We all heard the noises at the same time; wheels going over the driveway, car doors opening and closing, and several voices conversing amongst themselves. The floor above us slowly lit up, signaling that someone had started the machine. I stared upwards, concentrating on the muffled voices, my eyes widening at the highest pitched voice.

"Oh, no..." I gasped, feeling the presence of the child as they moved deeper into the house. The others in the basement had been all kinds of evil, before their deaths, and children were the most vulnerable and aware of spiritual entities. The child was going to be targeted, I knew, because I was fighting off my own urges to make fear fill their eyes. This time, I allowed myself to begin to pace, periodically glancing up as the footsteps traveled towards the center of the house and then as a lone set moved down a hallway and towards the steps leading to the basement.

All of our gazes settled on the average height, thin, young looking man in an orange jumpsuit who was creeping his way down the hall. He definitely suspected something strange to be down here-a very rational thought, on his account. Halfway through the hall, just about in front of Dana's and my cells, the man seemed to cringe from some unseen force and I felt him look directly at me. His eyes widened significantly, while I drifted closer to him, narrowing mine defensively.

"Cyrus, you sick bastard! Why, damn it, why!" He shouted, another blow directed at him causing him to cry out and fall over directly in front of Royce's cell, dry heaves racking his frame as he experienced some sort of pain none of us knew. None of the others had any sympathy on their faces, however, their scowls confusing me.

"Who is he?" I questioned openly, surprised that Dana was the one to answer one of my questions, instead of asking one of her own, for a change.

"His name's Dennis Rafkin; he's a psychic and he's how Cyrus found all of us." I took a second glance at this Dennis fellow, watching as he struggled for breath while clutching his head, obviously not enjoyinh what was happening to him.

"He is? Huh...Why is he twitchin' like that?" I asked, instantly reprimanding myself silently for talking like some 50's punk. I have to get out of here; these people are rubbing off on me. Dana cast me a knowing smirk before answering.

"Whenever he gets near ghosts, he goes into seizures, so you can only guess how much pain he's in now." She said with some satisfaction lacing her features. I could understand her mindset, but I strangely felt no anger or even resentment at the man curled up into a ball on the floor. The others could have him; I only wanted Cyrus.

Shortly after Dennis had recomposed himself and gone upstairs, another set of footsteps descended from above, proving for the second round of entertainment. A rather cocky looking man in a well-tailored suit came strutting down the hall, wearing a pair of the glasses and making rude comments to each of the others, definitely irritating Dana the most.

"You can have him." I mouthed to her, drawing a line across my throat with a finger, remembering that she'd had to deal with men-or, to describe them better, pigs-like him during her lifetime. Dana nodded and smiled, directing the creep's attention to me, much to my displeasure. His ice blue eyes smiled at me and I glowered at him.

"Hey, cutie, ever been with a lawyer?" I stared at him, aghast at his words, while contemplating whether to send Stone after him or not. I turned my back to him and decided against it-decided to be the bigger person-until the tinkling of music notes rang out through the basement. I completely stilled, not even my hair moving in the constant breeze that blew around me. Stone disappeared to the other side of the glass and bludgeoned the snake of a man who dared to touch my music box. When he was unable to stand, I slowly turned to face back to him, a cold smile flitting across my face at the mess his face had become.

"You know what to do next, Stone." I signaled under my breath, watching as the ball attached the barely conscious man's sleeve to itself and began to drag him down the hall. As I waited, I bounced on my heels, the water I had with me rising and circling me in the form of water droplets. My hair returned to the natural ringlets I had once worn, still washed out from the ocean's water, but springing life to my otherwise dulled eyes. I smiled as a cranking noise sounded from near where I stood, Dana's and my doors sliding open at the same time. I stepped out, carefully shutting the lid of the jewelry box to quiet the haunting melody, but then picked it up and straightened to come face to face with the other young woman.

"After I finish opening the cells, you can have that snake in the grass." I offered, smiling, my attention veering off towards the sound of metal being bent. The Torn Prince had put another dent in his sweetheart using only his hand.

"No, he's mine." He said, a hell-bent look on his face, not about to take no for an answer. I stared at him with widened eyes, startled and wondering why he was being so insistent, before slowly nodding.

"Um...Alright, if you feel that strongly about it, and if Dana doesn't object..?" I said, looking at Dana for her consent. I really don't need this, right now. The other woman was staring at us strangely, a look of knowing shining in her dark brown eyes.

"Yeah, that's fine; I've got bigger fish to fry." She allowed, peering upwards with a wicked look on her face. "Have at it, then, lover boy." I watched as she disappeared, leaving an uncomfortable silence behind. Turing, I moved back into the cell that had held me and placed my music box in the center of the floor, before darting out of the enclosure just in case it closed again. It didn't, of course, but I had to be cautious.

"So," I began, glancing over to the Jackal, then Horace, then Royce, then back to the Jackal, and then finally settling my gaze on Royce. "I should go find the control room. Stone had to start the process to let me out, and I don't want any of the others out, before those of you whom I do need." Except for Royce, my words fell on deaf ears. The Jackal was scratching at the glass and Horace was sitting with his head leaned against the glass and his back to me. Throwing my hands up in exasperation, I started striding down the hall, my shoes making funny little tapping sounds against the glass floor.


I had made four left turns and two right turns, then down a few very long hallways, before finally finding Stone hopping excitedly in what I assumed was the control room. A giant hour glass-shaped mass was spinning and whirring in the center of the room and going up, into the floor above.

"The Occularis Infernum." I muttered to myself, both impressed and anxious to see the actual thing before me. Snapping my attention back to the task at hand, I peered down at the seedy lawyer, who was groaning in pain by my feet. Kneeling down, I gently grabbed a hold of the sides of his head, as his eyes widened in fear from behind the now cracked glasses he wore. Smiling angelically, I shushed him as he was about to let out a scream, smoothing back his blood-encrusted blonde hair.

"Hey, guess what? I have a job for you." I said, giggling when he donned the look of a deer stuck in headlights. "Didn't know we could talk, huh? That's alright; I just need you to listen. Do you understand me?" He nodded and I gave a slightly less innocent smile. "Good."

From memory, I directed the lawyer man to which lever to pull and which peddle to step on. I was familiar with Royce's, Billy's, and the Jackal's symbols, but the symbol of the Great Child and the Dire Mother escaped me. I studied the panel of twelve levers, for a good five minutes, before guessing it. This distracted me from pulling the lever to Horace's cell. Well, that and the fact that Billy came racing down the hall to see me.

"Iris, I'm out! Out, out, out!" He exclaimed, smiling at me, before glaring at the stunned man behind me.

"Oh, good, I was hoping I chose the right lever! Now, go and hold down the line for me, okay?" I requested, saluting him, before he disappeared down the hall. I paused, trying to remember what I was doing, before pointing at the man as he reached for a large briefcase full of money.

"That's my family's money, not yours, so put it down if you want to survive this." I ordered, nodding to myself and moving towards the doorway. "Now, follow me."

I sauntered down the hall, the cowardly lawyer and Stone following from behind, my objective very unclear.

"Where are we going?" The blonde haired wimp asked, flinching as Stone growled at him. I had no idea, of course, but I wasn't about to let him know that.

"I've been stuck, in that cell, for months." I said, "I'm stretching me legs. Shut up." He did and we continued wandering around, until the sound of metal scraping against metal caught my attention.

Peeking around the next corner, my hand tightly gripping around the lawyer man's suit sleeve, I quietly groaned to myself as what I saw.

They were already at each other's throats. Royce swung at the Jackal, who deflected with his head cage, causing sparks to fly through the air. Then the Jackal rammed Royce into the nearest wall, the two rolling on the floor like a pair of fighting cats. Casting a dull look to the lawyer man behind me, I attempted to sneak across the threshold of the hall, but I was spotted.

"Wait!" They both called out, scrambling over each other to get up, which gave me the perfect opportunity to ditch the living man and take off down the hall. I began sprinting, not bothering to turn back to look, when insane giggles and shouting erupted from behind me.

"You two are acting like children; stop it! Stop!" I called back, huffing when more giggles and the sound of pounding footsteps was my only answer.

Men-ugh! I continued running, taking any new corridor I could find, until a clicking sounded from behind me. Turning, I smiled when I saw that a glass panel had trapped them on the other side, leaving me with a pleasant silence.

"Go do your jobs." I mouthed, pointing at their disappointed faces, before waving and making my way down another hallway.


Mind wandering, I skipped down the hall I was currently in, Stone rolling cheerfully beside me. My mood was changed by a twinge of urgency as I heard a voice call from a bit off.

"You guys, this isn't funny!" It was the child, who I then knew was a boy, by the tone of his voice. I moved towards the source of the sound, picking up two other female voices calling to someone named Bobby. One urged him to stay out of the basement and the other beckoned in a tempting voice. I remained silent and just out of sight as the boy moved deeper into the underbelly of the house. Then, as a cackling rang out from around the corner, I acted quickly and blocked the malevolent ghost's way to the child.

The teenaged girl I faced was clad in a pink prom dress with ropes and a neck tie binding her hands and neck. She simply glared at me and went on her way down the hall, the echo of her shrieking laughter dinning through the corridors along with other sounds distant ghosts were making.

Is there a hierarchy down here, or what? I wondered, turning to see the boy passed out on the floor. I remained where I was, not budging, lest others come sniffing around for a living being to harm. Nothing happened, however, despite me hearing the very distant swinging of a bat. Finally, the same voice that had warned the boy called out to him, quiet and seeming far away. The approaching ghost and the boy were obviously related, so I averted my attention, to give them privacy.

I wonder if Royce has found Cyrus. Is Kalina having trouble getting into the house? I hope so; she's so very irritating…My attention snapped back when an ear piercing scream broke through the air and the little boy ran screaming. I whirled around, spotting the not-really-half-dead version of Cyrus, whom was nice and cozy inside of a glass paneled room with three times the protective barrier spells than the rest of the house. I only had to contemplate, for a few moments, before acting on my decision.

I just have to wait, until he comes out, then. I mused, sending Stone through the glass to harass my dear brother. I then went in the direction in which Bobby had ran, but easily found him, once again passed out; he had run into another wall.


"Okay, just a little…more…there, he's in." I said to myself, resting the unconscious boy on the floor of my cell. There was no way that I would have just left him there, like dead prey, and I could only think of one place to bring him. Wiping the imaginary sweat from my brow, I made a point to fog up the cell as much as I was able to, hoping that it would keep the boy safe. I was about to leave, before I spotted a looming mass in the cell behind mine, wishing I could have better felt the slap I delivered to my own face.

"Horace! I'm so sorry; I got chased and then Cyrus was there and I had to drag a body-I'll go get you out!" I yelled, moving out of the cell and making a left, before a much unexpected sight greeted me.

The lawyer man was crumpled on the floor, like a rag doll, his skin bloodied with dents clearly in his skull. Blood pooled around the corpse and ran towards my feet in the form of a thin stream. The expression he last held was of sheer pain and fear. I stared down at the body, a small smile on my face, knowing what I was doing when I stepped forward.

My boot stepped into the blood puddle. As soon as it did, the blood around that boot turned to a sort of dust as I extracted every ounce of water from it, the puddles drying and running back towards the body. Altogether, the average adult male body is composed of about 60% water, and I wanted it now that he had no use of it.

After five minutes of skin cracking and bone crumbling, I tore my gaze away from the mummified corpse and watched the sheets of water around me waver and ripple. My gaze instantly settled on Royce, who I knew had been there the whole time, watching me silently with his bat slung over his shoulder.

"Why did you..?" I trailed off, perplexed, taking a step away from the body and taking note that the water around me was rose-tinted. He looked at me with his brow raised.

"Why did you hide the ankle biter?" He asked sarcastically, his gaze making me increasingly uncomfortable.

"Compassion?" I replied simply, also questioning his actions as I said it.

"Something like that." My brow furrowed in confusion.

"Compassion for what?" I really didn't know what he was talking about and he was making me nervous. Royce sighed and paused, for a moment, before crossing the threshold between us. I did my best to not falter in expression as he grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me in a more subtle way than I had expected. All I could bring myself to do was stare at him.

"Don't make me have to say it, Doll." He pleaded, his voice strained with a frustrated expression on his face. My eyes widened significantly as I finally grasped what he was saying.

No way; not freaking way. Right now, of all times! He can't honestly… I felt a deep, wrenching pain in my core. Why is this happening to me? Hundreds of thoughts buzzed through my mind, varying from scared to hysterical, but I simply grasped onto the sleeves of his jacket with a loose grip.

"You idiot," I muttered, down casting my eyes and once again being glad that the dead cannot blush. I was in big trouble and I knew it when I looked into his eyes. He smiled that sly grin and I felt some parts of me sink.

Very big trouble, indeed.


I put a little more in, to make up for updating a day late, the past two weeks. I'd like to thank everyone who's updated and ask you to keep doing what you're doing. Reviews encourage me to update on time, (*Hint!*) as well as help me develop my writing style. So please wait patiently for next week's update. Thank you!

-Jess