Read Online The Dead Game by Susanne Leist - Free Book Online

uncontrollably. The house resembled all the scary houses in her imagination…and in every gothic novel she’d ever read. But having to face it on this dreary and isolated hilltop…with the wind blowing…sharp branches slapping them across their shocked faces, made the encounter more real and much more horrifying.
    Tom, Edward, Mike, and David were already walking up the gravel path, while Gregg, Judy, and Ryan were waiting for them by the massive front door. It was a very quiet group that stood close together…staring up at the dark, menacing structure.
    The front of the house faced the mountain with its wrap-around porch, wide stone steps, and thick white columns, while the rear had its large patio and built-in pool facing the crashing waves of the ocean. A tall black iron fence—its pointy spikes jutting upward to the sky—encircled the house and pool before following the stairs in its straight descent to the deserted beach below.
    Todd threw open the huge steel door and strode in first. Disappearing inside, Todd left them no choice but to trail along behind him.
    Huddled together as one, they entered the house and stood in the dark hall. The only light came from two lines of lit candles traveling up the ornately carved wooden balustrades of the wide marble staircase, and a third row of candles hanging from wall sconces in the right hallway. The sconces served to illuminate this hallway, while leaving the second hallway to the left of the staircase in complete darkness.
    No one was there to greet them or to tell them where to go. The group stood still, in awe of the sweeping staircase with its majestic red carpeting. Returning from somewhere in the inner recesses of the house, Todd suggested that they split up into two groups. He directed Linda, Shana, Gregg, Ryan, and Judy to proceed upstairs with him, while Mike, David, Edward, Tom, and Louise were told to follow the long line of candles along the right hallway.
     
    Louise was upset that she was stuck with Mike, David, Edward, and Tom—when she really wanted to be with Todd. Todd had arranged the two groups, purposely placing her in the second group. She wondered how much worse the evening could possibly get.
    Her group followed the flickering candles, which cast eerie shadows from their elevated positions on the hallway’s left wall. The darkly paneled walls made the hall feel smaller and even darker.
    Lagging behind the others David complained, “It’s not too late for us to leave and return home. I don’t want to be here anymore…we should just….”
    Tugging hard on David’s arm, Mike interrupted, “Don’t whine like a baby, David…and try to have some fun.”
    “Yeah, right,” he grumbled in reply.
    Edward and Tom had assumed the lead and were slowly following the wavering lights. Faced with two closed doors on the right wall, Edward opened the first one and walked in.
    The room before them appeared to be a large, cavernous living room, empty except for the enormous unlit marble fireplace on the opposite wall. The wallpaper was dark and stained; the wood floor was dull and dirty. A connecting door led them through to the dining room, a large room with a long wood table at its center.
    The bleakness of this room and all the other rooms in this house made Louise feel uneasy. The house was very dismal-looking with its dark paneling, and it lacked any furnishings that would have made it feel more like a home.
    And where was everyone? Where was their elusive host? This was supposed to have been a party for them, but the house looked deserted—as if it hadn’t been lived in for a long time. She really didn’t want to see any more of it. Who knew what could be lurking behind any of the closed doors? Now she was just scaring herself with her own gloomy thoughts. She caught up to the others, who were standing in the hallway impatiently waiting for her.
    As they continued along the long hallway, the candles in front of them lit up…while the ones behind