#half night# epishode 1
505 Words
Chapter 1: The Plan for a Strange Picnic
It was a quiet Sunday morning in the sleepy town of Elmswood. The sun peeked through the lace curtains of the Smith family’s house, but inside, sixteen-year-old Smit was anything but bright.
He lay upside down on the couch, groaning. “Every weekend is the same. I need something crazy… weird… exciting.”
From the kitchen, his mother Jini called out, “Exciting? Try helping me with breakfast first.”
Smit smirked. “Cooking is dangerous enough, Mom.”
Just then, his elder brother Pole walked in, headphones blasting some rock music. He pulled them down and gave Smit a suspicious look. “Why do you look like you’re about to rob a bank?”
“I’m planning a picnic,” Smit said with a grin.
Pole raised an eyebrow. “You? Planning? What’s the catch?”
“No catch. Just vibes. I’m tired of this town. Let’s drive, find a place we’ve never been to. Somewhere weird.”
Pole whistled. “Now that’s the spirit.”
Smit already had his phone out. “I’m calling Keri.”
Within half an hour, Keri Jon arrived — hair messy, shirt half-tucked, holding a pack of chips as always. “So what’s the madness today?” he asked.
Smit’s eyes gleamed. “No map. No plans. Just drive. Wherever it feels spooky… we stop.”
Tony Smith, their dad, looked up from his newspaper. “You kids and your adventures. Just don’t make the news.”
“Promise,” Pole said, already grabbing the car keys.
But just as they were about to leave, Jini walked in wearing her shawl. “I’m coming too.”
“What?” the boys said in unison.
“I’ve had enough of your dad’s silence and burnt toast. I need some thrill too.”
They laughed. And just like that, the four of them — Smit, Pole, Keri, and Jini — set off into the unknown.
---
Hours Later
They drove past empty highways, through silent woods, deeper into places none of them had seen before. Clouds gathered above. The air turned chilly. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a crooked metal sign appeared:
"Hotel Grimhollow – Since 1894"
Behind it stood an ancient, towering building covered in vines. The windows were cracked. One flickered with dim yellow light.
“Is that… even open?” Keri asked, clutching his chips tighter.
Smit stared at it. “It feels like it’s been waiting.”
The gate groaned open as they stepped out of the car.
Jini frowned. “This place gives me goosebumps.”
The wind whispered something they couldn't understand.
Pole pushed the gate. It didn’t resist. “Looks like it wants us to enter.”
As they stepped forward, the clouds swallowed the sun. The hotel loomed above, silent and watching.
And as they crossed the gate, the sign behind them creaked, fell to the ground, and shattered.
No one noticed.
They were already inside.
And that… was the moment Half Night truly began.
- Writer
