Chapter Six

Joey was sitting on his bed, frowning at the floor. Yugi was still downstairs working with the spoon puzzle, but Joey had decided to go up to bed. Just like last night, he was having trouble sleeping. But unlike last night, his reason was different now.

So there's a ghost in the house. So what? I mean, it really hasn't done any harm. Why can't I just let it go?

Joey scowled. He had always been terrified of ghosts, and yet, oddly enough, Atem had been a ghost. Joey hadn't really thought of him that way, possibly because he had used Yugi's body to communicate with them in the past. And of course, now he had his own body back and had been given a second chance. Yami Bakura was still a ghost, only mortal because of the Infinity Ring. And there had been Alexander the Great. . . . And Tristan had made a good point about the spirit who had helped them in the cemetery on their previous trip to New Orleans.

Really, it was completely understandable and logical to freak about a ghost if you didn't know if it was good or bad, or if you knew it was bad. But why flip about a benign ghost?

Joey got off the bed and headed for the door with determined eyes. He was going to go right out into that hall and meet that creepy ghost head-on. Maybe he'd even ask what she was looking for. He would show that he could conquer his fear!

He wasn't expecting to see Gansley and Evangeline in the hall, apparently engaged in a concerned conversation. They both looked up when he opened the door.

"Oh . . . did we wake you?" Evangeline asked.

"Nah, I was still up." Joey walked over to them. "What's going on? Did something else happen?"

Evangeline sighed and Gansley looked uncomfortable. Finally Gansley said, "It seems we have a small problem. There are apparently more spirits in this house than just one."

Joey went sheet-white. "WHAT?!"

Doors flew open up and down the hall. "Okay, now what?!" Mai exclaimed in frustration.

"Dude, you've done it again!" Tristan said, both exasperated and annoyed.

"Actually, I'm afraid this time there's a real reason to be upset," Evangeline said softly. "Is Yugi still downstairs?"

"Yeah, with Atem and Téa," Tristan said.

Evangeline walked past him to the stairs. "Let's all go down. I need to talk to everyone about something."

The group exchanged confused and bewildered looks, but followed her down.

Yugi looked up when they all entered the kitchen. "Oh, hi!" he greeted. "I know it's late. We were just going to come up to bed soon. I haven't figured out the secret combination yet." He pushed the display board back on the counter.

"That's okay." Evangeline waited until everyone was in the room, then took a deep breath and announced, "We still don't know who's doing things like sending threatening calls and pictures, but there's something I should have told everyone about this house before." She looked down. "I can't even get into part of it. . . ."

"What?! What are you talking about?!" Joey demanded. "And what's that got to do with more ghosts?!"

"Everything," Gansley grunted. "That wing that was supposedly under renovation? It's actually apparently off-limits to mortals."

Several gasps went up. Seto just looked bored.

Lector was more than a little disturbed. "Evangeline?!" He hurried over to his sister. "Do you mean the North wing?!"

"Yes." Evangeline nodded, then paused and looked up. "Do you remember that Great-Grandmother didn't want us to go in there years ago?"

"I do," Lector frowned. "But she would never say why. I forgot all about it until now. I should have remembered when you didn't want to include it in the tour yesterday."

"It's understandable you wouldn't think about that," Evangeline said. "You had far more important things to think about."

Angelique just stared at her. "What is all this?! You told me it was being renovated too, that the project had been stopped in the middle after your great-grandmother's death and equipment was everywhere!"

Evangeline looked away. "I lied. I'm so sorry. I wanted to make sure you'd come, because I didn't want to be alone. . . ."

"I still don't get what the problem is," Seto said. "What do you mean, it's off-limits to mortals?" He looked to Gansley, then to Evangeline.

"Every single room in that wing carries a feeling that you're trespassing," Evangeline said. "I felt perfectly strongly that I wasn't welcome in any of those rooms. I know how that must sound . . ."

"It sounds ludicrous!" Seto snorted.

"But that's the only part of the house that feels that way!" Evangeline finished. "It is not my imagination!"

"However, there is a voyeuristic ghost upstairs that likes to spy on people when they're alone," Gansley added. "I woke up feeling it watching me, and it followed me into the hall and the bathroom."

"Seriously?" Crump blinked.

"I've felt it on the third floor too," Evangeline admitted. "But again, only when I'm alone. And sometimes only if I linger in a certain place for too long."

"So how come none of us felt it?!" Téa exclaimed. "It wasn't there when I showered in the morning!"

"Perhaps you're just not attuned enough," Yami Bakura grunted.

"Or maybe it only comes out at night?" Yugi suggested.

Joey looked like he wasn't sure whether to cry or yell. "We can't let the ghosts get the better of us like this!" he finally burst out. "This isn't their house!"

"What if it used to be?" Evangeline retorted. "Then they have as much right to be here as us."

"Not if they're gonna be jerks about it!" Joey clenched a fist.

"I say we should all go in this North wing and look around," Seto said. "I have no intention of being pushed around by any spirits, and neither should you!" He looked to Evangeline. "This house is for the living. Make sure they know that!"

Joey's outrage faded. "You want us to go in there?!" he wailed, his knees knocking.

"What's the matter, Wheeler? Are you too scared?" Seto gave him a bored but knowing look.

"I think this is a perfect reason to be scared!" Angelique exclaimed. "I never liked it when my uncle did anything supernatural! I just knew he was calling upon evil spirits from the other side to help him!"

"Unfortunately, Mr. Kaiba has a point," Gansley said. "We need to experience this for ourselves. Perhaps someone will be able to come up with a solution."

Yami Bakura grunted. "It could be as simple as the former residents not wanting to leave and wanting to be left alone. Or . . ." He peered at Evangeline. "You don't know of any disasters or tragedies that happened on the property, do you?"

"No," Evangeline said slowly. "For as long as I can remember, the North wing was off-limits."

"I've been looking through Great-Great-Grandfather Ismael's log," Lector said. "He hasn't mentioned anything happening, but I did pass an entry where he mentioned changing the lock on the doors leading to the North wing."

"That sounds like they were being kept shut even then," Atem said in surprise. "But how on Earth could something like this have been kept secret for so long? Surely people tried to go in there before Evangeline!"

"Let's go there and find out for ourselves," Yami Bakura said. "Perhaps the spirits will even talk to one of us."

Finally conceding defeat, Evangeline slowly took out her keys. "Alright. . . ."

Oreo tensed in Bakura's arms as they approached the mysterious doors and Evangeline unlocked them. As Evangeline started to push one of the doors open, the cat yowled, struggling desperately to get down.

"Oreo!" Bakura exclaimed.

". . . Well, that's pretty good confirmation right there that something's not kosher," Crump said.

"I don't want her alone in the main part of the house if we're all going in there!" Bakura said. He couldn't hold on to the squirming kitty, however, and Oreo dropped to the floor. But instead of abandoning everyone, she stood on the floor and hissed at empty space inside the wing.

". . . That is not encouraging," Tristan declared.

"Oh, so now you're scared too?!" Joey snapped.

"A random ghost walking down the hall or looking in a trunk is a lot different than this!" Tristan insisted.

"Well . . ." Evangeline gave a weak smile. "Are we going in, or should I just lock it up behind us and we'll forget all about it?"

"We can't forget all about it," Yami Bakura snorted. He pushed past her and stepped into the new corridor. "Let's investigate."

"I was afraid he was going to say that," Joey moaned.

Yugi tried to smile. "It can't be any worse than the Shadow Realm. Right, guys?"

"At least in the Shadow Realm, you know you're dealing with lost souls," Tristan said. "Who knows what we're up against now!"

The group slowly stepped over the threshold and into the forbidden realm. Rooms spread out before them in a long hallway, and to the far side near the outside wall, there was another staircase.

"So . . . where does this go?" Crump wondered. "I mean, this means there's another way to get to this part of the house, but we didn't see one upstairs. There weren't any other rooms you blocked off."

"I know," Evangeline frowned. "I guess the upstairs part of this area must be behind another secret wall."

"This is just getting even freakier," Joey said with a shudder.

"Let's look down here first," Atem said.

That wasn't much of a comfort. Oreo stayed at her masters' heels, growling and hissing at every room they passed. And Evangeline had been right about the feeling; the longer they stayed and tried to look, the stronger the sensation became that they were intruding and not welcome.

"Please, we don't mean you any harm," Atem said, stopping in front of one bedroom. "We simply wish to understand who you are and what you want, and why you don't want any visitors here!"

The only reply was a more intensified wave of warning.

"I don't like this," Serenity said. She shrank back near Duke and Joey. "I think we should leave!"

"I think that's a perfect idea!" Joey exclaimed. "Who knows what they'll do if we keep hanging around!"

"I have to admit, Dukey-Boy, this place gives me all kinds of willies," David said. "And that's to put it mildly."

"We should get out of here," Duke agreed. "They don't want to talk."

Lector was badly shaken, more than he ever wanted to admit. But he said, "We should probably check upstairs before the feeling gets worse. We need to figure out why we can't access this place from the second floor."

Yami Bakura headed for the stairs, staying alert for any further spirit activity. Some of the others started to follow him.

"What if somebody gets thrown down the stairs?!" Crump exclaimed.

"So far I don't sense actual physical danger," Atem said. "They're just annoyed."

"One thing's for sure, I don't want you sleeping alone in that room!" Crump said to Gansley. "If there's a cot around here, I'll sleep on it and you can have my bed!"

Gansley didn't want to admit to how disturbed he was, but he said, "If there's a cot, I won't turn down the proposition."

"I'm pretty sure there is a cot," Angelique said. "I think it's on the third floor."

Upstairs, the blocked off space consisted of mostly a narrow hallway with several other bedrooms. After quickly surveying the area, the group returned to the wall and felt across it, looking for any kind of lever or spring.

"You know, I'll bet the secret way in is boarded-up somehow," Joey said. "That way, nobody gets in by accident!"

"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised," Lector said.

"Whoever thought that when we were standing in front of The Haunted House, we'd be going home to another one?" Mai remarked.

Joey stared at her. "You don't think this place is like that?!"

"I hope not, but something is obviously wrong," Mai said.

The feeling that they were unwelcome was much stronger now. Finally Crump couldn't stand it any longer. "Make way! We are getting out of here!" he screamed, grabbing Gansley and steering him towards the stairs.

Gansley let himself be steered. "I think Crump has a point!" he yelled over Oreo's increased caterwauling. "Let's all retreat!"

Most of the group thundered down the stairs and desperately ran for the doors. Finally, Yami Bakura gave up as well and followed them out, grabbing Oreo as he went. She didn't protest.

Evangeline slammed the doors shut and locked them. "Well, what do you think now?!" she cried, blinking back tears.

"I think . . . I am never going back in there again!" Joey wailed.

"We're all here, aren't we?" Angelique suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone started. It was a large group, and it would be easy to lose someone, but . . . they hadn't, had they?

". . . Oh my gosh!" Téa shrieked as they desperately counted their number. "Where's Yugi?! And Nesbitt?!"

Horror filled everyone's eyes, and for some, disbelief as well.

"They're still in there?!" Crump bellowed. "That's impossible! I saw Nesbitt running alongside me as we went down the stairs!"

"And I was the last one out and they weren't there!" Yami Bakura insisted.

"Well, they're not here now!" Panic-stricken, Lector grabbed the keys from Evangeline and reopened the doors. "Nesbitt?! Yugi?! Where are you?!"

A weak groan sent him running towards the stairs. Nesbitt was laying motionless at the bottom, Yugi sprawled horizontally across him. As Lector watched in alarm, Yugi pushed himself off of Nesbitt and knelt beside him with wide eyes. "Nesbitt?!" He shook the man without receiving a response.

Lector knelt next to them while others in the group also came in and started to crowd around. "What happened?!" he demanded, feeling Nesbitt's throat for a pulse.

"Did I cause him to fall?!" Crump cried out in anguish. "I know he was coming down the stairs with us! Did I bump into him and make him lose his balance?!"

"No," Yugi sobbed. "Suddenly I was tripping over something that wasn't even there. Nesbitt grabbed for me and he lost his balance. . . ."

"Oh no." Atem drew an arm around Yugi and held him close. So much had gone wrong, so fast. . . .

Johnson stared at the scene, badly shaken and visibly trembling. "Is he . . . ?!"

Lector's hands were shaking as he continued to examine his fallen friend. "He's alive," he reported, "and nothing's broken. We'll have to get him out of here. . . ." He reached down, curling his hands and arms around Nesbitt's body and standing with him in his arms.

"Can you manage?" Gansley asked in concern. While Nesbitt wasn't as tall or as broad as Lector, he was still a big man.

"I can manage," Lector insisted. "I'm not leaving him in here while we go find that cot or whatever else could be used for a stretcher."

No one could offer a protest to that.

"You creeps!" Crump yelled into the wing as they again filed for the doors. "What'd you make the kid trip for?! Now you got Nesbitt hurt trying to save him!"

"They would probably say they gave us ample warning and we refused to heed," Yami Bakura growled.

Evangeline locked the doors for the second time in five minutes. "They're horrible!" she cried, tears coming to her eyes. "And I don't even know who they are. After everything that's happened in the present, I can't honestly say they couldn't be members of this family! Aside from a few good people, I'm starting to think the whole family is a bunch of bad apples!"

"Now, we don't know that they're part of your family," Atem tried to comfort her. "They could be servants or even strangers."

"I doubt it!" Evangeline spat.

"Calm down," Seto said sternly. He took out his cellphone. "I'm going to send for my medical unit. And I'll have them move into this house instead of waiting on the plane."

"Sounds good to me," Joey said. He was also badly shaken by everything that had happened.

Lector headed for the stairs, Nesbitt held firmly in his arms. "I am so sorry, my poor friend," he whispered. "I'm the one who suggested we go upstairs in that cursed place. This wouldn't have happened if not for me."

Mokuba, who had been following near him, stopped and stood on the stairs, blinking in surprise. It had been Seto who had insisted they go in the cursed wing at all, so Mokuba had thought Lector would likely blame him. Instead, Lector wasn't even thinking about that.

"I'm sorry too," Mokuba whispered. "Really sorry. . . ."

Gansley, Crump, and Johnson chased after Lector as he got upstairs and carried Nesbitt into the room he shared with Johnson. One thing was certain—none of them would be able to sleep at all until they knew Nesbitt would be alright.

Lector frowned at the chair under the wardrobe door handles when he entered the room. "What on Earth is that about?!"

"Oh. . . ." Johnson shook his head. In all the commotion, he had completely forgot about telling them of the discovery. "It's a long story. . . ."

Lector was about to lay Nesbitt on the bed when something stopped him. He froze, staring in disbelief at the pillow.

The paper from earlier with the skull and crossbones was now on Nesbitt's bed.