Haunting Ghouls

Chapter 1

In the early morning, the Allens got ready for the journey. James packed their luggage and kept them in the boot of his pick-up truck.

Tracey put her baby beside his brother strapping both of them carefully.

Then she got into the front seat and waited for James to come and after some minutes he came and entered the pick-up truck and he turned on the ignition and their journey began.

Most of the time little Felix cried when his diaper was full or he was hungry and Robin would complain of being pressed, most of the time the truck would jerk unexpectedly making them spend hours in the open field sleeping or singing.

They arrived at his great-grand uncle's abandoned house around midnight and they soon began off-loading their luggage.

As soon as they entered the house a sharp thick scent entered their nostrils and they ended up coughing.

"Wuh! Haven't been here in ages...tomorrow I'll get a nanny to take care of the house," James said as he waved off the dusty air with his hands.

James went to a corner and turned on the power and dimmed light shone, some were sparking and the rest were out of energy.

"I'll also call the bulb repairer," he said.

As they climbed the stairs it made creaking noises under and at times, Tracey feared she might fall inside.

They entered a room that used to be the owner of the house, the family room.

James cleaned an old standing fan and soon it was blowing fresh air to the boys who were asleep.

Tracey and James both changed into their night wears and entered the king-sized bed with the boys.

"How is it possible that I never knew about this place?" Tracey asked.

"Oh, I forgot about this place too. My grandparents do take me here every holiday when I was just a little boy like Robin," James said.

Soon a dog began barking from outside.

Tracey groaned, as the noise that the dog made jittered kittle Felix from his sleep.

She began shaking him a little as she tried to make him resume his sleep. After a while, she put him in the crib they brought along with them.

"Ahh, must be that Mr. Panisk dog," James said as he got up from the bed.

"Don't leave us here" Tracey whispered.

"Tracey I'm still here I'm sure the dog's in this compound, I'll go check," James said.

"Alright but if I don't see you in a minute time I'll shout my head off," she threatened, earning a smile from James.

"I'll be back I promise," he said as he kissed Tracey and he left with a little flashlight.

The dog kept on barking vigorously.

Tracey checked on little Felix who kept on sleeping in his little crib so innocently.

Then she cuddled Robin to ease her loneliness...but what about James???

She let go of Robin as she sat up and listened for any noise, any at all.

The door creaked opened and she narrowed her eyes to see who was standing there motionlessly.

"James?" she called.

Instead, she sighted a small blurry figure just standing, after some time the cold air swept into the room, making Tracey shiver a bit.

And then thunder was heard and soon it began raining.

Tracey's heart skipped many beats and without thinking twice, she entered the bedspread, not daring to bring her head.

Not long, a cold hand touched her making her let out a high-pitched shriek.

"Tracey what's the problem," James' voice called out.

It was James...phew...she thought she had seen a ghost or something awful.

...or had she???

"James it's you...I...I was feeling sleepy," she stuttered as sue sat up to get a better view of him.

"Me too, I'll go dry myself," he said as he removed his clothes and dried himself with a towel.

"What about the dog?" Tracey asked.

"Ohh, the old man said that his dog has formed a habit of coming here to bark in the middle of his night," James explained.

"He's probably looking for his girlfriend," he said, entering inside the bedspread with Tracey as he wrapped his arms around her and little Robin who laid between them.

Then her eyes darted towards the window and again the same small figure was standing there. Still, she couldn't make out the figure as the window made it blurry.

She immediately turned over, that's when it dawned on her...they weren't alone in this big house.

TBC