We came to a stop in front of a monstrosity of brick. I stared up at it in fear and awe. It seemed to me that it was more than just an abandoned house, but that it was a living entity.

 Hillmore House was a massive structure, all dilapidated eaves and peaks, with a chimney sitting slightly askew atop it, like some kind of strange bowler hat. The warm breeze that blew all around us stirred through the branches of the trees overhead, casting shadows across the house's face that made it appear to breathe of its own accord. Broken windows with the jagged glass still wedged in the wooden frames stared back at us like large empty eye sockets. The house's large wooden double doors stood open. Purple, blue, and red light pulsed from within. It appeared to be a gaping mouth, waiting to swallow us whole.

The woods around the home had long ago begun encroaching on the property. The trees became one with the house's corners and angles in the darkness, making it impossible to tell where the house ended and the forest began. It created the illusion that the building extended infinitely into the wilderness.

"Whoa," Maddie whispered quietly beside me as people began clambering out of the truck and toward the rhythmic pounding beat of heavy bass pouring forth from the open doors.

"Are we really going in there?" She asked Lucas hesitantly as he lifted her down from the truck bed.

"That's the reason we came," he said, laughing, "having second thoughts?"

"Maybe a little," she answered, "I was expecting a haunted house, not the Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

I heard Lucas laugh again as he took Maddie's hand and started toward the house. I jumped to the ground and started after them, in no real hurry to catch up. Already, more vehicles were winding their way up the twisting drive. From the level of noise coming from inside the house, several more had arrived before us.

I walked in the general direction of the music, lagging a little behind everyone else. The breeze had picked up and it ruffled my hair, bringing with it the smell of wet leaves and the scent of pine, but underneath lay something unpleasant.

"Are you coming, Jess?" Maddie shouted back over her shoulder, pulling me from my preoccupation with the surroundings.

"Right behind you," I called back as I noticed Mason just a few feet ahead, helping Mikala pick her way through the tall grass around the porch. The heels she wore were sinking into the soft dirt. I watched, more than a little jealous, as Mason put an arm around her waist, half lifting her onto the porch as she giggled and smiled down at him.

I couldn't deny that it hurt to watch them together. Seeing him with her just solidified the fact that Mason and I were merely a pipe dream. I would never be that ultra-feminine girl. I didn't want to be. I liked who I was, but it still bothered me that Mason liked her.

I made my way up the steps onto the ramshackle porch behind the two couples and into the house. The vibration from the music coursed through the floorboards, pushing up through the soles of my sneakers and making every muscle of my body feel electric. The front room was packed and I began to feel slightly claustrophobic as I fought my way through a sea of gyrating bodies. All around me, the lights pulsed, fading one into another in time with the beat of the music. As the colors fluctuated, they washed over the faces of the people dancing and laughing, tinting their skin in odd hues. The wash of light transformed their images into menacing, leering caricatures of their former selves. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, drawing a deep shaky breath. Obviously, I had psyched myself out more than I thought.

Pull it together, I thought to myself as forced my way through the crowd and toward the wide doorway that I had spied Maddie entering. Once inside, I saw that we were standing in what had once served as the home's kitchen. The cabinets and countertops were still intact. The lighter faded sections of the aging floral wallpaper were the only evidence that there had ever been appliances here.

I could see Mason and Mikala leaning against one of the counters. She was laughing at something he was saying, one hand placed gently on the center of his chest. I felt my stomach twist at the sight.

Lucas and Maddie were across the room, making their way in that direction. The look on Maddie's face said she was far from thrilled about it. As I approached, Maddie shook herself loose from Lucas, whispering something I couldn't hear. He nodded as she hurried in my direction, grabbing me by the elbow and turning me back the way we had just come.

"What are we doing?" I asked as she steered me toward the door.

"I'm avoiding all contact with Mikala by going to get a drink. You, as my best friend, are legally obligated to come with me."

"Legally obligated?" I said leaning close to her ear so she could hear me. "I don't remember signing any contract."

"No contract needed. It's all a part of the bestie code. Right up there with thou shalt always be thy best friends alibi and thou shalt never covet a boy your bestie has made out with," she said, moving slowly through the crowd of bodies to the room beyond. I was pondering the irony of that last statement in relation to Mikala when I turned to find myself standing next to Mia Robinson.

Mia was also in our senior class. In fact, she was our class valedictorian and senior class president. I was more than a little surprised to see her here since Mia didn't usually attend these types of things. She had volunteered at the animal shelter with me and she had gone to the mall a few times with Maddie and me, but this was the first time I had ever seen her at any of the parties we attended. With graduation so close now, I guess everyone was cutting loose.

"Mia," I said giving her a quick hug, "I didn't know you'd be here."

"I figured, why not? I've earned it and this is supposed to be the last really big party before graduation," she said her intelligent brown eyes peering at me through the thin lenses of her glasses.

"Hi, Mia!" Maddie said as she saw her standing there. "I'm so glad you came out."

"Me too," Mia answered, "I needed the break."

Just then someone called Maddie's name. We turned to see Lucas coming toward us. "There you are," he said, "A bunch of us are going to explore upstairs. Do you wanna go?"

She didn't answer right away but turned toward Mia and me. We both shrugged. I was actually kind of interested in seeing if the rest of the house was as unusual as the ground floor.

"Sure," Maddie said, motioning for us to follow as Lucas took her hand and started toward the stairs.

I gestured for Mia to go ahead of me, her braids swinging gently between her shoulders as I followed her. Even in the dim glow of the pulsing lights I didn't fear losing her. Mia wore an off-the-shoulder, silver sequined top that complemented her dark skin and made her impossible to miss in the swirl of colored light.

Just past the entrance, was the bottom of a large circular staircase. I glanced toward the ceiling, following the line of the stairs up with my eyes. It revolved upward into the darkness with no visible end in sight. The effect was dizzying.

As we started up, I noticed that there were pictures on the wall despite there being no visible trace of the previous owners throughout the ground floor. There were black and white portraits and oil paintings of people from different eras. Their style of dress and poses were the only clues to their various time periods. As we ascended upwards I could hear Maddie and Lucas talking in whispers ahead of me. Mia was a few stairs below, investigating some of the older-looking portraits. From the darkness below, I could just make out Mason's deep voice far away, but getting closer followed by a low nervous giggle. Mikala and Mason had obviously decided to join the fun. Oh, joy, I thought to myself.

As we arrived at the top of the stairs, I saw Maddie and Lucas disappear into a room to the right. I looked around the landing but, as there was nothing to see, I followed them inside. Lucas had his phone out using it as a flashlight as he investigated with Maddie glued to his side. There was a large four-poster bed against the wall and a dusty trunk at its foot. Lucas lifted the lid and found nothing but more dust. Other than a large moth-eaten chair in the corner, there was no other visible furniture.

"Whose room is this?" Mia asked, slipping in so quietly that I jumped when she spoke.

"Richard Hillmore's," Maddie answered quietly.

"How do you know?" I asked.

She didn't answer only pointed as she tucked her arms more tightly around herself. Mia and I leaned forward to see what she was pointing at using my own phone as a light. The initials RH were carved into the thick oak lid.

"What's the deal with this Hillmore guy anyway?" I heard a new voice ask from the doorway. I turned to see Mikala and Mason had entered the room.

"Seriously, you mean you don't know?" Mason asked incredulously

Mikala shook her head.

Mason began to walk around the room, looking as if he were thinking. But I had known Mason long enough to have seen this before. He was preparing. Always the performer, Mason had to get the story just right, before he started.

"Richard Hillmore moved to Lakewood sometime in the late '70s," he began. The deep bass of his voice danced over the words as he slipped into a more dramatic tone.

"As far as anyone knows, he was a lifelong bachelor. He bought all the land you see here and then immediately began investing in the town. Buying up and pumping money into some of the smaller businesses until they were flourishing. As the town began to grow, it paved the way for larger businesses to move in. The town became profitable and so did its citizens. The people here were so happy that they renamed the high school after the town's generous benefactor. All seemed well, until it didn't, " he said, his voice dropping down an octave, signaling the twist to his story.

"No one knows what happened, but one night they found Mr. Hillmore wandering in the street. As the story goes, he had been awake for days. He told the paramedics that he couldn't sleep or he would die. He claimed that people came to him in his dreams and that those people wanted him dead," he paused, letting that hang in the air for a long moment.

It was Mia who spoke first. "What happened next?" She asked in a small voice.

"It's a mystery," he answered, "they kept him in the hospital for a few days, but sometime after his release, he disappeared. Some people claim he left town but his home was left utterly untouched. If that's what he did, he left with only the clothes on his back. There are rumors that he had become involved with something dark. Something in this very house. Something that came into his dreams and ended his life. They never found a body so for all we know he's still here. Maybe even in this very room."

The silence hung heavy for a long moment. No one stirred, and then from the foot of the bed came a high shrill scream. I turned to see Mia, her mouth a tiny O of horror as she stumbled backward into me. It took a moment to realize what she was staring at, but then I saw her. Standing in the doorway was Mikala. She stood transfixed, her eyes unfocused, staring at something we couldn't see. Her mouth hung open, an eerie sound coming from the back of her throat. The last thing I saw before I began to scream myself was her hands covered in soot.