The Dare

The Dare

 Written by Megan Young

“I dare you to go jump in Mr. Burgess’ pool” Stephen said and a grim smile spread across his face. Mr. Burgess was my creepy neighbor, two houses down, and he never came out of his house. He had a huge gate on his front door and his basement light was always on, the rest of his house was dark. Mr. Burgess scared everyone, even adults. It made me nervous to even look at his house, now I had to go in his backyard?! I couldn’t just back down! Stephen and Ashley would never let me forget it! My eyes fell to the grass in my front yard, what am I going to do? I thought.

 The moon was full and the sky was black as tar. A soft breeze blew my long brown hair. “Go on” Ashley encouraged me, motioning to Mr. Burgess’ yard with her hands. Her face had a certain spark to it and she seemed excited. I took my cell phone out of my pocket so it wouldn’t get wet and crossed the lawn. I could hear Stephen and Ashley’s quiet footsteps behind me. Mr. Burgess’ house was huge! It towered over us and must have been three stories tall. All lights were off, except one. I could feel the grim of this house as I crept my way through the long, neglected, grass to the back yard. I rounded the corner and saw a small pool, which was green from the chlorine. I had never noticed how close his basement window was to the pool. Light was shinning through the window and made a reflection on the water. The door was only a few feet away from the edge of the pool.

My heart raced and my knees started to shake. I turned to Ashley and Stephen with a horror-struck look. “I can’t do this!” I whispered, but my plead was useless. “Nothing is going to happen, just go!” Stephens’ voice was full of amusement as he shoved me with his hand. I stumbled forward and hid behind a bush near the pool. “Ready?” Ashley asked. I looked to the pool and back to her. I nodded. “One, two, THREE! GO! GO! GO!” she screamed at me and I ran as fast at my legs would take me to the green pool. I ran for what seemed like hours, but finally reached the pools edge, with just a seconds hesitation; I dove into the icy water. I was sure there was a loud splash and water everywhere close to the pool. I sunk until the tip of my toes hit the bottom and pushed as hard as I could, shooting myself upward. My head burst through the freezing water into the chilly night air.

I looked around, and saw nothing. Nothing at all. No animals, no voices, no Mr. Burgess, nothing. Ashley and Stephen must have bolted once I hit the water, the probably left me to deal with Mr. Burgess. I started to swim towards the edge of the pool, cold and wet; I folded my arms tight over my chest. There was a loud chattering from my teeth clanging together, and some other noise. An animal emerging? Leaves across the pavement? Wind through the trees? What was it? I turned my head to the noise, only to see two black figures, one bigger than the other. At first, I was sure it was a mirage. They were large, bigger than me! The bigger figure was dragging the other towards the door. I tried to run for my house, but my legs wouldn’t obey. I stood, knee deep in the pool, staring, terrified. My eyes adjusted and I could see more clearly, My terror leaked through my body, sending a shiver down my spine as I realized what they were. Ashley and Mr. Burgess. Ashley wasn’t moving, and her eyes were closed. Mr. burgess was dragging her by her hands causing her limp body to drag across the concrete. The door swung open and I saw Stephens’ unconscious body inside, strapped to a chair. He pulled Ashley inside and stopped at the door. He turned his head to stare at me. His eyes were dark, almost black, there were scars covering the right side of his face, and only one eye would open. He stared, nothing else, just watched me. I definitely was not equipped to handle this kind of thing. The love for my friends took over my fear and I ran to the door to save my sister. A smile stretched over his deformed face as he slowly closed the door, and all the light, was gone.