December 17, 2020
The sheriff was nearly in a full sprint, only stopping to look back to see if Detective Andrews was still following.
"Sheriff, wait!" Andrews yelled, nearly out of breath. The sheriff didn't listen though. He saw something in the tunnels and was desperate to get out. He wouldn't listen to Andrews.
"Hee hee hee," A voice giggled. Andrews glanced behind him, seeing nothing.
"Detective!" The sheriff stopped to yell. Andrews sighed and started running once more to keep up. For being an old man, probably in his sixties, he sure did run fast. Then again, Andrews figured anyone could run that fast if they were scared enough to do it.
"Detective!" Another voice said behind him. This time it sounded like the sheriff's and brought Andrews to a full stop.
"What the fuck..." Andrews muttered. He looked to the sheriff who was stopped once more and paler than a ghost. "Did you say that?"
The sheriff shook his head slowly, his hand shaking vigorously. There was still nothing to be seen. Andrews shone his flash light on every surface of the tunnel that laid behind him and saw nothing but dirt and more dirt. The light began flickering out.
"Come on you piece of shit!" Andrews said.
Then they heard it, the deafening scream. Only this time it sounded closer. This time, it sounded like hundreds of voices were behind it. And this time, Andrews could hear those voices running through the tunnels. He didn't know if what he was hearing was real or not but he wasn't going to stay to find out. He sprinted, along with the sheriff, with only the sheriff's flashlight to illuminate his way. Every breath he took felt shallow, as the sheriff kicked up dust into his mouth.
"Andrews, hurry! I can see the door, we're almost there!" Sharpe yelled.
Detective Andrews felt like passing out. Not only had he not had this much physical activity in several months but he also felt like he was choking. It wasn't the dust that was the problem, however. It felt like something was grabbing a hold of his throat and strangling him.
The basement came into view and Andrews felt a sense of relief roll over him. He watched as the sheriff dove pass the doors and looked back. "Hurry Andrews!"
It was too late though. Andrews watched in horror as the basement doors forcefully slammed shut, locking Andrews in the tunnels. He could hear the sheriff's panicked screams but only barely. The sound of something shifting through the tunnels rang his eardrums. He banged on his flashlight, shook it, and banged it some more. Finally, a glimmer shot out and he saw her.
A little girl stood at the bend in the tunnel, watching him. Andrews had heard that caves can cause hallucinations but he hadn't been in the tunnels for more than half an hour. There was no way he was already hearing things and experiencing hallucinations. But then again, there was a little girl standing right in front of him. A little girl with a clean white dress, a silver locket, and braided brown hair. It had to be a hallucination.
"Little girl, what.." He didn't even know where to begin. "What are you doing down here?"
She said nothing, only continued to watch him with a small grin on her face. Andrews leaned on the basement door, trying to lean on it to open it. He could sill hear the muffled screams of the sheriff behind him.
"What's your name, little girl?" Andrews asked.
"Tabitha," The little girl responded.
"That's a very pretty name," Andrews replied.
Tabitha, do I know a Tabitha?
His mind had to be playing tricks on him. He didn't know anyone with the name Tabitha and didn't know any little girls who had a white dress on with a silver locket hanging around their neck. Despite this, he was still seeing her. He must have known a Tabitha from somewhere. There was no way in hell he was going to give the sheriff the satisfaction of saying Matthew's Manor was haunted.
"Well, Tabitha, my name is Detective Ernest Andrews," Andrews said.
She smiled at him, not saying anything. What if this was a real girl that somehow got into the tunnels? It wasn't entirely implausible. After all, she may have been able to sneak past Birke and all of the other deputies stationed in front of the manor. Why she would want to walk into creepy pitch-black tunnels was beyond Andrews guess.
"Listen, Tabitha, there's some animals living in these tunnels and so we need to get out of here right now. Okay, sweetie?"
She shook her head and walked over to his side.
"That's a good girl." He said. "On three. One, two..." They both pushed on the door with no success. Another deafening scream rang through the tunnels, almost as if whatever was in the tunnel was right next to Andrews and Tabitha. He spun around, shining his light at the bend once more. Still, nothing was in view.
He looked over and saw Tabitha whimpering and rubbing her eyes.
"Honey? What's wrong?" Andrews asked.
This isn't the time, Ernest. Open that fucking door.
"They're coming," Tabitha said.
"Yes, they are, sweetie. They're probably wolves or something. Which is why we need to get this door open," He said.
"No," She said looking at him with red eyes. "They're not wolves. They're the bad men and they want to make the house bad again."
The house bad again?
There was no time for an explanation. He thrust his shoulder into the cellar door as hard as he could while Tabitha grunted and pushed as hard as she could. A scream echoed right behind Andrews but he dared not look back. With one more heave, the cellar burst open and he fell to the ground. The sheriff quickly pulled him and slammed the cellar door shut, moving a cabinet in front of it.
"Detective! Are you okay?" The sheriff asked.
Andrews brushed dirt off of his vest and looked back to the cellar door. He then quickly glanced in every direction, trying to locate Tabitha.
"Where's the little girl?" Andrews asked. "Sheriff? Where's the little girl?"
The sheriff shot him a puzzled look. "What girl, detective?"
"Fuck, fuck!" Andrews yelled. "We need to get her out of the tunnels!"
He grabbed onto the cabinet, ready to fling it to the side when the sheriff yanked him back. "Detective! There's no girl in there!"
"Yes there was, her name is Tabitha. I can't leave her trapped in there."
Sharpe grabbed onto Andrews shoulder. "Detective..." He said quietly. Andrews felt his body calm down. It couldn't have been a ghost. Andrews saw her- she was real. She helped him open the door and...
The cellar door began violently shaking. Andrews and Sharpe slowly stepped back, watching as the wood began to rattle and the floor began to shake as if they were in an earthquake. Scratching and clawing ripped at the door before shortly stopping.
"What the fuck was that?" Andrews whispered.
Then, without warning, another ear piercing scream erupted. Only this time, it engulfed the entire house. This time, the house was screaming.
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Birke slowly walked down the hallway on the second floor, the deputy pacing behind him. He swore he could have saw a little girl. She was there, in the window, waving at him. He rubbed his eyes, maybe he was just tired. After all, it was 3:00 a.m.
Only eight more days till Christmas
It made Birke wonder if he would actually get to spend Christmas with his family this year. Last year he spent it filling out paperwork for a small drug bust he did. It would have seemed reasonable to just come in the next day but his captain wouldn't allow it. It was a good thing he had a new captain because the last guy had a real stick up his ass.
His phone began buzzing.
Speaking of captains...
The caller ID: Captain Carver
He pressed accept and held his phone up to his ears.
"Captain," Birke said.
"Detective Birke, where is your partner?" Captain Carver asked.
Birke lent up against a wall and began tapping his foot against the ground. "Last I saw him he was heading down into the tunnels over at this mansion," Birke paused and stopped tapping his foot. "Why?"
There was silence. "Because your partner wasn't the one who picked up."
Birke looked to the deputy who was shining his flashlight through bedrooms. "Must have been the sheriff over here then. Not sure why he would have Andrews phone but that was the only other person who accompanied him down there."
"And does this sheriff sound like an eight year old little girl?"
Birke's heart felt like it dropped out of his chest. Could the captain be talking about the little girl he just saw on the third floor? It was impossible, no one could have known about her, unless the deputy saw her. But how could the captain know?
"Little girl?" Birke asked, shaken.
The phone was silent again as the lights began flickering in the house. Birke saw terror swell up in the deputies eyes as a chill began to breeze over them.
"Detective Birke, I believe you have another guest in that manor and they may be wandering off with your partner's phone. As well, I have coordinated with Highway Patrol to send several officers your way to aid with you investigation. You may need to..."
A ear-piercing screech shook the entire building, causing Birke to drop his phone and watch as the sim card fell out.
"Fuck!" Birke yelled while holding his ears. He fell to the ground feeling blood trickle from his right ear as the screeching seemed to grow louder. Several lamps hanging in the hall shook vigorously from side to side as the lights flickered more intensely. The house rumbled and, as if by the flick of a switch, it was over.
"Holy fuck!" The deputy yelled, struggling to stand to his feet.
Birke said nothing. He didn't know what to say and didn't know what he just witnessed. His phone laid shattered on the floor and one of the light fixtures was shattered further down the hallway. With how loud the screech had become, he didn't even notice the glass shatter.
"Do you believe me now, detective. I told you, this place is fucking haunted!" The deputy said.
Blood trickled down the detective's cheek. His ears were still ringing as his mind felt like it has went fuzzy. He looked over to the deputy, seeing the sweat that drenched his forehead. What was there to say? He had no explanation for what he just heard, what he felt.
The deputy dizzily walked over to Birke and extended his hand. "Come on, detective, we have to get the hell out of this house? You don't believe it's haunted? Fine. But whatever the hell that was nearly killed us the first time, I don't plan to stick around for the next."
Birke rose to his feet and wrapped his arm around the deputy's shoulder. He felt so dizzy and his vision had become blurry.
Help me, Birke heard a voice say. He turned his head around to the end of the hall that led to the third floor. Standing there in a white dress, with the same brown hair he saw earlier, was the little girl. The detective stopped with the deputy's gaze following his.
"Detective, we need to get out of here now."
The detective didn't move though. He stared into the eyes of the little girl and saw the redness swelling in them. She was crying, trembling even.
"Please, help me," The little girl said.
Birke felt the deputy tugging on his arm but he forceful yanked himself off, slowly walking towards the little girl. "What's wrong, little girl?"
"The bad men are back. They're going to hurt me," She sobbed.
The detective tried to shoot her a reassuring smile. "No ones going to hurt you little girl. We're cops; we're here to help you."
She began crying into her hands. "No you can't. The bad men will hurt you too, just like they hurt the last guys who were here."
Birke turned his head to the deputy, who's face looked petrified. He then turned his head back to the little girl. "Can you tell me about the guys who were here last? Can you tell me your name?"
The girl froze in place, her breathing becoming more heavy. "They're here," She said quietly.
"The bad men?" Birke asked.
She didn't answer him though. The little girl ran away into the next hall, Birke trying to keep up with her, while trying not to lose his balance. When he turned to the next hall, she was gone. She had, simply, vanished.
"Shit," Birke muttered.
"Birke!" The deputy yelled from further down the hall. The detective glanced once more down the hall, only seeing the shadows that seemingly were moving around. He turned around and ran to the deputy, feeling like he could lose his balance at any moment.
"Detective..." A faint whisper said from behind him. He turned his head around, seeing nothing but more shadows moving on the ground. Was he losing his mind?
He caught up to the detective and heard the faint whisper one more. Birke drew his gun and aimed it down the hall. "Whoever is there, step out and put your hands up where I can see them."
The hallway remained quiet, however.
"Detective," The deputy said. "There's no one there. At least, no one real."
Birke ignored him, swaying his pistol from side to side of the hallway, anticipating someone to come out. Then, all at once, the numerous doors began flicking open and shutting. They slammed open and shut, open and shut and heavy laughter came from each bedroom. The house began to shake and Birke half expected it to erupt in the painful scream. Birke followed the deputy down the stairs and looked to the top of it to see a woman standing there with a black veil covering her face.
"Ma'am?" Birke said. She extended an arm out to him.
Before he could react, he felt the deputy shove him out the front door onto the ground and then slammed the door shut. 74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Fi120F0Uu
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"What the hell?" Birke said. "We need to go back in there and get her!"
The deputy shot Birke a look of anger and terror. "You just don't get it, Detective. There is no 'her,' there is no little girl, and there is no person hiding in the bedrooms. This place is evil, its cursed." The deputy spit a wad of saliva off the porch and held his arm tightly. "I would think that a detective would have been the first to realize that."
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Andrews picked himself off the ground and reached over to Sharpe to assist him. He could see a little blood coming from the sheriff's ear and had wondered if there was blood in his ear. "What..." Was all Andrews could mutter before he turned back to see the cellar door open.
"Did something break through?" Andrews asked Sharpe.
The sheriff shrugged his shoulders and reached for his gun. "We need to leave, Detective. Whatever just broke through that door is in here now. We're not safe here."
It was then that Detective Andrews and Sheriff Sharpe saw something walking through the darkness of the tunnels. He quickly upholstered his pistol and aimed it at the figure. 74Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtOa4ipYsY
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"Stop right there!" Andrews yelled.
To his luck, the figure did as commanded.
"Now put your hands where I can see them and come out here, slowly."
The figure lifted his large hands and began slowly walking to the lip of the tunnel, light slowly revealing the torn fabric on his body. Sharpe, who was also aiming his pistol, looked to Andrews. "This may not be such a great idea, Detective."
Andrews ignored him. This person was real, he knew it. He wasn't sure what he saw or heard in the tunnels but he knew what he was seeing now was real. He would make sure that he left his hellhole with something.
The figure stopped at the entrance, his face still covered in darkness.
"Now exit the tunnel," Andrews said.
"Is she here?" The man asked.
"Is who here?" Andrews replied.
"My lady," The man said once more. "I... I need to find her. I need to tell her..."
Andrews watched as the man collapsed to the ground.
"Sheriff, would you mind putting this man in handcuffs?"
The sheriff growled and walked over to the man and flipped him over. He looked back to Andrews with his mouth wide open.
"Mr. Porter?"
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