Stephen put his duffel bag on the ground and grabbed the shotgun. “Just in case.”
They slowly crept down the stairway to avoid alerting the specter. The foyer was filled with several specters of children being led down the left hallway by a female specter wearing clothing which looked like they were from the Civil War era. The living room was filled with vintage furniture. A specter which looked similar to the statue of Lord William Acland stood by the front door holding a Springfield rifle shouting: “Damn Confederates!”
“I’m confused. What’s a Lord doing in the States during the Civil War?” Stephen asked.
“We are surrounded by ghosts and that’s what you’re wondering,” Leo whispered.
The orphanage shook slightly as they heard what sounded like cannon fire.
“Civil War reenactment of the dead?” Helena asked.
“Whatever it is, we are trapped,” Leo answered.
“You there on the stairs, drop your weapon at once! The element of surprise is not on your side!” Lord Acland ordered, pointing his rifle toward them.
Stephen quickly dropped the rifle onto the floor at the end of the stairs.
“Samuel, pull yourself away from beating the slave folk and come down here immediately! We have intruders!” Lord Acland shouted.
The specter holding the whip slowly made its way down the staircase. They slowly walked downward as it stared at them. It forced them toward Lord Acland.
“Don’t expect much talk from Samuel. His tongue was removed during the war for disobeying a direct order of mine. Are you Union or Confederate?”
“I’m an American,” Stephen answered.
Lord Acland grabbed him by the neck. “You have a strong neck. It really doesn’t matter. They all snap the same hanging from a noose. Samuel, prepare them for a quadruple hanging.”
Samuel smiled as he forced them forward. Lord Acland opened the door and they were forced out the door by Samuel. As they walked through the door, they stood in shock as they were in the foyer of the orphanage again. The specters were gone and the living room was empty.
“What just happened?” Helena asked.
“Not sure.” Leo shined his flashlight toward the stairs, and Stephen’s rifle was laying where he had dropped it. He walked over to the rifle and examined it. The metal plating was rusted and it was covered in layers of dust.
“It looks old. How long has it been sitting here?” Stephen asked.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Tamara said.
“Did we just travel through time?” Helena asked.
“We need to get out of here immediately.” Leo led them out the front door and on the other side of it was the foyer of the orphanage again.
Stephen looked at Leo confused. They turned around and walked out the door and into the foyer on the other side.
“We can’t leave!” Tamara screamed.
They could hear screaming coming from above. This time the sounds were from a woman followed by the sound of a chainsaw. The screams got louder as the sound of the chainsaw continued. They felt their feet getting wetter. They looked down and they were standing in a pool of blood. Tamara ran for the front door.
“Tamara, wait!” Stephen screamed.
She ran out the front door and into the room full of dolls upstairs. She was shaking violently with fear. The sun was shining through the window, and she could see the dolls staring at her with their eyeless faces.
“Play with me!” Their mouths moved in unison as they continued to shout, “Play with me!”
She screamed and ran out of the room crashing into a large man dressed in an executioner’s outfit. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her down the stairs where a guillotine was waiting for her. A man wearing a priest outfit from biblical times held a large parchment.
“Tamara Largent, you are charged with performing witchcraft and are sentenced to death by beheading.”
The executioner forced her into the guillotine. A black cat walked over to her and began licking her face. The priest motioned to the executioner and seconds later the blade came down severing her head from her body.
Helena screamed as Tamara’s head rolled down the stairs before them. The pool of blood was rising fast. If they didn’t get out of the foyer quickly, they would drown in the blood.
“Swim toward the stairs!” Leo ordered.
They swam toward the stairs and quickly ran up them. They turned to the right and ran into a Roman arena from the gladiator days.
A large muscular gladiator covered in battle scars approached them holding a large ax. “Choose your weapons! We fight to the death!”
“We aren’t warriors!” Helena screamed.
“If you are not warriors, then you are cowards! Cowards must die! Women have no place in an arena!” The gladiator pushed Helena into the passageway where they entered. She emerged back into the room filled with the dolls.
“Play with me!” Their mouths moved in unison as they continued to shout, “You’re the one who gets to play with me!” One of them jumped onto the floor, and then each one in turn jumped onto the previous one until they formed one gigantic doll. “I will play with you like little Cindy played with me!” It pushed her hard against one of the bedposts. She screamed as it jumped on top of her and pressed its fingers into her eyes pushing them way back into her skull. She continued to scream until her life was squeezed out of her body from the strength of the doll’s hands.
Leo and Stephen stood their ground as the gladiator swung his ax toward them. Leo deflected the blow with his shield sending him backward. A crack formed on it from the impact.
“Puny little boy! One more blow from my ax and you’re dead!” the gladiator shouted as the crowd cheered, “I bring you another victory!”
“Head for the passageway. It should lead us out of here,” Leo ordered. He stood up and slowly backed away toward the passageway.
Stephen slowly moved over to Leo as he moved toward the passageway. Leo, making sure Stephen was close enough, walked through the passageway. Stephen was almost to the passageway when he felt a sharp pain. He looked down and a large sphere was sticking out of his chest. The last thing he heard before he died was the gladiator chanting, “Another victory!”
Leo was standing alone in the middle of the foyer of the orphanage. A tall beautiful redhead was standing before him. She wore a white see-through cloak. She walked up to him seductively.
“Such a pretty specimen. Do you like what you see? All men like what they see when they are in my presence. I’m very hungry and you look like the perfect specimen to feed my hunger.” She licked his neck. He could hear a loud hissing sound from behind him. He turned around just in time to see the large python’s head come down and swallow him whole.
“Don’t be in such a rush,” Julie said as she helped Jermaine remove the camera equipment out of the back of his van.
“This place will be perfect for the next episode of Haunted America. Kevin, make sure there is a camera set up in each room,” Jermaine said.
The five members of Jermaine’s crew grabbed the remaining cameras and headed for the orphanage’s front door.
From the window the specter of Lord Acland watched them. “Damn Confederates!”
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