Dead Girl's Fate (discontinued)

Chapter 4

After that quite awkward moment with Isaac, we managed to round up Madi and Jack. Currently, we're all standing on my driveway.

"So, where are the ghost hunting weapons?" Jack asked. It seems he's only relevant when making snarky remarks in situations like these.

"Ha ha," I replied, mocking his words with fake laughter. After that, we all just stood there, staring quietly at the space between us, but not looking directly at each other. Tired of the waiting, I led the way to the house. Madi, Jack, and Isaac followed behind me at some point, because Madi caught up with me. My strides were inevitably longer than hers, because she was stretching 5'4", and I was a good 5 inches taller.

As we neared the house, I started to notice some new details about it. Bricks fell out of their place, the door was painted a bright blue, but the paint is faded and chipped, and there is a dark hole in the spot where the doorknob should be. The bottom step to reach the front porch is consumed by overgrown plants. This place, is awesome.

"What now?" Isaac's words spoke for all of us as we stared up at this tattered building.

I took the first step. I leaped over the plant-covered step, not being sure if there was even a step underneath it anymore, and landed on the front porch. I turned to my friends.

"Let's go."

The front door got kicked open by me. One foot after the other, I stood in what I think is a living room. Footsteps pattered behind me. I heard Madi come up behind me, she took tiny steps.

"Isn't this place just fabulous," she said to me. I rolled my eyes.

The sun was still out, so it was lit up enough to see clearly. However, we did bring flashlights, just in case.

As far as I know, Madi was the only one following me into other rooms, so when I heard the floor creak behind us I whipped around so fast the room spun for a moment (what? I watch horror movies).

"Jack! What the hell?" My voice was slightly raised.

"Sorry?" He responded. I turned back around and walked into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Jack wandered back into the living room.

"Where's Isaac?" I asked Jack.

"Wondering around, making friends with a ghost or something," he yelled back. How helpful.

Letting out a sigh, I turned around.

"I'm going to go look for Isaac. You," I said, turning to Jack, "don't do anything stupid."

"Aye aye, captain," he said back, saluting me.

First, I walked down the hall on the main floor. All that stood on the end was an empty closet. No Isaac. Rounding the corner, I was just about to head up the stairs to the second floor when I saw Isaac standing at the top of them.

"You have to see this, come on," he said to me, then disappeared once again. Reluctantly, I trotted up the stairs, turning the direction he went. When I got up there, Isaac was facing a door to what looked like a bedroom. It was pretty dark, despite the sun shining through the windows in the hall. Although, I could make out the faint outline of a bed, and maybe the door to a closet, but that's about it.

"It's the only room without windows, besides the bathrooms," he said.

"People will do anything to keep their secrets locked up," I noted, "Or maybe they were a vampire or had an acute phobia of sunlight."

"Or neighbors," Isaac smirked. It was supposed to be funny, it was funny, but something about it made me twitch with nervousness. Not because of Isaac, but the words he spoke gave me an uneasy feeling.

"Well," I said, brushing off the feeling, "this place blows."

Lies. I want to come back here. I want to check every inch of this house, and I'm itching to find a picture or a notebook. What could have happened so that this house was left to age into nothingness? My friends, on the other hand, could care less.

"You're a terrible liar," Isaac said as he turned and headed for the steps.

"Am not!" I yelled. It seemed my five-year-old argument had failed, and I followed him back down the stairs in defeat. Madi and Jack were waiting by the front door.

"Nothing interesting besides some weird antiques. No ghosts," Jack claimed.

"You ready?" Madi asked. I nodded and we headed out the door. Suddenly I stopped before my foot could cross the doorway. A tingle went up my spine, and it rose up throughout my back up to my throat. I started coughing, holding on to the door frame. Madi turned around.

"Are you ok?" Worry filled her voice. My coughing finally eased down to an itch in my throat a moment later.

"Yeah," I told her, "Just some dust," I lied.

Finally, I walked out, shutting the door behind me. We walked across the street, Madi and Jack approached their cars. Jack waved and Madi yelled something about a sleepover, I'm not exactly sure. And, as always, Isaac is still standing beside me.

"You just gonna stare, prettyboy, or are you gonna get in your car?" I asked, waving a hand in front if his face, to try to gain his attention. He looked up at me.

"Prettyboy, that's a new one," He gave a shy smile. I noticed that he never smiles with his teeth.

"Maybe I wanted to make sure you got in okay," he said, his eyes piercing mine.

"I'm pretty sure I can handle walking across a street," I replied.

"You could've gotten mauled by a bear in the time in takes you to cross the street," he retorted.

"Funny," I said. Then I went inside and Isaac drove off in his car and everything fell silent. That itch in my throat never went away, though.