Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been so long, life is just hectic! And school starts on the 29th…AHH! And may I just say that the 'school required' blazer I have to wear is bringin' back the eighties? Padded shoulders anyone? Plus, the arms are made for midgets. Striker is irked.

OH! And it was brought to my attention by austenshire that I am a noob. Not that she said that, but I am. In the last chapter, Frank had no reason to research the Prohibition, Joe was the one who learned about that! So I made a small edit in the middle of chapter three, at the end of the diner scene:

"After the bell dinged and Christine and Stella disappeared from sight, I turned thoughtfully to my pancakes. An interesting twist indeed. Pulling out my cell phone (which had all of one bar of service, more than at Nancy's house), I sent Frank a quick text telling him that I'd learned about the house and the Prohibition era. He replied that he'd do some more research on the subject and I returned thoughtfully to my pancakes."

The bold stuff at the end is the new edit! Thanks again austenshire! And a special thanks to my readers and reviewers alike:

Caranath

Smithy

Cupcake

Smile Sweetly. Laugh Loudly

moustachelover14

Alright, let's go see how the gang's doing!

Nancy

"Are you okay?" Frank demanded grabbing my shoulders and making me look at him.

Joe had stood up and moved away from the skull, his eyes glued to it. We were still inside of the secret room behind the closet, still way too close to the skull.

"Nancy?" Frank said again.

I gulped, "We have to get out of here."

Frank shot Joe a look that said he obviously thought I was delusional, but he nodded, "Alright, come on."

Grasping my hand, he led the way out of the back room, through the closet, and out the front door to the porch. I plopped down on one of the chairs, Frank and Joe each pulled up their own chairs close to mine. "Are you okay?" Joe asked.

I nodded, "Just spiffy. There are skeletons in my closet, but other than that…"

"I always knew you had a skeleton in your closet, Nan. But I never suspected you had more than one!" Joe said with a truly lame attempt levity. Frank and I both glared at him. He looked semi-sheepish, "Sorry. Continue."

"How'd you get in there?" Frank asked.

Shrugging, I explained as succinctly as possible, "I was searching the place from top to bottom and I hadn't found anything until the buttons that opened the panel to the room behind the closet."

It was Frank's turn to look sheepish, "Missed that one."

"She probably gathered that after we busted the wall down," Joe deadpanned.

A small smile slipped out, the Hardy brothers could make me smile no matter what was going on. I took a deep breath and continued, "I took my flashlight and stepped inside to see what was in there. There was this huge, howling wind, I dropped the flashlight and it broke and before I could get out, the panel slammed shut behind me."

"How long were you in there?" Joe asked.

I glanced at my watch, it read close to one thirty, "About three hours...it was just past ten when I started to clean out the closet."

"And then what?" Frank prompted.

I shuttered, then tried to hide it with a shrug, "I felt around the door for a way to get out but there wasn't any…

Flashback:

"Hello?! Hello?! LET ME OUT!" I screamed, pounding against the door, then throwing myself against the door again and again.

About the hundredth time I threw myself against the wall, some semblance of sense was knocked into me and I stopped. I was smarter than that, I could think my way out of there.

Working my hands up and down the panel, it was completely smooth, no cracks, no seams, no holes. Still moving my way to the left, away from the skull, ran my hands over every inch of the place. The walls were beyond smooth, they felt like polished marble, hard like it too.

By the time I got to the corner where the skull sat, I was beginning to feel slightly sick. Feeling from the top of the wall down, my finger caught on a small ledge about two feet off of the ground.

First I twisted it, then tugged, then pushed, and finally did a combination of all three that got things going. The same howl that had driven me to my knees earlier in my time at the cabin was ringing in my ears, but the gust of wind was an added to the mix.

It only took thirty seconds, but what felt like a lifetime later the wind stopped and I could just make out the faint outline of a doorway. Carefully, stepping over the skull, I felt my way blindly down a short hallway before almost tumbling down a shaft. When I finally found the ladder, I blindly climbed downwards for nearly three hundred steps.

When I arrived at the room at the bottom of the ladder, I was surprised to find a light switch. You'll never believe what I found when I got down there.

End Flashback

"Well? What was it?" Joe demanded impatiently, "you're starting to sound like the locals."

Frank kicked him and I had to smile again. I was actually starting to sound like the locals. "A crypt. And a couple hundred thousand dollars in American currency."

"What?!" they chorused together, jaws slack. Frank recovered first, "Were you going to mention this to us?"

Looking down at my bruising hands, I nodded, "Yeah…oh, I don't know!" I stood up suddenly, "I'm losing my mind. There's nothing else I can say about it."

Stomping into the house, ignoring the two brothers I headed for my bedroom. Slamming the door shut, I changed into a pair of running shorts and grabbed my sneakers, shoving my feet into them. Heading back down the hall, I noticed for the first time, the ghostly message written across my kitchen cabinets. A shutter of fear raced down my spine; there was something very wrong about this place.

"Nancy- wait! Where are you going?" Joe called out as I pushed past him and the haunting message towards the door.

"For a run. I have to get out of this house," I yelled, breaking into a sprint as I hit the end of the steps, heading for the beach.

I was vaguely aware of more shouting but the memories from the hours in that hell hole, the ones I hadn't shared with the Hardy's were threatening to break through and send my life into an even wilder tail spin. So I ran.

Oh Nancy! What are you doing to us?! And let me tell you folks, she ain't sharing with me either!

Review and I will hopefully update by the end of the weekend!

~Striker