Okay, now the ghost story starts.
Hope you like it!
It's not too scary- just in case any of you are wondering. I could have made it scarier, but I would have freaked myself out.
Seriously- don't ask me to be scary because I will, I'll scare myself along the way.
So it's an average ghost story.
I do not own D. Gray- Man.
Chapter 13:
"Yes, were here!" Lavi said victoriously as we rounded the bend in the path that obviously hadn't been used for who knew how long. Well, we knew, but come on, figure of speech! It was a really old hidden beaten down path! It was a pain to walk and seeing the castle gates in front of us was a relief.
"No, it's a cabin." I said sarcastically. Hey, I said it was a relief, I didn't say we were in a good mood. I really don't think anyone was in a good mood. Not even Lavi, and he's mostly in a good mood. I was in the least good mood because I didn't really get very good night sleep…s. Can you say that? Good night sleeps? Oh well, I'm saying it anyway. Well, maybe Kanda was in a worse mood- he woke up every time I fell out of the bed and then there was my sleep talking. He hadn't said anything and I really didn't want to ask either.
"Let's go." Bookman said stepping between us. Maybe he thought I'd try to beat Lavi to a pulp again. I don't know. But, come on, he had asked for the beating! I told him I'd beat him if he touched me and then he did. So I beat him (Black and blue I might add)- at least I hadn't used my innocence. And what, is it my fault that he doesn't know how to fight back?
We walked up to the castle (which was HUGE by the way) and entered in through the broken gate.
Even now you could see that it used to be a beautiful place. Broken chandeliers and paintings that you couldn't see because they had to much dust on them, but they must have been beautiful. Rugs on the wall were worn and dark from years of rain, broken stain glass windows, long tables with silver and gold candle sticks and china plates and other nick-knacks covered in layers of dust.
"It's like it's never been touched, like no one ever came here since the incident." I said.
"What?" Lavi asked turning to me.
"Well Komui said that people came here to check things out, including the finders. Don't you think some people would try to take the stuff? But you can see that none of it has been touched. It's weird, don't you think?"
"You're creeping me out." Lavi said.
"Coward." Kanda snorted.
"Let's keep looking." Bookman stopped the argument before it began. It was good we had an adult with us. We'd have killed each other last week if we didn't. "Come on."
We kept going, room after room after room. There was nothing. No bodies, no bones, not even the smell of death. I was starting to get creped out. And I don't believe in this stuff!
We had passed the entrance hall and the reception room thing (I never knew what this stuff was- I never had any of these luxuries). Then we passed the lounge and walked through two huge beautifully carved doors and entered what looked like a ball room.
We started walking through it. Man it was HUGE. The chandeliers on the ceiling were still up there and whole, three huge chandeliers, covered in cob webs and dust, with candles that were only half used still in them. There were a few chairs next to the walls, soft red velvet chairs, with golden arms and legs, covered in dust and a few even had holes in them. The walls were painted with angels and cherubs, darker now because of the fading light and because they weren't clean, but beautiful just the same. That's when I noticed the girl in the corner of the room starring at us with wide blue eyes from behind her locks of wheat blonde hair.
"Hey what are you doing here?" I asked turning to her. Kids shouldn't be in this place, maybe she got lost and doesn't know the way back. She didn't say anything. She just kept staring, at me now. Maybe she was creped out from being in a place like this. She looked like she was only nine, so I could understand why it would creep her out. The silence unnerved me too. "Did you loose your way in the woods? What's your name?"
"Hannah," Lavi's tone of voice made me turn. "Who are you talking to?"
"The girl in the corner." I said turning around to point at her, only she wasn't there. Just a dusty full length mirror. I looked around the room startled. "Where did she go?"
"Hannah there wasn't anyone there, maybe you saw yourself in the mirror."
"Lavi, I think I would recognize myself in the mirror. I don't imagine things that aren't there."
"Maybe it was a trick of the light." Lavi said. I saw he wasn't going to believe me.
"I know what I saw." I said as I walked over to the group, looking briefly over my shoulder. There was nothing there. The sun went down and Bookman lit a lamp.
"Let's keep going." Bookman said, giving me a quick glance. I clenched my jaw. I knew what I saw and I was going to stand behind it. I never believed in anything but what I knew was factual. God was a fact. The earth was a fact. The order was a fact. And the girl was a fact. I saw her. A scream came from upstairs. My head shot up in alert concentration. Probably just the next floor up.
"Upstairs, quick!" I told the guys rushing past them and bounding up the stairs. "Hello?" I called out when I got to the second floor. The screaming continued, definitely from this floor. "Where are you?! We can help! Hello?!" I strained to here which direction it was coming from. The left. I went down the corridor and opened room after room after room- no one was there. I stood in the doorway of the last door. The person had to be here. It was coming from here, from this spot!
"Hannah, what is going on?" Lavi said as he and the rest of them caught up.
"Lavi look around, someone's screaming. They need our help."
"Hannah no one's screaming. I can't hear anything. It's quite here. The only one making noise is you."
"You can here it can't you?" I turned to Bookman and Kanda hoping for their support. "It's getting louder, can't you hear it?" I was cringing it was so loud.
"Hannah-" Lavi started.
"Why can't you hear it? It's mind numbingly loud!" I yelled placing my hands over my ears. I looked at Kanda, he had good ears, he had to be hearing it, but he was just staring at me with what looked like concern but I couldn't tell. It was Kanda for one, and for two- My ears felt like they were going to burst!
That's when I saw her- the girl was standing behind Kanda screaming her little blonde head off. She wasn't scared though, she was screaming for the sake of screaming. Her blue eyes stared right into mine without blinking as her voice got louder.
"Why are you screaming?!" I screamed back at her "Can't you see that it hurts? No one is doing anything to you! So stop!" Her eyes seemed to grow a shade darker. She screamed even louder. Then I noticed, she was in the mirror- well, not in the mirror- she was projecting herself through the mirror. Kanda noticed where I was looking and turned around, then back to me confusion written on his face. The girl's eyes went wider as she screamed louder. I bent down onto my hands and knees. I thought I was going to throw up.
"The mirror." I whispered. I was it too much pain to speak any louder. He looked at the mirror and back at me. Lavi and Bookman looked too. They all looked confused. "Smash it!" I whispered, tears were running down my face from the pain in my ears as the girl's screaming got even louder, her glare even more intense and my stomach was going to hurl soon if the noise didn't stop. Kanda took his sword and smashed the mirror and I collapsed on the floor breathing heavily feeling like I had run a marathon.
The guys were talking to me but I could hear what they were saying. All I could hear was the loud ringing in my ears that was brought on by the impossibly loud screaming. I lay on the cold stone floor. I closed my eyes and didn't even try to hear what they were saying to me. I was trying to keep the contents of my stomach inside me. I concentrated on my breathing, I slowed it down to a nice calm pace, my blood that was pulsing at a heart exploding rate started slowing down at my command too. I could feel my body pulse from the tension I was suddenly released from. I was tired, my body ached like someone had beaten me with a baseball bat. The ringing in my ears subsided and I was now able to hear the silence of the castle.
It was comforting instead of creepy.
"Hannah?" I felt Lavi's hand on my shoulder.
"The girl again," I whispered, "Only she was screaming louder and louder."
"That loud?" He asked over me.
"You have no idea." I whispered in response. I didn't have the energy to be sarcastic.
"With a reaction like that from you I'm guessing you are being targeted by whatever is causing the phenomena." Bookman said calmly. "Seems like it is a haunted castle after all."
"So what, we need to find her and put her soul to rest?" I asked my voice coming back along with the rest of my body. Lying on the floor always helps you feel better.
"Yes."
"You know I don't believe in these things." I said sitting up just to see if I could do it. I could without feeling sick which was a relief.
"Well, maybe this will change your mind. She seems to like you." Bookman smiled.
"Joy." I replied sarcastically as I got up slowly. Still no feeling of wanting to vomit. Looks like I was going to be okay so long as I didn't need to listen to any more screaming. "So how do we find her?"
"You mean, how do you find her." Bookman said eyes twinkling, which really creped me out. A- old men's eyes should never twinkle unless their your grandparent. B- This was Bookman, he never smiled as it was, now his eyes are twinkling? C- When a bookman smiles something is up, and whatever it is it doesn't feel very good. "You're the only one who can see her so you need to find her."
"I don't believe in these things." I repeated with as much authority as I could muster in my voice. I was never authoritive, but I could at least try.
"Well, they seem to believe in you."
"That's so cheesy."
"Those are the lines I grew up on. I'm sorry if they are too old fashioned for you young people." Bookman sniffed.
"Che. Can we just keep going?" Kanda's growling voice got us all back to our job.