"You were being a dick," Zach said. "I can be a dick too."
"No, you're just an idiot," Adam fumed.
"Is he serious?" Jasmine asked. "Who moved away because she was pregnant?"
"Don't buy into any of his gossip crap." Adam jerked his body from Conner's grasp. "Maybe you should leave, Zach."
"Miguel drove me. I'm not walking. It's effing cold outside."
"Then keep your damn mouth shut."
"Don't tell me what—"
"Be quiet!" Trevor shouted. "Forget all about the crap that was said. Let's finish what we came here for."
Adam marched up the stairs. At the landing, he stalled. "It's like we're walking through a house that's for sale. Even our footsteps echo in here. There's nothing here for us to see. We should go."
Conner grasped Hailey's hand as the group gathered at the top of the stairs. "You okay?"
"Yeah. If we're going to leave soon, then I think we should say a prayer for Jared before we go."
"Really?"
"Well, he died here, right? We should at least pray that he rests in peace with our Heavenly Father."
"Isn't that part of the funeral service?" Miguel asked. "The priest or whoever does that."
"Doesn't mean we shouldn't," she said. "We all knew him. We're in the house where he lived and died. It's like a part of his spirit still lingers here. And no, I'm not talking about his ghost."
"Okay," Adam said. "Everyone hold hands so Hailey can say a prayer, then we can go home."
"Wait." Hailey glanced around. "Which bedroom was his? We should do it in there."
Conner motioned toward the far end of the hall. "It's the last door on the left."
Adam led the group down the hall to the window that overlooked the backyard. He rested his hand on the doorknob, then glanced at Conner and Trevor. "You guys ready?"
He pushed the door open but then stopped with a gasp. "What the hell?"
Conner quickened his steps to the doorway. He raised his hand to his nose. "It smells like dirty mop water and piss in here."
"Dirty piss water," Adam said.
Inside the bedroom, Jared's bed—stripped of bedding— remained in its usual spot but at a slight angle. Apparently the bathroom door had been pried from the doorjamb. It sat against the wall, its silver hinges shining faintly in the darkness. Two cracks in the drywall extended from the baseboard to the ceiling, where they forked out across the room in separate directions. A piece of plywood nailed to the wall blocked the still-curtained window. A large hole in the corner had been punched or kicked into the drywall, the Sheetrock protruding like jagged teeth of a mouth screaming in anguish.
Trevor pushed past Conner and entered the room. "Oh, my God. Why does the room look like this?"
Peeking over Conner's shoulder, Hailey cried, "It was true."
Miguel, Jasmine, and Zach pushed their way into the doorway, which drove everyone else farther into the room.
Surveying the room, Conner said, "All his stuff is gone. The books and pictures and trophies. Everything. But why is his bed the only thing left in the house?"
"Maybe his folks thought it was cursed," Zach said. "They didn't wanna take something evil with them."
Jasmine agreed. "He was probably tied to the bed like in that movie The Exorcist."
"Never saw it," Trevor said.
Zach echoed Trevor's admission.
Adam shivered. "Does it seem even colder in here?"
"Shut up," Miguel blurted. "Don't scare us."
"I'm serious."
"What's that?" Hailey asked, pointing to the floor under the bed.
The hardwood appeared to have been scratched with an object. A tool perhaps. In the darkness and not fully exposed, it was difficult to determine if the etching was a word or an image.
Conner stepped forward and used his phone to illuminate the floor. "I don't know. We'll have to move the bed to see it."
"It really stinks," Jasmine said. "Hurry up so we can get the hell outta here."
Kneeling, Adam directed the light from his phone.
Trevor rounded the bed and gripped the headboard. "You guys ready?"
The slam of a door resonated throughout the house.
Half the group jumped with fright, and the other half staggered as though they were about to run out of the room.
"Quiet."
"Don't move."
"Shh."
"What the hell was that?"
"Let's go."
"Wait."
"Calm down."
A silvery blue light arched across a wall in the bathroom.
Everyone bolted out of the room.
Conner grabbed Hailey's hand and tugged her along the hallway. Outside the back window, the security light detected motion and brightened behind the partially closed curtain.
Reaching the stairs, Jasmine and Zach suddenly froze. She screamed, and he yelped in terror as though he'd seen a ghost—or a demon. The rest of the group bumped into each other, losing their balance as they craned to look down the steps.
Conner pushed Zach aside.
A dark figure stood at the foot of the stairs.
Then a blinding light caused Conner to squint.
A deep voice yelled, "Police! Nobody move!"
SIX
At first there was a sense of relief. Then the panic set in.
The police. In trouble. Parents called. A stern lecture. Although Conner's parents might threaten a punishment, they rarely carried out their threat. Still, he didn't look forward to the embarrassed and critical gaze of his parents.
"Everyone downstairs, right now," the bald-headed policeman ordered. Appearing to be in his midthirties, he looked like a man who thought he had something to prove to his department.
Conner's eyes swept from Hailey to Trevor. Then he walked down the stairs in the lead.
"Stand over by the door."
Outside, a silvery blue light passed by a dining room window.
"What the hell are you kids doing in here? You know this is breaking and entering, don't you?"
"We didn't break in," Adam said. "We totally know the family that lived here."
"Do you have permission to be in here?"
After a moment of silence, the officer said, "The answer's no." He motioned toward the kitchen. "Obviously you came in through the back door. So, let's go. Everyone head out."
In the backyard, a second policeman clicked off his flashlight.
Once everyone was outside, the first officer said,
