Two hours after Ridge High’s dismissal bell rang throughout the school, a convertible made its way to the beautiful, yet simple manor in the downtown part of Harrisville, Rhode Island. As the sun reflected off of its silver coating, the ground crunched under the pressure of the rubbery tires, while it came to a stop outside of the garage. A sharp breeze cut through Brigitte as she stepped out of her car and walked to the chestnut-colored wooden door.

This was her 10th time babysitting the Regan twins. Isaac and Annabella were like the picture-perfect children – respectful and innocent, yet energetic 9 year olds. Their mom was the CEO of a small business and their dad was a doctor at the Harrisville Health Center. The twins were never ones to get in trouble, but they were a little mischievous. They pranked Brigitte a couple of times, but they were harmless. For instance, last week they hid her pen when she went to the bathroom. Nonetheless, Brigitte loved them as if they were her own little siblings.

Moments after she rang their doorbell, she was greeted by Lauren and David Regan.  As she stepped inside on the laminated wooden floor, she recognized the two staircases that connected at the second floor. Brigitte soon heard a faint exclamation.

“Brigitte!”

In a blink of an eye, two petite children came running down the stairways; Isaac on the left, while Annabella on the right. They held onto the shiny, metal handrails for balance as they descended towards their babysitter. Soon enough, four short arms were latched to her legs as the two small brunettes smiled from ear to ear. They stared up at her with their prominent blue eyes and Brigitte could’ve sworn she saw a little mischief in them.

“Thank you so much for doing this so last minute, dear. You’re a darling.”

Brigitte’s cheeks flushed a light crimson at the compliment. “It wasn’t inconvenient. Don’t worry about it, Mrs. Regan.”

“The kids already had their lunch, but they might get hungry in an hour or two. There’s snacks in the pantry and juice in the fridge. There’s also frozen pizza in the freezer for dinner. We’ll be back around 8 later today.” As Mr. Regan explained the schedule, the twins were getting restless. They tugged at Brigitte’s hands and bounced on the heels of their feet.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

As the parents turned to the kids, they jokingly warned them not to cause any trouble. Brigitte and the twins watched from the bay windows as the Regan’s SUV pulled out of the driveway and drove away. Brigitte, then, turned her attention to the now bubbly kids.

“What do you guys wanna do now?”

Isaac’s face instantly fell as Annabella exclaimed “We have so much homework!” As Annabella emphasized ‘so much,’ Brigitte raised her eyebrows in doubt. “A ten question worksheet on addition. Devastating,” Brigitte thought to herself.

Two hours passed when Brigitte decided that that was enough global history homework for one night. “Alright, I’m losing brain cells reading about the French Revolution. I’m going to go get a snack. You guys want anything?”

“Oh! Oh! Oh! Can I get a, um, bag of goldfish, please?”

“Sure. Anna, you want something?” As Annabella replied a simple “No,” Brigitte made her way to the pantry. Her eyes wandered over the various types of snacks until she found the goldfish. She decided to get them both a juice box, as well.

Suddenly, the lights flickered off and Brigitte blamed her friends for making her watch The Conjuring movies the day before. She contemplated calling an exorcist before she realized how ridiculous that sounded. “It’s fine, it’s fine. The power just went out. There’s probably a problem with the electricity. You’re fine,” she repeated to herself as she made her way towards the living room, leaving behind the snacks. Her panic increased as she noticed the twins were nowhere in sight.

“The ghosts kidnapped the kids I’m babysitting for. If I live, I am so fired.” Brigitte calmed herself down before she decided to go upstairs to their rooms. “Maybe they got scared and hid there.” As she tried to stealthily climb up the stairs, the eerie silence was interrupted by the amplified creaking sound of each step. Easily frightened, Brigitte ran up the stairs and tried to find the kids.

As she opened every door and frantically looked for the twins, she heard a sinister laugh coming from the end of the hallway. Brigitte opted for screaming for the twins to get them to come to her. “Isaac! Annabella!” she yelled towards the vacant rooms in hope of seeing them run towards her. She slowly approached the stairwells as she continued to call out for them. Brigitte scrambled down the stairs when she heard the laugh again.

“This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening,” she muttered to herself, repeatedly, as she reached for her temples with both of her hands. Her eyes were wide open and her breath was fast and uneven. Her rapid heartbeat was the loudest noise in the house.

Brigitte took a deep breath before realizing she was pacing around the living room in circles. As she slowly stopped and got the courage to look up, Brigitte was greeted by the front door smeared with a red substance, splattered diagonally across the middle of the wood, creating an “x” shape. Assuming that it was blood, Brigitte screamed.

Suddenly, the lights flickered back on, revealing a laughing girl at the entryway of the kitchen and a boy with a wide smile on his face leaning against the railing at the top of the right staircase.

“What. The. Hell.”