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The Dare!

Episodes of the Strange—Episode 1 (Part 1)

By RM ForrestPublished 5 years ago 6 min read
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"For the strange things that may happen..."—RM Forrest

“It was just a dare! He never came back out,” Jenny said with a worried tone in her voice, as she rushed in to see her best friend Mike, who was sitting in a booth at the local eating joint, the Grill’n Chill. Mike looked up from his burger and fries as she sat down quickly.

“Wait… What? Who didn’t come out? Come out of where? Jenny, what are you talking about?” Mike asked with a confused look on his face, as he started chewing slowly.

“The new guy in my science class, Bobby Miller,” Jenny replied, as she placed her small backpack down on the seat. “Tommy offered Bobby a dare, and he accepted,” Jenny ordered a soda while explaining what she could to Mike, about what had happened.

“I can’t remember what this Bobby looked like since he was never in any of my classes. But yeah, Tommy seems to be the rebel in town,” Mike said, as he lifted his drink closer to his lips.

“Bobby was the guy with the dark hair, blue eyes, and pale looking skin. Not to mention he always seemed cold to the touch,” Jenny said as she rubbed her arms, as if just feeling a cold chill.

“Okay, I remember him now. Kind of a strange person,” Mike said. “Then what happened? And calm down girl, you're making me nervous.”

“A bunch of us were sitting in the lunchroom, when Tommy asked Bobby if he wanted to hang out with us. Bobby said sure,” Jenny said, as she ordered a soda then took a few of Mike’s fries and swirled them around in some of his ketchup, and then bit the fry in half with one bite while holding the other half between her fingers.

“So, what was the dare?” Mike asked Jenny.

“The dare was for Bobby to spend Friday night all alone, in the old house on Black Swamp Road. If he could do it, then Tommy said he could hang out with us. The dare is like an initiation into what Tommy calls "our group," which is dumb, because Bobby is the only person Tommy has done this to. I suppose it is because Bobby looks a bit different.”

Mike shook his head as if agreeing. Then, he looked up from his wallet and right into her eyes. There were a few minutes of silence, as his eyebrows raised slowly, and he put his wallet back into his back pocket.

“You said the house on Black Swamp Road? I’ve heard too many strange stories about that house. There is no way I’d spend the night there. I’ve heard some of the old timers in town talk about how there are strange noises that can be heard, glimpses of shadowy figures that can be seen out of the corner of your eye, and one man said that a ghostly face can be seen peering out of one of the upper story windows.”

“You're giving me the creeps, Mike. But yes, I’ve heard some of the stories as well. Once you go in, you don’t come out,” Jenny said while raising her glass to take a sip from the straw.

Jenny told Mike about how she had gone along with Tommy and the others, to watch Bobby go into the house. They were all in Tommy’s truck as it pulled onto the dirt driveway and stopped. There were giant oak trees that lined the driveway leading up toward the house. They could see a white, two-story house with four slender columns that went across the front porch. Paint peeled off the outside like skin does with a sunburn. The windows looked like sinister eyes that glared with anger at you, as if to say, “I’m going to get you!” The house just sat there quietly, like it was waiting for its next victim. It was a house with probably many secrets to tell if it could only talk—But would it allow for them to be told?

Jenny continued with her story of what happened, while Mike finished up his food. She said that they all walked slowly up the driveway, and stopped about halfway.

"While Tommy lit up a cigarette, he was like, 'Ok, Bobby. There’s the house. You know what to do. Stay in there for one night, and that’s it. We’ll be back in the morning to get you.' Everyone stared at Bobby while he stood there, looking like he was contemplating the idea of it all.

'All right, later,' Bobby replied, as he gave a slight wave of his hand and turned toward the house. Angie and Faye were giggling, because they did not think he would go through with it. In fact, none of them did. Tommy smiled as Bobby walked up the driveway toward the front porch. Bobby slowly climbed up the front steps to the porch. As he walked across the porch, loud creaking sounds could be heard echoing through the silence. When Bobby reached the front door, he grabbed the doorknob, turned it, and the door slowly opened. Just before he walked inside, he turned his head to face the group, and smiled. They all stood there in silence and watched, as he walked in and closed the door.

'And that is that. We’ll all come back in the morning to see if he really went through with it," Tommy told us while flicking his cigarette down into the dirt,'" Jenny had told Mike.

“So, when you guys went back, did he come out?” Mike asked.

“No, we never saw him,” Jenny replied. “We called out his name, and even walked around the house, and he was nowhere to be found.”

“Finish your soda, and we’ll go out there and see if we can see him anywhere,” Mike told Jenny.

Jenny agreed, so they both went out to the house, which still sat quiet and alone. As they walked up the driveway, the only sound that could be heard was the sand and small branches crackling underneath their feet. Dead silence is maybe one of the creepiest sounds, because there is no sound.

“I’m not too comfortable with this. Not comfortable at all,” Mike told Jenny, as he looked around. “I’ve got chills everywhere.”

“Bobby!” Jenny said loudly. “Are you in there?” There was nothing. No sounds at all. Just an eerie silence that caused their thoughts to run wild with scary, lurking images of the unknown.

“I’ve got the creeps,” Jenny said to Mike.

“Me too! Let’s get out of here. Maybe Bobby has already gone back into town. Maybe he slipped out the back door,” Mike said, while they walked quickly back to his car.

“Maybe you are right,” Jenny agreed.

They both went back to town, wondering if maybe Bobby had come back to town. They both went to the local pool hall where Tommy liked to hang out.

“Tommy!” Jenny called out as she walked across the room toward the pool table in the back.

“Hey, girl. What’s up?” Tommy said with a smile, while balancing a cigarette between his lips.

“Have you seen Bobby?” Jenny asked. “He doesn’t seem to be anywhere.”

“No, I haven’t seen him anywhere,” Tommy said with a laugh. “He’s probably just hiding out somewhere. I’m sure he’ll turn up.”

“I hope you’re right,” Jenny replied, as she turned around to walk out.

Jenny passed Mike on the way out the door, but it was eating at Mike, the way Tommy did Bobby.

“Man, how could you dare someone to stay in that house overnight?” Mike asked Tommy.

“Come on, man. It’s fun. Nobody wants to go into that house because it's creepy, and there are so many different stories about it. Who knows if they are really true or not,” Tommy said with a smile, while he stuck an unlit cigarette between his lips and raised his eyebrows.

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About the Creator

RM Forrest

Hey all, I found this place through Instagram and wanted to try it out by sharing my stories on here too. I have two books so far that are amazon.com but nothing wrong with having other avenues to go with. I'm also on Wattpad as well.

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