Can You Empathize?

Bones and Voices

[Paranormal - horror type theme]

The house was definitely haunted, you were sure of that. Nevertheless, you and Charlie had to go in.

Moss infested walls, a grand rotten door, shattered windows with tattered curtains. Cobwebs lined every corner and nook, creaking floorboards and wobbling wooden stairs. The furniture's cloth was torn, and stained. Cups and plates in the display case, coated with dust and webs. Screeches of bats and the scurrying feet of rats is heard in a dull echo from the above floors.

From the entrance, you tell Charlie to search east while you take west. The ground floor was vast but you made sure Charlie was in your sight.

You walk slowly around the west wing, looking for any kind of clue. You stop at the display case, feeling that something was odd. Your eyes scan the crockery inside. You realize, with a leap of your heart, that the ceramics and glassware inside and the whole of the display case, were an exact replica of the one you had at home. You could not find any difference except that it was under a layer of dust.

You hear a gasp on the other side of the room and turn to see Charlie waving you over, with a terrified expression.

"Look..." Charlie's voice trembles slightly. Looking over, you see Charlie a few feet away from the foot of the stairs, along with a body on the floor.

You rush there, your eyes widening and your hand on your mouth to keep your scream in. There she was, on the floor, in the same position you and Charlie found her in, on her bed. One hand behind her head, the other resting on her bloody stomach and her legs were crossed leisurely. Melissa had streaks of dried blood on her face, her eyes were staring at the ceiling in what seemed like awe, her mouth was agape. You can't understand how someone was murdered in that position, or how she is here.

You grab Charlie's shaking arm, as a reassurance that there was another living human with you. You start to breathe in short gasps, the shock getting to you. Charlie tries to soothe you, and slowly your breathing regulates.

Charlie's eyes suddenly fill with tears. "I'm sorry," Charlie says, putting an arm on your shoulder. You're confused but then, Charlie's height decreases slowly. You look down at Charlie's legs for the reason, only to find a puddle of goo. You gasp at the sight and look back at Charlie, who seems the least bit surprised. As Charlie continues to melt, your heart continues to pound hard. Charlie's eyes hold only regret and apology. 'For what?', you think to yourself. For leaving you... or did Charlie have something to do with her murder?

"Why is this happening!? What are you sorry for?! Charlie!" You start shrieking when, eventually, Charlie's whole body sinks down to the ground, still melting, being absorbed by the floor of the house. Charlie's arm is now void of flesh, the bones slip from your shoulder and end up on the floor with a rattle. Charlie's face shrivels up, and before long only the skull is left. There is only a pile of bones where Charlie once stood.

You are shaking uncontrollably, tears at the verge of falling. Charlie was your only companion, the only one besides you who knew about the clue in Melissa's room, claiming of some treasure to be found to free her.

A ghostly and ugly howling comes from the top of the stairs. You swirl around quickly, a gasp escapes you. A man - glowing green - stood, or rather floated an inch above the platform at the bend of the stairs. His black locks flew wildly around him, he was dressed in a torn and worn white cloth. Your mouth hangs open as you take in his black eyes. He grins, showing his yellow, sharp and pointed teeth with splotches of red stains. You scream as he flings down the stairs. He zips across you, collecting Charlie's bones along the way and out the door, in a matter of milliseconds.

Your whole body is shaking, your heart slamming against your rib cage. Your legs feel wobbly and you lean against the wall for support. You feel drained, and there is nothing you want to other than sleep and dream the whole experience away. But your gaze lands on Melissa's still form, and you know you can't give in yet. She trusted you and Charlie, and you couldn't let her down, even if she wasn't exactly here. You suck in a deep breath and head for the stairs.

Every creak of the stairs made you cringe. Slowly, you climb the stairs one by one, hyper aware of your surroundings. The second floor was even creepier, but you force yourself to move forward. Torn carpets were rolled out on the floor, shattered photo frames on the wall. There were weird claw marks on the wall, bigger than any animal you can think of. Shivers run up your spine. Wind howls all around you, whipping your hair crazily, though you are sure there wasn't any wind when you arrived.

At the end of the corridor, was a door that matched the description in the clue you found in Melissa's room. It was big and dark, with carvings of words engraved on it. Tentatively, you step towards it, running a hand over the words. Reading some of them, not understanding any. They were mismatched and lacked sense, but they must have some meaning if it was in the clue.

You cautiously turn the knob, and the door opens with loud creak. When you step in, you find that there is nothing in the room except for an odd closet at the corner.

"Open it... She's in there." Voices whisper in your ear. Maybe for the reason that you might find Melissa in there, or maybe the voices pushed you to, you grab the handles of the closet. You take a deep breath, steadying yourself. That's when you hear a deep growling, right behind you.

Your body tenses, you turn, ever so slowly, towards the doorway. A black wolf stands there growling and eyeing you hungrily. You press your back against the door of the closet, the wolf blocking the only escape you had. Its beady red eyes never leave you as it slowly walks towards you. Your eyes dart around, before you hear a whisper behind you.

"Open the door." This time it was only one voice, someone you seemed to recognize. With no other choice, you turn in a flash and open the doors. The wolf lunges for you at the action but the purple light from the closet seems to have paralyzed him mid-air. The wolf's body stretches then zaps into the closet. A screams erupts from there before Melissa is flown out of the light. You're frozen in shock. She was supposed to be dead, but there she was, alive and unharmed. Following her came Charlie, in the same fashion. Words are stuck in your throat. You are pointing and stammering at the closet when it closes by itself.

Melissa quickly stands up and grabs your arm, saying, "I'll explain everything later. Let's just get out of this creepy place, please!" You nod at her and the three of you waste no time in running down the stairs, and bursting out the door, already swearing that this would be the last time you visit that place.

After a safe distance away, you stop to hug Melissa and Charlie, telling them how scared you were about them. The latter turns to you and says, "It's good to be back." Charlie's eyes grew black, covering the entire eye before reverting back to normal.

'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'*'

A/N : This is my first time writing in horror genre. So, apologies if it didn't give the feels it should. Please comment if you find any mistakes.

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-SF