"Let's get out of here!". We rush towards the open front door, as it suddenly slams shut. Ronaldo grips onto the doorknob and pulled on it, with no luck. "It won't open!", he says, with his voice cracking in fear.
"Classic horror movie shenanigans", I grunted under my breath, looking over my shoulder for another exit. The rest of the group slammed themselves through the door, successfully forcing it off its hinges and breaking it down. We exited the lantern room, only to notice the door beginning to mend itself from the broken pieces.
"I'm so sorry! I had no idea there was this violent of a presence here", Ronaldo deeply and sincerely apologised to us for the most haunted night we've ever experienced. Steven shrugged, mildly. "It happens", he stated, comfortably. Lars scoffed, crossing his arms. "No, it doesn't!", he yelled back at both Steven and Ronaldo. "It's not a ghost!".
Sadie huffed, not tolerating Lars' tantrum for not being correct. "Who cares what it is? We need to get out", she firmly asserted. Everyone nodded in sync as we all followed Sadie.
We began descending down the spiralling staircase Lighthouse. Not knowing where it's taking us or what is down there. We just hoped there was some sort of exit that could get us out of the Lighthouse. While stepping down the stairs, Steven and I caught each other's glance.
"Thanks for saving me back there", he smiled at me, brushing his fingers at our nearly intertwined hands. Almost as if he was indirectly asking if he could hold my hand. I ridiculed, shrugging modestly and moving my hand away from his. "Don't make it a big deal", I shrugged, humbly, peering down at the wooden floor.
I couldn't see it, but I could tell Steven began stepping closer to me. Not sure how I thought we were close enough. He suddenly wrapped his pinky finger securely around mine as I flinched at his cool touch. I peered down without moving my head from its position, vaguely seeing Steven's pinky laced with mine. I should've pulled away, but...
Steven obviously knew that I didn't feel comfortable holding hands with him, which he respected. But what continuously flashed through his head was the way I held him in my arms in such a comforting manner. He felt so warm, and despite my menacing demeanour I had bestowed upon him, my touch was so gentle. What was this sudden desire inside his chest that made him crave my touch? He didn't know, but he knew it wouldn't be satisfied unless he found some sort of loophole. An idea popped into his head. It was risky, but it might work.
He scooted closer to me, feeling his heart thump against his ribcage relentlessly. Almost there. He extended out his hand towards mine at a gradual and moderate pace so I wouldn't notice, then he wrapped his pinky finger around mine. He felt me flinch at his sudden touch, and almost immediately wanted to pull away and apologise relentlessly. But then, he felt me relax into it as I glanced forward, pretending I didn't notice it. He began to smile. Not the exact reaction he was hoping for, but I didn't beat him up either.
So, he'd say it was a win-win.
Ronaldo and Sadie began chuckling together at their own little joke as Steven noticed something off about Lars. He looked like he was getting unrest. "Something wrong, Lars?", he asked, only to have Lars hushing him and covering Steven's mouth with both hands. Suddenly, I began to hear something. Eerie laughter of children, couldn't tell where it was coming from. But, I heard it.
Ghost children?
Sadie glanced back at Lars in confusion. "What is that?". Lars instantly removed his hands from Steven's face, digging both his hands into his pockets. He wouldn't admit it, but I know he heard the children too.
"Oh, it's nothing!", he scoffed, letting his ego overtake him. "We're all just hearing things, and seeing things and feeling things that aren't real".
Lars ran ahead towards the door when it suddenly swung open and smashed him in the face. The impact knocked him off his feet, sending him tumbling backwards. I covered my mouth with my hand, letting out a few weird noises that were supposed to be laughter. I suddenly felt a warm sensation leave my hand, leaving me with a cold mark. Steven must have let go of me. I think I got a little too comfortable with it.
The decorative scarecrows that were previously outside we're now animated and creeping towards us, like undead zombies. Sadie and Ronaldo promptly leaned themselves against the door, pushing forcefully against it. They were trying to force it to shut from the scarecrows trying to claw their way in.
Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, a few bats and a scarecrow managed to slip through the door, instantly swooping down to attack Lars. I'm not sure what's with this Haunted House, but it seemed to have some sort of beef with Lars. Steven rushed over to Lars and manages to pry the scarecrow and bats away from him. Steven struggled to keep the wriggling bat in his grasp, he looked up at me as if he was indirectly asking me for help. I grabbed onto the bat, ripping it out of Steven's grasp and flung it out the door. Sadie and Ronaldo finally managed to shut the door.
"Have you ever seen a haunting this bad?!", Sadie exclaimed, turning to face Ronaldo. "This is no run-of-the-mill haunting!", he revealed, shining the flashlight onto his own face once more. "A ghost only haunts a house. A poltergeist haunts a person! They're usually attracted to the terrifying inner world of the emotionally disturbed". Then, Ronaldo pointed the light onto Lars. His eyes widened, as his eyes darted to everyone standing in front of him.
"You think stuff is coming after me?!", he responded, sharply, yet beads of agitated sweat was dripping off the side of his face. "How can you listen to this...weird guy?! He practically lives in a haunted house. Don't you think maybe he had something to do with it?".
Steven furrowed his brows, crossing his arms and stepping forward to Lars. "I think you can stop being such a dink to Ronaldo", he grunted, huffing at Lars.
Lars rolled his eyes, baffled as he began to stomp up to me. I put my hands behind my back, gripping them onto each other intensely. "What about your girlfriend?", he pointed down at me, making me softly slap his hand away from my face. "If I have to repeat it...", I mutter beneath my heated breath. " Listen, I'm whatever side Steven is on, we're a duo".
Steven couldn't hold back his smile that made its way on his face, which instantly made me wish I didn't add that.
That answer did not please Lars at all. He groaned in frustration, approaching the last person in the group that didn't choose a side. "Sadie, you're not an idiot!", he said, gripping onto her shoulders tightly, forcing her to stare in Lars' desperate eyes. " Hey!", Ronaldo, Steven and I all complained, offended.
"Do you believe all of this?!".
"I...", Sadie's voice was trailing off, as she was no longer making eye contact with Lars. She didn't want to have to choose any sides. She didn't want to say something that would upset anyone. So, she stayed quiet.
"All this stuff— They've gotta be doing it somehow", Lars assured her, with his grip on her shoulders stiffening without him realising it. "We've gotta ditch these guys. Come on".
Sadie finally glanced up at Lars with the most repugnant expression plastered on her face. She gradually backed away from Lars, ripping her shoulders out of his grasp as she crossed her arms and glanced at the wooden floor. "I'm not ditching anyone", she muttered.
Lars' eyes widened when he realised no-one was on his side. "But what about me, huh?!", he exclaimed frantically to Sadie. "Sadie! C'mon, you always—".
The floorboards suddenly opened up underneath Sadie, revealing a glowing, red void. Sadie had absolutely no time to react as she fell into it, shrieking out in terror. Lars tried to rush forward to save her but the floorboards closed up, swallowing Sadie as her screams fade away, leaving just her flashlight behind.
Oh my gosh! The Lighthouse ate Sadie! All of a sudden the exciting adrenaline of a real Haunted House immediately died down. I didn't feel the vibe anymore. All I felt was the dread of Sadie being tortured by the undead spirits.
"The spirit took her!" Ronaldo blurted in contentment as his head whipped to violently face Lars. "You're gonna drag us all down with you! Don't you even care?!".
Suddenly, a hatch on the floor opened up revealing a dark entrance underground. The basement! We all wasted no time descending into the basement as swiftly and quietly as possible. The eerie red aura enhanced and illuminated with every step we took. "I don't see her anywhere!", Lars exclaimed with eyes darting everywhere. This is the first time that Lars was legitimately concerned about someone.
This boy's got a crush!
"Spirit, show yourself!", Ronaldo called out, looking for signs of the ghosts in their presence. Steven chewed the inside of his mouth, feeling some sort of disheartening and ominous energy flowing into him. It was screaming for remedy and swirling in terror, running black with fear. It made Steven shudder slightly. "It's close", he muttered to everyone, placing his hand on the lighthouse structure to feel the force more.
I turned to face him, raising a brow at his hypothesis, critically. "How do you know?", I ask him.
"I can feel it. It's hurting and... obsessed". Something tells me that whatever is in here with us isn't just some phantom. But whatever it was, we had to save Sadie from it. Suddenly, my ears perked. I heard something.
It sounded like a heartbeat, but much more compelling. Much more hostile. It hammered through my ears, making me flinch at the sound as it felt like the pounding was shaking the Lighthouse to its foundation. Ronaldo shined his flashlight towards the sound and what we saw left all of us speechless.
Carved on the wall, was Lars' name, glowing the illuminated eerie red that swallowed Sadie. It was pulsing like a vein and pounding like a hammer. The flesh-like structure shook the ground we were steeping on. Lars shuddered at the sight of his name radiating and buldging on the wall. Ronaldo glared at Lars, dropping his light to face the ground. "It should have been you!", he grunted under his breath, taking a few menacing steps towards Lars. "Wh-What", Lars stuttered, taking hesitant steps back.
"It took her, but it should have been you, Lars!".
"Woah hold on", Steven said, trying to look for a logical explanation. I could still hear the spirit eerily whispering Lars' name through the wall and it made me quiver. Suddenly, a mouth opened up in the wall below the pulsing writing, making me trip back in hysteria. Ronaldo, still in a fit of fury, grappled Lars and starts dragging him towards the mouth.
"Hey! Let go!", Lars attempted to thrust out of Ronaldo's tight grasp. Steven ran in front of Ronaldo, trying to convince him to release his friend. "Wait! Stop! What are you doing?". I was complete inaction. I didn't know what to do, so I stood there. Ronaldo gripped onto Lars tighter and hoisted him above his head, making Lars shriek in horror.
"Spirit, I deliver the package of darkness!", Ronaldo called out. "Return to us the innocent Sadie!". The spirit continued to ghoulishly call Lars' name, pounding harder against the wall. There's no way that Ronaldo could possibly use Lars as a sacrifice, right? "C-come on, man. We used to be friends", Lars studdered down at Ronaldo.
"And you threw me away!", Ronaldo exclaimed and then proceeded to throw Lars, screaming, into the mouth. I gasped in shock. "What in the world is wrong with you?!", I shouted at Ronaldo.
As much as I wanted to see Lars get what he deserved, death was not on my list of options for karma. I ran towards the mouth, hesitating a little as I leapt into the wall. WHAT AM I DOING?! Steven's heart began to beat louder than usually as his breath got lodged in his throat. Gosh, if only he was keeping track of every anxious thought that was coursing through his mind. He was struck with awe that made it almost impossible for him to stop me.
"(Y/N)!", he croaked out to me, getting no response in return.
I managed to see Lars, struggling to not get swallowed down. "Why does everything bad happen to me", he cried, making me glare at him. "Not everything is about you, Lars!", I grunted at him, reaching my arm out for him to grab onto. Before he could take my hand, the mouth pinned us both down with its tongue. I glance up in fear, as I noticed the teeth beginning to slowly lower down in an attempt to sever Lars and me in half. I tried wriggling my self out, but it had us trapped.
Steven watched in horror, noticing the mouth had us both clamped down and prepared to die. But, he wouldn't let that happen. He felt some sort of urge inside him that made him feel like his sole purpose was to protect me. And he wasn't going to ignore it. Steven summoned his bubble shield to envelope around Lars and me, protecting us. He then expanded the bubble's size, causing the mouth to stretch out and suddenly, explode.
The bubble rolled Lars and I away to safety before popping, leaving us lying on the floor with our bodies paralysed in trauma. Steven rushed over to me, gripping onto my sides and hoisting me up. He stared directly into my groggy eyes, feeling my rapid heartbeat against his chest. He was terrified. Terrified that something bad would've happened to me. Terrified that I'd get so hurt that he wouldn't be able to fix me. He didn't want to use the term death as the thought of me dying disheartened him, but he was terrified of that too.
"You're...staring again", I grinned between my pants. Steven's face burned with a faint blush as his eyes met the floor. I smiled at him, although he didn't see it. "I guess this makes us even".
Suddenly, the rubble of the wall began to shift slightly as Sadie emerges from it, coughing out dust and gasping for air. " Sadie!", we all sighed in relief at the sight of her. She was ok.
Steven noticed something next to her. A gemstone. Of course, why am I not surprised?
He picked it from the rubble, holding it up for everyone to get a look at. "It's a gem!", he panted as it began to glow and glimmer. The stone's radiance masked the whole room in bright light as I squinted my eyes so I wasn't blinded by its light. I, along with everybody else, noticed that it began projecting a blue holographic screen, with two boys in it. I glanced Lars and Ronaldo as their mouths were gaped, and looked back at the screen at a rapid pace. Then, I realised it. It was them.
Ronaldo and Lars when they were younger. But something was different. And I didn't mean their goofy appearances and ridiculous hairstyles. I meant the fact that they looked like they were getting along. Almost as if they were friends. Steven was chuckling at Lars' dopey personality, on the other hand, Lars was utterly flustered, groaning at the memory.
Young Lars began carving his name on the wooden wall with a rusty screwdriver, grinning as he showed a gap in his teeth. Suddenly, a thick wooden board sprang outwards, knocking young Lars backwards onto the floor, just at the exact moment young Ronaldo snapped a picture of it. From there, things took an unexpected turn, young Lars ripped up the photo and that escalated in arguments and insults being thrown. When the projection ended, Steven held onto the gem tighter, "Okay, shh. I've got you", he began tenderly reassuring it as I raised a brow curving my lip down. "You know you're speaking to a rock, right?", I pointed out, Steven began stroking it as if my words would actually offend it.
"When you were stuck in the wall, was the house like your body? You must have felt like you were under attack back when Lars carved his name in you". Ronaldo appeared from behind him, reaching over his shoulder to touch the stone, "Can I see that?". Steven held it further away from him. "Uh, sorry. We should let it rest", he explained, encasing the gem in a rosy coloured bubble a sending it away.
We all glanced up, watching the gem teleport out of our sight. "Wait! Oh, Sadie, are you okay?", Ronaldo suddenly blurted out as he remembered what she went through. Sadie showed a smile to him, a fatigued smile, but it was still a smile. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine", she said. Lars rapidly glanced at her, "Oh, yeah", he chuckled, "We were both worried about— I mean, I ran down here faster". I smirked up at him tauntingly, as he sent me an apprehensive glare. "Sadie, (Y/N), you guys can come with me. I think these two have a lot to talk about", Steven gestured us to give Ronaldo and Lars time to talk.
I followed them both, taking a glance back at the two talking, hopefully working stuff out. I noticed that Steven looked a bit down, a little guilty almost. "I'm sorry about...All that", he apologised, turning to look at me. I gawked at him with vacant expression, wondering what he possibly did to make him have the urge to apologise. "I know you hate when stuff like this happens. You never have a normal hangout when you're with me". My eyes narrowed in disbelief, blinking way more than I should. "Steven...", I placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling him tense at my touch. I waited for him to ease before I began talking, "If anything about you was normal, we wouldn't be friends. I had fun, nobody got hurt, you don't have to apologise, dummy.
Steven gave me a weary grin, taking my pinky with his once again. I scoffed, not knowing why he did that, but if it made him feel better, I wouldn't argue.
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