text: I would never say I believed in the paranormal or anything that was written in the book, but rumours of that place got me curious. Of course, curiosity was not why I went, I was hired. I needed the money for school, so why not? On a street light in my neighbourhood, a paper was asking if anyone could watch the house on 34th street. Now 34th street was nicknamed ‘Passing Way’, because of the stories people being left out there trying to find their way home after being attacked, and ending up as meal for the wolves and coyotes in the area. After that they haunt the only house on the street called ‘Inferno’. People have said they been attacked by wolves when they entered the house and that they see people they loved in looking through the windows of the house. Now most of these are from people not all there, drinkers, and people experimenting; if you catch my drift. It was a two floored farm house, wooden. The last person to live there was 1980’s, they were said to have died in the asylum downtown. Now you’re probably thinking why has no one gotten rid of it? No one wanted blood on their hands, or lose their own soul in the process. Oh, yes like I mentioned before, people believe if you die on the property, heaven won’t be able to calm your soul. Instantly the thought your thinking is why would it need to be watched, if it is abandoned? I don’t know, but as I said I need the cash. But even so, if I don’t believe in the rumors, does not mean I don’t believe in killers and kidnappers. I’m going to meet the person tomorrow to find out more. Don’t want to end up on the news &#x200B; I’m sitting in Tim’s eating a chocolate dip donut, an old favorite. A 40 something year old guy walks in, cleaned up very nicely. Wearing a full suit, not common in this town. I never seen him around, which is odd. It is a small town. I pull out the poster and place it on the table, just to make it obvious I was the one he was looking for. It had to be him; it was 9:47 at night. An odd time to be walking into a Tim’s, unless you were on a night shift but still odd. He walked over, “Are you Archie?”. I’m the only one in here. “Yes, and you are?”. “Ken”. He pulled up the chair across from me, he was defiantly not from around here or at least doesn’t like to look like it. His hair gelled to be solid as a rock, after shave over a baby smooth face and a faded scar that ran down his cheek. “Sorry about being late, working over time tonight”. “No problem”, not going to argue, he’s paying me. “I don’t live around here, I have a cottage but that’s it. The problem is I own the house, but no one wants it”, I wonder why? “So, you want me to go over and clean the house?”. “No, I need someone to stay there so that everyone knows it’s not dangerous”, guess that makes sense. “Okay, when do you want this done?”, I do have to go back to school soon. “This weekend, I’ll pay for both days. 500 is what I was thinking”, not bad. “That would be great”, I give a grin. He reached out for a shake and being the person I am, I shake. His hands were rougher than I thought they would be. He walks out, leaving in his sports car. Saturday rolled around and I packed my bag. Nothing special; clothes, flashlight, snacks, books and a blanket. I borrowed my parent’s car that I don’t usually drive; I usually get a ride from Dale back to school. I pay for gas and he drives me back. To get to my house usually takes forever because he likes to stop at every gas station to go to the washroom. From my house, it takes about 30 minutes to get to inferno, it’s 8. After Sunrise. I pull out my phone and call Ken. “Hello”, Ken said nervous, like he was thinking it was someone else “Hello, it’s Archie”. “Oh hey...”. “I’m at the house”. “Good, the keys are in the flower pot next to the window”. “Okay thank you. I was-”. “Yeah, see you later”, he hung up first cutting me off. I stepped out of my car and took my bag. The front yard had dead grass and a dead tree. The drive way was made of pebbles, rough. The steps creaked with every step. Creak, Creak, Creak. The timeworn mat said “Welcome Home”, how inviting. I take the keys from the flower pot and unlock the door. The door was heavy like a garage door, used to make sure Cardon monoxide doesn’t enter your house. The silent killer. I knew a kid, rough upbringing, ran away. Now his family were at one-point hunters, so I don’t know if that lead him to think he could survive out there. He did well unit it hit below 20. Stole an old rusted burner used outside to boil sap. When he was found days later by the cops, he was killed by monoxide poisoning in his small closed in shed he found. Welp, didn’t mean to drop the mood like that, but it just came up. Walking into the so-called haunted house, I was scared that some angry kid or old guy would pop out and nail me in the head, maybe eat me. Not too much on me; not saying I’m thin as a stick, I’m average. More like I feel it would be slimy, and is there really any way to cook it here, they ain’t no Gordan Ramsey. The first room I enter is a little closet like area for shoes and coats. Warning sign, there are high heels and running shoes in the closest. Both new and old. But around here people staple them to trees until there is more shoe then tree left. So, people leaving shoes here doesn’t surprise me. I keep my stuff on me, don’t want to lose anything. I stroll through the door way to see the living room; there is a light area under the table, guess someone took the rug. Pawned it for money I bet, again not surprising in this town. No pictures on the wall, a worn-out couch looking thing with claw marks on it. Smells like a pool in here. The chimney has ash and charcoal in it. I go over and look in, it’s blocked. Don’t feel like dying so if I get to cold, I’ll just go to the car and lie about it to the guy. I see no cameras out here. I move over to the window, a blur leaves as fast as it came. Must been a rat, nothing to be afraid of. I drop my bag on the floor, there’s one more room on the floor. I try to open the mystery door, locked. Well, no harm in finding out what’s in there. I slam my body into the door and thankfully because of the age, the door gives in. The kitchen was the mysterious prize I won for the cost of a sore shoulder. Nothing looks like it would start, but I’ll try the sink. Nope doesn’t work. The table is covered in cleaning supplies, used and waiting to be used. Maybe people do live here. I they pop out I’ll just call Sal, a friend that before she became a cop was riding back with me and Dale to school. Looking out the window, the sun is going down. Better get ready. I walk back in the living room and throw out my blanket on the coach. I ain’t sleeping tonight, but I want to be conformable. I do still have like 12 hours to go, so now it’s time to play Dora and explore the upstairs. The stairs held and I made it up. Way to go team. An old empty hall was the reward for not falling into the stairs. Door one or two? Ones has claw marks in the front, the other is already opened a bit. I choose open. I kick open the door and with a quick peek see that no ones in there taking a nap. It was a master bed room. It’s weird that the bed looks like someone has slept in here not to long ago. Well am not taking my chances by touching it, could catch something. Don’t know if someone or someone’s come here to entrain themselves. Other than the bed there is nothing in here, actually that’s a lie. Dust from probably dead bodies that are in here. I stop in place, I hear growling. I slowly step closer to the door; I just need to see if anything’s there. Just a peak. Holy shit! There’s a wolf out there. Fuck! The floor creaked, it is coming this way. I ain’t too much of a fighter, never liked hurting things. I once had a cat claw the hell out of my leg and didn’t get it off until Dale ripped him off. Was his fault anyways, he said it was his mother’s cat, super friendly. Bull, at least I didn’t have to pay for gas that week. The beast, comes into view and I start to question my beliefs. The wolf though small is a skeleton with glowing purple eyes. The hair is a transparent dark shadow that floats around it. Who would think that in the last moment of my life I would change everything I believed in? Holy if my sister saw me now. She would be like “I told you so”. She would even say it if I was a second away from death and at my funeral she would be like, “I told them, but no couldn’t believe me”. If I get out of this, I still won’t let her know she was right. The creature runs and pounces at me. I put my hands up to cover my face. It takes me down. &#x200B; I’m lying on the ground; the thing is just lying on my chest. Now that it’s on me, I can tell it’s not as big as I thought. It’s about the size of my torso, it’s a pup. Okay time to grow a pair and open my eyes. It’s staring at me; I place my hand on the top of its head. It jumps off, I crawl backwards. It starts chirping like it’s laughing at me, and falls on to it’s back. Never thought I would feel embarrassed by a ghost. The more it laughed; more it sounded human. I got up; it looks like am okay. The wolf is gone, it’s a little girl. I will just expect now that weird things are going to happen from now on. “Hello?”, I don’t really know how to begin talking to this.... kid. “You should have seen your face!”, she getting quite the kick out of this. “Who are you?”, got to start somewhere. She stood up and calmed down. “I’m Nina”, never heard that name before. “I’m Archie. I’m just here for tonight, then am out”, thinking that she would give me a pass on this sleepover at her house. “I usually scare people off, bad things happen here”, the kid looked uncomfortable. “Well I- “, I cut myself off when I hear glass breaking out side. I run to the window to see my car window broken and the hood up. Fuck, am going to be killed when I get home. “Is somebody out here with us, kid?”. “I don’t know”. I walked to the other door, I might hide in here. “What’s this room?”. “Mine”, she was quiet. “Can I go in?”, I want to make sure no other ghost are coming to greet me. She nodded, but it was clear she wouldn’t come with me. I push open the door to see a pink room, warn out by time. I walk in, the kid stayed outside. The room was bear, expect for a bed that was concealed by curtains. I walk over and pull the lace curtains to the side. “Holy shit”, there’s a body. The kid’s. Wearing the dress, she wearing now. The body melted in to the bed, moldy green and her eyes eaten away from the insects that have gotten to her. “It only took a second”, the kid mumbled. I turn towards her, “Daddy was so angry, I don’t even know why”. “Kid, I’m so sorry. If - “, the door down stairs opens. “Daddy’s home”, she runs behind me. “Daddy?”, who the hell is that? “You have to leave. He...He’s going to kill you, like the others”, better get payed double. “How do you know it’s him? Not some homeless guy?”, she looked at her body. “It’s always him. Every time when they leave the house, he killed them and drag their body’s back here.”, that doesn’t help. I walk out into the hall, “What are you doing?”. “If am about to killed, a cop better be here to get the guy and collect my body”. I quietly walk down the stairs, the kid disappears. No one’s down stairs, the kitchen doors open. I pull my bag over and take out my phone. I text Sal and if I remember correctly, she’s on duty. Welp hope that sent, “Hello Archie, how are you?”. I know that voice, I turn to see Ken standing there, outside of the kitchen door. He was in hunting clothes, something I would not expect to see him wear. “Good, just checking the time. What are you doing here?”. “Oh, just wanted to make sure you were okay”, he moves closer. A soft voice from behind me appears, “That’s daddy”. I tried to keep myself together, maybe he didn’t think I knew something was up. “That’s nice of you, I was actually about to go to the car to get somethings”, I shot a smile at him. I start to walk to the front door when I hear him at full sprint behind me. Well, let’s hope the old man got weak with age. I turn just in time to watch the knife he was hiding go into my shoulder. I kick him in groin, don’t think he was using it anyways. He then paid me back by kicking my feet from under me and dragged me further away from the door. “Nina!”, I shout. Ken stopped, “How do you know that name?!”. Oh, that hit a nerve, “That’s right. I know”, about to die anyways, want to act a little confident. He started to stomp on me, till a loud bang from the door opening stopped him. “Hands Up! Police!”, thank god for that. Ken throws another knife in that direction and ran for the kitchen. My savior, Sal, came up to me, “Archie, are you okay?”, not really. “I’m fine, go before he gets away”. She runs off, I get up and look at my wound. Pretty deep, worst thing I got before was when I stepped on a Lego and it got stuck in my foot. I can hear them run out of the back door and through the front window I can see Sal pointing her gun at Ken. That’s a relief, “I will shoot you if you keep coming closer to me”, Sal yells. Oh Fuck, if Ken gets shot and dies, he going to be stuck with the kid. I run out the door,” Don’t shoot him!”. She gazed at me, “What the hell are you doing?”. “Sorry, I was just didn’t want you to kill the guy”. She shoots a look that said to me ‘Are you an idiot?’. Ken had his hands behind his head, he seemed pretty calm for a guy who would be charged with murder or at least attempt. I walked over to Sal, “Thanks for coming, I’ll have to get a ride with you. I’ll head back in and get my stuff”, I start to walk back in. Then I hear a body hit the ground, I turn to see Sal lying down. Following me seeing her, I get a nice slap across face. Ken hands wrapped around my neck, the world goes dark. They don’t show this point of view on CSI. But hey death was not my end; this was after all was the house on 34th street. I awoke to the sound of Sal yelling, “Hey bud, leave her alone”. I walk away from my meat suit that was now face down in the dirt. He stumbled to the side of Sal, “What the fuck is going on!?”. He was scared, am sure his other victims felt that before. I took a step, “Have you not heard the story of Passing Way”. Standing over him , I nailed the him to the ground, “Archie? Are you...Are you still there?”. Sal said this nervously, I node my head to assure her that I was not going to make her another victim of the house. I got off and she handcuffed him to the door of her car. “Archie, am so sorry”. “It’s fine, not like you could bring me back”, her head shot up and she ran to my body. “What are you doing?”, she takes a deep breath in and locked lips with my body. “Are you trying CPR? It’s been to long. I.....”. “There’s a chance”, it was Nina. ”Kid I.... We’ll see”, the world was going dark again. I start to get nervous, what if am being pulled to hell? I guess that will be my last thought. I start to cough and find Sal staring at me. “Thanks”, I manage to spout between my coughing. “Well, better you coming home in my car then in a bag in the back of the meat wagon”, I giggle. “I’ll get your boss in the car, when you’re ready we’ll go”, she walks away. Nina appeared, “Hey kid, your father won’t be back”. “Thank you”, she was crying. “I did nothin kid. Be dead if you didn’t warn me. Hope this gives you peace”, she smiled. “ Bye Archie”, the kid disappeared. I walk over to the car and take a seat. I guess some of the story was true about this place, hope the kid found peace. I’ll have some explaining to do when we get back to town.