The Last Door

“No! Leave my family alone! They are my everything! I can’t lose them!” Lily screams as the tall, hairy, and daunting monster snatches her family away! She finds herself in a dark, damp, musty tunnel, and begins to feel helpless as her family disappears from her sight. There was not much light, and she could hear the sound of water dripping from a distance. The tunnel was cold, and mold grew on the cement walls, causing a rotten smell. Gathering up all the courage she can from within, she attempts to reach for her family before she loses them forever; Her cries and calls were not enough to summon her family. The monster and her family were gone. Feeling isolated, anxiety rises within, making her breath uneven and heart race. As she begins to give up, the sliver of light in the tunnel, disappears, making the tunnel even more unpleasant, forlorn, and dark. Suddenly a light looms over Lily, leaving her in a bright spotlight! She looks around the tunnel and finds a door! Maybe it leads outside where her family will be there waiting for her! Scrambling towards the bright, red door, Lily attempts to open it, but it did not budge open. It was locked. Lily tries again, but it still did not budge. Panicking, she tries again, and pulls with all her might and strength, but it still did not budge. Lily falls to the ground, and hopelessness sinks in. No one could rescue her or hear her. Deep in her thoughts, Lily suddenly hears a loud creak. Glancing up, she finds 5 other doors on the other side of the tunnel. She ignores the doors thinking they were fake like the earlier one, but all of a sudden, the creaking sound intensifies. Lily looks up and finds a sky blue door open up by itself. She looks at it with confusion, but then she slowly gets up, and runs to it. The door opens up further! This was her chance! She runs as if her life depended on it, and pushes the door open. She steps inside, but she falls down! She closes her eyes tightly, and can feel herself falling into a dark eternal space, believing that this was the end. THUD!

Lily shoots her eyes wide open, and sits up breathing heavily. Her heart races wildly, and sweat rolls down her forehead. Another night terror, which felt so real concerning her family. Closing her eyes, she takes a couple of deep breaths to stabilize her heart rate, and looks around the room. The light radiating from the moon, illuminated the room, helping her find her sister, Abigail. Her sister did not stir, and was deep in her slumber. Looking at the clock, the hands read 2:30, alarmed that it was almost dawn, Lily closes her eyes and drifts back to sleep.

Waking up to the tunes of the birds, and the radiant sunlight, Lily stirs in her sleep, and slowly gets up. She rubs her eyes and rolls out of bed, heading to the restroom, muttering, “Time to get up I guess.” Turning on the light, she is met with her reflection, which has changed over the course of one week. A girl once full of light and health, now has heavy, purple eyebags beneath her eyes, carrying all her exhaustion and weight of her terrors. Her skin, which was light olive, now became pale white, almost ghastly, from her fatigue. Afraid of her parent’s interrogation, Lily scrubs aggressively at her face as if it can disguise her weary self.

As Lily, heads downstairs for breakfast, she is met with the sound of laughter from her parents, and the smell of fresh buttery toast, with sweet jam. Her stomach grumbled like a bear, making known of her presence. Her dad roared with laughter and said, “Good morning, sweetie! Come have a seat, you seem famished!” With that Lily sat down at the table, and the family continued to discuss their plans and foolish tales, where joy and laughter echoed throughout the house. After Abigail and Lily completed their meal, they clean up and head outside to play for awhile. When their stomachs hurt from laughing, and their legs ached from sprinting, they decide to head inside. Their dad was seated in the couch reading the news, while the mom happily cooked while humming. Lily smiled at her family and washed up to help her mom. Just as everybody was going on about their day, they hear the telephone ring. Richard Wellington picks up the phone and answers, “Hello, Wellington residence, how may I help?”

Christine, Lily, and Abigail, paused their kitchen work and listened to the conversation. Richard nods and finally hangs up. He looks at his family with sorrow and distress, before saying, “Grandma Maureen has passed away this morning. The detective said that the cause of death was a heart attack.” Christine Wellington collapsed on the kitchen floor after hearing the perturbing news. Tears flowed across her face and she kept muttering, “Why? Just why?” Lily and Abigail held her in their arms, and comforted her. Richard rushed to the kitchen and held his family together, whispering words of comfort against their hairs, while he patted their backs.

The rest of the evening was dreadful, the once sunny morning now became gloomy and stormy, perfectly reflecting the family’s mood. Lily and her family sat in silence for the rest of the day during lunch and dinner. They embraced the silence since they knew it was the only source of comfort, and continued their day. Later that evening when Lily and Abigail were freshening up, their parents discussed the further steps and details for Grandmother Maureen.

Grandmother was an interesting and comical being in the family. She was extremely wealthy, but she stayed humble and wanted to provide the best life for her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed traveling, cooking, and playing with her grandchildren. Although she had 2 children, Christine and Agatha, and loved them the same, somewhere she made a mistake raising Agatha. The girl who was once sweet and loving, became selfish, greedy, and cruel as she matured. Maureen attempted to include her outcast child, and continued to shower love, thinking that it can change her, but her attempts failed. As she grew older, both children left the nest, and she embraced her new life in isolation.

Walking downstairs after washing up, Abigail and Lily overhear their parent’s conversation about the funeral guest list. “Richard, I believe we should hold the funeral this Saturday, and invite all family and friends. Although, I am unsure of Agatha. That wicked girl is going to come and ask for inheritance, during the most inappropriate time.” Richard nodded and then added, “Christine, I forgot to add, but during my phone call with the detective, he said that we should move into Maureen’s estate, as it was her last wish.” Christine nods, and continues to plan for the funeral.

On the day of the funeral, the family prepares and gets dressed for the funeral. The grief, fatigue, and sorrow, was etched across their faces. They all had something in common in addition to the black clothing; puffy, red, eyes, and thin bodies. The grief had affected them in a negative manner. Before leaving, they make sure to gather their belongings, and they head into their small, beige sedan. The entire car ride was blanketed with silence, and Lily admires the changing landscape that was visible from her window. When she sees a road filled with cars, she knows that they have arrived. Getting down from the car, the family trudges up the small hill to where the casket is laid. The Wellington family is greeted by family and friends that provide words of comfort and reassurance.

The minister comes up to Christine and announces, “It is time, my child. You must bid your final goodbyes, before the pallbearers rest her.” The family bids their final farewells, and the pallbearers lower the casket. The sky grumbles, and a drop of rain falls upon Lily’s head. As she looks up, she is greeted by more of the cloud’s tears.

As Lily and her family clean up, they see a figure in the distance which resembled a female. Lily blinked many times, making sure it was not an hallucination, but this time the figure was nowhere to be found. Lily shrugged and continued to help clean up. That evening during dinner, her dad makes an announcement. “Children, me and your mother have discussed. Tomorrow we will be packing and preparing for our move into Grandmother Maureen’s estate.” Lily and Abigail nod and finish the dinner.

The following week was hectic and awfully busy, with packing and moving. Once they packed all their belongings, and sold their house, the Wellington family moves into the estate. The once somber and distressed atmosphere was now filled with hope and excitement. When they arrive at the estate, they find that it loomed over all the other homes in the street, and resembled a castle from the fairy tales! The entrance was filled with life, birds sat upon bushes and sang, while squirrels grabbed acorns and ran up to trees. The varying colors of flowers, brought life and energy into the abandoned house.

The family takes their time unpacking their belongings, and exploring the house. Abigail runs around in excitement, and keeps yelling, “Mommy! Look at this! How cool is this?” While Christine and Lily just chuckled and got back to work. Completing their unpacking, the family takes a break, just to hear the doorbell ring. Christine looks at Richard in confusion and goes to the door to open it. Little did they know that opening the door, would change their lives forever, but for the worse.

“Hello Christine”, replied the figure at the door, leaving Christine in shock and fear. Her eyes widen and her jaw drops to the floor. She manages to gather a couple of words and stutters, “Y-Yo-you! Why are you back? I thought you were in another country!” Lily runs up to the door and shock consumes her as well. A woman, about the age of 30 stood at the door wearing a black dress, with large, black heels. Her small face was framed with a black bob, and the bright red lipstick added a pop of color to the dark tone. Her eyes pale green, but inside a fire and greed burned, making her sharp lines stand out. “Oh hello, child. I am your Aunt Agatha. You mother’s younger sister.”

Lily recognizes the woman from the funeral. Although the lady was not there, Lily caught a glance of her on the road, watching the funeral like a hawk. Agatha snaps Lily out of her thoughts by saying, “Are you not going to invite me inside?” Christine ushered her inside and pulled her into a room to interrogate her long lost sister. “Are you out of your mind? Why are you back? You seem awfully suspicious for coming back at the time the estate is handed over to me. Don’t even think about it. Mother gave it to me for a reason, since you are a wicked, and horrid person.” Agatha stares at her sister with a smirk, and replied, “Before you finish your ranting, I have to add that I did want to attend the funeral, but I did not get an invite. My own sister, preventing me from seeing my mother? I think that is cruel. Anyways, I do not want anything, I had no place to stay and need somewhere to sleep for 2 nights. I just wanted to see you all and mother before I head back.” Christine and Agatha talk it out, and Christine finally gains trust and guides her sister to an empty room.

Things go as normal the next day, and Agatha seems to be ordinary, spending time with the children. Although she seems like she has changed, Christine still cannot shake off the feeling that something bad is going to happen. She prepares lunch, and just as she sets the table, her husband arrives. He greets everyone and joyously shouts to Christine, “Honey! My office is having a party tomorrow evening! We should go!” Hearing that, Lily, Abigail, and Christine become excited! The day continues as normal, and nothing seems to be out of sorts, but secretly behind her doors, Agatha begins to plot something.

Once the family is settled in their beds, Agatha scurries into her room. She sits on her bed pondering how Christine could have gotten the estate and not her. She needs it more than anything. Her financial situation was unstable, and she had no other family, other than her sister, whom she despised with her whole heart. She decides that she will not let her sister have the estate and will do anything to get possession of it. She envisions of a plan for a while, and finally an idea arrives! She concludes that she will murder the family in order to get a hold of the inheritance. Although she decides to execute the family, she still needs to decide how and when. Pacing across the room, deep in thought, she finally shouts, “I got it! The office party is perfect! I can mess with their vehicle to cause an accident and I will get access to the inheritance!” She smirks, and stealthily walks to the driveway, to the Wellington’s car. Grabbing a knife and hammer, she destroys the engine and the tires, but not so much that it will not work. “This should be perfect!” she mutters and disposes the materials, before heading to bed.

As the family prepares to head to the party the next evening, Agatha enters the hall and loudly announces, “I will stay back.. I feel unwell… My throat and headaches, and I wish to not attend as it will worsen my condition.” The family agrees, and wish her a fast recovery, and heads off to the party. While turning on a street, the car swiftly accelerates and collides into a large oak tree. Everyone falls forward, hitting their heads against the window. The force from the impact, causes them to passes out. Lily groans, and slightly pushes the door open, with the little might she has, gasping for air. She finds a forest behind the oak tree and heads inside to call for assistance.

Detectives arrive at the scene shortly, while receiving a call from someone who passed the accident. They slowly inspect the scene and after minutes of examination, they declare the family dead, as the trauma had been too severe for them. After thoroughly examining the scene, the detectives determined that the cause of death was indeed an accident and not a murder. The medical examiner writes his reports, and begins to clean up the area. Minutes pass by, but little did they know, that one of the bodies was very much alive, lurking in the extensive forest.

The medical examiner completes cleaning up, and summons the detective. “I thought there were 3 bodies, but it seems there are a total of 4! While cleaning the inside of the car, I found some fabric from a 4th person, and I found trails of blood on the large oak tree!” The detectives panic and rush into the forest, searching for a missing person. As light set, they begin to grow uneasy, and call off the search. They decide to change their method, and enquire around town and close family of the deceased to get an hint of the wherabouts of the missing person and deliver the tragic news! They find an address to the estate, and immediately send officers to it. Arriving at the house, the detectives knock on the door, just to be greeted by a gorgeous, young female. She opens the door wide, and politely enquires, “Hello officers. How may I help you?” The detectives look at each other and finally one of them replies, “Ma’am, are you of relation to the Wellingtons?” The lady nods and replies, “Yes. I am Christine Wellington’s younger sister Agatha. Why, may I ask?” “Unfortunately, we have tragic news. I am afraid that your family has been found dead in a car accident. But we think one of the family members may have survived the car accident, as we found evidence of a piece of fabric, with blood leading into the forest.” Agatha gasps, and breaks down in tears. It was all an act, because in reality, she was very much joyful that her family was deceased, until she heard the news about a missing body. How could that have been? A car accident is difficult to survive, but if one of the bodies is out there lurking, they surely knew about Agatha’s plan and her intentions! She may get arrested, having absolutely no chance of receiving the inheritance! The detectives ask her a couple of questions, and making sure not to raise suspicion, she answers them all, acting distressed and upset.

Thanking Agatha for her cooperation, the officers leave in their vehicles. Agatha closes the door and crashes against the floor. No. One of the bodies is going to come after her. The officers did not describe the body in detail, but they just said it went into the forest. Agatha is filled with dread and madness, and runs into the kitchen to grab a knife. For her protection, she assures herself. She heads to her room, and sits on the bed keeping watch. Unable to keep her eyelids open, they slowly close, and soon she falls asleep with her knife in her hand. In the middle of the night, she stirs slightly in bed, stretching her legs, when it hits something. She groans and lightly peeks out to see what caused her disturbance, all to meet a girl watching over her. Agatha screams emphatically, and searches for her knife, which was nowhere to be found. The girl replies “Are you looking for this?” She holds the knife, which glinted in the moonlight, and continues, “Are you happy?”

Agatha sits up and pushes herself against the headboard. She stutters, “L-l-Lily! I did not do anything! Please set the knife down sweetie. You are scaring me!” Lily gets up and comes closer, holding the knife tighter in her hand. “You! My mom was right. You are wicked, cruel, and selfish. You really killed my family for money? You horrid person. You could have just asked, and we would have given it to you!” Agatha begins to sob and begins for forgiveness. “Stop! You do not deserve kindness nor forgiveness. Now tell me in your own words that you killed my family.” “I- did kill your family. I wanted the inheritance and the estate, since I was not bound to receive it.” Agatha looks down with shame, and Lily screams. Her shrill scream summons two detectives. Agatha’s eyes widen in shock, as she reconizes them from her previous encounter. The detectives tell her, “Ma’am you are under arrest for manslaughter. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say or do will be used in court against you.” The detectives handcuff her and grab her out of there.

Lily sits on the bed holding her head in her arms, and begins bawling. Fear and isolation consumes her, and her head throbbed gravely. Her head hits the bed, and begins to bleed, staining the white bedspread. She was unaware, but the force of the car accident had given her terrible head trauma. While she was seeking help, the blood in her brain had began to bleed out, and slowly killed her.

The next morning, Lily’s body goes stiff and rigid, her breaths absent, and her skin a ghastly shade of pale. Detectives inspect the place, remembering that a child is left to herself, and explore the house calling for her. When one of the detectives enter Agatha’s room, he discovers her deceased body lying on the bed. He shouts, “Daniel! The girl is dead!” The other detective hurriedly runs down the stairs, entering the room. He gasps in shock, and both of them call the medical examiner, to confirm her death. Once her death was confirmed, they lock up the estate and tape tape it off with crime scene tape.

As the week progressed, newspapers and reporters covered the story of the estate and the deceased family. Reading the horrific news, the people of the town whispered their own theories of the estates, spinning horror tales out of it. Children who rode past the estate called it the “Horror house”, and would run believing that a spirit waited there to kill the people who would enter the house. Many years later, on a fine, chilly day, a family of 4 purchases the estate and moves into the house, unaware of the tale that surrounded the estate. A stranger rings the doorbell, but this time when they opened the door, it was a strange, young man