Duck, Duck, Goose

Boxed up

9:04 pm

Anna turned to me then, her dark eyes shimmering even in the low lighting. The living room had a serene feeling, with the lamp hanging overhead the only source of illumination. All of the furniture had been moved to the walls to create more room in the centre. The carpet beneath my feet had pastel floral patterns, swirling petals that matched the Victorian theme of the house. I turned my attention back to Anna, who had started talking.

"Usually, if we want to play a game, we play our favourite game to decide who will be it," Anna explained. "We always play Duck, Duck, Goose. It minimizes any disagreements."

I nodded and joined the rest inside the living room, crossing the carpet to where the others gathered. We all sat in a circle again, no real order to our positions. Anna stood and touched Lola's head first.

"Duck, duck, duck, duck," she said as she went around the circle, touching my head in the process. "Goose!" she cried out and poked Riley's head.

"Hah, you're it, Riley!" Charlie exclaimed, already up on his feet in preparation. Riley grinned and thumped her chest like King Kong.

"I'll find you all in ten minutes!" She promptly jumped up, turned around and closed her eyes. "One!" she started. Everyone scrambled away like rats beneath a light. I had no idea what the interior of the house looked like - I was hopeless this round.

"Two!" Anna tugged on my arm and quickly lead me upstairs. I followed her with clumsy feet, trying not to trip on a stair.

"Three!" Riley yelled, starting her slow countdown to twenty. Anna pushed me into a closet that held heavy coats that were probably too big to fit into their owner's normal closet. The closet was to the right of the staircase, but the collection of jackets provided an easy place to hide. Anna grinned, showing her teeth, then closed the door. I silently thanked her. She knew that I was at a disadvantage this round and decided to have mercy on me.

"Twenty! Ready or not, here I come!" I heard Riley yell from downstairs. I wiggled myself deeper into the closet, trying to stifle my giggles. None of my friends would have played these games with me - they thought it was childish and they were too old for 'kid stuff'. This was a lovely change of pace, being able to play the games of my childhood. I heard footsteps thump loudly as they ran up the stairs.

I put my hand over my mouth to stop my laughter and held my breath, hearing the footsteps slow down in front of the door. My heart pounded with excitement. Would I be found? But the feet hurried away, its sound becoming distant. I breathed out a sigh of relief and leaned back, confident in my hiding spot. Then I waited.

I rummaged around in the pockets of the coat closest to me. I had found an old paper that read, 'Dentist at 10 am'.

And waited.

I picked at my nails, then inspected the ends of my hair. I braided one strand, then two, and untangled it with my fingers.

And waited.

I stood up and looked around the closet. There were boxes filled with shoes, books and papers. Some smaller boxes were stuffed inside others.

And waited.

I picked at my dress, checking for any unsightly crumbs.

And waited.

I frowned and checked my pocketwatch.

9:05 pm

I made a face of surprise and confusion. This pocket watch had its batteries replaced very recently. I was certain that I had been waiting for much longer than a minute. I sighed heavily and crept to the closet door. I turned the handle slowly after listening for any sounds of movement and opened the door. Luckily, the hinges didn't creak. Tilting my head sideways, I peeked out of the small gap I had created. There were no bodies in sight. I stepped out of the closet and stayed silent, listening again. The house was eerily quiet. I sniffed the air. The scent of baking had disappeared, replaced by dust and mold. I frowned, downright confused.

However, I didn't dare call out. I knew that some people played tricks to get the newcomers to lose easily - I was always the one to trick the newbies, after all. I knew of the laughter that came with such playful tricks.

I walked around as quietly as possible, keeping close to the walls and corners in case I needed to hide. I kept an eye on every darkened corner, noticing the water damage that had appeared on the roof out of thin air. I tried every door I came across, although every single one was locked. I tried to descend the stairs, but the once sturdy structure crumbled beneath my touch like pastries' crust. I hissed as I cringed, backtracking toward the closet. Perhaps I should just wait; I could be dreaming, I could have fallen asleep while waiting to be found. I opened the closet door.

I froze.

A scream stuck into my throat like a needle as I stumbled backwards.

The closet was overstuffed with bags of something that smelled rotten. Flies buzzed out of the confined space, much too loud for their size. Clothes were piled in the corners, as if they were thrown there without a second thought. Piles upon piles of boxes filled every nook and cranny, and one box caught my attention. It balanced on top of other objects like a trapeze artist and stained by a substance unknown to me. It remained a mystery as to what it was, until the trapeze artist lost its balance and toppled over, spilling its contents.

Bile rose in my throat, strong and acidic in reaction to the sight.

Inside the box was Lola. Her limbs were bent and broken to fit inside the small space of the box. Her tiny body looked so unnatural in the cramped space that she had been shoved into, patches of skin smeared by the garish red that turned the box into a bloody coffin. Her light brown eyes stared at me blankly. Her neck dangled around her shoulders like an overused ragdoll, a vertebrae pushing against the skin from the inside.

I opened my mouth to scream.

"Found you, April! That's a terrible hiding spot, if you ask me." Riley's voice suddenly came from down the hallway. I whipped my head to her, tears brimming in my eyes. My eyes shot back to the closet - the neat, clean closet I had emerged from. The closet where the coats were neatly hung, the boxes in their places, and the floor clean of anything unsightly. The closet with no Lola.

"I-I-I-" I couldn't help but stutter. Riley laughed and effortlessly helped me stand up. The sweet aromas flooded my nose again and the stairs looked as sturdy as ever. The water damage had been replaced by a clean ceiling, as if freshly painted.

"Although, you're the last one to be found. So you got lucky! Let's go join the others." Riley lead me by the hand. She pushed her dark hair out of her face, not noticing my look of utter horror. She tugged me onwards every time I turned my head to glance at the closet I had hidden in. We rounded the corner, passing through an arch. Everyone was in the kitchen, chatting cheerfully and sharing smiles, a very stark contrast to how I was feeling. They saw Riley arrive with me in tow, their conversation ceasing and gazes directed at us.

"Looks like we have a winner," Anna said, grinning widely at me. Charlie stepped closer to me and placed a hand on my cheek. He frowned, clearly worried. His eyes, light in colour like Lola's, watched my glassy eyes and made my stomach twist with another threat of nausea.

"Are you okay, April? You seem really spooked." He tilted his head, reaching up to wipe a tear that rested on the corner of my eye. I jerked my head away from his touch, blinking rapidly and forcing my tears to disappear. I shook my head and looked around.

"Where's Lola?" I asked, my voice quivering slightly. Riley scoffed.

"She was found first, so she threw a tantrum and went to her room," she explained, immediately turning to Nancy afterward. What had I seen? My senses were still overwhelmed with the horrifying thought of-

"April, dear, care for some lemonade?" Nancy asked, interrupting my gruesome thoughts. I blinked a few times again and nodded. I came to the conclusion that I had either imagined it, or this family was just incredibly skilled in illusions.

I reached out for the lemonade, checking the time.

9:06 pm

***

Hello ghouls and gals! I really hope you're enjoying this story so far, and any feedback is welcome. Encouraged, even.
Scare that voting star and tap it, show the love!