“It’s scary out. Like tornado scary. I can’t believe you locked us out of your house again! This has to be about the tenth time you’ve done this, Kelsey.”Melody scolds. I look down at my phone, hoping to call someone for help since mom and dad are out of town. No service. We looked around and noticed the street lights were out.

There is only 3 other houses on my street. The boarded up house, the Brown’s and the Smith’s. Both of our neighboring families are on the couples retreat with my parents. I sigh and look at Melody. “What do we do?” I pleaded. “we could drive to the police station or break your bedroom window to get in?” She suggests. “Oh please, we were arrested for shoplifting last month, I don’t wanna go to them. They’ll give us shit. If we break a window my parents will skin us. What about your parents Mel?” I asked. She rolls her eyes. It’s 8:00 at night. They’re drunk as fuck as usual let’s be real.”

All of the sudden, thunder starts to overtake the sky and hail pours down. Tornado sirens began to fill the air. We look at each other with fear. I yelled over the sirens and storm, “MEL, I THINK THE BOARDED UP HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET HAS A SHELTER DOWN STAIRS!” She nods, and we run down the sidewalk. I motion to the back of the house where one boarded up window has already been broken into.

Once inside the house, we stumble into a bedroom. Rats scurry across the floorboard and our steps make the house creek. “ I can’t see a damn thing!” Mel says. I take my IPhone out of my purse, shine it’s flashlight, and gesture for Mel to follow me out of the bedroom and down the hall to the staircase. We rushed down the stairs to safety. Still hearing the storm and Sirens.

We sit down in one of the bedrooms in the basement. “Oh my god, this is disgusting. An old abandoned house!” Melody whined. “Well, what do you suggest we do? Get blown away by a tornado?” I snapped. “Whatever. How’d you know this place had a basement anyway?” She asked. “This used to be my aunt’s house when I was little, then she died of cancer, and then someone else moved in. They only stayed here a few months, though, then just left the place.”

My phone battery was dying. There was some oil lamps on the bedside table next to the bed. In the drawers, some matches. I lit one of the oil laps and listened to the claps of thunder. “I wonder how long this storm will last?” I looked at Melody who was wiping tears off her face. “Hey come on! We’re safe. This will probably pass without a big ole Nader!”

I took her by the hand. “ You remember, I used to live with my aunt?” She nodded. “ Let me show you where my room was.” Grabbing the oil lamp, and dusting off my pants, I pulled Melody into the room across the hall. Claps of thunder and gusty wind startled her, and I pulled her closer to me, “Just chill.” I whispered. The wind howled and there was no denying the storm was getting bad.

We looked around the room I used to stay in. It looked like something on an episode of Extreme Hoarders, with boxes piled high, and junk scattered everywhere. “What do you think all this is?” Melody whispered. “ I dunno, but I guess we could check it out. There’s no going outside unless we want to risk getting blown away!” We nodded in agreement.

Melody and I lifted one box from the top of the stack. I opened the box. “Watch for rats!” She warned. “Please. I used to make out with Brandon King under the dirty ass bleachers on game night. I ain’t scared!”

Inside the box, some newspaper clippings. Melody and I sat together reading them by the light of the lamp. Each clipping displayed stories of missing teenage girls. Some of the clippings offered rewards for finding the discussed person. “Wow,” Melody chimed “this one looks like you.” I picked up the article. The girl did look like me. With curly hair and a slender build. The article below her picture told her story..“Haley Dawson was last seen wearing a white sweater, blue jeans, and white Nikes. She went to cheerleading practice and never came home…”

The article continued, but all the articles were just too damn creepy. Missing teenage girls galore. “Why would someone keep all this shit? I don’t wanna go through anymore of these boxes, it’s disgusting.” Melody pleaded. I nodded, seeing her discomfort, but as the storm continued to crash against the house, I knew we had to stay in the basement.

We found ourselves in the laundry room next. I held the oil lamp and we looked around in horror. Bloody clothes decorated the folding table. Next to the folding table, a blood soaked hammer. “Look. Look at the walls..” Melody gasped. Bloody handprints filled the laundry room. I felt frozen in horror and the oil lamp fell from my hand with a loud crash.

We both let out a scream. “We have to stay quiet, I told Melody. “There could be someone in the house that we don’t know about!” It was pitch black and we couldn’t see a thing. “We need to get out of here..storm or no storm.” I said. I grabbed Melody by the hand and we stumbled to find our way out.

All of the sudden the old house rattled. It sounded like a freight train was on top of the house. Glass was shattering, we could feel it. A tornado. I grabbed my IPhone from my purse and found my way back into the first bedroom we were in. I could see Melody crying. “IT’S OKAY..” I started to shout reassurances, but it did no good. We couldn’t hear each other. Debris slammed against the house. The house began to rattle even worse as if protesting being plucked from the ground like a weed.

My phone went entirely dead. I felt my way around the room and lit the last oil lamp with the pack of matches. Melody went to set on the bed and reached for me. I put my hand on my side of the bed and felt something hard under the old dusty comforter. I pulled back the covers and there it was.

We screamed. Human remains. There was no way out….