Mount Horrour by Ivy Catherine (phonics readers .txt) 📕

a couple of minutes, he got up and started to get dressed. He wore a T-shirt and then a jacket because it was really cold outside (He understood this by staying at the balcony for a long time), wore his loose jeans so it was easy to walk around, and took his backpack which was full of things they were supposed to bring. After triple checking if he had got everything or not, he slowly tiptoed outside the house and looked around. It was a lot less spooky when you saw things closer, but Thomas was still shaking, fear surrounding him. First, he went to round up Jean. Jean slept a lot, so it would be harder to wake him. So Thomas went to Jean first and cleared his throat. Then he said clearly, his voice shaking a bit, ``Meow’’. Jean was supposed to reply back, but after waiting for some seconds, when Thomas was sure he did not wake yet, he called again, a bit more loudly this time, ``Meow!’’. But still, after waiting for a long time, Jean did not reply. This time Thomas called out very loudly, still trying to make it sound real, ``MEOW!’’. When Thomas was sure Jean wasn’t awake yet, someone else called out faintly, like he was trying to stifle a yawn, ``Me-Meow’’.

Thomas punched the air and knocked the window softly, to make sure Jean did not fall asleep again. After two minutes, Jean came out, apparently in his pajamas and no bag.

``Jean, you’re not ready yet’’, Thomas said sternly.

``Wha-? Oya’’, Jean replied, as he went back to his house, not caring to make less sound.

Thomas waited for 5 minutes before Jean came, this time fully dressed with his bag behind him. Jean’s drowsiness vanished and Thomas saw something in his face he never saw before – excitement.

``Thoms- I have 3 Tornado Torches. You keep your one with you, OK? I will give Emma her one when we meet her’’, Jean said.

``OK’’, Thomas said, taking the Torch Jean was handing him.

They walked together past the fields towards the other edge of the village. This part was cleaner and organized. The houses were also more nice-looking and some were two or three-storey. They stopped at a two storey house, and in the name plate there was written: The Hemming House. Thomas did not even need to give the signal because Emma was already at the window, her face pressed against the glass. When she saw the boys, she came out of the house in a flash.

``What took you? I am waiting here from 9:30 P.M. I was reading a book but there was no light and I sometimes dozed off-oh, thanks’’, she added, as she took the Tornado Torch Jean was giving her. ``Anyways, what took you?’’

``I started at 9:50 P.M., and then went to Jean’s because waking him up is very hard, and he wouldn’t get up, and after 3 calls he woke. He came out in his pajamas without his bag and then he went in again and came out- in all, it was a disaster. Come on- we haven’t got all day’’ Thomas said.

``You mean all night’’, Emma corrected him as she started walking beside him.

``Yeah- whatever’’, Thomas replied.

``Did you see the moon? It’s gorgeous’’, Emma said, gazing up at the moon.

``Yeah-it is marvelous. It was so beautiful when I was in the balcony. There was this chilly breeze and the moonlight was bathing everything- simply wondrous’’, Thomas added.

``Yeah- Nice night.’ Jean said.

``Do you know what happened today when I dozed off while I was in the bed?’’, Thomas said.

``What? Did you have a- nightmare?’’, Jean asked.

``Yeah’’, Thomas said, amazed.

Then Thomas explained his whole nightmare. He told it in a way that he wasn’t scared at all and intentionally left out the part where he woke up screaming and sweating. It all sounded like a brave adventure where he could’ve died but he survived. Emma gasped and put her hand around her mouth. Jean only said, `Wow Thomas, you can predict the future!’

Emma said, `Of course he can’t. I think it was just a vision because he knew he was going there. Dreams represent our fears or desires so it is normal to have a dream like that because it represen-‘

`OK-OK. I understand’, Jean said, stopping her.

`We’re here!’ Thomas said, with an unnoticed fear in his voice.

Sure enough, there were at the mouth of the cave, and, for fear, no one seemed to care about the same type of scratch sign on the cave rock. Jean fearfully pointed to the cave. Everyone started at the mark and stayed quiet, as if talking will bring spirits.

Then, after the fear has settled, Thomas said, `ready?’

Everyone nodded. They haven’t thought about the cave rock so no one knew how to move it. Thankfully, Emma brought a shovel, because she remembered, and with a lot of effort, a lot of hurts, and a lot of `Ouch! And `Argh’, they finally managed to move the rock. Everyone stared at the empty black hole for a whole and Thomas ushered them to the inside of the cave. Everyone nodded, and with a deep breath, why they took it they never knew, they entered.

Chapter 6: The Haunted Cave

Chapter Six: The Haunted Cave

 

Everyone gazed at the pitch darkness for a while, as suddenly they understood that there is a beauty in this darkness and silence. It was as if the silence was a music, and it was echoing through the cave. As they stared at the darkness, and as things came slowly into focus, the beauty of the darkness and the shining stones and rocks where shimmering around the cave.

It was a while before Thomas and Emma realized that Jean was tugging them with his Tornado Torch, and when they did, they took out their own ones and lit them. Instantly, the cave glowed white and the sudden effect hurt Thomas’s eyes badly. He closed his eyes for a while and slowly opened them. The cave was still pretty dark, the torches just made the outlines of the cave clearer.

They slowly walked further along the cave, shivering- not for cold, but fear. Thomas noticed, a very spooky rhythmic echo was bouncing of the cave walls. It was like someone was crying silently down the cave. It made the hair on the back of his head stand.

They moved and moved and moved and it seemed to go on for hours. The crying had become very shrilly and loud now, though it still distant. Everyone seemed to have noticed this. The path was getting steep and no one except Emma knew how to avoid stones and steep holes in the cave, clearly because Emma grew up hiking mountains.

``Ouch, that was my foot!’’, Emma whispered. She seemed to fear that talking loudly would cause something bad to happen.

``Sorry’’, Jean whispered too, he was thinking along the same lines. ``What’d you think that voice means?’’

``Maybe someone got lost here and she’s crying?’’, Thomas suggested uncertainly.

Emma raised her eyebrows. ``She?’’

``Well, it is not like a boy would cry like that’’, Thomas said matter-of-factly. ``It’s certain to be a teenage girl or something.’’

``Tell me, Esmeralda had two children, right?’’ Emma asked.

Thomas nodded.

``Then- what was their age?’’

``About 116 years.’’

`WHAT?! I mean seriously- what is it?’’

``They are now 116.’’, Thomas said clearly.

``No- I mean, what were their ages when Milado died?’’

``They were twin sisters, and they were about 15’’, Thomas said.

``Hmm… And like- what happened to them?’’

Thomas raised his eyebrows.

`` I mean, like after Milado died and they went back to their own- places, what did they do? And when did they die?’’, Emma said impatiently.

``Well, no one knew what happened to them. I mean, everyone cared about the Milado, but did not bother to know what happened to Esmeralda and Miranda and Belinda. But I wanted to know so Mrs. Crème gave me a book called ``Everything You Need Know on Mount Horrour: A Guide to All Horrors of the Mountain’’. It tells all about the unknown facts no one bothered to know-‘’

``Ahem, Ahem’’, Emma said. ``Please go on with the facts of the mountain, not the book.’’

``What? Oh-Yeah’’, Thomas said, thinking hard. ``Let me think- Esmeralda died a year later with shock, and something weird happened to Miranda and Belinda. They got lost. Their bodies were never found.’’

``It’s a bit weird, isn’t it? This happens to their family- because only Milado died’’, Emma said. ``Tell me, where was Esmeralda buried?’’

``Well, no one knows that either’’, Thomas said. ``Esmeralda was found dead in her bedroom, and so the locals buried her in the forest.’’

``Forest?’’ Emma asked, frowning.

``Yeah- it is a bit weird’’, Thomas said, also frowning.

``I went to there, you know’’, Jean said quietly.

``YOU DID?!’’, Emma shouted. Her voice echoed around the cave but it was not enough to cover the crying in the cave which was growing very loud and was piercing through their ears.

``Well, yeah’’, Jean said, amazed at Emma’s reaction.

``What did you see?”

``They built a shrine for her. It was decorated with flowers and leaves and stuff’’, Jean said.

``Did you know why they buried her in the forest and not in the graveyard?’’ Emma asked, snapping.

``Well, they said that after what happened to her husband, they thought his evil soul was lurking around his wife so they buried her in the forest so the locals were safe from any- uh- abnormality’’, Jean said.

``Abnormality?’’, Emma asked, frowning again.

``Well- they were right, weren’t they? Esmeralda’s daughters got lost just like their father’’, Thomas suggested.

Just as Thomas said this, the entire cave went dark.

Chapter 7: Cold Hands and Hoarse Breaths

Chapter Seven: Cold Hands and Hoarse Breaths

 

It was like the cave was angry at them. Their Tornado Torches weren’t lighting, and the cave’s wailing grew extremely loud. There was a strong smell of rotten meat. Thomas was transfixed at the spot. He couldn’t move, and he was numb with fear and cold.

All of a sudden, yet again, it was as if someone dropped a bucket of ice on them. Thomas was sweating like mad, so he couldn’t feel the chilly water on himself. It was terrifying. Everything was dark, Thomas couldn’t see anything. The next experience was one of the worst in his life.

There were hands touching him. Very cold and wrinkled hands which made the hair of his neck stand. Thomas couldn’t feel it, all he knew was being touched by a dozen of these hands which were horrifying. The wailing grew so loud it was piercing through his ears. There were