A/N: Just a forewarning - i have no internet at home at the moment and the rumour is it won't be back until November 2nd. So all updates until further notice will be coming via my school's network. I'll try to continue to update on time but please bare with me!

Thanks for reading!

Chapter Three

The DuVade mansion part two

~Aaron's P.O.V~

"Are you getting this temperature drop Nick?" Zak hysterically asked Nick.

"Yeah, this is crazy." Nick replied "Are you trying to communicate with us?"

"It's dropping like crazy, 72 degrees, 67, 54, 43! Holy Shit!" Zak shouted.

"Can you touch one of us? Speak. Yell as loud as you can into this recorder I'm holding." I call out

Nick turned his camera to the staircase where they've seen a full body apparition when he realized Luna wasn't there. "Luna? Luna? Where are you?"

"Where is she?" I asked realizing Nick's worry. "Zak?"

"I thought she was with you Aaron." Zak replied.

"She was behind me when we left the kitchen but...she must've stopped."

"Nick, go find her. Aaron and I will stay here with the cold spot." Zak barked

"Okay." Nick said and set off through the doorways and rooms to get to the kitchen.

~Meanwhile~

~Luna's P.O.V~

"Hello? Is there anyone here with me?" I ask nervously. I stood in the kitchen in complete darkness. It was getting cold. I rubbed my arms, as I did so my fingers traced the three scratches on my forearm. "It's cold.." I mumble

I then heard a voice from behind me; "yes...it is…" I whirled around, recorder in hand, I could feel myself shaking with coldness and fear. "Who was that?" I ask quickly my blood pounding in my head.

I felt a pressure on my shoulder, harder and colder than before. "H-Hello? C-Can I help y-you?" I stuttered, my teeth chattering. It was freezing in the room. I thought I kept seeing shadows dancing around me in the pitch blackness. I kept thinking of the worst case scenario in my head – what if it wanted to hurt me?

"Are you in here with me?" Stupid question to ask Luna. I thought to myself as I walked around the kitchen. "Lily? Is that you?" I whisper,

I heard another voice; "Don't… be afraid….it's safe here." That sent chills down my spine. "What's going on?" I asked gaining slightly more confidence yet still being scared out of my wits. "Where isn't it safe?"

The temperature dropped further, and I heard one more voice; "The…basement…not safe…" accompanied by loud banging from below the floorboards.

Nick came through the door calling for me. I didn't realise until that point how scared I was, I rushed to his side clutching the recorder in my hand.

"It's freezing in here…what's happened? Are you okay?" He asked pointing his handheld camera at me.

"Something's in here, it's cold, and I've been hearing voices. Like; 'It's safe here' 'the basement – not safe' It's touched me as well, it was scary Nick." I babble quickly to him.

"Whoa…let's hope you caught it on the recorder. We've had a huge temperature drop in the main hallway." He said placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Bloody hell, you're freezing as well!"

"I was honestly scared when I heard it right behind me, but it didn't feel like a malicious spirit. More like a caring mother, like Lily." I say whilst looking around me, not that I could see anything in the dark.

"Let's catch up with Zak and Aaron and tell them what happened." We walked through the doorway towards the hallway

Zak and Aaron were still in the hallway when Nick and I found them again. I relayed my experience to them, after I finished we heard footsteps above us travelling slowly from one side of the room to another.

"What's above us?" Nick asked

"The brothers' room, come on guys." Zak quickly replied before taking off up the staircase with us in pursuit. He really has no consideration for what just happened to me I thought as I followed him and Aaron up the old staircase. He burst into the room calling out to the brothers; "Daniel! Connor! Are you here with us?"

Nick and Aaron glanced around the room with the cameras in hand, I had been given another recorder and stood just inside the door listening to Zak yelling at the darkness. The brother's room had two beds and a few chairs but nothing more, although the atmosphere in here seemed way different to the one in the kitchen.

"Which one of you got that rich man's daughter pregnant?" Zak snapped I knew full well it was Daniel but he was just seeing if the spirits were intelligent.

"How did you feel when you found your mother and sisters dead?" Nick called out

The room was silent, no-one moved when suddenly we all heard the sound of a chair being dragged across the wooden floor. We all turned towards the sound which sounded as if it was coming from behind Aaron, he turned and found one of the old chairs almost immediately behind him.

"What the frig dude, that wasn't there – I was standing in a huge empty space." He remarked loudly.

"Calm down Aaron." Nick said reassuringly "Did you do that Connor? Or was it Daniel?"

Footsteps were now being heard, walking through the door and stopping right next to me.

"G-Guys...help..." I whimpered

Zak came over and pulled me away from the door at this moment the chair behind Aaron fell over somehow, it didn't just fall over though, it seemed to be thrown down by the noise it made.

"DUDE ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Aaron shouted.

"Dude calm down!" Zak shouted back. "Come on then – show yourself!." He shouted to the spirits.

We heard a chilling laugh from somewhere near Nick. I was slowly getting angrier with myself for being so useless and scared, I pushed past Zak and walked over to the centre of the room and yelled into the darkness;

"What do you want you cowards? You can't pick on a full grown man like Zak, but you'll happily pick on me, well come one then! I've already got three scratches on my arm why don't you do something worth my time!"

"Luna, don't provoke them you don't know what they're capable of..." Zak warned me

I couldn't help myself, my anger and frustration was building inside of me. "See? What kind of men are you? You can't even respond to my demand!" I snapped, just then the huge oak door slammed with a loud bang.

My mind raced, why was I provoking them? What was going on? Zak told me not to so why did I continue? I don't remember anything about feeling angry at them. I clutched my forehead having a sudden pain wash over me.

"Luna?" I hear Aaron's faint voice. I shake off the nagging feeling in my head.

"Yeah I know, that was stupid, but I-I just felt angry...i don't know why..." I replied

"What?" Zak chimed in

"I just felt angry at being so useless I guess – I don't know what came over me but...i just..I..." I attempt to explain

"Okay, I think we all need to take a breather before we continue." Zak suggested "Let's head back to base and refresh our batteries, have a drink and calm down. Then we'll head to the daughters' room."

~Back at base ~

Aaron was busy putting fresh batteries into nearly every piece of equipment, Zak was explaining the events leading to our 5 minute break to the only rolling camera and Nick was sat across the coffee table from me, looking at me, just looking at me with a neutral look on his face.

"Why do you keep staring at me Nick?" I hiss trying not to disturb Zak's reminiscing

"Because just before you got scratched today I noticed your body tensed up. After quickly reviewing the static camera in the kitchen, which you were stood right in front of, I noticed that every time you have an experience your body tenses before it happens." He replied in a hushed but calm tone.

"What? I tense up? What the hell does that mean?" I snap quietly. Aaron glanced up at our exchange

"What I mean is that...you know when you get a shiver down your spine and you kind of flinch, it's like that, obviously you don't know that you do it. It's probably one of the reactions your body makes when a spirit is near." He reluctantly said

"So you're staring at me to see I flinch again?"

"Yes." He replied, I could see he was trying not to laugh.

"And what would you do if I flinch?" I reply

"I don't know. But I'd know something's about to happen."

"Hey Luna, come over here a second." Zak called from the other end of the table, breaking our conversation which was rapidly getting tense.

I get up and as I walk over to Zak I can see a look of concern etched onto his face. "Yeah Zak?" I ask trying to keep a friendly expression

"Look, I'm not sure what happened up there..." He pointed above us to the brothers' room "But you need to control your emotions and mental state of mind. It could be dangerous if you let anything in."

"Mm..okay..but one thing before we continue..." I said

"Yeah?"

"The voice in the kitchen I heard said that the basement isn't safe...when we go down there later on, who should I stay close to? You'll be provoking, Nick will be following suit and Aaron is the bait – I mean magnet of activity."

"Magnet of activity, that's a good one. Seriously though, Nick doesn't do much provoking and to be honest, three girls got raped and murdered down there, I don't think I'll be provoking tonight." He replied giving me a reassuring pat on the arm. "How are your scratches?"

"They're alright, they stopped bleeding so now they're just...there..." I laugh

"Well then – let's sort out these spirits." Zak says getting up. "Come on crew, let's get to the daughters' room, then to the basement.

We gathered all the equipment up and set off for the daughters' room. Whilst climbing the creaking wooden stairs Zak had put on the video goggles and was calling out for communication.

"Use the energy in this machine to communicate, this device cannot hurt you and it is filled with words you can use to tell us something." He explained to whatever spirits may have been following us.

We continued up the stairs with no words being said, we came to the door of the daughters' room which was slightly open. Looking inside the room I could see three beds, a chest of drawers, a mirror and various pictures on the wall even thought it was near pitch black with only the LCD screen of the cameras lighting the way forward.

"So we're outside the room where the Wilson sisters' used to sleep, the oldest; Annabella was tried on the account of witchcraft and then hanged. Mary and Summer were the two younger sisters who were raped and murdered in this very house. We're going to try and contact Annabella as she's been heard crying in this room." Zak whispered to Nick's camera before opening the door. "However, I think Luna should enter first."

"Sure…I guess…" I reply walking past the three guys wrapped in wires from their equipment.

"Annabella? Were you practising witchcraft?" I asked whilst holding my evp recorder out in front of me as I entered the room, the room had an odd sense about it, neither good or bad and it seemed weird because of it.

Nick followed me in with Zak and Aaron behind him. "If you weren't practising witchcraft – how did you feel when you were hanged?" he called out

'SAD' the video goggles spat out almost instantly

"You felt sad?" Zak replied a little shocked at how long it took to get a response.

'ANGRY'

"So you were not guilty of witchcraft then?" I confirmed, this was getting crazier by the minute.

'FALSE'

It started getting cold again; we heard a female laughter from all around us. "Do you miss your sisters? I hear you were quite close." Nick called out again

We then heard a soft crying and then the video goggles spat out another statement; 'MARY'

"You miss Mary? Do you know what happened to her and Summer?" I asked. The atmosphere in the room started changing, it felt really heavy and an overwhelming sense of sadness washed over us.

The temperature dropped again. "Aaron what is the current temp?" Zak asked him

"43 degrees. Dude it's cold…and I feel sad…like really sad…" he replied

"Same here Aaron. But…we need to continue." Zak replied " Annabella, your sisters were murdered. I'm sorry if you didn't know. We're going to go and try to speak with them in the basement. Is there anything you want us to say?"

'LOVE' it said and right afterwards; 'FORGIVE THEM'

"I'm sorry you were wrongly accused of witchcraft Annabella." I said, I was unaware that I had started crying until I felt a tear stream down my cheek.

"Okay Annabella. We're going down to the basement now. Thank-you for your time…" Zak spoke out in a calm and comforting tone.

We left the bedroom and started back down the staircase. Halfway down Nick stopped right in front of a picture hanging on the wall. It was another family photo – but this time Annabella wasn't there.

"Nick?" Aaron asked out of the darkness

"I thought I heard something but when I turned around all I saw was this picture." He replied

Zak was still wearing the video goggles when everything went quiet. There wasn't even the sound of the wind creaking against the roof.

"So what did you hear?" He asks

"I thought I heard sobbing…" Nick replied

We analysed the recorder I was holding and heard nothing but us walking down the stairs so we continued down to the basement.

The large door to the basement looked really old with claw marks around the handle. "Well that's interesting…." Zak commented

Aaron reluctantly went in first holding a recorder at arm's length. "So…are there any spirits here that would like to communi – " He wasn't able to finish, he just stood there looking into the darkness of the basement which was filled with old broken furniture.

"Aaron? Dude?" Nick questioned

Zak had given me the thermal imaging camera and as I was panning it around the room I thought I saw a weird shape heading straight for Aaron. "Aaron…something just moved towards you I think…" I mumbled

"What?" Zak exclaimed

"I just saw a weird shape fly at Aaron…I don't know what it was…."

"Give me the camera." He said with outstretched hands. I gave it to him and he rewound the footage. "OH MY GOD…" Zak exclaimed but before he could say anymore we all heard a high pitched scream which caused the audio on Aaron's camera to die.

"Nick your camera's still good?" Zak asked

"Yeah…" the investigator replied

"Who did that? Mary? Summer?" Zak called out.

Aaron was bent over holding his head. "My ears are ringing dudes…I have a huge headache."

"One of the reports was that guys would be yelled at, if the scream we heard and killed the audio on his camera was right next to him this might be his body's reaction" I ramble

"I agree, Aaron come outside the room." Zak replied

We regroup outside the basement door and change the batteries of all the equipment.

"So, Luna will go in first, followed by Nick. Aaron and I will wait just inside the door." Zak instructed us.

"Got it Zak." I say as I pick up an evp recorder and head into the dark and cold basement with Nick following me.

"Are the Wilson sisters here with us?" I call out

"If you are, then are you trapped here?" Nick asked

We waited in silence for any kind of activity. "I'm going to ask a really stupid question…." I forewarned Nick "...How did you feel watching your sister get murdered?" I asked with hesitation, I already regretted asking that question.

A huge slam emitted from the doorway. "Aaron? Zak? Was that you?" Nick spun around and asked them.

"No I swear that wasn't us dude." Aaron replied "It was the door, it slammed shut…"

"Did you slam the door because you were upset?" I ask.

A small moaning came from the far corner of the black obelisk. "Did you hear that?" Zak exclaimed

"Yeah, Mary and Summer, I have a message from your older sister Annabella." I call out. "She says she forgives you, and that she loves you. She told us she was innocent."

The temperature dropped suddenly. I felt strange and the feeling had gotten heavy in the room. "Are you using my energy to communicate?" I ask

Nick walked around the basement looking at his LCD screen when he stopped and looked up. "Guys, is there something standing in front of me?"

"No, it's clear until you hit the wall." Zak replied also scanning the room with his camera.

"I swear my camera picked up a weird light." Nick said "I'll review the footage."

I began shaking, all of a sudden I felt vulnerable, I felt a hatred for Zak, not like a petty hate, but an unexplainable hate. I wanted to scream until my lungs hurt. My legs gave away and I collapsed to the floor.

"Luna?" Aaron yelled after he saw me fall

Both Zak and Nick ran to my side. After hearing their voices yelling something I blacked out.

~ Zak's P.O.V~

"Luna wake up!" I yelled to her shaking her lightly. She opened her eyes but something seemed wrong, she gave me a hard stare.

"uh…Luna?" Nick shook her slightly.

"Get away from me…." she muttered

"Zak…she isn't in her right mind…" Nick stared at me, I've seen that look plenty of times. It was written on his face that he was scared.

"Luna you need to get a grip. Don't let it beat you." I urged her.

She lashed out and nearly knocked the camera out of my hand. "I said don't come near me..." In the split second our eyes connected I could see she was fighting with all her energy against the spirit. Just like when Nick was possessed at Moon River Brewery.

"Aaron where's the holy water that bishop gave us a few investigations ago?" I yelled to him, Nick kept his camera on Luna as she paced the darker side of the room where our flashlights didn't reach.

"Uh, back at base dude, I'll go back and -" Just as Aaron turned to leave the door, which had been reopened slammed shut with more force than before and remained stuck.

"What the hell? It won't open Zak!" Aaron hysterically replied.

I turned around to face Nick, he had walked slowly over to where Luna was glaring from a corner of the basement trying to coax her out of her state.

"Are we upsetting you by being here Mary?" he addressed the older of the two sisters murdered down here. "Is this your way of showing us; by taking Luna's body?"

"You don't know what it felt like..." came a voice different than Luna's from her body as she stood against the wall.

"You can't just take her body like this though..." Nick reasoned

Luna's already battered body hit the floor once more, at the same time Aaron finally opened the door leading up to the main floor of the mansion.

"Okay, let's get her upstairs guys before she gets attacked again." I said. As Aaron collected the equipment and Nick half carried Luna upstairs I stood in the basement and tried to make sense of what just happened.

"Help...me..." came a faint whisper from where Luna had fell. "please..."

I turned and swiftly exited. The DuVade Mansion had experienced a lot of disturbing activity tonight.

~ Front hallway – 6:30am ~

~Luna's P.O.V~

"I still don't remember anything after the temperature dropping suddenly..." I repeated myself for the thousandth time whilst holding my head. We were about to get freed from the horrors we had experienced inside the once happy residence.

"As soon as we get back to the hotel we're going to be using some of that holy water, on all of us, I'm not having anything following us anywhere. Got that?" Zak sternly said to us as we heard the door unlock.

"Good night?" Old man Dusty asked us as we exited the building.

"Well we certainly won't forget it anytime soon..." Nick replied

"I second that..." Aaron chimed in

We load the van and drive back to the hotel, the harsh morning sun making my head ache as I rest my head against the window. I felt drained of all energy and could barely keep my eyes open.

"Yo Luna, stay awake until we cleanse the room. We don't want any more possessions." Zak barked from the front passenger seat.

"But I'm really tired Zak…I want to sleep…" I mumbled

We reached our joined rooms around seven thirty, I was about to collapse on my bed when Nick tugged my arm, ushering me towards Zak's room.

"Come on, it'll only take a minute." He said as I glare at him.

I slowly walked into Zak's room as he was putting holy water on both Aaron and himself. "Luna come here, need to get this done in case anything followed us here." Zak ordered as he threw the small bottle to Nick. "Use this bro."

Nick anointed his own head before splashing water on my forehead. "It burns…" I whimper as a burning sensation makes my headache worse.

"Good, that means that whatever followed you is being repelled by the holy water." Zak explained

"Zak where did you put that passage Bishop Long gave us for this occasion?" Aaron asked

Zak bought out a folded piece of paper and began reading; "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I command with this sprinkling of holy water that every spirit attached to any person present to leave and not to return."

The huge headache that had gotten worse when Zak started reading was suddenly gone although I was still drained of all energy and needed to sleep.

"So…how is everyone feeling now?" he asked

"Fine, tired but otherwise perfectly fine." Nick and Aaron both replied

"The huge headache I had is now gone…can I go to sleep now?" I mumbled

"Sure. I think we all need sleep. I'll see you around supper time then." He replied before heading to the bathroom. I walked back into my room and just fell onto my bed in what I was wearing all night. My eyes closed and darkness swallowed me once more.