The Short Stories of Elizabeth Byrne II

The door creaked opened as April Smith stepped in reluctantly. Giggles came from outside, urging her to go further in even though she was shaking in fear. The Wicker Manor looked harmless from the outside, but many stories concerning this manor have been told far and wide. Some told of a piano playing in the middle of the night, others told of noises of things breaking even though no one has occupied the estate for at least a few decades.

There was also that bizarre case that was on the news. Two people were murdered; a boy and a girl. The boy's name was Albert Manson and the girl's name was Elizabeth Powells. Many of their fellow schoolmates have shared that though Albert was a fairly eccentric boy, Elizabeth was a proper student and the two were not even friends. No one could make anything of their deaths. Though Elizabeth's was a fairly simple death by way of poisoning, the police were puzzled when it came to the boy's death. He was simply bleeding out through a hole in his chest, and autopsy reports claimed that his heart was crushed to bits without having an explanation because they themselves were dumbfounded to find his heart in pieces without anything to cause it that way.

Of course no one could make anything of it.

April was terrified. It was her cousin Alison who had found the two bodies in Wicker Manor the other day. She had seen firsthand how traumatic the scene was for Alison. The screaming, the dilated pupils, the shaking. The unstoppable murmurs about how horrifying a girl named "Elizabeth" was, telling her to stay away and to get out of her head. Her parents, April's aunt and uncle,tried to calm her down by holding her tight in their arms but it was all pointless. April had been forbidden to see her cousin but she had defied and she peeked through the window. She regretted seconds after. She wanted to go home so badly, she had nothing to prove to those good-for-nothing girls.

She stepped back out. "I'm going home,"she told the bullies with fake confidence. She was trembling but tried to speak as firmly as she could.

"Who are you kidding?" one of them, who had black and blonde highlights, grabbed her clothes and shoved her inside the manor again. The other two of the girls laughed and shut the door, then jammed it.

"No! Let me out!" April screamed helplessly. She had asthma so she started to gasp loudly. Luckily she brought her inhaler with her. "Lucky". Yeah, she was totally "lucky" right now. "Please!" She couldn't see what had jammed the door and the bullies had left her in the manor alone. She was trapped.

"Is someone there?" a voice called out from further in the manor. The voice was soft and innocent. A girl.

April froze. She knew there couldn't be anyone living in here especially since there was a double murder just the other day. "Who's there?"

The voice was silent. April knew better than to follow the voice. She'd watched one too many horror movies to know that she shouldn't approach anything strange. She stayed on the floor whileleaning on the front door with her hands wrapped around her legs. The day was still bright and sunlight beamed from the stained glass windows into the manor. It was still in the afternoon but there was an eerie feel to the manor that scared April.

"Hello?" the voice called out again. This time it was just a little bit further away from April. "Are you alright?"

April looked up reflexively. A young girl with long blonde hair stood warily in front of her. April reckoned she was older than this petite girl. She was defensive as she merely peeked at April. The girl seemed odd. She was wearing clothes that was of a different time. Her grey eyes were also very... intriguing. It drew April's stare. As April stared into her grey eyes, the girl pulled back, scared.

"Sorry," April said. "I didn't mean to. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"This is my home." The girl replied. "Why are you here?"

"How is that possible?" she looked at the girl's eyes again. Innocence. There wasn't any bad intentions behind them. She figured the girl was just lost. "I'm April. What's your name?'

"Elizabeth."

April trembled. Her expression changed drastically in such a short time. She felt herself stiffen. Elizabeth. Alison had mentioned an "Elizabeth" during her outburst. Many times in fact. Alison was screaming to this nonexistent girl named Elizabeth to get the hell away. She remembered it vividly. Well, how could she forget?

"Oh, so you've heard of me." the girl said. Elizabeth said. She giggled in what was a playful giggle but to April it was anything but cute. "From Alison. Oh no, after all I did, she still had the guts to have someone come over here?"

"What did you do to her?" April demanded. She was scared but strangely intrigued at the same time.

"Want to see?"

Before April could reply, Elizabeth had rushed forward and was barely an inch away from April's face. She held April's head and glared into her eyes. Those grey, innocent eyes had lost all its innocence.

Loud, piercing screams of horror. Mental breakdown. Blood streaming down April's cheeks. Hands fumbling frantically for the inhaler that fell on the floor. Panic. Sheer panic.

Elizabeth sighed. "Boring." She let go of April and hovered back into the sitting room. The stunned girl fell with a thud on the floor. "Go. Not a word to anyone."

April grabbed her inhaler and fumbled with opening the door, then she ran out. Ten steps away from the manor and her right fibula pierced through her skin. More screams. This time though, screams of pain. She dragged herself along the path, away from the Wicker Manor. Elizabeth gave a brief snicker, then reverted to her indifferent expression.

Silence.