Chapter Six

Opening his eyes slowly, unsure as to whether he'd even be able to see, Jack found that he was sitting in the darkest room he'd ever seen. Even his own bedroom back home had some light filtering in when all the lights were off and the curtains drawn at night. This room didn't just appear dark. It felt dark. Jack let out a loud groan and tried to sit up.

After several failed attempts, Jack managed to sit up straight, holding a hand to his forehead in pain. His skin felt slick, as though he'd see blood when he pulled his hand away, if he could see at all. He let his hand fall to the floor below him. Concrete, cold and hard, also slick with his blood. He decided against trying to stand. He might just have a dizzy spell.

"Bricriu," Jack muttered into the dark. "Begone from this mortal form."

A sudden flash of light filled the room and a dancing orb of light appeared in front of Jack.

"Ah, ye've knocked me out of yer head?"

"I needed a light… And you work." Jack turned and looked down at the floor below him, then back up at Bricriu. "Am I bleeding really badly?"

The orb danced a moment, then seemed to move as though the shake of a head. "Not anymore, it would seem. Your cut has healed over, but ye did bleed quite a bit beforehand, Jack."

"Great," Jack muttered, looking around his newly acquired perimeter. "What is this place? Can you find a way out?"

"I'll hover about a bit, wall to wall, see if I can light up a door for you." And Bricriu did just that, hovering about the room, reaching the wall, and following it, searching for a door or a way out. On the sweep of the second wall, he came across a door, sealed shut at the top of a flight of stairs.

"So, I've been locked in a basement of sorts." Jack stood slowly, swaying on his feet, then staggered over to the light. "Who was… No, it was the owner! He was there, in the camera. Do you remember? He must have come into the room with his key and hit me over the head."

"I'd bet that's what it was…" Bricriu didn't sound convinced at all. "Or it might have been the spirit of the old owner, back to exact revenge on the world, and to put you out of the picture, just like I've been sayin' for the past two weeks."

"Bricriu, knock it off. I know that's not what it was. There's no such things as ghosts or detached spirits. It's all in our imaginations."

"Then how do you explain me, Jack Duck?"

Jack stopped suddenly, staring at Bricriu. "I… don't."

A loud sound reverberated around them. It started off as a loud squealing, then quieted down into a beat, guitar strings being plucked, and slowly moved into the sounds of a very familiar song.

"We're in the theatre basement!" Jack hollered at nearly the same time the floating ball of light did. "Well, then we might be able to get out…" Jack dug into his jacket pocket and found the old key the proprietor had handed him earlier that day. "It's like a skeleton key, shaped the same way. I'd bet it works for all the doors in this place."

Jack pushed the key into the keyhole, trying to force the lock. It slid in easily, and Jack laughed.

"Old buildings," he chuckled, "gotta love their workmanship."

Bricriu danced in the air a bit. "Now, unlock that door and let me take over again. I've got to get you out of here, boy!"

Jack nodded and turned the key. He heard the tumblers turn and click, then the light around him vanished. Once more, Bricriu had possessed him and Jack couldn't see anymore. The door inched open and Jack stumbled out into the backstage area of the theatre. He dropped down amongst his mom's jacket and the band's other assorted clothing that they hadn't needed on stage.

"Well, we're out… Now what?"

Fi couldn't stand it. She was sitting at a table next to Clu, looking around the theatre, her mind everywhere else but on this one moment. Clu was tapping his fingers to the beat of Molly's newest song, but he too stared around impatiently.

"Clu, we've gotta go find Jack. Something could be happening. He could be getting hurt right now." Fi spoke over the music, just loud enough for Clu to hear.

"Like what, Fi?" Clu turned and looked at her, his hand still drumming out an impatient rhythm. "I know you're worried. Me too. But where are we gonna look?"

"Clu, I have very good reason to believe that if we find the owner of this place, we'll find out what happened to Jack."

"What? Why do you say that?" Clu stopped drumming his fingers now, completely caught by Fi's words. This would probably end up being something weird once more, as was Fi's habit, and Clu didn't want to miss a single detail.

Fi pulled Jack's digital camera from her jacket and turned it on, scrolling to the picture of Jack in the room. "Look at this picture," she said, pushing the camera under Clu's nose. "Doesn't that figure in the background look an awful lot like the owner?"

Clu nodded solemnly. "Not only that, but he's the only person other than any of us that could have a key to the room. And Jack never leaves-"

"The door open. Exactly." Fi nodded her agreement and smiled. "So we've gotta go find him. Come on, he's bound to be around here somewhere."

Clu watched as Fi stood and started to make her way through the crowd and out of the theatre, then stood and followed her.

End of Chapter Six

Fi and Clu are on the search… in the wrong direction? Wow… This is fun… Let's see what happens next… As always, read and review/critique/flame. I welcome all types of talk… as long as you don't fling poo.