Chapter 6- Unwanted Answers
Nya picked up the folder.
She opened it slowly. The papers within hadn't changed. Nya began to read through each of them slowly, with keen eyes and a patient mind.
She had missed something. She had to have missed something, if the house had offered up these papers in her plea for answers.
"We should really keep looking for Cole." Jay piped in, but Nya waved him off. Instead of backing away, Jay stepped closer, until he stood right before her. "Nya. Stop. We need to find him."
"No." Nya shook his head. "Give me a second."
Jay began to fidget. Nya kept reading.
When she reached the last page, the papers fell from her hands. She stumbled as the world tilted.
"You looked familiar. I knew you looked familiar!" Nya's breathing was quick, and she fumbled to regain control of herself.
Out of all the missing cases, only one person had ever been found. And that person stood before her. Except, that couldn't have been possible. Because that person had been found dead.
"Look, I know this seems insane." Jay spoke quickly. "But you've got to trust me. We need to find Cole, and we need to get you out of here. Both of you."
"You're a ghost." Nya couldn't listen to Jay's words. She reached out for him, flinching as her hand slipped right through the seemingly solid body. "A ghost."
"Nya, just listen. Please."
"Are you the one behind all this?" Nya took a breath, slowly regaining her composure. She shook her head. "I should have known. You were always there. Always. And there's clearly things you know that you wouldn't say! Where's Cole? What did you do to him?"
"I didn't do anything!" Jay threw his hands up. "I've been trying to help you! It is not me. You've got to trust me."
"Seriously? How? How can I trust-" Nya bit her lip, shaking her head. "I need to find Cole. Just stay away from me."
"Nya don't! We have to stay together, let me help you."
Nya struggled not to listen. She needed to find Cole. Cole was all that mattered.
When she did find him, she would never be done apologizing. The dumb story was not worth this. Trying to save the random souls trapped in the mansion was not worth her friend.
Nya could still hear Jay shouting from somewhere behind her. She shivered, struggling to move faster. A ghost. Right in front of her. This whole time. It was somehow more unnerving than any of the other things she'd dealt with.
Once she couldn't hear Jay's voice anymore, Nya slowed, daring to shout Cole's name through the halls. Now she truly wanted to find him.
"Cole!" The echoes of her voice were the only other sounds. "Cole!"
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
Why had she insisted on doing this?
How had she ever been convinced that the perfect story was worth this?
She wanted to go back.
Nya's foot kicked a small object, sending it spinning through the wooden floor. Cole's camera. Nya kneeled to retrieve it, fingers shaking. "Cole. . ."
It took her a few seconds to realize that the camera was recording. Once she did, Nya stopped it, then hurriedly worked to rewind the video. Maybe there was a clue as to where her friend had gone.
The video began. She heard Cole's soft muttering. He moved through a dark hall slowly, but each step became more confident than the last. Out of nowhere, his feet shuffled to a stop. There was a weird, broken static, and the video skipped forward. Cole's voice came again. This time loud and clear.
I wish to see you?
The camera dropped from Cole's hands, so that only his legs were visible. There was more static, and the audio suddenly cut out completely. Nya trembled, as her friend's body suddenly flickered out of existence, as if it had never been there at all.
She clutched the camera to her chest. She couldn't understand.
Where had Cole gone?
There was only one way to know the answer. To follow in his footsteps.
Nya cleared her throat, then spoke as loudly as she dared. "I wish to see you!"
The sudden apparition before her would have been frightening, had she not already been through more than enough.
A man floated before her, both solid and not, with four muscled arms sprouting from his body. There was a malicious glint in his eyes, as he smiled down at Nya.
"Your wish, is yours to keep."
"Nya, come on!"
Jay shouted as he ran. One advantage of being dead. You never ran out of breath.
As soon as Nya was out of sight, the house shifted, knowing exactly what to do to keep him away. He growled, hopping through walls and doors as if they didn't exist, but Nya was still nowhere to be found.
Disadvantage of being dead. People tended to freak out.
That dumb folder. And this dumb house. Both of them, conspiring against him. Both of them always succeeding.
Maybe he could still stop Nya. If he reached her in time. . .
But how could he? If the house kept shifting at will, he would never be able to find her. Nya could be standing just beyond his reach, and he would never know. Still, Jay had to try. As long as there was a chance to stop her, he had to try.
Breakfast room.
Dining room.
Music room.
Pointless room.
No Nya.
"What are you?" Nya asked. "Who are you?"
"You do not recognize my voice? I am the owner of this place." The man bowed. "Nadakhan, at your service."
"The people here." Nya took a step back, still clutching Cole's camera. "What did you do to them?"
"I only granted their wishes. They had unfulfilled desires as they walked through my doors. . . and I gave them what they wanted."
"And Cole? What did you do to Cole?"
"He wished for a way out. I simply obliged."
"Give him back." Nya hissed. "Give me back my friend!"
"I do not take orders." Nadakhan shook his head. "But I do take wishes."
"Give me back my friend!"
Jay skidded to a halt as Nya's voice reached his ears. Nadakhan's magic grip on the house waned as his focus shifted. This was Jay's chance. He knew he wouldn't have much time. He had no proof that anything would be different this time.
Still, he ran to the sound.
"Don't wish, don't wish, don't wish." He muttered, willing Nya to somehow hear his desperate plea.
A wish.
That was all she needed.
Just one wish.
She needed Cole back.
There!
Jay almost melted with relief. He was here. He was on time. She hadn't wished. She was still here.
"I wish I had Cole back!"
"No!" Jay's shout came too late.
Nya couldn't hear him.
No one could.
