Man of The Wood (TordTom)

~1~

Tom, Edd, and Matt tromped through the dark brush of the woods, clutching their jackets close to them. The wind on this night was chilly, and a rather heavy downpour was coming. For some reason, though, they decided tonight would be the perfect night to go explore. What were they exploring you may ask? An old, seemingly abandoned, mansion that sat a few miles into the woods outside their quiet town. The older folks in town filled the trio's heads with stories when they were younger of strange things happening inside the mansion at night, and how those who went to explore it came back too frightened to ever go back. They wouldn't even speak of their experience.

The three boys didn't let these stories deter them. They were always up for an adventure. Tonight was no different. They figured if nothing happened they'd at least spend the night in the mansion while the storm passed. They'd show those old bats that there was nothing remotely strange in the mansion. Just some stray animals that had taken up residence at most.

After trudging their way through thick underbrush and countless thorn bushes, the trio came to a clearing. Looming before them was the dark shadow of the old Victorian style mansion they'd heard so many stories about.

"So who goes in first?" Edd piped up as the three of them looked up at the, admittedly, spooky building.

"I'm not going in first." Matt said immediately. "What if something is in there? I don't want it to ruin my face."

"Well I'm not going in first either." Edd added. "This place is giving me the creeps. Should we just go back?"

"Don't wuss out now." Tom rolled his eyes. "We've come this far. We may as well go in."

"You first." Edd and Matt said in unison, giving Tom a flat stare.

"You big babies." Tom grumbled as he began trudging towards the door of the mansion, clicking on his flashlight as he walked.

The wood of the porch squeaked beneath Tom's feet as he ascended the stairs to the front door. He took a quick glance back at his friends before pushing against the door, watching as it cracked open. With a deep breath, he pushed the door open the rest of the way and aimed his flashlight inside. The first things he noticed was the absurd amount of feathers littering the floor. The second was the smell. You'd think an abandoned house would have a musty and slightly foul smell. Instead it smelled clean and fresh inside. As if someone had recently fixed the place up.

Tom felt a feeling of slight unease rise in his stomach as he turned back to Edd and Matt, motioning for them to come inside. The trio stepped over the threshold of the house, each holding their breath until they had been standing undisturbed for a few seconds.

"This...isn't so bad. Right?" Edd tried quietly. "Those old farts are just full of it. Right?"

"Right..." Tom nodded, unable to shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Do you guys think this place is actually haunted or anything?" Matt shone his flashlight up towards a staircase to their right, moving it slowly along the wall.

"There's no way this place is haunted." Tom scoffed. "Those old guys just like scaring kids."

"We'll prove them wrong then." Edd chimed as he pulled out a handheld video camera. "We'll record our whole time here and prove to them that there's nothing weird going on."

"Let's just find a place to set up our sleeping bags." Matt moved closer to Edd. "We're all sleeping in the same room right?"

"What's wrong, Matt?" Tom teased as he began walking further into the house. "Scared?"

"Just uneasy." Matt huffed, following behind quickly as Edd took Tom's lead.

The trio nearly jumped out of their skins as the door they had just come through slammed shut behind them. Edd assured the group that it was probably just a gust of wind seeing as how a storm was rolling in, and they continued on.