Chapter 1
1466 Words
Eric was now a teenager who studied at Volgnate High School.
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and he was lying flat, his belly on his bed with his phone in hand, and, his pillow supported his head while he played his favorite game.
He was addicted to the game,' Find the Murderer' ever since it got released many years ago.
He had always yearned to have a video game console, where he could explore more amazing games.
Unfortunately, his parents couldn't afford it.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
He had just received a phone call from his friend, James.
He quickly paused his game and picked up the call.
"Hello?"
"Eric, you have to be here! We found something really interesting", James yelled in excitement which got Eric to pull out his phone a bit further away from his ear.
" I can't. It's Weekend and I'm not permitted to leave during the weekends", he shrugged even though it was quite useless, because, James couldn't see the gesture.
"Well, if I were you. I would sneak out because I'd rather die than lose this opportunity", James's voice sounded assuredly bold.
Eric paused for a second, perhaps he shouldn't miss out on any opportunity.
" Hello?" James spoke out.
He wasn't certain as to whether Eric heard him.
"Where are you?" Eric questioned him.
He had decided to sneak out notwithstanding the consequences.
"We're in our favorite spot ", he gushed out in enthusiasm.
" We?" He asked, unsure of who the 'we' were.
"Yes, Zack and Austin are here too", he responded without hesitation.
" Alright, give me ten minutes," Eric told him, glancing around his room to check if he would need to take anything along with him.
" Sure ", James said and ended the call.
Eric quickly tugged his phone in his pants, got up from his bed, hurried to his shoe rack, got a hold of his black sneakers, and put it on.
After which, he left his room.
He was now on the stairs and his parents were in the living room.
The living room was located at the right side of the staircase and the front door was just opposite the staircase.
He began to move steadily down the stairs, making sure that no sound was heard.
Unfortunately, during his last step down the stairs, a noise was heard.
He had forgotten that the last wooden stair was damaged and needed to be refixed.
However, his parents have been striving to raise enough funds for it.
He hastily halted and hoped his parents didn't hear it.
However, Mr. and Mrs. Colefield were engrossed in their conversation so they didn't hear a thing.
On seeing that, Eric proceeded cautiously and made out of the door.
He ran to the garage, grabbed his bicycle, and began cycling to the location.
When he got there, he saw three of them sitting on a bench under a tree that shielded them from the soft sun rays that afternoon.
The instant they saw Eric riding towards them, they got up and waved happily at him, signaling him where they were.
It was quite useless because Eric had seen them.
When he got nigher to them, he dropped his bicycle and ran to them.
They welcomed him with hugs and handshakes then sat back at the bench and gave room for him to sit.
"So, what is the thing I shouldn't miss out on?" Eric asked them, his eyes roaming round three of their faces, he was quite unsure of who to direct the question to.
After recalling that it was James that summoned him, he ultimately settled his gaze at him.
"We are going to explore an old house that has been in existence for over 100 years, Spooky right?"James uttered out.
" We can't do that without our parent's consent and what if it's a haunted one?" Eric asked them, he regretted ever agreeing to be there.
"That's why I suggest that Austin goes in first, then if he comes out. We're good" Zack gushed out.
On hearing that, James flared up.
Although Austin had a meek temperament, he didn't believe should be taken advantage of.
" And why do you say so?" James questioned Zack, one eyebrow raised above the other.
"Because, if Austin goes missing, no one will care about his absence. I'm the handsome guy, Eric is the brainy guy and you're the social guy. But Austin, I'm not quite sure of where he truly belongs", Zack boldly spoke out.
" Do you want a punch, knocked to your face?" James questioned Zack, who was too proud of himself.
"I believe not".
" Then I'd advice you shut it" James resounded.
Eric didn't wish to see the argument proceed to a fight, so he spoke out.
"Where is this old house?" Eric questioned James.
"It's a few meters away from here", James answered quickly, pointing out to a grassy lonely area.
" Okay, maybe we could check it out", Eric suggested.
The instant Eric made that statement, they smiled excitedly.
They got to their feet and hopped to their bicycles then began riding to the Old house.
It was surrounded by bushy trees and untrimmed shrubs.
The house was messy and disorganized, it's ground was surrounded with fallen dried leaves.
The house needed an intense cleaning and supervision.
"Might I ask if any of you considered how we'd get in?" Eric asked them after recognizing the big padlock. They had hidden their bicycles in the bushes.
" You're a genius. Figure that out ", Zack told him.
" Wait, What?"
"Sorry, we forgot to inform you earlier. But now you're here..." James paused his speech and let out an apologetic look.
"Alright ", Eric had forgiven him.
He stepped closer to the big padlock that hung at the corroded gate.
The padlock looked really ancient, Eric examined it and knew that it would be pretty easy to destroy, despite its size.
After examining it, he said, " Get me the hardest piece of rock you can find".
The moment he said that James and Austin quickly obeyed without hesitation.
They ran around the greeny area in search of a stone while Zack stood back nonchalantly.
After the search, they found one and handed it to Eric.
Eric held the big stone and began hitting it as hard as he could.
After several attempts, the old padlock unlocked, which made the gate to freely push itself wide open.
On seeing that, they began to slowly walk into the house with curiosity.
The minute Eric snapped the front door's handle open, they began to cough strongly because of the huge amount of dust they had just inhaled.
While coughing, they all reached out for their phones and turned on its light.
"You see, we are safe. Ghost are just myths" James said.
" I think so", Zack scarily spoke out.
"I have an idea, let's separate ourselves and move in to explore the place so we could be back on time before Eric's parents find out", Austin suggested.
" Wow! that's a brilliant idea", James commended.
"So, you speak?" Zack questioned Austin.
"Shush!" James shut Zack up before he would start up an argument.
" What do you think Eric?" He asked him.
"It's good", Eric commented and they waved themselves goodbye and began to separate from each other.
Eric walked as long as he could till he landed in a dark room.
As he moved, he bumped into a hard object and hurriedly focused his phone light on the object.
It was a vast looking object covered with a thick cloth.
He pulled away the cloth that covered it.
Behold, he saw a huge writing that was scribbled on it saying 'ghyt jhthhj '.
It was, of course, covered in dust.
Eric didn't understand it.
Perhaps, they were strings of random codes set aside to confuse people.
Suddenly, a paper landed on the floor.
What must that be? , He questioned in his thoughts as he got a hold of it.
The paper was in a poor condition and of course, barely legible but Eric was able to slowly read through it.
'You have only 8 hours and beware, whatever you change in the past will change the future'
"This sounds like some sort of time machine," He said to himself as he coughed.
Perhaps if I go back in time to when 'Find the Murderer ' first released. I could win the prize of $8 million through my knowledge of the game and as well get myself a video game console and likewise win the cash for my parents ' welfare, he thought.
He spotted a screen where he could put in the specific date, day, and year.
Without reluctance, he turned on the time machine and put in the required information.
Suddenly, he vanished in a flash of light, abandoning his phone behind.
- Writer
