Chapter 2: Trapped

Red bolted up the stairs, too terrified to stay in the basement alone. He then ran to the foyer and flew up the left side of the main staircase, skipping almost half of the rotted steps in his hurry. Heart racing, Red turned left and began bursting all of the hallway doors open to try and find his other friends. About four doors down, he found what he was looking for. "Green!"

"Ahh!" the leader yelped, caught completely by surprise. He then almost fell over when someone plowed right into him. "Red? What are you doing here?" The little hero didn't say a word and continued to hold his friend tightly. "Red?" Green began worry and gently pushed Red off of him. "I thought you were looking around downstairs with…" he then noticed Red's tears, "…Blue." The mention of the name caused Red to grip Green tighter, who now grew concerned. With a firm tone, he asked "Red, where's Blue?"

Red pulled away and hugged his arms. "He…he…" Suddenly, his eyes widened and darted around the room. Suddenly grabbing Green's arm, he nearly shouted "Green, where's Vio?!"

Startled, Green stuttered, "W-we split up. He's in the, uh, room across the hall. Whoa!" He found himself being roughly dragged out of the room and into the one Vio was supposed to be in.

At first, Red didn't see his friend. Then he caught sight of something purple next to a large wardrobe. "Vio!" Surprised, Vio flinched, but, unlike Green, he did not make a sound.

"Red, what are you doing up here?" Vio asked, a little surprised to see his counterpart finished with the lower floors so soon. He then noticed the look of panic on his face and how confused Green was. "Care to explain what is going on here?" Instead of an answer, though, he was glomped by Red, much like the leader had been. Vio looked to Green for an explanation, but was answered with a shrug.

"Oh I'm so glad you two are okay," Red said as he let go of Vio.

"Why would we not be?" Vio asked. "And where is Blue? I thought the two of you were supposed to be checking the first floor and basement together."

Red began to cry again. "H-he's gone!"

"What?!"

"I-I tried to save him, but I was too slow, and now he's gone! It's my fault!" Red lowered his head, too ashamed to look his teammates in the eyes. They both began speaking to him at the same time, but he couldn't hear them. He was too fixated on what he saw on the ground; it appeared to be something resembling a tentacle made of shadows, just like what had grabbed Blue. It was coming out of the wall and worming its way over to Vio's left foot. "Look out!"

The purple-clad boy didn't have time to respond as Red pulled him away from the wall. "Get out!" Red shouted to the others. "Quick, get out of the room!" Confused, the boys did as they were told and ran into the hallway, and Red shut the door behind them.

"Red! What in Hyrule is going on here?!" asked the leader, now in a state of panic.

"The same thing that got Blue almost got Vio, too!"

"What? Red, what are you talking about?!" Green was becoming frustrated, but not so much at Red as not understanding the situation.

"Well," Red began, his eyes traveling away again, "when Blue and I checked the basement, something grabbed Blue's leg and pulled him farther into the room. I ran after him, but whatever it was was really fast. Then, just when I was about to reach him, Blue was dragged into the shadows where I couldn't see him anymore. When I lit the area, there was a solid wall there and nowhere for Blue to have gone. He had disappeared." Red then looked up at Vio. "That same thing almost grabbed you, too, just now."

Green put a hand on Red's shoulder. "Don't worry. Blue's tough. I'm sure he'll be fine." The leader smiled, though he didn't truly believe what he had just said. "Come on, we should go back to the foyer together and grab our swords." Vio and Red nodded, and the group headed to the staircase.

As they descended it, Vio suddenly shouted "Look! Our equipment!" The other two looked over to where they had left their supplies earlier and were shocked at what it was doing. "It's sinking into the floor! Hurry!" Although Red was the smallest of the Links, Vio was the swiftest, and he ran ahead of the others. He dove for his sword, but he was a second too late, and all of their weapons and supplies were swallowed up by the wooden boards.

As Vio got himself off of the floor, a voice sounded through the house. It echoed off all of the walls, making it seem as though it was coming from the building itself. It had a deep, booming tone that shook the ground, yet a high pitched shriek that sliced through the air. And it was laughing at them.

Red scrambled over to Green and grabbed his arm, terrified. It lasted for several seconds, and then it stopped, and the house was as silent as a grave. The three heroes could each hear their pulse pounding in their ears as panic bubbled up inside of them.

They stood there unmoving for a few moments until something dripped onto Vio's nose. The sudden touch made him jump, but he composed himself and brought his hand to his face. When he then looked at it, the tips of two fingers had red smears on them. "Huh?" Vio looked up, and another drop fell on his cheek. As he wiped it off, he noticed he was standing under the hole that showed through to the attic.

Several more drops of the crimson liquid fell from the edge of the upper floor boards, followed by a thin, steady stream of it. Vio jumped back as not to get hit, and a puddle began to form on the floor. Having battled monsters nearly every day, the three Links recognized the substance right away.

"Come on, we have to get out of here!" As Green said this, he ran to the main doors.

"But, Green, what about Blue?!" Red protested.

"We can't…urrrr…doing anything without…urrrr…our weapons," the leader explained as he tried to pull one of the doors open. However, no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn't budge. "It must be the rusted hinges. We'll just have to climb through the…" he trailed off as his eyes widened.

Then Vio noticed what Green was staring at, and he couldn't comprehend it. "It…it can't be! That's not possible! That's not possible!" Yet no matter how unbelievable it was or how illogical it seemed, it was true.

Every last window was gone.

They were replaced by more of the wall, and the only proof that they had ever existed was the broken glass that remained on the floor.