Hailey & The NoEnd House

Room 1

      I hesitantly stepped into the NoEnd House, wary of what would happen. Once I was in though, my fear went away quickly. I didn't know what I expected to see exactly, but it ceartainly wasn't this. There was nothing scary about what I was seeing. I was so relieved that I let out a laugh.

     I was standing in a lobby. Pretty unexpected for a haunted house. It looked like any normal hotel lobby. . .  well, except for the Halloween decorations. There were pumpkins sitting around all over and cheap toy bats hanging down from the ceiling. A few waiting chairs rested along the beige walls. I wondered when was the last time somebody had actually sat in them. A few feet ahead was a desk and to the right of it was a door that had a big, brass number one on it.

     Room 1.

     I stepped towards the desk. It was so quiet in here. A little too quiet for me. I was almost afraid to make any noise. There should have been an employee here to direct me to the door, and maybe teach me the rules - if there were any. They'd probably tell me not to damage any equipment, or not to run because I'd fall. Then this would at least be less creepy. Every other haunted house I've been to had those rules. But instead, there was a sign behind the desk, where the person should be. It said: "Room 1 this way. Eight more follow. Reach the end and you win!" 

     Simple as that.

     No rules.

     Somehow that made me even more nervous.

     I guess no one was willing to stand there all day, waiting for players to show up who probably never would. All because of these stupid rumors. It made me wonder who exactly ran the place. It was in perfect shape. No trash on the ground, no chipped paint. Nothing. Perfection. I could probably eat off the floor. It smelled good in here too.

     Well maybe if I win, I'll get to see the owner or something.

      I got back to business.

     Below the text was a bold arrow, pointing towards Room 1. I stepped in front of the door and gripped the handle, ready to enter. But I hesitated. My heart started racing.

       I was going to admit, I was a little scared (ok, a lot scared). I was almost starting to believe in the rumors myself. That would explain why there were no employees here to greet me. It would explain why this place was in perfect condition after so many years. It could also explain that feeling I had outside (and still did). The feeling that I needed to run away as fast as I could and never come back. Maybe something was wrong with this house. And if it was true, did I really want meet the owner? 

     I didn't know the answer to that. And that just frustrated me more.

     Questions ran through my head and I couldn't help but imagine the worst. What if I never came out? What will happen to me? What if I did come out, but I ended up like David? How will my family deal with this? What could be in there to cause so many deaths?

     And worst of all: Will I see the bodies?

     I shook my head and took a three deep breath, expelling those thoughts. I had to remind myself that this wasn't real. Nothing and no one will hurt me and if they do, I have the right to take legal action. . . right? Of course I'm right. It's just a game. I couldn't let these stories get to me.

     Calm down.

     I took another deep breath. I was gonna win this and then I would have five hunded dollars at my disposal. I could rub it in everyone's face because they were scared this whole time. I'll prove everyone wrong.

      Yeah, I'll show them.

      At that thought, I twisted the handle and entered Room 1.

          ****

      Again, I couldn't help but laugh at what I saw.

      It resembled a Halloween isle at a department store. So cheesy. Right across, I could see the door to Room 2. Easy.

      I couldn't stop smiling as I walked through. There were white sheet ghosts with simple, black, round eyes. Nothing intimidating about them, they were more cute than scary. Then there were the animatronic zombies. They had this terribly fake, static growl that would go off every few seconds. They were definitely ugly, but not scary. The only thing that was even mildly frightening about this room, were the fake spiders hanging down from their webs. I was terrified of spiders, always have been. But they were fake, of course, so I got over that quickly and moved on.

      I reached the door to Room 2 in no time and I entered with confidance.