This cottage was once I called home, a few years ago, running back home after a long school day and looking forward to my mother’s dinner and then ice-cream for dessert in the summer.

"Mum, Dad, I’m home," I whispered to myself, telling myself not to cry.

I thought someone would have bought the house, but I was wrong, the messy front yard was left unattended, the grass grew up to my knees and wild flowers lined the edges of the house. The windows were shattered and the pieces of glass flooded the roof of my swing set. It was where I spent my evenings with my friends, laughing and giggling as we waved to the people in the neighbourhood passing by.

Turning back to look at Lay, he had a sad expression on his face.

“Come on,” I said, tugging his arm to pull him forward.

“Are you alright, Raine?” he asked.

“I’m fine, just didn’t expect it to be like this at all,” I replied, “My father would have taken care of the garden and the flowers my mother would have grown in the flowerbeds along the window sill.”

Before we could take another step towards the little metal gate, fog appeared all of a sudden and surrounded the building, enveloping it in a cloud of opaque mist. The fog s around the house slowly then it began to transform into a dragon but in a murky, cloudy form. It opened its mouth and howled ferociously, breathing out a gust of air which made us stumble around, trying to stay to the ground. Ghosts suddenly appeared, barging out from the front door and floating out from the broken windows. This welcoming was a little unexpected.

The spirits only looked at us. There were lots of them and it made the house look crowded, maybe these were the people how has lived here but died. There was a mother with a baby in her hand, an old man with a hose, watering the grass and three small children playing on the swing.

“Who are you?” the old man asked, turning the tap off and placing the hose down by the gate.

“I’m Raine and this is Lay, we came to get a book.”

“We don’t have the book you need, so go away,” he bellowed back.

“I use to live here and there’s a book that my parents need to save the worlds,” I pleaded.

They ignored me; they just carried on with their duties and acted as if we weren’t there.

“I need to get in the house to get the book or we’ll all be in trouble!” I shouted.

“And why should we listen to you?” the mother asked, cradling the baby in her arm.

I turned to Lay, hoping for some support.

“I’m from the Zhang family and Raine, here, is a Vandeviere,” he replied back calmly.

Then the blowing wind abruptly stopped, the dragon started to disappear and faded into nothing. All the ghosts froze, literally froze as if someone has placed a spell on them and they cannot move.

“What just happened?” I asked Lay.

“Maybe it was the word, Vandeviere, the house might be been expecting us or something.”

I nodded because it would make sense.

All of them had their eyes on us. Their bodies frozen in place but their eyeballs rolled, following my movement as I tried to take a step forward, then another and another until I reached the front door. It was already open so I stepped in with Lay following after me.

“Be careful,” he said.

I nodded in reply and quickly turned back to see the ghosts. They still had their gazes firmly fixed on us; I quickly turned my head back and walked in. The carpeted staircase was on the right and the hallway led down to the kitchen. It was exactly how I remembered it, but everything was old and dusty. Clusters of dirt dominated the top edges of photo frames and the banister was grimed with filth. A rat scattered past my foot and I let out a shriek. This was the same house but it has changed so much. This isn’t home anymore.

In the living room, there were loads more ghosts; they have also frozen but their eyes searched us like we’re not supposed to be here. I ignored their stares and walked around the sofa, wondering where the book could be. After looking in the living room, we walked into the kitchen. Plates were filled with cockroaches and rats ran around the plates, carrying bits of rotten food. The surfaces were littered with breadcrumbs and tea stains. The stove where my mother used to cook was taken up by pots of broth which bubbled away furiously.

“Do you know where the book could be?” Lay asked, his eyes scanning the room and wincing when he noticed the horrible state of the mess.

“I don’t know and my parents didn’t even tell us specifically where it is either.”

Then we walked upstairs, it creaked loudly beneath our feet and sank a little when I left my foot on one of the steps for too long. Then I heard a crack and a little scream. Lay has fallen through the stairs and he was trapped.

“Lay!” I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him up, his other hand gripping the step above as he hauled himself out.

Only one of his legs was stuck but when he came out from the stairs, the end of his jean got stuck on a screw and ripped it, turning one side of the jean into shorts. I laughed at the sight but then continued walking up in case one of us might fall through the old staircase again. When we got up, there was a metal step ladder leaning against the wall. Then I remembered an attic and my father use to store old, unwanted books up there.  

“The book could be up there,” I said, pointing to the piece of board which could be lifted upwards to the roof.

I turned back to the ladder and opened it, making sure it was secure before stepping up. I held my hand out above my head and lifted the board up. It creaked and dust fell onto me. I pushed the board to one side and peeked into the attic. It was pitch black. I climbed up and turned the light on. The little bulb flickered on casting a gentle glow on the place. Boxes were piled high up in one corner while another was occupied with black plastic bags with tags on them. I walked towards the boxes and Lay came up after me.

“I’ll look here and you can start searching there,” I said, pointing to the stack of boxes.

I lifted one of the boxes down and came face to face with a ghost. I screamed and Lay ran over, pulling me backwards towards him. The ghost didn’t do anything, it just fell forwards, his face near my foot. Then slowly, his skin started opening, each part of his arm and face ripped and maggots started slithering out from the gaps. We walked away slowly and watched in terror as the rest of his body turned into maggots, leaving only his clothes behind.

“Let’s carry on looking,” Lay said after the show was over.

I couldn't help but felt scared and shook in nervousness as I wandered over back to the box and opened it. Right on top was an old book with a brown leather cover. Delicate patterns outlined the cover giving the book a majestic and significant look.

“Lay, I think this is it.”

He walked over and looked at the book. I opened to the first page, it was blank but then words started to form.

It takes two to unravel, the descendents of a Vandeviere and a Zhang. Guiding both bloodlines to use their powers and together they facilitate the eleven. When two hands come together the evil may vanish for the worlds to be at peace.

I looked up at Lay, wondering if he understood it then I opened another page, but only to meet with another blank page again. A little layer of white dust formed over the page. I held it close to my mouth and blew it away, revealing a name: CHEN

"Chen?" Lay questioned.

The book wrote something beneath the name. 

“The moment this name has come forth, return and hear him out. Fulfil his wish thus help him proceed to the next life,” I read out loud from the book.

Then the book closed itself and the little lock on the side clicked shut.

"So we have to go back now?" I asked, “With the book?”

“I think so, let’s go now, this place is giving me the creeps,” Lay shuddered and started walking down the ladder.

I followed and handed the book to Lay as I place a foot on the ladder. A pair of arms grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back up into the attic and the light bulb burst, putting the place in darkness again.

“Lay!” I shouted, kicking my legs around and flapping my hands to whoever was holding me back.

“Raine!” Lay shouted.

All I heard was the sound of fists in contact with bodies. I was freed so I clambered over to a corner. I couldn’t see anything at all. Not even the outline of a shadow.

“Raine!”

I recognised Lay’s voice but I couldn’t see where he was. His voice sounded close by so I held my hand in front of me. I felt something and it held onto my hand, helping me up.

“Let’s go.”

Once again we climbed down the ladder and carefully walked down the broken staircase. Once we were outside, I noticed that the ghosts were still frozen in place. We ran out of the gate and down the road before anything could stop us again. We stopped and tried to get our breaths back.

“Do you think that the eleven guys we live with are the eleven spirits we need to help out?” I asked, talking the book from Lay’s hand.

I flipped the book over and noticed a timer at the bottom.

“Probably,” he replied and looked down at the timer as well, “23:25:12.”

“What is the timer counting down to?” I said curiously.

“The amount of time to fulfil Chen’s wish?” he suggested.

“If so, we better get back then!”

Then we started running towards the bus stop to take us back to the airport.