House of Anubis: Triad of Memphis

House of Pain/House of Worry

Mr. Rainier brought painkillers and water to Jared who was still collapsed in his bed with the towel over his forehead that Niamh had brought him. Niamh wasn't in the room at that time, so it was just him and Mr. Rainier.

"Perhaps you might know what could've caused this?" Mr. Rainier asked.

Jared shrugged. He sat up on his bed and placed the towel on his dresser.

"If it gets any worse, let me know. I'll take you to the hospital if need be."

"I think I'll be fine," Jared responded.

Mr. Rainier nodded. He was about to head out but remembered he'd have to discover more information to link him to the Chosen One.

"Your group of friends..." he began. "Who are they?"

Jared raised his eyebrows.

"Just so I can inform them of your condition."

"I hang out with Jonah, Lucille, and Sarah often," Jared told him. "Don't have them worry too much, yeah?"

Mr. Rainier nodded. He left the room then and figured the Chosen One may have well been either Lucille or Sarah. All he'd have to do was keep an eye on them and wait for one to slip.

~~~~~
Rachel spent the entire day worrying about William. She attempted to dial his phone, but he never answered. During the night, before lights out, she went and found Mr. Carroway in his office.

"Mr. Carroway?"

Mr. Carroway gave a brief grunt and glanced up from the papers on his desk.

"William has been missing the entire day," Rachel explained, "and he never signed-out so I'm sure he's not out with any relatives. And everytime I try to call him-"

"-maybe he just forgot to sign out."

"You're not the slightest bit concerned?"

"I have more important matters to handle, girl."

"More important than your own house's children? What if something bad has happened to him and you're just sitting here doing nothing?!" Rachel bit her bottom lip.

"I'll look into the matter. For now...leave."

Rachel left the office. She ran into Lucille who was just coming from the girls' rooms' corridor. Lucille noticed Rachel's anxious expression.

"Are you alright?"

"No," Rachel sighed. "William has been missing for the entire day, and I'm extremely worried."

Lucille hadn't noticed William's absence at all. Probably because she didn't spend any of the day needing to speak with him, and so she just didn't think about it. But just then she realized William hadn't shown up at breakfast, lunch, or supper, and that's unusual for him.

"Have you told Mr. Carroway?" Lucille asked.

"I tried. He just rushed me out."

"Not a very good caretaker then."

Rachel uttered a soft chuckle and shook her head.

"Maybe we should check his room?" Lucille suggested. "See if he left a letter or something."

The two of them headed down the stairs, passing by Mr. Rainier as he was ascending them, just coming from cleaning up. Lucille brushed past him and immediately upon contact, she was tossed into a vision.

It wasn't very clear or precise and didn't consist of any linear course of events, but she saw Mr. Rainier's face turn to an expression of grief while he stood down in the cellar. It then changed to a familiar building and then a not so familiar room where sarcophagi lines the circular room.

She came out of the vision, and both Rachel and Mr. Rainier had frozen to look at her.

She claimed she was fine and continued down the steps, Rachel following close behind. They stopped at the bottom of the staircase and as soon as Mr. Rainier was out of sight, Rachel consulted Lucille about what just took place.

"What happened there?" Rachel asked. "You just froze and...stared..."

Lucille took a deep breath. "I'm fine." She hesitated for just a moment. "Why don't you go check out William's room. I'll ask Jared if he's seen him."

Rachel agreed and they headed to the rooms where they then split up. Lucille shut the door behind herself and approached Jared, noticing his terrible condition.

"What's up with you?" she asked as she sat down on the bed.

Jared just let out an agonizing moan.

"I had another vision," Lucille admitted, getting straight to the point. "When I brushed past Mr. Rainier, I had a vision of the gatehouse. You know-"

"-yeah, I know." Jared did his best to nod. "Are you suggesting we go there?"

"Well you're not exactly fit to go anywhere...I'll tell Sarah and Jonah about it. We might go tonight; if not, then tomorrow. And if you're better then you can come with."

Jared gave her a thumbs up just as Rachel swung open the door. Lucille stood and faced her.

"I didn't find anything," Rachel declared, her voice a slight bit shaky. "I-I'm worried."

"Yeah, I didn't find anything either," Lucille responded, glancing back at Jared although she hadn't even asked him about it. "I have his parents' numbers; let's try to call them."

She left out with Rachel and shut the door to seclude Jared. The two of them hurried back upstairs, and Lucille decided any more about gatehouse would have to wait, as it was much more demanding that they found William.

~~~~~
William faded in and out of consciousness. He couldn't tell where he was at the time he had woken up, but he did know it was dark, silent, and a suffocatingly compacted space. Suddenly, doors above him were pulled open and light shined in, burning into his sight as his eyes could barely adjust, likely due to a mild conscussion. A figure loomed over him and pulled him up and out. He couldn't do anything about it since he was dazed and confused and not entirely aware of his surroundings. He felt himself being dragged off; to where-he didn't know.

~~~~~
Well William's alive at least! For now...But his condition will remain ambiguous until the coming chapters. So anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one, and here are the discussion questions!

Do you think Lucille and Rachel will find William?

What do you think is in the gatehouse?

Who do you think found and carried off William?

Until next time, Aristocrats!