AN: Here you go, the next installment of Ghost in the Room! It makes me happy that people want to see my stories updated, and the kind reviews are most appreciated! (Especially my guest reviewer - thank you yet again! I wouldn't mind a virtual hug, but the ice cream was in my favorite flavor, so I'm not complaining!) Anyway, I feel as if you're too anxious to read the story to read this, so I'll end here. Have some creepiness!
Disclaimer: All I own is Castor and the plot...still not sure if I should be proud of this or not...
\( ' - ' )/
Haruhi desperately wanted to question him, but first things first. She untied his wrists and propped him up beside Kyoya, quietly watching her huddled little group. Out of the three of them, the brunette seemed to be the only one unaffected by their time in this creepy place, but even he carried an air of paranoia she wasn't sure he'd had before.
"Okay, guys, listen up," Haruhi, the unofficial leader, began. "I can see something's bothering you, but I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong. One at a time, and briefly because we don't have much time, tell me what's going on. Tamaki?" Tamaki gulped, fiddling with his hands and tugging at his shirt cuffs. He recounted what he could, about Rin and Castor and his trip through the manor. He couldn't go into any significant detail …and he didn't entirely finish it, swiftly breaking down again. He hid his face behind his hands; the story had left his friends looking quite a bit green, and seeing them as a mirror of himself had only made him feel that much worse. Kyoya sympathetically patted his shoulder and glanced up at Haruhi's expectant face.
"As for me, there's really nothing more I can add," Kyoya stated, turning to look at Hikaru. He knew as well as Haruhi that since nothing more could be done for Rin, they had to focus on finding their living companions. And, cruel as it sounded, Tamaki couldn't be allowed to grieve, not yet, not until they were safe from the cannibal holding them hostage. He was mildly relieved when Tamaki slowed his tears to listen to Hikaru, who was scratching at his hair in a kind of nervous tick.
"Well, for starters, Kaoru and I ended up together after we were split up," Hikaru told them somewhat shakily. He still looked a bit green and swallowed heavily before continuing. "We were planning our escape when Kaoru said he saw something move under the bed. I checked it out and found this old yellow skeleton, and it looked like its hand was reaching for us …it was a little creepy, but at least Kaoru didn't see it. I told him it was just a rat. But then weird stuff started happening - wood creaking, metal clanking, that kind of thing. But Kaoru didn't hear it - he said it must have been my imagination. Then, when he wasn't looking, when he was over by the door …" Hikaru shuddered hard, gulping loudly. "A girl - at least, I think it was a girl - that looked like Rin-chan appeared in the window with black stitches all over her face, and no eyes. S - she reached for me, and said leave, while you still can, and get as far from here as possible, and then she vanished, and the weirdest thing was, Kaoru STILL didn't notice anything!" Hikaru paused just long enough to drag a hand down his face, his troubled look intensifying.
"The whole thing was freaking me out, but then I heard these footsteps in the hall that he FINALLY heard, too, so I tried getting closer to the door to figure out what was going on. But then, my foot must have bumped something, because this trap door opened and took Kaoru! It wouldn't open again, and I thought it must have been like some fun house and he'd just been dumped in the hall and was waiting for me. So I tried knocking the door open, but nothing I tried worked, until you showed up, Haruhi-chan. I - I still can't figure out what happened to him, or how to get that stupid door open again." Haruhi stood up and went over to the door Hikaru had come flying out of and looked inside, easily spotting the irregularity in the flooring that suggested a trap door. She glanced over her shoulder, feeling that crawling sensation running up her spine that they really, really needed to get moving now.
"Guys, come on. If we can figure out how that door opens, we can find Kaoru. The quicker we get everyone together the quicker we can get out of here." Kyoya nodded.
"That does sound like the most reasonable option. Tamaki? Hikaru?" At nods all around, Tamaki hoisted Kyoya onto his back and Hikaru bounded forward, immediately searching for the lever to the door. While Tamaki and Kyoya stood off to one side, quietly observing, Haruhi and Hikaru combed the room, bare except for a large, four poster bed, a rug, a small window, a fireplace and, of course, the trap door. Hikaru didn't venture under the bed, and Haruhi didn't tell him that the skeleton was still there, looking right up at her. There wasn't much else to see, and even pounding on various surfaces revealed nothing. Haruhi slammed her fist against the wall, that crawling sensation tingling up her spine warning her that their time was running out and fast. They had to find that trigger!
"Hikaru, think," Haruhi commanded, sweeping across the room to grab the redhead by his shoulders. "Try to remember, where exactly were you when the trap door opened?" Hikaru blinked blankly at her, golden eyes wide.
"Um …I think …maybe I was here?" He walked over to the corner Tamaki and Kyoya were, studying the ground beneath him. "Or maybe …maybe I was a little over here …wait, that's not right …" Kyoya cocked his head, seemingly listening to something other than Hikaru's muttering.
"Did you hear that?" He asked, practically toppling Tamaki as he leaned towards the door to hear better. Everyone froze, and in the sudden silence, what Kyoya had heard became as clear as day; shuffling footsteps and cheerful whistling. All the blood seemed to drain from Tamaki's face when he recognized who was making the noises, and when he started trembling, Kyoya was dropped unceremoniously to the ground. To the brunette's credit, he merely grunted in protest, but he immediately turned his attention back to his friend, throwing pride out the window as he did his best attempt at scooting closer to Tamaki on three limbs.
"What is it?" Kyoya questioned seriously.
"C - Castor! He's coming - he told me he - he wants to - to -" Tamaki had to stop to breathe heavily in order to continue, and even then he almost didn't finish. "He wants to - to do - the same thing to - to us what he - he did to R …Rin!" Haruhi had already guessed what he was trying to say once she heard "Castor," and quickly thought up an escape plan. It involved lots of acrobatics, sliding, and traps, but before she could utter a single word, Hikaru became panicked, running in circles and frantically calling for his brother. Whether it was fate, dumb luck or whatever, Hikaru stepped on a floor tile that suddenly gave way under his foot. The trap door opened beneath them, and all four hosts went plummeting into the blackness. The door above them swung closed, the group hit bottom, and a different kind of pitch darkness overtook their worlds.
\( ' - ' )/
AN: There you have it. Not much creeps or anything yet, but don't worry - a few more chapters down the road and things will get a lot more interesting, just be patient as I round out the story. I hope you enjoyed it all the same, and keep your eyes open for chapters being added to my other books! Thanks for reading! \( ' - ' )/