Monster

It had been a stupid idea, Melanie knew that now as she fumbled for a light switch in the darkness of the mansion. She was terrified and her heart was threatening to beat straight out of her chest already; she hadn't even left the foyer. She'd never chosen dare before, so why did she this time?

Her finger found the small, plastic, switch and flipped up; nothing. It hadn't surprised her, really, the house had been abandoned for almost two years and though she did have a small flashlight, she wouldn't have said 'no' to more light. Taking a deep breath, Melanie let her mind temporarily forget where she was and stepped further inside.

Murder House, they called it. Melanie knew it was built back in the nineteen-twenties and she knew that nearly everyone that had lived in the house had also died in the house, though she never cared for the details. At the moment, she was thankful for her lack of interest in the subject for fear she would have never stepped foot inside at all. That would not have ended well on her part as it would have meant complete ridicule for the rest of her high school days.

Shining her little flashlight beam around, she regrettably noticed the lack of items inside the house. As part of her dare, she was required to bring back some sort of memorabilia, only all that seemed to be left were large pieces of furniture.

Making her way into the living room, Melanie's beam landed on a face and she let out a scream before realizing it was just a boy. At the sound, the boy had brought his hands up to his ears. Melanie clutched her chest, keeping her beam focused on the boy as she caught her breath.

"Jesus," the boy said, letting his arms fall back to his sides. As she calmed down, color began to rise in Melanie's cheeks. Her only guess was that the boy was also inside the Mansion as some dare, or morbid curiosity. It wasn't uncommon for teens to find their way inside Murder House one way or another.

"Sorry," Melanie responded bashfully. The boy was handsome, blonde and lean beneath his grungy clothing and she was embarrassed of the spectacle she'd just made.

"What are you doing in here by yourself?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest. "You know they say this place is haunted." Melanie did not believe in ghosts, that hadn't been the reason she'd been afraid to come inside the house. She had in fact heard the legends about the place being haunted by all those that had died inside, but she'd also heard the legend about the serial killer that lived in the basement that had supposedly escaped from some mental asylum.

"It's, actually," Melanie motioned back towards the door, trying to indicate that she wasn't in fact alone, "my friends dared me to come inside and bring something back." It felt stupid saying it out loud and she almost regretted it.

"Hey, you wanna see something cool?" The boy smiled, reaching a hand out towards her. Melanie had never seen the boy before, didn't even know his name, and yet there was something about the way he smiled at her that made her place a hand into his. She found herself smiling back up at him as he turned to lead her down the hall.

"What are you doing, Tate?" The boy stopped suddenly at the sound of another girl's voice. His back was towards Melanie, so she couldn't see the expression on his face, but his hand let go of her's quickly.

"Sky, I was just--she needed help," he was at a loss for words. Peering around him, Melanie saw the girl. She appeared to be around Melanie's age, with long brown hair and delicate features. It was no wonder the boy had dropped her hand, this girl was much prettier than Melanie, even dressed in her layers of clothing. Her jeans were ripped, she appeared to be wearing an oversize Black Sabbath t-shirt, and over that an even larger red flannel which she left unbuttoned.

"Go away, Tate." The girl said flatly, causing the boy, Tate, to lurch forward. Melanie had no idea what was going on or what she'd gotten herself mixed into.

"No, Sky, please," Tate's voice had broke and Melanie realized he was beginning to sob. "I wasn't gonna hurt her, Sky, I swear--" Melanie took a step back, realizing something was seriously off about this entire situation. She no longer cared about the dare or the boy or even the group of girls waiting for her back on the sidewalk outside.

The girl, Sky, stepped back just outside of Tate's reach.

"Go away, Tate!" She screamed and Melanie froze in fear as the boy simply vanished from in front of her. Every impulse was telling Melanie to run, but as hard as she willed herself, her legs were glued to the very spot where she stood.

"Here," unable to tear her eyes away from the girl, Melanie realized she was handing something to her. It was a notebook, or rather a journal, and it was extremely worn and dirty. "Take this and go." When Melanie didn't move for the journal, Sky placed a cold hand on Melanie's, forcing her to take it. "Don't come back." Her words were harsh with the sincerity in which she meant it.

"H-He--" Melanie wanted to tell Sky that he vanished, she wanted to say it aloud to someone in hopes that maybe that would mean it didn't really happen, that maybe it was the dark playing tricks on her, but she couldn't seem to get the words out. It was only then that it even occurred to her, maybe the legends were real, maybe Tate was a ghost--maybe Sky was a ghost.

As if reading her thoughts, Sky's face seemed to grow pale, blue-ish in color, and dark circles began growing more clearly around her eyes. Sky looked dead, she looked very dead and Melanie felt the color drain from her own face.

"Go!" With a final scream, Sky was gone and by some miracle Melanie was finally able to move her legs. Without looking back, she ran out the door, past the group of girls looking horrified between her and the house, and down the street, swearing to herself that she would never again step foot anywhere near that house.