The Mirror
Chapter One
Zeppelin was resting in her 1957 Lincoln Premiere Convertible. She has always adored the car for its vibrant red paint that was almost the same shade as her curly locks. Her father was the one who use to own the convertible and perpetually washed and polished the car, with the help of his little girl. Zeppelin would take full ownership of the car once her mother bought a new one, but until then her mother owned the vehicle.
Zeppelin looked out the window and saw dark, unfriendly clouds blowing overhead and so she glared at them, as if it would help them disappear. She gave up and repositioned herself in her seat so she could lean against the door; she had to take off her seat buckle to do so. Zeppelin's mother, Mrs. Sims, looked back when she heard the click of the buckle.
"Hey, put that back on." She turned her attention back to the road. When she did not hear the click she made a quick inspection of her daughter and asked, "What did I just tell you?"
Zeppelin sighed. "Ok, Ok." She grabbed both ends of the buckle and clicked it into place. "Happy?"
Her mother smiled at her through the front mirror. "Very, now don't be to upset, it's a nice town and the house is huge! There's lots of space for us, so no more teeny-tiny house."
"I liked our teeny-tiny house… if dad were here he wouldn't have made us move…" Zeppelin mumbled. Her mother rolled her eyes and let out a long irritated sigh.
"Please just give this house a chance. I'm sure dad would have loved it too," she said, rubbing her temple. Mrs. Sims looked through the mirror and saw Zeppelin looking out the window with her arms crossed. Mrs. Sims has tried her best over the years to make her daughter happy, but ever since the death of Zeppelin's father she hasn't even smiled. Not once.
"Whatever…" 'He loved our old house.' She thought to herself. Zeppelin was moving away from the few friends she had, her family and, most importantly, her father's grave, the one place she felt at ease. Some might find this a bit strange, but she felt that this way she could pay him a visit and let him know what was going on in her life, the one he was missing out on. Zeppelin recalled the time she helped her father clean Cherry, her red convertible.
"Daddy, can I help wash Cherry?"
"Sure pumpkin," her father smiled. Little Zeppelin skipped over to the bucket of soapy water; her curls bounced with the rhythm of her steps. She grabbed an oversized yellow sponge and walked over to her father.
"How do you wash a car?"She asked him with a puzzled expression planted on her face.
"Well you should start with the top but… you're too short to reach," he chuckled and patted her head. "I have a better idea; you can rinse the car after I wash it, ok sweetie?"
"Ok!" Little Zeppelin dropped the sponge in the bucket, walked over to the edge of the driveway and plopped down to watch her father wash Cherry. He started with the top, just as he told her, and worked his way down. He cleaned every nook and cranny, and soon Cherry was covered in suds. Mr. Sims gave Zeppelin the thumbs up when he was finished.
Zeppelin dashed to the side of the house for the garden hose. She dragged it behind her all the way back to their driveway. She pointed it up at the car. Her father realized that even rinsing Cherry would prove a challenge for little Zeppelin, so he scooped her up in his arms and lifted her up. Zeppelin turned on the hose and rinsed the suds away.
When she was placed back on the ground, Zeppelin twirled around and sprayed her dear old father right in the face. Her father howled with laughter and chased her around in their front yard, grabbing the attention of some neighbors. When he had the chance, he ran over to the end of the hose and turned the water off.
When the water stopped flowing, Zeppelin looked into the hose and shouted, "Hey! Come back!" Mr. Sims snuck up behind his daughter and grabbed her from behind, into his arms. She shrieked and told him to let her go. When Zeppelin stopped squirming, he kissed her on her lightly freckled cheek. She pouted and wiped the kiss off with the back of her hand.
Zeppelin looked back out the window. Giant trees surrounded the area, their branches dangling over the road. Some, if not all, look like they were dead or dying. Almost none had any leaves and she pondered why.
"Ma, are we there yet?"
"Almost, our house is at the end of this road." She took a right down a winding road that was made of gravel with many dips and tiny hills. It was unpleasant to sit in the bouncing car and Zeppelin was loosing her patience. She just wanted the day to be over.
"We're here!" Her mother pulled up in front of a huge Victorian style house. Zeppelin peeked through the front window to get a better look. The paint was once a light shade of green and tan, both colors separated the house in different sections. All the molding used to be a vibrant green, now dull and fading. The tower toward the front was a bit different from the rest of the house, for it was a beautiful maroon and the only window was at the very top. It reminded Zeppelin of the story "Rapunzel", the one her mother used to tell her.
The entryway had a gable roof and a horseshoe arch set inside the bottom of the corner tower. The chimney was set high above the rest of the house, as if it was looking down at the house's new residents. Windows were grouped in either twos or threes, except the tower. Overall, the house was probably a very lovely place once upon a time, but now it showed its years of neglect.
Zeppelin's only interest was in the tower. When she looked back up at it, she noticed there was a sun, setting or rising, floating above red clouds and a golden sun, above the window. It seemed so out of place, and that truly peeved Zeppelin.
"Mom," Zeppelin said as she and her mother stepped out of the car. "What's in the tower?"
"Huh?" Her mom turned around, "Oh, nothing dear. There isn't a door to even get in; it seems that the only way in is through the window. It really is quite odd, don't you think?"
"Yeah…." Zeppelin carefully closed Cherry's door and walked over to the porch with her mother. Mrs. Sims reached a hand into her worn out leather purse to grab the key, but she was having no luck. She kneeled down and emptied the purse's possessions and looked franticly through the pile of junk for the ancient key.
"I think I lost the key…"
"Really? This is just super…"
Mrs. Sims started to go back to the car. "Don't worry; I'll look in the car. It must have fallen out." Zeppelin watched her mother search for the key and knew she found it when she bumped her head on the steering wheel, causing the horn to go off. Her mother jumped a mile and plummeted onto the gravel driveway.
Zeppelin smacked her palm on her forehead. "You ok mom?"
"Yeah." She stumbled over to the front door and inserted the key and twisted her wrist. The door was stuck for a moment and required both girls to shove it open, but eventually it gave in.
"So far so good." Zeppelin said with a hint of sarcasm. Her mother only glared, then looked around the main entrance. The color theme was a bit mellower inside, but just like the outside, everything was fading away or chipping. A chandelier was hung by a chain in the center of the ceiling and appeared to be made of crystals. 'Original perhaps,' Zeppelin thought, 'And the only reason this house has value.'
There were windows along both sides of the front door and in the room to the left, known as a parlor, and to the right of that was a door that leads to the basement. Directly ahead of the foyer was a staircase where the bedrooms were located and next to that was a hall, leading to the kitchen, living room, and dining room. Zeppelin and her mother walked down the hall and found the kitchen, and much to Zeppelin's relief, it was upgraded to modern ages. The only originals in that room were the floor and lighting, which were converted from running on gas to electricity. They walked out of the kitchen and across the hall to the dinning room. It had built in shelves in one of the walls and another crystal chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling, within a tray ceiling. Crown molding outlined it all. Two small windows were neatly placed in the corner and let in almost no light.
Still unhappy with the home, Zeppelin told her mother she wanted to look around the house herself. Her mother said that if she needed anything she would be upstairs. Once her mother was gone, Zeppelin ran to the back of the house to the family room. There were three windows on one wall and two on another, a bookcase between them. In one corner a shaggy couch sat alone. The bare wall was where the tower subsisted. Zeppelin went over to the bookcase and browsed through the ancient books. There were some biographies on people she had never even heard of, atlases, a book about the sun, and books that were so worn out you couldn't tell what they were.
Zeppelin thought about the window. There was a sun on it and one of the books was about the sun. Put them together and one gets an entrance to the tower. She almost laughed at the idea of a secret passage. Almost. She snatched the book off the shelf from its spot and held it in her left hand. Zeppelin then placed her right hand were the book once sat. At the back of the bookcase was a small hole. Zeppelin peeked through and saw nothing of any interest; it was just the wall behind the bookcase. She placed the book back on the shelf and tried to muse another way to unlock the 'secret passage'.
"I didn't know you liked old books." Zeppelin spun around to find her mother in the doorway.
"I sure do, mom."
Mrs. Sims moved closer to her daughter and asked, "Remember what I told you? You have to stay here for a few days when I go back to get the last few boxes, ok?"
"Yeah, yeah. I won't open the door to creepers and I'll stay inside most of the day like a vampire and rot my mind by reading old books." She put a hand on her hip.
"There is food in the fridge and you have money, a phone… oh, and your room has a sleeping bag in it."Her mother kissed Zeppelin on the forehead, walked out the doorway and down the hall to the front door. This wasn't unusual for Zeppelin to be home alone. Since her father had passed she started to become more independent and was left home alone most of the week. Her mother would occasionally have to go out of town for work and Zeppelin would either stay at home, or go to a friend's house.
When she heard the door close and the car drive off, Zeppelin began her mission. She looked at every square inch of the bookcase, top, sides, bottom, inside. Nothing. She hesitated at first to lie on the floor to get a look underneath but she wasn't going give up now. It's better to finish what one started. When she looked under she saw a door in the floor. It was small and a rusted handle was attached in the center. Zeppelin sprung up and quickly made it over to the left of the bookcase.
She leaned her back against it and tried to shove it off of the door. It took her a few minutes to move the bookcase about a quarter of the way. She let out a long sigh and plopped onto the floor. Thunder was now becoming audible in the distance and a flash of lightning lit up the room. 'Might be dumb to go in the tower now… oh well.'
She got up on her feet, and again, tried to move the bookcase. Almost ten minutes was what it took to get it off the door. She kneeled down and noticed something that was a bit odd. A cool breeze came from underneath. Zeppelin grabbed the handle and lifted the door up revealing a dark tunnel, one that had no end to it, or more so that's how it appeared. She was about to jump in when her cell phone began to ring.
"Alo?" She started to fiddle with her curls, every second she was becoming more impatient.
"I forgot to tell you something sweetie." Zeppelin dropped her hand to her side and sighed, "What is it?"
"The movers will be coming with our furniture tommorow, ok?"
"Yup. See ya." Zeppelin snapped the phone shut and shoved it back into her pocket while she glanced over the edge of the dreary entrance. Zeppelin took a deep breathe before plummeting into total darkness. When her eyes adjusted to the sudden change, she turned on a flashlight from her phone to navigate herself in the dark. The floor was just dirt, and it appeared no one had been down there in years. Every step she took caused dirt to fly up into her face, putting her in a coughing fit.
She eventually found a staircase and began to make her way up, happy to get out of the dirt. The steps were worrying her about falling but fortunately there was a railing on each side attached to the aging red brick. She would occasionally look down and hop over the steps that were crumpling and cracked. All she needed was to take one wrong step and fall. She stopped for a second and looked at the time on the phone. It was already four o'clock. 'I'll keep going until five,' she silently thought to herself.
Zeppelin reached the top of the stairs only to find a grey wooden door. She prayed that it wasn't locked. Zeppelin gave a small tug on the handle; the door opened and revealed a small round room. She walked in and on the left was the window that was visible to the front of the house. Her eyes wandered around but it was bare. If something was ever here, someone must have cleared it out long ago. A bit disappointed she began to reach for the doorknob, but something caught her eye. It was a mirror.
The mirror was gingerly placed against the wall beside the door. It looked so beautiful, with the colors from the window bouncing of it, and the rays danced on the grey walls, adding some life to the room. Zeppelin gradually advanced to the mirror to get a better look at the ornate designs. There were swirls and waves on the border, giving it a cloud like appearance, and on the top was a rising sun with clouds floating above.
"So pretty," she whispered. Zeppelin placed her hand on the mirror and looked at her reflection. She saw her fiery red hair, thousands of freckles that adorned her cheeks, and bright green eyes that seemed to have lost the life in them. She was wearing black baggy paints and a dark green tank that hung on her loosely. She never wore makeup and didn't bother to get a tan. Being orange was not something she desired.
There was something about the mirror that amazed and terrified her, all at once. It was so beautifully decorated, someone must have put in a lot of time to make such an amazing piece of art, but when she placed her hand on the mirror it felt like there was an electric current running through the mirror into her.
The strange sensation gave her chills but she did not want to remove her hand. It was like an addiction. Once you start, it's hard to stop. With her free hand, Zeppelin placed it over her neck and felt her hairs standing up. Her heart began to pump faster, and her breathing quickened, so she tore her hand off the mirror; the electric current was gone almost instantly. She tilted her head and stared at the mirror in wonder. She backed up slowly and gave the mirror one more look before she walked through the doorway.
She took half the time to get down the stairs as it did to get up. When Zeppelin finally reached the end of the tunnel, and made it back up through the trap door, she didn't put the bookcase over it, she saw no point in doing so. Zeppelin strolled into the kitchen and flicked the lights on. They came on slowly and were dim. 'Damn this house.'
She walked to the fridge and browsed for anything she could make in a few minutes, the best she could do was a grilled cheese sandwich. She gathered her ingredients and set them on the counter next to the gas stove. She placed a pan over the flame and once it warmed up, she cut a slice of butter and threw it in. When it melted Zeppelin placed a slice of bread down, cheese, and a final piece of bread over the gooey cheese. She let the bread cook in the butter and once it became a golden brown she turned off the gas and looked for a plate.
Zeppelin found them in the cabinet to the left of the stove. She slid the sandwich off the pan and onto the plate. Zeppelin could either sit on the floor, or stand. After one glance down, she decided standing was her best bet. She shivered at the thought of what was on the floor, and even worse was she was going to sleep there. Suddenly, crawling out from under the counters was a spider, bringing back memories when she was little.
"What's wrong curly-Q?"Her father questioned the frightened ginger.
"Th-there's a s-spider in my room!"Zeppelin shrieked. Her father smiled, took her hand and lead the way back to her room.
He opened the door and asked, "Where's the big bad spider?" Zeppelin led him to her bed and pointed a shaking finger at her fluffy, white pillow. The spider laid there as if he was enjoying the unusual spot he never had had before.
"Squish him!"
"Squish him? Why would you want me to do that?" He placed his hand next to the spider, allowing it to crawl into his palm. As he walked to the window to let it out, Zeppelin turned pale. Her father turned around, "Spiders do more good than harm for people. Like any creature it deserves respect and to live."
Zeppelin sat on the floor and silently ate her meal, forgetting why she refused to in the first place. She listened for any signs of life but the only sound that she could hear was the howling wind. "Creepy."
She was utterly alone. After cleaning up her dinner mess she walked up the stairs and began the search for her room. There was only one hallway. The stairs spitted the hall up into two sections; four bedrooms to the left and three to the right. The windows on both ends of the hall helped brighten up the cramped space, along with the lighting that was hung on the walls. The walls were painted a pale yellow, and the floors were newly exposed hardwood.
Zeppelin remembered her mom mentioning that the old carpeting was removed and that they were lucky hardwood floors were underneath. Finding her room was a bit of a challenge. After searching all four rooms to the left, she found her bedroom down the other end, and of course, it was the last one. It was plain. The walls were white and there was more hardwood. Disappointed, Zeppelin left her room in a huff and went in search of the bathroom next which, luckily, was next-door.
The bathroom was also updated and was very cozy, unlike her room. The walls were painted a cream and there were already a few necessities laid out on the counter. Already tired of looking around, she closed the door and walked to the window at the end of the hall. She placed her hands on the cold glass and looked up into the sky. The sun would still be out if only the clouds did not cover it up. It was only a few minutes past six o'clock but it looked like the middle of the night. She took her hands off the window and placed them into her pockets with a sigh.
Back in the family room, Zeppelin looked for anything that could help pass the time. She came across the book on the sun in the same spot she found it in. Even from the distance she was from the door, and the bookcase blocking it slightly, she could still feel the cold draft. Zeppelin drummed her fingers on the ground, wondering if she should go back. No one would ever know but… did it even matter? As far as anyone knew there was no way into the tower. She took in a deep breathe and swung the door open, a gush of wind swirling her hair around fiercely. It was a piece of cake to reach the top for Zeppelin, for she already memorized which steps were safe. She kept one hand on the railing and the other held the book. When the door came into view, she heard shuffling of feet and glass breaking. Her heart sunk into the pit of her stomach.
"Tobi, what did you do, un?" Zeppelin threw a hand over her mouth and ducked down onto the stairs.
"N-nothing! Tobi is a good boy!" the voice squeaked.
"Tobi, are you lying to us?" A voice asked calmly.
"No! Honest!" the one called Tobi stated. There was a long and painful silence in the room, making Zeppelin cringe.
The wind was the only one making any sound at all until someone, a girl, said, "Pein, what should we do?" This 'Pein' thought for a second.
"We will see were the door leads, it could possibly lead the way back to the base." Others in the room mumbled their agreement and suddenly footsteps echoed all around Zeppelin. She turned around and dashed down the stairs as quickly and quietly as possible. She was barely halfway down when she stepped on a crumbling stone and shrieked as she fell, the book flew out of her hands and landed on a step below.
When she got up she heard someone say, "What the fuck was that?" No one answered but someone's pace quickened, Zeppelin quickened her own pace as well and ran to the exit. She stood on a large stone and climbed out of the darkness and swiftly set the door down. She knew she didn't have time to block the exit and hide. Hiding was the smartest thing she could do at the moment. She could call the police when they pass her or make a quick getaway. Zeppelin sat in the corner of the wall behind the couch, listening for the sound of footsteps. It took her a moment to realize she was not alone. Only one person stood in the room with her. They walked to the center and gazed down the hallway. She peeked around the couch to get a better look.
They wore a black cloak with a high collar, decorated with red clouds, outlined in white. The intruder had a silver hair and a red scythe he held in one hand. Zeppelin held her breath when they turned around, but they didn't even notice her hiding behind the couch, even though she was a bit obvious. "I don't see anyone."
"Someone is here. They couldn't have made it very far." Another man stepped up into the room and stood in front of the man with the scythe. He, too, wore the cloak but had a mask covering his face and was taller than the first guy. "I'm going to search upstairs. Wait for the others to come." The one with silver hair didn't answer and stayed where he was as the man with the mask left the room. He looked back at the tunnel entrance and out popped another.
"Need any help Hidan, un?"
"I don't need your fucking help." He seemed bored, just lazily looking around and his fingers twitched every now and then. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a redhead approached the blonde and Hidan.
"Deidara, Hidan, where is Kakuzu?" the other ginger asked.
"Upstairs, un." The one Zeppelin thought was Deidara pointed up. The redhead crossed his arms and said, "There's no point. The one we seek is right here." He turned around to face Zeppelin. "Hello." The one named Hidan inched his way closer to the redhead.
When he made eye contact with the girl he blurted out, "What the fuck are you doing here?" Zeppelin froze and did not dare move. Maybe if she was lucky, REALLY lucky, it wasn't her they saw, but she knew that was not the case. She shouldn't lie to herself. Now she had to make the decision to either answer them or run. She wasn't stupid. If she chosed to run she would only get caught and possibly be killed and she did not want the movers and her mom to find her remains scattered across the room. She slowly rose to her feet, all eyes on her. Zeppelin gripped the couch in front of her so she would not faint.
It was difficult to form words but she managed a meek, "I l-live h-here." She cursed herself for her stutter.
"There's nothing here, un." stated the blonde.
"Well yeah, we just moved here," she said a bit louder and without a stutter. No one responded but Deidara and Hidan were pulled back into the tunnel by the redhead. Zeppelin went to the center of the room and just stared at the floor. She watched the masked man, possibly Kakuzu, walk to the tunnel. Not once did he look back at Zeppelin, he just acted like she wasn't there. After he jumped down the group began to chatter softly to each other.
"Are we going to stay here Pein?"
"What are we to do about the girl?"
"We could just kill her."
"No. She is no threat to us and we don't know where we are or how to get back. She might be of some use. Do not harm her. Is that clear?" Zeppelin was thinking the one who just spoke must have been the leader. She could only hope they would listen. Wait a second, why was she just standing here? This was her chance to get away!
She turned on her heal and, like a bat out of hell, ran to the front door. She made the first turn, passing up the kitchen. Down the hall she went, pass the dining room, almost to the stairs, then the front door slowly came into view and her heart almost stopped. Zeppelin might have a chance. She stretched her arm out, trying to grasp the doorknob when she suddenly ran into something huge and blue. She had almost lost her footing when it started to laugh. It wasn't so much as a dark and cruel chuckle, but it seemed honestly amused. Zeppelin looked through her tangled mass of hair up at whoever it was. Well, he was most certainly blue, and shark like. He had rows of gills on both cheeks and razor sharp teeth, and to even add his alikeness to a shark he had eyes like one.
"Don't think we're gonna let you get away now." Zeppelin steadily backed away, only to run into someone else. She spun around and came face to face with a man who had blood red eyes. He appeared to be much younger than the blue man. His jet-black hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, loose hair falling onto his face, and had pronounced tear troughs beneath his eyes. Zeppelin just stared, so unsure of what she should do. He, on the other hand, never even glanced her way. His attention was directed at his partner.
"Kisame, take her back to the room. Don't let her slip past you." The blue man, called Kisame, looked more than displeased with his response. He hastily grabbed Zeppelin's shoulders and pushed her forward, occasionally making her barely miss colliding into a wall.
The first person she saw in the room was a man with spiky orange hair who had many piercings on his face. His most distinguishing feature was his grey eyes. The woman next to him had blue hair, with a white paper flower tucked neatly in her bun on top of her head. She was very beautiful and seemed to be close to the man with piercings.
The next group had the redhead and blonde. Zeppelin knew the blonde was called Deidara. His hair was pulled up into a ponytail, his side bang covering one side of his face, and he had the brightest and bluest eyes she had ever seen. He, too, looked very young, just like the one with black hair, and so did his partner. Deidara's partner had hair just as red a Zeppelin's and had heavy-lidded eyes that slightly hid them, but one could tell they were a deep shade of brown.
The third group consisted of Hidan and Kakuzu. Hidan had silver hair, violet eyes, and a dirty mouth, as Zeppelin realized, if he was agitated or dumbfounded. Zeppelin would never swear, out loud at least, and neither did her parents. Hidan carried a red scythe and his cloak wasn't closed all the way like his comrades. Kakuzu's appearance was most intriguing. He wore a mask over the lower half of his face and his eyes reminded Zeppelin of Christmas; they were red and green.
The final group had a man with an orange mask that reminded Zeppelin of a lollipop. He didn't wear a cloak and had spiky black hair. Zeppelin noticed he had a hard time standing still because he was constantly swaying in his spot. The one next to him scared Zeppelin a bit. His left side was white and the other was black. His eyes glowed yellow, his hair was a bright green, and he was surrounded by something that resembled a venus fly-trap. He was someone you couldn't help but stare at.
"What is your name?" Zeppelin faced the man with orange hair. She doesn't answer him. He became impatient with her silence and walked up to her, a kunai in his hand. He holds it at her throat and repeats the question. "What is your name?"
"Zeppelin Sims."
"That's your name?" Lollipop boy asked.
"Yeah." She loved the originality of her name but hated it at the same time. People would call her Zippy when she was younger, even her father made the same mistake. She noted that it wasn't as bad as Zipper. She only could wonder how people come up with such nicknames.
"Where are we?" The man asked. Zeppelin hesitated at first. There was nothing she could do now. It was best to just to answer them to buy her some time.
"I think I should be asking the questions here." The orange haired man lowers the kunai. "Who are you? I told you my name." She wanted to test them, see how much they would tell her. If they really were stuck here they would have to trust her, or pretend to, right? If they were faking, they wouldn't be able to keep this up for too long.
"You did but we won't tell you ours, un. You don't need to know," Deidara said. Zeppelin looked him in the eye. She would have gone over herself if Kisame released her, but he gave no hint of letting her go anytime soon.
"Your name is Deidara, right?" He didn't answer and so she looked over at Hidan. "You're Hidan, and that's Kakuzu." She stated as she looked at the masked man next to him. Zeppelin turned her attention over to the orange haired man and waited for him to respond. His expression calmed and he said, "You can call me Pein."
"I'm Sasori." Zeppelin was surprised the redhead told her himself. She nodded her head to let him know she heard him, and then she looked over at the one with the orange mask and the plant man.
"I'm Tobi!" He hopped over in front of her and took her by the hand. He dragged her behind him to the plant man, "And this is Mr. Zetsu!"
"Zetsu." He growled.
Tobi introduced Zeppelin to Kisame and Itachi. Neither man spoke but they did bow their heads slightly. When they walked over to Hidan and Kakuzu they just looked down at her, belittling her, making her feel small. She wanted to go crawl into a hole and never come out. He brought her back over to Pein and introduced her to the woman with blue hair.
"This is Konan!" Konan just looked up from the ground.
Tobi ran back to his spot and Pein said, "Now that you know us, you shouldn't have problem with answering our questions." Zeppelin tried to protest but he raised a hand. "Where are we?"
"My house." The corners of his lips curled down into a frown.
"Can you elaborate?"
"Well…You're in Pennsylvania." He still seemed a bit clueless but hid it well.
"We will need a place to stay while we investigate more of what has occurred."
"I found some empty rooms upstairs."Zeppelin turned her head. It was Kakuzu, the one who searched upstairs earlier. 'So that's what he was doing….' She just wanted to die now. For all she knew they could be the creepers her mom had warned her about and she was more than uncomfortable of the thought of having complete strangers in her house.
"Um… excuse me?" Everyone's eyes shifted toward her. "You can't stay here," she began. Pein just raised a brow at her. For the first time in a while she truly felt nervous. "Well…." Not being able to hold it in anymore she blurted out everything that was going through her mind. "I'm sorry but do you really expect me, all alone for a who knows how long, to just let random people, who show up in my house, stay while they figure out what supposedly happened? You'll probably just kill me," she said gesturing to the small teams, "no matter what he tells you!"
When she looked back at Pein, did she see him smile? A smirk? "I can understand how you feel but I assure you that we won't cause you any harm. Just think of it as our way of thanking you for allowing us a place to stay and an extra hand to help." Otherwise she was toast, right? Hey, wait a second….
"Help you?" Zeppelin asked.
"That's right."
"But-," She had no idea how they got up there. Not a clue. She would be of no use to them, just in their way. How could she help them? After escaping her thoughts she found them heading up the stairs to the empty rooms. Zeppelin sighed and showed them the way upstairs and pointed out her room.
"Don't go in there, please. There might not be anything there but it is still my room." Pein stepped forward.
"We understand that you would want your privacy."
"Right… there is the bathroom," she pointed to the small room next-door. "There is another one down the other end. Everything else is bedrooms. Oh, you have to share rooms. Remember that you can only stay up here for tonight." She walked into her doorway but stopped when she remembered one more thing. "By the way, there are no beds yet so you will have to sleep on the floor." Zeppelin closed her door and locked it immediately. Over at her window she looked up at the night sky. The storm had passed and the moon shined brightly. Shaking her head she asked herself, 'What have I got myself into?'
E/N: Hello :) if you made it this far then it mean you have finished reading chapter one (or you cheated and went to see what was at the bottom). I am the "editor" for Ryuu22. My name is Getsu Nichi, but Getsu is just fine. If you have spotted any mistakes or something that does not make sense and needs to be changed please PM me and I will try to get to it ASAP. I hope you enjoyed the story so far ^^
A/N:Alo! That was my editor! She has agreed to help edit this story (and give me ideas). I hope you enjoyed chapter one and hope everyone will be patient for the next chapter. It will take a while for me and Getsu to get chapter two out but we will get it out A.S.A.P! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.