Leaves crunch under his shoes, barely audible under the sound of conversation. Finley rolls his eyes and fiddles with his camera.
"They don't know what they're talking about." He says, turning the camera on.
"Obviously not, fin." Kaylah chimes in. She twirls a lock of hair around her finger with a giggle.
"Let's just get this over with." Finley mumbles under his breath. He stops beside a tree at the bottom of the hill. "We go in, look around, and get out."
"Aye aye, captain." Danny mocks.
"Got it, captain." Trevor laughs.
"Ugh, let's just do this so I can go back to my project." Oliver groans. The group all nod and make their way up the hill. Finley looks back at his friends, watching them all talk. He turns around with a damp feeling at the back of his neck. He wipes it, hoping it's just sweat.
A cottage sits at the top of the hill, dormant and abandoned. The wood exterior rots away, some panels having already fallen to the lush green grass. Vines grow along the brick accents of the wall, covering it from view. Bits of blue and brown peek through, showing its once beautiful appearance. A lake sits nearby, the water perfectly clear and pristine.
Finley stops in front of the door and reaches for the handle as he looks back at his friends. "Ready?"
"Just open the door." Oliver checks his watch.
"So impatient." Kaylah chuckles.
With a simple turn, the door swings open.
***
A bully shoves Finley to the bathroom floor. He groans and hits the floor with a thump, his uniform landing in a mysterious liquid. His friends stand nearby just watching silently.
"Stop lying, weirdo." Bully one kicks Finley's leg.
"You talk big, but you're weaker than a leaf." Another bully smirks.
"Shut up!" Finley yells. "I'm not lying."
"You're the last person who would be exploring creepy places," Bully one snorts. "Just admit it."
Finley scoffs but shifts farther from them. "There's a lot you don't know about me."
"Really? Since you love creepy things, take a video of the haunted house in the woods. Then we'll believe you." Bully one crosses his arms.
"As if I need to do that!" Finley looks away with wide eyes.
"You'd do it if you wanted the school to stop thinking you're a lying weirdo." Bully two mocks.
Finley pauses, thinking of the glory he would get. "Fine. You'll see."
***
A second door stands behind the first. Mustard yellow with a shiny silver doorknob. Finley grabs the knob and gives it a turn. The knob barely budges. He can feel the stares of his friends as he struggles.
"I'll get that for you, fin." Trevor sighs, moving past Finley to open the door. Finley stares at him for a few seconds before moving aside. The knob twists with ease and swings open. A cool breeze caresses their faces, inviting them inside. The ceiling stretched high above them, much higher than the cottage would allow. The walls sway slightly, moving with gentle elegance. Masks hang on the walls, swaying in a nonexistent wind. String lights hang off of every surface, connecting it like a spider web. Trevor steps inside first, his head spinning around. The rest follow him into the foyer.
The soft lighting casts shadows on the nearly empty foyer. Kaylah walks over to a barrel and takes a seat. She crosses her legs with a yawn as Danny saunters over to her.
"I don't like this, fin." Oliver mumbles. He turns to Finley with concerned eyes.
Finley ignores him and films around the space. He makes sure to get every angle, trying to make his point.
"You should get me in the video too, fin." Kaylah calls out to him. Finley walks over with an eye roll and takes a few shots of her posing.
"Alright, I have the footage. Let's go." Finley saves the footage and closes his camera.
"Finally." Oliver sighs and turns to the door. "Where's the door?"
"What do you mean—" Danny turns to Oliver and then the absent door. "Where's the door?"
Everyone's eyes widen to the size of basketballs. They freeze for a few moments, unable to move.
"What the hell?" Kaylah gasps, jumping off of the barrel. "What do we do now?!"
"We could break a window or find another door." Oliver looks around. Every wall stretches from floor to ceiling uninterrupted. The maroon and cream stripes flow along its surface. "Never mind."
"I saw something flashing." Danny points down a hallway and starts walking in the direction of the light.
"Are you insane? Why would you leave us behind?" Oliver treks after him. The group follows close behind.
Paintings cover the walls, popping up out of thin air. They line the walls. Every few spaces at first, until they're on the walls, the floor, the ceiling. Every shape and size. Some no bigger than Finley's pinky finger, some big enough to depict an elephant in full. Each one has the same image on it, a single poppy flower in a bright orange vase.
With every step forward the hallway grows more narrow. It thins until they're walking single file. Finally, the group of teens reach a skinny staircase leading upwards. The ceiling slowly lowers above their heads, forcing them to crouch to make it up the steps.
"Stop pushing me. You'll make me fall." Danny mutters behind him.
"Just keep walking." Finley pushes his back.
At the top, they find a small bedroom door that's half their size with a single sticker on it. The door sits silent as a light pink sticker of a clock ticks away leisurely. They bend down to crawl inside the doorway.
The bedroom was spacious, more spacious than needed. The bed was five times the size of them and too tall to climb onto. Children's toys lay scattered across the floor. Light pink and baby blue clothes cover any spot not covered by a toy.
"Where are we?" Finley mumbles.
"A girl's room." Oliver pushes his glasses over his nose bridge.
Finley looks at Oliver. His gaze lingering silently for a few seconds. "Yeah."
The teens make their way towards the bed. They cross over a soft pink carpet, a comfort from their situation. Trevor moves to the front to push the smaller toys out of the way and make space for them to walk.
"Thanks, Trevor." Kaylah sighs.
As soon as Danny walks beneath the bed, his gaze locks on the flashing object in the distance. He runs over to examine it, realizing it's a barely working flashlight. He smacks it against his palm a few times, making it work again.
"What's the point of having this when you have me?" He grins, turning to the group. "Found a flashlight."
"Great, you did something useful for once." Finley fans dust away from his face as he coughs. Trevor moves closer to Danny. In the corner of his eye, he spots something moving. He turns to look and sees nothing. "Danny, are you moving something next to me?"
"No, why?"
"Don't lie, Danny." Trevor turns around and stares into the darkness. He grabs the flashlight from Danny and shines it around them. In a burst of shadow, the creature disperses, leaving behind a pile of dust.
"What was that?!" Kaylah yelps. Oliver slaps a hand over her mouth, silencing her.
"We need to get out of here." Finley moves closer to the others.
"The door is gone." Oliver points out.
"There's probably another way out." Kaylah chimes in, moving Oliver's hand off. "But we'll probably be here for a little bit."
"True, let's set something up and figure out what to do." Finley looks around for materials. "Let's get started."
The group sets up a small camp, creating a barrier with toothpicks and pieces of thread. They prop the flashlight in the center, a beacon that keeps the creatures away.
"We aren't getting out of this anytime soon, huh?" Danny chuckles.
"Nope." Oliver sighs, lying down on a piece of lint he found. "There should at least be one exit, right?"