Eternal Grief

[redblood]

Six cars and one moped were traveling on the small road through the forest. The sun was hidden somewhere behind the trees and would soon disappear completely from the sky to give way for the moon and the dark. The evening fog was already appearing, seemingly crawling ominously over the pathway. Not a soul could be found along the way except for the 11 teens. Few dared to enter the forest as rumors had spread through the town of Hamel, rumors of disappearances and murders. While the rumors were decades and some even a century old, they were still more than capable of instigating fear in the small town.

Everyone had heard the story of the massacre that had happened a hundred years earlier in the mansion owned by William and Elizabeth Bennett. How a man named Eric Thompson, blinded by rage and sorrow, had entered the house and killed all the servants and their master before finally ending his own life in the tower. Ever since that day, it is said that the lost souls of Elizabeth, William, Eric and the servants are roaming the building, and anyone who happens to cross their way might become the next victim of the everlasting massacre.

Though as time passed and new generations were born, the story came to be viewed as an urban legend rather than a fact. Many teens just rolled their eyes as their grandparents warned them of the danger of the spirits around that mansion, but there was still a morbid curiosity that arouse from the tale for many, and the thought of taking a look crossed the minds of quite a few.

Very few would dare to go alone, but now they wouldn't have to. The group of twelve all came from the same school, Haydon bridge high school, and this trip was their test of courage. The test of courage was something some of the older students prepared every year. They tried to convince as many students as possible to come just to see who they could scare the most, though at times even the seniors got quite the fright from the trip.

As the first car stopped at the gates of the mansion, a high-pitched inhuman scream echoed through the forest.

[fieldbox="Alice Hawk, purple, solid"]
"It is now 7:32 PM, Friday September the 4th 2015. It will be ten more minutes before we arrive at the rumored Bennett's mansion. For the first time in decades, the mansion will be filled with living, breathing human beings once more. If this expedition goes well, we might be able to discover the missing bodies of the servants whom were killed that gruesome evening a century ago. Whatever secrets that place is hiding, we will figure them out. We have one night to search through every corner of the house. Wish us good luck." Alice turned off the camera with her left hand without taking her eyes off the road. She wasn't alone in the car. A guy named Reginald, or Reggie for short, had asked for a ride to the mansion, and of course she had accepted since they were classmates.

Most people would probably find it embarrassing to have someone watching and hearing them talk to a camera like that. Alice didn't though. She always spoke to her camera in public, and Reginald's presence didn't bother her at all.

They were getting closer to their destination. Alice was the one whom had suggested to have the test of courage at the mansion. In the beginning she hadn't even had a thought about joining that stupid courage test at all, but for a long time she had been planning to make a documentary on the mansion, and if the test of courage would take place there, then she would be able to get some great video footage of it. On top of that she would be able to see how the younger generation would react while walking through the oh so feared mansion. It would be a great contrast to the elders stories of it.

"We finally seem to have reached the point of no return." She mentioned quite excited as the mansion started to appear at the end of the road. "Ready to meet some ghosts Reggie?" Alice then asked her traveling mate while turning off the engine. As far as she knew, non in the group believed in ghosts, but that didn't mean people couldn't get spooked out when hearing scary stories in the middle of the night. Most of them would do their best to scare one another, and the first one to escape the mansion before the night was over would definitely be the laughing stock for the older students. Even those who didn't participate usually enjoyed hearing the stories of what happened during the night.

A loud scream-like noise made Alice stop in her tracks for a few seconds, but once she realized that it probably only was a barn owl, she calmed herself down immediately. They definitely made blood thrilling sounds, but they were in no way dangerous. She threw her bag over her shoulder, turned on her camera and stepped out to see the mansion in its full glory. It wasn't what she had expected. It would probably give off a different feel once it was dark, but in the daylight it just looked like a normal rundown building. It definitely didn't feel like a haunted mansion. Was it because it wasn't colored in darker colors like all the haunted mansions in movies were? It didn't matter either way. The outside wasn't the focus, and the fun would start first when it became dark. That would probably happen sooner than expected. They could already hear the faint sound of thunder, and according to the weather prognosis, it would definitely come over them sooner or later, which would make that the perfect night for a haunted mansion tour. At least as long as the lightning didn't hit the house and killed them all.

[/fieldbox]

 

[♡Mesy♡]

"Oh boy this should be fun." Sapphire said as they drove down the path in the direction of the old mansion. Olive, a classmate that she would consider a friend was riding in the car with her. "Have you heard the many many stories of this place Olive?" Sapphire asked the younger girl. They began to pull up to this fog and Sapphire turned on her headlights so they could see. "There's even fog on this road. How mood setting." Sapphire said with a small laugh. "I believe this will be a hoax. Don't get me wrong, I believe in spirits and all. I just don't think this will be like all the stories tell it to be." Sapphire exclaimed.

After a liitle more of a drive she noticed the mansion in the distance. "Oh look, it seems like we're here." Sapphire proclaimed as she pulled up next to another car. "And it looks like we're not the first." She said. She put her car on park and turned off her headlights before stepping out of her car. "You guys here for the courage test aswell?" Sapphire asked curiously.​

 

[Jhuton]

Adam Ruin sat in the drivers seat of his fathers Toyota as he drove toward the 'haunted' mansion. He wasn't looking forward to being around other people, but he did love dark, lonely scary places. He guessed that before the clock even struck twelve everyone would have already vacated the house in fear. He was looking forward to some alone time there. The radio was playing loud pop music that echoed into the eerie forest on both sides of the road. There was more than a little bit of fog on the road, which was unusual at this time in the evening. But what the hell. The freakier the better. Adam certainly wasn't expecting for the loud scream to pierce through the air so loudly. It was louder even than the music booming from the speakers. Adam turned off the radio and listened, but the scream didn't repeat itself. He shrugged and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I guess their going to be starting with the 'scary' crap early. Whatever." He kept on driving and pulled up in front of the house. As soon as he exited his car he heard some blue haired girl ask if everyone was their for the test of courage. He decided he would answer even though he was a bit too late for the question to have been aimed at him. "I'm hear to wait until everyone leaves. Then I'll enjoy the darkness on my own."

 

[Jakers]

Christian hit the brakes of the Ford Mondeo, the sound of some form of jazz coming quietly from his radio. It was a mild evening tonight, and he could barely see the outline of the students and the mansion ahead due to the dusty windscreen of the car. Christian slowly narrowed his eyes as he wrenched the handbrake of his car. There it was. The so-called 'haunted' mansion. He didn't really know fully why others were here - some came to do it for a dare, others came to see if ghosts were real (which they weren't), and others just generally came for excitement. Well, they weren't going to have any stories to tell. Sure, there may be the occasional scary noise here and there in the mansion, but there was a logical explanation for it. Christian knew this place wasn't haunted, and he was going to prove that fact. It would be a good start for his desired future career.

Stuffing the things he bought into the pockets of his smart jacket, Christian neatly placed his grey hat atop his head. He was ready - and if there were no complications, the job would be done quickly. He hadn't packed anything for a long-term stay in this place, such as food or water; Christian's own confidence assured him that this wouldn't take long.

Clambering out of the Ford Mondeo, Christian closed the door firmly shut behind him, adjusted the fedora atop his head, and then clicked the button on his car keys to lock the car. He recognised a few of the students here and there, but he didn't really socialize much. Christian was always too serious to be properly liked.

Listening to the various comments from the students, Christian gave a quiet sigh, and pulled out his notebook and pen. It seems most were here to experience the 'fun' of the mansion, and test their own courage. Whilst he didn't want to talk much, he couldn't help but let out a comment in a polite, gentle yet serious voice, with a heavy Southern British accent.

"You shouldn't all get your hopes up. The rumours about this dump being 'haunted' is simply impossible." Christian said bleakly, checking the batteries of his flashlight. He hadn't realised so many people decided to come and see this hogwash of a haunted mansion.

But he was going to get to the bottom of this. Or so he thought.

 

[Rambunctious]

W i t h ; @redblood, @Hiroshi, @Jhuton, @Jakers

The soft rustlings were emitted off by the factions of leaves being blowed against each other, a glimmer of sunset left, and a straight road surrounded by tall thick walls of slender tree's. Reginald had his eyes out the window, staring into the endless abyss of the tree's. His maroon eyes could only make out tree bark behind tree bark -- it seemed so easy to get lost in. He peeled his eyes away from his personal window and looked straight ahead to see a road soon to end. His eyes could find a glimpse of the eerie mansion. Dark exterior with exaggerated ornate features that haughtily stood tall, peering out of the tall tree's. He felt a lump forming in his throat and his hand tremble. His fingers curled into a tight fist, his knuckles turned white as snow and his heart beating slightly faster each time the view of the mansion became more evident to his eyes. Inhale. Exhale. He consumed large amounts of air and released all the oxygen from his lungs.

"Shit...I wanna fucking go back home..."
"No, Reggie, you gotta do this. Don't be a little bitch."

He rubbed the back of his neck biting his lower lips anxiously. Reginald looked back to see the road being consumed the tree's shadows.

"Fuck..."

"It is now 7:32 PM..." Alice's voice caught him off-guard. "...Friday September the 4th 2015. It will be ten more minutes before we arrive at the rumored Bennett's mansion. For the first time in decades, the mansion will be filled with living, breathing human beings once more. If this expedition goes well, we might be able to discover the missing bodies of the servants who were killed that gruesome evening a century ago. Whatever secrets that place is hiding, we will figure them out. We have one night to search through every corner of the house. Wish us good luck." He took another deep breath, placing his hand over his heart. He could feel each heartbeat beating out of his flesh. He turned to her to see no sign of fear, not even a glimmer of it; the sight of it made him feel terrible.

The car grew closer to the mansion. Maroon orbs dilated in fear at the sight of it. He squirmed uncomfortably around his seat fiddling with his finger. His nails pressed against the soft flesh of his thumb. Each time the mansions eerie but ornate intricate exterior became clear to see he could feel his body tremble. It was an eerie sight, the sunsetting enhanced the dark ambiance, which surrounded the mansion.

"We finally seem to have reached the point of no return." An excited tone escaped Alice's lips leaving Reginald feeling horrified. He masked his fear with a nervous chuckle. The car slowly settled down not far from the mansion. The dark exterior and ornate design became clear to see, his eyes studied the small curved details, signs of rusting was evident to see -- he took a deep breath and slowly let out the air.

"Ready to meet some ghosts Reggie?" Alice asked. Reginald forced a smile and a face of courage. "Fuck yeah, I am!" He said loudly pushing the car door open. A soft gust of wind blew gently, goosebumps crept up his arms causing him to shudder. He was sure the hairs on his back was standing. The large mansion stood before him, intimidating as always. He was reluctant to step any closer, but he had to force himself through the night. Reginald constantly told himself that the myths and legends were just blasphemes. There was no such thing as trapped spirits, no such thing, its such a childish thought. He pushed his hands into the large pocket on his black hoodie. The cold wind was no match for his thick and soft hoodie.

A loud screech caught Reginald off-guard, having him release a small yelp. It was very childish of him, he quickly covered his mouth and looked around. The sound of tired crushing asphalt was a sign of relief. There were or people slowly showing up one by one. He watched as cars parked beside Alice's and people slowly extracting themselves out of their vehicles. He recognized familiar classmates and a few that he barely spoke to. He turned to Alice to see her filming once more. He sighed softly walking towards her nudging her, attempting to grab her attention.

"Hey, look over there." He gesticulated his head towards the group of people conjugated into one group slowly. "We should probably join them." He suggested, already walking towards them but keeping an eye on Alice. He slowly pulled his eyes away from her and walked towards the group of people. Without thinking he put his arm around the first person, he see's and quickly gets to chat.

"I see Alice and I aren't the only people with balls here." He grinned.​

 

[Mundane Monster]

Olive was excited before the trip and then when she had gotten into Sapphire's car. She was still excited when Sapphire had chatted to her the whole way to the car. But her excitement died and went to hell when she saw the fog. All her giddiness came to a screeching halt and she stared in horror at the hillbilly and freakish cousin to nice fluffy clouds. She tried to say something, like "I changed my mind, get me the hell outta here." But no words or sounds came out of her mouth and she was left gaping like a fish out of water.

When they got to the mansion, Olive took a moment to calm herself. "It's all cool, Olly. If you get scared you can just call mom and she'll come pick you up. She'll be super mad that you went to this place against her wishes, but she'll still love you and be willing to save your ass." Olive murmured to herself as she finally gathered her courage and put her bag on. She took a deep breath, opened the door--and prompt fell out when a terrifying scream sliced through the air, scaring the hell out of her and making her face plant on the ground. "Gah!" She yelped as the ground kissed her face.

Olive scrambled to her feet, dusted herself off and really hoped no one had just seen that. She looked around and was happy to see that were a fair amount of people here and more were supposed to come. Catching the tail end of what Reggie said, Olive grinned and sauntered up to join the gathering group of teens. "Damn straight. I am the Queen of Balls." She chirped, fully aware of how stupid and gross that sounded.

 

[Ayla]

[fieldbox=Stella Murray, teal, solid]

​

Stella took the helmet off of her head and set it on the seat of her moped as she hopped off. She set the kickstand down and watched as the others spilled from their cars. Even from here, she could see the different emotions scrawled on everybody's faces. Fear. Excitment. Caution. Hers? A mix between dread and fear. However, Stella would rather die than show that she was scared.

Not only did she believe in ghosts, but she strongly believed they could hurt you. Most of the people here were eager to step into the house, others were hesitant. She didnt blame them. The murder reported here was practically a blood bath. Anybody who wanted to step into the damned thing was insane. Her included.

With a sigh, she took the keys from her moped, grabbed her backpack and made her way to the group that was gathering around the house, a few yards away from the front poor that was all sorts of sad. The house looked old, but more of a 'Victorian' style old. The wood needed to be sanded and replaced, no doubt you'd get a splinter if you tried sitting on it. Nobody wanted a splinter in their ass.

It was when she made it to the rest of the kids that her mind was drifting off into random places to keep her fear from bubbling over the surface. Stella gripped the straps of her backpacks. She tried to listen in to the conversations started by the others, but it was all muted and soft, like they were all underwater and she were trying to hear them from above the surface. She sighed and looked at the abandoned house that had more luggage than any of them combined, doing her best to tune out of the conversations brought about by the others.

[/fieldbox]

 

[Lawkheart]

[fieldbox=Ellie, #25385e]Ellie tried her best to not be so annoyed over the situation. In a spur of teenage stupidity, her younger brother signed up for their high schools courage test; the condition being she went with the male overnight. The female had argued with her parents on the matter, but in the end, she still agreed to take him and signed up herself. The wasn't the only reason why she was annoyed. She was also saddled with another student, agreeing to give him and his brother, her friend, a ride to this event; but the male flaked and left her with having to bring the male along with them like planned. If she wasn't always trying to keep her word, she would have called the whole thing off and flipped the guy off when she saw him next time, however, that wasn't the case. Ellie was alone with two boys, younger then her and obviously going to the courage test for stupid reasons.

Before this journey had begun, she had set the rules for all parties to keep in mind.

"Rule #1: The minute I want to leave, we all leave; no if, ands or buts on the matter.
Rule #2: You don't make it to the designated meet up spot the next morning, you get left behind with no ride.
Rule #3: Keep the creepy to a minimum. The house is creepy as is, I don't want you two getting any ideas on creeping me out. The moment you do, I'm leaving both of you without a ride."

She had told both her brother and Nicholas and made them both promise to follow her rules, before they had even left for the trip. The car did not move until she had a promise for both boys. It was in these moments that Ellie was more a mother then she was an older sister, if only for a moment.

The drive was quiet for the most part, not much conversation went on between her companions and herself; soft music drowning out the silence. This calm atmosphere lasted the whole drive, until the screech filled the air, causing Ellie to jerk a bit; not enough to cause her car to swerve. "What the hell was that?" she asked, no expecting a response as they reached the end of the road, the mansion ahead of them, along with a few other cars and a few of the students who she had seen around school but did not speak to that often.

Parking her car near the other cars, Ellie turned her car off and unlocked the doors. Ellie slung her bag over her head before she climbed out of her car, looking around at the surrounding forest. The air was fresh... but the fog caused an eerie chill to run down her spine. This was not going to be a fun night. Once her brother and Nicholas were out of her car, she locked the doors. Ellie walked over to the group, not knowing any of the students well, but she's seen everyone at school one time or another. "Is everyone here?" she asked, looking at the rather small group.[/fieldbox]

 

[WhoopDau]

Nathanial was excited to see the old mansion face to face, he has only seen pictures of it and it was actually the only reason he was going in the first place. He practically begged his parents to go, and because he didn't really ask for much, they let him go. With the condition that his sister must come of course, which he did feel a bit guilty about. But he wasn't going to lie, his interest in the house did kind of overcome the bad feeling he got. He nodded at the rules she set. They were perfectly reasonable, plus he didn't really think he could argue because he was the one who asked anyway.

He watched the scenery go by as his sister drove the car. He was worried that if he started talking he would end up just rambling about his interest in the mansion. And he doubted that his school mate was actually that interested in this. Then again, he assumed a lot of things but didn't want to take the chance anyways. A sudden screech halted his train of thought. He his eyes widened n surprise but recomposed himself after ne noticed they were there.

Taking off his seatbelt and got out of the car. He didn't want to talk about the screech because he thought he may have just been hearing things. Though if Nicholas or his sister brought it up, he'd definitely vouch for them. He didn't bother talking to anyone and instead decided to admire the house from afar.

 

[Cwolf0615]

[fieldbox="Nicholas Harred, #7A8A87, solid"]
"Now now Nicky, I expected better from you! The arrangements have already been made! You don't want to be rude, do ya? You have to go. Besides, only a coward would refuse, and you know what happens to cowards. Now be a good kid and listen to your big brother."

---

If it was truly possible for blood to boil, now was the time it would happen. At least, that's what Nicholas thought as he allowed his mind to wander back to the events of the past few days. His brother Elias, with his usual gusto, had asked - no, forced - him to sign up for the school's courage test. He'd been led to believe that the older boy would be attending also, only to learn last second that he hadn't been planning on coming in the first place. No, it'd all been just another one of Eli's jokes, just another childish game of 'mess with Nicky' - and it was getting old.

He'd agreed to his brother's friend, Ellie's, rules - though he had done so begrudgingly; And now, here he was, stuck in a car with two siblings he didn't really know - heading straight towards a "haunted" mansion where he'd be forced to spend time with more people he didn't know. The car ride had been quiet, aside from a loud screech that momentarily filled the air. It had caused Nicholas' head to shoot up, away from his notebook, but other than that it got little reaction out of him - he was used to his brothers screaming in his ears, in an attempt to scare him. The distraction was almost welcome, as the entire ride so far had been uncomfortable and largely unpleasant - and he feared that the night he was about to endure would be the same. "Isn't this just lovely? There's going to be hell to pay when I get home Eli. Kiss that stupid playstation you spent so much time saving up for goodbye."

As they finally came to a stop, Nicholas felt a twinge of relief over the fact that the oh-so-tense car ride was finally over. He gathered his things back into his backpack, and stood, slinging it over his shoulder as he did so. With his notebook kept closely clasped at his side, he allowed his eyes to scan the area. There were seven others at this point, not counting his own traveling companions, and he had little to no idea who any of them were. He thought he'd seen a few hanging around with his brothers, though he wasn't sure, as he had never had any real interaction with them of his own. It was strange, being in a group of people without one of his siblings nearby. He was used to being at their side, and rarely socialized without them, making his current situation feel all the more awkward. "Well, uh, hey." He said, giving a slight wave as he sauntered over towards the others. "How many are we supposed to have, anyways?"

[/fieldbox]

 

[UnsightlyTEAstain]

Perhaps it hadn't been the right call to use his uncle's old Chevrolet as transportation through the pot hole riddled road. The run down vehicle had unexpectedly broken down just a mile or two from the mansion. It was a strange twist of luck that he was so close to his destination and irony especially now that he had no ride home. Not that Eric didn't have any problems asking if one his classmates had anymore space in their car. But the fact that maybe no one had even bothered to show up was a possibility.

The ferns and overall foliage continued to grow denser as the path spiraled on wards. The cool shadow of the forest cast everything in a dim light. Birds tittered and leaves rustled, all the sounds of nature having a calming effect on the young man. In fact if he wasn't already significantly late for the haunted house experience than Eric would have just taken his time to traverse through the forest path. A soft jingle of bells suddenly through the calm as a white touch phone was pulled forth from his coat pocket.

Glancing at the callers number, Eric smiled before picking up.

"Yes, Lacey?"

"Where are you??" The other immediately burst out.

"In England"

"Haha very funny, Eric"

A laugh escaped his lips, much to the women's exasperation.

"You don't have to worry, Lacey--"

"And why is that?" She interrupted. He smiled as he could just picture her eyebrows furrowing in irritation.

"Because I'm already here"

The path he had taken hadn't began to open up but became even denser. Enough for the underbrush to graze his ankles. And now a wall of ferns was obscuring the road but not enough to hide the castle behind it. Taking a quick breath, he pushed forward and burst into the open area.

"I'll see you home"

"Eric wai--"

But he had already hung up with a silent apology. Covered from head to toe with leaves and twigs, Eric decided to make his entrance. It was for the most part a silent one since he really didn't know anybody there. Granted he'd only started attending classes last week.

 

[redblood]

[fieldbox="Alice Hawk, Purple, Solid"] Alice looked at everyone that came and her lens captured every moment, which of course included the one in which a girl quite clumsily tripped, but she was fast up on her feet. She hoped she had everyone's names memorized, but considering she wasn't in the same class as most of them, it was hard to be sure who was who. What she did know however was that they should be fifteen, but they were only eleven of them there.

A sigh left her lips. If they hadn't come by now, she doubted they would come at all. People wouldn't be as crazy as to drive on that small road when it's dark, and the dark would be over them in less than an hour. On top of that the mist seemed to be getting thicker, eventually it might make it impossible to see even the trees in front of them. "It seems like everyone's here." Alice stated, not caring for the last few. If they were late they could just walk in on their own and meet up with them later. It wasn't a big deal.

"We are all here for the courage test. Tonight we will prove our bravery and face the demons that is said to be haunting these halls." She definitely over-dramatized it a little bit, but wasn't that the point with the courage test? "Beware, for if you turn around and leave in fear, everyone will know of it. It is one thing to not show up, but once you do show up, you have already told the world that you are brave. Proving the opposite will destroy you, forever!" Or get you teased for a few weeks before everyone forgets about it.

"The rules are simple. Stay in the house until dawn and you win." She explained. "Of course, one person will be on top. The person who shows the least fear during the night will be the true winner. There is even a surprise prize awaiting that person. We will vote for the winner before we leave tomorrow. You cannot vote for yourself though." Alice gave a glance towards the rundown mansion before looking back at the students with a grin.

"So who wants to get the honor of opening the door and show their bravery by taking the first step inside the building?" She asked as she opened the gate to the mansion's garden.
[/fieldbox]

The slight breeze that first had filled the air suddenly stopped as the gates opened. Not a sound could be heard. Even the few birds that had chirped in the distance seemed to quiet down.

Overgrown plants were covering everything from the bottom of the ruined gazebo to the top of the main building and even down to the stables in the backyard. No one had been there in years and it was clearly visible. Even more so as the first student opened the door to the mansion and dozens of bats suddenly came flying out over them and soon disappeared somewhere among the trees to find shelter from the light.

 

[Jhuton]

Adam had to admit, he was more than just a little bit excited. He was thrilled when he walked up to the dilapidated patio and pushed the large black doors open. Bats started flying around like crazy trying to escape the light. He expected nothing less from a 'haunted' mansion. He stepped in first and started looking around. He could barely see anything. The light spilling in from the wide open double doors barely pierced the darkness. That was kinda weird. Adam shrugged mentally. He started walking further into the room. "I wonder if there are any candles in this dump?" he muttered under his breath. He was hoping there was. No way in hell was he going to stumble around in the darkness in an abandoned house that probably had rusty nails and other sharp stuff laying around. He turned around to face the rest of his companions. He glanced at Alice. "Not that I want to get in the way of your leadership or anything, buuuut," he looked over at the rest of them. "We should probably get started on finding candles. Unless of course you all want to walk around in the dark. But then again isn't that normally when the monsters come out." He spun around. "I'd be lying if I said I'm not looking forward to seeing a monster tonight." He walked off into the darkness, squinting and feeling through the room to see if he could find anything useful.

 

[Ayla]

[fieldbox=Stella Murray, teal, solid]
Stella bit her lip and watched as the group started to enter the house. She heard a boy, who's name she believed was Adam, say he wanted to see a monster. What was he, 12? Stella did believe in ghosts to a certain extent, but no way would she want to purposely want to see them.

As they entered, a group of bats came bolting through the now open space in the doorway, their slumber disurbed. It made her heart skip a few beats, only to resume its constant hammering against her ribcage. Her stomach was doing flips, and her heartbeat was in her ears, just loud enough to be heard over the screeching of the bats.

She opted to stay quiet, not wanting to make herself anymore scared than she was. Her hands were shaking, but luckly none of the other members in th group could see her trembling body. The inside of the house was relatively chilly, so atleast, in case someone were to call out her fear, she'd have an excuse.

It smelled musty and damp inside, and the air was heavy with a chilly humidity. It was strange, but each breath that filled her lungs seemed sticky and aritificial. Stella couldn't place her finger on it, but it was extremely uncomfortable in the house, as if she were being watched. The dark seemed endless. It as if they were walking inside the throat of death.

[/fieldbox]

 

[WhoopDau]

Nathaniel was excited as well; if he hadn't been so good at composing himself he would be jumping up and down. He listened to the girl with the glasses and nodded, pretending to care. He didn't care about the prize, he'll stay and leave when he chooses. He likes the building, yes, but he wasn't too fond of the idea on staying there until morning. It wasn't good for his health and he doubted his sister wanted to stay that long too. He also agreed to come home when she felt she had enough of the trip.

He watched the boy step into the house and announce his bravery by opening the door with confidance and didn't flinch when the bats came out. He was sort of impressed. He however, stepped back in surprise when they left the house. 'Hopefully, there arn't any more...' He thought.Though he was confused when he asked if there were candles. 'He didn't bother to bring a flashlight?' He wondered, though both had a limited time of use, he was pretty sure that the flashlight would last longer than a stick made out of wax. He shrugged, he wasn't his responsibility, he also charged in so he couldn't help him.

"Ellie, can we go in now?" He asked.

 

[Jakers]

Everyone else seemed to be calm about the situation, but Christian certainly wasn't. Out of all the God-damned things in the world that could have in been in that mansion - it had to be bats. Terrified as the swarm of horrors flowed out the doors like a curse, Christian's face instantly went pale, and he became too terrified to even scream as he fell back onto his behind, hyperventilating as the countless bats soared through the sky. Even after they'd passed, he still felt like he was going to throw up.

Christian was afraid of barely anything - barely anything! - and the one thing that had to come out of the mansion was bats - his one true fear. Now he looked like an absolute moron. Recovering as he slowly picked himself off the ground, Christian double checked the bats were fully gone, before swallowing hard. Bats didn't prove anything - he still had to show the damned school this place wasn't haunted. Perhaps the others knew of his fear of bats and tried to trick him to make him look stupid. Bastards. Christian wiped off his coat and adjusted his hat, hoping nobody saw his reaction. Bats were literally the creatures of Satan.

Stomping up to the entrance, Christian checked the batteries of his flashlight. He looked to one of the boys, suggesting candles and stating he was looking forward to seeing a monster. Christian snorted.

"Please. Monsters don't exist. The closest thing we'll find to a monster in there is a mentally derranged maniac with a knife - that's the only logical possibility. If there is some kind of 'monster', we would have successfully broken all laws of science and logic within one night. Which - spoiler alert - will not happen." Christian said plainly, writing down scribblings in his notebook about the entrance, and about the strange appearance of bats. There better not be any more damned bats in this place; he'd already been praying not to see even one, let alone a hundred. He bet £20 that the other kids pranked him...

"Now, I have a flashlight, and other people do as well. It's vital that we do stick together, because if there is a maniac of some sort inside this mansion, we'll be able to overpower him before he harms anyone. And for goodness sake you lot, stop thinking there's ghosts or monsters or what have you. Like I said: It's. Not. Possible." Christian grumbled. He was extremely stubborn to his opinion - he wouldn't even believe it if he saw it.

He wasn't scared of this old dump. It wasn't haunted - they probably just interrupted a bat's nest, or something of the like. It got Christian thinking, though... what if a murderer really did live in there? Then he'd only have a pocket knife to defend himself; he wasn't an official detective, and with the U.K. gun laws, he wouldn't be allowed a firearm anyway.

Nonetheless, monsters or ghosts couldn't possibly exist. It was time to prove that to everyone, and then go back to studying.

 

[redblood]

[fieldbox="Alice Hawk, Purple, Solid"] Alice watched, quite surprised as a boy named Adam was the first to walk up to the door, without hesitation mind you. She had been certain there would have been at least some murmuring about whom should take the first step.

As the door opened, dozens of bats flew over their heads. Alice made a squeaking sound as she threw herself towards the ground. She had not expected something to actually come out of the house. Once the sound of the bats had disappeared somewhere in the forest, Alice forced herself up on her feet again while her heart continued to race for a few more minutes. "That was unexpected." She mumbled to herself before following the others inside.

It was incredibly dark inside. Only the open door gave them some light. "We'll probably see better if we open the curtains." Alice suggested. The last lights of day wouldn't last for long, but it would last long enough for them to find candles, if there were any around. She gripped a thick dark red curtain at a window close to the door and pulled it to the side so that a square of the floor was lit up around her. It felt pretty ridiculous to listen to their talk about monsters or murderers. Did they really believe they would hold the courage test at a truly dangerous place?

"I highly doubt that there are monsters or killers in here. Come on guys, we're not kids. The ghosts on the other hand might try to possess your bodies." She said with a playful grin at the end as she continued to open up the curtains. The light soon filled the corridor and they could clearly see closed doors leading to unknown rooms and paintings hanging beside each door. The paintings were too dusty and covered with spiderwebs for anyone to make out whom the people in the paintings might be. One thing was sure though, Alice would not touch those spiderwebs to figure out what was behind them. Another noticeable thing in the corridor were the candle-holders that hang on each side of every door with a half burnt candle in each. Even those were covered with spiderwebs and dust.

"Hey, we found our candles. Anyone having matches?" She asked. For her it didn't matter much. She didn't have any flashlight with her, but she did have night vision on her camera. Not the ideal light source considering everything became green, but it kind of set the mood. Curious, Alice tried to open a random door while listening to the group as she waited for her question to be answered. The door was locked. What a shame. [/fieldbox]

 

[Cwolf0615]

[fieldbox="Nicholas Harred, #7A8A87, solid"]Nicholas had been expecting more people to show up, but after a few moments, the girl with the video camera - Alice, if he was putting the name to the face correctly - began to speak. She was being a bit overly dramatic, in his opinion, but he assumed that was mostly for the camera. Besides, that was part of the fun, right? If this could be called fun, that is.

She asked who would be the first to open the door, and without even the slightest hesitation, and maybe even something like excitement, a member of the group stepped forward. As the doors were flung open, Nicholas was surprised to see dozens of bats come flying out. With a slight yelp, and an exclamation of "Shit!" he ducked, holding his notebook up over his head in an attempt to protect himself. He stayed like that, crouched down in a protective position, until he was sure the last of the bats were gone. Finally, he stood again, brushing down his shirt and letting out an annoyed huff at his own reaction. He felt a bit like a fool, not because he had ducked - that was just a normal reaction, in his opinion - but because while it was happening he had actually allowed himself to feel fear over a bunch of stupid flying rats. "Well, at least I didn't freak out like a certain someone." He thought.

He watched as Christian stomped up to the mansion, feeling a mixture of concern and amusement over the boy's freakout - though amusement was definitely the most prominent feeling, and was what was visible on his face. With a slight shake of his head, he went to follow, stepping in just in time to catch the others' words. "Monsters? Killers? Ghosts?" He rolled his eyes as he reached back to grab his flashlight out of a pocket on the side of his backpack. "Ghosts don't exist, 'monster' is just a word people made up for creatures and animals they can't understand yet, and as for killers? I have a feeling we're the first humans to set foot in here in a long time. I mean, did you even see those bats? I don't think they'd be hanging around if someone was living here - they certainly got out quick enough when we opened the door." He paused. "That would make things a lot more interesting, though."

With a slight grin, he switched his flashlight on, shining it around the room. The light coming in through the windows was more than enough to see, but he liked having the brighter light to see by. Besides, there was something more adventurous about searching an old room with a flashlight, and the one he had brought along with him had very good battery life, anyways.

"Matches?" He asked. "Nah, sorry. Who doesn't bring a flashlight to an old mansion, anyways? Were you guys expecting a working electrical system, or something?"

There was another pause, as he observed one of the paintings on the wall. It was too dusty for him to make out, but he couldn't help but wonder what it would look like if cleared away. He was tempted to do it himself, as he had never had any problem with spiders or bugs in general, but he couldn't help but feel it would be a bit disrespectful. "It feels a bit wrong, doesn't it?" He mumbled quietly, more to himself than anyone else. "Coming in here and disturbing a place like this? Where something so horrible happened? I guess it doesn't matter though, I mean... it's not like you can upset dead people."

[/fieldbox]