02

“This is getting freaky like a fucking horror movie. It’s past midnight, and we’re in the middle of nowhere with dark trees and this weird atmosphere surrounding us. We’ve been on this journey for hours, and we’re still not close to the fucking mansion,” Mike lamented, his fears etched on his face.

This annoyed Gem greatly. She hated it when he let his fears get the best of him.

“Why are you complaining to me when you're here because you want to?” Gem retorted.

Mike was about to say he was here because she was too, but Red spoke before him.

“The last thing we should do is argue among ourselves. We all consented to be here. Look, there’s a light over there!” she pointed into the thick darkness of the forest.

The ghostly light flickered faintly, barely breaking through the wide canopy of trees.

Pale light was emanating from a house, but it was quite a stretch. It was also deep into the forest, but Light had a feeling that it was the mansion they were searching for.

“That might be the Blackwood mansion. Let’s go!” He said excitedly, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Everyone shot forward except Mike. He has a reluctant expression on his face. “What if it's not the Blackwood’ mansion? What if it's just some old ruins?” He muttered, pulling his jacket tighter around him.

He wished he could convince his friends that they should go back together. If they walk a mile away from the thick woods, the signal might become stronger, and they could order an Uber. Right now, the signal was so bad he couldn't even place a call, let alone use the Wi-Fi or cellular. If something happened to them here, it would be difficult to find help.

“Come on, man, if it’s not the Blackwood, who else could live among the woods?” Light snickered, laughter bursting out of him from his sarcasm.

Gem and Red laughed alongside him, but Reed didn’t join in on the laughter. Instead, his hand moved to pull Red closer to him. He was pumped up about meeting Lexi Blackwood because Light wouldn't stop talking about her, but the rumors about them were starting to feel all too real. And he didn't wish to put Red in danger just to fulfill some fucked up fantasies.

“Alright, let’s check it out,” Mike finally agreed and they began walking towards the distant house. It took about thirty minutes before the shape of the house began to materialize in their view.

Mike felt a shudder of fear wash over him as they finally reached the mansion they had spent hours searching for in the same small town.

“Gem, this is a haunted mansion,”

His breath was caught in his throat at the sight of ghostly candlelight flashing on one side of the house, while the other remained shrouded in darkness.

Was it this single candlelight that had been bright enough to lead us here?

Mike was utterly bewildered. He couldn't bring himself to believe his eyes.

Just then, as if someone sensed their arrival, more candlelights illuminated all sides of the house.

This brought a sense of relief to their tensed hearts and Gem turned to glare at Mike.

“Which of your dead eyes sees a haunted mansion? This is clearly an Old Victorian house. It is the same house we saw on the site, why are you always paranoid when it’s time to be a man?” She snapped. She was tired of him constantly yapping in her ears. He had been rambling about how this was a bad idea ever since they hit a deer on their way, and their vehicle broke down on the main road. “Can you nag Light instead? This whole CNC with strangers was his fucking idea!”

Mike bit his lower lip, his expression shrouded in remorse at Gem’s outburst. He didn't mean to get on her nerves. He just couldn't shake off the thought that this experience would be more than they bargained for.

“This haunted—” he began, but Gem's icy gaze made him correct his words. “This Old Victorian house has an unsettled chill clung to it and our vehicle quit on us miles away. I agree that we’ve already signed the online form, but we could reconsider and just go back to find some hot girls and have a gang bang with them. This shit is getting spookier than what I anticipated. If anything happens inside that house, escaping will be difficult. This is another level of spookiness,” He dumped his fear on them, his palms getting soaked as dread crept on his boyish face.

A chilling silence fell over his four friends right after his unsettling words.

Their feet began to feel cold as they walked closer to the mansion and that caused them to stop in their steps.

Reed held his girlfriend, Red in his arms, their gazes intently focused on the looming house. Two more steps and they would reach the worn stone steps that lead into the mansion.

“Do you still want to go inside?” He whispered to her and she nodded firmly