AN: Hello, everyone! To those who read the previous chapter, how did you guys like it? Please leave a review. I would pretty much appreciate it. Now, I give to you Chapter 2! This is going to be a looong chapter and my deepest thanks to those who reviewed.
Chapter II:
The New Chapters
As Alex headed back to the dorm, she kept looking around her. James boarded at a different dorm a few blocks away from her dorm. She had no idea where Sam lived, however. The sun was setting and so was her paranoia. Ever since they got back from Rhode Island, she can't help but feel like they're still out there. So, as a coping mechanism, she started drinking and using pot. When she got to her dorm room, she opened the door only to find Sam sitting at her computer chair with her legs crossed on top of her desk, reading what seemed to be her journal.
"When did you get here?" She asked.
"Dear diary, it's been six months since we got back from Rhode. Six months since Grandpa died, Six months since we learned about The Ancients and Six months since we defeated Pious. How could a human who once believed in the same belief as we did, lived in the same planet as we did and breathed the same air as we did, want to bring something so horrible into the world? I've gotten myself into trouble in the span of six months now. After what I've faced, I doubt I'd be able to live normally again." Sam read aloud before snapping the diary shut.
"You've gotten that far? Then that means-"
"You like James. You wrote about it. And also, I found this." Sam said as she held small Ziploc bag of weed that she kept in between the pages. Alex snatched it back from her.
"You have no right to be in a student's dorm." She snapped at her before setting her stuff down on her bed.
"Actually, I do. See, I'm not here as a Professor, I'm here as a visiting relative." Sam answered as she snatched the weed back and threw it out the window.
"And that was every single weed I found in this place." She added.
"Sam, what do you want?" Alex questioned.
"Well for one thing, you've been excused from your Saturday classes. Talked to the Dean of Mathematics and the Dean of Psychology. You and James are free for the weekend." Sam said.
"Anything else?" Alex asked. Sam didn't know how to put what she was going to ask her cousin. It could downright piss her off because Alex would know what her intentions would be. Still, she had to try.
"I have a two bedroom condo around the area, near campus. That's the place the CIA gave me ever since they transferred my cover job from the American University to here, so-"
"Wait, this is your cover job? When you're not on missions? I thought you took the job to replace the old Professor?" Alex interjected. Sam hated being interrupted.
"Yes, Alex, it just so happens they've been planning to transfer me since I've been on sabbatical and when they found out that your former Professor was retiring they suggested me. Naturally, they couldn't resist having a literary genius around so they took me. Anyways, about the condo, move in with me." She explained, hoping that Alex would just go the easy way. The easy way being just agreeing and the hard way would be revealing what their grandfather's will state. Alex tilted her head before snapping.
"MOVE IN WITH YOU? If this is another way of keeping an eye on me like I'm a baby, forget it!" She yelled. Sam was pretty sure the whole building heard her. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Sam got up to answer it.
"Alright, hard way then. Should've just taken the easy way, cousin." Sam said as she opened the door. A small redheaded girl was on the other said.
"Oh, Professor Roivas." She said, as if surprised that a Professor was at a student's place.
"Yes?" Sam asked her.
"Oh, nothing, ma'am. I was just passing by when I heard someone scream. I thought I'd check it out." She answered. Sam smiled and shook her head.
"That was nothing. Just me and my cousin talking. Told her something which made her scream. Quite the screamer, isn't she?" Sam joked around with the student. The student giggled as she nodded.
"Yes, she is. I hear her almost every night last month. Thank God that ended like a week ago." She said. The smile on Sam's face fell immediately.
"Nice meeting you." She said before slamming the door and walking back up to Alex, who was starting to do the remainder of her homework for Number Theory.
"Alright, what have you been doing for the past month?" Sam asked. Alex looked up from her homework.
"Whatever that student told you, it's not true. The only things I've been doing for the past month was study, eat, sleep and watch horror movies with James. And no, I'm still not moving in with you." She snapped. Sighing, Sam spoke up.
"You have no choice in the matter. You're under my custody until you graduate. That's what grandpa's will states." Sam answered.
"Seriously? I have to move in with you?"
Sam only nodded. Then she stood up.
"Come on, let's pick James up. We're going out for dinner. My treat." Sam said.
"I have homework."
"It's October (1). The 1st semester of your junior year of college (2) just started and you already have homework? Anyways, you can do that later. It's only the remainder. Then, once you're done with your homework, pack your stuff because we leave tonight. By the way, you're moving in with me this Monday, after class. Let's go."
Reluctantly, Alex stood up and left the room with her phone and wallet. After picking James up, Sam drove them to a pizza place. For the first time in a year, they were able to let loose and let go of the paranoia that something was following them.
A few hours after dinner, Sam dropped Alex and James to their respective dorms before heading to her condo so they could start packing. Just as Alex was done, someone entered.
"Hey, you shouldn't just leave your door open like that. Any idiot could walk in." James said.
"Any idiot just did." Alex joked as she picked her bag up.
"Funny." James said. When they turned around, Sam was walking in with her own bag.
"Okay, choose; road trip or private jet gifted by my handler and adoptive father, Mark Williams?"
"Depends. Perks?" James asked.
"Road trip; more time to chat. Music. We can stop for any 24 hour diner for a burger but the cons are we're most likely to get bored and we'd have to take turns in driving and we'd have to go through three different states just to get back to Providence. Private Jet; own pilot. Stocked with any candy we could ever want and our favorite foods. TV with a PS2 and we could watch any movie we want. Just not Porn, I'd kill you guys for that. 0% boredom. Problem is we'd get there in less than 4 hours and I don't want to go searching a creepy godforsaken mansion with an ancient abandoned city crawling with monsters underneath in the middle of the night. I mean who knows what kind of monsters would be up summoned by Mantorok, Chattur'gha or Xelotath? So the question remains; boring road trip but we get there by daylight or private jet plane ride but we get there in the dark?"
"Well, there's no reason where we can't take the jet." Alex said.
"I second that." James said enthusiastically. Sam looked hesitant.
"Aw…look at her face. Is the big bad tough CIA agent scared of going to a mansion in the dark?" Alex said as she pinched Sam's cheeks. The older girl slapped her hand away.
"Says the girl who jumped into the guy's arms at the sight of rats in the pantry." Sam retorted. She smiled and wrapped her arm around Alex and James' shoulders.
"Let's go. Rhode Island is waiting and so is grandpa." She said as they left.
A few hours later, the jet landed down at the T.F. Green Airport without any problems. Except for James throwing up what he ate and almost making a mess of a multimillion dollar plane. They got their things before heading over to a black Mercedes Benz W220 that Sam keeps around the airport parking lot for some reason.
"Alright, so we are in Warwick. Six miles south of Providence. We should get there in a few minutes, maybe an hour tops. Depending on traffic." Sam calculated.
"Where did you get this car?" James asked. Sam looked at him questioningly.
"You're kidding me, right? This was my car last year when I first came back. When I was on sabbatical, they told me to keep a low profile and the agency gave me this car. Nothing too fancy. Fancy cars, like an Aston Martin or a Ferrari, are used for when I'm on field work or undercover. If I'm on sabbatical, Mercedes is my car of choice, hence this car. When I don't have missions and I have to go to my cover job, Ford is my car of choice like that Second Generation Ford Explorer I have back in Washington." She explained.
"Oh, yeah. Wait you own 3 cars?" He asked.
"Perks of being a CIA top agent and I own one car; the cars on missions are provided by the agency and so is this one. The Ford was something I bought on my own. Ever since getting my license, I've been through many cars than the average man." She explained. Alex remembered something all of a sudden.
"Wait, did we close the hatch before leaving?" Alex asked. James perked up immediately. Alex would kill him because he was the one that was tasked to misplace the mechanisms that open the passage to Ehn'gha so that no guardian would be able to escape because they had no idea how long the planetary alignment would last.
"James." She warned. When he didn't talk, Alex just wanted to use a Magickal attack spell on him.
"You idiot! The house could've been overrun by now!" Alex yelled at him as she hit his arm.
"Shut up both of you! God! I knew Mr. Psychology Major here would forget so I checked it out! He didn't forget but he only misplaced one of them so I misplaced all of them. Happy? Problem solved! Jesus Christ, you guys wouldn't last a year as a couple." Sam snapped at them. These two like each other and she's made calculations to push them towards the happy couple path. If these two have any pride at all, they'd do something about what she said.
"Hey!" They yelled.
"What? The way you guys are arguing I doubt you would." She said as she drove. They were both still glaring at her.
"What? Fine. Your prides are wounded? Prove to me otherwise. Prove me wrong. Prove to me that you guys can last more than a year. Like 5." Sam said. That should give them time to realize their true feelings.
"WHAT?" They questioned.
"Take it or leave it." Sam dared them. The two were contemplating it.
'Take the bait. Take the bait. Take the bait.' She thought.
"Alright, fine! We'll give dating a shot!" Alex said. Just as she predicted, they took the bait. After that, the entire trip was silent and due to traffic, they managed to arrive in the mansion just as the sun was rising. Sam drove up to the door and the three of them got out of the car. Sam opened her trunk and the other two walked up towards.
"Hi-ho! You're packing heat, Sam!" James exclaimed. Sam's trunk was filled with only three categories; guns, swords and gadgets.
"Well, life of a CIA agent. Can't be too cautious." She answered.
"Okay, here's how it'll work; we all wear these tracker watches. I had them made especially for the two of you. If you have an emergency, press them. And it's best if we split up so take these guns, clips, flashlights and talkies." She explained as she took a shotgun, handgun, flashlight, a gladius that she keeps in her trunk, bullets and a walkie talkie. Alex and James took handguns, flashlights, bullets and swords. Then, they slapped on their watches.
"Wait, Sam, where's the Tome? We might need to use magic." Alex reminded her.
"In a safe, 3 states away." Sam answered. James and Alex groaned in frustration.
"Come on, I'm pretty sure there's no more guardians in the house. They are either underneath us or not in this plane of existence at all." She said as she fished the keys out of her pocket. She opened the door with the key.
"Alex, on my mark open the door, alright. 3…2…1…go!" She instructed. Alex opened the door and entered the house with her shotgun readied for any sight of danger. The only light granted to them as of now, were the first rays of sunlight because they shut off the fuse box before leaving a year ago.
"It's clear!" She yelled. The other two entered.
"Alright, who wants to turn on the fuse box?" Sam said. No one volunteered.
"Let's settle this like adults then." She decided and she held her fist up.
"Seriously? Rock, Paper, Scissors? That's how we're going to settle this?" Alex asked, thinking the entire notion to be ridiculous.
"Well, nothing settles arguments than a game of Roshambo (3), now." Sam answered. The other two sighed before holding their fists up. They started and Sam lost. She drew scissors, Alex and James drew rocks.
"Two out of three?" She said. They went on another turn and again, she lost. This time, she drew rocks, they both drew papers.
"Jesus Christ, how do you guys do it?" She asked. "Alright, James, you check the library and observatory, Alex the dining room. Search for The Lovecraft chapter page if any. I'll go for the fuse box." She added before walking away.
Alex entered the dining room, gun in hand, checking every nook and cranny she could. Since it was bright, she didn't bother using the flashlight. She kneeled down under the piano to see if she could find anything.
"Of course. I already found one here, why would there be another one?" She muttered to no one in particular. When she looked to her right, however, that was when she saw it. There, underneath the dining table's chair was a piece of paper. She crawled towards it and put her hand under the chair. Indeed there was a paper underneath. Paper that was being held in the chair by tape. Carefully, she took the paper underneath but without the Tome of Eternal Darkness, all that was written in it were indecipherable scrawls. Delighted with her find, she took it and rushed out to The Library to meet up with James.
James walked into the library and immediately started checking every single bookshelf he could for even a sign of a chapter page with a flashlight since there were no windows in the library. He was about to give up when he had the urge to look up. He looked up and saw a piece of paper jutting out on top of a bookshelf. But as luck would have it, he can't reach it.
"I can't reach that." He mumbled. Deciding that he'll give Alex a boost later to get it, he went to the observatory. He searched the desk on the side and when he opened it, there lay a chapter page. Smiling, he took it and left the observatory to look for Alex.
Sam headed for the basement with Shotgun and flashlight in hand, ready for any dangers that may jump out at her. She found no such danger and simply walked over to the fuse box and activated it. The lights in the basement turned on immediately. After that, she ran up back to the lobby. Just then, her two companions came running in.
"I think I found the Lovecraft page!" They both exclaimed.
"We'll take them both back. Without the Tome, we can't read them." Sam explained.
"So? Now what?" Alex asked.
"Kitchen and second floor." James answered.
"Let's check out the kitchen." Sam said.
"Wait, I found another chapter page one of the library bookshelves. I need to boost someone up to get it." James said.
"Alex, go with him. I'll look in the kitchen." She answered to settle the matter. The younger ones walked on to the library while Sam went for the kitchen.
"Alright, Alex, let's go." James said as he cupped his hands. Alex stepped on it and James hoisted her up and she put one foot on his shoulder. Craning his neck so he could see how she was doing, he spoke up.
"Nice ass."
Alex rolled her eyes and put her other foot on his face.
"Okay, okay, I yield!" He said. Alex smiled and continued looking for the chapter page. Finally, she found it but just as she was grabbing it she heard a familiar crooning sound. A sound that resembled what the Trappers made.
"Tell me you hear that." Alex said.
"I did." James answered hesitantly. Honestly, he was so sick of those little buggers. He got stuck in that godforsaken dimension 5 times. Alex pointed her flashlight on top of the bookshelf and she saw an Ulyaoth Trapper at the other side. Most likely the last one in existence. She grabbed her gun and shot it because it was flipping out. There was no way in hell she was going to let that thing take all of the family stuff to the trapper dimension.
"Alex, I can't hold-"James tried to warn her but it was too late, he fell to the ground and he dropped Alex but thankfully, she was able to snatch the chapter page before falling.
"What's the use of all those gym trips if you can't hold me up for a few more seconds?" Alex snapped at him.
"Hey, it's not my fault you have a fat ass!" He yelled back.
"Says the guy who just said I have nice ass! Jerk." Alex said before walking away. They left the library and saw Sam exiting the kitchen.
"What's up with the two of you? Let me guess? First spat already?" She guessed. Alex knew that Sam can easily piece together who is lying, who's telling the truth and if an argument just happened. Regardless if she heard them or not.
"I'm starting to think I'm right. Anyways, Psychology boy, you're giving me a boost. Come on." She said. James groaned before they trailed after her.
"Where's the chapter page, then?" James asked. Sam pointed her shotgun to the chandelier (4). Floating beside the chain of the chandelier was a chapter page.
"How do you plan on reaching that via boost?" James asked.
"Cup your hands, when I step on them throw me. It's something taught to us during training." Sam answered. Reluctantly, James did as she asked. Sam ran and when she jumped on his hands, he threw her and she was able to grab onto the chandelier. It swung a bit violently. Sam grabbed the page before letting go and dropping on the floor.
"Got it!" She said as she raised her hand up. Sam managed to stand up, fortunately.
"How many do we have?" Alex asked.
"One in the kitchen, one the dining room, one in the observatory and one in the library. Gives us four. There's still the second floor." James answered.
"Well, let's check it out. The sooner we can get out of here, the better." Alex said. Sam nodded and they stood by the door.
"Same as before. 3…2…1…open!" She instructed. Alex opened the door and she entered. She checked the hallway as usual.
"Clear!" She announced. James and Alex entered.
"I'll check the servants' quarters. You guys check the other rooms." Sam said. James went for the master bedroom, Alex went to the other bedroom and Sam headed for the Servants' quarters. She entered and did a further inspection on the bones of the servants.
"4 servants, 3 sets. What happened to the fourth? Guess the truth is a mystery." She muttered. As she was standing up, she lost her balance and fell. She noticed that one of the bones shifted and was dipping on the side.
"That shouldn't happen unless there's a hole in there." She said. She put the bones of the servants beside the pit and there, clear as day, is a hole. Cautiously, she stuck her hand in the hole and felt a piece of paper. Sam grabbed it and pulled it out. She inspected it and ran out of the room in glee.
AN: And that is chapter 2! God it took me almost two days to do that. I hope everyone enjoyed it.
By the way, this is what the numbers meant;
1-I have no idea when did Edward Roivas died so I'm mustering a guess. Sorry.
2- I also have no idea what year Alex is in but as far as I heard the average person in America goes to college at 18. Alex is 19 in the game, so I'm willing to bet that that was her sophomore year of college and since this story takes place a year after the game's events and she's 20, she's in her junior year. Again; sorry.
3- Roshambo is another name for Rock-Paper-Scissors. I've been watching too much Castle and picked that up.
4-I forgot the kitchen's layout because I'm on a week's respite from playing Eternal Darkness per my parents and uncle's orders. Either that or send me to a shrink.
So yeah. I hope that cleared up everything that made you guys scratch your heads. So, ciao!