Four Students Found Dead, Foul Play Suspected

SUNVILLE, CA- Police officials are distraught to announce the discovery of four missing high school students. The students, who attend a large public high school in the Sunville Unified School District, go by the names of Jared Mulroney, Tiffany Sanchez, Derrick Lloyd and Lena James. The four students were known to be friends and never went anywhere without each other. They were last seen at Lloyd’s house before leaving to visit the Casa Adobe de San Juan.

According to Jessica Lloyd, Derrick’s mother, “The kids were at my house, just hanging out, but they seemed pretty bored. I was in the kitchen baking a chocolate bundt cake when I heard Jared suggest going to the Casa Adobe de San Juan. I dropped my whisk in the bowl to go stop them, but by the time I reached the living room, there was no trace of them. They left after dark and when they were gone for a few hours, I became worried. I called Derrick’s cell phone but the line was always busy.” After calling a few times, Jessica Lloyd contacted the police department in a frenzy.

The Casa Adobe de San Juan has a rich history in this small Los Angeles suburb. Many say it is haunted, while others suggest that these are only rumors. The building is located on a park which closes at dusk so the students were trespassing at the time of the incident. This structure was the previous home of Carlos and Maria Rodriguez. The house is one of the oldest dwellings in the city, next to Velazquez Casa.

City officials are on the search for these four missing high school students. If their whereabouts or any information about their location is discovered, please inform your police station immediately. The Sunville Police Department discourages visits to the Casa Adobe de San Juan after dark when tours are no longer provided by the city.

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Jerry Randall read the news story aloud in a dramatic voice to his friends, Marshall, Stephanie, and Valerie. After he had finished reading, they all chuckled. The rain pounded on the roof of Jerry’s house and the thunder struck in an ominous fashion to complement their laughter.

“There is no way anything like this could have happened. Those kids probably ran away because they got into a fight with their parents,” remarked Marshall with a smirk on his face.

“I don’t know. They don’t put stories like these in newspapers for no reason. Something bad must have happened to them. High school students don’t go missing every day,” pondered Stephanie in a worried tone.

“Steph’s right,” interjected Valerie, “Don’t get any ideas about trying out what those others did. Let’s just learn from their mistakes and watch a movie or something.”

“Movies aren’t interesting anymore, Val. That’s what we do every time we’re together. I’m yearning for some adventure in my life. And I’m also curious as to what’s in that house that everyone is so afraid of. Could it be the boogeyman,” Jerry said convincingly. He then grabbed Stephanie’s shoulders and she jumped and shrieked.

“Please let’s just stay here tonight. I’m already scared as it is and we haven’t even left yet,” begged Stephanie.

Marshall wrapped his arms around Stephanie to comfort her and said, “I’ll be there to protect you. Nothing can happen to you when I’m around.”

She had been in love with Marshall for the past year, but he didn’t know it. She thought that maybe if she went with him to the Casa Adobe, then he would see her in a different way and ask her to be his girlfriend. If anything happened to them, they would always have that experience to hold them together. And if they died, well… she didn’t want to think about that.

With a sigh, Stephanie responded, “I guess I can come along, but only on one condition. I have to walk in the middle, not in the front or in the back. And Val has to come too.”

The boys nodded and looked at Valerie. She shrugged her shoulders and nodded hesitantly. The four of them left Jerry’s house without informing his parents and climbed into his car. The heavy rain made the roads slippery and the darkness draped around them made it hard to see around them. After a few minutes, they reached their destination. The house was surrounded by red bricked and covered in ivy. A gate stood at the entrance, but was locked since it was after hours. They parked outside and climbed over the black wrought-iron gate.

The white house loomed in the distance. The white columns and blue shudders confirmed the date of the building to be in the 1860s. The wind blew and the shudders clapped against the walls of the house. The students walked through the park towards the house. Drenched in rain, they continued forward, passing a cobblestone well that was overflowing with water.

Lightning lit up the sky and provided an eerie backdrop for the already mysterious house. The roar of thunder made Stephanie and Valerie jump. Stephanie grabbed Marshall’s hand out of fear. He winked at her and smiled. The four forged onward up the brick steps and along the pathway to the front door.

Jerry’s hand slowly went to the brass doorknob to try and open the door. Right before he touched it, the door swung open and slammed against the wall. A gust of air rushed at them and gave all of them chills along their spines and arms.

In a quivering voice, Stephanie asked, “Can we go back now?”

No one paid her any mind. Jerry was the first to step over the threshold. As his feet landed on the floorboards, thunder boomed through the house. He scrambled to find a light switch on his left side but before he could find it, a hand with long, pointed nails grabbed his arm and stopped it. The nails dug into his forearms.

A high-pitched voice came from the darkness which said, “There’s no need for that, dearie.”

Two candelabra’s caught flame. Jerry saw who was holding his arm and screamed. The woman had long black hair that was floating toward the ceiling. Her mouth was curved into a smile and sharp, blackened teeth showed behind her lips. Her cheeks were white and sunken. Her eyes were glowing red.

“You don’t need to be so alarmed. Isn’t this what you came here for? A little adventure?”

Jerry shook his head and looked around the room. The candelabra’s that became lit were floating above an antique piano on the other side of the room. There was another woman in the room, standing by a dusty window covered in spider webs, but she wasn’t moving. She appeared to be a mannequin in one of those department stores. Her outfit was a bit dated; she was wearing a long black dress, a small tiara and a long lace veil that had yellowed from time. The sitting room contained two couches, in Victorian style, with curved cherry wood that spiraled delicately to the floor.

Finally, Jerry managed to stammer, “I think it’s time to go now. Thanks.”

He turned to leave, but the woman’s nails dug deeper into the skin on his arm. She gave out a shrill laugh and responded, “Don’t be silly. You just got here. Now come in and have some tea.”

Looking over at the veiled woman in the room, she chimed, “Wake up, Beatrice. We have company.”

A gust of wind pushed the three students, who had been watching from the door, into the foyer. The door slammed behind them. Stephanie gasped in fear and tried to run back, but the doorknob would not budge.

Beatrice’s eyes opened and they were glowing red like her companion’s. Her smile revealed a mouth full of gums and no teeth whatsoever. Her cheeks were red like a blushing bride but parts of her face were eaten away by termites or worms.

She looked at her visitors then at the other woman and asked, “Cassandra, shall I fetch the tea?”

The children were moved to sit against their will on the purple cushioned loveseats by a force outside of themselves. They were in a state of anxiety, unease and fear but they no longer had any way out. Beatrice raised her arm into the air and four petite porcelain teacups came flying in from another room and crashed onto the coffee table. Stephanie jumped in her seat and held Marshall’s hand with her left one.

Each teacup landed in front of each child and with another whip of her hand, the teacups filled with a dark, steaming and murky liquid. The steam lifting off the teacups was thicker than that from regular tea, almost like the consistency of cigarette smoke. Valeria coughed at the stench of the tea which she thought smelled like a mixture of muddy grass, licorice and cabbage soup.

Cassandra smirked at the disgusted look on Jerry’s face and she knew it would be a challenge to convince the children to drink the tea. Before they knew it, the children’s mouths involuntarily opened and a shocked look developed in their eyes. The teacups lifted themselves off the table and gracefully tipped themselves into the mouths of Jerry, Marshall, Valerie and Stephanie. Their course was as well controlled as if the hands of the children were guiding them, when in fact, they were suspended in mid-air.

To explain the situation, Beatrice said, “If you are wondering why you have consumed these beverages, they are to ease your pain,” as she let out a low chortle under her breathe.

While the children sat uncomfortably in their seats, Cassandra began to talk.

“You may be wondering what we are doing here. The truth is that we do not belong in this house. As history shows us, the primary inhabitants of this abode were Carlos and Maria Rodriguez. Even after this evidence, my sister and I were placed in this house as historical representations of the time when this home was once used. You see, we are very oddly dressed, I in a long and hideous skirt and Beatrice in a veil and black dress. None of what we are wearing makes any sense. The two of us used to dwell in well-tailored pants and dresses in a very fashionable department store until a recession caused the store to close and we were sent to a dark and decrepit mannequin storage facility. From there, we were picked up by the restoration committee of this fine establishment and have been thriving in resentment and feasting on curious and adventurous visitors ever since.”

When Stephanie heard this, she gasped and began to sob.

“Please don’t eat me,” she cried, “I’m too young to die!”

“Oh, cut it out. You were the one who came here in the first place,” Beatrice snapped.

A tender smile spread across Cassandra’s lips and she moved toward Stephanie. Cassandra’s cold whisper of a hand caressed Stephanie’s cheek and she said, “Don’t worry, sweetie. Everything will be alright. You won’t even remember it.”

A doll sitting in a wooden high chair in the corner of the room began to cry and its eyes lit up red like the other ladies in the room.

With an exasperated look on her face, Cassandra floated to the doll and picked it up. She rocked in back and forth and cooed in a soft, melodic voice. Beatrice waved her hand and the piano began to play itself. If Jerry wasn’t mistake, he thought it sounded like Chopin’s Funeral March. The white and black keys rose and fell by talented, yet invisible, fingers.

The doll stopped crying and Cassandra dropped it on the floor and began moving towards the children alongside her sister, Beatrice.

Beatrice said, “Unfortunately, my little darlings, this is the way it has to be,” and looking at her sister, she continued, “It’s time, Cassie.”

The two ladies spun around in their spots in a fury and sped towards Marshall and the others. The front door swung open. All of the candles in the house caught flame and flickered violently. The children screamed and started to run toward the door. The red-eyed women embraced them with their ghostly arms and rushed outdoors.

An outdoor furnace stood in the corner of the courtyard before a brick wall covered in green ivy. A bright red fire burst into the furnace and the ladies threw Jerry, Marshall, Stephanie and Valerie into the burning conflagration. The four let out a blood curdling scream and writhed around, trying to escape. High pitched laughter filled the air along with the thick black smoke from the flames that were consuming the children.

Cassandra and Beatrice left the furnace and the high school students to burn and returned to their white house with its blue shutters.

Beatrice sat on the loveseat that the children had occupied moments before. She lifted a teacup to her lips and took a sip.

With a smirk, she looked at her sister and said, “I guess we didn’t brew the tea strong enough this time, Cassie.”

Cassandra giggled and responded, “There’s always next time, my little sister. There’s always next time.”

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The daily newspaper landed on the front porch of a big yellow house decorated in Spanish-style tiles. Deborah Randall slowly opened the door and grabbed the newspaper from the ground. On the front page, she saw a photo of her son with his three friends. Above the photo, a headline read, “Four high school students found dead in historical park fire after hours, foul play suspected.” Mrs. Randall’s scream was heard throughout the town as black crows flew overhead in mourning.


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