II
“Let’s go!” you
call. “I’m ready!”
You and Ben silently bike to the front
of the old wooden house. Along with you,
you and Ben had brought a bottle of water, a flashlight, and a flash camera in
each of your backpacks.
As you gape up at the humongous
building, you realize that it is a lot larger than you originally thought. As a matter of fact, it seems more like a
humongous mansion. The highest window
rests four entire stories above the ground, shattered and torn apart by storms
of the past. Rusty, timber shutters hang
half open from various windowpanes. A
small, tarnished deck lies out in the front of the building. In front of you is a short, arch-like bridge
crossing the foggy moat. Outsized
dragonflies of diverse colors swarm the swampy water and land nearby, buzzing
noisily.
Suddenly, the sky flashes with a
thunderous roar and goes dark. Furious
black clouds roll overhead and heavy raindrops start pouring down, soaking you
and your friend.
“Leave the bikes here,” you advise
your pal, “and let’s go inside!”
The bridge creaks and groans as you
cross step by step. Small, mysterious
eyes pop out like glowing red dots in the moat and grass below.
They’re
just fish, you tell yourself, trembling from an icy blast of wind.
Alas, you reach the giant metal
door. With a grunt, you and Ben shove it
open.