Demon in Ruins

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” -Jack Canfield   Chapter 1   “It was your idea. I don’t know why on earth I agreed to it in the first place,” I sighed, scratching my elbow where some kind of insect had bitten me. It better not be a freaking spider. “Because you love me, Karen,” Jon answered, and I could tell he was grinning even when all I could see was his broad back with the help of the flashlight I had a loose grip on. “It’s a date.” I felt my cheeks grow warm. “Are you kidding me?” I nearly screamed. “No one, in their sane mind, comes here on a date.” “Some beings do actually,” He replied calmly. “And who are they?” I asked walking behind him. “Ghosts,” He intentionally said that in a low voice. I couldn’t help but shudder a little. Okay, I admit the shudder wasn’t something I’d describe with the word ‘little’. It was pretty intense enough to make the flashlight fall out of my hand. The flashlight bounced on the ground, hit a rock, and went off with a cracking noise. I cursed under my breath and bent down to pick it up. Jon beat me to it. As soon as his warm hand touched mine, I felt an assurance of safety with him. “Scared, are we?” He asked flashing his own flashlight in my face. “Cut that, Jon!” I exclaimed, raising my hands to avoid the glare of the flashlight. “I’m gonna kill you when we reach home.” “You broke the poor thing,” He said. He inspected the broken flashlight. “It was my brother’s favourite one. He will not forgive you for this.” “I’ll never forgive you for bringing me here.” “Cheer up, it’s your birthday. You need to lighten up.” “Don’t.” I hated it when he made stupid puns and jokes. What annoyed me more was the situation we were in. It was past eleven, we were in the woods, one of our flashlights was not working anymore, and on top of it, I couldn’t stop scratching my uncovered arms. I should have worn a sweatshirt. Or better; I should’ve had stayed safely tucked in my bed at home. “What’s wrong with your arms? You know, you’re scratching them like you’ve got some serious allergies.” Jon stepped closer to examine my arm. Shining the light on the skin which had turned deep red, he asked, “You don’t happen to bring any insect repellent with you, do you?” “I didn’t know this would turn out to be a camping nightmare,” I said annoyed. “Right.” He said. “Let’s keep moving forward and whenever we’re done with this, we’ll get you an ointment.” I couldn’t agree more with the getting done with this line he had said. This time, Jon walked beside me for we were lacking in the flashlight department. The abrupt striking sound of an owl made my heart pound. Jon offered his hand for me to hold many times but I denied. I didn’t want him to get the idea that I was scared. Although deep inside I knew he must’ve had figured that out already. Without any further delay, we moved the rest of our way towards the Escoffier mansion silently. We stepped deep into The Wolf Woods. Yeah, the people in our town had creatively named the woods ‘The Wolf Woods’. It was the result of an old rumour that consisted of dangerous wolves coming here to drink water from a small pound. Not that anyone had seen them. Ever. The old rumor was about to die when one day some dogs howled and folks took them for wolves, (some even said they suspected werewolves) and restricted anyone from going into the woods after eleven. But kids were kids. Most of the kids from our school dared each other to get into the woods at this time of night. It was supposed to be rebellious and adventurous. Who would turn down such a dare, right? Until last year, when a girl named Ruth Baker disappeared into The Wolf Woods and never came back. The police petrol searched for her everywhere in the woods, even in the Escoffier mansion, outside the town, country but there was no single trace of her to be found. It was almost like she had disappeared into thin air. Every town has a haunted place or building which attracts the tourists, contributing to the town’s funds. Our haunted place is Escoffier mansion. However, it does not attract anyone. It only repels everyone. Jon and I are rather practical. We know there aren’t dumb things like ghosts. You’d ask why I am scared then. I have a theory. When we hear or read stories about ghosts, the fear or image gets planted in our minds forever. Sometimes it hides away in the farthest corner of our subconscious part of the brain, but it is still there. There is no way to get it out. Ever wondered why we all fear walking through a cemetery at night? Even when we know the dead can’t walk, we still fear graveyards. I didn’t want to come here but it was Jon, my best friend who wanted to do something unforgettable on my birthday. Something adventurous. Really. I know how stupid it is to be afraid and brave at the same time.     It started at school when we were in our chemistry class. A folded piece of paper had dropped near my desk while the teacher was talking about the periodic table. Students were still having trouble remembering the elements along with their properties represented on it. Opening the paper, I found the familiar ugly handwriting: Hey, Karen!!! Why is your cell always on silent? I mean, can’t you put it on vibration mode? Check my messages NOW J. P.S- I HATE THAT T-SHIRT YOU’RE WEARING!!! It was from Jonathan Carlton, my best friend from ages. He had to add extra exclamation marks to make the note look more dramatic than it was supposed to be. Uncomfortably, I looked down at my Minion T-shirt which had ‘BEE DO BEE DO’ written on it. What was wrong with it? I loved Minions from Despicable Me movie series. He was just insulting it because I had called his favourite TV show dumb last week. I took out my mobile from the pocket of my jeans and checked it. There were 4 unread messages from Jon: 1.      Happy birthday, Karen :)   2.      Why don’t you reply?   3.      I got it! Your phone is probably on silent!   4.      Argh! When will this chem class be over with???   I smiled and looked over to where Jon was sitting. He had this frustrated expression written all over his face. He raked his fingers through his messy light brown hair. His blue eyes gestured toward my phone. Realising I had been staring at him for longer than I should, I started typing. Thank you, Jon. Why are you so desperate to talk to me? I hit send. I watched him check out the message. His fingers went flying on the keypad to type his message. He was never the kind to be scared of blatantly using the phone in the classroom. J: I’ve planned something for you. Me: And what is that? J: Something you’d really love. I saw him grinning widely. I wish I hadn’t asked him what his plans were. But I did. “What is the plan?” I asked putting the books in my locker, arranging them uniformly. With his arms crossed over his chest, Jon leaned on the other locker. Some girls passed him with drooling glances and flirty looks which he returned with a sweet smile. With his athletic figure, he was not only good looking but was popular among girls at the school. Not to mention the jealous glares I got from them, courtesy of Jon’s friendship.  “You’re gonna love this,” He said eagerly. “We are going to sneak out of our houses and pay a visit to the ghosts in Escoffier mansion.” “Okay,” I said. “When?” “At midnight.” He replied. “What, no,” Shaking my head, I closed my locker. “We are not.” “C’mon! You’re officially and legally eighteen from today. You need some change in your life,” He went on with his lecture about growing up. “You’ll never know what the world is like if you don’t experience it. You can’t always be stuck in those books and study the whole day. Do you even know there is a life out of books and it’s called—” “What is it called?” I interrupted. I knew he didn’t have a good answer to that. He looked short on words. I raised my eyebrow challenging for him to speak. “A wonderful life.” He said finally. “I appreciate your speech on ‘Life out of books’ that I’ve heard many times from you but,” I said showing him the paperback of Shakespeare’s play, “You speak an infinite deal of nothing.” “Seriously? Did you just quote him?” His mouth hung open. He eyed the paperback with pure hatred. “You’re dumping my fabulous plan to read a play that you’ve read like, what, three times?” “Four.” He ignored me. “Are you scared of going inside the mansion, little girl?” He said mockingly. “If so, I may cancel the plan because I don’t wanna give you a heart attack. I don’t wanna lose the only best friend I have.” “I’m so not scared of going there.” “You are scared.” “I. Am. Not. Scared.” I emphasised on each word. “Ooh, you are scared.” He said. What was up with him? “I bet you are going to faint next. Should I open my arms?” “I know what you’re doing, dumbass,” I rolled my eyes. “I know you know what I’m doing, smartass.” He leaned in. “The question is; is it working?” “You’re on.” “What?” “Let’s go.” My worst decision ever.   So this was how he made me say yes to this madness. I would have never agreed if he hadn’t pushed me too much. Reverse psychology is really hard to deal with. It tricks your brain and hurts your ego enough to make you do things you don’t want to. Now here we were, walking in the dense woods, possibly in the wrong direction, and with insects biting me wherever they could find the exposed skin. My cause of death would be venomous insect bites. What a brave way to die! What a great way to celebrate a birthday! “You know the legend of Escoffier mansion, don’t you?” Jon asked me as we securely stepped away from the small pond, and walked ahead. Was that the pond where the wolves were rumored to be seen? “Yeah, I do.” “Please enlighten me.” He chuckled. “It was built in the sixteenth century by a woman named Adeline Escoffier,” I stated in a monotonous voice. I wanted to go home and sleep. “That merely qualifies as a legend.” “Correction; it was actually built by her husband, Lord Valentino Escoffier,” Jon seemed invested in the story more than he showed interest in basketball. Honestly, he was the last person who liked stories. “She just had it for a while after the disappearance of her beloved husband under suspicious circumstances.” He kept the flashlight steady. “This is why I tell you to stop being a nerd and get into the real world.” “Who’s being the nerd right now?” I mocked him. “This is just a story, Jon. Stop trying to build up cheap anticipation.” “It’s not a story; it’s a legend, Miss.” Nevertheless, he spoke, making his voice deeper than before. Annoying me could be counted as his second favourite hobby. “No one knew where they came from. Lord Valentino was a very handsome man, like me. He had a lot of money when he entered our town. His wife, Adeline was the most beautiful woman anyone had ever seen. When they used to walk together, everyone used to be so mesmerised they forgot everything.” “You’re a poor narrator,” I commented. “Just imagine how glamorous it would’ve been,” He continued, “until Lord Valentino disappeared and never came back.” “Whoa! I’ll act like you didn’t mention this twice,” I said sarcastically and heard Jon let out a short laugh. “What happened next?” I wasn’t curious. I had heard this story my entire life in different versions. Knowing, Jon wouldn’t stop talking, I decided to hear his version. “No one really knows. Right after two or three months, Mrs. Escoffier vanished too.” He said. “From then, this mansion was declared cursed and was left here in isolation.” I was expecting more. In some versions, Mrs. Escoffier was said to have murdered her husband. There were questions lingering in my head. Why would she stay two or three months in the mansion if she had killed her husband? What if she was actually grieving? But where could have she gone? Well, she could’ve sneaked out without letting the people know. It was a lot easier in olden times when people didn’t have phones to take photos or any method to track her down. I was so busy catching up with all the school work that I had never paid attention to disappearance cases in our town. Most of them were teens who ran away for a better life or old people for unknown reasons. It was only Ruth’s case that was bizarre enough to wake me up. A howl from the right side of the woods made both of us jump. “What was that?” I asked shivering. “What was what?” “Don’t act like you didn’t hear it,” I elbowed Jon hard. “Ouch! It must be a dog,” He said. He elbowed me back softly. “You thought it was a wolf, didn’t you? Aww, so cute.” I ignored him and continued on the trail. I knew he had also taken it for a wolf. Boys will never stop acting brave even if they were not. “How long are we going to walk?” I asked. My legs were getting heavy. “I didn’t sign up for a night walk.” “Not anymore because look where we are, princess,” He pointed ahead with the flashlight. It stood silently there. The huge mansion was just some yards ahead of us. It was magnificent but due to many years of different weather tolerances, the walls had cracked here and there. As we moved ahead, we came across a dead fountain. The fountain was broken. The pieces told us that the fountain was in the shape of an angel with open wings. One of its wings was still on its body. The other was just smashed into pieces. Jon held the flashlight on the angel for a long time. I nudged him to move. “Is it time for us to go back?” I asked eyeing the mansion. “Nah, we’re getting in.” He answered casually. “I don’t think you have the key to the mansion.” I really prayed he didn’t. “We don’t need a key, Princess.” He said. “You remember when that really hot girl named Ruth went missing? The cops had to break a window to enter the mansion to make sure she wasn’t here because the doors weren’t opening. We are entering through it.” “Delinquent,” I muttered. Walking slowly to the entrance, he laughed. He was right. A window was broken. It was a large window. I imagined how beautiful it may have looked in the sixteenth century. The mansion might have been the symbol of power and dignity. “Are you going in first?” Jon asked. I noticed how compelling the mansion exactly was. “Umm, I don’t know.” I took a step back involuntarily. “Karen, we’ve brought a camera with us to take pictures. We can make a fortune by selling those photos online,” He exhaled. “We can’t back out now. You can’t be such a coward.” “Okay, okay, I’m going in first,” I said making up mind. What was holding us back? A dumb story that had nothing to do with reality? “You follow me.” “Aye, captain!” I raised myself on the toes of my feet and cautiously entered the mansion. It was so dark. I almost wanted to turn and go back into the woods. “Lumos!” Jon entered the mansion, flashing the light over me. “See, I told you this charm works.” “Ha-Ha. Funny.” I said. “What now?” “Let’s explore and make an impact on the human race,” He declared.