Chapter Three

Ethan was led down the hall to an even more brightly lit room. The decor was quickly forgotten the second he saw Brian sitting on one of the sofas. He hurried over to his friend, who stood at his approach, and gave him a hug.

"Hey, I knew you'd come," Brian said.

Ethan stepped back and looked at him. "What the hell, dude?" he started. "I thought you were, like, fucking dying after that message you left me!"

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," Brian said. "There was a bit of a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding," Ethan said. Since he didn't understand any of it, he couldn't really argue that point. "So we can go home now?" He would prefer to have the whole story once they were away from this place. No matter how nice it looked on the inside, he couldn't forget the haunted house vibe he had walked into since before he squeezed through the front gate.

"I was told no," Brian said in response. "Which is why I've been here all night. But they've been nice about it."

"What about -"

"The guy with the knife?"

"Big guy with the knife," Ethan said, quoting Brian's message. "Was that a misunderstanding?"

Brian gave him a 'yes, I already told you that' look.

"Why can't we go home and should I be worried about the big guy with the knife?" Ethan asked.

Brian looked past Ethan. Looking over his shoulder, Ethan saw the butler standing there. "If you haven't guessed by now, the manor is cursed," Brian said. Ethan looked back at him. "I've believed that ever since I heard about this place. The storm blocking it off from the rest of the world is a dead giveaway."

Ethan was starting to believe this was a joke after all. "Fuck you," he said, not in the mood for jokes. "You had me so worried. And just for THIS? I'm going home." He turned to walk out, but the butler was blocking his path.

"Don't you think I've already tried leaving?" Brian asked. "And with that storm, you won't be able to get far."

"What about the friends you came here with?" Ethan asked, turning back to Brian. "They obviously left."

Brian looked at the butler. "Tell him what you told me," he said. Ethan turned back to the butler.

"No one can leave unless someone stays in their place," the butler said. "Brian remained in their place."

"So he can't leave?" Ethan asked.

"Unless you stay," Brian said. "But that's not an option. Both of us won't be able to go home."

"And if I test that theory?"

Brian walked over to Ethan and held up his arm, showing a healing scar on his arm. "When I tried to leave, something attacked me from the darkness," he said. "I wasn't about to test if it was just a one time thing."

Ethan touched the scar to see if it was real. There were stitches and his finger came away with a few drops of blood. A feeling of dread came over him. He had already been scared enough of what was outside that he COULD see. And now there might be something roaming around in the dark?

"Kathryn will call the police," Ethan said. "If I'm not back there by tonight -"

"I called the police before I called you last night," Brian said. "No one wants to come anywhere near this place."

"Then what?" Ethan asked. "I'm not leaving you here again."

"You wouldn't be able to go anyway," Brian said. "Not unless you decide to stay and I go."

"Then go," Ethan said. "Kathryn needs to know that we're okay." He pulled the keys to the car out of his pocket and handed them to Brian. "I'll figure something out. I'll be fine as long as I don't try to leave, right?" He looked over at the butler, who hesitated for a moment then nodded.

"A moment ago you thought I was joking around," Brian said.

"That was before I saw your arm," Ethan said. "I doubt you'd be willing to do that just for a lousy joke."

"At least I won't be too worried about leaving you here," Brian said. "The butler's a nice guy. So is the chef once you get to know him. Chef was the big guy with the knife."

"Oh," Ethan said. If it was just the two of them, shouldn't he feel more relaxed instead of more on guard? Why were they up here all alone to begin with? "Just make sure you don't freak Kathryn out."

Brian nodded. "I'll see what I can find out while I'm out," he said. "We'll bring you home." He gave Ethan another hug then followed the butler out.

Ethan suddenly found himself alone. It gave him a moment to let his sudden reality sink in. It could still be a joke, right? But the scar on Brian's arm...

He decided to ask more questions once the butler got back. While he waited, he took a look around. And the first thing that caught his attention was the portrait hanging over the fireplace. A blanket had been draped over it. To protect it from dust or hide it from viewers? He reached up to pull the blanket aside to reveal the portrait...

Ethan stepped away from the fireplace when he heard the butler returning. He didn't want to be caught snooping. Since he would be staying for a while, he might get a tour of the place. There would be plenty of time for snooping once everyone had gone to bed. If he stayed here even that long.

His gut feeling was telling him that he was going to be here for a long, long time.

"I really am sorry that all of this has happened to you," the butler said. He may have said it, but he didn't look sorry about it. "We'll make sure your stay here is comfortable."

"It's only you and the chef here?" Ethan asked. He didn't want to stay here, but his curiosity was winning over everything else. "Brian only talked about the two of you."

"Brian never left this room," the butler said. "He only met the chef because we knew he needed to eat."

"So there's more than just you two," Ethan said. He hadn't seen any sign of the chef. How many others were actually here? "I know it's a pretty big place -"

"You'll see more of everyone the longer you stay," the butler said. "I'm sure they'll be excited to have a guest again."

"Then why was Brian confined to this room?" Ethan asked. That hadn't been said specifically, but he had understood the implication.

"He wasn't willing to stay," the butler said. That was all he said of the matter. "Would you like a tour?"

Ethan didn't press further about Brian. Even knowing that Ethan would be stuck here, Brian still hadn't been willing to stay with him. He had taken Ethan's offer to leave pretty quickly. But Ethan knew that his friend would find a way to get Ethan home.

"Sure," Ethan said then followed the butler.