Lara had always wanted something spontaneous for her blog. She wasn't getting the views and it was driving her crazy. She had done all sorts of crazy things just for her to trend and get the views she wanted.
One time she had jumped into the compound of her wealthy neighbour who had five hefty mean looking dogs just to be chased by the dogs and filmed by her best friend Gary to garner views, and she was willing to do more.
This time she set her eyes on what she deemed was the price. An old mansion at the heart of her tiny community where she lives with her parents. The house had faded walls and broken windows with no sign of a better day. Everyone knew it to be deserted and hadn't been inhabited by humans in the past years.
Rumours were that the house was haunted by two female ghosts, but no one could tell if he or she had truly experienced it.
"That's a bad idea," Gary said, focusing on his old bike, which he was fixing its wheels.
"It's not Gary. Imagine how many views we will get. Don't you think people want to know what the inside of an old house looks like?" She moved closer and dragged him by his hands just to get his attention "Just think about it. I'm sure I'll be the first to do a documentary on that house. Just breeze in and out"
Gary looked up to her, and with sincerity in his voice, he replied, "No, I'm not taking such risks with you. I don't want to get eaten by a ghost" he shook his hands off and went back to screwing nuts.
Lara grumbled, a trick she used to get Gary to do her bidding but Gary gave her a stern look without saying a word.
"Who believes in ghosts these days?" she muttered.
"I do, and if you think your grumbling will trick me to do your bidding this time, then you're wrong" Gary stood up, got on his bike and rode away into the sunset leaving Lara on her own.
But Lara, still determined to embark on her quest, stepped out of the garage and headed for the old house with her tripod and camera. Nothing was going to stop her from getting a video of that house.
She got to the house and after much contemplation, she jumped over the fence into the house. No atom of fear within her, just determination.
She got to the door and quickly made a sign of the cross, then she opened the front door, revealing a big room which she felt was a waiting room. She was ready to explore what secrets the big old house had for her. The door hinges, and floorboards creaking loudly, and cobwebs with spiders that were huge as her eyeballs hunted everywhere. The inside smelled of rot spooky feelings which engulfed her.
She quickly found a spot with a floorboard that didn't creak out and set up her camera. Then she set filming, moving from one corner of the room to the other.
Gradually, she pushed open a door just at the end of the room to reveal what felt like a study. She could tell from the bookshelf on the walls. There was no other furniture in the room apart from an old mahogany table with weird markings and a journal which had yellow pages on it and somehow the writings still were clear and readable.
Curiosity got over her as she walked over to the table, still filming. She flipped through the pages. At first, it was weird drawings, then there was a write-up on the last page. It was about a woman named Evelyn, she talked about her terrible secret, pain and regrets. With the last word written in bold letters
“If you’re reading this, it’s already too late.”
Suddenly, a cold breeze blew Into the room, pushing the journal, which was blank now, off the table. She heard the door that led outside slam shut.
Immediately she heard a whisper in her ears.
"Welcome sister?"
"Who's there?" She spun around shouting, her breath higher than before. She was shaking, but somehow, she still managed to clutch tightly to her camera like a sword.
"Welcome... sister", the voice came again, this time with wicked laughter. Then like a scene from a movie, Lara saw a shadowy creature materialise from the wall. It was a lady with fierce-looking eyes and legs that floated off the ground.
At this point, Lara had already pissed her pants. She ran to the door and tried to escape but the more she tried to open the door the heavier the door became to pull
"Please, don't hurt me", Lara begged, spinning around in tears and slumping to the ground.
But the ghost didn't stop. It drifted closer to her and looked Lara in the eye. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just need your body in exchange for my sister's soul. I'd cast the wrong spell that got her trapped in this house." The ghost explained, drifting from one corner to another, making things float in the air in circles and drawing weird markings on the wall. "I was supposed to look after her, but I made a mistake with my spell and she's trapped in here with me as a ghost."
Lara sat there listening and thinking of an escape route. She wished she had listened to Gary and never set foot in that house. Her eyes darted to every corner of the room, seeking a possible exit. But the more she looked, the more she saw how impossible it was to escape.
"I promised her I'll make it right, that I'll set her free and you are that freedom she seeks" the ghost added.
Then Lara found herself moved by an unseen force and placed on the floor flat on her back, then the ghost started saying inaudible spells with her mouth
"Please", Lara cried, "Don't hurt me. I meant no harm". But her plea fell on deaf ears.
Just as the ghost was about to cast her spell, Lara heard another voice yell
"What are you doing?" Then she saw a second ghost appear from the same wall. This one had a softer voice and a more sorrowful eye than the first one. It stepped forward to put herself in between Lara and her sister.
She looked at Lara and said "You shouldn't have come here!"
Lara couldn't believe her eyes. Two sister ghosts trapped in the house, floating before her. And for a split second, she forgot she was in a big mess.
She thought about how this could be the content that would set her up for life. She turned to find her camera lying far away on the floor from her. If only it was still rolling maybe somehow it'll capture the chaos unfolding before her. She tried to move, but somehow, it felt like she was held down by invisible hands.
"Trying to correct my mistakes and set you free", the wicked ghost explained with eyes gleaming with twisted hope. "Don't you want freedom?"
"You've done this severally but keep trapping more souls. Accept that we're never getting out of here," the kind ghost countered.
"We can. You just have to let me correct it." the bad ghost replied in a desperate voice.
"You craved wicked power just like our parents, and you cast the wrong spell. Somehow I got caught in that. Let the girl go"
"No!" The wicked ghost screamed with rage, muttering spells that shook up the whole house, sending objects floating in the air. Then dark mist appeared and hoovered before Lara.
The kind ghost looked behind Lara. "When I ask you to run, run" she commanded. The kind ghost muttered her own words, countering her sister's spells. She turned to Lara "Her spells are much stronger than mine, but I'll try to set you free. On my mark, run through that door and never return here again"
With that, Lara waited for the right moment praying for her life. She watched the kind ghost struggle, muttering words countering her sister's spells. Then, at last, the ghost yelled, "Run Now!"
Lara found herself free, she got up and ran for the door. Just at the door she remembered her camera and ran back inside without thinking to pick it up. Maybe it must have captured something that will be proof of what happened to her today.
"What are you doing?" The kind ghost yelled at her.
"Just picking up my camera" Then she ran towards the door again, pushing it open with all her strength. Finally, she was outside, away from the chaos inside, and then she ran straight to Gary's garage without looking back.
She got to Gary's garage sweating and shaky. Gary was working on another bike. He looked up to see her rush in.
"Lara, are you okay?" He asked, concerned.
"I saw the ghost. They're real”, her breath high.
"What ghost?"
"From the haunted house." she explained, sitting up and fondling her camera.
"I have no time for your pranks" Gary murmured and went back to oiling his bike
"Just wait; I think my camera captured it" She set the camera on playback and moved closer to Gary. Then, a few seconds later, it played from her entrance to the house to the chaos, and somehow, while the camera lay on the floor away from her, it captured all that had happened inside the house.
Gary looked up at her with eyes wide open. "My God!" He exclaimed.
"I know right? Just what my vlog needs to explode" she laughed satisfyingly.
"Are you crazy?" Gary shouted instead, pacing his garages in anger "Taking all that risk just to get views. Just tell me what's worth risking your life for some views?" He continued.
Lara sat still. She thought of all the weird happenings in that house. How she would have been trapped forever in there if not for the intervention of the kind ghost. She realised that Gary was right. She looked at the camera.
"You're right," she admitted. "It was a stupid risk, and I won't have to try that again" She swallowed hard.
She later posted the video and it gave her the views just as she wanted.
