˚⋆‧☆ Ghostly treasure hunt ☆‧⋆˚ ✔✔

A group of five teenage friends were coming home from a successful trick-or-treating. Or at least they thought that home was their next station.

The quiet town was cloaked in the spooky season. Halloween night used to be the most magical thing there. The moon hung low in the inky sky and cast dancing shadows along the streets.

The girl walking the slowest inhaled the chill crisp air of an eerie night. Her wild blond hair and a lab coat made its depiction when she looked quickly at her friend in the very front.

He led the group with an excitement no one could have after a weary work done. He was resplendent in his pirate costume with his blond curly hair flowing from beneath his hat. He couldn’t contain his enthusiasm as he suddenly halted in his tracks with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Just one more stop for treats, mates,” he declared even though his basket was already full of treats.

The girl raised an eyebrow. “How old are you to care only about the treats, Captain?” she teased.

“Sophia.” Ethan shot her a playful smirk like nobody else was there with them. “Maybe you could give me all of yours so I would have the most?”

Sophia chuckled and shook her head in disagreement, exchanging looks with her friends.

Ethan released a small chuckle. “So you now understand. Let’s go, there is some Halloween event nearby.”

Sophia smirked and looked at the other three friends with a corner of her eyes.

“Fair point,” they all said.

With a nod from the others, they followed the captain Ethan. He unveiled an old, weathered map. He didn’t want to admit it at first, but he had mysteriously acquired it in his trick-or-treat basket. Out of nowhere. He had thought it was just an thematic invitation and to be honest, it really looked like it.

The map bore markings that led to a distant, but enigmatic location. A place of old town’s legends. The old mansion that had long loomed in the outskirts, turned into a sinister reputation whispered among folks.

“Someone finally using the old house for Halloween?” another girl snorted for herself, playing with her dark braided hair.

Sophia tilted her head. “Spooky mansions shouldn’t be empty on Halloween. As it should be, Zoey.”

Others just smiled or shrugged and walked faster.

The friend group ventured deeper into the night. Just when they thought that they lost the path, they reached the ominous mansion. The property shrouded in darkness and bad gardening. The path beyond the creaky, wrought-iron gate was perfectly suited for Halloween. Every few steps, they encountered a lighted pumpkin with a sinister, grinning face.

Zoey caught her friend’s arm just in time. “Mason! Be careful not to over-walk any pumpkin.”

“Wow,” Mason the Ghost Hunter gasped and scratched his dark afro, while balancing his body. He actually knew how many hours it could take to carve this amount of pumpkins. “I love the effort here.”

When they stepped onto the porch, the wooden boards loudly protested under their feet.

Only Ethan paused at the entrance, while others wondered around. His fear was camouflaged by his pristine and well-tailored Pirate costume. The feather on his hat moved along with the wind.

When others tried the entrance door, his breath caught in his throat.

“Hold on, guys,” he declared - not looking at his friends already gathered in the hallway - dusting his clothes. “I can’t have my costume dirty. I paid a fortune for it.”

Zoey, embodying the spirit of Katniss Everdeen, rolled her eyes. “You’re literally the sheriff’s son,” she retorted. “You could’ve borrowed your father’s old uniform. Why did you spend money on something you can’t properly wear?”

Ethan raised his finger, silencing the group with a smirk, “Shh, I am the captain here. Right, Jessica?” he looked at his other friend.

“Is it really here?” Jessica echoed and dusted her Ravenclaw robes and ginger curls, while ignoring whatever the argument was about.

Her concern was cut off by a spooky voice, “Welcome, visitors.”

“Yes it is,” Ethan piped.

The grooup’s stiff postures in costumes contrasted with the alive surroundings. Candles lit themselves in an instant.

The mansion was old. It didn’t need much of an altering to appear rather creepy for Halloween. On top of that, moonlight filtered through its tall windows, and didn’t help the atmosphere.

Zoey gulped and emphasized the dust and spiderwebs that adorned the antique furniture. And lastly there was the distant voice.

Ethan’s bravado wavered, but not for the first time that night. “Uh... maybe we should just head back?” he suggested, glancing nervously at the door.

Jessica stepped in front of the group making her way to a staircase. She was searching for anything or anyone, and snorted, “Don’t say you are afraid.” Her eyes now held a spark towards him and her ginger curls were still bouncing from her swift movement.

Ethan just swallowed and patted Mason’s shoulder, who tried to smile wide.

The whispery voice echoed again leaving chills in their ears, “Are you ready for a treasure hunt?”

Zoey and Mason just gasped with a hint of laugh. What a perfect spooky effect it was.

“So it’s not another simple halloween party... This is a great treasure hunt,” Sophia stated with a smile and joined Jessica, who was looking around the hall.

Zoey’s eyes scanned their surroundings, trying to make sense of their situation. “How are we supposed to find it? And what is the treasure?”

“I hope for candies,” Mason stated.

Sophia exhaled, “Better be some jewelry.”

Ethan, still shaken by the eerie voice and their unexpected predicament, shuddered but others pointed their glance on the old map still in his hand. He just asked, “What?”

Mason just raised a hand, requesting the map. Ethan handed it over, and they all huddled around it. Their heads close together, searching for any hidden clues.

“How did you find it again?” Mason inquired, his eyes fixated on the mysterious markings.

“When we were in the last home or so, someone slipped it into my basket. I thought it was just an Halloween invitation.”

Mason nodded, his mind working through the possibilities. “They definitely knew about you going here,” he smirked.

Sophia pointed a finger at the map. “Looks like a mark here,” she observed it tilting her head, “in a cellar?”

The friends squinted at the map, realizing that there was indeed a distinct marking of a cellar within the mansion. It was their first tangible clue on this adventure. An unexpected adventure.

The promise of treasure compelled them to try at least - except for Ethan, he was scared.

With a shared excitement, Sophia grasped Jessica’s forearm. She was leading the way toward the door that promised access to the cellar.

“Go for it,” Jessica whispered and prepared for whatever was coming.

“Alright, here we go,” Sophia said.

Her heart raced as she reached for the doorknob, and the rest of the group just waited.

But just as Sophia’s hand closed around the doorknob, the floor beneath her and Jessica gave way. In an instant, they found themselves plummeting into darkness. The sudden void swallowed them whole, and the startled gasps of their friends echoed in the silence.

“Are you okay?” Zoey’s voice held a deep concern.

There was a cough far away in the void and Jessica there spoke with an annoyance, “We fell onto something fluffy but it is disgusting.”

More coughs.

Zoey’s body was leaning above the hole. “Sophia?”

“We’re good. Do you have a light? Can’t find my phone.”

A luminous glow from Jessica’s phone filled the darkness. It provided a better view for the remaining friends at the top.

Mason exchanged a glance with Zoey and Ethan. “Someone jumping down there with me?”

“Jumping down?” Zoey asked, keeping her gaze fixed on the mysterious door.

Mason nodded sharply.

Ethan hesitated and tried the door knob once again, leaning in a difficult posture for it above the hole. The door didn’t move.

After a long exchanged look they all jumped down one by one landing in the fluffy pillow.