The Curse

Master Plan

Mr Williamson, Filip, Anthony and Jillian trudged inside the house. After their adventure outdoors, the house, even if desolate and empty, beckoned them. The front garden now lay burned down to ashes, their mailbox broken and the walls coated with a green, slimy substance. The door creaked as they pushed it open. It was really dark inside, and it took awhile for their eyes to get accustomed to the darkness. The only 'light' in the house was the shimmering caused by Jillian's apparition. Those green stains were still giving off a putrid smell.

"Ew...this place reeks....," Filip remarked as he felt his stomach retch.

"Let's go to the basement," his dad said, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

The basement was pitch dark and they had to grope around to feel the walls. Jillian helped a lot out there, or rather, her shimmering apparition did. After they had settled down, Mr Williamson began.

"How did you all end up here? Is a box involved in this entire business? Tell me everything right from the beginning without missing ANYTHING.." So Filip began.

"I called Anthony over after you and mom had left. Jackson was watching TV and we joined in. He heard something up in the attic, and we went to investigate. There, we found a box....."

"Was it a wooden one?" his dad interrupted.

"Yes.....wait....how do you know?"

"I found it under the couch," his dad furrowed his eyebrows," But more later. Carry on."

"Yeah, so the box looked pretty old. And there was this weird warning at the back. Something like 'Do not open.....Suffer the consequences'. Pretty creepy stuff. We couldn't find the key anywhere, so opening it was out of the question. We pretty much forgot about it after that, until Sophie found a key under the couch."

"What were so many of you doing together?" his dad inquired, giving him an inquisitive glance.

"It was just a sleepover.....So anyway, I tried out the key and the box opened. Then there was this big clap of thunder and the power went out. And the next morning we were here.....and you can very well guess what happened next. We tried to figure out ways to escape. Meanwhile, Jillian died...I think there was some sort of a toxin in that spear. She helped us a lot in getting around in here......then you know what happened today. The others are dead. It's only us left now. So what happened to you?"

"Your mom and I returned the next day, to find you all gone. We tried so hard to find you all, yet it was all in vain. She is in a right old state, your mom, Filip. And your parents too, Anthony," he gave a sigh, looking at them.

Thinking about his mom brought tears to Filip's eyes. He had not seen her for so many days.... How was she now? Then he was faced with the inevitable question - what would he tell her, when she would search for her other kids?

"Last day," Filip's dad began again, " I found this box under the couch. Just like you guys, I couldn't find the key and to be honest with you, I just wasn't interested in it then.... I was worried about you all. But after dinner, I saw a key in that exact same place. This did give me the willies, because I HADN'T seen the key before. But my curiosity got the better of me, just like yours did, and I ended up opening the box. Nothing happened, and I thought that it was all a cheap prank. But the next morning, I woke up to find myself here... In this land of doom. "

Everyone became quiet. Nobody had EVER imagined that just one plain, wooden box would turn their lives upside down. Everything was going on all right, until that box arrived on the scene. Filip started regretting ever opening the box. Whatever mental toughness he had, had gone down the drain with the death of his brethren and his friends.