"I don't know the full legend but in early Erenburg, there lived a man who was secretly involved in black magic. He used children as a sacrifice in his rituals. People noticed this when children began to disappear in the town. Ultimately, he was discovered and burned to death. His ashes were buried in this island. Later on, this colosseum was built on it as a tourist site. However, the grave couldn't be accessed and the towns people didn't let anyone break it hence the colosseum was built around it."
They heard voices and saw four teenagers running towards them, shouting and laughing among themselves.
"Someone's coming,"
"They can't see us,"
As Keith watched, the boys stopped in front of the wooden door.
"Hey, have you heard about the tale of the dead man?"
"That's just bogus. My father said it's all for tourist attraction."
"Your Derrick family's only point of view is business. What if the tale is actually true?"
Derrick family? Keith frowned and looked closely at the teenager. It faintly reminded him off his father but the ages didn't match.
One of the boys took out a pack of firecrackers from his pocket, making everyone gasp.
"Tom, what are you doing?" They said when Tom lit up one of the firecracker.
Tom smirked, "Only one way to find out if it's true or not. We go in."
Go in? They all looked at each other, attracted by the idea.
"How do we do that?"
"Do you see the bottom of the door? The wall beside that looks weak. If we burn it a little, we can make a hole and go in." Tom bent down and ran his hand over the wall.
"Will that be dangerous?" They could be committing potential arson.
"No. We will be careful," Tom lit up a firecracker and threw it at the wall. The sound was loud and it made the boys scared of the possibility of getting caught.
"Okay, now we blow it out-" But suddenly, a sudden spark soared and the whole door caught on fire, scaring the boys. The fire began so suddenly, it caught them off guard.
The flames were being fanned by something unknown and it began to spread. Tom screamed when his clothes caught on fire.
Suddenly, a hand came out of nowhere and pulled Tom into the flames. He grabbed another boy's leg and dragged him in as well. The last boy other than the one from the Derricks, ran away screaming but the roof had weakened due to the fire and it fell in him, trapping him in the rubble.
The Derrick boy leaned against the back wall, tears running down his face. He didn't know what to do. He looked up and saw one of the vents. He climbed up and escaped through the vent just in time before the roof fell. The fire soared out of the basement and spread throughout the colosseum. Then happened the tragedy that destroyed the colosseum and remained behind to haunt Edenburg forever.
Keith looked at the burning building for a long time until Riley pulled at his sleeve.
"Let's go back,"
Keith nodded. His vision started to blur but right before it gave in, he saw a thin figure standing in the middle of the fire. It's long hair extremely familiar. Keith widened his eyes as the realisation hit him.
Everything around him went black.
Keith woke up in the basement, where they left off. He looked at Riley, "They released the curse."
Riley nodded but didn't say anything else. Nor did she want to. There was a limit to what she could say.
"Anyways," Keith scratched his head, "How were you able to show me the past?"
Riley looked at him silently at first then stood up and dusted her clothes.
"Time to leave. It's getting late."
Keith didn't ask further. He knew Riley had her secrets.
"Should we go back for the vase?"
"No need. Let's just leave it there. We need to leave. Get you out especially," Riley walked towards the exit. Her pace was fast
Keith ran up to her and asked, "I still don't get how I'm involved."
Riley didn't stop, "Fifteen years ago, the hauntings in Edenburg were at its peak. There was a boy who was found in the colosseum, passed out. He stopped talking after that. No one knew what he saw but soon, he left town. After he left, all the hauntings stopped," Riley looked at Keith, "It's been peaceful for fifteen years."
"That was me...do you mean to say I took it with me?"
Riley pursed her lips, "Don't make me talk more than I have to. It won't be good for both of us."
