unedited ver.

“Okay, so the old trail idea is gone. What now? This small town isn’t giving us any surprises.” Kris said exasperatedly. Luhan stared up at the sky, probably not even paying attention. I thought about it, rummaging around in my mind for a place that we hadn’t explored or trashed yet.

“Hey, what about the old house, you know, the one down by the lake.” I suggested, seeing that was a pretty cool place that we hadn’t even considered.

“But what about them rumors? With that creepy little girl and .” Luhan spoke up now, arms crossed and staring at me. I shrugged. “Do you seriously believe in them?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” I opened my mouth to , but Kris cut me off.

“Okay then. We’re going to meet up there. 11pm.” He said.

I raised my eyebrows. “11pm? Like, 1 hour after 12?”

“What you scared too?” A playful grin appeared on Luhan’s usual thoughtful face. I rolled my eyes and chucked a handful of grass at him. Most of them were blown away by the wind before they could even touch him. At least a few got into his fluffy hair. And mouth.

“Yes 11. Unless you decide you want to get caught by the authorities for trespassing. It still belongs to the government you know.” Kris replied firmly.

“Okay, okay. But you guys bring your own torches. I’m not sharing.”

“But sharing is ca-”

“Don’t. Even.” Luhan wrinkled his nose and mumbled something about stinginess under his breath.

---

I shivered while watching Luhan pick the lock. The wind had picked up in the last few hours, making me regret my thin choice of clothes. Kris was casually swinging his torch around and keeping watch for anyone, though I doubted there would be anyone at this time of night and location. A sharp click sounded.

“There! Told you I could do it,” Luhan smirked triumphantly. “Now gimme that torch.” I sighed and pushed the object into his hands and pushed the door open. Kris stepped in after me, Luhan last. I flicked on the torch and scanned the room. It was bare and empty, giving off an unnatural eerie feeling. Kris ran a hand on the walls, where furniture would have been placed.

“Lay, go investigate upstairs while me and Luhan stay down here.” Kris urged, gesturing to the narrow staircase. I narrowed my eyes.

“Why me?”

“You came up with the idea. Plus this place is already creepy enough.” I sighed and began my slow ascend up the steps. I could feel my heartbeat growing rapid, pounding against my chest as my anxiousness grew. Reaching the top, I braced myself for something absolutely terrifying, but coming to nothing but an empty hallway. I let out a low and airy laugh, probably just to convince myself that nothing was up here. I headed to the first door on my left and pushed it open. Nothing. The place would’ve been a bedroom or possibly a lounge, given the amount of space it had. I moved on to the next room. Nothing but an oak closet. I guessed the next room at the end of the hallway contained nothing as well. And I was correct. Feeling a tad stupid about how paranoid I had become, I pushed open the last door. My breath hitched. There was a few crumpled sheets on the floor with a sleeping bag, and a whole stuffed bag by the corner. But that wasn’t what made me lose my breath. It was the smell that practically enveloped the room. The smell of something rotten, like decaying flesh. I furrowed my eyebrows, keeping my torch trained on the sheets. Unknowingly, my mind wandered back to earlier in the night.

“The search for the loose murderer has been concluded due to…”

I bit my lip, the dim beam of the torch shaking as I tried to control my hand. Nothing in the rooms expect for a closet. And that’s when I lost it, realization hitting me hard in the face. I ran down the hallway and the staircase, hardly able to control my fear. Kris and Luhan were waiting for me, alarmed at my sudden appearance.

“Run! Just run goddamit, run!” I screamed, pushing them out of the door, horror pulsing through my body and fueling me. A deafening thud came from upstairs. Luhan began to panic and stumbled out of the door immediately. Kris tripped and fell; I helped him up as the stairs began to creak. We ran into the woods and onto the well-known pathway, escaping away from who knows what.

---

It had been a few years from the incident. We hardly ever spoke of it. Occasionally I’m forced to walk past it, usually to get to the train station by it. And every time I look up at the window of the room that smelt like decaying flesh I always found the same thing; just a dark shadowy figure staring out.