Trapped

XII

Epilogue: Five years later

"But, mom, this house is so old. Why did you have to pick this one? It looks like it's falling apart. Aren't you afraid it will collapse as soon as the wind blows?" Charlotte, or Charlie to most, Everett exclaimed, staring up at her new house in Salem, Massachusetts.

Her twin brother, Calvin, stepped up beside her. "I️ miss California," he grumbled, pulling his sweatshirt tighter to his body. October in New England was much colder than he had anticipated, and he was not a fan, to say the least and mean the most.

"It'll be good for us. After the divorce, we need a fresh start, and this is the perfect place for it. Don't you see the potential?" Her mother asked, wrapping her arms around the sixteen year olds' shoulders.

Charlie and Calvin looked up at the old, wooden house. "Just looks like a fire hazard to me," Charlie whispered to Calvin. He let out a low whistle, as if sizing up the house.

"Yeah, on Smokey the Bear's scale, I'd give it a red for extreme," he responded. The twins made eye contact and started laughing.

"What? What's funny?" Their mother asked, leading them inside the house.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," they said in unison, as they gave each secretive, mischievous looks.

Charlie laid in bed that night, staring up at her ceiling. She couldn't fall asleep. The house made weird creaks and squeaks, which were kind of freaking her out. She also was used to falling asleep with her window open, as she listened to Los Angles traffic whiz by. This place seemed too loud but also too quiet, in the complete wrong kind of ways.

Then she heard a soft knock on her closed bedroom door. After a moment, Calvin poked his head in. "Dude, come with me, I️ have to show you something," he said, shining a flashlight on her. He threw her coat and sneakers at her. "Come on, let's go!"

As she put the items on, she glanced at the clock. It was almost three in the morning. "Cal, where are we going?" She asked, standing up and exiting the room with him. He shushed her, as they descended the rickety old stairs, moving cautiously, so as to avoid the creaks and not wake their mother.

When they reached the bottom, Calvin led them to the backyard. It was then, when they were safely outside, that he addressed his sister's previous question. "I️ couldn't sleep, so I️ was out here exploring, and I️ found something. You have to see it. It's crazy, dude." He took off running across the yard.

Charlie whisper-screamed his name, before groaning and taking off after him. He led her to a strangle little spot near the edge of the woods. When she caught up to him, they stood beside each other. Calvin glanced at her, before pointing his flashlight at the ground, illuminating a stone in the ground.

But wait, that wasn't just any old stone. She knelt down beside it, peering at it. Then she gasped and took three big steps backwards.

"Is that what I️ think it is?" Charlie asked, looking back and forth between the stone and her brother.

"It's a grave, no doubt about it. Crazy, right?" He said, astonishment written all over his face.

"But who's?"

"I️ don't know. Some girl named Finley Harper. It says she was hanged in 1693."

"Holy shit. The Salem Witch Trials," Charlie said, realization dawning on her.

"That's right, Charlie. And I️ now I️ need both of your help," Finley Harper said, floating in the air in front of them.

Charlie and Calvin Everett screamed, as if they had just seen a ghost.