by Brain S
Then everybody gathered in the living room to spend the night, it was colder than Brook could imagine. But fortunately, there was a fireplace and everybody made sure to sit in front of it and enjoy the heat. It was and perfect happy evening or at least it was.
Brook wanted to break that silence. Henceforth, she said:
“Thank you guys for this peaceful night, it has been a very long time since the last time I had fun, you reminded me of my parents, I feel I have a family again.”
Poor Brook didn’t know anything about her relatives and the bet they made over that would spend the entire night inside the castle, she was too innocent to doubt them either but sometimes, trusting would become a flaw. But how could she know? She thought that all the people were as innocent as she used to be and behave. She never thought that they would be making a plan she knew nothing about. No one ever cared about the way she felt since her parents’ death and all they were thinking of was money and fun.
“No need to thank us, it is just a night, no more than a night, we are glad you are here Brook,” Don replied in a deep voice.
But all of a sudden, when everybody was relaxing, some laying on the sofa while others drinking wine by the side of the window, a sound was heard; it was like the sound of a scream and steps could be heard. That noise was apparent, coming from upstairs.
“Did you hear that, everybody?” Brook inquired anxiously.
“It is nothing, it must be a lost cat, don’t bother yourself thinking of it,”Don replied.
However, everybody else didn’t care at all. And trying to change the gloomy mood, Don said:
“Listen to me everybody, I’m going to relate a story for you and everybody shall tell a story as well tonight, share whatever story you want to, but it has to be a scary one,” Don suggested while smiling in excitement.
“Okay Don, start by relating yours then,” Jean asked.
“Alright brothers, here is mine, a young boy was sleeping in his own bed like he does every night. Suddenly, he hears loud footsteps outside his room’s door and peeking out of his little eyes to figure out what going on. The door started swinging very carefully and quietly to see a criminal carrying a corpse in his arms, that corpse belonged to his mother. The young kid was afraid and hid under his bed waiting for the murderer to leave that the criminal started to eat her heart and liver then he walked out of the house silently as if he never got in, this is all I have to say, I hope you liked my story guys.” Don said.
But he never mentioned that his story was a true tale and that the mother was no more than his own mother. Don didn’t confess that he was the cause of her death, forgetting the outside door open that night, his mother used to seal it every evening but Don forgot it open. He was tried hard to forget that horrible story through relating it to everyone he would meet but it would never be wiped out from his head as if he was doomed to live with that pain for the rest of his life.
“What a sad story!!”Brook commented.
“Yes my dear it is a very sad story and they say the criminal was never caught, now come on, whose turn it is now?” Don said.
“I guess my story will be better than yours Don, listen up guys, there was a young girl who lived in our building, her mommy would always tell her not to open the basement no matter what would happen, but while her babysitter was asleep in front of the TV, she felt that she wanted to know what was there and she sneaked to the basement and opened it up slowly to see a young boy who was tied up to the water pipes, that girl was curious to find out why that boy was there and who he was and she felt sorry for him so she decided to untie him and as soon as she did, he ran out to the living room and killed the babysitter by eating her alive, the girl was way too scared and locked herself in the basement until the police came and saved her,” James said.
Yet, what he hid was that the person who freed the monster wasn’t a girl but it was him and he could never forget that he was the reason behind that baby sitter’s death.
Indeed, every one of those relatives had a secret, each one of them was the cause of the death of someone but none of them admitted it and asked for forgiveness, they all denied it for many years.
And while everybody was enjoying the heat, Don came up with another suggestion to make the night pass quicker:
“Let’s play a game, shall we?”
The rest of the guys nodded and Brook was the most excited one among them to know about the game. It had been a very long time ever since she played a game at all:
“I love games, let’s play, but what will it be?” Brook inquired.
“The game is meant for each of us to find where his chocolate egg is hidden, he is a map, and you can have a look then start looking, the first to find the chocolate eggs will be the winner; do you agree?” Don explained.
“This is silly Don; we are not kids anymore to play this kind of games.” Glenn intervened.
It was the first time Glenn even intervened or spit a word; he was indeed a very silent person and didn’t talk much but after a few minutes, everybody agreed upon the game and the relatives split themselves into groups to look for the eggs. Dale didn’t want to play but he was obliged to since his sister was playing.
The two brothers chose to look in the basement whereas Brook and her brother picked the garden to search for it while Don went upstairs with Glenn.
Chapter Three: A perfect night until midnight
Everything seemed to be fun reminding Brook of the happy days she used to enjoy in the past when her parents were still alive. But the same couldn’t be said about Dale. It was clear the latter wasn’t enjoying the evening and the whole game. He looked very anxious and Brook just pretended nothing was wrong with him. But for a reason, those nightmares she used to use crossed her mind again. And while Brook was making her way to the garden, her brother froze in his place refusing to get out with her. She thought that he was afraid of the darkness outside and she tried to calm him down:
“What’s the matter, my dear? Are you alright? There is nothing outside to be scared from, so please stop crying.” Brook said.
But Dale didn’t seem to listen to her and he was rather looking upstairs, something felt very strange, and Brook looked upstairs as well to see what was bothering her brother but as soon as she raised her eyes, the lights that were lit earlier died away within the castle as if someone turned them off on purpose and Brook felt something passing by her side touching her skin. And it was then when she started to see things; it was like the nightmare she used to see but that time, it was real. Brook’s hands started to shake like a leaf in the wind, but the lights didn’t take a long time to be lit again. And only then could Brook breathe easily but what she saw was surprising for her, it was a view she never expected, Don was standing still in the hallway upstairs completely naked.
Brook thought that she was dreaming, closed her eyes tight then reopened them to see that the hallway was empty once more, she wasn’t sure if what she saw was real or it was just created in her imagination. Dale finally calmed down, and Brook, still thinking about what she saw, grabbed her brother’s hand and start searching for the chocolate eggs in the garden.
It was silent, very silent, but the wind was still howling. The garden was scary or at least, that was what Brook felt when she went out with her brother. Dale could see an owl standing on a branch on the top of a tree that was there and he said to his sister:
“Look at that owl Brook, it is looking at me, it is watching us,”
“No honey, of course, it is not, it is just sleeping there,” Brook replied reassuring her brother.
Brook had never been superstitious from owls, she had always loved animals, and she believed that the owl was just a poor animal like the rest. Luckily, there was a lamp in the garden which made it look lighter. It helped Brook to find the mark of the place in which the chocolate eggs were buried. But the only problem was to find a shovel around. Brook had no choice but to call someone of her relatives t help her dig the ground.
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��Jean, Julian; are you there? Is anybody here? I need some help with digging the ground here.
Brook heard a noise and she thought one of her relatives heard her and came over to help her but the sound was rather coming from the bushes and Brook started to worry and freak out:
“Stay right next to me Dale,” Brook said.
And while Dale nodded, Brook picked up a wooden stick she found while to find out whom it was:
“Hello; is anybody here? Don is it you, come on, stop playing this game, you are scaring me.” Brook inquired in a low voice carefully.
And while the place started to sink in silence, something jumped at Brook while the latter fell to the ground and started screaming loudly:
“Help, help, please help me.”
Her screams were loud enough to bring all her relatives out to see what was going on but luckily, that thing that jumped on Brook seemed to be no more than a wild cat. Everybody started laughing at Brook and the latter blushed because of her childish behavior. And after a long moment of laughter, Brook said:
“Listen to me guys, I think I have found those chocolate eggs, but I need help to dig the ground, can anyone of you find a shovel and help me doing it?”
“Oh did you really find it? Very nice, we are already fed up and we need to sleep, it getting late, so it is a relief you have found it, I think I saw a shovel somewhere around, wait, I will go and get it.” Glenn said, he was the only serious one among Brook’s relatives but he looked sad all the time and he barely spoke some words, it seemed as if he was hiding something but what it was, nobody knew.
Few minutes later, Glenn showed up carrying a shovel in his hand, where he got it, nobody could tell but it seemed that he knew the place very well as if he was there before; he knew every corner inside the castle as if it was his own house. But he didn’t want to dig and just threw the shovel to Don asking him to start digging the ground:
“I think I’m too drunk to do it myself, could you dig Don? It won’t take much time.”
“You always assign me the hard missions.” Don objected but at last, he agreed and started digging.
A few minutes passed while everybody was focusing on the whole getting deeper and deeper but there seemed to be no box of chocolate at all, and when Don was about to stop digging, his shovel hit something hard, he thought it was a rock and he asked for more light.
“Hey, James, can you focus the light of the torch in here? It seems that I have found something, come on quickly guys, I found the chocolate eggs.”Don yelled.
“Here it is Don, come on, dig faster man, I want to see what you have found, let’s hope there is enough for each of us,” Jean commented.
“I’ll make sure to take the biggest part,” Julian added.
“Yeah, that will only be in your dreams brother,” James replied.
“Everybody will enjoy a good portion; so don’t worry guys, just have some patience,” Brook commented while Dale was the only one who didn’t seem to be happy for finding the chocolate eggs.
Everything seemed to be a lot of fun until Don unveiled the soil in the ground and blew up the big surprise by pulling something very different from chocolate eggs and heavier as well. It was a corpse, a real one and when the whole was lit and became clear, Don was able to make sure that they were indeed two corpses not only one. And at that moment, only screams could be heard as the search for the chocolate eggs became a search for the dead. The corpses were almost devoid of any skin over them and they looked pitted by burrowing disgusting insects. Don turned his head away as he felt his stomach heaved but he did his best not to panic and worsen the situation. He threw away the shovel as his nostrils were filled with the smell of a rotting meat. It was something no one expected to occur. That was horrible especially that the corpses hands were tied up to each other and what was more petrifying was that the dead bodies didn’t have eyelids.
Brook rushed to cover her brother’s eyes for him not to see that horrible view but it was too late to do anything and Dale was already in a state of shock; while the rest of the relatives looked very scared except Glenn. For a reason, he looked very calm as if there were no corpses at all. Brook wondered if he was so powerful or if he had an idea about what was going on. Everything seemed to be confusing. And the corpses were not a nightmare but rather a truth, a bitter reality the relatives had to deal with.
Chapter Four: The headless creature
The dominant spirit was death, the smell of death was rolling over the entire place and it was too late to run away, it was dark and death was like a belt imprisoning the relatives. It was too late to regret coming up to that castle but no one could stand staying in that huge horrific place especially after finding out about those corpses. Don tried to calm down his relatives and the only outlet was to call the police so that they would come up to the castle and clear everything out. Glenn was the one who volunteered to call the police using the landline while all the others were in a state of shock eager to get out of the castle as soon as possible.
After few minutes, Glenn came back to tell his relatives that the landline wasn’t working and that he wasn’t able to make any call out to page the police.
“No, this can’t be true, you must be kidding right? Tell us you are kidding Glenn, this isn’t happening to us, go back and try again, or just use your cell phones, all of you guys try using your cell phones.” Don suggested.
But there was no signal at all. Everybody was trying to call the police using their cell phones but in vain, even Brook tried hard but unfortunately, no one had any luck at all. It was as if they were stuck inside that huge castle and it seemed for a moment, that all the fun they had turned to be a scary night, and that enchanted castle seemed as if it was haunting them locking them inside like its own prisoners. And gloomy silence seemed to become the high commander-in-chief of all the relatives as well as every breath and even the air started to suffocate Brook and the rest of the family. Then all of a sudden, Brook started to hear noises, and see shadows in the dark, yes, she saw shadows standing beside the window. At the beginning, she thought that it was a mere imagination but later when she saw her brother talking to himself, she became sure that there were shadows and she wanted to get out of that place as quickly as possible.
“Let’s get out of here guys, I don’t think it is a good idea to spend the night here,” Brook suggested.
“I agree, let’s get out of here,” Julian commented
“Oh yeah, how about the bet, have you forgot about it?” Don interrupted
“What bet are you speaking about?” Brook inquired angrily and anxiously at the same time.
“Sorry for not telling you, we made a bet over spending the night inside this castle, we heard how many stories were told and we just sought to challenge ourselves and those legends. But we didn’t think something like this would happen, I’m really sorry Brook.” Don explained.
“You are not serious, I can’t believe what you are saying, you are deceiving me, and I’m really disappointed in you guys, and please stop talking to me,” Brook said and left with her brother towards the garage although she didn’t have a permit to drive a car.
The rest of the relatives followed her. They all wanted to go home, after all, who would want to stay after what they found. But as soon as Don got inside his car and started the engine, the car exploded and the garage turned out to be a fireball. It was as if a fist of huge orange flame had made its decision to hit hard and blow out the entire place. Don was inside his car but he couldn’t get out, the flames were too high and there seemed to be no way out. It was over for him but luckily, Brooke made it and wasn’t hurt in the explosion. That was a moment in which everyone was trying to save himself, and nobody could even think of what happened to Don; it was obvious though that he passed away. The damage seemed to be huge but it wasn’t the time to have a look and no one could save his own car, they were all burnt in the explosion. And the only refuge and shelter at that time was to get indoors and stay inside the castle un
til morning time
Chapter Five: A bloody nightmare
No one expected that Easter would turn out to be a paranormal night. Everything that used to be cheerful and fun became creepy and gloomy as if the castle was a prison for Brook and the rest of her relatives. And it seemed that what the castle was hiding was much more than anyone would expect. Everyone knew except poor Brook who was lost amidst that huge place. There was nothing she heard about that legendary castle, how could she know while nobody told her about that mythical legendary superstition that revolved around the castle? But it seemed that it was high time she figured out that by herself. Brook and her brother Dale got upstairs trying to sleep for the rest of the night. But before everybody went to his room, Julian and Glenn were having a discussion in the living room, while Jean and James were drinking wine and standing by the side of the window. The tension was felt everywhere as no one could erase what happened in the garage and it seemed Julian was suspecting Glen.
“Tell me how did the car explode, no one but you was very calm and silent, you don’t even look scared or afraid, you must have known something, you have got to tell us what’s going on, we are your cousins, you can’t do that to us.” Julian inquired angrily.
“What are you talking about man, are you suggesting that I have something to do with that explosion? You must be kidding, tell me you are kidding.” Glen yelled back at Julian.
It was clear that nobody could get along with Glenn since the very beginning of the trip; he was very mysterious as if he was hiding a secret but who knew that would happen? Brook was decided that she had had enough and she sought that the best thing to do was to sleep until sunburst hoping that everything would be okay but as she was on her way upstairs with her brother Dale, she heard a noise. She tried to find out the source of that noise as she had always had a good hearing sense and she raised her head to look at the ceiling, but when she did, it was already too late. The heavy chandelier was falling very fast.