Chapter Nine

Virgil and Jimmy had been having quite an adventure. They hadn't managed to catch up with anyone who might be the imposter until they found a strange truck parked outside and saw an unfamiliar man getting into it. He wasn't appearing as Billy, but it did look like he was holding something that could be the diary. And so, deciding they weren't about to let the guy get away, the two climbed into the back of the truck and lay flat on the floor for the ensuing drive.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea," Jimmy whispered to Virgil after they'd been going for a while. "We have no idea where this guy is going and we can't contact Radley or Kalin to let them know anything."

"We'll contact them as soon as we stop," Virgil insisted.

"Yeah, but when will that be?" Jimmy muttered as they went down a hill.

To their relief, it was sooner than they thought. After the hill, the truck soon pulled up somewhere and stopped. The man got out, shutting the driver's door as he headed inside a building.

The cousins rose up, peeking out from the tarp that covered the back of the truck. They were parked in front of a pub in what looked like a Scottish village. Many patrons were happily singing and swaying through the window, but the man was already not visible.

"Ugh, are you kidding me?!" Virgil said in disgust. "He could be disguised as anyone by now!"

"And I guess there's no chance he left the diary." Jimmy got out and walked around to look in the cab. Of course, it was gone.

Virgil jumped out too. "Let's go inside and try to find him," he said in determination.

"We should really text or call Radley first," Jimmy objected.

"And give the guy more time to get away?" Virgil countered. He pulled the door open and went inside.

Sighing, Jimmy followed. He couldn't really argue with that logic.

A waitress soon saw and came over to them. "Well, hello there. What can I be doin' you for?" she greeted.

"Hi. Uh, did you see a guy who just came in here ahead of us?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah, we were supposed to meet him here," Virgil added.

"Were you now? He didn't seem to know it," the waitress frowned. "He came in and went through to the back and left."

"Wow, that's pretty absent-minded of him," Jimmy bluffed.

"Does he come in here a lot?" Virgil scowled. "We'd like to be around to give him what-for for forgetting us."

"I've never seen him before in me life," the waitress said. "I'm sorry, lads. Can I make it up to you with a pint?"

"Thanks, but we'd better see if we can catch him out back," Jimmy said. He grabbed Virgil's wrist and pulled him towards the door at the back of the room.

Virgil waited to explode until they were outside in an alley. "That jerk!" he snarled. "He must've known we were there and went inside just to try to shake us!"

"So why not confront us?" Jimmy frowned. "He could accuse us of trespassing in his truck."

"Probably 'cause he doesn't want to get involved with the law," Virgil said. "Which means he knows he's got something to hide!"

The sound of the truck starting up in front startled them both.

"He circled around and is driving off again!" Jimmy cried.

Virgil looked like he wanted to punch the brick wall. He settled for punching the air instead. "That figures!" he spat.

"At least I memorized the license," Jimmy offered. "Let's call Radley and maybe he can send someone out to get us."

Virgil nodded. "Yeah. Let's do that." He took out his phone.

Radley was both relieved and exasperated by the phone call. "We've been worried sick about both of you!" he scolded. "And Scotch and Biff got in a lot of trouble trying to find you! They could have been hurt!"

"Look, we're sorry," Virgil frowned. "We couldn't really move or anything to call or text when we were in the truck. The guy might have seen us!"

"Well, apparently he knew you were there anyway," Radley remarked. He sighed. "I'm glad you're safe. Just wait there or in the pub and I'll come get you."

"Okay," Virgil said. ". . . Are Scotch and Biff alright?"

"Yeah, thankfully," Radley said.

Jimmy sighed when Virgil hung up. "Radley's not usually mad at any of us," he said. "I can't blame him, though. That's awful about Scotch and Biff."

"It's not like we could help it," Virgil said. "We had to try to catch that guy. Maybe the license number will lead us to him, at least."

"I hope so," Jimmy said. "There needs to be some point to what we did."

It wasn't long and Radley and Billy arrived on their motorcycles. "Get on, you two," Radley said. "We'll go back and hopefully get some sleep before anything else goes wrong."

Jimmy got on behind Radley, while Virgil climbed on with Billy. "I'm sorry, Radley," Jimmy said. "I never wanted anybody to get hurt because of us. Of course, Virgil didn't either."

"I know," Radley said in resignation.

"Was there really no way you could call us?" Billy frowned. "Or even just text?"

". . . We probably could have when we were watching him go to his truck," Virgil admitted. He scowled. "I'm sorry too. What actually happened to Scotch and Biff?"

"They ended up in the forest," Radley said. "It's a long story. And no, we're still not sure if the trees really move. We'll try to tackle that problem in the morning."

The drive back to the castle was thankfully without incident. Finally the group was all back together and pairing up for safety during the night. Radley showered and then wearily climbed into the king-size bed in Kalin's room.

Kalin stirred and rolled over to face him. "Is everything still alright?" he mumbled.

"Yeah, for now," Radley said. "And the remaining diaries have all been moved into our rooms. I hid some of them around here. Tomorrow we can try looking through them." He sank into the pillows. "I don't know, Kalin. . . . It's been such a messed-up day. I've watched almost everybody around me get hurt. . . ."

"And you could have been poisoned," Kalin said. "Don't forget that."

Radley rested a hand on his forehead. "I don't, but that doesn't make me as upset as watching my friends get hurt. I think the only one we haven't had to worry about today is Clint. I just . . . I have no idea what's going on or who the bad guy is or what we're going to do about it. Or if we'll figure it out before something else goes wrong."

Kalin sighed. "I don't know either. Maybe tomorrow we should talk to the people in the village and see what they have to say about the servants and Marty's relatives."

"There's probably just a bunch of gossip we'll have trouble sorting through," Radley muttered. "But sure, we can try. Anything's worth a try."

"Especially when we keep running into brick walls," Kalin grunted.

Radley sighed. "You said it."

". . . Hey, where's Billy going to sleep?" Kalin suddenly wondered. "We had an odd number of people, so if everyone's doubling up, he's left out."

"He would have stayed by himself if I hadn't pressed the matter," Radley admitted. "Virgil and Jimmy are letting him stay with them."

"That's good," Kalin said.

"Yeah, I wouldn't let any of them stay alone when we don't know what's going on," Radley said.

For a few minutes they laid back and rested, but sleep still wasn't coming. Radley ran a hand over his face. ". . . You know what I was thinking once everybody was safe and we were walking back through the dungeon with all of those fake skeletons everywhere?" Knowing it was of course a rhetorical question, he went on, "I was thinking how glad I am that people really don't become walking skeletons when they die."

Kalin grunted again. "What?"

"You know, like in those movies Scotch gets out for Halloween, Coco and The Book of Life, the dead characters are stylized as walking skeletons instead of spirits," Radley said. His voice lowered. "But I've been dead and I've seen that's not how it is."

"Yeah," Kalin said. "You're right. When I was in the Netherworld, everyone was a spirit. They looked just like their physical selves. No walking skeletons."

"That would be the stuff of nightmares if it were true," Radley said. "Those movies played up the problems for humor, but it wouldn't be funny if that was our reality. Actually, I didn't find it funny in the movies, either."

"I didn't either," Kalin said flatly. "It was in poor taste and it ruined the seriousness of the scenes."

"I guess they figured they needed some humor for the kids," Radley said. "I can think of some kids who'd be traumatized by that kind of humor instead, but I suppose there's some who like that kind of grotesque suff."

"Probably," Kalin said.

"And the really scary thing is, once everything's okay and the danger's passed, I could picture Scotch wanting to make a haunted house like the dungeon here," Radley said wryly.

". . . That is scary," Kalin deadpanned.

"He might even try to take some of the props with us," Radley chuckled, shaking his head. He laid down on the pillows. "Okay, I'll be quiet now. We'd better try to get some sleep. We've gotta worry about going in the forest in the daylight."

"Yeah," Kalin said. "And maybe going to the village."

"That's a good idea you had," Radley said. "We should do that too."

At last they both dozed. Although the bed was big enough that they could easily sleep on each side of it and not run into each other, by morning they had instead rolled into the center and snuggled close.

Kalin stirred, sleepily blinking as he focused on the scene. When Radley moved too, he laid back on the pillow and smiled up at Kalin. "Hey," he greeted. "Good morning."

"I hope it will be," Kalin said. He sat up, his long hair falling around his shoulders and down his chest.

Radley sat up too. "At least I feel ready to face the new day," he said. "I was pretty wound-down last night." He got off the bed. "I'm going to check on Marty."

"Good idea," Kalin said.

"I wonder when breakfast is. And what we're having." Radley paused in the doorway with a chuckle. "You know, it's kinda weird that neither of us will be fixing the meals here. I don't mind; it's just a little hard to get used to when that's part of our routine."

"You like cooking," Kalin remarked. "Maybe you could pick up some new recipes here."

"Maybe, if the chefs want to share," Radley said. "Usually kitchen masters like keeping their secrets."

"You've shared yours with me," Kalin said.

"Yeah, but that's different," Radley said with a wink. "I'm a stranger here. They'd never trust me with their recipes like I trust you." He stepped into the hall and went to the room Marty and Clint were sharing.

As he did, the door opened and Marty appeared, looking worn-out but otherwise alright. "Hey, Radley," he greeted.

"Hi," Radley said. "Are you doing okay, Marty?"

Marty shrugged. "The headache's gone. The heartache . . . isn't."

Radley sighed. "Do you really think it was the real Billy who hurt you?"

Marty looked away. "Not really . . . I guess. I know you said last night that Virgil and Jimmy really chased a guy out of here who probably had the diary. Although Billy could have handed it off to someone. . . ."

"Billy was in his room, crying," Radley said softly.

Marty dug a hand into his hair. "So I made him cry."

"And I know whoever attacked you made you feel like it, even if you didn't," Radley said. "You cried on the inside."

"And died a little more on the inside." Marty leaned on the doorframe. "All the pain I felt when Billy betrayed me back home . . . that came back to me last night and it's just stayed with me since then."

Radley came closer and drew Marty into a sweet embrace. "I'm so sorry, Marty. I'm not gonna let whoever it was get away with this."

Marty clutched him close. "Thanks," he said softly. "For understanding we're both hurting instead of just siding with Billy and acting like I should be over what happened. . . ."

"Some wounds just go too deep for that," Radley said. "Especially if they get ripped open again."

"Yeah, no kidding," Marty said. He shuddered and just held on to Radley until he felt strong enough to draw back. "So . . . what are we doing today?"

"First, we're eating breakfast," Radley said. "Then there's the other diaries to look through, the forest to investigate, and the villagers to interview."

"That's a rich, full day," Marty dryly commented. "Well, Clint and I already went through the diaries that were left in our room. My great-uncle couldn't even be fully open in those! He talked a lot about 'them' being after him, but there's still no clues on what he meant."

"So what else did he talk about?" Radley asked. "He couldn't have used up diary after diary just talking vaguely about 'them.'"

Marty had to smirk a bit at that. "No, he didn't. Mostly he just talks about his day. Really, it's a pretty dry read except for those panicked, vague entries." He shook his head. "I can't imagine why he thought it was so important for me to have these."

"There must be something we're overlooking," Radley said. "Maybe there's some kind of code to something important?"

"Maybe, but I'm no good at figuring things like that out," Marty said. "You're the best at that kind of thing. . . . Billy, too."

"Well, we'll see what we can come up with," Radley promised. "Right now, I think we should get something to eat. What do you say?"

"Great," Marty said. "Clint's just taking a quick shower and then we'll be down."

"Cool," Radley smiled.

Soon the entire group gathered at the dining room table and the servants brought the food. The meal was delicious and uneventful, aside from the definite tension between Marty and Billy. They tried to sit as far apart from each other as possible, and the others allowed that without comment for the time being.

As they all finished eating, Scotch tried to break the uncomfortable spell. "So, how are we working everything?" he asked. "Are we all doing all the things?"

"I think it would be better if you and Biff didn't try to come in the forest, after your experience last night," Radley said. "How about you guys go to the village and try to find out what people are saying about the castle and the servants?"

"Sure!" Scotch said, and Biff definitely looked relieved.

". . . I could stay here and try to figure out if there's a code in the diaries," Billy offered.

"That'd be great," Radley said. "But I don't think you should be here alone. There's too many weird things going on and we don't know who's doing them."

Marty froze, looking trapped. Radley was certainly right, but he wasn't sure he could bring himself to volunteer to be the one staying back.

Radley laid a hand on Marty's shoulder. He hadn't intended on that.

". . . I could stay, I guess," Clint spoke up.

Surprise and gratitude flickered in Marty's eyes. Clint liked to be in on the action and it was a sacrifice for him to offer to stay back. But they had talked a lot during their stay together, and Clint recognized how emotionally wounded Marty was right now.

"Thanks, Clint," Radley smiled. "Now, everyone should keep their phones ready so we can communicate when we need to. Of course, if there really are extenuating circumstances why you can't, that's okay."

"There probably won't be a signal in the forest," Marty said.

"Yeah, we couldn't get one," Biff said.

"Okay, so we'll plan on that," Radley said. "And let's say we'll all meet up again in . . . three hours, if we can. If some of us don't show up, the others will figure something went wrong and come looking."

They all agreed to that and soon split up to go about their various tasks.

The forest looked ominous as Radley's group approached. The fact that the trees were behaving like normal trees was somehow more unsettling instead of less. Would they suddenly move as they had the past night? That uncertainty kept all of them tense.

"So . . . anyone got a plan for if the trees suddenly lash out at us?" Jimmy said, not entirely sure he was joking.

"Lash right back," Virgil growled.

"I'd settle for just finding out why they're lashing out," Radley said. He could fight if he had to, but preferred not to, and he most certainly didn't want to engage a tree.

". . . Maybe this is part of the reason." Kalin ventured farther into the woods and over to what looked like a holographic projector. When he pressed the button, an image of a tree moving forward lit up the sky.

"That must be what we saw yesterday," Marty frowned.

"If it is, then someone's set up the forest for scares just like they did the dungeon," Radley said. "We'll have to see if there's any fingerprints on it . . . besides Kalin's."

Kalin took out a mini fingerprint kit and set about doing just that. But he soon scowled. "They must have always worn gloves. There's nothing here."

Radley sighed. "Why am I not surprised. Okay, we'll take it with us anyway, though. Maybe it being missing will draw the creep out."

"And there must be more of them," Marty remarked. "It looks like each one only projects one tree."

They soon rounded up several more of the devices, each with a holographic tree programmed into the projection. Inspecting the electronic boxes for identifying marks soon revealed the company of origin.

"KaibaCorp," Radley announced. "That's not surprising either. The question is, are these on the public market or did somebody swipe them from the company like the crooks did at the Bennett Ranch?"

"We'll have to call Kaiba when we get back to the castle," Kalin said. "He probably knows."

"Yeah." Radley looked around the forest, frowning to himself.

"What is it?" Marty asked.

"I was just thinking," Radley said. "Sure, it looks like we've figured out what's been spooking all of us, but this doesn't explain in the least what people years ago saw when they insisted the trees were walking."

Virgil snorted. "They were all looney."

"I kinda doubt that," Radley said. "Sure, maybe their imaginations ran away with them sometimes, but that wouldn't be the case all the time."

Virgil stared at him. "So does that mean you believe that nutty story about the queen of the fairies cursing everything?"

Radley chuckled. "No, not really. But . . . and I know you don't want to hear this, Virgil, but since other supernatural beings are real, maybe fairies are too. I guess they exist in the Duel Monsters' world."

"That's over there, though," Virgil objected. "It's not here."

"What if there's a portal connecting the worlds here?" Kalin grunted.

Radley winced. "Ooh, that's one I hadn't thought of. Yeah, that's honestly possible. It might even explain the people who supposedly went in here and didn't come back out."

Jimmy looked around, nervous now. "Maybe we should leave before we fall into it. It probably isn't clearly marked."

"In my experience, portals do have ways of identifying themselves, even if that's by nothing more than a slight ripple in the air or a quiet hum of energy," Radley said. "But you're right; let's not take any chances right now. We should get this equipment out of here and just go."

Everyone was quite willing to comply. But as they went, Kalin paused, looking back over his shoulder.

"What is it?" Radley asked.

"I don't know," Kalin said. "It felt like something watching us. But there's nothing visible except trees."

"You're just letting the weird stories spook you," Virgil said.

"Maybe," Kalin said noncommittally.

When nothing came out, the group opted to quickly continue on their way and not tempt whatever it was. But Kalin again glanced back as they left the woods and re-entered the castle grounds. This time it sounded like a voice was whispering in his ear.

"Beware. You may lose what you hold most dear."

Kalin froze. "Who are you?!" he demanded aloud. "What are you talking about?!"

"Beware," the voice whispered again, fading into the wind.

Radley looked to him in concern. "Kalin?"

Kalin gripped his projector more tightly. "The rest of you take these things inside," he said. "I'll be along in a few minutes." He took off running back into the trees.