As I stared at the mysterious figure in the corner of the room tears started to well up into my eyes, I suddenly dropped to my knees not sure what to do. I was all alone, there was no one left but me. The mysterious figure began to come closer and closer. I felt suffocated as if I was about to stop breathing that very second. Fear took over immediately and I was completely frozen, no longer able to move or even think straight. What could I have done to deserve this fate?

It was your average summer day in Florida. The weather scorching hot and the sun shining everywhere you went. For me, it was any old summer day. Nothing particularly fascinating happened, even if it was summer. Considering school being out, you’d think I would have something amazing to be doing, but hey, not everyone does!

One day as I was listening to music on my laptop, I heard something near my window. I quickly turned around scared out of my mind, since I was completely paranoid person from all those scary movies I had previously watched. I jumped out of my chair shocked to see my best friends Jack and Katie sitting on my bed. “Are you kidding me guys? You scared the heck out of me!” They stared at each other and started laughing mimicking what I said in annoying voices. “Calm down Julia. No scary murderer is going to jump into your open window during broad daylight! I mean don’t get me wrong, leaving your window wide open is like begging for someone to jump in, but there are tons of people outside today!” Jack said.

I ignored him and asked, “What are you two doing here anyways? You know I hate being bothered the first couple of weeks of summer break!” Katie stared at me with that goofy smile she always does when she wants to do something “fun.” She got up from my bed and stared at me for a while and finally said, “You know that creepy ‘abandoned’ town a few hours from here that everyone has been talking about?” I slowly nodded, hoping she was not going to say what I thought she was. Katie started to walk around my room and said, “Jack and I have decided to go there and see what exactly is so ‘scary’ about that town. Don’t worry though, we didn’t forget you! You are totally going with us!”

I stared at her with a big frown on my face. “You have got to be kidding me Katie. There is no way that I am going to spend the beginning of summer break at some abandoned town. Plus, it would be a complete waste of time.” Jack started smiling and said, “You’re just afraid Julia. It’s not like anything is going to happen. We’re just curious. That’s all.” Katie nodded in agreement. “There is no way. End of story. You guys should just leave before I get really annoyed.” Katie and Jack stared at each other and ran over to me practically pushing me off of my chair. “Please Julia! You won’t regret it! We promise!” they both said in unison.

After pestering me for an hour or so, I finally gave in. I mean, how bad could it possibly be, right? They high fived each other and Katie said, “Sweet! We will leave tomorrow at noon!” They both left after that and I quickly got up and shut my window sighing. “What did I just get myself into?” I quietly whispered to myself.
As I laid in bed, I could only think about what terrible things could happen at that abandoned town. Like some murderer who has lived there all of his life waiting for his victims to travel into his lonesome town. Then he waits for them and finds the very right moment to catch them and BOOM! They’re never seen again. I quietly laughed to myself because that was a totally preposterous thought. As those types of thoughts crossed my mind, I fell asleep and woke up early the next morning.

My parents were on vacation so it was just me in the house. They left me to decide my own summer so I guess there wasn’t anything better to do than to go to that abandoned town, even if I did have second thoughts the night before. Time passed quickly and before I knew it, it was already noon and I heard loud knocking on the front door. I looked through the peep hole and saw a goofy looking Katie staring right at me. I unlocked the door and was about to open it when Katie suddenly barged in saying, “ARE YOU READY TO PARTY JULIA, BECAUSE I’M READY TO PARTY!” I stared at her and lightly pushed her out of the house and locked the door behind me. “Let’s just get this over with.” I said. I got into Jack’s car and immediately stared out the window as he started to drive out of the driveway.
The drive to the abandoned town was full of music and Katie singing along with it. I was quiet most of the time listening to my own music trying to block out Katie’s obnoxious singing voice. It was night time by the time we were near the town but we finally passed by the sign saying “Welcome To Fallenvale.” I stared at the sign as we passed by. “What a depressing name for a town.” I muttered. “Definitely,” Jack said.
Jack parked the car in front of a creepy looking house. “This is where my uncle used to live a few years ago. Since he was family I’m pretty much allowed to go in as I please.” He started walking to the front door and as he was unlocking it with a weird looking key he said, “You know, this wasn’t always a creepy abandoned town. It was fairly decent a couple of years ago.” I just stared blankly and followed him into the house along with Katie.
The house was small and had a creepy yet homey atmosphere to it. “Does the electricity even work still?” I asked. As if in response, Jack flipped a switch and the lights turned on. The house wasn’t all that bad after all. The rooms were decent and roomy and it felt kind of comfortable but there was still something a bit off about it, well about the town in general. “Should we make something to eat? I brought food.” Katie said. Jack and I nodded and we all started to help cook. After the food was done, we ate and just talked until we were ready to go to bed.
Each of us got our own rooms so that was a good thing. I laid down on the bed in the room trying to fall asleep. Awhile passed and I just couldn’t seem to fall asleep. I felt like someone was watching me. The room was pitch black besides the faint light of the moon coming through the curtains. I looked towards the window and I swore I saw a dark figure move across the window. I immediately jumped from the bed and turned on the lights. I walked slowly towards the window and opened the curtains. I looked around and saw nothing. Later on, I heard what seemed to be footsteps outside of my door. I was completely afraid yet curiosity got the best of me.
Cracking the door open a bit, I looked around the dark hallway. Quickly, I ran to Jack’s room and opened his door not even bothering to knock. I turned on the lights, but saw that he wasn’t there. I tried calling his cellphone but it was on the night-table next to his bed. Feeling a bit more paranoid I walked over to Katie’s room and turned on her lights and saw her fast asleep in her bed. “Katie. Katie…Katie, wake up!” She opened her eyes slightly and asked “what?” “Do you know where Jack is? He isn’t in his room and his cellphone was left on his night-table.” Katie sat up and shrugged her shoulders not really answering me.
Staring at her I said, “Do you know or not? This place gives me the creeps so I would prefer to know that Jack is safe.” All of a sudden there was a huge crashing noise coming from the living room and Katie and I both jumped and ran to the living room. We saw no one, except the front door was wide open. Katie ran to shut the door and lock it while I tried to turn on the lights, but the electricity was out. Quietly, Katie whispered to me saying, “Maybe Jack is just trying to prank us. He knows that you’re easily scared right?” I shook my head no, knowing full well that Jack wouldn’t go this far to scare me. Then we heard a scream, a male’s screaming coming from the backyard.
Running to the backyard, I saw Jack laid across the ground with blood all over his body. “JACK! JACK!!!” I leaned next to his body and he grabbed my hand and muttered, “You…have to…find…Katie…quick.” “I’m not leaving you Jack!” He grabbed my hand tighter and told me to leave him be and then his eyes slowly started to close. “JACK, DON’T DIE ON ME!” There was no response or movement from him at all. I started to cry not knowing what to do, especially since one of my best friends just died right in front of me. As I sat next to him I finally remembered what he said about Katie. I just couldn’t force myself to leave his side.
Then all of a sudden, I heard crashing noises in the house again and Katie screaming my name. I came back to reality and got up and ran straight towards the house. I started screaming Katie’s name but there was no response, just the loud hard footsteps of boots coming straight towards me. I started to run, my adrenaline coursing through me. I ran to the front door trying to get out but I was too scared to even concentrate on unlocking the door.
I started crying a lot and tried to run but from the corner of my eye I saw a mysterious figure in the corner of the room. I felt like there was nothing I could do. I dropped to my knees, begging for mercy, but I knew that was a mistake. The mysterious figure got closer and closer. The moonlight from the windows just barely shined on the mysterious figure’s face but all that I could make out was a male’s body with dark clothes and a mask. The next and final thing I saw was a gun pointing straight towards my head. What could I have done to deserve this fate?