m******e Mansion

Chapter 8- Sunday: 12 a.m.

BING.

BONG.

BING.

BONG.

     We all turned our heads away from the disturbing scene to find the cause of the commotion. In the eerie hallway stood a grandfather clock. It's loud chiming rang throughout the entire household. Saturday was finally over, and Sunday had begun. 

     "So you're telling us that this isn't Luke?" Caspian asked in a doubting voice.

     "Why don't you look for yourself? The nose is too long, the lips are too thin, what's left of his shoulders aren't broad enough, and his eyes are grey," Lidia pointed out. And it was true, upon closer inspection there were tiny details out of place. At just a glance this man could have been mistaken as the missing Luke, but not anymore.

      "She's right, you know. This isn't our guy," Mark concluded, getting up from his crouching position over the deceased male.

      "O.F. is just trying to toy with us," I stated. "He's sitting somewhere in this mansion probably laughing his ass off at our reactions. I don't even think he's going to kill us. He just wants some entertainment, and we're giving it to him."

     "Exactly. He's a sadistic man. So maybe this is all some joke. Luke was never murdered, who's to say any of us will be? I think this man is just a fake. Why don't we test this theory?" Mark questioned, lifting his head to reveal his electric green eyes.

    "What are you suggesting? That we should send one of us to go find out?" The dirty-blonde asked. She had gotten over her wave of sickness, but she was leaning against the doorframe as if still light-headed.

    "That's exactly what I'm suggesting," He replied matter-of-factly.

     "Are you crazy? What if this isn't a prank?" Lewis inquired, stunned.

     "Well there's only one way to find out," Caspian said. He pulled out a mini recording camera from his jean pocket and held it up. It seemed according that he had it, but it was still a bit surprising.

      "So who goes next then?" Nathaniel asked.

      "Whoever O.F. wants," Lidia said," Based on his time frame of two hours, he should be contacting us soon."

       "Maybe we should go inside the room again, last time he left a note," Kadince recalled. A few of us nodded and we walked into the "photo room" as we would later call it. Once we were all in the room, I shut the door, but not before seeing an unnatural shine on the grandfather clock. It reminded me of the camera in the tree. At the time I had believed the cameras were placed by the police, but now I was doubtful. I wouldn't make the same mistake twice, so I walked out of the room to see what could be done with the camera.

      "Ah, ah, ah, my Little Lady. I wouldn't do that if I were you. Just stay right inside that room. Put your foot back.....there we go. Now, if you'd just shut the door...wonderful. Now, I hear you're all awaiting the next round. My minion should be there soon with your letter, and this time I'd like to hear Klarissa read it. It's not all the time you get to hear an angel speak the words you've written. Wouldn't you agree, Mark? Haha, I thought so...now I have some...haha...business to attend to, so to speak. This time, I'd like my player to be left in the game room. I do recall that they seemed to have a liking for it. Now, if you'll excuse me, your mail is here." 

   Just as the intercom went out, another letter was slid under the door. I immediately went to open the door, only to find no one there. So, I turned and picked up the note after closing the door. This letter was in an envelope with a seal. The seal was a dark plum color with the letter O.F. in calligraphy. Carefully opening the letter, I pulled the note out. It was white with golden swirls around the edges and small, black cursive writing in the middle. I began to read;

            My dear Klarissa and co,

  Before we get down to business, I would like to mention a few things. Klarissa, you are doing an extraordinary job at noticing out of the ordinary details. I would like to see you as the leader. If your group does not agree with this replacement-

     At that point the note was ripped out of my grasp by none other than Lidia. She looked furious.

      "Stop lying, you little b***h! I'm the leader here and always will be!" She shouted in my face. I cowered slightly at her tone. Lidia hadn't acted like this for awhile, not even when Luke was around. "You've always thought you were some perfect little angel! Well I'm sick and f*****g tired of it!!!" As she yelled that I felt a sharp pain on my cheek that knocked my head to the side.

      One of my best friends had just slapped me. I lifted my hand to my right cheek as tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't believe after all we'd been through together she would have done something like this. She was still yelling and pointing at me, but I couldn't hear a word she was yelling. At one point the multi-haired girl ripped the note to shreds and Kadince looked at her in horror. Miranda had ran to me and was hugging me to her, while Mark was trying to talk some sense into Lidia. All I could do was stand there wrapped in Miranda's arms and let the tears run down my face. 

      Kadince had picked up all the pieces she could, but they were so crumpled that no words could be made out. Caspian had gone over to assist her while Nathaniel had gone over to help Mark with the raging teen. Lewis was just standing in the back watching the scene play out, but he soon walked to help Kadince as well.

      "I bet the little b***h is in on this! I bet she's working with HIM! How else would she notice all this?! It's all in their plan. She becomes the leader and helps him murder us all!!" Lidia continued to shout.

    "My, my. I certainly didn't expect this to happen when I left. I can see that my lovely note was ripped to shreds. Was that also you, Miss Lidia Wren? Tch, tch, I expected more from you. And....what's this....Did you INJURE my Little Angel? Oh no, no, no. This won't do at all. Hahahaha, change in plans. Oh dear, Kadince get off the floor. The note is fine. It was just a simple flimsy thing anyways. There is no importance to it at all. Klarissa wipe the tears, I have a job for you. I want you to escort the bi-I mean, our dearest Lidia here, to the kitchen. I expect you can do that. Rule number one can be disregarded for you at the moment. Now, haha..'chop chop'."

       Miranda had let go of me and gave a concerned look in my direction before she took a step back. I lifted my head to see a frightened Lidia who was backing away from me as I stepped forwards.

     "No, Klarissa, I-I swear. I didn't mean anything I said. I was j-just angry is all. You can understand right?" She said, shaking as she kept taking steps backward with her hand out in a "stop" gesture. She might have gotten far if she hadn't tripped over a coffee table leg. Shrieking, she fell.

    "Calm down, Lidia. I'm just taking you there. I'll even stay with you if you'd like. I forgive you. I don't wanna hurt you," I explained, reaching my hand out to help her up. Quickly, Lidia started scrambling backwards.

     "Did you hear how he said to bring me? HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!!! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!!" The multi-haired girl started yelling again with a crazed look in her eye. She looked like a cornered animal. It's human instinct to stay alive, they act differently in states of fear.

      "Listen, Lee Lee, I'm not going to let that happen. I made a promise that I'd protect all of you. I won't let anything harm you while I'm around. So come on. What happened to O.F. just bluffing, and us recording what happens?" I asked in a gentle tone. She had slowly stopped her descent backwards, and it seemed like my words had made her come back to herself.

      "You're right, that's what we were going to do. I'm not going to get hurt, haha, silly me. It's all going to be fine," she said, getting up and brushing the dust off herself. "Well, hand me that recorder, Caspian."     

       The blue-eyed male looked at her in shock and handed it to her. It had a head strap on it, so it could see everything she did. Securing it around her head, she took my hand. Then we walked to the door with everyone giving us worried glances.

      "Maybe I should go with you guys, keep you safe ya know?" Mark said nervously.

     "That won't be needed. O.F. said he won't harm Klarissa, and nothing will happen anyways, right?" Said a glaring Lidia. Mark nodded and sent me one last glance that told me to stay safe. 

      "I'll be back in less than ten minutes," I stated and waved. Then Lidia opened the door and we were almost on our way until Kadince ran and hugged us. After a minute she let go and backed away. After that, we finally left. I quietly shut the door and grabbed Lidia's hand. She took out the flashlight that Nathaniel had given her and flipped the switch, sending a beam of light in front of us.

    It didn't take long for us to find the staircase. We were about one minute from our destination, then we would know what O.F. wanted with Lidia. With us both covered in blood, a flashlight guiding our way, and our arms wrapped around each other, we looked like we had come right out of a horror movie. Lidia had slowly started shaking once again, but her face only showed courage and determination. While descending the stairs, I started hearing a noise.

     "Lidia," I whispered," Do you hear that?"

     "The thudding noise?" 

     "Yeah."

     With that Lidia clung a little tighter to me. The noise sounded like a meat cleaver chopping something up. The closer we got to the kitchen, the louder the noise was and the more Lidia shaked. I was trying to put on a brave face, but it was slowly vanishing. 

     Finally reaching the door that led to the kitchen, we paused. I put my finger to my lips and leaned my ear against the door. The noise was indeed coming from behind the door. It was a meat cleaver being whacked into what I only hoped was a cutting board. I slowly put my hand on the handle, and with a shaky breath, opened the door. I couldn't believe what I saw.

    Absolutely nothing. The moment I opened the door the noise stopped. There was no indication of the noise even being there. The kitchen looked exactly as it had the first time we had opened it. I peeked my head inside and still saw nothing. I motioned Lidia to come in. The moment she stepped in she started frantically looking around.

THUD!

    Lidia screeched and turned around to find the door shut. This was the second time a door had shut for mysterious reasons. She immediately clung to me again. While I wrapped one comforting arm around her, I continued to look around the room. All I saw was a torn piece of paper on the crimson red fridge.

    "Lee Lee, I'm gonna go look at that paper, okay? You have to let go," I told her. She nodded her head and released her firm grip. I walked to the fridge and read the note.

    "'Have you really forgiven Lidia for all she's done? I can see the little tint of malicious intent in your eyes, my beautiful rose. Now is your chance. Beyond that door to the left of the stove is a little.."obstacle course" ..so to speak. If you want revenge, of which I will not judge, you can send her right through. I know all she's done to you. She's always been abusive when angry, I can see all the scars she's left on your beautiful pale skin. I know the hateful words she's said to you. You can give all that pain right back to her, you can even blame me for it. Think on it. In the meantime, I have left a little buffett of foods in this fridge to quench any cravings you may have.

                                                                               Take Care, O.F.

      I kept reading the letter over and over again. How could someone know? I've never told anyone. Everything mentioned in that note had been a secret between me and Lidia. Of course, all the things she's done to me.....no. I can't do that. I have forgiven her, right? I would never have her endure all that pain, right? 

      "What did it say, Cherry?" Lidia's voice rang out in the dark kitchen. I turned to her and put on a fake smile.

       "It just said that O.F. was kind enough to provide us food! It's in the fridge. Wasn't that nice of him?" I asked, still with that fake smile on my lips. She merely nodded and went to the fridge.

       In the fridge we found meats, water, fruits, vegetables, desserts, and anything that a teen could ever want. Our eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas, and we pulled all we wanted out and placed it on the dark oak dining table. We sat and ate the delicious food, but I couldn't really enjoy it. My mind was on that note. I didn't know what to do. Of course, I wanted her to feel my pain. I always had, but she's my friend. But friends shouldn't treat you the way she does. Shut up. The voices in my head started acting up again to which I slammed my water onto the counter.

      "What's wrong, Klarissa?" Lidia questioned, looking concerned. Why would she be concerned for you? All she wants you for is an emotional outlet. She doesn't even like you. No one does. 

       "Just a headache. Nothing really serious," I chirped, a fake smile on my face once again. I continued to eat my food. This decision would require a lot of thinking.

                                            ~                                       ~                                         ~

      I could see it all in her beautiful, crystal clear blue eyes. I could see the hate she held for Lidia. That multi-haired b***h deserved everything that was coming to her. I could see the wheels turning in that gorgeous head of Klarissa's. Calculative, one more thing to add to the list about her.

       My fascination with her was growing. As were my emotions. My anger peaked when I saw what Lidia had done to her. I've been getting a dark, choking feeling in me when I see others touching her. They're all tainting her angelic self. With that look on her face, she seems to be in an inner turmoil. I know that look. I find it on my own self quite often. 

       My little angel looked at the camera unknowingly and I felt a warm emotion in the pit of my nonexistent heart. I could almost feel my cold, dead heart beating for once in my life. My mother's voice suddenly rang in my head. 

      Never get attached to a kill. I wasn't getting attached. Then, another phrase my mother would say when my father went away. 

      Don't fall in love with a victim.

     "Shut up," I told myself. Me? Falling in love? HA! What a funny thought. That would never happen. It's just a silly fascination. That's all it is.

       I watched Klarissa slam her glass on the table with a sneer on her face, soon replaced with a fake smile once again. It didn't compliment her face. I saw a dark look overpass her face again while a strand of brownish-red hair fell in her face.

      "Could it be?" I smiled to myself. "Is my Little Lady insane as well?"