We made it to chapter twenty! This deserves some celebration!
The plan went like this:
After Ian counted down to three, we were both going to grab Audrey and Zero from behind. We thought it might be funny, plus it would get them to pay attention to their surroundings.
How things actually went:
When Ian started counting down, the ground rumbled. As soon as he got to the number two, he disappeared. By disappeared, I mean, he literally disappeared. Like, poof. While I was standing there trying to figure out what on earth was happening, Zero vanished as well. Followed closely by Audrey.
Where did they go? I wonder. I'm starting to get a little freaked out. All of a sudden, I feel a tugging in my gut, like my insides are trying to rip themselves apart. I blink. When I open my eyes, I'm standing beside Ian.
"Okay, what?"
He holds his hands up in a don't ask me gesture. "It just happened."
"A test." The ground rumbles with the booming voice, and I have to grab Ian to keep myself from falling over. I recognize that voice. I would remember it anywhere.
"Let's see just how good you are, Merle Raven," Cronan says. I can hear the smile in his voice as I glare at the sky.
"Is this your idea of a joke?!" I yell. I don't get a response. I groan in frustration before turning to Ian.
"He split us up!" I tell him.
"Uh...who is he?" Right. He doesn't know yet.
"That was Cronan." I point up. "And this is his doing." I gesture around us.
"So we're here and Audrey and Zero are...who knows where." I nod in affirmation.
"I think we should figure out where here is." As the words leave my mouth I start looking around. It looks like we're on the outskirts of the forest now. The path continues on a little farther, stopping in front of an old, run-down cottage. It looks like it's been abandoned for a long time. It has vines running up the sides and everything. Just what we need. A haunted house.
Geez, Cronan, you're really something. I think bitterly.
"It looks like one of those abandoned houses in a movie." Ian shudders.
"Yeah, it does." I agree, not any less disgusted.
"Creepy. Does this mean he wants us to go inside?" He asks.
I let out an exasperated sigh. "Probably."
We head towards the cottage. I'm about to reach out and grasp the handle when the door creaks open.
"Perfect," Ian mutters. "The creaky self-opening door. The thing every scary movie needs." I crack a smile in spite of myself.
"Next there'll be a ghost," I say.
"And a coffin with a vampire." He adds.
"Don't forget the spooky graveyard in the back of the house!"
"Yeah!" Ian laughs. "That also means that one of us is going to trip and fall running back into the woods."
"Oh my gosh, yes! The cheesy cliches are never ending." I join him in his laughter. When we're finished laughing our butts off, Ian gestures toward the door.
"After you m'lady."
"Such a gentleman." I roll my eyes with a smile.
The inside of the cottage isn't much better than the outside. There are cobwebs everywhere, the floorboards creak, and everything is covered in dust. There's a bed in the corner along with a nightstand and a lamp. The furniture is pretty sparse. However, there is a couch in the middle of the room; this is the only one in the cottage. It feels smaller on the inside than it looks on the outside.
"Now the door will close behind us," Ian says, causing us both to turn and look at the door expectantly. We wait. 5, 10, 15 seconds pass before I walk across the room and gently close it myself.
"There. Now no spirits will do it for us." I walk back over to Ian. The door opens again. Of course. It shuts. Then the floorboards creak as if someone is walking across them. Nobody is there, of course, but it still makes me wonder. A strange noise echoes throughout the bare room, like a tape rolling. The floorboards creak, the door opens and shuts, and the odd presence that was in the room a few seconds ago is gone as quickly as it came.
What happens next gives me chills.
Echoing like the noise that came before it, music starts playing.
Word Count: 736
Sneaky Cronan >:(
Haunted house vibes ~(0-0)~
-RS <3
YOU ARE READING
When Blackbirds Fly
PertualanganA fourteen-year-old girl by the name of Merle Raven gets called on by fate to join three other teenagers her age on a quest to find the lost Seer Masters.
