“This is just like I imagined,” Rose says. 

“I know,” Mr. Howard says a little suspiciously, “ It has all you have ever wanted. A big 20-person theater, a hot tub, a huge queen-sized bed, even your own cook. Waiting for you to order whatever you want. Wouldn’t you want to stay here forever?”

“Yes,” she says. There were 2 staircases on both sides going up to the second floor from the lobby.

The driver outside parked the red car in the garage and went inside the house. Ms. Rose went to adventure the house. It was like she was adventuring in abandoned ruins that hadn’t been touched in 100 years. She walks past a random door with a big lock on it. She doesn’t think much of it and goes to her bedroom to unpack her stuff. Her room smelled like it had not been cleaned in forever!  It was already dinner time so she went downstairs. Rose orders her dinner for the cook to make and she has dessert.

 “Thanks for the meal,” Rose says. 

After dinner, she decided to take a drive with one of the cars in the garage of the mansion. She drives to the Eiffel Tower because where the mansion is,  it is a few miles away. After all, she is from the U.S. and she has never been to Paris. 

“Wow,” she said, “The Eiffel Tower’s lights are like the fireworks on the 4th of July.”

 She drives around a little bit more and starts driving home. But then, as she starts driving home, she spots a red shiny car with the license plate “DRDW0D EST” which is the same one she saw on the car that drove her to the mansion. It was on the other side of the road, but since it was night time she couldn’t see who was in it. 

She thinks to herself, “Why would the car that was parked at the mansion be driving the other way? And where could it have been going?” 

Rose decides to investigate because she already knew something was up from the beginning when Mr. Howard told her about the missing painting. She makes a U-Turn and starts following them with engough space so they would not get suspicious. A few minutes later the car stopped near the Louvre and Rose wondered why. She waits around a little bit and 3 people came out of the car and started running sneakily to the Louvre they had masks on so you couldn’t see their face. The Louvre is closed already so why would they be going to the Louvre so late at night?

She decides to drive back to the mansion because whoever is in that car, they got it from the mansion. When Rose gets to the mansion, she waits for the car to come back and about an hour later, near midnight, she hears a car drive in to the garage. She hears footsteps and a door opening downstairs. But then the weird thing is the steps sounded like they were going down, into a basement. She thinks about it for a little bit and thinks that it could be the door she went past that morning, when she got to the mansion for the first time! Rose used to work for the FBI, so she knows a thing or two about being a spy. She goes downstairs sneakily and sees it’s Mr. Howard, the Driver, and the Cook who was holding the Mona Lisa!! She thinks it’s impossible to steal it, but maybe they had an insider at the Louvre.

They unlocked the door and the driver said, “a special one to add to the collection.” 

The three of them had been stealing treasures from different museums and hiding it behind that door! She called the police and they rushed over right away and were sent to jail. Rose got such a big reward that she could buy 2 huge mansions if she wanted to!

“Oh no,” Rose said. 

There's a lady “welcome to my house” she said. “ My name is Rosey ''.

“Uh ok” Rose said. That's a creepy rose though.” Hi i'm rose I am staying here for a bit and I am going to try and help find something in a town around here because i am a professional agent who finds clues or finds where different things are but i heard that there is some missing objects here so i can probably help find them too so i came over here”Rose said

Rosey said” ok let me show you around”.

So we walked into the kitchen and there is a giant table with many seats and a great looking kitchen but some things are off and there are weird doors in places that don’t seem right. Then she starts to show rose upstairs and the ceiling is so high and there are a lot of different rooms. She walks through the hallway and shows Rose to her room. The room has a giant room with a small kitchen and a big room with a big bed and a tv. But something feels different and Rose wants to ask about it but doesn't know what Rosey will say.”Why are there multiple doors in random places and where do those doors go ?" Rose said.

“Oh those lead to the basement but there's nothing down there so there's no point in looking”.Rosey said with a fake smile on her face.” ok but then why do you have so many  different doors leading to it”? Rose said.

“Oh I don't know, I didn't think too much about it,”Rosey said.

Hmm rose thought. “It's getting late, I'm going to head to bed”. Rose said.

“Ok,” Rosey said. 

Rose then thought tomorrow when Rosey isnt looking im going to try to sneak into the basement.

The next morning when Rose woke up Rose went to the kitchen and there were so many different plates of food out so Rose got some stuff to eat for breakfast. After breakfast Rose went back to her room and changed into her clothes quickly. And there was a door in her room that was different so  she went to open it up before Rose could. Rosey walked in the room and said” good morning where are  you going”.

“ I don't know, just looking around and not doing much”. Rose said 

“ok”Rosey said." I'm going to go upstairs for a long time,”Rosey said.

“Ok,” Rose said. This is my time Rose thought 

When Rose saw Rosey walk upstairs she went to find the right door to the basement and she found it then she walked down and there were a ton of different safes and she’s so confused what's in these so then she tries to open one and can’t think of any password but then she thinks what about the address and tries it and it opens but there's nothing in it and then she heard Rosey walk downstairs and she grabbed a safe and ran underneath the stairs and she walked back up. Then Rose opened it and there was nothing and Rose dropped the safe. Then Rosey came back down and Rose was so scared that she ran into a dirty closet then she opened another one and in it is the missing painting. So she secretly walked up a different random staircase  and then Mr Howard was in front of the stairs and she shows him the painting and he's like oh my god let's get out of here. so they tried to go to the front door and then they see Rosey running behind them and they ran outside through the gate and down the street and then Rose recognized  the building she was supposed to be at for a meeting so they hid and then there was a  taxi so they  went home and then Rose went to her job and returned the painting.

“ What's wrong, miss?” Mr. Howard askes

“ Nothing this is the most beautiful door I have ever seen,” 

“ I’m glad you like it,” said Mr. Howard

And before Rose can get a hand on the door the doors open and the gates slam shut. As Rose walks in Mr. Howard turns on the light and all Rose sees is a bunch of paintings but there is one hook with no painting.

“ Where is that painting,?” Rose askes

“ Ummm I don’t know,” Mr. Howard said suspiciously 

As Rose is looking around Mr. Howard quickly goes and shuts the door. 

“ Now tell me more about the rumors going around?” Said Rose

“ Umm well I don’t really know them all I have heard one and it is that someone came into the house took the painting and left,”

“ What's so scary about that?” Rose asked 

“ Well no one has seen him since!”

As they are walking through the dreary hallways Mr. Howard stops and looks around. Rose notices his name tag says Howard that's weird Rose thinks Howard Howard?

“ Your name is Howard Howard?”

“ Indeed it is.” Said Mr. Howard

That is really weird, thinks Rose. As they were walking some more they walked into this other hallway and there was nothing on the walls but there was this one shelf and there was a statue and it was going to fall off so Rose picked it up and the wall next to her, opened!

“ NOOOOOO don’t do that.” Said Mr. Howard

To late because by the time Mr. Howard said that a secret door was opened and something was in there, something special that no one had seen for many years.

“ OH-NO, you took the painting!” Said Rose

“ No it’s not what it looks like.” Said Mr. Howard 

As Rose goes to the kitchen and quickly grabs the telephone she is calling someone but not the police someone different. After a couple minutes he arrives. 

“ Who is this? How is he going to help you have nothing against me? You can’t prove anything.” Said Mr. Howard.

“ Really, this is actually my friend John, the head of the FBI. You might have seen him before he was my driver.” Said Rose confidently 

“ Mr. Howard, you are under arrest. I am going to return this painting back where it belongs but before I do that I am going to take it to the lab so I can run a test to see if anyone else was involved in this.” Said John 

Knowing everything is okay Rose is going to move in after all of her searching for the perfect house she found one and invites all of her family and friends and tells them all about the crazy story. Now that everything is okay Rose goes back to her job as a painter and is cool as a cucumber. As if nothing ever happened.

“Shall we explore?” Mr. Howard said.

“Sure,” Rose said shakily. As they walked farther into the house it got colder and colder. Rose put on her extra coat and Mr. Howard said, “Are you cold? I can light the fire place for you.” 

“No, its okay,” Rose said “I read the reviews about this place and figured I would bring an extra coat.” 

“Let me light it” Mr. Howard said. Rose shrugged and followed him over to the fireplace. Mr. Howard grabbed the lighter and sighed, “So, what made you choose this place?” he coughed and waited for Rose to answer. “I don’t know, I just,” she paused and then said “I have always been curious about this place.” 

“Also, I must find that missing painting, It could really help me with my investigation.” Mr. Howared nodded and kept trying to get the fire lit. They sat in silence for a couple minutes while Mr. Howard struggled to get the fire going. He finally got it lit and they walked upstairs. The floorboards creaked with every step they took. When they got upstairs they went into the first room, it was a small room with one bed and a nightstand, the sheets looked old, like they had not been touched in a while.

“What do you think?” Mr. Howard says suddenly. 

“It’s great! A bit small though don’t you think?” Rose replied

“Yes well, this is the smallest bedroom in the house so..” Mr. Howard said.

“Right,” Rose said and they continued walking to the next room. As they walked in Rose noticed something was off about Mr. Howard, he was walking weird and would not talk to Rose at all unless Rose asked him a question. Rose decided to ignore it and figured he probably had a lot going on in his mind. “Ringgg!!” all the sudden Mr. Howard’s phone rang. 

“I better go take this.” Mr. Howard said in a serious tone. He walked off very quickly and went to the room next door. “She doesn’t suspect anything,” Mr. Howard said, “I will do it, just give me 5 more minutes.”  He walked back into the room and said “Sorry, that was my wife, she just needed something.” Rose was terrified

“Okay, do you need to go help her?” she said in a shaky voice. 

“No, she will be fine.” Mr. Howard said, all serious again. “I have to go check on the fire” He said and left without saying another word. Rose was thinking of an escape plan. The room was dark and grey, there was nothing but a small window for light, the room was cold, it seemed as though there was no heating system throughout the whole house.  Rose wondered how anyone could survive in a house this cold. Then, she saw it, the missing painting! It was wedged between the chair and the wall. All the sudden it started to get warm, like a summer day, then it started to get hot like an oven. Rose had no idea what was going on but she knew it couldn’t be good, she  grabbed the painting, shoved the bed towards the wall and stood up on it but she was not tall enough to reach the window! She noticed a hook on the window sill and got an idea, she threw her extra coat up trying to get it to loop around into the hook but she had no luck. She heard Mr. Howard coming up the stairs and tried one more time, and she made it! She climbed up her hanging coat like a rope and got to the window, she barely fit through the window but she pushed and pushed herself through and made it outside safely. When she was on the ground she looked up at the house and saw that the whole thing was in flames! Mr. Howard was stuck in the window of the other bedroom screaming in pain from the burning hot flames. Rose went back to the police station and showed them the painting. They solved the crime and lived happily ever after.

As soon as Rose walked in they were faced with a problem.

“Dang door won’t budge,” said Howard “Let's find another entrance” 

They walked behind the house and tried the back door.

“Dang doors are too old, they're molded shut,”.

They walked back to the driver and Rose asked “You got any good ideas?”.

The driver replied, “What if we put a rock on the gas pedal and aim the car at the door so it will break down the door?”.

“It’s worth a shot. Howard, please go fetch us a big rock that we can put on the gas pedal so the car will ram down the door.”.

“I'll count down from 3. When I say 1 place the rock” said Rose

¨3,2,1 Drop!¨.

The car smashed down the door and then flipped over.

That was when we found it. A marvelous painting sitting on the ground. Destroyed.

As we went to take a look at the painting we realized that there must be people living here.

There was a kitchen stocked with food and lots of bread and cheeses sat on a basket near a big dining room table.

¨Do you think it safe to eat?¨ asked Rose.

  ¨ It's worth a shot.¨ said Howard.

They sat down and as soon as Rose touched the bread she passed out. 

¨ROSE! Are you okay?¨ asked Howard

Rose had died.

Howard snatched the destroyed painting and brought it to a police station.

¨Officers please help! Somebody has died!¨

¨Okay, bring me to them¨

They drove to the house but as soon as they walked inside the broken door took its form and trapped them inside.

The house started caving in on them.

“Help” yelled Howard as she banged on the window.

The roof caved in on them. They disappeared forever.

The Dreadwwod Estate has been using valuables such as paintings to lure people inside for thousands of years. The house just had 3 more victims.

THE END

“Hay are you ok?” The driver asks  Out of breath Rose says “um ya im uh ok” Just then Rose realizes that she dropped the wallet. In a hurry she scrambles to pick it up, as soon as she grasps it she feels a hand grab her wrist. As she looked up the man said “hey i think you have my wallet” the man says. As Rose's eyes widen she gets up and runs faster than ever. AS she runs she is dragged into an alleyway with  4 men and 3 women. The alleyway is dark with brick buildings on both sides. Rose cries in fear as she looks up to see one of the men with the same marking on as her A-G. She is then grabbed by the arms and pushed against the wall by the girls. She starts screaming as she realizes what is going to happen. Someone with a face full of anger puts duct tape over her mouth. The only thing that could be heard is roses muffled screams. As the man picks up the knife, Rose takes a deep breath and slowly closes her eyes and accepts her fate. She was then left there to rot.

The people just came into the house. They are searching the basement. The secret bunker is behind a hidden bookshelf. They found the bookshelf. They tried to get a book but it was just the door knob. The door opened. They found him. The police arrived at the house and took both of them to this Castle. They had gone through this secret door to get to the place. In the room were Rose's parents. Rose was very confused. Rose said to her parents why are you here? Then Rose found out that it wasn’t actually her parents. Rose immediately sprinted out of the Castle. She found this abandoned mansion that she could hide in. She went to the basement. Rose was shocked. She found her real parents duct taped to a chair. She immediately took the duct tape off of them. She asked why they were here and they said that they got kidnapped and they got taken there. Rose's parents told her to go all the way to China so she can’t get killed. Rose has family in china. This will be the first ever time she will meet them. Rose just got off the plane and her family is right there to meet them! They said she is safe with them. When they got to the house she went straight to her room. She opened the closet and the 1 million dollars was right there as if it was waiting for her. She screamed and sprinted down the stairs. But when her family got to the closet it was gone. Her family told her that her mind is playing tricks on her but she knows that that’s not true. When they went to dinner everything changed. The person that tried to kill her was there as if he was looking for her. She told her family we have to leave. So they went home and Rose was really tired so she went to sleep. When she woke up she was in the back of a van. It was him. He is about to kill her. She was duct taped to the seat and her mouth was duct taped. And it was not only her in the van. Rose's parents were dead INSIDE of the van. Rose started screaming and crying. She got taken to this abandoned hotel. There were over 200 dead people lying on the ground. Rose got put on a seat and got killed. 

There was an eerie squeak sound; the gate was opened. As the leaves start to fall down from the trees and the grass turned to a dark jet black. The house was not what it seemed from the outside but Rose did not know that. 

“This will be easy” Rose said,

Quickly the house turned dark dark gray, the roof was dripping with blood, spikes pierced through dead bodies were spread across the ground. Suddenly spikes launched up and pinned Rose up on the wall. She calmly popped open a tube of acid and poured it on her dress as it turned into flames revealing a much tighter dress with spikes coming off the shoulders. There was a sharp thick red belt around the waist with knives, daggers, and  cans of poisonous gas inside. Rose slithered out of the trap. She pulled out a dagger, turns around and faces Mr. Howard who stood behind the gate,

“I know you did it, Reginald Howard!” She whispered “You killed my brother!”

“That is not so I may have HURT a few people but that does not mean I killed them” he said.

“YOU KILLED THEM JUST LIKE YOU KILLED ELEANOR! OH HOWARD THAT PAINTING OF HER WAS EVIDENCE SHE EXISTED! If the picture was found you would be in JAIL! The quote on quote RUMORS of people going missing is you killing them. So I am sorry for this but it needs to be done.”

Rose said then she threw the dagger as it killed Mr. Howard. Knowing she had finished the investigation she still felt like she was missing something. So with a step of courage she walked over Mr. Howards dead body and into the house. As she walked through the door Rose immediately started searching. The drawers were a rusted white and the floors creaked as Rose took each step. She felt a strange lurking in the back right corner but something else caught her eye. The painting was right above the staircase, 

“This feels too easy.” she said with a scared but disappointed tone. 

Then she saw it; the trip wire.

“Oh so you want to play this game!” she yelled as she lit the trip wire on fire.

“THEN PLAY IT!” 

The wire now lit caused the staircase to fall down; Right in the middle of the ruble was the real painting. So Rose picked up the painting, jumped right out the window and landed safely on the ground. She walked through the gate and to the limousine.

“Barth!!! Would you be such a dear and pop open the truck please” She said as she walked around to the back.

“Bartholomew the 3rd!!! OPEN THE TRUNK!!!!!!!!!!” 

She went around the front and saw that Bartholomew was stabbed. In shock she dropped the painting and the canvas slid off. But on the back of the canvas was a map. This map showed thousands of the Dreadwood Estates. They were all killing machines and each run by a Mr. Howard. Rose went on her journey back to the house to investigate that lurky corner but on the way there she slipped and fell on one of the spikes, it pierced right through her heart and sadly that was the end of Rose’s life. As Rose was dying though she called out for her brother knowing he could hear her. She reached out her hand and pulled the air feeling her brother's hand. Rose had just figured out that her brother was a supernatural spirit and she could now see her brother for the last time.

All of the sudden the door slammed shut.

“It must’ve been the wind.” Howard said.

Good enough the wind was swirling hard enough to rattle the windows outside. A few seconds later it started to rain. 

“Do you need anything to drink?” Howard asked,

“No thank you, I need to start searching the house.”

She searched for hours but she couldn’t find anything, so she plopped down on one of the chairs in the dining room. Then she remembered to check the attic so she ran up the stairs grabbing a flashlight as she went up. The stairs creaked as she went up. Rose flipped on the flashlight and took a look around but she didn’t find anything.

“Come on, where is the painting?” she asked

Just then Rose saw a glint of light coming from a big pile of stuff. Rose flipped through everything and found a mirror instead of the painting. Suddenly Rose felt a drop of water fall on her. She looked up and saw that it was starting to rain hard. Then a ton of water fell from the ceiling. Rose took her cue and ran down the stairs to the main level. 

After Rose got down to the main level, she sprinted to the door and left without the painting. As soon as Rose stepped outside there was no more rain and her driver was waiting for her. Rose hopped into the car and drove home.

               “Do you need any assistance? I’m sure I can help you around the house”. 

                “I’m sure I can handle myself, but thank you.” 

Immediately she goes up the three floored stairs, anxious and suspicious of Mr. Howard. Why didnt he want her to investigate the old mansion? She got more and more curious to explore the mansion. As she goes up she cant help but notice the messy rooms. It was such a shame that a mansion like Dreadwood has been forgotten, she thought to herself. In the corner of her eye she saw something shift. As she neared the mysterious object, she saw that it was a rat creeping past her. She jumped she up alerted of the being, but she noticed a small frame in the corner. She  took off the old cloth that was supposed to be used for hiding it, but didnt do that much. As she lifted it, she couldnt help but gasp. Could of the rumors been true? Was it just a fake? Well she did know one thing, it was beautiful. The light shined through the window just so perfectly that the gold details shined like the lake on a sunny day. She couldnt believe that after 14 years the Mona Lisa had been found. She rushed back down to tell Mr. Howard her findings, however she got a gut feeling not too. Mr. Howard was standing there, just looking out. She inspected him closely and noticed something off, almost an uncanny feeling. 

                 “Well im done here, have a good evening” She rushed to get out of there as soon as she could.

                  “That was quick, do you want to stay over for a coffee? I’m curious why someone would come all the way from Paris to some small town in Nebraska.” 

                  “ No thank you, im on a time crunch.” She rejected. She felt his icey cold breath as he sighed. She waved and walked faster to her car. As she stepped on the front porch steps she felt this ghost-like boney hand wrapping around her arm. Her adrenaline raced but she couldn’t look back. Not now anyways. She felted like she was in a life or death situation as a knot tied in her throat. She jerked him back, startling him. Rose frantically sprinted towards the the car through the tall metal gates. She knocked on the door begging her driver to let her in. As she got in the car, she let out a sigh of relief, as if she faced death itself. She calmed herself down and directed the driver to go. She looked back at Mr. Howard and the Mansion for the last time, as Mr. Howard was flushed with a angry look on his face. I guess I was right, she calmed herself.                                                

“That was creepy,” Rose said to herself.

She kept walking and eventually reached the end of the hallway and entered a giant kitchen full of expensive pans and baking tools.

“These are probably worth a fortune!” she whispered to herself.

But she was going to take them after she took the painting. 

She knew from her experience before that when people hide things in a house they’re usually in a secret passageway somewhere so she started looking all around the house. In the kitchen, the hallway, and the garage. Next, she checked the attic. The attic was very messy with many boxes and cobwebs. She was looking for something suspicious. She was looking through the boxes and she found a stone in the shape of a star. It looked like it fi somewhere so she looked around and saw a box that was different than the others. It was flipped upside down. Normally that wouldn’t be that interesting, but to Rose, it was a clue that something was under the box. She picked it up, put it aside, and saw where she had to put the star. When she fitted the star into the engraving a secret door opened leading to stairs that led down.

“This has to be where the painting is!” she whispered happily. So she started walking down the stairs.

While she was walking down the stairs she thought to herself if the rumors were actually true. The rumor of a rich businessman named Phillip Kilnger who came to buy the house. He promised he’d only be in the house for a couple of minutes to see what he was buying. But it had been 25 years since anybody last saw him, and people say that he became a ghost and still haunts the mansion today. That’s why it got the nickname Dreadwood. Suddenly she wanted to leave, but she refused. She was not going to be scared of some dumb myths. She was going to find that painting and get the money whatever it took. 

It was pitch black in the room and she couldn’t see anything so she pulled out her flashlight and looked around and then she saw it. The Lona Misa. One of the most famous paintings of all time. 

“Good thing I brought a backpack!” she said putting the painting into her backpack.

When she was leaving she saw that figure again it looked like that guy who disappeared. It was Philip Klinger and he was moving towards her. She was getting really scared so she started running as fast as she possibly could. She ran past the kitchen and she didn’t grab anything breaking her promise. She just kept running across the mansion, down the hallway, and out of the building. Where Mr. Howard was waiting for her.

“Did you find the painting?” Mr. Howard asked.

But she ignored him and ran straight past. She got into the limo and told the driver to drive back to the main parts of the city as fast as possible. She looked back to take one last look at the building and Mr. Howard was gone.

“What have I done?” Rose whispered under her breath.

“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”, As she walked to the stairs she heard the doors open “Mr. Howard is that you?” asked Rose, but there was no answer. Even weirder was that she could see the light coming from the door. Then she saw a shadow. It was getting closer. Then before she knew it the doors slammed shut and then… BAM there was a huge explosion soon enough smoke filled the house. She knew that she had to get out of there and fast. She saw the window and knew what to do, so without a second thought she jumped out of the window and landed in some rubble to break her fall. She ran to the hills behind the house.

Once the smoke cleared she heard Mr. Howard talking with her driver “Do you think she's dead?” asked Mr. Howard

“There's no doubt about it.”

Downstairs, in what she thought was the basement, she met a stern, red faced man, with a chestnut colored beard. “Mr Howard, what are you doing here!” she said nervously.

“Get over here, right now” he whispered, with an anxious tone of voice. “This house is cursed. You must go up the stairs immediately.” 

“No.” Rose said. “Just no.” Right as Mr. Howard jumped to bring her out, Rose leaped into a giant shelf, ending the lives of many pots and jars, but also showing the life of a painting. 

It read at the top with bright bold letters, The Mind Spell. Undernthat was an array of colorful pictures of a human. Rose wondered what it could possibly mean, but before she could think, Mr. Howard ripped the painting out of her hands and hugged it.

“Ahhhhh '' he said with comfort. Rose  wondered what the heck was going on so she asked him.

“Why?” She said. "Why do you care so much about this long abandoned house, with a cursed painting?" 

“Well” he said. “I made that painting. It was one of my most prized possessions. Just like how that jar that you broke was my friend’s that was passed down for generations. That's when Rose realized.

“This house is only cursed to the people who were harmed by Rob and a piece of very bad history. Rob was trying to devastate the area by taking away the happiness in people's lives.”

“Sounds about right to me.” Said Mr. Howard. And they both walked out realizing that the abandoned house was not cursed but held terrible memories, that should never come back and devastate once again, and that it’s important to be ready for the future, rather than be scarred from the past.

“Mr. Howard, how do you presume the painting was stolen?” But Howard didn’t answer. Instead he asked Rose,

“Have you noticed the tilt yet? It has made me quite uncomfortable since I have started working here.” But Rose didn’t mind the tilt. She was here for the stolen painting, and the painting only. But was it really stolen? She didn’t know. Neither did Howard. But someone else did. And Rose was there to find out. Howard guided her down the hall to another small room. Except this one was not a bedroom but a room full of paintings, covered in dust and cobwebs. She blew away the dust and told Howard,

“We both know this painting wasn’t stolen and that it still lies somewhere in town. But not here.” Were the rumors true about the large home, that Alice Dreadwood stole the painting and ran from her home. Away from her horrible family. The wealthy, perfect Dreadwoods. She picked up each painting and slowly blew the dust away like a small child would blow the ligules off of a dandelion. Would Rose even be able to find out the mystery of the painting? The long gone painting. Stolen from 74 years ago? The mystery that even the greatest detectives couldn’t figure out. Howard stared at Rose with cold hard eyes. His cheerful attitude gone. The room became silent. Then Rose remembered. The crack in the wall. It was large enough to fit a person. She sprinted out of the small dark room, ran down the steps and stopped right in front of the crack. She peered inside and saw nothing. But the painting wasn’t what she was looking for in that crack. She was looking for if it could fit a painting. She walked down the rest of the cold hard steps slowly like a turtle. She peered out the large windows and thought hard. Harder than she ever did before. And realized almost immediately. That black car, that driver. She didn’t need any sort of directions to the old mansion. She didn’t need guidance. She knew. She sprinted out of the home Howard calling after her desperately.

“Rose! Rose, where are you going! We need to find the painting!” But Rose kept running. Running until she found the old black car, and the woman inside. 

“I know you have it.” She said it so plainly that the woman stared confused. “I know you have the painting. Tell me where it is, now.” But the woman only stared. Confused and desperate she said

“I don’t have it. Please leave me alone.” Rose didn’t care. She opened the car door and looked inside. Then she saw it. Peeking out of the back of the car she saw the painting. The one that had been missing for years. She grabbed it so quickly you couldn’t even stop her. She knew who that driver was, it was Alice Dreadwood. She ran to the police and grabbed Alice to come. And within seconds Alice was being questioned while the painting was returned home. And Rose solved the mystery.

“What did you find” they said

“Ah… you came to” Rose replied

“Answer my question” the driver said, Rose finally realizing who was there

“An indent, small, but something” the driver grinned. “I need something to open it”

“Well, you’ve come to the ri-”

“Open what” came a voice from down the stairs, Rose immediately recognized. 

“Shoot, run!” Rose whispered to the driver.

“Wait but why” the driver said.

“No questions, just do it!” Rose said, more loudly this time. They both started running, door through door, not thinking much about it. 

“What are you doing!” came the voice, only urging the two to run faster, “Mr. Howard’s coming” 

“Why did he say it like that” Rose thought but immediately banished it from her head, knowing they had more important matters on their hands at that moment. After running for many seconds, the pair realized that there were many more rooms in the house than they had originally planned. “We can keep running” Rose said “There are infinite rooms”. But right as she said that, they reached a dead end. “There's a box cutter grab that!” The driver scream-whispered to Rose. but just as Rose grabbed it, Mr. Howard entered the room. “I see you’ve found my little… fun room” Mr. Howard said. The two had never really thought about what room they were in. but before Mr. Howard could say anything else, the driver threw the box cutter to Rose, who swiftly picked it up out of the air and ran with it. Mr. Howard planned on stopping them, but she sliced his hair clean off. While Mr. Howard was fussing with that, she held the box cutter, and ran with it. She eventually made it to the indent in the wall, while she was sawing away at the square shaped box, she heard a commotion up the stairs. But she couldn’t worry about that. So she just kept sawing away until there was a clean hole in the wall leading into a tight tunnel.

“There we go” Rose muttered, making sure nobody could hear her, even though she thought no one would because of all the noise coming from the “fun room”. She crawled through the tunnel, being careful not to hit her head on the low ceiling. Finally she reached a vault. She thought for sure it was locked, and started looking around for something. Finally she decided to try and just use the box cutter, after not finding anything useful. But right as she slammed the box cutter into the vault door, the vault door just opened. “Shoot” Rose thought “I wasted all that time.” she ran in, and finally found what she was looking for. Nuclear waste. She swiftly picked it up and went back through the tunnel. She went up the small set of stairs and to the left. After making one final right turn, she found it. The painting. She immediately threw the green bottle she had been clutching with her life at the painting with no hesitation. There were immediate effects. She heard screaming from upstairs, it was Mr. Howard. She knew what would happen once she destroyed the painting. She heard the driver walking down the stairs, and they both walked out the door, loaded into the car, and drove off.

Ms. Howard yells “Wait!” 

“Yes?” says Rose as she slowly looks at him

“I got to know, where were you that you are so fancy?” he asked

She glared at him and said “ I am fancy for here. Why aren't you?” 

He looked at her, puzzled, and walked away. She proceeded to walk up the stairs of the mansion and heard a little girl humming. She slowly walked up to the door and looked in. There was a little girl looking right at her, staring into her soul. She was sitting on a pink bed and she had organ hair and freckles.

“Umm, hi there, who are you?”

“Me?” said the mysterious girl

“I am the owner of this mansion,” she said

Rose looked at her and thought, she can't be more than 8 years old! 

The girl said “Well you may leave now”

Without a word, Rose left her room and went to the next room. It was an empty bedroom with cobwebs all over and dust everywhere. She looked around and then BOOM she fell right through the floor and landed right in front of Ms. Howard. Rose groaned and got up she looked at Ms. Howard.

She said calmly “Tell me, tell me now, what are the rumors about this place” 

He sighed and said “Well people barged in once with weapons and booby-trapped the whole place, I thought I got everywhere but, you can't get everything.” he looked up and said 

“There is two more big rumors, there are ghosts in the basement, and that little girl, she… she..  She stole the painting, she sold it, and…” He sadly did not get to finish his sentence, he passed out right on the floor. Rose looked up at the whole she fell from and took out a walky-talky 

“We are going to need some help over here” Then there was Stadick and over the walky-talky, they said “FBI team is on their way” She decided to check out the basement and herd swooshing. Now, once she went in the basement I don't know what happened but i do know i heard screaming and then she finally ran back up the siras and she yelled in the walky-talky

 “is the ghostbusters movie real?” 

Over the walkie they said, “Umm no why?” 

She passed and then said “hold the SWAT team. And only send someone in if they are the ghostbusters''

“Ok” the walkie said

She went back to the living room and Ms. Howard was gone. 

She stoke into the waiky “Get a team here now”

Over the  Walkie talkie “Yes mam, 5 minutes” 

Rose proceeds to walk in the kitchen and to her surprise, there is Ms. Howard, Laying on the floor with, there was  blood everywhere. but he was still breathing. She perform CPR but nothing

 happened then, in his final words he said,

“The ... .the….the girl……she was just one of…..the rumors…. The rumors of this place…please be safe.”

She Said nothing for a minute or two and then nodded and walked away. Leaving the body to rot. She picks up her walkie talkie and says “where are you?” 

They repeat with “we are in the living room and it it jam pack in here every room is full Ms. Howard tells me no one named Ms. Crenault has ever been in the building”

Rose says “is there anyone in the first door up stairs?”

They reply with “no it is under construction”

Rose then runs out side to nothing as she was walking on air. They was nothing underneath her. At fist she yell in fear then ran back inside. Panting heavily she heard loud stomping 

“It must be the girl she thinks” than she walks up stairs to the girls bedroom and barges open and holds out her gun. Freeze FBI. Then her mouth dropped when she found the girl dead in her bed. She looked out the window and saw ground again, she ran back down stairs and saw her driver in the living room, dead. But next to her diver was the painting. Rose had no clue what was happening but she picked up the painting and Appeared in a old room but is was familiar and walk out to see What the man over the walking is talking about, it was full and she was holding the stolen painting, she walk down the stairs and hung up the stolen painting. Mr. Howard said oh thanks you can leave now and he takes the stolen paining and walk in the kitchen. Rose’s butties then left but Rose stayed she took video of Mr. Howard running away with th painting and talking on the phone saying

“I have the painting lets go!” 

With this Rose yells FBI free and ends up arresting Mr. Howard, he was put away for a lifetime form Assaults and murder and Thievery. Rose never understood his motive but she completed her task so she was happy. Rose wanted to know how were there ghosts and who the girl was but she never knew because Mr. Howard was killed in prison 3 years later.

 Rose walks up to the gate and opened  the door. As soon as the door fully opened  a whoosh of wind came right at her and she spotted a long big scroll of myths. She decides to walk up the squeaky stairs to get to the scroll. Slowly as she opened the scroll  Mr Howard poped up

“ Hello Mrs Rose. I see you have found my Scroll of Myths and Power” Said Mr Howard 

Rose gives a slight note with a curious  look on her face.

“ I am Mr Howard. I have many powers and diff erent types of Myths here. When the painting went gone   the other day I went back to investigate and found banana peel under the painting.If you look in the scroll it says  a banana peel means that there was a murder somewhere Close by” Mr Howard whispers

 Rose Gasped and her jaw droped to the floor.

 Rose Says“Sir I'm going to politely ask you to leave so I can finish exploring my new home on my own”

Mr Howard tip tose out and walked to his car

In Rose's brain she is wondering why Mr  Howard has to walk around the block just to get his car, he could have parked the car in the driveway.

Rose decides to continue exploring her new home. She went into her bedroom to test her bed then decided to get a snack from the pantry. She opened the pantry door and on the floor was her best friend lying dead and her blood in a bottle of ketchup.  

“JENNY WAKE UP PLEASE I NEED YOU!!!!” 

Flash Back When Rose and Jenny were in kindergarten and they used to always play at the park during recess every day and sat next to each other at lunch they were best friends. One day Jenny is a mom who passed away from being in a car crash and no one was there for her except Rose. Soon after that they started growing closer and closer each day hoping that they would grow old together. They would go to Rosa's house after school almost every day doing homework, studying or even just chilling.   Flash Back Ends

Rose called Mr Howard explaining what happened. Mr Howard tried to explain to her that the myth may have been true from a painting and that whoever murdered Jenny will go to jail once we find out who did it. Rose goes outside to sit on grass crying and hoping that she will be able to see Jenny one day again when she gets to heaven. Later that week Rose throws a funeral in honor of her best friend and her mom.

“I will miss you when you get to heaven there will be a long line of people wanting to hug you but I will make sure that I'm the first one” Rose Said quietly to Jenny on the floor

A couple of months later Rose was trying to put the pieces to the puzzle all together trying to find out who did the murder. Later that day she remembered when the driver drove her to the house and went  around the block as soon as she got dropped off and she also remembered that Mr Howard said he walked here but at the end said he's going to go pick up his car around the block.

“I got it. I know who did this horrific murder. It was Mr Howard. He went undercover as the driver so I wouldn't suspect anything but I found that I know it's him I'm going to go report him and place him in jail.”

30 years later

“Today we are all here to remember Rose for being spectacular to her friends especially Jenny '' Said  the Funeral man. “

“As I promised I will be the first person to hug you when we both go to heaven.”

Rose will always wonder what happened to the Dreadwood Estate. 

Rose walked up the stairs She saw that some of the paintings were missing.  Rose walked down the stairs and heard a voice saying, “Who’s there?”

Footsteps were coming down the stairs  Rose ran to the basement door only to realise it was locked! The footsteps were getting louder and Rose decided to hide in a closet and lock the room door.  While she was hiding she heard someone or something say “Why is this door locked I never keep it locked” 

When the voice left she saw that the painting was hidden in another painting  called

 “ Greenbean mess.” She was not expecting that but it was weird.

 I open  the big heavy doors and I see a great  big chandelier on a  40 feet look Ceiling, a maid greeting me.

“Hello Ms. Crenault , I'm Chloe the maid.” 

“Please call me Rose, it was my late grandma's name.” Ms Crenuault said. 

The maid goes into one of many rooms  in the huge house. 

Mr. Howard over hearing everything we said  “ miss cren-i mean  Rose do you know the rumor?”

I look around the house, I look out the window and I see something that makes me sick.

“ Are you  ok?” mr. Howard says. He looks at me like he does not see  what I do.

“Umm yes I am good, can I please get some water?’ he goes into the kitchen, i run into one of the rooms,  i call mom, “ mom if i am not at your house tomorrow at 12:00 go to the Dreadwood Estate, I do not think i will ever leave i do not know if i'm safe.” 

“Honey listen to me  whatever you do, do not leave your phone, keep it with You- hide it if you have to bye hon-” the phone cuts off.  I run back into the walkway and I get my water. 

I remember “No, I do not know the rumor, what is it?”  He looks at me like I am a crazy person. 

“  the rumor is once you leave here you do not remember anything about here.” I think I am going to be sick but I smile and nod. We went up the huge stairway. 

“How many stairs are there?” I say 

“ 1000. ”  he smiles.  Hours later we are at the top of the stairs. I look for the painting, a room, an attic , anything to find  that painting.   I know now if i leave without that painting i won't remember it was even there. We go into  another room  and I see stairs. 

“Can we go there?”  I   say 

“No, that's where my dad died.” 

 “ i’m so sorry”  I say 

“Thanks” 

That makes me think ‘ did the  dad really die’ ‘ if he did, is the painting there?’ i know i can’t ask to go down there,   dad dead or not, what if there is something worse than a painting.? 

“ Sorry if this is a weird Question but do you have a phone on you?” Mr. Howard said.

“No.’’ I said so quickly i Barely remembered I said that. “Why?’

“ it mess  with the wi-fi?  Umm Ya.” Mr. Howard says.

“ I am  going to the bathroom!”  He nodded  his head ok.  I put my phone on Silent mode, i test my mom everything that happens with the dad, the phone question.  She says she will write it down because if i don’t ever leave so one needs to know what's in here.  I called her. 

“ Mom, if i die in here , tell the Police ,and every hour I will go to the bathroom’ and tell  you stuff about this weird place.” 

“ Bye,” Mom said.  The phone cuts off.  We go into another room,  and I see the maid  wearing a red Stained dress. 

“ Hello chole.” Mr.howard said.

“  hello mr. umm Howard,  I made Dinner.” Chole said. We go downstairs. Which felt like hours. We have pasta Alfredo for dinner. I remember Chloe's outfit With the red spader, But the  pasta  has white Sauce all over it. I told  mom about the red splatter  and the white pasta.  

I go to the bathroom to tell my mom and i see a body, *screams.   Mr.howard comes running in. “ chole” he screams “what is this!” Chole comes running in. 

“Oh that's  umm northing.” Chloe said. 

*One month later 

“Thank you for everything.” Rose said. 

“Thank you for coming.”  Mr. Howard said. 

All I  remember is the dead dad with the painting in his arms who was not dead that day. I want to go down those stairs in that room. I will always wonder what is really in the Dreadwood Estate. 

“ Chole lock the door to the safe ” “ Yes Mr. Howard no one will ever know what is down there.”  Chole said happily. “ and hide that body.” Mr.Howard said. 

“ Hello Auntie Shanah,  ” Mr.Howard said. “ Rose is not going to tell anyone what happened here anytime soon.” Said Shanah. She said with a grin. She opened a drawer, put in a bloody knife and Locked up the drawer and that was the last time anyone had Mr Howard, the maid, Chole,  and the Aunt. 

The end 

“I am here to investigate the painting and just find out about this hotel” Rose replied. 

 The two walked down the walkway leading to the house

 “for an n place with almost no people in it it is very nice except for the dust”

 “ I guess I will go to my room” “good evening ms.crenalt”

 Rose sat down and got her pen and notebook ready. Journal entry 495 

“ nice place for so little customers I now suppose I will go take a stroll down the hallway”

. As Ms Rental walked down the hallway then a rat ran past her feet then without a second thought she ran to find someone about the rat. Just then she heard a creek so looked behind her and she saw a small opening. She looked inside and there it was the painting over the moon with excitement but when she went for the door it slams shut after looking around the room she saw a hallway completely dark. If she was not mistaken she kept hearing in a soft whisper “don't leave” after hours of walking she woke up with a jolt “It was all a dream” she goes to the journal about what just happened “journal 49AHHHHHH!!!!” next to her bed was the painting she immediately got up and ran to the hallway repeatedly pitching herself to make sure she is awake she ran to MR Howard studies he was not there she looked around the room then she saw a rubbish can full of newspaper she unfolded on are read painting of 34th street stolen almost fainting. She stumbled over to the back porch and realized there was a cemetery in the back. She walk around for a little still holding the painting then she saw something that took her breath away the coffin reads” MR Howards the beloved owner of this hotel”  In her mind she said “that must be a mistake” 

Then a faint whisper said “no, no it is not” she looked behind her in a rush no one was there when she looked down  the only thing that scared her more was seeing”Ms. Crenault, beloved poet and writer” written on a coffin she again said out loud this time this must be a mistake and yet again she heard” No, NO it is not”. She ran back to her room only to see several cops crowded around her room when she told them to move nothing happened. She tried to slid through the crowd when write through them”that is weird” .Then write on her bed was her laying died with the painting corner stabbing her right in her neck. And from that day on mr. Howard still rome's these hall bring in uspecting customers as Ms. Crenault romes the hall trying to help the unsuspecting customers Lucky Ms. Crenault journal entries were found to this day people enter but don't leave.

“Stop!”

Rose yelled to herself, she did not want to start digging a hole for herself to quit in here. Not after she had gone this far. 

“You can do this. You have solved hundreds of other cases, and soon this one. You are going to retrieve Alexander Legaters painting.”

She kept whispering that until it was burned into her brain. She was the everso famous detective Rose Crenault, afterall. She had never failed a case before, and this would not be the one to break her streak. She thought over what the speculations of the famous artist's painting were. A beautiful lady. A brave soldier. A young boy. A happy family.

“It is all so confusing. It all contradicts each other.”

She sighed, as she kept thinking it over and over. What did it truly look like? That's the question everybody has been contemplating over the last 3 decades. Everyone who had come into the Dreadwood Estate had the goal of figuring this out, and all had failed. It was the only remaining existence of Alexander. Alexander was very widely known, until he went missing July 6th, 1893. Finally, Rose reached the top of the staircase. She was met by a long hallway with many doors that looked identical, except for one, that was labeled DOOR 6. 

“Mmmhmmm!”

Shocked, Rose spun towards the source of the sound, realizing it was coming from door 6. Not only was this the only different door, but it had a very creepy aura to it with spider webs and dirt scattered in the corners. 

“Wait a minute…”

It hit Rose. She knew that voice. It was Mr Howard! But what was he doing in here? And what  was he truly saying under the muffled voice? Rose ran up to the door and flung it open. Rose was shocked.

“Oh?”

Mr Howard was standing there casually wiping off a painting. But Rose could tell. It was THE painting. But then, it all made sense. The dreadwood estate used to be a popular auction house. People would come from all over the place just to say they had been there! But one day, it lost all of its popularity from all the paintings being stolen. Except one. The very one Rose was here for. But one painting wasn't enough. The place became poor and lost everything. This forced the place to have to sell everything to stay existing.

“You-”

“Yes. I hid the painting in here to prevent it from being shut down, the police would never touch this place if they thought that the painting was lost and stuck in here. It was bound to happen anyway.”

Mr Howard disappointedly looked at Rose. 

“Take it. I won’t be able to find Alexander with it, but you will.”

He pushed it further into Rose's grasp.

“But the estate-”

“I know, I know. It will be torn to the ground. But this place wasn't in the best shape anyway. And now I don't have to keep traveling that staircase anymore. Doing that as much as I have is harder than climbing to the top of mt. Everest 100 times.”

Rose laughed.

“Very well then. I promise I will find him.”

Rose smiled, as she hadn't broken her streak. Now she just had to find alexander.

Then Rose turned off the TV and she said, it is a really good movie about me. Let’s show it to all our friends. It is very scary, crazy and funny! So let’s go. It will be very interesting. They went to all of their friends, and started to watch the movie.    

“Gosh, its so cold I should have warn more layers,” Rose said as she coughed from all the dust in the air. The smell in the air smelled like burnt wood. Then, a friendly dog came around the corner with his tongue out just waiting to greet her. Then she went to check if the dog had a name, it was Buddy.

“Hi Buddy,” she said as she pet the dog. 

Buddy started wagging his tail. The dog had a bunch of scars and was super skinny. He smelled like he hadn’t talked a bath in a at least a couple of years probably more. 

Rose closed the big wooden door with a loud BANG! It scared Buddy and he ran away. 

She walked into the main room that was even colder that the second. There was a spiral staircase that lead to who knows what. On the other side was a receptions desk with a name tag that said the name of Linda Johnson.

Who was Linda Johnson? She thought to herself. She looked up on the wall to see a big painting that said, at the bottom, “Linda Johnson, murdered on August 19th, 2001.”

“Wait a minute, That was when I was born!?!” Rose said. 

A 23 year old woman, Rose Crenault, was an investigator, today she was investigating a girl named Linda Johnson that was murdered on her birthday. But in order to find out more about the rumor of the Murder and the missing painting, she has to stay the night. DUNT DUNT DUNNNNNNNNNNN.

She went to the car to get her bags to unpack her things for the night and Rose sees Mr. Howard still in the same exact spot that he was before. 

“Strange,” she thought to herself. 

Rose found the driver (named Fred) trying to put something in the back seat of the car but then quickly jerked away and looked like he was hiding something.

“ Oh, hi Fred. Whatcha doing?” Rose asked.

“Ohh, uhhhh, Just fluffiing up the back seat for you,” Fred said, looking guilty. 

I started to take my bags out from the trunk of the car.

“Let me get those for you,” Fred said and started to take the bags inside. 

“ok, thanks! I just need to tie my shoe,” Rose quickly said, making up an excuse to try to see that was in the back seat. 

Once Fred walked through the rusty old gates, Rose opened the back door of the car. She found the missing painting!

“Aha! So that was what Fred was hiding,” She said taking pictures for evedence that walking away like nothing happened. 

Once Rose got inside, she didn’t mention anything about the painting. She took the bags that Fred set down to first room closest to the door for a reason, so she can escape if something happens. Rose set her backpack full of evedene supplies and her bag with all her regular stuff on the bed, dust flew in the air. Rose coughed a bunch because of all the dust. 

She quickly changed into her pajamas and went across the hall to a bathroom to brush her teeth. But suddenly she heard a noise, the floorboard creeked. Creeeeek. She looked around but the windows were pitch black because it was so dark out at night. Rose stood there until she saw Buddy coming around the corner. 

“Aww, Buddy! I'm SO glad to see you,” Rose said.

Buddy followed her to the bathroom. And sat by the door waiting for her to finish bruising her teeth, but there was a slight problem. Since the Dreadwood Estate was so old an dusty, the water didn’t work. So, Rose just flossed instead.

“Better that nothing,” She said to herself. She walked back to her room. As Rose crawled down in bed Buddy hopped up on the bed with her an layed down with her. 

Rose kept twisting and turning all through out the night but somehow couldn’t sleep. Finally she got up with Buddy and went to go explore but as Rose got up from bed and put her slippers on she saw a familiar face in the doorway…

It was the ghost of Linda Johnson, the girl that got murdered on her birthday!?! 

“Hello Rose Crenault, I see that you have met my little friend,” Linda said. 

At that moment Rose knew that that dog……. was a ghost. 

Rose looked at the dog which mysteriously disappeared. She looked back at Linda and she had also vanished. Rose dialed her coworker and 911 and told them about everything that just happened.

Then, as quickly as she could, Rose packed all her things and ran out the big wooden door, slamming it behind her.

“I adore this room, how come it’s so clean?” Rose asked curiously.

“It’s one of the most favorite historical rooms in the estate.” Rose smiles, it reminds her of home somehow.

Rose was inspecting the room. As if she were an investigator. She was touching the ancient, grimy, dusty books that date all the way back to the 17th century. She was walking down a different direction. This room was more elegant and delightful.

As she was inspecting the room, she heard a scream. It shrieked like a goat dying, begging for help. Rose wants to find it but she can’t tell where it is, after all, there are 24 hallways to choose from. She chose her favorite number. 24. 

Rose’s eyes open. She knows who it is.

“Mr. Howard?” Rose says worried, her Mr. Howard comes out of one hallway. Rose turns around and notices him. Rose observes a painting. It seems unusual, but true to her.

“Rose, you don’t need a painting of me, you silly goose! In the background, you could even see your mother!” Rose’s expression changes.

“What? I’m your daughter?” Her father nods

“Who’s that other lady on the right?” Rose asks.

“How was she in that painting? Listen to me Rose, if you ever see that woman, never listen to her!”

“Why father why? Answer me!” Before he could even answer, everything went blank. Rose woke up. It was just a dream. She was on a roadtrip with the driver to see her mother. Her mother lived in a fairly large house. When she arrives the home, it’s in perfect condition! When she enters, she notices a room that looks exactly like the one from her dream. The entertainment room.

“Mother, did you spruce things up in this room?” Rose asks curiously.

“Yes I did, dear, it looks better this way.” Her mom replies.

“How come there are numbers on every door and hallway?” Rose says concerned.

“Don’t worry about that, dear.” Her mother says calmly. Rose notices one that has the number 24 on it. She enters. She notices the same painting as the one in her dream.

“Mother, is this a painting of father?” Rose says concerned.” 

“Yes it is, it’s a shame you didn’t see him when you were born.” Rose seems upset.

“Oh look! I’m there on the right! Rose blanks. She seems tremendously worried. Her mother too.

“Are you really my mother?” Rose asks, concerned. Her ‘mother’ grins.

Rose was coming there because it was her birthday. Rose was turning 24.

The door creaked open. Rose slowly walked into the room, a scream left her mouth. She saw something that would change her life forever, or even end it. There's a dead body, of what looked like a monster, or maybe a human, a lions mane with a human face and a body of what looked like a horse and a human hybrid. 

‘’Oh! Im so sorry we forgot to clean this out! Please get her another room bella!’’ Howard said in a loud, booming voice. 

‘’On it! C'mon sweetie let's go!’’ Bella exclaimed, grabbing Rose’s arm with full force, 

She held her hand over her mouth. Rose, struggling to breath, tried to kick her away but she managed to take Rose down to a room that looked like a dungeon. Bella ran and locked the door with a code. Rose managed to see the code! She ran back to try and enter the code but it was incorrect.

Rose realized that Bella forgot to take her bag! So Rose took out her computer and tried to search up on the web, she didn't even get to type a word before the power and connection went out. She turned around and saw the painting behind her, but with her name written on it The painting read ‘’I am coming for you Rose, there is nowhere to hide.” But if you can escape, i'll spare you.’’-1000%$@.rose wondered what that meant but then she realized, 1000%$@ she could use that as a code ! for the %  sign is over 5! So $ is over 4! And the @ is over2! She walked over to the pad and entered in the numbers 1000542, it worked! 

Rose thought to herself, “What am I going to do now?” 

She turned around and grabbed the painting. She escaped the dungeon and raced for the door.

Rose screamed for her driver, “We need to get out of her!”

He replied, “Hurry up and get in!” He opened the door and she jumped in with the painting and was ready to go.

Rose and her driver zoomed off never to return to Dreadwood Estate ever again. 

As Rose closed the iron gate, she glanced back, just in time to see Mr. Howard smiling scarily. Rose thought maybe it was a thing of her imagination, but she glanced back again, to see that no one was there. 

As soon as Rose got into the house, however, she saw Mr. Howard passing in front of her. He stopped, then said, “Isn’t this such a nice house?” It was at that time she stopped to look around. 

She saw the grand chandelier above her, hanging by perfect, white chains, the wooden entrances to the kitchen on the left of her, and the living room on the right, both looked like they were freshly painted. 

The staircase in front of her led to a luscious upstairs, where all the railings also looked freshly painted. The house kind of stank of death though. 

As she went upstairs, Mr. Howard practically sprinted in front of her. As she approached the first door, Mr. Howard said, “You can’t go in there.” “Why not?” Rose asked. “Because I said so” Mr Howard answered. “And why should I listen to you?” Rose countered. “You’re the one with the creepy smile, the weird teleportation, and now, you’re blocking this door.” “I’m going in.” She pushed him away with her surprising strength and entered the room.

 As she opened the door, the stink overwhelmed her senses, and she saw a bunch of barrels. Curious, she opens one of them and sees two corpses stuffed inside. She opened more barrels, and saw more corpses, and even more, until there was only one barrel left. When she opened that barrel, she saw the painting and then heard a click. Rose was locked in. She saw a code on the side of the painting’s frame. She also saw a keypad. She entered a code on the keypad, then saw the door open and a sword pop out of the frame. Then she saw the barrels moving. The corpses were rising. Rose found that they were easy to slash through. She slashed through all of them and got out all with the painting in hand. When she got out, the painting disappeared from her hand, and fled down the stairs. She followed it. When she got down the stairs, she saw Mr. Howard, holding the painting. He said “Thank you for setting my soul free” and disappeared. Rose called her driver, shivered, and left.

“Mr. Howard! Hello? Mr. Howard?” He had left. It had seemed that the house had been dangerous of some sort because Mr Howard knew something about it that Rose didn’t. “Wow. Now I don't have a ride back from this place. Let’s see what Mr Howard is so scared about.” Rose walked back into the house and into the kitchen. “What is that in the back?” It was getting late and dark. Around 7:00 PM. She noticed that there was a dark figure standing in the backyard “Hello?” Rose asked confusingly. It was gone. She didn’t think much of it and thought it was her imagination and that Mr. Howard being scared got in her head. When she got back in the house she noticed the drawers with the utensils had been opened. “Huh? I do not remember opening that. Let’s give Mr. Howard a call” *Ring ring ring. “Wow, straight to voicemail.” “Let’s go check out the pool in the back” It was getting really dark and she was checking out the pool. “This house seems pretty nice, I wonder why no one has bought this in years. I don’t even know what I'm supposed to be investigating at this point.” it was right then. She had turned around and looked in the master bedroom window. She had sawn a Dark Figure with Bright red eyes and a black shadow. It had turned towards her “What is that!?” She looked at her phone then looked back and it was gone. “I know I'm not imagining that.” She fullysprinted right back in the house and the Front door was locked from the outside. “Why isn’t this opening? This is the right key i know it” 

She looked back at her phone and she had got a message from an unknown number. The text message was creepy. 

it wrote “Hello visitor” The unknown user had asked. 

“Who is this? Mr. Howard?” 

“No, just someone that is in the very nice mansion you’re in.” 

“Ok Mr. Howard, very funny. Now come pick me up for some reason the door is jammed” 

“Heh. Don’t believe me? Maybe this will change your mind.” Right then she was shocked with fear. She had been sent a picture of her sitting in the kitchen. She stood right up and ran all the way upstairs to the bedroom and locked the door. 

“WHO ARE YOU, WHY ARE YOU HERE. Mr. Howard had told me no one owned this house and now there’s a random person creeping me out inside of it” Right then, Rose heard a car pull up in the driveway. She had looked out the window and sawn Mr. Howard. But there was something off about it. He was introducing another investigator to the house. The window was jammed and she couldn’t yell for help. The figure’s shadow was right outside the door. She couldn’t leave. 

“HELPPPPPPPPPP” Rose had screamed for the investigator to help. 

“What was that?” The investigator says. The investigator had ran up the stairs and knocked on the door. 

“Hello?” Rose cracked open the door and had found the different investigator and the dark figure was gone. “WE NEED TO GET OUT THERE'S SOMEONE IN HERE” She screamed in terror towards the investigator 

“I don’t know what you're talking about, there's no one here. Calm down.” 

“Ok i'm fine now. Who even are you and why do you know Mr. Howard?” Rose asked. 

“I'm Anna and I'm an investigator. I don’t really know Mr. Howard, he sent me to investigate this house then he drove away in what looked like terror in his eyes. He said this house had bad rumors so I came to investigate it. Who are you?” Anna had asked. 

“I'm Rose. I'm also an investigator and Mr. Howard told me to investigate this house as well. I've actually known him for 2 months. When he told me there were bad rumors about this place I didn't believe him. I do now. I've seen stuff here that I thought I was imagining but I'm not. I was texted by a-” Anna cuts her off. 

“Unknown number. I got texted by one too.”  

“Oh my god. What is going on and who is this unknown number?” Rose responds. “We have to get out of here. Quick.” They went down the stairs and noticed someone standing by the door. It was Mr. Howard. He had tricked us to go into this house and then start seeing things to eventually get trapped in here. “Mr. Howard?” Rose asked. “What are you doing and why did you ditch us” 

“You’ve fallen right into my trap. It worked for the past four years on all of the missing people. Every year 2 people have gone missing in this house and our company Kompaxx traps them. It’s either me that does it or a different employee. 8 people have gone missing from this house for the past four years and no one has ever found them. That’s because we have trapped them somewhere no one would ever find them at. You guys are next. Pretty much the start is we tell you it has bad rumors and then you will start to see things in this house. Then we text you.” 

“The unknown number was you? This is all so messed up.” Anna says. 

“How could you guys do this? What is fun about it?” Rose asks. “It’s just enjoyable seeing all these investigators try and fail. You guys are just frauds you're not actually good at investigating. It’s just in your name.” That saying “It’s just in your name” Got to my head. Maybe he’s right, am I a real investigator?

 “How are you gonna trap us? You're just one person.” Rose asked. 

“That’s what you think. If you escape we’ll get you.” They run in the backyard and shut the door. Mr. Howard chases behind them but the door is jammed again. 

“How can we get out? We don’t have much time to escape since he’ll break the glass. The fence is also too tall.” Anna explains. “Look! There's two chairs we might be able to stack them and escape! Go get them Anna!” Rose yells. Anna runs to get the chairs. “There heavy you have to help!” Rose runs and they get them to the fence and stack them. 

“We have to go very quickly, he’s almost broke it!” Anna replies.

“Ok, Anna, I'm gonna lift you on the chairs on three.” Rose says. “1,2,3!”

 “YES. I'm gonna come, I just need another thing to get over.” “Go quick rose he’s gonna break it!” “Ok i got 4 books! I think i’ll make it” Glass shatters “RUN ROSE HE'S RIGHT THERE” Anna screams. “YOUR NOT GETTING AWAY” Mr. Howard yells. “I'M THERE!” Just then Mr. Howard makes an attempt to pull her back in the yard but she dives off of him and over the fence. 

“OWWWWWWW” Rose screams. She had thought she broke her arm but they needed to escape. “Rose, are you okay?” Anna asks. “I THINK I BROKE MY ARM. WE HAVE TO RUN THOUGH” They ran all the way for a mile to the hospital and explained everything to the doctors. The police arrived minutes later. Rose’s arm was indeed broken but her and Anna were safe. The police had arrested the company for life but they never found the missing people.

As she opened the door it creaked loudly. It smelled old and dusty but it looked very surprisingly clean. She walked a little into the house to see a dimly lit hallway. 

She heard a loud bark from behind her. She turned around just in time to see a big dog jump on top of her. He sniffed her for a moment and then went back into another room. Rose decided to follow him. The dog led her to the stairs. 

 As she climbed she realized that this Howard guy whom she knew nothing about didn’t follow her which she had expected that he would have. She ran up the rest of the stairs and found a window. The red car was gone.

She heard the door creak and knew someone had entered. 

Rose saw two double doors which led to a HUGE library. 

Books lined every wall. She walked to the back of the library and found a spiral staircase. Rose went into every door she could find and one was an office with a chair that could spin around. It smelled of freshly baked cookies. On the desk, there was a computer still on with files of people's names all of which she didn’t recognize except two. One name was Emily the other was Rose. Emily was Rose’s sister who had gone missing while she was on a tour. 

Rose could not act scared especially when she heard someone come into the house. She walked down the spiral staircase and picked up speed to get to the other doors. She tripped over her dress and then heard two voices one of which she recognized was Mr. Howard the other she did not know. 

She stood up and acted as if she was investigating the books which hadn’t thought about doing before. When Mr. Howard came into the library he said to her “Don’t bother looking there. It will take you forever.”

“I will look where I want,” Rose said back.

“Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.” and then Mr. Howard walked to the back of the library. He turned around just to make sure Rose wasn’t watching him. It appeared that she wasn’t but Rose could see everything.

Rose watched as Mr. Howard walked slowly up the stairs. After he went up the stairs she went running out of the room it was locked. She then heard Mr. Howard coming back down the steps she went back to the books and then he left the room without a problem. So Rose went to try the door again, she kept trying till she got it open. She didn’t realize that was a push, not a pull and so once she figured this out Mr. Howard was long gone. 

When Mr. Howard was upstairs he went into the office with the computer. Nothing had seemed out of place to him so he thought that she might have not come up the steps. He closed the computer and then left quickly just in case Rose had left the library. 

Rose found where the painting had been once before she looked at the scratches and nail marks. The nail had been taken out carefully so whoever did this must have had a lot of time and very few people around. Rose found Mr. Howard in a room that seemed to be the kitchen. 

“When was the last time that you spent a lot of time in here?” Rose asked.

“Well other than today not for about three years since you know…”

Rose was very suspicious because Mr. Howard seemed pretty comfortable in the house and the house seemed pretty clean. Also, there was a dog.

“May I ask whose dog was that in the house?”

Mr. Howard looked surprised because he was not expecting her to see his partner's dog. 

“W Well it is mine I brought him over to the house because he doesn’t like to be alone.” 

This was a pretty Believable story except for the fact that Mr. Howard told Rose before that he didn’t have any pets. 

“Mr Howard”

“Yes”

“Who were you talking to when you were outside of the library?” Rose asked.

“ Um… Your driver,” Mr. Howard said plainly.

“Then why was the car gone, why is the house so clean, and why is the dog you don’t have here?”

Then out of nowhere, a Random person said, “Because it is my dog, and my dog wasn’t supposed to let you go because he didn’t with your sister. Rose turned around abruptly to see her driver. 

“Who was driving the car?” Rose said strictly.

“Your poor little sister.” He said back in a whiny voice.

“I set her free and she took the painting.” 

“I know her she wouldn’t have done that.” 

“I think she would have if it was between life and death.”

Rose looked at Mr. Howard who looked quite confused and then ran. She ran as fast as she could. It was rainy and muddy out but she didn’t care. Some of her dress ripped but she kept on running. Then she saw the painting on the ground. She picked it up and ran as far away from the mansion as possible. She ran to the police station gave them the painting and then asked for a ride to her house. She found the shiny red car back in her driveway and knew her sister was home she flew open the door and ran to give her sister a big hug. No one knows what happened to the unknown driver and Mr. Howard.

She began to walk in this house and a breeze, a disturbingly cold breeze. Dust filled the room lamps and spice wear cracked it looks like it was abandoned for years. Rose began to walk up a red velvet staircase in surprisingly good condition. And began to look around. 

Rose asked “What happened here exactly?” 

Mr Howard responded “there were rumors of a suspicious painting that one day hid in the hotel haunting this place, After the disappearance of this painting 3 family's all went missing here which led the place to be shut down.”

Rose said “ Interesting”

They looked through the rooms on the first floor. Nothing all Rose found was half empty cups of aged coffee and expired food on the counters. They went to the second floor things where a little eerie on this level doors open lights and the smell of fresh food. 

Rose examined that food here was fresh and was recently bought at a store. They found something. It was a shoe that looked like one of the family's shoes compared to the photos. Mr 

Howard had enough and went back outside. 

“Coward” Rose whispered to herself.

She moved up stairs to the fourth level, skipping quickly through the third level; there were no clues. She found something interesting in the mirror through the dust that was written about 30 minutes ago. She knew what to do when she read in big written words. 

“DON'T LOOK DOWN.”

Rose rushed to the garage of the hotel sprinting there. Once she arrived she looked through the 3 abandoned cars. Nothing there was leftover change but she realized each car had a number 7,2,9.

“ROOM 729” she yelled to herself. 

She sprinted upstairs and ran into room 729. It was cold and eerie . She looked around and she noticed a door hidden behind a closet. It led down a wooden staircase and down there she found the 3 families who seemed to be kidnapped but dead. Then she gazed above the 3 families as a panting. She was completely dazed and scared and completely scared.

She yelled “ Call the cops.” “NOW.”

“Hello? Anybody here?” She asked. She thought maybe someone could help explain this painting to her. An old rickety door opened from upstairs and a tall mysterious man came walking down the stairs. He had glasses on and was wearing what looked like an old gray suit. He had gray hair with what looked like a dead bug in it. 

“Hello.” He talked very slowly, “We haven’t had visitors in a long time.” He paused for a moment. “What brings you here?” 

“Well, actually I saw online that there was an old missing painting right here in this old house and I was wondering if anyone here knew about it?” 

“Ah, yes,” he replied. “There has been a missing painting but no one has ever come to look for it since the rumors… My sister here knows a lot about this place. Let me lead you to her, I think she will help you.” 

“Oh, thank you!” Rose replied, “I’m Rose, what is your name again?”

“Nice to meet you Rose, I am Harry.” Harry then led Rose up a long swirly flight of stairs that creaked with every step. Each step up was increasingly warmer than the previous and Rose realized just how cold the first floor of the creaky old  house was. Harry and Rose got to the second level and turned to the left. They walked down a long hallway and into a room with a girl in it. Her room smelled like berries and was very hot. Rose unzipped her new pink hoodie. 

“Paulina! We have a visitor and she would like to know about the painting.” Harry told his sister as she was busy reading.

“Hi! I’m Rose, and you are Paulina?” She asked. She was trying to be friendly but was feeling a little nervous. Paulina seemed mysterious.

“Hello” Paulina talked slowly just like Harry. You could definitely tell they were related

“Yes, I am Paulina and you are the first visitor we’ve had in a while. Harry, I think it would be best if me and Rose talk privately.” Harry then left the room and it was just Rose and Paulina. Paulina explained the story behind the house and the painting. The house was once the house of an old king who was very nice but people thought he was mysterious. People then thought the house was creepy and mysterious. The king made a painting of his time showing him on the throne. He didn’t want anyone to see the painting and hid it somewhere in the house. It was just because he wasn’t confident in his art skills but people thought it was to hide something. This explained a lot about the painting and the rumors.  Rose understood a lot more now and felt way less frightened. She thanked Paulina for her help and asked her if she knew where the painting was. She was told the painting was in the basement and it was really good. She then left the house and spent the next few months telling everyone the truth about the old house. 

Suddenly, a dark figure ran across the room. “Who are you?” Asked Rose braver than ever before. The figure didn’t say anything. 

“Come on. Who are you?” The figure walked up to Rose slowly coming into the light from the lantern. 

“Hi,” said the ghost. 

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” Rose screamed as she ran down the stairs and headed for the door. Just as she was about to swing open the door, the ghost said, 

“It’s ok. I won’t hurt you.”

“Umm, ok,” Said Rose. 

“What is your name and where are you?”

“Above your head, you can’t see me and I don’t remember my name,” Said the ghost. 

“Oh,” Said Rose. She walked across the room and sat on an old brown couch. It was dirty and gross. Rose quickly hopped off the couch and onto the floor.

“I know,” said the ghost.

“It’s old.”

“How old is it?” Asked Rose, curious to find out.

“264 years old,” Answered the ghost.

“Wow, it must have been a long time before somebody sat on that couch.”

“Years, it has been years.” Said the ghost.

“How do you know?” Asked Rose.

“I used to live here.”

“You did?!”

“Yep. Before I became a ghost.”

“If you don't mind me asking, how did you become a ghost?” Asked Rose.

“It's a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?” The ghost asked.

“Positive.”

“It all started when I was in my house minding my own business reading a book.  I saw these two kids outside playing soccer in the street. Then I saw a car coming. It was coming fast and the driver didn't seem to be paying attention to the road. I think that they were on their phone talking to someone but I'm not sure.  I ran out the door as fast as I could and right as the car was coming, I pushed them out of the way and the car crashed into me instead. 

They screamed for their parents! I was bleeding everywhere. The person who crashed into me drove away as fast as they could. I didn't cry though, I was a strong brave person and I knew I did the right thing.

 I was rushed to the hospital. The ambulance was so loud that it hurt my ears but at that point, I didn't care. The doctors tried to save me. They did as many things as they could but none of it worked. I passed away that night and now I am a ghost.”

“Oh wow, you did all that for them?!” Asked Rose

“ I sure did and I'm glad I did too.”

“You were a really good person.” Said Rose.

“ Thanks kid,” Said the ghost.

“ No, thank you.” Said Rose.

“Are you looking for something?”  Asked the ghost.

“Yes, actually. I'm looking for a missing painting.”

“You are?!” Asked the ghost.

“Yes,” Said Rose.

“A few days ago, I saw a hooded creature walk into the house and steal a painting.” Said the ghost.

“Do you know where they went or where they took the painting?”

“No, but I can help you look.”

“Ok, thanks,” Said Rose. They went all around the house and when they were in their final room, they looked at the picture. The picture had a small scratch at the top and it went all the way to the bottom. At the bottom of the picture, there was a piece of glass. It looked like it came from the painting! They looked down and there was even more glass. Rose had to be careful where she stepped because she didn’t want glass stuck inside her foot. 

The trail of glass led all the way outside. It went under the gate and in the grass. They followed and followed the trail until finally, it stopped. The glass led them all the way to a pond. They looked around but didn’t see anything. “What are we going to do?”  Asked Rose.

 We are going to find that painting,” Said the ghost. 

“I will be right back.” 

“Ok,” Said Rose. Then, the ghost flew high up into the air high enough that Rose couldn't see him anymore. The ghost looked around. He could see everything from up there. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the painting. It was right next to a little palm tree. 

“I see it!” The Ghost shouted down to Rose. Then he flew down right next to Rose.

“I saw the painting,” The ghost said. 

“Where?” Asked Rose.

“By a palm tree,” He said.

 “Just up ahead.”

“Ok, can you lead the way?

“Yes,” Said the ghost. They walked to the little palm tree and picked up the painting!

“Yes!” Rose shouted, happy as ever.

“Yay, we did it!”

“Thanks for your help!” Said Rose. 

“I really appreciate it!”

“Of course!” Said the ghost.

THE END! BYE!

She slowly walked up the stairs and she screamed so loud that Howard could probably hear it from where he was. Of course Howard could hear it from where he was because he was right in front of her. “How did he get in?” Rose thought. 

Little did Rose know that Howard was also a detective that was looking for the missing painting as well. Rose was very confused but then Howard said, “I was here about 15 years ago when I fell into a trap on the floor, the missing painting was right in front of my eyes. Yet I chickened out because there was this enormass ghost twice my size guarding it.”

Rose then said, “Do you remember where you fell.”

“No,” Howard said

“Well then you're going to help me find it,” Said Rose.

They walked around for a bit and eventually they came across a secret trap door that looked as if it would collapse if even a feather touched it. They gathered the courage to go inside and as soon as they finished tumbling down a steep hill down to the secret room, they came across a massive ghost guarding the missing painting. It was a very abnormal painting that looked as if it was from the 1500’s. Rose was looking at it and realized it was a picture of the house they were standing in. Rose and Howard made their move and tried to run through the ghost but it simply didn’t work. Howard was begging to leave but Rose wouldn’t let him. She was determined to get the painting and leave. So they went around the ghost and it only stopped Rose, Howard was left to retrieve the painting. Howard was begging to try again because he didn’t want to do it but Rose knew what she had to do. She had to keep the ghost busy by blocking its way. She did that and Howard found the courage to grab the painting and leave and he did just that. Rose followed him out but the ghost was very mad so he followed them up. The duo was on the move when they reached the front door but the ivy was blocking them. They were surely trapped in the house but then Rose found a hammer and was aggressively pounding on the ivy and before they knew it, the ghost showed up.

They were freaking out when Rose saw that the ivy had snapped and then they exited the house. They restored the painting and everyone got out of the house very safely. 

The ghost turned, sensing her and became worried that she might steal his life’s accomplishment. He shivered knowing that his fate and hers had become entwined. He hoped and prayed that his life wouldn’t be over. A ghost still will have had a life until their important work is stolen. He reached out and Rose answered. She was curious. Suddenly, the ghost that people rumored about if they survived struck and Rose was never seen again. He laughed, thinking of all the people who came stupidly and he got prepared for his next feast.

“I’m sorry for the disarray,” Mr. Howard apologized, “I haven’t been able to get a housekeeper since IT happened.”

“No, no no,” Rose said, “It's quite alright.”

As they walked deeper into the once beautiful building, Rose heard some creaks, Nothing much, Rose assured herself. Howard was also terrified, but not at all for the same reasons. What if she finds the body, what if she finds the painting, this could ruin him. On the other hand if it all goes well, he will be off the hook for everything. While still thinking, Howard heard Rose give a little yell. Howard immediately sprinted to her.

“Is everything alright?” Howard asked.

“Yes! Everything is alright!” Rose said secretively, “I found a loose board! Help me at it, will you?”

Howard nearly fainted, this is what he feared. He couldn’t show this thought. He just ran over and helped Rose pull it off. Underneath was a staircase.

“Ladies first,” Howard said.

Howard had to do something now. He needed to make a tough decision, add to his body count, or get arrested for everything. That was an easy choice. He strided down the stairs and pushed Rose as hard as he could. Crunch, Crunch, Crack. Howard ran up the stairs and put the board back.

As a detective Rose can’t show fear but Rose did feel a bit nervous. As she saw the house Rose thought it looked rundown old mansion   but still new, but a long time ago Rose imagend a brand new house iit smelled like fresh laundry, But that's not was the inside of the house smelled like as Mr Howard opened the front door Rose said “Stop” her tone was nice but urgent rose needed this information before going in the house. “What” said Mr Howerd “are you scared already we can turn back now” The way he said already Rose did not like it was like he wanted to get her out of there. Rose sensed  this from the beginning like he was hiding something like a painting. “What's your version of the rumor” Rose said a trickle of sweat went down Mr Howerds face “ my version” “yes” Rose started “you have to know some true facts it will help me get to the bottom of this.” “Um ok well in 2004 a couple lived here you know and the wife was big on painting. Well one day she got very sick and could barely talk. The only things she did was sleep, eat and paint. That and drinking a drink her husband made her '' As Mr Howard was saying this his face looked sad like he knew the woman himself. “This drink was claimed to make her feel better so she drank it she trusted her husband. How about we go in the house, all give you a tour and tell you some more.” That's fine guess Rose responded. As Mr howerd opened the door and rose and Mr howard stepped in smoke smelling air filled the room inside were a big flight of stairs to there left a dining room and the right a fireplace and a couch but it looked so clean so who was here to clean it  come let me show you the dining room. Inside the dining room were lots of fancy chairs and a glass table, no smudges , just clear glass.  Weird Rose thought. There were fresh flowers they could not be here from before. they would have died. Someone has been here and Rose knew it but she kept her poker face when she asked “ Have you been here like inside” this seemed dumb to Rose because he was giving her the tour so of course he's been here! He replied “ yes I’ve toured this house only once before you” “ and how long ago was that” “ about 3 years ago” This did not make sense . Why was it so clean and what about the flowers? “Was that the last time you were here?” Rose asked Mr howerd wonder if she knew the real story of what really happened. “Yes yes that was”. All of the sudden noise came from upstairs. Clunk clunk clunk. “Did you hear that?.” “Ya we should go check it out.” As they went up the giant stairs the sound got louder CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK. Rose and Mr Howard exchanged looks. Mr Howard was gently terrified , maybe he did not steal the painting Rose thought. But who did.  Mr Howard you never finished your story”. “Oh right, I forgot about that.” Rose did too. Tell me as we keep looking.” Right now are you serious? “Yes keep going.” “Ok it turns out her husband had been putting poison in her drink.  he wanted to sell her paintings and make lots of money but his wife wanted to keep the paintings so he killed her got the paintings for himself” but he did not.” “I know i'm about to get there after his wife died he wanted to go get the paintings and sell them to customers but he realized they were gone.  As he looked back at his wife she was gone.” “But she died,” Rose said. “I know but he saw another man who had all of the paintings in a bag and the wife in his arms. He ran for the door but the husband chased after him. The man told him the cops were on the way. The husband tripped the man, grabbed the bag and hid them in the house. After that he said “all be back for these paintings so don't try to steal them there hidden.” Then he ran out of the house, never to be seen again.” “Wow” Rose said “but I have one more question: how did you get this house?” “ Because I was the man I tried to save my sister in her will, the house was given to me.” Mr Howard looked like he was about to cry. “Were going to find those paintings and get justis for your sister” CLUNK CLUNK. Rose looked to her left then she saw a loose piece of wood in the floor she gave it a push and then it opened and there were all of the paintings. “THOSE ARE MINE" said a voice. Mr Howard said “call the cops”. Mr howerd was so scared he thought he might pee his pants. As Rose glimpsed down the hallway she saw her driver that she road with to the house. But she ran as fast as she could, she could hear fighting. She hoped Mr Howard was doing ok. After about 5 minutes the cops showed up. As they came up to the old house and almost fell off the crooked steps they yelled “HANDS UP”. It all happened so quickly to  Rose she saw the husband and her driver getting arrested and then her running to Mr Howard she really started to care for him from then on and so did Mr Howard. “Your so brave are you ok?” “yes” “Do you mind if I take some of these paintings there so beautiful” said Rose “of course you can put them some place special." 

“Howard, come here, I didn’t find the painting but a paper in replacement of the painting” she said “It reads, if you want the painting go north for 1760 yards, I’ll ask my driver to drive us there.” 

“OK, we got to go over there.” Once they reach their destination a paper over there says go 3520 yards west, once they go there it says now go 880 yards south once they reach their destination they read a paper that says you’ve reached your destination you must find it, it’s not here you have to find it, it’s near but not here. 

“We have to start digging around in the sand” Rose said and several hours later we couldn’t find anything not even a trace.

“I’m getting awfully tired, do you happen to know anywhere for me to sleep so we can continue tomorrow?”

“Uh.. no unfortunately I do not, but I have several different couches if that would work, you can find the one that’s most comfortable for you.”

“Yeah, that would work”

“OK, we can just drive back to the estate and we can find sleep there and then we can continue looking for the painting tomorrow.”

“Yeah OK” Said Rose. 

“Ms. Rose remember when I asked you who you were?” He could see nervousness in her eyes when he asked that. 

“Well if its ok if i ask you now who are you?”

 “I am the one that stole the painting.” she said with regret in her eyes 

“WHAT?!” he said furiously 

“I’ve been looking for that painting for years, and then you show up and say you had it, we’ve also been looking for it for hours!”

“I know but that’s the thing I lost it” she said regretfully

“Well where did you see it last?”

“In the estate” they drover back the estate “I saw it last in the upstairs area. We looked around and we found it.

“I’m surprised a beautiful place like this was abandoned”. She turns on all the lights and looks for anything that can tell her where the painting is. She decides to search the house from bottom up to the top. She finds where the basement is and braces herself to go down. She walks down the creaky wood stairs. She finds the lights and is shocked to realize that such a big house has such a tiny basement. She walks on the cracked floorboards and sees something move in the corner of her eyes. “What is that? Is there someone here?!” she yells. She brushes it off and starts looking for clues again. click The lights go out. Rose panics to get her phone flashlight on. She looks at her phone 32% “Why didn’t I charge it today?!” says Rose angrily. She realizes that there is probably nothing down there so she goes back up. She sighs of relief because the lights are working on the other floors. She finds an outlet with a small phone charger in it. She decides to plug it in and go explore. She walks up the stairs and realizes that there are many paintings there but some things off, they are all the same. They are all the stolen painting they all look the exact same. She tracks down the one with the signature. She runs out with her phone and finds Howard. They take it to the police station but who knows if that one had the real signature...

“Alfonso, are you there? '', Rose said quietly. Rose looked up and stopped. Wow She thought. The entryway was stunning. The whole house was beautifully reflected in colors due to the stained glass on the window. Rose’s jaw dropped. It practically hit the floor. 

“Helloooo. Rose are YOU there. C’mon  sis.” Rose quickly tapped into her gameface. 

  “Where do I go?”,Rose said intensely. 

“ Rose, do I really have to do this? We could be caught and gone in jail for life, and I am just sitting in a car. I want to be out there on the scene.” Rose stopped and thought for a moment.

“ Alfonso, stop whining.  Remember what happened last time. We are not going to get caught this time so just stay in the car and tell me where to go.”

“ You always get to have all the fun”, said Alfonso. 

“ Uggggggggggggggggg. Just tell me where to go ALREADY.”, Rose groaned  

“Down the hall, take a left and then down the stairs.” Alfonso said sadly. 

“ Everything okay over there Rose”, said Mr. Howard. “ Who are you talking to?”

“ All good over here just talking to myself. This painting is pretty hidden.”, Rose said to cover it up.

“Nice going sis.”, Alfonso chimed in. Just keep walking, Rose told herself. Shortly Rose found herself at the staircase. With every step Rose heard, Squeak Squeak. 

“ Come on rose we are running out of time. You need to move faster.”, Alfonso said.

“I’m going , I’m going,” Rose said. Clash. Plop. Boom. Everything was falling everywhere. The house started shaking what was happening Rose thought.

“ Earrthquaake”. Rose said. Rose took cover and watched it all. 

“ Rose, Rose are you there. You're breaking up. Rose,” Alfonso said. Rose was on her own now. No sense of where to go. 5 minutes later :) Rose found herself covered in dust and was stuck. Rose couldn’t lift this pillar off of her. Thankfully Alfonso was there to lift it off. 

“ Hey sis,” Alfonso said. Rose would yell at Alfonso later but she was just happy she was up. Rose’s once slick back hair had turned into Albert Einsteins. Once Rose had noticed her hair she screeched. Alfonso was just laughing. 

“Let’s keep moving c’mon”, Alfonso said. 

Was Rose seeing things? Rose saw a crack of light behind a painting, and all Rose wanted to do was go outside. So, with every second passing Rose slowly started getting closer. 

“ Rose, what are you doing?”, Alfonso asked. 

“ We're leaving.” Rose told Alfonso staring dead into his soul. “ Let’s go NOW”

Alfonso followed with no hesitation. He moved and crawled through the hole. What Alfonso and Rose didn’t know was it is the opposite of daylight in the whole, it is completely pitch black. Even better, they were going down a slide.

“Rose what did you do?”, Alfonso yelled.

“ The painting has to be down here,” Rose yelled back. They both hit the floor with a thud. Luckily Alfonso broke Rose’s fall. The whole room was lit up. Something was glowing. That something was the painting!! Rose ran to get in her arms. She was practically jumping for joy. The question was, how do they get out?

“Rose, how do we get back up the stairs?”

“ I don’t know, Rose responded. “I’m thinking about it.” While Rose was thinking, Alfonso tried to climb back up the slide. But it quickly failed. Rose was walking around looking for holes in the wall. 

“Alfonso, I found something”, Rose said. She removed the board on a wall.

“ We’re FREE,” Alfonso cheered. Alfonso started climbing out. He would go out and Rose would hand him the painting while she was climbing out. Once Alfonso climbed out, he realized the whole sky was not bright with sun, it was bright with red and blue flashing lights. The cops were waiting for us, Rose thought. But how would they know we were here? Someone must have tipped them off. Rose was racking her brain for who she had come in contact with before. Nothing came to her. She had seen so many people, and she didn’t even know who Alfonso talked to. What about recent people? Mr. HOWARD!! Rose didn’t want to go to jail but she didn’t want to leave her brother. So Rose climbed out to see if her guess was right, and sure enough there was Mr. Howard. 

“How did you know,” Rose asked. 

“ Well, there have been multiple break-ins for painting, and I thought I could catch the people. So I set up a trap and it worked!”, Mr. Howard said. “ So I told the police once you guys showed up.”

“ SO was the earthquake even real?”, Rose asked.

“No”, said Mr. Howard with an evil cackle. From there Rose and Alfonso went to jail and the painting was restored back to the museum. That is the story of The Surprising Visitor. 

  “ Mrs. Rose maybe the painting could be down here” so the duo went down into the basement to see if the painting was down there. 1 Hour later… 

“Sir we have been looking for an hour I know we have 4 search teams including us 2 upstairs, 1 downstairs which is us, and then we have 1 team on the first floor,”  Rose said. 

Rose and Howard kept looking for some time until, “Mrs. Rose are you sure the painting is he..” BANG!!.” there was a strange noise, 

“Mrs Rose are you okay? Uhhhhh Mrs Rose, MRS ROSE.” In front of Mr Howard, A strange man holding the painting and a shotgun was standing there.

“ I'm going to have enough money to save my mom from that infection she has.” Mrs Rose was lying there dead in her tracks. 

Then Howard asked,” WHO ARE YOU we are calling the police

“We? The other people here I killed with my shotgun”

“ What does that mean? 

“ You will find out soon enough but I have to sell this stupid painting to buy my mom the medicine she needs to survive the infection she has

“ I will put you in jail for what you ha.

” BANG! Howard was shot but not dead. In his last seconds of life, he called the police

 before the bullet hit a medal sign he had planned to block the shot, and the guy was surrounded by police He did not call the cops this was a sting operation

“ Put your hands in the air” Standing next to the armed authorities were all of the men and Rose

“ Those people you shot weren't us they were realistic dummies we knew you would come back for me Chad” 

“ Uh Rose my queen please come back to me please I miss you so much”

“ I broke up with you for a reason Chad you were an abusive criminal and ever since we broke up you were stalking me that's what you get Chad.” 

Then the painting was recovered and the boyfriend was put in jail

                                                  The end

“What happened to this place?”

“After the rumors we gave up on this place, we got rid of maintenance and everything has went downhill from then.” Mr. Howard said with a frown. 

Rose is the manager of Dreadwood Estate, she works on every single detail of the property. 

They walked further in. Painting filled the walls. Some included flowers, ocean, people, and so much more the walls were filled with the prettiest paintings. It held some of the most expensive paintings in history. 

Mr. Howard took the keys took unlock the secret room that only V.I.P customers could go into. Mr. Howard unlocked the door knob. 

“Wow, it really did go missing.” Rose said.

Since this room held the mona lisa their were not allowed to be any technology what so ever. 

“Yea, we still don’t know how they got in here.” Mr. Howard said with a frown.

“Let’s get to work.” Rose said strictly. 

“What should we do. Rose?” Mr.Howrd said questioning her idea. 

“Go search every single property our V.I.P  customers know.”

“Okay, Rose I will get to work.” 

Mr. Howard was on the phone with all 25 of the V.I.P Customers. 

“No I haven't even been in that room before.” 

“Sorry, haven't seen it.”

Finally, Mrs.Petter their best customer answered. 

“So sorry to hear that, But honestly one night I was driving by and I saw a big white van. I just thought it was maintenance. I didn’t think about saying anything because maintenance has always drove a big white truck.” 

“Oh really, Do you know what they were dressed in.” Mr.Howard asked.

“I think it was a group of five, dressed in all black.” 

“Okay, I will keep that in mind.” 

Mr. Howard knew who it was. 

“Now we just have to find the maintenance guys, it the only thing that makes since dressed in their uniform, and they have the keys to the mona lisa.” 

They sat in silence because they were shocked. They started to type.

“We need to find that painting, and arrest the maintenance guys.” Rose said very strictly

“I Found them.” Mr.Howard said with the biggest smile. 

“Okay, find them now.” Rose dematiend..

Mr. Howard ran down the stairs and hopped in the car. 

“HEY STOP”

5 people with all black ran. The police showed up and finally caught them. They stood in handcuffs. Mr. Howard, and rose went into the old house. Their it sat, the mona lisa. 

“There it is.” 

They grabbed the painting a put it back where it belonged. 

One side of her mind said, 

“I should go it's part of my job” and the other side of her mind said, 

“No,  you are going to get hurt.” She fought the side telling her not to go in an she took a step into the kitchen. She screamed 

“What the” but her next few words were drowned out by the banging of pans hitting the floor and glass breaking. When the dust cleared she heard 

“I have been waiting for you.” Rose looked up and saw a man, he was tall and had a beard with a small mustache growing on his face. He was carrying something that looked strangely like a frame for a painting but there was nothing inside of the frame. Rose backed up, the man then stepped forward into the light. She gasped as she saw the entire form of a man who looked as tall as 7’2 in his hand he was carrying what looked like a knife and on the other hand he was carrying the old painting frame. Rose looked back and forth between the empty painting frame and the huge man. 

“What” The man said in a deep voice, 

“You looking for this?” he held up the painting that was out of its frame. Rose lunch forward to grab it, But the man said, 

“not so fast,” And stepped back out of Rose's reach. He then dropped something, Immediately after The object that the strange man dropped hit the ground and it exploded into smoke. 

“What!”  Rose exclaimed. But about 30 seconds later as the smoke cleared the Man had left. Immediately the battle Rose was having in her mind flared back up again one side telling her to chase the man one side saying that she'd get hurt. She decided to be the good FBI agent she was and follow the man. She checked every single room in the house, There was only one room left, The Master bedroom on the second floor. Rose crept in and saw the creepy man Standing right in front of her. Rose then said

 “Give me the painting”

“No,” the man said and backed up. Rose looked behind him and saw that the window was open she had a plan. It was only the second floor so a jump wouldn't hurt right? That's what she thought to herself. So she rushed towards the man and she nicked the painting frame and the actual painting from his hand and leaped right out the window. She looked back as she landed on the soft grass in the front yard and saw the man chasing her. Rose was in the lead but not by much the man was catching up with his long legs. Rose soon got exhausted and the man was right behind her. She ran across the street and the man did the same However, when Rose crossed the street there were no cars but when the man did there were cars, So that slowed down the man and his pursuit of Rose and the painting. She took a left rounding back towards the mansion and she was running the fastest she's ever run. She climbed over the gate and ran to the backyard. She hid behind a bush, the man searched for 15 minutes. He then got frustrated that he could not find her and left stomping his feet on the ground like a child having a tantrum. After the man was out of sight Rose popped up from her hiding spot and the painting mystery was solved. She walked back to the front yard her legs exhausted from the run. She felt proud of herself and she felt like she had achieved a great award. Later that day she was promotedFrom an agent to a manager of the FBI she was very proud of herself and she would never forget that moment.

“Fuhe.” said Rose with relife. “It's just a cat.”

  “Row” meowed the cat. Then it scoured away. She felt a chill. 

Rose turned around and saw a ghost. “AHHHHHHHH!!” she screamed. She dashed down the hall. Some bats flew down, but she just kept running. She heard an evil cackle. But she ignored it and ran into a room and locked the door. It was a bedroom. Rose saw a book on the bed. She began to read aloud to her self

“BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH Experiments BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH Painting BLAH BLAH BLAH…Wait? PAINTING?!?! She read the section again but more intentivally. 

“People have been trying to steal my famous painting the night after I said it wasn't for sale. So to prevent robbers I faked my death, and now I am using my inventions to “Haunt”(air quotes) my own house.” Rose looked around. She saw a door with green light coming out from the gaps under and to the sides of the door. 

“What the?” Rose said to herself. She walked over to the door and opened the door. She saw a short bearded man using some controls.

“Wah? Where did she go?” he said looking at his cameras.  He turned toward her. 

“Oh fiddlesticks.” said the man standing up. “I guess the jig is up.” 

“Are… Are you Professor Dread wood?” asked Rose

“Yes,” said the professor. “I am sorry for scaring you. I just wanted to keep my painting safe.”

“I understand,” said rose. “But if I come back to the museum without the painting, I'll lose my job. So how are we gonna make a compromise?” they both thought for a moment. 

“I got it!” shouted the professor. “So we are gonna hafta, whisper whisper whisper whisper.” The next day Rose walked into her boss's office. He was a pudgy man who was in a suit and tie wherever he went.

“Mr.Wight.” said rose

“Well, well, well, if it isn't Mrs string bean.” he sneard “Do you have it?” 

“No.” said Rose with a twitch of anger in her eye. “But the owner would like to speak with you.” 

“Wha?” said Mr. wight

Then the door slowly came open revealing a ghost.the ghost came right up to mr. weight. 

“A-a-a a GHOST!” said mr. wight

“YOU!” said the ghost. “MUST NEVER SEND ANYONE AFTER MY PAINTING EVER AGAIN!”

“Y-y-yes of course.” stuttered the terrified mr wight.

“AND,” the ghost added. “GIVE ROSE A RASE.”“Whatever you need.” said Mr. Wright. Later that day the professor thanked Rose.

“You didn't have to give me a raise.” said Rose.

“Oh I know.” replied the professor with a twinkle in his eye. “It was just a little something extra for all of your help.”

“So, does this mean you'll stop haunting your house?” asked Rose.

“HE HE HE!” laughed the professor. “No promises.” He winked. Then Rose giggled. But as she was walking away. 

“Rose!” shouted the professor. She turned around.

“Promise you’ll visit every once and a while.”

“Of course!” she shouted. “How could I not?”

The professor smiled and waved. But as she walked away she looked at a photo in her locket, and in that photo was a picture of her and her grandpa. But her grandpa looked exactly like professor Dread wood

THE END

The dim lighting that flickered on and off made it slightly difficult to examine the checkered floors, poorly accented by the wood purple walls. The furniture was covered in white-stained cloth.

As she took her first steps, she aimed her direction toward a narrow hallway. She went further down into what seemed to be an old dining room. She turned back to make sure Mr. Howard was out of sight, just before she located the phone hooked towards the wall. She took a couple short steps, followed by her grip landing on the old device. She dialed the number she had in the back of her mind. After a few rings, a familiar voice picked up.

“Do you have the painting?”

“Not quite,” Rose reassured her boss, Mr. Robinson. “I’m still searching.”

“Well, get to it. I don’t have all day.”

Rose hung up the phone a bit hesitant. As she looked around the room, she noticed the bright paintings hung upon the wall. It seemed to be a trap. As she walked towards it, her heels clicking against the rough floor, she seemed to feel a sense of closeness.

“Ms. Crenault?”

The woman jumped at the sudden voice. “Oh, Mr. Howard. Do you happen to know where the painting is?”

“Not at the moment, no.” He said, just as Rose presumed.

“Well, I'll best be looking again. Thanks for your effort.” She finished before scurrying off to another doorway.

Rose walked fast-paced until she passed by a familiar sight. As she stopped in her tracks, she looked back to see the infamous Starry Night. The expensive painting had been stolen by someone, who had hid it in this Estate. The burglar had been caught, although they had not yet retrieved the painting. Mr. Robinson had sent Rose as an undercover criminal. She posed as a worker from the museum, which she hoped would lead to her finding the painting, as well as  earning profit from selling it.

Rose looked around cautiously before taking the painting off of its hinges. She made her way back down the hallway to the main entrance, being met by Mr. Howard.
“Ah, I see you have found it. Thank you for your work.”
With that, Rose found her way out the door and down the sidewalk to her driver. He was another worker of Mr. Robinson, though Rose was ahead of him in the ranking.

“Straight there,” Rose stated to the driver. “We may not have much time.”

The driver nodded and stepped on the pedal. As they drove off, Rose felt a sense of accomplishment. She knew she would get a good portion of the earnings, and she couldn’t help but anticipate the praise from her boss--in the form of money. They winded down the busy road before finally going down the street of the bunker. Rose took one last look at the painting and climbed out.

“Did you get it?” Mr. Robinson asked, greeting them on the lawn.

Rose grinned. “The money is all ours.”

“Stay safe!” the Showfer shouted and then got ready to drive Rose away as they felt it wasn't safe to let Mr. Howard in the car. At the same time, Rose starts telling Mr. Howard about her job as a detective and her idea of how to stay alive by kicking around and running to get the painting, study the inside, and run. She describes how everything inside is like a silent soldier. Kicked around but did not face a true match. As they got inside of Dreedword Estate they saw it was destroyed, and messy, and glass was on the floor. They kept walking through the house and they kept hearing whispers like the sounds of a calm silk lake. 

Then out of nowhere, Mr. Howard screeched,” WE ARE DOOMED!!” Then he ran out of sight and heard a yelp of pain and then he went dark. After this Rose decided not to speak because she knew Mr. Howard had died. She started walking upstairs to the sight of a shattered missing painting and in the next room, she saw the long-awaited sight of the painting sitting on the ground as if it was waiting for someone to love. She picked it up and then ran but started feeling taping. She kept running down the stairs but then heard whispers. As she ran out of Dreadwood Estate there was a loud bang. She went outside and saw everyone and ran. 

Then she yelped,” I will never do that again.” Then everyone left except Mr. Howard who tried to not let anyone go inside again.

“That must be his name” Mr. Howard said. 

They looked into the painting and they realized they've seen it before. It was the painting that they have been looking for all those years, as though they thought. They were very confused and wondered how the dog found the painting.

They walked inside and explored the house. Rose and Mr. Howard took off their shoes and took out their flashlights. They did not need their flashlights because they did have lights inside. I walked underground to the basement and found something flashing. Them two looked around  and found out it was just a mirror looking into the flashlight.

“We should go up stairs.” Said Rose.

They were walking upstairs but then there was a squeak on a stair step. 

Mr. Howard lifted up the wooden stair step and screamed “guys?” 

There was a big key that must have led to something. So they continued walking up the stairs which led to another set of stairs. They walked up and were then on the highest floor. They explored around some more. Rose needed to touch up her makeup so she looked in the mirror and saw an opening to it. She told Mr. Howard to come to her and look inside. They opened the mirror and found a big wooden door but it was locked. They felt stumped but then remembered how they found the key. 

Rose said “Mr. Howard, do you still have the key?”

“Yes!” Said Mr. Howard.

He got out the key and heard a CLICK! The door opened and they saw a big room with the painting inside,  They finally found what they were looking for! Both of them tried taking the painting off the wall, but then a trap came and fell on them. Mr. Howard pulled his pocket knife out of his jacket and used it to break free. They ran off, went down the stairs and hopped into the car with the driver. Mr. Clearance the driver drove away.

He asked, “where do you need to go?” 

“The art museum please.” said Rose. 

They drove off quickly to go to the museum.  They hung the missing painting back up making sure no one would notice.

“May I take your bag for you Ms. Crenault?” Mr. Howard choked out, saliva filling his throat. He held out his hand, simultaneously apologizing to the young detective in advance for any coughing fits caused by is cold.

“Why, that would be wonderful! Thank you sir, you are too kind.” Rose replied, desperate to finally see the interior of the beautifully eerie estate. 

She gently pushed open the front door, already unlocked, to find an extrordinarily empty foyer. She was greeted by the smell of rotting fruit. Rose took a few more steps and quickly glanced around before turning back to Mr. Howard.

“I understand it isn’t quite what you were expecting Ms. Crenault, but might I remind you that nobody has stepped foot in here besides me for years since the incident.” 

“No, no, it is certainly alright. But if you don’t mind I’d like to take a look around. Maybe start with the kitchen?” Replied Rose, eager to begin her search for the painting. After hearing about the owner of the estate disappearing along with their most prized possession, a painting, she just had to solve the mystery for herself. 

Mr. Howard coughed twice before responding.

“Well… I would love to make that happen for you miss, but I think it would be best if we started off by getting you settled into your room?”

“Alright then, if you wish I suppose I can wait.” 

Rose felt uneasy about Mr. Howard’s desperateness to go upstairs first, but she came to the conclusion that he must’ve just been hoping to set down her heavy bags. 

Crossing the room over to the stairs, Rose got a glimpse of the kitchen, which was right next to them, before making the climb up the creaky wooden steps. She was shown to her room and quickly set her stuff down, hoping to get some time to investigate. 

“I think I have gotten to be familiar with my space, do you suppose I could now take a look downstairs?” Rose asked, but it came out more commanding than she had meant. 

She waited for Mr Howard’s coughing fit to come to an end. He stood there uncomfortably for a moment before replying.

“Of course, follow me.” 

He led her down the stairs toward the kitchen, where she had previously asked to visit. But something caught her eye, a small shine coming from a crack in the side of the stairs. Suddenly it all made sense. Rose ripped off the piece of wood to reveal the painting, in a shiny gold frame, hanging on the wall. She turned to look at Mr. Howard, who was standing there looking as guilty as one could be.

“Mr. Howard, how could you do such a thing?”

“You don’t think it was me who took it do you?” He replied, failing to hide his quivering voice. “Don’t you think I would have reported it if I had found it?” But Rose was not deceived by his foolish acting.

“No sir, I don’t think you took it. I know you took it. You see, when you get nervous you choke up. That’s why you kept coughing whenever I mentioned going to the kitchen, for it is right next to the stairs. And why you coughed at the thought of the rumors. At first I thought it was a coincidence, but now it is perfectly clear. Mr. Howard, you found out that the owner of the Dreadwood Estate had disappeared, and took that as an opportunity to steal his famous painting. So goodbye my friend, for the police are now on their way.”

“Good luck,” Mr Howard said as if he was saying goodbye to her. 

“ I don’t need any,” she fired back at him.

“As you wish.” She then walked into the dark gloomy house. She was a little surprised that she felt a little scared, she never did. As she walked into the house her first step cracked the ground very loud. She stopped for a second, and then kept walking. She saw a light switch and clicked it. “Ahhhhh,” she screamed. In a small room there was a skeleton holding up a sign DO NOT ENTER!!!!!!!!  She went through the door without even thinking about it. She walked down an aisle and every 5 steps she walked a light would turn on. She saw more and more skeletons that told her not to go through the next door. But again without stopping she went straight through the door and Right there in front of her was the painting. So again without stopping she went straight to the painting but 5 steps before she got there an alarm went off weeeeooweeeeeoo! Then a net came under her and the next thing she knew it she was dangling in a net struggling to get down. Then the little red man came in. “Hahahaha,” the little red man laughed at her like she just made a silly joke.  

“So you did all this.”

“Oh yes I did.”

“But why you?”

“Because I am the one who stole the painting, I knew that everyone would come to this house because they knew a lot of things stolen were found here but finally I figured out how to steal expensive things and not get caught.”

“What do you mean,” 

“I put all of the signs there because I knew you guys would keep going, and know I will go sell the painting for a ton of money at the art museum” 

“What do you mean by you guys,” 

“Oh I haven’t just caught you, I have caught the other detective that came here looking for the painting, and you will go where he went.” Suddenly a trap door dropped under her and Mr. Howard cut the net. Rose fell far down until she felt herself crash into a cushion. 

“So I see you have fallen into his trap too.”

“I guess, what even is this place?” 

“It’s his trap.”

Then he turned the light on the light

“Jory Davis the best detective in the world????!!!!!”

“Yes it is me, I was foolish to go here and try to grab the picture.”

“Whatever, we have to get out of here.”

“It’s impossible to get out of here, he's blocked all of the exits .”

“How about if I just pull this book right here?” Suddenly the bookshelf split open and a stairway let up to the outside. “Well ok that works,” Jory said.

“Let’s go, he told me he was selling the painting to the art museum.”

“Ok!”

The driver was outside waiting for them and they drove to the art museum. When they got there they sprinted in just in time to see Mr. Howard gave the painting to the man working at the desk “Fraud!” Rose screamed. The man at the desk looked up and said “What do you mean,” 

“He stole that painting and is trying to sell it,” Rose said

“What, no I didn’t!” Mr. Howard said surprised they were there.

“How about we check the handprints on the day it was stolen.”

A few hours later Mr. Howard was in jail and the painting was safe and sound

“I have to say Ms. Crenault, you did a good job with this case Jory said.”

“Well thank you, and i’ll see you around,”

“Yeah you to.”

Rose was glad she solved the case but there was something weird about that house and she was going to carry it with her for the rest of her life.

She said “ It looked like a horror movie” She started to take steps you could hear the cracks in the floor every step On the left she saw the entrance to the kitchen and the spider webs all over the ceiling and floor .The dark wood staircase was staring her down., She said” There was a door that was slightly open and I wanted to know If the painting was down there .”She started to walk slowly to the slightly opened door and took a glance inside it was dark but there was a little tiny glimpse of light in her way and she took 2 deep breaths and went in She said,” It was a curved staircase down to the basement and it was dark”she took steps down and was at the bottom There was random bins everywhere she said”She took a couple steps to the left and saw a misterios frame that was backward she walked toward it and picked it up. It was the stolen Mona lisa!

She quickly grabbed it and sprinted up the stairs and through the door and well the shiny car was waiting for her She said” The door was waiting for her open too” She sat in the car and he drove off She drove to the skibidi toilet museum and dropped of the painting and in reward she got 1 billion dollars and was all over the internet. She was famous And the story will go on forever!!

“I’ll be taking this thank you,” said Rose 

Then Rose heard a creaking sound upstairs, there was no one else in this house but me and…….Mr. Howard. Rose put the painting down and sprinted back upstairs. She looked around the mansion, but Rose could not find Mr. Howard anywhere. The mansion seemed to be going on forever. It seemed like it was a giant labyrinth. Rose was fearless, she was zooming through hallways trying to find Mr. Howard. Then Rose heard footsteps behind her. It was Mr. Howard.

“Where were you!?!” said Rose. 

“I got lost, and I couldn’t find my way back,” said Mr. Howard.

Then there were footsteps upstairs, creaking.

“Rose I forgot to tell you but, There is something in this house other than us,” said Mr. Howard.

“People have gone missing Rose,” said Mr. Howard.

Rose refused to believe it. 

“I’ve had enough of this place,” said Mr. Howard.

And he strode off, along the hallway. 

“That’s even if he can find his way out,” said Rose under her breath.

The people who lived in this place…gone. People have been going missing because of this place. Rose started to question herself. Should she even be here right now?

“Yes I should be her right now,” said Rose

But then there was a…thump. And then a…crash. Something was coming towards her. They were in a shadow, so Rose couldn’t see who they were. But when they came to light, Rose was relieved it was only Mr. Howard. Before Rose could do anything, Mr. Howard was full-on charging at Rose. He was holding a sharp kitchen knife. Rose had to act fast, there was nothing beside her to grab. And then she had an idea. She slid underneath Mr. Howard and grabbed a chair, knocking him out. This will give her time to get out of the building, with the painting. Rose successfully made her way out of the building, with the painting. Finally, we need to try and convince the cops to report this man for murder. And lock him up for a while.

“Mr. Howard?” Rose shouted.

No answer… Rose looked around, he was nowhere to be seen. Rose was skeptical so she went downstairs into the basement.

“Mr. Howard?!?” Yelled Rose.

“Well hello rose.” said an unknown voice behind her. Rose turned around with surprise.

“Who are you?!” Rose asked.

“My name is Benny.”

“Benny? I don’t know a benny?” Rose said.

“You really don’t remember me?!” The lights flickered on. There was no one there. Rose thought she must have been going crazy. She scanned the basement further. She felt very tired. She put her back against the wall. She slowly opened a secret passageway. She was very shocked. She stood up and explored the opening. She heard a voice.

“Hello again Rose.” Said someone unknown. Rose gasped.

“Where are you!?” shouted Rose. No response. She decided to explore a little more into the passageway. As she went deeper into the passageway she heard the voice again. As she walked one more step… The lights flashed on. Rose stood face to face with benny. She relized who he was… it was her old friend from highschool!

“Benny!? Wow I didn’t even relize it was you! Why are you here?” said Rose.

“I am here to get revenge.” Benny said.

“What for?” Rose asked.

“You don’t remember!? In highchool I loved you Rose. You would never acknowledge me. I was just your boy bestfriend. That's all I ever was. You wouldn’t even care about me. I was just acknowledged whe you were upset about your old boyfriiends. I was never one of them… I wanted to be so bad. Iv’e watched you for a while now Rose… I still love you. But you would have never met me again. So I made you meet me again. I stole your grandmother's painting. I knew you would be here. Me, Mr. Howard, and your driver all were in a plan together.” Said Benny.

“Wow Benny. Why would you steal my grandmother's painting?” Rose asked.

“I needed to be with you.” Benny replied. Next thing I heard  sirens outside of the house. Benny and I rushed upstairs to see what was going on. We walked outside and the police were right outside! My grandma was standing right next to a police woman. They hurried and handcuffed Benny and took him in the car.

“No!! Please don’t take me!!” Benny shouted. Rose ran up to her grandmother and hugged her tightly. Rose and her grandmother went back to her house and painted a wonderful painting together.

So then she got out of the car she asked,  “who are you?” then a familiar face pops out it's her ex boyfriend from high school.

Mr howard said I don't know I have never been in there

She is going through a trail through the house. She smells flowers, she sees bees and then she sees a large house she sees some spiders and it looks a little haunted and it looks like no one has been here. She sees a kitchen with no forks, no shelfs no nothing but a stove and a sink. Then she sees some stairs going down to the basement and it is very dark but it looks like there  is a picture she slowly, quietly walks to the picture and sees that it looks like the mona lisa right about when she was gonna grab the picture she heard the door open

A old man with a beard and brown hair says what are you doing in here 

Rose crenulate says um nothing

The old man said that's my painting!¨that you come back here or if you steal that picture I am going to kill you 

Rose gets scared she  sees another door and sees a key on the floor She grabs  the Key with the mona lisa and opens the door the old man said you dare go through that door and you will die

 she went through the door and slams it behind him she is breathing heavily 

The old man said, open the door 

She says No!!!

The old man said then I will break it

She starts running then she arrived at the front door she sees the gate she starts running but then she looks back the old man is right there at the front door

The old man says oh you dare go through that gate and you will dream about this all day until you come back eventually.

She starts running as fast as she can and she could here the man yelling but she didn't pay attention she ran past the gate and saw the guy at the front 

Mr Howard, you will never know what I saw there. It was crazy.

She started breathing so heavily she almost passed out.

The end.

Although the condition of the house was poor, Rose was still mesmerized by the beauty of the state that she didn’t even notice the cobwebs forming in the corners of the walls.

“I have to stay focused,” Rose said with a hint of confidence.

 But something catches her eye, but not anything, “The painting,” Rose said in shock.

It was too good to be real, she thought.

 “How could the painting just be sitting here out in the open?” Rose questioned the situation.

“Am I being tricked?”   “Is Howard playing a Joke?” 

But of course Rose can’t leave. She has to make sure. “I can’t see the painting clearly, is there a light switch?” Rose said curiously.

After sometime Rose had finally found a light switch, she was worried that the estate doesn’t have electricity and the lights wouldn’t turn on but tries anyway. As Rose flicks the switch the room light’s up.

Rose wanted to take a look around since she can see more clearly, But pulled herself together. Rose walked toward the painting but what stood in front of her wasn’t the painting she was looking for, the painting was supposed to be of a woman but instead it was a sunset, Although the painting wasn’t the right one, it still made Rose feel content. 

“I can’t let this fly, I have given up my time to come here today, only to be played a joke on,” Rose said, infuriated. 

Rose stomps toward the door enraged. As she reached the door and placed her hand on the handle she was taken aback. The door was locked.

“Let me Out!” Rose shouted anxiously.

Before Rose can continue, the light’s turn off “But i didn’t turn them off?” Rose whispered quietly, alarmed.

“Surprise!” Once these words were said the lights had turned on.

Rose turned around faster than you could say 1.

Rose was dazed at the sight in front of her. In Front of her were a group of people, but not just any, her friends.

It was a surprise birthday party. Turns out today was Rose’s birthday.

I guess what everyone can learn from this is that your friends will always be there for you, for every important experience in your life.

Rose with disbelief says “What is this place”

Then mr howard says “Fell for my trap, Bye”

Rose turns around and finds a flashlight. She turns it on and its only got 10% battery left

She searches all around the house looking. And she looked in the bathroom

And when she opens the door she finds a guy whose dead with a mask in his mouth so he cant speak

She was so scared

She screamed at the top of her lungs 

Mr howard comes down there and says “You speak one more word and i will put a mask in your mouth like i did to that guy”

Rose says “Make me” And then rose got tackled

But she finds a wrench

And puts him against the wall and locks him in the bathroom

Theres a lock on it

She uses the wrench but its not enough 

She needs a screw

Mr howard gets out and start to fight her

He found the screw and put the nail into his head

Then she took it out and used it to break out

She found the painting right outside of the living room took it and called an uber

Rose gets in

And he says “Welcome back rose”

Rose says “Wait, do i know you?”

Mr howard says “Thats my brother, now its your turn”

Rose jumps out of the car and runs as fast as she can

Mr howard jumps out of the car and tries catching her

Rose realiized her painting was still in that car

Mr howard was running after her 

She turns around ducks and grabs his keys then runs back to the car

Without any hesitation she ran as fast as she could not looking behind her

She gets in that car and drives as fast as she can to her house

Mr howard breaks into her house and he falls down to the secret bunker

Rose says “You made a big mistake now im gonna kill you like i did to your brother”

Mr howard says “No please i will do anyth-”

Rose says “Thanks for the painting.”

“ Very interesting” she says.

  Everything in the house was old, broken,  an covered in spiderwebs. Mr. Howard slams the door behind her as Rose starts walking and looking through Drawers, but Instantly starts coughing. Mr. Howard runs over to see whats wrong, When Rose turns around her whole faces is covered in spider-webs. Mr. Howard starts ripping the spider-webs off her face. After all the spider webs were Taken off Rose's face They made their way into the Grand Foyer Or at least that's what Rose believed it was. They stepped in and was instantly frightened by what they saw. Everything was on the ground, glass was everywhere. 

“Hmm” Rose sighs. “Looks like someone has been here.¨ 

¨ Ms. Crenault I can assure you that no one has been here.¨ says Mr. Howard nervously. 

¨ Well thats why im here, right Mr. Howard, to figure that out.” Roses proudly as she turns around to look at Mr Howard. 

“Ohh, yes of course.”Mr. Howard says as he looks to the ground.

  “ So Mr Howard, Can you describe to me where the painting was last seen.” Rose instinctively as she sees an open Spot on the wall.”

“ Well, The police tracked the car that stole the painting, And it went right to this mansion. Police have searched everywhere in the house and it can't find anything.” Mr Howard explains.

“ They should have found something, did they look every room.¨ She turns around, and Mr Howard isn't there. “Mr Howard, where did you go.” There was no answer. Spinning around, Rose Looks around to see any possible escapes. But as she looking she thinks why would he run away if he didn't have anything To be afraid of. And that's when she hits her Mr Howard has the painting! She hears footsteps coming from upstairs, loud ones. She runs up right as a door is getting slammed shut. She runs to the door to try and get it open but It wouldn't budge.

“Mr Howard I know you're in there, Open it up and i won't hurt you.” Rose said . There was no response, so Rose knew what she needed to do. A loud smash came from her Slamming down the door.  She walked in and there was a gun to her head. Roes looked to her side Slightly and saw the painting sitting right next to Mr. Howard 

¨Leave right now and nothing will happen to you.”Mr Howard shouts in her ear.  

 As Roses heart is beating 100 mi per, she screams “No way”. What Mr Howard didn't know is that Rose was a black belt in Taekwondo.  Rose does a jumping front kick and knocks Mr Howard to the ground. 

“ Nice try, but you will never catch me.” Right as Mr. Howard says this, 5 police came in to the room including the head of the police department, The driver. 

“How, How!” Mr. Howard screams. 

 “I have my  ways, lock him up boys.”  Rose said confidently

“Nooooo” Mr. Howard steamed as the pull him out out, and shove him in a cop car.

“Ohh yes, I told you i came her for a reason.” Rose says as she gets into her own car.

“

Rose swung the gate aside as she quickly walked forward. She firmly put her hand on the door knob and turned. A long creak welcomed Rose in. She stood coughing as she got blasted in the face with dust. She then examined the inside of the estate with an unwavering gaze. 

“Sorry about that.” Howerd got more and more sweaty as he stood at the outside of the door. 

The Dreadwood Estate’s inside surprised Rose. It looked very well kept besides the dust everywhere. There was a long red carpet connecting the hallway to the foyer. Paintings were scattered on the walls. There was a staircase on the left side of the entrance that looked more dusty than any other part of the building.  

Inside the foyer was a fancy striped sofa and a small table next to it with a lamp, but what intrigued Rose the most was a small glass of water next to the lamp with ice in it. Was someone else in the house?

 As Rose stepped in a loud creak followed her foot step as she noticed an old chandelier above her head.

  “May I look around?” Rose didn’t wait for an answer as she marched down the carpet. Mr. Howard quickly shuffled behind her. 

“This is the storage room.” Howard said quickly. He kept talking though Rose wasn’t listening. Instead she observed every painting in each room. Rose wasn't searching for any old painting. She was trying to find the stolen one. The Mona Lisa. 

.

Suddenly she heard a loud bang coming from the attic. Uncertainty filled Rose as she remembered about the rumors. “Ghosts aren’t real,” she reassured herself. She slowly climbed towards the attic.

“Wait! I wouldn’t go up there! There is still more to see down here!” Howard yelled. 

Rose opened the door anyway, and she saw a middle aged lady with blonde wavy hair picking up shattered glass. The woman jumps and says, “Oh honey you startled me!” while glaring at Howard. 

That’s when Rose noticed the Mona Lisa on the ground with a broken frame. Right then she heard the police sirens pulling up to the house. Perfect timing! Rose had called the police before she went into the house. The rumors were that the house was haunted, but Rose knew that it was just to keep people away from their stolen goods. She was right, and now the owners will be arrested and the Mona Lisa will go back to the museum. 

“Gasp!” Rose said at the next drawing. Next to Mr. Howard was one of a young girl with similar chestnut hair and a plaid dress. However, this drawing had the eyes scratched out. “Why would someone do this?”

on the floor were lots of plaid-colored toys.

“I think someone is lying to me.” Rose said.

Down this hallway she could smell something warm and inviting.

Sniff sniff!

The closer she got the more the delicious smell of fresh baked cookies tickled her nose. The hallway led to a big kitchen, dim except for an oven’s fire. This room was not clean - the opposite in fact! There was oats and sugar and eggshells, mixing bowls and whisks, and a fresh plate of oatmeal cookies.

“Hello?” Rose called.

“Why hello.” said the dark silhouette of a girl. “Daddy’s brought another friend for me?”

“Daddy?”

The girl stepped into the firelight. She had chestnut-colored hair and a plaid dress.

“You… are you Mr. Howard’s daughter?”

“Please, have a cookie?” the girl asked innocently.

They smelled just like the ones Rose had when she was a girl.

“Thank you.” she said and took a bite. “Oh, it’s heavenly-ACKH!”

The cookie dropped to the floor and so did Rose.

A FEW HOURS LATER

“Hmmm, Msc Renault has been in the house for hours. I wonder if we should go check on her?” Said Richard questioningly.

“Yes I think so, I will go and check on her” said Mr.Howard mischievously.

As Mr. Howards went into the house he was thinking to himself, I can’t wait for my lovely daughter to have someone new to play with until they drop dead. As soon as she wakes up she’ll find that she can’t ever leave and she’ll have oh so much fun.😏

When he got in the kitchen he saw the lifeless body of Rose Crenault and his daughter standing above manically laughing.

“Hello Daddy. Welcome, would you like a cookie? I am going to wipe out the entire  existence of the world including you because of you. GIVE ME MY PAINTINNNNNNNNG!”

 rose says “ It won't budge” 

Mr Howard replies “Let's find something to open it”

 They adventure around the house. Suddenly Mr. Howard finds are weird case it's not locked so mr howard opens it he screams in joy “Rose i found the key” They walk down to the door suddenly. When they put the key in it unlocks their adventure down. But it has a terrible smell they keep going then they find a big metal door. they open it and boom they find the painting but they find a lot more they take the missing painting but the house starts to shake they run up the stairs and they make it out the housing collapse and a big gust of gust come they did it they find the missing painting 

“Sweetheart my name is John Hunter you are safe with me. Mr.Howard wanted you to get hurt. DON'T TRUST HIM”  

Rose is freaking out inside but on the outside she does not say anything. 

Quietly John whispers “I am your real dad. You parents adopted you when you were 8 months old” 

Rose still was silent. When John put Rose down Rose ran as fast as she could to get away from John. When Rose is about to go onto the stairs she sees a letter. 

The letter says, “Rose runs as fast as you can. This is a haunted house. Mr.Howard wanted to test you to see how smart you are. If you go up the stairs and turn left you will see the room that leads to the attic…”

Rose runs there and pulls the entrance to the attic down. She climbs up and sees someone familiar. Rose could not remember her name but Rose thinks she knows who would wear a dress that was white with flowers on it. 

The girl who was waiting for Rose was her real mom. 

She says, ty“That guy who was in there is dangerous. He was a guy from the court who wanted to arrest me. I did not do anything but they thought i did that is why I am up here. You are now safe with me. Let's try to escape. Together they climb down and run out. Mom said “I found the painting, it is the Mona lisa. I am going to paris with you to bring it to the louve.” 

Rose said “I can't wait” 

(This is peculiar I came here to find the Mona Lisa not to uncover the murder mystery but I might have to do both Said Rose )

Help  

somebody sat in a rasp voice 

Rose whipped around instantly There was a man holding a painting but something was wrong the last person who came in here came in 5 years ago. there was nothing to eat nothing to drink and then she saw it. The man was missing a leg.

what happened Rose said

leave he's a while you still can

I'm not leaving until you get out of here with me ross said

It's too late for me he has me the man said 

What happened Rose repeated why are you here and why are you missing a leg 

Rose was surprisingly calm due to the circumstances 

I'm an investigator I came in find the stolen Mona Lisa I found it it's It's right here Take it Go The man said 

I said it before and I'll say it again I'm not leaving without you 

If you're not leaving without me then you're dead too everybody's heard the stories I came in I never came out it's been torture they've had me here they fed me so little just enough to keep me alive so that I can suffer. I've been here for years. the man said.

5 years said Rose

the man Unleashed his dogs on my leg the second I took the Mona Lisa there was dogs all around me after they took my leg I said okay okay I'll stay here and I've been waiting in fear that the dogs will come back 

There was a growl from behind them

 Rose whipped around just to see that it wasn't a dog, it was a wolf. 

Mr Howard came out from behind a curtain,

 I see you've met my friend said Mr Howard

 he's not your friend he's a prisoner Rose said

 nonetheless he's here he can't leave besides even if you tried to he would just stumble over his own leg and Mona Lisa. is a prize theft of mine I wouldn't let anyone steal it. if I hear another word out of either of you that is not’ I will stay here’ your friend dies and I destroy the Mona Lisa.

You can't 

Watch me

 Just as he reached for the painting.Something hit him on the back of the head a long metal bat  it made a dumb sound as it hit his head knocking him unconscious. 

Everybody turned around to see that the driver had knocked him out. 

Hey everybody Daniel and I will be expecting a five-star rating and yeah see you later. Daniel said.

 everybody ran out as fast as their legs could carry them They Carried the guy with one leg though.

“Hello, Rose.”

“Who is that?”

Before Rose could continue, she felt a warm breath down her neck. The tip of a sharp blade plunged through Roses back.

“I guess you’ll never know.”

Howard's beard looking redder than ever, bounced up and down as he laughed. He climbed back upstairs, awaiting his next visitor.

Mr. Howard laughed, “of course I did.” Rose slowly walked towards the door.

When Rose opened it, dust flew out. She noticed that the room was oddly clean.

Mr. Howard, are you sure you never opened this?

“Yes i never have” Howard said

Rose was skeptical, the room was clean and there was nothing else in it but a bookshelf.

Rose pulled a book from the bookshelf just to find a random book about science. She pulls another book out and a passage opens. While walking down the stairs Mr.Howard closes the door.

“Another detective fell for my trap”

Before Rose could talk Mr. Howard pushed Rose down the stairs and closed the door behind her.

Behind Rose were 2 women. One with blue eyes and looked like she had been in there for years and the other woman with green eyes and sadness all throughout her face. When Rose arrived they both didn't even move an inch. It was like they were very used to new visitors. Rose wondered why because there were only two of them. But suddenly one of the girls spoke.

“Don't even try to escape. He will hurt you. Just like the others that tried” She said

“Well i'm not spending my life here” Rose said

“Suit yourself,” she said.

Rose saw a key in the cell

“Oddly Suspicious” she said.

She opened the door and saw the painting.

So Rose grabbed it and left up the stairs.

She runs out to the door and…

She feels terrible pain.

She fell to the ground and closed her eyes

“Another one dead” said Mr.Howard.

He pulls the knife out of her body and goes on to call another detective

Rose with disbelief says “What is this place”

Then mr howard says “Fell for my trap, Bye”

Rose turns around and finds a flashlight. She turns it on and its only got 10% battery left

She searches all around the house looking. And she looked in the bathroom

And when she opens the door she finds a guy whose dead with a mask in his mouth so he cant speak

She was so scared

She screamed at the top of her lungs 

Mr howard comes down there and says “You speak one more word and i will put a mask in your mouth like i did to that guy”

Rose says “Make me” And then rose got tackled

But she finds a wrench

And puts him against the wall and locks him in the bathroom

Theres a lock on it

She uses the wrench but its not enough 

She needs a screw

Mr howard gets out and start to fight her

He found the screw and put the nail into his head

Then she took it out and used it to break out

She found the painting right outside of the living room took it and called an uber

Rose gets in

And he says “Welcome back rose”

Rose says “Wait, do i know you?”

Mr howard says “Thats my brother, now its your turn”

Rose jumps out of the car and runs as fast as she can

Mr howard jumps out of the car and tries catching her

Rose realiized her painting was still in that car

Mr howard was running after her 

She turns around ducks and grabs his keys then runs back to the car

Without any hesitation she ran as fast as she could not looking behind her

She gets in that car and drives as fast as she can to her house

Mr howard breaks into her house and he falls down to the secret bunker

Rose says “You made a big mistake now im gonna kill you like i did to your brother”

Mr howard says “No please i will do anyth-”

Rose says “Thanks for the painting.”

“Who goes there?” Rose turned around to find nobody was there, again she wondered who could have been in this room for it was empty. She knew there was something going on there, but who was watching her? She made her way to what she assumed was the kitchen. Rose had special orders from her employer to go to the kitchen, take the painting, and leave not a trace that she was ever there. She kept walking, hoping to get out quickly. Then the floor creaked under her feet. Why?, she thought as she continued. Then all of the sudden from behind her someone hissed,

“Stop!” Great, Rose thought. She turned around and saw a Mr. William B. Evanston, fresh from his pristine palaces in the English countryside. He was a stenographer daily, but he often did things hidden from public view, he was well known for his short cuts and loopholes through the law. He was well known in Rose’s place of work. She had been looking for him for quite some time. Rose needed to know more about Mr. Evanston, who did he work for?, who was he in cahoots with?, why was he interested in the Dreadwood estate all of the sudden?; and most importantly, why was he there right then? 

“Mr. Evanston!” Rose cried, “Why are you here? Is your presence known to any others?”

“No, most certainly not,” he replied, his air mysterious, but disheveled. He looked quite disgruntled, his black derby hat off to one side, his hair going every witch way. And his suit, oh! his suit was worst of all the tie was coming loose, buttons were missing, and it was stained the once pristine black was now streaked with grease and grime. Rose turned around, (quite pretentiously in Mr. Evanston’s dignified opinion) and said,

“I will be going now if you will excuse me.” And she left, determined to continue on her merry way. 

“Ms. Crenault! What say you we go together,” Mr. Evanston inquired.

“No, thank you very much for the kind offer but I must get going.” With that Rose sprinted off, the sound of her Louboutin heels the only thing that could be heard. She thought all of the sudden of the strange coincidence that was running into Mr. Evanston. She sped up trying to get to the kitchen faster than before not caring of all that could hear her. As she made her way to the kitchen, she figured that once she found the painting she would leave Dreadwood and never return.  Rose made it to her desired room and found the painting sitting on a pedestal. It was rather small, only about eight inches on each side. As Rose went to reach for it she got the feeling that she was being watched again. She suddenly remembered the kitchen staff and realized they had heard her bounding in from the corridor. Rose dashed in and took the painting. She left the kitchen and the angry shouts of the staff, only to be stopped by Mr. Evanston. She pushed him off, just in time to reach the front door. Then, she calmly walked down the overgrown path and bid farewell to Mr. Howard. And so Rose left the large building of white stone, with the bright ivy growing across the walls and windows, that towered over the lush green lawn; she left the big, red-faced man with the chestnut-colored beard and mustache. She got back in her shiny red car with the driver waiting for her and went away down the dirt driveway.

but she has no Idea what she was in for.  

The painting Rose was looking for was her great grandmother's last known masterpiece before she went missing in an accident sometime after its release.

Rose walks through the house and starts to hear noises that she has never heard before. It sounded like wind banging agents through the window and felt big red eyes watching her in every footstep. Rose looked high and low for the painting and instead kept finding little papers that said “I AM LEADING YOU” “KEEP GOING HAHAHA” “I WAS THE LIGHT TALKING TO YOU” Rose was very Cautious everywhere she went. She stopped and Came upon a door in red old writing Enter at your own risk.  Rose pulls out her phone And text Mr Howard “Is there a key” asked roes,” somewhere where i can find it ?” A minute or so later her phone gets bzzzzzzzzzz  ‘Mr Howard replied I don't know’ why don't you take a look for yourself. Rose opens the door and it Creaks like the gate at the beginning of the house.There is darkness but one little candle it says to her not much time left Miss Rose. Rose walks down the stairs and feels the eyes aging. There's the mouse running around. Lifting up all of the records and books scattered everywhere there is one more that she has not lifted. Rose hears and little 

Ekkkkkkkkkkk you are are never leaving

Rose picks up the last book with shaky hands THE PANTINGGGGGGGG rose screams 

It is a picture of roses grandmother at her favorite spot at her house 

I know where she is. IN THE LIBRARY 

  As Rose walks up the stairs she suddenly realizes that the door locked Banging on it and trying to unlock it she looks in the painting and see the key 

Rose thinks will this key unlock the door? She takes the key puts it in the key hole and twist 

The rust braking and shredding off the wall A voice comes out of nowhere saying “You will now leave and never come back”  the door Unlocks and rose sees Mr Howard Saying your time is about up Rose and Mr Howard walk out the house

“Rose it looks like you found the painting” oh yes yes I did. She feels even brighter confidence then the beginning as she walks into her red shiny car she says to the man driving it can you take me to my grandmother's house please.

Rose didn't think much of it and whispered, “are you ready to go inside Howard?” “Yes…”

Rose steps inside, all she could see was darkness towering over. She then hears a loud bang. A sound of a door locking followed quickly after. She turns around but can only see the never ending darkness. Rose feels a presence, leaning over by her ear. She feels the coldness of the hands, the warmth of the breath reaching her ears.

“I tried to stop you..” 

“BANG” 

Rose awakes in a room. There are no windows in the room, the room has bugs crawling everywhere and a smell that reeks of fish and rotting, there is an assortment of keys lying on the floor and a lock on the door.. 

“Where am I?” Rose exclaimed. 

She looks down to see a note. It reads 

“I warned you Ms. Crenault.. But you were too naive to listen. If you can solve my riddle, you might have the chance to escape. IF you don’t you will suffer a cleansing death… the riddle is, I am pointy, but not sharp, I have three sides but they are even, i have corners.” . 

Rose looks around and sees that every key has a shape on top. Each key has three sides, and three corners. “Which one could it be…”

She sees a key and thinks if she tries all the keys she won't have to do the riddle. She picks up the key, the key feels cold and sends a shiver down her spine. She tries it on the door and hears a long turning sound. When she looks up again, she sees water pouring into the room. She now knows she is on a clock and she scrambles to pick up the keys. She tried all of them, until there were two left. She tries one of the keys, water climbing up her body leaving her head afloat. She puts the key in the lock, turning it quickly. The door unlocks and she hurries to open it. 

She walks out the room, drenched. “What secrets does this house have..”

She looks around and sees a note, a key, and 20 garbage bags. She walks over to the note. It reads, 

“I see you have made it past the water room, now you have two items in front of you. If you can take the key, you can move on to the next room. If you look into the garbage bag, you can't move onto the next room. The key is on a weight scale, if moved, spikes will fall down crushing you. Can you escape?” 

Rose looks around and realizes she still has a key from the last room. She moves over to the key, and quickly lifts it up while placing the other key down. She starts to walk towards the door, but the mystery of the garbage bag fills her with curiosity. She starts walking towards the garbage bag, the smell getting closer and closer. She opens one. Dismembered body parts fall out. Rose realizes what is going on. Howard is no ordinary man. 

“Well, it looks like the cats out of the bag.” Rose turns around to see Howard holding an axe. “You are a monster Howard.” 

“A monster you say?” Howard throws a newspaper to her.

It reads,”Mother killed and dismembered in front of her son, Howard Jansons.” 

“Your mother…she was murdered..”

“I've longed for revenge ever since that day, and who a better victim them Ms. Crenault herself, your family and mine go way back.”

“I beg for mercy!”

A loud cracking sound accrued after, following close was a scream.

Since then, Rose and Howard have never been seen again. But the screams of the innocents still linger, and the house still stands tall. Waiting for its next victim.

Rose said “What are you doing here?”

Mr. Howard scared said “I thought you had died you had been here for so long” Rose replied “Really? How long was I here?”   

Mr. Howard replied “10 days”  

Rose reamined silent and just kept on walking. Mr.Howard followed Rose stopped but Mr.Howard kept on walking Mr. Howard bumped into Rose And she got scared. Rose started to run around and bumped into something. Rose started to tear up but Rose didn’t cry, she just walked the other way. But then something tragic happend Something grabbed Mr.Howard from the back. Mr. Howards scream got quiter every second until it went silent. After 20 minutes Rose finally found the painting she was looking for and it was the monster that took away Mr. Howard but then it was too late and Rose was also taken away. 

Rose wakes up and finds herself in a well lit room and Gets herself up and finds Mr. Howard. She helps out Mr Howard and yells at him to wake up.

Rose asks Mr Howard, “Do you remember what happened?” 

Mr. Howard Replied “No?” 

So Rose explains that They got kidnapped and that they have to escape. Rose and Mr.Howard find a door and find the painting. Rose picks up the painting and this time she picks it up successfully. Rose and Mr.Howard dash out of the house Rose and Mr.Howard look at the painting and find out its them on the painting standing outside looking at the painting. Rose gets scared and throws the painting to the ground. Mr. Howard gets mad at Rose and tells her to get out. So Rose did and she got in the car and drove away. From this day Mr. Howard and Rose haven’t seen each other ever since.

“What is that?”

Howard said, “It was the ghost in the attic.” 

Rose said, “Whatever let's look for the painting.”

They looked in the living room and Rose said “Where are you hiding it?”

Howard said, “I don't have it I have told you millions of times?”

Rose said, “Why do you keep denying answers?”

“Nothing I am telling the truth.”

They looked on the first floor finding nothing Rose started to cry “Where is it or I will call the police!”

“I don’t think you should do that.”

“Why should I.”

‘I will realize the ghosts and they will hurt you.”

“Also why do you care so much about a painting?”

“It means a lot to me,” said Rose.

“Why” says Mr Howard.

“It was my mother's painting and I want it so I can rember her and I think you stole it!”

After they check all the rooms Rose breaks down in tears.

Rose was crying and saying “Why just why!”

“I told you I don’t have it but your time is up in my old, dirty ghost-filled house.”

Rose said, “I don't think so.”

The house started to shake and losing bricks and the ghost was whiling.”

 Rose said, “Let's get out of here!”

  Howard said, “No I am a ghost you must get out or we will eat you!”

Rose said “No way this is crazy I just wanted my painting.”

Howard screamed, “We don't have it!”

Rose noticed that the house was about to blow and started running.

Howard said,” Stay with us be a ghost we will live happily.”

Rose said “NO!”

Rose kept running and she almost made it out.

But Howard ran into her and said “HAHA!”

The house was almost done.

Rose started to cry.

She screamed “This is all a dream”and it was not.

Howard said “You have one minute to live.” 

Rose started to run and a brick hit her.

She was bloody.

She said, “Where is the painting.”

Mr Howard said, “We don’t have it.”

She said “No!”

She passed way and hoard was happy with the house in ruins. 

“How many floors are in this house Mr Howard? Rose said

“3 floors and the top floor is a library that nobody has gone into since the rumors,” said Mr Howard.

“What rumors?” Rose asked

“An old painter named Caravaggio who painted the painting got murdered,” said Mr Howard

“And what about the murderer?” said Rose

“The murderer got chased by Carvaggio's dog making him drop the painting in the house, some people believe that he dropped it in Carvaggio's secret painting room,” Said Mr Howard.

Rose searched the whole first floor and could not find anything. 

Rose went up the stairs and noticed that one of the steps was wobbly and had a different coat of paint on it.

“Is there a reason why this stair is different Mr Howard?” Rose asked

“I do not know, that was there when I bought the mansion”

When Rose headed upstairs she was met with 2 master bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and an office.

“Mr. Howard, you said that you have lived in this house for 15 years right?” Rose asked

“Yes, why are you asking,” said Mr Howard. “And what made you stop from going into the library?” Said Rose. “The door is locked and there is no other way to get up there!” 

As soon as Mr Howard said that Rose knew that there had to be a lever to open the door to the library.

Rose needed to find this painting so then she could get money to start her farm with her husband and that they could also have the money to start a family.

Rose went to the office and started searching for anything by the walls or the floors since she knew that Mr Howard was already living there. Rose moved the rug and looked at the floor tiles. She saw one that was loose and lifted it to see a switch on the floor. “Aha! I found something” said Rose. Rose pulled the switch and 5 seconds later a big sound had shaken the whole house. “That was louder than the great Eruption of Pompeii,” said Mr Howard.

Rose and Mr Howard rushed up the stairs and up to the third floor to see that the library door had opened.

“I need your help with this one Mr Howard.” Said Rose. 

“I need you to start searching through all the books and look for anything that might be useful” Said Rose.

And only a couple of minutes later Mr Howard and Rose found a book with a lever.

Rose pulled the lever and soon enough another loud bang happened. But this time it was coming from the first floor. Rose and Mr Howard rushed down the stairs to see that the wobbly step that had a different coat of paint had opened up. Rose hopped down the stairs and soon saw that there was a gold shiny painting lying on a desk below the stairs…

Ms Howard said to Rose, ¨None of the rumors are true, that is why they are called rumors¨. 

That made sense but she did not want to trust him because she wasn't going to give up that easily. She walked into a room and saw a little boy playing with toys on the floor. 

Who is he, Rose thought to herself. 

Rose asked if she could talk to him privately to see if he knew anything about the painting. 

 She was able to talk to the boy,

 He said ¨Don't stay here, he will lock you up and keep you….¨ 

 Then Mr. Howard walked past and the little boy stopped talking. before Mr. Howard made him go upstairs. 

Rose didn't know what to do! What if the kid didn't know what he was talking about, but then she realized why would the little boy make that up. He seemed really honest, and Rose is starting to get a little bit anxious. Roses thinks about leaving but first i want to check one more room knowing it is hard just to give up because she has been to so many houses looking for this painting she starts walking out. and 

¨BANG!!¨ Mr. Howard trapped her!

Mr. Howard said, ¨I will only let you go if you follow me.¨ 

Rose said yes and Mr.. Howard led her to a jail cell and then he left. Suddenly Rose saw the little boy come to the basement.

Rose said ¨”thank you so much for trying to help me. I should have listened¨

The little boy said, ¨of course.¨ He said he also wants to help me get out because Rose is not the first person that has been here.  She was really scared so she was more focused on where he was taking her and she ended up in a prison cell in his basement. She was sitting down till all of of  a sudden she saw the painting. 

Shocked. she asked the little boy, ¨Do you have a phone in this house so we could call the police?¨

Rose wants to get the painting.

 He said ¨no¨ 

Rose wasn't too surprised that there was no phone in the house. But then Rose spotted a key.

Rose asked the little boy to get the key for her, ¨Please can you get the key to help me get out of here?

The boy found the key and let her out. 

Rose said, ¨Thank you!¨ 

Rose grabbed the painting and ran towards the door.
Rose called out to the driver, ¨Letś go we need to get to the police station with the painting.¨

Rose got to the police station and shared exactly what happened.

She said, ¨I found the painting but Mr. Howard trapped me in the house¨.they got the painting and then I left. 

The police went to Dreadwood Estate to find Mr. Howard. 

Mr. Howard explained to the police, ¨Ï am the babysitter for the little boy.¨ This did not sound believable.

¨I admit I locked up Rose because no on was supposed to be in the house.¨

It was all a big misunderstanding. Really in the end it was the little boyś mother who took the painting, SHe was arrested and sent to jail. He little boy was able to stay with Mr. Howard.

Mr. Howard and the little boy lived happily in the house forever.

“Mr. Howard are you coming?” As she turned around he was gone… 

She felt a shierve down her spine. She turned around, overthinking her decision, remembering she was here to find the missing painting. 

The inside looked quite different from the outside. The look of old furniture, to the right was a staircase leading up the stairs and to the left was the living room. Rose made sure to examine every detail of the house.

Scuff marks on the rug, finger prints, and oddly the back door was left open. The backyard had beautiful flowers, bright green grass, and an old shed.

Rose looked around where the picture was originally hanging, looking for any clues. Rose jumped to the sound of a door slamming shut.

“Who’s there.” Rose asked. 

She looked and the back door was suddenly closed. Rose whispered to herself.

“Maybe it was just the wind or maybe it’s just my imagination.”

Rose headed upstairs, walking into one of the bedrooms she looked around when from the corner of her eye she saw Mr Howard walking into the shed through the window. 

Rose rushed down the stairs and through the backdoor. The grass looked freshly cut. 

 She snuck behind the shed and looked through the window. Mr. Howard was putting away his lawn mower. 

He left the shed and walked towards the house while Rose snuck in. Looking around there we're tools for gardening and along the wall their was lots of wood and boxes full of old books. 

Rose was about to leave as she was walking away her foot caught on a loose floor board. She knelt down and lifted the floor board and to her surprise there was the painting she had been looking for. She used the crowbar from the tool box to remove the rest of the floor boards and lifted the painting. It was a painting of the house.

Rose called her aternity to notify that she had found the painting and it was then restored. The job felt well done and Rose was proud of herself. 

But what had happened to

Mr. Howard he was no where to be found…

“Yes, they really did not wish to stay after the incident…” Mr Howard said 

Rose opened the front doors to the house and found that it was completely empty with nothing but cobwebs and boxes, “seems the people who lived here were in a hurry” Rose said.

“Yes, when they found the body they wanted to get out naturally” Mr Howard explained.

Rose investigated the house some more and found some… weird… things. First she found a broken chalice, then a spot on the wall that had an outline of dust(probably from the missing painting), and finally a crack on the wall that was mysteriously big and seemed like someone could hide something in. 

“This house is truly strange” exclaimed Rose,

“Quite” Mr Howard replied,

After another hour of searching Rose found a clue, “What is this?” Rose asked,

“That is the room that the body was found in” Mr Howard explained,

“Oh, I see,” Rose replied, “and how did the victim die?”

“Well the police found multiple stab wounds in the vital area.” Mr Howard replied.

Immediately after Mr Howard collapsed, 

“Are you ok Mr Howard?” Rose asked,

“I-I-I c-cant bre-breathe!” Mr Howard choked,

“What should I  do!?” Rose exclaimed,

“Y-y-you n-need to f-find the p-pain-painting!” Mr Howard replied,

“Ok, but what about you!?” Rose asked,

“I have no one, just leave me, solve the mystery” Mr Howard exhaled as he passed,

“Mr Howard?” Rose said,

“He's gone” Rose thought to herself,

Rose started to find clues as to why Mr Howard started choking and found blood in his throat. It looked like he started bleeding but why was the question. Soon after Rose found that the crack that she found before was opened, “How did this happen?” Rose thought. She dug around in the crack, “ZOINKS!” she exclaimed, “The painting, it's right in here” Even though Rose had found the painting she still needed to find the cause of the death of Mr Howard. She started searching the house for clues and saw that there were footprints in a spot that they hadn't walked near. Suddenly a man came from behind her with a knife, trying to take her out. Quickly Rose dodged and karate chopped the guy in the neck, “how?” Rose exclaimed.

The man that assaulted her was the driver! When the police arrived they discovered that Mr Howard was poisoned with Ricin, “Why did you do this?” Rose asked the driver,

“I always hated this family, Mr Howard included!” He yelled

“And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kid!” he yelled one last time before being shut in the car. Now that the mystery was over Rose went on back to the city for one more case…

Rose walked with confidence toward what looked like the kitchen. On the counter was a bed sheet. Rose lifted the dusty bed sheet but nothing was there. Rose looked around the cracked countertop but there was nothing there again. Feeling disappointed, Rose turned away. But as Rose turned around something hit her knee. 

“Ouch!” 

Rose looked down and couldn’t see anything. 

“Strange, I felt something.” 

Rose felt around the spot where she thought something hit her knee. 

“Wait”

There was an unevenness in the board. Rose pulled hard on what looked like a board. It wasn’t a board at all, it was a lever! Rose excitedly pulled the lever and it opened the counter top. Rose was surprised because she found the painting. It was at the bottom of the counter top. It was dusty and had a few scratches, but it was definitely the painting. Rose picked the painting up but it was far too tall for her to see. She would just have to feel her way back through the door.  She started walking but then something strange happened. She felt something warm and liquidy. She set down the painting softly, careful of not breaking it. Rose looks at her fingers and her fingers are just as red as her cherry lips. 

“Oh my goodness! The rumors are true!”

Just then Rose heard floorboards creak behind her. 

“Mr. Howard, is that you?”

“Yes, Ms.Crenault. I see you have found the painting. Is your hand alright?”

“Yes I-”

Just as her name was mentioned a compartment opens from the edge of the frame. It was a will from the past owner of “The Dreadwood Estate.”

 The will read “I leave my estate and my fortune to my grandchild, Rose Crenault.” It was signed by Nicole Crenault. 

“I have a grandma?”

“It appears so. Which means this house and her fortune are all yours.”

“Why isn’t the sign outside?” Rose asked

“It was left outside for exactly 6 years and 243 days. No one ever showed up.” Mr. Howard said

Rose looked to her left and saw a big rectangle. It almost looked like a big piece of cardboard. Rose and Mr. Howard walked over. Rose flipped it around and their it was. The painting Rose was looking for. 

“What does the painting represent?” Rose asked

“It is meant to represent myself. And why no one ever comes to Dreadwood Estate.” Mr. Howard said.

“And why is that.”

“Because everyone is afraid of me.”

“ What?! Why?” Rose asked confusedly 

“There has been a rumor that this house is haunted because of me.” Mr. Howard said

“How did you haunt this house?”

“ They say that I locked the doors in the house so no one would escape.” 

“ Is it true?” Rose asked worriedly

“ No, not at all.” Mr. Howard said confidently

“Oh ok.” Rose said

Rose tried to lift up the heavy painting.

“How heavy is this?” Rose said 

She dragged the painting across the squeaky wooden floor and walked towards the door. Rose unlocked it and pulled on the door. It wouldnt open. She tried again but pulled harder. After several minutes she was finally able to open the door. Rose left.

“I will be back.” Rose said

“Sorry,” Rose said, “I didn’t know it was that fragile.”

“It’s okay” said Mr. Howard, not surprised that the doorknob fell, “It was useless in the condition it was in. Just try to be a little more careful.”

Rose pushed open the door and peeked inside. Through the dust, she could make out a faint outline of a living room, with couches. Mr. Howard and her stepped into the dusty house reaching around blindly for a light switch. Once they found the light switch they turned it on. Inside, the place was in ruins, in fact, the couches had actually been piles of trash.

“This place is a wreck!” Rose exclaimed, “I’ve never seen a place in such a mess”

“I warned you” Mr. Howard said, tossing it onto the driveway, “This house has been abandoned for years. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes, yes, of course” Rose said, “It’s just such a mess, and I don’t know if I can find in these heaps of junk”

Rose, unsure of what to do, decided to start searching through some of the ruins. Mr. Howard tried to help, but ended up being more in the way, so decided to stand to the side. Then, Mr. Howard heard it again.

“There!” Mr. Howard shouted, pointing upstairs, “There's the thief!!!”

Rose, startled, jumped up from what she was doing, and looked upstairs.

“He’s making a break for it!” Mr. Howard shouted

Mr. Howard not being in exactly the best shape for running on a high-speed chase, Rose ended up running after him. The thief saw Rose, and narrowly dodged her, sprinted down the stairs, and made a break for the door. Mr. Howard tried grabbing the thief, but the thief ran out the door

“No,” Rose said, “He got away with another painting!”

Mr. Howard frowned, upset that the thief got away so easily

“What are we going to do?” Rose asked

Then, there was a THUD, that sounded louder than a gunshot! Rose and Mr. Howard quickly got outside to see the thief lying on the ground.

“What happened?” Rose asked

“It appears the thief slipped on the doorknob,” Mr. Howard said, “And now we have the painting.”

“Who is it?” asked Rose

Mr. Howard unmasked the thief and saw who it was.

“It was your driver!” Mr. Howard exclaimed, “He must have come back when we went in  the house.”

And so they called the police, and the police came, the thief got arrested, and the paintings were rescued.

Phew, nothing yet. Rose thought as she walked towards the house. 

The front doors were wooden, and as big as a mansion themselves. She pushed them open with a creak. They were covered in dust and dirt. When she took her hands off of them, they were covered in silt as black as charcoal. 

She glided into the abandoned house, going into the kitchen first, and that's when she saw her… A girl was there, she seemed to be from the 1800s but still was nine. She was playing with her dolls on the floor. She had a soft glow to her. 

“Hello?” Rose said, her voice quivering. 

She looked up and I saw that she had empty eyes and spoke in a possessed voice, saying, “Looking for the Harlequin Head will make you pay the price. You CAN’T HAVE THE PAINTING!!!” 

Rose ran out of the room shocked and terrified. She checked all of the rooms and nothing was there!

 I know, I’ll check in the walls!!! thought Rose. She climbed up the stairs, deciding to check upstairs first. While she was climbing, she accidentally bumped into one of  the girl’s teddy bears. It then spoke,

 “Hi, I’m teddy, what’s your name?”

 “Ahhh!!!”she shrieked, and then realized that it had a sound box in it. She paused to catch her breath, and then continued climbing. When she reached the second floor, she knocked on the walls to see if they were hollow. She walked around the second floor knocking on the walls until she reached the painting on the wall next to the master bedroom. The wall behind it seemed hollow, so she took off the painting gently. There was a door to a crawl space. She opened it up to see that it actually was a tunnel! 

Boy am I getting lucky today! she thought. She started through the dank, dark, tunnel. There were cobwebs at every corner. When she reached the end of the tunnel, she found the painting and a way out. Rose met Mr. Howard outside and told him the great news. “Hi! I’m Lizzy!” A voice behind her said. Rose looked and saw that it was the girl from earlier. She had clear, bright eyes, as blue as the sea.

 “Ewww. What am I wearing?” She said, “Thanks for freeing me from the curse of Dreadwood Estate!!! I’m actually your Grandma.”

She became a successful private investigator (with the help of her grandma) and later did many other important jobs for others. The End.

   The Harlequin Head is a painting that was made in 1971 and was stolen from a museum in 2012 and hasn’t been found since.

“GASP! THE PAINTI…” Before Rose could finish she felt a sharp object in her back, and then Mr.Howard. Silence. The police sirens come and Mr.Howard runs away, but he is caught by an officer, Rose is lifted into an ambulance and the painting was recovered. Mr.Howard had been luring innocent victims like this until Dreadwood Estate was abandoned, Rose’s driver was the one who called 911 to come to their rescue. Dreadwood estate was set to be demolished, and Mr.Howard was in a mental asylum. The deed of the house was saved and said. “And So, Dreadwood Estate Belongs To…

Jeremy Swindle.” Rose Realized, that that was the name of her driver. Rose ran to her driver and said, 

“Take Me To Dreadwood Estate” 

“But…Ma'am”

“NOW”

As they drove to Dreadwood Estate, the wrecking ball was about to hit 3-2-1…

“CRA… Huh?”

“Excuse me sir?” Rose said “This property belongs to him”Rose said  pointing to Jeremy

“I’m paid to demolish this place sweetheart” the demolition man said

“But it belongs to my friend here, Jeremy Swindle” Rose shot back

“WHAT?!” Jeremy shouted

“Yes”Rosed replied “You have inherited this house under your grandfather Jebediah Swindle’s name”

“But I do not deserve this” Jeremy said, but Rose did not hear him, instead she went out to the court and asked the judge for a case. She eventually won and Jeremy got the life he deserves, Rose went back to her apartment and finally, could get some sleep, she thought about why she went to Dreadwood estate, and realized, she did it because she was selfish, and wanted recognition of her own, but after something sparked in he , something that made her want to help people, and she realized, that was the most important thing of all.

“Ahhhhhh, h-how did you see that coming!”

“The person who stole the “DW mansion painting would probably not want to get caught stealing it.” 

Rose said in a stern voice. 

“I see, the rumors are true about this place being dangerous.” 

Said Mr. Howard, stepping away from the door. Rose then started looking around the house eagerly for fingerprints or trails. Then, right as Mr. Howard was about to ask Rose interrupted,

“I need to find this painting and who took it because of my dad, he loved this place and went a little crazy over it. Every time he could he would walk by this place to see the DW painting which wasn’t often but still he always tried to make time for it. Sure he could be crazy at times but he is my hero. And ever since the painting was stolen he lost his interest in this place. So, I must find it for him. ” 

Next, Mr. Howard, still in shock of the knife dodge and her mind reading skills, decides to stop asking questions. After Rose explored the house a little more and escaped another trap Rose found the missing paintings placement on the second floor but then saw a figure in a black cloak walking out through the window to the door. Rose wanted to look for more clues but she knew this figure was going in. So, she decided to hide in a closet near the missing painting wall. When the person walked in Rose heard a familiar voice say,

“There right back where you belong, I just needed to borrow you for a few weeks.”

Rose knew the only person who would want this painting to borrow, her dad. So, she walks out of the closet as quiet as a mouse and riskily touches her “dads” back. The person looks back ready to be caught but then sees her daughter with a disappointed look.

“What are you doing here?” they both asked each other at the same time.

“Well I was borrowing the DW painting because no one else really cares about it and I’ve barely been able to have time to go here.” Said the dad hoping Rose would understand.

“Well I was trying to find the person who stole it and the painting for you so you would want to go here again.” As they argued they decided to make an agreement that her dad couldn’t steal or make traps if Rose helps her dad make time to go there.

Rose seemed to be unmoved by this information. “Expected, not many people would come in here because of the rumor, I suppose.”

Mr. Howard nodded. “It is expected, I suppose.” he looked like he wanted to say more, but decided not to.

Rose walked further into the house, going through bedrooms and bathrooms, hoping to find something….and then she saw it. A misplacement in bricks? She didn’t think that was it. She walked over to it, and ran her fingers along the crack, opening it slightly. She grinned, opening it further. And there it was. The lost painting. She walked over to it and let out a short gasp. It was beautiful…and then she heard footsteps. She turned around and saw Mr. Howard. “Ah, Mr. Howard! I finally found it!”

Mr. Howard smiled and said; “Yes, you did. Now if you hand it to me, why don’t I help you down?” Rose nodded, handing the painting to him. He went silent but then started to talk again. “Miss Rose, I’m sorry about this, but I need the money.” Rose started to reply, confused, but before she could, the door slammed shut. Rose yelled for Mr. Howard, but no response came.

So she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Until only her skeleton remained, for the next adventurer that came looking in the house.

Now, that's a lesson for the future, isn't it?

 Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and the furniture was covered in dust. It was as if the mansion had been abandoned for years, but she knew that wasn't true. Someone had been living here, and Rose could feel their presence lurking around every corner. Finally, she found the painting, hidden behind a secret door in the library. It was beautiful, but as she took it down, she heard footsteps approaching.

 She turned to face the door, her heart pounding. The door burst open, and a figure stepped into the room. It was a man, tall and imposing, with a cold stare. Rose froze, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what to do next. The man spoke

"You shouldn't have come here, Ms. Crenault. You're dealing with things you don't understand." Rose swallowed hard, feeling a sense of dread wash over her. "What do you want from me?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. The man took a step forward, and Rose took a step back. "I want the painting," he said, his hand reaching out to grab it from her. Rose held onto the painting tightly, refusing to let it go. "I won't give it to you," she said, her voice shaking. The man smiled a cruel and twisted grin. "Then I suppose I'll have to take it from you." he pounced at Rose. Rose fought with everything she had, but she was no match for the man's strength.

 He took the painting from her and disappeared into the darkness, leaving Rose bloody and bruised, and lying on the floor. As she lay there, gasping for breath, she realized that she had made a terrible mistake. She had come to the mansion thinking that she could solve a mystery, but instead, she had stumbled into a trap. And now, she wasn't sure if she would ever make it out alive. KNOCK! The door slammed open. Flashing lights flashed all over. A red-faced, big man with a chestnut-colored beard walked in with about 3 policemen behind him “Mr. Howerd?” Rose said.  

At the police station, Mr. Howard and Rose were being interrogated. As they left, Mr. Howard suddenly pushed Rose to the ground. "What are you doing?" Rose asked, to which Mr. Howard replied,” Umm no reason” Then A walkie-talkie-like device murmured "Howard! Should we get her!" "W-w-what?" Rose was confused, but suddenly everything went black. 

When she came, someone said, "Wakey wakey, Mrs. Crenault." Rose couldn't see anything and asked, "Who are you?" The person replied, "You're much like your mother." Rose was puzzled and asked again, "Who are you?" 

"Open your eyes, Mrs. Crenault," the person said. Suddenly, Rose let out a scream. "Mr. Howard!" she exclaimed. "Yes, this happened exactly to your mother. I hated that girl, and I hate you," Mr. Howard said. 

"Why me?" Rose asked. "Well, you solve mysteries like your mother, and I can't handle that she liked another man. That's why I killed her, and now I'm going to kill you!" then the police banged down the door ”JOHN HOWARD YOU ARE ARRESTED FOR KIDNAPPING AND FALSE CRIME” but it was too late rose was on the floor and Mr. Howard already ran away

“Oh, and be careful of the stones. They’re quite slippery.” Mr. Howard warned a little seriously. Now that Rose realized it, they were a bit slippery, and there was so much of them! Matter a fact, they were all over the ground. 

Rose could barely dodge them, so she diligently avoided slipping as she carefully walked along the swampy green path. 

“Okay, this is going to be a little more challenging than I thought…” Rose muttered to herself quietly. 

As Rose approached the white looming mansion, it started to look a little bit similar to some kind of ghost she heard about. 

“Doesn’t the front of the mansion look like a ghost? I just realized that!” Mr. Howard boomed from across the path. And if she saw it, he snickered a little.

“Yes, indeed it does!” Rose boomed back with a reply. She went a lot further than she think she thought she would. 

But this mansion does have a mystery in and on it, but the most important part is to find that mystery. As Rose opened the rusty looking door, it looked like a spider just made a huge nest out of this huge space. 

What happened here? Rose thought to herself. As she turned around, the door shut. 

Was that Mr. Howard? Why would he do that? And if he didn’t, then who did? As Rose stepped into the room, she went as quietly as she could. She went so quiet, she sounded like a cat hunting a mouse. When there really wasn’t any sound. 

It echoed for all the neighbors to hear.  She saw many other paintings in that mansion, but which one was she looking for? 

“Hello?” Rose echoed. “Is anybody there?” She said confidently, as her legs were shivering. This is the most erie mansion she has every seen in her life. She didn’t think she could do this, but there is nothing that confidence can’t stop. She walked confidently on the dirty, glossy floor. But how would it be glossy when it is dirty? 

Rose walk around the room, trying to see any suspicion of any traps, and she did. She saw black strawed strings tied across the hallways. Lucky for her, unlike her other missions, this hallway was BIG! 

Rose wanted to check out the hallway full of booby-traps, but there could be clues hidden around the base of the room, so she checked out the entrance, the box’s, behind the statues, and there was no luck to be found. 

That was when she saw a glimpse in the corner of her eye, a red ruby jewel hidden right near the window. It looked crooked, and it looked like it was broken before. 

That’s when she thought, “If this ruby was broken before, and there are booby-traps all over the walls, then someone should be here.” She opened the translucent latch, and there was the beautiful ruby.

 But she wasn’t here for the ruby, she was here for some sort of painting. But she couldn’t get a hold of the ruby, it was stuck! She tried many ways to get the ruby free, but then when she twisted it, something unexpected was happening. 

There were stairs in the floor that were opening, and down there looked like a dark, erie void. Rose went down the stairs, and then there were lights shooting toward the end of the path, and there was the painting called: The Scream.

Yes, the painting! Rose thought. She grabbed the painting, and ran up the stairs, out the door, and went to the gate (maybe slipped a few times)… But it was locked. 

Mr. Howard was standing right in font of her, his hands behind his back like a real waiter who would serve a great feast.

“You should’ve stayed at the place where you belonged, Rose Crenault.” Mr. Howard said sternly with a deep, scary voice. He locked the gate, leaving Rose stuck there for the next century… 

“YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!” Rose bellowed, and that was when Mr. Howard drove away with the elegant keys in his pockets.

“What is this” She whispered to herself as she walked over to examine the door. There was a hole for a key to go into but it was a shape she had never seen before. Rose decided to look for this key to unlock the door. 

The old wood floor creaked under her feet as she walked into the kitchen. There was a horrible smell coming from the fridge. The door to the fridge was stuck but when she was able to pry it open mold covered everything inside except a plastic bag. 

“Ewww!” Rose said disgustedly as she picked up the bag with smelly water dripping from it.  As she tore it open there was a crippled photo in it. 

The photo was shredded and wet in the middle but still new on the sides. 

“Someone must of gotten it wet.” She thought in her head. 

“But why is the middle not wet?” This time she said aloud in a questioning voice.

“It must of been in some type of frame!” Rose exclaimed finally thinking she had figured out where the key was.

She knew the key had to be in a picture frame. So she went upstairs to the bedrooms all but one was filled with furniture. 

“Maybe who ever was here forgot to clean out the room.” She whispered in a small voice. 

There where all types pictures on the wall but non of them fit the small rectangle picture she had found. She saw a door in the room. Rose went to open it and it led to a small closet shaped room with drawers scatters around the walls. She looked in everyone each filled with the size picture frame she needed but non of them had a key in it. 

She turned around to go back but saw a small handle sticking out from under the bed and realized it was the last drawer.

“Yes!” She exclaimed as she opened the drawer and found a perfect picture frame. She opened up the back. 

“A key!” Rose nearly shouted after looking for what felt like hours. She ran downstairs and put the key in the whole and unlocked the secret door. 

It was extremely clean considering the other parts of the house. 

She turned the lights on and saw a shadow run into a dar part of the basement.

“Who’s there?” Rose shouted. But no response. The painting was sitting on a table but now that did not matter as much as who or what had just run into the dark spot.Ros returned her flashlight back on and saw Mr. Howard standing there with his big chesnut beard gone. It was fake and he was the criminal who had stolen the painting. 

“What!!!” Rose exclaimed

“Wait” Mr. Howard cried out. 

But Rose was already off with the painting and the phone in her hand calling the police. When the police got there they took Mr. Howard away to jail. Rose was then promoted to detective of the year and was accepted into a high detective agency and the painting was returned back where it should be in the museum. CASE SOLVED!