The dominant spirit was death, the smell of death was rolling over the entire place and it was too late to run away, it was dark and death was like a belt imprisoning the relatives. It was too late to regret coming up to that castle but no one could stand staying in that huge horrific place especially after finding out about those corpses. Don tried to calm down his relatives and the only outlet was to call the police so that they would come up to the castle and clear everything out. Glenn was the one who volunteered to call the police using the landline while all the others were in a state of shock eager to get out of the castle as soon as possible.
After few minutes, Glenn came back to tell his relatives that the landline wasn’t working and that he wasn’t able to make any call out to page the police.
“No, this can’t be true, you must be kidding right? Tell us you are kidding Glenn, this isn’t happening to us, go back and try again, or just use your cell phones, all of you guys try using your cell phones.” Don suggested.
But there was no signal at all. Everybody was trying to call the police using their cell phones but in vain, even Brook tried hard but unfortunately, no one had any luck at all. It was as if they were stuck inside that huge castle and it seemed for a moment, that all the fun they had turned to be a scary night, and that enchanted castle seemed as if it was haunting them locking them inside like its own prisoners. And gloomy silence seemed to become the high commander-in-chief of all the relatives as well as every breath and even the air started to suffocate Brook and the rest of the family. Then all of a sudden, Brook started to hear noises, and see shadows in the dark, yes, she saw shadows standing beside the window. At the beginning, she thought that it was a mere imagination but later when she saw her brother talking to himself, she became sure that there were shadows and she wanted to get out of that place as quickly as possible.
“Let’s get out of here guys, I don’t think it is a good idea to spend the night here,” Brook suggested.
“I agree, let’s get out of here,” Julian commented
“Oh yeah, how about the bet, have you forgot about it?” Don interrupted
“What bet are you speaking about?” Brook inquired angrily and anxiously at the same time.
“Sorry for not telling you, we made a bet over spending the night inside this castle, we heard how many stories were told and we just sought to challenge ourselves and those legends. But we didn’t think something like this would happen, I’m really sorry Brook.” Don explained.
“You are not serious, I can’t believe what you are saying, you are deceiving me, and I’m really disappointed in you guys, and please stop talking to me,” Brook said and left with her brother towards the garage although she didn’t have a permit to drive a car.
The rest of the relatives followed her. They all wanted to go home, after all, who would want to stay after what they found. But as soon as Don got inside his car and started the engine, the car exploded and the garage turned out to be a fireball. It was as if a fist of huge orange flame had made its decision to hit hard and blow out the entire place. Don was inside his car but he couldn’t get out, the flames were too high and there seemed to be no way out. It was over for him but luckily, Brooke made it and wasn’t hurt in the explosion. That was a moment in which everyone was trying to save himself, and nobody could even think of what happened to Don; it was obvious though that he passed away. The damage seemed to be huge but it wasn’t the time to have a look and no one could save his own car, they were all burnt in the explosion. And the only refuge and shelter at that time was to get indoors and stay inside the castle until morning time
No one expected that Easter would turn out to be a paranormal night. Everything that used to be cheerful and fun became creepy and gloomy as if the castle was a prison for Brook and the rest of her relatives. And it seemed that what the castle was hiding was much more than anyone would expect. Everyone knew except poor Brook who was lost amidst that huge place. There was nothing she heard about that legendary castle, how could she know while nobody told her about that mythical legendary superstition that revolved around the castle? But it seemed that it was high time she figured out that by herself. Brook and her brother Dale got upstairs trying to sleep for the rest of the night. But before everybody went to his room, Julian and Glenn were having a discussion in the living room, while Jean and James were drinking wine and standing by the side of the window. The tension was felt everywhere as no one could erase what happened in the garage and it seemed Julian was suspecting Glen.
“Tell me how did the car explode, no one but you was very calm and silent, you don’t even look scared or afraid, you must have known something, you have got to tell us what’s going on, we are your cousins, you can’t do that to us.” Julian inquired angrily.
“What are you talking about man, are you suggesting that I have something to do with that explosion? You must be kidding, tell me you are kidding.” Glen yelled back at Julian.
It was clear that nobody could get along with Glenn since the very beginning of the trip; he was very mysterious as if he was hiding a secret but who knew that would happen? Brook was decided that she had had enough and she sought that the best thing to do was to sleep until sunburst hoping that everything would be okay but as she was on her way upstairs with her brother Dale, she heard a noise. She tried to find out the source of that noise as she had always had a good hearing sense and she raised her head to look at the ceiling, but when she did, it was already too late. The heavy chandelier was falling very fast.
“Glenn, Julian, watch out,” Brook yelled as loud as she could but it was too late to do anything, everything happened too fast. Jean and James faced away from the window and turned around to see the chandelier fell right in the middle of the living room right where Glenn and Julian were standing. And everyone froze in his place unable to help or even move at all. Pieces of glass covered the floor and Brook was very scared to even think of what could have happened to her relatives. But everyone was relieved when they saw Julian running towards them but Glenn didn’t come out despite calling his name again and again. He was silenced and it seemed that his silence was perpetual, as blood covered the floor. Brook started screaming and yelling while Jean tried in vain to calm her down. And Julian realized that Glenn wasn’t the one who killed Don earlier. Then Brook gathered all the power left in her body and dragged her legs heavily towards her room, she was very scared to even to look back. Julian’s voice and everybody’s voice started to fade away as if they were in another world.
Few minutes later, the silence was the dominator once more. Brook’s thought were completely shattered and she started to lose control over herself and even her mind and while she closed her eyes trying to relax on the bed, Dale was standing still in front of a painting inside the room, Brook didn’t notice what he was doing, she was too tired and frustrated to do that but the latter seemed to be very excited about that painting.
There was something very strange about the painting Dale was looking at, and the weirdest thing was that Dale was talking to it. Yes, he was looking at the painting and talking about it. Indeed, the man in the picture attracted Dale very much. It was the photo of a horseman with a pyramid’s head. The man was covered in dirt and there was grit all over his clothes as well as his grimy robust body. His clothes were very dark and gray and he was talking to Dale or that what he thought. His cruel, and detestable, as well as very disturbing smile, caught Dale’s attention because of his mysterious sinister snarling. And as Dale started to talk loudly, Brook opened her eyes to see her brother talking loudly to the painting. She jumped out of her bed, shrugged her brother for him to stop talking and look at her but he seemed to be in another world, a very different world and Dale refused even to look at his sister and kept talking and talking repeating the same words again and again. Then all of a sudden, the window was open wide all alone. Brook was sure that it was sealed earlier and she started to panic especially when she took a look from her window. Brook saw a shadow walking in the garden, and when she turned around to make sure her brother was alright, she didn’t find him inside the room, and the door was open. Brook rushed out even without wearing her slippers to look for her brother, she regretted coming to that place since the very beginning, and all she wanted to do was to get back home even if she had to walk back barefooted.
“Dale, Dale, where did you go? Can you hear me, Dale?” Brook kept yelling.
But Dale was nowhere to be found; Brook was very scared that something bad would happen to her brother especially after losing two of her relatives and witnessing their deaths in front of her eyes. The castle was sinking in deep silence but Brook didn’t stop looking for her brother. She was committed to finding him when she reached a room she didn’t see earlier, the door was half open, so Brook strolled inside thinking that she might find her brother inside, but as soon as she got inside, the door was shut as if someone closed it from the outside. Brook could hear the sound of the key turned and the knob as well. It seemed like that nightmare she kept seeing but she tried not to panic and she rushed to the door trying to open it up but it was sealed or stuck, the girl wasn’t sure. While Brook was still trying to open up the door, she felt someone was behind her, she could feel the air was moving behind her, and she felt someone’s fingers touching her from behind. At first, she thought it was only her imagination but when she turned around, she saw what she was scared of all the time, and a strange creature, or to be precise, a horseman with a pyramid head started shuffling towards Brook like a decrepit. The girl yelled and yelled:
“Who are you? Get away from me; keep your dirty hands away from me.”
But it seemed the creature didn’t care about Brook’s screams or he wasn’t just listening to what she was saying; maybe he didn’t understand a word at all.
“I said stay away from me, or I will blow your head, you stinking creature,” Brook said angrily.
And she bent down to pick up whatever could come into her hands to hit that creature with it, but she stopped when she heard it saying:
“I have got your brother, if you want to see him alive, put that thing down.”
And as that disgusting creature got closer from Brook, she could see that he had a scary disgusting look while his head was a pyramid, no eyes, no ears, nothing that looked like human beings, and as the girl tried to hit him even though after what he told her, he unexpectedly flew into a rage and a furious flame of anger looked to ignite within him. And at that moment, Brook fainted; she never imagined that such supernatural creature ever existed and even be able to talk. She did her best not to faint but she couldn’t help herself and finally she fell on the ground completely unaware of what could happen to her.
Brook thought that the horrific creature killed her but when she opened her eyes, she found herself in another place, completely different from that huge castle, it was a circus tent, a huge one but it was empty and dark as well as if it was deserted for a long time. That circus tent didn’t look like any other tent. Everything was dressed in red; even the chairs, the curtain, and even the rope were deep red. There was a man Brook could see in the dark. At first, his face wasn’t clear but when she focused a little bit more, she realized that it was the same horseman with the pyramid’s head. The latter stepped out holding a hammer in his hand. However, he didn’t come closer to Brook, but he was rather walking towards three men who were sitting on a kind of three chairs, that was very strange because none of them could move. Brook was curious and she decided that enough was enough and that she should confront whatever could happen, so she walked with steady steps towards those men while that horseman with the pyramid head was shuffling forward towards the three men and who seemed to be tied up to their chairs because even though that creature got closer from them, they couldn’t move at all or even run away. Then he ran his huge hands over some metal tools and his giggles could be heard from a far distance as he started torturing those men. He picked up a scalpel and started drawing the blades on their skin as if he found pleasure making them watch their blood flow. It seemed as if he was preparing them for the real pain and screams. And no more than few minutes passed before he started peeling their skin with the blade of that scalpel. The girl got closer and closer to find out that those men were no more than her relatives. And at that moment, she couldn’t hold back her scream and it was then when the torturer noticed her presence and started chasing her from a corner to another, but Brook didn’t look back, she was so afraid to do. But she could feel and hear that man’s steps getting near her and all of a sudden, she stumbled and fell down on the floor. It was clear that it was the end for Brook, so she closed her eyes and hoped that nothing bad would happen and when that creature was holding his hammer getting ready to kill her, Brook heard her brother’s voice and she opened her eyes again to find that she was in the same room she entered in the castle, she rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating and she saw her brother sitting in the corner of that room watching her carefully.
And only then did she realize that it was a nightmare, she felt relieved that it wasn’t real, she hugged her brother tightly as if she was scared that she would lose him and glance quickly at the window, Brook felt the sudden heat of the sun, even the sun looked scary for Brook, it seemed as if it would bite her, to eat into her skin and her eyes. Everything became frustrating all of a sudden as if her fear from her nightmare accompanied her to the real world and even the sound of the howling wind was petrifying for her. Brook was still trying to forget about that horrible nightmare when Dale cut the silence that overwhelmed the room:
“I want to go home sister, take me back home.”
Brook looked at her brother trying to hide her fear and to reassure him:
“I’ sorry Dale, I should have listened to you since the very beginning, you knew this was going to happen today, didn’t you?” Brook inquired in a regretful tone.
But Dale didn’t reply at all and he wasn’t even looking at Brook but rather to the wall. Brook didn’t want to wait any longer and she stood up and walked out of the room with Dale. The castle was very silent outside. Brook thought that everybody was asleep after the long horrific night they witnessed. But something felt strange, that silence resembled death in many ways, there was no voice at all, not even a bird singing. Brook started to be skeptical, she thought that the rest of her relatives got back home leaving her behind in the castle. She started looking in every room for them but no one answered her calls and that frightened her even more than before. Brook went down to the living room and it was empty as well, only the pieces of glass from that chandelier could be seen on the floor, but Brook didn’t give up and kept looking. There was only one left room she didn’t look in and she finally knocked its door, and as she expected no one opened the door so she just strolled inside carefully. But never did she expect to see what she saw that morning.
And not three feet from the door, Brook could see a pool of dark blood, it was like a horror movie but, unfortunately, it was real, and it gave the huge room a kind of sickly butcher’s shop odor. Brook screamed as she saw the blood, then she got closer in careful steps to see what happened inside and when she did, she saw what she was afraid to see, her relatives, indeed, the three of them were laying lifeless. Their hair looked scattered in multiple spots inside the room and everything was stained with blood; crimson. Brook lost control and it seemed that she would lose the ropes of her mind very soon especially when she saw their eyes wide open but their bodies were harshly slumped over, each one of the three corpses seemed to be half-sitting while the other halves of their bodies were laying on the stone cold linoleum floor. And the scariest thing for Brook was that disgusting smell of the blood. It was the most disturbing smell she had ever sniffed. Brook’s heart was pounding hard and an only question raced inside her mind:
“Who killed them? Who did that to them?”
Yet, as there was no answer at all, Brook felt that the left solution was to run away because she had a deep feeling telling her that whoever did that to them was still inside the castle. But as Brook grabbed her brother’s hand and tried to get out, she heard a voice inside the room, she froze in her place as she turned back to see the sluggish blood still flowing and she saw him. It was him, the same man she saw in her nightmare, he was that horseman with the pyramid’s head; he was very scary and the most frightening thing was that he was talking to her.
“They deserved it. Do you hear me, they all deserve it, repeat what I have just said to yourself. They deserved it. You don’t know anything about them do you? They didn’t even tell you they were playing a game and all they wanted was the money of the bet; do you even know who I am? You should have read about me in history, I guess they didn’t relate my own story, let me relate it to you.”That horseman with the pyramid’s head said.
“Get away from me, you killed them all, what did they do to you? I’m the next right?” Brook inquired in a shaking voice covering her brother’s eyes with her hand.
“I can kill you right now, but first you have to listen to what I want to say, why nobody wants to listen to me, I used to be human like you before committing that crime, it had been a very long time, I came from Egypt, I used to be very happy until the day I saw my mother betraying my father with her attendant and when they noticed my presence, they imprisoned me in a dark coffin and threw it in the desert, no one came to save me, it was all because of them, I thought it was over for me until one day I woke up to find out that I became like this. And since that day, have promised me to avenge what they did to me.”That creature explained.
“And what does this have to do with me and my relatives? You killed them mercilessly, they were innocent.” Brook commented bitterly.
“Each one of you committed a crime, you kept it all from anybody but I knew about it, I know what you did, I know you were driving when that accident occurred to your family, and I know that you have never been able to forgive yourself.” That creature added.
Brook didn’t want to talk to that creature anymore and Brook couldn’t imagine what could happen to her or her brother, there was no way she could let that beast kill her brother. Her mind ceased buzzing and she started thinking in way out of that mess. She knew that if she would run, that creature would be able to catch her and she would be as good as dead, so she sought that she had only two options; up or down. Down meant to be killed like her relatives and up meant that she had to face that creature and kill him before it would kill her and her brother. Brook stayed silent for a while then while that creature was sniffing the blood of her relatives, she picked up a knife that was thrown on the floor, it wasn’t the steak knife she had been hoping to pick up but it was sharp enough for Brook to stab that creature within his back, she kept stabbing and stabbing. Blood splashed everywhere and covered her face but she didn’t stop, she was still stabbing that creature from behind even after it fell on the floor. Dale was crying, there was no doubt he was very scared when he saw his sister turning out to be the real killer and while Brook was still holding the knife and stabbing, her brother rushed to the outside door and ran away from her; Brook went after him but he kept running and she kept running after him until they both reached the outside door, and at the moment they stepped out of it, all the doors were sealed and a loud explosion could be heard then everything became burnt as if it turned out to be a firework show. It was then when Brook came to grips and fell on the ground crying bitterly. She never thought that she would get out alive of that place.