One Night

“You can do this, Riley. It’s just one night in Hazelwood Manor, and then you get more money than you could even dream about. You can finally pay off those student loans.” Riley Grimes tells herself before grabbing her bag.

Riley takes a deep breath to steady her resolve before she gets out of her car and closes the door. She locks it up and puts her keys in her bag before looking at the imposing Victorian Era manor. It looked like it was starting to decay, the bricks a dark colour in some areas. A few of the windows were cracked, and it made her wonder when was the last time someone lived here. Everything about this situation weirded her out. Starting with the letter she received from an attorney telling her if she slept in the decrepit manor for one night, she would inherit it and five million dollars from a relative who passed away even if she didn’t know them.

Riley was adopted, so when she first got the letter, she thought it was one of those scam letters people sent out to try and get money from people. That was until her relative’s attorney, Mr. Walsh, came to her door. Now she was here. She takes another deep breath before heading up the manor’s stone steps. She pulls the key out and inserts it into the old lock, it takes a bit of effort, but she hears the lock click as she turns the key. She pushes open the door, making a loud groaning noise with the effort.

Riley immediately feels uneasy as she steps a foot inside and breathes in the mustiness of the place. The hair on the back of her neck stands on end, and she feels like she isn’t alone.

“Hello?” She calls out, her voice echoing in the foyer.

“It’s just an empty house, Riley.” Riley tells herself as she goes fully inside and closes the door behind her.

It closes with a resonating bang, and she jumps from the sound as uneasiness fills her once again. There were windows, but they were so dirty that they didn’t do much to fill the place with light. If you add that the sun was setting, she may as well have come when it was night. Riley pulls her flashlight out of her bag and clicks the button on the bottom to turn it on. The bright beam fills the dank space as she casts it around. Empty. She takes in another deep breath of the musty air before going more into the room.

Riley’s light falls onto the fallen chandelier in the foyer before a room beyond it. She decides to start at the bottom and make her way up. Riley takes out the small black notebook she brought to document the night as promised. She opens it up and grabs the pen she attached to it. Riley looks at her watch and sighs; it was only 8:00 PM. It was going to be a long night.

8:00 PM: My night has begun at Hazelwood Manor.

Riley clicks her pen closed and closes the notebook before putting them back into her bag. She heads towards the closest door and hears her boots echo in the foyer. Riley explores the first floor in uneasiness but doesn’t find anything that needs to be documented. It was just a lot of furniture covered in white sheets and layers of dust. It definitely had been a while since anyone had been here. She once again wonders what happened to the previous residents and why they left the manor. All she knew was that it wasn’t good. Nothing about this place made her feel good.

Riley glances at her watch when she’s done exploring the first floor. 10 PM. She pulls out her notebook and pen again before she opens her notebook to the current page.

10 PM: Nothing to note on the first floor. Just a lot of dust bunnies.

Riley takes a deep breath and heads towards the grand staircase. She could feel goosebumps on her arms as she steps on the first stair. Her uneasiness grows as she continues up the stairs and onto the second-floor landing. She starts down the hallway and feels as if she’s not alone.

“Hello?” Riley questions as she looks around the dark hallway.

Riley rubs her arms before she shines her light down the expansive hallway. She starts her journey down that hall when it sounds like tiny footsteps are following her. She freezes in fear, and the footsteps stop along with her.

“You’re just imagining things, Ry.” She tells herself before starting to walk again.

Riley continues to hear the tiny footsteps but what makes her blood run cold is the childish giggle she hears. She freezes again and tenses up before quickly turning. She lets out a bloodcurdling scream when she sees a little boy standing behind her, no older than 6. Riley trips on her own feet as she starts to turn and falls, smacking her head on the floor in the process.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, Annabelle.” The little boy says as Riley’s head spins.

Riley tries to focus on the new figure who appears and sees an older girl, no older than 12.

“Who are you?” She asks as she clutches her head and slowly sits up. It didn’t help that her flashlight was now several feet from her.

“Come play with us, Riley.” The boy says.

“How do you know my name?” Riley asks as she shuffles back away from the boy.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Riley. Come join us.” She hears the older girl say.

Riley’s fingers come into contact with the flashlight, and she quickly shines it in their direction. She swallows hard when she doesn’t see anyone, nor does she hear anyone anymore.

“Okay. Maybe I’m losing it.” Riley mutters to herself.

Riley takes out her notebook and checks the time.

10:04 PM: Possible ghost activity, boy approximately 7 and girl approximately 12.

She puts her notebook away and shakily gets to her feet. She shines the light all around her to make sure she’s still alone. When she sees that she is, she heads to the closest door. She takes a deep breath before opening it and shining it around the room.

“Why couldn’t there be lights?” She whispers to herself.

When Riley sees it’s empty, she continues down the hallway to the next door. Before she can open the door, she hears a crash and gasps, shining the light down the hall. There was now a broken vase on the floor.

“That’s not my imagination,” Riley says as her hand starts to shake visibly, the beam reflecting her movement.

Riley takes in a deep calming breath and heads towards the vase.

“You can do this.” She repeats to herself a few times like a mantra. She reaches the vase and bends down to pick up a piece.

“Come play with us, Riley.” A childlike voice says again, and Riley stands upright.

Her mind jumps to all the horror films she’s ever watched as she looks around. She was now the person who went to investigate upstairs in the movie. That person never survived.

“Where are you?” Riley called out, sounding braver than she was.

“Over here!” The voice responds, and a sound comes from a room ahead.

“This is such a bad idea.” She mutters to herself.

Riley heads to the room she heard the sound come from, and her hand hesitates on the doorknob. Her hand shakes as she turns the knob and pushes the door open. The sound seems amplified in the quiet, and she hates it. She takes a tentative step inside and looks around right before hearing music notes. Riley hesitantly walks towards the source and spots the wooden music box. It was beautifully designed with a ballerina spinning in the middle. Why did it look so familiar to her?

Riley places the flashlight on the vanity and lights up the area. She closes the jewellery box before picking it up and turning it over in her hands. The name engraved on the bottom is ‘Riley Hazelwood’. She flips it back over and searches through the contents, finding a metal key. The key immediately piques her interest despite the terrifying circumstances. The key had a unique design; the top had a cursive ‘H’ designed into it with vines connecting it to the rest of the key.

“What are you for?” She mutters as she examines it.

Riley places the box back down and pockets the key. She grabs her flashlight again and turns, screaming when she sees the same little boy and girl.

“What do you want?” She asks.

“Play with us.” The boy says as he extends a hand.

“Why not? I’ve already made a lot of bad decisions.” Riley mutters before she steps forward.

Riley hesitantly grabs the boy’s hand and is surprised that it is solid in her fingers. His hand was freezing but otherwise felt like a normal hand. The boy starts to pull her out of the bedroom and back into the hallway. She follows him until they hear a loud bang.

“If mother catches you, she won’t let you leave.” The boy says, and she stares at him in shock. Mother?

“Where can we hide?” She whispers as she quickly looks around for whoever the boy was referring to.

The boy pulls Riley along quickly, and the girl moves ahead. Riley hears a scream and feels as if all of her nerves are on end. Everything in her screams that she’s in grave danger.

“Quick! In there!” The boy whispers.

The thing he was pointing at was a dumbwaiter. How was she going to fit in that? She hears the scream again and quickly opens it up. Riley climbs in and slides the doors for it closed before she hears the children running. Riley takes a deep breath as she grabs the pulley, and the device starts to descend. Riley hopes it will lead her out. She hears the rope strain and tenses when she thinks it’s going to snap. When she hears the dumbwaiter door begin to open above her, she doesn’t hesitate.

Riley quickly pulls the ropes again and screams when they do break. She falls with the contraption and hits the ground hard. The wind is knocked out of her, and she takes a few seconds to try and breathe. She gets to her feet and quickly searches for a way out. She finds a door and runs to it. There was no way she was spending another minute in this house with that thing. She needs to find a way out.

Riley hears the door to the cellar open and turns towards it. The entity comes into view, and her blood runs cold. The thing was grotesque and burned beyond recognition, and it was heading straight towards her. The entity screams and Riley springs into action before sprinting away from it. She heads for the only other door in her vicinity and tries the handle, but it’s locked. This was it; she was going to die. She sees the emblem above the door, her eyes widening when she sees it matches the key she found. Riley quickly retrieves it from her pocket and fidgets with the lock, but it ultimately opens. She quickly goes inside and hides behind the door.

“This better work.” She mutters to herself and hopes that it will hold.

The entity comes into the room, and Riley doesn’t hesitate as she runs back out the door again. She slams it shut and turns the key, hearing the door lock. Riley takes the key out of the lock and takes a few steps back. She hears a scream and whoever mother was pounding on the door, but it ultimately holds. Was it over? She swallows hard and heads for the cellar steps.

Riley makes her way back to the foyer and sits on the stairs. She takes a deep breath and pulls out the notebook before documenting everything that happened tonight. When she’s done, she looks at her watch and sees its time, feeling relief wash over her. She stands and looks at the second-floor landing, where she first saw the little boy and girl.

Riley wanted to thank them for helping her, but they weren’t there. “Thank you.” She says into the empty space, hoping they can hear and heads to the front door. She tries the handle, and it won’t open. Why won’t it open? I hear something squeak and look down as an envelope falls through the mail slot, landing by her feet. She quickly bends down and grabs it before tearing it open. “No, no, no.” She whispers when she sees the picture inside.

The woman looked just like her, but it clearly wasn’t present-day based on the clothing. She was also with the two children she had seen earlier. How was that possible? She turns the photo over and sees ‘Riley Hazelwood, Annabelle Hazelwood, William Hazelwood’ written on the back. “I’m sorry.” She hears and turns her head before seeing the little girl and boy again. That’s when Riley gets a flash of memory. Her body was among the pieces of the broken dumbwaiter. She never survived the fall like she thought she had. Both children extend their hands, and she drops the photo before grabbing their hands. This was her home now.