Haunted [Inactive]

Jared stepped back from the door, but when some thing smashed against the wall he moved even further away, one hand on Olivia, the other reaching for his pocket knife. He still wasn't convinced it was any kind of Casper, what he was worried about were gang members or, drugged up cultists on the other side. This place hadn't been secured in years, he was right to have these suspicions, too bad for him he was way off.


That distant melody of the music box had long left their ears.


--


Rae gave a cheeky grin, eventually ceasing with the scratching and stepping back from the door incase Jared decided to go tough guy and knock it down. She could hear him mumble something, and saw his flashlight illuminate underneath and around the door. She bit her lip to keep from laughing, but wondered why he'd stayed, and not chased after Olivia whom they assumed ran down stairs...
 
Jeremy decided to give up the joke, there were better things to come. They still had a few different floors of fun to explore, and the mystery as to what was behind each door intrigued him. He was still waiting to find that skeleton, then he'd have a field day.


He walked up to the door and knocked a few times. On the other side he heard the pair curse. There were footsteps, and the door swung open. Jared was standing protectively in front of Olivia with his knife out.


"God damn, Jeremy!" She shrieked. "That wasn't funny!"


"Wait, Olivia?" Jeremy took a step back. "I thought I heard you run off!"
 
"Seriously?" Jared cursed again and slipped his knife back into his pocket, leveling a glare with Rae who just smiled innocently. "You know I was ready to freaking stab someone?"


"Not our fault you're scared so easily," She mocked, "But, yeah... we though we heard you run downstairs."


"Oh, shut up," He sighed, "Pranks over, guys."


"No, seriously! Something went downstairs!"


"Rae, I mean it," He narrowed his eyes, "You guys win, great, let's move on." He tugged on Olivias hand, "Still wanna find that music box?"


"But..." She glanced up at Jeremy, "...Wanna go check it out? Maybe it was a big 'ole rat or something."
 
Although she was on edge, Olivia nodded. The music box still wasn't nearly as frightening as whatever had scurried off down the stairs. She hadn't even heard the noise. The music was occupying a good chunk of her mind, putting her at ease.


"Yeah, let's go find that." She agreed. Jeremy snickered at her.


"Oh, did you get scared?" He teased. " I am so sorry. Please, my apologies."


"Shut up, Jeremy!" Olivia blushed in anger. "Jared, come on." She tugged at his sleeve and marched back down the hallway where she assumed the music had been coming from. It was only an echo, so even her guess was poor.


--


"Alright, Rae." Jeremy was done for now. "Come on, I'll hold your hand if you get scared." He smirked.
 
"Hey, hey, hey," He caught up with her, slipping his arm around her waist and hugging her to him gently.


"Calm down angel, they're just kids," he smiled, and pressed a light kiss to her head, pausing for a moment, a little shocked he'd done it, but then shrugged it off and didn't mention it. "...So, that music box. Um, you hear it yet?"


--


"Oh you," She slipped her hand in his, noting the warmth in his and smiling just a little. She walked alongside him and giggled a little.


"...You know they're pissed at us right? And I'm your accomplice." She shook her head, pretending to be ashamed. "You're rubbing off on me."
 
Olivia looked away shyly, softly smiling at the touch of his lips on her head. They flirted from time to time, but, past that there wasn't anything else. It was a sweet gesture which calmed her nerves in exchange for a few butterflies in her stomach.


"Oh..the box?" She stuttered and lifted her head. Left, there were more doors, right, it was exactly the same. Olivia perked up her ears to try to listen in on the twinkling tune of the box.


The light sound could finally be heard from her right, and she jumped at the sound. "There!"


--


Jeremy rubbed his thumb along her hand and laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure they are!" The idea was hysterical. Now if only there were something else he could do to really freak them out.


He thought, walking slow alongside Rae. Whatever had run off before wasn't here now. The basement steps appeared around the corner, and he grinned. Something had to be down there worth what he considered an ultimate prank. For crying out loud, it was the basement of a haunted house!


"So, uh, are we going down there?" He nodded towards the steps, then back to Rae. "Never know what we'll find."
 
Jared walked alongside Olivia towards where she'd pointed, letting her lead just a little but keeping his hand locked in hers. He glanced around him, listening intently and then finally hearing the soft tune in the atmosphere.


Before he just thought it'd be a good way to occupy Olivia and keep her from being scared, but if Jeremy and Rae were dead serious something else ran down the stairs... What if that same something was giving off the music? Or the illusion there was music?


No, no, they're joking. Don't fall for it. Then Jeremy wins twice!





"Behind this door?" He asked. "You wanna open it?" He asked teasingly.


--


"O-Oh, um..." Rae winced and rocked back and forth from her heel to her tippy toes, eventually putting on a pout.


"...Fine, but don't you dare leave me down there Jeremy," She said seriously, not removing her hand from his. "I mean it!"
 
Olivia bit her lip, but did in fact reach out to grab the handle. She pushed the door open to a small study. There was a desk sitting just in front of a large window. It was still intact, a miracle compared to its smashed counterparts in other rooms.


Along the walls there were tall bookshelves. Most extraordinarily was a large painting knocked off the wall in the corner of a woman. Her face was pale white, and long curls of black hair were draped over her shoulders. Olivia reluctantly let go of Jared's hand so she could examine the portrait.


The music stopped. "I guess we picked the wrong room."


--


Jeremy squeezed her hand reassuringly. For a moment his face was dead serious. "I won't." But, he went straight back to his usual self and descended the stairs.


There wasn't a single light to guide them. He had to keep his eyes on the stairs, so it wasn't until the bottom when he finally shined it up and into the dark.
 
"Huh," He listened for the tune, but it did seem to disappear. He turned around and gestured for her to follow, flashing his light at the other end of the hall, walking a little faster, determined now to find this thing.


He paced down the hall, checking over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure Olivia was there. Finally he heard it, oddly louder than usual, and stopped at a room without a door, flashed his light in and found it to be another child's room. This one though seemed as oddly decent as the last, with a hutch, little bed in the corner and a...


"There," He shined his light on a three legged, tilted nightstand, missing its drawer, dusted on the surface, and a little, worn out box with that captivating melody emanating from within. "Finally," He rolled his eyes, as he was starting to think it wasn't real.


"Check it out, I'm right here," He said and leaned against the doorway.


--


Rae hadn't noticed it until they reached the bottom, but she'd been seriously hugged up to Jeremy on the way down. Out of embarrassment she stepped away.


"Sooooo," She glanced around, flicking on her flashlight again and holding it up, only to find a long, colorless hallway, with random rooms, broken colored pipes along the ceilings, and more cobwebs than she'd ever seen in her life. Everything was seared and burned, the flooring was covered in debris, and the light coming from her flashlight illuminated particles of dust and little fluttering bugs.


"JJ it's nasty in here," She whispered, kicking around the stuff near her feet, gasping as she kicked away a spider.
 
Olivia was delighted to see the music box. Although dusty, it was beautiful. She held it gingerly as she blew on the surface, dust sprang into the air and into her eyes. As soon as it was open, the melody began to play.


"This is so cute." She smiled up at him. "Almost makes me forget we're supposed to be exploring a haunted house."


She slowly shifted her gaze back to the open box. A small ballerina was perched on one foot, slowly rotating on the point. Her little shoes were tied with real minuscule ribbons. Her delight turned to horror quickly. A small mirror was in the box, for added beauty she supposed, but in it's reflection was a bony hand gripping her shoulder. Eyes like pits stared over the hand and seemingly straight towards her face.


Olivia whipped around and screeched, dropping the music box altogether. Behind her was nothing. Absolutely nothing.


--


"Disgusting." He agreed. "But, the fire definitely started down here. Just look at the walls." Jeremy shined his light on the walls around him. They were scorched and black. He picked at random doors and shined his light inside. Some were burned completely black, most were empty now, save the graffiti on the walls. He laughed loudly and shook. "Oh my god, Rae, check it out. Spooky graffiti."


Get out


Leave!
 
Jared jumped, "What?!"


He looked around with wide, hazel eyes, his heart beating heavily as he wondered what had scared her so bad. The look of fear in her eyes sent a shiver down his spine, and without hesitation he placed both hands on her arms, gripping her firmly but gently.


"Olivia, what did you see?"


--


Rae wrapped both arms around his left arm, hugging herself to him tightly. "Yeah... Iiiiiii think that's a good a sign as any," She notably shivered, and glanced over both shoulders into nothing but dust filled darkness. She whimpered a little, which usually gave away she was uncomfortable; she sighed, peeking up at him, "J..."
 
Olivia's eyes, black as night, mirrored just how frightened she was. Wide eyed, unsure how to respond. What she'd seen may have been a trick of the eye, she tried to tell herself that anyways, but it didn't explain the detail of the bones. There was nothing that fine in the room, and it wouldn't have explained how it wrapped around her shoulder.


"There was, it, like a." She stuttered over her words. The girl took a moment to breathe. "There was a hand on my shoulder, and eyes. Big...black..."


After doing her best to explain, she scanned the room, black eyes darting from the bed to the door, and down to the floor. Nothing, nothing was there.


--


"You're okay." Jeremy pressed his head to hers. She shivered and he pulled her in front of him. "Hey, hey, I don't want you to be scared." He said sweetly. Down in the dark, he could be good. There was no need for jokes with Rae, she had it hard enough.


Still, as he waved his light around the room, a watchful eye on Rae, he was more and more intrigued by the messages on the wall.
 
"You serious?-- ...Course you are, sorry," He brushed her cheek with his hand, glancing around at the room and letting out a shaky breath. What she saw, what she described... it was something out of a horror movie. And her eyes... they were so incredibly fearful.


"Come on, leave that... thing here and let's go find the others, I'm officially creeped."


--


She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and releasing it slowly, his voice was so comforting.


"I-I'll be okay," She whispered, smiling briefly at the curious look in his eyes. "Go explore, I'll... stay here and watch."


She held up her flashlight and shone it into the room with the writings, but arched a thin brow as a specific sign in the back caught her interest.


"Hey, JJ," She took a couple cautious steps in, feeling the flooring underneath her nearly give.


"Isn't... this one," She pointed at a star on the wall, written in an odd red shade, "Isn't this a... pentagram?" Just the word gave her chills, and yet again she shivered. She stepped back and shone her light around the room, until a faint glimmer reflected off a door knob she hadn't seem before, the door placed off to the side of the room, and covered in equally strange red symbols.


"Damn," She breathed, "They're... those demonic marks I see on ghost adventures all the time. What the Hells gone on in this place..."
 
Olivia was too scared to respond properly, her hands were tight over her ears. It was a ridiculous way of keeping the sounds at bay. So long as she couldn't see, hear, or sense that anything but Jared was nearby, she felt safe.


They left the room, Olivia too frightful to go back and take the music box with her. It would've been a good trinket to prove she'd been in the house. Suddenly it seemed so wrong, to take something out. Especially not after what she'd seen.


The pair weren't even down the hall when she heard the faint noise of the music box. To her knowledge, it had shattered on the floor moments ago, but the tune was clear. In her mind, there was a small ballerina twirling on her toe, two black eyes looking over Olivia's shoulder.


--


Jeremy heard Rae say something, so he figured turning around would be best. The signs on the wall didn't bother him, probably some other kids trying to scare anyone else who ventured inside the mansion.


"It is kind of creepy..." He did admit. There were just so many marks, they covered the walls, littered the floor. "Makes me think someone was sacrificed or something."


He laughed to play off the dark humor, but, it was all in bad taste.
 
"No way," Jared mumbled, pausing in the hallway, dead in his tracks, listening to the distant hum of the melody and feeling chilled to the bone. They'd come here for a scare, yet already he was creeped enough to leave.


"You hear it again Olivia?" He asked, doing a 360° to check around him with his light, cursing as he swore it was getting louder, "Hell I thought you broke it!"


--


Rae suddenly went silent, watching the gleam from her flashlight on the doorknob rotate, implying the knob was too, and feeling her breath hitch in her throat as the door began to violently tremble, as if something were beating on it for its life. She started to tremble as well as a distant, yet perfectly audible and realistic man's voice pleaded:


Let me ouuuuut! Please! Somebody!


She gasped and the beam of her light seemed to lose power, "J-Jeremy, oh my God, did you hear that?!" She asked in a breathless voice, obviously getting overly upset. But she could feel it- the anguish, the worry, the begging, she hugged herself and grimaced.
 
Olivia whirled around, her flashlight following close in pursuit. It beamed past Jared and down the hall towards the room where she broke the box. She dropped her light in panic when she saw it again, two black eyes. Even illuminated by her flashlight it was enough to push her over the edge.


"Jared, come on, come on now." She begged him, her legs screamed for her to run, but she was frozen in place, knees weak and heart beating so fast it threatened to burst.


The dark figure down the hallway brought a single bone finger to where its lips should have been, in a 'shh' like motion. The music stopped.


--


"Do you think somebody's in there?" Jeremy reacted and reached for the handle. "What the hell? It's locked!" He fought with the handle, but it was no use. It had just moved in Rae's light, but now, it was locked shut.


Jeremy pounded his fist against the door, screaming. "Hey, what's in there?"
 
Jareds eyes were wide as ever, he'd only seen the thing briefly, but that was enough to convince him it was time to go. He stepped back, his chest rising and falling heavily, his light going to where it'd been yet it was gone now, the circlet of light illuminating only torn wallpaper at the end of the hall.


"Come on," He said lowly, and, keeping her right beside him, hastened down the hallway, flinching as two doors slammed shut as they passed them but he just kept going, urging Olivia not look back, and once they reached the start of the descending stairs he cleared his throat, "Jeremy! Rae! Where are you two?!"


--


"Don't yell," She pleaded quietly, scared as Jeremy got louder. She kept her eyes shut, squeezing them, feeling the rise of tension in the atmosphere. But just as quickly as it'd started, it'd stopped, the door was still, and the air was yet again thick with silence.


That is, until she heard-


Open the door.





Her head perked up, and the hairs on her body did too. She walked over to Jeremy, feeling like the stupid girl in the movies who, despite the audiences pleas, goes in the closet.


She reached out a shaky hand, and turned the knob, which, despite what Jeremy said, was no longer locked. She twisted it, and with the other hand held up her flashlight, but the moment she started to open the door a heaviness pushed it all the way, and a burned corpse fell on top of her, knocking her down onto her back, on the floor, and unleashing an absolutely nauseating scent.


She'd never been one to scream- but when she opened her eyes to find a burned and broken, bug covered skeleton on top of her she did, an ear piercing one at that. It echoed through the mansion.
 
There was no way Olivia was about to turn around now. They hurried down the stairs, and she tried not to cry. He'd seen it, she saw the way his eyes reflected the same fear in her heart, she saw whatever it was that made the music start and stop. That's what she had to believe.


"Please, Jared. I just wanna go." She cried. "I can't take it anymore." Although they had to hurry now, she was weak with fear. Olivia dropped to her knees on the steps and curled up with her hands covering her ears.


It's not real. It's not real.





--


Immediately, Jeremy threw the skeleton off of her and brushed away the bugs. He knelt on the floor and pulled her close to his chest.


"Rae, Rae." He tried to quiet her. Suddenly his joke about finding a skeleton wasn't so funny. At least, not that it fell right on top of Rae.


They needed to get out, this wasn't fun or entertaining anymore. This was a real decomposed human being in front of them. Someone had actually died here, so he cut the crap and made the executive decision that they needed to go back upstairs, right then, right now.
 
Jared didn't hesitate to scoop Olivia in his arms, the adrenaline driving him completely. He had his flashlight in his pocket, the light flashing all around, and to him every shadow seemed like something right then, it was all he could do just to keep going.


"I'll get you in the car, and then I'm coming back for then," He said reluctantly, and finally they were back on the second floor. He hurried to the door where he set her down, jiggling the door knob just to find that it was locked tight. "No!" He shouted, kicking it once, twice, with his foot, but despite his strength he stood no chance against whatever held it shut. "Damn you!" He shouted, shivering as he heard a distant giggle.


--


Rae sat there for a moment, staring at the carcass and feeling her heart beat so heavily. She looked at Jeremy, speaking even As her flashlight flickered and then slowly died. "JJ let's go," She said with fear in her voice, watching as the closet door slammed shut, and an odd scurrying noise, like from earlier, passed their room.


"Oh Jesus, Jeremy come on!" She got to her feet, despite her shaky knees, and tugged on his shirt.
 
Olivia held tight to Jared's shirt, her eyes shut. The giggling from throughout the house drove her mad with fear. She wanted to get out, but, at the entrance they discovered the door was locked. Being on her own two feet made her uncomfortable, so she wrapped her arms around Jared.


"That's not funny! Just open it!" She urged him, not bothering to reach out and try it for herself.


--


Jeremy pushed her in front of him. It was better if he could see where she was headed. The scuttling noise was behind him now. It only made him run faster.


"Go!" He hissed. "I'm right behind you."


Up the stairs they went, until they were back on the first floor, headed back to the front door to get out. He was elated to discover that Olivia and Jared were already there.
 
"I'm not playing!" He barked, "Damn it!"


"Oh my gosh, you guys are okay!" Rae sighed with relief, panting heavily and looking behind them, only to see a darkness that ate at her.


"The doors locked guys," Jared stepped back, watching it tremble violently before going tail again, still completely locked. Rae dropped down and grabbed her bag, pulling out a lighter and tossing it to Jeremy.


"Keep it on," she said breathlessly, and gulped, "There's gotta be a back way, come on, we have to leave!" She looked to the other end of the living room, "that way!"


Jared grabbed Olivias hand and urged her to follow him, his eyes filled with worry.
 
They ran towards the back of the house. Random doors were locked when they tried to open them, seemingly in no pattern. The doors they did open lead nowhere helpful. In the far back of the house was the kitchen, which luckily had no door to bar their path.


"There!" Jeremy shouted. "There's gotta be a door in here that leads out."


Olivia held tight to Jared, relying on him to guide her now. She didn't want to open her eyes. Just another step, she thought it was all she could take, this wasn't fun anymore. Not that it ever had been.


They were in the kitchen, Jeremy frantically sprinting about trying to find an exit. Olivia stayed on Jared, only looking around to keep tabs on everyone else. From across the room a knife came flying towards them out of nowhere, striking the wall between the pair.
 
A very bad, bad presence filled every inch of the kitchen. Rae's little lighter didn't stand a chance against the darkness that swept over the room. She watched Jeremy search for an exit, but the windows wouldn't budge and were broken and too dangerous to crawl out of.


The knife seemed to only piss Jared off, he was mad he was here, that his friends were in danger, he tore it from the wall and dropped it, his muscles flexed and his nostrils flared as he held Olivia close to him. "Piss off!"


"Jeremy there's no exit," Rae said sadly, still able to feel the corpse sitting on top of her. She clutched her bag and slid down the wall onto her bum, hugging her bag and squeezing her eyes shut. The energy around her was heavy and anxious. "There's no exit... they're all blocked off..."
 
With Olivia holding Jared close on one side of the kitchen, and Jeremy and Rae on the other, the room overall felt defeated. Olivia had pulled Jared to the ground with her, finally giving in to her weak legs. She curled up against his chest and kept her hands over her ears to drown out any sound. It did little to calm her frantic nerves.


"What are we gonna do?" She sniffled. Olivia was by far the weakest link, and she damn well knew it. In her mind, she could envision herself walking calmly out the window, saving her friends, but it was only her imagination. Reality would deem that she stay quiet and afraid, useless.


Jeremy sat down next to Rae and rubbed her hand. He didn't know what to do. None of them did. What started as a game, just a game had turned into a fight to escape. He didn't want to think it, but, it was a fight to survive. Of all the places to be, the kitchen was the least safe. He imagined flames spitting out from the ovens and more knives that flew across the room.


"How are you holdin' up?" Jeremy turned to Rae and whispered quietly. He knew getting a conversation out of Jared and Olivia would be impossible when she was near tears.
 
Jared kept Olivia close and gently rubbed her back, hating the fact that he had no answer. "I don't know angel," He whispered, shifting to make her more comfortable. Or, as comfortable as she could be in a place like this.


"I don't know," he gulped hard, "But we'll get out of here. I promised I'd get you out of here if anything happened, and I'm not going back on that."


"I'm just... I don't know J," She shook her head, wide eyed as some thing moved in the darkness but she soon turned her attention back to him, biting her lip, "I... I'm still waiting to wake up. Or for the cameras to roll out and someone yells 'gotcha!' And then we all go home..."


She looked up and sighed, "We just have to find an escape, this place is... crazy evil."
 
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