The Haunted_Edit Copy 4-7-17

When a few minutes had passed, Craig knocked again and
called, “Tucker?”
Still there was no answer. This sense of dread began
creeping up into my throat. The monster’s words echoed in my
mind. “You can leave, but you’re not safe. No one you love is safe.
And the more you fight me, the worse it will get.”
I reached forward instinctively and turned the handle. The
door opened easily and swung inward with a slow creak. The lights
were off inside, and I could only see the shadows of the furniture
and cabinets in the kitchen.
“Tucker?” I called. Still no answer. Maybe he really wasn’t
home. Or maybe he was lying in wait somewhere.
Craig stepped inside before me. He glanced around in the
darkness. No one came rushing out at him. “Tucker?” he tried again.
I stepped hesitantly through the doorway behind him. He
continued moving forward as I reached behind me for the light
switch. I heard a dull thud as he walked into something in the dark.
Then my hands found the switch and light flooded the kitchen as I
turned around just in time to see what Craig had bumped into.
I saw his feet first. His black sneakers, connected to a pair of
jeans, which led up to his Boondock Saints shirt. And above that
was his head, bent horribly sideways to make room for the rope
around his neck.
Instantly I turned around to run out the door. Ethan and
Richard blocked my way, staring open-mouthed at Tucker’s body
like it was some kind of circus sideshow. I bent over and all the pizza
came up, spattering on both of their shoes. They jumped to the side
and I bolted past them, hurrying down the stairs and stopping when
I reached the bottom to empty my stomach completely.
My brain was numb. It didn’t know how to process what I’d
just seen. Yesterday, I’d been talking to Tucker, or the thing that was
controlling him. He was alive enough to kick me in the temple. And
now, only hours later ...
“I’ll never let you save him.”
He’d been threatening to come after my family and destroy
what I loved, but he’d gone with the easiest option. Unless Tucker
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