Short Story Swirl

The House (Suspense)

There is a story parents used to tell their kids about a house that sat on the outskirts of their village. A story that was used to scare kids into behaving, or else they'd be snatched up by the demon and dragged back to the house, never to be seen again.

"Be home before dark," the mothers would call after their playing children. "Or else the demon will drag you away!"

The kids would run off laughing and giggling, ignoring their mothers dreadful warnings. They weren't afraid. They always played outside after dark, and no demon ever came. In fact, they'd often stand outside the house and taunt it.

"A demon, huh?"

"Ooo so scary!"

"Come out and play, Mr. Demon!"

Laughter would always follow, yet no matter how much they teased and taunted, nothing ever happened.

Time passed and these kids grew into their teenage years. Getting more and more daring with each passing year, they would continue to taunt the house. It was their way of fun - there wasn't much else to do in this small town anyway.

One day, they were sitting outside on the front lawn of house, picking at the grass and relaxing. Suddenly, one of the three teenagers jumped up, excitement flaring in his eyes.

"I've got an idea!" He shouted.

"Not now, Ronny," the girl sighed, knowing full well that his excitement was probably not going to be mutal. Ronny was infamous for his 'great ideas'.

"Awh, c'mon. It's not bad, Suzie, you always do this," Ronny huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. He turned to the other boy, who was still absentmindedly picking at the grass. "Hey, Alex, you want to hear my idea, right?"

Alex looked up at him, surprised at first, almost like he forgot Ronny and Suzie were there. With a sigh, he slowly nodded his head.

"We've spent years taunting this house, right?" Ronny began. He could see the dread on Alex's face as he spoke. "Well, why don't we go inside?"

"Absolutely not," Suzie stated firmly. "You want to go inside? Be my guest. I'm perfectly fine out here."

"Why, you scared?"

"No, I'm cautious. That house is a death trap, look at it!" Suzie almost shouting, swinging her arm towards the house.

She was right, nothing about this house was safe, or inviting. Most of the windows were broken, there were vines creeping their way up the rotting sideboards, and the front porch was so rundown that there were more holes than wood. The inside was so dark you couldn't see more than a foot or two in.

"Yeah, Ronny, I don't think so," Alex said with a shiver.

"Wusses. Well I'm going in," Ronny sneered and marched off towards the front porch.

"Ronny, wait!" Suzie called, getting up and running after them. He was going to get himself killed if he went alone.

Alex watched them disappear inside the dark house. With a sigh, he pushed himself off the ground and reluctantly followed them in. The door squeaked loudly as he wedged it open, sounding like a screaming doorbell.

"Ronny, Suzie?" He called, but received no answer. Carefully, he took a couple slow steps inside. Where could they have gone? He wasn't more than thirty seconds behind them and it was pitch black. He could barely see his hand in front of him. Where did they go? This was a bad idea, he thought.

He called out for them again, but the house remained eerily silent. Slowly, his eyes began to adjust, and he could start to make out the house's interior. He could see a stained rug that carpeted the staircase leading to the second floor. He could also see several doorways, only a few of which were open. With a frown, he realized he did not see Suzie and Ronny.

"Suzie?" Alex began again taking a few more cautious steps into the room. "Ron-"

A loud bang echoed throughout the empty house, cutting of Alex's calls. He froze, moving his head slowly to look around. Chills ran down his spine despite not being able to see anything.

"I shouldn't be here," he mumbled to himself, and yet he found his feet taking slow, shaky steps further into the house. He couldn't just abandon his friends. He cursed them for being so stupid as he continued walking into a dark hallway.

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream broke the silence from behind him. With a shout, he fell forward and whipped his head around, searching for the source of the sound.

Banging started echoing throughout the house from the hallway behind him. He turned around again and stared in horror as he watched all of the doors in the hallway open and slam shut again.

"I can't-" he yelled as he scrambled to his feet. "I'm sorry Suzie! Ronny!" He shouted with tears in his eyes. He ran back the way he came, bursting out of the front door. The sunlight blinded him for a moment but he continued running.

"Alex? How did you get in there?"

Alex froze. Slowly, he turned around. There, sitting on the grass as if nothing happened was Suzie and Ronny.

"What-?" He stuttered, looking around wildly. He turned and stared at the doorway from which he just burst through. He turned back to Ronny and Suzie. They both looked at him with puzzled faces.

From behind him, Alex thought he could hear a low, menacing laughter. Suzie and Ronny smiled at him, and for some reason, Alex couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't Ronny and Suzie.