The house on the corner had been empty for years, or so it appeared. The pale paint was peeling and the rusty iron gate shrieked at the smallest breeze. Looming up behind tall black railings, the building seemed encased in shadows, with not one glint of light reflecting from its long, dusty windows.
Julie rocked on the outer edges of her school shoes, standing just centimetres from the edge of the dark pointed shadow that reached from the other side of the street.
"I double dare you." challenged Heather, her pale blue eyes wide and serious.
Julie hesitated, staring again at the house across the street, its huge brass knocker ominous on the unmarked front door. She felt a shiver run up her legs, her blue gingham dress wavering slightly at her knees although there was no wind.
"If I'm going in," she replied slowly, "you're coming with me."
Heather's gaze flicked to the house and back before a malevolent smirk touched the corners of her mouth. She stepped into the road and crossed it in five steps. Julie was still frozen to the spot, paralysed by the fear of the house that they usually ran past. As she saw Heather reaching for the railings her legs started to move without her command, and then she was standing next to Heather and pushing on the gate with her.
The screech of the gate set Julie's teeth on edge, and its scream rang in the air as it swung shut behind them. They were in the garden.
The house was so dominating that Julie had never before taken note of the garden. Cracked paving slabs formed timid steps towards the doorway, and the garden appeared well-kept in death.The grass was not overgrown as one would expect, but short and uniform. The two cherub statues in the corners were not covered in lichen or moss, and their lifeless eyes stared stonily out onto pruned shrubs lining the railings. Julie looked around again, suddenly startled. Everything was grey. The grass looked as though it was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the bushes were tangles of dead, grey branches.
[Author's Note: At this point I started listening to Taylor Swift and couldn't get myself back into the zone for creating ominosity*. Might pick it up another time.
*I made that word up, but I like it.]
