𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 21
3𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐯

        — THE SILENCE OF THE HOUSE WAS STARTLING when Sam woke. He wasn't used to waking in a house without life, and yet here he was, alone in a creepy kitchen waiting for Colby or Jasper to wake so they could get breakfast. He gripped his phone and shuffled as he felt eyes on him, he looked up, his eyes scanning the room but nothing was there.

A figment of his imagination or something more, he wondered as he slipped his phone into his pocket. Tired of sitting still like prey for the paranormal, he decided to explore the house that had him and the others so on edge.

He'd explored many haunted and abandoned places and yet somehow this house stood out, its history had many holes in it — mysteries. Maybe that's what made this place so interesting.

His fingers ran across the bookshelf, it was cluttered with various knickknacks that didn't seem very scary. Some paranormal places, the owners would go about making the entire place an attraction with scary things all around to enhance the paranormal experience. This place was not like that, it was, for all appearances, a regular house but had shadows and secrets well beyond the normal home.

He picked up a picture frame from the bookshelf curiously, the owner had left several old pictures of the house for them and other visitors to see however this one stood out for some reason, and it only took him a second to realize why.

Despite the old-timey appearances of the picture, he knew the person stood on the porch of the house. He flipped the picture frame, and quickly went about getting the photo itself out to examine it closer.

On the back, a neat scrawl wrote "BRIAR HOUSE" with the supposed year of the photo, below that was the names he presumed were of the two people in the photo, JULIAN AND LEORA JETT.

Jett. The last name repeated in his head, over and over as he tried to place where he knew it.

Jasper Jett.

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         COLBY did not wake peacefully. He woke to the sound of his best friend calling his name with panic in his voice as he pounded at his bedroom door.

He groaned and pulled himself out of the bed, dragging his feet over to the door, he swung it open with a frown, "What's going on?" He asked confused and tired but concerned.

Had he seen something? Heard something? Had something happened while he slept peacefully in bed? He shook his head at the thought, Sam was here and okay and Jasper... well...

Anyway, whatever Colby expected to hear from his best friend, this was not that. "I think Jasper's a time traveler."

Behind him, he heard a snort and resisted the urge to wrap the blonde in his arms as Jasper came up beside him with tired eyes, "I wish."

Sam looked between the pair with wide eyes before rapidly shaking his head. He did not want to know. "Okay so maybe not but how else was I meant to—" he let out a groan as the pair looked on the verge of laughter, "Just— come with me, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah alright." Colby agreed first with furrowed brows while Jasper stared cluelessly, slow from sleep, and then nodded, following after.

Sam didn't ask why they were asleep in the same room together, a room with only one bed, too preoccupied with thoughts and images of Jasper — Julian Jett in front of the Briar house. Jasper was grateful and so was Colby, neither sure how to answer those questions yet.

They made it downstairs and Sam beelined for the living room, grabbing the picture, set beside the now empty picture frame, from the bookshelf. He shoved it into Colby's hands, and his friend frowned, looking at it like a puzzle piece, trying to fit something together. His eyes scanned the photo and found Jasper's face almost immediately beside a woman he didn't recognize. Jasper's sister maybe, he thought. But then he flipped it over, the date was all wrong. Jasper hadn't even been alive then.

"What is it?" Jasper asked confused, wordlessly, Colby handed him the photo and the blonde studied it in similar fashion to how Colby had.

"Do you know who that is?" Colby asked gently, Jasper only stared at the photo. He recognized the person staring back at him, not from his own memories but from pictures, stories and—

And the spirit who had been watching him his entire life, coming back now with a strange look in his eyes, more haunted and... scared than ever.

"It's Julian." He spoke finally when he realized he'd gone silent too long, that they were still waiting, he forced his gaze from the photo and met Sam's, "Julian Jett. He's my great uncle, my gram's brother."

Sam nodded, that made sense, but his brows were still furrowed. He was missing something. "Why was he here, at the Briar house?"

"My grams and him, they grew up here their whole lives. They made a game of exploring the creepy, haunted places like this." Jasper responded easily and then looked to Colby as he hesitated. Taking a deep breath, he choked out, "One day, he came into this house and never came out. No body was found. He'd just... disappeared." He shook his head, "I never met him, but I guess we look a lot alike." He smiled weakly, and chuckled humorously.

"Why- why didn't you tell us?" Colby asked, why didn't you tell me, his eyes said and truthfully... Jasper didn't know.

He shook his head and went to force a response when his hairs stood on edge and he felt eyes, staring at him, staring. He turned without a thought and saw a shadow slipping around the corner of the hallway.

Sam and Colby were staring at him now, he knew that but he couldn't tear his eyes away, finally he did and shook his head, "I- I don't know. I mean he was young he probably just ran away, you know, so what's it matter." He shrugged.

Sam stared for a moment, as if debating something, eventually he spoke, "When I was doing research, there was... well, your uncle wasn't the only one, a lot of people disappeared in this house. No bodies were ever found, but nothing came up on your great uncle."

"Murdered." Jasper heard, a whisper in the dark and his gaze snapped to Colby, but his mouth was pressed firmly closed and behind him— behind him was a shadow lurking in the dark, the eyes glowing in the dark, he could just make out a sick and twisted smirk that made him want to puke.

"Hey," someone called out and he hesitated, unsure if it was something real or a spirit lurking, "Baby blue." The voice called again and he knew in his bones who it was, pulling him away from the darkness like always. Jasper's gaze flew to Colby on instinct and if Sam noticed how natural the pet name came he didn't say a word. Colby's brows were furrowed in concern and he stepped forward, barely resisting the urge to reach out and pull Jasper in, "Are you okay?"

Jasper knew the response needed. A simple yes would do, even if Colby didn't believe it because the truth was too hard to explain. He shook his head after a moment, "I'll be fine."

Now Colby did pull him, grabbing their hands and intertwining them without care for his best friend standing beside them, watching. Jasper's shoulders slumped as the contact kept him grounded to the land of the living. The darkness creeping around the corner was still there but it wasn't towering over him anymore. He could breathe. He wasn't prey to the paranormal, not blown over by the wind, he was standing strong, empowered by the strength of Colby.

"What did you see?" Sam asked gently after a few moments had passed.

Jasper shook his head and felt almost numb as he responded, "Heard." He corrected, "I heard someone say murdered."

He saw the moment they processed this, their eyes widening and their bodies tensing because ghosts were their life but murder... that was something else. Something so much more.

Colby was the first to try to broach the subject with a response, his mouth opening and his brows furrowed in a mixture of curiosity and concern, however before the words could escape his throat they were surrounded by sudden darkness, the lights giving no warning before they went out.

Colby pulled Jasper in fully without a thought, wrapping his arms around his waist and holding him still and safe before reaching out for his best friend too, "Sam!" He called out worriedly when his hand fell short. The room so dark they couldn't see a thing. Hadn't the curtains been opened? Why was there no light flowing in at all? It's like the house sucked it all out.

There was no response and Jasper's heart sped up, grasping onto Colby, his hairs on edge as he searched the darkness for signs of life and came up short. He heard Colby call out again but was entirely focused on the darkness, suddenly feeling like he was merely prey. Anything could get them like this, in the darkness, because the spirits no longer lurked in the shadows, they danced around the room, at home in the darkness.

"I'm here!" Sam finally called out and Jasper felt the sigh of relief from Colby's chest, but he did not relax, the darkness still blanketed them in terror.

A small light came as Sam pointed his phone's flashlight at them, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes wide, "What the fuck happened?"

✧˖*°࿐
𝟏,𝟔𝟑𝟒 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬