300 Horror Prompts- #20
Chapter 5
Six years have come and gone and Aiden is still missing, the searchers had come up empty-handed that day, the day before, and for weeks after. Carol had gone back to the house several times over the past five years hoping to find Aiden herself or even maybe find some clues that the police hadn’t found and piece them together to find out where Aiden has disappeared to but she couldn’t find anything.
That sixth year, she decides that it would be best for her and her kids to sell the house so that they can start moving forward in their new life without Aiden. All the broken items had removed years before and she collected their belongings that second year since it had been too hard going to the house the first he was gone. Now the house stands empty and ready to be sold to new people to enjoy.
Carol hires an agent from that area and begins to look for her own house for her and her children, not too far from where her parents live in South Carolina. Marcos, Leah, and Lance still hold out hope that their dad will return one day but Carol’s hope has diminished. Carol and the children return to the house one day in that sixth year at Marcos’ request. They stand at the side of their car, staring up at the house they once loved but have grown to hate and fear since it has taken their husband and father away from them.
Carol looks down at her children who are standing in front of her, her heart hurting for them the most since now they will have to grow up without their father. She rests a gentle hand on Marcos’ shoulder, squeezing to let him know that she is there for him as well as his siblings. The now 14-year-old looks at his mom, almost the same height as her already and takes a hold of his now 8-year-old siblings’ hands and they walk together up onto the porch. They enter the empty house and stop just inside the entryway, looking around at the freshly painted house.
They hear voices off in the kitchen telling them that the realtor is giving someone a tour of the house. A male voice answers the realtor and the twins perk up, the male voice sounding very close to their missing father’s voice. As they let Marcos’s hand go and are about to run into the kitchen to see if their father has returned, they see someone walking up the stairs and into the master bedroom.
“Daddy!” they shout and race for the stairs, their feet pounding loudly on the ground.
“No, Lance, Leah, wait!” Carol calls after them, trying to grab their hands in order to stop them but she misses.
Marcos takes off after the twins when his mom is unable to stop them, saying their names to catch their attention, but the two are too invested in getting upstairs. As Carol chases her three children, she hears confused voices coming out of the kitchen and entering the entryway behind her. She hears the realtor call out her name but she ignores her, only wanting to get her children.
She enters the master bedroom, her and her husband’s old room, and looks to see all three children are searching the closets and inside the bathroom. Carol watches them sadly as they return to her, their faces disappointed that they hadn’t found their dad in that room. Carol hugs them close and starts to lead them out of the room but she freezes when she sees a huge looming shadow in front of them. She pushes the kids behind her, facing the shadow and forcing them to walk blindly backward.
The shadow moves towards them, a strange sound like laughter emitting from the creature, scaring them more. Carol screams for the shadow to leave them alone but it continues to walk towards them still laughing. Beside them, the closet doors spring open and they rush inside, thinking that they can close the doors and stop the shadow but it follows them right at their heels. The door slams shut, closing the frightened family inside with the evil entity, its eyes staring at them being red and glowing like fire.
The realtor and the family rush into the bedroom, looking around for Carol since they had heard her screaming at someone but they find no one. The realtor opens the closet when she hears the doors rattle a bit catching her attention, sticking her head in to see if Carol and her kids are possibly hiding inside but it stands empty. The only thing in the closet is a purse and car keys laying on the floor.