It's a cloudy day today. Rain patters along the window next to Sunshine, sliding down and creating puddles on the ground. She's in the living room, head ducked with a blue beanie and her glasses on. She's doing homework, like a responsible teenager, and has her camera on just in case anything crazy happens.

She hears a voice upstairs but shakes it off.

When Sunshine continues to her work a little girl's laugh fills her ears. She shivers. "Did you guys hear that?"

The giggling continues and Sunshine stiffens, peeling her glasses away from her face. "It sounds like — like children. Upstairs."

Great.

She moves to lift her camera. "I just want to point out, leaving the camera on was a rather good idea." Sunshine trudges up the stairs, lips pressed in a firm line. "I should be scared," she says, "but I don't think I am. I mean, I don't feel frightened. I don't know. Maybe I should be."

Light floods through the door to her room, spilling across the carpet. She doesn't hesitate to near the edge of the hallway, until the closest downstairs door slams.

Okay. Is this a child ghost being annoyingly rude, or is something darker lurking here?

She turns, blinking a few times. "I said I was going to do this. I'm gonna do this." She breathes out. "I'm gonna go downstairs, and see what it was."

The stairwell is dark and shadowy blankets cover the edges of the screen. Sunshine reaches forward to open the door. Luckily, nothing is standing there. She slips into the kitchen and looks around. "There's nothing."

Woah. Wait.

Sunshine pads to the living room table and sees — oh my God, actually? It's — it's the unicorn, sitting right by her papers. Her jaw drops. "It was all the way upstairs.."

She shakes, turning the camera to face her. "I guess we have some... rather playful ghosts."
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The next few nights pass by quietly, until she's sitting upstairs in bed and the power clicks off.

First thing of order? Turn on her phone camera and record what the hell is going on.

It's probably nothing. No reason to be scared. But Sunshine doesn't want to admit that the camera makes her feel safer. So, perhaps, taking it downstairs with her isn't a terrible idea. A little extra comfort for the dark.

"Hey guys, so the power went out and I'm using my phone 'cause it has better light, so." She slides down the stairs easily, flashlight reflecting off of the white painted walls. "Mom?"

"Honey, where are you?" Sunshine jogs toward the sound of her mother's voice, eyes narrowed. Kat comes in to view, wearing a thick gray plaid shirt and navy pants. "What is going on?" Her mother walks by, hair flying back.

"I don't know," Sunshine murmurs, looking around.

"Wait, is the whole neighborhood out?" Kat peers through the front door's window.

"I don't know, I can't tell," Sunshine says, coming up from behind.

"Honey, no, it's not the whole neighborhood." Her mother looks alarmed. "It's just us." She pauses. "It's not — I guess it's kind of stormy.."

"Maybe, just, our power went out," she suggests, peering through the living room. "I don't know."

"I paid the bill —"

Sunshine gasps, goosebumps crawling over her exposed arms. She can hear scuttling across the walls. It almost sounds like an animal, but — it's inside the house. And it's close.

"What? Did you hear something?" Kat places a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

She directs the camera toward the bathroom door. The knob is jiggling. It sounds like someone is trying to roughly pull it open.

"Daddy, please help me!"

Sunshine and her mother exchange shocked glances. Was that — was that a little girl? Why would someone be in their bathroom? More importantly, why the HELL can she not get out?

She bites her lip. No way it's a ghost. This is far beyond a normal sighting.

"Is there somebody in there?" Kat's hushed, panicked voice cuts through Sunshine's thoughts. They shift closer to the door.

"I need help," the child says, voice cracking.

"It sounds like a little girl.." Her mother trails off when the doorknob begins to shake again.

"It hurts!"

Kat bites her nails. "We need to go in."

"It's okay."

"It's not okay! We need to go in!"

"Shh..."

Sunshine is staying remarkably calm for the current situation.

"I don't know where I am!"

The door knob tries to turn again. She can hear the child crying inside, desperately trying to barge their way out of the bathroom.

"HELP ME! HELP ME!"

The voice sends shivers down Sunshine's spine. Her mind is doing that thing again — where, where she feels fuzzy. She can't think. Impulse takes over. She needs to act, now. "We need to go in!"

Kat looks terrified. "I don't want to!"

"We have to!" Sunshine turns to her mother. "We need to go in!"

"No, we need to get out of the house!"

"No, Mom —"

"Help me!"

"We need to go! Sunshine, we need to go!"

A sob catches in Sunshine's throat, causing her breath to quiver harshly. She barrels toward the door, hands shaking.

Kat runs forward. "What are you doing?! Don't go in there!"

The child bangs on the door, screaming louder and louder for help. Her mother's desperate voice and the yelling override Sunshine's senses. She can't feel anything, really. She just wants the noise to stop.

So, Sunshine throws open the door, and both women gasp loudly. However, the area in front of them is empty. Sunshine sways her camera around the bathroom, touching the shower curtain and ripping it open.

"Okay, what is making that noise?!" Her mother sounds like she's on the verge of tears.

"No one's in here," she says, wheezing.

"What is this? What's on the door?"

Sunshine turns around and screams. It rakes against her throat, clawing its way out of her mouth. Her heart pumps out of her chest and her vision becomes blurry with tears. The door is covered in blood, red drops spilling from the words "HELP ME" written all over. Hand prints have scratched the door and — oh, God, Sunshine can't handle it, she's literally going to collapse, what the hell is going on —

Kat drops to her knees, staring at the door. Her voice breaks. "What — what is this?" Toward the bottom they can see holes dented from where a child would have kicked. "Th — Those are scratches and I — I think that's blood." Tears spill down both of their eyes.

The door slams in their face when her mother tries to touch the door. Sunshine screams and nearly collapses, hands trembling so badly she can barely hold the camera.

The door is locked.

"Let us out!" Kat yells, gripping the door and attempting to swipe it open. "I can't open it!"

The door suddenly swings wide, almost knocking Sunshine back. She gasps, voice hoarse and raspy. She sobs and flees out of the room, the lights flickering on around her.

"I'm done. I'm — I'm done!" She flips the camera toward herself, eyes teary. "This is beyond us. We need help. I don't know what to do."

Her legs buckle beneath her, and Sunshine is left wondering what a normal life even is.

:o