The Haunting

Fifteen

I stood still, frozen in my place like a statue.

We're her sisters.

But who is she? How come we didn't have a clue about her being our sister? How can mom and dad hide this from us? Why is she possessing Judy's body? Numberless questions began to clutter my mind and cloud my vision. My heart almost stopped when I heard a bang. I looked up and my eyes met Alex's; we both shared the same concerned expression. I didn't know whether to run to him or to remain in a quiescent position. We stared at each other for a few minutes before the lightbulb started flickering, indicating the presence of an invisible entity in the room. My heart was throwing itself against my chest and breathing became so difficult.

Within a blink of an eye, the bulb exploded.

"Alex, Alex," I called, hopelessly awaiting his rejoinder. I moved my arms in the air as I dragged my feet forward, hoping my arms would stumble across his body. I lost hope after moving my arms in the air for a while now, but the joy refilled once my hand touched skin. "Alex, is that you?"

I tried to grab the skin and then figured out it was an arm. "Alex, please answer me. Alex!"

I started shaking the arm I was clutching onto and a hand suddenly grabbed mine. I thought it was Alex's until it squeezed my wrist so tight I almost heard my bone crack. I let out a yelp of pain and tried to snatch the hand that was gripping my wrist. The hand suddenly loosened its grip, and I could hear a giggle echo throughout the half-empty basement. My body started to shiver as I stood frozen in place, seeing nothing but blackness encompassing me. I didn't dare to move, fearing the possibility of whatever was there hurting me. All I could hear was my own breathing which broke the unnerving silence. A cold breeze blew on the back of my neck, giving me goosebumps. I still didn't move, just remained still.

"Quinn..."

A whispery voice rang in my ears, sending chills down my spine. I squeezed my eyes shut and hoped that whatever was present in the room would go. A bang erupted from above me and lullaby music started to play abruptly. It was so faint like it was coming from miles away from me. The music continued to play until it suddenly came to a halt. Sobs started to reverberate, followed by hysterical outcries. They were apparently coming from a girl; I assumed.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, wherever you're hiding, we'll find you."

Voices reverbearted from everywhere around me and my head started to spin. My head started to ache unbearably as images and flashbacks commenced flickering through it like a movie. I clutched my head to try and stop the pain but to no avail. The flashback continued to flash in my mind and I had no choice but to let them run through my brain.

Author's pov (flashback)

"Are you sure it will go as planned?" Quinn asked as she stared at April with readable concern on her face.

"I'm sure it will, why wouldn't it?" April said, slightly smirking. She was strangely so sure about her plan working out, which got Quinn bewildered. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. A smile appeared across April's lips as she enthusiastically got up and walked toward the door. As she stood there for a moment, she smirked before pulling the door open. There stood a brunette, crossing her arms in annoyance as she tapped her feet impatiently.

"Oh, hey, my dearest friend, long time no see," April grinned sinisterly as her eyes inspected the irked brunette standing before her. The brunette breathed out in exasperation, her eyes refusing to meet April's. She continued to tap her feet anxiously as she proceeded to ponder her surroundings.

"What's up?" The brunette finally spoke, looking April dead in the eye. April faked a smile as she looked at the brunette from head to toe.

"Ain't no way we're going to talk on the door, come in," April said as she pulled the door wider, gesturing for the brunette to come in. She hesitated, worrying about the possibility of April doing something unwanted to her. But after reconsidering her decision for the millionth time, she placed her foot inside, making April's smirk grow wider.

"Talk," The brunette said, as coldly ad possible, crossing her arms. April started to snicker as she approached the brunette who was seated on the couch, causing her to start internally panicking.

"Don't worry, honey, I'm not going to kill you," April whispered, bending down to reach the brunette's height. April's voice was drenched in noticeable rage, which she attempted to hide with a fake sweet tone. The brunette twitched at the word kill, knowing that April did want to kill her. "Or, will I?"

April eyed the brunette angrily for a few more minutes before she threw her hands around the brunette's neck and began strangling her. The brunette fought with all the remaining strength in her body to free herself, but April's grip was too taut. Quinn was speechlessly watching the horrid scene, wide-eyed, recording it as she was told to. Quinn wasn't sure if this was the right decision or not, but she decided to believe her best friend. She could've never expected the lethal consequences this thoughtless decision would lead to.

Quinn held tighter on the camera, fearing that it would slip out of her clammy palms. The poor girl battled against April with all of the lingering strength in her body, until her body went stiff and her rapid breathing came to a halt. Her hands fell to her side, her eyes were wide-open, and the fingerprints of April's were remarkable on the girl's neck. Quinn stared in utter stupefaction as the brunette girl laid lifeless on the couch, every bit of life drained of her. April gazed at the brunette heartlessly, smiling evilly.

"Help me, Quinn," April said, gesturing for Quinn to assist in dragging the brunette's body. "We have to hide her somewhere before anyone finds out."

The words froze in Quinn's mouth as she, with huge difficulty, gulped the pile of saliva forming in her mouth. Quinn cautiously lifted the girl's arms while April carried her legs. Quinn had no clue that what she just helped in doing was going to devastate her life completely.

END OF FLASHBACK

As the vivid memories finally quit flickering in my head and my vision was finally clear, the realization hit me harder than a slap.

April and I murdered a girl.

I remained motionless in my place as I thought about the horrid crime we had committed together. Why did we kill that girl? What kind of horrendous thing she might have did to us that could've encouraged us to cruelly murder her? My eyes grew wider as the thought of her being Laura settled in my mind. I didn't want to believe it, but I had to.

I assisted in killing my own sister.

The lightbulb came back to life, illuminating my surroundings. Alex was standing across from me, sharing the same shocked expression as mine. Without saying anything, I began running up the staircase, having my palms folded in a fist. As I reached the top of the squeaky and fragile staircase, I was struck by the darkness that had suddenly overtaken the house. The earsplitting silence provided me with a powerful feeling of discomfort and inauspiciousness that something unfavorable was about to happen. I fearfully dragged my heavy eyes across my darkened surroundings, scanning every detail, anticipating the abrupt occurrence of something unpleasant. My heart accelerated and my breathing expedited, breaking the never-ending silence.

My heart almost stopped when the creak of a door echoed clamorously throughout the whole house. I knew it was coming from my left, but I couldn't dare to glimpse at it. After a few seconds of standing still, I finally managed to slowly turn my head. My eyes landed on the wide-open door at the end of the hallway, with darkness oozing out from it. I recognized it as Judy's room, which made my eyes grow wide. I stared subconsciously at the door, awaiting the expected appearance of something. A giggle echoed throughout the silent house, sending chills down my spine. I couldn't make out what happened next, because it was so terrifyingly fast.