Haunted Escape | ONC 2022

.12.

Chapter 12

I open the door, ushering Landon in from the cold air outside.

"Hey," he says, shrugging off his coat.

"Hi," I reply. I shrug and lock the door as he hangs his coat up. "Thank you for coming. I thought I could do with some company."

I called Landon earlier today asking if he wanted to spend the night with me. It's mostly because I'm longing for a decent, undisturbed night of sleep, but also I kind of wanted to spend time with him. He's nice, funny, caring. Not to mention we didn't have a proper conversation about me reading a story to a translucent young girl who appeared out of thin air. It might be one worth having.

"No worries," he says, stepping further into the house. "My night would have been pretty boring, anyway. Coming here always brings some excitement."

I raise my eyebrows, leading him through into the kitchen. "You're not wrong. Drink?"

"D'you have any beer?" he asks. "It's been another long day on the farm."

I nod, taking out two chilled cans from the fridge and sliding one over to him. We click them open and drink, the two of us quiet, before he sighs, fiddling with the tab of the can. "Look, I... I can't stop thinking about the girl."

"Me neither," I admit, thinking back to yesterday when I spoke to her. Do I bring that up in conversation, or will it freak him out even more than he is now?

"I just..."he pauses, shuffling through the many thoughts that are no doubt running through his head. "Seeing you read to her was so strange. It was like she was actually there."

"She was," I say, a little too quickly. He gives me an odd look so I avert my eyes away. "I mean, I agree. It was really weird."

"Have you seen her since?"

I shake my head no, pressing my lips together into a tight line, but Landon's face tells me that he doesn't believe me. "Yesterday," I tell him. "I read to her again. And spoke to her."

His eyebrows shoot up. "You spoke to her?"

"Yeah," I say, running my finger down the condensation of the beer can.

There's a long moment of silence until Landon prods at me to continue. "And? What did she say?"

I sigh, struggling to know how to explain this to him. I decide to just go for it. "The woman we saw hanging herself is her mother."

Landon is quiet as his eyes travel outside, his brow furrowed deep in thought. I take another long sip of my drink, feeling as the alcohol pricks at my skin with warmth, before I see Landon nodding.

"Okay," he says, sniffing. "So there's definitely something going on around here."

I nod. "Definitely."

My phone begins to ring, the screen lighting up from where it lays on the kitchen island. Landon looks over at me inquisitively. "Who is it?"

I lift it up, confused by the name. "Darcy. The estate agent."

"She might know something," Landon says, his eyes suddenly alight with excitement.

I accept the call and press the speaker button so Landon can hear.

"Hello?" I say, prompting her to say something.

"Okay, I have another call to get to so I'm gonna make this real quick," Darcy says, clearly having no time for casual greetings. Landon and I exchange a glance. "Basically, I've found reports of people dying in that house. A few people, apparently, but I currently don't have any names or autopsy reports. Does that answer your question?"