Chapter 3

After having that strange nightmare, Victor decided to go to an arcade and play some games. From next door there was a girl with brown hair, somewhere around his age, coming out of her home. She waved at him and rode her bike down the street. He waved back and rode his bike into town. When he got to the arcade, he discovered the games there weren’t that great, so he decided to go to a small park called park pine woods. While he was there, he swung on the swing set, while other kids hung out with one another. Everyone was in their own group. Then all of a sudden, a girl, his next door neighbor he saw earlier, came up to him.
“Hello.” She smiled.
“Hey.” Said Victor.
“You’re new in town, right? I’m Hayley Jenson.”
“Nice to meet you Hayley, I’m Victor Marsh.”
“Nice to meet you. How long have you been living next door?”
“Just yesterday. My grandparents used to live there before they died.”
“Oh, they were nice people… Hey, do you want to hang out with me and my friends?”
Victor looked at her with a slight smile. “Really. You want to hang out with me?”
“Yeah. You don’t seem too weird- come on.” Victor and Hayley walked to her friends. It was two boys and a girl. “Guys, I’d like you to meet Victor.”
Victor said hello and they all did the same. “Nice to meet you, Victor, I’m Randy.” Randy said in a country accent. Randy then pointed to the girl and the other guy. “And this is my sister Berta and our other friend Brandon.”
“Wassup.” Said Brandon as he shook Victor’s hand. “So is it true you live next door to Hayley?”
“Yeah, that’s true. Just moved in yesterday.”
“Cool. Did you know the people that lived there before?” Brandon continued.
“Yeah, they were my grandparents.” Brandon paused for a minute with a stunned look. Then asked.
“Do you know there’s an urban legend around that house?”
“Brandon.” Said Hayley, who was slightly ticked off.
“Urban legend? What urban legend?” asked Victor.
Hayley sighed. “There’s a legend that there were some people who followed the occult and cursed the house. They say that’s where a group of cultists summoned one of the dark town legends, Death himself. And how death lives in black lake.”
That made Victor’s heart drop. Did everyone know about this legend? Victor thought.
“Not only that. Some people believed your grandparents knew something about what was happening, when people went disappearing. Including their son… Wait, wasn’t that your dad?” Victor was getting pissed off, so he walked away. “Will you shut up, Brandon.” Said Hayley as she followed after Victor. She stops Victor in his tracks. “Victor I am so sorry my friends are assholes. Please, they were just curious.”
Victor doesn’t say a word. He didn’t know what to say. “Please, don’t go. I promise we wont bring it up again. Please?” Hayley begged. Victor sighed deeply and nodded. “Thank you.” Said Hayley.
So for the rest of the day, Asking about Victor’s family and their history was off limits. Majority of the day, they were just hanging at the park and getting to know more about Victor. They really liked him. As the sun set, they found themselves in the woods by a fire they made. Randy always carried a lighter and they burned nearby sticks to start and keep the fire going. “So how do you like it here so far Victor?” asked Berta.
“It’s pretty chill. This is my first day and I think I’ll kind of like it here.”
“Good.” Said Randy. “Hey, we’re having a sleepover over at our house tomorrow. Why don’t you come.”
“Really? Sure, that’ll be cool.” Brandon never been to a sleep over. Probably because his mother uprooted him from wherever they were living at the time and he didn’t get a chance to make friends. He hoped he wouldn’t get uprooted again.
The street lights were turning on. Seeing Hayley lived next door Victor asked if she wanted to walk home with him. But she told Victor she was sleeping at Randy and Berta’s for the next two days because her parents would be out for the next two to three days. So he decided to ride his bike home. Sadly, something tragic would soon happen once he got home.