Please note that the topic of suicide comes up in this chapter, and continues to be relevant throughout the remaining chapters. If such topics bother you, please proceed with caution.

Chapter Four: A Little Mad Sometimes

Steak sizzled in the pan on the stove. Yuri leaned against the counter, waiting to flip it. "So, it's been a fairly interesting birthday, I'd say."

Flynn sat at the island, chin resting in his palm. "Amazing. I've done nothing all day but lie around the house on vacation and it still has been the most confusing and interesting birthday I've ever had."

"Hey, I was thinking, do you want to switch rooms?"

Flynn raised his eyebrows. "What for?"

Yuri shrugged. "I thought sleeping next to that closet might freak you out."

Flynn shook his head. "No, that won't be necessary. I'd feel silly forcing you to switch rooms over something like a closet. Logically, there's nothing to be afraid of. I didn't even get hurt this morning. Nothing directly threatened me, but I just couldn't shake this crippling dread." He shuddered. "I'm not going to run away from a scary feeling. I'm probably not going to enter that closet again, but I don't think I need to leave the room entirely."

"Sure. Just thought I'd offer." Yuri grabbed the tongs and flipped the steaks over to renewed sizzling. Just thinking about what Flynn had described made his skin crawl. Few things freaked him out more than being trapped in a small, enclosed space. The idea of having walls pressing in on all sides, no way to escape, no way to fight back, and no way to even see what was happening elicited a primal dread. He tried to push such horrifying thoughts out of his mind. "When we get back to town, we should have a talk with Mr. Yates. He might want to reconsider renting this property."

"He could make it part of the advertising. 'Beautiful scenery and a genuine haunting.' There are people crazy enough to think that's a selling point."

"That feels kind of scummy if you ask me." Yuri gave the pot of mashed potatoes a stir. "A little girl died here. Capitalizing on that, using her death to make money…"

"I know." Flynn nodded. "I agree with you."

"I still have to wonder what happened here. A little girl and possibly her father are dead. What killed them? An accident? If Mrs. Caverly is the only one who survived, that might be a bit suspicious."

Flynn lowered his hand. "You don't think she murdered her own daughter and husband? Why would a mother do such a thing?"

Yuri shook his head. "I don't know. I'm just throwing out ideas. If she is a sad widow alone somewhere, I don't want to accuse her of things with no grounding."

A few minutes later, the steaks were done and Yuri set about serving dinner. "Hey, set the table will you and I'll grab Estelle."

"Sure thing."

Upstairs, Yuri knocked on Estelle's door and then stepped in. "Yo. Dinner's ready."

"I can't wait," she said as she stood up. "It smells delicious."

"No, stay with me!" Lucy grabbed her hand and gave her a pleading look.

"Lucy, I'm hungry. It's time to eat dinner."

"Can you eat your dinner with me?"

Estelle was amazing at holding in her frustration. "No, I want to eat dinner with my friends."

"But…" Lucy's lip quivered.

"You can come too, if you want," Yuri suggested. He leaned on the door with his arms crossed. "I didn't make anything for you because I didn't think ghosts eat, but you can sit at the table with us."

Lucy looked hesitantly between Yuri and Estelle. "Well… ok."

She vanished, but a second later, Yuri heard Flynn say, "Oh!" and guessed where she'd reappeared.

"Is everything ok?" Yuri asked before going down.

Estelle nodded. "Yes. Don't worry about me; Lucy is harmless. She also confirmed that the other spirit in this house, the one that frightened Flynn this morning, is her father."

"Figured as much. Flynn and I are worried about you. I know the kid's lonely, but her obsession with you seems kinda unhealthy."

Estelle frowned and nodded. "Yes, I know what you mean. She promised that this would only be for today, though. If she's still acting like this tomorrow, I'll give her a talk."

"Ok. And let us know if you're at all concerned."

"I will." Estelle smiled and left the room. "Don't worry, if I think there's anything dangerous in this house, you two will be the first to know."

She followed him downstairs, where they found Flynn sitting silently at the dinner table with Lucy. Lucy kept giving him nervous looks, while Flynn smiled in relief when the others arrived. Estelle sat next to Lucy, while Yuri grabbed a loaf of bread from the counter. There was a block of knives by the sink, so he grabbed the big one and hoped for a bread knife. Instead he pulled out a carving knife with slightly curving blade as long as his forearm. It was wickedly sharp, but not useful for cutting bread so he tried again. This time he managed to get the serrated bread knife, cut a few slices, and brought them to the table.

Before they started eating, Yuri and Estelle held out their glasses. "To Flynn," Estelle said, smiling. "May you have many more birthdays to come."

Yuri grinned as all three glasses chinked. "And hopefully in the next twenty-five years, you'll learn how to not be such a stuck-up loser."

"Thanks, Yuri. You're too kind." Flynn drank and then dug into dinner.

It was hard to fully relax during dinner with Lucy sitting next to Estelle. They tried to involve her, but she was reticent to answer any question that wasn't from Estelle and spent most of the evening sulking with her arms crossed. Yuri was desperate to get more information out of her, but directly asking her how she died probably wouldn't go very far. Unnerving ghost child aside, it was a pleasant meal. Most importantly, Flynn seemed to enjoy it. Growing up, they'd never been able to afford to do anything special for birthdays, so Yuri enjoyed being able to cook a fancy meal for him. Flynn's childish smile lit up by candles as the cake was presented was enough to make Yuri think this whole trip had been worth it, ghosts or no.

The sun was down by the time dinner ended, but the conversation still had a ways to go. Lucy, however, didn't seem to see any merit in lengthy grown-up talking.

"Estelle," she hissed tugging on her arm. "Dinner's over, it's time to go play."

"Not now, Lucy." She turned back to Flynn. "That isn't what Yuri told me. He said he doesn't like cats around because they scratch and pee on things."

Flynn laughed. "He told you that?"

"It's true!" Yuri insisted. He needed to move this conversation along before Estelle learned things she shouldn't. "Flynn, what were you saying about-"

"Yuri's allergic to cats," Flynn said.

"Esteeeelle," Lucy begged. "Come on, let's goooo."

"I said not now." Estelle gave her a stern look. "I'm talking to Flynn and Yuri right now. Yuri, are you actually allergic to cats?"

Yuri scowled and swigged the last of his drink. "Only a bit."

"Sure, 'only a bit'," Flynn said with a smirk. "When we were fourteen he brought a cat home. You should have seen him with that thing - cuddling it as much as it would let him, rubbing his face against it, letting it nap on him. He'd coo to it like a baby."

"You're exaggerating." Yuri crossed his arms and looked away, pink tinging his cheeks.

Estelle giggled. "That's so sweet, Yuri. So why do you say you don't like cats?"

"Because it turns out he's horribly allergic to them. A day after bringing the cat home, he broke out in these awful hives, his eyes were so teary and puffy he could hardly see, and he sneezed like the worst cold in a century. Obviously, the cat had to go. We gave it to a friend and Yuri proclaimed he didn't like cats anyway. He's tried to stick to that story ever since, but really he just knows that if he gets near a cat he'll have to decide between petting it and being able to breathe, and he doesn't want to have to make that decision. Probably because he knows he'll pick petting it and suffer later."

"Awww, I'm sorry, Yuri. That's such a tragic story."

"A completely false story," Yuri grumbled. "Dogs are better anyway."

"Cats are boring." Lucy kept tugging on Estelle. "We should go now, Estelle. I want to play."

Estelle glanced over her shoulder at the black windows. "It's already pretty late, Lucy. I think it's time for you to go to bed."

"I don't wanna!"

"It is past your bedtime and I'm going to sit up for a while with my friends. You need to go rest now."

Yuri didn't know if ghosts even needed sleep, but he gave Estelle credit for trying.

"No!" Silverware rattled as her voice rose. "I don't wanna go to bed! We need to play more!"

The caring tone in Estelle's voice began to turn stern. "You need to settle down. It is time for bed."

"No, no, no!" Lucy jumped up, standing on her chair. "You can't make me!" Shadows morphed as the overhead light began to sway.

Estelle got to her feet as well. In the most commanding voice she could muster, she said, "It's bedtime and you need to lie down for the night."

"NO!" she screamed, a piercing wail that covered up her stamping feet. The light spun in circles, dishes trembled, and a chorus of bangs signalled every door in the house slamming shut. Flynn gave Yuri a nervous look as flecks of plaster rained from the ceiling and windows rattled in their frames. Yuri grabbed Flynn's arm and dragged him under the table, just in case they were going to shatter.

He was reaching for Estelle to pull her under cover when she spoke again. Estelle stood with her hands on her hips, as tall and firm as she could, and then pointed one finger at the stairs and shouted, "Go to your room!"

Lucy's scream was so enraged Yuri could feel energy vibrating through the room. He clapped his hands over his ears as the entire house shook. A sudden burst of light almost blinded him and a split second later the room plunged into darkness and silence. After so much activity, it took a moment for Yuri to get his wits together after it stopped so suddenly.

Estelle spoke first. "Is everyone ok?"

Flynn and Yuri emerged from under the table. "We're fine, Estellise. You are also unharmed, correct?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm so sorry; I didn't know she'd react like that."

Yuri's eyes still hadn't adjusted to the sudden darkness. He could still see streaks of fuzzy purple and red when he looked around. "Did she shatter the bulbs or just turn them off?"

"I didn't hear anything crack." Flynn's outline, faintly visible in the moonlight, patted the table. "I don't feel any broken glass, either."

"I'll get the lights." Yuri heard a thump as Estelle bumped into a chair, but she managed to reach the switch. After a few seconds, nothing happened. "Um… I'm flipping the switch, but nothing is happening."

"Crap. Is the power out?" By now Yuri was beginning to be able to see. Enough moonlight made it through the huge windows of the sunroom to see by.

"If none of the bulbs are broken and all of the switches are on, it would be the only explanation." Flynn left the table and headed to the pantry. It was too dark to see inside, but they'd left the lantern right by the door so he could grab it easily without stepping in. "I'm going to check the generator."

"I'm going with you."

Estelle hurried toward them. "Me, too."

Together, they left through the back door and then rounded the house. The generator was a clunky metal thing attached to the side of the house near the bricks of the fireplace. Yuri wasn't sure exactly how it worked, but it had a dinged metal cannister full of gasoline and a lot of snakey tubes. The only thing he knew for sure was that the gasoline was supposed to be in the cannister, not spilled all over the grass. The tank itself was dented and the tubes and wires had come unconnected from the house.

"It looks like it imploded," Flynn said, holding the lantern up enough so they could see.

"Is there any way to fix it?" Estelle asked, stepping closer to examine it.

Yuri's nose wrinkled from the spilled gas. "Probably, but I don't know how to do it. Poking around with gas and electricity when you have no idea what you're doing sounds pretty dangerous."

"The machine itself is broken," Flynn said. "The whole tank will need to be replaced."

Estelle leaned against the house and sighed. "We'll have to walk into town tomorrow and get someone to fix it. We don't need power tonight, do we?"

"I think we can manage with candles," Yuri said. "We never had electricity in the past, so I'm sure we can manage now."

"The hot water comes from a gas-powered heater," Flynn said. "So we'll still have that for showering and such."

"Ok, good. I'm really sorry about this."

"It's not your fault, Estelle." They turned around to head back inside. "It was good to put your foot down before letting Lucy walk all over you."

"I just hope she's ok."

Yuri was more worried about pissing off a ghost and turning her violent, but trust Estelle to be worried about the ghost's feelings. On the porch, Estelle stopped and looked up at the rafters. "Something wrong?" Yuri asked.

"No… I heard something creaking out here last night and was trying to figure out what it was."

"Creaking?" Flynn asked. "Like the bench?"

"That's what I originally thought, but I realized the bench has a slightly different sound to it. At least, I think it does. Maybe I was imagining things."

"I'll keep my ears peeled," Yuri said. "Maybe it's just…" His eyes darted around the porch, trying to find anything that could make a creaking noise other than the bench. "Uh…"

Estelle frowned. "Yeah…"

With no electricity, Yuri built a fire in the living room while Flynn and Estelle made hot chocolate. It was actually cozy with the lights off. Yuri stretched out on the couch while Flynn and Estelle got comfortable in squishy armchairs, and the crackling warmth of the fire made every unnerving event in the house fade away. Maybe tomorrow night they could try roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in the fire. The hearth was obviously large enough for it, and based on the faint odour of grease, the Caverlys must have used it to cook sometimes. Estelle closed her eyes and took a deep breath, imagining bacon crackling over an open blaze.

"We should head to bed." Flynn's voice broke the silence. They'd all drifted into sleepy thoughts, and the fire was beginning to die. It would be dangerous to leave it unchecked overnight, so Yuri dragged himself from the couch and prepared to put it out.

Estelle stretched her arms and yawned. "I'm gong to take a shower before bed. Do either of you want to use the bathroom first?"

"No, go ahead." Flynn hadn't yet found the nerve to leave his chair.

"Ok." Estelle stepped over to Flynn before going upstairs. "I hope you had a good birthday."

"It was one of my best, Estellise. Thank you."

She gave him a hug and then waved goodnight to the boys. Before going upstairs, she lit a candle in the kitchen and used it to light her way. The house felt cold away from the fire. Uncertainty overcame her as she walked up the stairs. She remembered how dark and threatening the landing had been last night, and her grip tightened around the candlestick holder. The flame was just a tiny blip of light in the house's darkness, but it was enough to soothe her. In her room, she glanced around to see if Lucy was around, but it was empty. Hopefully she had gone… wherever ghosts went. She wasn't actually sure where ghosts went if they weren't actively manifesting. To the afterlife? Or somewhere in between? Wherever it was, Lucy had gone there, so Estelle undressed in peace and then walked to the bathroom wrapped in a towel.

The warmth of the water replaced the warmth of the fire. The moonlight streaming through the small window was enough to make the taps gleam, but she left the candle on the counter so she actually see the shampoo bottle. She didn't want to take too long, just in case Flynn or Yuri wanted to use the upstairs bathroom before bed, but it had been a long and interesting day and the hot water flowing over her shoulders felt serene.

They were going to have to find Karina Caverly, of course. Estelle would do whatever she could to help Lucy and her father move on. Lucy's obsessive clinging to her today proved just how starved that little girl was for affection, and Estelle could not in good conscience go home from vacation and forget about her. Her father, Bram, must also be in a lot of pain. He'd frightened Flynn so deeply this morning just to protect his letters, but if a father was trapped in a house, unable to provide support to his miserable daughter, it was no wonder he was in a foul mood. Hopefully once they tracked down Karina, she could come to the house and put both of them to rest.

After washing her hair, Estelle stood under the shower for a long minute. Some of the things that had happened here were scary, but she truly believed Lucy and Bram meant no harm. Despite his frightening morning, Flynn had ended up having a wonderful birthday, so all in all it had been a successful trip.

The bathroom door clicked. Estelle glanced in that direction, and then she heard a tiny thunk as the handle bumped the wall.

"Oh! I'm still in here, sorry!"

The door swung shut, and she imagined Flynn backing away with red cheeks, too mortified at almost walking in on her naked to even apologize. She smiled, and the shivered as the room suddenly felt quite chilly. She repositioned herself under the water, trying to angle the stream just right to cover as much of her body in warm water as possible. Maybe if she -

Did she just hear a breath? Estelle froze and held her breath. It was hard to hear anything over the drone of water crashing around her, but she could have sworn she heard an inhale of breath. Just as she let her muscles un-tense, it came again.

"Yuri?" The question came slow and soft. "Flynn?" She was certain she'd heard someone breathing a few feet away, just inside the door. Estelle wrapped her arms around her chest. "Um, if you guys need something, I'll be out in a minute." In her heart, Estelle knew that it wasn't Flynn or Yuri but she wasn't quite ready to believe it yet.

Footsteps. The breath getting closer. A man's shadow slid into view through the shower curtain. Estelle pressed her back against the wet tiles. Her mind raced to find an escape route, but with him standing just outside the bathtub, she was trapped. The water no longer felt soothing; it splashed against her face and dripped into her eyes. She wanted to move out of the spray, but her knees were locked by the sight of the person lurking on the other side of the flimsy curtain.

He wasn't moving. What was he doing? Her skin crawled as she wondered just how clearly he could see her through the white sheet. Surely the room was too dark to see anything clearly without a candle as a backlight. What did he want?

Then his arm rose, and she saw that he held something in his hand. Her chest throbbed just as the candle blipped out and plunged the room into darkness. Estelle moved within seconds, because even though she could no longer see, the last image had burned into her brain: he was carrying a knife.

The blade swished through the curtain. The rings jangled on the rod and Estelle slipped on the wet porcelain. She banged her knees on the floor of the tub just as the blade screeched against the back tiles. The curtain rippled as the knife slashed through it again and Estelle let out a scream. A section of ripped curtain fell on her back and she struggled to get back to her feet without slipping. She gasped for breath and choked on water, and then more of the curtain fell on her.

Something banged against the door. "Estelle?!" Yuri's voice. "Estelle, are you ok?!"

She heard the knife coming again and dove to the side, but not fast enough. Pain lanced through her shoulder as it slid across her upper arm. She screamed again as the shock of pain made her slip again. Her breath came in short gasps. She couldn't fight - not like this! Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the faint light, but being able to see the glint of the knife as it swept through the darkness didn't do her much good when she was tangled in the curtain and trapped in a slippery tub.

The door smashed against the wall and lantern light flooded the room. The knife clattered on the ground and footsteps stomped toward her.

"Estelle!"

"Estellise! What happened? Are you hurt?"

"What's going on?"

One of them turned the shower off, and in the sudden silence she could hear just how loud her breathing and heart beat was. Blood rushed in her ears and her whole body trembled.

Yuri crouched beside the tub and his eyes darted over her. Estelle was thankful now for the curtain falling on her, but Yuri's eyes landed on her shoulder. "You're bleeding."

Estelle cast First Aid on herself while Flynn stood back with the lantern and examined the room. He crouched and picked up a knife from the floor. It was the carving knife from the kitchen, and though the water had washed most of the blood away, it still had a few streaks of watery blood on the gleaming blade. "What happened?"

"I think it was Bram Caverly," she said softly. Yuri grabbed her towel from the counter and gently wrapped it around her shoulders. She pulled it tight and Yuri tugged the shower curtain out from under it. "He attacked me. I don't know why."

Yuri took her arm and helped her stand. She carefully stepped out of the tub and shivered from her wet legs. Before she could stop herself, her pressed herself against Yuri's chest and let him hug her. Her body still trembled from the shock of nearly dying only minutes ago. She was wet, cold, and frightened, and clinging to the warm body of a friend dispelled the shadows still lurking around the tub. Yuri didn't seem to mind that she was getting him wet and silently held her until she stopped shaking.

"I think I might have an idea what his motivation was," Flynn said grimly.

Estelle turned her head, still pressing against Yuri. Flynn shone the lantern on the mirror across from the tub. The reflections were hazy because it was fogged over, but her nervous eyes reflected back in the streaks a finger had traced through it.

STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER

"We're leaving," Yuri said about fifteen minutes later. They sat in a circle on Flynn's bed, surrounded by candles and the lantern to brighten the room. Estelle assured them she was fine now that the initial shock had worn off, but both Flynn and Yuri were on edge. Yuri still remembered the heart attack he'd had when he suddenly heard Estelle screaming from the bathroom.

Flynn nodded. "I agree. We can no longer say that the spirits here don't mean us any harm."

"You're probably right." Estelle hugged herself. "I just feel bad for Lucy."

In her short-sleeved nightgown, Yuri could see the mark on her upper arm where she'd been slashed. Just thinking of the blood swirling into the drain and smearing the white shower curtain made him angry. Leave it to Estelle to worry more about the ghost than herself even after she'd nearly been killed. "We can look for Karina after we leave and let her deal with her family."

"We can't leave tonight, though," Flynn said. "It's a long walk back to town and there are monsters on the way. It's too dangerous to make at night, so we should set out first thing tomorrow morning."

"Your room has a double bed, right, Estelle?"

She nodded. "Yes, why?"

"If you want, I could sleep in your room with you tonight. I'm worried whether you'll be safe on your own."

"My bed is bigger." Flynn spread his hands on the king-sized bed. "You should sleep in here with me, Estellise."

Flynn must be worried sick if he was offering to share a bed with her, but Yuri couldn't blame him for his worries. He shuddered to think what might have happened if they hadn't gotten to her in time. She was lucky to have only a mild injury.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll be ok."

"Are you sure?" Flynn said. "I'm not doubting your ability to defend yourself, but there's already been an attack on your life."

"Please don't worry about me. He already sent me his message about staying away from Lucy. I don't think he'll attack me again unless I don't listen."

"So you hope," Yuri said. "Who knows how ghost logic works?"

"Make sure you call us at any sign of danger."

"Ok, Flynn. I promise." She smiled at him, and Yuri found it funny that she was trying to comfort him when Flynn's goal had been to comfort her.

Yuri was about to suggest turning in for the night when someone said, "You're leaving?" All three heads turned to the corner of the room, where Lucy had appeared and stared at them with wide eyes.

Estelle nodded with a sad smile. "Yes, Lucy, I'm sorry, but we have to go. Your daddy doesn't want us to stay."

"But… but… no. You can't go! We were going to play together!"

Estelle slid her legs off the bed and folded her hands in her lap. "I know, but your daddy says we need to go and we need to listen to him. Don't you listen to your daddy?"

Her lip quivered. "Don't go! You - you can't leave me here. You have to stay!"

"No, Lucy," Estelle said firmly. "We're leaving and throwing a tantrum isn't going to change that."

Her lungs swelled as she took in a deep breath, and Yuri braced himself for another scream. Thankfully, it didn't come. Instead, she shot an angry glare at Yuri and Flynn and vanished.

"That went better than expected," Yuri said.

"Yes." Estelle turned back to them. "I think I just need to put my foot down. She's been all alone for a few years so I think she needs someone to give her boundaries like a parent would." She rose from the bed and picked up a candle. "I'm going to bed now. I think I've had enough excitement for tonight."

"Sleep well," Flynn said as she left. "You heading to bed, too, Yuri?"

"Yeah. He grabbed a candle as he stood. "Well, this is certainly a birthday you won't ever forget."

Flynn smiled grimly. "It is indeed. Goodnight."

Yuri gave the open door to the bathroom a dark look as he crossed the landing. He imagined what scene he and Flynn might have found if they arrived only a minute later and his stomach turned. Bram Caverly might be a sad, lonely man but nothing could excuse what he'd done to Estelle and Yuri had as much pity for him as he did for Cumore.

He opened the door to his own room, but then he paused. Worry about Estelle had his mind racing and jumping to see ghosts around every corner, so he was probably overreacting about that lump lying in his bed. He'd never taken much care to straighten his sheets upon waking, so that was surely a messy heap of blanket that only looked vaguely humanoid due to the shaky candle light. Perhaps he should ask Flynn to check it out with him, but he'd feel silly asking Flynn to check for monsters on his bed.

Yuri carefully sidestepped to his closet, never taking his eyes off the bed. When they'd heard Estelle scream, he and Flynn had charged to the bathroom without bothering to pick up their swords first, so his was still put away. With his back so close to the opposite wall, it was hard for the candle's light to illuminate the bed. All he saw was a vague outline and some patches of navy blue blanket. It hadn't moved since he stepped in, but was that because it was just a blanket, or because it was waiting? He wouldn't be so nervous about a silly lump on his bed if he could shake that prickly feeling of not being alone.

His hand slid to the closet door and slid it open. He didn't take his eyes off the bed as he pulled his sword out, and then he took steady steps toward the bed. If there was a ghost, he would stab it. Even if it didn't hurt, it would at least startle it. He held his breath as he approached the bed. His muscles tensed with anticipation. He was ready to bolt from the room at a second's notice. The light flickered as the candle shook from how tightly he gripped it, and he slowly extended the sword.

It pressed into soft folds of fabric. Yuri experimentally poked another section and had similar results. He slid the blade under and tossed the whole messy pile against the wall, confirming that his bed was, in fact, empty and he was, in fact, over-reacting. Yuri shook his head at his own paranoia and set the sword by the bed and the candle on the nightstand. It was a good thing he hadn't summoned Flynn, he thought as he leaned against the side of the bed and straightened the blanket. Flynn would never let him live this down.

And then icy hands gripped his ankles.

Estelle had just settled into bed when she heard the scream. For a second she had no idea who it was, because she'd never heard Yuri scream like that before. The agonized wail pierced straight through her heart and she was bolting out the door by the time she came to her senses. She nearly crashed into Flynn at Yuri's door. They didn't stop to talk - there was no time. Flynn yanked the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge.

"Come on…" Flynn grunted and smashed his fist into the door.

A long groan came through the door and Estelle clasped her hands together while shifting from foot to foot. "Hurry, Flynn."

"I'm trying!" He stepped back and gave the door a solid kick, but though the wood creaked, it didn't open.

Then Estelle heard sounds her mind struggled not to put images to: cracks and gurgles, a muffled scream, something that could only be described as a squelch. Every groan and creak sparked new waves of horror and she pressed her balled fists against her mouth. She tried to focus on the banging as Flynn used every scrap of strength available to beat down the door. She didn't even know what they were going to do when it opened, because anything that could elicit such awful noises from Yuri must be nearly impossible to fight.

She heard a shuffling, something crunch, and then silence. The only noise now was Flynn's frantic pounding and her own blood rushing in her ears. Flynn smashed the door, and this time it swung open so quickly he stumbled into the room and fell to his knees while the door crashed into the wall. Estelle hurried after him, but the room was so dark she could barely see. "Yuri? Yuri?!" Moonlight drifted through the window, but not bright enough to see well. She had to rely on her other senses, which in this case meant concentrating on the thick, coppery scent hanging in the air.

"I'll get the lantern," Flynn said slowly.

He left Estelle alone with her drumming heart and shaking hands. Whatever had happened to Yuri, he wasn't conscious enough to respond… or alive. No, don't think that. "Yuri?" Her voice was soft and hesitant, fearing the answer. She needed to know what had happened, but the prospect of getting bad news made her heart tremor. She swallowed a lump in her throat and stepped toward the bed, where the scent of blood was thickest. She imagined Bram standing over the bed with the knife, stabbing down while Yuri struggled to escape the disadvantaged position.

Her foot landed in something slick. She froze up, eyes locked on the empty bed. Now that she was close enough, she could tell the bed was empty of anything but a pile of blankets. Instead, her joints creaked with how slowly she crouched. Her knees protested, trying to convince her not to keep bending down because she wasn't going to like what she found. Breath coming in shaking gasps, her fingers reached into the darkness.

Liquid. On one hand, she'd been half-certain she was going to put her hand down on a cooling corpse, so warm blood was a relief. On the other… sticky blood clung to her fingertips and there was no question whose it was. Moonlight glistened in the dark pool soaking into the wood floors. If there was blood here, Yuri must be nearby. Surely if he'd spilled so much blood, he couldn't possibly move far. The area around the bed was empty, so her eyes turned to the pitch darkness lurking under the bed. She raised a shaking hand to reach under and discover what laid beneath.

Light bathed the room. Estelle yanked her hand back and saw Flynn standing in the doorway with the lantern, face grim. "Well?" he asked tightly.

Estelle looked back under the bed. With light spilling from the lantern and across the floor, she could see all the way to the dusty corner under the bed. Blood smeared across the floor, like something had been dragged under the bed. There was no sign of where that something might be now. She slowly stood up, holding her bloodied fingers way from the bed. She shook her head and whispered, "He isn't here."

"He has to be." Flynn checked the closet, behind the chair, and held the light high to see into every corner of the room. "Even if he was… hurt," Flynn couldn't bring himself to suggest Yuri might be dead, "he'd still be somewhere in here."

Despite all logic saying bodies couldn't simply vanish, the fact remained that Yuri was nowhere to be seen. The darkness of the room had swallowed him up and left nothing but a few strands of dark hair clinging to the bed frame with blood as glue.

"You'll stay now, right?" Lucy stood in the doorway, watching carefully.

"Lucy…" Estelle didn't want to think Lucy had been involved in this. Such a horrible act could only have been committed by Bram. "Do you know where Yuri is?"

Lucy crossed her arms. "I hid him. You can have him back after you play with me, ok?"

Estelle looked to Flynn with horror, and then back to Lucy. "You… hid him? Where did you hide him?"

"If I tell you then he won't be hidden, duh!"

Estelle walked across the room and kneeled in front of her. "This isn't a game, Lucy. I think you really hurt Yuri, and you need to tell us where he is so we can help him."

She stuck out her lip and shook her head. "No! Not 'til you play with me."

"It may be best to agree with her for now," Flynn said softly.

Estelle sighed and tried not to picture the blood under the bed. "Ok… ok, I'll play with you all day tomorrow. But after that, you have to promise to give Yuri back, ok?"

Lucy nodded and then threw her arms around Estelle in a hug. "Yes! We'll have fun all day! Hooray!"

She vanished, and Estelle returned to Flynn's side. His hand was still holding the lantern, so he could only hug her with one arm when she fell against him. "Oh, Flynn, I'm so sorry. We should have left as soon as we suspected a break-in. I honestly didn't think Lucy was dangerous, but…"

"It's ok. Any one of us could have demanded we leave, but we didn't. We're in this together, and no one is at fault."

Except she was the one most responsible, because she'd picked this awful house for their vacation. The advertisement hadn't said anything about ghosts! Now Yuri was in trouble, and they had no idea where he was. Based on the blood and the sounds they'd heard, he must be in horrible pain somewhere. Lucy assured them she'd return him, but she was just a little girl. She may not realize the consequences of her actions, and there was a real chance Yuri might already be dead wherever she'd put him. On top of that, they still had to worry about Bram. Their lives were in danger if they got too close to Lucy against his wishes, but they were also in danger if they stayed away from her and made her take it out on Yuri. She didn't know what to do, but her best friends' lives were in danger and it was all her fault.

"Flynn, I… I think I'll take you up on that offer to sleep in your bed tonight."

"Of course," he said softly.

Estelle went to her room first to fetch her own pillow. She grabbed it off the bed, but before leaving found herself pressing her face into it and letting out a soft, smothered cry. She couldn't get the image of blood-slick floors out of her head. Yuri. She couldn't help feeling guilty; it had been her idea to come here, after all. If only this awful vacation could be a nightmare and they could all wake up safe and sound in Zaphias.

She pulled the pillow away from her face and took a deep breath. I have to be strong. When she'd gone missing, Yuri hadn't cried into a pillow and felt sorry for himself - he'd done everything he could to bring her home safely. He didn't lose hope even when she herself had lost hope. Now, it was her turn to return the favour. They may not know where Yuri was, but she had to keep her chin up and do whatever she could to bring him home.

In the silence of her room, the familiar creaking from outside came to her attention. Her eyes darted to her window, and Estelle strode over to it. What was that sound? It gave her the chills just listening to it. Last night she'd chickened out from going to investigate, but tonight she was filled with a fiery purpose. If it had something to do with the ghosts in this house, then maybe it would lead them to Yuri.

She marched across the landing to Flynn's room, where he was pulling the covers down on the bed. "Flynn." She tossed her pillow on the bed. "I'm going to investigate the creaking outside. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yes." He grabbed his sword and followed her to the stairs.

Flynn carried the lantern, which cast long shadows across the furniture in the living room. The creaking was louder down here, and Estelle was certain it was coming from the back porch. She silently motioned to Flynn and the pair of them crept across the living room. The fireplace still gave off a warm, smoky scent but their cozy evening around the fire felt so far away now.

Creeeeak… creeeeeak…

By the time they reached the back door, the sound was so near she knew they should be able to see the source by now. The cool summer air gave her little comfort as they stepped out onto the porch. Crickets chirped in the grass and waves crashed against the rocks, but neither of those sounds drowned out the creaking. It seemed to be all around them now, but the only movement Estelle could see was the moon reflecting on distant waves. Estelle stepped to the middle of the porch in confusion. This close, she was able to identify the source of the creaking. It sounded like a heavy weight swaying on the end of a rope, but there were no trees around to hang something from and the porch was empty. "There's nothing here." She turned around and gasped.

Silhouetted against the wall of the house was the shadow of a man dangling from a noose. He drifted back and forth with a rhythmic creaking like a macabre pendulum. Estelle's eyes shot to the rafters, but the beams above her head were empty.

"What is it?" Flynn stepped away from the door to look and his breath halted.

For a long minute, Estelle and Flynn could do nothing but stare at the shadow of the hanging man. The gentle swaying was hypnotic. When Flynn finally pulled himself away, he held up the lantern so its light spilled across the grass toward the cliff.

"There's nothing here," he murmured, as if he expected a sudden tree to appear in the field with a physical hanging corpse.

"I think…" Estelle trailed her fingers across the shadow, picking up nothing but grime from the old wooden siding. "I think this is what happened to Bram."

Flynn turned back around and the light shining directly on the shadow caused it to fade. "That would be my guess. Do you he suppose he killed himself out of grief after Lucy died?"

"Probably." She still remembered her terror when Bram assaulted her in the bathroom, but that didn't stop her from feeling pity for the man. The grief of his daughter's passing must have affected him acutely. She didn't know how ghosts worked and it was possible that the entirety of his personality wasn't represented by his ghostly self. If he died in a state of grief and mental instability, perhaps that was why his ghostly self was so vitriolic.

"Let's go," Flynn said. "I don't like standing out here."

Estelle nodded. "It's… creepy."

It was a relief to have an answer to the ominous creaking, but Estelle couldn't get the image of the hanging silhouette out of her head all the way upstairs. The bed was cozily large. Flynn stayed as close to the edge as was physically possible before gravity would take over and make him fall, no matter how many times Estelle insisted she wasn't shy and it was ok to split the bed evenly. In fact, she wanted him close. Flynn was under the impression she wanted to sleep close to him because she was frightened and wanted protection, but while she was scared, it wasn't for her own safety. She'd lost one of her best friends tonight, and only being able to feel the presence of her other best friend, assuring her he was still whole and all right, let her fall asleep at all.