The Haunted Candy Shoppe

Chapter 2-The Shoppe

We rode in Julia's car to the candy shop. By car, it was only a few minutes away. By foot, it would have been way too far. Luckily, Julia had a car and license(she was a year older than us).  The candy shop was about ten minutes from my house.

Julia pulled up in front of the store and parked right there. She turned to me and said, "You know, it's not too late to call it off."

"No, I am going in there and I'm going all the way to the back," I said, defiantly.

"Suit yourself." Julia said. We all got out and stood in front of the store. A faded sign hung in the light breeze. The sign looked like it used to be happier, with brilliant colors painted all over. Now the sign was dull and weathered, with an aura around it that said it was about to fall any second. The letters on the sign were so incredibly faded and patchy, that I could barely make out C ND S O PE. The eerie creaking of the sign blowing in the wind sent a chill down my arms, but I assumed that it was because I didn't bring my sweater.

"I wonder what is inside?" Eva thought aloud.

"Probably a bunch of old and rotted candy," I said.

"What do you think the inside looks like?" Layla asked.

"Like an abandoned candy store." Julia stated flatly.

"No, like a store from that long ago has to look somewhat different. I just want to know what it looks like."

"Well, let's find out," I said. I stepped forward and reached for the door.

Eva grabbed my shoulder. "Last chance to back out. You're really going in there?"

I hesitated for a moment. This place looked incredibly worn down. If ghosts existed, this would definitely be a hotspot. I felt my hair stand up on end as chills went down my spine. I took a deep breath as I pushed the thought aside.

"Yes I am," I said. And with that, I walked in.

The inside was just like the outside. Old, rickety, altogether unsafe. The walls looked like they were once brightly colored, but the colors had faded to a dull, dusty color. The wallpaper was peeling off of the rotten wood walls. The old cases for holding the candy were empty and some cases were broken. Dust covered everything from top to bottom. I walked over to the cashier counter and blew onto it. Cobwebs flailed like flags in the breeze as the dust spiraled upward.

I was right. This definitely looked like a ghostly hub.

I walked further back into store. There was a door with a faded wood sign that read workers only. I walked over and attempted to push open the door. As soon as the door moved, the sign's string snapped. The sign fell onto the floor and I guess (for lack of a better term) it shattered into many rotted splinters. I stepped over it and proceeded to go into the room.

It had lots of boxes in it. All of them were neatly labeled with different types of candy. I walked to a box labeled Gummy bears. I opened the closed tabs gingerly. A rat hissed at me, which made me yelp and jump away. The rat climbed out and scurried away. I cautiously opened the box again. The box was empty. I began making my way out.

Then I tripped on something. I looked back and saw a cord. The cord was attached to a lamp that looked like it was about to fall off of a desk. The desk was covered in stacks of parchment. I went to pick one up but it almost immediately turned to dust. Not appreciated.

I turned around. I looked at all of the mountains of boxes and crates. Just as I was about to leave, I heard a shuffling behind a pile of crates. I slowly crept to the pile. I moved a couple of crates so that I could see behind them.

That's when I saw the staircase. My first instinct was to leave and go back outside. It was surrounded by boxes for a reason, I'm sure. But on the other hand...

I made my way up the stairs. The hall was small, only two doors on each side. The room closest to me on the left had its door wide open. Naturally, I walked in.

In the room was a small bed. It had a moth eaten blanket on it and raggedy looking pillows. On the nightstand next to it sat a small kerosene lamp and a pair of wire glasses. On the other side of the room was a desk with two stacks of paper on either side of a book. I walked over and looked at the book. It had a red leather cover. I opened the book to the first page. It was written in a language that closely resembled gibberish. I then heard a crash that sounded like shattering glass. That's when I realized I might not be alone. I then heard a bang on the wall of the room next to me. That's when I bolted out.

I ran, tripped, fell down the stairs, kept running, then stopped. If I ran out there, my friends would assume that I saw a ghost. They wouldn't be open to the fact that it may have been a homeless person. They would bombard me with I told you so 's. I decided to walk out there as if nothing happened. I opened the door to the shoppe and stepped over the splintered sign. I could see my friends through the glass door. They were talking amongst themselves when Eva alerted them of my return. Julia looked like she was ready to deliver the I told you so.

"Yay! She's out alive!" Eva squealed happily.

"Did you see anything scary?" Julia asked, still with a smug look on her face.

"Nope," I said, popping the p.

Layla spoke up from there. "What did it look like?"

"Like the outside. It was rotted and stuff."

"What about the back room?" Eva asked, "I saw you go in there."

"It had a desk and a lot of boxes."

"Did anything scare you in there?" Layla asked.

"Well, let's just say that I hate rats on sugar high."

"How long until the ghost comes after her?" Eva asked Julia in a loud whisper.

"I'm not going to be haunted!" I said, exasperated.

"That's what you think," she said grimly.