Chapter Four

When Radley started to stir, it was towards late afternoon. Fog and clouds still lingered in the sky and the air, but a few rays of sun poked through and shined into the room.

He looked over at Kalin. His friend was still asleep, hugging the pillow and looking very peaceful.

Radley smiled to himself. Usually they shifted position all through sleeping, but the bed was so comfortable that they had just slept in the positions they had fallen asleep in.

Not wanting to risk disturbing Kalin, he took out his phone and scrolled through the lists of calls and messages. Barney had texted him that everything was well in town and wondered how they were doing. Radley quickly sent off an answering text, saying they were all alright too. Then, pondering, he texted Scotch and asked how the exploring was going. Knowing him, he was probably still at it.

He frowned a bit when there was no response to that. Maybe Scotch was asleep, but that was unlikely. He could have got so involved he forgot to check his phone, but Radley also doubted that. Scotch loved to update the others on cool things he was finding.

Radley sighed. Scotch might have found a way to get into trouble. He had better get up and check.

Kalin stirred when Radley got off the bed. "What is it?" he mumbled.

"Maybe nothing," Radley said. "But Scotch isn't answering a text. I'm going to see if he's asleep or exploring."

Kalin started to get up too. "I'll come with you."

Radley smiled at him. "Alright."

Billy was in the hall when they stepped out. He looked over, his hands shoved in his pockets. "What's going on?"

"Do you know where Scotch is?" Radley asked.

"No," Billy frowned. "I haven't seen him since the tour wrapped up. You know how he is."

"Yeah, he's probably exploring," Radley sighed. "And hopefully not getting into danger."

"With Scotch, you never know," Billy said with a roll of his eyes.

A quick check of his room showed that he definitely wasn't there. Radley promptly headed down the hall. There was a lot of castle to search, so they had best get on it. Kalin and Billy fell into step beside him.

Radley glanced over at Billy. "Do you know where Marty is?"

"He was going down to the crypt to pay his respects to his great-uncle," Billy said. "I thought he would probably want to be alone for that, so . . ." He shrugged.

"I think you would have gone with him at one time, and he would have wanted it," Radley said softly. "Are you sure he wouldn't want it now?"

". . . No," Billy admitted. "But he didn't ask me to come. . . ."

As they neared the end of the hall, Radley froze, eyes narrowed. "Did you hear that?"

"I didn't hear anything," Billy frowned.

"It sounded like faint yelling from over here." Radley hurried over to a section of wall and began feeling across it. "Hello? Are you here?"

"Radley!"

Both Radley and Kalin jumped. Billy's eyes widened. "That sounds like Scotch!"

"Me and Biff are trapped back here!" Scotch called. "Somebody locked us in, maybe on purpose!"

"Now why would they do that?" Finally finding the lever, Radley pushed it in and the wall swung open. A frazzled Scotch and Biff stepped out.

"Doesn't exploring lose its touch when that happens?" Billy said.

"It shouldn't have happened," Biff said. "Scotch is right, this time it might have been on purpose!"

"Let's go in one of the rooms and we'll show you," Scotch said. "But oh wow, thanks for getting us out of there!"

"You're just lucky we were right here," Kalin frowned as they walked back up the hall.

When the group was back inside Radley's room, Scotch played his recording of the downstairs conversation they had overheard. Biff showed his pictures.

"See, they're really worried about something," Scotch said. "Or a lot of somethings! And don't the walls look like there's dyne in them?!"

"They do," Radley said in disbelief. "I never heard of that before, but I guess there's no real reason why it couldn't happen sometimes, especially with ancient buildings like this. Of course, we'd have to test some samples to be sure."

"The staff sure seems sure!" Scotch said.

Radley nodded. "Let's get the others and let them know. Then together we'll talk to the staff."

"Virgil and Jimmy decided to go outside," Billy said. "I think Clint is looking at the weapons. Should we split up to find them?"

"I think it's wiser to stay together right now," Radley said. "We don't know if some of the staff might impulsively try to harm us. Jarvis may respect them, but do they respect him enough to trust his judgement?"

". . . That's a good point," Billy conceded. "That's why you're our leader, Radley."

Radley smiled a bit. He quickly texted the others as they started down the hall. It would be faster if they could all come here, since no one knew exactly where any of them were. But the search would start anyway, picking up Clint in the weapons area before going on to Marty in the crypt.

That same realization suddenly occurred to Biff. "Wait a minute," he exclaimed. "Are we going down in the creepy place?!"

"If Marty doesn't come up before we're ready to go there, I'm afraid we'll need to," Radley said.

Biff whimpered in dismay, but he knew Radley was right.

"It'll be okay," Scotch told him. "Don't worry! Radley's here, so we'll be fine!"

"With our luck, someone'll try to throw us in the coffins!" Biff shot back. "A regular old cemetery would be better than a crypt! At least then the bodies are buried!"

"Unless you're in a swampy area with aboveground graves," Billy muttered.

xxxx

The crypt was dark and damp with an eerie echo. Jarvis turned on some overhead lights to illuminate the path, and Marty stayed alert as he was guided down the somber corridor to the newest addition to the family resting place.

"Master John always spoke highly of you, Sir," Jarvis said as he stopped in front of the fresh tomb.

Marty stopped too, and looked through the iron gate at the expensive coffin in the chamber. "I didn't even know him well," he said in surprise.

"He felt it was enough to know that you are trustworthy and honorable," Jarvis said.

"I don't know how he knew that," Marty remarked. "I left the family business to join a motorcycle gang."

"You wanted companionship that you couldn't seem to find in your family," Jarvis said. "Or . . . that's what Master John said, at least. . . ."

". . . That's true," Marty admitted.

"And you fought to protect a town from a truly dangerous gang, I believe," Jarvis continued.

"Yeah." Marty laid his hands on the gate. "That's where we all live now." He frowned. "I wish I'd been able to know my uncle better. Now it's too late."

"Well . . ." Jarvis hesitated. "He also wanted you to have his diaries, so perhaps at least you can come to know him through those."

Marty blinked in surprise. ". . . I'd like that," he said.

"Your aunt and other uncle will probably be angry about it," Jarvis sighed. "They felt he should have left everything to them and can't understand why he didn't."

"I'd be pretty confused too if someone I cared about left everything to someone who wasn't even around much," Marty said.

"Oh, it's true that they were around," Jarvis nodded. ". . . Perhaps a bit too much, unfortunately. And Master John did care about them. But . . . he trusted you more."

"I still don't get why," Marty said.

"Perhaps when you see them, it will make more sense," Jarvis said. "I'll get them for you and place them in your room. Would you like a moment alone?"

"Yeah," Marty said after briefly considering that. "That'd be nice, thanks."

"I'll be up the stairs," Jarvis said. "Call if you need anything, Master Marty." He stepped back.

"Sure." Marty waited until the footsteps faded. Then he sighed and turned back to the casket, his earrings jangling as he moved. "What am I doing here?" he muttered. "I don't belong in high society. I already figured that out years ago. I just wanna be home with my friends." He ran a finger over the cold metal. "Why did you want me to have your stuff, Uncle? I don't have anything in common with your world."

An unsettling creaking startled him out of his mind. "What the . . . ?!" He spun around. With the heavy echo throughout the chamber, it was hard to tell where it was coming from, but it really sounded like it was towards the far corner. After briefly debating with himself, he took a step forward and headed down the hall. This was his property now, even though it was still hard to believe, and he needed to know what was going on.

He had to admit, in spite of himself he was unnerved. He wasn't as afraid of ghosts as Biff, but he couldn't say that being in a crypt was high on the list of his favorite things to do. What was making that sound? There it went again. If he let his imagination run wild, it almost sounded like . . .

Horror ran up his spine as he caught sight of one particular coffin. The lid was starting to rise. He let out a shout and turned to run. This was too much even for him.

He almost crashed into Radley, who put out his hands and caught him. "Hey, whoa!" Radley exclaimed. "What is it?!"

Marty pointed behind himself with a shaking finger. "The coffin!" he choked out. "It's opening!"

Biff looked ready to faint right there. "Let's get out of here!" he screamed.

Instead, Kalin walked past them and approached the coffin with a frown. "I know we've encountered a lot of supernatural things, but zombies?" he grunted. "Maybe it's just someone's idea of a joke."

"Or another secret passage!" Scotch suggested.

Kalin started to lift the lid himself. "We'll soon find out."

What looked like two rotting hands shot out from under the lid, grabbing Kalin by his shirt. Before he could so much as fight back, he was pulled inside and the lid slammed shut.

Both Biff and Scotch screamed now. Radley ran forward, hauling up the lid while staying wary of any emerging hands. "Kalin?! Kalin?!"

Kalin was laying facedown on the soft material. Whatever had pulled him in, as well as the body that had originally been in there, were gone.

"Is he dead?!" Biff wailed.

Radley pulled off a glove and felt Kalin's throat for a pulse. "No, he's not." He breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing a loved one in a coffin was a traumatizing experience, no matter how they got there.

"So what's wrong with him?!" Biff exclaimed. "His air wasn't cut off long enough for him to pass out!"

Radley gently shook Kalin on the shoulder. "Come on, Kalin, wake up," he frowned. When Kalin didn't respond, Radley started to lift him out of the coffin. "We need to get him somewhere better to lie down," he said, trying unsuccessfully to control the worried tremor in his voice. "And get a doctor too."

Billy hurried over to help Radley, who was struggling with the weight of a person almost the same size as him. Radley didn't have Kalin's gift for lifting such a person. ". . . Am I seeing right?!" Billy frowned as Kalin's head fell back. "Are those puncture wounds in his neck?!"

". . . Kalin was bit by a vampire?!" Biff shrieked.

"No!" Radley snapped, his nerves fraying with all the commotion and his worry for his friend. He held Kalin close to him. "Maybe he was scratched by an old skeleton or something. In any case, this has to be treated. It could get infected."

"I've got something." Clint hurried forward, taking a miniature first aid kit out of his pocket. He produced an antiseptic wipe and gently ran it over the small wounds in Kalin's neck.

The sting brought Kalin around with a start. He flinched, opening his eyes. "What . . ."

"Kalin, are you alright?!" Radley exclaimed.

". . . Yes, I think so," Kalin frowned. He focused on Clint. "What are you doing?"

"You were hurt here," Clint said. "I'm just trying to fix it for you."

"What happened?!" Scotch gasped. "You got pulled into that coffin and then you were knocked out! And you have these weird marks on your neck now!"

"Do you wanna drink blood?!" Biff moaned.

Kalin regarded him in disbelief. "No, I don't want to drink blood," he shot back. He let Clint finish tending to the wound. "When that . . . whoever pulled me into the coffin, they dug their fingernails into my neck. I think I hit my head on the roof of the coffin when they were trying to slip out through the bottom. I tried to follow and they shoved me back, hard."

Marty ran over to the empty coffin, feeling around until he pressed on the switch. The bottom left side fell open, revealing a stone staircase underneath. He leaned down, shining his phone's flashlight into the area. "They're probably halfway across the moors now," he said in frustration.

"Maybe the other end of that comes out on the grounds," Radley said.

"Virgil and Jimmy might be able to stop him!" Scotch immediately started texting.

Radley sighed. "Do you think you can stand?" he asked Kalin.

"Yes. I wasn't out for long, was I?" Kalin asked.

"No, thankfully." Radley smiled at him and he and Billy gently set him on his feet. He wobbled, but managed to steady himself on Radley's shoulder.

Marty straightened. "Coming to think about it, Jarvis said he was going to wait by the stairs," he remembered. "He's not there, is he?"

"We didn't see him when we came down," Radley said.

"That's weird," Marty said.

"What could be weirder than somebody coming up through a coffin and hurting Kalin?!" Biff said.

"Not much," Radley said. He ran a hand through his hair. "Hey, look, I'm sorry I snapped at you, Biff. . . ."

"It's okay," Biff said. "You were just worried about Kalin. I'm sorry I lost my mind there. This place is so spooky!" He shuddered. "I don't know what's real and what's not anymore!"

"Speaking of what's real and what's not, what was up with the guy who grabbed you?!" Scotch looked to Kalin. "He really looked like a zombie!"

"He must have been deliberately trying to scare Marty," Kalin grunted. "He was wearing a Freddy Krueger mask and gloves."

"Like I wouldn't have recognized that if he'd got out of the coffin," Marty snorted. Kalin himself only knew the character because of the Bunch's penchant for movie nights.

Billy scowled. "So now we've got someone doing the stupid cliché of trying to scare away the heir?"

"That was pretty childish," Radley said. "But he could have seriously hurt Kalin. I think whoever that was, he's someone to watch out for. And there might be more than one!"

"Maybe most of the staff is in on it," Scotch said with wide eyes.

"Or maybe it's not them at all," Radley countered. "Right now we just don't know. I would like to know why Jarvis wasn't where he said he'd be, though." He frowned.

"I really think he's sincere," Marty said. "Maybe he got called away, or maybe he got hurt too! We'd better try to find him."

A sweep of the crypt didn't turn the missing butler up anywhere. Frowning in concern, Marty led his friends upstairs and almost walked into a middle-aged woman.

"Well!" she huffed.

Scotch looked to Biff in alarm. It was Aggie.

"Excuse me," Marty said. "We're trying to find Jarvis. Have you seen him?"

Aggie sighed. "No, Master Marty, I haven't."

"Some creep with a Halloween mask started coming out of a coffin!" Scotch blurted. "He hurt Kalin! Maybe Jarvis is hurt somewhere too!"

Now Aggie looked horrified. "He'd better not be!" she exclaimed. "We'd best keep looking now!" She hastened off ahead.

"Well, she seems pretty worried," Scotch said. "Maybe she's okay."

"Just 'cause she's worried about that guy don't mean she wouldn't hurt us," Biff said.

Scotch walked backwards to open a closet, still facing Biff as he went. "Sure, I guess," he said. "But maybe you're just too suspicious, Biff."

He opened the door and suddenly had to jump back. Jarvis tumbled out to lie lifeless on the cold stone tiles. A rubber Freddy Krueger mask floated down beside him.