The House on the Hill

Chapter 3: Haunted?

After the incident with Will, the family tried to pretend as if it never even happened. Though they kept observing that William was avoiding that one empty chair as much as possible and whenever someone would touch it he would flinch and sink down in his seat and cover his ears. Ava could tell that her mom noticed this, and she could also tell that her mom tried to wave it off and ignore it as best she could.

They ate breakfast in silence on a bright sunny Saturday morning, almost two weeks since the 'old man incident' as Harry likes to call it. The only sound was the constant scraping of forks on the plate to get every bit of delicious eggs. Will nervously glanced at the chair and then looked away. Harry shot a glance at Ava and she raised her eyebrow. Ava had told James about what happened and he was coming up with theories as to what he saw. Sunlight poured through the two big windows opposite from each other on either side of the dining room. Birds chirped in the distance. It was everything for a cheerful day, except no one was cheerful at all. Their minds were too busy worrying about Will.

Pretty soon everyone's plates were clean, and the first one to leave the table was Will. Ava excused herself from the table and ran after Will, stopping him on the way up the stairs.
     "Will!"
     "What?" He said, hurrying up the stairs without looking back.
     "Will, I was going to ask you about the...the old man.." She said and Will abruptly turned to face her so suddenly that Ava almost collided with him.
     "The old man? What about him?" Will said, his eyes hardening, his tone harsh and cold.
     "I, I just want to know, what he was doing...what was he doing that made you scream?" Ava panted as she looked back at all the stairs she ran up. It was tiring, but she would do just about anything to find out more information on this 'old man'.
     "He...he was sitting in the chair...he didn't want us here...he was..." Will couldn't keep going. His eyes widened.
"I don't want to talk about it." He said quickly. Ava nodded. She walked over to the little table and grabbed the photograph of the old man.
     "Is this what he looked like?" She asked pointing at him. Will's face scrunched up in fear as he backed up into the wall.

   "That's him..." He whispered. Ava's heart dropped. She suddenly felt alone, scared, and empty.

     "Will you tell me more later?"
Will nodded slowly.
     "I'm going to take a shower to take my mind off things," Ava muttered. As she was about to walk away, Will grabbed Ava's hand. She looked down at her little brother, and she realized how cute he looked.
      "I'll tell you after your shower," he said. "I'll be brave."
Ava smiled brightly at him. 
     "Thank you, Will."

Ava felt better...in a twisted sort of way. She was glad that Will was going to give in to tell her things but at the same time she was afraid...afraid that Will was right about the old man. As much as she wanted to find out more about the situation, she couldn't hide the fact that deep inside she was truly scared. Of course, she wouldn't admit it, oh no, never in a million years. She was trying to convince them, and maybe convince herself, that she wasn't a coward.

Ava walked slowly to her room and got fresh clothes to change into after her shower. She seemed to be moving in slow-motion due to all the thoughts buzzing in her ears, swimming in her head, flying around her mind....
Before long, she shut the door to the bathroom and got ready for her shower. She turned the shower on as she closed her eyes in delight, breathing in the damp air from the steaming, warm water. Showers loosened up her mind a bit, especially hot showers. She slipped in and closed the curtains. The water drops felt good running down her skin and hair.

Meanwhile, little William was building up the courage to tell his sister what he saw. How come mommy couldn't see him? He thought, puzzled. He was right there on the chair! She sat on him and made him mad...
Stuck in his own thoughts, Will shook his head vigorously to clear them.
"I'm going to tell Ava, no matter what!" he said confidently out loud to no one in particular. He slumped in his chair, reciting his planned-out- conversation in his head. Just thinking about the old man made him cringe.

...............

"What do you think happened to Will?" Harry whispered in a hushed tone.
     "I...I have some theories...but this is like...serious..." James whispered back. Harry and James were huddled in the corner of the living room with a warm fire burning in the fire place before them. Their mother was in her room, reading a book. But they still didn't want her to eavesdrop on them so they spoke in hushed voices and shared thoughts.
     "One of my biggest theories is that...well...I don't mean to be joking around...but I think..." James trailed off.
     "Yes?" Harry said, pushing him to keep going.
     "Nothing."
     "Aw c'mon!"
     "Fine!" James bellowed. "Fine! But don't laugh at me. I think it was a ghost."
     "What?"
     "I'm serious."
Harry shook his head vigorously. He stood up and ran a hand through his messy brown hair.
     "I...I don't know..."
James stood up and grabbed Harry's shoulder.
     "I have evidence."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
     "Listen, Will said he saw an old man, right?"
Harry slowly sat back down.
     "Mom couldn't see the man. Harry, I've read several horror stories about this. One kid can see what others can't. We can use him to see things...but I've also read about ghosts that speak to people. Inside their heads." James took a deep breath.
     "I think Will sees something we don't. I think the ghost is talking to him."
Harry tapped his feet on the floor nervously.
     "I think we should wait things out. If something like this happens like this again, we'll use Will to see the...the ghost...and then, well, we'll see what he wants," he shrugged.
     "Good plan," James nodded at his brother and turned to face the fire. It crackled in the fireplace,the flames dancing in the light. The fire reflected in James's eyes as the air suddenly got colder. He looked up curiously. Harry shivered.
     "It's probably just Ava taking a shower or something," he said as they heard the gentle pattern of water coming from the upstairs bathroom.
      "Yeah," James agreed as he scooted closer to the fire. There was a pause, an awkward silence. The two didn't speak. There was nothing left to say. Both boys had crazy thoughts, thoughts beyond confession. Deep down, Harry thought that James was right. Deep down, James was scared. The two boys stayed silent though, no one willing to break the silence.

..........

How long has it been? 15 minutes? Something like that. Ava had been in the shower longer than anticipated, but she intended on getting out. She held out her hands in front of her. Her fingers had started to get wrinkly from the water. She didn't mind it though, that was the least of her concerns.

Suddenly, the water stopped, leaving Ava exposed to the chill air. A shiver ran down her spine as she hugged herself to keep warm. She toyed with the faucet, trying to let the water free again. But nothing worked. Ava whipped around just in time to see the light bulb above her flicker off.

     "Oh cr*p!" She exclaimed.
Somewhere below her on the first floor she heard the faint muffled voices of her brothers Harry and James.
     "What happened!?" Harry asked, panicked.
     "Where's the light switch?" James yelled.

Ava was left in the dark, helpless and cold. She felt around for the wall. It was her only guidance. Her hand ran across the wall, smooth and cold, feeling for the edge.

She flinched as she felt something fall on her back. More and more started dropping. It was coming from the shower head. Oh good she thought. The water's back on. But something about the water didn't make her feel right. It was slower, and not a stream, it was dropping slolwy, thicker than regular water. The drops seemed to be sticky, almost heavier as each drop fell to the floor with a splat.

Suddenly she heard a scream, an ear-sitting, blood-curdling scream. It was Will. And he was screaming worse than the night he saw the old man.
     "Will!?" Ava exclaimed, her voice strained and worried.
     "William? Was that you? You okay?" Their mother's voice rang through the darkness. Another scream filled the house and then all was silent.

The lights slowly flickered back on.

Ava was scared and panicked. What happened to Will? Did he see the old man again? Ava looked down at her body. Then she looked up at the shower head. And this time it was her that screamed. She staggered backwards, clutching her chest. Her breathing was deep and uneven. Her eyes widened in fear. The liquid that was falling from the faucet was not water...

It was blood.