Bloody Skeleton Series #1 The Monster in the neighborhood

1-The Old Cream House Across the Street

Mikey sat on the driveway, in front of the garage, soaked through his clothes and panting, watching the movers unpack furniture into the old house across the street.

'I can't believe somebody's finally moving in there,' Harry said, seating on the concrete beside Mikey, soaked and panting too. They'd tried washing the garage door, and things had gotten a little bit out of hand with the hose.

Mikey couldn't believe it either. The Old Cream House across the street had always been empty; nobody had lived in it since before he was born, since before his dad had been born.

'Who do you think it is?'

Harry shrugged, suddenly whipping his head around like a dog, forcing Mikey to take cover under his hands. Harry's blond hair stood up in spikes when he was done. 'Maybe somebody old?'

That didn't feel like it.

'Maybe somebody from...like New York or something...'

That still didn't feel like it.

Something about the colours of the furniture the movers were taking into the house didn't make it believable. Mikey liked to guess stuff about people, he especially liked when he was right. He had a good nose for people, his grandma liked to say.

'Doesn't seem right either...' he said.

Harry stayed quiet beside him for a while, drying out in the summer sun because there was no way Marie would let them inside if they were dripping wet.

With both parents out, Marie would be in charge until they got back, even though she was only two years older than him.

The movers across the street carried large brown sofas, the kind that looked fancy for some reason. They carried in a dining table and four chairs that belonged in a set, some end tables, and other kinds of tables that might have been for working or something. They carried cartons and cartons of things, standing lamps, a bed and bed frames, and giant wooden crates.

Two giant wooden crates.

'Whoa! What do you think is in there?' Harry asked. 'They kind of look like coffins.'

Mikey shrugged and leaned forward as the movers carried the second one in, disappearing into the dim gloom of the old house. 'I don't know. Clothes, maybe?'

'Nah, they'd come with clothes themselves.'

'Well, isn't the house already furnished? Why did they even bring their stuff? I'm pretty sure you buy the house with the furniture.'

'Maybe they just don't want old furniture. Look, they're carrying the old ones out.'

The movers started to load their van with furniture different from the ones they'd carried in earlier. They might have been very old and dusty, but they weren't all bad in Mikey's opinion. Throwing them out just seemed like a bogus waste of money.

But then, maybe the new people did have money to waste.

'They carried in only one bed,' Mikey said as the movers moved out two beds.

'Huh?'

'Look, they took one in but they're taking two out.'

Harry was a big boy. The biggest boy in their grade actually. When Mikey thought of big-boned, he always thought of Harry. Tall and fat. He was very strong, could run fast—not as fast as Mikey could, but close enough—and he was very nice. He's been Mikey's best friend since before they started middle school, but sometimes Mikey wished he could pick things up faster.

Some of his other friends could.

'I think it's only one person moving.'

'Oh. I didn't think of that, weird.'

The movers carried the bed in their truck, and some of them settled under the small tree in front to have lunch. They saw the boys and some of them gave friendly nods.

Harry and Mikey nodded back. It was the first cool thing to happen to them since their summer vacation started last week, they'd definitely be telling the others about this.

'What are you dorks doing?' Marie was standing by the front door, glaring at them with her arms crossed.

'Someone's moving across the street!' they answered in uniform, both jerking thumbs toward the house.

Marie glanced up for a moment, before glancing right back and raising a brow. 'So?' she's been raising one brow a lot these days.

Mikey hated it.

He rolled his eyes at her. To think they used to hang out a lot before, it was almost like girls started to become boring once they turned twelve. 'Of course, you don't care...' he muttered under his breath.

'I don't. Better finish up whatever you losers are doing and get back in. There's food in the kitchen, you better clean up when you're done.' She went back in but poked her head out before closing the door. 'Harry, your mom said you're having dinner at home.'

She glanced up at the old house for a moment before shutting the door.

Mike and Harry stayed for a little longer before going in to eat, throw their clothes in the drier, and play games until Harry had to go back.

It was past eight and Mikey was hanging upside down on the couch, bored out of his mind because Marie had taken the remote and was watching a boring horror movie, when a passing light flickered through the window.

It was only a moment, but he caught it because the lights were out in the sitting room. His parents weren't supposed to be back until like ten, but he was bored so he rolled to the carpet and found his way to the window, peeking through the slightly parted curtains to look outside.

It was the house across the street. Somebody had driven there and was getting out of the car.

The streetlights were on, as well as the outdoor lights of the houses on either side of the old one, so Mikey was just able to make out a few details about the person.

A tall man.

It was hard to make out any more than that. The tall man stood beside his car for a moment, and Mikey pressed his face to the window as if it would help him see better or make out something else.

Was he staring at something? Down both ends of the street was nothing. Nobody was even walking outside. The man was standing so perfectly still he might have been a statue.

'Mikey, what are you doing there?' Marie asked behind him, muting the television. 'Are Mom and Dad back?'

'No—' the moment he answered, Mikey gasped and inched back a bit.

'What?' Marie got closer and peeked out the window. 'What's there? Who's that?'

Mikey just stayed still for a moment before getting a hold of himself and shutting the curtains.

'What?!' Marie was irritated now.

His breathing was rampant, and his heart had gone off the rails. There was no way to explain that weirdness, was there?

'He was looking in.'

'What?'

'The guy across the street was looking in.' He looked up at his sister, at the irritation on her face with the flicker of the tv light.

'You were looking at him too,' she pointed out.

Mikey swallowed. 'Well yeah, but—'

Marie held a hand up. 'Keep it. I don't care, weirdo.' She went back to her movie.

Mikey stayed there for a while. It was only when he'd calmed down that he was able to think sensibly. As much as he hated to admit it, Marie was right. He'd been staring out, so it shouldn't have been weird that he'd stare in.