"This is fucked up guys, we should go," Niall said nervously. He eyed the caving walls around himself, and an involuntary shiver swept through him. The abandoned house was said to have been haunted, so naturally, Niall's two best friends thought it was brilliant to check it out.
"Don't be a fucking pussy, Niall. This place is sick as fuck, and even cooler with all the stories about it," Zayn said, running his fingers over a cracked picture frame.
"Yeah. You aren't afraid of a few stories, are you, Niall?" Louis said, throwing a book at Niall. He dodged it quickly, brushing a fallen cobweb off his shoulder.
"No, I'm not. But we are trespassing, and I am afraid of jail," He said, staring at the creaky roof above his head. The swaying chandelier gave him the creeps; there was no breeze, good God, why was it swaying?
"We're not gonna go to jail, dumb ass. No one will ever no we were here." Louis said, and pushed on a cracked door. It swung open with a loud creak, displaying a winding staircase trailing downwards.
"Oh, sick!" Zayn said, rushing over to Louis' side. The two peered down the steps, while Niall continued to rub his arms, eyeing the surroundings wearily. The chill in the air was freezing, even more so than the outside air.
"Come on Niall. We're going down," Louis said, and Niall sighed. If this was his friends way of getting a cheap thrill, whatever. The three boys headed down the stairs, careful of broken boards and bent nails. Once reaching the bottom, Zayn and Louis pulled out their phones, using them as flashlights.
The sight before them was gruesome. Murky jars lined the walls and shelves, filled with extremities from various creatures, some human. A cold metal table lay in the centre of the room, bloody tools decorating the silver platter.
"What the hell was the old man running in here?" Zayn asked quietly, Louis shaking his head. Just as the boys approached the walls, a creak ran clear through the room.
"What the hell was that?" Louis asked, feat finally settling into his bones. Stepping forward, neither boy saw as a mysterious figure reached out and pulled Zayn into the darkness, the light from his phone fizzling out. Not a word was heard as he disappeared. Niall and Louis whipped around, searching for their missing comrad.
"Zayn? Zayn, this isn't funny. Come out." Louis said, stepping in the general direction of Zayn's previous position. Niall turned back to the racks covering the wall. The jars were filled with oddities.
"The dead have nothing to lose." Niall whipped around in the direction of the voice, but no one was there. Not even...
"Louis?" Niall called. The open basement was empty of life. The only light filtered in from the small window, moonlight reflecting off it's dusty pane.
"Don't be afraid," a voice called from behind Niall, softly. He turned quickly, but the room was empty.
"Who's there?" Niall called. No response. "Zayn, Louis, this isn't funny. Guys?" Whispers flitted around around the room, seeming to come from all corners. Niall turned mercilessly, searching for the source, but the sounds came from all around. They were closing in on him, as if a blanket was coating his skin, suffocating him.
"Don't be afraid," this time, Niall turned to face the voice, but came face to face with eyes.
Solid white eyes.
The last thing Niall heard was the soft voice of a girl;
"The dead have nothing to lose,"
