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Chapter 4:
"Did anyone hear noises coming from the ceiling last night?" Eddy asked at breakfast the next morning.
Silence filled the room as Max dropped his spoon into his cereal.
"You heard it too?" He asked. "Ones that sound like a sledgehammer was going to come through the ceiling?"
"Yeah, man," Eddy nodded.
"I didn't hear any noises coming from the ceiling," Steve muttered. "But I did hear you guys walk up and down the hall."
Max and Eddy blinked.
"That wasn't me," Eddy said.
"It wasn't me either," Max replied. "I didn't leave my room."
"Well, someone did," Steve said. "I heard footsteps walking up and down the hall."
"All right, that's enough," Judy suddenly snapped. "You lot are just letting your imagine get away from you. I don't know what you are planning, but there is nothing you can do. We're stuck in this house until your training has been completed. So get your act together and stop making it so difficult."
Silence filled the room as Judy abruptly stood to her feet and left the room in a huff.
"But, we're not making it up, mum," Max whispered.
"Yeah, right," Emily also snapped. "And this place really is haunted."
Then, she too, climbed to her feet and left the room in a huff. The guys watched her leave and turn to face each other.
"Ok, what the hell was that all about?" Rick asked.
"It's only the second day in this house and we've already made Judy snap," Eddy shook his head.
"I've never seen her act this way before," Max muttered sadly. "Do you think something happened?"
"She's just having a bad day," Michael said, speaking for the first time that morning. "We should stay out of their way for today, and lets not mention anything about the noises you heard last night."
Everyone nodded and quickly finished their breakfast. They went their different ways, either going into the lounge room to watch TV or back to their bedrooms to have some privacy.
That's just what Michael did. He walked back into his room and pulled out his journal again. He jumped onto his bed and was about to open the book when he glanced at the bedside table, expecting to see the cross there, but it wasn't.
Blinking, he crawled off the bed and wandered over to the small night stand. He opened all the draws, wondering to himself if he placed it inside one of them. But they were all empty. He glanced around the room, wondering where the silver cross could be.
Suddenly his eyes widen. One the opposite wall in the room was his cross, but it was imbedded in the wall, the chain broken on the floor. The cross itself was unharmed, but the chain was beyond repair.
Michael placed his hand over his mouth to smother a gasp. He took a step closer, but paused. He remember that in his bag was a digital camera. He quickly pulled it out and took a picture. After he took a couple more pictures, he moved forward to remove it. He glanced down at the chain and smothered another gasp.
The broken pieces of the chain littered the floor, but what scares him the most was that they were arrange to spell the word 'Out'.
Getting over his shock somewhat, he took a picture of that as well. Swallowing thickly, he set about removing the cross from the wall. But after a few attempts, he found that he couldn't even budge it, let alone remove it.
There was a knock at his door. "Hey, Michael, you in here?"
"Yeah?" Michael stuttered, failing miserably in hiding his shock and fear.
A moment later, Rick opened the door and took a step inside. He looked confused with a hint of concern. His eyes widen a fraction when he noticed how pale Michael was looking and he could have sworn he was trembling.
"What…?" He asked.
"There's something wrong with this house, Rick," Michael said. "Look."
Rick walked across the room to look at what Michael was pointing at. "A cross in the wall?"
"Look down."
Rick continued to look confuse, but look at the floor never the less. His eyes widen a fraction when his gaze fell in the shattered silver chain and the word 'Out'.
"I didn't do it," Michael said, fear abundant in his voice. "I swear I didn't do it."
Rick removed his gaze from the shattered chain to look at the younger teen in front of him. Michael has been known to pull an odd prank here and there, but right now the teen wasn't joking. He was pale and trembling, and looked about ready to burst into tears.
"It's ok," Rick said softly. "I know you didn't."
Michael instantly looked relieved. "There's something wrong with this house, Rick."
Rick nodded as he lifted up his hand to pull the cross out. He tugged at it, but it was stuck hard. Any doubt that Michael wasn't behind this just went fluttering out the window. There was no way he could have taken this cross the embedded it this far into the wall without breaking it.
There was no way any man could have done this either. Just what the hell is going on in this house?
After much effort, Rick finally managed to pull the cross from the wall. He looked at it, then turned his gaze to Michael, handing it back to him.
"I think it's best that we keep this to ourselves," Rick said.
Michael nodded as he grasped the cross in his hands. "I got some pictures of it," he stuttered.
Rick nodded. "If you find anything, hear anything or see, come and tell me, all right?"
… … … … …
Michael spent the rest of the day practically glued to Rick's side, but not once did the American badboy complain. The incident involving the cross startles him more than he likes to admit. And seeing the scared expression on Michael tells him that other things have also happened. Since the dyed blond had stepped into the house, he has grown quite and withdrawn, almost frighten by everything in this house.
To make things worst the hostile aura around both Judy and Emily has not lifted at all. It was almost like they've become totally different people. Someone violent and angry.
They were left to get their own lunches and dinner, and around 9 o'clock that night were ordered to go to bed. The guys shared a look and reluctantly made their way upstairs. As Michael made his way to his room, Rick stopped him and reminded him about what he had said earlier. Michael nodded and offered a tiny forced smile and continued on his way.
The house grew quiet as the lights went off, one by one, signaling that everyone had gone to bed.
Rick laid in his bed, on his back, with his arms folded behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling, sleep seemed like a far away distant land. He stayed completely still for what seemed like for hours.
From the corner of his eyes he though he saw something dart across the room, towards the door. He rolled his head to the side, narrowing his eyes at the door. He moved until he was resting on his elbows and looked around. He slipped quietly out of bed and made his way over to the door. He opened it and looked up and down the hall.
At the end of the hall, he saw a thick black shadow, that seemed to be floating. It suddenly moved at amazing speed into a room.
Into Michael's room.
Not believing what he just saw, Rick moved quickly down the hall, making his way to Michael's room. He got the feeling that something was going to happen.
Silently, Rick opened the door to Michael's room, stepping inside, his eyes darting around, looking for anything suspicious.
Michael rolled his head, and blinked startled up at Rick. "Rick?" He whispered.
"Yeah, it's just me," Rick said. "Just thought I saw something."
Michael was about to sit up straight when the bed he was laying on shook. Both Rick and Michael froze. They stayed silent, but made eye contact. Suddenly the bed shook violently again, causing Michael to yelp in pain.
Rick grabbed Michael by the arm and pulled him off the bed, moving quicker than he has ever before. He pulled the shaking and gasping teen into his chest.
"Something just hit me," Michael said between gasps of breath.
It was then that Rick realized that he was winded. Keeping the teen in his arms, he moved them both out of the room and into the hall, vaguely realizing that the bed was still shaking.
"Something just punched me," Michael gasped out as Rick rubbed his back. "A fist just came through the mattress."
Rick said nothing as he pulled the frighten teen into his arms, holding him protectively. He kept thinking back to what the other guys have said, the noises, things being moved.
It's time for them to face facts. This place it haunted. But, what just happened here tonight, in Michael's room, was no mere act of a poltergeist, nor of a human spirit. There was something else in this house. And it's not afraid to use violence.
How can they protect themselves against something like that?
They can't. And that's what is truly terrifying.
Things are getting more interesting, ne? The part about the cross wasn't in the show, I just made it up, just to make things more interesting.
Next chapter: Kai is in America.
Read and review, please.
