Five Friends and A Mansion

Part 2

That night, when the sky turned to twilight-orange, everyone arrived right in front of the mansion. Each had different lies told to their parents. Willow told them that she was having a sleep-over at Laguna's house, which was a great lie because Laguna's parents were almost never home. They were still careful not to make things too suspicious. For example, Abbey said she was going camping with Joan, which was totally normal because they go camping all the time.

"Everyone here?" exclaimed Joan, super excited.

"Yup. I've also packed extra flashlights just in case if one of ours breaks or something" said Abbey while parking her bike under an old pine tree.

The dense forest made the scenery of the place even more scarier and intimidating. The only things you could see was the moon, occasional animals, and miles of trees.

"OK. Laguna, you're the oldest so you'll be opening the doors!" said Joan while pushing her towards the gigantic entrance.

She was about to protest but decided not to. Knowing that if she did it would result in a never-ending argument which would waste time. She stepped forward, her knees slightly trembling. It felt like one of the scenes in a horror movie where the characters would stupidly do something that would get themselves killed. The only difference was that the whole situation was real and there was no other way around it.

She placed her hand on the ancient maple wood and started pushing forward. The force pushing splinters through her mittens. The doors opened wide, sending a monumental gust wind into the cold night air. Her ruby red locks were immediately covered in dust and tiny cobwebs.

They stepped inside. Joan went first and Abbey went last. The scenery of the place looked like something out of a horror movie. It was dark, not necessarily pitch black. The moonlight still shone across the room. The first thing that came into view was the giant staircase that led to the second floor. The brick walls were covered in grime and random patches of paint. The floor looked like a landfill of dirt, dust, and soot. A colossal crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, making the nasty scenery look more expensive. All the furniture was covered in a thin white silk-like sheet.

"Once this alarm goes off, we'll be out of here in no time," said Laguna while fidgeting with her apple wristwatch.

Joan was the first one who explored the place with a minimum amount of fear. She forcibly pulled the satin sheets off one of the furniture. Dust clouded the air once more.

"Wow. Awesome!" yelled Joan.

Not even concerned about the mere consequences. She hopped on the couch, stepping on the nasty exorbitant leather with her equally filthy shoes. She glanced around the room, making a mental map of the mansion.

"So, where are we going first? I bet we'll find a haunted bathroom or something" exclaimed Joan.

Laguna rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Clearly unimpressed with Joan's 5-year-old behavior. She took out her flashlight, followed by the others. Joan jumped off the couch and landed gracefully like a cat.

"OK, I think we should try exploring the second floor first. I mean, I think it would be the most interesting part of the mansion" proposed Abbey.

The girls nodded and started trudging up the stairs. The steps were covered in scarlet red carpet which was basically engulfed in dust and mold. Stair railing was still in fine condition. Although it was left abandoned for at least 100 years the chocolate-brown wood still looked glossy. Willow slid her hand up the rail, it felt cold but in a pleasant way. Stella turned on the video recorder camera.