Everything Changes

Ghosts

"I can see no ghosts, just paintings and creepy stuffed bears." Sadiq informed the girls as he closed the last of the doors.

They had gone around the entire bottom floor of the mansion now looking for Aris, but no luck.

"Aris? ARIS COME BACK HERE NOW!" Holly shouted up the staircase, feeling more bold than her Spericle counterparts. Ghosts didn't scare her.

"There's his hat." Frankie pointed out, reaching to the floor to grab it.

Sadiq led the way up the staircase, floor boards creaking with every step they took. They reached the landing, slowly walking along peering into each room.

"Wait, where's Frankie?" Holly asked, noticing the girl was no longer behind her. "I think she's vanished!"

"Crap! I've got to find her!" Sadiq said in a panic. "You two look for Aris, we'll split up, cover more ground."

Holly and Kim reluctantly agreed, leaving Sadiq behind.

"Rule number one in a haunted house, don't split up from your friends." Holly grumbled. "Aris? ARIS!" She called down the empty corridor, her voice echoing off the walls.

A ghostly giggle could be heard, the sound sending shivers down Kim's spine.

"I'm glad someone's having a good time." Holly joked. "But I'm up to rule number 2. When you're in a haunted house and you hear ghostly giggling, you know someone soon will not be laughing."

They heard footsteps behind them, the movement causing the floor boards beneath them to jolt.

"ARIS!" Holly called out, but the boy ran straight past them.

The pair ran after him, confused as to why he wouldn't respond to their calls. But it was too late, they couldn't figure out which way he and turned, and every door they opened led them no closer to the missing boy. Defeated, they made their way back downstairs, hoping Sadiq had faired better.

The downstairs was eerily quiet, the only sound being the tap of their feet along the floorboards.

"Where did everyone go?" Kim asked aloud.

"Rule number 3," Holly began, "in a haunted house-"

She felt a hand being placed over her mouth and another around her chest. Her feet struggled beneath her as she was dragged away from her teen mum.

"Mmmm, MMMM!!" She tried to speak through the hand, angrily wanting to tell them to watch her baby, and if he or she came to any harm she would hunt them down and kill them. But it was to no avail.

She was dragged down endless corridors, eventually being shoved into a cell. She quickly balanced herself, making sure she wouldn't fall over.

"Holly!" Frankie's voice excitedly called out as a pair of arms were wrapped around her middle.

She looked around, taking in the brick walls around her. A single wooden bench hang off the wall, held up by metal chains. A box of old clothes sat in the corner, and the last of the daylight shone through a small window high up in the wall.

"Frankie? Sadiq? Where are we?" She asked, bewildered, as she looked at her missing tribe members.

"Kylie's here. They were her guards. You better get comfy, I think we'll be stuck here a while." Sadiq mumbled, offering her his seat as he sat himself on the ground.

**********

"Oi! Get off me!" Kim shouted out as she was chucked into the cell. It hadn't taken long for their captors to get her after they had caught Holly.

"On the plus side, I knew there wasn't a ghost here." Holly said, trying not to feel smug about being right.

"We walked straight into Kylie's trap!" Frankie cried.

"Ern and Serena told us that Kylie had worked out where the 7 special places are. How could we have been so stupid as to think they wouldn't be here!" Sadiq yelled out in frustration.

"Well there's a positive, Reese and Aris are still free with Yanks." Kim tried to brighten the mood.

"That's what's worrying me! Those 3 sensitives are the ones Kylie wants!" Sadiq spoke angrily, hitting his fist against the floor. He looked at his hands, noticing the dirt it had left behind. "Maybe this is a way out!"

He furiously began scratching away at the floor whilst the rest of the girls looked at him pityingly. They knew it was useless. He eventually gave in when he realised it was futile.

"Well it worked for the prisoners of war when they dug their way out of cells using only a spoon." He tried to justify. 

"Yes, but how long did that take them?" Frankie asked.

"8 months."

Holly's eyes went wide. "I'm not going to be a jail mum. And I'm not having all of you watching me give birth." She walked over to the  box of clothes, pulling out what looked like a very dirty wedding dress. "Fourth rule. When in a haunted house, blend in."

She threw the dress on over her clothes, Kim helping her tighten the corset up best she could over her ever growing bump. She took some of the mud Sadiq had been digging away at and rubbed it over her face.

"How do I look?" She asked her tribe.

"Like the perfect haunted bride!" Kim beamed.

"Is that what you'll wear on your wedding day to Ern?" Sadiq teased.

She gave him a tight smile before getting into place.

"Ah, shit! Let me in, let me in, let me in!" A guard started to scream, clearly spooked by something unknown.

He unlocked the door to their cage, coming face to face with Holly. She rolled the irises of her eyes back, showing only the whites.

"Let me out, let me out, let me out!" He screamed, running back out the door, leaving it wide open.

"Well, that wasn't the plan but it worked just as well." Holly smiled.

The ran out of the room and back to the main part of the mansion, hoping Kylie hadn't already found their sensitives. The heard a loud crashing as if there had been an earthquake.

"Let's follow that sound!" Holly yelled, struggling to keep up.

Sadiq was the first to get to the crash sight.

"Reese!" He yelled, running to the girl lying dazed on the floor. "Reese, are you ok?" He helped her to her feet.

"What happened?" Holly asked as she took in the state of the room. It looked even worse than the rest of the house.

"We had her, Sadiq! We were about to send Kylie home!" Reese cried. "She was right there. We had the wormhole open, but something went wrong. I'm sorry."

"I'm not! It was the most fun I've had, ever!" Yanks yelled excitedly from the floor.

"Where's Aris?" Frankie asked, looking around and noticing he still wasn't there.

"Kylie got him. We couldn't get him back."