The Panic of Fear (Book One of The Fearful Trilogy)

Chapter Five

  I walk down the street a slight breeze ruffling my hair. I won't forgive myself if Chris gets hurt. I see the house up ahead. I know all the stories, rumors, and myths about this place. As I walk closer to it I hope none of them are true.
  When I reach the edge of the yard I remember what happened a four years ago.

Four Years Ago

  Zach pushes me closer to the house. "I don't want to go in!" I yell. "Just 5 minutes in there and you'll prove your brave enough." He pushes me up the stairs.
  "Zach, NO!" My cries are useless...

  I shake those thoughts from my head and walk forward. There is tons of junk in the yard. Old bikes,car tires,even a rocking horse. I walk towards the steps of the house trying to avoid the junk.
  My sneaker kicks something on the ground. A flashlight. I pick it up and try turning it on. I expect it not to work but surprisingly it turns on.
  I turn it off and continue walking. I get to the porch and see that all the boards are warped from decay and water.
  I step cautiously onto the porch hearing the boards eerily creak and groan. I take another step and the board snaps under my foot. "Jesus! This place is a wreck! How does that thing expect me to get through here?"
  I reach the door a try to push it open. But after years of age and mold the thing's not budging. I see a broken pole from the railing that used to be on the porch. I grab it and easily pull it from the floor.
  I use the sharp,pointed end of the pole to try to bust the door down. I hit the door and hear a cracking sound. The door doesn't budge but I made a pretty good sized hole.
  "Well I'll just climb in." I climb through the rotting door regretting my decision. I hear something scurrying away in the darkness. "That better be a squirrel. Or a raccoon."
  I turn on the flashlight and look around. "Jesus. Who lived here?" There are at least seventy mannequins scattered around this place.
  I look right to left looking for anything that I could use to find Chris. I see a table in the middle of the mannequins. "Of course." I try to weave my way through the horde of mannequins.
  "If I ever find out who lived here I'm going to have a nice long talk with them." I say to myself trying to relax but I'm unsuccessful. "I feel watched. Maybe it's all the mannequins." I finally reach the table and I see a note sitting there.
  "I came all this way for a NOTE?!" I grab the note and hold the flashlight up to it.

     Beware his thorns, 
        For they have poison.     
Be forewarned,
So as not to be an annoyance.

  "What is that supposed to mean?" I shake my head and wonder if the former owner was a crackhead. I look up from the sheet and my heart stops. Every single mannequin is staring at me.