6Author Note: Here is the next chapter in the mystery story. So far I only have one review. This makes me sad. If you read this story, please take the time to review.
Chapter Two: The Mansion
For the rest of the day, all Chris, Jake, Jen and Marla could talk about was the bet. Jake was a bit skeptical, and this rubbed off on Jennifer, even though she was still excited about the bet."I just don't know why he would want to make the bet with us," Jake said. "I mean, why doesn't he go try some guys who probably will get creeped out enough to loose the bet?"
"Maybe he's done this bet before with those kinds of people, and now he just wants more of a challenge," Jennifer said, trying to come up with an explanation that would calm Jake down a bit.
"We have to be careful tonight," Jake said. "Let's be prepared for anything. Just in case."
Just at that moment, they all heard a thunder clap. Chris flinched. "That's just great. The one night that we will be in the haunted mansion, it just has to rain!"
…
At precisely 8:00 that night, the four friends could be seen driving up Mining Hill to The Haunted House.
No one really believed that it was actually haunted. The younger generation in Vanning City just liked calling it that because it was a very old, very large house. And it had been abandoned for years.
There were old stories –made up rumors rather- about that lonely mansion on Mining Hill. People probably just came up with them and spread the stories around just to make the place seem a little more exciting. Some people would say that if you tried to spend the night there, you would never live to see another sunrise.
No one had ever believed these stories… until recently. A few months ago, some neighbors said that they heard screaming noises coming from the old mansion. They called the police, and when they searched the mansion, they found a girl's dead body hidden in the attic. She had been strangled to death.
The girl's name had been Mary-Jane Walter. She had gone to Vanning High School. Her father was a solider in the war against there terrorists in Iraq. Before her death, it was rumored about the school that her father had deserted in the middle of a battle. But none of this was ever confirmed. But some people where convinced that these rumors were true when Mary-Jane's father didn't turn up at her funeral. Her mother refused to talk about it.
Ever since then, the stories seemed more real than before and the kids at Vanning High School loved to creep each other out about The Haunted Mansion.
As they drove up, there was thunder heard, followed by a flash of lightning. "Aha," Chris muttered. Everyone at the car stared at him. "Um… that… that lighting surprised me."
…
"Took you long enough," Eddie said when they got out of the car and walked onto the porch of the mansion. "For a second there I thought you had decided not to come."
"Are you kidding!?" Jennifer exclaimed. "We wouldn't miss this."
"Neither would I," Eddie said grinning. With that, he started walking toward the car that he and Derek had come in.
Derek lingered for a little bit. Apparently a bit nervous. "Good luck, you guys," Derek said. He turned around as if he was about to leave, but then he turned around again, make sure he was out of earshot with Eddie, then said, "Stay alert."
Before anyone could ask what he meant, he ran after Eddie and got into the car.
"Aww… I like Derek," Jennifer said. Everyone turned to look at her. "What? He seems way nicer than Eddie. I met his girlfriend once. She's pretty nice, and I don't think a nice girl like her would date a mean guy."
"Yeah, he's probably a good guy," Jake agreed. "I just don't get why he'd want to hang out with Eddie Michel."
"What did he mean when he said 'stay alert?" Chris asked suddenly. "Maybe this is too dangerous."
"What!? Oh come on! This is gonna be awesome," Jennifer said.
"I'm afraid I can't share your optimism," Chris mumbled.
They all waited outside and watched Eddie and Derek drive away. Once they were out of sight, they opened the door and went into the old house.
It was all wood floors. They were very old and creaked whenever you walked on them. The window curtains were old and stained. One had been slashed in two. Whether it had been on purpose or just the decaying of old age, none of them knew.
They all decided to set up their sleeping bags in the large living room in the center of the ground level. Of course the lights in the house didn't work. Luckily, they had brought flash lights.
By the time they had set everything up, it was dark outside. Jennifer was the first to turn on her flashlight. She had felt braver while it had still been light outside. But now that it was dark, she felt much less brave and a little scared.
"Well," Jake said. "I guess while we're here, we might as well take a look around. Explore the house a little bit."
"Excuse me?" Chris said as if he had been insulted. "Take a look around? Not in this house, I'm not. No way!"
"I agree with Chris," Jennifer agreed quickly. She wasn't in any mood to look around in the dark. Even with flashlights, she wasn't about to go look around in this mansion. And, she had never told anyone this but Jake, Jennifer was afraid of the dark.
"I don't see what everyone's so scared about," Marla said, standing up and picking up her flashlight. "This used to be a very nice house. You can tell by the chandeliers and the material on the curtains. I would like to see what else this house has."
"Have fun. Me and Jen are staying here," Chris said.
Marla rolled her eyes. "Sissies."
And so Marla and Jake set off to explore the house, leaving Jennifer and Chris to stay in their sleeping bags and talk to each other about anything that wouldn't creep them out in a place like this.
Marla led the way into the dinning room. On the way, they passed the front door. Jake was about to walk by when he noticed that the front door was open.
"Hey, didn't we close the door when we came in?" Jake asked Marla.
Marla shrugged. "Maybe the wind blew it open."
Jake pondered this for a second. "Yeah, maybe." He closed the door and followed Marla the rest of the way to the dinning room.