~Em
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I feel like this might be the shittiest idea we've ever had." Vinnie said nervously. The six teenagers faced the looming mansion with bags at their feet. It was a holiday weekend so they decided to spend it at the empty house of Reece's family's. It looked old and dark.
"It's just a house. Besides, it's only one night." Alexa shrugged.
"Why'd we bring those two along again?" Axel whispered to Reece.
"They're new in town, and Alexa's close with Vinnie." Reece responded.
"C'mon, let's go in. The sun's starting to set." Kaya said. With a murmur of agreement everyone picked up their bags and headed inside.
"Don't be so nervous Vin," Reece said, giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek.
"Okay. It's just kinda creepy in here you know?" She said. He nodded. The interior was dark and musty. You could tell no one had stayed in the house for very long periods of time.
"Here, let's go drop bags in rooms. Axel and Kaya grab a room, Alexa and Tony, and Vinnie and I." Each couple nodded and headed up the stairs.
"Whoa, is this your old room?" Vinnie gasped, opening the door. Reece chuckled, shutting it behind them and tossing his bag onto the floor.
"Yeah, I lived here with Daminier till I was like 10 and then my dad was relocated to Bridgeport and I went with him." Reece said.
"It's cute."
"You know what's cuter?" Reece raised his eyebrows flirtatiously.
"Hm...whatever could it be?" Vinnie said jokingly.
"You!" Reece whispered, pulling her close into a kiss. They stood still, foreheads touching for a moment. The house felt ten times less scary when she had Reece. Perks of a vampire boyfriend. Reece took her hand and pulled her over to the bed.
"Reece-"
"What? They're probably all doing the same, who cares."
"Oh alright." Vinnie rolled her eyes and sat down. Reece settled down beside her, pulling her close. The two resumed kissing. Something somewhere in the house thumped. Vinnie paused, Reece continued to kiss her.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing." She shrugged it off, pressing her lips back to his. Suddenly a scream came from downstairs and they jumped apart. Reece threw open the door.
"What the hell was that?!" Vinnie cried and they raced out of the room and down to the living room. The other four sat on the couches and Tony had his arm around Alexa. She shook slightly and her bright eyes were wide with fear. Kaya was on her other side and Axel stood off to the side.
"We heard someone scream, what happened?" Reece demanded.
"It was me." Alexa said weakly.
"What happened?" Vinnie asked, moving to stand in front of her friend.
"I was coming out of the bathroom and this..this man was just standing at the end of the hallway. He had a mask on so I couldn't see his face. Then he started coming at me so I screamed and started running and then I bumped into Tony and when I turned around he was gone!" Alexa explained.
"There's someone else in the house?!"
"No, no one else has a key to this house but me." Reece said.
"Burglars exist Reece! Especially killer ones!" Axel exclaimed.
"There's not a killer! Even if it's burglar I'm sure we could deal with it. In this room alone they're two vampire, a shapeshifter, a warlock, and a ti-"
"And two humans!" Vinnie squeaked. "Look I know I'm a time-jumper but I'm not Blu. I don't know how any of that stuff works."
"Guys..." Alexa said warily. "Please tell me you all just heard that noise."
"What noise?" Tony asked, and the room fell silent. Fear buzzed through the room as the teenagers strained their ears for the noise that Alexa had heard. Vinnie held tightly to Reece's hand and they all huddled closer together.
"See it was-" Before Reece could speak the lights blacked out.
Everyone screamed and something bumped upstairs.
"What the hell is going on!" Kaya cried.
"The power's out. It's probably just the weather, it's supposed to storm tonight." Reece said, his voice shaking.
"Of course it's going to storm!" Alexa grumbled. "This couldn't be more of a horror movie."
"There's a back-up generator in the basement, and there's tons of flashlights and candles upstairs." Reece explained.
"We are not splitting up." Vinnie said immediately.
"It makes no sense going to one place all together." Someone, Axel probably, argued.
"Have you people never seen a horror movie?" Alexa cried. "When people split up, they get killed off!"
"Alexa, we split up back in the caves and we were totally fine." Tony said calmly.
"Totally fine?! I broke my leg and your mom nearly killed you!" Alexa snapped.
"Your mom tried to kill you?!" Axel exclaimed.
"Long story, but yes." Tony sighed. "Anyway..."
"Let's do it like this; Reece, Kaya, and I will go fix up the generator. Tony, Alexa, and Vinnie can go find flashlights." Axel suggested. "Two supernaturals per group."
"Good idea." Kaya said. Murmurs of agreement went up through the room. Thunder rumbled overhead and rain began to fall against the windows. The six made no effort to move to their missions. Vinnie held on to Reece's jacket sleeve and they all sat in silence, nothing but the rain and thunder could be heard.
"Okay." Kaya said at last. "Let's please just get this over with."
"Until you guys get flashlights, use the screens of your phones." Reece said. And with that the groups split off. One headed down the hall, the other up the stairs.
-------------------------
"I can't believe this is happening." Axel sighed. Reece groped the wall, trying to find the door to the basement. His hand passed over cold metal and he pushed, the door swinging open. A cold draft blew up from the stairs.
"Ax, Reece, why aren't we talking about the obvious issue here?" Kaya whispered.
"And that is?"
"There's someone else in the house!" She hissed.
"We don't know for sure." Reece said. With that he started down the stairs slowly, the other two falling close behind.
"This isn't really the basement I was expecting." Kaya said when they reached the bottom. Their eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and all the room was filled with was boxes.
"What were you expecting?" Reece asked, weaving his way around the boxes.
"Some sort of medieval torture dungeon." She shrugged.
"I don't blame you, his grandad is creepy as fuck." Axel said, skirting around a box. Reece shined his weak phone light onto a machine in the corner.
"That it?" Axel asked.
"Looks really old." Kaya mused. Reece gripped his phone in his mouth for light.
"It is. Everything in this house is old." He said around the phone.
"Doesn't make it any less creepy." Axel mumbled.
"Wonder how the other team is doing." Kaya said. "If they're not lost that is."
"They'll be fine." Reece said. Something on the upper floors bumped around. Reece tried to reach his mind toward Vinnie's, but something seemed to be blocking their usual connection. That made him worry even more. As Reece struggled with the generator something hot and sharp snapped against his leg.
"Shit!" He cursed, dropping his phone. He startled both Axel and Kaya and they dropped their phones as well. A scream from upstairs pierced the silence.
"Vinnie!" Reece cried, grabbing his phone. The light phone on Kaya.
"Reece, oh my god." She whispered.
"What?" He said, keeping the light steady on her.
"W-Where is Axel?" She stuttered. Reece swung around, shining the light all over.
"Oh God." Reece gasped. Axel was gone. But who did the scream come from?
-------------------------
"I was right. This whole thing was a terrible idea." Vinnie grumbled as they reached the top of the stairs. Their phones barely illuminated the path in front of them.
"And on top of all this creepiness, it's Halloween tomorrow. So you know what that makes tonight right?" Alexa said, sticking close to her boyfriend's side.
"Mischief night." Tony nodded.
"So you think this is all a prank?" Vinnie said, feeling along the wall.
"Maybe-"
"Sh! Did you hear that?" Tony whispered frantically. The trio froze and ducked behind a corner, pressing themselves up against the wall.
"I don't want to die tonight. I haven't even been to prom yet!" Vinnie breathed.
"Oh my god, he's up here." Alexa hissed. Tony poked both of them.
"Look, there's the room where all the candles and flashlights are." Tony said. Vinnie moved close to the door.
"Wait here, I'll grab them." She said. In the dark Alexa and Tony shared a look but agreed anyway. Vinnie twisted the handle slowly, pulling it open and slipping inside.
"Bingo!" She whispered, spotting the crate of emergency supplies. The door creaked shut behind her. Must've been Tony. Vinnie dragged the crate up to the door, shining her phone on the handle. A low battery image popped up on the screen, and her phone promptly died.
"Shit." Vinnie hissed. She turned the handle. Nothing happened.
"Tony? Alexa?" She whispered. The door wouldn't open.
Something thumped in the room and her heart raced. Who or what was in the house was in there with her. There was no need to be quiet now.
"Tony! Alexa! Open the door, this isn't funny!" She cried, banging on the door. On the other side she heard something drop to the floor. Sounded like a phone. A hand-like object brushed across her shoulder and she screamed.
The door burst open and Tony was there. Vinnie stumbled backwards, landing hard on the floor. His phone light was on, but there was no one beside him.
"What happened?! Are you okay?" He asked. Vinnie grabbed the crate of flashlights and dragged it out.
"S-Something in there touched me!" She whispered. Vinnie shut the door behind her.
"Where is Alexa?!" She cried, noticing the absence of her friend.
"I don't know. I dropped my phone and everything went dark, and then you screamed and when I turned around she was just gone!" Tony cried.
TO BE CONTINUED
