I plan to live forever. So far, so good.

”I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” (Frank Herbert, ”Dune”)

The sinister laughter behind him was terrifying. Michael wanted to run but he had no place to go. Then he suddenly woke up. “I’m glad that was just a nightmare,” he thought. Then he looked at the clock. It was Friday, the 13th, 7:23 AM. “Now this is going to be a pretty interesting day,” he said. He got up and went to school.

It was during the chemistry class that he heard a voice calling him. He turned back and he saw David waving his hands desperately and trying to tell him something. Then David took a piece of paper and wrote something on it and he threw it to Michael. Michael read what David wrote: “Today is Friday and I’m having a party (my parents are not at home). Remember: 5 PM ! I’m still counting on you, right ?” Michael turned back and nodded.

The classes (eventually) finished and Michael went home. Finally, it was time to go at David’s party. David lived in a creepy old mansion, but he didn’t seem to care. He told Michael that he and his family had bought that house, as it was very cheap (too cheap for a house that big, Michael thought). He arrived there and rang the doorbell. The door opened slowly. Michael looked inside, but there was no one there. David suddenly appeared from behind the door. “Hello, Michael ! I didn’t expect you so early.” “What time is it ?” Michael asked. “It’s only half past four. You are the first to arrive. Come in, we’ll wait for the others…” Michael walked in.

He looked around. The house was huge. “How many floors does this mansion have ?” asked Michael. “Three”, replied David. “Whoa, and where is your room ?” “It’s upstairs. Come on, I’ll show it to you…” They started climbing up the stairs when the phone rang. “Hang on for just a minute” said David. “OK, I’ll just take a look around” Michael replied. David left the room and Michael started admiring the huge paintings and the old furniture. He wondered how much would all that stuff cost. Then he heard a scream coming from the room where David went. The phone was off the hook and David wasn’t there. “David !” he shouted, but there was no reply. “David ! Come on, get out form where you’re hiding…” Michael started looking but David wasn’t anywhere. “I don’t like these jokes, David, so come out !” He waited for a few seconds. Silence prevailed. Then he heard footsteps upstairs. “I could hear you, David ! I’m coming up.” And he climbed up the stairs.

When he arrived upstairs, Michael could see a dark hallway in front of him, with doors on both sides. He tried to see the end of the hallway but it was too dark. A door slammed in front of him. “There you are,” Michael said. But he didn’t see which door it was. He started walking. The floor was creaking under his feet. “That’s pretty much what you could expect from a house like this” thought Michael. He tried to open the first door, but it was locked. And so were the second, and the third… He eventually arrived at the last door, but he still couldn’t see the end of the hallway. He tried to open this last door, but it was also locked. “It figures,” Michael said. Then he heard a creepy voice behind him, but he couldn’t understand what it was saying. He turned back, but there was no one there… “This is not funny, David !” he said. He decided to go back but he heard footsteps again. When he turned back, the only thing he could see was a candle floating in the air, at the end of the hallway. Nobody was holding it. “This is getting really creepy”, he thought.

Michael felt like someone or something was pulling him towards the candle. Against his will, he started walking. Suddenly, someone put out the candle. Michael turned back, but in front of him there was just a brick wall, and not the way downstairs. Then he heard that voice again. It started laughing. The sinister laughter behind him was terrifying. Michael wanted to run but he had no place to go. Then he suddenly woke up. “I’m glad that was just a nightmare,” he thought. Then he looked at the clock. It was Friday, the 13th, 7:23 AM…