"I'll go first!"

Rosalie waved her hand in the air, gathering everyone's attention. She turned to look at Edward, Jasper, and then finally Emmett before a sly smile spread across her face.

"And I have just the perfect story..."


It was a bright and sunny day as three teenage boys, Edward, Emmett and Jasper, hiked through the forested trails on the outskirts of town.

They were on a mission. Actually more of a dare.

Three annoying, and if they had to admit it, highly attractive, teenage girls had told them a story about a haunted house in the middle of the forest. The one from which no one ever returned.

Emmett had scoffed, Jasper had laughed and Edward had recited all the reasons why ghosts didn't exist.

The girls had smiled to each other and given them the challenge: Find the house and stay one night inside. The boys had readily agreed, and that was how they found themselves tramping through the ever-denser woods, in search of this elusive haunted house.

As they followed some sort of map the girls had found in the library, they teased and taunted each other, playing pranks as boys do. They stopped for lunch when they were hungry, eating heartily from the stash of snacks that they had packed.

Edward perused the map again while they were stopped, looking at the trail and the stream that ran next to them, burbling over the rocks. "That can't be right," he muttered, turning the map upside-down and tilting his head.

"What can't be?" Jasper asked, pushing Emmett again as he tried to steal another cookie.

"There's no stream on this map. I think we're going the wrong way."

"We've been following the only trail out here, the one that started behind the grainery. That's what the girls told us," Jasper said, getting up to sit next to Edward and look at the map.

"Maybe we missed a turn then." Edward looked back the way they had come, the forest looking similar in all directions.

"I think we should keep going," Emmett injected and they both looked at him like he was crazy. "What? I don't want those girls to think we're chicken. Either we're on the right trail or we're not. I think we are. We'll find this house."

"Maybe Emmett's right," Jasper said, looking from Edward's shocked face to Emmett's satisfied one. "Besides it's a lovely day for hiking. How often is it warm and sunny here?"

Three hours later, as dark clouds rolled in and it didn't seem like they were any closer to finding this mysterious house, Jasper was regretting his words. Thunder rolled ominously in the distance as fat raindrops began falling through the branches above.

"We should set up our tents and continue in the morning," Edward said, folding the map into his pocket to keep it dry.

"No time," Emmett said. "We need to find a place to stay and fast."

They raced down the trail, peering as far as they could into the gathering darkness for any kind of shelter, anything to protect them from the rain lashing down.

"I think I see something," Jasper said excitedly, his pace quickening.

The other two boys followed eagerly, but they all stopped dead in their tracks when the dark shape in the gloom finally materialized.

Ahead of them was a dilapidated, clearly uninhabited two-story house, one of those that looked like it belonged on a plantation with giant columns in the front and a wide, wrap-around porch. The original color of the house was indiscernible, and many of the boards were coming loose or missing. The forest was slowly reclaiming the space, trees and vines wrapping around the corners and the chimney, climbing through the holes in the walls and boarded windows.

"It's some kind of shelter," Edward mumbled, not moving an inch closer to the building.

"It will keep us drier," Emmett agreed quietly.

A tree branch slid along the roof, making a high-pitched squeal and causing all three boys to jump.

"This is ridiculous," Jasper said, stomping toward the house. "We're cold and wet and we don't have to be. Come on!"

The other two boys exchanged slightly worried looks but decided that Jasper was right, it was just the girls' stories making them nervous.

"There's no such thing as ghosts," Edward muttered as he followed them, reminding himself that there was no reason to be afraid.

Surprisingly the door was still on its hinges and it swung easily open when Jasper laid his hand on it. After stumbling into the house, they shut the door and immediately felt warmer.

It's just because we're out of the wind, Jasper thought as they walked into the house proper.

The first room they found was a sitting room with chairs and couches and a fireplace with logs already in it. Deciding it was as good a place as any, they went about uncovering some of the furniture and attempting to start a fire.

After they had a warm blaze roaring in the fireplace, they began to relax and decided take a look around. They found some long, taper candles and lit them to explore the rest of the rooms in the house. On the first floor was a formal dining room, a parlor, a sitting room, a kitchen and a small bathroom. All of the rooms were furnished, and the walls still had paintings and black and white photographs of people. If they hadn't seen the outside of the house, it would have been difficult to say that this place had been abandoned for very long.

As they climbed the stairs, there was a slam of a door above as a sudden gust of wind blew out their candles, plunging them into near darkness.

"That storm must be getting wild out there," Emmett said, looking at the others cautiously.

"I'm sure it's just the wind." Jasper nodded his head and then gestured back down the stairs. "Let's go back to the fire, relight, and see what's upstairs."

They stumbled and tripped back into the first room, quickly relighting their candles, taking the matches with them this time. Upon their return to the stairs, no errant wind doused their flames this time, but they all were more careful and shielded the flames with their hands. Reaching the second floor landing, nothing seemed amiss. There were more portraits on the walls and several rooms, all with the doors closed. Cautiously, they approached one of the doors, opening it to reveal a neat bedroom with a four-poster bed and pink paisley on the walls. The next doors had similar furnishings with variation in the wallpaper or color scheme.

All except one. The door at the end of the hall was locked and wouldn't budge no matter what they did.

"Wonder what's in here," Edward said, wiggling the handle one last time.

"Probably just a storage closet or something equally boring. This really isn't as exciting as I had hoped," Emmett complained, leading the others back to the first floor. As they entered the sitting room, they heard the rain pounding on the windows and the wail of the wind outside.

"At least it's dry and warm in here," Edward said as he flopped onto a couch and extinguished his candle.

Jasper joined Edward on the couch. "And we can tell those girls that this place is just an old rundown house. No ghosts here."

"Well, ghosts or no ghosts, I'm going to go take a leak. Didn't we see a bathroom down here?" Emmet asked, standing and stretching.

"Eww, Emmett. Who knows if the plumbing still works?" Edward grimaced just imagining all the things that could back up from the old pipes.

"I'll go test it out then." Emmett left the room, taking his candle with him.

"If he makes that toilet overflow, that won't be cool," Edward said under his breath, and Jasper laughed.

"It'll be alright. We'll be leaving here soon anyway." Jasper picked up his backpack and started rummaging through the contents. "I do think it's about dinner time, though. I'm starving."

Edward's stomach readily agreed, and he hauled up his own bag onto the couch, trying to find the snacks his mother had packed. Soon, both boys had a small pile of food on the table in front of them and they picked through them, eating their favorites first. Unwrapping his second snack Oreo pack, Edward was suddenly aware of the overwhelming silence, the only other noise being Jasper's chewing.

"Um, where's Emmett?" Edward finally asked, not wanting to seem scared but becoming a little worried that the big guy had been gone too long to just take a piss.

"Maybe he had other business to take care of," Jasper suggested, shrugging and popping another cracker in his mouth.

Suddenly, there was a resounding crash and a muffled scream from the other room. Edward and Jasper both leapt to their feet, packages and snacks dropping to the ground.

"You don't think that was-"

"Well, there's no one else but us here, so it's safe to say it was probably Emmett," Edward interrupted, his logic not making either of them feel better.

"We should go investigate."

"Yes, we should."

But both boys stayed frozen to the spot, neither making the first move to find their friend.

Jasper took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "Right. Come on, Edward." He grabbed his friend's sleeve and together they walked into the hallway, finding the bathroom easily.

Knocking on the door, there was no answer. Jasper tried the handle and the door swung open, revealing an empty room.

"What the fuck?" Jasper whispered, backing up into Edward, he turned and yelled into the hallway. "This isn't funny, man. Come on out!"

"Is Emmett missing?"

"No, he's just fucking with us. You know him."

Edward nodded, but he still scanned the small bathroom nervously before turning back into the hall. "Should we go look for him?"

"Naw, he's fine. Just ignore him."

Another loud crash from the second floor caused dust to filter down on their heads. This time they pressed themselves against the walls, eyes wide.

"I think we should go see," Edward suggested, thinking that they had better make sure that Emmett hadn't hurt himself at the very least.

Jasper shrugged. "Yeah, let's go check on the idiot."

Climbing the stairs as quietly as possible, they reached the second floor without any other noises or hints as to what Emmett was up to. They stepped into the hallway, noticing that the previously locked door at the end of the hall was ajar. Edward began tiptoeing toward it and Jasper snorted.

"Seriously? What do you think is going to happen here? A ghost will attack us or something?" Jasper strode over to the door that was partially open and pushed it, stepping inside to let his candle illuminate the interior.

Nothing could have prepared them for the sight before them. What was once a similarly decorated bedroom to the others along the hallway was in shambles. The furniture was in pieces, fabric ripped from the windows and there were dark red streaks on the walls, floor and ceiling. Streaks that were slowly running down the walls.

Jasper began backing up quickly, stumbling over Edward who was frozen in horror.

"Run, Edward," Jasper whispered once he found his voice. Both boys turned and ran down the steps, hitting the front door at the same time. Twisting the handle and pulling, they found that the door wouldn't budge and no amount of screaming or effort would move it.

"Come on," Edward said, beckoning Jasper to follow him. Returning to the sitting room, he drew back the drapes, trying to find another exit. Window after window was boarded up, no escape possible through them either.

"Back door," Jasper suggested and they tore off through the house again, passing the bathroom and finding another door in the old kitchen. Jasper grasped the handle and pulled with all his weight, cursing as it refused to open.

"What are we going to do? How do we get out of here?" Edward asked, panic causing his voice to be much higher than he would have liked.

"At least we need to-"

Jasper's words were cut off as both of them screamed in terror when a large shape leapt at them from a pantry. Edward screamed and Jasper tried to run but was held fast by a hand that grabbed his shirt.

As Jasper turned to fight, he saw the big grin of their missing friend, tears running down his face from his barely contained laughter.

"Oh, man. You guys should see the look on your faces..."

At this point, Edward realized that he had been tricked and tackled Emmett, knocking them all to the ground as he attempted to kick the shit out of his friend. Soon they were all out of breath and sprawled on the kitchen floor, Emmett still smiling despite the split lip.

"What the fuck, Emmett?"

"What?" Emmett looked between his friends. "I just jumped out at you."

"But why all the stuff upstairs? And the locked doors?"

"What are you guys talking about?"

Jasper huffed as Edward spluttered. "The blood on the walls? The bangs and screaming?"

Emmett eyes widened and he looked between his two friends, willing one of them to crack a smile. "I've been in this pantry since after I pissed. I thought you guys were fucking with me and made the noises."

"We can't get out of this house," Edward whispered, his fear returning.

Jasper looked from Edward to Emmett. "Sure we can. These doors are wood right? We'll just burn our way out."

At that moment, a cold blast of air blew through the kitchen, extinguishing their candles. They ran as a group back into the sitting room finding the fireplace there also entirely dark and the room noticeably cooler. The only illumination was the occasional flashes of lightning as the boys huddled together in the middle of the room.

"This is ridiculous," Jasper said, his voice a little tight. "We have flashlights."

The boys dove for their bags, each finding their flashlights quickly. As they clicked them on, the white light piercing the darkness around them, Edward began stuttering again.

"What is it?" Emmett said, looking around fearfully and swinging his beam of light around the room.

Jasper opened his mouth to tell the scared boys to settle the fuck down, but then he saw it too.

Two red eyes glowing in the dark.

Eyes that were coming closer by the second.

Edward let out a very unmanly squeal. Emmett braced himself and then turned the beam of his flashlight toward the eyes.

And there was nothing there, the eyes disappearing in the bright light.

"See? Nothing there."

But as soon as he lowered the light, the eyes returned closer than before. All three of them jumped back, Edward knocking over a large lamp that crashed to the floor. A great whooshing sound passed through the room and Edward fell to the floor, still as stone.

"What the fuck?" Emmett whispered as Jasper knelt next to Edward, feeling for a pulse. He breathed easy as he felt the steady rhythm under his fingers.

"I think he fainted," Jasper said before a powerful, cold breeze blew across the back of his neck and there was a soft thud behind him.

Turning very slowly, scared about what he would find, he found Emmett's prone body on the floor. Panic settled into Jasper's chest as he checked that Emmett was still breathing, although apparently unconscious. His options seemed limited - running would mean abandoning his friends but staying didn't seem like it would be good for anyone.

Making a decision, he took a deep breath and stood. As soon as he straightened, a cold blast of air knocked him back to the floor and the world turned red as he screamed. The last thing he heard as his consciousness faded was a faintly whispered, "All who intrude upon my house must suffer the consequences..."

The next thing he recognized was a sharp pain in his side, an insistent poking. A loud groan next to him, let him know that Emmett was still alive at least. He feared opening his eyes, wondering what horror he would find himself in.

"Come on, sleepy heads," a cheery voice rang out. A very familiar female voice followed by several familiar giggles.

Jasper's eyes flew open to find the other boys blinking blearily in the bright sunshine and their three girls standing over them, Alice's finger inches from poking him again.

"Wha-" Jasper stuttered, looking around at the room, finding nothing amiss. No broken lamp. No glowing red eyes. Just three boys sleeping on the floor in front of an empty fireplace.

"We should know better than to dare you three. You always win." Bella pouted and knelt beside an equally confused Edward.

"Looks like the place isn't so haunted after all," Alice said, looking around. "But this furniture is pretty cool, and the portraits are awesome. Do you think we could take something?"

"NO!" all three boys yelled and then looked at each other.

"It's just we don't know who this stuff belongs to, but it's obviously well-cared for," Edward said, standing and stretching and trying to act nonchalant.

"Yeah, we shouldn't mess with what isn't ours," Emmett chimed in.

"In fact, perhaps we should get outside and enjoy the sunshine and that swimming spot you all promised us," Jasper said, gathering his stuff quickly and gesturing for the other boys to do the same.

"Ooookaaay," Rose said, eyeing them skeptically. "What happened to you guys?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. Boring night in a boring house," Jasper responded.

"Yeah, I just want to see Rose in that bikini she's been teasing me with." Emmett winked at Rose and she smacked him on the ass.

"Well, then come on big boy, and I'll show it to you." Rose giggled as Emmett picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

The three boys breathed a sigh of relief as the front door opened easily and they all exited the house into the clear morning air. Trying to forget the horrors they'd witnessed the night before, they just smiled as the girls chatted happily.

Jasper paused once, goosebumps erupting over his skin as he felt a slight prickle on the back of his neck. Turning, he saw only a slight movement in an upper window, a curtain waving in the breeze.

And two faintly glowing red spots in the darkness behind the closed window.


A/N: Big thank yous to theladyingrey42 and YogaGal for inviting me to participate! I had a lot of fun writing in 3rd person (eep!), past tense (ack!) and horror (which honestly scares me). Thanks also to theladyingrey for being the lovely beta-fish that she always is.


Bmango is the author of amazing fics like Ready For You, Tuesday Next and Beyond Duty. Check out all of her wonderful words at http:/ www . fanfiction . net/u/1955967

In the meantime, please leave her some love, and join us tomorrow when TuesdayMidnight delves deeper into Alice's horrific past...