The Boathouse

The door banged loudly as Molly threw the door open with all of her might, intensified with her rage. Pauline was her sister, not her mother. She had no right to decide what was best for her and she didn't have any right to throw away all of her clothes and replace them with bright and frilly things. Like this appalling bright yellow dress, she was forced to wear today, yuck!

“I am a creature of darkness and she dares try to control me! Who does she think she is! GAH!” Molly shrieked as she made her way down the uneven dirt path to the boathouse. The boathouse had been a place for her to hide away from the world since she was a little girl, even being fifteen now somehow the rundown shack still offered comfort with its weathered wood and peeling paint. Probably because she knew of a place no one could find her unless she wanted to be found. Everyone knew the boathouse was her favorite haunt, but they could never hope to follow her once she decided to disappear.

Reaching the door, Molly looked around. She had a feeling someone was watching her, but couldn't see anyone among the few trees surrounding the property.

Still feeling uneasy, Molly went inside and went directly to a small access panel to the left of the door. The panel was hard to see in the wall, but Molly accidentally fell into it one day and kept it a secret since. The entrance was flat but it started descending into a sort of storage room, long forgotten. Molly made it into her hideout, whenever she was upset about anything and wanted to disappear, this is where she went. A tunnel leading to a door at the back of the house was found too, but she rarely used it because she didn't want her secret place to be discovered. The waves of the ocean could be heard within this room, it helped to calm Molly's spirits. Dirt shelves built into the walls held her most prized possessions like the large seashells and the skulls of dolphins and skeletons of fish. Pauline would throw them out to spite her for sure, just like she did with all of her clothes.

After a couple of hours, Molly felt relaxed enough to leave her hiding place to comb the beach for more treasures. She decided to take the back entrance out, remembering the feeling of being watched. When she reached the exit, she peeked out of the knothole to make sure no one was around. Heading back to the beach, Molly carefully scanned the yellowish-white sand for anything she would consider a treasure. As she walked, her thoughts turned towards the future. She was going to be eighteen soon, finally able to leave this house and these people for a life of her own. Molly snapped out of her daydreams when she stepped on something hard and rounded. Looking down, she saw something white poking out of the sand. Kneeling, Molly brushed her fingers against the object. It felt like some kind of bone, as carefully as she could Molly began to dig whatever it was out of the sand.

After a few moments, Molly held her new treasure in her hands, a smile on her face as she stared into the vacant eye sockets of her new friend. “Hello there, how are you today Charlie?” Molly chuckled. The skull had a large crack which suggested whoever they were had suffered from blunt force trauma, a couple of teeth were missing as well. Molly made her way back to her hiding place and gently placed the skull on a shelf. “There you go, a new home for you,” Molly whispered delightfully.

That night, Molly tossed and turned uneasily. She couldn't get comfortable, something didn't seem right. Sitting up, Molly stared into the darkness and saw a shadow moving towards her. Her eyes went wide as she saw a man with a long black beard and a couple of teeth missing. He extended his right arm towards her as he continued to move towards her bed. Molly screamed, turning to her bedside table she flipped on her lamp, and turning back she saw Pauline standing in her doorway looking at her with disgust.

“What is your problem now, twerp? Pauline sneered.

“Th-there was...” Molly stammered. She narrowed her eyes into an uncertain glare. “Why exactly are you at my door?”

At that moment our parents arrived to see what the commotion was. “I was going to bed when she started screaming as I passed her room. I stopped to see what her deal was,” Pauline shrugged after Dad had asked the same question. “I think she might have been having a nightmare or something,”

I started to argue about it but Mom interrupted quickly “Goodnight girls. Next person to make a sound before dawn is going to be in trouble. Snoring excluded dear” She clarified quickly, sensing her husband was going to make a dumb joke.

By the next morning, Molly had barely slept but she decided “Charlie” had to go. The missing teeth of her late-night visitor were too much of a coincidence for her to keep the skull but she would wait until after dark to dispose of it. After eating a light breakfast, Molly put on a swimming suit and went to the boathouse to dive for hidden treasures. She kept herself busy throughout the day, trying hard to keep herself preoccupied but her mind kept drifting back to the skull.

Finally, night fell and Molly snuck out of the house and down the old path to the boathouse, not bothering to do her normal checks to make sure she wasn't followed. A thick fog rolled in with the sea, giving an extra creepy vibe to what she was trying to do. Once inside the storage room, Molly picked up the skull and turned to leave but stopped dead in her tracks. Blocking the way to both exits stood “Charlie”, fully visible in the lantern light Molly had brought. The spirit took a step towards her, his hands raised in front of him.

About an inch from her, Charlie stopped and melted into nothing before her eyes. Molly turned towards the crawl space in time to see Pauline emerging on her hands and knees. “Is this where you always disappear to? Oh, look, more creepy crap.” Standing up Pauline dusted herself off looking bored.

“Tell mom and dad, I don't care. I am going to throw this as hard into the ocean as I can though.” Molly spat as she attempted to brush past her sister.

Pauline reached out and pushed Molly back so hard she fell to the ground causing the skull to fly out of hand. “I don't think so. See, you're the only one who knows about this place. I tried to get rid of you the other night but you screamed and ruined that, but this is better. No one will find you here, at least not for a few days.” Pauline smirked evilly and pulled a cleaver from behind her back.

Panic rose inside Molly again, “Why are you pulling that knife out? What are you talking about?”

Pauline's smile deepened as she took a step towards Molly. “I am going to kill you of course. I hate you. I can't get any boys to like me because they are more interested in dating you, freak. Therefore, I create a tragedy and this whole pathetic town will simply adore me!” The light of madness was clearly showing in her eyes as she took another step towards Molly.

Molly crawled backward as fast as she could, she knew Pauline hated her but she didn't know it was to this extent. Molly hit the wall behind her, she had nowhere else to go and Pauline stopped in front of her, the cleaver swinging lazily around Pauline's leg. “Time to die, little sister!” Pauline growled as she raised the blade above her head. Charlie suddenly appeared behind Pauline and her corpse dropped to the ground. Charlie pointed to the skull laying on the ground and then pointed to the wall behind Molly.

“You want me to return you to the ocean?” Molly whispered. Charlie slowly nodded, picking up Pauline's body and carrying it out with him. Molly quickly grabbed the skull and ran after him only catching up after she reached the edge of the water. “Why did you grab her? What will you do with her? Molly asked tentatively.

Charlie stared at Molly for a long moment and then walked straight into the ocean until he was chest high. He turned back, his stare burning into her very soul. Molly threw the skull as hard as she could, the skull struck the ocean's surface and lingered for a couple of seconds before sinking below the waves.

Molly decided to keep what she knew to herself but when the police came to question her she did show them the hidden storage place. The years past and the mystery of what became of Pauline was never solved in the mortal world, but the moment the skull was returned to the ocean Pauline found herself under the waves.

“Where am I? Who are you? What happened?” Pauline demanded of her captive.

“I be the feared pirate king Cut Throat Charlie and ye had best be shutting yer yap girlie. I have no interest in yer name, I killed ye for a slave, not a companion.” Charlie glowered at her. I sucked the life out of you and brought your corpse down into Davy Jones' locker to do my bidding. Best get comfortable, ain't nobody gonna ever find you!” With cruel laughter, Charlie's skeletal crew crawled on the deck and set about getting the good ship Yellow Jack prepared for sailing.