Miraculous Horror - Behind the Bookcase
Author's Note: Thanks for the idea Ugly-Duckling123! And yeah, I have seen that poem before, so that's part of this chapter now. Everyone enjoy!
Disclaimer: Miraculous Ladybug is NOT mine.
Flashback of previous chapter:
The hatch slammed down on its own accord, trapping Sabrina inside.
"HELP!" her scream was drowned out by the noise of screeching and rattling as the dumbwaiter made its desent.
The group's excitement turned to terror in an instant.
"Sabrina?! they shouted, yanking up the hatch. The dumbwaiter had already plummeted far, far down and was now out of sight.
"Sabrina!"
"It ate her!" Nathanael wailed. "The dumbwaiter swallowed her whole!"
As they were mourning over Sabrina, an unearthly shriek echoed throughout the room, causing Marinette, Alya, Max, and Nathanael to freeze.
Then the group flew out of the kitchen as fast as their legs could carry them. They didn't stop sprinting until they reached the main room where all the beds were. Apparently the two other groups beat them to it, because they were already sitting around in a circle on the floor. Group 2 (Ivan, Mylene, Rose, Juleka, and Kim) looked pretty shaken up, and Ivan was nowhere to be seen.
When Marinette's group joined the circle to tell them about Sabrina going missing, everyone grimaced and plugged their nose.
"Why do you smell so nasty?" Chloe demanded. The rest couldn't help but wonder also.
Marinette made a face of contempt. "We found the kitchen. It was filled with the reek of rotting meat."
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was packed inside the walls," Alya grumbled, wiping her arms as if that would rid her of the stench.
"But that wasn't the worst thing that happened. Sabrina was taken-"
"By the dumbwaiter!" Nathanael finished.
"Ivan disappeared too!" Rose gasped, standing up. "We were looking around in a room like this one, when we heard a scream. I turned around and saw that he had vanished."
Juleka pat Mylene comfortingly on the shoulder while Rose said this.
"What do we do now? We are not splitting up again!" Alya shot an accusing glare in Nino's direction.
He looked apologetic.
As everyone chattered about what to do next, Marinette saw that this was going nowhere and decided to take charge.
"I'm a superhero and a class president, I can handle this!" she silently encouraged.
The bluenette cleared her throat, causing heads to turn.
"No, we aren't splitting up again, but we can't just sit here and do nothing! Everyone will stick together from now on, and we'll stay away from anything suspicious, but we need to search for an exit." she declared.
"Aye aye!" Alya exclaimed, proud that her friend spoke with so much confidence.
The group looked at Marinette with renewed hope.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" she gestured for them to follow and then started heading down the hallway.
They tip-toed passed the kitchen door, gagging at the smell that was seeping through the cracks, and then sped through the darkness to an open doorway close by.
"A library?"
As they entered, they were greeted with walls and walls of books. The room was hardly lit and cluttered with piles of books on the floor, causing the teens to trip and stumble.
"You might have to take a rain check on your demented hospital theory, Nino," Alya commented.
Nino thought for a moment. "Sooo, a demented asylum?"
"Do asylums even have libraries?"
He just shrugged. Meanwhile, the group was searching in between bookcases, behind large piles, and around corners for some kind of exit.
Suddenly, there was a blast of static noise. It began to get softer and softer, and then the static completely cleared up to reveal a slightly muted voice speaking.
"Who's talking?!" Alya asked in alarm.
"I don't think anyone is actually here," Adrien explained, relieving some people. "It's just a recording. See? You can still hear some of the static."
The group listened intently, and heard the voice spewing out garbled nonsense about a black cloak and repeating the word google over and over frantically. The voice stopped abruptly and new recording started to play. It was telling what seemed to be a poem.
"Ten little sailor boys..." it began.
"... went out to dine. One choked his little self, and then there were nine."
Some of the teens looked a bit startled.
"Nine little sailor boys sat up very late. One overslept himself, and then there were eight.
Eight little sailor boys traveling in Devon. One stayed there, and then there were seven.
Seven little sailor boys chopping up sticks. One chopped himself in halves, and then there were six.
Six little-"
"Oh, so this is a poem about death. How lovely," Alya stated sarcastically.
People began to look a little uneasy.
"...sailor boys," it continued. "Playing with a hive. A bumblebee stung one, and then there were five.
Five little sailor boys going in for law. One got in Chancery, and then there were four.
Four little sailor boys going out to sea. A red herring swallowed one, and then there were three.
Three little sailor boys walking in the zoo. A big bear hugged one, and then there were two.
Two little sailor boys sitting in the sun. One got frizzled up, and then there was one.
One little sailor boy left all alone. He went and hung himself-"
"I don't want to hear anymore!" Rose exclaimed, plugging her ears.
"And then there were none. By Agatha Christie," the recording finished, promptly turning off.
After listening to that, everyone was set a little on edge. It suddenly seemed that every creak and groan in the old building was amplified.
"Why would a tape start randomly playing that?" Juleka wondered aloud.
It was silent.
"Okay..." Marinette said hesitantly, breaking the silence. "We checked this whole room, right?"
There were nods of confirmation from the others.
"Right. So we don't have a reason to be in here any longer."
They were heading towards the doorway when something caught their eyes.
A dark cloaked figure dashed out from one bookself to hide behind another, wispy hair peeking out from under its hood.
"What was that?!"
They stiffened when its hiss-like giggle sliced through the air.
"Won't you come play with me?" it pleaded.
"Uhhh, no thanks," Alix answered, dashing through the door with the others at her heels.
The group shoved their way into the hall, hoping that now since they had gotten out of the room, the hooded creature would leave them alone. Instead, it growled and got into a pouncing position, launching itself at the door. The teens got a good view of the creature's thin face and blue eyes, the pupils so contracted they were merely a speck. It grinned, displaying a mouthful of white, pointed teeth, when it was nearly inches from the group. It reached out its hand to grab someone.
"Close the door, CLOSE THE DOOR!" Nino screamed.
Author's Note: So the "hooded creature" is monster 1 out of 2. The next creature will appear in the next chapter (most likely). I hoped you guys liked this :)