Chapter 8:
1st night: Part seven
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Hey! Okay, not much to say about this chapter. But I do have some good news. I'm now working on a very long one-shot L/Z fic. Anyone who does support this coupling, I hope you will be looking out for this story. I'll give out more updates later. Check out my profile for the scoop on it.
Anyway, this chapter will be short. I'm not in the real mood to write something super long at the moment, and I'm preoccupied with my other story currently. But I do promise that the next chapter will be much longer.
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Lina jumped out of the way, landing hard on her arm and dropping her camera and flashlight. Her flashlight made a clack sound as it hit the ground and rolled away. Lina cradled her hurt arm and sat up slowly. Already, the spirit was heading back towards her. Without thinking, Lina rolled to the side, and closer to her camera.
Standing up, Lina took a step towards her camera. She was concentrating on the camera to hard, however. The spirit had turned around and was dashing towards her. Lina spun around and tried to avoid it, but it was inevitable. The spirit charged her and, using a very powerful force, threw her back. Lina wasn't sure how hard she had hit the far wall, but it was hard enough to crack the wood.
She stood, despite however painful it was, and started back towards her camera. Her sunset hair slipped out of the neat ponytail and fell down her back in tumbles.
The spirit had disappeared once again. Lina ran towards her camera. Just then, out of nowhere, the spirit appeared again and rushed forwards. Jumping with all her force, Lina grabbed the camera and tumbled out of the path of the spirit woman. The spirit swung around and came after her again, but this time Lina was ready. Without hesitation, she pressed the shutter and jumped to her feet.
Lina sprinted across the room and spun on her heel, allowing the camera to charge. The ghost went out of sight again, but Lina waited. She had learned the pattern of this spirit. Sure enough, just like previous times, the ghost appeared and rushed towards Lina. Once Lina felt the camera was charged enough, Lina allowed her finger the privilege of pressing the shutter.
The spirit shrieked and Lina watched as it was pulled into her photo. Sighing, Lina relaxed slightly, which wasn't very easy considering where she was. Lina stood up after a moment, grabbed her flashlight, and walked over to the large tapestry hanging from the ceiling. She didn't want to do it, but at this point she had no choice.
Carefully, Lina tore off a small section of the tapestry. The material was smooth and soft. She wrapped it around her arm, where it starting to swell slightly, and tied it. She felt bad about ruining something of such beauty; it was probably the prettiest thing in the mansion.
Lina left the large room and entered the hallway. She headed down the hall to the only other door available. Carefully, she opened it and stepped inside.
Inside, there was a long walkway that led into the room. Lina walked down the walkway and turned into the room.
The room wasn't very big, and it was very dark. But Lina could make out a few shapes, there was what looked like a dresser or a shelf, and several broken pieces of furniture spread out. There was a table littered with broken candle pieces, two doors, and a high shelf on one of the walls. Lina looked around carefully, her eyes looking for anything out of the ordinary. And then, right in front of her, it happened.
A young woman with long dark hair walked right by her, and then vanished. Lina, startled by the sudden appearance, took a step back and let out a small gasp. She quickly regained control and calmed herself. Sighing, she began to search the room.
She walked slowly over to the table. Using her good arm, she reached out and fumbled through the candle pieces. She searched for a brief moment before her hand struck something unusual. Lifting it up into the light of her flashlight, Lina discovered it was a scroll of some sort. Written on it were several characters, ones she recognized as kanji for numbers. They were scribbled down in dark red ink, and for a moment gave Lina the impression they were written in blood.
Lina shuddered and rolled the scroll up to place in her bag. That was a disturbing thought. But, because she was in Mikumora Mansion, it wasn't completely out of line.
Continuing on her search, Lina walked over to the shelf. It was well above her head, making it hard to reach, especially with her hurt arm. Taking the camera in her injured arm, she lifted up her other hand and led it along the shelf. Soon, she felt something soft, not like the feel of the shelf. She pulled it down; it was a small scrap of paper!
Bringing up her flashlight, Lina read through it. It was written in the neat script of Sylphiel, which didn't surprise her.
Sept. 11, 6:30 AM
I saw that girl in the kimono again. I know she's trying to tell me something; I just can't figure it out. Her name… I know what it is… it's… Amelia. Amelia, yes, that sounds right. That's all I can come up with.
I shouldn't get any closer than this. I don't want to. To say I'm scared is a very large understatement. I'm terrified. After what happened to Xellos… that poor man, I feel so sorry for him. I don't know what to do… Mr. Gabrief and I can't get out, what are we going to do? I… I'm so afraid, so very afraid… what will happen to us? The same thing that happened to Xellos? Oh god, protect us… I don't know what I'm going to do… I just don't know!
Lina placed it in her bag. Poor Sylphiel, to have to face that… to have to know what was going to happen… Lina shuddered. She didn't want to think about it.
Lina sighed. She was going to have a great time in this place… a wonderful, happy time. Yeah right. This place was just cover up for a real hellhole. Sylphiel had said it, and Lina believed it.