Fire And Ice

Chapter 1- Loque House

"Alright class if you'll follow me right this way we will begin our tour of Loque House." Mrs. Caister drawled in her lazy Texas accent.

Students groaned as they made their way up the large hill leading to the large mansion. It was a field trip that no one had been looking forward to. 

The house was twice the size of our school and since no one had been living in it for centuries, or so the stories go, it was assumed to be haunted. But that wasn't what drove people away from the house. What drove them away was the fact that the gates were always locked and they were way too hard to scale. Not to mention the house was downright creepy.

Some of the windows were smashed in from unknown forces, and the panes of the windows banged against the house in the wind. A cold breeze always seemed to settle over people when they walked by no matter what season.

A few times a year someone would go up there to fix the shingles that were rotting off, but no one had ever seen the person who did it, or heard what they had seen while they were there. For all anyone knew, the place was crawling with ghosts.

But that's a thought I try not to think about much considering I live only a block or two away from the place. 

My grandma says that every year kids are dared to go up there on Halloween and knock on the door. Legend says if you knock twice, stomp your feet on the mat three times like you are banging snow off your shoes, the door will magically be unlocked.

But from what I heard, every kid that had tried it had taken off running as soon as the door opened. No one had ever gone inside, or gone back to close the door when they left. But the very next day the door will be closed again.

The story sent shivers of fear and excitement up my spine. Maybe next Halloween I would try the legend. And I would be brave enough to go inside.

I would have done it any night, but according to my grandma the legend only comes to life on Halloween night after dark. She's such a crazy old bat, but I love her anyway.

As I climbed in line with the rest of my class up the steep hill I wonder how exactly people ever go into the house without a car. If the house was really empty as long as people say then surely they didn't have cars to help them out.

"Hey, Space Case, watch where your stepping!" The boy in front of me growls.

"Sorry." I mumble under my breath as I fall back in line.

I wish for the first time in months that my parents had decided to send me to boarding school rather than the small town on the edge of frigen no where! But when they had asked I had made the stupid decision on staying with Grandma Tucker so that I would be staying with the only relative I liked.

But I found out that was a mistake the first day I started at my new school. I should have known I wouldn't fit in, I've always been different than everyone else. My pale skin and naturally black hair always set me apart from normal kids, with their tanned bodies and perfectly straight hair. They had instantly disliked me.

I had hoped that this field trip would be an opportunity to meet some people and let them get to know me better, but so far everyone has just been avoiding me like I have the plague.

Finally, as we reach the base of the porch, I give up on socializing and hang to the back of the crowd. Nothing the teacher says really matters anyway. The only reason she chose to go on a trip is so she wouldn't have to deal with the rowdy students getting hyped up as the summer weather draws near. At the back I feel more comfortable.

"Hi there." A small voice says from beside me.

I turn slightly to see a girl, maybe four foot eleven, my age staring up at me through her glasses with big brown eyes.