A/N:
It's been a while. I hope ya'll are doing great :) my life had many downs...one of the worst year of my life 🌚✋🏻 the reason why I'm mia & haven't been able to update for months.
Anyway, who've watch the live action of One Piece cos I have ;) & I'm in love with Zoro 💚
🪄🪄🪄
The train halted in a small station. "Wow. There's a lot of green." George mentioned taking in the greeneries surrounding them.
"Never been outside of London before, George?" Anthony said leading the way.
"I visit my gran in sidcup."
"Sidcup is in London."
Valerie removed her varsity jacket the place was warmer than London, it reminded her of her hometown. "You haven't missed much Casper."
"I can't believe we're going to sir John Fairfax's house." Anthony exhaled.
"You've got a real hard on for him, haven't you?" She stated the obvious, the boy haven't been able to shut his mouth up about John Fairfax ever since they got the job.
"If you wanna put it like that. He's succeeded in everything he's tried. Publishing, show business. He didn't even start smelting until he was in his thirties. Now look at him."
"Hmm..."
"And he came from nothing too."
"Nah, he's old money!" George pointed out. "and you've a massive house in central London."
"Well, mortgaged to the hilt, George. I'm practically a serf." Anthony said over his shoulder.
At the parking lot. Ellie, Mr. Fairfax assistant picked them up and drove them to the man's luxurious castle which was a stunner.
If not for all the visitors and the pulse of energy that Valerie felt as soon as she stepped in, she was stunned by its beauty.
George examined the map of the castle again, "I can't figure this place out. Nothing's where it should be."
"This is the gallery." Mr Fairfax said, "the original priory was destroyed after the monks decided to commit mass suicide."
George and Valerie looked at the man shaken.
"You had to make your own fun in those days." He joked as he saw their terrified expressions. "The modern house was built on the ruins. So it's a bit of a Frankenstein."
They wanted more information from the man but as the sun was about to set in an hour, he left with his assistant. The trio were still in the gallery. Valerie stood in the middle of the room, trying to concentrate as much as she could. It was a magnificent place but filled with death and despair.
"This whole place is freezing up." George said as the device on his hand made a little beep. "And it's hard to map a source because the rooms don't fit together properly. I think there's something old that's hidden away. It's like we're going in blind. Are we sure we wanna do this?"
Valerie opened her eyes. "I'm not." She called out. "Lockwood?"
"I'm here," the boy walked in holding a flare bomb. "I smuggled this in, industrial strength. Better be, cost enough."
"But Fairfax said no explosives." George commented, he didn't want them to get in trouble because of Anthony's recklessness, again.
"Let's keep our options open. Heh." Valerie pressed her lips. Because it's better to be safe than sorry.
They climbed up the screaming staircase. "Sense anything?" Anthony asked the bedazzling girl besides him.
"If this is a screaming staircase, it's being very quiet."
"Maybe, it's taken the night off." George joked but he could feel the tension in the air.
"Like we should have done." Valerie said climbing ahead, she wanted to finish this quest asap and get out of the creepy castle.
The teenagers felt a low hum of energy as they opened the door of the red room.
George put a hand on the wall and said, "there's bad energy in these walls. A lot of energy."
"There's screaming." Valerie gasped as she heard endless voices overlapping, "chaos. There's too many voice."
"It's not very red though is it?" George said scanning the room which looked more worn out then the rooms below.
"Val, help me with the chain." Anthony said. "George, secure our retreat."
Valerie helped Anthony with the chain in making a circle, while George secured the door with an iron.
"Six degree and falling." George announced as the device beeped on his hand.
"Whatever's here. It's getting closer." Anthony said. "There's no sign of any sources yet though. Strange. George, didn't you say you suspect there's hidden rooms?"
"From the plans, it's highly likely."
"We'll look for evidence. You stay here. Watch our backs." Anthony told the boy as he and Valerie checked the room, "look for canaries, false walls. Anything that could be concealing sources." He told Valerie, "judging by the number of death flows. A lot of people died here."
"So do we think it's in here? The source of the primary haunting?" George asked as he walked around the circle. The device beeped again. "Temperature five degree."
Valerie was knocking at the wooden walls, "wait..." she listened closely, "shhh, stop tapping. I need to listen."
The tapping continued.
"I'm not tapping," Anthony turned to her.
George's device began to beep rapidly. "Get back to the circle," he called his friends. "Something strange is happening."
The rapid beeping continued. Valerie and Anthony ran into the circle and pulled out their rapiers.
"What's making that sound?" Anthony asked as he heard dripping, somewhere.
Valerie could hear whispers, she looked up on the ceiling. "Blood," she gasped.
The boys looked up in disbelief.
"It's not blood. It can't be. It's plasm." George said unable to believe his eyes.
"Well it looks like blood, it smells like blood_"
"It'll ghost touch you, don't let it get near."
The ceiling began to squelch and blood began to drip down into the circle. The trio backed away.
"Oh! How did it do that?" Valerie asked astonished.
"We've made the circle too big. There's a weak spot in that middle." Anthony said. "Let's get out of here. Leave the kit. Head for the door."
But as they turned to leave, the door shut on its own.
"I thought you said you secured it?" Valerie said trying to twist the doorknob.
"I did! This isn't possible!" George exclaimed.
"It's locked. We're trapped!"
"We need to calm down." Anthony told them. "It'll feed off our panic." He tapped Valerie's shoulder, "Val, we need another exit. Go to that place you found, see it there's something."
The girl nodded and ran to the left.
"George, we need to draw it out and distract it." He told the boy. "It's time we stopped being so respectful of this thing."
The dripping became more rapid as George and Anthony made loud noises to distract the Visitors.
"Definitely got something here." Valerie informed as she ran her fingers through the creeks of the wall.
"Good. Keep looking." Anthony encouraged as more blood poured down from the ceiling, he shone his flashlight. "It's everywhere."
"This is not just one ghost!" George panicked.
"Val, what have you found?" Anthony turned his attention back to her.
"I'm not sure. I need time!"
"They're working together. Oh shit." George was terrified.
"Stay focused." Anthony tried to calm his friend down.
"How are we supppsed to fight that?" George pointed at the corner that was filling up with blood.
"Val, please tell me that's a door." Anthony said.
"I'd like to start running now! Cookie." George looked at Valerie who was tearing down the wallpaper. The room was starting to turn, but in the nick of time Valerie was able to find the hidden door knob and they bashed into a hidden hallway. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
10. 09. 2023