Chapter Twenty-Three
23
The Distant Whispers...
This Chapter contains All new important to know details and added dialogue!
~Akarii Rose
The moon shone full and bright over head, and the four slifer students were sneaking away through shrubs and trees.
"Creeping~ Creeping~" Connar sang softly. She tended to sing little melodies whenever she felt frightened in the night.
"Connie knock it off." Syrus hissed,"You're not helping the situation!
"You all right back there, Connar?" Jaden blinked as he glanced back in curiosity to his trembling pink haired friend who gripped tightly on his jacket sleeve.
"Oh! Yeah! Totally!" She lied quite obviously.
"She does things like that when she's scared~!" Syrus taunted with that smug little grin he got whenever he was feeling cocky. A rare occasion in of itself. But then he wasn't much braver, jumping and shrieking at every snap of a twig as they wandered.
"Say...don't you think we're lost?" She asked softly, clinging in closer to her brunette friend.
"Don't you think you're a little too snug with Jaden?" Chumley teased and she gave a pouty faced blushed.
"Well if there really is some creepy cabin in the woods, I like my odds a lot better with Jaden than either of you two chickens."
"Says the one hiding." laughed chumley.
"Yeah yeah I'm hiding!" she huffed,"At least I'll own it! Will you?"
Neither Chumley nor Syrus had anything to say to that one. All Jaden did was let out a light hearted laugh.
"Well...you could look at it as being lost..." said Jaden,"Or you could just say we found a couple of places where it's not."
"Yeah? Well, we've been finding places for an hour." huffed, Chumley,"But then, I suppose it could be worse for Syrus."
"Huh? For Syrus?" Jaden blinked.
"Why for Syrus?" Connar asked, practically hugging on Jaden's arm whenever they stopped.
"Because, we could be near a lake of diiirty~ swaamp~ waater~"
"Pffft, HAHAHA." Connar burst out laughing as Chumley immitated Syrus's ghost story by waving his voice like a ghost,"Yeah, we could go skinny dipping with Nessy!" she snickerd. For whatever reason, that silly ghost story still cracked her up.
"Wait, skinny dipping!?" Jaden laughed,"I mean, I'm not opposed but maybe not in dirty swamp water, that's like- BEGGING to catch something gross!"
This only made Connar laugh harder.
"Haha very funny! A hit on me!" Syrus huffed,"At least I wasn't the one who was afraid to bathe because he was scared of the bath water last night, Chumley!"
"Eeeew~!" Connar giggled, "Even I still took a shower, though admittedly in Chumley's defense, Those stalls can be pretty dirty..."
"Well maybe if you cleaned it once in a while, it wouldn't be so swampy!" The stout Slifer huffed.
"Case and point!" Connar laughed, "That's even more gross! but remember fellas, a lady also has to share the washroom, and frankly I am getting tired of being the one always having to clean it!"
Normally we have maids who do that for us back at home...
She thought to herself.
I will never take them for granted again!
"Or maybe Chumley could grow up and start taking showers!" rebuttled the smaller red.
The bickering between the room mates continued as Jaden and Connar moved on ahead and he shone the flashlight on a single red rose that lay before a gate infront of an old broken down building.
"Hey, check this out!" Jaden stated, trying to gather the attention of all of his friends.
Connar stared for a while on the lone rose. It looked pretty fresh. Someone must have been there earlier on...
I remember reading about some of the missing students in some of my father's reports...
Connar thought to herself.
I believe the name 'Rhodes' was on one of the files...
she sighed.
I wonder if maybe Alexis came here to leave that rose for her older brother?
She blinked and gazed upon the run down place before them while the guys mumbled about finding a way inside.
I remember my father forwarned me never to come here...
she sighed and let out an awkward chuckle.
Sorry Papa...looks like I'm disobeying you again...
Though...I think that warning came from him, even before all of this with the missing students...
She closed her eyes she thought back tothis place, most certain that she had been there once before...back when it was new...
xxxxx
A young connar sat around bored on rocks and building supplies, often being shooed off by the workers.
"Connar, you should really get away from the construction area!" her uncle Mokey would gripe, constantly picking her up and moving her around to verious places, "It's dangerous!"
"But I'm booooooored~!" She would whine and wiggle around, taking off at random times into whatever direction she was facing. Her uncle was getting exhausted just by chasing her around.
"I'm really sorry, fellas!" Mokuba would apologize profusely to the construction workers as they worked building the dorm, "She had a fever earlier, and we couldn't get ahold of her sitter-"
The young girl squealed and began chasing butterflies and pouncing on lizards and frogs, falling into a giggle fest.
"Well you seem fine NOW, Connie!" her uncle huffed and chuckled.
He loved her, but she was a real handful. A lot of the construction workers actually liked her too and though she was adorable, they were just afraid of her winding up hurt. Though when no one was watching or paying attention, she wound up sneaking her way inside the building being constructed. She was awe stricken as she looked and watched the place begin to take shape.
"Hey...can you see me?"
A squeak escaped the small pink haired child as this sudden voice startled her and she looked up ahead. Hiding behind what seemed to be a pillar to be formed within the soon-to-be building was a small boy. He looked just like her...only his colors were inverted.
His hair, while holding the same shape around the fringe, was actually as blue as her eyes, where as the irises of his eyes...were as pretty a pink as her hair.
"Hey...you kind of look like me." she squeaked and gave small smile to the boy, who returned the gesture back at her like an inverted mirror.
"Silly...that's because I am you~!"
"You're me?" the girl child blinked. She was right to be confused.
"Come with me!" the boy who looked like her, smiled like her too, and offered her his hand,"Let's go play together~ Forever, and ever and ever~!"
This person before her, whoever he may be...somehow made her dizzy. However...she didn't fear him. In fact, she found herself drawn to him.
"O...kay..." her eyes narrowed and began to glaze over as she willingly gave her hand to this stranger who was her. He smiled and held it tight, pulling her into him in a hug.
"You will never be lonely again..." were the last words she heard him whisper to her before everything faded to black.
The most recent memory after that, were her father and uncle's voices, desperately calling out her name. Their faces slowly blurred into vision as she opened her eyes and found herself laying weakly in her father's arms. Panic stricken on his face and tears in her uncle's eyes.
"Connar...! Thank goodness!" Mokuba cried out,"You're finally waking up...!"
"Connar...what were you doing inside the building!?" her father snapped. He didn't mean to scare his child, it was just that he himself was scared.
"There was...a boy..." she said weakly. She was so dizzy and drained that she had a hard time trying to focus.
"A boy?" Mokuba blinked.
"Impossible..." said Seto,"There should be no other children here while we are under construction,"
"Even so, Seto, we can't be too careful." Mokuba said as he stood and waved over the KC construction workers,"Hey, My niece says there was a boy inside. Check the grounds before continuing any further construction!"
"Yes sir."
"Connar..." Seto said her name shakily and held the weak and limp child close to his chest. Even her father's shoulder could tremble.
"Yes, Papa?" She blinked," What is it?"
"You are never, to go near this building again! Do you understand!?"
"Yes, papa..." she said softly, her tiny voice coming out in a whisper as her eyelids grew heavy once again,"I...understand..."
xxxxx
That time seems like so long ago now...
Connar thought to herself and let out a groan as a sudden wave of dizziness crashed over her and she wobbled, soon held up by the presence of a familiar card spirit.
" ...are you all right?"
"Oh...Kaibaman." she blinked and gave a soft chuckle," Yeah, I'm all right...I just got dizzy all of a sudden..." she sighed,"I wonder why..."
"Perhaps it is because you have been recalling events, such when you spoke of your memory last night?"
"A Memory...?" she blinked,"No, that...was just a story."
"And what of the most recent event you recalled?" he asked with a twinge of doubt in his voice,"Was that too but a story?"
"That was..."
"Hey, Connie...you okay?" Jaden's voice sounded from beside her and the spirit's presence faded away as he approached.
"Y-yeah." she said, shaking her head to try and regain her senses,"Just a dizzy spell...maybe I'm getting tired."
"That was Kaibaman just now, wasn't it?" Jaden asked, to which Connar's silence said all. This seemed to concern Jaden, and his expression changed,"Connar...that story you told last night...that was a memory wasn't it?"
Once again, all was silent with the pink haired slifer girl, to which Jaden responded with a heavy sigh.
"Connar...are you hearing those voices again?"
Before she could even answer Chumley rang in, noticing Connar's odd behaivior from her dizzy spell.
"It's the ghosts in this building..." he stated with a twinge a fear in his tone,"They got her-"
"Relax guys, there's nothing here!" Jaden stated,soon all were startled by a random snap of a twig and approaching footprints.
"Nothing here, huh!?" Syrus whined,"Then what's that!?"
Jaden quickly swing his flash light in the direction which the sound came and suddenly illuminated Alexis Rhodes in its light, staring back at them with surprise herself...
"Oh, hey Alexis." said Jaden,"What are you doing here?"
"Funny." Alexis snipped with a defensive tone,"I was about to ask you the same thing."
"Well we heard about the abandoned dorm and so we wanted to come check it out." said Jaden, rather nonchalantly. At least he was honest.
"Well that wasn't very intelligent." said Alexis,"Don't you know students have a way of disappearing around here?"
"Oh come on, that's just some ubran myth." Jaden shrugged.
"No, it's not...believe me...I know." Alexis sighed,"Why else do you think the Academy would make this place forbidden?" Her gaze shifted once more to the brunette,"If they catch you guys here, you all will be expelled, for sure!"
"Yeah, sure." Jaden snickered,"So then why are you here?"
"I have my reasons, that's why!" Alexis snapped, which took Jaden by surprise.
"Hey, calm down Alexis, no need to snap." said Jaden trying to soothe the rage forming within her,"Look we just wanted to come look around, we'll stay out of your way, okay?"
Alexis glares at him a while before letting out a long sigh.
"I'm sorry..." she said softly,"It's just that...one of the kids who disappeared here, was my brother."
A hushed gasp excaped the group and Connar peered in softly placing a warm hand on Alexis's shoulder.
"I knew it..." she said softly,"You were the one who left that rose here, weren't you Alexis?"
"Huh? Connar..." Alexis blinked and looked at the pinkette with concern,"You don't look too good." she said softly," In fact you're kind of pale, are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine." Syrus cimed,"She's just freaking out."
"...I'm not 'freaking out'." Connar stated firmly with a sideways glare.
"Yeah right~" her old friend continued to taunt her,"I know things like this always give you the creeps it's okay! It's creepy!"
"I mean it Syrus, that's not it, so back off!" Her tone sharpened at the end of her claim and the look on her face became startlingly fierce. It even startled Alexis when her eyes shot daggers so sharp that Syrus took cover behide Chumley, startled by her sudden unusual behaivior.
"Connie...?" Even Jaden seemed a little shaken and Connar gasped softly, realizing her action and quickly held her head against her palm.
"I'm sorry..." she said softly,"My head is just...all sorts of weird right now..." she mumbled trying to regain her senses.
"Sy...is your friend okay?" Chumley whispered to Syrus, as the blue haired male had more of a history with the girl, he figured he might know better.
"I dunno..." Syrus whispered back,"I have never seen her act this weird before..."
It's no wonder this shift in behavior came as a surprise to him. Connar was usually so bright and bubbly, it's hard to imagine her harboring any sort of malicious intent, and Jaden grew only more concerned for her.
"Well, be careful, Connar." Alexis sighed and was soon gone leaving the four alone to explore the night.
"If what Alexis said about her brother is true...then that means the rumors about this place aren't just rumors." Syrus said softly,"Plus Connie is acting kind of weird...I say we go back, Jaden."
"Yeah? Well...I say we go in."
"What!?" Syrus couldn't believe Jaden would still insist on going in after what they were just told.
"Jaden..." Connar called out to her friend weakly, and held tightly to his jacket sleeve with her fingers. raising the level of concern the brunette held for her.
"All right...stay close, Connie." he said softly, seeming to understand what she was saying with her silence,"Alexis is right...you're not lookin' too good."
She nodded and said nothing more, following him in.
"See ya in a few, Syrus!" Jaden waved as he took the lead upon entrance,"Don't disappear on us!"
"Disappear!?" Syrus groaned as he was slowly being left behind, clearly out numbered and fully defeated he gave up and ran in after them.
The closer they got to this looming building however, the heavier Connar's head soon came to be as a wave of dizziness washed over her once again, this time bringing with it a distant whisper.
"I knew you'd come back to me one day~" followed by an echoing set of giggles that no one but Connar seemed to hear.
To Be Continued