Race was running. He didn't know how fast, nor did he care that he was clumsily hitting almost everything in his path, tripping up stairs and over misplaced items.
"Ra-ace..."
He screamed, sprinting to the place he called a safe haven. The place he felt the safest. He ran right into his big brother's room and jumped onto his bed, grabbing the pillow and hugging it close to him. He sat in a ball, praying for it to all be a nightmare. Some sort of sick, twisted dream.
Something gripped onto him.
"Ra-ace..."
Race screamed.
24 HOURS EARLIER...
The fire was bright in a practically pitch black room of a foster home in Manhattan. Boys were sitting around in a circle listening intently to a single voice that chilled them all to the bone. There must have been around fifteen or twenty boys in that house, minus one very important boy. The oldest. The one who prevented nights like this from happening.
"There was a scream and that was it. No one eva' heard from him again... except..."
The voice stopped for a moment and a smaller boy, the youngest of all of them, pale face, shaking limbs and all, eagerly urged him to continue. "Cmon Race! What happened?"
Race smirked. He had the littles drawn in. Sometimes he felt bad for the poor kids. So easy. "Keep your shirt on, let me finish," Race chuckled, looking around at every nervous face in the room. Even kids his age were staring at him with complete anticipation written all over them. It was nights like this that Race truly loved to tell stories. It was pouring outside, the power was out and Jack was working long hours at the diner.
"Race, the kids need ta get ta bed," Crutchie tried. He knew Race too well, but even he couldn't help but get nervous when his brother told these stories.
"I'm almost done, Crutch. 'Sides, they's asked fer a story." It was true. The littles always asked Race to tell his stories. All of them would forget how terrifying the dark was afterwards.
"Except... every year, on the night he went missin', the people in that house would hear that scream ova' and ova' again. They say it gets louda' every year. And when it sounds like it's right behind ya-"
Race was cut off by the very scream he was describing. A scream that was heard from right behind the little kids who sat with their backs to the fire. And Racetrack could only laugh as the boys screamed and jumped forward to him, seeking his protection from what was merely their redheaded foster brother in a monster mask.
"Cmon, Race, this ain't funny," Crutchie tried to reason. He was still a bit shaken by the scream but he hadn't moved from his spot like the littles had. Sniper and Romeo were grabbing onto Race in a panic, not fully comprehending that it had all been a joke. Henry and Elmer had run to hide behind the couch and the others were all frozen in place, most of them on their asses as Albert and Race laughed. "Jack is gonna be home any second. And now none of 'em are gonna go ta sleep."
Race rolled his eyes, not that anyone could truly see him in the dark, but he wrapped his arms around the boys that clung to him, ignoring every glare he got from his brothers who were mad at him for frightening them. "Cmon, Crutchie, it was just a dumb story." But he couldn't see the terrified faces of his friends in the dark. He'd done it again. He'd scared them all awake for days.
"He's right, Race. Jack ain't gonna like this," Specs joined in. He stood across from the boy who was supposed to be in charge when Jack wasn't around. "He told ya ta stop tellin' ghost stories a long time ago. Some of us actually wanna sleep tanight. And ya know Jack has an early shift in the mornin'."
Race knew what he was referring to. The littles always crawled into Jack and his beds whenever they were scared. Race didn't mind it, but he would never admit that they were right. Jack had an early shift in the morning. And he was not going to be happy that the kids were waking him up in the middle of the night. But he couldn't help himself. He craved nights like this. When he could tell his stories.
"Alright, boys let go ta bed then," Race finally gave in with a sigh, knowing the two youngest kids were still clinging to him.
"Little late fer that, don't ya think Race?" Race winced at the voice. None of them had heard Jack come in. And all of them were frozen to their spots. Slowly, Race turned his head and spotted a familiar figure, leaning against the entrance to the room, simply watching them. There were a few lit candles in the room, but overall, not much could be seen. But even through the dark, Race and Jack's eyes locked. Race could feel the irritation and disappointment radiating off of him and he immediately pushed the little boys around him in a silent plea to go to bed. They did. But not before they all ran up to Jack and clung to him for a second, letting Jack know how freaked out they were.
"They's asked me to, Jack-" Race tried. There always an excuse. But Jack wasn't hearin' it.
"I don't care, Racer. Ya know the rules," Jack scolded. "Ya really freaked them out. No more scary stories."
Albert moved closer to Race. The kids may have run off to bed, knowing if they didn't they'd have Jack to answer to, but many of the older kids were still sitting in that room, watching the scolding they knew had been coming. "This is about to go downhill real fast from here..." The redhead muttered. Race rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Cmon, Jack. We's just havin' some fun." Race expected a punishment. A week without cards, taking on kids' chores, being forced to sit in the diner while Jack worked so his brother could watch him, but he didn't get that in the response Jack gave him.
"It won't be so funny when half of 'em wake up from nightmares in the middle of the night and come ta us cryin' cause they's can't sleep!" Jack was tired. He was overworked, underpaid, drowning in homework and had had enough of Race's games. "One day it's gonna be you that's scared and we's won't feel real sorry fer you." He pointed at Race and advanced on him. The younger boy did not move. Jack got close enough to him to see Albert trying to hide the mask he'd been holding behind his back. "Don't think I forgot 'bout you, Al. I know you's is apart a' this too." he scolded the boy. "You've been tellin' these stories fer too long and you've scared so many people I don't even know what ta do with you anymore. Be careful er you're both gonna get it, undastand?" And with that, he pushed himself off the wall and followed his kids up the stairs to the bedroom.
Race stood there, dumbfounded. Jack just... threatened him. Race knew ever since their foster father had started getting sick, Jack had taken up way too many hours for one person at the diner. He knew the work load Jack had on his shoulders. But Jack had never once used a tone like that with him. It was almost like he knew how he was gonna get back at Race for keeping him up all night. And Race got a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Let's... uh... go ta bed." Race shook himself out of his thoughts when Albert started talking. He nodded. It was only ten o'clock on Saturday night, but Race knew it was a good idea to do what his friend said.
"Yeah..."
It was a long night. Jack was right. Just like always. The littles crawled into their beds. Jack and Race slept in separate rooms. After all, twenty boys couldn't all sleep in one room. And they were the two oldest, Jack being seventeen and him being sixteen. They were split among the two rooms to be able to look out for all their younger foster brothers.
Jack ended up with at least three boys in his bed. Race ended up laying on the floor with a lot of the boys in his room. And Jack was not happy the next morning.
Though Jack loved his brothers and had no problem consoling them after a nightmare- which many of them had, frequently- he did have an issue with being woken up from terrors that could have been avoided. So in the morning, he gently, miraculously, climbed out from underneath his brothers and barging into the room where Race was sleeping. He grabbed a pillow from an empty bed and threw it, somehow, in a way only Jack could do, hitting only Race, startling the younger boy awake.
"If I is only gettin' four hours a' sleep, so're you."
Race groaned, letting his head fall back down onto the ground. Then Jack started gathering up his kids in his arms and tucking them back in their beds. It was five AM. They, at least, deserved to sleep a few more hours. And Race was pulled up by the wrist as his older brother dragged him out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen.
Race grumbled under his breath when Jack threw him down into a chair and grabbed an apple to eat for his breakfast. "Ya did this ya yourself, kid."
Race mumbled, letting his face fall into his hands as his eyes started to droop. "...Just a dumb story..."
Jack rolled his eyes. It was a dumb story that had him up all night comforting kids who already had real things to be scared of. This was the third time this month that his friend had told a horror story to the boys right before bed.
Race was falling asleep. So Jack grabbed a glass out of he cupboard and filled it with water, taking a sip before chucking the rest of it at Race's face, smirking when the boy gasped and sat up straight. "Ja-ack!" he whined, his face soaked and his eyes wide.
"Betta' start makin' breakfast now, pal. Once they's find out you's is gone, they'll be down here in a second." And with that, Jack was out the door, smirking as he heard his kid brother's loud groan and his head fall onto the table.
But, despite Race's relief that this was the worst part of his day, he was sadly mistaken.
Race fell asleep on the couch later that day. It was getting dark outside and he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. So he passed out with his brothers running around, knowing Jack wouldn't approve. But he needed the shut eye. Little did he know, it may be the worst mistake of his life.
"Ya sure about this?"
"... yeah... this has been happenin' too much lately."
"Watch it! You're gettin' blood everywhere!"
"Whoa wait! Hey! Help me, will ya?!"
"Race!"
The boy woke up in a panic. So many voices were in his head. They were just echos mostly. But the last one shook him to the core. It was the only voice he could pick out from the others. Romeo.
Frantically, Race looked around. It was dark. He couldn't see a thing. The power hadn't come back on and there was still a storm raging outside. Race could hear the thunder and he was confused when the lightning lit up the house. Normally, he'd hear frightened gasps of the littles. Maybe feel a kid or two trying to wake him up, not liking the loud noise or the bright lights. But when he woke up, the voices he'd been hearing ceased. There was nobody with him.
He figured he must've been hearing things. Maybe he was on the verge of a nightmare and his mind simply woke him up before he could see it. So he sat up and glanced up at the old, battery run clock they had. The power was still out. It was ten at night. That meant Jack was surely home. So the boys must've been upstairs... Right?
The boy heard the thunder sound again and felt himself jump. It felt as though it was underneath him, shaking the ground beneath his feet as he made his way to the stairs. But on his way up...
"Ra-ace..." It was a whisper. It sounded like a song. A song Race did not want to hear. And he froze in his spot on the middle of the stairs and glanced around.
"Hello?" His eyes worked their way around the quiet room, trying to find anyone. But there was something odd about the voice. It was a woman's voice.
He got no response. So he cautiously continued on his way.
He made his way to Jack's room. He was a little off put about the fact that his big brother hadn't woken him up immediately when he'd seen him sleeping. But he just entered the room like he would any other day. But it wasn't any other day, he quickly found, as the entire room was... empty.
"...the hell?" Race grabbed a flashlight that was always sitting on a shelf just inside the room, turning it on, shining it all over the place. His brothers were just being stupid. Hiding from him. Trying to scare him. Well it wasn't gonna work.
He took the light into his room finding it also empty. Race practically ran throughout the house, shining the small light in every room he could, desperate to find his brothers. He didn't fully understand why. But he didn't find them. The entire house was silent. So he pulled out his cheap little flip phone and quickly called the first person on his speed dial.
He didn't get the answer he wanted.
"They're gone, Race." The boy's heart stopped. He hadn't imagined that voice. That whisper, almost silent. It was a woman. And it was real. "And you're next."
Race's eyes went wide. "Who the hell is this?!" But the line went dead. He tried to redial. Anything to unveil what he knew had to be some sort of joke. But the phone wouldn't connect.
All he could think to do was look around, wildly. He stood in the middle of the living room, trying to grasp ahold of the situation. He couldn't. And then the flashlight started to die. "This ain't funny, guys!" the boy screamed as everything around him went dark. But no one answered.
He tried to find any source of light he could. What he wasn't expecting was to end up in the kitchen. There was a clear sliding glass door that lead outside. And Race jumped when the thunder sounded and the lightning flashed, but what caught his attention the most was what he saw beyond that door.
It should have been empty. No one was crazy enough to be out in that weather. But Race caught sight of something when the lightning flashed. Or... someone. A few yards away he saw a quick outline of a small child. But a few moments later when he curiously walked closer to the glass and the lightning flashed again, the child wasn't far away. They were right outside the door. They were staring at him. They were covered in red.
Race let out a startled scream as he fell backwards, hitting into something behind him. The blond lost his sight of the door when he blinked and the child was gone. The child that looked a lot like his romantic kid brother with a crazed smile on his face.
When he collided with something behind him, he jumped away, turning around to find- "Al!" His voice came out as a mixture of so many things. "What the hell is goin' on? You scared the hell outta me! Why's Romeo outside?"
Albert didn't really move. "Romeo?" His voice sounded distant and detached. But Race didn't even notice.
"Yes! Romeo! Why's he outside?!" Race didn't understand what was happening. "Why does it look like he was bleeding? What the hell is happening?!"
Albert still didn't move. "...Race?"
"Yes Albert! What're ya, deaf and blind?!" That was the last thing Race said to Albert before the other boy started to fall. Race wasn't quick enough to catch him. "Al!" The boy didn't respond and Race rushed to him, dropping down by his side. "What the hell, Al?" That was when Race pulled his hand away from Albert's back. Even in the dark he could see the red.
"You're next..." And that was the last thing Race heard from his friend before his eyes closed.
"Ra-ace..." Race looked around wildly for the voice that seemed to come from everywhere.
"Who are you?!" The voice didn't answer his frantic scream. And his mind was running a mile a minute. His mind couldn't comprehend what his eyes had just witnessed. He stood up fast running out of the room where he'd found two of his brothers. Or... what was left of them. "What the hell is goin' on?"
The power was out. And that was why Race felt a pang of fear hit in his chest when he was standing in the middle of the living room and something in the corner started to flicker to life. A lamp. The one Jack liked to sit and read underneath. And no one had been there to turn it on.
That wasn't even what had brought on the rush of adrenaline that Race felt in that moment. On the wall, right behind where his big brother sits everyday, was a single, red, handprint.
"Ra-ace..."
Next to the handprint was a picture of him and his brothers. It was taped to the wall. Romeo was scribbled out of it. Albert was scribbled out of it. He was scribbled out of it... Jack was scribbled out of it.
"Ra-ace..."
And on the table that the lamp was on was a familiar book. Jack's favorite book. It was open to a random page and there was a tiny drop of red on the corner of it.
"Ra-ace..."
Race was running. He didn't know how fast, nor did he care that he was clumsily hitting almost everything in his path, tripping up stairs and over misplaced items.
"Ra-ace..."
He screamed, sprinting to the place he called a safe haven. The place he felt the safest. He ran right into his big brother's room and jumped onto his bed, grabbing the pillow and hugging it close to him. He sat in a ball, praying for it to all be a nightmare. Some sort of sick, twisted dream.
Something gripped onto him.
"Ra-ace..."
Race screamed.
"Got'cha!"
And then he heard the laughing. And then he felt the frightened tears on his face as the lights were turned on and suddenly he was surrounded.
Jack wrapped an arm around his shaking brother's shoulders with a goofy grin on his face as he pulled the kid tightly into him. He was taking in shaky breaths, trying to calm himself down as he looked around the room, trying to piece together what had just happened.
Race felt his entire body lurch forward when he was pulled tightly into someone. But the feeling was quickly washed away when the laughing made sense and the familiar feeling caused his entire body to become a shaking heap in Jack's arms.
"We got you good, kid!" Spot? Race opened his eyes, seeing so many blurs of people through the tears streaming down his face that his arms didn't have the strength to wipe away. Sure enough, there was a laughing Brooklyn boy standing in front of him, soaking wet, a video camera shoved in Race's terrified face. "You're scared ta death!"
As Spot zoomed in on his face, Race looked at the lens, completely dumbfounded, but somehow he still found himself muttering out, "I-I ain't... I ain't scared..." His voice was not convincing. It shook with every word and the small sniffle at the end gave him away.
Jack chuckled and hugged his brother to his chest, holding him around his torso with one arm and using his other hand to brush tears away from his cheeks. "Nah, he ain't scared none," Jack laughed.
Race didn't have anymore energy. The feeling of pure terror that had surged up him had given him a rush of adrenaline. Now his body was crashing with the relief that it wasn't real. And as much as he wanted to wipe away his tears and convince everyone in the room that he was fine, he was too comfortable in Jack's arms and not able to push away from him.
"Ra-ace..."
Race screamed and his hands flew to cover his ears as that voice started laughing along with the rest of the room. "Stop it!"
"You're getting what you deserve, Higgins!" No...
"Ace?!"
Katherine laughed and sat down behind the shaken boy, smiling for the camera as she did so. "You deserved it after the hell you put me through with that doll story last month!"
Race finally looked up, opening his eyes that he hadn't known were screwed shut, letting Jack continue to clear away his tears. Everyone in that room made sense now. He'd told them all a story at one point or another. He hadn't known all of them had felt so strongly against it.
"Spot?" He didn't understand why the king of Brooklyn was there. Sure, he'd told him a story. But... c'mon, it was Spot Conlon. The Spot Conlon.
"You scared the hell outta him with the story ya told him!" Spot elbowed Hot Spot in the gut with his elbow. The other Brooklyn boy groaned as his older foster brother gave him a good glare.
"I wasn't scared!" Spot insisted.
"Cmon, Spot!" Hot Shot yelled back. "Ya wouldn't go near the attic fer weeks!"
Race allowed himself a small smile when he heard that, followed by Spot hitting his brother in the arm. Then he recalled his nightmare and glanced around the room. "Where are they?"
Jack heard the urgency in his brother's voice. Oh boy... "Who?" he asked, not understanding.
Race saw Spot putting his camera away, probably to use as blackmail later. Then he answered Jack with the same urgency he had been using before. "R-Rome... w-was... h-he was out... side. An... and Al..."
Race felt Jack's hand leave his face as he gestured for someone to come closer. Then he saw two boys running up to him. One that was still covered in red liquid that was running over his skin. To Race's relief, it looked like the boy was in perfect condition. No cuts and no bruises.
"We got'cha good, Race!" The boy had a huge, innocent grin on his face. And Spot laughed when Race glared at him and the taller redhead behind him.
"Sorry Race..."
Race growled at him. "Ya were supposed ta be on my side, Al!" he yelled at his friend, offended.
"Gave him twenty buck," Spot responded with a smirk. "And all the sappy one wanted was ta play in the rain. So's I let him."
"We jumped in the puddles, Race! And then Spot said that we's could scare ya and I did! Ya shoulda seen your face!" Romeo had the biggest grin on his face and Race found it too hard to be mad at him. So he settled for a slight glare, instead.
Jack looked around and laughed but knew that they'd had their fun and he had to draw the line somewhere. So he kept his arms around Race as they stood.
It was then the boy saw that every single one of his brothers were in the room. Even Crutchie was standing there, looking a little bit guilty at the sight of Race's pale face. They had all been in on the joke to scare him out of his mind. They were all covered in a splash of fake blood. That red color maybe engraved in Race's mind forever. But he let Jack guide him out of the room. "Cmon, kid, let's get ya some wata'."
It was later that night that Race was lying awake in his bed. His eyes were wide open. Katherine's voice wasn't ever gonna leave his head. And every time he closed his eyes, he saw Romeo covered in blood, or Albert falling to the ground. He could feel the pain that went through him when his mind told him to run. The rush that he felt couldn't be relived. And Race stared at the ceiling for hours in the darkness as his brothers snored peacefully, not afraid because they knew he was there to keep them safe. And they were oblivious to the fact that Race couldn't close his eyes.
He wanted so badly to turn on a light. To not be alone in the dark again. He knew the power had come back on, despite the raging storm outside. But he couldn't wake up his brothers. Luckily, he knew someone who would be up at that time of night. And he forced his thoughts down as he threw the blanket off of himself and all but ran downstairs.
Jack looked up from his books when he heard the footsteps he knew would be coming. He had, after all, aided in the scheme that would lead to a sleepless night for his brother. He was prepared for the consequences.
When Race stepped off the stairs and their eyes met, Jack just smiled at him, and the younger boy sheepishly crosses his arms over his chest. He saw the homework his big brother was drowning in, but he wouldn't be able to sleep anywhere else. It was either sitting awake staring at the ceiling or sitting awake watching Jack catch up on his school work. Race chose the latter. It wasn't exactly exciting, but at least it wasn't being alone in the dark.
Jack rolled his eyes and held up the blanket that was next to him, letting Race know he'd known this had been coming. Letting Race know it was okay. And Race didn't say a word as he shyly walked forward and sat down next to his brother on the couch.
Race laid his head down on Jack's leg, using him as a pillow as the older boy threw the blanket over his curled up form and began a gentle run of his hand through the younger boy's hair.
"If it makes ya feel any betta', Spot really was scared a' that story ya told him 'bout the attic," Jack spoke softly, knowing that Race wanted him to speak. Jack knew Race. He might of been the only one to know the boy so well. "Called me fer three nights in a row ta 'ask me 'bout the boys' and wouldn't let me go ta sleep."
Race didn't make a noise. But his lips curled up into a small smile. He'd scared the toughest kid in New York with a horror story. He didn't think it could be done.
"And Ace did the same thing. She called me in the middle a' the night ta tell me she was gettin' ya back fer keepin' her up all night." Jack smiled when Race let out a small laugh. But it quickly died away.
Jack knew this would happen. They'd had their fun. Now it was time to deal with the real problem. "It wasn't real, kid. Just a prank. You're okay."
"I-it w-was dark, Jack..." Race whispered, not looking up at the older boy, continuing to let him run a hand through his hair. "A-and I was alone..."
Jack nodded. He continued to do his work as he spoke. "I know, pal..." He didn't feel guilty for doing it. He felt guilty about why Race had been telling ghost stories to begin with. And he knew the best way to scare his friend was to put him in a dark room without anyone else. Without his brothers. "Maybe it's time ta stop tellin' ghost stories."
Race clutched onto the blanket that Jack had carefully placed over him. He whispered so quietly and curled into himself more. "Ya know why I tell the ghost stories..."
Jack nodded as he continued his studies. He carefully played with Race's curls as well, letting the boy take in his presence. "I know, Racer," he sighed. "But next time you's can't sleep cause you's scared a' the dark, don't scare the littles, alright? Come find me," Jack asked. He glanced down at Race who was staring straight ahead of him, seeing nothing, not liking the fact that his deepest fear had been brought up. "Race, there ain't nothin' here comin' ta get'cha. I've got you. I'm right here..." he assured, lightly. Race didn't respond. "Cmon, kid... I won't let anythin' touch ya. Just stop tryin' ta wake everyone else up so ya won't be alone. Ya ain't alone, Race."
Race let Jack play with his curls. He stared dead ahead and tried to make his mind go blank. When he started feeling his eyes close, his body jerked awake, warning him from sleep, telling him not to make that mistake before Jack was leaning down to him and telling him, "I've got ya, kid. Go ta sleep." So he did.
Jack smiled when Race finally dozed off. His mouth was slightly open and his hands clutched blanket near his face. The older boy leaned down. "Goodnight Racer..." His lips were pressed to the boy's hair before he was going back to work.
The terror faded. Race was still mad at his brothers for putting him through that. He was still mad at Spot for recording the whole thing. But he didn't know what he'd do without the boys he loved like family. And though he may be even more terrified of the dark than he had been before, his brothers were always there to get him through it. He wasn't alone.
Needless to say, however, Race never told another ghost story again.
Word count: 5,095 words (not including authors note)
Task Two: Write about a haunting.
Prompts chosen:
(Word) Creation
(Dialogue) "This is about to go downhill real fast from here..."
(Color) Red
(Object) Lamp
Sorry I didn't really explain how they actually accomplished that all, but hey, a house full of teenage boys? Cmon, it's all possible.
So I did my best to make this story scary... but let's get real, I hate horror movies. I hate horror stories which is why I didn't specify any stories Race told. They are all ones I've heard in the past and I couldn't bring myself to write them out. But I hope you guys liked this story! I put Race through too much.
I ended up tying into Race's fear because it's relatable. If you are afraid of the dark, you don't want to be alone in that fear. And I know many people who have been so terrified of the dark that couldn't move. They were like almost paralyzed of fear and they didn't know what else to do but call for someone. So I just thought hey, why not make this story something anyone can relate to. I hope you enjoyed it.
Please make sure to check out my other stories! It means a lot to me! Thanks!
As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya fansies! Happy Halloween! (Almost)