Upstairs wasn't any better. Pete continued the search for Jerry and he came across a room. He opened it up assuming it'd be empty like every other room he'd searched. But it wasn't. There Jerry was, clawing his eyes out as he rocked back and forth trying to soothe himself. His hair clung to his forehead, slick with nervous sweat as he repeated, "stop looking at me. Don't look at me. I don't wanna see you." Over and over to himself. Pete immediately rushed to his aid. He fell to his knees trying to stop Jerry from hurting himself, but he couldn't grab his wrists. In the basement, Josh was fighting for his life as Bill was on top of him, trying to bash his head in. "Bill please stop! Get..off!-" Josh pleaded for his life, trying to push Bill off of him. He was genuinely struggling to move him, Bill was unnaturally strong to the point where it didn't even feel like this was Bill. And it wasn't. With a strong grip, Bill starts to bash in the head of his best friend against the cursed concrete of the basement as he repeats, "I'm sorry". The warm iron smell starts to disperse and pools around his crushed head. Bill stands up from the body, it's warmth now fading quickly. Bill looks down at the knife from earlier and it stares right back at him. Ignoring the metallic scent on his hands. He picks up the knife and it'd be his moment. His last moment. Upstairs Pete was in shock at the feeling. He went right through Jerry, like he wasn't real. Jerry chanted over and over for Pete to stop staring but all he COULD do was stare. That is until he was casted out by a mysterious force that shut him out of the room Jerry resided in, shoving him against a wall in the hallway and the door shut on it's own. He sat there in the hallway, and for once he could admit that he was terrified, scared enough to want his father's comfort which he never got. He put his knees up and sat his head between them. He suddenly started hearing whispers like the ones earlier, only they weren't as funny. They kept shouting that it was all hi fault, and it was. If he hadn't suggested this stupid idea, his friends would be okay. He feels that familiar pricking in his throat. The one you get when you know you're about to cry. But Pete knew this wasn't the time, he had to get out of here now. He quickly stood up and wipe and evidence of tears from his eyes and held his flashlight close with his clammy hand as he made his way down the steps. He walked, picked up the pace, even started jogging. He wanted to escape so badly but he needed to have a clear mind; he didn't wanna freak out. Not yet. It just seemed that no matter how quickly he moved, the screaming wouldn't stop. He kept hearing them say it was his fault, all his fault. As he scurried through the house like a mouse being chased with a broom, it seemed like it was a maze that would never end. But just when he was about to lose hope, he saw it, the front door. With the biggest smile on his face he'd ever had since he came to this wretched space, he ran to his exit. But it didn't open. And the pained screams of the dead pierced through his eardrums like a knife through half melted butter, and he felt like he was going insane. He twisted and turned and tugged at the knob, but to no avail, nothing was working. He was locked in with no way out. He then felt a warm feeling rushing down his ears, he knew his time was coming but he didn't want to acknowledge it. No matter how hard he tried to leave he was only getting dizzy. His vision was fading and he kept getting hot flashes. His knees buckled and he fell on his hands wishing and pleading for someone to help him. As he held his ears, the last words he ever heard, "It's your fault. "
Pete walks up the stairs to turn the rough an dirtied knob of the old and fading wood that was the main entrance to the dark palace. It was his idea after all.
11:27 PM || October 17th, 2002
The Eltingville club was having a casual meeting. No fighting or arguing. All was peaceful in the cold, musty space of Bill's basement. The rain poured hard outside and where there's rain, lightning and thunder are sure to follow. A quick flash can be seen outside the high windows of the basement, only to be followed by a quick and deafening crack of the thunder, causing a neighborhood-wide black out. Bill is the first to move. With a sigh, he stands up and walks around the basement, now engulfed in darkness. He flicks a few switches as he tries to find the back up generator's switch. And to no avail, nothing worked. "Great. Just great. Just as I get to the end of my new comic the lights go out," he muttered to himself as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Everyone else was just a disappointed as Bill. Not Pete though. This was his perfect chance to bring up a rumor he'd heard around town. "Yeah, yeah, power's out. Now, we could sit on our asses and wait for some all powerful being to restore the lights, or..." He paused before standing up from the dusty and stain ridden couch as he headed to the main table, sitting in his seat, as if waiting for everyone else to follow him. "I could tell ya 'bout this crazy rumor I heard goin' around lately." He folded his hands as he leaned forward on the table and watched as everyone begrudgingly sat in their assigned seats, now illuminated by the little street light that came from one window behind Pete's seat. He then leans back in his seat, ready to tell this haunting tale. "Pretty much, if ya didn't know..a lotta people talk about the Eltingville mansion. THE Eltingville mansion." Jerry interrupts, "That one near the old cemetery?" "Yeahyeahyeah that one!" Pete replied, waving his finger at Jerry in confirmation. "Now rumor says that there's all types a ghosts' n' ghouls roamin' around there." "Pete, if you're thinkin' about exploring that place, then you can count me outta your stupid adventure!" Josh interrupted as he crossed his arms, scoffing at the thought of even trying to explore such a cursed space. Pete laughs at him and rolls his eyes, "No need for you to worry about gettin' possessed anyway. Not like the ghost would be able to squeeze itself in that gut a yours," Pete responded, letting out an infectious laugh that caused everyone else to let out obnoxious cackles at the joke. "Ok well I'm sure it's just a rumor. Not like ghosts exist anyways, right?" Jerry added, trying to redirect the conversation as he wiped the joyful tears from his eyes. The other boys agreed that there should be no reason to fear the legend. I mean, it's just rumor isn't it? Bill raised his mock Thor hammer and slammed it on the metal of the old table, calling the attention of everyone else. "So then it's settled. I say we explore that old house! Next Friday at exactly 2 am. Be sure to pack your bags gentleman and get ready to set out on our dangerous journey to the exploration of THE Eltingville Manor!" And just like that it was settled and it seemed like everyone was on board. Except Josh. Usually Jerry would be the skeptical one out of the four, but something about this just seemed...off. something was bound to go wrong.
2:16 AM || October 25th, 2002
The boys were riding through the quiet night, the cool breeze combing through their hair as they rode their bikes. They were making their way to the eerie building that was told to have belonged to the ghosts that resided inside it for all eternity. As they made small talk, they eventually arrived in front of the quiet manor. It was large and secluded, far far away from civilization. So much so that it was a complete surprise they got there so quickly, even on bikes. Pete was the first to be pushed onto the old and damp steps of the building. It was large in size and land. Every surface seemed to be covered in the Earth's long, spindly fingers. Broken windows, missing wood on its roof, the old railing holding onto the foundation for dear life. This entire house just looked like a bad idea. The other boys followed closely behind Pete, even Bill who was an egotistical and stuck up "leader".
Pete entered the manor slowly, not wanting to fall into any mysterious holes. He quickly grabbed the bulky flashlight from his backpack and turned it on immediately, not wanting to show how terrified he was of the darkness that blanketed the entire building. Minutes pass and they're already hearing noises, feeling cold breezes, and seeing things that were never there. "Guys, you saw that right? That lady right there? In the kitchen!" Jerry asked as he pointed with his flashlight to a place that seemed to be an old dusty kitchen. Only, it wasn't a kitchen. "Jer, thats the bathroom. You okay?" Josh placed a warm hand on Jerry's shoulder. It wouldn't be such a big deal if this hadn't been his 5th time saying it was the kitchen. Everyone was getting worried for him, even Bill. Maybe it was the asbestos, or maybe some old materials used on the baseboards that were now illegal to use due the side affects they caused to the human brain. Either way, it wasn't good to be breathing any of this in and Jerry seemed to be the first victim of whatever paranormal activity was happening. As the night went on, things only got worse, especially since Jerry was seeing things only he saw and it was scaring everyone else. "Guys I'm serious, I swear I saw-" Jerry was immediately cut off by a slew of words from Bill, "Jerry! You know you didn't see anything so quit trying to scare everyone with your.. Your... Stupid stories! Okay?" Jerry shot daggers right at Bill. With a huff and roll of his eyes, he walked away with his flashlight in hand. Bill rolls his eyes right back at him and leads the rest of the group a different way. "Great, now ya scared off the food supply." "Doesn't matter, at least we didn't put Josh in charge of food. It would've been gone either way." "Why am I always catching a stray!"
The boys eventually decided it was best to go and look for Jerry and splitting up seemed to best idea for them. And it wasn't. After what felt like hours of exploring the dusty old house, Bill let out an irritated sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he stopped the group from moving any further. "Guys, I think it's best we look for Jerry. He's probably seeing princess Zelda or something," Bill's sentence was quickly ended by a blood curdling shriek that could've came from a Banshee.. Or Jerry. Almost immediately, they split up to go look for him. Josh followed Bill to the basement while Pete went upstairs by himself. The silence is loud between Bill and Josh, the only sound filling the air being the squeak of rats and the creak of the stairs under their feet. Josh walks slowly down the old stairs, not wanting to break them only for him to be almost pushed off the steps by Bill who wants to hurry down the untrustworthy stairs. "My Zod! Could you move any slower!? I'll bet if someone said there's a free burger for the first person downstairs, you'd already be past the red tape!" "Well sorry for not wanting to fall down these old ass stairs!" Bill was the first to start physical contact as he shoved him again. But Josh was right about the stairs. They're old and could break at any moment should any more pressure be put on them, and that includes the railing. With one huge shove, the railing breaks against the weight of Josh and he falls down to the concrete flooring. Bills gasps in horror as he realizes he's probably just killed his friend. He rushes down the stairs to his aid but Josh doesn't seem to move. Bill kneels down beside his body, warm, metallic blood spilling from his head, the same substance running from his nose. Bill starts to feel pricking in his eyes. He doesn't want to face the truth of what happened, but just as the tears threatened to run down his face, Josh starts to move. Bill immediately wipes any evidence of tears from his eyes and quickly puts the flashlight on Josh who was starting to sit up with low groans. Luckily for the pair, the fall wasn't that high so Josh would be okay. For now. "God.. What happened?" Josh asks, his vision spinning and fading in and out. Bill quickly tries to sit him up and make him walk off the severe injury like a scrape on the knee. "I-.. It's.. You're-you're fine! You're okay! Just get up, nothing's wrong!" Bill stands up and pulls Josh up with him, disregarding the blood that stained his khakis. He continued to walk with Josh, still looking around for Jerry. They trek through the old, dusty basement that was coated in cobwebs and spiders from top to bottom. And to make things worse, Bill's behavior was getting worse. As him and Josh walked through the moldy and basement, Bill started spasming. Josh, who was more concerned about Bill now over his bloody head, reached over to try and help but he didn't know what to do. Bill was shuddering and shaking, starting to foam at the mouth like he had rabies. He was glitching and ticking like an old video game you pirated on a DVD. But.. He suddenly just – stopped. Then he started walking normally like nothing happened. "Bill! Are you okay? You were just.. I-I.. Wh-" "What are you talking about?" Josh tried explaining what happened as they walked but Bill didn't care to listen, so Josh let it go. Now Bill would randomly stop for no reason. If he saw a chair, he'd stop and stare at the legs of it. He would walk slower just to stare at the metal piping of the basement. At some point, the pair came across a knife. A random kitchen knife that was in the middle of the floor. Bill stared. And he stared hard. "Bill.. " Josh said with a shaky voice. Bill looked at Josh, slowly turning his head away from the knife and started walking. He was acting strange and Josh didn't trust Bill not one bit. He kept his eyes glued to Bill like a hawk and he wasn't taking his sight off of him.
