MOTEL CHILD (Haunted)

The House on the Hill

"What if no one's in there?" I asked as we watched the door swing open, revealing a floral carpet. Straight ahead, there was a staircase and to its left the kitchen. I looked over at Lily and swallowed in nervousness. "Maybe we should wait until someone comes to the door?"

"We could wait inside?" she suggested, an adventurous glow twinkled in her eye. I watched as she placed a foot inside the house, her hand against the door frame, balancing herself. She turned to me with a contagious smile. "Come on, if no one's here, we'll go back, if someone's here, then we'd come to do what we're supposed to do."

"Aren't we trespassing?" I said, squeezing my hands together to wring out the collecting sweat. I could feel all my senses opening up, stretching for more information to strengthen my sense of security. I followed the blonde to the kitchen, watching carefully as her hand trailed against the wall like mine had done in unfamiliar places. As we walked, our feet syncopated with one another's, I heard the sound of the floorboards above us creak.

I stopped.

The girl stopped as well and looked over at me, her brows furrowed and questioning. "What's wrong?"

Licking my bottom lip, I whispered in broken words, "I-I-there's-I heard some...one."

Lilly pushed herself against the wall, staring at me. The color drained from her skin, leaving her whiter than her original color. Speaking from the back of her throat, she trembled, "Don't fool around with me, Oliver."

"We shouldn't be here," I said stiffly, backing away as if I was standing on a wooden board stretching across a mountainous drop. My eyes flew up to the stairs above me and I thought I saw a shadow. I gasped and dropped to the ground, back pressed hard against the wall behind me.

"Stop joking," Lilly instructed, her hands shaking. I could see she believed I was fooling her, but I didn't know how to convince her unless she heard it, too. "If you don't stop-,"

Before she could finish her sentence, we both heard a sharp cough. Without hesitation, we both leapt to our feet and raced out the door, slamming it behind us. Later, we were amazed at how agile we were when we raced down the uneven steps. Upon reaching the bottom, Lilly ran into me and grabbed me by the collar of my jacket, shaking me, she shouted,

"You better not have been joking with me!"

"I didn't, I didn't!" I defended, prying her hands off of me. "I heard it just as well as you did!" I jumped back from her, dusting my shirt off and looking up at the house. "We must have heard something else, perhaps an animal."

"Do animals cough like a woman?" Lilly inquired, making my skin ripple in fear. "Someone was definitely in there."

"We shouldn't stay," I muttered, shaking my head. "I should've never come. It was a mistake, I-I knew it was! I'm leaving." I turned determinedly on my heels and headed for the house. I didn't hear Lilly behind me. "Are you coming?"

"No, I'll leave with my mother. Y-you can go on ahead. We should have never come for the money. Stupid of us!" She ran past me and disappeared onto the motel's front porch. I saw her lean down over her mother, whose body straightened in surprise. Knowing that Lilly would need an advocate, I trotted up onto the porch and stood behind her.

"You two are hearing things," Mrs. Crane said through a smile. "With all this talk about your father, it's sure to stir up the imagination. But if you two are too scared to stay, I'll understand and I can drive you to the sheriff's office to stay."

"Well, I promised my mother I would stay until she came back, but, maybe I can spend the night at the sheriff's," I said, not at all ashamed to sound cowardly.

"I'll start the car," Lilly said as she hurried to their automobile.

Seeing that I had time alone with the woman, I took a seat and stared at her. Carefully, I asked, "Mrs. Crane, have you ever been up in that house?"

"Yes, I was looking for Marion. Instead, I came across the decayed body of Mrs. Bates," she said, her voice traveling back to her memories. "I didn't know what was more frightening, finding her preserved body, or when Norman Bates came up behind me to kill me. I can't go to sleep without all the lights on in my house. All the time, I think he's going to come into my room and kill me with his giant knife!" her eyes widened for emphasis.

"You don't think he'll ever kill anyone again?"

"No, not if he's locked away." Her head turned to face mine. "Oliver, you must know, your father is a murderer. Your mother was a fool to have ever gotten involved. But, perhaps the only good thing that has come out of it, is you."

"How can you say that? I-I mean, you don't really know me."

"You're right, I don't know you. But there must've been a reason you're here today. This is your father's graveyard, and I think it must be you to get rid of it all. We don't need the money; in fact, we would like no part of this madness. I thought I did, and it was out of financial stress, but, I don't want to be living off of a madman's money."

Rubbing my hands together, I whimpered softly. I felt tears collecting, but I couldn't let them show. "Wh-what should I do?"

"I don't know, Oliver, but get rid of all of this before your mother comes back and claims it." Mrs. Bates stood up from her chair and headed down to the prepared car. "If you would like, Lilly can stay at the sheriff's so that you have someone rather familiar to talk to."

Standing up and following her down to the car, I nodded my head. "If she wouldn't mind." I opened the front door for her and did the same for her daughter. As she started up the engine, I leaned down at the window and asked in a quiet voice, "Does what my father have...does it? I mean, would I? Since I'm his son and it could be genetics, would I become..."

Knowing what I was trying to say, she placed a gentle hand on top of mine and patted it in assurance. "Don't trouble yourself with that. Get your phone fixed."

"All right, I will. Oh, when you get to the sheriff's, ask them about my mother?"

"I will, Oliver. Thank you for your time." With those final words of departure, she drove off down the highway, leaving me with a fear greater than I could bear. Standing still, I looked up at the house on the hill, and for a brief second, I thought I saw the white curtains move.