Everything Changes

Haunted Mansion

Holly looked up at the gothic mansion in front of her; it was as if the gargoyles were staring right back, following her every movement with their eyes. Raindrops hit her face, sliding down her cheeks. She felt her baby kick inside her, as if a warning that they shouldn't be entering this building. When she envisioned where they would find the next sensitive, this was not what she had pictured.

"You can wait in the van if you like, Holly." Kim reminded her.

Holly shook her head. They'd been stuck in that van for far too long now trying to find this place. She wasn't going to let the rest of the Sparticles have all the fun whilst she sat out.

Sadiq led the way, opening the creaky wooden doors of the main entrance. The inside was dark, damp, and dusty. An old fire place took up most of one wall, an eerie painting of a child hanging above it. Unlit candles collected dust around the room. A single lamp flickered above them, swaying in the draft of the open doors.

The Sparticles entered. Although no one would admit it, this place gave them the creeps. One by one, they took each other's hands. When Reese went for Holly's, she  jolted away, this place wouldn't scare her. It was clearly decorated like this to scare people off, or at least that's what she was trying to convince herself.

"Let's just find the 6th sensitive and get out of here." She spoke aloud, trying hard not to let her voice quaver.

Sadiq switched on his flashlight, shining it around the room. He led the way, everyone following except for Reese and Aris.

"Reese, are you picking up another sensitive?" Frankie asked when she noticed their reluctance to follow.

"I'm picking up something very odd." Reese replied.

"Distinctly odd." Aris added.

Kim looked at them in fear. "Well there's obviously no one here. Maybe you got it wrong?"

"No, there is. This way." Reese corrected her, leading the tribe deeper into the mansion.

Each door creaked as they opened them, slamming shut with a loud BANG! as soon as they were let go of. The entrance hall included a grand piano and spiral staircase, both of which looked like they hadn't been used even prior to the disappearance. A painting of the boy seen above the fireplace also hung on the wall, this time in a different pose.

"Who lives in this place?" Frankie asked, her hand gripped tightly onto her brother's arm.

"Hello?" Sadiq shouted out into the darkness. No reply. "HELLO?" He tried again. "Anyone home?"

Kim tapped his arm desperately, pointing behind him. He looked, watching a figure move in the shadows.

"Everyone freeze! Don't look it in the eye!" Sadiq commanded, shielding his tribe. 

Frankie took the flashlight out of his hands, shining it in the direction. "It's not real."

The Sparticles looked; it was merely a rocking horse which had been disturbed by the draft.

"Ha, I knew that..." Sadiq trailed off.

They continued walking through the corridors, jumping at even the slightest noise.

"What kind of house is this anyway?" Frankie whispered, looking up at the high ceilings above them.

They started to hear the sound of a music box, the melody echoing throughout the building. A clown figure begun to laugh. A baby cradle rocked back and forth, creaking as it went. This couldn't have been caused by a draft!

"I can feel a presence!" Reese screamed as wind started to blow past them.

"No kidding, Sherlock." Holly grumbled, not scared of this little act put on by whoever was staying here.

The rest of her tribe, on the other hand, seemed petrified. They huddled up in a corner, trying to get as far away from the moving objects as possible.

"I'll try and make contact! Everyone stand still." Reese announced. She stood in silence for a moment, before announcing "it's a sensitive!"

"The sensitive's a ghost?" Kim asked in fear.

"I didn't say that." She replied. "It's behind that door!"

Reese led the way to the doors at the other end of the room, the tribe following closely behind.

"Ummm, Holly I think you should wait in the van. I'll come with you!" Kim announced, only stopped from leaving when Holly pulled her back.

"Go on, Reese. You go first. Open the door." Sadiq urged, pushing the young sensitive forward.

She obliged, opening the door. They expected to see a unlit room covered in dirt, but were shocked by how light and airy it seemed. They looked around bewildered, completely missing the boy on the floor until he spoke.

"Do you mind? You're interrupting an important, scientific experiment!"

"We don't mind, actually. I'm Reese and we've been looking for you."

Holly muffled a laugh. She could find the girl annoying, but did love how to-the-point she could be sometimes.

The boy jumped up. "Well I'm Yanks, and I'm not looking for you. In fact, I'm looking for him." He handed Reese a photo of the same boy they had seen in the paintings. "Legend has it that a young boy called Henry was living in this house in 1860 when his twin brother, William, died of tuberculosis. Henry died soon after of a broken heart. He still roams the corridors of this house, looking for someone to play with. All rubbish, of course."

Frankie looked at him confused. "So there isn't a ghost?"

"Of course not! And it's my job to prove it." He announced, taking them over to his work station.

"What does this machine do?" Reese asked, picking up a device.

Yanks quickly snatched it out of her hands. "It's a highly complex quantum machine using atoms. It uses the quantum effect, known as entanglement."

Holly looked at him bewildered. She had not understood a word that just came out of his mouth.

"So, how do you explain all the spooky action in the hall if there isn't a ghost?" Kim quizzed.

"I suppose you believe in the lock ness monster too, hmm? Everything can be explained by science. And in this case, magnetic energy, which I'm recording on my Yanks-ometer. Or I would be, if it were working." He held up the device, which made a pitiful beep before switching off.

"You're picking up magnetic energy because this house is on the ley line super hub." Reese explained.

Yanks gave an over-dramatic sigh. "Oh brilliant, you're a hippie." 

"I'm a sensitive, actually. Just like you."

"Pardon me, a what?"

"A person with special powers. Yanks, your weird machine is picking up the magnetic energy of the ley lines and super-boosting your powers! You're the ghost!" Reese explained.

He looked at her, offended. "I most certainly am not the ghost!" He barged past them, holding up his Yanks-ometer as he tried to take another reading. "The interesting phenomena in this house is caused by an, as yet, an unidentified form of energy."

Reese laughed. "It's not unidentified. It's you! You're recording yourself! Me and Aris picked you up as soon as we came into this house. Didn't we, Aris?"

There was no reply. The Sparticles looked around them, only now noticing they were one member down.

"Reese, you stay here with Yanks and tell him all about our mission and how he can help us." Sadiq took lead.

Yanks scoffed. "I don't do 'missions.' I'm a scientist, not a soldier."

"Good luck with this one, Reese. Come on tribe; let's go find Aris." Sadiq led the way.

Holly was grateful to be away from the strange boy they had found. Although, in all fairness, she found every sensitive strange.