As I opened my eyes and got used to my current dark surroundings, I realized where I was. I sat up. I was sitting in my bed. I was in my old bedroom. My door was wide open, and I saw a shadow hover across the wall, then I started hearing noises.

"Hello?" I yelled out.

My mother and father suddenly appeared in front of my door at the same time. They smiled at me. My mom went over to the TV that was on and turned it off. She then walked over to my dad who was still smiling at me.

"Do you think we should call the cops?" she asked my dad.

"I promise, everything will be okay. We'll decline his offer then call the police," he kissed my mother, then the both of them left my room, leaving me in the dark.

It's like they didn't acknowledge that I was awake. I quickly pushed the covers off of me and ran over to the door. When I opened it I heard muffled sounds. I jerked myself back into the room. The sound of my dad's voice made me peek out of the door again. I viewed the living room, a dark silhouette, and my dad. He was leaning in the middle of my view. It was dark. My dad's back was to me, and the silhouette held the gun out towards my father.

"Please, I'm sure there's another way," I heard my dad whisper.

Another silhouette stepped in front of my dad. "Try telling that to Mr. Harmon."

The stranger pointed the gun to my dad's head and shot him. Suddenly, my mother ran out into the hallway, but when she saw the intruders, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and ran back into her room. The strangers followed her then shot her as she hid behind the bed.

"Where is he? He said he'd be here before the cops come," one of the strangers said.

They seemed not to notice me. It was like I was invisible.

"Hey, he said to leave the will," one of them said, stepping toward Caleb's room.

Just then, the cops came in the house and shots went off. Everything then turned .

***

I woke in the abandoned house with Jasper standing over me. "Jasper?" I whispered.

"Violet!" he shouted, looking away from me. "She's okay!" Jasper helped me to my feet and patted me on my back. "We thought we lost you."

"What happened to me?" I asked.

Jasper looked over his shoulder. "It was Violet. She told me you were in trouble."

"What?" I said looking around, expecting to see Violet. "How could she know?"

He cleared his throat

I looked behind me, and there Violet was. I walked up to her. I had it up to here with what was going on. I just wanted Caleb, and I wanted him now!

"What do you know?" I asked, pointing my finger at her while walking closer to her.

"Emily..." Violet murmured.

"My brother is dead! I don't know what's going on!" I yelled. I started to cry.

Jasper took my hand. "Emily. She's going to tell you everything."

Violet nodded. "Jasper, please wait outside."

***

Violet and I walked upstairs to the fourth floor. She led me into a room full of paintings. All of the paintings were of kids, families, soldiers, and of some old people. They were the most beautiful paintings I had ever seen.

Violet walked away to an old desk. I continued looking. There was one photo in particular that caught my attention. It was a picture of some middle aged woman. She looked so much like my mother.

Violet was now standing beside me, holding some magnify glass in her hand.

"Did you draw these?" I asked Violet.

She started to breathe hefty as she looked at the photo. "My dad drew these." She then turned to look at me. It was like she was scared and afraid.

Mr. Harmon's old house? Violet? I should have figured it out before. This was Mr. Harmon's daughter. She nodded her head as if she knew what I was thinking.

"What... happened?" I asked her.

She took a deep breath and looked back at the photo. I stared at it too. She placed the magnifying glass on the painting. "My dad had some crazy obsession with art. He preferred his art to-" She then moved the magnifying glass back and forth which revealed two real eyes of the painting. The painting had real eyes! "To be alive," she whispered.

I stared at her horrified. "You recognized the painting didn't you, Emily?"

"Is it her?" I asked.

"Yes. Your parents knew my father was crazy, so they stopped us from hanging out again," she said.

"You remembered me? Why didn't you say anything?" I yelled.

"You weren't ready for the truth!" she yelled back.

"I wasn't ready to know that your dad is a psycho?!" I replied.

"You weren't ready to know that I'm DEAD!" she yelled.

My breathing sped up. "Dead?"

"He wants you so he can become more powerful. You can help us, Emily. You have to," she said, grabbing my shirt.

"Us?" I asked, pushing her back.

The painting we looked at earlier started to rumble. A hand reached out of it, then a leg, then the entire body. It was my mother. Her face was blue. She was almost unrecognizable! She fell to the floor, face down first. The thump of her hitting the wooden floor scared me.

"What's going on?" I screamed.

Violet ran up to me. "Emily. Go back to the mansion, find the box. It's in there somewhere. Once you find the box, come back here. Jasper will go with you. If you come back here, I promise I'll get your brother back!" she said quickly. "The ghost won't hurt you. They're afraid because they know you live with my father. Now go!"

Just then, my mother or whatever she was now, lifted up her head and faced me. Her eyes changed rapidly, her skin wrinkled, and her teeth turned into wood. She gave me a terrifying smile that changed her entire face.

"Run!" Violet said, pushing me toward the door. "Jasper can explain more. Just go!"

As I ran down the stairs onto the first floor, I noticed something crawling on the wall. It wasn't my mom, but another woman figure. Before she could catch me, Jasper pulled me out of the door and we ran.