“It’s not really haunted you know.”

“Then why don’t you come in with us,” Tommy taunted. “You chicken?”

“Yeah. Bwack. Bwack. You chicken?” Joey asked.

Talon looked down at his feet. Then, he looked up again at his two friends. “Nah. I’m not chicken. I just think it could be a rat-infested, fire trap. That’s all. I just think it’s silly wanting to go into a house like that. Boarded up. Windows broken. There aren’t even any curtains flapping in the wind like you see in the movies. It just seems like a waste of of time. And maybe a bit dangerous. You know. Somebody might fall through a rotted out floor.”

“Right.” Tommy nudged Joey. “He’s chicken.”

Joey winked at Tommy. “Bwack. Bwack.”

Talon sighed. “Okay, you boneheads. Let’s get this over with. You’ve been talking about it since we were five when we walked by here on the way to kindergarten. I suppose it’s finally time to do it.”

Tommy and Joey looked at each other and smiled. They looked at Talon still smiling.

Talon raised just one side of his mouth into a half-smiling smirk. “Of course, don’t blame me if we find some crack heads inside or if we really do find some ghosts.”

“Ghosts, smosts. Let’s go.” Tommy started walking.

Joey followed. “Woo hoo! Let’s go.”

Joey picked up a broken picket from the ground by the front fence as they walked into the yard. “I’ll show any ghost what for.” He smiled.

Talon rolled his eyes.

The three friends were careful not to break the front door. Or at least they thought they were being careful. They needn’t have worried. It was solid. But they managed to pry and push their way in.

They stopped in the front room just inside the door. They let their eyes adjust to the darkness. Only slivers of light came in through gaps between the boards on the windows. They had stirred up dust that added to the eerie feel of the place by making those slivers of light see like solid beams.

Then they heard it. “Whoooooo daaaaaares…”

Joey dropped his picket. The three boys hugged each other for safety. “What was that?” Joey asked.

Tommy stammered, “A… a… g… g… ghost?”

Talon’s teeth just chattered.

They saw a figure coming toward them. More than that, they heard it dragging what they assumed was its leg and behind that, a chain. “Whooooooo…”

Tommy and Joey turned and fled out the front door leaving Talon behind.

“Whooooooo daaaaaaaares…”

“Oh knock it off, James. They’re gone.” Talon smiled.

The figure came closer to Talon. James lowered his hood. “Who knew this old cloak would come in so handy? And these chains. They were the ticket.”

“Indeed, big brother. Indeed.”

They were about to high five when they heard a voice. “Whooooooo daaaares to enter my domain?”

Talon and James looked around. They could not see anything.

“Leave now, or stay forever.”

The front door slammed shut.

Talon’s eyes went wide. He bolted toward the door. James beat him there. They swung the door open and ran out into the front yard. The door slammed shut behind them. They walked backward away from the house thinking that somebody might come after them. They ran into something. They turned and realized it was the fence.

Talon shrugged. He opened the gate which was hanging on only one hinge. The brothers stepped out of the yard and onto the sidewalk. They smiled tentative smiles. The gate slammed shut on its own.

Talon and James ran all the way home.