Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.
a/n: Here is the fourth chappie! What could possibly happen to Roxas and the others while they're in this creepy house? And yes, I know that Riku is a little OOC. It goes with the story so, whatever. Anyways, Happy Readings!
Roxas' POV:
It was exactally as I had feared it would be. Dark, tempestuous, and scary. This carnaval must spend a lot of time on this attraction. The other three stepped in willingly and excitedly, while I lagged behind, and forced myself to take every step. Going through the doors was hard. We were met by a small group of other people, and a small little old woman dressed in a black dress. She stepped out in front of the crowd and coughed, directing all attention towards her.
"Now that we have enough people, we may begin." she said in a scratchy voice. Her fingers snapped and the front doors slammed shut behind us. I nearly jumped eight feet, and grabbed onto the person nearest me. Which happened to be Riku. He looked pleased with himself, but then the old woman began speaking again.
"The object of this attraction, is to make it out of this house alive, or in one piece. You will be separated from your friends, or you may even be dragged away by the vengeful spirits living here still. I'll give you a little information. This house was once full with life, but, one day, the head of the house came home early from work. He found his wife in the arms of another man, and grew mad with rage. He slaughtered the both of them. And the maid and butler that lived with them. He even found his children down in the basement playing and killed them bruitally as well. In a trance, he made his way up to the top of the house and hung himself. I'll be taking you up there to start your journey, but I will not help you any further. Now, please, follow me." the old woman said scraggily, begining the climb up the stairs.
We all followed after her. Me making mechanicall steps along side Riku all the way up. When we reached our destination, the old woman turned to us and said, "This is where the master hung himself. The noose is lying on the gound over there. I have only one last thing to tell you before I leave. If you want to be let out, and you've had enough, then ring the emergency bells that are placed all over the house, and someone will come find you and then remove you. This is not for the faint of heart, and if anyone is having second thoughts, then please speak up."
She paused, waiting for anyone to back down out of the challenge. Only one hand raised, and it wasn't mine. Kairi had put her hand in the air immediatly. The woman nodded, curtly said 'follow me', and she was gone. Kairi headed to the door and looked back, smileing she mumbled, "Good luck guys. I'll see you when you get out."
"Bye..." Riku and Sora said faintly. I had half a mind to go with her. But, I just couldn't move my feet. I was frozen.
Once she was out of sight however, I regretted not following. The door slammed shut just like the entrance doors, and our only way out of this place became blocked. I glanced around histarically while the others rushed up to the door and began to bang on it. I saw in the corner an emergency button, but still I couldn't get my feet moving. While Riku and Sora left me to go help the other three guys with trying to get out, I looked around. Trying to find an alternative. I saw, out of the corner of my eye, the noose.
Shivers ran up and down my spine, and I could swear that there was someone, standing right behind me with their hands clamped over my neck. It was so hard to breathe, but then, all of a sudden it was released when I saw something else. On the floor underneath the noose was a small outline of a hatch.
"Guys!" I squeaked. They all glanced behind and tried to see what I was starring horrified at. Sora moved over to where the noose lie and saw the outline himself.
He said to the room at large, "There's a door!"
Everyone crowded over and pulled it open to reveal a dusty set of stairs. Riku turned to me and said, "Good eye there!"
I could barely acnowledge him. I merely nodded my head slightly. Those stairs. I didn't like the look of them. But, before I could voice my opinion, the biggest guy of the other group said loudly, "Let's go then!"
He began trudging down the stairs, and as soon as everyone had gotten underneath the door, it shut. Shivers were running up and down my spine as we headed down further and further, and just as we saw the door to the exit, something bad happened. The big burley man stepped down, and the stair fell away to reveal a giant hole, one that was big enough to swallow him whole. And it did. He went tumbling down it with a strangled yell. The air was filled with only his screams, and then it became quiet. One of the other men called down the hole, "Jeckt! Are you alright?! Jeckt!!"
We all shivered then. One down, five to go. Jumping over the trap carefully, we made our way to the door. Now we were all on edge. Ready for anything. And when one of the men pushed open the door, we all put up our fists. But, the hall was empty. The one young man, stepped forwards, and was immediatly given a surprise. One that nearly killed me. A white hand flashed out and wrenched him out of sight.
Screaming, we all crowded away. The one other man began calling out the other's name, "Nethsan! Nethsaaaan!"
Nethsan didn't answer. Two down, four to go. And only in such a short ammount of time. The other man crouched down and moved forwards cautiously. We moved down the hall slowly, occasionally jumping as someone's shoe hit a creak in the floorboards. We soon found ourself in a spiderweb infested library. The whole room smelled like rotting paper, and the dirt was so thick, that the window was caked in it. Moving over to a bookshelf, I saw that a book had been knocked down. Picking it up, I blew off some of the dust. There was no title. I looked around and saw a small gap amidst some books, and moved to place it on the shelf.
Just then Riku stepped up next to me, I put the book next to the others and immediatly regreted it. All of a sudden, the shelf rotated quickly, and Riku and I were no longer in the same room. Instead, we found ourselves in what looked like the master bedroom. Two more down. The four poster bed draped in red velvet and lace. But, something didn't feel right about this place either. I turned around and began beating my fists against the shelf, but to no avail.
"Damn it!' Riku growled, punching the wall. "Well, I guess we'd better be getting out of here-"
That's when I saw it. The trap door right where Riku was about to step. I reached out my arm and tugged as hard as I could just as he stepped on it.
"No!" I yelled. The trap fell away to reveal a black hole, just like the one on the stairs. We both starred down it speechless.
Riku turned to me and said faintly, "Thanks..."
"No problem." I mumbled. "Let's just get out of here fast."
We made our way out the door into the hall again, but there was no sign of Sora or that other guy at all. So, heading down the flight of stairs, we found ourselves in the entrance way again. There was a small note lying on a side table next to the door that read:
Congratulations! You've made it out!
Have a nice day.
-Agatha (your tour guide)
We grinned at each other and rushed out the doors hurredly. Outside, everyone was gathered. Sora was looking worried, Kairi was trying to comfort him, and the three men were all being freaked out together and relating their stories. Once they saw us, they all rushed up and asked what happened.
"The bookcase turned around, and all of a sudden we were on the otherside of the wall. Roxas saved me from falling down a trap door, and we made it out in one piece." Riku said, hugging Kairi.
"Poor Roxas! You must have been terrified!" she said, pulling me into a hug as well.
"I was. But, thankfully Riku was there." I said, glancing over at him and catching his eye. We smiled to each other, and I saw that Sora glared at him out of the corner of my eye.
Kairi cleared her throat and said, "There's only one ride left guys. Why don't we go on that one, and then go home."
"Which one's that one?" I asked, looking around confusedly.
She leaned in close and said excitedly, "The Tunnel of Love! Oh! It'll be so romantic!"
She squealed in delight and grabbed me by the elbow saying, "Hurry up! Let's go!"
Sora's POV:
Damn that Riku! Of course he had to dissapear along with Roxas and have a little adventure on their own. I was never lucky like that. Well, at leased there was still some time left to win him over. I trotted behind the other three as we neared an overhang looking over a cliff. Here the tunnel of love was strategically placed so that you could pass right by the waterfall cliff. Of course there were safety precautions. Like, rocks that stopped the boat if it got off the tracks, but that never happened. Thirty years of this carnival being in buisness and nothing bad has ever happened.
When we got to the ride, we all piled into one boat. The order went as follows: Kairi sat on the end, then Riku, then Roxas, and then me on the other end. The boat jerked slightly as it started up, and it took a momment to get going, but once we made it around the first corner, it smoothed out. I was still angry about the look that Roxas and Riku had shared before we came here, and I couldn't look at either of them. Instead, I watched the reflection of the rippling water on the cave walls. It was gorgeous. I was entranced by the way it mezmorizingly danced around teasingly, and I felt myself calming. The hatred and jealousy burning in me slowly died away, and I found myself laughing and joining in the conversations as well.
"Look!" Roxas said suddenly, pointing towards a glimmering white light comming from around the corner.
"What is it?" Riku asked, straining his neck to get a better look.
Since I was on the end that was next to that end, I saw it first. Gasping, I said excitedly, "It's the waterfall! Look!"
That's when we rounded the corner, and everyone gasped again. It was etherial. The full moon gave off it's glow, illuminating the water and the mist the falls were making far down. The stars twinkled at us from thousands of miles away.
"Wow..." Roxas breathed.
He stood up slightly and leaned over me to look down the sheer drop to the ocean below. He didn't even realize what position he was above me, and all I could do was blush furiously. He was leaning over me, so that our faces were mere inches apart. I tried to say something, but all that came out was a squeak. He turned his head slightly to gaze at me questioningly. Then he realized. His face turned bright pink, and he sat down quickly. Starring hard at his shoes.
Riku glared over at me, and was about to say something to Roxas when all of a sudden, the boat jerked to a stop. I nearly fell into the water, and Riku nearly flew over the front.
"What the-" he started yelling, but he didn't have time to finnish. The boat began stuttering forwards, trying desperately to keep itself in motion. Just then, it groaned, jerked once more, and then there came the squealing of metal breaking. The boat bobbed and splashed as it splashed into the water. My shoes were soaked.
The boat was then drifting along with the current towards the edge. Kairi was yelling, "Oh my God!" over and over again as the cliff loomed nearer.
"Don't worry Kai! The rocks will stop the boat!" Riku called over her yelling.
Soon the boat crashed against the rocks, and they stopped us, just like Riku said. For a time that is. The boat gave a tremendous shudder, became still, and then began breaking in half. Water flooded the boat, and I yelled, "Quick! Get up onto that rock!"
Kairi sprang out instantly up to safety. Followed by Riku. But, when he held his hand out to Roxas the boat shuddered again, and slipped up onto the rock that was keeping it stationary. The current was pushing it over the edge. I lost my footing, and slipped to the floor. Sliding down, I found myself hanging off the edge.
"Sora!" Roxas screamed, moving back down to where I was, ignoring the hand Riku was offering.
I called back, "Help! Roxas!"
The boat shuddered again. This time with enough force to jetison Roxas off the boat entirely. I watched in slow motion as he fell gracefully down, and I reached out my hand. Catching him just before he fell out of reach. My arm was nearly ripped from it's socket as his weight tugged on it. But, I kept my hold on him. The boat had slid even further along the rocks, so that the only thing that was keeping us from falling was Riku holding on with all his might.
"Don't let go!" I called up frantically, trying to figure out a way to get out of harm.
He grunted and shifted, causing the whole boat to slip even further. Roxas wimpered and clutched to my arm tighter. I looked down at him and got an idea.
"Roxas, hold on to my waist!" I called to him. "That way I can try to pull the both of us up!"
He nodded, and wrapped his arms around my middle. Taking a deep breath, I began to climb up to Riku. It wasn't that hard, but every inch closer caused him to loose his grip even more. Finally I made it up to where I might be able to reach him. Smiling at my genious, I reached a hand out to him. When he took one hand off however, my plan didn't seem too wonderful. The boat immediatly began falling. And Riku, was getting further and further away. My eyes grew wide, and I reached out horrified, but only our fingertips brushed against each other before we fell.
The expression on his face was of sheer terror. The boat feel out from beneath us, and I felt my stomach follow it. Grabbing ahold of Roxas, I pulled him to me, waiting for the momment when we would plummit into the water. It loomed nearer and nearer. And then, the crushing blue was all around us, but, we wern't dead. Opening my eyes, I saw through the darkness, that the surface was not too far above. But, when I tried to show Roxas, I was horrified to find that he wasn't with me anymore. Turning around I finally saw him floating away from me unconsious.
Kicking wildly, I grabbed him by the waist, and made my way to the surface. This'll be the second time in a day that I've done this. Dragged him from the depths I mean. But, where was I supposed to take him. I glanced around and saw only sheer rock. Shit. Now what?
"Sora...?" Roxas mumbled, his eyes fluttering slightly.
"Roxas! Are you alright? Anything hurting?" I asked, starring down at him.
He pushed himself away from me, and began treading water by himself. He starred transfixed at me, and I began feeling uncomfortable, but then he reached out and placed his fingers on my forehead.
"Ow! What the hell...?" I yelped, my hands flying up to where his were. When I brought them back to look at them, I saw that they were covered in blood.
He glanced around and pointed excitedly, "Look! There are lights over there! Come on, we have to swim for it!"
We began our long journey to the shore, that seemed to be thousands of miles away. And it stayed there too, like we wern't making any kind of progress whatsoever. Thankfully, we didn't have to go much further. Just then, a light illuminated the waters around us, and looking around, we saw boats, and people on them. We began waving our hands wildly above our heads, and soon, we were on a boat, shivering, but safe.
Kairi and Riku were waiting for us on the beach, along with a whole slew of people. Camera's flashed as we hopped out of the boats, and I nearly tripped over a police officer's foot. Microphones were being shoved in our faces, and kids were asking for our autographs. But, I just pulled the blanket around us tighter and pushed past all them, and into the police car. Once inside, I could finally relax. It was so warm under the blanket, and so quiet in the backseat, that I nearly fell alseep. But, someone beat me to it. Glancing down, I saw that Roxas had fallen asleep against my shoulder, his mouth open slightly and snoring lightly.
I had the sudden impulse to touch him right then. Just reach out and touch him. Lifting my hand, I placed it against his smooth, cold cheek. And, moveing slightly, I made it so that I was lying out across the seat with him in my lap. Still asleep, he snuggled in closer to my chest. I nearly stopped breathing. But, on the ride home, I fell asleep as well.
a/n: Yee-haw! R&R please!