Inside the mansion, it was nearly pitch black. The glow from the pair's flashlight was the only thing that pierced the dank void. It was cold as well, and the young woman shivered, even under all her warm clothes she prepared herself with. She shined her light towards her friend to reveal him walking deeper into the mansion. "A-Alfred, you get back here!"

The teenage boy seemed to discard his stupidity for curiosity as he slowly made his way to the middle of the tall room. The two shone their lights about, revealing the large area of the foyer. Two larges staircases curved upwards towards the second floor who's hallway became a balcony high up above the first floor when it left the confines of its' walls, though what lied beyond was consumed by darkness that the small beams of light could not penetrate. Curved handrails had long since lost the beauty of their intricate designs and details across the banister of the second floor, as well as up the stairwell that lay before the duo.

The floor they stood on now creaked and moaned beneath their feet as rotting wood worked to support their weight. A huge circular rug lay underneath before them, it's once beautiful patterns now soiled, ridden with mold and entirely eaten away in some spots by moths. A tall pair of mysterious double doors stretched upwards to the balcony between the stairways, towering over the two on the other side of the room.

"Dude…" Alfred stared around the large room in awe, speechless for the first time in his life. "This place…is…frikkin' huge…"

"A-and really old…" The young woman added, staring at the walls once white circling around her, almost giving a feeling of closing in when she pulled her light away in the darkness. "W-we should be here…This feels…wrong…and it sounds like the place will collapse any time now…"

"Scared, aren't you~? I knew you would be!"

The young woman looked back towards her friend who, even as he mocked her, was shivering so hard, it was visible in what little stream of light flew from her flashlight several feet away.

"At least I'm not the only one," she comforted herself out loud and poked fun at her friend at once. She stuck out her tongue, hoping the joke and the atmosphere created by it would be enough to life the fear she felt growing within her from the grotesque manor surrounding her.

"N-no, I'm not scared!" the boy grumbled, his ego wounded. However, his trembling managed to worm its' way into his voice.

"Then why the shivering?"

"B-because I'm cold, that's why!" His weak lie could hardly make sense anyway, even if it wasn't thin as tissue paper. The both of them were clad in warm jackets and gloves, and even boots, an outfit the girl had to almost force onto the boy who even on the way to the manor occasionally grumbled about leaving his WWII bomber jacket behind.

By this time, the girl had finally gathered the courage to step forth from the door she had entered into the large room for a better view of the house holding her, and so she could step closer towards another human for comfort. But to her dismay, the moment she stepped nearer the boy, he began to wander around the room again, slowly moving towards the door.

"I-I'm so frikkin' cold!" He repeated, and as the words left his lips, an idea lit up his face. "I got it!" He turned to the girl. "Wanna race? Finish line is my place."

"R-race?" The girl was dumbfounded. Running? Now? It was an idea, and would heat him up if he were really cold, but…It didn't seem to be the best one. Especially if Al's dad woke up at the winning cry of the victor, and heard the two were out so late. "Now?"

"Duh, next week." The boy rolled his eyes as sarcasm dripped from his words. "No, right now! It'll totally warm us up. Oh! Oh! And the loser has to by McDonalds for the loser! Food and warmth! Perfect combo, if I do say so myself." After polishing his nails on his coat, he began to jump around a little in excitement, ready to receive a prize he would probably win. The floor protested beneath his feet.

"W-well maybe…" Al's friend tried to begin, but was cut off as he dashed from the middle of the room towards the door, the thought of nothing but food on his mind. She began to follow him towards the way out, eager to be out of the unpleasant area.

However, the young woman would never forget the actions that transpired in those next few moments. It is still a wonder how something that happens so fast can so drastically affect a situation.

She could never forget the sound of wood crackling beneath Al's feet, or the sound of it giving way. She would never forget the sheer panic she felt at that moment as she froze up in place. She would never forget the yelp, then screech that exited Al's lungs as he plummeted down, down into darkness that her light could never see down far enough. She would never forget how the floor continued to fall before her, and how it consumed the boards that led to her only ways out she knew of, the windows and door.

She would never forget that single moment.

Meanwhile

The trio bolted upright from the bushes, a different expression carved into each countenance at a noise none of them had ever heard the likes of before. The blonde wore a look of confusion, the albino's face held an expression of disbelief, and the brunette sported a look of horror unmatched by anything the three had seen before.

"Sacre bleu! What was zat crash!?"

"Vas do you think it vas, Fan?! A mosquito landink on zhe floor?!" His sarcasm was his first line of defense in his horror. "It…Z-zhe kids probably just knocked over a stupid statue or somezhink."

"W-well, how could I know?! It was a zerious question, anyway! What if zey are 'urt?!"

"Oh really? W-well-"

"…"

Betwixt the bickering of Francis and Gilbert, Antionio stared desperately at the house as he scoured the windows for any sign of life, and form of movement anywhere. His usually tan skin began to pale so to gain the envy of ivory, and his eyes widened at the lack of movement anywhere and the missing beams of light. Even if he could see clearly, he still couldn't make out anything in the dark velvet of night.

"Chicos! I can't see them at all..! "Los ellos son gone!"

"Vell I ou-V-vas?" The pseudo-German quit his argument at the Spaniard's announcement. "Vas do you mean gone?!"

"Mio Dio…Wh-what are we going to do?! Th-they could be hurt or in danger or-"

"Dead..."

A look of horror overcame all the emotions of the trio as this dark truth fell upon them, realized aloud by the Frenchman, as they all suddenly felt the true sinking gravity of this situation, or at least the very possible worst case scenario that was all too possible.

"W-we have to do something! Wh-what do we do?!" Francis began to panic. "W-we could 'ave killed them! Th-the police w-will look for my family, i-it's our old house, then they will find me out!" He began to tear up. "I'm too beautiful for jail!"

Gilbert clapped his hand over the now hyperventilating and weeping Frenchman's mouth. "You won't go to jail! Zhey coult prove nozhink, anyvay, and we didn't kill zhem. I-if they are dead." He added hastily.

"B-but we could just admit-" The concerned brunette began.

"But if ve don't, zhere ish no trouble." A dark and cruel look creped through crimson eyes.

"G-gil, you aren't suggesting-!"

"Ja, I am. Let's get out of here, someone else can find zhem. Like Fran said, we can't let ourshelves get caught. Zhey are probably fine!"

Silence fell over the group. The thought of leaving the freshman was cruel, but the police would probably catch wind of the incident somehow, or they could escape on their own. Or they could just their cell phones…Each came up with ways that they couldn't be blamed for the crime, and comforting thoughts were created to stifle guilt.

At this insight, one, then the other two figures left the bushes and began running towards town out of the bushes, abandoning the haunted manor and the two trapped within.