That night, the whole group slept in the living room. They took out their sleeping bags from Autumn's car, pushed all the couches and sofa seats away in one corner, and huddled up in front of the crackling fire.

When they had initially planned the trip, it had been decided that they would sleep in separate rooms in the mansion. To them it was just a sort of challenge and also a purpose to see if something really happened. However, now they didn't want to go up and sleep separately when they hadn't even inspected the mansion.

A crack of thunder made Autumn snap out of her thoughts. She had been thinking deeply about what had happened before, that she didn't even notice her friends talking among themselves.

"Maybe we could set a number and leave this place when that number has been reached," Talia suggested.

"Are you serious?" Adam sat up straighter. "You want us to set a number?"

"A number for what?" Autumn interjected.

"Raymond suggested that since something has already happened and we're still here, then we should set a scale to see what would be considered 'disturbing'." 

"And I said that we should set a number. That way, say, if three things would have happened, we would leave," Talia continued.

Autumn frowned as she relaxed back more. "I don't agree with any of you," she stated, "I think we should leave whenever something alarming happens. Something that would result in our lives being in danger."

The room fell silent and the sound of rain filled the room with the harsh cracking of thunder over the soft crackling of fire.

"You really think things would go that far?" Adam whispered.

Autumn shrugged. "Not really. But they could."

No one said anything after that and soon, they all fell asleep.

When Autumn opened her eyes the next morning, she noticed the lack of any sunlight. Groaning, she sat up and got out of her sleeping bag while stretching. Her eyes fell over the sleeping figures of everyone in the room and she tiptoed around them to the window.

A thick blanket of clouds was all over the sky- hiding the sun. The soil was dark and damp along with the trees- their leaves littering the area. The fog had left due to the rain and there was no wind. Autumn looked back at her friends when she heard shuffling and saw Kaylee waking up.

"Morning." Kaylee smiled and Autumn returned the greeting. 

As both young women freshened up, others woke up one by one. Once everyone was ready for the day, they ate breakfast and picked up the map to continue their survey of the place.

"Should we start from here, or here?" Raymond asked while pointing at two opposite sections on the map on either side of the staircase.

"Let's begin with the first floor. There are mostly only bedrooms up there with the library, right?"

The friends agreed with Adam, picked their bags and started climbing the stairs. Autumn had the map in her hands as they walked up. The group walked in the direction of the right hallway first, seeing the multiple bedrooms which were all locked. In the left wing, the same number of bedrooms was present. The only difference was that some rooms at the end were unlocked. Autumn took a room beside a locked one, and everyone else settled in rooms beside her- the engaged couple together in one.

After successfully placing their belongings in their designated rooms, they continued their exploration of the floor. The sliding door of the library opened as the group entered. They all watched in awe and admired the spaciousness of the two storey room with wall mounted book shelves. There were two brown leather couches with a small round table in between- all covered with white sheets. In a minute, the sheets found their new resting place on the dusty wooden floor.

With fingertips slightly brushing over the spine of books and leaving dust free trails, Autumn's hand stopped over a small book with no name on its backbone. A shiver ran down her spine as she took it out of its place and caressed her hand slightly on the brown cover. There was John Marshall inscribed in the cover.

As others moved about the place, examining it and it's content, Autumn's feet found themselves going towards one of the couches and she sat down. She flipped open a random page of the small diary- her eyes skimming over the handwritten calligraphic words.

-

March 6, 1950

Today marks a year since I have been left alone in this place. What once felt like a comfortable house now haunts me. The only company I have is the sweet little Maria. I sometimes feel really bad for the girl because she got stuck with us all in this never-ending mess. Who knew that saving a life and eloping would lead to this?

I have to say that Maria is quite interesting. Today she came home and ranted to me about this boy she met in the market. It was thoroughly amusing to watch her blushing at little things and reminded me of my little moments with my own other half.

Also, there has been a huge population downfall in the town. More and more people are leaving after the incident. I thought it would be fine after such a long time but it seems that everyone is still slightly terrified. On the other hand, I do not think I would leave. This house holds so much importance to me that it hurts even to think about abandoning it. Though, if Maria insists, I would let her leave and start a life of her own somewhere else. Maybe with the boy she met today. At least she would not be stuck with my miserable self anymore. She is just like a little sister to me and I would do anything for her happiness.

-

A frown made its way on her face as she stared into the space, her mind working gears. She quickly flipped open another page, but before she could start reading, she was interrupted.

"Come on, Autie. We still have a floor left and it's already way past noon. We need to get moving," Talia said without realizing that she had interrupted her sister. Everyone was already out of the library and Autumn had not even noticed their absence. She was too concentrated on the small diary and the mesmerising writing.

Autumn nodded at her sister. She reluctantly placed the diary on the small round table beside the couch and got up. The staircase that led to the second floor was right in front of the library. Unlike the staircase a floor beneath, this one was a semi spiral one. The group walked up the stairs and landed on the floor on the right side where it ended. There was a room right where the stairs ended but, unfortunately, it was locked. A small sitting area was present in front of it and beside it, was the second floor of the library. Kaylee walked forward and opened the door that led to it. There was also some of the furniture laying there along with more book shelves.

Further on the floor, there were some other rooms along with a huge terrace that gave way to a sunroom with shattered glass everywhere. The second floor was overall smaller than the other two floors.

As the group descended down the semi spiral staircase, unanswered questions came to Autumn's mind. She couldn't help but think how a lot of rooms were locked in the place. Were they locked to keep something away from the rest of the world? Or did they just happen to be locked? And where were the keys to the locks?

Autumn was determined to have all the answers by the end of her stay. The rumors and stories hadn't bothered her before as much as they did now. Were they true? Was there more to the story? Or was there a whole new story? She didn't know. All she knew was that she was curious to know all of the answers.

By the time the group had had their next meal, the sun had almost set. Their examination had taken up most of their day and the ground floor was still left. The mansion was massive, and night also seemed to come quick.

All of them had found some candles in the kitchen and had taken one for themselves before heading upstairs.

The sky turned a dark shade of gray and lightning broke through the clouds. Thunder followed shortly after giving an open signal to the rain to begin its shower. The tired occupants of the house decided to call it a day and made their way towards their designated rooms. Suddenly, Autumn stopped and retraced her steps. She stopped at the library for a brief moment and then went back to her room with the diary in her hands.

She was just bypassing Raymond's room when he called her through the open door. When she turned to him, she noticed a troubled expression on his face.

"What is it?"

"Uh, do you happen to have a spare toothbrush? I, uh, forgot mine." Raymond blurted nervously.

Autumn rolled her eyes in amusement.

"You should be glad to have me as your best friend because I know you too well."

Raymond sighed in relief and flashed a smile to the brunette.

As Autumn started to walk down the hallway, she thought how her best friend had not spoken what he had intended. She didn't know why he would do that and decided to ask him about it when a barely audible sound of footsteps echoed behind her. Autumn froze and turned around, seeing nothing. When she turned back around and started walking, the footsteps were heard along with a small giggle. Autumn whirled around again to see the empty hallway. For a moment, it was quiet, so Autumn took a hesitant step forward.

Suddenly, an angelic voice spoke by her ear in a quiet whisper, "I see you."

Autumn sucked in a breath and spun around, her heart pounding in her chest and her palms turning sweaty.

There was no one there.

Without thinking twice, she gulped and speed-walked to her room, entering it. Her legs shook slightly and she sat down on the bed with her eyes on the door and her ears straining to hear any noise.

Nothing happened.

Autumn placed the diary on her bed, took the spare toothbrush out of her bag, and left the room with reluctance. She forced a smile on her face and made her way to her best friend's room. No matter what she told herself, an uneasy feeling stayed inside her and made her want to look over her shoulder every second.

At last, she reached the room. The smile from her face faltered as she took in the frozen state of her friend.

"Ray?" she called out, but Raymond stood unmoving in front of the bed, his back towards her. Autumn walked inside and stopped beside him. She stared at what he was- his bag full of piled up clothes. She then glanced back at her friend.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Autumn tried again. Raymond snapped out of the daze and looked at her with a horrified expression. He quickly masked it and shook his head, taking the toothbrush from her hand.

"Raymond..."

"What?"

"Something happened. What is it?"

Raymond blew out a breath and looked up at the ceiling before mumbling, "When I took my clothes out of my bag, they just vanished on their own. At first I thought I had never taken them out because they were back in my bag, but then it happened every time I looked away. It's probably something stupid, don't mind-"

Autumn placed her hand on his arm firmly. She then told him what she had heard in the hallway before.

"There's something wrong with this place," Raymond said.

Autumn agreed.

A few hours after midnight, a melodious laugh invaded Autumn's ears and broke the spell of a deep slumber casted over her. A frown etched on her face as she opened her eyes and looked around in the darkness of her room.

A clap of thunder startled her and made her conscious of the heavy rainfall. Shaking her thoughts off, she closed her eyes again. Sleep was on its way to lay down its blanket over her when the same laugh echoed around her. It was beautiful and felt as if it was calling out to her. Autumn sat up in the bed and looked around. It was then that she noticed how cold she felt. She slowly got up from the bed and walked over to the window.

Needles of rain tried their best to prick through the glass pane, but in vain. On looking outside the window, Autumn's gaze met with nothing but nature's condition in a storm. There were some big stones and fallen wet leaves surrounding the bare trees- their wet surface shining in the lightning. Suddenly, the same musical laugh reverberated around her. She spun around quickly, but there was nothing. Her heart hammered against her chest as she returned her eyes back to the window, hugging her body for some warmth.

The clock ticked away and Autumn kept looking at the beautiful view, when she merely became conscious of another presence inside the room. She had not heard the door opening or any other portal opening for that matter.

Goosebumps appeared all over her skin when the temperature of the room suddenly dropped more. There wasn't any physical sign of a presence, but Autumn felt it. It felt weird. The room felt colder and more... occupied and suffocating. Autumn's body shivered uncontrollably.

Autumn held her breath and dared not to move. Her mind was telling her to turn around but she could not gather enough courage to do so. She was frozen on her spot.

A few moments later, when she was sure her sleep deprived self was just imagining things, she felt it.

Cold, long, phantom fingers curled around the curve between her neck and shoulder, and burned her skin. On impulse, a whimper escaped her mouth. Autumn felt the grip of the freezing hand tightening and she let out a cry due to the burn on her skin. Pain erupted in her whole shoulder and neck as a lone tear escaped her eye- her body shaking violently.

Suddenly, something shifted in the air and the feeling was gone as soon as it came.

Autumn turned around, and saw nothing behind her but darkness.

*****

Hey, Clumsies!

The fun is just starting! What did you think about this chapter?

Why are all the rooms locked?

Are the rumours true? Or is there more to the story?

The diary?

What happened to Raymond? To Autumn?

Don't forget to vote and comment!

I love you all! ❤