The Devil's Spawn

ACT VII: IT SAID...

Prism pouted at her brother's overprotectiveness. Although her guts did tell her to be obedient as something about the place screamed eerie and suspicious. From the first time they arrived with that rusty gate incident, Prism could feel eyes on them, as if they were not alone.

"This place is supposed to be abandoned, right?" Prism asked, breaking the silence. The girl jutted out her bottom lip, bored out of her mind despite the potential danger they might be in.

Yue grunted in response, too busy roaming his eyes around everything in fear of missing crucial information. He scanned every nook and cranny with Princess on his heels. Still, Prism knew if she were to sneak out and go to where King is located, her older brother would no doubt notice before she could even set one foot in front of the other.

"Then why is it so well kept? Compared to the outside, which is in ruins, the exterior seems like someone has been making sure this place is looked after."

"And if someone really did that, then it would make sense if they also included the outside, it is such a waste of a beautiful front lawn," Sky added, earning her an enthusiastic thumbs up from the dark-haired girl, making Sky blush in embarrassment.

"Right?" Prism sang as they moved along to the kitchen.

"This place is even bigger than ours," Princess exclaimed, her eyes sparkling in awe. Apparently, the platinum blonde is fond of cooking and baking contrary to her strict demeanor.

"And look, fresh fruits!" Prism exclaimed. When the said girl reached out, hoping to taste one bite of an apple, Yue swatted her hand away with his piercing stare that told Prism he is disappointed in her.

"That might be infested," he claimed. "Do not put any edible thing you see in your mouth as Pri did, who knows what is in those things." Yue scrunched his face in disgust as he glared at the tempting display of fruits perched on top of the kitchen table. It was as if they were waiting to be used as a model for a painting, Sora would appreciate them.

Prism stuck her tongue out towards the tall brunette before skipping to the rows of cabinets that lined above the sink. However, when the girl found she was too short to reach, she moved on to the kitchen counter and found ten — no, fourteen different knives, some larger than the rest.

"What do they need all of these for?" Prism asked Princess, who was an expert in the kitchen. The said platinum blonde shrugged upon seeing the various sizes.

"This could very well be a murder weapon by how many there is," Sky thought out loud, only for Princess to send a glare her way. Sky immediately apologized, her cheeks still aflame.

"Well, they must just like their knives. At least, that is what I think. We do not own this many knives, though," Princess said with a shrug.

"I hate to scare you," Yue interjected. "But it is best that we remember the placing of these knives in case we need to fend for ourselves."

The three ladies shivered at the darkness behind the tall male's cautiousness. Prism glared at her brother then proceeded to land a smack on his arm. "That only makes us anxious!"

However, Yue still had a straight face on. If he felt regret, then three could not tell. "Sorry," he said, although he did not look like it. But Prism knew her brother enough to know he actually will not say anything he will not mean. "But I just want you all to be on your guard. Like you all said, everything that has been going on is nothing short of suspicious. Something in me is telling me we are in danger, they said to trust your instincts after all, and I trust mine."

The three ladies eyed each other, evident concern reflected in their eyes. "I feel the same," Princess agreed and was followed by Sky's echo of her claim. When Yue turned to his younger sister, the said dark-haired girl felt compelled to nod her head, but it was not as if she did not feel the same sense of foreboding.

"There is more," Yue added and the other three gulped in anticipation. "Remember the rows of bedrooms we found up on the second floor?"

"It was even complete with food just waiting to be eaten outside!" Prism eagerly answered, her mouth watering at the reminder of the delicious food they found.

"As expected, you only remember the bit about the food," Yue sighed dejectedly to himself. "Anyway, I do not know if this is a coincidence but the number of rooms accommodates the fourteen of us, although there really is no information on the internet about the mansion's layout."

"I would like to believe this is only a coincidence," Sky declared with a nod, but Prism did not miss the way her lower lip trembled.

"Yeah, I think so too. Let us not scare ourselves now!" She hurriedly agreed, not wanting to scare the poor girl further. Prism gave Yue a knowing look and both nodded slightly in agreement. If any more of these coincidences are found, they will first discuss it by themselves before jumping to conclusions, lest they risk the rise of anxiousness that might ultimately result in hysteria.

"We all agree that there is nothing more to look in here so let us move along," Yue said and they all nodded wordlessly, each piling up in a line towards the door. But just as the first person got out, Yue, a loud clang resonated from behind them.

"Eek!" Princess, being the last person in line, squeaked in surprise and latched herself onto the nearest person, Sky.

Yue hastily ushered the ladies behind him while alarm bells rang loudly in his head. Unexpectedly, a knife — fortunately normal in size — stood stuck on the tiled floor.

"Is it standing?! What is holding it up?!" The platinum blonde shrieked in horror, her hold on Sky tightening. The said girl patted her friend on the arm to tell her she cannot breathe, but it all went in Princess' one ear and exited on the other.

Prism hurriedly took a quick snap of the bizarre occurrence, her flash making the blade glint menacingly.

Yue gave it a good kick but the knife did not resist and fell with another clang. The tall male moved closer despite Prism's protests and found no strings to hold it up. "How did it even leave the rack without anyone touching it in the first place? Is someone playing a massive prank on us?"

The brunette watched as the world blurred for a brief moment, and it was when he registered the tug on his arm did he realize that Prism dragged him away from the sharp object. A glare decorated her face. "What were you thinking?! What if it flew and stabbed you, huh?"

"That is some active imagination you have," he teased, although the stoic expression on his face made it harder for Sky and Princess to tell. Prism, however, had no problem telling and smacked him once again on the arm.

"Well, whatever it was, I want to get as far from it as possible, let's go!" Princess insisted and pulled Sky along with her, the two were obviously weirded out by the way their brows furrowed and Prism could not blame them. The dark-haired girl still shivered at the thought of a flying knife, and it was not until warmth covered her head did she calm down. Yue's large hand rested on her head after sensing her worries. No matter how stoic he looked, the tall brunette will always be in tune with her mood, a fact she appreciated a lot.

"Come on, let's go before we lose those two."

And as they stepped out, an ear-piercing scream resonated throughout the entire mansion, the sound bouncing off walls and creating echoes. Suddenly, the bright-lit room became eerie, and the hallway further was shrouded in dim light, making the atmosphere creepier.

"Wait, isn't that Amber's voice? Why did she sound so terrified?" Sky asked, her breathing shaky. A terrified whimper escaped Princess' mouth, reminding Prism just how easily the platinum blonde gets frightened no matter how mean-looking and strict she is.

"I think it is time to end our search now and group back with the rest, but first..." Yue trailed off before hurrying back inside the kitchen, all the while ignoring his sister's protests out of concern for his safety. The knife immediately emerged in the tall brunette's view. With quick footsteps and careful hands, he picked two knives, one being the largest one available with its blade long and the medium-sized, enough for any of the girls to wield. Grabbing a broom in the corner, he went out and shoved the things he found towards the three.

"Sky, since Princess is too frightened, I will give you the knife." He then turned to his sister who eyed the weapon he chose with apprehension. Yue shoved the broomstick in front of the dark-haired girl, leaving her with no choice but to accept. Sky whimpered but with shaky hands, gripped tightly onto the knife's handle. "Pri, you use this to smack anyone."

The said girl frowned, she knew her overprotective brother only gave the stick because it lacked any sharp edges. Otherwise, he would have given her the knife instead of Sky — who was badly shaking and Prism feared she would stab herself first before the enemy.

"It is better for us to be ready in case we are attacked — no surprise after all that stunt pulled. Now, let's hurry."

The trip back to the main hall felt like a drag as their ears rang. The only noise they could hear was the pounding of their footsteps on the floor and the loudness of thumping of their hearts. Time felt like it moved in slow motion as fear hung over their heads, waiting for the right time to jump down on and slit their throats.

Once in the said place, Yue and the others found King and the twins already making a beeline towards the source of the noise. Yue called for the ravinette but Prism was already running to him.

"Pri?" He asked in a daze and turned to the others approaching. His eyes then landed on the weapons they carried and grimaced once he saw the knife on Sky's shaking hand, although he understood why they carried such things after everything that had happened quickly. Yue is a quick thinker after all.

"You will injure yourself, calm down," he said with a nod to Sky and the said girl inhaled a deep breath before exhaling it all loudly.

"Yeah, sorry."

"No time, come on!" Hori exclaimed and the group finally ran to where Kou's group went with Amber in tow.

The hallway in this part was even darker than the one Prism and the rest were previously in. King feared Sky might accidentally stab someone in the gut or in the eye, and thus, took the knife from her sweaty hands, to which the girl was very grateful for.

"Amber! Kou! Where are you guys?" Hori screamed in hopes of receiving an answer. Fortunately, Kou's familiar nasally voice resonated almost immediately, urging the group towards some sort of secret passageway down to a basement.

Fortunately, the place was not pitch black and light flooded in once they descended down a flight of stairs made out of cobblestone.

They found amber crouching down in a corner with Kou trying to give her comfort. Rose's complexion turned pale and to distract herself, took pictures of anything she found interesting inside the spacious basement.

"What happened?" Hori immediately asked once she was close enough to the shivering girl.

Kou shrugged. "She suddenly screamed while we were searching this place. She kept on muttering incoherencies after that."

"Where is Sora?" Hiro asked, his eyes roaming. The said boy popped his head from a door on the left, surprising the male twin and eliciting a loud shriek from the said twin. Sora smirked at his reaction — a definition of a laugh for him, so to speak for Hiro had never heard him laugh out loud.

"Come see this," he urged and the three males present went to follow the ash blonde. Meanwhile, the rest of the girls — Rose included after she took her pictures — huddled to where Hori had now managed to calm Amber.

"Now, can you tell us what happened?" Hori asked as gently as she could, all the while rubbing soothing circles on the brunette's back.

Ambers gulped, her vision disoriented and brain muddled. All she managed to say was: "It knows everything! And we are all bound to die."