P H O E N I X

The service ended shortly after Kaden and I came inside. My mom had left a while ago with Kat and Ethan, for work purposes she'd said. But it seemed to me like she really wanted to get out of there. After all, it had only been a few months since she'd attended her son's funeral.

"You coming?" Chloe said, inclining her head to where the rest of our little group was standing.

I nodded, following her out. We'd all either come with our parents or with each other but it looked like neither of us wanted to go home and there was an unspoken, collective agreement as Kaden led the way, being the only one with the car. We all stood in the shelter of the alcoves and judged the distance to the car and how wet we'd become from the rain.

Nobody moved from their positions so I decided to make a sprint for it. "Shotgun!" I yelled and was off.

It was raining so heavily now, I could barely make out what was in front of me, let alone which direction I was going in. My teeth chattered and my eyes were blinking furiously to get rid of the droplets falling on them. But I managed to be the first one to the car.

Of course, it was locked.

"I have the keys, genius." I heard Kaden say from behind and turned to see him smirking.

I gave him a look as he unlocked the doors and jumped in. He turned the heating on just as a few more car door slams were heard and Elsa, Chloe and Jay piled in.

"It says there's a storm on its way." Jay read off his phone while tousling his hair and wiping the moisture from the screen.

"Let's get home before it reaches us." Chloe collected her hair and drained it like you would to a wet towel. I watched Kaden grimace as water began to fall on his seats.

Just before he started the engine, the doors opened once more and a breathless Sam stumbled in, tripping over Elsa's feet and falling face down on Jay's lap.

"You didn't think you were leaving without me, did you?" His muffled voice came.

"What's your brother going to say?" Kaden asked.

He shrugged, sitting upright. It looked like a tight squeeze in the back. "I can't go back to the house."

Elsa's arms were immediately around him when his voice broke at the last word. Chloe patted his shoulder whilst Jay offered consoling words.

"Tell the detective he's with friends and not to worry." Kaden said quietly, handing me his phone.

I nodded and after that, we really were on the road. I called my mom, telling her I'd be staying over and judging from the angry grey clouds, it looked like it was going to be a long night.

The drive was agonisingly long and it was made even more uncomfortable when we were all in damp clothes. "What's taking so long?" Elsa asked.

"Traffic." Kaden muttered. We all peered out the rain pelted windshield and at the rows of cars and angry drivers beeping their horns. I grabbed Kaden's hand just as he was about to do the same thing.

"You're better than that."

"I'm really not." But he moved his hands away nonetheless.

In the distance, a flash of lightning scored the darkening sky. "How long will it take for that to reach us?" Sam questioned.

"Depends. Could be from half an hour to an hour. Maybe even less." Chloe answered.

"We won't be outside long." Kaden frowned, tapping the wheel and added, "Hopefully."

-

It turned out that we were outside for a very long time. Fifteen minutes passed and we'd barely moved another half mile. The sound of beeping horns was incessant with Jay giving us updates every so often.

"A tree fell near jute street." He looked up at me with a frown.

"You're mom's home, right?" Chloe asked, sharing it with him.

"She said she was." I looked at my phone and when I'd last made the call to her. She would be fine. She was fine.

"Hey, is that Noah?" Sam leaned over Jay and squinted through the rain splattered glass. We all followed his gaze and sure enough, it was Noah. "Why's he going in there?"

By 'there' Sam was referring to the three storey mansion. It was an old Victorian style one and definitely seemed odd for someone like Noah to be in. It was like a droopy blob on the landscape.

Kaden pulled away from the traffic and over to the curb. A second hadn't passed till Sam was out and sprinting towards the door before it closed.

"This child." Elsa muttered but nonetheless got out and followed Sam. Then it was Jay and Chloe. I was about to get out when Kaden stopped me.

"I can't go in there."

"It's either in there or staying out here in the traffic." He still didn't look convinced. "While a storm is on its way."

"Fine." He said but his expression didn't change as we made it to the front door where we found Noah overwhelmed by the sight of us all.

"Well, are you going to let us in or not?" Elsa said. "I'm too young to die of hypothermia."

"Yeah, of course. Come in." He stepped aside whilst we all bundled in, relief to have something solid over our heads.

"What happened to your face?" Sam inspected. There was a fresh looking bruise under Noah's right eye.

His eyes flickered for a second but he just shrugged.

It occurred to me then that I had been in this same hall a while back. The lights were off but it was still the same. Another time, my back was against the wall, my feet were off the floor. Another body was pressed against mine in a heat of passion and that same body came strolling in at that moment.

"Who was at the door?" Zach stopped drying his hair with a towel as he came into the main foyer. His eyes flitted over the tops of our heads, eventually landing on me.

"Why's he here?" Sam made a face, looking expectantly at Noah.

He sighed. "This is my stepbrother. Zach, this is everyone else."

There was a moment of awkward silence as his words sunk in. Sam was the first to break it. "Great digs, man."

He patted Zach's shoulder as he passed him, going in a general direction followed by Elsa and Jay.

"Do you have any more towels?" Chloe asked Zach and he nodded, leading her in a different direction. That just left the three of us. The tension was so thick, it was almost suffocating.

It ended when Noah turned on his heel and disappeared around a corner. Kaden let out a breath.

"I should've stayed in my car."

"And freeze to death?"

"Better than this."

"What is this?"

He didn't say anything for a while, and then, "Nothing."

I knew it wasn't nothing but I didn't push it any further. Instead, I pulled him along with me in the direction the others had gone in.

We found them in the basement which seemed to have been converted into a games room. There was a flat screen TV where Jay and Sam versed each other in a game of Mario Kart. There was a pool table on one side of the room and a dart board attached to the wall. Elsa threw a dart but it didn't land anywhere near its target.

"Hey Noah, how come you never told us about this before?" Sam questioned with his eyes trained on the screen of the tv.

"Because he's ashamed of me." Zach appeared in the doorway with a six pack of beer. Chloe followed after him, a stack of towels in her arms.

Once we'd dried ourselves and got comfortable on a cushion or beanbag - I had no idea why there were so many - Zach suggested we play a game. Jay and Sam had returned to playing video games so that left just the five of us.

"Truth or Dare." Zach plucked the empty bottle from my hands and placed it in the middle of our disfigured circle.

I saw Kaden pale considerably but otherwise stay quiet. In the first spin, it landed on Elsa.

"Truth." She said, leaning back.

"Have you ever blown a guy?" Zach asked.

"No. Even if I did it definitely wouldn't be you." She winked at him but he only chuckled, shaking his head.

It landed on Elsa again so she spun it again until it landed on Noah. "Truth."

"Which base is the most you've ever gotten with a girl?"

He blushed before saying, "Second." And spun the bottle.

When it landed on me, I chose dare.

"Lick the floor."

"Gross."

"Lick Elsa's face then."

"What?"

"Fine."

I crossed the circle to kneel beside Elsa. Placing my palms on either side of her, I dragged my tongue over the side of her face. She just giggled because apparently, it tickled. When I glanced back, all three guys were silent and Chloe looked as if she was trying to hold in her laughter.

Just to spite them, I licked Elsa again before spinning the bottle. The game went on until everyone had a turn. All except for Kaden. When it did land on him, we all waited expectantly.

"Dare." He said in a bored voice.

"Kiss Chloe."

With a small inaudible sigh, Kaden turned to his right. He was close enough to Chloe that all he had to do was lean in. His hand came up to cup her cheek and I felt a twinge in my stomach.

All of a sudden, a loud thunderclap was heard, like it was right above our heads. I looked up at the ceiling and back down at everyone glancing at each other just as the lights went out. There were a few screams and protests from the boys as the tv switched off but it was drowned out by the rumbling thunder.

Then complete silence.

Apart from the odd shuffle, no one said a word. A few clicks and the flashlight on Kaden's phone turned on. "Everyone alright?"

"Relax, the backup generator should come on." Zach took a swig from his bottle as Jay and Sam joined the circle. "Just wait a few minutes."

So we did.

"Nothing's happening." Jay pointed out.

"The storms probably interfering with the generator. We can turn it on manually but it's on the other side of the house." Noah looked around as if hoping for someone to volunteer to go with him.

No one said anything.

"I'll go." Kaden said at last, standing up with his flashlight. Noah seemed to want to object but caught himself. The pair left the room, footsteps echoing through the basement as they went up.

It was quiet after that. As quiet as it could be. Even though we were down in the basement, the rain pelting against the side of the house could still be heard. Like a dull thumping sound of someone trying to get in.

Back at the circle, Sam had scooted closer to Chloe and she and Elsa had turned on their flashlights. Our game of truth or dare had been abandoned when the lights went out so naturally, Zach put it upon himself to come up with entertainment.

"Who wants to hear a story?" No one objected so he carried on. "Did you know this house is haunted?"

"Sure." Elsa rolled her eyes. "I've heard this one before."

"No, I'm serious. Around a hundred years ago, a general and his family used to live here. The general had been in the war and came out of it shell-shocked. Nothing could console him, not his wife, not his kids. For years he stayed in his study all day, never came out and he stayed like that until he went crazy.

But one day, he decided to come out. His family were so happy, thinking they were seeing improvement but what they didn't know was that he came down with his revolver. He massacred his whole family at dinner thinking they were Germans."

"That's not a ghost story." Chloe scoffed. I realised how intently we'd all been listening. "That's just sad."

"I wasn't finished." Zach smiled and grabbed Elsa's flashlight to put it under his chin and making his face light up creepily for effect. "After he killed his family, he killed himself. The room he did it in is right above our heads. Because it's hollow down here, you can hear the tap tap of his gun as it hits the floor. Sometimes you can even hear wailing. On some nights, it's said that he appears and if you try to talk to him, he'll turn around and go--"

Zach made a jerk move towards Elsa, "Boo!"

She screamed, much to his amusement.

"Asshole." She grumbled, chucking a cushion at him. "That wasn't funny."

He laughed, looking around the circle for confirmation. "Come on."

"Shouldn't Noah and Kaden be back by now?" Sam asked.

All eyes turned to Zach. "What?"

"This is your house. You know the way around so it makes sense that you go." Jay explained.

"They probably just stopped for chit-chat."

"The lights still haven't come back on." I said.

He looked at each of us once again before standing up with a grunt. "Fine, I'll go see what's holding them."

He left muttering something about them stopping for food. It was silence again after he left until Elsa broke it, claiming that she was hungry. Jay and Sam joined her and it was just Chloe and me.

"Isn't this what happens in horror movies? Everyone separates and then something terrible happens." Chloe came closer so we were sharing her flashlight.

"We're still together. Besides, nobody went up alone." I pointed out.

"Fair enough."

All of a sudden, there was a sound coming from the other side of the room. It was muffled but sounded faintly like someone banging on the door. I felt Chloe's fingers grasp my wrist.

"What was that?"

"It's probably just the guys playing a joke." I looked at the door that everyone had come and left through. "Very funny, you can come out now."

There was no response. We waited a couple of minutes before the muffled banging was heard again. Slowly, I got up and Chloe did the same. As I approached the door, my hand stilled on the knob and I pressed my ear against the door. There was no tell-tale noises except for the background of the rain.

When I opened the door, I saw the stairs were vacant. There was no sight of Elsa, Jay or Sam. I shared a look with Chloe and it was clear that neither of us wanted to stay down here any longer. Back in the main house, it was pitch dark. The light from Chloe's phone seemed so much weaker than when we were in the basement.

As I walked, I kept one arm trailing across the wall and waited for my eyes to adjust. The sky flashed from outside and I saw that we were in a long and narrow hallway.

"Which way did the others go?" Chloe whispered, any other level seemed to be inappropriate.

"No idea."

"Stay close.

I nodded but I realised she couldn't see me. We kept walking, Chloe keeping the light on the ground but once again the banging sound was heard. It was much louder now.

Startled, she shone the light in my eyes. I hissed, bringing my arm to shield myself.

"Sorry."

I was momentarily blinded for a minute. White lights started to dance in my vision as the banging sound came again. Then another sound-- a door opening?

I felt Chloe grab my wrist and pull me. In her haste, she dropped her phone but continued walking. Which wasn't a very smart idea since we had no idea which way we were going.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?" Both my hands came up to rub my eyes.

"I don't know what it was. But someone just came around the corner."

"It was probably one of the others." I reasoned, still blinking to get rid of the lights.

"You're right, wait here. I'll go see." Before I could protest, I heard her footsteps get further and further away. That was another mistake. Now, we were separated and neither of us knew our way around the house. It was easy to get lost in something this size.

Once my vision was less obscured, I began to feel my way around again. I felt leather and then something soft under my feet. I caught myself before I tripped on the carpet.

"Chloe," I whispered but there was no response. There was a thunderclap and if it was even possible, the rain got louder. There were multiple clinking sounds, like you'd hear when hailstones hit a windowpane.

I felt my way around until I was in what seemed to be a doorway and then another hall. I knew it wasn't the one that I'd been in with Chloe. At the end of this one, I saw a shadow of someone. I squinted into the distance but couldn't distinguish anything. Still, I advanced forward. As I came closer, I saw they had their back to me but before they turned around, I felt a hand grip my arm and another clamp over my mouth as I was pulled to one side.

My eyes widened, my first instinct to bite the hand over my mouth. A string of hushed curse words was let out as my perpetrator let go. But I recognised the voice.

"It's me." Kaden hissed through his teeth, shaking the hand I'd just bitten.

"Sorry."

He was about to say something more when his eyes caught onto something behind me. Without another word, he led me further into what seemed like a storage closet, closing the door but not all the way.

"I thought you were going to turn the power back on. What happened?"

"I got lost."

"You had Noah with you."

His eyes shifted from the crack in the door to me. "I lost him too."

"What--" He pressed his fingers to my lips and I was confused at first when I heard footsteps. They seemed to stop outside the door before moving on.

Ever so slowly, I joined Kaden in peering out through the gap and saw someone that hadn't arrived with us. Neither were they already in the house when we came and suddenly the banging sound made a whole lot more sense.

Water droplets dripped from Dante's clothes and he left a trail of water as he walked. He went into the room I'd been in not moments ago, except there was someone in there now. A conversation was struck and I had to strain my ears to hear what was being said.

"I thought I told you not to come here again." The voice belonged to Zach.

"You forget who's in charge here."

"You're in my house." He emphasised.

Dante brushed it off easily enough. "Did you do it?"

There was a stretch of silence and then. "Yes."

"Does anyone suspect you?"

"No." He breathed in. "But if the detective finds out then--"

"He won't." I felt Kaden go rigid as we listened.

"The Detective isn't just going to give up. He's going to keep digging until he finds out who it was that distributed that article."

"I'm telling you not to worry about it." He said more forcefully. "You did good. You'll get your money soon."

"Why do you have it in for this guy so much?"

"Not that it's any of your business, he had a debt to pay me so I'm making sure it's paid."

Kaden was hardly breathing by this point. There was a long pause between the two until Zach spoke, albeit there was a small tremor in his voice that hadn't been there before.

"Okay. . . I get it."

"Good."

A streak of lightning flashed across the sky then, illuminating the room they were in. For a moment I saw an apprehensive looking Zach. As Dante turned around, I saw something glint from his side for a second before being hidden by his jacket.

We shrank back into the closet as he went back through the hallway. Zach remained in the room and it was quiet for a while until there was the sound of something being thrown, followed by a string of curse words before he too left.

Once the coast was clear, I relaxed against the shelves, feeling the soft linen brush against the back of my neck. Kaden had his back to me, hunched over with his fingers knotted through his hair. He was counting backwards from a hundred.

"Hey," I said softly, placing my hand on his shoulder. He stood up straighter, hands fisted that for a second I thought he'd break the wall in front of him. But slowly his fists unfurled and he turned around.

Then he kissed me. Hands gripped the nape of my neck and the small of my back. There was urgency to the kisses. More so when his teeth grazed more than just the skin on my neck. Hungrier, more desperate.

Less than the kiss back at the service but more.

My back hit the shelves once again, my feet left the floor. I felt something dig into my side but paid no attention to it as I grasped his hair, fingers getting lost in the tousled mane.

There was no deeper meaning to our advances. He wanted a distraction and I was happy to give in.