.Sister Spook.
"Morning," Alex greeted Max as they opened the door in unison.
"Morning," said Max.
Max was not keen in diving into the matter of the Mexican song the "ghost" was singing and Alex was more than happy to oblige.
Just then, John passed by, not even noticing the two standing in the hallway.
"What's up?" asked Alex.
"Rejected Love by Isabel," replied Max with a grin.
"I heard that," said Isabel coming out of the room.
Tess and Maria came out of their rooms, dark eye rings decorating their eyes.
"Hi," said Alex.
"Joined the World Wild Life?" asked Michael coming out too.
"Shut up, Spaceboy," said Maria.
"Advice?" asked Tess. "Never agree to whatever Brenda says."
They glided down the stairs. Even though the windows were nailed shut and even the slightest peek of sunlight could not enter, they just had a way of telling that it was morning. But actually, the place was exactly the same way it was at night. It was not surprising that Nicole still hadn't appeared for breakfast. For a joke, Michael had been summoned to call her, but he refused. So Isabel went to fetch her down.
After breakfast, they all sat at the living room waiting for the afternoon to come.
"So, any disturbance last night?" asked Tess, proud of the fact that she never met any "ghosts".
"No," answered Daniel. "It was peaceful."
"No," agreed Brenda.
Tess resisted the urge to say that a vampire who shall remain unidentified had clawed her arm until it had left red angry nail marks.
"Let's not go into it," said Alex.
Tess smiled a sickly-sweet smile. "Sure, Alexy."
Glares exchanged.
Before anyone could think up a real topic to discuss, Kyle screamed.
"What is it now?" asked Maria. "I'm not drinking any grape juice, am I?"
Just then, Daniel joined him.
"It's—it's blood!" he blurted.
Liz screamed, and held out a shivering hand that now dripped with blood.
"Oh my…" before that sentence could be finished, everyone started screaming.
"Where is it coming from?" screamed Tess.
"I don't know! It seems to be soaking out from the sofa!" answered John.
A sudden blast of cool air made the group shiver and shout.
"This is not a Mexican ghost!" shouted Alex.
"GET---OUT---OF---MY---HOUSE------"
"Come on," Maria said in a tiny voice. "You guys, stop it."
"I did not say a word!" cried Kyle.
"Neither did I!"
"Not me!"
"Then who is it?!" yelled Liz.
The blood slowed down and all was left was the blood soaked sofa.
Nicole started to cry.
Something smelt funny. Michael turned to see the microwave door was open and the turning dish inside was burning. No, something was burning on the dish.
"Max…" he said.
Max turned and ran into the kitchen followed by everyone.
Michael hurriedly filled a cup with water and Max used it to douse the fire.
Liz feebly turned the thing with a dirty spoon. "It's a rat," she announced.
"I don't want to eat anything from that microwave," said Brenda.
"Who wants to?" asked Tess.
Obviously the camera crew out there could not wait to interview them as they barged in the door, the sunlight merely highlighting the house before the door blocked it again.
"What happened?" the man barked into the camera. "Have they sighted another ghost? If so, what had happened?"
He turned and thrust the mike into Nicole's red tear-streaked face.
"I don't know," she said, pointing to the sofa.
The man brightened. Instantly the sofa was swarming with the crew as they took shots from every corner.
The man repeated solemnly. "It must be the blood from the murder of Lady Michele II."
"Who's that?" squeaked Nicole.
"Lord Michele II suspected his Lady had betrayed him and found another lover. He had then killed Lady Michele II and buried her body in the wall. He cemented it and not long ago, we unearthed the skeleton. Because of that, we believe that Lady Michele was murdered on that very sofa and is now seeking revenge on anyone that is still staying in this house."
The man or Mr. Duncan smiled. The story was false. It was merely just to scare some contestants out of the house. It worked, because Nicole at once screamed and ran out of the door.
"I'm out! I want to go home! Get me away from here!" she screamed.
A car immediately came and drove the hysterical woman away.
Michael nearly beamed as he saw his "friend" leave, but remembered that the situation was solemn and decided to keep his joy.
"Nicole Carter had left the challenge," Mr. Duncan spoke into the camera. "Who is next?"
The voting was "next" and everyone solemnly voted for 3 persons. Who you voted for was unknown, but was recorded into the Haunted House Challenge Official Haunt book.
Slips were given out and you had to write the names down with a provided pen. The slips were collected and votes counted.
"Ok, Brenda Ledford, 1 vote."
Brenda opened her eyes wide. She had expected at least 3, since she had spent time "bonding" with the 2 girls and she had thought that at least one male would be attracted to her. Apparently not, and she slumped into her seat, eyeing the red sofa in front of her.
"Tess Harding, 4 votes."
Tess smirked.
"Daniel Leicester, 1 vote."
Daniel shrugged and tried to pretend he didn't care.
"Kyle Valenti, 3 votes."
Kyle was too pale to think, as the blood red sofa was still sitting there, much to his dismay.
"John McCauley, 1 vote."
John immediately turned and gave Isabel a bright smile. Maybe she had voted for him. He would invite her to explore the house with him and get more points together.
"Alex Whitman, 3 votes."
Alex gave a mini bow.
"Isabel Evans, 3 votes."
Isabel merely continued playing with her nails, spotting John looking at her from the corner of her eye.
"Liz Parker, 4 votes."
"Max Evans, 4 votes."
"Maria DeLuca, 5 votes."
Maria squealed and squeezed Michael.
"Michael Guerin, 4 votes."
Michael was too busy trying to free himself to give any response.
"Seem like the one with the most points is Maria DeLuca. Congratulations, Miss DeLuca."
"Thank you, thank you. Actually, I'm not that popular. Just people…"
"But no one has been spotted exploring the house. Come on, people. You can get more points." Said Mr. Duncan cutting Maria halfway.
"I wonder who voted for Brenda?" asked Alex softly.
"John, Daniel and Brenda each had only 1 vote," observed Kyle.
"Eight of us are closer friends," said Isabel.
"Boys and girls, we rule." Grinned Alex. "Among the 8 of us, one of us are gonna get the money, and we could split later."
"If we don't run from fright, yet," said Maria.
"I've a feeling it's just the sponsors trying to scare us with the effects," said Max.
"You think so?" asked Daniel.
"What are you whispering?" asked Mr. Duncan thrusting the mike again.
"Private," said Liz.
"Looks like our 11 contestants has bonded, how nice. Would they survive the remaining 6 days?" asked Mr. Duncan. "We'll leave them now, to the horrors of this house.
"Bye, Dunkin Donut," said Alex.
Isabel jabbed his side.
"Oh, one more thing," Mr. Duncan turned and grinned somewhat evilly. "Just as we are discussing, your bathrooms are being sealed."
"What?"
"Leaving only one bathroom."
"Don't tell me," groaned Michael.
"The third floor bathroom, near the attic. No lights, just a small light bulb. Happy bathing," Mr. Duncan strolled out. "See ya tomorrow."
P/s: I know, it doesn't sound scary. But I was never good at scary stuff. If it were too scary, I wouldn't know how to explain it later in the story. Any ideas, please tell me! =)