Horror Stories, Legends, & Places

Plot Holes (F) *****

The day I found my first hole was the day my best friend came back from the dead.

We were in high school and stupid. Jake was his name and we liked to go out to this old abandoned house in the woods after school to just...screw around. Do stupid teenage things. It was a pretty big place to be honest. Two story house with a basement or three stories if you counted the small attic above it. The story is supposed to go that an old woman was building the house years and years ago in order to get away from the city life but, for some reason, never finished it. Probably died. Anyway, the house was pretty close to completion when she stopped but nobody bothered to finish it and now it just sits there rotting away.

So Jake and I would go to the house and just screw around, scaring each other or exploring the place. Whatever we felt like. Usually we were careful -- or lucky -- but nothing ever happened to make us worry.

Then the floorboards broke under Jake's feet when we were exploring the second floor and he fell. I never realized how bad the condition of the house must have been because when he hit the first floor, that broke too and he fell into the basement. I ran down and looked through the broken hole in the first floor. It was dark (but we usually had the foresight to bring flashlights) so I shined a light on him. I'll...never forget what I saw.

One of the boards or...something must've fallen at just the right angle that when Jake hit the ground, it speared up right through his stomach. I could see him shift and try to grab at it. Even hear him gurgle...and then he stopped.

He was dead. I was sure of it. Our stupidity got him killed. I was in shock. I didn't know what to do.

So I just...ran. I ran out of the house and left him there.

It was about evening when I got home and I went straight to my room. I didn't talk to anyone. Didn't stop for anything. I just wanted to curl up and try to forget that scene. My parents tried to talk to me but I feigned sleep and they just went on. Later that night, we got a call from Jake's parents asking where he was. They actually "woke me up" for that one and I said I had no idea. The usual "Well, if you see him, please let us know!" came afterward and I just nodded before I went back to sleep.

The next day was school and I went through the morning ritual in a bit of a trance. I didn't want to go but I couldn't stay home. I was pretty sure Jake's parents already suspected something of me. So I went. School was...just like usual. People screwing around in the morning and talking. I went up to my normal group of friends that I hung out with before the first bell rang and my heart stopped.

There was Jake.

He stood there, just laughing and being his normal self. When he saw me, he looked over and grinned before coming over. He made a joke but I didn't hear it. I just continued to stare.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked, starting to get concerned.

"Aren't you...are you ok?" Was all I could muster back.

"Well, yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" He laughed a bit but gave me a weird look.

"You, you don't...know anything?" I tried to phrase it as delicately as possible. I didn't want anyone else knowing, but I figured that was enough to clue him in. If it did, he didn't show it.

"Know anything of what?" He responded and then the bell rang. He said bye and gave me a weird look before heading off to class. I just stared after in shock. Why was my friend here? I saw him die! At the very least, he should be in the hospital! But he was fine.

I went to class but I couldn't concentrate. I just kept thinking about Jake and how he should be dead. I kept trying to think of how he could've survived but I just couldn't fill this strange hole of a mystery. After class, I decided I'd check out the house.