The House on the Edge of Town
Spider webs draped the rooms like lace curtains. If one breathed too heavily or coughed too loudly it would stir up ghost from the past. That's what Karen believed anyway. Why had she allowed herself to be dared? She wasn't some childed who needed to prove how brave she was, even though at this particular moment, she wasn't so brave. Feeling a tickle at the back of her throat, Karen wanted to cough. Swallowing instead (what spit she could muster up) she washed the cough away.
Looking around, Karen tried to imagine what sort of people had once lived in this house. The rooms had been lived in, evidence of their inhabitance was evident throughout each room she'd went into. Tattered paisley curtains hung from broken curtain rods. A yellowed chair held up a sagging wall in the front-room. Various bits of paper were tossed about in what seemed like... haste.
Something was different about this room Karen had just stepped into. It held a certain presence, like it wasn't vacant even though no visual proof of life was evident. Well, if you didn't include the very evident spiders clinging to their webs.
"Oh boy", Karen whispered as a breeze lifted the back of her hair. Funny thing about breezes, there needed to be air to stir one, and in this room there was no air blowing. The stifling heat and smell of age gave way to that very fact. There'd been no air circulating in this room for some time.
"Steady girl, no panicking". Karen decided this would be her mantra while she was here. No running out of the house screaming like a little child. How would she live it down if she'd ran out without looking for what she'd came for in the first place. Remembering to breathe, Karen took in another mouth full of dust particles. This time she couldn't prevent the cough from escaping. Thank goodness nothing stirred, not even a ghost.
Karen knew this was the room she wanted. How? That was a question best left unanswered.
Out of the corner of her eye, Karen caught a glimpse of the floor which seemed out of place. The dust wasn't covering it like the rest of the floor, too "Its boards were bowed and creaking". The sound was more like that of a settling foundation than a creak.
Turning to get a better look at the board, Karen was suddenly seized by an overwhelming need to runaway. Laughing, she chided herself for being silly. Taking small steps, she made her way over to part of the floor. Her breathing became labored as her heart started pounding faster.
"Come on Karen, you're being a ninny! Get your act together". A little pep talk never hurt anyone, especially yourself, Karen mused.
Bending over to examine the boards before exploring them further. She couldn't say what made her look into the knot hole, but Karen realized she was looking into some sort of a hidey hole. A secret compartment of sorts.
"Maybe... just maybe someone left something behind", Karen giggled with nervousness when she thought of that.
Could be it was never meant to be found. Why was she the one to discover it? Was she destined to take the dare her friends had heaped upon her? The though of that had Karen turning around to leave. Still...
These old houses had a way of revealing hidden treasures and revealing secrets. Which would it be for her?
Excitement and fear built as Karen reached for the board. At first it wouldn't move. She tugged and tugged. It was like something was trying to prevent her from looking. Finally after about fifteen minutes of pulling and sweating the board gave way. At that particular moment Karen felt something touch her.
"What the heck was that"? It was out before Karen remembered no one was there to answer.
She really didn't want anyone to answer either. Oh she didn't believe in ghost and such things, but one could be swayed given enough proof and she sure had, had plenty this afternoon.
Why hadn't she told her best friend Lissa she was coming here? She knew Lissa would have made fun of her for accepting the dare in the first place, that's why. Nooo she had to be super woman and come alone!
"Dang hindsight", she muttered.
Looking around one more time, she focused once again on the hole where the board had been.
*Thump, thump, thump* her heart was pounding. All the floor boards seemed to be moaning and creaking with the beat of her heart.
Bending over Karen took a peek at what lay below. At first all Karen could see was emptiness, feeling disappointed she started to stand up but a piece of clothe deep in the corner of the open floor board caught her eye.
Afraid to stick her hand below the board, once again Karen laughed and looked around. "What could possible be there that would harm you, she asked herself?"
When she pulled it out, "The book was thick and black and covered with dust". Karen wiped the dust off the front with the corner of her shirt. Gold embossed lettering revealed the book to be a diary.
"A Diary Of The House" Karen read.
Opening the book, Karen's eye widen with surprise and terror. There on the first page were the words, "We've been waiting for you Karen"
The only thing Karen was able to utter before she was taken was, "Why me"?
They say the house on the edge of town holds a mystery. It's been told for hundreds of years. Some believe it's true, others deny it.
The story goes, "If a person finds the hidden treasure ( a book of secrets) the one finding it will reap its rewards."
No one can lay claim to its discovery. Seems anyone whose tried has disappeared. The disappearances can not be explained, so they've been written off as unsolved. Karen Littlejohn was the last one to disappear.
Only the room with the "boards" that "were bowed and creaking" knew the secret. That secret was contained within the book, "The book was thick and black and covered with dust."