Old, that was the only way to describe the house. The windows were dirty from years of neglect and many were broken from the local teenagers. Brody hated the idea of people throwing stones at the poor house; someone still owned it, just no one knew who. Yet, what she was about to do was ten times worse than throwing a pebble. She gripped the splintering window sill and pulled herself onto the small ledge.

She hesitated and turned around, three pairs of eyes stared back at her in the dark. "Get a move on Banter; we won't wait out here all night. Just get it, look around, and get out!"

Brody clenched her jaw and turned her head back to the house. She slowly twisted her body, reaching her arms up until her hands were in reach of the porch overhang. Her wrapped her hand around the edge and swung the rest of her body up. Her foot hooked the roof edge and she clambered onto the unstable roof.

From this height, she suddenly felt a surge of strength. She was ten times better than any of the girl's below her. "Banter, you'll never make it with us if you don't get your ass in motion." One of the girls pointed out. The leader, who had been the one to speak before, cut the girl off. "Are you chickening out on us?"

"No!" Brody spit. She quickly moved across the roof, using light steps. She made it to the window she had seen from the ground. Its glass had been completely torn out. It only took a small tug for the rotting frame to fall out.

"This is it." She whispered to herself. With a delicate step, she ducked into the window. Below her, the three girl's wooted softly.

She found herself in a moonlit hallway, windows across one wall and doors across the other. The walls were, or had at one point been a dark blue. At some spots the blue was still deep, but other areas had faded to a strange green.

Brody padded across the hardwood floor whispering to herself. "Get in, get out, get in, get out. First thing you see, Brody."

She let out a small 'eep' as something moved below her. Shuddering, she pictured a rat scuttling across a dusty hardwood room. The last thing she wanted to meet up with was rodents. Her head snapped up as she heard a door below her click open. Maybe rats were second.

"There are no such things as ghosts!" She whispered sharply. "If Joh and the others are playing a joke I'm going to kill them."

Another movement downstairs sent shivers up her spine. Did she dare go down? The deal was to get in, get something, and leave through the back door so the others could get in later on.

She squared her shoulders and began moving again, this time with more confidence. She had made it this far, breaking in was the hard part. She had reached the end of the hall when she heard the voice. She straightened up, but just as quickly relaxed when she realized it was coming from outside. She recognized Joh's whisper.

"Where the hell are you Banter!"

Ignoring the cat calls from outside she began to descend the stairs. Reaching the bottom she came to a stop, her ears straining to hear anything unusual. Nothing.

Feeling better she finally took the time to look around her. She was in what seemed to be the kitchen. She had probably just descended the back stairwell the servants used in the olden days. She moved through the kitchen with its black and now yellow tiled floor. Through the doorway to the right she entered the dining room. She grimaced at the grotesque room. A crooked table sat in the middle with a sinister chandelier hanging above it. Across the room, hung a warped mirror. It had no frame as it seemed to be floating against the wall. Her face was distorted and its bizarre shape seemed to fit in with the room's mood.

She looked around some more until she found a small chest behind the table. Taking a deep breath she opened the lid. Her stomach lurched as it cracked open, but nothing popped out. She gave a crooked smile; inside were a pair of candle sticks and a bowl full of glass fruit.

Reaching in, Brody took out a small glass apple and closed the trunk back up.

Just as it clicked shut she heard a shuffling behind her. She ignored her thundering heart and stood up. With the apple in hand she hurried back through the kitchen where she had seen the back door before.

She abruptly stopped in front of it. She eyes widened in surprise when she saw it. The handle was a shiny gold, unlike the rusted one on the outside. Not only that, but the door was no nailed shut like the rest of the doors and windows on the first floor. Holes in the sideboard showed where nails had once been.

The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and the distinct sound of a footstep echoed in the dining room. She reached for the handle, but hesitated, curiosity getting the better of her.

Silently she turned around and tip toed across the kitchen floor. In an instant of bravery she jumped around the doorway and into the dining room. A tall man stood in front of her, his eyes narrowed in anger. She let out a strangled scream and whipped around.

Without stopping she flung the door open, she slammed it closed behind her and kept running. The three girls jumped up enraged.

"Where were you?" "What took so long?" "Well what did you find?" "Where the hell are you going!?"

Brody jumped the gate and ran straight past the girls. Joh let out a shriek and started after Brody. In one fluid motion Brody threw back the glass apple. Her pursuer stopped short to catch the glistening object and Brody disappeared into the night.