Black Cats and Voodoo Dolls

Chapter One: A Very Bad Decision

Disclaimer: I do not own the Haunted Manor franchise, Disney owns it. Nor do I own the story And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Get it? Got it? Good.

From my earliest youth I realized that my nature was a mass of contradictions. I have, to begin with, an incurably romantic imagination. The practice of throwing a bottle into the sea with an important document inside was one that--

"Um, Drew?"

--never failed to thrill me when reading adventure stories as a child. It thrills me still--and for that reason I have adopted this course--writing my confession, enclosing it in a bottle, sealing the latter--

"Drew, you in there? Drew?"

--, and casting it into the waves. There is, I suppose--

"DREW!" A number two pencil hit the head of Drew Pilgrim, a scrawny, brown-haired teenage girl, currently mesmerized in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Peevishly, she looked up from her book and glanced over at the villainous pencil-thrower, her best friend Nina Caldera. Nina was blonde, short, and had "an excessive need to exert control over people and over her own life due to her parents decisions" according to her psychiatrist. Nina said that that was just an eloquent way of saying that she was a control freak thanks her midlife crisis father and her mother, who had ran off to an artist's commune. Drew just said crazy parents or no, it meant that Nina was still just mad at everyone for being taller than her.

"Jeez, Ninny," Drew said irritably, "What was that for? I was just starting to read Wargrave's confession." Nina looked heavenward, as if to ask the powers that be, I ask for a best friend, and you give me this? Nina heaved a melodramatic sigh.

"Drew Janice Pilgrim," said Nina tiredly, "What time is our first period class?"

Drew raised an eyebrow. "8:57," Drew replied warily.

"That's right. And what hall did we stop in so you could finish the final chapter of your book and stop bumping into people?" asked Nina. Once again, Drew raised her eyebrow.

"First," Drew answered slowly, "Is there a point to all these questions?"

"You'll see. Anyways, where is our first period?"

More eyebrow raising. "Um, fifth hall? You know, on top of fourth hall? It takes four minutes to get there. "

"Correct. Now," Nina said with a flourish, "Look at the clock. What time is it?"

Giving a curious look to Nina, Drew turned to stare at the clock. And stared. And stared.

The clock read 8: 56. Shit.

----

1.2 minutes of mad dashing to first period and five periods later…

"Look, Drew, I'm not mad at you for getting lost in that book. I've been your best friend since first grade, I know how you get when you have a murder mystery in your hands." Nina glanced at her friend who was sitting in the desk next to her. Drew currently had her head propped up with her hand and was staring off into space.

Or was she? Nina turned her head so she could what was in Drew's line of vision. An attractive boy with spiked light-brown hair and emo glasses was quietly working on the class assignment, laughing at whatever joke the guy next to him had just said.

Nina groaned. "Jeez, Drew, put your eyes in, will ya? Taylor isn't that much to write home about." This got Drew's attention. In less than a millisecond, Drew had whipped her head around to glare at Nina.

"What are you talking about?" asked Drew. "Have you even looked at the guy?"

"You have, obviously," Nina replied dryly. Drew narrowed her eyes.

"Stop teasing," went on Drew, a little peevishly. "Anyways, it's not just his looks that I like about him. He's funny, and smart--"

"And a delicious piece of eye candy," added Nina, grinning mischievously.

"--And he's great with animals. You know that he works at the pound? He's kind to animals, Nin! He's perfect!"

Nina stopped working on her graph and looked up at Drew. "So why don't you ask him out then?" Drew looked at Nina incredulously.

"Uh, hello? He's dating Nicole, incase you haven't noticed," pointed out Drew. Nina shrugged.

"So? They agreed to see other people. Drew-Bear, just ask him out, it's not going to kill you!"

Drew barely noticed the use of her baby name. "Nina," Drew sighed, "I just can't, all right?" Not waiting for a response, Drew went back to her work.

Nina said little for the rest of the period, deep in thought. She continued being quiet and pensive until they were walking home from school, when suddenly she stopped in the middle of the autumn leaf-covered sidewalk, as if she had been struck by a lightening bolt.

"Drew, I just had an epiphany," Nina proclaimed. Drew snorted. "No, seriously," she insisted. "I've finally figured you out!"

Drew sighed and stopped about two feet away from Nina. "Right, then, good doctor," said Drew jokingly, "What's my problem?"

"You're a coward," Nina said matter-of-factly. Drew stared at her in shock and outrage, and was about to say something when Nina held up her hand.

"Just listen to me, 'kay?" asked Nina. When Drew said nothing, Nina went on, walking along side her as she did so.

"Ever since we were little, you weren't afraid of the usual things people were afraid of. You had a pet spider--a tarantula to be exact. You read It when you were eight and didn't have any nightmares. You yawned when my older brother put on that Alien mask and jumped in front of us and started screaming. Heck, you've even laughed during Psycho. But," Nina said dramatically, "When it comes to normal stuff, you just….I don't know, freeze."

"Example?" asked Drew.

Nina bit her lip in thought. "Well, take asking out Taylor for instance. There's a good chance that he'll say yes if you ask him, and yet the last time you tried asking him out, you tripped over thin air while walking over to him, and bumped into a vending machine, which then promptly fell over, busted the pipe connecting to the water fountain, and flooded the entire third hall."

Drew put her hands on her hips. "That's not cowardice, that's clumsiness."

Nina shrugged. "Whatever. So maybe you're not a coward, you just have some serious self-doubt. Which is completely stupid, by the way." Nina added.

"I didn't even say anything!" protested Drew.

"You were thinking it! Look Drew, you are one of the smartest people I know. You were the only one who figured out what our old principal was doing with the money that was supposed to go to art. You're an amazing detective, even if you claim that you haven't done any real work, and underneath that oversized black hoodie and long hair is the face and body of a model."

Drew rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the motivational speech, I appreciate it. But it's not going to help me ask Taylor out."

Nina smiled. "So you say," she replied, "But one day, you're going to do something completely amazing, that will help a lot of people, and you'll see that I'm right."

A loud clap of thunder resounded above them. While they had been talking, dark clouds had formed, and now the sky looked a little…

"Spooky," said Drew aloud. "I'd hate to go trick-or-treating in this." The two friends stopped at a street corner. At this point, Nina went to the left to her house, and Drew kept walking to her own humble abode two houses down the street.

"I don't think anyone will." said Nina, shifting her backpack strap a little. "You coming to Islands on Saturday?"

"I'll try. See you then. I'll call you when I get home." Drew said, walking off to her house.

Nina stared at Drew's retreating form. With a sudden burst of impulsiveness, she shouted, "You are going to see that I'm right, you know! Just watch!"

Drew turned around, and began walking backwards so she could respond.

"So you tell me, Ninny," she called back, "So you tell me!"

---

It was around 6:00 PM when the phone rang. Drew was sitting at the coffee table in the living room, working on an essay and waiting for the takeout guy to come with the food. Her father's meeting at the university was running late, and her mother had to work late at the station, leaving Drew with nothing to do but either microwave the leftover vegetarian meatloaf from last night or order Chinese. You can guess what she did.

Sighing, Drew walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone. "Pilgrim Residence. Who is it?" She answered wearily.

There was a crackling noise on the phone before a voice began speaking. "Good evening, Miss Pilgrim," said a gravelly, serious voice. For some reason unknown to Drew at the time, it made the hairs on her back stand on end. "I am speaking on behalf of my employer, Mr. Gracey."

Drew made a face. Gracey? Gracey was the name of the abandoned manor at the edge of town. And from what she knew, everyone in the family of the said name was dead. Maybe a distant relative had come to restore the house?

Drew examined her nails. "Go on.." she said slowly.

"As you may have concluded, Mr. Gracey is a distant relation who has only recently found out that he inherited the house. He has decided to restore it and sell the house." Drew almost dropped the phone then. The man on the phone had just said almost exactly what she had thought! Nervously, she kept listening.

"As I was saying, Mr. Gracey plans to restore the house. Unfortunately, some…rumors about the house need to be stamped out first before he moves in. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yeah, I know," said Drew, rolling her eyes as she spoke. "The house is supposed to haunted with, like, 999 spirits, right? What a joke."

Although Drew wasn't sure how she knew, she could swear that the man on the line was smiling. "I knew you weren't the superstitious type. Anyways, Mr. Gracey, although a brilliant man, is that type of person. He has told me that until he has someone investigate the mystery of the house, he will neither sell or restore it."

Drew frowned in confusion. "Hang on a tic," she said, "What mystery are we talking about here?"

"The mystery of the death of young Gracey's beloved bride, of course. The present Mr. Gracey claims that the reason why the house is haunted is because of that mystery. He believes that the murderer's spirit resides in the house, and that it destroys whomever dares to enter the house, and turns them into a ghost. Mr. Gracey feels that once the murderer is discovered the spirits shall move on, and that house shall be haunted no more."

Drew was silent for a moment. "You want me," she said blankly, "To enter a supposed haunted manor, from what I've heard no one ever has come out of, just so that your overly superstitious boss can renovate the house and sell it? Forget it. Even if they're aren't any ghosts, chances are that the house is a death trap anyways. I'm not about to risk my life so your boss can be happy. It was nice talking to you." Drew was about to hang up the phone when the man on the other line began speaking again, this time more urgently.

"Please, Miss Pilgrim," said the voice, "I beg you to reconsider. If you do this job, you will paid handsomely."

Drew paused. "How handsomely are we talking here?" she asked suspiciously.

"15,000 American dollars." Drew nearly dropped the phone. "Are you still interested in the case, Miss Pilgrim?"

Drew thought for a moment. "Fine, I'll do the job," she agreed. "I'll meet you and your employer---"

"Wonderful. Please arrive at the manor tonight at…I believe that the manor is just an hour outside of town, isn't it? Well, please arrive at 7 o'clock sharp. The gate will be open, and the entrance unlocked. Farewell until then." There was a shuffling noise on the other end, and the dial tone soon filled Drew's ear.

Drew hung up the phone in a daze. That couldn't have just happened. She did not just agree to enter an abandoned house for $15,000 dollars. Heck, her fee was only ten dollars an hour to begin with!

Still doubting the conversation, Drew pinched herself. She winced as she felt the sting. Okay, that conversation wasn't a dream then. Still, she couldn't go. It was already 6:30, and all Drew had was her bicycle. Not only that, but it was going to rain any minute now.

I can't--won't go, she thought determinedly. It's completely, totally insane. I am not going to take some detective job for a loony heir and his creepy assistance. Even it's worth 15,000 dollars.

"I won't go," Drew said to the empty kitchen. "It's crazy!"

---

Five minutes later…

"I must be the craziest girl on the planet…" moaned Drew as she sped along the road on her bike, raindrops pelting her like bullets.

-fin-

A/N: Yeah, so you finished the first chapter of my fan fiction. Go you! I'd give you a cookie, but the monitor makes it hard to do that. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!