Halloween Spin-Off 

"This is so exciting..." Ace said, the sarcasm evident.

"Allison, safe to say, I hate you."

"Love you too!" Allison chimed.

"Can we go back? It is never too late to. "Bree shivered.

"Nope, a dare's a dare, and Vera darling, you won't back away now, will you?"

I opened my mouth, but I was at a loss for words.

"Ahh, see, I've made her speechless. Let's get in!!"

Allison and Rayan lunged forward, making me think this was their ultimate plan all along. I wanted to be the one scaring people with my ridiculously terrifying outfit, but Allison decided that this Halloween season, she wanted all our funerals built. We were playing truth or dare with all of our neighbors, and one dude dared me to go to the 'Haunted Mansion' and when I said I wouldn't go alone, he said I should take all of my friends with me. Allison and Ray were super excited about it, so here we are now!

"I still think we should- "

Alden didn't get time to complete his sentence when the wind began blowing even faster, sending cold shivers down our spines.

Allison and Rayan stopped dead in their tracks, the sudden wind startling them. But turns out I was wrong, which I understood as soon as Allison spoke.

"Did you hear that?"

"You mean, did they see that?" Rayan asked, just as terrified as Allison sounded.

I just realized the wolf howls stopped.

"H-hear a-and see w-what?" Bree spoke, her teeth chattering. Alden approached her and tried to warm her up a bit. Hugging her and rubbing her back. Ace put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer, instantly drowning me in his wonderful cologne, which I, unfortunately, couldn't inhale peacefully for long, because Allison had to stupidly respond to Bree instead of saying it was just nothing.

"That door just creaked open a bit."

"Use your brain woman, the wind just picked up!" Ace scolded.

"Did you leave your brain at home, Al?" Nino shot as he walked up to her.

"The wind picked up the second the door creaked open!! The door opened, and as if on cue, my hair swooshes!"

"Get your head straight. Let's get in. And get this over with." Ace stepped forward, and I walked with him boldly, ignoring the goosebumps I got, staring at the massive, abandoned house that we were gonna walk into.

It had dried-up money plants creeping and climbing all over it, and in some parts, it was a bit red or green. The door looked like it had been kicked open so many times, the handle was dented, and the wood was broken and chipped.

The paint of the building was smudged and dirty too.

Every window was cracked, and the front yard had dried grass, which never trod on.

The gate had a 'No Trespassing' board on it, which Allison told us not to mind because it was 'an old and filthy abandoned house, and no one cares.

"Vera, Bree, Jordan, Rea, c'mon!!" Allison urged us and pushed open the door with Rayan.

Instantly, they all began coughing, and when we reached the veranda, we began coughing as well. There was so much dust flying around and eventually, it settled.

I looked around, and it was very unclean. And spooky.

The walls had a veil of dried grapevine. And all the furniture was dusty and broken or torn.

The floor had a thick layer of dust, and it was dark. Very dark.

Suddenly the wolf howls began, and a chill shiver ran through my spine.

Bree and Rea shrieked in surprise and held closer to Alden and Rayan... Respectively.

"Eerie" Al commented.

"Shut up, Allison."

"Awoooooo" Allison howled with the wolves, just to scare Bree and suddenly there was a very squeaky creak from somewhere upstairs. It was so sudden, we all froze.

Ace ran his hand through his hair and shuffled on his feet. After a few minutes of self-contemplation, he spoke.

"Let me check that out. Who is coming with?"

"I'll join." "I guess I'll go." "I'll go since Rayan's going." "I think I'll come."

Rayan, Nino, Jordan, and Alden agreed to accompany him.

"No, one of you stay back with us!!" Bree squealed.

"Yea do not leave us here!! And once you are up there, talk to us. Keep throwing down a few words."

"Okay, Alden stays. We will go. Come on guys." Ace said.

"When we call you, respond!" I told him.

"Will do!"

They went up the stairs, which were right in front of us. They were broken and got further chipped as each of the guys stepped on them.

"Ace! You there!?" I yelled up.

"Right here! Still lookin' around!"

"Okay!"

We waited a bit longer, and constantly kept throwing a few words at each other. Eventually, I got tired and leaned against the wall, and the next thing I knew, two doors slapped close, appearing out of nowhere, and hid the stairwell.

"Vera!? Rea!? What was that noise!? Everything okay down there!?!?" Ace shouted. His voice was muffled behind the trap doors.

"OMG ACE!! COME HERE!!!" I yelled, running up to the doors and looking for the handle, only in vain.

Rea and Bree started shouting, joined by Allison in a few minutes. The guys reached the bottom of the stairwell to the doors and began banging and shouting, only Ace trying to calm everyone down.

I was getting worried sick and had no idea what to do.

Alden was trying to stay calm, finding a way out for them, but I could see he was internally freaking out too.

"RAYAN! ACE! NINO!! SEE IF YOU CAN FIND HANDLES ON THE DOORS!!" Alden yelled. He was frustrated and the screams were making me go crazy.

"SHUT UP EVERYONE!!!" I yelled as loud as possible. And it thankfully worked.

"Vera, do you- "

"Bree, quiet!! Let me do something! Wait! STOP SCREAMING!!"

Ace, Ray, J-Oreo, and Nino heard me and were quiet. I was racking my brains, trying to find a way out in my head.

I remembered how the doors closed, so I hurried to the wall. I searched for any button that was on it, and just as I thought I found it, a raspy voice spoke.

"Don't press that." I shrieked and turned back, but of course, instantly flinched at Bree's and Rea's voices.

"AH! WHAT THE FRICKIN' HELL!?!?"

"AHH! OMG!"

There was an old man, who, I must say, had no hygiene whatsoever, with a white beard and messy white hair, wearing a cloak on his hunched back, a faded shirt, whose color I couldn't tell since it was badly faded, and a pair of knee-length shorts. Which were also faded and torn at the very bottom.

He smiled creepily and stepped forward.

"Excuse me, who are you?" Alden asked.

"Vera! What's happening!?" Ace yelled from behind the doors.

"Nothing!" I yelled back.

Rea and Bree, who were clutching each other and shaking with both cold and fear, were now glaring at me.

I rolled my eyes and focused back on the man in front of me.

The old man looked at me and smiled again. Creepily. I whimpered under his intense gaze, completely unintentionally.

"I'm Alzek. And this is MY house. Who are you all??"

"Oh, we're um very sorry sir. We had no idea anyone lived here. We thought this place was abandoned." Alden said.

I was surprised at how dusty this house was, especially now that I knew someone lived there.

"Well, it isn't abandoned. I just don't come outside. And didn't you see the No Trespassing signboard?" He questioned.

"Oh uhm, we're sorry..."

"How long have you been living here, sir?" I asked him. Completely forgetting about the trapped boys.

"Oh, maybe around 50 years." He looked at me with perplexity. Probably because I was so calm and asked a question like that.

"50 years!? All alone!?" Bree asked, in her high voice.

"Haha, yes. All alone..." His voice broke a bit when he said, 'all alone' and looked down. I noticed tears forming in his eyes.

"But I heard all the people who lived in this house died in a car crash some decades ago..." Rea said.

"Ah, yes. All my family was in that accident those 5 decades ago. I still remember. The storm, the rain. And the pleas and cries of my daughter to reach the hospital as fast as possible. She was suffering from arthritis and her pain was too much. To top it off, she was pregnant. I still remember my family's cries as our car rode off that cliff that day. I, riding shotgun, fell out of the car as it flew. And watched with helplessness as the car with my beloved family crashed and burned slowly, as the rain eventually extinguished the fire. The medics and police soon arrived, but since I was farther down, they never saw me. I was there, all myself, for three days, lying in the grass, passing out, and waking up only to cry at the loss of my family. On the fourth day, I finally got up. And mustering all the energy in me, I walked. I walked 12 miles, in that dead state. And finally reached my house. By then, I had seen how my newly painted house had gotten ruined due to the rainstorm. The inside of my house was all trashed because the police thought I was the one who caused their death considering I was the only one who wasn't in the car and had searched my house with their dogs. I was too injured to even care to keep everything back in place. Every inch of this place reminded me of them. I couldn't do anything... But I took care of myself and never went out. For 10 years, our family maid had helped me with food, but she soon moved away. I went out at night once a month to get food for myself. And that is how I've been living."

The man was crying, and it occurred to me that his name was Mr. Alzek Neumann, my grandmother had told me how he was her friend and how he was never found, and everyone believed he died.

I didn't realize I was also crying until the tears reached my lips.

"Vera?" Ace said, a bit loudly. I suddenly remembered the boys.

"Sir, if you can please tell us how I can... uhm..." I didn't know how to form my sentence.

"Release them? It's ok, you can say it. And the button you were going to press was the light switch. But it doesn't work. It will start a short circuit."

"Oh, all right..."

"And I have a condition. If you want to release them, you tell no one about this meeting, and you come visit me every week."

Everyone nodded, but me.

I had something to ask.

"Can I please tell my grandmother, Ms. Dorris? Sally Dorris, as you might've known her?"

His eyes shone with recognition.

"Ah, dear Sally is your grandma, eh? She was a great friend of mine. Yes, you can tell her. But do tell her not to tell anyone else... And maybe... meet me every week too?"

I smile.

"Of course!!"

He nods and heads to the other side. The other wall. The one I originally leaned on!! The doors opened with a spookily squeaky sound.

The boys came rushing out and Ace hugged me.

I hugged him back, as tight as I could, taking in his cologne, this time with no interruption.

After he released me, I looked at Mr. Neumann. I smiled gratefully, which probably made me look spooky with my make-up. He laughed, just as I'd expected.

"Now, out you all go. And tell everyone that you saw a ghost here. And that this is the last place you'd want to come back to."

I agree and usher everyone out. I give him one last wave and leave.

As soon as we're out onto the road, Allison exclaims.

"That was not how I'd expected it to go!!"

"So, that was Alzek Neumann!!! Heard a lot about him from your gran, girl!"

I did remember my grandmother telling us about Mr. Neumann when we were in Barbados.

That is one of the reasons we came to Paris. Because my grandmother is Parisian.

Anyway, when we went back to our neighborhood, everyone who was in the game asked us about how it was.

"It was terrifying!!!" Rea exclaimed, looking as scared as she could, clutching Rayan.

"THE DOORS OPENED AND CLOSED BY THEMSELVES!! WE RAN OUT OF THERE!!!" Bree shrieked, faking a tremble and a spine-down shiver.

We all put on our best-terrified faces, and we pretty much convinced them all.

That night, when we got back home, ('we' as in me, Ace, Rea, Rayana and J-Oreo) we told our grandmother everything. And what she said next, was the most unexpected thing. She wished us good night and went to her room before we could react.

"I knew he was there every time I'd visited." And her smile.

The knowing, haunted, spooky smile.

She wished us good night and went to her room before we could react.

2107 Words