“You sure you wanna do this?” asked Joe, my friend who decided to come with me to the sleepover at the “haunted” house. Over twenty kids were supposedly going to be there. “Seriously? Do you really think it’s haunted?” I teased him, trying to hold back my laughter. “Well, it’s just—“ I cut him off. “Look, we’re here.” Sure enough, we were at the crooked door of the house. We opened it. Inside, it was dark and mostly empty. The only light came from the bright moon outside. On the floor, I could see sleeping bags were spread out, but nobody was in them. I guessed that the others had gone to explore the house. Joe and I decided to, too, not knowing what lies ahead of us.

It got darker as we walked down the eerie hallways and squeaky stairs of the haunted house as natural light became farther from reach. Even so, we had brought a small flashlight so we could check out anything cool that we happened to see. We continued on until we reached a small bedroom flooded with moonlight. I looked in, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Everything was shining gold. It looked brand-new, like it had only been placed there thirty minutes ago. I watched as my friend, walking carelessly, entered the room. “Wait,” I tell him, but it’s too late. Steel bars come down around him, and in less than three seconds, he is locked up in an unbreakable cell.

Thoughts frantically ran through my head. I had no idea what to do. My friend is trapped, and I’m standing at the door, staring at the bars in disbelief. “Heeeeelllpppp!” Joe screams. Suddenly, there’s a rush of wind in the hallway and the door slams closed, sending me sprawling across the room. “Ugh,” I moan. After a few painful moments, I hear a voice that seems to boom across the whole house, “Who dares enter the House of Elizabeth?” House of Elizabeth? Who’s she? I think. As if something was trying to answer, the door flung open, and there floating at the door was a red mist. My heart started pounding. “Hello,” a voice said. I’m assuming it was the mist. “Your life ends tonight.”

I was scared. I didn’t want to die this early, especially at the will of some weird red mist. I got up and balled my fists. “Ha ha ha ha!” the mist laughed. “Do you really think those puny little fists are a match for me?” Without answering it, I threw my fist at the mist with all my might, and it crashed into the wall. I quickly climbed up onto a wardrobe and pressed a red button, not knowing how I was able to figure it out. The steel bars lifted and Joe was free. I jump down from the wardrobe, take a chair, and smash it through the window. We climb out just as the furious red mist smashes into some invisible barrier. Joe and I sprint home, never wanting to go to the haunted house again.