It was a brand new message from Amanda, a simple one that said “Are you awake?”. Tina hit her with a simple “yes” reply and then made her way outside. It was shaping up to be a warm day later, but the brisk morning air was still a bit chilly outside, and Tina knew exactly where she was going. Hitting the end of her driveway, she turned and began to walk down the sidewalk, heading to her favourite coffee shop a few blocks away. Though she put in some earbuds to listen to some music while she walked, she kept a tab on her phone so that she could continue the conversation Amanda had started with her. The next message came in soon after.
“Are you physically active and sound of mind now?”
“If you’re asking if I’m still sleepy, no. We’re all wide awake. A squirrel got inside.”
“What did it want?”
“Hm? Idk, just got trapped.”
“Are you sure?”
“It was just a squirrel.”
“Can you talk to animals?”
“Can YOU?”
Amanda changed the subject just as Tina entered the small café. “I need you to come with me somewhere asap. I need your help.”
“Can it wait? I’m in the middle of something right now.”
“I bet all you’re doing is getting a mocha and a cookie.”
“How would you know?”
“Because I’m behind you.”
That last one wasn’t even a text message, it was Amanda’s voice. Startled, Tina turned around, nearly spilling and choking on her drink as Amanda seemed to appear out of nowhere. The goth teen was dressed like she had been mourning someone, with all black everything: a jacket, a shirt, and a floor-length skirt; even her hair and lipstick matched the occasion. The only things not pitch-black about her were her skin, which was even paler than Tina’s, her pale blue eyes, and a single red highlight in her bangs. After making sure that Tina wasn’t going to cough to death, Amanda spoke in her dull voice.
“You come here literally every Saturday morning, Tina. Usually you’re here at 8, so I’ve been waiting here for 20 minutes longer than I should have. Though I understand that was a squirrel’s fault.”
“Don’t scare me like that!”
“Sorry.”
After regaining her composure, Tina left the café with Amanda, both sipping on hot drinks. Following her friend’s lead down a road she didn’t usually go, Tina began to ask her questions while they walked.
“So, what did you need my help with? I’m guessing mine specifically, since you went out of your way to find me this morning.”
“I’ve found something unusual, and I want to take a closer look at it. And I think you’d be the expert at this sort of thing.”
Tina raised an eyebrow, confused. While she got good grades and had some extracurricular talents, she didn’t think she’d be considered an expert on anything, unless Amanda had happened to find some video games she needed help with.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll find out.”
Amanda’s lead eventually turned off the suburb street and down a park pathway; it was a nice green forested area that people could bike or take their dogs, and Tina had been down here a few times before. But she started to get suspicious when Amanda eventually took her off the path and into the trees. After a short hike through the woods, with the backdrop of the suburbs fading away, they found themselves on a worn dirt trail to continue on. Tina tried to ask more questions, but Amanda seemed more focused on remembering the way she was going, so the redhead stayed quiet. After about half an hour, however, her eyes widened.
At the end of the pathway, the trees ended, and a large grassy lawn lay ahead. In the middle of the estate was a large house that looked like it would have been a pristine luxury home… a hundred years ago. Its wood was rotting, shingles were missing, some windows had been shattered, the large oak tree in the front was long-dead… it was a staple haunted house. No wonder Amanda had found it. She probably wanted Tina to help her move into it.
“You found a haunted house?”
“How did you know it was haunted?”
“I.. er… just look at it!”
Amanda looked a bit puzzled, wondering if her friend did share the same sixth sense she did, before she shelved the thought and brought out her phone. She pulled up a video and passed the device to Tina; the teens then huddled over and watched the recording Amanda had previously taken. It was the same house, from a little closer up, but it was the middle of the night from the looks of things.
“Why were you stalking around here at night?”
“I have interests. Now quiet, listen to this!”
Both girls shushed themselves, and Amanda turned her phone’s volume up as high as she could. Tina didn’t hear anything to start, but when the recording zoomed in on one of the house’s upper windows, she raised an eyebrow. She could barely make out the sounds of a woman… laughing. Hysterically. Almost like she was being…
“So since you’re the expert on tickling, I want you to help me solve this mystery.”
Tina was incredulous.
“What? First of all, I’m not an expert on tickling!”
“Oh please, everyone at school knows your family’s antics. My personal bet is that your ancestors were stricken with a terrible curse. Anyway, I’ll concede that while I’m more tuned to the supernatural, I haven’t the slightest idea on how to approach a scenario like this. So I came to you.”
“Okay, first of all, we have no evidence that there’s anything supernatural going on. For all we know, it could just be some random people having fun. Second of all, what do you…”
“So then there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Interrupted Amanda, before Tina could call her out. And before the redhead could stop her, the goth stood up and began to walk towards the abandoned house. Silently cursing herself (and debating inside if the house was really haunted or not), Tina swallowed her pride and ran after her friend. The two stopped just before the porch steps, and looked up. The house seemed a lot bigger up close.
“So, now what? Knock on the door?”
“Maybe there’s a bell… better to see if we’re trespassing or not first…”
As Amanda scanned the doorway for any sort of ringing device, Tina felt a shiver run up her spine as she registered exactly what her and her friend were about to do. Then, out of nowhere, she felt a hand grasp down on her shoulder from behind. Letting out a small yelp that even startled her friend, Tina whipped around, and saw:
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