Chapter six
A/N: Sorry for the long delay but school and band and homework and chores just plain make me worn out, and don't exactly leave time for writing. Anyways, here we go! I've been looking forward to this chapter for a long time; we get to see how everyone acts around certain characters. I don't own clue, just my own characters.
Jackson and I walked back to the kitchen, our flashlight beams bobbing on the ground. There was a long hallway we had to go down, a bit smaller than the others, signaling that it had been used by the servants.
"So Jackson," I started, my shoulders sinking as I tried to relax into our surroundings, "What's with you? I mean, how do you expect to get a girl if you're always such a coward?"
"Girls? Who said anything about girls?" he asked, staring around as if Frankenstein were about to burst out in front of us.
"I did. I'm just saying, you're a little bit too tightly wound up; you just need to chill out, relax." I hit him in the shoulder playfully. He grimaced, grabbing his shoulder and rubbing it as if it were sore.
We reached the swinging door to the kitchen. It was pitch dark in this part of the house, farther away than the other rooms.
"So, do you have an idea of someone to take to the homecoming dance?" I asked him, swinging my beam around the room.
"Homecoming dance…?" He was glancing across the room, not really listening.
"Yeah, you know its next week?" I told him as I turned back around. My flashlight beam bounced off of the hard surface of the tiles on the wall.
"Well, I wasn't really going to go…" he shrugged.
"What? Not going to go?" I asked him loudly.
Suddenly, something crashed thunderously on the opposite end of the kitchen. Jackson cringed as we both turned around slowly. Our flashlights found a pile of old rusted dishes on the floor. Suddenly, something moved in the pile, causing another avalanche of pans and bowls. Jackson and I both jumped back, trying not to scream.
A rat appeared, twitching it's whiskers at us before disappearing into the pantry. I sighed as Jackson watched it leave.
"Just a rat," I smiled nervously. Jackson gulped, nodding as I turned back around.
My hand slid over the smooth wood of the banister, time sanding the roughness away. I held my flashlight fearlessly, studying the dark green walls of the second floor with nervous anticipation. Heather was behind me; her shoes making the stairs creak as we climbed them. She gazed around as if in a dream.
"It's so beautiful…" she sighed, her eyes moving from the rich walls to the intricate carved wood on the banister.
A small stained window stained part of the hardwood floor upstairs with reds and purples, even at night. The first door we came to, right off of the stairs, was the library. Its bookcases lined the walls top to bottom, and an old rolling ladder could be seen near the far reaches of the labyrinth-like room. My flashlight carved the darkness away, but it was still creepy enough to be exciting.
"Look at this over here!" Heather whispered loudly, walking over to a marble bust. I turned the light over on it, illuminating the face of a young man.
"Reginald L. Boddy," I read the engraving at the bottom, "So this is the mysterious owner of the mansion. He's really…"
"Hot!" Heather smiled.
"What?" I asked her, hoping she was joking.
"Look at him! I mean, you say Reginald Boddy and I think of some old fat guy whose balding and has eaten two dozen too many donuts. Now him, he has a full hair of head and he looks like he's only about twenty or so." She explained enthusiastically. I stared at her as she ran her fingers across the face.
"Ok, stop!" I held my hand up. She glanced up at me. "You think that a statue is…hot!?"
"I was just pointing it out, lighten up Alex." She shrugged.
"You're hugging a bust, and you think I need to lighten up? Oh yea, that makes sense!" I threw my hands up in the air as I turned around. I heard her give a little huff and spin around, heading off towards one of the shelves.
I rolled my eyes, heading to the other end of the room. Suddenly something caught my eye, a little sparkle trapped in the light of my flashlight beam. I padded over, squinting at it. Bending down, I found an almost invisible wire that seemed to be strung throughout the room. I touched it gently, then my eyes widened as I thought of what it could be. I turned my head to Heather who was approaching the bookshelves slowly.
"Heather! Don't-"
She took a step forward before hearing me, tripping the wire.
"Move…" I closed my eyes.
Small metal spikes flew out of the corners of the room at us, embedding themselves in the wood and books in the room. Heather screamed, rolling into a ball on the floor behind a chair. I covered my head with my hands as I looked around, trying to find out where the spikes were being shot from.
Rolling across the ground to Heather, I nearly dodged another stake that drove itself deep into the wood by my feet. Breathing heavy, I glanced over at her.
"We're going to die!" she wailed hysterically. I glanced over at the spots in the walls where the spikes were being shot from before glancing back at her.
"Heather, I know how we can get out of here."
"Alive?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes alive; now pull yourself together!" I told her, sitting up. "This is how we can get out," I pulled us behind a chair. "You triggered this trap to go off, which means that there must be someway to turn it off."
She nodded.
"I've seen this type of trap before, they use models of it in movies and books. There is a switch to turn it off, but it's usually somewhere where whoever tries to turn it off gets hit."
"We're going to die!" she wailed again. I pulled her towards me by her shoulders roughly, quieting her.
"We're not going to die! The statue of Mr. Boddy is the switch. If one of us could get over there and turn it off then it would disable the trap, at least long enough for both of us to escape!"
Heather nodded her head, trying not to hyperventilate.
"Now, I'm going to go over to the statue, and you're going to keep watch and tell me if anything is about to hit me, alright?"
She nodded again. I patted her on her shoulder before turning and staring at the statue which seemed so far away. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself forward, crawling across the floor. I kept hearing the spikes as they whizzed past me. They made such a terrifying sound, but I kept going.
"Alex, watch out!" I heard Heather yell.
Grabbing a book off of the floor, I turned and used it as a shield as I closed my eyes. I heard a ripping sound before I opened my eyes again. The stake had driven almost all the way through the book, stopping only an inch or two in front of my face. I glanced over at Heather who had paled. Gulping, I ran the rest of the way.
Once at the statue, I twisted and turned every knob and edge I could find, finally stopping the trap by pressing down on Boddy's shoulder.
"Heather, MOVE!" I shouted at her as I held the button down. She leapt up, sprinting out of the room. Turning once more to look at the ruined library, I let go and ran after her, the spikes flying again.
I followed Madison into the ballroom, trying to act brave. The cavernous room was dark due to the huge white curtains drawn in front of the no doubt very tall windows (which were, no doubt, boarded shut.).
"It's beautiful," Madison sighed, spinning around. I smiled despite all the stuff that was happening. Setting my flashlight on the ground so that it could shed light up on the ceiling far above, I came closer to Madison. She sat down, setting the candle down beside her.
"Couldn't you just imagine what it used to be like?" She asked, her eyes glowing in the faint light. "All the parties, the people, the costumes…"
"Amazing…" I nodded, staring warily into the dark corners of the dance floor. Suddenly, Madison stood up again. "What are you doing?" I asked her, standing also.
"Dancing." She laughed, spinning around the room. I watched her, an amused smile on my face. She smiled at me as she twirled around.
I walked over and stood right by her, startling her as she spun and saw me standing so close. She stopped twirling ungracefully, almost tripping over my feet. Staring up at me, she seemed to have a question in her eyes.
Silently I put my hand on her shoulder and around her waist, leading her out onto the floor in a slower ballroom dance. She followed as I led, the smile coming back onto her face faintly.
Plum was shaking, but not because of the grisly murder; he had already forgotten about all of that. No, he was shaking because standing right next to him was the most beautiful girl he had ever known. He could smell the faint breeze of perfume that wafted up from her neck.
Scarlet was holding the candelabra nervously, trying to act brave in front of Plum. She had managed to keep control of herself so far, even with Jonathan Green watching her every move. But now, staring deep into the darkness of the empty ballroom, her lip was quivering and her shoulders seemed too heavy.
Plum touched her shoulder, startling her. She whirled her face towards his quickly, realizing that she had let her guard down for too long.
"Are you alright? You seem to be…not yourself tonight." He asked her.
Scarlet lifted her chin haughtily, standing back up and walking over to light candelabra that was in one forgotten corner of the room.
"I'm fine." She told him tersely. He sighed before following her.
"Are you sure?" Plum asked.
"I'm sure." Scarlet told him, finishing lighting the candelabra and setting hers down on a side table. She spun back around, almost tripping over Plum. She fell against his chest, her eyes finally meeting his. His eyes were so intense, even through the thick spectacles that he always wore. Scarlet found that a small smile was creeping onto her lips and she turned away quickly to hide it.
"Evelyne," Plum took her hand, surprising himself. She turned back to him, knees weak.
"Yes Peter?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow. He gulped nervously.
"Would you-would you like to dance?" he asked her. She smiled.
"There's no music."
"We don't need music." He told her, making her nod slowly, coming closer.
The two started out awkwardly, not quite believing what they were doing. One, afraid of the chance he took and the other afraid to let the other see her blush. Soon enough though, they were sweeping across the floor in a graceful waltz, which was surprising since Plum could actually remember the dance steps.
They didn't notice the dark figure watching them.
A/N: Ooh, suspense! I promise I'll update as soon as possible! I'm just slow this time of year, give me time and this story will get finished! (Oh, and please review! Thanks!)