Haunt You

14. Every Stumble

     (10:57 PM)

"Oi!" Kyle shouted into the dark hall. "Woody?!"

"Kyle!"

"Down there!" Dan pointed with his skeletal finger. "Past the bathroom!"

"My light's on! It's green!" The drummer yelled, his legs still stuck in the broken floor.

"I see it!" Will gasped and ran with his light on, the bright purple shining in the short distance as he disappeared into the shadows.

"Follow the purple!" The vampire cried and grabbed Dan's wrist, dragging him down the black hall full of nothing.

The strong smell of smoke immediately alerted Dan's senses, and he almost wanted to stop running toward Will's light, thinking the Flaming Skull was trying to lure everyone into a forgotten realm of the house. However, it proved to be both a lure and a false alarm, and the two best friends stumbled upon a hyperventilating Will and an unconscious Woody. All three were purely shocked to the core by how much the drummer's lower body had sunk into the bottom of the haunted residence. Everything waist down was hidden in the rotting wooden boards, chipped and decayed from Woody's sudden fall.

     At first glance, the drummer appeared to be dead if it weren't for the subtle breathing that he was doing while in his unconscious state. Will was asked why he didn't try to help Woody out from the hole. He said that his hands felt hot after lightly tugging at the Plymouth native's waist, a sign that neither of the three wanted to hear, even William himself. So, reluctantly, everyone took a part, gently lifting Woody from the jagged hole as they fought the burning that broke through their senses. Dan had to lightly hold Woody's abdominal region as they slowly carried the unconscious man down the hall, not wanting his sharp and bony fingers to scratch nor hurt Woody in any way.

     "Careful," Will looked to Kyle and Dan as they navigated with their headlights, bright blue, red, and purple lighting up the horrific emo art that lingered on the chipped and scratched up walls.

     "I don't like this at all..." the skeleton finally confessed.

     Kyle scoffed loudly at his best friend. "And you didn't say it earlier, when we could've escaped?"

     "Sorry..."

     "Mate, stop doing that! You're too nice! Toughen up, man!" Will quietly laughed, suddenly catching the front of his sneaker in a crevasse on the floor. "Ahh!" he cried and accidentally released Woody's upper body.

     "No!" Dan struggled with all his might to hold up Woody, with Kyle at the burned legs of the drummer, unable to do a thing to aid his skeletal friend in saving the fall.

     PING!

     "Is that-?!"

     "Phone signal!" Dan cried and shuffled frantically to ease Woody into a comfortable position on the floorboards.

     "Finally!" Kyle dropped Woody and fell to his knees. He longed for a phone signal, even though it hasn't been more than five hours. "Call Charlie, and we can get the fuck out of here."

     "On it!" Dan nodded and began to search for the touring member's cell number.

     "Umm...Dan?"

     "Shhh! I'm trying to call Charlie!" He hushed Will. 

     "You might wanna look down," Kyle tapped his distracted band mate.

     "What the fuck, dude?!" The skeleton screamed with a high pitch and fell back.

     "I'm coming for you..." Woody hissed with glowing green eyes, his legs began to as well. The three knew exactly what was happening.

"RUN." Dan pushed Kyle and ran past the drummer, ironically tripping over in the same spot Will had caught his foot in. Luckily for him, Woody's attention was drawn to Kyle, the only band mate who hadn't been possessed yet. He hastily got up in fright of being seen, ducking into a dark room as the screams and cries of Will and Kyle could be heard, and the smell of devouring smoke that lingered inside the home.