Upon the Walls is a Powerful Rage: Part One

      The Uni's name was Ginger. School had just let out a couple minutes ago. Ginger had met up with her two best friends: Jay, a red Grarrl, and Mad, a red Gelert. The trio would always met up after a long day at school so that they could walk home together. It was rare that they actually found something to talk about. Most of the time, the three kicked cans and stared into space as they traveled home. But today, Ginger had news.

      "Okay, shoot," Jay said, beginning to trudge down a long dirt path. The path would eventually bring the pets to their homes.

      Mad and Ginger tagged alongside Jay, trying their best not to let the straps on their extremely heavy backpacks bruise their shoulders. Ginger just couldn't bring herself to tell her friends the news she had. She was much too excited.

      "Well, let's hear it!" Mad exclaimed.

      "Oh, just thinking about it makes me feel so light-headed," Ginger fanned herself. It was scorching hot outside, seeing as how it was spring and nearing summer. "I doubt I'll be able to speak uninterrupted. But, anyway… you guys ready?"

      "Yes!" Mad and Jay said in unison, stopping as Ginger did.

      "Well… I bought my own Neohome!" Ginger suddenly exclaimed, twirling around and yelping in happiness.

      "Oh, that's awesome!" Jay grinned.

      "Yeah! Congrats! Can we see it?" Mad questioned Ginger.

      "It hasn't been finished yet," explained Ginger. "Well, technically it has. It's been there for over 100 years, apparently. The house is just being checked over by some professionals to make sure the roof won't collapse on my head or anything while I'm asleep."

      "Man… Ginger, where'd you get all the Neopoints to afford this?" asked a curious Jay.

      "I've been doing a lot for my current next door neighbors," Ginger began walking again. "That includes petpet-sitting, mowing the lawn, cleaning the house, etcetera, etcetera. Blah blah blah…"

      "I see," Jay nodded.

      "Oh, I can't wait until they're done and I can move out of my sister's home!" Ginger yelled. "I can't stand her!"

      "Neither can I," Mad rolled his eyes.

      Ginger's sister, Gloria, was a purple Grundo. And she was probably the most annoying thing you'll ever meet in your entire life. Gloria always found a way to take everything Ginger and her friends said and twist the words around. Gloria had spread probably millions of rumors about her sister, by now. And she wasn't showing any signs of stopping soon.

      "Soon… oh so soon… I'll be out of her nasty house! Yay!" Ginger giggled.

      Jay and Mad laughed along with her, and the trio trudged down the dirt path and towards their homes.

     ***

      Several weeks had passed since Ginger first paid the 10,000 Neopoints needed for the rather old Neohome. The inspectors she hired to make sure the home she bought was secure had finished checking it out. They told her it was fine.

      That night, Ginger decided to take Mad and Jay over to her new home to show it off. After all, she was moving into it tomorrow afternoon. The three tore down a dirt path leading away from Gloria's house and towards Ginger's house on bicycles, joking and talking all the way down there.

      It wasn't pitch black outside yet, but the moon had risen and the stars were out. The trio zoomed past rotting trees and dead leaves. Barbats screeched and Whoots hooted. It was truly a rather spooky scene. But Ginger and her pals ignored it. They were much too excited about seeing the house.

      But soon, they began to tire of pedaling.

      "Are we there yet?" Mad's head drooped as he pedaled.

      "No," Ginger scoffed.

      "How far?" Jay whined.

      "Shush!" Ginger snapped. "We'll be there, soon. Don't worry, the ride there is worth it. The house is amazing."

      Jay and Mad moaned.

      "We're almost there!" Ginger exclaimed, gleefully. "I'll race ya!"

      And at that, Ginger began pedaling extremely hard. Her bicycle nearly flew down the dirt path, tossing dirt into the air behind her. Jay and Mad continued to pedal rather slowly, groaning as their feet hurt. Soon, the trees began to clear. Ginger and her friends were out of the forest, but continued to travel down a path now surrounded by grassy fields.

      "Dude, how many times do we have to circle Neopia before we reach your house?" whined Mad.

      "Zero," Ginger smiled. "We're here."

      Mad and Jay then stood up on their bicycle pedals to see over Ginger's head. And sure enough, Ginger's house was just up an oncoming hill. The house was two-stories, and made of stucco. The house looked extremely old. The paint on the exterior of the house had all chipped away, leaving an ugly grey colour behind, and there were a few busted windows and broken shutters. Nevertheless, it still was in pretty good shape. Most homes that old are about ready to fall to pieces.

      "Woo hoo! Finally!" Jay exclaimed.

      "Ginger, it'll be pretty tough getting from your house to school, don't you think?" Mad grinned.

      Ginger laughed. "Hey, a lazy Uni like me could use the exercise."

      Ginger and her friends finally reached her new home, and parked their bikes in the front yard.

      "The previous owners sold this old house to me rather cheap," Ginger eyed a broken window. "That's why I bought it. And I guess that's why it's so battered up. Either way, I'm still pretty lucky. Houses this old usually go for much higher prices. I'm talking in the hundred thousands."

      "This place could really use some work," Jay stared at the house, horrified.

      "We should all get together tomorrow after school and paint the outside," Mad shrugged. "It's a start."

      "I'd like that," Ginger smiled. "Thanks guys."

      "Let's check out the inside!" Jay suddenly shouted, hopping onto the front porch and through the front door.

      "Jay, wait!" Ginger cried. But it was too late. Jay was inside.

      Mad scratched the back of his head. "That Grarrl amuses me."

      "C'mon," Ginger said to Mad. "Let's check out the backyard."

      Mad nodded. The two walked around the side of the house and found themselves in the backyard. It was a terrifying view to Ginger and Mad. Huge weeds literally blanketed the very few blades of grass that existed back there. Glass bottles, cardboard boxes, paper, and all sorts of trash could be seen scattered throughout the yard.

      "This place is a mess!" Ginger gaped in awe at the backyard.

      "Oh, and I hate picking weeds!" Mad groaned. "But, hey, I'll help you with this, too."

      "Don't," Ginger said, suddenly. "Unless you want to. I don't want it to seem as if you're my slave or something."

      "Nah, I'll help out," Mad wasn't going to give in.

      Ginger shrugged. "If you really want to, go ahead. And thanks again!"

      "Shall we see what Jay's up to?"

      "Hmm… do we have to?"

      Mad and Ginger snickered. "C'mon."

      The two walked around the side of the house again, and stepped onto the front porch. The front door was shut tight.

      "Er… Jay left the door open when he went inside," Ginger locked her eyes onto the black door.

      "So?" Mad touched the doorknob with his paw and turned it.

      "He left the door open… and now it's closed."

      "Ginger, don't."

      Mad pushed the door open and stepped inside the house. Ginger followed.

      "Oh, don't even get me started on the interior!" Mad cried.

      It was a pretty bad sight, as well. The withered floorboards below their feet were grey and covered in dust. Several cracks were seen in the grey walls. Cobwebs could be seen just about everywhere: in corners, on the chandelier in the living room, on the windows, on the doors, and just about everywhere else.

      "Ugh! Cobwebs!" Ginger gasped and drew back a little. "If I see a Spyder in this house, I will tumble down those stairs and throw myself through a window just to get away from them. You watch, Mad. You watch!"

      "Don't worry, I'll get rid of any Spyders I see," Mad reassured the frightened Ginger.

      "Hmm… where's Jay?" Ginger noticed the Grarrl had not greeted them, yet.

      "Jay?!" Mad called out. "Where are you?!"

      There came no reply.

      "Keep quiet," Mad looked at Ginger. "I'm sure he's hiding in the shadows somewhere, getting ready to jump out and give us a big, fat 'Boo!' We'll hear him breathing or something."

      Ginger did as Mad said. She held her breath and didn't budge an inch, allowing her eyes to dart around the room, looking for any signs of Jay hiding. And then, she began to hear someone crying. It sounded as if it were a little girl.

      "Mad," Ginger said, scanning the room. "Do you hear that?"

      "Hear… what?" Mad eyed Ginger perceptively.

      "Crying," Ginger whispered. "There's someone crying! Someone's in the house!"

      "Ginger, wait!" Mad reached his arm forward, attempting to grab Ginger's shoulder. But she had already started down a short hallway and into the kitchen.

      "Hello?! Who's back there?!" Ginger cried.

      As soon as Ginger put her right hoof down on the ripped-up linoleum of the kitchen floor, the crying suddenly came to an abrupt stop and the pantry door right next to her swung open. Out hopped a shadowed figure. It roared loudly and extended its arms towards Ginger, revealing sharp claws.

      Ginger screamed, wide-eyed, and stumbled back. She bumped into the door leading to the basement, ripping the door off its hinges. The door fell back onto a flight of stairs leading down, and Ginger fell onto the door. The basement door slid down the grimy, cement steps leading into the basement, with Ginger lying on top.

      Down the stairs and onto the cold, basement floor, Ginger and the door landed. Mad rushed down the stairs and into the basement.

      "Ginger, are you okay?!" Mad bent down beside Ginger.

      Ginger suddenly sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "The thing in the pantry! What was that?!"

      "That was Jay."

      Ginger stared at Mad, confused. She looked up the stairs to find Jay, waving happily at her. "Sorry," he said, simply.

      "Jay, how did you do that?" Ginger tilted her head.

      "I… pushed the pantry door open with my… hand," Jay raised an eyebrow at Ginger. "And then I jumped out and screamed in your face."

      "Not that!" Ginger snapped. "The crying noises! How did you make those noises?! It sounded just as if a little girl were crying, and your voice is too deep to make a noise like that."

      "What are you talking about?" Jay was just as confused as Ginger. "I wasn't making any crying noises."

      "Stop fooling around!" Ginger yelled.

      "Ginger, I didn't hear any crying, either." Mad stood up.

      "But… how can that be? I know I heard someone crying! There was no way you two couldn't have heard it!" Ginger hopped up, brushing dust and debris off of herself.

      "Okay, now you're scaring me," Jay stepped out of the doorway and into the living room.

      Ginger scoffed. Mad watched her, concerned.

      "I guess it must be the pressure of moving into the huge, creepy house that's making you hear things, eh?" He crossed his arms.

      Ginger turned her head and glared at Mad. "Don't start."

      She took one step forward and stepped on something hard. The object caused her to stumble backwards and land on the door, again.

      "That is it!" Ginger stood up, infuriated. "What in the WORLD could I have tripped-oh my gosh!"

      "What?" Mad said.

      Ginger bent down and picked up the object she had slipped on.

      "Is that a…?" Mad began.

      "Yes!" Ginger exclaimed. "It's a grey paintbrush!"

      What Ginger held in her hooves was indeed a grey paintbrush. The wood making up the handle of the paintbrush was chipped and rotting. The bristles were hard, but there was still a fresh glob of grey paint on the end of the paintbrush.

      "Wow! What are the odds of us finding this here?" Ginger couldn't take her eyes off the very rare paintbrush.

      "Is it real?" Mad examined it. "Ya sure it's not a plushie?"

      "I'm sure! Look! There's wet paint on it!"

      "Amazing!"

      "Yea, isn't it?"

      "Say, why don't we use that brush to paint the outside of your house?"

      "Mad, are you insane?! This paintbrush could be worth… millions!"

      "Ginger… it's in terrible shape."

      "So? For all we know it could still work! And therefore be worth something!"

      "Regular paintbrushes are harder to find than magical paintbrushes."

      "Yet magical paintbrushes are pricier!"

      "C'mon Ginger, this'll be much easier."

      "Yea… but…"

      "Then it's settled! Do me a favour and go wash the paint off of this thing. I'm gonna go confront Jay."

      Ginger grinned, and nodded. She held the paintbrush carefully and started up the stairs, wincing at the sound of the stairs creaking. Ginger had read several horror novels where the stairs creak. And ever since, she's had a phobia for creaky stairs.

      Finally, she reached the top of the stairs. Mad followed. Ginger stopped in the hallway separating the kitchen and the living room.

      "Hmm… I wish I knew where the bathroom was," she eyed her surroundings.

      "You mean this is your house and you don't know where the bathroom is?" Mad arched an eyebrow.

      "Shut up," Ginger sort of snickered to herself.

      "It's upstairs," Jay suddenly butt into the conversation.

      "How would you know?" Ginger questioned him.

      "I was hiding in there at first," Jay winked.

      Ginger scoffed, and eyed the rather long flight of stairs leading to the second story. Ginger placed her left hoof on the stair railing, and started up them. They creaked loudly, just as the basement stairs had done. She stopped on the second stair and stared at the second floor.

      "Scared?" Jay laughed.

      "Shush," Mad whispered.

      "No, I'm not scared… just-" Ginger began. She was cut off by a large shadow that had just cast itself upon the wall at the top of the stairs.

To be continued…