Four Friends and Their Wildest Journeys

Prolog

The night had settled in like a thick blanket, dark clouds swallowing the sky as Andżelika's beat-up van rumbled down the winding road. She drove with a heavy foot, her anger simmering just beneath the surface. The cool, crisp air slipped through the cracked windows, and the neon glow of the dashboard lights flickered erratically as she swerved around yet another pothole.

"This is gonna be good," Andżelika muttered, eyes flashing in excitement. She was always the one who pushed her friends into ridiculous situations—if only to watch them squirm. Tonight, however, it felt like something more than just a casual night of fun. There was an ominous edge to the whole thing. But Andżelika didn't care. A good challenge was always worth the risk.

Kuba, sitting shotgun, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke from his cigarette, leaning back in his seat. He was half-dazed, half-intrigued. "Yeah, I dunno, though... this place sounds like big trouble. I mean, Va te faire foutre? Haunted mansions never end well."

"Who cares, Kuba?" Andżelika shot back with a grin that was more of a smirk. "It'll be funny, and we get to mess with the place. It's not like we're going to actually die."

Kuba grinned, his usual carefree attitude battling the growing unease in his stomach. He took another drag from his cigarette, but the thoughts about this mysterious mansion wouldn't leave his mind. It was said to be cursed, but he figured it was all just stories. But the fact that they were all driving there on a dare made it feel... different.

In the back, Martyna was bouncing with energy, completely unfazed by the growing tension. She was always up for an adventure, even if she sometimes buried deeper emotions behind her enthusiasm. Her loud laugh filled the van, the sound of it bouncing off the walls.

"This is gonna be a blast," Martyna exclaimed. She had a way of speaking like she was always the life of the party, always laughing, always running from something. Or maybe hiding something? But nobody questioned it—everyone had their own issues to deal with.

Karolina, on the other hand, was dead silent, staring out the window with a look of complete disdain. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, her hoodie pulled over her head to block out the world. Karolina hated people, hated noise, hated being dragged into these situations that she knew would only lead to disaster. The only thing she hated more than being stuck in the van was being stuck with them.

"Why are we even doing this?" Karolina finally asked, her voice deadpan.

"Because it'll be fun!" Martyna replied, her voice cheerful and high-pitched. "We're going to explore a haunted mansion. It's what every group of awesome teenagers does in movies."

"I'm not a teenager, and I'm not 'awesome,'" Karolina muttered, her eyes narrowing. "I'm not going to have a breakdown because of a dumb ghost."

Kuba, still trying to keep things light, leaned back in his seat and laughed. "Don't worry, Karolina. You'll probably just get possessed and start talking in a weird voice. You'll be fine."

Andżelika glanced at Karolina through the rearview mirror, her voice low and taunting. "I bet you would be the first one to get scared. You're the queen of acting tough but then crying when something actually happens."

Karolina rolled her eyes. "You're one to talk, Andżelika. You've got anger issues the size of a small country. No one's scared of you."

"I'm not scared of you either," Andżelika shot back, a flash of irritation crossing her face. The van seemed to fill with tension, both of them glaring at each other like two fighters waiting for the bell to ring.

"Okay, enough of this," Kuba interrupted, turning his head to look at both of them. "We're about to get to the haunted mansion, so how about we focus on not killing each other before the ghosts get to us?"

The awkward silence in the van was broken only by Martyna's shrill giggle. "This is so much fun. We're like, about to become part of a horror movie!"

The van lurched forward, and the screech of tires filled the air as Andżelika pulled the vehicle to an abrupt stop. Ahead, a large, dark structure loomed in the distance. Va te faire foutre.

The gates were tall and twisted, locked behind centuries of ivy and overgrown weeds. A long gravel driveway led to the enormous mansion, its windows black like empty eyes watching the travelers approach. The mansion seemed to sigh in the wind, almost alive, as if it had been waiting for them.

Andżelika threw the van into park and grinned. "This is it. Va te faire foutre."

Martyna jumped out of the van first, her energy contagious. "Let's goooooo! We're gonna be legends!" She snapped a quick selfie with the mansion in the background, clearly enjoying the moment.

Kuba followed her out, dragging his feet but pretending to be excited. "Alright, alright. But I'm calling dibs on the first haunted encounter. I'm not going to be the last one who gets possessed or whatever."

Karolina slowly unbuckled her seatbelt, rolling her eyes at the absurdity of the whole situation. She wasn't going to let herself look scared, no matter how bad the vibes were. She just wasn't going to admit it. "Queen never cry," she muttered to herself as she pushed open the door and stepped out into the night.

Andżelika's footsteps were heavy on the gravel as she made her way toward the gate, staring at the mansion with a mix of curiosity and excitement. "Alright, you guys ready to mess around? I'm not here for a tour."

Kuba took one last drag from his cigarette and tossed it to the ground, crushing it with his boot. "Yeah, I'm just here to see if anything weird happens. But I'm not here to get possessed."

"I'll take possession if it gets me out of this damn place," Karolina muttered under her breath, staring at the looming structure with an expression that suggested she was regretting every decision that led to this moment.