September 2024: Drabble

[moor]

September 2024: Drabble
Team 7 - Haunted House (preview)

Author: moor

 

Sakura threw her shoulder against the door for the third time, swearing under her breath. With a creak and groan, the heavy oak paneled door gave way. Digging in her heels and heaving, she shoved the humidity-swollen wood open a few inches at a time.

The dust that flew up her nose left her sneezing violently.

“Nice,” said a deadpan Sasuke from just behind her. He leaned against one of the paint-cracked posts that struggled to support the porch’s sagging roof. At his feet rested four Rubbermaid totes full of cleaning rags, dust pans, plastic garbage bags, candles, incense, matches, batteries, lanterns, seven pounds of salt, a shoebox of dried sage leaves, and Sakura’s favourite pair of crossbows.

Climbing carefully up the dilapidated front stairs to join them and carrying two Igloo coolers heavy with ice and perishables, Naruto peeked into the looming darkness beyond.

“Your great-great-aunt promised it wasn’t haunted. Right?” insisted Naruto for the third time.

Technically, she hadn’t, but Sakura planned on taking some things to the grave.

—Up to and potentially including this maybe-slightly-haunted house.

“Don’t be silly,” she chided him. She smiled widely at her two best friends. “Come on! Let’s unload before the storm hits.”