Word Count Filler!

(Manuscript Draft)

The sun was already sinking behind the distant hills as I walked home from school, casting long shadows across the quiet street. My mind wandered between thoughts of homework and the upcoming weekend, until I saw him — an old man, running with a frantic energy that sent a chill down my spine. His face was pale, his breaths ragged, and his wide eyes darted around as if he were fleeing from something no one else could see.

I stopped in my tracks, frozen by a mix of confusion and concern. People didn't run like that unless something was very, very wrong. Without thinking, I stepped forward and called out to him, "Hey! Are you okay?"

The man barely noticed me at first, stumbling to a halt as if he'd been shocked out of a nightmare. His eyes locked onto mine, and there was a terror in them that immediately made me regret approaching him. But before I could walk away, he spoke, his voice shaky and broken.

"You... you have to leave this place," he stammered. "It's coming, it's here."

My heart quickened, but I forced myself to stay calm. "What are you talking about? What's coming?"

The old man pointed back towards the road he had run from, his finger trembling. "The eye... the eye in the mansion."

I blinked, unsure if I had heard him right. "The what?"

He took a step closer, clutching at my sleeve as if his life depended on me understanding him. "I saw it. An eye. In the abandoned mansion a few kilometers away... it was watching me."

It took a moment for his words to sink in. The abandoned mansion? Everyone in town knew about it. A crumbling relic from some forgotten time, perched on a hill like a dark shadow. Most of us had passed it once or twice, but no one went near it — not since it was rumored to be haunted. Still, an eye? That sounded insane.

I pulled my arm free, trying to steady my voice. "Are you sure? Maybe you just—"

"I'm not crazy!" he interrupted, his voice rising. "I saw it. I was close to the mansion, too close. Something was in there, staring at me. I don't know what it was, but it's not... human."

A part of me wanted to laugh it off, dismiss him as another town eccentric. But the look in his eyes was far too real, far too raw. He genuinely believed what he was saying.

"I-I'll be careful," I managed to say, hoping it would calm him down.

Without another word, the man gave a final terrified glance back towards the mansion and staggered away, disappearing down the street. I stood there for a moment, staring after him, my mind racing. What if he wasn't just crazy? What if there really was something in that mansion?

---

The next day at school, I couldn't stop thinking about the old man's story. I wasn't the kind of guy who believed in ghosts or anything like that, but the way he had described the eye... it got to me. By lunchtime, I'd already made up my mind — I needed to check it out.

I found my friends, Sara, Danny, and Chris, sitting at our usual table. They were deep in conversation about the upcoming football game, but I wasn't in the mood for sports talk today.

"Guys," I said, interrupting them. "You won't believe what happened to me yesterday."

They all turned to look at me, curiosity piqued. "What happened?" Sara asked, raising an eyebrow.

I took a breath and recounted the entire story — the old man, the mansion, and the mysterious eye. By the time I finished, they were all staring at me in disbelief.

"An eye?" Danny scoffed. "Come on, man. That's just some crazy dude trying to freak you out."

"I don't know," Chris said thoughtfully, pushing his glasses up. "I've heard stories about that mansion. People say weird stuff happens around it."

Sara leaned in, a grin spreading across her face. "Sounds like a mystery for the GHMD."

I couldn't help but laugh. The GHMD — Ghost and Horror Mysteries Detectives — was our not-so-serious nickname for the group whenever we played ghost-hunting games as kids. We hadn't used that name in years, but hearing it now stirred something inside me.

"I'm serious, guys," I said. "What if there's something there? We should check it out."

Danny rolled his eyes. "You're not seriously thinking about going to that creepy old place, are you?"

Sara punched him lightly on the arm. "Why not? It'll be fun! Plus

With that small talk, We made our way toward the front gate, which was barely hanging on by its rusted hinges. Pushing it open, the creak echoed through the air, sending a shiver down my spine. We stepped onto the property, and it felt like the temperature dropped a few degrees.

The mansion was even more imposing up close. Moss clung to the walls, and the once-grand entrance was now a decaying ruin. The faint smell of damp wood and rot filled the air as we approached the front door.

"Okay, so... who's going to knock?" Danny asked, his voice half-joking but with a nervous edge.

Sara stepped forward, her hand reaching for the door. "No need to knock. We're detectives, remember? Detectives don't knock."

With a quick glance back at us, she pushed the door open. It creaked loudly, revealing the dark, empty interior of the mansion. A wave of cold air rushed out, and the musty smell hit us like a wall.

I swallowed hard, my heart racing. "Alright, let's go in."

We stepped inside, the floorboards creaking beneath our feet. The foyer was larger than I expected, with a grand staircase in the center leading to the second floor. Dust covered everything, from the furniture to the chandelier hanging precariously above us. The light from our flashlights cut through the darkness, revealing just how abandoned the place really was.

"Creepy as hell," Sara muttered under her breath.

"No kidding," Danny added, glancing around nervously.

Chris was more focused, his flashlight sweeping across the room. "We should look for signs of the eye the old man mentioned."

We spread out, each of us taking different parts of the mansion. I found myself drawn to the staircase, feeling an odd pull toward the second floor. Maybe it was just curiosity, or maybe something deeper — something I couldn't explain.

"Let's check upstairs," I suggested, my voice quieter than I intended.

Sara and Chris followed without hesitation, while Danny lingered at the base of the stairs for a moment before reluctantly joining us. As we climbed the creaky steps, each footfall echoed through the empty halls. The air grew colder with every step, and I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched.

---

At the top of the stairs, a long hallway stretched out before us, with doors lining both sides. Most of them were shut, but a few were slightly ajar, as if someone had been there recently.

"Let's split up," Sara said, her voice hushed.

Chris and I exchanged glances but nodded. We each took a different door. I pushed open the first one on the left, revealing a dusty old bedroom. The furniture was still intact, but everything was coated in a thick layer of dust. My flashlight flickered as I scanned the room, and for a moment, I thought I saw something move in the corner of my eye.

I froze, heart pounding, but when I looked again, there was nothing there.

"Just my imagination," I muttered to myself.

But as I turned to leave, the floor creaked behind me. I whipped around, but again, nothing. The room was empty. I hurried back into the hallway, where the others were waiting.

"Find anything?" Chris asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing. But this place... it feels off."

Sara nodded. "Yeah, I feel it too. Like something's watching us."

---

Just then, Danny's voice called out from further down the hall. "Guys! You need to see this!"

We rushed over to where Danny stood in front of another door, his face pale. He pointed inside, his hand trembling slightly. "Look."

We stepped into the room, and there it was — a creepy drawing on the wall that looked like it had been made by a young child. The colors were faded, and the lines were shaky and uneven. In the center of the drawing were three figures: a woman who looked about 35, a man who appeared to be 37, an old man around 67, and an old woman who seemed about 69. The faces were distorted, the proportions all wrong, as if a four- or five-year-old had tried to capture them in a moment of fear or desperation.

The drawing was unsettling, a mix of innocence and horror that sent a chill down my spine.

"Who would draw something like this?" Chris whispered, stepping closer to examine it. "It looks... wrong."

"Maybe it's a prank," Danny said, but his voice lacked conviction. The fear in his eyes told us he was just as unnerved as the rest of us.

I couldn't shake the feeling that the drawing meant something more, that it was connected to the mansion's dark history. I turned back to the hallway, my heart racing, feeling like we were standing on the edge of something terrible.

---

As the silence enveloped us, I suddenly felt a rush of cold air. The atmosphere shifted, heavy with an unspoken dread. I glanced around, my instincts screaming at me to leave.

But before I could say anything, the floorboards creaked loudly again, echoing down the hall.