Chills & Thrills Anthology

A Daring Halloween | Come Out & Play

"This isn't so bad," Jenn said, but we could all hear the shakiness in her voice.

Suddenly, the door slammed with a loud bang and we simultaneously shrieked in fear. We eventually came down from the shock of the unexpected noise and tried to catch our breath.

"Perhaps it was just the wind," I uttered after a while of eerie silence, but I could barely reassure myself.

"I've always wondered what was inside this house," Cassidy spoke, analyzing every inch of the living room. "If we're going to be stuck here the whole night, we might as well look around."

I wasn't too fond of the suggestion, but I would rather we stick together than be alone. Each step we took released a creaking noise, the staircase was not at all stable. I tightly gripped onto the railing, just in case one of the steps were to collapse under my weight. There were various pieces of artwork hanging on the walls, along with fallen family portraits laying broken on the floor, shattered glass scattered around it. I reached down to pick up one of the portraits, it was covered in dust and I tried my best to wipe away as much as I could without cutting my hands on the broken glass shards. Once the dust had dispersed, I was able to clearly see the portrait. It was a portrait of a man, a woman, and a young girl about the age of seven, I had seen pictures of the family in old newspapers, and every year on their death anniversary, local reporters spoke of the tragedy. The people in the portrait were clearly the Emerson family, but in the background, I saw a young boy no older than eleven. I don't remember the newspapers speaking of the Emerson's having two children.

A loud bang was heard and a sound that was like nails on a chalkboard followed. The unexpected noise caused me to lose my grip on the portrait and the glass, once again, shattered into almost microscopic pieces.

"What was that?" Cassidy shakily asked.

A piercing wail echoed throughout the house followed by that same eerie sound. An ominous red glow illuminated from under one of the doors where the piercing sounds were coming from. My natural survival instinct must have kicked in, because before I could even form the words in my mind I screamed for us to run, and I immediately made my way down the stairs, not caring that they could collapse any second, the only thing I cared about was escaping. As soon as I reached the front door, I tried my best to open it, but it was locked. I tried once, twice, three times, but the door never even moved an inch.

"What are we going to do?" I turned to my friends, but Cassidy was the only one standing there. "Where's Jenn?"

"She was behind me when we ran."

As if it was planned, the familiar shriek of Jenn echoed throughout the entire house.

"Help!"

A loud bang resonated through the house and Jenn's wailing stopped.

"Jenn!" Cassidy and I simultaneously yelled and ran back up the stairs, but there were so many doors, how could we decide which one to pick?

"Jenn, where are you?" Cassidy yelled, a faint echo following.

"I'm in here!" Her voice boomed, and it sounded like it was coming from behind the door to our left. "No, I'm in here." Jenn's familiar voice spoke, but this voice was coming from the door on my right.

"How is she in both rooms at once?" Cassidy asked, tears rapidly running down her face.

"She isn't." I said and we both shrieked as a bloodcurdling scream was heard from behind both doors.

I don't know if it was just the first door I thought of or if it was out of instinct, but I ran to the door on my right and yanked it open. I examined the room, and it was your average little girl's room, except the dolls were now dusty and the bed sheets' original color is hidden by all the dust. I felt Cassidy standing close to me and I found it best that we stick together.

"Olivia, look!" Cassidy exclaimed and pointed to a wall that had blood splattered all over it.

The blood was oozing its way down the walls and my heart sunk down to my stomach. That blood is fresh, and the thought that it's possibly Jenn's turned me into a sobbing mess. I heard a bang coming from the closet, but I didn't want to investigate in fear of what I would find. I heard a bang again and Cassidy made her way towards it.

"Cassidy, don't!" I exclaimed, but I was too late.

She yanked the closet door open and out fell Jenn. She landed with a thud and that's when I saw the knife wedged through her heart.

"Jenn!" Cassidy exclaimed and we both knelt next to her body, sobs racking through our bodies.

As we lay sobbing over her lifeless body, I saw something moving from the corner of my eye. When I glanced up, the blood on the wall was moving and words were forming.

This is how she died.

"We have to get out of here." I managed to squeak out, my throat hoarse from all the screaming and sobbing.

"What about Jenn?"

"She's dead, we need to get out of here." It may be harsh, but if, whatever is in this house, killed Jenn then I highly doubt it will let us go free.

Childlike laughter echoed all around us, and I was certain I saw a figure walk past the bedroom door. I slowly tiptoed my way to the door and glanced out into the hallway, yet I spotted no creepy figures. I motioned for Cassidy to follow me and we stealthily made our way to the staircase.

"Come out and play." It was then we both spotted the figure standing at the bottom of the stairs.

He couldn't have been older than eleven years old and I recognized him as the boy in the portrait, but his disembodied figure had a sinister smirk plastered on his grotesque face.

"Come out and play." His voice echoed once again, followed by malicious laughter that sent chills through my spine.

"Run!" Cassidy yelled, but I failed to notice we ran in opposite directions until I locked myself in a bathroom and she was nowhere to be seen.

At just a glance, I knew this door would not barricade myself against him, a door would be no match against this ghostly figure. The smashing of glass and a chilling shriek brought me to my feet, that scream sounded like Cassidy. Without thinking of the consequences, I ran to where I heard the noise and found myself in what must have been the parents' bedroom. I stepped over dispersed shards of glass and made my way towards the window. Careful not to cut my hands, I leaned my head out the window and the sight that greeted me caused me to release a chilling scream. Cassidy's lifeless body could be seen at the bottom, her left leg and neck bent at an awkward angle.

"That's how he died." The chilling voice spoke, but the sound was coming from all angles, making it hard for me to detect its exact position. "Come out and play."

Adrenaline instantly kicked in and overpowered the fear. I steadily made my way out of the room and down the stairs, despite that being the last place I saw the figure. I made my way to the front door, but I knew it was wishful thinking for the door to suddenly open after an already failed attempt.

"Olivia." The voice echoing my name left a bitter taste in my mouth and the fear suddenly crept back in.

"Come out and play, Olivia."

I crept my way into the kitchen and spotted a door that obviously leads to the basement. I shakily opened the door and it produced a loud squeak, I clenched my eyes shut at my failed attempt of being silent.

"Olivia." The whispered voice caused me to scream and I turned to be met with the grotesque figure.

I lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs, each step knocking the wind out of me. I landed at the bottom with a thud and tried my best to catch my breath, but the scorching pain in my chest didn't fade away. I felt something thin like wire wrap around my throat and all the oxygen was blocked from entering. I tried as much as I could to get the wire loose, but all attempts failed, the more I struggled the tighter it became. I could slowly feel myself drifting into unconsciousness, and I knew I wasn't going to survive this night.

"This is where we all died." The voice said with a sinister laugh before I suffered my inevitable death.