The Girl with Golden Hair

Golden Hair

"Jackson, give me my book back! I told you there's nothing in it!" Gloria whines to her older brother, reaching up to take it from him. "Haha!, come on Glory, I'm just teasing, stop your whining," He hands the book back to her, nudging her arm softly. "Hey, do you know the story...Of the girl with golden hair?" Jackson lets out an evil chuckle, scaring Gloria half to death. "Jack! Don't! That's not funny...Besides...It's not real...It's just a story to stop girls from going out to parties so late. And you know that!" she rolls her eyes, putting her book down on her desk. "Well, how's about we go find out tonight, huh? Or are you too scared?" He says teasingly to his younger sister, a dorky grin on his face. "No...Yeah, let's go. Bring your camera so I can record you being wrong," the girl lets out a giggle, obviously proud of herself for making her brother blush in embarrassment. "Fine, you better not back out right before we leave, Glory," Jackson leaves the room, grabbing Gloria's book before getting through the door. "Jackson!" Glory runs after her brother.

The sound of the clock and the faint snoring of their father is all they hear when they enter the living room that night. It's 12'oclock, the perfect time for Jackson to scare his little sister. "So Gloria, are you ready to go? Got a jacket? I don't want you to get a cold," he says mockingly. Glory stamps on his foot, giggling to herself. "Let's go, dickhead. And be quiet, we can't wake up mum and dad," she grabs her brother's arm, sneaking out the back door. They walk a few blocks down before she lets go of his arm. “Do you know where to go?” Gloria asks her older brother, a puzzled look on her face. The village looks so much different in the gloomy night. “Yeah, I brought a map.” He says, a barely visible smile on his lips. “This way,” he points to his left and starts to walk, his little sister a step behind him. “Why did I agree to this?” She slurs under her breath. “Because you wanted to prove to me that you’re not scared?” He giggles, nudging his sister in the arm as they walk.

“So Gloria…Do you know the story of the girl who was murdered here?” Jackson asks quietly as they pass the last few houses of the village. “Yeah, she was walking home from her friend's house or something, right? They still don't know who murdered her, but she was like…Found a week later with her hair dyed ginger really badly and a stuffed bear next to her, right? It was really gross…” Glory shivers, folding her arms across her chest. “That's it. And they say she haunts these woods. She looks for her murderer and they say if a male stares directly into her eyes, he will meet a terrible fate,” Jackson makes a ghost noise, pleased with himself for making his sister jump at a branch she steps on. "Jackson! Stop it!” She jumps up and down in a fit. “You know it's not true, Glory. Calm down,”he assures his sister, patting her arm. “Whatever! I'm going home, I've had enough of this,” Gloria makes her way back through the forest, leaving her brother behind. “Gloria! Come back!” He waits for an answer. There's nothing. “Glory?...Whatever…” He starts walking back, attempting to follow his sister, but everything starts to turn and suddenly everything doesn’t look like it did before. His heart starts to beat faster. “f**k…” He mutters under his breath. It seemed as though he was lost. “Glory! Where are you!?” turns around in a circle, desperate to find his sister. There’s a rustle in the bushes, he turns around to see his sister and he lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank god, I thought I lost you dude. Dont do that again,” Jackson laughs softly, walking towards her. She doesn't answer, she just stands there motionless. “Glory?...” He reaches a hand out to her, trying to comfort himself. “Are you okay dude?” The thing he thought was his sister slowly turns into a lifeless, golden-haired girl. Her skin is peeled from places on her body, she stinks of hair dye and death. Her eyes slowly open, looking into Jackson's. His heart beats faster, and faster.

Until it stops.

“Miss Gloria Corbin, where were you when your brother was found dead?” A man in uniform asks, pen and paper in hand. Gloria stays silent, her mouth covered with her hand, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I went home; we were looking for her…”She heaves beneath her cries. “Looking for whom, Miss?” The man questions, taking a step forward. “The girl with golden hair…”