Chapter Four: The First Death
487 Words
After exploring the castle for a while, the friends finally settled into a large, dust-covered room with cracked windows and peeling wallpaper. The air still smelled of mildew, but the warmth of friendship and nervous laughter filled the space.
Lila pulled out a stash of chocolate bars from her backpack. “Alright, everyone, Halloween tradition—eat as much chocolate as you can handle!”
They dove in, tearing wrappers and munching happily. Eli told a few of his silly ghost jokes, while Sophie shivered but smiled. Once the sugar high kicked in, the friends decided it was time for something spookier.
“Story time,” Lila declared. “Everyone shares a scary story. Bonus points if it actually happened.”
One by one, they told tales of ghosts, monsters, and haunted houses. Shadows flickered on the walls from their flashlights, making each story seem more real than the last.
When the stories ended, Nova pulled out a deck of cards. “Let’s play! Just something normal before we all turn into paranoid wrecks.”
For a while, everything seemed fine. Laughter and the shuffle of cards echoed through the room. But then Kai shifted in his seat.
“Uh… I need to… pee,” he said awkwardly.
“Don’t die in there,” Eli joked, and the group laughed nervously.
Kai made his way down the dim hallway, flashlight in hand, and found a bathroom at the end. The cracked mirror and broken sink gave the place a creepy vibe, but nothing out of the ordinary… at first.
As Kai relieved himself, he felt something—cold, bony fingers—wrap around the back of his neck.
“What the—?!” he gasped, but his scream was cut short.
The hand snapped his neck with a sickening crack, and Kai crumpled to the floor. His body hit the ground with a thud, eerily silent except for the faint echo of dripping water.
Back in the room, time stretched as the friends realized Kai had been gone longer than expected. Lila frowned. “Kai? You good?”
No answer.
“Maybe he’s messing around,” Sophie said nervously, but even she sounded unsure.
Milo and Leo exchanged a glance and nodded. “We should check.”
The two of them followed the hallway, flashlights trembling in their hands. When they found the bathroom, their blood ran cold.
Kai’s lifeless body lay on the floor, neck twisted unnaturally, eyes staring blankly.
Milo gagged, and Leo’s knees nearly buckled. “Oh my God… he’s dead.”
They sprinted back to the group, panic making their hearts pound. “Kai… he’s dead,” Milo gasped. “Something… something killed him!”
The laughter, the chocolate, the cards—all of it vanished. Faces turned pale, hearts thudded in fear, and for the first time, they realized the terrifying truth: Blackthorn Castle wasn’t just haunted… it was hunting them.
- Writer
