Castle of Horror Anthology Volume 9: YA by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Castle Bridge Media
Published: 2022-12-06T05:00:00+00:00

# # #

Hisham followed Arjun into the palace and was enveloped by coldness. An old-wood smell was the first thing Arjun noticed. The frigid temperature was the opposite of the humid monsoon season, and it rattled Arjun’s bones. The tiles beneath them were built from something hard – perhaps some kind of marble. However, it was rough and uneven.

With the window shutters closed, the foyer would have been shrouded in darkness if it was not for the moonlight seeping in through a few cracks in the ceiling. The pale light illuminated some of the foyer’s sections, and an omniscient aura captivated the scene. Nonetheless, most of Arjun and Hisham’s surroundings remained trapped in the blackness of the night.

Arjun squinted his eyes as he scanned the area. The foyer’s ceiling reached the palace’s rooftop. A magnificent staircase was to his right, and the second and third story’s interior balcony encircled the foyer. Much of the palace’s grandeur seemed to be lost in the darkness. Up ahead, on the other side of the foyer, was a hallway that led to a different section of the palace. Portions of the wooden balconies and staircase seemed to be eroding, just like so many other parts of this palace.

At first, neither boy said anything. Hisham waited for Arjun to speak, and Arjun took in their surroundings. He wondered how long it had been since a soul stepped foot inside this–

Creak…

Hearing the sound, both teenagers whipped their heads in its direction. The front doors–they were shutting! Hisham took a step toward them, panic overtaking his expression, but he was too late. They slammed with a loud thud.

“The doors!” he exclaimed. “They–”

“Look there,” Arjun said, his voice calm.

Hisham followed where Arjun pointed and saw the counterweights connected to either door by a pulley. Both weights sat on the ground.

“The counterweights closed the doors. No curse there,” Arjun commented with a smile. “Just simple physics.”

“Yeah…physics.”

Arjun slapped Hisham’s shoulder. “Lighten up, pal. We have the whole palace to ourselves. Maybe there’ll be–”

Floorboards creaked, ending Arjun’s words. Hisham’s heart jumped to his throat. The boys stopped moving, but the floorboards groaned again. Slower this time. The sound hung in the darkness before disappearing. It wasn’t from above them; no, it was from up ahead.

Arjun and Hisham exchanged glances, one horrified and the other startled.

“...what was that?” Hisham asked, his body tense.

“It was nothing–”

The floorboards creaked once more, closer this time. Hisham took a step behind Arjun as Arjun faced the direction of the sound. The night’s blackness kept them blind to their surroundings, but quick footsteps approached.

Just as Arjun’s hand formed into a tight fist, something stepped out of the darkness.

…a dog.

The old mutt didn’t hesitate as it approached them. Its legs trembled, and its frame mirrored a malnourished child’s. Seeing the dog, both boys breathed a sigh of relief as Hisham stepped from behind Arjun.

“It’s just that stray dog we always see,” Arjun said. “What’s his name again?”

“Kuta.”

“Ah, yes. Kuta. Very original.”

“How did he get in here?” Hisham wondered out loud.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.