Sofia's Short Story

Gracie and Percy left their house, closing the door behind them.

“Are you sure that this is safe?” asked Percy.

“Not really, but we’ve been getting this letter over and over again,” replied Gracie. “It’s like some obsessive Valentine person.” It was February, after all. They approached the house, ready to look for this Peter Green person, but when they came to the front of the house, a girl was already there before them. She looked at them.

“Are you also here for Peter Green?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Percy replied slowly. “But how do you know about him?”

The girl showed them a letter, similar to the one that the twins had gotten. “I’m Hazel, what about you?”

“I’m Gracie and this is my brother Percy,” replied Gracie. “So you’re also on the mission to save this Peter Green? Our mother told us that he vanished years ago.”

“These letters have kept coming onto my doorstep; I couldn’t take it any longer and decided to check it out,” Hazel explained. “Shall we go in?”

The three nervously walked up the porch steps and the door opened by itself with a loud creak! They stepped inside cautiously and spotted an empty fireplace, filled with ashes.

“There was a jack o’ lantern the last time we were here,” Percy said nervously. 

“That was probably only for Halloween.” Hazel found a door. “What if we went through here?” The others nodded and walked through the door.

They were exploring the house (feeling as if they kept getting lost) until they combed every last inch. The whole house was empty, apart from the fireplace downstairs. 

“What now?” asked Gracie. “We’ve searched the whole house.”

“Maybe we can…-” Hazel spotted something on the floor. “Does that look like a trapdoor to you?” The twins looked where she was looking. A faint outline of a square was lying on the dusty floor. Percy, closest to the trapdoor, knelt and opened the trapdoor. An explosion of dust erupted into the air, making them cough. Once the dust settled, Percy peered into the hole. “I don’t see anything down there…”

“Good thing that I brought a flashlight.” Gracie shone her flashlight down the hole, showcasing a ladder which continued into the darkness. “I’ll go first.” She carefully placed her foot on the first step of the ladder, her second foot following. Gracie started to climb down; the flashlight hanging on her neck was shining on everything, including a small spider which was climbing the wall. Percy and Hazel followed her, all of them climbing down carefully. They reached the bottom, and Gracie looked around them with her flashlight. What she saw was a long corridor. 

Percy gulped audibly. “Um… what do you think we’ll find down there?”

“Some clues where Peter Green could’ve disappeared to,” replied Hazel as she crept along the corridor. “Come on, you two! We can’t stop now!” The trio walked down the corridor until they reached a black-lacquered door, which looked newer than most parts of the house. 

“Hazel opened the door to reveal a room with an empty chair in the middle of it.

“Who do you think sat here?” asked Gracie as they cautiously walked into the room.

“I don’t know, I don’t really want to find out.” Hazel spotted something. “Check this out!” It was a fireplace (a lot like the one downstairs), but there was a dusty portrait of a young boy hanging above it. An old candelabra was just below the portrait. The wax of the candles was quite low, the wicks worn out. A small, rusty plaque was next to the portrait.

“The plaque reads ‘Peter Green’!” gasped Gracie as soon as she read it. “He looks so young, maybe even our age!”

“He doesn’t even have to be an adult yet,” added Percy. “I never really thought of that.”

Hazel traced her fingers over the plaque (also getting lots of dust on her fingers) and she accidentally pressed too much on the plaque, making the whole section of the wall turn over. 

“Woah! I thought that that only happens in horror movies!” exclaimed Percy.

“There wasn’t even any dust!” added Gracie in horror.

“That means that someone has already used this thing,” whispered Hazel. “Oh dear. I know what we have to do.” She walked over to the fireplace. “Hold onto the candelabra.”

Gracie and Percy obliged, and Hazel pressed the plaque. The wall turned over, and the three friends found themselves in some sort of secret room. There were no windows, only torches on the walls. Also, the ghost from before! The three filled their lungs with air and screamed loudly. The ghost shook its head and glided over to them. It did some wild arm gestures, and pointed at another wall. The three looked at it: there was a door. The ghost beckoned them over and easily passed through the door. Percy opened it and they entered yet another room. Here, there was a lot of furniture such as armchairs, chests of drawers, tables, and even a bed. The ghost glided over to an armchair which had its back to them, and gestured at the kids wildly. They followed (very nervously) and looked at the armchair. In it, a boy from the portrait was sitting, absorbed in a book. He looked up at them in surprise. “You came!” he grinned.

“The three looked at each other in confusion. “Who’re you? You’re not Peter Green, are you?” asked Gracie.

“I am Peter Green!” Peter exclaimed happily. He stood up, the forgotten book slipping onto the armchair. “Finally, someone can help me out of this dreadful house!”

“Did someone trap you here?” asked Percy. “We heard that you passed away years ago when you didn’t come back out of the house.”

“Time moves much slower here- I only feel like I’ve been in here for a month!” Peter explained. “And as for the man who captured me… I’ve no idea where he is or why he even captured me.” His eyes lit up. “Will you help me capture him for once and for all?”

Gracie and Percy looked at each other, while Hazel eyed the ghost again. “Peter, who’s your friend?”

“That’s Mr. Green, the old owner of the house,” explained Peter. “He passed away just before the man captured me. Will you help?”

The three looked at each other. “Of course we will!” replied Gracie. “So, how do we start?”

Peter grinned and they began to devise a plan.

THE END!