Woodland, Minnesota 1999
I slid the key from the ignition of my dad’s old Camaro and rubbed my hands together. I turned to my right, admiring the old Victorian style house’s exterior. It was large, clearly owned by a wealthy family. It had a large porch with an ivory wooden railing, with small columns rising to meet a hanging roof overtop a dark green door. They also had a beautiful array of flowers in a garden out front of the house; roses, daisies and a bunch of others I did not know the names of in mulch that was black as coal.
Wow, what a beautiful house. I’m almost envious.
I had to think to myself. I zipped my sky-blue windbreaker up, and stepped out into the nipping air. The cold air bit at my ears and fingers. I shoved my hands into my pockets and tucked my face as far beneath the inside of my jacket as I could for a bit of respite. I circled around to the backseat and retrieved an overnight bag, adorned with white and purple flowers that I strapped over my shoulder and proceeded towards the front door. My eye was caught however by another house down the road from the one I was about to enter.
It was about half a mile away, and looked much older than the one I was at. I squinted to get a better view, and after a second was able to see that the lights were on. That definitely helped put my mind at ease. These houses were out in the woods, and the old road that ran by them was long and lonesome. They weren’t particularly far from any other civilization, but the atmosphere was definitely creepy. I took extra care on the driveway, maintaining enough balance and care to avoid losing my footing on the slippery ice. I found another thing to be jealous of when I saw the beautiful red BMW sitting in their driveway.
What a hot car. Sure beats dad’s rusty old Chevy. I wonder what they have inside. I hope they’re nice.
Dad had money, so I definitely shouldn’t have been complaining about the nice car I inherited. It sure beat the hell out of what all the other kids at school drove. I stepped up onto the porch, and raised my finger to the doorbell.
To my surprise, there wasn’t one.
I looked even closer.
No doorbell? And not even a little peephole to see who’s at the door? This house looks new. I don’t get it.
I did the next best thing, rapping on the door three times.
No response.
I waited for a few seconds.
I hope they heard me. I hope I knocked loud enough, I don’t want to be rude and knock again if they did hear me, but then again, what if they didn’t? I’ll stand out here all night. I better go ahead and knock again, they won’t mind, will they?
If you didn’t gather by now I used to be a bit neurotic. I raised my hand to knock again, before the door was quickly opened. A tall, blonde man of average build stood in the doorway. He had a very warm tan, and deep brown eyes, with a sturdy, angular face. He smiled a bright white grin.
“Hi, you must be Lisa! I’m Mr. Hollan, but you can call me Matt.”
“Hi Mr. Hol- erm, Matt.”
He laughed, and gestured for me to step inside. The house was beautiful even on the inside, the Hollans were certainly tasteful homeowners. The living room was massive, bigger than ours by far, housing a massive hearth, which oddly held only a tiny flame. Fine leather sofas and a high end television graced the room, along with several empty picture frames. Next to that was a kitchen, which was also larger than our living room. I shrunk a little, but Matt put his hand on my shoulder to calm my nerves.
“We really appreciate you coming on such short notice, and sorry for the mess, we’re still not completely moved in yet.”
“Oh it’s fine, I understand.” I cocked my head a little. “Why are those picture frames empty?”
“Sarah’s still figuring out which ones she wants to go to in which spots.” He explained. “Personally, I think she should just throw ‘em wherever and call it a day, but-.” He paused as a door opened upstairs, and who I could only assume was Sarah stood at the top of the steps.
“Oh, you must be Lisa! Hello!” She said, quickly descending the staircase. She had mid-length brown hair, and rather pale skin. She smiled at me warmly. I liked them a lot.
“How was the drive out? You didn’t have too much trouble finding us did you?”
“No, the drive through all the trees was just a little spooky is all.” I laughed. These two had a way of putting me at ease.
“Oh I know! I’ve got such a ridiculous imagination, I scare myself more than anything in these woods ever will.” She turned to her husband.
“Are we all ready?” She asked.
“Yep.” Matt confirmed. “We’ll just say goodbye to the kids.” He turned down the hall, towards a lonely looking door, and opened it. I didn’t see any light emitting from the door, and automatically assumed it was the basement.
“Alright kids, time to come upstairs, the sitter’s here!” He called out to them.
There was no reply.
“Levi! Katie! Upstairs!” He shouted.
After a moment of silence, my ears perked up. The faint sound of a child giggling found its way up the dimly lit staircase.
“Pfft.” Matt scoffed. “They’re ‘hiding’. They do this all the time.” He began down the stairs.
“Matt!” Sarah chided. “We need to get going or we’ll be late!”
“Ah, right.” Matt said. “Can you handle these two you think?”
I laughed again. “I think so, I’ll be fine. Thank you.”
Sarah was practically pulling Matt out of the cellar staircase. “There’s plenty of food in the fridge and in the pantry - help yourself, they can go to bed whenever they want, it’s a weekend, and they’re good kids. We’ll be back on Sunday.”
“Sunday, got it.” I repeated. “I’ll see you then.”
The two grabbed their bags by the door, and closed it quickly.
I cautiously walked over to the ajar basement door, peering down into the darkness. The light from the hallway was enough to illuminate halfway down the stairs.
I slowly twisted my head to see what I could hear.
As I did, I heard more laughter, louder than a giggle, but a full on laugh. Alongside the laughter, I thought I heard what sounded like…
Is that crying? I asked myself. It sounded like the crying of a girl, too far into the basement for me to see through the blackness. I set my foot onto the first step, slowly feeling the wall for a light switch. When I finally found one, I flipped it.
The hallway light illuminating the staircase went dark in an instant.
In the dark, I suddenly heard footsteps rushing up the staircase. I gasped, and flipped the switch once more.
Bounding towards me were two small children, a boy and a girl.
The boy had dark black hair and dark brown, almost black eyes, same with the girl. They grinned at me, and brushed past as they ran into the hallway and into the living room.
I quickly followed them, finding them sitting on the couch with their hands on their knees.
“Levi and Katie?” I asked. The two looked at each other, then back at me.
“Duh.” The boy said. The girl giggled.
I smiled. They were cute.
“I heard crying.” I suddenly remembered. “Did someone hurt themself?”
Levi giggled. “No.”
Katie grinned and shook her head.
I raised her eyebrow. “O-kaaay… who wants to play a game?”
The kidd looked at each other, then back at me.
“Let’s play hide and seek.” Levi smiled.
“Okay!” I grinned. “You two go hide, and I’ll find you.”
The kids giggled as I innocently closed my eyes.
“One. Two. Three. Four. Five…”
The sound of their footsteps echoed through the house as they ran off in separate directions.
“Twenty-nine. Thirty!”
All the lights in the house were off. The only illumination came from the fireplace, the flame in which had grown a bit warmer since I had arrived. I took a deep gulp. The house was way creepier when it was dark. I made my way into the kitchen, peering around the counter, which was vacant. I tracked back into the living room, and gazed through the darkness up the staircase. I ever so slowly began to climb the wooden stairs, quietly creaking under each step. The fire managed to brighten just the loft, but further upstairs was pitch black. I ventured further on.
They’re probably hiding where it’s darkest.
I opened the first door on my right to find a room full of cardboard boxes.
Oh, definitely here.
I glanced over the tops of the boxes, most of which were closed. As I almost began to give up, she noticed one box that had been opened. Shifting and turning between the others to find it was filled to the brim with envelopes.
“PICTURES” it read in neat, feminine handwriting. I got curious.
Well, better not. They wouldn’t like me rifling through their stuff. But what am I going to hurt? Oh…
I began to reach for the envelope, my inquisitivity taken full hold.
As my fingers wrapped themselves around the white paper, I heard a loud crashing down stairs, causing me to squeal and jump, dropping the envelope back into the box. I quickly dashed out of the room, but the house was still dark, save for the now even brighter fire in the great room.
“Katie! Levi!”
Nothing. I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, flipping a light switch on.
Katie stood in the center of the kitchen, just staring at me. At her feet was broken glass, scattered across the kitchen floor.
“Sorry.” She said quietly.
“Oh no no, it’s okay sweetie. Back away and I’ll clean this up, watch your step.” Katie did as I asked, and ran off into the foyer.
After a second or two of searching I found a dustpan and broom in a small closet in the kitchen, and began cleaning the mess up. A few minutes later, I had tidied the kitchen up to its proper shape.
Good thing they’re wealthy, that glass could have been expensive.
“I’m hungry.” A voice behind me said, which honestly startled me a bit. I turned to see Katie again.
“Oh, what would you like me to make you?”
“A sandwich.” She answered.. “For you and Levi too.”
“Sure thing, I’ll get right on it.” I said with a smile, and gathered the necessary ingredients to make the sandwiches from the pantry and fridge, deciding on turkey sandwiches, since really, who doesn’t like turkey?
I began putting the finishing touches on my own food, some lettuce and tomatoes, nothing kids liked, and put my bread over the top.
I was just about ready to call them down when I heard something again.
I peered over to the basement door.
Is that more crying?
It couldn’t be, the kids were both upstairs. I paused, then made for the door.
If someone is hurt, I have to help.
Scared of that basement as I was, I made my way towards it. I cautiously opened the door, listening intently. There was no noise.
What on Earth? I know I heard something. I took a step down the stairs. Still nothing.
I must be going crazy.
As I turned around to exit, the door slammed shut in my face, locking me in total darkness.
“Hey!” I began banging on the door. “Who was that?”
I tried the handle, but the door was locked tight. I continued hitting the door, shouting to be let out. As I slammed the door one final time, the door swung wide open, causing me to fall through and onto the floor. I gasped, seeing Levi standing over me.
“Got you!” He said. I blew the hair out of my face.
“That wasn’t funny!” I cried angrily. “You really scared me!”
He giggled and ran into the kitchen. I slowly got up, dusted myself off as I followed him.
What a brat. I thought. I immediately scolded myself.
I shouldn’t be so mean. They’re just kids.
I made it back to the kitchen, where the children sat at the table. Their sandwiches were already in front of them. Mine was also on the table, across from the two of them.
“Well thanks guys.” She said, sitting down across from them. She picked up her sandwich and began to move in to take a bite.
“Hm…?”
I stopped. I looked up to see Levi and Katie stifling laughter. I smiled for a moment.
“What?” I asked, looking between the two. I looked at my sandwich. My stomach sank. I slowly peeled the bread off the top of my food and gasped.
Shattered glass had been poured all over the inside of the sandwich. It must have been what was once the glass Katie had knocked over.
I looked back up at the two, my eyes wide with shock. The kids continued giggling, laughing through closed lips. Levi’s eyes looked like they would bulge out of his head. He was laughing so hard.
“What is wrong with you two?! I could have really hurt myself!” I could feel tears welling in my eyes.
“Sorryyyyy.” Levi laughed disingenuously. I pushed the plate away, and turned to see the fireplace now in full flame, heating the entire house.
I was barely holding back tears now, as the two kids began to eat their sandwiches. I slowly got up, walking to the living room to calm the fire.
As I did I had to examine the flames.
How did this even happen? This is borderline dangerous.
As I contemplated what to do, I again heard giggling behind me. I turned to see Katie was gone, with Levi sitting in his chair by himself.
“Where’d she go?” I asked. Levi ignored me, smiling through his bites. My skin crawled however, upon hearing a kitchen drawer slide open. The rattling of knives pierced the house. Katie stepped back into view, holding a large kitchen knife.
“Will you help me cut my sandwich?” She asked, a giddy grin on her face.
“Um, Katie…” I could hear my own voice waver. “Put that back…”
She gave me a toothy grin. “Why?”
Levi turned, smiling, his teeth filled with food. “Yeah, why?” He laughed with his mouth full.
“Because it’s dangerous, it-”. I felt a wave of heat behind me. I turned to see the flames of the hearth pouring from the mantle, licking my back.
“Ah! Ohmygod!” I screamed. I spun forward.
Levi and Katie were both standing directly in front of me, cackling heinously.
“What are you- huh?” I gasped.
The two children had awful sores and blisters all across their faces and skin, red and black.
They were burn marks. The two children were only barely recognizable beneath the wounds. The two continued laughing at my apparent horror. I turned to the foyer. The green front door had been set ablaze, burning with bright orange flames.
All I could do was run. I sprinted towards the foyer and down the hall, tearing open the basement door, and bolting down the stairs, stomping loudly. I ran my hand along the wall, feeling for any kind of light switch, but to no avail. My feet the cement floor of the basement. I quickly felt blindly around the room, until I heard it again.
More crying. Crying, coming from here, in the basement. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw another door, between several pipes and drains. I looked up the stairs again. Smoke began pouring from underneath the door. As I looked around the room I noticed a small window, leading out of the basement and onto the ground outside.
There, I can escape!
I paused however. The crying continued, wafting dreadfully from the mysterious door. I sighed heavily, turning away and quickly making for the door against my better judgment. I ducked and weaved past the pipes, and managed to wrap my fingers around the handle, pulling the door open.
I screamed.
In the room were two children, a boy and a girl, with blonde hair, huddled together in the closet. The floor was wet and cold, possibly leaking from upstairs. The two stared at me in fear.
I slowly began to put the pieces together.
“You two… is this your house?” I asked.
They looked at each other, then nodded.
I held out my hands to them. “Come with me, we need to go!”
The two reluctantly held their hands out, taking mine. They got up, and I began to lead them to the window. As we passed the stairs, I turned to look up the staircase, and gasped.
Levi- or the boy I had been calling that stood atop the stairs, the flames roaring behind his dark silhouette. His constant, piercing smile suddenly faded.
“Where are you going? You’re not leaving, are you?”
“Come on.” I whispered to the real Levi and Katie. I led the two to the window, easily unlocking it and pushing it open. I turned around, and the boy was at the bottom of the steps.
“You’re ruining hide and seek! They were going to win!” He cackled. “I helped them find the spot!”
I panicked now, quickly lifting the children through the window, into the cold, snowy yard. I was so distraught I nearly dropped Katie as I pushed her through the little window by her bottom. I turned around again, to see the boy directly behind me now.
“She’s gonna be mad you ruined the game!”
I jumped up and scrambled out of the window, the flames had now reached the bottom of the basement stairs. My socks were soaked from the snow in the yard, making my feet freeze in the cold as the kids and I trudged out of the yard. I quickly led the children off of the property, sprinting towards the car. The children quickly filed in as I got the doors unlocked. I swung around to the driver’s door, diving into the driver’s seat and jammed the keys into the ignition, peeling out of the street and away from the house.
I was gasping for air, with tears rolling down my face.
“What happened to you two?” I asked. “Who were those kids?”
They did not respond. Too terrified to speak, they continued to cry in the back seat. I looked in the rearview mirror, and my eyes widened.
The house was completely engulfed in a raging inferno, blazing the dark road with an yellow-orange light. On the front porch stood two small silhouettes, staring at my Camaro as it screeched away into the night.