halloween haunting ,a story by greg(reader's discretion is strongly advice)+15

Episode 6

Kevin swerved to avoid a collision, but his car
jolted and the engine shut off. Kevin spun the
steering wheel and the car slid sideways. Kevin
and Holly braced themselves for impact just as
their car smashed into the back of the other car.
The windows on the passenger side shattered
and Holly covered her head with her hands as
the glass showered down on her. The airbag on
the driver‟s side deployed and pushed Kevin
back in his seat. As the white powder from the
airbag disappeared, Kevin focused. He looked at
his sister. “Are you okay?” Holly lowered her
hands from her head and looked around. “I think
so.” Kevin aggressively opened his door while
grumbling under his breath, “Why on Earth did
that guy just stop.”
Kevin stepped out of his car and into the cold
downpour. The driver‟s door on the other car
opened and a man in a long coat stepped out.
“Why did you just stop, buddy?” Kevin shouted.
“It was an accident,” the man yelled back, “my
car locked up and then shut off. I didn‟t have a
chance to pull off to the side.” Kevin approached
the man and noticed a police badge hanging
from a lanyard around his neck. The man
reached out to shake Kevin‟s hand.......
"Detective Miller. I work for the Hilliard Police,”
he said. “Sorry about your car – mine just up
and stopped.” “Same here.” Miller saw that they
appeared to be in a hurry and that Holly had
been crying. He became concerned and curious.
“What brings you guys out in the middle of this
storm?” “Um,” Kevin began, “you wouldn‟t believe
me if I told you.” “Try me.” “Our sister died ten
years ago at the Watkins house, and…well, her
dead body is laying in my sister‟s bedroom right
now.” Kevin cringed and waited for Miller not to
believe him. Holly hung her head and started to
cry again. “I believe you,” Miller said, shocking
both Kevin and Holly. “Another student that died
in that house appeared at the park earlier today.”
Holly gasped, “That was one of the students?”
Miller nodded. “I was on my way to the Watkins
house when my car crapped out.” “Same here,”
Kevin said. “It‟s not too far up the road.” Miller
turned around and looked up the dark road. The
rain was pouring and lightening flashes lit up the
sky. A rumble of thunder shook the ground,
startling them. “Follow me"
Kevin and Holly trekked up Amity Rd., shielding
their faces from the hard-hitting rain. They
followed Miller who had his flashlight shining out
in front of them. Miller was being very cautious.
He kept glancing off to either side of the road as
something felt off to him. He called back to the
siblings: “Last I checked, before my watched
stopped, it was almost five o‟clock. That‟s way
too early for it to be this dark.” “My watched
stopped too – and our cell phones don‟t work,”
Kevin yelled back over the rain. “The cars
stopped working, the watches, the electricity –
what‟s happening?” Holly whimpered. Neither
Kevin nor Miller had an answer that would make
sense. “Hilliard is haunted,” Miller yelled over the
rain. “I never believed it until tonight. There‟re
just too many strange things happening that I
can‟t explain.” “Yeah – I‟ve been hearing things
and seeing things all day. And then our dead
sister ends up on my bed…” Holly said. “Elizabeth
Watkins knows something. She has too.” Kevin
said. The police SUV where Westman and York
were stationed was in sight. Miller picked up his
pace to a slow jog as Kevin and Holly tried to
keep up........
Miller ran up along side the SUV and looked in
the windows. York and Westman were gone.
Miller turned around and called for them: “York!
Westman!” A crack of thunder was the only
response. A violent stream of lightening flashes
ignited the sky and all of their attention was
drawn to the Watkins house, sitting threateningly
in the storm. A light in one of the upstairs
windows was still on and a dark figure peered
out from behind the curtain. “How does she still
have power?” Holly trembled. The curtain in the
window closed, leaving only the silhouette of
whoever was behind it. Then, the light turned
off...
Miller pounded on the front door of the Watkins
home; he gripped his gun in his other hand.
“Open up, this is the police!” he shouted. Kevin
and Holly stood by on the porch shivering from
the cold, incessant rain. A moment went by and
Miller pounded on the door again - harder this
time. “Open the door!” The door cracked open
and Miller stood back and waited. Through the
crack, the house could be seen in complete
darkness. “Hello?” Miller called out, waiting for
someone to open the door the rest of the way.
But no one did. He flipped on his flashlight again
and shone it through the two-inch wide crack in
the door. In the beam of light, he could only see
sheet-covered furniture. “Ms. Watkins?” Miller
called into the home. “Valerie?” In the shadows
just beyond what the flashlight beam could pick
up, a figure moved closer. Miller aimed the light
up and to the left and illuminated Valerie Warner.
She shielded her eyes from the blinding light.
“Can you not shine that in my face, Detective?”
she said irritated
Ms. Warner, may we come in. We have some
questions,” Miller demanded. “Sure.” Moments
later, Miller, Kevin and Holly were inside from
the storm. The house was pitch black, and the
four of them sat around on the old furniture by
candlelight. Valerie held a candle in her hand,
which presented her face in the darkness. Three
other candles were lit on the coffee table and
supplied little, but enough, light for the three
guests. “Now, what were these questions,
detective?” Valerie asked in an eerily calm
manner. “Is Elizabeth going to join us?” Miller
asked. “She is not,” Valerie said sternly. “Ms.
Watkins is resting upstairs. She is not well these
days.” “I want to see her before we leave here
tonight,” Miller added. “Detective, what can I do
for you?” “Where are the two officers that were
stationed at the end of your driveway? Officer‟s
York and Westman?” “Last I knew they were still
there. Why?” “Because neither of them are right
now. Did either of them come into the house?”
“No.” Holly looked around, creeped out by the
room, which was half hidden in shadows. Hilliard
was in a state of menacing darkness, and this
home – the Watkins home was the only one to
show signs of electricity. That upstairs bedroom
stuck out in her mind. “Why did you guys have
power?” Holly cried out. “Why was my dead
sister in my bed? Why are you lying to us-”?
Kevin reached up and calmed his sister. “Holly,”
he said, “let the detective handle this.” “They‟re
lying, Kevin!” Holly exclaimed. “I know, I know,
but just-” “You have a lot of nerve coming onto
our property - into our home - and accusing us of
lying, miss!” Valerie raised her voice. “I‟ve cared
for Elizabeth and Seth for as long as I can
remember. This city has treated them like
outcasts ever since they moved in here!” After
Valerie‟s outburst, the room fell quiet. The floor
above them started to creak. It sounded like
someone was walking across the floor. “Now
you‟ve disturbed Ms. Watkins. Excuse me.”
Valerie stood up and held her candle out in front
of her as she left the room. Miller waited until he
heard Valerie‟s footsteps going up the stairs, and
then he stood up and turned on his flashlight.
“Where are you going?” Kevin asked. “Those
officers out there know not to leave their post.
I‟m going to go look for them. Something doesn‟t
seem right here.” Miller walked to the front door
and quietly opened it. He slipped out and closed
the door behind him. “Something definitely is not
right, Kevin,” Holly said. “What do you mean??"
"That couldn‟t have been Ms. Watkins walking up
there – she‟s in a wheelchair"Miller walked down the steps on the wet front
porch and into the yard. The rain had slowed
down to nothing more than a steady drizzle.
Miller shone his light across the yard at the
police SUV. It was still empty. He turned to his
right and came face to face with the cornfield.
He aimed the light into the tall stalks of corn
and watched them rustle in the light rain. He
then turned around and pointed his light down
the side of the house and noticed the barn in the
backyard. He sloshed through the grass on his
way to the barn. The candles on the coffee table
flickered, making shadows dance on the walls
and ceiling. Kevin and Holly sat uncomfortably in
the darkness, waiting for Miller to return with the
two officers, and hoping Valerie wouldn‟t come
back any sooner.
“I want to leave,” Holly whispered, her bottom lip
quivering.
Kevin looked at his sister. “Why?” “I don‟t like
this. Not one bit. What‟s happening here, Kev?”
Kevin didn‟t know what to say. He wasn‟t
oblivious to all the happenings, but he didn‟t
have any answers either.
At least, none that would calm Holly down or
make any logical sense. “Why was Ava in my
bedroom?” Holly asked. Kevin chose to remain
quiet. The floor above them creaked again and
ended with a thud. They both jumped and looked
up at the ceiling. A second thud shook the
coffee table and one of the three candles went
out, sending a thin stream of smoke into the air.
Kevin and Holly watched the table as a third
thud from above somehow took out a second
candle. Holly grabbed Kevin‟s arm and gripped it
tight. A cold wind blew through the room and the
third and final candle fizzled out. The room sat in
darkness. Holly‟s breathing picked up.
“Kevin?”
Kevin didn‟t answer. Holly gripped his arm tighter
and called his name again.
“Kevin?”
Still, there was no answer. Holly then shook her
brother‟s arm and started to cry,
“Kevin! Kevin!”
A sharp static sound buzzed above them and the
chandelier on the ceiling came to life for a brief
moment, showcasing a dead girls bloody body
hanging from it. Holly screamed and looked at
her brother during the flickering light show. Kevin
was gone – replaced by another fleshy, rotting
corpse. Holly screamed as the hollow-eyed
corpse faced her and opened his mouth,
expelling a gushing fountain of muddy water. It
splashed all over Holly and she stood up fast.
The chandelier lights flickered back off and Holly
stumbled backwards and tripped over the coffee
table.
She landed on her back and heard a groaning
sound coming from the mysterious corpse. Her
breathing picked up and she started to
hyperventilate. A warm sensation overtook her
cheeks and flushed through her face, making her
dizzy. She felt her eyes roll into the back of her
head and she collapsed onto her back and
passed out. Detective Miller snuck up to the barn
and aimed his light at it. One side of the door
was open and the other was closed. He pointed
his light inside the barn and looked around. He
noticed the large black cauldron sitting near the
back wall and squinted to see what was sticking
out of it. A shuffling noise from behind him
caught his attention and he swung around fast,
shining his light at the back of the house.
“York? Westman?”
he whispered loudly. There was no answer. He
heard the noise again, and realized it was
coming from above. He aimed his light up to the
edge of the roof where he saw a black raven
sitting still, staring down at him. Miller kept his
eye on the bird and noticed something next to it,
sitting in the shadows. He moved his light
slightly to the right and noticed a dark figure
perched on the roof. It was a gray, fleshy tone in
color and was hunched over........
The dark figure then moved forward and dropped
down off the roof and knelt in the soggy grass
with its head tucked down by its chest. “Show
yourself!” he called out, aiming his weapon. The
figure sat still and then slowly lifted its head and
studied Miller. Miller stared back at the figure –
dead into its dark, hollowed-out eyes. Without
warning, the figure leapt towards him, in-humanly
shrieking, and Miller fired his weapon.