"Unlucky thirteen they always say, and the statement definitely fits this place," Jade thought out loud.
Beside her Rae nodded in agreement. The two girls were standing at the edge of the driveway staring up at Number 13 Misty Lane. The house their best friend Arissa had lived in. The house she died in.
"After five years what's pulling us here?" Rae asked.
"I don't know," Jade answered. "I thought that once I started college I would be able to forget."
"No matter what we do the past will always be there. We can't run from it.It will always haunt us," Rae said . Her voice was haunting.
Jade took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She started walking up the long driveway followed by Rae. Jade reached into her pocket, pulled out the key and fitted it into the lock.
As she stepped into the house, something brushed by her. She looked around but saw nothing unusual. Rae stepped around her and proceeded down the dark hall. Jade turned around and shut the door.
Suddenly she felt icy hands grasp her throat. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a gurgle. Rae, hearing the noise, turned around. Her eyes opened wide with horror and a choked scream escaped her throat as Jade was lifted high into the air by an invisible force.
The force materialized into the ghostly figure of Arissa. Arissa threw Jade against the door. She let out a cry as her head slammed against the door. Barely conscious she slid to the floor in a heap.
"Why are you doing this?" Rae asked whimpering.
Arissa turned around and looked straight at Rae. Her eyes were filled with hate.
" Why!" Arissa screamed. "I'll tell you why! I'm doing this because you killed me!"
Jade looked up confused. Arissa had committed suicide. How could they be responsible for her death?
"Oh you might not have pulled the trigger," Arissa continued bitterly. "But you killed me with your lies You guys were my best friends and you betrayed me. And now it's your turn to die."
Arissa picked up a jug of gasoline and began pouring it all over the floor. She grabbed Jade's purse off the floor from where she had dropped it when Arissa had started to strangle her and pulled out a matchbook. She pulled one of the matches out.
Rae began screaming and ran to the nearest window. She started pounding on it with her fists but the glass didn't even crack.
"It was just a joke, Arissa," Jade said softly. "We were thirteen years old . We didn't know what we were doing."
"It's too late . You can't save yourself now. Say good-bye," Arissa said as she lit the match and threw it in a puddle of gasoline at Rae's feet.
The house went up with a whoosh. Jade looked at Arissa as the ghost gloated over triumph. Then she disappeared. Jade's mind registered the fact that she could no longer hear Rae's screams. Jade looked towards her friend and saw that Rae was dead, her body a blackened husk. Jade felt the tears run down her cheeks.
"You were right Rae," Jade said softly. "The past did come back to haunt us, but in a way we never expected."