Parking her small compact car alongside Traci's sporty convertible, Helen stepped out to study AJ's mostly deserted driveway. She'd already expected more cars to be here. She was unsure but thought the pickup truck belonged to one of AJ's teammates. Traci swore her boyfriend only planned a small gathering with his parents out of town. Still, Helen knew her best friend loved to invite every friend she ran into. Checking the house, Helen noticed the only light came from the kitchen window's soft, yellow glow. Throwing a party didn't seem like the wisest idea with the strange disappearances around town, but Traci wasn't dating the star quarterback for his brain.
Taking a deep breath, Helen smelled the faint aroma of what she hoped to be someone's barbecue from hours ago lingering in the air. There had been the mysterious blazing inferno last week on Elm Street. A chilly breeze played with her hair before she reached inside to grab her purse off the passenger seat. The stillness of the night made her heart race as she yet again experienced the feeling of being watched. With a shiver running down her back, Helen opted for the side door nearest the driveway. After a quick walk to the door, the redhead knocked, causing an echo to pierce the otherwise silent night.
A second knock followed by a push of the doorbell went unanswered. Testing the door, Helen found it unlocked. With a faint squeak from the hinges, the high school senior stepped inside the mudroom. A glance found several pairs of mud-caked boots on the floor, along with a familiar coat, which held a hint of Traci's favorite sweet perfume.
"Hello? Anyone here?" Helen inquired before tentatively entering the home.
After moving cautiously through the dimly lit kitchen, Helen paused in the doorway to the living room. Inside, she saw shadows dancing along the wall. Further examination revealed that they were coming from the muted television set.
"Traci? AJ? Guys?" Helen called out. The total silence in the home unnerved the studious teen.
As it felt too chilly for her friends to be outside in the hot tub, Helen decided they must be downstairs in the basement rec room. Retracing her steps back to the kitchen, Helen began to feel nervous again. Too many strange occurrences had happened lately, and she often felt as if her mind kept playing tricks on her. With that thought, Helen looked over her shoulder to check behind her and over to the window at her side.
With a jittery hand, Helen reached for the basement door before giving it a yank. A staircase leading down into pitch blackness met her gaze. Not a single sound came from the silent as a tomb basement. With her hand on the light switch, Helen shook her head. There wasn't a point to search down there. Instead, she backed away from the dark abyss to close the door.
With her sneakers squeaking faintly on the kitchen tiles as she turned, Helen moved to reenter the living room. It seemed like the safer bet to look around again. This time, she recognized one of Traci's favorite romantic comedies playing on the television. Four glasses and a half-eaten bowl of popcorn sat on the coffee table. Unbuttoning her coat, Helen grabbed a handful of the popcorn.
That's when she heard it--a single faint squeak emitted from upstairs.
"Hello? Anyone home?" Helen called out after walking to the bottom of the staircase.
With a hand on the banister, the redhead leaned over to look up the stairs. Expecting to see her friends' faces peering down at her, she found only the moonlight shining in from a second-floor window.
Gripping the banister hard, Helen couldn't shake the dread that filled her body. The house felt wrong, the air thick with something unspoken. The silence was so absolute that even the refrigerator's buzz seemed to have been swallowed whole. Still, Traci's car sat outside, so her best friend had to be here. Which meant Helen needed to check upstairs.
With a trembling hand, Helen swallowed hard and took the first step, the wood groaning softly beneath her sneaker. The steps felt like a ladder to the unknown, each one a silent promise of what might be waiting for her at the top. The banister was a lifeline in the darkness, and she clung to it tightly as she climbed. The wood creaked under her feet every third or fourth step.
A sudden sound from nearby made Helen's pulse spike. It hadn't come from her. Instead, it sounded like a few footsteps, feather-light and furtive, almost as if a tiptoeing across the floorboards. Already two-thirds up the stairs, Helen could see parts of the second floor through stair railings. She froze so her eyes could scan the shadows for any sign of movement.
As her heart hammered in her chest, Helen threw caution away and hurriedly scurried up the remaining stairs. Now, at the top, she paused as her breaths came in shallow gasps. The hallway stretched out before her, a corridor of darkness.
However, at the far end, a bedroom door stood ajar the slightest bit. Helen only realized this due to intermittent flickers of thin light that spilled out onto the carpet. Then, an unfamiliar muffled sound came from that end of the house. With a deep breath, Helen started to tiptoe down the hall, her heart pounding in her ears. The floorboards groaned beneath her, and Helen winced with every step. The door grew close enough that she could reach its knob if she stretched out.
A combined squeak and creak nearly caused Helen to jump, as the sounds startled her. Two more shuffled steps brought the door right up to her face. Shifting her head slightly, she attempted to peek through the open sliver but failed. So the teen leaned closer, her hand trembling as she reached for the doorknob. Due to Helen's nervous sweating, it felt cool and slick under her palm.
A groan inside nearly caused Helen's hand to slide off the knob, and she had to grip it firmly to keep from falling backward. Deciding to get it over with, the redhead pushed the door open. She'd meant to do so gently, but adrenaline gave strength to the push. The door swung almost half-open, revealing the room beyond.
The scene in the bedroom washed over Helen like a heatwave. She'd found Traci alright, but her best friend wasn't in any danger. Well, at least not the kind Helen's imagination had conjured on the stressful journey upstairs. Instead, a naked Traci straddled AJ, her blonde hair a wild mane around her flushed face. A breathtaking pair of large breasts bounced with every thrust from her boyfriend underneath her. AJ's eyes were squeezed shut; his teeth gritted as he struggled to stave off an orgasm.
The sight was so unexpected, yet so normal that Helen felt the fear drain away, leaving behind a hot blush across her cheeks. She stumbled back, her hand flying to her mouth to muffle the shocked gasp that had escaped her lips.
A scattered roar of cheers filled the air around the Willowedge Drive-In Theater. Jake didn't add to the chorus; he merely grinned and clenched his fist as if he'd scored a touchdown. In the backseat, Luke chuckled at his friend's reaction.
