𝗠𝘆 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 ⇉ 𝗝𝗝 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸

Skeeter

"This is it." Pope informs, as everyone piles out of the van. The Pogues now find themselves standing in front of the Crain house, an old, decrepit home shrouded in an eerie silence.

The house is almost hidden under a thick blanket of overgrown vegetation, its windows dark and lifeless. Ariella feels a shiver run down her spine as she looks up at the looming structure, the unease settling deep in her bones.

"You're kidding me?" Ari mumbles, walking next to her boyfriend, JJ.

"Worst case scenario..." JJ shrugs nonchalantly.

"Why'd it have to be here...of all places?" Pope groans, stepping next to Ari. She links her arm with his, seeking some comfort in the familiar touch.

"I heard that Mrs. Crain buried her husband's head on the property." JJ recalls, glancing between the other Pogues.

"Really, J? You just had to say that now?!" Ari grumbles, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry! I was just saying!" JJ puts his hands up in defense.

Ari links her other arm with his as the group starts making their way to the Crain house. Pope squeezes Ari's arm before letting go and catching up with John B. JJ, not liking the way Ari was holding onto him, he unhooks his arm and places it around her waist as they walk.

Ari smiles up at him, kissing his cheek.

"Look, you guys know whose house this is, right?" Kie asks, her voice tinged with apprehension.

"Oh, yeah. No, I do." JJ nods.

"Honestly, I don't believe the stories of this place." John B tells them, trying to sound brave.

"Which stories did you hear?" JJ asks Kie, pulling Ari in front of him as they walk.

"The one where she killed her husband with an axe and that she's been holed up ever since." Kie looks back at the other two boys. "On certain nights, when the moon is full...you can see her in the window!"

When JJ saw that she wasn't being serious, his face fell, his usual bravado replaced with a rare vulnerability.

"No, it's not funny, cause it's all true." JJ insists, his voice low and serious. "I swear to God, guys, this is all real. I knew Hollis."

"Wait, you knew Hollis Crain?" Ari glances up at JJ, her eyes wide with surprise. JJ's expression softens as he looks down at her, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"How the hell do you know Hollis?" Pope questions, stepping closer and placing a hand on JJ's chest, causing him to stop and turn to face him.

"She was my babysitter, man." JJ began, his voice tinged with a mix of nostalgia and unease. "She told me all about it. Told me the truth...about her mother and what happened in this house."

They all turn to look at the house in front of them, its dark silhouette looming ominously against the night sky.

The once grand structure now stood in eerie silence, its windows like empty eyes staring back at them. The air around them felt heavy, as if the house itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

"So as a kid, she heard all the stories that her mother killed her father, and she was murdered and all. Hollis didn't believe it... until that night?" JJ trails off, his voice trailing into a heavy silence.

"What night?" John B asks, leaning in, curiosity piqued.

JJ turns his gaze to John B, the weight of the memory evident in his eyes. "It all came back to her. When Hollis was sixteen, she heard her parents arguing downstairs, so she crept down to see her mom washing her hands in a sink... full of blood. Her mother just calmly says she cut her finger. But then, she says her father and her split up. But Hollis noticed something strange—her mother going into the parlor room constantly, in and out, with plastic bags. Weeks pass, and Hollis finally decides to use the outhouse."