A tiny shove. That’s all it took for the old, wonky door to swing open. I dared myself to step inside. If I wanted to belong I would have to face the abandoned house of Shady Lane. But was it really worth it? There was nothing downstairs that I could take back to prove that I had completed the ordeal, but the stairs looked like they would crumble under the weight of a spider. My life or my friends? But then I realised that my friends were my life so I closed my eyes and took a step up, my heart thundering.
I scanned the shelves of the bedroom. If you could call it that anymore. There were so many strange ornaments that my friends would love to see but I had to find something really out of the ordinary to prove that I really had taken a step into a haunted house. I reached out to examine a rusty pipe and realised that my hand was shaking. I couldn’t carry anything back in this state. But then, as my hand fumbled along a dusty shelf, discovering what seemed to be scratched messages in the wood, I came across… an old bracelet. My heart fluttered. This was it! I squinted at it and could just make out a message spelt out in rubies but I couldn’t read it in the darkness. ‘I can wear this back to the sleepover,’ I thought. I slid it onto my wrist. Then suddenly I was surrounded by a blinding golden light! I could read the message now – “BEWARE!” But it was too late…
Thud! I landed with a horrible crunch. My eyes instantly darted towards my right ankle which looked unnaturally out of place. I hauled myself off the ground and surveyed my surroundings. Darkness. My chest was aching and my soul felt as if it was being torn out of my inner body. I closed my eyes, desperately attempting to channel my fearful thoughts. The bracelet! I grabbed it and tore it off my wrist causing it to break and the beads to scatter over the floor. Quickly I scooped up one of the rubies and put it in my pocket-I still needed my proof after all.
“Too late…” hissed a voice. “You are too late!” The light flashed gold again, and I glimpsed a dark figure moving silently towards me. The walls seemed to be caving in around me and re-forming to create a dark, gloomy tunnel that looked like it could take you to the end of time itself.
“Come,” came the menacing voice again. My heart raced. My head throbbed as I noticed light slowly seeping into this mysterious place, inviting me deeper into what would be my greatest nightmare. I gingerly stepped on to my sore foot. Despite the small amount of pressure it was no use. I lowered my body to the ground and began to crawl towards the death trap. The dark figure lurched forward and pulled me to my feet. A strong hand grasped my wrist. I let out a high-pitched scream which echoed and bounced off the walls.
The tunnel seemed to wind on forever. I was half dragged, half carried at a great pace. My breathing was fast and loud, but the figure made no sound at all. The light became brighter. The figure turned to face me.
“It is too late to go back.”
Disgusted yet intrigued I peered closer. I gasped as the figure took off its hood to reveal itself; behind the wounds, the scabs, the eyes, the face…it looked awfully familiar!
“No, no…you can’t be! You’re, you’re…” I stammered.
“That’s right! Little old Amelia!” the figure shrieked.
Instantly, I remembered everything. It was Amelia Bold, the weedy little girl my friends and I used to tease. We used to call her ‘Grandma’ because of the antique bracelet with the old jewels that she wore to school every day. The bracelet! That is the bracelet she wore when we chased her through the forest and unknowingly off the crumbling cliff. We were all too late when we reached the cliff edge; she had already fallen to her death. A sudden wave of fear rushed over me as I realised what she might do.
All at once I was thrown to the ground of the endless tunnels. The second I reopened my eyes, I was overcome with horror as I saw two bright crimson eyes that delved into the very depths of my soul. Completely repulsed, I shuffled back to the arched wall of the hollow tunnels.
“You are the reason I died, now I will be the cause of your death! I want hear your petrified screams!” she bellowed.
It was then that I noticed that every mournful melancholy word she barked resulted in her growing in size and becoming brighter and brighter until she was a blinding light. The only thing I could make out were her fiery, soulful eyes.
With a sudden deafening crack of thunder, the spirit disappeared leaving me utterly alone in the labyrinth of tunnels. I tried to stand up, forgetting about my injured ankle; an excruciating pain, like a flaming dagger, pierced my leg. All I could do was lie against the wall in absolute shock, thinking about where the spirit had gone. I stared helplessly at my discoloured ankle. Then I heard a terrifying snarl. It was building in volume and coming from the far end of the tunnel…
As I slouched against the wall, I was petrified of what Amelia might do to me. What made that snarl? Suddenly I heard it again, closer this time, louder. I knew I had to run, but how? My eyes welled up at the excruciating pain up my leg. I couldn’t run anywhere in this state. I crawled slowly, like a sloth on the ground, away from the noise. The next thing I knew I found myself standing, hobbling along lopsidedly. Still, it was no use. I was going to die. The realisation hurt me more than my ankle; still I forced myself not to think of it. The snarling was growing increasingly in volume, coming closer at alarming speed.
After about ten minutes of extensive hobbling, I fell. I lay propped up against the wall of this endless labyrinth.
“Fine, if I have to die make it quick” I muttered under my breath. All of a sudden the snarling that had haunted me stopped. Maybe Amelia had heard my request and decided to make my death as excruciatingly slow as she could. I extended my arms above my head. I heard a clang ring out. My ring had hit something metal! I found just enough energy to adjust my position. A door handle! I wrapped my hand tightly around it, hauling myself up. I opened the door and was confronted by a flight of concrete stairs. I wanted to sprint up them as fast as I possibly could, but I knew my ankle wouldn’t take it. I was so close to freedom, yet so far.
Desperate, I dragged myself up the steep stairs. This was my chance to escape. As agonising as it was, I had to get to the top. I had to see what was behind the door. It was taking every last ounce of my strength. Finally, I came face to face with the narrow door. The snarling returned. Louder. Closer. I turned. A pair of eyes, as red as blood, stared back at me.
It was Amelia. Her eyes were full of hatred. ‘Run,’ I kept thinking. ‘Run! Run!’ the voice inside my head was screeching. ‘Run!’ I heard it again. Even though the throbbing of my ankle was dragging me down, I had to run. Opening the door, I heard her cackle. The door locked behind me.
Silence … except for the loud thumping of my heart. Was I free? I found myself on the edge of a cliff – the very same cliff-edge where Amelia had fallen to her death. Suddenly, the rocks crumbled beneath me. I was falling… falling… falling…
‘That’s it,’ I thought. She had defeated me. How could I possibly survive this? A sudden shock rippled through my body as I hit the ground. It was as if my bones were being shattered into tiny pieces. Pain engulfed me. Then, everything went black, as if the sun had turned itself off.
The breeze whispered across my face. Slowly, I opened my eyes, adjusting them to the blinding light that shone down on me. Where was I? Lying there motionless, I wondered how I had survived. Gradually, the colour returned to everything, as if someone was painting the world around me. I could hear familiar voices and looked up to see my friends approaching a house – a house that I knew I’d been in before.
‘No don’t go in there!’ I screamed. Nothing. It was as if they couldn’t hear me, as if I wasn’t there. Why couldn’t they hear me?
A tiny shove. That’s all that was needed for the old, wonky door to swing open…
by Year 6 pupils from Nelson, East Sheen, Bishop Perrin, Hampton Hill Junior and St. Edmund’s primary schools