The story was written by Asna_Your_Friend and inspired by both Asna and FmEver

It won first place in the Design to Write activity that took place in our discord server. Enjoy!

The scorching sun of mid-summer teased the creatures of the forest as it showed its power, forcing the beings to remain in their shelters. The sun, however, still could not stop two men and a woman from leaving the safety of their houses.

They stood in a clearing inside the forest, soaked in sweat from head to foot, their gazes fixed at the house in front of them.

"Hayden," one of them addressed the other, "does the mayor know we are visiting his house?"

The man named Hayden looked at his fellow and frowned. "I hope he does, Liam. I asked the secretary to inform him, but you know how irresponsible he is."

The woman with them eyed Hayden. "I thought this house was Mayor Carlino's brother's."

Liam nodded. "His brother was killed."

"In an accident which nobody could explain," Hayden added. "Police was investigating, but Mayor Carlino requested them to close the case."

Linda furrowed her brows. "Why?"

Liam shrugged. "The reporters constantly asked him questions about his brother and he couldn't handle it. He wanted peace and quiet."

Hayden bit his lips. "I can't imagine what he went through."

Linda sighed, not really comfortable with the way their conversation had turned. "Anyway." She wiped off her sweat. "Can we move in? It's hot here."

"Ah, of course, Linda!" Liam said, as he produced a key from his pocket. "Let's go."

Liam advanced forward and installed the key in the lock, and the door opened with a loud creak.

The three moved inside with careful steps, afraid the ceiling might fall any second. Their faces contorted as they examined the room which resembled a hall. Layers of dust lined the delicate floorboards, cobwebs decorated the walls, and broken furniture sat all around, announcing the old age of the manor.

Linda clicked the switches beside the door, and the lights flickered before they went out completely. "I thought you were joking when you said this house hasn't been visited in 40 years!" She grinned.

Hayden shoved his hands in his pockets. "I never lie." He shrugged. "Considering the state this house is in, rebuilding is the only solution." He looked around with a frown.

"Come, let's go upstairs." Liam stood at the foot of the staircase (which was at the left end of the hall), urging his friends over with a wave of his hand.

Linda and Hayden followed him upstairs quietly, which was in a similar position as the ground floor. The three stopped at the end of the stairs.

"Let's go back." Hayden leaned on the railing. "This house should be rebuilt. There's no point in inspecting it."

Linda opened her mouth to agree, but she was interrupted by a noise downstairs.

It sounded like something fell. "Look, the ceiling is already falling." Hayden said, proving his point.

"I wouldn't be so sure about it." Liam whispered, who was leaning over the railing to search for the cause of the noise.

The other two frowned before leaning over too. Just then, another noise echoed around the house. This time, all of them witnessed a broken chair being thrown at the end of the hall, and to their utter horror and surprise, not a living being other than themselves could be seen!

Linda gasped. "This house is haunted!"

"Run!"

The three fellows trotted down the stairs, almost tripping at each step, holding onto each other for support, which only helped in losing their balance.

They had only reached the last step, when there was a loud bang, and the main door was shut. Their mouths hung open in horror, as they froze in their tracks.

Linda swallowed, looking around without moving her head, as if movement meant her death. "W-w-wha-wha-a-what is t-th-t-thi-this?"

Hayden shook his head wildly, too shocked to say anything. Liam grabbed his fellows' hands and squeezed them, a cold shiver running down his spine. He pulled his friends with him as he began to move across the hall, his eyes wandering around.

They had just moved a few steps when there was a boom behind them. They turned around with the speed of lightning, their faces bathed in fear.

On top of the stairs stood a middle-aged man with a knife stuck at a terribly odd angle in his chest, blood oozing out of his wound. His left eye was swollen, a purple bruise sat on his chin and a black mark on the entire right cheek did not make him look any handsome.

Linda screamed. The other two were stunned, their faces as pale as a white sheet. Linda was pulling her friends, asking them to move, but they were too troubled. She jerked them sharply, and finally succeeded in bringing them back to their senses. They held onto each other, eyes still on the bloodied man, as they stepped back slowly.

The dead man shook his head. He turned around and faced the wall behind him. He dipped his fingers in his blood, and began writing something on the wall.

The humans stopped, their eyes wide as they observed the spirit's strange behaviour. After a few moments of silence, the dead man stepped back and allowed the three to take a look at the wall.

The message on the wall read, "Not going to hurt you. I have something to share."

Linda swallowed. "What do you want to share? Why can't you just speak?"

The man touched his lips and shook his head. Hayden bit his lip. "You can't speak?"

The man nodded fiercely, which made the knife stuck in his chest bob. The humans shuddered.

Liam stepped forward. "Tell us. Tell us quick so we can leave." He demanded.

The man scowled, definitely angered by Liam's bossiness. Liam immediately retreated, slouching to make himself seem smaller, telling the dead man he was not a threat.

The man stepped forward. Linda gasped, and the spirit looked at her questioningly, an eyebrow raised. Linda ran a tongue over her lips. "Uh- we- we'd prefer if you- if you maintained a distance." Linda turned her lips upward to look polite, but all she could manage was a crooked smile.

The man didn't seem to mind, because he stopped. He pointed at a corner of the room. The humans' gaze moved towards the corner, where sat a dusty table with three drawers.

"Do you want us to look in that drawer?" Asked Hayden, his eyes travelling between the table and the dead man at an alarming speed.

The man nodded. The three moved together, their eyes at the man.

Liam opened the top drawer. Empty. They looked at the spirit, but he only nodded at the table. Liam checked the second drawer. Inside, hidden beneath layers of dust, was a photograph. He took it out, and held it in front of his fellows so that they could take a look.

The picture had been folded many times, they knew because of the cracks on it. Dusting off the photograph, they peered at it. It was a photo of a five teenage boys standing together, smiling at the camera.

The humans looked up. "What do we do, now?" Linda asked.

The man shook his head, as if scolding them on their dumbness. He turned around to face the wall once again, and began writing something. The friends waited in silence, occasionally peeking at the photo with a confused frown.

The spirit stepped aside. This time, he wrote, "He killed me."

Linda frowned. "Who killed you?"

The man pointed at the photo. The fellows' gazes automatically traveled back to the photo.

"These kids?" Liam almost laughed, but then he saw the man's face and fell silent.

Hayden pinched Liam's arm, giving him a stern look which said, "shut up!"

"Is it someone from this photograph?" Linda asked, and the man nodded. "Has he grown up now?" The man nodded again.

Hayden cleared his throat. "How do we figure out who it is? I mean, we can't find someone with their childhood photograph."

As soon as Hayden finished his sentence, all the doors opened and banged shut at once. The humans flinched visibly. The dead man's fists were clenched at his side, his forehead creased with an angry scowl.

"Sorry, sorry." Hayden held up his hands in defence. "Sorry."

Linda tried to smile. "Can we have another hint?"

The dead man didn't bother to reply. He reached in the pocket of his shaggy pants and produced something. He threw it down the stairs, and it came rolling down with several clinks. The man pointed at Linda, then at that thing.

"You want me to come and take it?" Linda pointed at her chest. The man nodded. Linda's fellows did not object; they were not too eager to go close to the spirit.

The way Linda's gaze flickered back and forth between the man and the thing he threw, it was clear she was hesitant. The man sensed it, and he moved a few steps back, pressing against the wall behind him.

Linda cleared her throat. She took careful steps to that thing, afraid it might explode. Upon nearing, she realised it was a ring. A blue stone was set in a metal base, its surface cracked slightly. Linda held the spirit's gaze as she bent down and picked up the ring. Linda backtracked immediately.

Liam and Hayden examined the ring, their brows coming together.

Liam scratched his neck. "I have seen it somewhere." He whispered.

Hayden looked up at the dead man. "Another hint?" He asked, his lips pulled into an innocent smile. "Please?"

The man turned around once again. He started writing something on the wall, but just after a few seconds, he started shaking. His body throbbed as he fell down.

The humans pressed into each other, a soft gasp escaping their lips. The man stood up slowly, his eyes down as he shook his head. He almost looked... sad.

The three humans took a glance at the half written message. "Mayor Car."

"Mayor Car?" Hayden asked. "What is it?"

The man shook his head again.

Linda nudged Hayden on his side. "That's only what he can say." She whispered to him. "I'm guessing it's the name of the person who killed him. He isn't powerful enough to write the whole name. Maybe because he or she killed him."

Liam, who had been focusing on the photo of the boys still in Hayden's hand, took it from him. Hayden looked at him. "What? What are you doing with the photo?"

"Nothing." He replied, his eyes fixed on the photo.

Linda ignored the men's conversation as she confronted the dead man again. "We'll think about the hints you gave us. We'll try to figure out who killed you. We'll make sure he gets what he deserves. Mayor Carlino would be waiting for us. Will you allow us to leave-" Linda was interrupted by a huge bang as the dead man disappeared from the staircase and reappeared a few feet away from them. At the same time, the doors opened and shut.

Linda shrieked. "Sorry! Sorry! We are here, we are here. Right here." Linda panted, her voice reducing to a whisper at the last word. Hayden and Liam grabbed Linda's hands, as if to comfort her, but they were really just comforting themselves.

Liam still had the photo in his hand. He glanced at it. "Mayor Car- mayor car." He whispered to himself.

Hayden elbowed him in the ribs. "Shut up!" He whisper-shouted at him.

Liam looked up suddenly, his eyes lighting up. "Mayor Carlino!" He said in a triumphant voice.

Linda and Hayden were going to tell him to keep quiet, but they noticed the dead man nodding.

Linda's eyes widened as realisation dawned at her. Despite the shock, a victorious smile tugged at her lips. "Is it Mayor Carlino?"

The dead man nodded.

Liam interrupted. "It's his ring, isn't it? But it's a copy. Mayor Carlino wears it all the time." He grinned, proud of finally being of some help.

The man nodded yet again.

The fellows grinned. "Can we go, now?" Hayden asked eagerly.

Before the dead man could reply, Liam spoke up. "But how did he kill you and why? I think we deserve to know the whole story. Right guys?" He looked at his fellow inquisitively, but they looked like they had tasted something foul.

Liam realised his mistake later, but then, the dead man was already upstairs, writing a message on the wall.

It took him about ten long minutes to complete the message, during which Liam was being criticised for his dumbness by his friends.

The message read, "I witnessed him killing his brother. Before he killed him, they had a conversation. I heard enough to know he was killing him because of share in property. When he realised I saw him, he killed me, too. My soul was stuck in this world because I had to tell someone of his crimes. Now I am free. Thank you."

The humans watched as the man's body evaporated into white dust and the man disappeared, probably on his way on. The three smiled.

"If I recall correctly, Mayor Carlino's brother was killed in an accident nobody could explain." Hayden pretended to be confused, a knowing smile plastered across his face as he tilted his head. "And the case was closed on Mayor Carlino's request, because apparently, he missed his brother too much and he couldn't bear the reporters asking him questions about his brother."

The fellows exchanged a knowing look.

"I didn't know that behind his good-natured and too kind personality, Mayor Carlino was hiding a murderer." Liam sighed. "I guess we have a murder case to solve." He grinned at his friends, who grinned back, just as the front door swung open and the daylight illuminated the dark hall.