The bus is empty by the time they disembark. The driver waves them off with a grin - he seems familiar with university students, at the end of their terms, coming out to the supposed haunted house for a bit of excitement. 

“Ah, it’s already dusk.” Cletus says, peering into the distance, down the pockmarked gravel path that branches off from the main road. There’s a house in the distance, with an overgrown lawn in the front and a forest on the other side. The summer heat is starting to fade as the sun dips below the horizon, turning to sticky humidity on their skin. Cletus gestures at Caius to follow. “Come on. I think that’s the house.”

The gravel crunches under their sneakers. Caius glances around - the place has a strange feeling, as abandoned as it is. 

“I can see why they call it a haunted house.” He says, turning back to Cletus. “There’s something weird about this area.”

“Right?” Cletus says, shivering. “It’s giving me the chills.”

Around them, as they follow the path, the cicadas slowly stop chirping. A cool breeze blows past them, uncharacteristic for mid-July, as the sun glows like a midnight lantern in the sky and bathes the entire world in shimmering orange hues.

“What’s that?” Caius says as they walk up to the front lawn of the house. There’s a small stone monolith in the yard - the tip is missing, leaving the spire to end in a jagged bite of stone. Upon closer inspection, he sees it’s broken off and fallen to the side. 

The cross that had stood at the top of the spire is now sunk upside-down, half-submerged, in the earth beside the monolith. The tangerine sunlight glances off the black metal with a shine that’s almost too intense for the naked eye.

“It looks like a family grave.” Cletus says, frowning. “Must have belong to the people who used to live here…”

They look up to the house itself. Its dilapidation is even more evident up close - the boards are falling off the sides. The stairs are rickety and seem to be one heavy step away from collapsing entirely. Two windows are completely shattered, and the remaining one has been boarded up from the inside. The front door is closed.

Cletus shivers.

“It really does look haunted,” he says, the joking tone almost hiding the waver in his voice. Nevertheless, Caius catches it.

They gingerly take the steps up to the front porch. The fauna around them are completely, eerily silent - not even the sound of cicadas chirping can be heard, despite the warm and humid summer night fast-approaching. The world feels silent except for their breathing.

They both step forward. Cletus jiggles the heavy metal doorknob, rust and dirt smearing onto his palm as he grips it - the door seems to be locked, which makes him frown, but he turns with a little more force and it suddenly unlocks with a loud click.

The door creaks open slightly. Maybe it’s Caius’s imagination, but he feels a chill come from the inside of the room.

Cletus and Caius exchange glances.

“You first,” Cletus says, backing off and patting Caius gently on the shoulder. “I believe in you.”

Caius rolls his eyes. He sighs to cover the apprehension that’s rising in him, bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

“You’re the one who wanted to do this,” he grumbles, but, ever-obliging with his friend, he reaches out to push the door open gently. It swings on its hinges with an ominous noise.

The room is empty. Caius steps inside - he raises his phone, the screen’s glow illuminating his face dimly from below, and taps the icon to turn the flashlight on. The beam cuts thickly and suddenly through the air, illuminating dust floating in the air and spiderwebs coating furniture covered with sheets. 

Caius exhales with relief. Some of the foreboding that’s been bogging him down dissipates. There’s a creak from the floor behind him, and he turns, assuming Cletus has followed him in, but Cletus is still standing just outside the threshold.

He has a strange expression on his face.

“Come on,” Caius says, slightly more relaxed. “It’s just a normal old house. It’s not even haunted. Look at all this dust.”

“Do you…” Cletus says slowly, glancing around the room, as though he’s looking for something Caius can’t see, “smell something strange?”