The R.L. Stine Fill in the Fear Contest

Entry for: The R.L. Stine Fill in the Fear Contest

. . .

“It's fairly simple, actually,” Alyson continued. “We're going to have a scavenger hunt. Almost like when we were kids. When all of us were alive.” She pinned each individual with a Cheshire cat grin. “There are only two rules. Don't try to leave the house and you can only come back when you have acquired your group's respected item. The last team to complete their awaiting task will have to choose which one of them will be the one to trade places with Marie,” Alyson finished, as calm as if she were merely commenting about the weather.

“You're crazy!” Jillian said, pushing past Alyson to reach for the door. Before she could turn the handle there was a click. She pulled wildly at the knob. “What the- it locked itself!”

Just then the windows lining the room all slammed shut with a bang, cutting off any circulating air. The room suddenly felt even more stuffy and dank. Not even the light of the full moon could pierce through the thick dust coating the panes, leaving the guests almost blind in the dim candlelight.

“Ah, it seems Marie has already decided to join us!” Alyson exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Now, there are seven of us here tonight, so there will be two teams of three. I will stay here to prepare the ritual. Here are your first clues.” She passed around scarlet letter to two of the guests. “In order to be a proper and thoughtful hostess, I will also allow you choose your own partners.”

Veronica, Marty, and Jillian immediately found each other and opened the letter assigned to Marty.

“Marie beckons you from below, wielding the sharpest blade. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, such a sinister game we must play.” Jillian read. “From below? That can only mean the basement.”

“Easy enough,” commented Marty. “Now we only have to find the basement and bring back the sharpest blade.”

The group, noticing the others had already left, took off.

Finding the basement was harder than they thought. With only one candle allowed per team, the seemingly small run-down house might as well have been an inescapable labyrinth.

After checking room upon room, they finally stumbled upon the entrance to the basement. As soon as Marty, who held the candle, took his first step down the stairwell an ear-splitting scream rang throughout the house. Jillian covered her ears and Veronica gulped.

“That doesn't sound good,” Marty said, but pressed on despite the choking feeling of his heart beating in his throat.

Jillian, having taken up the rear, couldn't see far past her hand. Because of the lack of light she didn't notice the gap in the staircase until her foot brushed cool air and she was plunging through the boards.

“Jillian!” Veronica cried out, watching as Jillian's fingertips barely grasped onto a stable board. Despite being the closest to her she didn't move to help her friend and Marty was left to hurriedly take Jillian's wrists and heave her back up.

“Why didn't you do anything?” Marty asked Veronica after catching his breath.

“I- I was too terrified.” Veronica answered quickly. “And it's not like I could have pulled her up anyways.”

Marty eyed her curiously, but knew a further interrogation would take too much of their precious time. “We need to hurry unless we want to be the last group to finish.”

“Why are we even participating?” Jillian questioned as they reached the last step. “This is madness! Marie can't come back from the dead.”

“We can't leave, remember?” Veronica reminded Jillian, then let out a squeal. “Oh, can we please hurry? We've only been in here three seconds and I think I already saw a rat.”

The room they were in was menacing to say the least. Cobwebs crowded every corner and ledge. An old wooden dresser stood alone in one corner and a rickety table in another. A lit candelabra stood on the table, a sign that someone had indeed been there recently. Other than that, however, the basement was bare.

“It's so dark down here.” Marty commented, fear lacing his voice. “Even with the extra candles how could we hope to search the whole room?

“Let me see it.” Veronica said, swiping the candle out of Marty's hand. It slipped from her grasp, causing the wax spindle to spill across the floor. The flame extinguished, and the team was left with only the flickering glow of the candelabra across the room. “Oops.”

Marty glared at her, getting aggravated. “Let's just get this over with.”

The team separated, each searching a portion of the room.

“Guys, I found something!” Veronica cried out. She had opted to search near the table, and upon reaching it noticed something laying on the wooden surface. She lifted up a small pocket knife, weighing it in her hands.

Jillian congratulated her. “Nice job, now we can leave this creepy-”

“Wait,” Marty interrupted, running his hand across the dresser. “There's no dust here. That means...”

He traced a finger around the edge of the wooden top before popping it off. A knife, larger than the pocket knife and no doubt sharper, was hidden in the compartment.

“Now we can leave,” Jillian corrected herself, grinning at Marty.

Taking the candelabra with him, Marty led his friends up the stairs and painstakingly backtracked through the maze of hallways. Upon reaching the front room, however, any feeling of pride for completing the task was sucked away.

“One, two, three, four...” Marty counted the teens already there under his breath. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.

Veronica smiled smugly to herself, shifting the weight of the knife in her hand. Her plan had been executed perfectly.

“We're last?” Jillian whispered in disbelief.

Alyson emerged from the crowd, her murderous expression coming into view in the flickering yellow light. “Congratulations.”

Then she blew out the candle.

. . .