A/N: I am going to be so freaking mean about the cliffhangers. :D THEY'RE SO MUCH FUN! Special thanks to ireneotaku for helping me with the plot and such and such! :)
Chapter 3: The House
As the door eerily creaked open, it revealed a space completely pitch black. The only light were the beams from Yugi's and Ryo's flashlights.
"So," Honda shook, "who'd like to do the honors?" Everyone glanced nervously at each other. None of them had any idea what was hiding in wait for them in the dark shadows beyond the eerie doors.
Finally, Yugi began to creep on the creaky floor boards inside. Everyone else followed inside once the small hikari signaled the okay. The flashlight beams were small, and showed little more than then wooden floor and the occasional glimpse of a wall.
A huge light flashed on unexpectedly, exposing every little detail it could touch. The group jumped in shock.
"My, my," a voice laughed, "most often, the children knock on the door, say 'trick or treat', and then ask for candy." Ryo and the others began glancing around, racing to find the source of the strange message.
A woman stepped out of the shadows and smiled at the boys.
"Hello there," she greeted. The woman looked perhaps in her early thirties, with pale skin and long, very light blonde locks. Her eyes were a dark cocoa, and she wore a lovely pink formal dress with long ghost white gloves and tights to match. Nice black shoes and a pearl necklace completed her outfit.
"Hello," Yugi returned, "Sorry for breaking into your house. We're just looking for our friend. We got separated and-"
"It's no problem," the woman cut in, "and your friend is just fine."
"Yugi! Guys!" A girl shouted as she ran to join the group.
"Anzu," Yugi shouted, "you're okay!" Anzu smiled.
"I had gotten separated in the creepy mist, and I thought I kept seeing creepy shadows. Then I bumped into Mrs. Bolrigard, and she brought me inside and told me to sit tight while her husband went out to find you guys."
"How can he navigate through all of that mist," Honda asked, "We kept bumping into everything there was to bump into, including the house!" Mrs. Bolrigard laughed.
"Oh my," she giggled, "I'm sorry about all of that. You see, it's actually smoke from many smoke machines hidden all over the property."
"Why do you have a bunch o' those things?" Jonouchi asked.
"We like to use them for Halloween," she explained, "but for the rest of the year, we rent them out to bands or other people who want to use them." Jonouchi nodded his head, accepting the answer. Either that or it was too complicated for him.
"Please," Mrs. Bolrigard offered pointing to a few chairs, "have a seat. I'm sure you're all tired from running around. Would you like any refreshments?" Honda and Jonouchi perked up and began listing so many treats and sodas Ryo lost count. But their mysterious hostess just laughed, and promised to return with all of their needs.
For the first few minutes as they settled in their seats, everyone was eerily silent.
"Isn't she so nice?" Anzu smiled.
"We'll see if she is if she gets everything we asked for," Jonouchi announced. Honda nodded in agreement. Anzu laughed.
"What about you, Yugi?" she asked.
"Well," he responded, "She does seem like a kind person, but I think she's a bit odd." A spark of frustration twitched in Anzu's eyes as she stared down Ryo.
"What do you think?" she asked darkly. Her stare felt as if she was pinning him down just with her brute anger. Ryo swallowed and glanced around the room. Jonouchi and Honda have now wandered into their own conversation, and Yugi was looking at Anzu with a confused look on his face. He knew exactly what he had to say to make her stop. But that wasn't anything he really thought.
He had been nervous around their hostess the whole time they were inside the house. Her shell depicted a nice woman willing to help frightened children, but…
"W-Well," he stumbled, "I-I think we should leave as soon as we can." Anzu's eyes lit on fire fueled by anger and disagreement. This was obviously not the answer she wanted.
She grabbed his shirt and began forcefully pushing him, and then pulling him back over and over again.
"You're wrong," she roared, "She's a kind woman! You're wrong! She wants to help! You're wrong! You're wrong! YOU'RE WRONG!"
"Anzu calm down," Yugi begged.
"Yeah, come on," Jonouchi yelled, "You were asking him for his opinion! No need to get violent!"
Ryo felt that if he would dare open his mouth, he would vomit. Or worse, provoke Anzu even more.
Their fight came to a sudden stop when they heard footsteps. But they weren't heavy enough to be Mrs. Bolrigard's, and they were joined by hard paw steps.
The teens looked up to see a little girl, probably around seven or eight, accompanied by a large black dog. The girl's dress was blue with ruffles, which went nicely with the white tights and black shoes. She also wore a golden locket and cute blue bow in her golden hair. She would look just like a large doll if she dared to smile.
She walked closer and handed Honda a large silver platter covered with a verity of different treats and bottles of soda pop. Honda drooled.
"Wow, thanks," he smiled, "hey Jonouchi, food's here!" But his blonde friend didn't respond, even when Honda teased him with a chocolate bar. He just continued to stare at what seemed to be nothing. Frustrated, Honda followed his odd gaze.
He was staring at the dog.
"What's wrong, Jonouchi," Honda teased, "Does he remind you of someone you had a crush on or something?" But Jonouchi still didn't respond. He just continued staring at the black dog.
"Ya think it's gonna do something if you look away, dude?" Honda asked. Jonouchi blinked, looking a bit startled. Then he smiled.
"Hey look," he said as he reached for some candy, "all of our treats are here! Isn't Mrs. Bolrigard so nice?" He bit off some of the candy and smiled.
"Dude," Honda said, "You always said you hated peppermint." Ryo could feel his whole body turn sheet white, and he felt his blood run cold.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
He glanced over at the little girl, as if staring her would frighten her enough to explain what was really going to happen to them. But she hardly blinked let alone move her lips and form words. Her deep blue eyes glanced at Ryo for a second, and he thought he saw surprise and shock reflecting from her irises.
But why? And why was he thinking that she looked familiar? Some child actress? A neighbor?
"Why aren't you out trick-or-treating with the other kids?" Yugi asked her. She just blinked and stared at him.
"Maybe she's deaf," Honda suggested, "she might not be able to read your lips."
"Well," Yugi thanked, ignoring his taller friend, "thanks for the treats!" She looked back up and nodded, but she still refused to smile for them. She looked at Ryo again, and she tugged on his sleeve.
"You want me to come with you?" his voice shook as he asked. She nodded. The girl continued tugging on his sleeve until he stood up and began walking behind her. The dog stayed behind as it was petted and loved by Jonouchi and Anzu.
She never let go of Ryo's arm as she guided him through the house. Though he saw no need for her guidance; the halls seemed simple enough.
The girl seemed to have been dragging Ryo all over the house for an eternity. He bumped into her when she stopped.
She was standing in front of closed door. She stepped aside watched him, as if telling the hikari to open the door. Ryo's hand shook as he reached for the cold knob, and his heart pounded inside his chest so hard and loud, he swore the others could here it, too.
Eventually, he grabbed the cold medal knob and slowly turned it. The door groaned, and the atmosphere began to change from slightly creepy to completely terrifying. But Ryo had yet to discover why.
He looked at the girl with frightened eyes, and she looked away, as if she was guilty. But why would she? She was just a little girl. She looked back up at him, and grabbed his arm. She began walking into the room. But Ryo didn't move.
When she tugged on his arm and he still didn't come in with her, she paused and looked behind her. However, she didn't let go of his wrist.
"Why do you want me to go in?" he asked. She looked ahead again, and then back, this time, it looked as if tears were beginning to swell her little eyes.
"Oh, I didn't mean to make cry!" he took back. He sighed, and slowly followed the girl inside.
Once he was completely inside, the girl ran back into towards the door. Shock and fear told Ryo to follow her, or he'll be trapped in that room… forever.
"Hey, wait!" he yelled.
She shut the door, but she was still inside with him. He was slightly relieved that she was still inside, but he was still uneasy.
Why would she want the door shut?
She turned around and faced Ryo. She pointed towards the back of the room. His head turned in the direction of her finger.
He saw an old window with cracks allowing some of the mist or smoke or whatever inside. In front of the window, there was an old wooden chair facing it, and a young girl sat on it, gazing out the window. It didn't seem like she ever noticed their presence. But why? There wasn't anything out there, especially something that could distract someone to where they aren't aware of their surroundings.
The only thing that wasn't creepy was that Ryo knew who this girl is.
"Anzu!" he yelled as he walked over.
"Anzu, what are you doing here? I thought you were with-" He froze when he saw her face.
She was completely pale, and blood streaks seeped from both corners of her mouth. Her eyes were blank and soulless.
His body began to shake when he saw the brown blood-soaked handle of a knife sticking out of her gut.
A/N: How was that? Yeah, I kinda changed it up to where I thought it made sense and made me happy. :3 Please, please, PLEASE review! :D