Chapter 1 - Front Yard

30 1 1
                                    

July 3rd, 2023
Greyville, New York
6:3o PM

We open on a group of 5 best friends: Sebastian Michaels, Lia Lopez, Imelda Santos, Chloe Eastman, and Cory Truong.

The group is walking down a backroad in the woods, looking for something interesting in their boring town.

Lia kicks a rock as she says: "You guys know we aren't gonna find anything, right?"
Sebastian replies: "Well, yeah. There's no place in Greyville we haven't seen. I actually checked, and this is the last road we haven't been on yet."
Lia, sarcastically: "Wow. How interesting."
Sebastian: "Whatever."

Chloe points to something in the distance.

Chloe: "Is that a house?"
Cory: "Looks like it."
Imelda: "Should we check it out?"
Sebastian: "Let's go."

The group then proceeded to walk slightly faster, now having something to look forward to: the house.

Imelda, panting: "Can we slow down a little? I can't breathe."
Chloe: "Mel, just so you know, no one thinks you have asthma so you can stop pretending."

Mel glares at Chloe and stops panting.
Cory falls back, joining Mel behind the rest of the group.

Cory, softly: "I believe you."
Chloe, overhearing Cory: "I don't!"

Within five minutes, the group arrived at the house. It was old, musty, it was nearly falling apart, the windows were boarded up, and the front door was open slightly.

Lia: "What the damn?!"
Sebastian: "What?"
Lia: "Y'all see the door's open, right?"
Chloe: "Looks open to me."
Cory: "Only a little bit though."

Mel, anxious: "Maybe this isn't a good idea. We should probably go home now—"
Cory: "Mel, what's wrong with you? It's just a house, there's nothing wrong with it besides the fact it's abandoned."
Chloe, dismissing her: "Yeah, the most we're gonna do is explore it anyway."

Mel: "I don't know. If there's one thing I've learned from horror movies, it's that you shouldn't go into abandoned houses, especially in small groups. And if I'm doing the math right, five people is a small group!"

Lia: "Mel, it's fine. If it makes you feel better, we'll let you walk in last. Sound good?"
Mel: "Do we have to go in?"
Sebastian: "You get what you get. You can either walk in last, or we can push you in first."
Mel: "Ugh, fine. I'll be the caboose."

The group approaches the front door.

Lia places her hand on the cold doorknob and pushes in...

A bat flies out of the opening, startling them all. Mel screams.

Lia: "It's okay. It was just a bat."

Lia pushes the door open all the way, revealing the dark and dusty foyer.

IDOLSWhere stories live. Discover now