Chapter 17:

2nd night: Part three

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Okay guys, sorry I haven't updated recently. It's getting to the end of the school year, and that means finals are coming up! Oh joy! Updating may be slow… I hope not, though. Also, I have a chorus competition coming up, so I'm a little stressed. Short chapter, this time…

 Anyway, I'm also working on some other things. If you haven't seen, I'm working on an L/Z fic called "Slayers: Quest for Kyuusai" and one with Samanda (The sweetie!) called "Uncommon Vows". If you're an L/Z fan, I recommend these. Enjoy!

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            Lina slowly walked down the hallway, completely aware to every sound and movement in her sight, or hearing, range. She shuddered slightly, and continued to the end of the hall. When she reached the door at the end, her hand hovered slightly above the doorknob. She wasn't sure what lie ahead, and in a sense, it scared her.

            She had already dealt with so much. All she wanted was to find her brother and leave… but now… learning about her grandmother… Mr. Gabrief, Sylphiel, and Xellos… even Amelia. They all suffered so much, but was it really fair that she had to stop it all?

            Lina bit her lower lip and thought about it. She couldn't leave; she couldn't just let her brother slip away. She had already lost so much; her father, her mother, the only one she had left was Zelgadis. She wasn't about to let him go without a fight.

            She held her head high, her decision made. Without another thought, she pulled the door open and stepped in. A chill greeted her, and the damp atmosphere sent shivers down her spine. She was in the room with all the water and planks. Slowly, she pulled out the map and look at it. The area she had just left was called the Stairway, which meant she was in the… Fish tank Room.

            She wondered for a brief moment why it was called the Fish Tank Room if there weren't any fish, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away and began to walk towards the first plank.

            The room suddenly felt as though the temperature had dropped to below zero, and Lina felt her heart pick up speed. She watched wide-eyed as a small pale child appeared out of nowhere and made a mad dash towards the other end of the room.

             She sighed and slowly moved to follow him. She really didn't have much of a choice.  She moved quickly, reaching the other side of the room easily. Gently, she pulled open the door that led to what she suspected to be the backyard.

            As she walked down the small path, her feet made soft padding noises. She thought about the current lead of events. She hadn't had any run-ins with Amelia, though she wasn't sure if that was good or not. She hadn't seen the little girl in the white Kimono, either. Slowly, she emerged from the fences into the wide Backyard. There, in front of her was the well. It was odd, however. The well was glowing with an eerie green aura.

            Slowly, she walked towards it. As she did, she felt her heart skip a beat. Sweat beads slipped down her forehead and into her eyes. Aside from her flashlight, the area was completely dark, which surprised Lina, as before she didn't need her flashlight.

            Her stomach began to ache slightly, and she suddenly felt very nervous. As she approached the well, a sound reached her ears. It sounded like a child, crying. Slowly, she moved to the edge of the well. It had, like before, a hard wooden lid. She gently placed her ear against the covering. Whatever it was, it was defiantly coming from the well.

            Breathing hard to gather as much air in her lungs as possible, Lina grabbed the edges of the lid and pulled. After a few seconds, the lid began to slide roughly. Lina pulled hard and the lid slipped off the edge of the well and landed on the ground with a crash.

            Ignoring this, she slowly peered down. She could only see about a foot into the well before it was swallowed by pure darkness. The sound was getting louder, closer. Lina gasped as she saw the outline of a small child appear from the darkness. A pale child, or more correctly the ghost of a child, was slowly climbing up the well. But the child wasn't crying any more, it was laughing. A cruel and horrible laugh that sent chills down Lina's spine.