The tree branches of the old forest on the edge of town cast long shadows along the ground in the late afternoon light as Mick walked down the road. Nearing his destination, he wondered how he had got himself into this situation. It was all because of that stupid dare his friend Chrissie had given him, a dare he had been unable to back down from.
"There you are!"
The sound of Chrissie's voice snapped Mick from his thoughts before he could mull over the matter further. He looked up to see his friend leaning on a rotten old wooden fence marking the property line of the subject of the dare. Glancing past Chrissie and the fence and through the twisted trees beyond, Mick could see the abandoned and supposedly haunted old house looming in the distance. It looked every bit as ominous as Chrissie had made it out to be.
"I was beginning to wonder if you had chickened out," Chrissie continued as she approached, the dirt and gravel crunching under her high heeled black boots.
"I told you that I'm not a chicken," Mick said indignantly.
"I'll be the judge of that," Chrissie said, placing her hands on her hips.
"You don't look dressed to explore an abandoned house," Mick commented as he gave his attractive friend a glance over. Chrissie was dressed in a sleeveless white top with a low neckline that showed off her C-cup breasts, a short denim skirt that showed off her beautiful legs, and a pair of black leather boots with a 2 inch heel that gave he a slight height advantage over Mick. Indeed, not the sort of outfit one would wear to explore a place like this. Mick was dressed more practically in a t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of sneakers. It wasn't different from what he normally wore, but that was beside the point.
"I'm not the one going in there, remember?" Chrissie said. "The dare was for you to go in the haunted house, not me."
"What's the matter?" Mick teased. "Chicken?"
"I've been in there once already, for your information," Chrissie said, crossing her arms. "So this isn't about me."
"If you say so," Mick replied.
"So are you ready to go inside?" Chrissie asked. "It's been abandoned for years and there's all kinds of spooky stories about it."
"So you've said. And yes, I'm ready."
Chrissie grinned. "Then what are you waiting for? Get going. And don't just go through the door and stand there for a minute. You have to walk around for a bit. Meet me back here when you get too scared to stay."
"Whatever," Mick said before heading on his way.
Mick stepped through the rusty old gate, then followed the path up the hill to the house. It was old and rotting, but it looked structurally sound, at least from the outside. Mick wasn't too sure what it was like on the inside. After a brief glance back at Chrissie, Mick Approached the front door and pushed against it. It slowly opened with a creak, revealing the dark interior of the house.
"What did I get myself into?" Mick said to himself as he shined his phone flashlight into the doorway. It was all clear, so he stepped through.
The floorboards creaked as Mick moved further into the house and looked around. It was falling apart in some places, but the house was, on the whole, relatively intact. That made Mick feel a bit better about being inside this place for an extended period of time.
After searching the first floor for a bit, Mick didn't find anything of interest other than some broken beer bottles likely left by some kids trying to sneak a drink and some old graffiti. Now finding himself a bit more curious about the house, Mick decided to explore the upstairs. It was just after he reached the landing at the top of the stairs leading to the second floor when Mick suddenly ...