Fear Feast

The Midnight Game: Main Course

The Midnight Game: Main Course 

6:05 pm

Malta stood near the old oak tree, her sleeping bag tucked under her arm and her knapsack on her back. As the light faded, her anxiety rose. She could not shake her feeling of foreboding. Nevertheless, she had to play the Midnight Game. Being a new student was hard enough without incurring the wrath of the school’s most popular clique. Malta had no intention of upsetting the Formidable Five. She would have to play nice and hope that everything would go smoothly. She secretly hoped that they would stand her up. Then, she would never have to step foot in the Sweet House. Malta’s hopes were dashed aside the moment she saw the five girls approaching.

Dara Roxwell strutted through the grass in her high-heeled boots. She was flanked by the Mottles’ twins, Tina and Haley who donned matching pink outfits. Ashley Sprigs was on the far right and Ellen Mason, who had handed Malta the invitation earlier, was on the far left. The girls formed a semicircle around her. Malta fidgeted uncomfortably. All five girls were dressed to the nines, fully-made up and had their hair styled in long waves. They looked more ready for a red carpet than for a scary sleepover game. Malta was standing there in her tracksuit and sneakers with a messy top-knot on her head. She knew they would be walking to the Sweet House so she had thrown her polkadot pajamas and bunny slippers in her knapsack, intending to put them on later. She would be leaving her change of clothes right there in the knapsack now that she had seen the other girls’ attire.

“So,” said Dara in her sickly sweet voice, “You came! We’re honoured!”

The other girls snickered. Malta nodded mutely. She could not seem to find her voice. She took a deep breath.

“Yeah,” she said, “Thanks for the invite.”

“No prob,” said Dara in that same sly tone, “Let’s be on our way. Shall we?”

Dara stalked off and the others followed. Malta trudged behind them. There was a trail that winded through the woods behind the school and eventually ended at the Sweet House. She was hoping time would grow wings tonight but it seemed to crawl by. The last rays of light gave way to darkness. There was no moon tonight and hardly any visible stars. The girls put on their flashlights and the six circles of light guided them the rest of the way. They came to the trail’s end and that was the first time Malta laid eyes on the Sweet House.

The colossal brick house stood in the midst of the silent woods, encircled by a black wrought iron fence. A stone path led from the gate to the double doors. The Sweet House was five storeys high and featured many floor-to-ceiling windows. All the windows were shut and barred. There were wooden planks nailing the doors shut. The grass in front of the house was so overgrown that it obscured half the wall of the ground floor. The gate was chained and padlocked. The Formidable Five knew exactly how to get in. This was their sixth time here after all. Malta followed them around the perimeter to a mangled part of the fence where the space between two bars were wide enough for someone to squeeze through. They slipped through one by one and headed to the back of the house.

There was a strange beauty to the overgrown unkempt garden at the back of the Sweet House. The weeds had replaced the flowers. Vines threatened to strangle the few fruit trees that dotted the scene. There was a statue in the centre of the garden of a young woman with her head bowed and her hands clasped in prayer. Malta stared at it until Dara snapped her fingers to get Malta’s attention. There was a broken-in window at the back and the girls snuck in one by one, carefully avoiding the splinters. The six girls were inside the Sweet House.

 6:45 pm

“Everyone, hush!” declared Dara.

Silence fell over the room. The six girls had spread their sleeping bags out to form hexagon in the centre of the cobwebbed, dust-encrusted living room. Each girl was sitting cross-legged on her sleeping bag. Dara faced Malta. The twins faced each other and Ellen faced Ashley. The broken window had led to the old kitchen and from there they had walked down a hallway to this room.

“It’s almost seven!” said Dara.

“It is time to recount the story of the Sweet sisters. Ready, Malta?”

Malta nodded. Malta watched in silence as the girls performed their sleepover ritual. They had set up six candles in the centre of their sleeping-bag hexagon.

Ellen began.

“Emily Sweet, six years old, died at 7:00 pm,” said Ellen, lighting a candle.

Malta felt the air grow cold. She wondered if the other girls felt it.

“Helga Sweet, nine years old, died at 8:00 pm,” said Ashley.

Another candle was lit. A light breeze passed through the room. The girls ignored it.

“Alice Sweet, ten years old, died at 9:00 pm,” said Tina, igniting the third candle.

The three flames flickered.

“Darlene Sweet, thirteen years old, died at 10:00 pm,” said Haley, lighting the fourth candle.

The flames were flickering wildly. Malta could not take her eyes off of the dancing little flames. None of the other girls were watching though. They were looking at Dara.

“And Tara Sweet, fifteen years old, died at 11:00 pm,” said Dara, her voice resounding through the high-ceilinged room.

The wind ruffled Malta’s hair as she pulled out the slip of paper Dara had handed to her when they were in the kitchen.

“Margaret Sweet,” read Malta. The air in the room felt heavy.

“Nineteen years old.” The wind picked up.

“Jumped from the attic and fell to her death in the garden at midnight,” said Malta, her voice cracking.

Dara smiled at the fear in Malta’s voice but her smugness was cut short.

A violent wind knocked over one of the candles. Dara rushed to pick up the candle but another gust of wind knocked them all over. A fire sprang up, quickly spreading across the wooden floor, heading towards their sleeping bags. The girls screamed, scampering to their feet and pressing themselves to the wall. Ellen ran out of the room into the hallway. Suddenly, the fire was snuffed out. It died down just as quickly as it had sprung to life, leaving a blackened area in the floor’s centre. Dara breathed a sigh of relief. Malta was not so quick to celebrate. Something was clearly amiss. A loud noise made the girls jump. It was the chiming of a grandfather clock as it struck seven.

“But that’s never worked before!” exclaimed Ashley, staring at the huge antique clock in the corner of the living room.

The twins shrugged their shoulders. Dara stared warily at the clock. Malta was counting the chimes: ...Five, Six, Seven.

“Let’s go get Ellen,” said Dara, “She upped and left us. What if we had burnt to death! 

“Do you think she’s still here?” asked Malta. 

None of the girls responded. The five girls sauntered into the hall. They headed towards the kitchen door. There was dark liquid trickling into the hall from under the door, staining the carpet. Dara pushed open the door and screamed. Her scream pierced through the air and echoed down the hall. It filled the Sweet House. The twins gasped and hugged one another. Ashley covered her face with her hands. Malta pushed past the twins to see what was going on. 

Malta felt as though the air had been knocked out of her. Ellen was lying face-down in a pool of her own blood, with a knife sticking out of her back.

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Please vote and comment if you like this story! Thank you for reading! The Midnight Game: Dessert will be up by Wednesday!