The Trespass

A loud shrill cry echoes out of the abandoned house that Chris, Laurel, and Damien stand in front of on a full moon night. All three friends hold boxes of decorations.

“Are you sure that your family is okay with us using the house, Chris?” Damien says shifting his weight with his box.

Chris shrugs off his question and walks into the house placing his box on the floor. Laurel shakes her head and follows Chris into the eerie house that is covered in cobwebs and rotting wood. Damien hesitates for a moment and then rushes inside. The three friends explore the first floor, running into cobwebs until they hear a thump from upstairs.

Chris looks up puzzled, “No one else is supposed to be in here.”

Laurel and Damien get goosebumps as the noise continues until Laurel finally says, “Maybe it’s a lose plank moving in the wind.”

“There is no wind outside, Laurel,” Damien says, “we should leave, maybe this was a horrible idea.”

“You’re just a chicken, Damien. Laurel, do you want to go explore upstairs?” Chris says, moving toward the stairs.

“Yeah”, Laurel moves with Chris up the stairs until they hear Damien run after them to make the slow trek up the decrepit staircase.

As the three friends make it to the second landing, the thumping sounds are coming from the room at the end of the hall. Laurel makes the slow walk to the door, raising her hand to the door in a fist.

“Laurel,” Damien says grabbing Laurel’s hand before it makes contact with the wood. “Don’t knock on the door, maybe there is an axe killer chopping a hole in the wall.”

Laurel and Chris both chuckle a little, Damien is always a little dramatic when it comes to his fear and imagination. Laurel pulls her hand out of Damien’s and knocks on the door, pushing it open as she does. Chris steps up behind them quietly, placing his hands inside his jeans.

The three friends look inside as it opens, the moonlight revealing a few boxes. Laurel lifts her foot to take a step inside the room, when they all hear the thumping sound again. Damien steps backward, hitting Chris with his elbow in the gut.

Chris grumbles at Damien and shoves him forward into the room. Damien pulls Laurel in with him, both stepping on a tripwire that was hidden in the shadow of the door. As both friends stumble into the room, a metal bar falls from the ceiling impaling dozens of sharp rods into their bodies. Blood gushing out of the wounds, soaking the floor as Chris enters the room. Placing his sneakers on the edge of the pool, humming a haunting melody with a small pocketknife in his hand.

“Is this too much or just enough to cause a panic,” Chris says smiling while bending down to place his fingers in the blood. “Damien sure was scared. Maybe everyone else will be too, with my Halloween fun.”