Chapter 2- A Twisted Night
Cole forced himself to laugh. "That's. . . silly us. We must have taken a wrong turn."
"Yeah . . ." Nya said. "A wrong turn."
She knew this was a lie. Still, a wrong turn was easier to believe than. . . whatever other option there was.
They moved forward again together. Same steps. Same turns. Cole stuck close, his heart hammering and his eyebrows permanently pushed together with tension. Once again, where the front door should have been, they found the room they'd just left.
"No." Cole hissed. "We're dreaming. Or this house has a bunch of rooms that are identical. Or. . . something."
"Maybe there's something we need to do, before we can. . . reach the exit." Nya shrugged, trying to play along with the bizarre rules before her. Instead of attempting to leave the room, she looked around, trying to pinpoint anything that might seem out of place.
"If I agree with that, then we're agreeing that this place is haunted." Cole pouted. "I knew it. I knew this whole thing was a terrible idea. Well. Whether the dumb ghosts like it or not, I'm leaving."
Nya didn't pay much attention to Cole's words, focused as she was with the room's odd trinkets. An idea sparked up in her mind, and she swiveled around to face her friend. "The pictures you took! Maybe we can try to. . ."
Her words faded into silence, as she realized she was speaking to no one. "Cole?"
No response. Nya cursed. She felt unnerved by the situation, but determined to keep calm. It was just a mansion, after all. A mansion that someone owned, someone who had spoken to her the day before.
So, okay. She would play along. That was the best bet for keeping her mind straight.
"If I can't leave for now, then I won't." The sound of her own voice was strong and reassuring. "I can keep looking through the house. Find Cole and get a good story while I'm at it."
Instead of heading to where the front door should have been, Nya turned the opposite way, toward a grand staircase that seemed to be straight out of a movie set. Everything was incredibly unkept. Dust gathered on the banisters, and spiderwebs hid within unreachable corners.
Nya climbed slowly, repeating to herself over and over that everything was alright. When she reached the second floor, Nya stopped, looking at either end of the hall, wondering which way to go.
As she was deciding, a sudden realization hit her. She could see everything perfectly. Even though the windows were darkened. Even though there was no proper source of light. Even though minutes ago, everything had been nothing but shadows.
"Just got adjusted to the light." Nya lied, pushing the mystery away and moving forward. Most of the doors she tried were locked. Every so often, she would call out for Cole, although each attempt became more and more disinterested.
Click!
One of the door handles finally twisted fully, allowing Nya to step inside. Giddy with curiosity now, she swung the door open without missing a beat.
Inside, was a library. She smiled to herself, forgetting the predicament of the looping hallways all at once. The shelves around her were impossibly high, and they were all overflowing with aged books. The whole room was a banquet of information.
And Nya was starved.
She rushed to the nearest shelf, taking out the first book her hands touched. A tingle traveled up her arm. Nya dismissed the feeling as excitement.
The book was heavier than she'd expected. She set herself down on the floor, opening it with gentle movements. Instead of average pages, the book was filled with newspaper cut outs.
"Even better," Nya said, to no one, leaning closer to discern the small faded letters.
At first, the articles were simple. They spewed average information on the day the owner, unnamed, had set out to make it. The day it had been finished. Events that were held within its walls.
And then. . .
Nya frowned. The date of the paper before her had to be off. It was set five years in the future. The story was harmless enough, talking about a small store opening in the city. She turned the page. The year was the same. But the article wasn't quite as uninteresting.
Local Reporter Responsible For Drug Dealer Downfall
As Ninjago's drug problem continued to grow, Nya Smith refused to back down. Instead of accepting the city's dark side, she set out to the streets, with a specific goal in mind. To find the culprit, and bring them to justice.
Smith never stopped to think that the task might be too big. Instead, she focused on moving forward, from one clue to the next, risking her life without a second thought.
Nya's eyes flew through the words. The story even included small quotes from her own lips. She turned the page again. The next article was set one year further into the future. And once again, it was about her.
Nya Smith: Ninjago's Hero
Nya read the words with greed, zooming from sentence to sentence, turning the page again and again, never quite satiated. The book continued to offer endless stories of the future, giving just enough to leave her wanting more.
"If I agree with that, then we're agreeing that this place is haunted." Cole pouted. "I knew it. I knew this whole thing was a terrible idea. Well. Whether the dumb ghosts like it or not, I'm leaving."
As soon as he said the words, Cole continued to march back out into the hall, trusting that Nya would follow. Bizarre loop or not, the exit had to exist. Somewhere.
"You've got to agree, we're never doing this again," Cole said, as once again, the room he had left materialized before him. Nya didn't answer. Cole turned to look behind him, only to find her gone. "Nya?"
No answer. "Not funny Nya. I'm seriously rethinking finding a different partner!"
Nothing. Cole bit his lip. He couldn't panic. He could not panic. When someone panicked, things instantly got worse. No exceptions.
But how could he stay calm? He was alone, in a haunted mansion that refused to let him go.
"Just let me out, okay?" Cole negotiated with the silent walls around him. Unfortunately, they didn't respond. "Please. I'm going out into the hall. And the door will be there. Alright?"
Cole's soft voice was on the edge of becoming unhinged, but he nodded calmly to himself, eager to keep up the charade of control. He then exited the room with his eyes shut, believing with all his might that the door would stand before him.
Seconds ticked. Cole kept his eyes shut, afraid to open them and face reality. But keeping still would only drag matters out, and the last thing Cole wanted was to spend more time here than he needed to.
He opened his eyes.
And melted with relief.
The door was there, standing at the end of the hall. Cole had never seen anything more beautiful. He took a step forward, then another, and another, gaining momentum as he went. Problem was, the door never got any closer.
Cole stopped moving, squinting his eyes in annoyance. The door mocked him, standing just out of reach.
"Just let me out." He half-shouted, with anger rather than fear.
On command, the door swung open slowly, with an eerie creak. The rain outside had almost faded, and he could see his truck clearly, half sunk into the muddy ground. It was going to be a headache to get it out. But Cole was willing to deal with that, instead of the never-ending hall before him.
Even with the door open, the exit remained unreachable. Cole continued to move forward at a desperate pace, mind tricking him into believing that the door was a little closer, he only had to go a little further. . .
A sudden, overpowering yawn halted his moments. Cole blinked, slowly realizing his eyes were burning with exhaustion. He shook his head, chasing away a numb feeling in his mind. With a slow breath, Cole accepted that the house was not going to let him out.
But still. It had responded to his requests. In a teasingly useless manner, but responded nonetheless. He could figure this out. Everything had a solution.
"Fine. No out. But where's Nya?" Cole's voice sounded hoarse, as if he had spent hours without speaking. Except, of course, that couldn't have been possible.
The door shut. Cole blinked. In that millisecond of darkness, the walls of the house shifted.
He now stood before a large window, although he was still within the mansion's walls. Looking through the glass, Cole spotted Nya. She was bent forward, reddened eyes running through the letters of a book impossibly fast.
"Nya!" Cole shouted, banging on the glass. As he'd expected, Nya did not look up.
You get a glimpse of what you want, but never quite get it. Funny rules, for a haunted house.
Rules were something Cole could work with, however. Rules were something he could twist.
Or better yet, break.
Cole took a step back, then slammed the sole of his unlaced boot against the window.
