“Hey Venessa!” Marie yelled. 
“What?” I asked as Marie sprinted toward me. 
Her frizzy red hair bounced up and down as she ran. When she finally skidded to a stop, she was bent over trying to catch her breath while beads of sweat dripped from her newly red face. It was a cool Autumn Day with the promise of apple pie for dessert after dinner. I could already smell the sweet aroma dancing through the crisp air. 
“You'll never believe this; Valerie Henson is waiting for us at the old mansion outside of town for an early Halloween challenge!” She explained with excitement. 
I could not believe this. Valerie Henson was the Queen of challenges at Coletin Middle School, especially among eighth graders like me, even though she is a Ninth grader this year the halls at school still chimed with her name. Anyone who completed Valerie Henson’s challenges earned ultimate respect. I was so thrilled at the news I turned towards the direction of the mansion and bolted. My jade-colored eyes were bright with excitement; my chocolate brown hair became a blur as my fur trimmed winter boots flew from the ground. 
“Great. More running.” Marie mumbled. 
When we got to the mansion, Valerie was sitting quietly under a tall, well-shaded tree. She looked acceptable for the chilly weather. Valerie was very tall and was neither fat nor slim, her dark hair looked recently cut, and she wore a fashionable plaid shirt with leggings and some cute light brown booties. Valerie looked up when she realized we were here, her mahogany brown eyes held surprise. She rose and sported a pearly white smile. 
“Well, well, well, I’m surprised you came. Few people would accept such an intimidating challenge.” She said with a good amount of surprise.  
“We’re....not afraid.... of....a challenge.” Marie panted.  
“Let us begin!” Valerie boomed. 
I spun towards the colossal mansion. It was overcast and crippled, as if the mansion’s heart left with its owner and all that remained was an empty shell.  
“What exactly do we have to do?” I inquired. 
“You have to spend the night in the mansion. If you come out before midnight, you’re disqualified from the challenge; no retakes.” Valerie explained. 
“When does the challenge start?” Marie queried. 
“Sunset.” Valerie responded. 
I lifted my head up towards the sky to see how much time we had, the bright Autumn sun was skimming the edge of the sky where it would soon dip into the mysterious sea that was the west. I pulled out my phone to tell my mom I was doing the challenge with Marie; she would never let me do it alone. As we silently waited for sunset, Valerie told stories about the mansion. 
“It’s said that no one has been inside the mansion for over 100 years. What happened to the owner? That’s the tricky part. The owner was originally Abe Henry, his family had owned the land for generations, but you see Abe considered himself a man of vision, but the mansion apparently wasn’t in his vision, so he wanted to tear it down. But-” Valerie started 
“Did he sell the Mansion?” Marie interrupted. 
Valerie glared at Marie. 
“Sorry.” Marie responded sheepishly. 
“As I was saying, Abe’s father warned him that if he tore down the mansion, he would be forever cursed, but he ignored his father and tore it down anyway. Years later, after using his family’s land to build a wonderful town called Coletin Carolina, he felt bad for what he did, so he rebuilt his family home up on this hill, but once he entered that house, he never came out again. Everyone soon forgot about him, and he was left to wander the house cursed for all eternity.” Valerie whispered. 
Marie and I were left with suspicious expressions. 
“Please, there’s no such things as ghosts.” Marie retorted. 
“I agree.” I piped. 
Valerie rolled her eyes. A smirk then crawled its way onto her face. 
“You’ll just have to find out.” She snickered. 
We all turned our heads toward the sun. It was time. Marie and I prepared ourselves to enter the dreaded mansion. We zipped up our warm coats and pulled on the gloves we had in our pockets. 
“Here’s a walkie talkie in case of any emergencies.” Valerie explained as she handed me the small hand-held object. 
I then displayed a look of confusion. Why would I need a walkie-talkie? I thought. I just shrugged and started to walk up the steps of the front porch; Marie followed shortly. When we entered the crippled building, we discovered a dark and dingy hall with an old staircase to the left side of the room, and an ancient armchair to the right. 
“Good luck!” Valerie called as we carefully shut the door behind us. 
The interior of the mansion was frigid and moldy, the floorboards creaked in pain as we creeped through the hall. Paintings of the owner and his family almost overwhelmed the walls. Old paint was peeling off the feeble walls; doors lined the mysterious hallway. 
“This is so cool!” Marie whispered with excitement. 
At the end of the hall a tall, thick, wooden door stood. The brass doorknob was enveloped in a coat of rust; the edges of the door were rotting with mold. Suddenly, an icy wind fluttered through the musty air. 
“Burr, didn’t they have heaters around when this Henry guy built the place?” I asked Marie. 
She shrugged in response. I pushed the door open a bit more to discover a toddler’s bedroom. Marie immediately ran inside to check the room out. From what I could see, the room held an old cringy bed with a toy chest at the foot of the bed. I suddenly got the strangest sensation that someone was watching me. I turned my head to the other end of the hallway to find only a hallway animated by newfound moonlight, yet I still could not shake off the sensation. Suddenly, I heard Marie screaming. I dashed inside the room. 
“Marie!!” I shrieked, but there was no one there. 
“Venessa!!” I heard. 
I looked all around for Marie, but her voice was everywhere. As if she was an echo rather than a person. 
“Marie? Marie where are you!?” I screamed. 
I heard a rustling in the closet of the room. Every muscle in my body tenses. Seconds later I heard the rustling again. I held my breath, hoping that it would stop. But it would not. I slowly inched towards the closet. I took a breath and opened the closet door. When I opened my eyes, I saw an eerie hallway lighted by lights I couldn’t see. At the end of the hallway sat a small body tucked into itself. 
“Marie?” I whispered. 
My whisper bounced off the walls of the hallway. The figure stood up with its head bent. Whoever it was, he or she wore an old, dirty, nightgown that my Great aunt would wear. When the figure picked its head up, I saw what should have been Marie, but she had black sacks under her bloodshot eyes, skin that was too pale to be human and teeth that were not supposed to be naturally pointy. I was frozen with fear and shock.  
All the creature did was smile. Suddenly, any light that showed from the hallway flickered. When the lights came on again the creature was closer. When the lights flickered again it got closer. Then closer. Until it was right in front of me. Face to face. It's eyes stared right into mine; they stared with hunger.  
“Not what you expected.” It hissed. 
A distant voice gave such a faint whisper that I almost couldn’t make it out. 
“Help Me.” It spoke. I thought it might be Marie trying to reach me but I couldn’t reach back. This monster was blocking me. 
I stepped back and slammed the closet door shut behind me. I used my body as a blockade from the terrible creature. Tears started to well up in my eyes. I didn’t know what to do. What if Marie was gone forever? I thought. Then, out of nowhere, a pale hand sprouted out of the door with claws like razors. I jumped with trepidation and practically flew out the door of the room. I banged the door shut behind me and sprinted down the hall towards the door to the outside, but just as my fingertips skimmed the doorknob to freedom I was pushed down to the floor with the air knocked of me.  
As I tried to push the air back into my lungs, I saw a shadowed figure right in front of me. It pointed to ceiling above me and said nothing. I looked up to find that the ceiling was cracking. I was so petrified with terror. Minute by Minute the cracks spread, until finally….. 
I was buried. I didn’t know what to do. I grew incredibly cold. I held my hands up to my face to try and keep them warm. I tried to worm my way out of the ruble but with every bit of movement I grew strangely tired. I dug in my back pocket with the last bit of strength I had left for my phone. My hands were shaking violently as I managed to dial my mom. 
“Hello?” She asked. 
I tried to answer, but nothing came out. 
“Hello?” She asked again. 
“He-” …...