The Haunting

Five

Quinn

I stood there, utterly thunderstruck.

I couldn't comprehend what she had said, neither could I guess who was she referring to. Who should I save? What is she even talking about? And why is a random stranger saying such things? None of my questions could be answered by assumptions, so I better ask her.

I grabbed her wrist, stopping her from walking any farther. She turned around and looked at me with an expressionless face, while I looked back at her with confusion written all over my face.

"What do you mean?" I asked calmly, trying my best not to annoy her.

"I can't explain it. It'll only make it worse. You gotta discover it yourself." She said before walking away.

I stood there, frozen like a statue as I watched her walk away. My mind was muddled with a bunch of questions and concerns, and notwithstanding how much I endeavored to grasp what she had said, it was all unsuccessful attempts.

***

As I walked into the house, it was encompassed by uncomfortable silence.

Placing the keys on the table, I took off my shoes and began climbing the staircase. There I saw mom, dad, Lisa and Doris standing outside Judy's room. Mom was clutching her head in distraught as dad wrapped his arms around her shoulder, trying to soothe her. Doris was crossing her arms as she leaned back against the wall. I walked towards them, raising an eyebrow in puzzlement.

"What's wrong?" I asked, approaching them. Mom couldn't reply so dad did instead

"Judy is sick."

Concern was visible in his tone as he spoke quietly. Concern and uneasiness began taking over me, as I recalled Judy's bizarre behavior lately. This could've been the reason why she was behaving weirdly, I assumed.

"She was completely normal all day long before she suddenly began throwing up black substance," Mom finally spoke, her voice coming out in almost a whisper. Black substance? My concern increased, and I feared that something is seriously wrong with Judy.

Dr. Paul - a doctor we usually call when any of us is sick - came out of the room, writing something down in his clipboard. He looked as bewildered as us, which made me even more worried.

"I couldn't suspect anything wrong with her," Dr. Paul said, still inscribing something down his clipboard.

"Then why was she continuously throwing up?" Mom asked, utterly concerned.

"I can't figure it out. But according to what I could conclude, I think she just has a tough fever. She has to take those medicines on a regular schedule." He said, ripping a paper out of his clipboard and handing it to dad. Dad sighed as he peered down at the list of medications. Mom glanced at the paper with him and frowned a little.

I didn't hesitate to run into Judy's bedroom. There I saw her, lying on the bed, her complexion looking whiter than usual and her face looking so pale. She looked so exhausted as if she hadn't eaten for weeks. Yes, Judy has iron deficiency, but she hadn't ever looked as pale and weak as she does now. But that wasn't what was bothering me the most, but the fact that I felt kind of uneasy being in the same room as her. She's my sister, but I can't understand why I could feel negativity radiating off of her.

I stared at her pale face for a few minutes before I scooted out of the room. Rushing down the stairs, I left the house again. I don't know why, but being in this house gives me a strange unsettling feeling. I just wanted to stay outdoors as much as possible.

----

I went to a pizza restaurant with my friends to try and forget everything that happened.

Anyhow, my friends noticed how strangely quiet I was, and even questioned me about it. Of course, I lied and tried my best to seem okay. I couldn't tell them what was bothering me because I, myself, honestly don't know. A lot of things are bothering me and I don't even know how to explain them.

I took a deep breath before I put my foot inside the house.

The house was engulfed in darkness and submerged in disconcerting silence. The wooden floor squeaking beneath my high-heeled boots was the only noise fleetingly breaking the inconvenient silence. As I tried switching on the lights, the lightbulb won't respond, demonstrating that the lights had gone out. I let out a sigh of frustration as I pulled my phone out of my jeans pocket and turned on the flashlight.

The light of the flashlight was bright enough to illustrate some of my surroundings. As I was about to walk upstairs, I stopped in my tracks when I heard running footsteps. I highlighted the flashlight in the direction of the footsteps but saw nothing there so I dismissed it. But again, the footsteps resounded from a different direction. Breathing rapidly, I directed the flashlight towards the source of the footsteps. This time, I could see a girl, standing with her back facing me.

I thought that it was one of my sisters so I began nearing her. She didn't move, just remained in a quiescent position. I moved closer and closer to her, and when I was close enough, I tapped her shoulder.

My heart nearly stopped at the next few movements she did.

"You will DIE!"