A Star Removed from the Sky

Stellar Luna

The churros were devoured quickly, gone in a flash. Once they all had eaten, they were ready to his the road again. Antonio packed up the utensils they'd used for cooking and put them away after washing them in the nearby river. Everyone else packed up their bags, gathering all the blankets they'd used for their beds.

"Alright everyone, let's go! We may not know exactly where we're going, but when we get where we belong, I'm sure we'll know!" Lucy declared, pointing to a random direction. Jess and Jamie ended up leading the way out of the forest in a direction they hadn't explored much.

The group kept walking until they'd left the forest, ending up on an old, dirt path that looked rarely used. They continued walking, taking occasional breaks for meals and personal stops, but otherwise, they were just enjoying their surroundings: grass plains with beautiful mountains in the distance, flowers of purple, white, and yellow decorating the grass, and a brilliant blue sky. The air was fresh and the sun was warm, making it a peaceful journey. The group exchanged stories and got to know each other better, and by the time the sun was setting, they ended up coming to a stop in front of the most peculiar thing they'd encountered that day... an abandoned house at the end of the dirt path. There was no other paths leading around it or from it; it stopped at the front steps of the house.

"Woah, this was someone's driveway the whole time? It took all day to even get here, whoever built this house was an idiot, building it ten miles from the middle of nowhere. They probably died from exhaustion walking to get groceries! And now we have to backtrack back to when the path split a few hours ago. This sucks!" Jamie groaned once they came to a stop in front of the house, kicking a rock onto the front porch.

The house, or what was left of it, was two stories tall with broken windows. It was painted black but the color had faded considerably, making it look more grey. The porch had damaged, twisted stairs and a broken porch swing. The roof's shingles were falling off and the front door was broken off it hinges so that it was slightly open. The likelihood that someone still lived here was basically nonexistent, unless they enjoyed living with a draft and the risk of the roof collapsing on top of their head. It looked like no one had been anywhere near it in years, and had an eerie aura to it.

Lucy stepped forward warily, noticing the sun was beginning to set. There was no way they'd be able to backtrack to where the path had split into another direction. They'd have to set up camp here.

"Alright... as you can see, the sun is setting, so we need to camp here. Inside or outside?" Lucy posed a question to the group.

"No way are we going inside there! Someone's dead body is probably rotting in there with their ghost guarding their run-down garbage house." Jamie voiced her opinion, making it very clear she had no intention of going near the house. Jess shivered at the thought of a ghost being in there.

"Oh, so it's garbage is it? Funny, I've always found it a nice place to live because no one intrudes. Until now that is." A voice grumbled from the doorway of the house, startling everyone.

Jamie took off running the other direction with Jess in tow behind her, Yukino hid behind Antonio who was frozen in place praying under his breath, while Lucy screamed loudly and backed away a few feet from the house.

"Who- Who's there?" Lucy cautiously asked.

"I should be asking you that. Who hikes all the way down a dirt path for miles that's clearly labeled as a dead end? I built this house here for a reason." The person inside the house sounded extremely irritated.

Jamie and Jess had made it a good distance away before they thought they'd put enough distance between them and the house stranger, but they could still hear what was going on. Jamie whispered to Jess, "See, even he says it's in a stupid spot." Jess was hiding behind her shushing her, still scared it was a ghost inside.