Chapter 15: The Ghost Has Skeletons In Her Basement

Courtney woke up and it was nearly midnight according to the clock on the wall. Luke was on his phone nearby, apparently unable to sleep either. He didn't even look up when she sat up and stretched.

Everyone else was asleep. Tracy was on her left snoring quietly while she slept. Alex had curled up under the covers in an armchair further away. Sam was drooling and at some point he rolled out from under his cover and away from his pillow. That made Courtney laugh a little before she got up and covered him back up.

She looked up when Alex moved, nearly sliding out of the chair. He was pale and Courtney could have swore she saw fear in his eyes before he slouched over putting his head in his hands. After a few deep breaths he sat back up as if nothing had happened and she wasn't sure if she should ask about it. He'd seemed rather distressed as if he'd awoken from a nightmare but whatever it was he wasn't talking so he obviously didn't want them to know.

Suddenly Alex's gaze turned towards the hall and he got up following whatever he had seen silently. Courtney got up following him not really wanting him to go off alone. She wasn't sure what Alex was following or why she'd chosen to go with but she at least hoped it wasn't dangerous. It took a few minutes but she heard quick footsteps behind her as Luke rushed to catch up. Apparently neither one of them had wanted Alex to get hurt all because he went off alone.

Luke hadn't felt comfortable being left alone in a room where everyone else was asleep. What if the ghost decided he needed to be thrown at the ceiling again? It's not like it was his choice. He was beginning to hate this situation more and more. They had to solve a ghost's murder. Why couldn't she just solve it herself though? It was stupid.

He knew the others were trying so that they could all go home. He knew it was rude of him not to help but he was sore everywhere from all the falling. He usually loved a good murder mystery but it just wasn't fun this time. Especially not since he'd gotten dragged away from home. It was worse because the ghost had already chucked him at the ceiling as if he hadn't fallen from it when he got here. It was a wonder he wasn't hurt any worse than a couple of bruises.

He just wanted to get home so he could toss around a football with his dad. He missed his little sisters so much. And although Alex could cook it didn't compare to his mom's cooking, not in his eyes at least. He knew that Sam had been here longer than the rest of them and he felt bad for him. He took a deep breath as they continued on after Alex.

“What are we following?” Courtney had finally caught up with Alex with Luke on her heels. She didn't see anything and Alex was starting to worry her.

“Vivian,” Alex whispered. He needed to know where she kept going off to hide. He knew deep down she couldn't be that sweet. There was something off about her but he hadn't been able to put his finger on it.

“No offense but I regret following you two,” Luke muttered as they all snuck around the mostly empty house. He hated the ghost far more than he probably should and he despised the entire situation altogether. It was chilly and dust floated in the air. The old floorboards creaked under their feet ever so slightly. Alex was a little surprised that it hadn't given them away already. Suddenly Alex came to a stop outside a dark wooden door with a brass doorknob.

The world around them seemed almost as if it were holding its breath as Courtney and Luke waited for Alex to decide whether or not to move forward. Alex took a deep breath and turned the knob slowly. He didn't want Vivian knowing that they were following her. He was also really hoping there was safety in numbers. He didn't want to be the reason he others got hurt. Maybe he should have waited until he was able to go off alone or something but they were already there so why not continue on.

They slowly crept down the stairs attempting to keep quiet. There was a horrible smell in the air, almost of something rotting. It made Courtney want to puke and she could tell the others weren't doing so hot either and yet Alex continued moving on. He'd pulled his hoodie up over his nose hoping to at least put a damper on the wretched smell.

It was dark and far colder down here then it had been upstairs. The floor was concrete under their feet and the walls were made of stone. This part of the house wasn't made of wood like all the areas upstairs. Dust particles floated around them as they walked. Courtney sneezed covering her nose and mouth.

She was hoping they wouldn't be there much longer. She could barely see a few feet in front of her face and she was too scared to pull out her phone's flashlight. She knew Alex was ahead of her though and Luke was next to her because every so often one of them would stop to make sure they were all still together.

Alex had his hand on the nearest stone wall using it as a guiding point. They could go around what Courtney was hoping was a small boring basement and eventually make it back to the stairs so long as they didn't stray too far from the walls.

Eventually Alex's hand hit something and they heard a light thump as it hit the floor. The second he heard it he stiffened as he lifted his hand a little trying to feel the rest of what his hand had hit. Suddenly he froze altogether. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

“Courtney, flashlight,” Alex's tone was a little frantic as he tore his hand away.

Courtney did as she'd been told and pulled her phone out and turned on the flashlight. The second she did light flooded the room. Hopefully Vivian had already moved on and they wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt down here.

Alex stood staring at an old skeleton frozen in terror. It was missing its arm which was now lying on the floor. Courtny heard Luke take several steps back towards the stairs behind her.

She turned away, not being able to look at the corpses before her. She felt like he was going to be sick. Who would do something like this? These people deserved a proper burial but instead they'd been trapped down here during their last days. It was just wrong. No one deserved something like this.

Alex looked around counting the skeletons. Most were still decaying. The freshest ones were the only ones missing someone from the group. The others had been stored in groups of five. This was far beyond creepy. This definitely hadn't been what he was thinking when Vivian said there had been others. She definitely didn't tell him there were so many. He raked a shaky hand through his hair trying to think. He couldn't believe it. Why would she do something like this?

This was far worse than he thought. He stomach had twisted into knots and his first instinct was to run but his feet remained glued to the spot. He'd figured she'd have some skeletons in her closet just not literal ones stuck in her basement. Especially not twenty-four. It turns out Vivian wasn't the nice old lady he'd given her credit for. In fact, she was much worse. She was something much worse. She was a monster, a nightmare even.