~}{Birds of a Feather}{~
I shake my head to try and free myself of the dream.
"Now what are you doing?" I look to Nick, who had spoken. He stares at me with a small smile. This poor man... he hardly knows me and yet he is there every time something goes wrong, asking if I am alright.
"Just," I lick my lips and try to think of something to say. I look around the room again, "just taking in the sight of the room."
I take another deep breath and feel my stomach turn. He nods his head as Vick walks before us.
"This room does demands a particular form of exercise." Vick smiles at me, his eyes bigger than life behind his glasses. I nod my head and look across the mirror floor to the small sitting area before the fireplace.
"Yeah. A very particular exercise." I reply softly and click my tongue.
"Uh, how uh-" Joyce begins as she looks at where she has led us. Steve looks around the room as well.
"It's the mirror library." Steve enlightens us as he looks back at Joyce. "It's not in the plans, but I remember seeing it as a little boy and I was afraid to go in because I thought I'd fall."
"You and me both Steve!" I chime in and huddle closer to Nick earning a laugh from him.
"They're not in the plans? How can they not be in the plans?" Emery asks and looks forward at Steve. Steve shakes his head.
"There's a camera!" Cathy calls as she walks towards the camera lying on the floor. She picks it up, looks onto the back and gasps. She hurries back over to the group and hands the camera to me. Why? I don't know, but I pass it off to Nick instantly. He reads the back where a white label sat with a name inked on it; Kevin Bollinger.
"Not good. Not good at all." Nick speaks up as he looks back at Cathy, whose mouth hangs open. "The property of Kevin Bollinger."
"Mister Bollinger? Mister Bollinger, are you here?" Pam calls out sporadically as she looks every which way in the library. I breathe out slowly and notice that I can see my breath.
"Oh no." I whisper to myself as a chill runs down my spine. I can feel Nick's questioning eyes on me, but I don't look at him. My eyes are glued to the fireplace. The lights suddenly shut off causing me to look around the room.
"What's going on?" Cathy asks with worry as she looks about the darkened room.
"I told you this might happen. The lights will come back on. In the meantime, use your flashlights." Joyce says as she pulls out her flashlight and turns it on. I didn't bother to bring my flashlight. I had left it on the table in the entrance hall.
"Oh, my... Look!" Cathy yells and points to where she was looking. There was a part on the mirror floor that had begun to glow bluish-white light. Slowly, some sort of smoke began to rise up, eerily illuminating the room.
"Come on Steve. Roll tape, roll tape." Joyce whispers in a rush as her eyes remain glued to the apparition that was forming in front of us.
"We need to leave." I find my voice. "She's dangerous."
"She?" Nick's gaze snaps to me. I swallow hard and look up at him with a timid, sorrowful expression.
"It's A-" I can't finish my sentence because the voice that had been singing earlier returns. This time, though, it isn't signing or humming.
"Annie..." The ghost calls to the young girl.
"Annie, no." Rachel yells at her sister, who has begun walking towards the glowing ball of light. I feel anger rise up within me as I see Joyce egg Annie on as she passes her. This is what I was afraid of. I look to Nick quickly and see he is as every bit enamored with the sight as the others are. I nudge him in the side and don't bother to hide my disgust in his behavior as he looks down at me.
"Annie, don't touch it." Nick, knowing what my nudge meant, says sternly staring at the girl that continues to walk forward.
"Annie, stop!" I yell and try to take a step forward to grab her as she passes me. Joyce catches my arm and pulls me back. I look to her tight hold on my arm and then to her. My eyes narrow. "Let go, Joyce."
"Just give her a moment." She replies, voice sounding far away. Annie keeps moving towards the glowing bluish-white light.
"Annie no!" Rachel yells out to Annie again, louder and more meaningful. Annie doesn't listen and keeps walking, free arm outstretched toward the ghost.
"Annie, come..." The ghost calls out again, enticing the girl.
"Stop her! Somebody's got to stop her!" Rachel calls out as she watches her sister walk closer to the light. Her eyes move from one person to the next until she catches my gaze. She's struggling against Nick's hold. "You have to stop her!"
I feel bravery well up within me. Not much, but just enough to act on it. I look over at Cathy and see that she has the camera in her hands.
"Cathy." I call softly. She was an automatic-writer. She can hear the smallest of sounds. She blinks several times as she comes out of her trance and looks over at me. I mouth, 'when I say so, flash the camera' at her. She nods and looks back at the ghost. Annie is within five feet of the ghost when Rachel steps out from the group. Nick catches her by the arm, trying to pull her back.
I look down at Joyce's hold on my arm. I take my right hand and place it over hers. Heat surges and suddenly she gives a shout, releasing her hold on me. I bolt towards Annie without a second thought.
"Luciana!" Nick calls with fervor as he and the others watch me sprint to Annie. I round in front of her and separate her from the ghost. I hug her tightly to keep her from moving and look back at Cathy.
"Cathy! Now! Use it now!" I yell to her as she raises the camera up. She presses the button down and the camera flashes over and over and over again. The shrill scream of the girl sounds the room and rattles the floor. I scream as my head tilts back like something has grabbed hold of my ponytail. I can feel something claw at my back, dragging across my flesh beneath my clothes. The ghost disperses and the lights to the house snap back on.
Annie pulls away from me, taking a step backwards. I let her go. I have no energy or will to keep her in my arms. I look up though and see she is staring behind me.
"Annie?" I ask trying to get her to look at me. She has a small pout on her face as she stares at where the ghost had been. I try to sit up straight, but the skin on my back stretches and pain sears, making me grimace. "Annie? Are you alright?"
Rachel walks up and lightly grabs Annie's arm. She looks to see if she was okay and then looks at me.
"Thank you." Her voice is soft and breathy with relief. I nod my head as I feel a sharp sensation, like after you cut yourself by glass, on my back as I stand up. I place my left hand on my shoulder trying to feel a cut or a scratch and stop when I hit a sore spot. I watch as Nick fiddles with putting his flashlight back in his pocket. He looks to Cathy.
"How did you know to do that?" He asks, looking at her surprised. Cathy looks down at the camera and keeps quiet for a moment.
"Ana told me." She nods her head towards me, causing Nick to look my way. My eyes are closed and a pained expression lingers on my face. I touch the place on my shoulder and back again, flinching. Cathy passes the camera to Nick saying, "Here, take it. I-I don't want it."
"Here, give it to me." Pam reaches out and takes the camera. The group watches Pam as she holds the camera and goes into a trance. "Try and get some pictures... Pictures of them being physic..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Emery asks as he stares at Pam. Pam looks between the members of the group smiling and shaking her head.
"I don't know. I think it's someone talking to Bollinger." Pam turns her eyes towards Joyce, who nods her head knowingly.
"I bet that I know who." Joyce scoffs and shakes her head.
"Is Bollinger alive? Can you tell?" Steve asks and looks to Pam. She falls quiet as she stares at the camera.
"He was when he dropped this camera and beyond that I... I don't know." Pam answers looking worriedly back at Steve.
"I think we ought to get out of here, Joyce. Really." Steve looks over at Joyce.
"Okay, okay. So, let's head back down stairs. Break time." She claps her hands together and smiles. I look around the library once the others begin leaving. My eyes trail the wall until they rest of the hearth. I stare at it accusingly. The one thing I hadn't seen in the dark was the creature from the flames, but I know that it had been there' claws and all.
"Ana? Are you coming?" I look behind me and see Vick by the door. I nod my head and head towards him. He steps away from the door to allow me to pass. "You saw it before it happened, didn't you?"
His question surprises me and halts my step. I turn and look at him, staring for a long moment.
"How did-"
He smiles knowingly and taps a finger to his head. It takes only a moment for his gesture to register. I give a small laugh and smile genuinely back at him. He's precognitive.
"You had a vision of me remembering my precognitive-telepathic dream of what was going to happen." I work out what he knows already. He nods his head and I can't help but to give another laugh. "Truly amazing."
Vick gives a small laugh and then it ceases. He stares at me blankly as his smile falters.
"Wait! It's not the same." Vick rushes into the hall and pushes passed everyone to get to the front of the group. "The hallway... it's not the same."
I walk into the hall and look around. He's right. It's not the perspective hallway. It's something else. Somehow the hallway had changed.
"No, no, no. Nonsense." Joyce tries to convince us that she was right and that this was the way we had come. I doubt that anyone believes her words though.
"No, he's right. We should be going back the way we came, but we're not." Pam retorts as she looks around like the rest of us. We all begin moving down the hallway, trying to figure out how this has happened. Joyce grabs Steve's arm and stops his walk.
"Steve, what's going on?" her voice is soft and full of confusion.
"What is that?" I ask suddenly and look around in desperation for the source of the noise. The others look back at me as my head jerks from left to right, up and down. "Is that...? Is that hammering?"
I look towards Joyce and Steven in question. Steven nods his head and looks around the hall.
"The building started again." He says as he looks at the walls, hearing hammerings coming from somewhere in the house. "You wanted to wake the place up, Joyce. I think you got what you wanted."
"But who's building? And what?" Nick asks as he walks up to them. I stay at the back of the group by Annie and Rachel. I look down at Annie and then give a comforting smile to Rachel.
"Is she alright?" I ask, knowing that asking Annie was useless. Rachel nods her head and looks down at her sister.
"I don't know." Steve's reply makes me look towards him. He is still looking for the source of the noises. Nick stares at him intently. He was reading Steve's mind.
"You're lying, Steve." Steve looks back at Nick.
"No, I'm not lying." Steve throws back, staring at Nick.
"Is it too hard to remember... or too frightening to remember?" Nick inquires more forcefully, cornering Steve.
"It's gone!" I call up, trying to stop what I was seeing. Something had a hold of Nick. I noticed it first outside Rose Red when he was questioning me.
"It's stopped." Rachel pipes up, looking at us all. I walk up next to Nick and look between him and Steve. I place a hand on Nick's arm, pulling him away from Steve's mind.
"Then I suggest we go down stairs before it starts again." Nick keeps his eyes locked with Steve's.
"Just because you can read minds, doesn't mean you should." I pipe up in my mind and stare up at Nick. He looks down at me, eyes softening.
Joyce walks between Nick and Steve, beginning down the hallway again. I hold Nick back and allow the others to follow first.
"Now you're my responsibility." I announce softly, half joking. He gives a good natured snort of a laugh and then leads us after the others. As we round the corner several members of the group gasp at the sight. The rope that was supposed to lead us back down stairs was stuck through the middle of a wall. I lick my lips and look up at Nick accusingly.
"Oh no. What are we going to do now Hansel?" I whisper sarcastically. Nick gives another snort of a laugh as I shake my head and walk to the wall to examine the situation. I place my hands on it and drag them over the wallpaper, the moldings as Nick comes up beside me. He places his own hands against the wall.
"Nick, that's not going to work." I explain as I feel his mind pushing, his powers pushing, against the wall, but it doesn't budge.
"So what now then Grethel?" He asks softly and looks to me. I let my hands fall and sigh, shrugging.
"I don't know... Summon the witch and pray that she won't throw us in an oven?" I retort and watch as Nick closes his eyes.
"We need a powerful telekinetic to move the wall." He stands up straight and looks at me. I know the look on his face, but I was done using my powers for now. My back hurts and so does my head. Enough.
"Hey Annie?" I start as I hold Nick's gaze. He gives a small smirk. "We need your help, sweetheart."
I look over at Annie and smile tenderly. Joyce pulls Annie away from her sister and leads her over to where Nick and I stand. I place a hand on her back and rub encouragingly as Nick kneels beside her. He wraps his arm around her back and stares at the road block before us. I place Annie's hands against the wall as Nick tells her to push from her mind.
The wall rumbles slightly and then stops. Annie places her other hand on the wall and pushes like the first time. The wall rumbles once more and then stops again.
"Nick." Joyce calls trying to get his attention. I look back at her and just stare. She was a nuisance.
"Not now Joyce." He calls back, keeping his eyes on the wall. I look down at Annie and then sighing I place my hands on the wall as well. I look over at Annie and smile.
"Ready Annie?" I ask before looking back at the wall. "One... two... three!"
The wall rumbles again, but doesn't stop. Suddenly, the whole thing flies back with such a force, slightly throwing Annie and me backwards.
"Annie!" Rachel yells as the lights go off. The lights blink back on after a minute or so. I look down at Annie and Nick. Nick brushes her chin with a finger and sighs happily. Annie gives a light little laugh as she looks down the hallway.
"That wasn't funny." Rachel complains as she stares at her sister.
"Okay, uh, I know another way down from here and there might be something worth seeing on the way." Joyce announces and pulls everyone out of their thoughts. She walks forward, beginning to lead us when Nick speaks up.
"Are you sure you know the way?" He asks standing up straight with a stern look. At that moment he reminds me of a lion for some reason. The way he was holding himself, his look, just something reminds me of a lion; king of the jungle.
"Yes!" Joyce snaps and then scoffs as she continues to walk on. I look over at Steve with an annoyed expression plastered on my face.
"You have better get control of her, Steven... and quick before she loses herself." I speak somewhat cryptically and watch him as he passes me. The others follow suit slowly. Nick stand on the opposite side of the hall, staring at me. There was something familiar in his eyes; pride.
"What?" I ask slowly as we come together in the middle of the hall and follow the others.
"You're finally coming out of that shell of yours." He smiles and turns his gaze towards the backs of the others. "Are a marvelous creature indeed."
"Shut up." I groan, a laugh mingling with my voice. We walk for a while and then head into a room that was unlike the other strange ones we had already seen. The ceiling was the floor and the floor was the ceiling. Everything was upside down; desks, chairs, even lights.
"Oh my God..." Pam whispers as she gazes over the entire room.
"Oh my God is right." Vick reiterates, just as amazed as Pam. I walk close to Nick, scanning over the room and feeling the spots on my back and shoulder that were in pain once more. They only ache now; no burning or searing.
"More camouflaged doors, Stevie?" Nick asks and turns to look at Steve. Steve nods his head slowly, taking in the room like the rest of us.
"Great gram was never above using a good trick twice." He smiles slightly, grimly. "This was her little joke on her husband's business life."
"Did he get it?" I look over at Rachel, who had spoken, and wonder the same thing.
"I doubt it. I don't even really get it." Steve answers moving around the room. He spots something over to the left and walks closer to the wall. "Here's the real door. Just uh, just press right there."
He points to a spot on the wall and Vick anxiously walks over and pushes on the wall, revealing a room. I bend left and right, trying to look passed Vick. I feel someone place a hand on my lower back and jump, startled.
"Damn it...!" I spin around and smack Nick on the arm. "You scared the life out of me."
"Sorry. My mistake." He gives a small laugh, smirk bright on his lips.
"This house has everything, but chow." I look over at Emery, who was complaining yet again, to Joyce, and then roll my eyes. We soon take our leave from the room and make our way back down stairs. Everyone moves into the Billiards room, eating their, well I would call it dinner since the sun was nearly finished setting, but Joyce insists that it's lunch, peacefully. I sit down in front of the table that sat between a chair and the couch.
"Better Emery?" Joyce asks as she turns to look at him sitting in a wooden chair eating his food.
"Then nothing, I guess... too much mayo in the crab meat." He answers, looking down at his food. I shake my head and pop a grape into my mouth. A true pessimist to the end.
"What do you want big boy?" Nick asks, causing us all to look towards him. "Bare breasted nymphs to kneel at your feet and offer you delicacies from silver platters?"
Nick smiles to himself as I laugh softly, listening to the two bicker.
"You stop it right now. Stop harassing me." Emery snaps and points a finger at Nick. Nick smirks back at Emery and I laugh louder as I look down at my food.
"There's a difference between joking and harassing. Didn't you ever learn that?" Steve questions as he walks back to his seat with more food.
"I learned plenty in high school; believe me, from guys like him... and you." Emery scoffs and looks over at me. I was laughing softly to myself. Not really even at the conversation they were having anymore. Emery stares at me for a moment and then scoffs again. "And girls like you."
I lift my head from the arm of Nick's chair and look at Emery with an eyebrow arched.
"Oh really?" I ask sardonically and set my plate on the ground beside me. "And how were these girls anything like me, Emery?"
"The preppy cheerleader girls, who would make fun of guys like me just because they could. The stuck up rich bitches with low self-esteem that end up pregnant before their sixteenth birthday." Emery scoffs again and takes a bite of his food.
"Stuck up. Rich bitch. Wow, there is a lot of anger there Emery." I begin to feel sorry for him. "Have I really given you the impression that I was like that in high school?"
"No you haven't, but we do hardly know anything about you. So, what were you like in high school?" I look up at Nick and shrug.
"I wasn't popular. That's for sure. I was second chair in orchestra. I played on the junior varsity soccer team and winter color guard. I worked for the county library on their bookmobile. Got straight A's and was a bit of a teacher's pet, I'm afraid to admit." I blink several times, remembering high school and smile. Those were good times.
"Ah, so you were the innocent school girl, but also the naughty librarian." Nick smirks down at me and pops a grape into his mouth. I give a small 'psssh' and then laugh.
"Come on, come on. Give it a rest." Joyce speaks up finally and walks behind the furniture. "Emery, I might be able to provide you with something you like better in a little while."
Emery rolls his eyes while chewing with his mouth open. Suddenly, Cathy turns around to face Joyce who was behind her.
"Tell us about the actress Joyce. I've always been a sucker for celebrities." She giggles and waits patiently for Joyce to spin a tale. I, on the other hand, can care less about an actress. I look up at Nick.
"What did you do in high school?" I ask softly enough so that Joyce wouldn't snap at me to be quiet. "Football? Wait... did you go to school in the states?"
"No. I went to school in Northampton, England where I was born." He replies and places his plate on the side table I was leaning against. "I moved here in '91."
"Why?" I ask, my tone sounds oddly unpatriotic. "Not that I don't like the states."
"Yes, because that's what I gathered from your tone." He gives a small laugh. "It was just time for a change."
I could relate. So could my family.
"I was born in New York. My family moved to Washington some years ago because we needed a change." I explain softly and then look down at my feet. My toes are painted hot pink in anticipation for the upcoming summer.
"Where in New York?"
"Syracuse. It's a crap hole in the city, but the suburbs aren't bad." I look back at him again.
"Now, Annie, if you've finished eating." Joyce's words catch Nick and my attention. She moves towards Annie, who sits on the couch with her sister and Cathy. She kneels down in front of her. "I have something to show you. It's nice. You'll like it. I promise."
"Yeah, because that sounds sane." I look back at Nick, eyebrow cocked. Joyce takes Annie's plate of food and passes it to Cathy. Then she holds out her hand for Annie to take. When Annie doesn't take her hand she nods to Rachel. We all watch, wondering what Joyce was planning.
"It's okay." Rachel encourages Annie to take Joyce's hand. When Annie has, Joyce helps her stand and walk around the couch. We all stand up as well. Joyce leads Annie to a set of small stairs and ushers up them.
"Go on Annie. Go and see what you find." Joyce encourages.
"It's not dangerous is it?" Rachel asks Joyce, looking up the stairs herself. It was a very good question.
"No, no. Not a bit. Go on Annie." Joyce gives Annie a smile and Annie begins climbing the stairs to the landing.
"Annie..." I hear Nick call from beside me and Annie and I both look to him. He put his hands up like there was an invisible wall in front of him and moves his hands as if he were looking for a way out, sort of like a mime. He then smiles and gives her a thumbs up. Annie gives him a look that makes me laugh. It said 'okay crazy man'. Priceless. She keeps moving and I keep my eyes on Nick. He looks down at me for a moment.
"What?" He asked smiling, knowing what I was about to say.
"That's cheating, you know that right?" I smile back and laugh slightly while shaking my head.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He tries to hide a grin that was quickly forming on his face and I scoff, jokingly.
"What in the world is it?" Cathy speaks up, looking over to Joyce. I look to Annie and see that she has found a secret compartment in the wall.
"Whatever it is she likes it." Rachel moved up next to Joyce on the stairs and watches her sister look through the small panel that leads into another room. I look behind us towards the windows behind the pool table. The sun was just about set. The tiniest bit of raging orange still on the horizon.
"...and he stretched forth his hands towards the heavens, and there was darkness throughout the land..." I quote as the light disappears beneath the gates and woods around the house and darkness engulfs us.