After Sundown

Chapter 1: Pilot

I woke up with nothing but a pounding headache and an achy body. I had the strangest dream...

I crawled out of bed in a sleepy daze. I walked down the creaky wooden stairs. God, this house is so old.
Of course, I'm still new to this whole thing. I moved here about two weeks ago and I knew from the start that I didn't like it here. This sounds like a cliché low-budget horror film. Doesn't it? Like, the kid moves into a new house, movie cliché. As you can tell, I watch a lot of horror movies. Never gets old. Anyways, when my mom and dad split up about a year ago, my mom took me, and my dad took my brother. So now, here I am. I am here, in this house. When I finally got past the creaking stairs, I took a good hard look around the kitchen. I looked in the living room. Checked the bathroom. Shit. I think I'm home alone. How come mom doesn't tell me what time she leaves for work?

I walked across the cold tile floor in the kitchen, bare foot. I made my way towards the fridge and grabbed the milk. I opened the cupboard, grabbed my cereal, a spoon, and a bowl. I did the usual. Pour the cereal. Pour the milk. Put the spoon in. Put the cereal away. Put the milk away. Same pattern everyday. Why does everything have to be so boring? But, since when does a Saturday morning seem boring? I should totally do something fun today.
That's what I was thinking when I shoved a mouthful of honey bunches of oats into my mouth.

I finished my cereal and put it into the sink and scratched my head. I yawned and then I heard the strangest noise. A shriek? A scream? But who? Maybe it was the furnace. Come on, Sky! This is an old house! Of course your gonna hear noises! I ignored the noise a threw myself onto the living room couch. I grabbed the remote and flicked through a bunch of channels. Nothing good is on right now. I sluggishly picked myself up from the couch and walked up the stairs again. And that was when I heard the same noise again. I felt my heart pound through my rib cage. Before I wasn't afraid, but now I am. And why is that, Sky? Because the noise is louder, clearer...closer. I was now sweating out of fear and fright. I called out.
"H-hello?" I asked. Nothing. A few moments later, the noise sounded. I cleared my throat.
"Hello?" I said again, louder. I was now halfway up the staircase, shaking. I stopped walking up the stairs. It was completely silent. The furnace stopped making that gurgling noise. The fridge stopped making noises. Everything, silent. The heat through the vents stopped too. This is too silent. Still shaking I called out one last time.
"Is there anyone there? Please answer me!" I screamed over the silence. I looked at the top of the staircase when something, no, someone ran across the hall. It stopped running and looked at me. My eyes, wide, couldn't believe what they were seeing. It stopped and stared for about three seconds, and then faded away. I swallowed hard, trying to process what I just saw. Shivers went down my spine as a ran down the stairs. I sprinted to the table next to the couch. I grabbed the home phone and ran to the bathroom. I locked the door and dialed Ezra's number. I put down the toilet lid and sat on it. I waited as the number dialed.
I bit my nails, waiting for him to answer. Please answer. Please.
"Hello?"
"Oh my god! So glad to hear your voice, Ezra."
"Okay..."
"The weirdest thing just happened, and I'm scared.  I'm home alone."
"I'm guessing you want me to ask?"
There was a dead silence over the phone. A moment later, he said,
"Okay, what happened?"
"So, I was walking upstairs and I saw someone. Well, I must've been imagining it. But it was so real!" I argued with myself.
"Did it talk? Did it say anything?" Ezra asked out of curiosity.
"No. It just stared at me...and then faded away."
Ezra didn't say anything for a few seconds.
"Hello? You still there?" I asked.
"Um...yeah. It's just...-"
"What?"
"Well, it might've been a ghost..." Ezra said. I heard him gulp over the phone.
I swallowed and finally spoke.
"Th-that's a possibility."