she didn’ t think so. Her sad gray eyes showed me more than words could have, that she really cared.
“ Are we going in?” Amelia continued to question me,“ It would be fun!” As I walked down the stone path, horrid memories resurfaced, ones I had worked so hard to bury. All I wanted to do was to turn back, but Amelia kept me going. Facing the door, I rang the doorbell like I had many times ago. The door opened with a long, dull, whine, but we couldn’ t see who let us in. When we entered, several torches lit our view and revealed the wreckage that lay inside. Was this a sick joke? I saw my once beloved house in ruins, furniture moth-eaten and covered with an enormous amount of dust were scattered all over the half missing carpet, paintings once beautiful were tilted and torn apart, even the wall had holes where one could see cockroaches fleeing to, but not a single scorch mark. It was unreal. While the Amelia stared at the wreck, my eyes lingered at the torches. The torches that set the fire that killed Alan. Slam! The door closed, but no one had touched it. Without any warning, a cloud covered the moon and a gust of wind came through the shutters, blowing out all the torches. Bang, Bang, the clock began to sound, filling the silence. Bang, Bang, Bang, the shadows stirred, or rather, something hidden in the shadows stirred. Bang, Bang, someone started to whimper, me, Bang, Bang, Bang! With that last final bang, the torches all relighted, giving the room a red glow. Amelia shrieked, her face deathly pale as she pointed a trembling finger to the wall across. Written in a large crimson letters was a single word. WELCOME.
In a second, my hand was on the knob. Though I was twisting with all my might, the door would not budge an inch. I realized then that I needed to tell Amelia about the fire so she could at least know what we were walking into.
“ Amelia,” my voice quivered as I spoke,“ Do you remember that fire that happened six years ago?” Amelia gave me a blank stare.“ Well, it happened in this house, my old house. The whole thing burned down, killing six children and my mom,” my voice strengthened as I continued,“ Nothing remained, not even this house,” Amelia was all white as she pestered me with a million questions and the only conclusion we came to was to find another way out. We went up the rickety stairs, praying it will hold, and searched the upper floor. Bang, Bang, Bang, the clock began again. Bang, Bang, there was definitely something there, Bang, Bang, Bang, there was a noise coming from the window, Bang, Bang, Bang. I hurried to the window, hoping there would be someone to tell me it was all a horrid joke. Nobody was there, but there were two graves, opened, with white coffins lying empty next to the graves in the backyard. Piercing the silent air, a scream erupted. A scream so fragile and so soft could only belong to one person, Amelia.
Racing toward the sound, I couldn’ t help but imagine the worst. I halted to a stop, seeing Amelia lying on the floor, unconscious, her life seeping away. Her dark red hair spread out around her gave the image that she was laying in a pool of blood. On the wall across from me was a message written the same crimson letters as the first was, but much longer. It wrote: BANG, BANG, AT TWELVE YOU ' RE GONE EVERYONE SAY GOOD-BYE TICK-TOCK GOES THE CLOCK