The One Who Got Away
By: Faith Adeline

There is a house, sitting quietly on Maple Hill, that is rumored to be haunted. According to town legends and lore, a man named Moore Young murdered his wife and three children the night he found out she was leaving him for another man, pregnant with said man's child. In a fit of rage, he slit the children's throats in front of her, making her watch her children gag on their own blood. Then, he proceeded to take her life, and his. Some say he's still in the house, watching and waiting, his bloodlust un-sated.

While most people give the legend no credence, they still peer at it suspiciously-as if waiting for a man to come out, swinging his knife wildly. They quicken their steps, keep their head down, all in a vain attempt to keep a safe distance from the house.

Children whisper at its gates, giggling at the thought of a ghost inhabiting its walls. Adults tell them to stay away, reprimand them for trespassing.

"I dare you to go in," they say to their friends, trying to find one stupid enough to enter.

But, no one does. There's a presence around the building, a sort of evil, that makes everyone wary of even stepping through the gates. The grass is un-kept; cobwebs can be seen if you look closely...

Until one day, a man eighteen years of age, agrees to spend one night in the house. After all, he can't be seen as a wimp in front of his friends, can he? So, he packs some things up, heads out to Maple Hill, a six-pack of beer in the trunk of his car.

By the time he pulls up the long and winding driveway, the moon is already shining brightly through the sky. Two of his buddies sit in the backseat, grins on their faces. "Alright, remember, the bet is if you can't spend one whole night in the house, you have to go up to Missy Galigar-butt ass naked-and sing her a love song. Got it?"

David rolls his eyes, pulling his duffel bag out from underneath the passenger seat. "I got it." He looked at his two friends and frowned. "And no fuckin' in my car. I just got the seats upholstered."

They laugh, immediately starting to kiss as soon as he's out the door. He sighs, walking up to the front door.

"Watch out for ol' man Young!" The girl laughs, giggling as narrows his eyes at her.

"Whatever, Lis." He inspects the front door, looking for a spare key that's rumored to be underneath the old welcome mat, only to hear it creak open. He looks up, shrugging his shoulders. "Probably already open," he mutters, stepping inside the barren house.

He coughs, wiping away the spider webs dangling in front of his face. "Ugh, gross."

He heads deeper into the living room, looking at the furniture, still bare-as if waiting for someone to sit upon it. There's a coffee table in front of a couch, an old magazine still opened to page twenty-three. It's as if some froze time, and the house is simply waiting for its occupants to return. "Fuckin' fucked up," he says under his breath, grimacing when he notices an apple rotted in the carpet underneath the table.

He throws his duffel bag atop the couch and pulls out a beer, deciding to inspect the house. The kitchen is next. He finds the cupboards are still full of dishes, hell, there's even dirty dishes still waiting to be washed in the sink. How come no one has bothered to clean all this shit up? he wonders silently. Maggots buzz around the fridge, is full of rotten and spoiled food.

David groans, quickly shutting it. "Holy shit, that fuckin' stinks."

He takes a swig of beer, wandering back into the living room, his gaze on the staircase. Upstairs is where Moore Young killed them all. Where he slit his kids' throats before shooting his wife six times and finally killing himself. Can't wait to see what's up here.

He pulls a camera out of his bag before venturing up the steps. "We want pictures of the bloodstains, so we know you didn't just skip out the back door and wait it out." They told him. He rolls his eyes at the thought, stopping when a breeze floats past his ear. Shrugging it off as nothing after a couple moments, he keeps going, finally reaching the hall.

Directly in front of the stairs is a room, its contents dusty...forgotten. He takes a wary look around, noting the pink carpet. This must've been where the girl slept. He looks at the foot of the bed, and sees a dark patch staining the innocent carpet. He takes a picture, a shiver crawling up his back. It feels...wrong. But, he isn't one to go back on a dare. He'd rather die first.

He looks behind him, sure he feels a set of eyes upon his back... "I watch way-y-y too many fuckin' horror movies for this shit," he laughs, walking out of the room. The next door leads to a bathroom; nothing interesting in there. Next, is the little boys' room. There's a bunk bed in the corner, the carpet is green, and there's pictures of all sorts hanging from the walls. Directly in front of the bed, like last time, there's a dark stain. He takes a picture, running his finger through the dust on the desk beside the door. The weirdest part is, it all looks a little...familiar.

In his mind, he can picture the boys, begging their father not to hurt them. To just, “Please, please, put the knife down, daddy.”

"They begged alright, begged and pleaded." A voice suddenly says.

David whirls around, dropping his camera. A man is leaning against the door, dressed in a black suit, his eyes a crimson red. "Who the fuck are you?" He asks.

The man laughs and shrugs his shoulders. "I have many names, David."

David takes a step back. "How do you know my name?"

The man tilts his head. "Do I?"

"Y-you just said it!"

"I did? Well, my, my. I don't remember. Ah well, must be the age. I am getting old, after all."

David takes out a switchblade he always keeps in his pockets, holding it in front of himself protectively. "Stay away from me!"

"What? Are you going to stab me?" The man steps forward, his eyes flashing. "I'd like to see you try," he whispers. Then, he's gone. Vanished.

David whirls around, his heartbeat thumping in his chest. "Where did you go? Show yourself, damn it!"

No one says a thing. The house is quiet...empty.

He turns back and forth, trying desperately to find where the man-if he even was a man-had run off. Before he can catch himself, he slips. What the hell is on the floor that's so slippery? I can't fucking- he stops, his eyes wide. His jeans are soaked with blood, the color changing from blue to red. He shouts and tries to get up, only to slip again. A scream escapes from his lungs as he sees a boy, his eyes glazed over, his neck almost completely cut off from the rest of his body. His chest is open, organs dripping over the side, escaping from their captivity.

"Two little boys, one little body, where oh where is the other?" The man taunts, his voice filling the room.

David looks up, only to find the room is empty. There's no blood on the floor, no body. He's alone. He stands, embarrassed to see he wet himself. "Fuck this bullshit, I'm getting out of here."

He charges out of the room, leaving his camera behind. He's halfway down the hall, when he's pushed against the wall by an unknown force. "Silly boy, do you think you're getting out of here alive?"

Tears stream down David's face. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

He feels a pair of lips against his ear whisper, "Why, your soul, my boy."

He stiffens. "What are you?"

The man laughs, once again becoming corporeal. "I am what I am."

"That's not an answer, damn it!"

The man growls, pushing David against the wall. "Don't you dare raise your voice to me, boy."

David cries, "Please, just let me go."

"Can't do that I'm afraid."

"Why?"

The man blinks, his eyes turning black. "Because you belong to me. You're the one who got away. How very, very naughty of you. Hiding in the cabinet, from your father. Although, I must say, you were very smart for a three year old." The man leans forward, his rank breath making David's eyes water. "You could tell daddy wasn't exactly daddy anymore."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"That means nothing to me." The man throws David to the floor, climbs on top of him. "You know, I always wished I'd find you again. Guess wishes do come true, even for the likes of me." Then, he lowers his mouth to David's neck and bites, drawing blood from the wound.

David screams, trying to push the man off him, but failing. He can feel his flesh tearing, being separated from his body. He watches as the man's fingers become claws. He screams even louder when his flesh is taken off, strip by strip, blood soaking the carpet beneath him.

The man munches on his snack, giggling as poor David screams and cries.

...

The sun rises, bringing with it a new day. Lis and Greg climb out of the car, their clothes in disarray. "Where is he?" Lis asks, wondering why her friend hasn't left the house yet.

"Maybe he enjoyed the stay." Greg teases. "Come on, let's drag his ass out. We got better things to do on a Saturday than spend our day here."

Lis grabs his hand and they walk up, opening the door. "David? Where are you?" Lis shouts, noticing his duffel bag and beer on the couch. "Greg, where is he?"

"Dunno, let's try the upstairs."

They walk up the steps carefully. When they reach the top, Lis screams. Greg turns to his side, vomiting whatever is left in his stomach.

There, in the middle of the hallway, lays their friend-torn open and mutilated. The flesh ripped from his body; his tongue removed so no one could hear his cries.

As they're looking upon their friend, they hear a laugh. Slowly, they turn, their eyes wide. A man stands in the hallway, his arms crossed over his chest. He wears a black dress suit, his eyes a crimson red...his fingernails thinned out into claws. "Naughty children, you really shouldn't have come here."

"No, no, don't! Please-"

...

A/N: I'm in horror mode :) Haha. Hope everyone enjoys this. Thanks to the people who reviewed Nightmares, I really appreciate it. Uh-h-h, don't really know where this came from either. Just got the idea and went with it. I'd like to say it's self-explanatory, but if you don't get something, just let me know :) Thanks for reading, and please let me know what ya think! And, seeing as how I'm into the scary stories right now, what do you think I should work on next? Got a favorite legend or lore story you'd like to see written? Let me know :)
Faith