The Watch – Part 212:

(Tom’s perspective)

Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out whether they are any good and that is to go exploring.

From what I can tell from this distance the house has been abandoned for some years, and when I gradually got nearer, more and more of the house’s features appeared. The door’s paint is peeling of, revealing the aged wood underneath. The paint on the window frames are also meeting the same fate. The grass in the front garden hasn’t been cut for just as long as the house has been abandoned, the many weeds were allowed to flourish, some were growing up the side of the house.

Within the long grass, empty drink cans, packet of crisps, and other bits of litter where people decided to throw into the garden instead of putting it in a bin laid between the blades. If it has one, I can only imagine what the back garden looks like. Probably worse. The gate separating me from the broken garden path from losing the war against the weeds was rusty and its hinges barely stayed together. I was afraid that the slightest touch or movement would send it crumbling to the ground, but when I lifted the latch, it swung open freely without problem, coming to a rest against a large tuff of grass.

If I were in a horror film, this would be the house to stay away from. It would be the most haunted house in the street, full of tortured ghosts that make sure all the residents in the surrounding area can hear their screams and rampages throughout the night. It wouldn’t be a horror film if at least two or more people decided to go exploring. One person has to be a strong sceptic that gets proven wrong by the end of the film, one of them has to be a strong believer, and if there are more than two, one of them has to be either very scared or the comic relief in the film. They would be the one who receives all the jump scares and they would overreact in some dramatic way. And the final quarter of the film would feature the main characters battling against the ghosts. Usually, the characters would survive the night and walk away with only their memories and experiences making them stronger than they were before entering the house.

When I had reached the end of the garden path, I sidestepped and peered through the window. It was a classic scene of dust and dirt and mould and darkness. The smell of rotten wood was strong. I don’t believe in ghosts. I guess that’s why I can enjoy horror films as much as I do, because I treat it as pure fiction and nothing else, where as some people would say that there is every possibility of it happening in real life. It wasn’t until a couple of years later when I discovered that there is .

a fair few horror films that are based on true stories. That did chance my entire perspective on those films, but when it comes to ghosts, even though the text at the beginning says that it’s all based on a true story, I don’t believe it. And that’s why I’m not scared about entering this place. If there are ghosts in here, then they won’t be able to hurt me. Only the living can hurt me. Well, unless it’s a poltergeist – which there is no such thing – then that would be a whole different ball game.

Well, I had better venture inside. Obviously the door is going to be locked, so I had better go in through the window. However, that looks rather unstable, so I would have to extremely carefully. The only thing I’m weary of is this collapsing under my weight as I climb up.

What’s underneath the window? The last thing that I want is to land on something painful. I look inside and see nothing but a heap of dust. That’ll do.

Placing my hand on the window frame, the aged wood breaks under my palms. I could feel the splinters trying to dig their way into my hand, so I brush the wood away and try again. This time, the wood breaks, but in such a way that I don’t have to worry about getting splinters.

‘One. Two. And a three,’ and I heave myself up, lifting my leg up at the same time. My foot landed on the frame, allowing me to push myself up even more, but then I found myself in an unexpected awkward position. Then I found my upper body weight starting to take over. I tried to keep myself upright, but I was too far gone and I went head over heels as I toppled through the window, landing on my back on the dust, kicking it up into the air, blurring my vision and making me cough. Swiping the dust away with my hands, the air becomes clean once more and I am able to breathe normally again.

However, as I was twisting my body around to stand up, I unintentionally kicked a load of dust into the air once more, forcing me to swipe at the air once more. This may be a bit too dusty to stay the night in. I don’t have a torch, but luckily, I don’t need one as the sun’s rays filtered through the dust and lit up the area. I could see the rays slowly disappearing as the sun set below the horizon.

This house has two floors but I’m unable to see the stairs where I’m standing, but the kitchen is to my right and the living room is to my left. The hallway to the back door is right in front of me… and there’s a figure standing behind it…

TO BE CONTINUED…

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)