The Empty House

Brian instantly regretted going with his girlfriend on a late-night car ride. Once he started to see the empty fields for miles, he knew where they were headed.

They were going to That House.

The one that belonged to a family of six, who were all murdered in the early 1970s. The murders remained unsolved ever since.

“Why the hell would you take us here, babe? You know how I feel about shit like this,” Brian said with a tremble in his voice.

“I knew you wouldn’t come spend time with me if I told you.”

“Jane, come on. Can we just turn back?”

“Bri, come on. Don’t be a chicken.”

Brian crossed his arms across his chest. “I’m not a chicken. I’m just…real people died here.”

Jane raised her head high, a gleam of a challenge in her eyes. “You’re scared to walk into a house where dead people, oh, I don’t know, died about 30 years ago?”

“They were killed with an axe, Jane.”

Jane flinched at his words, and then threw open the door to the car. “Well, I’m going inside. You can stay here if you want.”

“Why can’t we just leave? Please, babe.”

Jane smirked.

“Just five minutes, Bri. And I promise I will come back. Alright?”

Brian sighed. “Fine. Just please be careful. That house looks like it’s falling apart.”

Jane kissed Brian on the cheek. “I promise, Bri.”

Jane did a salute before running off toward the house. Brian could see her phone flashlight as she began to navigate the old home. She was the adventurous one in their relationship, and it was one of the reasons why he loved her so much.

He pulled out his phone, scrolling through several photos of them together. He laughed softly at several of them. Jane was such a goofball. She loved making funny faces in so many of their pictures together.

At that moment, he received a text. It was from Jane.

J: Hey babe. Could you come inside?

Brian scoffed. Of course, she would try to get him inside of the house. He texted back:

B: LOL. NO.

He received another text:

J: Please? I have a surprise for you.

B: What sort of surprise?

J: You’ll see. ;)

Brian knew what kind of ‘surprise’ she was talking about. It was the only thing that could convince him to go inside the house. He pulled open the car door and ran toward the house. He turned on his phone flashlight, making his way inside of the house.

He almost gave up when he noticed the amount of spiderwebs inside of the home, but then his phone went off again.

J: I’m upstairs. Waiting for you. Naked.

Brian blushed at the thought of Jane without any clothes on, and he ventured forward without a shred of fear within him. He walked past creepy looking hallways and even more spiderwebs, and then he found his way upstairs.

He got another ping from his phone:

J: I’m in the last bedroom at the end of the hallway to your right.

Brian continued to walk down the dark hallway, his phone providing enough light for him to see. The floorboards made loud creaking noises beneath his feet, reminding Brian of a horror movie he had seen with Jane one time. The final girl was trying so hard to not make any noise, but the creaky floorboards gave away her position to the killer.

Brian had now reached the bedroom door. Brian opened the door.

What he saw made him scream until he thought his heart would explode.

Jane was lying face down on the bed. An axe was sticking out of her back.

A man was standing above her, looking down at a phone. He looked up at Brian, a smile lingering on his lips. It was Jane’s phone he was holding.

Brian dropped his phone, the device making a loud sound as it hit the floorboards. The man charged at Brian, and before he could react, a knife was plunged into his shoulder. Brian let out a loud scream, as the man twisted the blade inside of him.

The man pulled out the knife, and stabbed him in the stomach. Brian shoved his fingers against the man’s face, but it was in a weak attempt. He couldn’t fight back. He knew that. No matter what he did, it wouldn’t bring back what he lost. Brian was already gone when the man cut open his stomach, his guts spilling all over the floor.

The man waved a hand down at Brian’s body, before walking back inside the house to retrieve the axe. He couldn’t leave any evidence behind. He also left with Jane’s phone. He couldn’t leave anything he touched without any risk. He tossed the keys in the air, that had belonged to the woman he had murdered. He would need them to get away.

He got inside of their vehicle, and pulled out of the driveway. Or what was left of it. While he was driving down the dark road, he dialed a random phone number on Jane’s phone.

He answered once the voice on the other end spoke.

“It’s done. I left the bodies behind. The woman is intact. I didn’t aim for her heart.”

The man hung up. Now the rest would be left to the others. His job was done. He killed, and the others collected.

It was a shame that curiosity always got the best of people in this town when it came to that house.

They had collected the people inside 30 years ago.

And now it had become their personal hunting ground.

The man did not realize the smile that had stretched across his face.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn