Once the door was closed, Heather began to examine the room that she would be staying in for the time being. The room was probably the most simple that she had seen in her time at the mansion; There was a loveseat with a small, plain coffee table on one end of the room, while a large bed sat on the other. There were two large windows across from the door and when Heather walked over and pulled back the drapes to look outside, light flooded into the dark, cold room.
Honestly, it appeared that no one had lived in room since - well, never. But - that was okay with her. It meant that she could finally get some sleep without someone who died in the room waking her up in the middle of the night. She knew that there were other ghosts in the house - she had caught glances of him out of the corner of her eyes while on the tour - but none of them had died in the room and that was a relief. Maybe Charles had considered her sensitivity when he told her which room was her's.
Or perhaps he just didn't want anyone in one of those rooms.
Either way, the room was blissfully quiet. So quiet that, while seating on one of the window seats and staring out at the yard, she was finally able to collect her thoughts from the rest of her hectic day.
"What do you mean you're staying in New York?"
Heather let out a sigh as she leaned against the wall, the phone still grasped firmly in her hand. After her discussion with Erik and Charles, she had asked to call Joey and explain the situation - well, as much of it as she could. "I'm still looking for Erik," she lied through her teeth, "I just need a few more days to find him. Or weeks."
"Weeks?" She could hear the utter shock in his voice, but before she could say anything, he continued, "Feather, I don't know. Do you want me to come up there with you? I can always use my vacation days."
"You used up all of your vacation days," she pointed out, "Besides, I'll be fine. I just need you to watch my apartment and check my mail - you know, stuff like that." Joey was silent for a moment and Heather briefly wondered if she had lost the call. "You're not in trouble, are you?" He asked eventually, his voice soft on the other line.
Heather couldn't help but let out a laugh, her fingers swirling the cord connecting the phone to the wall jack. "No, I'm not. And if I was, you'd be the first person I'd call." There was silence once more, then - A defeated sigh came from the other line and Heather could almost see him running his fingers through his hair. "Just call me, if you need anything - "
" - I will, I will - "
" - No," Joey's voice was suddenly very serious, "I'm not kidding, Heather. If you need anything - anything at all - just call me and I'll be there as fast as I can. No 'ifs', 'ands', and 'buts' about it. Got it?" Heather's throat tightened with emotion, as she gulped and replied, "Got it." She waited a few seconds before adding, "I - I have to go. I'll talk to later."
"Okay. Try to stay out of trouble, Coleman." The teasing tone was slowly beginning to return to Joey's voice, and it made Heather feel - lighter, like a weight had been lifted off of her. "You too, Moran," she responded with, before returning the plastic phone to the jack, the soft click signaling the end of the call.
Soon after the end of her call, Heather returned to the sitting room to find five other people - besides Charles and Erik - within. The talking ceased and all eyes turned to her, which honestly make her want to just make back away from the crowd. Sensing her discomfort, Charles stood up and stepped forward, mentioning her to come closer.
She hesitated for a moment, before making her way towards him, not looking any of the others directly in the eyes. She may not have known Charles for very long, but she still knew him and that make her a lot more comfortable around them than, well, any of the others. "This is Heather," he announced to the others, before glancing back at her, "And Heather, this is - "
" - Moira - " The brown haired woman gave her a once over, the cautiousness and suspicion never leaving her eyes.
" - Raven - " The girl with honey colored curls looked young enough to be a teenager, but she still gave her a friendly smile.
" - Alex - " The blonde haired boy crossed his arms, a look saying 'I-could-care-less' crossing his boyish face.
" - Sean - " The redheaded boy gave a simple, yet awkward wave.
" - Hank - " The man pushed up his thick framed glasses, before giving her a small smile.
" - And you already know Erik and I." Erik gave her an amused smirk from where he was standing. "Nice to meet you all," Heather said a little breathlessly, trying to make note of each of their names - while also trying to avoid Moira's gaze. "So," Raven asked, stepping forward, "What's your ability?"
"I, uh - " For a moment, Heather panicked. What if they didn't accept her like Charles did? What if they were afraid - even disgusted - by her power? She knew it was stupid, but you'd be surprised by how many people were uncomfortable with her gift. "I can see and talk to dead people," she explained finally, stepping back slightly, as if preparing for a hit.
Raven's eyes widened in astonishment and the rest of them looked at her with a new curiosity - even Alex looked a little interested. "Is there more to it than just that?" Moira questioned calmly, and Heather shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I've just never really - messed around with my powers before." Charles put a hand on her shoulder and said, "That's what we're here for. To help you uncover more about your powers."
"I thought we were here to fight Shaw."
The look Charles gave Sean was so unimpressed that even Heather had to laugh. As Charles stepped away from her, Raven came closer and - something about her just made Heather feel calm and relaxed, like she was with a close friend instead of a girl she barely knew. She could honestly see herself being friends with this girls. "Come on," she said, pulling Heather along, "I'll give you the tour."
On the tour was when Heather first caught some passing glances of a few ghost roaming the halls. Whenever she'd turn to get a good look at them, however, they were gone - almost as if they were never there. She tried not to dwell on the matter though - instead focusing on Raven, who was kindly explaining anything and everything that Heather asked. By the end of it, she was pretty well educated on what exactly was going on with their mission, as well as the powers of the others.
"Could you show me?"
Raven stopped and turned around to look at Heather with a confused expression. "Show you what?" Honestly, Heather didn't mean for it to slip out, but she was curious. "Your natural form," she explained, cheeks reddening in embarrassment, "I mean, only if you want to." Some expression passed over Raven's face, before she nodded and changed rather gracefully. It wasn't what Heather had really expected. Her skin was blue and scaly, her eyes yellow, and her hair red, but - it was still Raven. The shape of her face, the small smile - it was all her.
Heather gave her a wide smile, replying, "That's so cool." Raven blinked in surprise, as her body changed back to her human-like appearance. "You're not - " Raven may have appeared surprised, but a look of relief crossed her face. "Scared of you?" Heather finished, "Of course not."
Raven's blinding smile returned and she almost looked like she wanted to swirl Heather around in the air. "Can you show me how to talk to ghosts?" She asked after a moment. Heather glanced around, before shaking her head. "There's no ghost around here at this moment," She explained, "But when I find one, I'll come to you."
"There's one here?" Raven asked, her eyes widening.
"Actually, there's a few of them in the mansion."
"Oh, wow," Raven whistled, before turning and asking, "Wait, does everyone stay behind as a ghost?"
Once more Heather shook her head. "No, mainly it's just people who have things left to do or people who died suddenly." Raven thought over that for a while, before her smile returned and waved her on so that they could continue on their tour.
Once night started to fall, Heather let out a sigh and stand up, walking away from the window. She had promised the others that she would be done later after she finished unpacking what little things she had (when she explained that she didn't have any clean clothing, as she didn't except to stay all, Raven had immediately volunteered to let her borrow some of her clothing). Digging through her bag, she found something she had forgotten all about - her blanket.
The blanket had been made by her grandmother before she had died and was rather small - seeing as she had been two years old at the time - but still was very soft and comfy. The blanket was a dull red and had a picture of Raggedy Ann on it, and just the appearance of it made Heather feel too old for it. But she still held it to her chest and buried her face in it.
There was the overpowering musky smell of her closet on it, but she could almost smell her father's cologne - a distant memory by now - on, and in an instant, there was a heavyweight in her stomach and she began to realize how homesick she really was.
A sudden cry made her look up in surprise. But - it wasn't just any cry.
It was a baby's cry.
Heather stood slowly, listening closely as the faint wailing of an infant continued to fill the room. None of the others had babies with them - she would have known or they would have told her, so there was only one explanation - a baby had died in the house. Opening her door and walking out into the hallway, she began to follow the cries. And when she did, she finally caught a full on glance of two ghosts.
The first was a woman with short curly blonde hair and a red dress. She looked normal enough, expect for the fact that she stumbling around as if drunk and when Heather looked into her eyes - she didn't see anything staring back. Her eyes were dead, glazed over, and her blank, unblinking gaze fell upon her for a second before she looked away and continued on her way, her phantom heels clicking uneasily against the wood of the floor.
The last was a man who looked shockingly similar to Charles, just a few years older and with facial hair. He didn't see her, however, just continued to walk through her, the sudden cold chilling Heather to bone. But when she looked behind her, she saw that the man's back was covered in blood, his hair matted with it and lumps of his brain. A portion of the back of his head was missing, as if he put a gun in his mouth and -
The baby cried again, louder this time, and Heather turned around, shivering from the cold and the sight, then continued to walk.
She came to a door at the end of a hallway, the cries sounding as if they were right through it, and she reached down slowly to grasp the handle, and -
Nothing. It was locked.
"What are you doing?"
Heather let out a gasp and jumped, spinning around to face Erik - who was currently staring at her with a look of confusion on his face. Pressing a hand over her quickly beating heart, she breathed out, "Jesus, Erik, give a person a warning next time." Erik raised an eyebrow at the statement, before asking once more, "What are you doing?"
"I - Don't worry, it's nothing," She lied, beginning to walk past him. The baby wasn't crying anymore and maybe - maybe it had just been her imagination the whole time. Erik opened his mouth to say something, but Heather never heard any of it, as her hand came in contact with his bare forearm and she gasped.
Another fun thing she could do. Psychometry is what science called it, but really, it was basically when Heather touched someone who had something traumatizing happen in the past - something that caused strong and bad emotions - she could see and experience it. Fun, huh?
Upon touching Erik's arm, she began seeing flashes of images and visions. A man dressed with glasses and a surgeon light looked down at him with a smile, there was something in Erik's mouth and he wanted to scream, but he couldn't and suddenly, the man was holding up a surgeon's knife and all there was was pain. The same man was in front of Erik, holding a gun off to the side, and Erik looked back and - and it was Edie, a living, breathing Edie - and Erik turned back, his hands out in front of him as he tried to - to move a stupid coin - and suddenly, there was loud bang and Edie was on the ground, blood was everywhere, and a scream ripped through Erik, sorrow and anger boiling in his veins.
Then there was darkness.