“Kerrigan Manor”
Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!
Prompt: “Can we go now?”
“Can we please go now?” Lily whispers. Her fingernails pinch my forearm as she huddles at my side.
“But we haven’t even gotten to the best part yet!” I reply, continuing to drag her forward. “We should almost be there.”
“Be where?”
I sigh. “Were you seriously not listening to anything I was telling you on the ride up here?”
“I stopped listening when you mentioned ‘blood-sucking monster’.”
“My story literally began with ‘Legend has it that a blood-sucking monster lives in Kerrigan Manor’. You’re telling me that you weren’t listening to a thing I said?”
She shrugs, pressing herself closer against my side. “Can we please go? I don’t like it here. It’s cold and damp and smells like moldy cheese. Not to mention that we’re trespassing. We could be arrested for this!”
“Oh come on, no one ever comes up here. No one except…” I pause for dramatic effect. “…the blood-sucking monster!”
She lets out a small, high-pitched shriek and squeezes herself against me. “Please, please, please can we go? You promised me that we’d get pancakes!”
“Yeah, after we saw the monster.” She continues trembling so I sigh. “Listen, it’s just a story. I heard it at an overnight camp once. The head counsellor just made everything up, even the name of the place. I just happened to find a real place called Kerrigan Manor and thought that it’d be fun to come here and tell you that story. I promise that none of it’s real.”
Lily slowly looks up at me with wide eyes. “You promise?”
“I promise.”
She lets out a long, trembling sigh and her grip on my arm loosens. “Okay. But can we still leave? I do really want those pancakes.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, let’s go. This place sucks anyway.”
Suddenly, another high-pitched shriek echoes through the halls. I look down at Lily with amusement. “Now what are you screaming about?”
My heart drops as I stare at the empty space beside me.
Another scream, this one forming coherent words:
“HELP ME!”
Final Comments: I haven’t written a thriller/horror story in a while. I can’t say that I’m very good at it… I think that more imagery would’ve helped a lot.
Overall Rating: 😥
