The Haunting of Sunshine Girl

Chapter 12

Creepy Lady makes another appearance.

Sunshine runs to grab the camera, eyes wide. "Okay, so I've seen the creepy lady again. I'm determined I'm gonna get her this time, I'm going to talk to her."

She looks out of the front door window. "Is she coming..? Maybe she's not coming back. Hold on. I don't know.." Silence, then excitement. "There she is."

Sunshine practically leaps in to the front yard, running out of the gate and stopping in front of the woman, dressed as dull as usual. "Wait!"

Creepy Lady angles her head toward Sunshine, eyes narrowed.

"I need your help."

The woman's face is blank. "I already helped you."

"I know, you gave me the box.."

"I gave you the box."

"I opened the box." She feels a little nervous.

Creepy Lady's eyes to wide and her jaw clenches. Horror.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!" Sunshine goes on, fiddling with her jacket. "I shouldn't of!"

"I told you not to open the box." Annoyance and rage are buried within those words.

"I know!"

Creepy Lady's lips press together as she begins to walk past Sunshine.

"Wait! I need your help!"

The woman stops, still facing away.

"Please?"

Creepy Lady turns, looking unsure.

"Please help me. Please. Bad stuff's happening."

The woman shifts closer. "What kind of stuff."

"Bad stuff! Like — my power keeps going out, and the ghosts, they're back. Please help me."

Creepy Lady sighs heavily, shoulders stiff. "Okay."

Relief floods over Sunshine, tingling her limbs. "Thank you," she breathes.

The woman doesn't respond, just turns and walks away.
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Her mother has set a date to move out of the house. They'll have a temporary place to stay and.. it all just sucks. Sunshine is pissed, to be honest. Mom is too. Not good. They're always fighting. Always upset at each other.

It's just not working.

Sunshine is more pissed because the creepy lady could come back and she would never get all the answers. Because she wouldn't even be here.

And — and if they move away, she won't even get to finish her adventure! She won't get to find out why the ghosts are here and what they want and all that and — ugh!

Her little adventure is dwindling down to nothing.

It feels horrible.
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She's hearing noises.

Out of impulse, Sunshine grabs the camera and turns it on, slightly comforted by the blinking red light. But her neck hair is standing and her eyes are wide and rimmed darkly and — and she doesn't know what's going on.

Something claws at the door and she gasps. The screen glitches out with a high-pitched scream. The doorknob turns back and forth. "Go away! What do you want?!"

She cries out as the door flies open, swinging to the side and revealing nothing but empty space. "What do you want?" Sunshine closes her eyes, trying to breathe. "I — I have to go downstairs. I have to find out what it is. I don't want to. I don't want to, I don't want to." She begins to cry but stands up anyway. "Come on. Man up. Do it."

There are a few lights on down below, and she figures her mom is doing — well, something. Maybe freaking out. But it's fucking terrifying.

The screen glitches again and, when it returns to normal, a girl in a dark dress with a bag over her head is standing at the foot of the stairs. Sunshine screams and the spirit runs to the side, out of sight.

She's standing there, shaking, jaw quivering, but she knows she has to continue. She needs to find out what's going on. Sunshine breathes in and runs down the stairs, waving her camera around.

The girl is gone.

Sunshine slips in to the living room, then gasps when the front door clicks open. There's no one outside.

Then, the cabinets in the kitchen creak open. No one is there, either. In — in fact, everything in the kitchen is open. The stove, the drawers, the pantry. She's so. SO SCARED. What does she do?!

A thud sounds behind her. Sunshine whips around and starts sobbing when the tuxedo man appears. He's still and silent. The camera glitches harshly.

Then he seems to dissolve in the air. "Go away..!"

She turns to the side and a scream claws at her throat. The little girl is standing outside, touching the glass with a curled, outstretched hand. Sunshine blinks, holding the darkness for a few moments, before opening her eyes again.

The girl is gone.

"Wh — What are you doing here?" Sunshine nears the window, cheeks wet with tears. All of the doors around her open at once and she begins to sob, petrified. She can hardly move. Where is her mother?

Sunshine walks around, holding her breath as she closes the doors. The teen looks out on the front lawn, walking outside and letting the cool breeze flow through her hair. "There's no one out here."

A click makes her jump. Sunshine whips her head around, trembling. The ghost girl locks the door and stands at the window before slipping away. Sunshine cries. She's locked out.

Maybe the back door?

(If it weren't for her mom and her burning curiosity to find out who these ghosts are and what they want, she would've ran from the house long ago.)

Sunshine runs around the gate, pressing her hands to the glass as she stands on the back porch. It's locked, too. Panic takes her over.

The camera flickers off and on. Sunshine is back in the house. All of the lights are on. "Is anybody here?" she calls out, eyes wet.

The bathroom door opens. She stands there, dumbfounded, glaring into the dark room, hands curling around her camera. Can she admit that she hasn't been back in there since that night? That — that she's still mortified of going inside? Even looking near the area?

"Go away," she says, voice weak and crackly. "This is my house.."

A dark growl echoes in her ears. Sunshine stiffens, then a white, bagged head jerks out from behind her, yelling something in a demonic voice. She screams as hands wrap around her throat, claws sinking in to her skin. Sunshine drops the camera and is shoved into the bathroom, wailing and banging on the locked door.

In the fire, the picture of the father and daughter is flickering with embers.
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Sunshine is at her mom's friend's house. She's sitting in the corner, eyes dark and nose snotty from crying so much. She can't — she can't concentrate. She doesn't want to be alone. She's so. fucking. scared.

God. She doesn't even know how to breathe. The bruises along her neck burn and ache, even with a minuscule action like turning her head. The scratches along her wrists feel like flames are lapping the insides of her skin.

She's not okay. She's not. But she can pretend to be, for the camera.

She starts breaking down when she thinks about being locked in the bathroom. That horrible, horrible bathroom.
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So. It's been almost a week of staying at her mom's friend's house. They're going home later to get clothes and other things for the weekend and will see how it feels to walk back in.

Sunshine isn't enthusiastic, to say the least.

At least her mother promised not to leave her alone after dark. That's — that's comforting. It truly is. Maybe she doesn't have to feel so scared anymore.

If they ever go back.