Original Horror Fiction: Beyond Appearance

PART 2: WE ARE NOT ALONE

It is a cold, rainy, almost stormy Saturday morning. The kids are in the living room playing, Edward is locked sleeping in his room, and Virginia is preparing eggs, bacon, and toast for the whole family. Victor and Mary sit on the sofa.

“Is there anything fun to do around here?” Victor says.

“Go explore upstairs in the library; maybe you can find something to keep you busy,” Virginia answers.

“As if old dusty books are going to entertain us,” Mary scoffs.

“Stop complaining, you two. Come on, get up! And don’t wake your dad up!”

Mary and Victor slowly get up and head to the stairs. Little William is playing with his toys on the floor.

“Are we actually going to explore the library, Victor?” Mary asks.

“Of course not. We just need to find something cool to see. Maybe a ghost!

“Stop, Victor, you are giving me goosebumps!”

“Maybe we will find a body hidden in your bedroom, a cold dead body…”

“Stop, Victor, seriously. It’s not funny.”

The children suddenly hear noise from the end of the corridor where they are arguing. Mary and Victor exchange a quite worrying look.

“What is that now? Did you do it to scare me? Is it some sort of joke? I’m telling you, Victor. If it is, it’s not going to work with me.”

“Why do you always blame me for everything? I didn’t do anything!”

“Probably it’s just Dad waking up,” Mary says.

The two hear another noise. Only this time, it’s stronger. They start walking slowly towards the last room of the corridor. Mary is shaking a bit, and Victor grabs her hand.
Suddenly, a side door opens.

“What are you two whispering about?!”

Mary and Victor scream. Edward walks out of his room, staring at both.

“Dad, you made us jump!” Mary says.

“You two woke me up. Go and do something quietly.”

“Yes, Dad,” they answer simultaneously.

They turn around and start walking towards the stairs when they hear another even louder sudden noise.

“It came from that dark room, Victor. I heard it clearly this time,” Mary says without even turning back, still petrified by the noise.

“Let’s go check!” Victor says.

“Are you crazy?”

“Do you want to wait for the ghost to come into your room in the middle of the night?”

Mary agrees, and they both head slowly towards the room. While the oldest are having their little adventure upstairs, little William keeps playing with his toys, throwing a ball on the other side of the living room.

“At my three, we open the door.”

Mary nods.

“One…Two…Three!”

They open the door and hear a big crash on the floor. One of the paintings falls from its easel, and they see a shadow moving toward them. Downstairs, Virginia finished preparing the breakfast. Hearing the loud noise, she screamed, “Do I have to go upstairs to see what you have done?!”

While placing the dishes on the table, she suddenly dropped one of them, which crashed on the floor.

She witnesses William playing. He isn’t playing alone; some invisible presence throws the ball back at him.

“William!” screams Virginia.

“Mum!” screams Mary and Victor, barely breathing, running down the stairs.

///