- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍! five

" you won't catch me alive " — 🎃

corbyn walked slowly behind the others, tightening his grip on daniel's hand. he blocked out the words of the harsh wind that chipped at his ears, letting out a sigh upon entering the warm house. the old wood creaked under the heavy feet of the group, sending shivers down their spines.

"looks like nobody's been here in years." eben cringed, brushing cobwebs from his face as he shined the light around the surrounding area. to the right, a small living room sat opened to a kitchen. a fireplace with old, rotted wood stayed cold, an old, bulky tv sat upon a dresser. there seemed to be an old radio as well, antennas sticking out from the top.

the couch had rips, insinuating rats may have made it their home. towards the left, a dark stairwell could be seen, slabs of wood hanging from bent nails in the wall. the stairs were clearly not safe to be walked upon, as dust crawled up the railing. zach led the group into the kitchen slowly, seeing cabinets open wide.

old boxes of food laid upon the floor, dusty and ripped. "bet these were some bomb ass cookies." evie laughed, picking up the box. she threw it down to the ground with a small scream, feeling the spider fall from the flesh of her hand. the group shushed her as she stepped back into zach's grip.

"where's the basement?" eben asked, expecting someone to know, although he knew nobody had even heard of the house before. daniel shrugged, taking a flashlight from jonah. he shined it on the walls, watching until a small door came into view. it looked as if it could barely fit a toddler. however, it seemed big enough to crawl through.

"well, shit." he muttered, allowing his thumb to smooth over the skin of corbyn's hand. "i don't like the look of that." corbyn spoke shakily, pressing himself back against the warmth of daniel's chest. the brunet held corbyn tightly, backing away from the small, rusted door. "what do you think is in there?" the blond asked, a soft tremble in his voice.

"there's only one way to find out, right?" zach spoke. it was clear in the way he stood that he was scared, but the shimmer in his eyes showed bravery— bravery in which was an act. zach didn't feel brave. deep down, he knew he was, but this was a battle with the unknown. it was a mystery what was behind that door— a mystery he didn't know if he wanted to find out.

"no, it's not safe. i've seen way too many horror movies to know that this isn't a good idea." jonah spoke, stepping forward. his eyes lit up under the glare of the flashlight. they seemed... scared. jonah's body was tense, his eyes darting away every now and then as he attempted to convince zach otherwise.

"a few ninja turtles won't hurt." tate commented, stepping forward aswell, taking ahold of the taller's arm. she sent him a goofy smile, hearing a laugh slipping past eben's lips. it was all fun and games, that's what it was. the group of life long friends came for a good fright and they'd return home in no time.

on the far side of the room, zach was slowly inching closer, unbeknownst to the others. the whispers grew louder as the wind blowing through a large window picked up. his eyes scanned around the room as he trudged closer and closer the small door. he couldn't tell if he truly wanted to continue, but something was telling him to go. and so, he followed.

the whispers became a multitude, almost as if many people were talking. they urged him to continue, whilst a few others told him to go back. those voices however, were hushed by the much louder ones. he obeyed the command, his fingers inching closer to the door handle, brushing off the cobwebs.

"zach, what are you doing? it's not safe!" jack exclaimed, placing a hand over the boy's shoulder. the brunet shook his head as if he was being brought back to reality. "right, yeah." he stumbled over his words, standing up slowly and turning around. everyone's eyes were on his, gleaming with worry. evie, who stood next to tate asked, "are you okay?"

her voice was soft, her sweater pawed hands twirling around her hair nervously. "yeah, i'm okay. why do you ask?" zach wondered, completely confused by the situation. "nothing, you just seemed— out of it." she spoke, leaning her head against his chest as he wrapped her in his arms.

gabbie, from afar, whispered quietly to jack. eben, who had watched the event with uninterested eyes spoke. "get possessed zachy?" he teased, a small laugh emitting from his lips. although, nobody laughed along. "okay, geez! i was joking." he held his hands up high in a mocking manner.

"well, i wouldn't be surprised if that was true." corbyn shrugged, seeing a few others nod at his statement. the room went silent for a few moments as they thought over what to do next. should they just go home? or continue to look around? wrong answer.

out of the blue, zach jumped from his seat, his pupils dilated. his normal brown eyes seemed to be a darker shade, almost black. "zach?" evie asked from beside him, placing a gentle hand over his wrist. "you won't catch me alive." he spoke, voice dropping a few octaves.

he ran towards the small door, prying at the handle. jonah followed after him, wrapping his arms around the boy's body, attempting to pull him away from the door. but it was no use. there was something much, much stronger than zach herron. something that was stronger than any man on earth.

in a matter of seconds, their best friend was ripped away from them. quite literally. as if a gust of wind had blown him, zach was being thrown into the door, lost forever down the dark abyss.