The Abandoned House

Leslie was reading a mystery in her bed. Her sister Rachel was sitting up in her bed looking out the window.

“What’s the matter, Rachel?” Leslie said.

“I hear some ruffling noise outside. It sounds like it’s coming from the woods that’s near our house.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing. I’m going to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Leslie turned off the light and the girls went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Rachel turned her light on and sat up.

“Did you hear that?!” Rachel said.

“I heard the wind.”

“No, it’s not. I heard a noise coming from the woods.”

“Why don’t you go there and you can find out what that noise was in the morning.”

The next morning Leslie and Rachel were sitting at the kitchen table with their mom, Tina having breakfast and coffee.

“What are you girls up to today?” Tina said.

“Nothing. Rachel kept me up all night because she kept hearing a noise coming from the woods,” Leslie said.

“What kind of noise?” Tina said.

“It sounded like someone walking in the woods,” Rachel said.

“Why would somebody be walking in the woods in the middle of the night?” Tina said.

“I’m not sure, but that’s what I’m going to do today,” Rachel said.

“Take a hike?” Tina said.

“Not just take a hike, but also do some exploring to figure out where the noise came from. Would you like to come with me, Leslie?” Rachel said.

“No, thanks. I’m going to do some schoolwork and just stay at home today. Do you have anyone else to go with you? You shouldn’t walk in the woods by yourself,” Rachel said.

“I’ll ask Cathy. You know Cathy, don’t you, mom?” Rachel said.

“She’s a friend of yours from school. Text me when you get to the woods,” Tina said.

“I will,” Rachel said.

It was one o’clock that afternoon. Rachel and Cathy were taking a walk in the woods where Rachel heard the noise from the other night.

“You thought it was a person walking in these woods in the middle of the night?” Cathy said.

“Yes. Do you see that house over there?”

“That house has been for about a year. It has many happenings like people working on it. Is that what you heard last night?”

“There’s no way. It was in the middle of the night when I heard the noise. We can look for footprints or something.”

“Or hand prints on the trees. If we do find this person we can contact the Police Department.”

“Why?”

“It’s trespassing even though it’s been an abandoned house for a year it can still be trespassing.”

The girls walked over to the abandoned house and a cop was standing there.

Cathy jumped and said, “I wasn’t expecting to see you there.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you. My name is Phil. I work at the Police Department downtown. Are you girls here for a reason?” Phil said.

“We are. I heard a noise last night in these woods. It sounded like someone was walking here, but I’m trying to figure out why they would be that late at night. I live at the house over there,” Rachel said. She pointed to the two-story, red brick house that was right across from the woods.

“I see where you live. It could’ve been a cop. We work 24/7, but if it wasn’t a cop the three of us can do some exploring here, and if we do find that someone I’ll take him with me,” Phil said.

“Where should we start?” Rachel said.

“We could start in the back and take a look,” Phil said.

The three of them walked around the back of the abandoned building and they saw tools. The tools were any tool that would make a loud noise, there were chainsaws, axes, hammers, and even a sander.

“Could this been what you heard?” Phil said and looked at Rachel.

“Probably. Is there a way we could go inside?” Rachel said.

“Yes. You’re with me,” Phil said.

There was a loud bang from the front of the building and Cathy said, “Did you hear that?!”

“It sounded like it came from the front. Let’s go there,” Phil said. They walked in front and saw a dead deer.

“I think we should get out of here. There could be still someone living here,” Rachel said with a shiver.

“Will you girls be okay walking by yourselves going home?” Phil said.

“Hey! Why are you standing on my property!” Randy yelled.

“Do you live here?” Phil said.

“Yes. It’s the only place I’m able to afford. Now get out!” Randy said. The three of them ran home.

Leslie and Rachel were having dinner that night with their mom at the kitchen table.

“What did you find when you went on your adventure?” Leslie asked Rachel.

“An abandoned house. Cathy and I met a cop who patrols the abandoned house. He told Cathy and I that the police patrol there 24/7,” Rachel said.

“Did you find anything else?” Tina said.

“We found a lot of tools that would make loud noises like a chainsaw and even a sander. Then we heard a loud bang. We walked around the front and saw a dead deer. A man ran out and said, “Why are you on my property?”

“My property? Does the man live there?” Tina said.

“Yes. That’s the noise I heard last night. He told us he doesn’t have any other place to live and told us to get out!” Rachel said.

“What are you going to do about it?” Tina said.

“Cathy and I are going to go back tomorrow morning if I hear the noise again. If I hear it again I’ll let the cop know at the abandoned house. He can write up a report about it and ask the man to stop doing his work in the middle of the night and do it during the day,” Rachel said.

“Sounds fair enough,” Leslie said.

“Please, be careful. Do you girls want any dessert or coffee?” Tina said.

“I’ll have both,” Rachel said.

“Me too,” Rachel said.

In the middle of the night, Rachel woke up to the sound of a sander.

“Not again!” Rachel said and Leslie turned the light on.

“Are you okay?”

“No. You don’t hear that? It sounds like it’s close. It’s a sander from the abandoned house. I guess it’s really loud if I can hear it through the closed window.”

Leslie walked over to the window and looked out.

“I hear it too.”

“Why won’t the cop do anything about it? The guy that lives there shouldn’t be sanding this late at night.”

“You’re right. Why don’t we go to the Police Department tomorrow and let them know?”

“Good idea.”

The next morning the two girls walked into the Police Department that was downtown.

Phil looked up from his desk and said, “Good morning. How may I help you?”

“Good morning. Remember me? I’m Rachel. I was with my friend yesterday. You helped us figure out where that noise was coming from,” Rachel said.

“I remember. Did you hear the noise again last night?” Phil said.

“Yes. We both did. I’m Leslie, Rachel’s sister. Can we do something about it? I mean like make him stop making loud noises in the middle of the night?” Leslie said.

“Did you try closing your window?” Phil said.

“We close our windows at night, but we can still hear the noise. It’s pretty loud,” Rachel said.

“How’s this? I’ll drive the police car and you girls can follow me back to the abandoned house to figure things out,” Phil said.

“Thank you,” Leslie said.

When they arrived at the abandoned house in the woods they saw the person who lived there inside the house and he was hammering something. The three of them walked onto the porch and Phil knocked on the door. Randy, the person who lived at the house looked through the peephole and opened the door.

“Why are you here again? I told you yesterday not to come here and I meant it,” Randy said.

“These girls can hear you working in the middle of the night. Is there a reason you have to be working on your sander that late at night?” Phil said.

“I need to get my work done,” Randy said.

“Work? What work?” Phil said.

“I’m a hunter. Now get out!” Randy said.

“We will only if you can get your work done during the day and not in the middle of the night or else I’ll have to arrest you for disturbance,” Phil said.

“That’s not fair,” Randy said.

“I know it’s not,” Phil said.

“Fine! I’ll make you a deal. If you stop coming here I’ll stop sanding in the middle of the night and do it during the day instead,” Randy said.

“That’s fair,” Phil said.

Randy slammed the door and the others walked into the woods.

“There’s no reason to come here again. If he made that deal I’m sure he’ll stop. Thank you, Phil,” Rachel said.

“No problem. You girls go home and never come back here again,” Phil said.

The three of them walked back to their cars to get back home.

THE END