Isolated

For weeks it's been bugging me that we can't seem to make a decision on whether not to go and sneak into the old abandoned mansion. At least it looks like a mansion. The house is built about three or even four stories but it's not that which makes it seem so huge. The roof is pointed towards the sky like those old Gothic churches you see in Europe or whatever. Forunately, it's not too high to seem like it's out of place. There's almost no front lawn unless you count the foot of dying grass from it to the sidewalk. The backyard, on the other hand, is fucking huge! There's huge trees further on back but as it reaches the house it turns into slight hills. They're not big but big enough for someone to hide behind if they laid behind it. On each side it has old and decrepid wooden fences that have fallen apart over time. Other than that I don't what else the house might hold.

My friends and I have been gathering up courage to sneak into it sometime late at night. John, the oldest of us four, seems to be the one holding us back because he seems so afraid of doing it. Chelsea is the youngest by four months. Kind of opposite of John since he's the oldest by four months. She seems ready everyday we talk about it. Rick is the one trying to decide if he should bring anything for enterainment. All day at school he does nothing but play with his GameBoy during classes. I'm surprised he hasn't been caught with it yet. As for me, I'm ready to go as well. I mostly read in my spare time and try to think of complicating simple things. That's entertainment enough for me. Lately, though, I've had this feeling that I should just go to the damn house. It's like there's a voice in my head telling me I just have to do it.

Going through the first few classes is always the worst part of the day. You spend about maybe ten minutes talking to your friends in the morning and then off to be lectured to death. Not the best thing on anybody's mind at that time. Thankfully, lunch came soon enough. After I chose my colored slop I sat down at our table and started immediately on the plans for us this weekend.

"OK, now I think we need flashlights and probably to start out around nine or maybe even eleven at night." "Well what about cars?" asked John. "They won't be a problem. We'll sneak in through the back," I replied. Chelsea nodded and said, "We could but that'd mean we'd need to go through whole block to even get there. Even then, that backyard is as big as all of our houses!" "Well, if we do go through with this, when do we go?" asked Rick still clicking away at his GameBoy. "Like I said, around nine or even ele-" "No, I mean what DAY?" he explained. Everyone looked at me and for once I could see that if I gave it now there'd be no excuses for not coming. "Friday night." "That's tomorrow, dude," said John. "I know," I answered to him and began poking at my food. I could tell what was going on in all their minds. They were wondering if we were going to get caught or maybe someone might not come. I highly doubt either will happen.

That house been abandoned for years now. Why would someone just suddenly be living in it? The sign in the front yard was still there even if it was covered in mud and other shit. Underneath it all it still said, "For Sale." The place didn't even have a garage or driveway. Maybe that's why nobody bought it. Either that or for the fact of it being too close to the street. My house was the closest to it compared to everyone at the table. Rick lived the farthest from it and the closest to Chelsea. John was a few block away from my house but it would work out. I told them to meet me in my backyard around nine. That way, we'd get enough time to go all the way around and sneak into the backyard of the house which still seemed like a huge field.

Later that night I began to regret my choice of doing our little mission tomorrow. It quickly passed and I eventually fell into a deep sleep with which I awoke the next day to be late for shcool. Of all the great days to be late it just HAD to be today! I got there around lunch. Yes, that's how late I was. I came up to our table and piled my backpack and books in the center. Everyone looked at me wondering what had happened to me, like they never saw me for years.

"Dude...where the fuck were you?" asked Rick. I shrugged and sighed then answered, "I slept in by accident." "Well, you're here. So are we gonna do this thing tonight or not?" Chelsea asked. Everyone nodded. "Alright then! Everybody knows where to meet, right?" I waited to see if anyone looked puzzled. Everyone knew where to go and at what time. "Why exactly are we sneaking into this house again?" asked John who was busy poking at his food. "Because," I replied, "we wanted to do something out of the ordinary." John stayed silent and poked at his food some more.

Nobody was going to back down from what I could tell. Everyone was ready and if we were caught, screw it, we tried. It didn't take long for the rest of the day to go by and have dusk settle. I brought along two flashlights since we might need more than what John will be bringing. Besides, it's the only two I have. After about ten minutes of waiting in my backyard I heard the leaves rustle and someone walking closer. It was Rick. He didn't bring anything with him but his jacket.

"Not gonna play any games while we take a look?" I inquired. He shook his head, "I want to see if this place is as haunted as they say. I don't believe in ghosts but then again, there's always a chance." I nodded and we waited a few more minutes until Chelsea and John arrived. "Time to go hunting," John said with a smirk. He seemed better prepared than he usually is.

It took us a few more minutes to finally decide who needed a flashlight and where we were going to head from here. We all crouched low and made as little noise as possible while trying to sneak into the neighbors yards. When we made it to the end of the block we ran across the street and began going through more yards until we reached the woods. It was eerie how close the woods were to our town and especially how dense they were. Once there we followed along the edge until we came to the clearing of the mansion's backyard. The place was huge! Somehow the grass seemed like it was freshly cut. There were ditches along the way as well. Some so deep that we couldn't see over it. About halfway through a bright light swerved in our direction.

"Shit!" breathed Rick under his breath. We were all thinking the same thing. We've been caught. All of us dove into the nearest ditch and stayed on our stomachs considering it was only about knee high. When the light passed we realized what it was. "Fucking car...," I said. It seemed were still hidden from everyone. From that point we decided to crawl the rest of the way just in case.

More lights moved above our heads. They were all still cars. We were about thirty feet away from the concrete steps when I heard John gasp. Everyone looked back at him and only saw him pointing further back. It took a while for us to see it but it made us all gasp. Some shambling figure was making its way towards us. It didn't seem to be in a hurry but it also looked like they were drunk. Either way, we rather not get caught. Rick stood up and bolted for the door then cursed loudly while he shook the knob. "It's fucking locked!"

Chelsea got up and ran over to try and pick it with one of her hair pins. John and I stayed low in the ditch while we watched the figure get closer with each wobbling step. A few seconds later I heard a click then a loud creaking noise from the door ahead. It was open! I got up and grabbed John by his shoulder then almost had to drag him inside the house. Rick closed the door and locked it again then put a chair in the way. I guess he didn't want that person coming in either.

"OK, this is a big house, we need to just split up into two groups. Rick you come with me. We'll check out this floor," John said. Everyone nodded and we split up down the first hallway. It was so creepy. The floor was made out of old floorboards and seems to have collected dust for some time. It was so damn quiet! Nothing made a sound. There was no wind. No breathing I could hear. The only thing that made me know I wasn't deaf were the soft creaks of the floorboards. Our flashlights were doing a good job of showing us our way when there wasn't any window nearby. The whole house seemed to have this blue tint to it. Finally we came to the other side of the house and Chelsea looked around me.

"It only goes upstairs from here." I nodded and moved my beam of light around the stairs. "Something's different," I said. "What do you mean?" She sounded scared now. I don't blame her. There was a different light source coming from up the stairs but I couldn't tell what it was exactly. "Come on," I said and took her hand just so she'll feel a little safer.

Every step on the way up seemed to creak louder than the last. I was surprised none of them broke on us either. When we finally made it to the top I looked around and turned off my light to see where the other source was coming from. A small line of orange was showing underneath a door just ahead and to our left. I lightly pulled her with me and found the rusted handle of the door. It opened with a loud bellow and silenced itself before it stopped. The light was a lamp. It had oil in it and it seemed that it was lit only recently. Something made me feel uneasy. Was somebody here before us? Were Rick and John up here just aminute ago? If so, how come we didn't hear them coming down the stairs or anything? The house was so quiet you could hear a pin drop on the other side.

Before I had a chance to say anything Chelsea rubbed her eyes and yawned then sat down on the bed next to the nightstand with the lamp. I stepped in the rest of the way and closed the door, cringing at the noise. "I'm so tired...," she said. I could tell she was too. Dark bags were appearing under her eyes and she just looked exhausted. Not too long after that she layed down on the bed and began taking a light nap. I don't know how she could sleep in a place like this but I guess anything is possible to an extent.

Before long I heard someone coming up the stairs and then open the door. It was John. He looked just as tired as Chelsea. When he saw her sleeping I guess he got the same idea. "I'm gonna take a quick nap, OK?" he asked. I shrugged and said, "Sure." Something clicked suddenly. "Where's Rick?" John shrugged as he layed down next to Chelsea and fell fast asleep. Well now, isn't this great? I decided to face the door in case anyone came up I didn't want to did. We might have a fighting chance if I get a head start. Minutes began passing like hours and hours like days. Finally I heard something. It was heavy. If it was somebody walking they were stomping their feet it sounded like. I don't anyone could make that much noise and still go that fast. Each step was louder and I realized that they were coming this way. I backed up against the wall and wondered how the hell John and Chelsea couldn't hear that! Whatever was coming this way it was hauling ass. I could hear it coming up the stairs now. I even heard some of them snap and break. If somethign happened to Rick more than likely this was it. I braced myself as it ran directly toward the room. I don't how it knew where we were or anything unless it was the light. But before that how did it know? In a split second the door busted open in a flurry of wind and splinters. The lamp got blown out before I could see whatever it was. It was only quiet for a second then I heard the screams of John and Chelsea...