"This isn't really what I'd had in mind." Roderich says, ducking to avoid an especially low-hanging cobweb. When Gilbert suggested visiting a haunted house he'd expected a commercial one, one where actors fail miserably at attempts to appear threatening, not a building that's most likely condemned and perhaps, literally haunted.
"It beats answering the door to trick-or-treaters for half the night though, doesn't it ?" Gilbert points his camera at Roderich who quickly swerves to avoid its gaze.
"It doesn't, actually." Having children knocking at his door with the expectation of free food didn't seem like the preferable way to spend his night, but in hindsight it was the safest option. At least he knew that the floors of his hallway wouldn't collapse. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said of their present location. "And please don't point that thing at me again, it's bad enough we're trespassing, you don't have to provide the authorities with concrete proof."
"You won't be saying that when our ghost hunt is aired on the Syfy channel and the viewers start calling it the scariest thing they've ever seen." The excitement in Gilbert's voice is practically tangible, Roderich almost laughs.
"And what exactly are you hoping to film."
"Paranormal phenomena." He says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Roderich does laugh then and Gilbert sticks the camera directly in his face, just to spite him. "Alright cynic, be that way, just remember whose got the camera. I'll make sure to capture all your screams of terror and show them to everyone you know."
In the most monotone drawl imaginable, Roderich overcomes his camera shyness and speaks to it directly. "I'm positively petrified."
Gilbert picks up on the sarcasm but doesn't acknowledge it. "That's great, but I'm gonna need you to be more expressive for this next scene."
Again, Roderich laughs and this time Gilbert joins him. For the first time that night, they're both laughing and neither at the other's expense. Roderich eventually regains his composure and thinks that maybe this excursion won't be all that bad.
When the last few chuckles die down and they've both caught their breath, they set off deeper into the building, ready for whatever awaits them. Gilbert is silent as they check the rooms one by one and Roderich honestly can't tell if he's too engrossed in ghost hunting to talk or if he's just trying to set an eerie mood that will frighten him. Both scenarios seem equally likely. Despite the quiet and calm of the building, Gilbert never gets discouraged by the lack of ghostly activity and is quick to note that they may be filming spirit orbs which won't become apparent until they review the footage.
The ground floor a complete bust, Gilbert leads them upstairs in hopes that all the building's otherworldly activity was concentrated upwards.
"Where did you hear about this place, Gilbert ?" Roderich asks, treading lightly on the first few steps. He carefully tries to distribute his weight evenly between the banister and the stairs themselves, not knowing which could crumble first.
"Internet," he says, assuming it's a self-explanatory answer.
"What strange corners of the internet do you lurk in ?" Roderich calls up to Gilbert who, as the lesser cautious of the two, has carried on ahead without a care.
Gilbert shrugs, "Sometimes you just fall down a rabbit hole."
The stairs lead up into a wide hallway, full of antique mahogany furniture covered in thick layers of dust. The tattered curtains are drawn, camouflaging the slivers of moonlight that could have provided valuable backup for their torches. Yet, despite the darkness, Gilbert can still make out the faces in the portraits on the walls and how the eyes seem to follow him.
Maybe it's just that he's on edge, but Gilbert swears he hears something. A flutter, maybe a bat or a ghost. Roderich dismisses it quickly as a trick, it's just Gilbert trying to make him fearful. But if it is anything at all, he knows it's the wind rattling the creaky walls of the old building and nothing more.
They move forward through the first floor, out of the halls and into the first room on their left. It's a bedroom, small and lived in. The bed is still made after all this time, but the duvet that was presumably once white is now aged grey and covered with Roderich can only hope isn't rat droppings.
They're turning to leave, it's another unspectacular room with nothing remotely paranormal about it, when they see it. A small shadowed creature flitting through the air. It doesn't stop, it doesn't make a sound, but they run, they scream.
His previous misgivings about the safety of the stairs quickly forgotten, Roderich races down them at a slower pace than he'd like, following behind Gilbert. They make it out the door and head straight for the car. Their throats are raw from shouting and their hearts are hammering against their chests, but they're out, they're safe.
Gilbert doesn't start the car right away, needing time to catch his breath instead, but by the time he's calmed down he has something else in mind.
"So, do you want to check to footage ? I'm pretty sure it was running the whole time."
Roderich is still a sceptic, really. Despite his earlier reaction, he knows there's an explanation for it all, there's no such thing as ghosts. That's why he has to examine the footage. It's not doubt or anything of the sort, of course.
Gilbert finds the right spot on the clip and together they watch their last few minutes inside the building. Despite the greenish tint of the night vision camera, the figure they see is unmistakable.
"You brought the bird."Roderich doesn't shout, but his voice is raised. He's not angry, he's mostly shocked and unsure how to react. This isn't what he'd expected at all, but at the same time it feels exactly like something that would happen to them.
Gilbert scratches at the back of his neck, a nervous habit. "I forgot he was in my coat pocket, he'd gone for a nap but I guess he woke up and needed to stretch his wings."
"You do realise that you'll have to go back inside and catch him now, don't you ?"
"You do realise that I did film your screams of terror like I said I would." Gilbert counters, waving the camera in his hand.
Roderich looks out at Gilbert from over his glasses. "You're screaming on that video too."
Gilbert groans and hovers his finger over the delete button. "Look, I'll delete it right now if you come inside and help find Gilbird with me."
"Fine, but next year I make the Halloween plans."