Betrayal at the House on the Hill Shorts

Death Doth Find Us All

     "Ross, I'm not sure that this is such a good idea," Delilah said, watching as he heaved on the boards with a crowbar.

     "What's the matter?" he grunted back.  "Scared?"  Delilah looked at her other friends, Elizabeth and Hamish, pleading for help.  This small group of friends have been together for years, since their days of high school, and they enjoyed each others' company.  However, each one of them are easily baited and take dares with reckless abandon.  

     Ross had challenged the group to stay one night at the old manner house that sat on the hill.  No one's lived in that house for decades and it has fallen to decay and ruin.  Every couple years, however, a group of people will go up to the house and try to stay the night.  Not all of them come back, but sometimes most will return back the next morning, looking pale and haggard.  The people never say what happened to them, and it sparked a rumor as to what happened at this house.

     "Ross isn't going to let you back out, Delilah," Elizabeth sighed, looking at their friend's back.  "You've already agreed to do it, but we're going to be with you."  Not exactly reassuring, but it helped a little,

     There was a creek and a bang as the boards flew off the door and onto the floor. 

     The door opened with a slight creak, leading in to the dusty entrance hall.  The four clicked their flash lights and looked around at the rotting wood, cobwebs, and broken mirrors above the tables.  Delilah shrank closer to her friends as they moved forward into the house.  The foyer lead to three other rooms, the one straight ahead leading to an impressive staircase that led up to the upper floors of the manor. 

      Ross seemed to be the only one who wasn't terrified of staying the night, but the other three looked to be second guessing their decision about tonight.

     "No use standing here," Hamish finally whispered, trying to be brave.  "We should find somewhere safe to rest and group up if we need to...that sound right?"  The others nodded, not wanting to alert their presence to anything that may be in the house like rats or something....  Ross led the way through the left door, his footsteps causing the floorboards to creak and groan as they moved carefully through the house.  Delilah watched the walls, seeing the cobwebs that stretched from every available surface and casting hazy shadows from their flashlights.

      "Now that I'm in here," Elizabeth murmured, looking at the cobwebbed chandelier and grimacing, "I'm not really sure what to believe from what I've heard about this place...."

      "Oh, come on Elizabeth," Ross said, opening a door into another room.  "Aren't you a little old to believe in ghost stories?"  

      "Ross, she's being serious," Hamish replied.  "I myself am trying to figure out what to believe...."  Ross chuckled.

      "What's going to happen?"  he jibed.  "Crimson Jack is going to pop out and murder us?  A giant spider is going to wait for us in the basement, and then use us to hatch her eggs?  Come on...."  Delilah had only heard of some of the less gruesome stories, not a big fan of ghost stories and horror and had turned as white as the linen must've been in the dining room.  

      "You can never be too sure, Ross," Elizabeth said.  "Even you know that...."  He harrumphed and stepped into the next room.  A small table was sat between two leather arm chairs, chess pieces sat in the middle of a French Defense and black was winning.  The walls were lined with bookshelves full of books and small boxes.  Dust covered everything and little puffs rose with the group's footsteps.

     There was a scream and the three turned their lights on Delilah who was on the floor, struggling against something.  Elizabeth and Hamish dropped their lights and immediately grabbed her arms, pulling with all their might.  Elizabeth wasn't the strongest, but Hamish picked up the slack and they got her out.