Hey!! This was originally the prologue, but I got the suggestion that the book might read better without it. I agreed and figured I'd try that out, but left this here at the end in case anyone wanted to read it :)
The house was haunted. Cara was certain of that.
Well, almost certain. They had been living there a few months now and that was more than enough time for her. It was an older house, easily the type you would watch in a horror movie. Old red bricks, peeling and splintered boards making up the deck, a precarious looking chimney, and those two large windows staring out from the top floor, from her room and her brother's.
The rest of the street didn't have that feel though, as all the houses around theirs had been renovated and refurbished. That was the main draw for her mom and step-dad when they bought the place. The house was a steal and with the neighbourhood on the rise, it seemed like a sure-fire investment. But Cara didn't care about that. She was far more concerned with the creaks and the bugs.
Since the house was old, some creaks were to be expected. Cara wasn't stupid, so she accepted that the porch steps bent slightly under her weight, and that the floorboards in the living room groaned with each pass over them. No, it was the creaks late at night that told her something was off. The house would grow deadly silent at night once everyone was in bed. Neither street noises nor the wind seemed to reach through the walls, which was odd enough on its own.
But then the house would breathe.
This was the best way Cara could think of it. A gentle crick cracking would start from the roof and stretch along the walls, through the upper floorboards, down the stairs, through the main floor and settling in the basement. And then "they" started moving.
Cara wasn't sure yet who "they" were, but she was sure there had to be someone moving around the house at night. The creaks in the floors and scratches from the walls took on a very human feel, sounding as it did when she would walk around the house. Creak-crack, creak-crack, one-step, two-step, right foot, left foot.
Cara would cautiously peek her head out of her bedroom door to see if she could spot the source of the noise. Sometimes it was her mom or Greg or her little brother Nolan. But most of the time it was nothing. "They" didn't want to be caught.
Cara had brought these concerns to her mom, multiple times, but it all came down to the same thing for her mom and Greg, "It's an old house, there's bound to be a few things off with it." They were both far too stubborn to admit they had bought a shit hole.
The bugs were far harder for them to ignore. At first there had only been a few more flies than seemed normal, and more spiders hiding in the corners. Her mom had assured her that the flies would die off as it got later in the fall, but they only appeared to keep multiplying. The flies along with the creaks would keep her up at night with their incessant buzzing, always loudest at night. Then they had started finding the cockroaches, which finally spurred the parental figures into action. Exterminators were called and they all took a much needed weekend vacation from the house.
That had given them a temporary reprieve from the bugs, though they appeared to be slowly finding their way back to the house. Her mom and Greg felt they simply needed to speed up some of the repairs they had in mind, help keep the bugs out permanently, but Cara doubted that would make much difference.
The most disgusting of these insect run-ins had happened just two weeks prior. Cara had been in the shower after school, in the midst of washing her hair, Angel on her mind, when that thought was interrupted, words flashing in her mind, "Don't forget to wash behind your ears." It felt like a voice was hissing this directly into her head.
She couldn't refuse the command, was too afraid of what would happen if she did. She reached her fingers behind one ear and felt something. That something moved at her touch as she ripped it off and tossed it to the floor of the tub. She saw the earwig thrash for a moment before being swept into the drain. Cara let out a small cry and reached behind the other ear. She tossed two more down the drain, slipping as she did. Luckily she only bruised her elbow in the fall. She was far more concerned by these earwigs, and her eyes darted cautiously all over the tub. Where had they come from? How did those things make it behind her ears without her noticing?
That had disturbed Cara, but it wasn't what had convinced her the house was haunted.
When the creaks or the flies couldn't keep her awake and she would actually fall asleep, that became even worse. As she slept a feeling would seep through her dreams. "They" were watching her. She would be pulled awake and know with terrifying certainty that as soon as she opened her eyes she would see them watching from the far corner. But when she did there was never anyone there. The feeling would pass, until she fell asleep again at least.
As the months had gone on, that sense had gotten stronger. And "they" were no longer in the corner. "They" were in front of the door. And then "they" were in the middle of the room. And then at the foot of her bed. And then beside the bed. And then right beside her so that she could feel hot breath on her face.
She had cried to her mom about this, but her mom had assured her it was all in her head. That the stress of the move and starting at a new school, high school none the less, was just taking a toll on her. Maybe that made sense, Cara had tried to think, but there was something on her mom's face, something that said she wasn't sleeping well either. Greg looked exhausted too, they all did.
Well, not Nolan. He had seemed happier than ever. It wasn't that strange that he would be happy, he was seven after all. Except he never seemed that happy when they went out anywhere. Cara would take him to the park or to see a movie, and it wasn't that he seemed miserable, just not excited. Time outside was fine and enjoyable for him, but time playing alone in his room was what he lived for now. Their mom figured he was just really enjoying his new space (his old room had been a bit cramped and tiny). Maybe, Cara thought. Maybe.
Whatever justifications her mom wanted to make, Cara knew she hated living in that house and just prayed her mom and Greg came to their senses and cut their loses. But until that point Cara was not going to spend any more time in that place than she had to. Angel had been so helpful in that respect.
Her full name was Angelica Hudson, but Cara had taken to calling her Angel. Cara liked shortened versions of names, she had shortened her own from Caroline after all, and Angel certainly suited Angelica.
They had moved to this new neighbourhood in late August, and while it wasn't too far from her old house, it did change which high school she was going to be going to, and so Cara went into school in September not knowing anyone. The one fortunate thing was that everyone else was just as nervous on that first day as she was, and while most people knew a few others in their class, nobody knew everybody. Cara was able to slip by without drawing too much attention, and that was fine by her. Until fourth period anyway.
It was her visual arts class, and Cara had grabbed a seat near the back, as had been her strategy in all her classes so far, but she regretted it this time. Angelica Hudson walked in a bit late and after a quick glance at the remaining seats grabbed one near the front. Cara had only gotten a good look for a second but was instantly interested. Angelica had dark black hair cut in a messy bob (Cara guessed correctly that she did it herself), large glasses worn for aesthetic appeal over function (which Cara also guessed correctly), many piercings (Cara had more than most but this girl had her beat), and was dressed in a Guns and Roses shirt tucked into high waisted jeans. Cara also noticed during her frequent glances at Angelica during that first class, that she was wearing mismatched socks, of course. But by then Cara didn't need anymore, she had decided she wanted to talk with this girl.
They didn't have much interaction that first day, only a passing smile on the way out of class. The next day Angelica beat Cara to class. She was sitting at the back this time, near where Cara had been. It was early enough that there were still lots of seats available, and Cara knew that it might come across as weird to grab one next to Angelica. But Cara was not one to let nerves get the best of her. So she went and asked if the seat beside her was taken. She made no fuss about it. Cara was tentative at first, but a few compliments on piercings and clothes broke the ice, and a few jokes and rude doodles at the expense of the others in the class later and they were getting along great. They would sit together every art class and Cara started joining Angelica and her friends at lunch hour. They were all a bit weird like Angelica, and Cara felt right at home.
Within a couple weeks they were spending most of their time outside of school together too, and it wasn't long after that she became Angel to Cara. Cara'd had crushes before. She'd had awkward kisses, even a boyfriend. And a girlfriend, sorta. But that had felt like kids playing at romance and making out secretly in the park. This felt real. Cara just wanted to be with Angel all the time, talking with her or holding her. And it seemed like Angel felt the same.
Angel's parents were a bit fucked and up-tight and would usually put up a stink when Angel brought friends over, but usually Angel could fight them into submission. Usually. Her mom didn't like Cara staying over so much, but would usually allow it if it wasn't a school night (and sometimes Angel would get her way even when it was). Neither of them were "out" so to Angel's parents these just seemed like cute little slumber parties. Naïve fools, Angel and Cara would laugh.
But with an "open door policy" and nosey parents, it was only a matter of time before things went to shit.
It was October 30th, devil's night, and Cara really didn't want to be at home that night. It was the middle of the school week, but with some lies about an art project, Angel was able to convince her mom to let Cara spend the night.
Under the guise of checking to see how their homework was coming along, Mrs. Hudson barged into Angel's room. Cara and Angel moved fast, but not fast enough to stop Mrs. Hudson from seeing their lips and tongues locked, and Angel's hand down Cara's pants. She went into full vicious hysteria. Disgusting! Perverted! How could you?! In my house! Angel had led Cara out of the house, kissed her and then told her to go. Cara had started to protest, she wanted to stay with her, but then stopped. She knew Angel had to handle this, and knew she could. Cara kissed her once more and then left, keeping her tears minimal.
Cara worried about many things on her walk home. She worried about what would happen to Angel, if her parents would kick her out or send her away. She worried about what her own parents would think. She imagined Mrs. Hudson would make it her mission to track down Cara's mom and reveal everything to her. Cara figured she should probably bite the bullet and out herself first, take the satisfaction away from that bitch. Cara hoped her mom would be okay, maybe not thrilled at first, maybe some tears, but certainly not the type of vicious hatred she had heard from Mrs. Hudson.
Selfishly what she worried about most, as she walked, was having to spend another night in that house. And this night. What was different about this night? She wasn't sure, maybe just the superstition around the night, but she was sure something was.
She glared with disgust as she approached the house, at the crumbling bricks and slanted chimney, at the withered boards and peeling paint, those tall staring windows.
There was light inside Nolan's window.
It was late, past his bedtime, why was there light in his room?
Cara ran the rest of the way down the block, stopping on the sidewalk in front of her house. She looked up at her brother's window. There was a rich glow from inside but it didn't look like normal light. Her first thought was fire, but no, that wasn't it.
There was something else though, blocking the light. She squinted, straining to see. It was a person. At least, the shape of a person.
And they were staring back, right at her.
Cara's breath caught in her throat as a wide, toothy smile popped in her vision. And then all she could see was the eyes. She shouldn't have been able to see them, but she did. They had no colour, just dark pits. Dark sinking pits, and she felt she was falling right into them. She felt the warm breath on her face.
Things became hazy as Cara shut her eyes and either bravery or stupidity took hold. Only a few things stood out clearly as she ran inside the house to save Nolan. There was the intense heat. The stairs, which she crawled up on her hands and knees. The burning of the doorknob as she opened it. The blood, so much blood. And the pool.
It would later be labeled as a double homicide and kidnapping. Her mom and Greg were dead. The police would never find Nolan, and they would never find the perpetrators.
Of course, Cara would think. The police were never looking in the right spot. After all, "they" never left the house.
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