The Mysterious House: Chapter 2

Alex hurriedly scampered back to the RV as the wind blew again. He quickly slammed the door behind him and sat down on a chair, wheezing hard.1

"Alex, what happened to you?" asked Lauren.2

"Why are you all out of breath?" asked Jacob.3

"S'nothing, really." muttered Alex under his breath.4

"Alex." Lauren said sternly, all of a sudden.5

"Alright, alright! I think that I saw the face of a girl in one of the windows." Alex said with a scowl on his face.6

"A girl? Really?" inquired Jacob.7

"I think you need to lay down for a while. The stress of being crammed in this RV for all this time must have gotten to you." stated Lauren.8

"But he can't rest for long," Jacob began. "We've been invited to dinner by our new neighbors!"9

John spoke up for the first time. "Yeah! Maybe they'll have kids our age!" He began jumping up and down on the floor in anticipation.10

"Yeah!" exclaimed Emily, even though the didn't really know what was going on. About a half hour later, the whole family, in nicer clothes, made a mad dash from the RV to their neighbor's house. The neighbor's house was a lot like theirs, only a lot prettier and not in a state of disrepair. If it hadn't been for the storm, the house would have looked even more beautiful. There was an old-fashioned wrought-iron railing that ran around the perimeter of the neatly-trimmed yard. The house was a pretty sky blue with white trim all around. On the front of the house, there was a large porch that almost went around the house. Inside the yard, there were lots of plants growing, and even a stone fountain.11

Lauren must have read the childrens' minds. "Don't worry. When we fix our house up, it'll look even more beautiful!" In a minute, they knocked on the wooden door to the neighbor's house house, also painted sky blue. 12

A moment later, the door opened up. A plump lady with pale skin and read hair opened up the door. "HI!" she exclaimed excitedly. "You all must be the Taylor family. It's so great to meet you all!" She energetically shook every family member's hand. "And my name is Mrs. Jessie Thomas, but you all can call me Jessie. I have three kids like you do, and a husband." Jessie gestured them through a narrow hallway where they ended up in the den. There, Jessie introduced them to her kids. There was Bo, who was eight, Sarah, who was eleven, and Will, who was twelve. Also, they met Louis, her husband.13

After all the introductions were complete, they all sat down to a delicious spaghetti dinner. When the dinner was through, Bo and Sarah gestured for Alex, John, and Emily to follow them. Bo, Sarah, and Will took them outside on the porch. By then, the rain had decreased to a sprinkle, and there was only an occasional clap of thunder.14

"Do you know why we brought you here?" asked Bo in a serious manner.15

Alex and his siblings shook their heads.16

"You bought that house over there?" asked Sarah, jerking her thumb to the right.17

"Yes," said Alex quietly, "why?"18

"Because," whispered Will, "that house your parents bought...is...haunted!"19