scream. The light penetrated them like they were a hologram.
“They’re ghosts!” shrieked Ben.
He yanked Tilly’s hand and started running towards the road. Tilly’s hand trembled as she lit up the path in front of her.
“Run, Tilly! Run for your life,” stammered Ben.
Tilly and Ben stumbled over rocks, falling over at various potholes that hadn’t seemed to be there before. They didn’t care. Bruised and grazed, they picked themselves off the ground and forged forwards.
Tilly and Ben heard high-pitched laughter behind them.
“Run, scaredy-cats. Run!” taunted Gavin. “Run for your life!”
Tilly and Ben ignored him, determined not to look back.
“And just to clarify, “shouted Gavin. “Oh, yes. This is a haunted house and we’re the ones that haunt it!”
Gavin stuck his middle finger in the air as he watched Abigail and Ben running further along the road.
Abigail clutched her head and threw Gavin a menacing look.
“Why’d you do that for?” she growled.
Gavin pulled a face.
“What’s with the look? You saw them. They ran off like the rest of them.”
Abigail sighed. “I realise that. But taunting them isn’t going to help. We’ll never get anyone inside the house at this rate.”
Gavin crossed his arms. “They were probably too scared to go in anyway.”
Abigail walked up to Gavin and put her arm around him.
“Please, Gavin. Luring people is going to be a million times harder if you’re not nice to them. That means, even if they find out our little secret . . .”
Gavin groaned. “Yeah, alright. I get it.”
Abigail and Gavin turned towards the sound of deafening heavy metal music. Two headlights came tearing down the street, suddenly swerving in front of their house with urgency. The windows of the beaten-up sedan rolled down as puffs of smoke escaped into the night sky.
Abigail rubbed her hands together.
“You know what this means . . .”
Gavin chuckled. “Yep. Fresh meat. There’s hope for us yet.”
––––––––
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: AMANI Gunawardana is a children’s author residing in Melbourne. She loves reading and writing stories that are humorous, quirky and fun. You can find her published work via her website: www.amanigunawardana.com.au
