It has been one day since the arrival of the mysterious corpse. There have been no leads as to how it got there, and my mother made sure that none of the maids, gardeners and everyone else didn't show up today by offering them a vacation.

No one on the outside was allowed to know of this, there would be no visitors until this was all resolved.

It was a shame, I enjoyed spending time with the maids around here.

Claudia just talked to all her friends on her new and expensive phone so to her it didn't really matter. Although my mother warned her very clearly about not telling anyone about this, and when our mother warned us about something, we were more scared of her than the thing she was warning us about.

With the cleaning and gardening team gone temporarily, that meant we would have to do everything ourselves...I couldn't help but laugh as I imagined Claudia, the incompetent and spoilt one, do anything that required effort by herself.

My mother seemed to be getting more stressed. She tried to conceal it and act as cold and as calculating as ever on the outside, but nowadays it didn't seem like a personality trait of hers. It felt forced and unnatural.
Either way, I knew for a fact that we had to get rid of the corpse.

We had to find a place where we could hide it.

...

After yesterday's encounter with Alyssa, I couldn't sleep. I actually had been developing issues with my sleeping since Alyssa first came to be. I'm always afraid that she's...watching me. And that she could hurt me at any waken moment.

Then again, why hasn't she?

But these were questions for another time.

This situation with the corpse actually had me somewhat afraid. If people from the outside found out...we could be perceived as criminals. We could be sent to jail.

Then again this is kinda like jail, I thought to myself, chuckling a little.

I kept tossing and turning, no matter how much I tried closing my eyes I couldn't go to the realm of sleep. Oh well, I could just try and have fun while I c-

"Owen!"

I screamed in horror as I realised that someone was shouting at me from my door. Was it a monster trying to kill me? Was it Alyssa?

...Well, no. It was Claudia.

It certainly wasn't good but it could have been way worse.

"Mom is holding a meeting with both of us."

I just stared at her with a blank expression.

"Are you kidding me."

"Oh how I wish I was, dear brother. But seriously, get down here."

I just sighed and went along with it. I couldn't even be bothered with this anymore.

...

"My children. We, are in a crisis."

The three of us were sat down in the living room, with the corpse laying lifelessly on the table.

I knew that my mother wasn't handling this well. At all.

Want to know how I know this?

Well...she was drinking coffee.

She literally never drank coffee. She said it ruins clean teeth. Despite all this she loved the taste of it, yet she always denied herself of it. She always believed that pleasures in life need to be earned with hard work and effort, so she never rested or allow herself to indulge in treats even if she really needed it.

I was literally witnessing her break the entire foundation of the rules that she subjects herself to on a daily basis.

At this moment in time I almost felt sorry for her. Claudia did too. My mother acted the same but that didn't convince us at all.

"This is something that we must resolve immediately, without fail."

She took another sip of her coffee.

"Something that threatens our social status, or health, everything that I have worked so hard towards."

She took another sip, this one longer than the previous one.

"Literally everything that I have sacrificed myself for. We cannot, under any circumstances, let this change anything. Understand?"

We both nodded obediently.

"Good. Now, we must...wait, I'm out of coffee. Hold on while I get some more."

She then left, leaving us together with the corpse. Which wasn't exactly what you could call friendly company.

It was concealed with a bag, and I actually considered...well, seeing what it looked like. I've already seen zombies, hell I've killed multiple of them. I doubted that this would scare me in any way. Even before all this, things like dead bodies didn't bother me at all. I did like weird and paranormal stuff after all.

Sadly there were no openings so I couldn't see what was inside. I tried poking it though, and Claudia looked at me like I was disgusting.

"Ew...what are you doing?" she whispered quietly.

"Curiosity," I answered.

"Can you not be curious with a corpse?"

"Impossible I'm afraid."

"I hate you sometimes."

"Awww, how sweet of you."

I kept poking it but it wouldn't react at all. I should probably be thankful for that...

"Seriously, can you stop."

"...You say that as if you've never seen a corpse before."

Claudia then backed away from me a little once I said that. She seriously wouldn't survive if she was the one being tormented by the creepy ghost girl that haunted these walls.

I was a little annoyed that I wasn't able to examine it...all I could do was try smelling it I guess.

As I sniffed around the bag, I smelled...nothing. There were no foul smells emanating from this rotting corpse. It was as if it floated in a bath for a while or something.

Although as I got closer, I heard...something.

It was the corpse.

I heard it whisper in my eye, and for some reason it really made me feel terrified to the very core. I couldn't make out the voice but I knew that it was that of a male. It sounded like it was in pain and suffering...

...

Help me...

...

The agony I heard in its voice was mentally too much to bare, I had to get away from it somehow. Although my mother would be here, I couldn't just leave...

The way he said those two words were gut wrenching, and it almost made me want to bawl my eyes out. I wished I could have helped this person out, who ever it was...

It was then that I was brought back to my senses. How could a corpse even talk? Maybe it's just me going crazy or something...

Alyssa had to be behind this obviously. But she said yesterday that she didn't do this...not that I believed her words anyway. She wasn't exactly what you could call...trustworthy.

And then there was Dorothy...although now I had to focus on the situation at hand.

It was then that my mother walked in with one cup of coffee in each hand. She then frowned at us.

"Why are you both looking like that?"

We both decided not to address her gradual descent into madness.

"No reason," we both said simultaneously.

"Oh sure. No reason. That's what they always say."

At this point we just had no idea what to say. She always kept a cold and hard exterior, when that mask was broken we had no idea how to handle it.

"Do people not realise how many others I have stepped on to be where I am today? One little screw-up and all of that would be for nothing. Nothing!"

She drank one of her coffee mugs in two large gulps. I had never seen her this panicked before...

"Do you think that I could handle going back to rock bottom? Do you? Do you?!"

"Uhhh..."

I had no idea whether this was rhetorical or if she was genuinely asking us at this point.

Either way I was quite disgusted at the way she hurt all those people to achieve success. Then again...I didn't know anything about what her job actually was or what she did, I was too afraid to ask her. Not to mention that I just didn't like being in close proximity to her at all.

But it made me wonder...I have to deal with so many things without anyone knowing about it or understanding it, what if my mother was the same?

Maybe I was just being delusional since her current state made her seem like she was a human. I definitely didn't like her, and I especially didn't love her, not only because I didn't believe in love.

She just sighed and drank her next coffee mug in two gulps.

"We really need more of this stuff..."

Now I was wondering how much coffee she drank before this meeting. She must have bought it yesterday after the corpse first appeared.

"Anyway. Do you two have any solution to this dilemma?"

We both just stayed silent, still afraid to speak.

"Just as I expected. Thankfully...I do have one."

Both of us were really shocked as we heard that.

"R-really?"

Her face was full of triumph and determination, which I've rarely ever seen her have in my life.

"Indeed."

"So...w-what is the plan?" I asked her quietly.

"The plan...it's actually quite simple."

Me and Claudia were both excited to hear what my mother had come with.

"But first I should get more coffee."

"What about the plan?" We both asked, feeling kinda disappointed.

"Fine, I'll tell you the plan now..."

She groaned as she was forced to go without her favourite drink.

"You see...I know that this house has secret tunnels beneath it."

"Secret tunnels...?" I pondered out loud.

"Yes. I'm the only one who knows how to get to them, no one else will be able to access them."

"What do secret tunnels have to do with any of this?" Claudia asked.

"That's where we'll hide the corpse."

I had to admit...this was a pretty good idea.

"So, who'll be the one to put the corpse there?" I asked.

"You of course."

Dammit. I should have known. All I needed my life was more ways that I could die.

"Why do I have to go?"

"Claudia is afraid of dark spaces and I would never enter such a dirty and disgusting place."

"Maybe he'll find some kind of ghost there or something," Claudia teased maliciously.

At that moment really hoped that I wouldn't find one either.

...

The three of us were standing in one of the many hallways of the first floor. There was seemingly nothing special about it, was my mother even sure that there was anything here?

I had to place the corpse ground on the ground for now because it was pretty heavy.

The only thing noteworthy was a small crack on the wall.

Was this...even the right place?

My mother then placed her hand on the small crack in the wall and said: "Open, reveal to me the secrets that have been shrouded in darkness, to the people who have been blinded by light".

...Nothing happened.

"Are you sure that this will work...?" I asked skeptically.

My mother didn't even reply, she just kept her hand firmly placed on the wall. Eventually part of the wall surrounding the crack separated itself and it became a door...

Me and Claudia watched in awe as this happened. Even though this place was haunted by a ghost it was really interesting to think of all the mysteries that this place held...

My mother smiled triumphantly as her plan was truly coming to life.

"This is where we will hide the corpse."

"You mean, where I will hide the corpse," I commented sarcastically.

She simply scowled at me, but it was enough to make me want to hide in the back along with the corpse.

"S-sorry."

She simply ignored my comment and left with Claudia to go...well, I don't know where. Probably to get more coffee.

As she left, she made one final comment.

"You know what to do Owen."

With the corpse bag in my arms, and the dark and creepy tunnel ahead of me which seemingly had no end...things weren't looking good.

Then again, when did things ever go well?

I walked into the tunnel, getting further and further away from the warmth and light of the mansion. The heavy corpse wasn't exactly making things easy either.

I didn't really have to go too far...do I? I mean, it's not like anyone would ever come in here, right? How could anyone even find this place which has very specific requirements to access?

I took a few more steps forward, trying to ignore the fact that I felt like I was walking down a literal hallway to hell.

I think I should just put the corpse down already...

I dumped it onto the ground, which I probably shouldn't have done if this corpse had feelings or something.

Thankfully it didn-

"Owen..."

Wait what.

Maybe I was going crazy but I heard the corpse...talk. Well, again.

"Your destiny is being written..."

I backed away slowly, ready to flee in terror. I really did not want to deal with any of this right now...

"Ooooh what an interesting development!"

Of course she has to be here now.

"Why are you here? You must be the one causing this, aren't you?"

Wherever Alyssa was, I could hear her chuckling condescendingly, like I was a child who didn't know anything.

"Nope. I'm just watching."

"I doubt that very much."

"I'm not really entertained so far, to be honest. Although to be fair, everything reaches a point where it becomes boring and repetitive, and you lose interest."

"Ha. As if anyone would be interested in you."

"At least I have a personality."

I wouldn't ever trust Alyssa at all, under any circumstances. But, say that she in fact wasn't causing these, who could be?

Now was definitely not the time to question such things anyway. I just had to leave the corpse, and go back to the safety (if you could call it that) of my own.

I immediately dropped the corpse and ran towards the exist of this tunnel, hearing Alyssa shout "you know I'm right!" in the background.

I was so close to the door...so close...

But then the door shut itself. Everything became dark.

"Owen...?"

I heard someone's panicked voice on the other side, it was Claudia.

"Claudia!"

"Owen, what happened? Why is the door shut?"

"I...I don't know! It somehow shut itself on its own!"

I could clearly hear the hurt in Claudia's voice there, which was rather rare. The only other time I had heard Claudia in this much distress was back when I had to save her from Thomas...

"I-It's ok...don't panic...I'll try and find-"

"Find what...Claudia?"

There was no response.

"Claudia?!" I shouted desperately.
There was still no reply.

Dammit...

"Well...hey, look on the bright side," said Alyssa, who's attempts at humour were not helping. "It could be worse!"

I then felt the earth rumble around me, and the floors beneath me started to break gradually, which left me in a disoriented state of panic.

I...I didn't even know if I was going to survive this...

Claudia...Dorothy...I'm sorry.

And with that final thought, I felt the floor beneath me collapse completely, and I ended up screaming as hard as my lungs could as I plummeted into the unknown.

...

To be fair, I did say it could be worse...

But now I wonder...

Could things be worse for him...

...Or worse for me?