Chapter 10: Acrophobia

Glen made his way through the front foyer and down the hallway that led back towards the chapel. The others were long gone by now. He’d stayed behind to compose himself. After all, finding out that the ‘haunted’ location you went to as a joke and an excuse to have your hottie hot hottie hottie hot hot girlfriend cling to you because she was scared actually WAS haunted and by homicidal ghosts no less, plus being locked in without any possible way of escape, and then hearing Ashley’s walkie talkie hysterics, going up to the bell tower…the bell tower that’s at least 150 feet in the air…didn’t seem like the funnest or best idea.

“Not that going up there in the first place sounded like a fun idea,” he muttered to himself as he reached the door labeled Stairwell To Bell Tower.

He stared at the door for a good while. He examined each and every inch of wood grain before him. Every tiny wood particle that was in his sight, he thoroughly packed away into his brain…as if remembering what a door looked like would actually help with anything. He looked at that damn door for so long he started seeing, what seemed to be, little demons appear in the grain.

“Time to man up Carlin, this is ridiculous. Just go up there and get it done, and then you can have a well deserved make out session with Madison. Good plan.”

He grabbed the handle and tried to push the door open. It wouldn’t budge.

“It’s like…some…supernatural force…is…holding it…shut…” Glen grumbled while he attempted to force the door in question open.

After a good 10 minutes of struggling with the door a thought dawned on him.

“Maybe if I pull…”

He did as such and VOILA! Open door.

“Wow…I’m a dumbass…we’ll just leave that out of my recap if anyone asks…”

The stairwell was dark and musty, filled with cobwebs after years and years of nonuse. The steps, wooden and rickety, had coating of dirt and dust that hadn’t been disturbed in so long that it almost served as silent warning to the Carlin Boy.

Almost.

He placed one foot on the first step. It creaked as more of his weight was put onto it. Instantly he felt a chill go down his spine. It was ominous and unnerving but then again, what hadn’t been about this whole situation? Up to the next step and the next he went. He could hear the wind blowing about outside and the soft clang of the bell as it lightly swayed to and fro in the gust while he continued his trek up the seemingly never ending, multilevel staircase.