Mansion of Fears

[DevlinRoss]

Ivy nervously looked up at the mansion that she had been called to see. She was practically swallowed up by a multicolored scarf that wrapped around her face multiple times and the ends reached her waist. It wasn't that cold, but she wore skintight gloves and long sleeves.


"Oooooh..." She bent over and hugged her knees, her long, brown hair spilling in front of her face. Bad vibes made her sick to her stomach and this place was practically oozing with them. She could practically see it. The blackness oozing off the mansion was dripping off and forming black puddles...that were slowly reaching for her...


She shot up and shuddered. The "vision" was gone. There was no blackness. Nothing was trying to get her...yet she still couldn't get up the courage to get any closer to the mansion.


Some times it really sucked seeing things that others couldn't see.

 

[redletalis]

Enormous and covered in dead ivy, the sprawling mansion was quite the sight to behold. The drive was gravel with flowerbeads on each side. Not that the flowerbeds were really flowery right now. Everything was dead and brown and cold and gloomy. The marble statues in the flowerbeds were dirty and covered with branches and ivy vines, and the fountain right in the centre of the drive was missing... something. A leg. Or an arm. Or a head. Gabriel wasn't certain what the statue was supposed to depict since a tree had grown up and around it, half swallowing the statue into its trunk. All around the entire mood was perfectly gloomy.


"Stereotypical." Gabriel muttered as he stepped out of the van, Richard getting out on the other side. The older man simply rolled his eyes and went to the back of the van to start looking at what equipment they were to bring into the house first.


There were other vehicles around, other so-called experts of the supernatural. Gabriel didn't really care about them. What he cared about was the sheer challenge that this particular place would give him. Something like this, a place as evil as this... it had to be the work of only one creature, and that was Gabriel's ultimate prize.


"I would like to bring a heat sensitive camera." Gabriel as as he stepped up next to Richard, picking up the case with the small handheld one. "We will leave the shelves and the screens until we have chosen a base to work from. Grab the tape measure as well. According to records this place has been built and rebuilt a million times over since it was first started, architectural plans are probably faulty so we will have to make our own."


Richard grunted. "I don't like this. Places aren't rebuilt this much just for fun. I wonder what they tried to keep out. Or keep in."


"Well, we shall simply have to wait and see." Gabriel replied and headed towards the main doors and the lone person waiting for them all on the steps.

 

[DevlinRoss]

Ivy glanced at Richard and Gabriel and hopped from foot to foot before running after them. "Um, excuse me! I really don't want to go in by myself...do you mind if I come with you?" she asked, trailing behind them. She glanced at all their equipment and hesitated before continuing to tail them.


They were ghost hunters like, but with cameras. All the bad experiences she'd had with ghosts had been with people with cameras and technology. They'd always try to provoke the ghosts and spirits for a more sell-able reaction and people would bombard her with hate mail, calling her a fake and phony...and then there was that time with that one ghost...she shuddered again.

 

[redletalis]

Gabriel didn't even bother replying to the girl that had run up to them. What did he care if she did or didn't follow them? They were going to end up in the same house in the end, the only difference was that Gabriel fully intended to actually survive this place. He didn't think this girl could or would. She would probably be one of the first to go, either killed or simply fleeing the horror. This place had gathered quite a reputation throughout the years.


The man on the steps of the house finally came down, arms open to welcome them. "Welcome! Welcome to the Hutchinson Mansion! My name is Harold Murdock, and I am so very glad that all of you could come! All of you experts in your fields! Splendid! My employers have just bought this place but three weeks of trying to rennovate and having their work crews disappear on them was enough. They, well, pardon me, but they don't really believe in ghosts and gouls. But they figured that if there was an exorcism or whatever, then the crews wouldn't run away."


"You are certain the crews ran away?" a priest asked in the back.


Harold Mudock huffed in disbelief. "What else could it be? Twenty men don't just disappear into the bowels of a house. This isn't a Hollywood horror film, you know!"

 

[DevlinRoss]

Ivy dropped back, listening to Harold Mudock, rubbing her arm and biting her lip. She could probably guess what happened to the crews...


"I don't see why your employers felt the need to hire all of us," muttered a woman holding a camera. "Especially if you wanted an exorcism..." Her partner, a shorter man carrying a duffle bag presumably filled with more cameras elbowed her and muttered, "Money is money...Don't question it..."


She glared at him, but remained silent for Harold to finish.


Ivy cleared her throat and asked, "You didn't specify how long we were going to stay in the house..."

 

[redletalis]

"Why, until it's cleared of whatever it is that's scaring the crews away of course!" Harold Murdock replied, arms open wide as if to illustrate his point. "Whether that be ghosts or simply superstition or just annoying teenagers playing pranks, my employers expect you to solve it. They have paid good money for all you experts to come and do this, so they expect you to do your job properly."


Some of the gathered people looked miffed at this apparent lack of belief in their powers, but Gabriel paid them no mind. Nor did he really pay much mind to Harold Murdock, and instead he was studying the outside facade of the old mansion. He was trying to commit as much of it to memory as he could, counting windows and towers and balconies, already making a mental map of the house.


"Can we go inside and start looking around?" Richard asked. His voice was deep and hoarse, as if he had been drinking too much or had too many encounters with people who tried to choke him. "We would like to get a look before the sun sets."


Harold Murdock turned to unlock the door even as he continued speaking. "Of course, of course. We have managed to prepare rooms for all of you here on the ground floor - not the most comfortable but my employers aren't certain if the upper floors are ready for habitation yet. Some holes here and there unfortunately. The crews haven't gotten to them yet. But we have found blankets and pillows and-"


"No need." Gabriel said. "We shan't be using them. We will spend the night in the van."


"What? Why?" Harold Murdock stopped right in the middle of opening the doors and turned around to stare. He wasn't the only one.


Gabriel snorted. "Spending the first night in a haunted house without any information about what is haunting the place and how powerful it is? Now that is sheer idiocy." With that he pushed past everyone else, past Harold Murdock even, and into the enormous entrance hall of the mansion.

 

[DevlinRoss]

"He's got a point..." muttered the woman.


She and her partner shrugged before heading into the mansion after Gabriel.


Ivy held out her hand, a warning on her tongue, but pulled back. They were experts...hopefully. With a sigh, she followed them into the house, She did give Harold a smile as she passed him, but it quickly slid off her face as she crossed the threshold. Her breath caught in her chest and her heart pounded in her chest.


Burying herself in her scarf, she took deep breaths to calm her heart. She almost let out a screech when the woman from earlier put her hand on Ivy's shoulder.


"Are you alright?" she asked.


"What? Oh. I am...," said Ivy with a tiny smile. "It just that I'm getting bad vibes in here..."


The woman raised an eyebrow, but nodded slowly. "Right. I'm Tara, and my partner is Tyler." She held out her hand.


Ivy eyed Tara's hand before taking it cautiously and saying, "I'm Ivy."

 

[redletalis]

The entrance hall was big and impressive with tasteful wood paneling and paintings on the walls. A staircase in the middle parted halfway up following the wall to each side, and there were corridors leading off in several directions. A grand old chandelier hung in the middle to provide light, but it wasn't working. Sheets, buckets of paint and varnish, heavy-duty painting equipment and stepladders of various heights and shapes lay against the walls. A thick layer of dust and cobwebs that were truly impressive in size covered everything.


"How stereotypical." Gabriel muttered as he looked around. "There are some tracks in the dust, so make sure not to disturb them." That remark was for everyone else.


"Are we going to follow them?" Richard's question was more of a statement, but Gabriel still nodded. "Then everyone should stay in groups of three or more just to be certain, and stay within touching distance of each othe- Gabriel?! Gabriel! Damn it, get back here! You're going to get yourself killed!" Richard hurried to follow Gabriel who was already stalking off down the closest corridor.

 

[DevlinRoss]

"That jackass acts like this is the first ghost hunt we've been on," muttered Tara. "And he made a rookie mistake too, taking off like that. Honestly...who does he think he is?"


Ivy snickered, but glanced off over where Gabriel had stalked off to. What exactly had him making mistakes like that? As Tara and Tyler began to set up their equipment, she slipped away and took off after Richard.


"E-excuse me!" she called after Richard. "Do you mind if I join your group? This way it'll be three of us, like you said, and safer for both of you." She caught up with him and began to match his stride. However, she remained just out of his arm's reach as she took off one of her gloves and put them in her pants pocket. "Ah, I'm Ivy and I really hope you don't mind me joining you..." She gave him a nervous smile.

 

[redletalis]

"Either a ghost will kill him, or I will." Richard grumbled. "Sure, come along. I can't make any promises about his attitude, though," he nodded towards Gabriel, "so consider yourself warned. Gabriel is like that with everyone. I'm Richard. That one's long-suffering uncle and babysitter. Gabriel! Slow down, damn it, and take your own fucking advice! Don't you dare go into that room before I get ther- You annoying little shit!"


Gabriel disregarded any and all words spewing out of Richard's mouth, and suddenly entered a seemingly random door. He looked around at the many shelves and the countless books inhabiting them. Along one wall there were large windows squished in between the bookshelves, and there was a comfortable little arrangement of chairs and loveseats and a couch over by the empty fireplace. It would have been a truly beautiful place if it hadn't been buried under dust and cobwebs.


"Start looking through the books," Gabriel said as soon as Richard and Ivy caught up, pulling a book off the nearest shelf. "There might be something interesting here."

 

[DevlinRoss]

Ivy chuckled, a faint smile on her face when Richard yelled at Gabriel. It quickly disappeared as Gabriel told her to look through the books. She shifted on her feet before inching towards the bookshelves. Closing her eyes, she let one hand drift over the books, her fingers dancing near the spine, but never actually touching a book. She was waiting for that feeling she got when an object or person had a strong memory or emotion attached to it. So far, they hummed with the energy that old objects had. The energy would be muddled, the years of accumulated memories mixing together and forming something new. What she wanted was something different. The energy would feel like a zing or a zap.


Ivy paused as her hand stopped by one book and opened her eyes. The cover was dusty, and what once was a bright red had been faded by the sun and time. Her hand reached out to grab it...but she quickly retracted it and said to the others, "I think that this book has something. Maybe..."

 

[redletalis]

"If it speaks so strongly to you, then take it out and read it. Find us this possible information of yours. The rest of us are busy doing the very same at the moment, and would appreciate not to be bothered unless it is truly important. If, however, you absolutely cannot contain yourself, then you may as well start reading that book out loud and I shal try to pretend to pay attention." Gabriel didn't even bother looking up from the book that he had in his hands, leafing through it and occasionally reading a line here or there. He huffed and put the book back before he pulled out another one, and then put it back an pulled out a new one a moment later. This he repeated over and over again like a machine as he searched through the stacks.


Richard rolled his eyes and sighed. He looked over at Ivy and mouthed a 'sorry' at her. Richard had stayed near the doors where he had a full view of the entire room and could also keep an eye on the corridor just outside. Occasionally he saw some of the other invited supernatural experts move about in the entrance hall at the end of the corridor, or making their way towards him, occasionally stopping to check out rooms and putting a small red sticker on the doors they had checked.


"You know, not everyone's an idiot." He said.


Gabriel hummed and put a book back before grabbing a new one. "That remains to be proven."

 

[DevlinRoss]

Ivy opened her mouth to retort, but shut it and let out a sigh as Richard apologized to her. She put on her gloves and pulled the book from the shelves. For a moment, she held it in her hands thumbing through the pages. However, as Gabriel continued to hum, she turned the book around in her hands. She looked sideways at him. Seeming almost completely oblivious, he continued to go through the bookshelves. Hefting the book in her hands, she took aim at Gabriel and then let it fly at him.


"Honestly," she muttered and took her gloves off after she threw it. "There's a reason I didn't touch the books..." She went back to the bookshelves and said, "Unless you want someone to get seriously hurt, you'd better be a little bit more open. Whatever is in this place will take advantage of your attitude. Do you want to be possessed?"

 

[redletalis]

He didn't even seem to notice to the speeding book flying in his direction. The book didn't hit Gabriel and instead stopped inches from his head. He didn't even look up from the book that he was perusing as he sent the book flying back towards Ivy at a much greater speed.


"I will not pull your weight, girl, you pull it yourself. If you want to follow us, then you will follow my rules and be useful." He finally looked up at her, frowning lightly. "And if there is anything in this place willing to try to take possession of me, then I say let it come and try. I have survived far worse than what this overgrown mansion has to throw at me. The same goes for little girls and their improvised projectiles. Be useful to me or go back to the other nitwits out there and be like a sheep led to the slaughter."


Richard sighed. "Don't be so cruel to her."


"I am not being cruel. I am stating the truth."


"We had this conversation before, Gabriel, sometimes your truth is cruelty in another's eyes."


"And humans wonder why the world has gone to hell." Gabriel huffed.

 

[DevlinRoss]

Ivy yelped and dodged the book. She glared at him and stomped over to the book. "Fine. Fine. I'll read the stupid book," she muttered. She stared at it, and flicked her eyes over to Gabriel. He had stopped it in the air. Was he also a psychic? Although she would never admit it to him now, that was pretty impressive...and a bit terrifying... Resolving to never piss him off, she reached down and touched the book with her bare hand.


She felt a jolt before realizing her mistake. She yanked her hand back, but it was a bit late. Her vision started to darken and whispers started to begin. An image an old wooden door began to from in her mind. Something was pushing it from the other side, making it bend towards her. The grain seemed at the edge of breaking, but she did not want to know what was trying to get out. She whimpered and clapped her hands over her ears as the whispers started to increase in volume. Her lips began to move along with the whispers and she began to murmur, "You didn't save them Gabriel. I'm coming for you Gabriel. You didn't save them Gabriel. I'm coming for you Gabriel."

 

[redletalis]

Richard had given up on ever making Gabriel act like a normal human being - even if he still couldn't stop himself from actually trying - so he simply sighed and shook his head and didn't continue the argument. Instead he peeked outside into the corridor once more, nodding to one of the others as they passed him on their way to the next door over to check what was in that room.


Gabriel was leafing through the book with utter boredom - who wanted to read this tripe anyway? - looked up when he heard Ivy murmur something. She was standing quite a way from him, hands over her ears and lips moving as she continued to murmur something. Narrowing his eyes in curiosity, Gabriel snapped the book shut and placed it back on the shelf almost absentmindedly before he started to approach Ivy. And the closer he came the more his curiosity turned to cold fury, covering him in figurative ice from head to foot.


"Stop your mumbling." He ordered, reaching out to grab her hands and pull them from her ears. "You have no knowledge of what you are speaking off, so stop it."

 

[DevlinRoss]

Ivy caught sight of movement from the corner of her eye. "Stay away!" she said, scrambling away from Gabriel. The whispering and the vision of the door began to die down. "Don't...touch me, please." She pressed her hands against her eyes and began to take deep breaths.


Calming down, she stood up and made her way out of the room. Careful to avoid anyone on her way, she slipped her gloves back on as she made her way to Richard.


"Uh, I know we just met...but I think I know where some of the missing workers went," she said, biting her lip. "But would you mind coming with me?"

 

[redletalis]

Gabriel followed Ivy, dogging her steps and nearly stepping on her heels more than once. He followed her out of the library and to where Richard was standing. Gabriel was still staring intently at the back of her head as if he could look through her skull and into her brain, as if he could discern what made her tick and what had caused the little episode back there.


"If you are going anywhere it will not be without me." He said before Richard could even open his mouth. "An empath and a giftless human would stand no chance against whatever is controlling this place. You would be canon fodder, and though I have no qualms in leaving you to a bloody fate, Richard is actually quite useful to me. I would appreciate it if you think twice before you attempt to get my partner killed because of your own stupidity. And how would you know where the missing workers went?"


"What Gabriel is attempting to say is that we'll gladly walk with you if you want to further explore the house." Richard translated.

 

[DevlinRoss]

Ivy glanced back at Gabriel but continued to speak to Richard. "Thanks...there was a door. And it was breathing. There were voices whispering to me. I can't tell if they were taunting or just...disappointed with Gabriel." She sighed and wiggled her fingers. "If you think that I'm an empath, then you should know how I know. I saw it through the book." She chuckled and then let out a sigh. "It's a useful ability."

 

[redletalis]

"Depends on who you ask. Empathic abilities are very subjectional and thoroughly unreliable for interpretation. They are barely above dream interpretation in my opinion." Gabriel replied as he stepped out of the library and looked up and down the corridor. "And I find it funny that you saw all that you claim that you saw through a book that I never touched physically. I was under the firm impression that such, ah, visions couldn't be transferred from person to object with mere psychic touch. To me, woman, you are looking more and more like a charl-"


"What Gabriel is intenting to say," Richard cut in smoothly, "is that we would be glad of any help that you might give us. Was the door you saw a door from this house or was i totally unrelated? Because if it's from here then that might help us figure out exactly how powerful this house is."


Gabriel rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else.

 

[DevlinRoss]

Ivy sighed and said, "It's alright. I'm used to it. Anyway, the door...definitely was from this house. It might be on another floor or painted over. But I remember that the door was red, and carved into it were diamonds in the shape of a...sun!" She snapped her fingers trying to remember more. "The doorknob...actually, it was a handle. And silver. It's old and carved on it was the moon." She looked at the two and said, "That's everything I can remember, except for the whispers."

 

[redletalis]

"Well, that is at least something." Gabriel muttered. "Never mind that the lac of details surrounding the door will make it practically impossible to find. They did not mark the inventory list of this house with 'door with special design, north-east corridor, third floor'." If it had been up to Gabriel then everything would have been marked and catalogued, down to the very smallest and insignificant nail that held the house together. Unfortunately no one ever thought to ask him about his opinion.


Richard ignored that expertly and instead looked out of the window. "Will we have the time to start searching for anything right now? I mean, it's slowly getting darker outside and you were the one who didn't want to stay inside this place during the night. Might be a good idea to gather up the others and find somewhere to spend the night."


"I care naught for the others. If they are stupid enough to stay here during the night then it is their fault." Gabriel frowned. "But starting our trek towards the exit might be a good idea, yes."