[IC] The Promise

[Fox of Spades]

Sophomores "I swear to all that is holy, this house is haunted." Fredrick was bouncing on the heels of his feet looking increasingly nervous with each passing second. "Remember that missing person rumor on Facebook?" His eyes flitted across the room, it was an empty, old house that smelled of dust and decay. The windows and all the furniture were caked with dirt and dust, and cobwebs clung to the ceiling like spidery fingers that refused to let go. It didn't help that it was raining cats and dogs, the occult club was stranded. Well, they could always brave the thunderstorm outside but getting zapped and soaked to the bone didn't sound very appealing. "Robert Brown was seen here a few days ago." Anna shivered as a light breeze whipped at the window. "Brown? He disappeared, a month ago." "Yeah, exactly!" Freddy's eyes flitted from the shivering Anna to Mori. "That's what makes it so weird, y'know. He's been gone for a month and suddenly--" The boy slammed a fist into his open palm, "bam, he makes an appearance and here of all places. Don't you think it's weird, Mori? Like really, really, supernatural weird?" A flash of lightning tore through the night sky before the loud roaring of Thunder filled the room. Freddy practically leaped into Mori's arms while Anna wrapped her arms around herself and sat down on the couch anxiously. "M-M-Maybe we should just run back to my place." Freddy's teeth were chattering. "Mom and dad aren't around, I can lend you guys one of mom's nightgowns?" "Freddy's right..." Anna didn't like the house at all. "Mori?" She asked quietly before waiting for a response.

Seniors It was raining, but Flynn came anyway. Friday, Aislyn, and a haunted house sounded like trouble and collateral damage, so he made sure to show up in a raincoat and with his sternest expression. "I can't believe you two. This is childish and irresponsible, and it's a school night." Flynn stood by the door and crossed his hands over his chest. Aislyn parked her bike by the door and laughed. "Well, you're here, so you might as well come along. Anyways, there's no way I'm backing down. Friday dared me, and it's a matter of pride and honor." Flynn rolled his eyes and Aislyn gave him a goofy grin. "Anyways, it's a dare, can't back down now or Friday wins." "Doesn't matter if it's a dare or not...it's, frankly, it's kind of silly." Flynn tried to look like an upset older brother but Aislyn punched him playfully in the shoulder and soon he was shaking his head, but smiling. "Fine, I'll come along to make sure nothing dangerous happens."

[Ryver et Rhine]

The Sophomores Back of Taft Mansion: Servant’s Quarters

“Nah, we just got here. I mean – WHERE IS YOUR FIGHTING SPIRIT? Your journalist pride. Look, like I said over pizza earlier, if we manage to get to the bottom of this mystery, we’ll get even more followers. We only have like 4 subscribers for our 7-month-old Twitter. It’s time we get some attention (instead of losing out to that overrated food filled feed by the Cooking Club).” Someone yelled loudly as two fingers pointed to something white fluttering from the corner. The shortest of the sophomores shone her flashlight at that area. She revealed an upturn chair, some threadbare curtains and a cracked window. She quirked an eyebrow as she looked at their so-called newly appointed sub-editor. “You know people would think that members of the Occult Club would be fearless. Guess this is what the doctor ordered, eh Freddy? A little shock treatment.” A loud crash from a distant part of the house made all three jump. Mori gasped as she felt four hands digging into her shoulder blade. A look of annoyance crossed her face briefly, but she decided to let this slide. Those two were making a mountain out of a molehill. It could have been a stray cat or pigeon. Deciding to scare them off her, she placed the flashlight under her face, and gave the scaredy-cats her most demonic face. She lowered her voice so it sound gruff and guttural. “You know, Fredster, you, being the tallest and the only guy, should die first. It’s all part of the gentleman’s code.” She pushed Freddy forward then threw the flashlight at him. With the flashlight out the way, she fished into her sling bag and pulled out a handheld video camera. She passed the video camera to Anna and then took out a camera to use. Mori bit the tip of her tongue lightly as she mucked around to change gadget into the infra-red mode. Seriously! If they really capture a picture of a ghost, they’d be famous! No ghost hunter has ever taken a legit picture of an apparition yet. Morrigan gave Anna a reassuring smile to help soothe the girl. As far as she can tell, there was probably nothing here. “So… did anyone think of finding floor plans or something? I mean it might make our task much easier.” The Seniors Front of Taft Mansion: Breaking In

Friday was still picking the lock door using a hairpin he pulled from Aislynn’s head. His tongue poked out from the side of his mouth as he squinted through the keyhole. They should consider jumping down the chimney like he suggested earlier. With a bit of rope everything would fine and dandy. Like splunking – the thing they did for their school camp at Grand Canyon in freshmen year. He reinserted the pin and heard a click as the pin snapped in two. Dang it! “Guys, do you want the good new or the bad news?” Four pairs of eyes looked at him expectantly and he gave them his signature goofy grin. He blew at a couple of wet, wavy strands plastering themselves over his eyes. He shivered slightly as a wind blew through the open porch. The redheaded male threw open the door and bowed in a way that would have made Alfred Pennyworth proud. “After you, Lady Kayne, and you, Lord Barker.” Slipping in after his bros, Friday tried to leave a gap to prevent the locking mechanism from clicking, but lo and behold, that same wind caused the door to slam shut. The noise echoed eerily throughout the house as dust exploded all around them. He could literally feel Flynn glaring at him as they coughed non-stop. Friday tried to change the topic several times, but Flynn’s face made him feel impossibly guilty. Yeah trust that guy to want to know that bad news. He clutched his hands anime-style in front of him and pressed the sides of his second fingers against his forehead. “I broke your hairpin. I’m SO SORRY AISLYNN PLEASE DON’T KILL ME.” Actually, other than a pissed of Aislynn, what’s the worst that can – YIKES! Seriously! YIKES! He darted behind Flynn and then peered out in a cat-like fashion. Who was here? And what did they want? AND WHY DID THEY BREAK POTTERY? Laughing nervously, he jumped off the older boy’s back, and ran his fingers through his soaked red mop. All his curls were so wet they appeared straight. “Err maybe that was a cat? Or a hobo?” He asked hopefully. Not mentioning that it came from the servants’ quarters or that this house was probably haunted. Haunted by the man who went missing a month ago. The other two didn’t need to know that. Meaning Flynn didn’t need to know that. Aislynn would have thought that was creepy and fun.

[Fox of Spades]

The Sophomores, Back of Taft Mansion: Servant’s Quarters

"Die first?" Freddy laughed nervously. "Um, yeah, sure...you both know I wouldn't let anything happen to you guys." Those words were spoken truthfully, but Freddy just wasn't the bravest guy around. Mori tossed the flashlight at him and he fumbled with it for a few moments before finally clasping it tightly between both hands. He pointed the white beam around the room while Mori whipped out her camera and joked around. "Quit it, Mori," Freddy faked a laugh, "you're starting to scare Anna-" the girl gave him a soft kick to the shin and the blonde turned several shades of red. "You're starting to scare us, I mean...but mostly Anna--AGRGHGH" Freddy practically leaped into Mori's arms a second time when the sound of thunder filled the house once more. "No," Anna was laughing quietly at Freddy's little scene. "No floor plans, but I did ask Mr. Shelby about the place." Mr. Shelbey lived not too far from the haunted house, he was a nice man in his thirties who liked to go to the library to read. "Three floors, many rooms, there's an attic and a basement too." "Whoo, this place is huge." Freddy did a few weak fist pumps and whistled again before he heard a few muffled voices. The boy jolted upright and Anna did the same. "Did you or did you not hear that? MORI, put down the camera. I swear, I swear, this time I heard something. It sounded like voices." He shone his swept his flashlight across the room. "Let's just get those photos and leave, you guys can spend the night at my place." The Seniors, Front of Taft Mansion: Breaking In

"Friday," Flynn was using his stern older-brother voice. "The bad news is that we're stuck here until the rain stops. We could get sick and we could get scolded for trespassing. This is private property and it's a school night. He gave his friend a frown but ended up laughing when he started pleading for Aislyn's forgiveness. The redhead just arched an eyebrow at Friday and laughed. "Friday. It's a hair clip. Not my mother's wedding ring." Aislyn gave him a grin, but the smile turned into something more mischievous when her friend practically leapt onto Flynn's back. "It could be a cat or something," Flynn stated. Aislyn nodded her head. "Yeah, it's either a cat, OR it's that guy that went missing." Aislyn stuffed her hands into her pockets and made her way towards Friday with an excited grin. "Okay, Flynn and I are here, so spill it. What's the dare?" There was a challenging tone in her voice, one that Flynn recognized well. Both of his friends could be quite competitive if they wanted to be and he had seen them go bicycle racing, tree climbing and running all day, all in the name of a dare. To be frank, sometimes Friday and Aislyn did stupid things in the name of competition, so he was just glad he was there to keep an eye on them. They were idiots sometimes...but they were his idiots.