"Lily... He left me. He left me all alone. How could he do that?" She gripped Noah's shirt tightly, refusing to let go, as if letting go meant losing him all over again.
Lily swallowed hard, fighting back her own grief. "Ava... we have to go. We can't stay here anymore. We need to leave this place." She gently tried to pull Ava away, but Ava shoved her hand away angrily.
"No! Leave me alone!" Ava shouted, her voice hoarse from crying. Lily felt her heart sink. "Ava, are you out of your mind?" She grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her lightly. "Do you really think we can escape this nightmare just because we want to? If we could, our friends wouldn't have died. You know that!"
Ava's face crumpled, her resolve breaking. "Then what are we supposed to do?" she cried, her voice filled with despair. "I don't want to play this stupid game anymore. I just want it to end, Lily. Why is this happening to us? What did we do to deserve this? Why can't it stop?!"
Before Lily could respond, a deep voice interrupted their anguish. "So, only two are left, hmm."
...
Both Ava and Lily froze, their heads snapping around to face the source of the voice. An old man stood there, his face mostly hidden behind a long white beard, giving him a resemblance to someone out of a fantasy novel, like Albus Dumbledore.
"Who... who are you?" Ava asked, her voice shaking with fear.
The old man raised a hand as if to calm her. "Relax, kid. I'm not here to hurt you," he said, his tone soothing but firm. "Who I am isn't important right now. What if I told you your friends... the ones who died... can come back to life?"
Ava and Lily exchanged stunned glances, their minds struggling to process what he had just said.
"W-what do you mean?" Ava stammered, wiping her tear-streaked face with trembling hands.
The man smiled gently, though there was a sadness behind his eyes. "You and your friends... you aren't the first to be caught in this mess."
"We know that already," Ava said, her voice hollow. "We met someone... Melanie. She survived the game."
The old man nodded. "Yes, but there were more before her. Many more."
Lily's eyes widened. "Wait, what? You mean... there were others?"
The man nodded again, his expression grave. "More than twenty groups of kids have played this game and lost their lives. Melanie... she was lucky. The only one who survived."
"Oh my god," Lily whispered, her hand flying to her mouth.
The old man sighed, rubbing his bearded chin. "Long story short... I was the first victim. My friends and I... we were just like you, bored kids looking for a thrill. We played Truth or Dare, and then, for fun, we thought of summoning a spirit."
Ava and Lily were listening intently now, their hearts pounding in their chests.
"We used an Ouija board," the man continued. "But what we didn't know was that the spirit we summoned... well, it had died playing Truth or Dare in that very house. We didn't know what we were getting into."
"Then what happened?" Ava asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
The old man's eyes darkened. "At first, it was harmless. Creepy, but harmless. We thought it was cool, even fun, to play with a ghost. But then... it gave us a dare. To kill one of our own."
Lily gasped. "What did you do?"
The man shook his head. "What do you think? We freaked out. We stopped playing, burned the Ouija board, and tried to leave. But it wasn't that simple. We all died that night... one by one. Same way as your friends. The game kept going, and it's been going ever since."
A heavy silence fell over the room as the weight of his words settled in.
...
Ava's voice cracked as she asked the question that was burning in her mind. "But... how can you help us bring our friends back?"
The old man looked at her sadly. "I can't do much, but I can give you one piece of advice." He paused for a moment before saying, "Burn the source of the evil spirit."
Lily frowned. "The source? What do you mean? How are we supposed to know what its source is?"
The man smiled again, though it was a tired smile like he'd seen this play out too many times before. "I think you already know."
Ava and Lily exchanged a look, and suddenly, it clicked. They didn't need to say it out loud to know they were thinking the same thing.
"But..." Ava started, but the man cut her off.
"Remember this. Even if you find the source, you can only destroy it while your third dare is still incomplete. Once you've finished it... it's too late. You'll survive, but your friends will stay dead forever."
Ava's eyes lit up with realization. "I think I know what it is!"
Lily turned to her, hope flickering in her eyes. "What is it?"
Ava nodded, her voice firm. "It's the house. The house is the source."
Lily's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm pretty sure. Right, sir?" Ava turned to look at the old man for confirmation, but he was gone.
"Where did he go?" Lily asked, glancing around the room, bewildered.
"I don't know," Ava replied, shaking her head. "But it doesn't matter. We don't have time to think about it. We need to burn this house down. Now."
Lily nodded, determination hardening her features. "Let's do it."
Without another word, they ran toward the front door, their minds set on one thing: ending this nightmare once and for all.
...
Outside, the old man watched them go, then his appearance changed to a woman.
"Hammpp... let's see how long it will take for them to realize." With that, she vanished into the night, leaving only the echo of her words behind, Ohh and a smile that could fail even a refrigerator when chilling someone.