text: Dad's told you three things about Dawnwood: It's a small town with less than a thousand people, it's a friendly, closed-knit community and it's in the Deep South, between the middle of nowhere and some godforsaken shithole you've never been to. You sit in the back of Dad's Ford, staring out the window at shitty fields and forests.
  
  "It's beautiful, isn't it?" your dad says, cheerfully looking out the window.
  
  "Dad, I don't have bars on my phone. I genuinely didn't know there were places outside of Alaska in this country where that was possible."
  
  "Well, maybe it'll encourage you to spend more time actually talking to people, or read. Hunter loves reading."
  
  You look at your nine year old brother sitting next to your, his eyes glued to the screen of a Kindle.
  
  "He's not reading; he's playing games. I told you he shouldn't have gotten a Kindle."
  
  "Shut up, Hazel!" he says.
  
  You quickly thump him in the arm.
  
  "Hey! Hazel hit me!" Hunter whines.
  
  "Hazel! What have I told you about hitting your brother?"
  
  "Do it when you're not looking?" you ask sarcastically.
  
  "For God's sake, Hazel, you're sixteen, act your age! I'm sick of your acting like a spoilt brat because of the move!"
  
  "You're dragging me from my home to the middle of bumfuck nowhere, of course I'm pissed!"
  
  Dad angrily slams his hands on the wheel, losing his cool once again.
  
  "Stop swearing! I had to move here, I wasn't given a choice! The firm..."
  
  "There's plenty of other law firms! It's New York, there's not such a lack of crime you can't find work!"
  
  "That's another reason! New York was dangerous and full of crime. The only thing people die of where we're going is old age or eating too much fries!"
  
  "Fine, pick your job over us again!"
  
  Dad sighs as you pull out your headphones and put them in. You stare out the window as you pass through endless fields.
  > One Hour Later...
  An hour later, you pull into Dawnbrook, and find you were far too optimistic. The town is a shitty series of low buildings. Hunter looks up from his Kindle briefly, before shrugging and looking back down. You pull up to one of the many, generic looking houses pulling into the driveway.You can already see faces peeking out from windows at the new arrivals. Dad opens the car door and lugs two suitcases up to the door and fishes through his pocket for his keys and opens the door.
  
  "Here we are! Home!" he says cheerfully, obviously trying to raise his children's spirits.
  
  You follow Dad inside, dropping your backpack on the floor.
  
  "I'll begin unpacking, you guys can get settled in or go meet the neighbors or explore," Dad says.
  > go to your room
  You pick up your backpack again and walk up to your new room. It has a large wardrobe, a large double bed, a desk and chair and two dressers. You sit on the bed, taking out your laptop, and go on Facebook. Thankfully, the WiFi's already set up, so you can go on. You go down your Timeline, seeing all your friends having fun. Fiona had a party, Dan's now dating Leone and a bunch of other shit's going on that you wish you could take part in. You sigh, and continue flicking through pictures and posts. After an hour or two, Dad calls you down again. You close your laptop and go downstairs, finding Dad waiting there in the kitchen.
  
  "Hey, sweetie. The house is pretty barren, so we're going to go out to eat and I'll pick up groceries in the morning. I saw a pizza place in town. Do you want to go?"
  > say "Sure."
  "Oh, good! Come on, let's go!"
  
  You follow Dad to the car, and climb in the passenger seat. You don't even need to turn your head to know your brother's in the backseat, hearing the opening tune of Angry Birds: Stalin's Show Trials or whatever the fuck version they have now. You lie back in your seat and stare out the window as you go through the town. Eventually, you arrive at some shitty, greasy pizza joint, and get out of the car. You walk inside, and find yourself in a Chucky Cheese knock-off. You walk up to the counter and find yourself faced with a girl your age with long brown hair and a massive zit that looks like a red dot sight in the middle of her forehead.
  
  "Hello, welcome to Pizza Corner, can I take your order?" she asks.
  
  "Yeah, can we have a large Pepperoni Pizza and three Cokes?"
  
  "Sure thing. Small, Medium or Large?"
  
  "Medium."
  
  The girl begins pouring the drinks as another, far prettier blond girl appears from the kitchen, holding a large piece of dough. She glances briefly at you, before grabbing a cloth with her spare hand and disappearing back again.
  
  "So, are you new here?" the cashier asks.
  
  "Yeah, I just moved in."
  
  "I'm Lucy."
  
  "I'm Hazel."
  
  "Oh, really? Well, it's a good town. You can't find much work except in a dull pizza joint, but there ain't much here to even spend the money on. Some old clothes stores and a cinema, and that's about it."
  
  "Do you work here full time?"
  
  "Jesus no. If I got to the point where I was working here full time I'd dip my head in the deep fat...  well, I wouldn't be happy. Im still in school."
  
  "What grade?"
  
  "10th."
  
  "Oh, I'm starting there tomorrow. I guess I'll see you there."
  
  ""Sure. If you want, I can always get you a job here. Becca, the blond girl, has literally done shit all since we started. She's only working so her daddy an think she's learning real-life experience and still feel justified buying whatever she... "
  
  "I can hear you!" a voice calls out from the kitchen.
  
  "I know, Becca, I'm getting a point across!"
  
  Dad appears standing next to you, grinning.
  
  "Look who's already making friends!" he smiles.
  
  You roll your eyes.
  
  "Yeah, sure. Let's just sit down," you say, pulling Dad towards a booth to sit in.
  > Two Days Later...
  The school is a shitty building filled with no good kids who are learning about geography and Shakespeare despite the fact that they'll almost certainly end up in the shitty jobs that are needed to keep this town running. You walk through the doors, a backpack slung over your shoulder.
  
  "OK, it's not so bad," you mutter, walking past a row of lockers down the hall. "I just have to find my classes and... "
  
  "Hey, Hazel!" a voice cries.
  
  You turn to find the familiar, zit stricken face of the pizza cashier, Lucy.
  
  "Hey," you reply.
  
  "So, it's your first day, huh? Do you know what classes you're in?"
  
  You search your pockets and pull out a crumpled class schedule, handing it to her.
  
  "OK, we have the same Spanish, English, Math, History...  you do Chemistry? Gay! That's the hardest class!"
  
  "Well other than that we seem to share a suspicious amount of classes."
  
  "Yeah, I talked to the principal and begged him to put you in my classes...  it's a tiny school, what do you think would happen? Of course we share most classes. Oh look, Carter's here."
  
  You turn to see a tall kid with neat, combed hair and an awkward grin bounding over. His clothes are all too small and his teeth are messed up and chipped, which becomes more obvious as his grin widens.
  
  "P-p-pleased to meet y-you. I'm Carter," the boy stutters awkwardly.
  
  "This is Carter. He's one of my best friends here."
  
  "It's a t-tiny town. You di-didn't exactly h-have a lot to choose from."
  
  "Yeah, I guess not. If you want, we can both show you around. Between the two of us, we should share pretty much every class."
  
  "Except Chem...  Chemistry," Carter points out.
  
  "Yeah, you're pretty much fucked for that, but that's your problem. Now we have double Math and English, and Miss Loaves is genuinely the easiest Math teacher to have to deal with. She's the only one who lets you get books from your locker when you forget them rather than giving a write-out or detention or just yelling for ten minutes. Come on, we'll show you around."
  > Two Hours Later...
  The first few classes are easy. You've always been good at Math and Miss Loaves is quite eager to have a student who actually works hard. Of the class, it's mostly kids messing and doodling with the exception of you, the blond girl, Becca, who worked with Lucy in the pizza joint and a tiny kid sitting at the back of the class who looks as young as Hunter. English is similar, with you being among the few who can spell "Immediately". In the short space of three classes, you cement your position as a nerd in the class. When the bell rings for first lunch, you find Lucy smirking at you.
  
  "You could've given us a heads up you were a nerd," she says.
  
  "I'm not a nerd!" you protest.
  
  "You were doing half the sums in your head!"
  
  "I...!"
  
  "Calm it, new girl. Shit, I didn't think you'd make such a big deal about it. Come on, I'll introduce you to the gang."
  
  You follow Lucy to the cafeteria, where she sits down at a table. You recognize a few faces of those sitting there. Carter sits there, eagerly tearing into a sandwich. The nerdy, small kid is also there, as well as the blond girl, Becca, from the pizza place. The only others are a large, bulky kid who you don't recognize but seems unusually close to Becca.
  
  "Alright, everyone, this is Hazel, she's new here. You know Carter."
  
  "I'm Becca," Becca says, looking up at you.
  
  "Hey, I'm Anthony," the small kid says.
  
  "He's Ant," Becca buts in.
  
  "Anthony, you prick!" Ant says again, but you resolve that Ant is a way better name for the tiny kid.
  
  "I'm Kyle," the big kid says.
  
  You sit down, and Kyle immediately continues telling a story he was apparently telling.
  
  "So there I was, just walking into this shitty pet store that I genuinely think half the animals in were either dead or had a few hours to live, because I wanted to buy Becca a goldfish for our anniversary."
  
  "It's not anniversary. Anniversary is yearly, not five monthly," Ant points out.
  
  "Whatever, stop being a dick and interrupting the story. So I was trying to get a goldfish, when the manager or owner or whatever just stares blankly at me. After about a minute, he says "Buy something or get out", and I ask him what his problem is, and he says, no word of a lie, "All you Negroes is stealin' my cat food". I'm not even offended by that. I'm curious as to how much cat food has he had stolen by black kids to make that a stereotype in his head."
  
  "Nah, s-sounds like b-b-bullshit. I bet you w-weren't r-r-really buying Bec... Becca an anniversary gift. You w-were going to... to steal c-cat food," Carter points out.
  
  "Fuck you, Carter. Where was I?"
  
  "You just finished," Becca says.
  
  "Well, shit, I'm outta things to say. Where's Mason? He usually has something to say."
  
  "There he is," Lucy says.
  
  You turn your head slightly to see what could be the hottest boy you've ever seen. He stands tall with muscles that ripple under his t-shirt. He has short, straight black hair that looks really cute... shit, he's here. Say something! For God's sake, don't screw this up! USE THE RIGHT GREETING!
  > say "Hello."
  "Hey," he smiles, extending a hand to shake. "I'm Mason."
  
  He speaks with a sexy, thick Southern drawl that immediately... Shit, he's staring at you.
  
  "I'm Hazel," you smile, shaking his hand.
  
  "Where were you, Mason?" Lucy asks.
  
  "I was talking to Drake about tonight."
  
  "Who's Drake?" you ask.
  
  "Lucy's older b-brother," Carter answers.
  
  "Did you tell him I was going to be there?"
  
  "Of course not. Can't you just trust me? Everything'll be fine. Hey, I forgot to say, I'm going to need you all to chip. Drake's got a heavy mark up."
  
  "What's tonight?" you ask. 
  
  "We're all going out drinking in the woods," Lucy explains. "You can come, if you want. You don't even need to drink or anything, it's just a bit of fun."
  
  "I don't know if my dad will let me,"
  
  "Well, sneak out," Ant says.
  
  "Well, I can try," you say.
  
  "Cool, I'll save you some cans just in case," Mason smiles.
  
  The bell rings, and Kyle and Ant swear in unison.
  
  "What class is now?" Mason asks.
  
  "Spanish," Carter replies.
  
  You grab your bag and follow your new friends to Spanish class.
  > Six Hours Later...
  The rest of the school day is easy. You learn about the history of the town in History Class, the history teacher eagerly abandoning the notion of McCarthyism to explain what appears to be her favorite topic. Apparently, the town was once home to a large tribe of Native Americans, who were promptly wiped out by Colonists. The town rose to prominence due to its large number of cattle farms, before falling into obscurity as the modern age dawned. Eventually, it became the shithole it is today. After school, you take the bus home and say goodbye to your friends. Dad's still at work, so you collapse in front of the TV for a barrage of nearly identical Crime Shows. One features a team of guys who just kind of stereotype criminals, one features some guys who look at glowing stains, one features a guy who knows when you're lying and one features a modern day Sherlock Holmes.
  
  Just as the team find a new bit of information about how the clown's car is full of some... particularly dirty stains, you hear the familiar whine.
  
  "HAZEL! Can I watch TV!?!"
  
  "No! I'm watching. Go play your games."
  
  "But It's out battery!" he whines.
  > let the whining, snivelling brat watch TV
  "Fine!" you sigh, as your brother gleefully snatches the remote and switches to the latest cartoon that's far too old for him. 
  
  You jump up from the couch, and grab your laptop, binge-watching Youtube until you hear Dad come through the door. 
  
  "Hello! I'm home!" he calls.
  
  "Hey Dad!" you yell from the kitchen.
  
  He walks in, smiling.
  
  "You're not fighting. That's pretty impressive," he smiles, referring to you and your brother. "I'll put on dinner. We have chicken curry."
  
  He begins to turn on the stove and start cooking.
  
  "How was school, honey?"
  > say "Shitty."
  "Well, honey, I'm sure it will get better. No, I swear it will. Don't worry, it just takes some time to get used to things."
  
  You shrug and turn on your phone. After about an hour, Dad begins serving dinner.
  > sit down for dinner
  You sit down.
  
  "So Hunter, how was school?"
  
  "Good," Hunter mumbles.
  
  "Hey, Dad..." you ask.
  
  "Yes?"
  
  Now's the perfect time to ask him whether you can go or not... or you can just sneak out later.
  > say "Can I go out with some friends to the woods?"
  "Into the woods? Hazel, it's late, you're not going to the woods," Dad says.
  
  "OK," you say dejectedly, already planning how to sneak out.
  
  You quickly eat most of your dinner before faking a stomach ache and disappearing into your room.
  > several Hours Later...
  An hour before you're supposed to be meeting your newfound friends, you go out to Dad.
  
  "Dad, I don't feel great," you moan. "I'm going to bed."
  
  "Are you sure?"
  
  "Yeah. I need rest. I'm just going to sleep. Don't wake me any earlier than you need to."
  
  "Sure, sweetie."
  
  You disappear to your room, and immediately fill your bed will pillows even though it's a bit generic, and open your window. There's a small ledge you sit on, before you go to drop down. You hit the soil with a soft thud, and quickly break into a jog away from the house before Dad chooses to look out a window. You quickly rush away from the house and pull out your phone and call Lucy for directions.
  > ten Minutes Later...
  After a long walk, getting lost on several occasions and using McDonalds as the landmark to navigate from, you end up trompsing through the woods, you feet softly landing on the soil that's neither dry earth or wet mud, but a combination of both. After ten minutes walking, you come across the site your friends were talking off. A fire built from moss dry leaves and branches struggles to stay alight as two rusted pick-ups sit on either side. You see the group immediately. Mason, Lucy and Carter sit on the roof of one of the trucks, passing a large bottle of what looks like vodka between them. Kyle and Becca sit on the other sharing a strange mixture of various liquids that's ended up a pale brownish color. Ant sits by the fire, letting out cursewords so dirty they'd make a sailor blush as he pours a can of lighter fluid among the flames in a desperate attempt to give the fire some self-sufficiency by setting alight one of the larger branches.
  
  "Oh, you're h-h-here," Carter says.
  
  "Oh, Hazel! I'm glad you could come! Shit, I half expectected you to get lost, give up and end up getting a McFlurry and going come," Lucy admits.
  
  As the sun begins to hit the horizon, illuminating the entire forest golden and orange, you sit at the edge of one of the pick up's.
  
  "You bring anything to drink?" Ant asks, turning a pile of leaves over to give the fire some air.
  
  You shake your head, and Ant sighs.
  
  "Figures. I've been telling half these guys to bring their own drinks since I knew 'em, but the only ones who do is me."
  
  Mason holds up his hands in offene.
  
  "And Mason,"
  
  "I always bring drinks!" Lucy says.
  
  "Your brother does, and he takes more than a pound of flesh in payment. Somebody ring him, anyway."
  
  Just as Ant finishes talking, you hear a rustle among the leaves. Mason immediately puts his drink under his coat before a tall boy with messy hair that looks to be in his early twenties appears.
  
  "Hey!" he says sternly. "Underage drinking is illegal, unhealthy and can act as a gateway drug to the very dangerous Marijuana!"
  
  "We don't have time for your bullshit, Drake," Ant complains.
  
  "Why do have to spoil everything, short-round?" I was trying to scare the new girl," the boy says, tossing a small grocery bag of cans of alcohol in front of Ant.
  
  "Fantastic!" Mason sasys, immediately grabbing the bag as Ant gives Drake a wad of crumpled bills.
  
  "I'm Drake, by the way," he says to you. "Lucy's brother."
  
  "Hazel. You buy your sister alcohol?" you ask in surprise.
  
  "Shit, I was drinking when I was twelve and a quarter. I reckon she's old enough to make her own decisions. Fuck, in some countries she'd be makin' babies and runnin' a household by now."
  
  "Thanks, Drake," Lucy says, breaking the tab of a can of off-brand supermarket beer.
  
  "No problem. Right, I gotta go, me and Ed are going out to do a few jobs. I'll see you all around. Good meetin' you, Hazel."
  
  Drake turns and walks off through the forest as the kids around you begin tearing through the bag.
  
  "This all tastes like someone drank shitty liquor and pissed into a can," Ant complains.
  
  "Oh, b-b-because you brought o-only the f-f-finest of wines and c-cham-champagnes, Ant," Carter says.
  
  Mason pops the tab of another can, and looks at you expectantly.
  
  "Hey, Hazel," he asks. "Do you want some?"
  > say "No thanks."
  "Are you sure?" Lucy asks. "A bit of drink never hurt anyone."
  
  "Plus, you'll be really bland and we'lll be annoying to each other if you're sober," Ant adds. "Oh, and...  peer pressure. We're peers who are pressuring you, because that's a thing that really happens."
  > say "OK."
  "Cool," Mason grins, passing you the bottle of alcohol.
  
  You take a long drink, downing much of the bottle. Ant is right, it does taste like piss. Still, you manage to gulp down half the can, before passing it on.
  
  "Shit. The new girl can drink," Ant smiles.
  
  You continue sitting around the campfire, which is really a lot closer to a glorified candle sitting in a pile of leaves. Mason grabs the bottle of vodka and sits down next to you and your heart flutters. A large part of you knows that this is just infatuation and a childhood crush, mixed in with a fair bit of hormonal lust, but still...  he's really, really cute. The others seem bored, with Kyle downing what seems like more than his weight in booze.
  
  "Well, this is boring," Lucy complains, tossing a bottle in the middle. "Let's play spin the bottle."
  
  "No way!" Ant complains. "I'm the odd guy out. Kyle and Becca go together, you and Carter and then Mason and the new girl."
  
  You blush at that comment as Carter nods in agreement.
  
  "I agree. I d-don't w-want to play spin the bo-bottle," Carter says.
  
  Briefly glancing at the indifferent Mason, you feel a twinge of annoyance of all possibilities of spin the bottle disappears as Ant suggests a new game.
  
  "Truth or Dare!" Ant suggests, to the groans of Kyle and Becca.
  
  "Remember what happened last time?" Becca points out.
  
  "That's not fair! That wasn't my fault! You should've protected your dad's stuff. How was I do know that that painting was worth a fortune?"
  
  "You shouldn't have been drawing over paintings in the first place, Ant!"
  
  "It wasn't skin off your dad's nose! That rich bastard can handle a loss! Jesus, we all know his ancestors made his money off the backs of Kyle's ancestors!"
  
  "Fuck you, Ant!" Kyle shouts, slurring from his drink.
  
  "Gentlemen, gentlemen, calm down," Mason says. "There ain't no issues! We're all friends here! I say a game of truth and dare would calm us all down."
  
  "Fine," Becca says.
  
  Mason downs the rest of his drink, and tosses the glass bottle in the middle. He drops to his knees and spins it, landing on Carter, who lies in the back of the pick-up.
  
  "Truth or dare, Carter?"
  
  "If I p-pick dare, will you...  will you make me st-stand up?" Carter says lazily.
  
  "Maybe," Mason says slyly.
  
  "Truth, t-then."
  
  Mason grins, glancing at him and Lucy.
  
  "Have you ever kissed Lucy?" he asks.
  
  "Nope. Sorry to disa-disa-disappoint."
  
  "Damn. I was certain," Mason sighs, pulling out his wallet and tossing Kyle a crumpled bill. "You just cost me twenty bucks, Carter."
  
  Ant leans over, spinning the bottle. It slows to a stop, pointing off into the woods.
  
  "Is that closer to Becca or Hazel?" he asks.
  
  "Becca," Carter says.
  
  "Oh, fantastic. Truth or dare?"
  
  "Truth."
  
  "Dammit, Becca. Fine, I'll make this awkward. How far has Kyle got with you?"
  
  "Shut up, Ant!" Becca hisses.
  
  "Hey, you gotta answer!" Lucy says.
  
  "Oh come on! That's private!"
  
  "We're all friends here," Mason says.
  
  "Fine! We've...  you know. Done it."
  
  "Respect, Kyle," Ant smiles, holding back a giggle.
  
  Becca goes red, grabbing the bottle and twirling it. Through pure luck or skill, it points directly at Ant.
  
  "Shit," Ant sighs.
  
  "Truth or dare. I have a lot of embarrassing questions to ask."
  
  "Dare," Ant grimaces.
  
  "Well, you have a lot more balls than I though. You'll suffer from it. I dare you to go into Herr Eichel's basement."
  
  "No!" Ant replies.
  
  "Come on, Becca! Herr Eichel's tear out his throat if he caught him!" Lucy complains.
  
  "Who's Herr EIchel?" you ask.
  
  "Oh, I'll tell her. I've been practicing this story for my little brother," Mason says, before clearing his throat. "During World War II, a young soldier rose through the ranks of the SS. He had a habit of hunting Jews and personally escorting them to the Camps. He would hunt men, women, children, and torture them all for information. He showed no mercy. Eventually, when the Russians invaded, he escaped by pretending to be a civilian, fleeing from Berlin to France to Britain to the US. He hid right here in Dawnwood, hunting down any Jews he could find. His name is Herr Eichel."
  
  "That's the biggest load of shit!" Lucy complains. "Everyone knows that any Jew in Dawnwood would be scared off by Carter Sr. and his white power bullshit."
  
  "He doesn't w-w-want white pow-power!" Carter says. "He wants white p-pride. There's...  a difference."
  
  "No there isn't, Carter, now stop ruining the story. Where was I?" Mason asks.
  
  "You just finished," you point out.
  
  "Oh. Well, now Herr Eichel's going to kill Ant."
  
  "Becca, I'm sorry! Please change the dare!"
  
  "Fine. You have to go into the Dead Man's Barn and go up to the attic."
  
  "That's even worse!" Ant complains.
  
  "Nah, that ain't bad," Mason says. "Nazis are real and will kill you. Ghosts aren't."
  
  You raise an eyebrow, and Mason smiles.
  
  "OK, story time. Once, there was a Sheriff back in the Western times who used his power to wipe out any competition of the big ranchers of the town. One of the small time ranchers, Daniel Edwards, stood up and told the Sheriff he wouldn't sell his farm to his competition despite threats. The Sheriff led a posse to bring him down, and Edwards tried to fight back. He killed two dozen men and took near a hundred bullets before he went down. They tortured him for a few days, even cutting his face wide open to give him... what'd ya call it, a Glasgow Grin. Eventually, you just hung him to finish him off. Rumor is he still haunts the barn where they strung him up. It's a historical building so it can't be torn down, so the owner just leaves it vacant."
  
  "I'm not going!"
  
  "Don't pussy out, Ant."
  
  "Will one of you go with me?" Ant pleads.
  
  "Spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on has to go with you," Lucy suggests. "I hope it's Becca. That'd be ironic."
  
  "Sure," Carter says. "Let's do that."
  
  Ant thanks Lucy and spins the bottle. It wobbles and slows to a halt, pointing directly at you.
  
  "Well, I guess Hazel's going to Dead Man's Barn," Mason says.
  
  "No, she can go to Herr Eichel's if she wants. Eichel's just an old, slow dude. The Dead Man's a supernatural murderer," Lucy says.
  
  "Let Hazel pick," Kyle says, trying to stand before stumbling and leaning back on the truck.
  
  "Yeah. Go ahead Hazel. Ghost or Nazi."
  > go with Ant to Dead Man's Barn
  "Dead Man's Barn."
  
  "If you think so," Lucy says as Mason nods encouragingly.
  
  Ant nods nervously.
  
  "Good choice," Mason says.
  
  You nod. The group begins to stand, and starts walking towards Dead Man's Barn.
  
  "I'll... I'll stay here!" Kyle slurs, collapsing into the back of the pick-up truck.
  
  Lucy shrugs, and continues leading the group out of the forest. The group drops the various empty cans among the shrubs as you emerge in yet a bland, empty field with an old, clearly abandoned and boarded up barn in the center. It's a particularly large barn, but other than that it's just an old, boring barn.. The sun's fallen, so Lucy brings out her phone and turns on the flashlight. She leads you to the barn, and Mason grabs the edge of a piece of plywood and pulls it back.
  
  "This is stupid guys," Ant says.
  
  "What, scared of a ghost?" Mason chuckles.
  
  "No! I'm just scared of tripping and getting tetanus from a rusty nail!"
  
  "Pussy," Mason says, rolling his eyes.
  
  Mason pulls the plywood back further, creating a large enough gap for you to step through. 
  
  "Thank you," you say as you step through.
  
  "Of course, Ma'am," Mason smiles. 
  
  As you step through, you enter complete darkness penetrated by a single beam of pale moonlight coming from the gap. Ant steps in afterwards, looking around nervously.
  
  "OK, we've went inside, dare's over," Ant says.
  
  Mason sighs, pushing the plywood back in place. You hear his muffled voice a few seconds later.
  
  "Go upstairs and open the boards at the window. Then we'll let you out, Ant," Lucy says.
  
  "You're a bitch!" Ant says, thumping on the plywood, before turning to you.
  
  "Let's explore," he says nervously.
  
  You pull out your phone, turning on the flashlight. The inside of the barn is immediately illuminated. Several horse stalls made of rotten wood takes up most  of the barn, with the floor covered in dried, rotten hay. 
  
  "It smells like shit in here," Ant complains.
  
  "Hush," you reply.
  
  You spot a partially rotted out stairs leading to the upper floor. You walk over to it. You put your foot on the first stair and put some weight on it to make sure it'll hold. You slowly make your way up the stairwell, reaching the upper-floor. There's a dead silence inside, even the wind dying as complete silence consumes you. You scan the room with your flashlight. You wince as you notice a blood-stained noose hanging from the ceiling.
  
  "Jesus. Is that what I think it is?"
  
  "No, Hazel, it's a fucking... I can't even think of a mocking example. Of course it's a...!"
  
  There's a creaking of the floorboards behind you, and you quickly turn to find... nothing.
  
  "Hazel, please. If you're trying to freak me out, just... don't."
  
  "I'm not doing..."
  
  You feel something knock into your back and you fall forward with a yelp. Your phone flies from your hands. It falls forward down the stairs, thudding before it lands on it's back, obscuring the flashlight and plunging you into total darkness.
  
  "What the fuck, Ant?"
  
  "I swear to god, that wasn't me!" Ant says. "Let's get out of here, fuck the window."
  
  You hear haggard, wet breathing in at the stairwell, and you freeze.
  
  "What...?"
  
  "Shut up!" you hiss.
  
  The breathing continues, before turning to a wet, squelching chuckle. Ant whimpers, as you begin to back away from the stairwell.
  
  "It ain't your night tonight, kids," a deep voice says, each word interspersed with the wet squelching you've heard before. "What the fuck makes two dumbass, chicken shit kids come into a place you don't belong?"
  
  "What the fuck...?" Ant says, half whimpering and half shrieking.
  
  "Sssh... save your breath. I ain't even given you a reason to start hollering... yet."
  > charge the figure
  You charge forward, and the figure grabs you. It's arms grab your wrist and pin you to the wall. You hear the soft thudding of Ant's fists on the creatures back, but the figure doesn't even seem to notice.
  
  "Oh, you're going to regret that, darlin'." The figure laughs. 
  
  You feel the cold metal of a blade press against your cheek. He laughs as he begins to carve your face apart, and all you can do is scream.