The Mysterious House: Chapter 4

Quietly, Alex and John stole out of the room. In the RV, everything was so silent.  It was like a funeral atmosphere!  Slowly, they surreptitiously exited the vehicle and crept over to their new house.  Surrounding the house was a broken, splinter-ridden pale blue fence with most of the paint chipped off.  Alex reached out and gingerly opened the gate.  There was a squeak as the gate noisily opened for them, and they walked further.  The yard was like an overgrown jungle.  It was choked with weeds, ivy, and other such plants.  It was so overgrown that you could barely make out the old house in front of them. 1

Alex and John were beginning to get frightened.  However, they kept walking down the narrow cracked path to the house.  Even though they reached the house in about a minute, it seemed like forever to them.  Alex hesitated for a moment and turned around to face John. 2

"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Alex.3

"I'm not scared!" John said defiantly, folding his arms across his chest.4

"Well, we're not going to stay for long.  We're just going to look for the ghost, if there is one." Alex said reassuringly.5

"Just hurry up!"  exclaimed John.  Alex took a deep breath and slowly walked up the two steps to the wooden porch.  What he was worried about was that the wood would give way under their weight.  However, contrary to what he thought, the wood held.  The porch was pretty small, painted pale blue like the fence, with sagging floor boards, and a few pieces of rusty lawn furniture that looked fifty or sixty years out of date.  On the wall of the porch were two windows and a single door. 6

Alex and John both took deep breaths, reached for the rusted metal handle, and opened the door.  There was another squeaking sound as the old door opened.  Inside, it looked like a typical haunted house.  Thankfully, John had remembered to get a flashlight in his hasty escape from the RV.  He shined it all around the house.  Straight in front of them was a narrow staircase.  However, they decided to turn right.  They turned right and found themselves in a dilapidated living room.  There was dusty furniture, cobwebs all over the place, an old piano lying on its side, and other miscellaneous items.  7

John scanned the room once with his flashlight, and then came to the conclusion that there was no ghost.  Alex shook his head and began walking into the next room, which was a kitchen.  Here, it was a mess.  There were old pine cabinets.  Some of them were still affixed to the walls.  But most of them were on the floor, smashed to pieces.  The drawers were open, and the stove was partly under the floor because the floorboards under it couldn't take the weight.  Glass jars and bottles were lying all over the floor.  Once again, John scanned the kitchen to no avail.  The two went through bedrooms, a study, four bathrooms, a guest suite, and some other rooms, but no ghost!8

Now, they were upstairs in front of the last room they hadn't checked.  Alex sighed.  "Maybe there isn't a ghost, and it was just my imagination." he said. 9

"I'm sure there is somewhere," said John, patting his brother's head.  "And besides, this has been pretty cool, exploring an old house!"  Alex smiled and opened the door to the final room.  10

Alex and John gasped in unison.  It was a child's bedroom.  But the funny thing about it was that unlike the other rooms in the house, it was clean.  All the belongings were organized and neat.  It was a small room, with bright wallpaper. On a shelf, an innocent-looking pack of stuffed animals seemed to look out at John and Alex.  In one corner, there was a giant toy chest.  Alex looked around at the other belongings until he saw the bed.  His mouth literally dropped open and he pointed at the bed.  It wasn't the bed itself, but what was inside the bed that was surprising. 11

Sleeping in the bed was a young girl, about 8 or 9.  What was funny about her was that she seemed to be translucent, and the gave off a glow.  Suddenly, she frowned and woke up.  12

"Hey!  What are you guys doing in my room?"13