“And you let her?” Brian asked, crinkling his face in confusion.
“She caught me sneaking out. This was the only way to get her not to snitch,” Elizabeth explained. Her eyes scanned around the area, her and her friends decided to meet up. “Where’s Mai? Isn’t she supposed to be here by now?”
Brian looked at his watch, tilting his head as he tried to read the time in the darkness that surrounded them. A lamppost nearby produced a dim light, giving a source of illumination. “I’m not sure. It’s fifteen past ten. She should be here, heck, I thought she’d be the first to show up.”
“Why can’t you say 10:15 like a normal person?” Elizabeth teased him. “You don’t think something could have happened?”
“Like what?” he asked.
“I don’t know, maybe she got caught sneaking out," she said, not sure what kind of situation her friend might have gotten herself into.
The sound of shoes stepping on a combination of grass, dirt and mud came from behind them. “Is that your friend?” Brenda asked, pointing towards the girl who was walking towards them.
Brian and Elizabeth turned to see their friend Mai stepping carefully through the grass. “I hate rain. Why does it have to make everything so gross?” Mai complained, making her way over to her friends. When she reached them, she looked down at Brenda and asked the obvious question. “Why is she here?”
“Hey!” Brenda squealed, sounding offended.
“Sorry squirt,” she said patting Brenda’s head. “But what we’re doing is for older kids. This isn’t something you need to take your younger sister to.” She looked towards Elizabeth.
“She caught me sneaking out,” Elizabeth explained once again. “Let’s go get this started.” Elizabeth picked up her bag, slinging it over her back and headed off towards the house in the distance. Brian and Mai did the same, following behind her and Brenda. “So is this place really haunted or is it just a nasty rumor?” She asked to fill in the silence as they walked alongside the road.
“No one’s ever been brave enough to find out,” Mai mumbled.
“Wait.” Elizabeth stopped in her tracks, turning to face her friends. “So we don’t even know if the place is really haunted?”
“A family did die in there. I thought it was common knowledge that it’s being haunted by ghosts,” Mai said, walking past Elizabeth.
“Not every person that dies becomes a ghost. Most of them find closure and move on,” Brian piped in, keeping a steady pace with the rest of them. They all walked in a straight single-file line like they used to do in school during official assemblies. Mai was the line leader, Brian was in the back with Elizabeth while Brenda in the middle.
“I doubt they had closure.” Mai kept to her theory as they walked.
“What happened?” Brenda chimed into the conversation, her curiosity peeking higher than the moon in the night sky.
“Can I tell her?” Mai turned around, walking backwards, asking for Elizabeth’s approval.
She shrugged. “Go for it.”
Mai smiled and turned to Brenda, who wore a look of anticipation. “It was a cold night. People said the sky looked blacker than soot during that night. The date was June 16, 1996. The family living in that house had gone to sleep early because they were leaving for vacation the next day.” Mai walked next to Brenda as the young girl listened, soaking in every single word. “A stranger breaks into the house without waking a single member of the family. Neighbors say they saw a male figure around the house that night. Why they didn’t call the police blows my mind. Maybe they were in on it too?” Mai said, making her own assumptions before continuing the story. “Anyways, the guy goes upstairs to the parents’ bedroom. He stabs both of the parents in the head and chest. After they die, he walks into the bedroom where their son, Jacob, is sleeping.”
“Is this age appropriate for her?” Brian asked Elizabeth, interrupting Mai.
“I’m telling a story here,” Mai snapped at Brian.
He held his hands up in defense. “Sorry, continue.”
She smiled in satisfaction then got back to the story. “So he goes into Jacob’s room, stabs that kid everywhere—in his chest, head, neck, arms, stomach and legs. He really fucked that kid up.”
“Language.” Elizabeth’s stern voice overpowered Mai’s voice.
“You’re letting me tell a story not suited for little kids and you’re worried about the language?” Mai asked in a confused tone.
“I don’t want to explain to my parents about how she learned that word.”
“Oh, okay.” Mai nodded, understanding Elizabeth’s concern. “He really messed up the kid. The guy goes to the last bedroom, where a girl about your age slept. Her name was Haley. He goes in there, but he doesn’t find the girl. She’s off somewhere in the house. Eventually he finds her in the parent’s bedroom, crying. He chases her. She runs down the stairs and into the living room before he catches her. Her screams woke up most people in the neighborhood as he stabbed her multiple times. He sliced her up, opening her stomach and revealing the contents. She died, obviously. People say she suffered a whole lot before she did pass. They never figured out why the man committed the crime. Some say it was random act, but I think it was personal.”
“Did they catch the guy?” Brenda questioned.
“Nope,” Mai answered. “We’re here.” she said as looked up at the house. Everyone did the same.
“Why didn’t they burn this house down?” Brian stopped walking, looking up at one of the windows on the top story. He shivered, thinking of the brutal act committed in the house.
“You’re not getting second thoughts about this, are you?” Mai nudged him in the side then walked up to the house. “You coming or what?”
Brian brushed off the uneasy vibe he was getting from the house and followed Mai who already was at the door. She turned the knob and pushed the door open.
“Why was it unlocked?” Elizabeth asked, watching the door slide across the carpet.
“I don’t know. I just turned it and found that it wasn’t locked.” Mai walked into the house with her friends following behind. It didn’t faze her that the door was unlocked. As they walked in, a figure appeared in the living room. “Lettie!” Mai squealed, running up to the figure, giving him a hug. The others stood there in confusion, not understanding what was going on. “What are you doing here?” She asked after letting go of him.
“I heard of your plan on coming here, I wanted in on it.” He smiled, looking around at the house. “Too bad they didn’t leave the bloodbath mess. That would have added to the effect.”
“You’re sick,” she joked, punching him in the arm. Then she turned to the confused three. “Guys, this is my cousin, Lettie. He’s going to be joining us this evening.”
“Hey, Lettie.” All three of them greeted him in unison.
“Hey, all.” He waved his hand then sat on the ground. The rest of them followed suit. Elizabeth and Mai unzipped their bags, bringing out the contents. Brenda, Lettie and Brian watched the girls piled their stuff on the floor.
Mai set the Ouija board the ground. Elizabeth set the candles on the ground around the board, lighting up the dark living room.
“So what do we do? Just call out for them?” Brian spoke up, asking the question everyone wanted answered.
“I guess.” Mai was just as clueless. “Who wants to be the first to try?”
“I will!” Lettie volunteered.
“Me too.” Elizabeth was next. Brenda raised her hand, anxious to try. “Oh heck no.” She pushed Brenda’s hand down. “I said you could come along, not participate in the game.”
“I’m in.” Mai piped up, looking over at Brian. “Are you in?” With slight hesitation, he put his fingers on the planchette along with everyone except Brenda. “Is there anyone here who’d like to communicate with us?” They waited patiently, watching the board. When they got no response, Mai tried again. “Is Jacob or Haley here?” No response. “Is there anyone in the room with us?” The planchett
e started to move and all of their eyes widened with surprise. “Guys, stop. If one of you is doing it, stop.”
No. The planchette stopped on the word, making them confused.
Lettie burst into laughter. “I’m sorry, I had to.” He said through his fits of laughter. “You should have seen your faces. You were all like…” He tried to mimic their expressions, but failed because she couldn’t stop laughing. “I have to pee. I’ll be back.” Lettie walked up the stairs, trying to find the bathroom.
“Let’s just continue without him.” Elizabeth placed her hands back on the wooden planchette. Mai and Brian placed their fingers on it, ready for another go. “Is there anyone in the room with us?” she asked the same questions as Mai, but was hoping for different results.
They all took turns asking questions.
“Are there good spirits here?”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Is there something you want to say?”
After many questions and no responses, they decided to give up.
“Let’s just stop. It’s not working.” Brian removed his fingers from the planchette. He looked disappointed, but his voice hinted a tad of relief.
“Come on guys, just one more time?” Mai begged. The others seemed reluctant, but gave in. “Is there anything you want us to know?”
It started to move over to a letter, spelling out something as it slid across the board back and forth.
L-E-T-T-I-E
Fear instilled into everyone in the room.
“Lettie!” Mai screamed out for him. There was an eerie silence.
Brian ran towards the front door, twisting the knob. “It won’t open!” He threw himself against it but it still didn’t budge. He hurried to the window, trying to open it. “The window won’t open either!” Elizabeth ran to help him, only to find it stuck.
“Back up.” Elizabeth blew out one of the candles that a glass container. She threw it at a window, but only the glass of candle holder broke, shattering into small pieces. The window was left without a scratch. “What the fuck…” she said in disbelief.
Brenda screamed, staring at the board. The planchette moved forming the figure eight repeatedly across the board.
“Fuck this!” Mai grabbed a lit candle, hovering the board over it so it would catch fire.
“No!” Brian yelled. “That’s going to make it worse!”
A screeching sound filled the room, the fire grew bigger. But suddenly the flame disappeared and noise stopped.
“How…How did the fire disappear?” Mai backed away from the ouija board. The rest of the candles blew out, leaving them in complete darkness.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The noise came from the stairs and it seemed like the one making the sound was moving at a steady pace towards them.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Silence.
Mai grabbed a lighter and reached out to light her candle again. The room lit up from the glow of the candle. She walked towards the staircase with hesitation running through her. At the bottom was Lettie, all bloodied up with stab wounds throughout his whole body. “Lettie…No. No. No! Lettie,” she cried out, dropping the candle.
Within seconds, Mai was being dragged across the living room by an unseen attacker. All three of them grabbed Mai’s arm, pulling her back from the invisible force they came up against.
“Don’t let me go,” she pleaded, tears falling down her face.
But the force was too strong and they couldn’t hold on to her anymore. The unseen attacker pulled her back, dragging her into a room. Her screams echoed throughout the house, sending chills down their spines. Elizabeth ran towards the room where Mai was dragged, trying to open the door but it was locked.
“Elizabeth!” Brenda called out for her.
Elizabeth rushed to her sister’s side, squeezing her tight. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
A bright flame caught their attentions. The Ouija board caught fire again, a screeching noise coming from it once more. They covered their ears at the unbearable sound. “Leave us alone!” Brian yelled.
Crack!
Elizabeth turned the side, watching in horror as Brian’s body was lifted from the floor and started twisting in ways she never knew possible. The cracking of the bones bouncing off the walls and echoed throughout the entire house. Elizabeth held onto her sister as she whimpered. His mangled body hit the ground with a thud. But they didn’t dare open their eyes, afraid of what they’ll see next.
Suddenly, banging sounds came from the front door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Elizabeth opened her eyes and was shocked at what she saw. The living room was different. It was now furnished and a completely different place. She didn’t know who was at the door, but didn't stay to figure out. “Come on.” She grabbed her sister and they went to hide behind one of the couches that had mysteriously appeared.
The door burst open and a man in a ski mask stood there. He held a knife firmly in his hand as he walked up the stairs. Elizabeth held onto her younger sister’s hand, pulling her from behind the couch and running towards the door.
But as they ran out the door, they didn’t end up outside as expected. Instead, they ended up in the room of the parents. They watched in horror as the man stabbed their heads and chests, blood spilling from the wounds. Brenda wanted scream but her sister stopped her.
“What’s going on?” Brenda cried.
“I don’t know…” Elizabeth wanted to give her sister a solid answer, but she was unable to.
The masked man walked out of the room and headed towards the room of the son. The muffled sound of knife digging into flesh the otherwise quiet house. Elizabeth ran down the stairs with her sister, trying to exit through the door once again, but they only ended up in the parents’ room again. They saw the little girl, Haley, crying over her dead mother and father.
“I’m scared. It’s like Mai’s story.” Brenda cried into Elizabeth’s shirt, tears and snot soaking her clothes.
They went down the stairs again but this time, they hid behind the couch. Seconds later, Haley ran down the stairs with the man running down after her. As he stabbed her and sliced into her body, Haley looked at Elizabeth and Brenda, placing her finger to her lips. The man followed the girl's gaze to Elizabeth and Brenda. Brenda screamed as he walked towards them. Elizabeth shielded her sister, closing her eyes and waiting for the pain.
When the pain didn’t come, they opened their eyes to see everything was gone. The place was empty again.
Suddenly, Elizabeth felt a stabbing sensation in her back. She felt the knife go in and out of her body, continuously. Blood spilled from her wounds and her mouth.
“Elizabeth!” Brenda called out for her, shaking her. But life was slowly seeping out of her.
Then the stabbing stopped. The door suddenly opened, showing the sun rising in the distance. Elizabeth dragged herself as far as she could get, but she was so weak that she couldn’t even get past the door. A silhouetted figure took Brenda’s hand, leading her outside and into Elizabeth’s line of vision. “Brenda,” Elizabeth said weakly, trying to get her sister’s attention.
The sun’s rays went through the open door, shining on the young girl like a spotlight in a play. Brenda couldn’t move, she was paralyzed in place. “I’ll be joining you soon,” she spoke in a calm tone, welcoming death. Elizabeth watched as the silhouette figure wrapped its hands around Brenda’s head, twisting it quickly. Then the sun disappeared, the sky becoming dark once again.
The crack of her sister’s neck breaking echoed through her head over and over again. Elizabeth watched her little sister’s lifeless body fell to the ground. She stared at Brenda’s dead body until death welcomed her, too.
Intruder
When Lacy’s roommate leaves for a vacation, she is unprepared for what comes next.
“It’s only a week, I promise you’ll be fine.” Lacy’s roommate, Tilly, said reassuringly as she rubbed her shoulders. “If
you need me, I’m a phone call away.”
“What if I…” Lacy started, unable to finish her sentence. Her eyes scanned the floor as if it would help her find the words she was desperately searching for. “I don’t know.”
Tilly touched her chin, lifting it. “Chin up.”
“Have fun.” Lacy picked up her friend’s bag, reluctantly handing it over.
“Remember, you can call me.” Those were the last words Tilly spoke before she left the house and got into her car.
Lacy plopped herself on the couch, grabbing the remote to flip through the channels until she realized nothing on TV was going to entertain her tonight. She picked up her phone to call her close friend, Jake. After one ring, it went straight to voicemail. “Shit,” she cursed him for not answering.
Lacy yawned and stretched her body like a cat, then headed up the stairs for a night’s rest. As she made her way up the stairs, she made a right into the first room and curling up in her bed.
She listened to the sounds of the wind picking up outside, branches hitting the windows as a storm stirred up outside. She heard the pitter-patter of the rain drops as it started to pour. She watched streams of rain falling down her window.
She turned to the clock, staring at the red glowing lights that displayed the time. 8:37, it read. She usually wouldn’t even think about sleep until midnight, but tonight she felt especially tired, ready to invite sleep in.
The moon shined into her room, illuminating the dark room she found comfort in.
As she pulled the covers over her tiny frame, she closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep amidst the soft sound of the whistling wind.
A few hours later, Lacy woke up to the sound of the rain pounding against the roof of her house. The storm was getting stronger. She turned to look at the clock. It was 2:44am. She sighed, getting out of bed and walking out of her room and to the bathroom at the end of the hall.
Lacy stared at the pill bottle on the counter, debating whether to take them or not. She decided she wouldn’t, so instead she checked her reflection in the mirror. Dark circles were hanging under her eyes and stray hairs were sticking out of her messy bun. She just shrugged off how awful she looked and decided to focus on something more pressing—the unbearable need for water she was feeling now.