"Except for me, the shuttle is completely empty. The only sound I can hear is the intense applause of the rain and the echo of thunder. Great uncle Qrow died a little bit after I left for my European trip last year, so my family got this huge house of his in Oregon. This is my first time seeing the so-called 'Arbor House'. Here I finally am, home at one in the morning, I'm so tired that I may just crash as soon as I get in there. I notice that there are no cars in the driveway.

"Maybe nobody's home...not even Ruby's car is here." I think as I hurry out of the bus, scrambling to collect my two bags. One is a small blue duffel bag, and the other is a green drawstring bag with my flight information on it; a small piece of paper that reads "Name: Yang X. Long, Destination: Portland, Flight Number: 270, Date: June 6, 1995."

"Thanks for the ride." I say to the driver as I pass him. I exit the shuttle, holding my duffel bag in my right hand while using my arm to keep the other bag on my back. The bus speeds off, throwing up water from the puddles that are on the road, and I turn back to my new home.

I examine it as I march up to the stairs in the heavy rain. It has a large porch with a roof that leads to a giant double door with two windows on either side and a light above that isn't on. The house has another two stories after the first with two triangular prism-shaped roofs crossing like an intersection, and on both sides is another section of the house that are not as big as the center. The stairs creak when I take a step on them, and continue to do so when I shift my weight from one stair to the next until I reach the porch; no longer being bombarded by the storm. I turn the knob on one of the two double doors, and surprisingly, they open.

"Weird, they usually lock the doors when they leave." I think to myself. I push it open and enter the room, closing the door behind me. In front of me are another pair of wooden doors with stain glass windows and a piece of paper on the right one, with lights on either side; the left one flickering on and off. There is a wooden bench at my right and two chairs with a small table and a cabinet to my left.

I set down my two bags, still wet from the rain, and walk towards the paper.

"Yang,

I'm sorry I can't be there to see you, but it is impossible. Please, please don't go digging around trying to find out where I am. I don't want anyone to know.

We'll see each other again someday. Don't be worried. I love you

-Ruby"

What? I grab the paper with both hands and tear it off the wall; skimming through it once more to make sure I got everything right.

"Can't be there to see you...I don't want anyone to know...Don't be worried...what on earth does this mean?" I question. I can't help to be but to be worried, but maybe it can wait till morning. I'm super tired.

I crumple the paper up into a ball and stuff it into my hoodie pocket, then I give the door a jiggle, but it won't open.

"Locked…" I sigh. Mom and dad always kept a spare key somewhere near the door, I just have to look for it. I glance to my left at the cabinet in the corner of the room. I walk up to it and turn on the lamp on top next to a plant, lighting up the area. I bend down and open the two doors. Inside is a jumbled up mess of Christmas decorations and a white, ceramic duck with a wreath and a red ribbon around its neck

I lift up the duck and bingo, there's the key. I scoop it up and begin walking to the door. The key fits and turns perfectly in the door, and I push them both open. There is a large staircase directly in front of me leading up to a dark upstairs, two bookshelves to the right by one hallway and two cabinets to the left next to a picture of our family and a lamp. Three red carpets decorate the hardwood floor, and a cracked door with the lights on is at my l left. I close the two doors behind me.

I make my way to the picture of our family. Ruby is at the very left sitting next to Mom, who's sitting next to dad. Ruby has short black hair and glimmering silver eyes, and in the photo she's wearing a red and black flannel shirt. Mom has the same color hair and eyes as Ruby, and she's wearing a white, open long-sleeved shirt over a black t-shirt. Dad has shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes with a thin beard, wearing a brown suit. Standing above them is me, with my long, bright gold hair and lilac eyes. Below the whole thing is a plaque that says, "Ruby, Yang, Mom (Summer), and Dad (Tai)."

I look down at the phone on the cabinet. Next to it is a lamp and a answering machine. I turn on the lamp which illuminates the area, revealing a previously hard to see note. I pick this one up and read it as well.

"Ruby-

Jaune from the old neighborhood called. He wants to come see the new house. Call him back.

Mom! Jaune is a TOTAL WEIRDO! The only reason I ever hung out with him in the first place is he had a Nintendo when we were little!"

I recall Ruby telling me what she really thought of the blonde haired kid, it seemed like such a long time ago. The screen on the answering machine has the letter three on it, so I press the play button.

"Ruby? Ruuby? Hellooo?" An unfamiliar girl's voice plays from the machine. "Ruby!" There's a short beep after the sound of a phone hanging up. The second message plays.

"Ruby, w-where are you?" The girl sounds like she's sobbing now. "I really...need to talk to you. Just be there." The phone hangs up again and there is another beep.

"Hey Mom, so I got my flight back from Europe." This is the message I left my family when I got off the plane. I stop the playback, because there is not really a point to listening to myself talk.

"I wonder who that girl was…" I think to myself. She sounded really depressed, like she was barely holding it together.

I open the door to my left to find myself staring down a dark, empty looking hallway. I reluctantly step in and feel the wall for a light switch. My hand glides over a button, so I push it in. The hall is suddenly filled with light, and I see three doors, the closest to my left, then to my right passed a large cabinet, then the farthest at the end of the hallway to my left.

"What's behind door number one?" I think to myself as I throw it open. It's seems to be a dark closet with a string hanging from the ceiling. I pull the string and light fills the small space. At my feet are a few boxes and a green and brown backpack with a piece of paper hanging out of the front pocket. I pick up the paper and begin reading.

"Welcome, new student! We hope that you are as excited about your first day at Beacon Academy as we are." It's just a welcoming letter from the school to Ruby. I skim through the rest, not really caring about what the paper has to say.

I toss the paper aside, pull back down on the switch, and shut the closet door. I approach the cabinet and notice a black card with the Eiffel Tower on it. It's one of the postcards I sent. I still recall what I wrote down.

"Hi Mom, Dad, and Ruby,

I'm in Paris! I have done so many Parisian things, including eating le petit dejeuner and wearing a beret. I'm going to have lots of film to develop when I get back! Ruby, I'm bringing you back something from the Shakespeare Book Company, since you are my favorite sister

Love you all!

-Yang"

Ruby's gift, I left it in my duffel bag on the porch. Rubes always loved to read, it was one of her favorite activities. I walk further down the hallway until I reach the next door to my right. I push it open and, as expected, it's nearly pitch-black. I reach in and find a light switch quickly. The room has a bookshelf on the left wall, a chair in the middle of the room, a cabinet similar to the one in the hallway and a door at the back wall, and a desk and a filing cabinet to my right.

I walk up to the cracked door on the wall and push it the rest of the way open. I flip the light switch and the room is bathed in light. Bookshelves to both my left and right, two chairs and a lamp over by a window. This must be the library.

I head out of the room and back into the hallway. The next door down has a blue light coming out of the cracked door.

The room is lighted by a lamp to the far left and a TV that was left on, playing the emergency broadcast signal. A large L-shaped sofa is in the center of the room under a ceiling fan and next to a table with many strewn about papers and a pizza box. To the right is a fireplace and in the far left corner of the room is another door.

"This is a severe weather warning. The Northwest Weather Service reports high winds and torrential rain conditions affecting the following counties: Austin County, Boon County, Dawn County…"

I walk up to the TV and shut it off. That blaring noise always gave me the creeps for some reason. Why would they leave the TV on?

"Guess I'll crash here." I say out loud to myself. Through the light shining through the window I catch a glimpse of a book and an empty soda can underneath what looks like a small pillow fort.

"Heh, Ruby…" I remember as kids we used to always make pillow forts. Of course, ours were larger than this, since it needed to fit two people. For old times sake, I climb in.

The long pillow on the ground that acts as a mattress feels surprisingly comfortable. I lay my head down and grab the book. It's white and has "Hauntings and Poltergeists" printed on it in a blue, generic font. The picture is a drawing of a man looking at a see-through lady next to a park fountain. I didn't know Ruby was interested in ghosts and stuff. I set the book down at my side and relax. I just want to sleep.