The Dare
By: Roger Alderman
Dan stands inquisitively before the source of his curiosity the abandoned house’s basement door. The tired old heavy dark wood door was easily five times older than the short blond-haired teenage boy. The door hinges struggled against the decades of rust which had eaten most of the metal leaving little behind to do the task someone created it for.
Beyond the ancient door existed the source to the eerie sounds which called out to his investigative nature. Dan followed the sounds through the dilapidated two-story wood construction faux Victoria style house. He discovered many well-kept secrets through his adventure in this creepy ancient house.
Dan reached out with his trembling, damp right hand to open the door and reveal the old homes last remaining riddle. His mind raced with a thousand ideas of what terror laid behind the door. He recalled the decisions which led him to this emotionally intense moment.
Dan thought back to the party at his friend Larry’s home. The party every teen tells their parents they would never attend. Drugs, alcohol, and sex were in ready supply at the highly attended event. All the students at Space Coast High School, in Port St. John, Florida, had been talking about the upcoming party. Larry reputation for throwing legendary bashes. No one would dare miss it.
Larry’s family live in an old subdivision about six miles from school along Barbara Road near Flood Street. The simple exterior of the single-story family home fools most people as it conceals a spacious three thousand square foot floor plan containing five bedrooms, three bathrooms, kitchen, living room, dining room, and den.
Larry’s parents being proud of their home spent a great deal of time and money on the interior. They had filled each room of the sprawling home with sturdy wooden antique furniture from the turn of the last century. The bedrooms boasted ornate four pillar queen-sized beds trimmed with privacy curtains tied back for entry.
The living room was no different a massive dark wood media entertainment center containing a large sixty-five-inch flat screen television, a large glass inlaid coffee table, and expansive brown “L” shaped microfiber sectional sofa. On the night of the party, they filled each room to capacity with teenaged high school students.
Larry, Dan, Paul, Cheryl, and Laurie had slipped away from the mass of high school students. They had their own private party in Larry’s dads’ den. The five teens sat in the room's center in a circle playing an intense game of “Truth or Dare.”
Dan had sat patiently as the game moved from player to player until finally arriving at him. For him, it was a magical moment as Laurie his secret crush looked into his eyes and said those words, “Truth or Dare?” A smile filled Dan’s face as his imaginations created unlikely scenarios of Laurie and He making out. He excitedly urged, “Dare.”
Laurie opened her mouth to speak, but Paul’s words filled the small cozy room. “I dare you to break into the old house at the end of Akerman and bring something back to prove you were there!” Everyone stared at Paul in disbelief of his challenge. Dan shook his head a defiant, No. “That’s trespassing I’ll get arrested,” he retaliated.
Cheryl derailed Dan’s train of thought with one word, “Pussy.” Larry, Paul, Dan, and Laurie exchanged open-mouthed looks of disbelief at Cheryl’s words. “I break into that house all the time. The sheriff hasn’t patrolled that road in years. It’s safe you coward,” Cheryl continued to emasculate Dan in front of everyone gathered in the den.
Dan opened his mouth to continue to deny the request. Laurie added the missing ingredient he needed to agree to the Dare. Laurie's voice was a soft embrace, “When you come back. I will give you a kiss.” Larry, Paul, and Cheryl jumped and hopped around making primal noises at the reveal of Laurie’s feelings for Dan. Dan’s face turned rose red and a wide toothy joyful smile filled his face.
Paul moves in inches from Dan’s face and states mockingly, “You gotta do it now.” Paul pulls Dan in to whisper into his ear, “I know you like her. Now, do it or I will tell everyone.” Dan pushed away to glare at Larry and Cheryl, “Fine, but you guys have to come with me to the house and watch for the police.” Paul, Larry, Laurie, and Cheryl nod in acceptance of his added clause to the challenge.
The group quickly crossed the distance thanks to Barbara Road eventually merges with Akerman along its southern length. From there it was a brisk walk south along Akerman crossing over Curtis Boulevard and finally ending at the site of the Dare. The house that has stood in that vacant lot for nearly a century concealed by dense woods. “There it is,” Paul announced.
Dan swallowed hard as his throat tensed, “Deal is a deal.” Paul stepped in front of Dan and offered a low mocking bow as he gestures towards the old home, “Your challenge awaits.” Dan stares at Laurie for reassurance of her end of the deal. She winks and a smile forms across her porcelain doll-like face, “You got this.”
Dan steps over the remains of the short wooden fence that once proudly surrounded the property. Dan weaved his way through the tall and wide oak trees which filled the Acer the ancient house rested on. Dan paused after reaching the clearing around the house, “Why am I doing this?” He closed his eyes remembered Laurie’s promise, “Right.”
Dan studied the space between the trees and the house. He moved confidently to the wooden wrap-around porch and tested the first step to ensuring it would support him. It offered a low groan but was firm enough to stand on. Dan made his way to the heavy wooden door with a large ornate stained-glass window which resembled a single rose surrounded by sunlight, “huh, pretty.”
Dan twisted the handle discovering it was locked. He could not find a window not covered on the inside with dark paper to make out the interior of the house. It was then he noticed a window on the second story which had its glass broken. “There we go,” Dan could not hide the excitement in his voice.
Dan could make short work of climbing the along the outside of the house because of missing sections of wood paneling allowing him to get on top of the porch roof. From the top of the roof, he could easily slip in through the broken window. He could tell quickly that someone had used this entrance numerous times before as trash and gang marks filled the small bedroom beyond the broken window.
Dan examined the interior of the room after stepping inside. He immediately realized the room belonged to a girl based on the faded floral mural. The thick carpet had absorbed a great deal of water from the rains over the years through the broken window. Each footfall squished under his weight, but what troubled him most was the rotten egg smell of the water that seeped into his shoes with each step.
Dan left the girl's room and entered the long and moisture warped wooden floors of the hallway. To his left was the open off-white door to a bathroom and to his right was a closed flimsy wooden door with green paint flaking off. He first moved to the left entering the bathroom in hopes to make short work of the challenge.
The old mirror in the bathroom was covered in speckled clusters of black mold and green mildew. The sweet chocking stench of the mold filled his nostrils to choke him. He covered his mouth and nose as his eyes searched the room, but much like the girl’s room, there was nothing to be found inside. Well, save for whoever pooped inside the waterless toilet and left if to be discovered by the next trespasser. Dan felt sick because of the odor and physical remains combined assault on his senses.
Dan staggered out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind himself. He stood gagging in the hallway eventually giving way to an oily stream of vomit that immediately stained everything it contacted. Dan wiped the chunks from the sides of his mouth along the long sleeves of his gray jersey shirt, “that sucked.”
Dan stepped over his biological pool to reach the closed door at the opposite end of the hallway. He was disappointed in himself as his left heel slid with his first step on the wooden floor as he had not missed the oily slick. He caught himself before he could tumble all the way to the ground. The wooden rail helped him to only fall to a single knee because of his misstep.
Dan stepped in front of the closed wooden door and checked the handle. He was happy to discover it was unlocked. With a quick twist of the handle he swung the door open to reveal a massive, but barren master bedroom. His voice echoed his surprise across the room thanks to the wooden flooring, “damn.” He stepped inside careful as each stepped groaned because of years of wet rot of the wood.
Dan discovered a wide closet door on a sliding track and pushed it open, but again it was empty save for a single shoebox at the rear of the top closet shelf. “Ah hah,” he announced as he took hold of the heavy shoebox. Dan’s curiosity peaked as he noticed someone taped the shoebox close with duct tape. His brow furrowed, and he cocked his head to a side and the left side of his mouth curled up, “what the?” He scoffed aloud, “Huh.”
Dan shook the heavy shoe box and heard something rattle around inside. He searched to find the end of the tape and once found made short work of removing it. He tossed the top of the box aside as his eyes widened. Wrapped inside a white handkerchief he found a rusted thirty-eight caliber pistol with a rotted wooden grip. He took the pistol in hand and looked it over.
Dan detected movement out of the corner of his eye at the edge of the master bedroom door frame. He spun to see who was there, but there was nothing. The short hairs on the back of his neck rose sending tingling sensations and uneasiness up and down his spine.
Dan shoved the pistol into his blue jean cargo pants right thigh pocket. He rushed out of the closet, but the floor collapsed from under him. He landed hard in the old house’s kitchen center island. It shattered on impact under his body weight. Pain ripped through Dan’s body as he had sprained his ankle, but he smiled afterward in the knowledge he could have died.
Dan laid on top of the debris pile catching his breath he offered a middle finger to the hole in the ceiling above, “screw you.” Again, movement out of the corner of his vision caught his attention. His eye moved from the ceiling to the door across the room from him as an emotionally exhausted voice sobbed beyond the door. Dan carefully stood upright careful to not fully bare down on his injured ankle, “Hello?”
Dan made his way step by painful step to the door, “is someone in there?” The voice became clearer with each step until he could hear a young child’s voice sobbing loudly. “Are you okay,” he asked. “No, I can’t get out of here,” the voice called out. Dan spotted both rusted sliding latches and worn deadbolts on his side of the door. “Give me a second I’ll let you out,” Dan announced to reassure the child as he released the locks.
Dan stood before the source of his curiosity who laid beyond the abandoned house’s basement door. The tired old heavy dark wood door was easily five times older than the short blond-haired teenage boy. The door hinges struggled against the decades of rust which had eaten most of the metal leaving little behind to do the task someone created it for.
Beyond this ancient door existed the source to the eerie voice which called out to his investigative nature. He opened the last lock and threw open the door expecting to discover a trapped child. A cold damp basement confronted Dan with a set of aged wooden stairs.
Dan flicked the light switch, but nothing happened. Since there was no source of illumination Dan summoned his courage from bottom to top and descended. The creaking stair helped him lean against the smooth stone wall opposite the wooden rail of the stairs. After reaching the bottom, Dan called out into the cold damp darkness of the ancient basement, “Where are you?”
The basement door swung closed with a commanding BOOM. Dan spun around to examine the door, but the cold darkness was all that was to be observed by the teen. “Shit,” he yelled as he misstepped down upon his hurt ankle in the dark. His weight shifted as he staggered back across the basement ultimately tripping over something in the dark. He fell hard on the floor striking his forehead against the hard stone floor.
Dan slowly opened his eye discovering he was still in the dark. He pushed off the floor and felt the pull of the coagulated blood from his forehead that was clinging to the hard stone floor. Dan ground his teeth and groaned in pain at what he could only imagine the sensation of peeling off your skin would inflict on a person’s pain threshold.
Dan sat upright touching his forehead wondering how long he was unconscious each touch revealed more of his face caked in the blood that had dried to his face. He noticed enough time had passed that his eyes had adjusted somewhat to the dark basement. He could make out the rectangular ground level window covered in paper. He walked to the window and tore away the paper revealing a gibbous moon hanging high in the clear star-filled night sky above.
Dan turned to see what could be revealed by the limited lunar illumination. The basement was empty save for him and a pile of sheets tucked beneath the stairs. He hobbled across the room to examine the pile. He used the side of the stair to balance himself as he searched through the sheets. His fears came to life as deep within the mountain he discovered the wrapped remains of a child not much younger than him.
Dan stepped away and gasped at the revelation, “fuck!” The boy’s body had rolled to face him due to the examination. The body was intact except for a single wound to the head. The wound tunneled from a small wound in the back of the boy’s head, but the exit wound was wide and had removed a section of the boy’s forehead.
Dan stared at the child’s body rubbing his own throbbing forehead, “poor kid.” The sobbing voice returned along with the ghostly basement inhabitant of the basement. At the foot of the body crouched the apparition of the deceased child.
Dan swallowed the frog forming in his throat, “Hello?” The boy continued to sob but offered a short reply. His wavering voice chilled Dan to the bone sending the hairs on his arms standing, “Why can’t I leave?” Dan stared at the body in thought rubbing at his chin, “You can leave any time you want, can’t you?” The boy turned his gaze to meet Dan’s and shook his head, No. The boy's voice called out from beyond this world, “he won’t let me.”
Dan raised an eyebrow, “He who?” The boy pointed upwards with a trembling finger. His eyes widened as the front door to the home burst open. Dan followed the heavy footsteps above as the dust fell from between the floorboards. The boy pressed a ghostly finger to Dan’s lips and begged, “Hush… If he hears you.”
The kitchen door crashed open slamming against the kitchen wall. A sensation of nausea and dizziness swelled up in Dan. The stairs sounded off as if a large person was descending them. Dan’s equilibrium failed as the world spun around him. He fell hard again to the floor as memories of the dead boy flooded into his mind.
Dan’s mind fought with the memories. One second, he was the young boy playing in the basement. The next he was himself laying on the floor looking paralyzed watching as an elderly police officer stepped down into the basement. He was the boy again cringing as he could hear his mother and father fighting above. The boy jumped as a single gunshot rang out from upstairs. He could feel the tears swell and run down the corners of the boy’s face.
Dan found himself looking at the police officer helpless. The officer loomed above Dan, “well, what do we have here? Looks like a very bad boy.” He was back in the boy’s memories as his father still in his police uniform walked down the steps. He could feel the fear the child was experiencing as his own father turned his service revolver on him. He felt the boy turn to run then swallowed by the darkness and a burning sensation in the back of his head.
Dan was back in his body full and the world stopped spinning, “what do you want?” The police officer looked away to the remains of his son, “I can’t let a past mistake ruin my future. You’re not the first I have buried here to keep this secret.” The elderly officer slowly drew his pistol, but Dan would not become a statistic. He reached into his own pocket and pulled the pistol. The officer stepped away from Dan seeing the teen leveling a pistol at him as he sat upright.
Dan recalled this moment from a thousand police movie and as the officer attempted to distract him to take better aim at the teen. Dan pulled the trigger, CLICK. It shocked Dan to realize he never looked to see if someone loaded it. The old man smiled and took aim at Dan, “Goodbye kid.” Dan tried the pistol once more. The expression of shock and terror that filled the officer's face would make itself a part of Dan’s memory until the day he dies. Bang the gun roared after he pulled the trigger a second time surprising both Dan and the old man.
The pistol jumped from Dan’s hand as the officer collapsed dead to the ground. The collapsing officer revealed a second officer who had followed the first down into the basement and watched a teen-aged gunman shoot and kill his partner.
There was no hesitation by Larry, Paul, Cheryl, or Laurie when they heard the gunshots ring out from the old house on Ackerman. The entire group fled the area as another police car turned onto the road. They hid in the wood line out of sight until they arrived back at the party. Once back at the party Paul, Larry, Cheryl, and Laurie swore to never speak about the events of Dan’s disappearance.
