We were running east.
Away from our summer camp, which had been total hell so far for the past two weeks.
“Mark!” That was Gordon. “I think we’re out of the woods now.”
Finally. We had been lost in the woods for a whole hour. We meaning Gordon, Chelsea, Laura, and I.
“So where are we now?” asked Chelsea. Our eyes scanned the surroundings. Open fields as far as we could see. And a single mansion on top a single hill.
“Wonderful,” muttered Laura. “Who organized this thing anyway?”
“I thought this was the right direction...” Gordon said as his voice faded out. His eyes were transfixed on the mansion.
“We might as well go back,” I suggested. “This whole escape thing was pretty silly to begin with.”
“We might as well go back and face Mrs. Lou,” Laura snapped, and no one wanted to do that.
“It’s getting really chilly,” shivered Chelsea. She hugged herself and sat down on the grass. “Gordon? Yo Gordon!”
Chelsea stood up and tapped Gordon on the shoulder. He jolted at her touch, then turned and stared into her soul.
“The mansion.”
We all knew what he was thinking. “There’s probably a phone there,” he reasoned with us. I glanced at the abandoned home. It didn’t look that creepy. I mean, there weren’t any broken windows, crooked trees, or anything like that. It was just...empty. And silent.
Empty and silent. My dream house.
“You go in, Gordon,” said Laura, “and make the phone call. We’ll wait right here for you.”
“What, you all scared?” mocked Gordon.
“In a word, yes,” I replied. “There might be a ghost in there.”
“You’ve been listening to Mr. Bart’s campfire stories too much,” said Chelsea. “There are no such things as ghosts.” I stepped back. That hurt, coming from Chelsea.
“Who’s coming with me?” asked Gordon.
“What, too scared to go alone?” snapped Laura. Ooh, a slap in the face right there.
I felt a wiggling pit in my stomach. I was cold and hungry, and just wanted to go home. Not to camp, home.
“Let’s just all go in,” I said. “It won’t be so bad if we all go together.”
“Mark’s right,” Chelsea added. I smiled at her and she smiled back. The wiggling pit suddenly didn’t bother as much.
Laura groaned; Gordon shrugged. Together, we set off through the fields for the mansion.
We walked through the wheat until the forest was faded in the horizon. The mansion looked a lot bigger now, maybe twice as much than I had imagined it. The sun was about to set, so I knew we had to make this brief or we wouldn’t make it back through the woods.
Approaching the door, everyone stopped in front of the steps. The door stared straight ahead, not giving us a single thought. Then Gordon stepped forward.
He knocked. There was no answer. Squeezing his hand around the doorknob, he opened the door. Inside was completely dark. It was as if the windows were simply a couple of mirrors stuck on top the house, and no light was let in the mansion.
The door creaked open further. I heard the sound of bolts that had never turned snapping. The living dust shifted around the entrance floor. Some escaped out of the house and floated into the fields. Gordon coughed and stumbled off the steps.
“Stop getting so dramatic!” shouted Laura. She pushed Gordon aside. “Leave it to the lady to make a quick phone call.” With that, she entered the house.
The door shut after her. It simply closed, smiling a wicked smile. We froze.
“Yo, like that door just shut by itself!” exclaimed Chelsea.
“Don’t be silly, it was probably just the wind,” Gordon told her.
“Then why did it shut forward?” asked Chelsea. Gordon didn’t answer.
I opened the door. “Laura?” I took another step in.
A large sucking sound squeezed through my ears, obliterating all other noises. When it was over, all I saw was nothing. I couldn’t tell whether my eyes were open or shut. For a second, I heard Chelsea’s muffled voice called my name. Then silence once more.
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