Justsharingmylowkeycringywriting imsupposedtobedoingclassworkthough-- part 2 anyone??
“I don’t know about this, Lana,” Charlie mumbled, shrinking into the backseat and twirling a brown strand of hair around her finger. Lana turned in the passenger seat to face her timid friend, flashing her a grin. “Come on, Char! This’ll be fun!” She objected cheerfully. “Yeah,” Ethan chimed in from behind the wheel, smirking into the rearview mirror. “Who wouldn’t want to explore an abandoned building with his best buds at one in the morning?” “Um, me.” Cole argued, adjusting his glasses and raising his hand. “For the record, I happen to enjoy sleep.” Lana giggled. “You say that, but you’re the only one who stays up all night playing RPG games and studying.” “That’s different!” This play argument seemed to lift Lana’s friends’ spirits, and they laughed airily. Lana relaxed, turning around to face the front. Sure, her friends weren’t as into exploring potentially haunted places as she was, but they loved Lana for her cheery disposition and contagious optimism, and she knew they’d stick with her. “You’ve arrived at your destination,” the GPS perched on the dashboard informed them. Lana leaned forward, peering out the windshield. Before them stood a tall, rusty gate with withered hedges guarding it. Kudzu leaves snaked over them while scraggly tree branches weaved through the gaps. “Turn on the camera, Ethan! This is gonna be great!” Lana demanded giddily, practically ripping off her seatbelt and jumping out of the car. The dim light from the car spilled out onto cracked pavement and dead leaves that crunched as Lana stepped outside and made her breath visible; a floating grey mist. Ghostly. The night air was chilly, but it didn’t bother her too much; she was wearing her lucky red parka. Charlie was in her large black jacket, Ethan in his varsity windbreaker, and Cole in his beige coat. “We’re rolling in three...two...one…” Ethan said, coming behind her. “Action!” Lana rolled her eyes, giving her dirty blonde hair a final pat before he turned the camera on her. She’d styled it earlier, sweeping her bangs to one side and giving it an inward curl, like a reporter’s. “Okay…” Lana began, speaking to the camera. Charlie and Cole were behind Ethan as he filmed. Charlie was audio this time, and she heaved a tall studio microphone, thus leaving Cole with the job of keeping light around them and recording any paranormal activity. Man, this was gonna be good. “So we’re at Boxborough’s Institution for The Unwell, a mental institution that shut down 50 years ago. Legend has it that no one was able to restore the building because the souls of the unwell would prevent them from doing so...” The gate wasn’t too hard to get past; the branch had bent some of the rusty bars out of place, and the gaps were easy to slip through. Ethan let out a low whistle. “You can tell this place went to hell in a hurry” Lana didn’t have an objection. The bushes that were supposed to add scenery were beyond dead, scraggly little twigs that seemed to claw at the cracked pavement. A huge, grimy fountain stood forlornly in the middle of the yard. It was porcelain, Lana guessed, but it was cracked in half, moss spilling out of it. One side seemed to sink into the ground. “Lana--” Charlie started to cry out. Lana turned to her. “It’s okay, Charlie. It’s just a fountain.” Lana consoled her. “I don’t know Lana,” Cole spoke up, biting his thumbnail, something he did when he was thinking. “This place is giving me weird vibes.” “You’re probably just cold,” She accused absently, walking forward to see the building. “It might be better when we get inside.” Ethan gave a disgruntled laugh. “Lana, you’re cool and all, but your Horror Movie Syndrome drives me crazy.” She only waved the comment away. She was focused on this beautiful mess of a place. The hospital was huge; cathedral-like. Weeds slipped through the cracks in the clay-red bricks and kudzu had left a thick green blanket over the tall doors. Rotted roof shingles clung to the beat-up gutters and were scattered on the ground. There were plenty of lattice-framed windows, but branches pulverized them and broke the glass. A cross was perched at the very top of the roof. “A Christian facility, huh?” Lana breathed, starstruck. Ethan cackled. “If we find the ghost of a nun, I’m leaving.” Cole guffawed. “Guys, I don’t want to be baptised by a ghost priest,” Charlie wailed. Lana slipped her arm around her. “Char,” she said gently. “Nothing’s gonna go wrong. And if it does, we’ll just feed the boys to the ghosts.” “Love you, too, Lana,” Cole griped. They went inside. ...
