Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted for a while; computer troubles. I just went through this page and manually edited the html so that it wouldn't show up funny when I posted it, and boy did it take forever! Anyway, here's the next chapter, enjoy!
10. Door To Mystery~
It took her a while to retrace her steps to it, but thankfully, she didn't run into any guards. Every once in a while, she tried a door that she passed, but, again, found none that would open. She finally made it, and began to walk slowly down the wet, cold stairs and into the hallway at the bottom. There was a large door at the end of it. As Kinou approached it, she stumbled: there wasn't much light for her to see. She stood up and found the wall, using it as a guide, her hands running over soft moss and cold, uneven stone. She reached the door and felt around for a handle. Running her hand along the door, it felt cold and smooth: it was made of metal. A small handle reached her fingertips and she grasped it firmly and pulled. The door did not give at all. She tried a few more times to pull on it, but she didn't make any more progress. Letting go of the handle, she stood for a moment, thinking. Something's keeping me here, wanting to get through, but I'm also afraid to go in. What's the matter with me? Ok, nothing wrong with checking just a little bit...
She grabbed the handle with both of her hands and placed her foot on the doorframe. Ok, I can do this; there's nothing scary about wrenching open a rusty, cold, metal door at the end of a dark, deserted hallway...... Oh God what am I doing here? I really should get back to my room before Seto finds out I left; he told me not to leave and go wandering about by myself! I'm going to be in so much trouble! But....... I want to open this door so badly.... I don't know why, I just do. All right: one peek and then I'll run back to my room as fast as I can, ok? Ok. One.... Her palms immediately began to sweat.... Two...... she clenched her fists tightly.... THREE!
Kinou pulled on the door and pushed with her foot with all of her might. The door moved ever so slightly, but not enough, so she kept tugging. With a loud grinding noise the door swung open just wide enough for her to slip through. She rested against the wall for a minute; her arms felt limp and lifeless. After catching her breath, she glanced at the now open door with a feeling of foreboding. There was no light coming from within it, and Kinou had to admit, with some frustration, that she had a fear of extremely dark places. But something was calling her into it, and she couldn't restrain the need to go in.
Kinou took a few steps towards the door and stopped, listening. She could have sworn she had just heard a noise coming from the room, but she couldn't be sure. She held her breath, but still couldn't hear anything. Maybe I imagined it. My mind does tend to do that when I'm freaking out about something. Yeah, that's it, there's nothing to be afraid of. She let out her breath, suddenly realising how noisy breathing was. She was close enough to the door now to go through it, so she leaned forward slightly through the doorway. She couldn't see anything, so she reached her arm inside and felt around the wall for a light switch.
CRASH.
Kinou screamed, and someone yelled out.
"Who's there? Let me out, ya bastards! If I ever get outta here, I swear I'll make sure your mothers get your eyeballs swimming in your blood!"
Kinou ran back down the hallway, shouts following her all the way. She didn't stop running until she had reached her room; she slammed the door behind her and threw herself against it, praying that whoever it was hadn't somehow followed her. She stood, tensed, for nearly ten minutes before someone softly knocked on her door, making her jump.
"What do you want?" she called, her voice cracking.
"N-nothing, I was just checking up on you," came a small voice.
Kinou sighed heavily and relaxed. It's just Mokuba..... She opened the door slowly and attempted a weak smile.
"You look really tired, maybe you should get some rest," said Mokuba.
"Yeah, I probably should..." she muttered, staring at the floor. There was a long silence, then Mokuba finally spoke.
"Well, um, I should probably go."
Kinou nodded slightly to show that she had heard, and listened to his footsteps fade away. But before she could stop herself--
"Mokuba!" she shouted after him.
He was almost at the end of the hallway, but he heard her and came running back. "What? What is it?"
Kinou stared at him with her mouth slightly open for a few seconds and then bit her lip. She wanted to ask about the door, the room, the person inside it, but she couldn't, not if she didn't want Kaiba to find out she had explored the mansion.
"Is everything all right?" he asked.
She shook her head to clear it. "Yeah, fine, everything's fine, Mokuba. I'll see you later," and she went back into her room and quietly closed the door.
* * *
Well, sorry it took me so long again ^_^; I'll try to post more often! I'm sure I'll be a master at html by the time I get done with posting this thing...