Spirits and Secrets

Chapter 1

Raven was a fairly normal thirteen-year-old girl. She loved horror stories and spooky movies. She was adventurous, and would often go on night walks, hoping to see a glimpse of a monster. She was a tomboy, and so she wasn't a big fan of makeup and dresses, but instead loved getting stuck in and often dirty. She wore ripped jeans or shorts, with plain t-shirts and boots most of the time. A blue bandana always hung around her neck. Her very dirty blonde (or very light brown, for no-one could really tell) was always put up in pigtails or a ponytail. What made her fairly normal was that, whereas her dad and seventeen-year-old brother worked on their farm, her mother - a very resilient and fierce woman in her early forties - worked for a company called Spirit Searchers. The many people in Raven's town belived in spirits. All of the houses were hundreds of years old, with dusty attics and dark basements. Spirit Searchers were a small organisation exclusive to the town. Her mother would be called on an investigation after something strange had happened, and go and check it out. They had special equipment - radios, scanners, cameras, computers - that would all help with the investigations. Raven would beg her mother every time she got a call to come with her. "Mum! Please can I go? Please! I'm smaller so I can help get into the nooks and crannies, and my eyesight and hearing are really good! Pleassseee!" Raven would always cry to her mother. But the answer was always "No, Raven. Not this time."
Raven would always mumble frustrated thoughts to herself.
She thinks I'm to weak.
She's scared I'll do something stupid.
She's afraid I'll be too good.
Raven had grown out of these phases. Now, when her mother left the house for an investigation, she would just quietly sit there. Yet, her mother always hesitated before walking through the door, as if actually wanting Raven to say something. But she never did, until one day...

~*~

"Raven! I've got a call! Derwent Manor, strange noises in the attic, I'll be back soon ok?" Raven's mother called from the front door. The teenager ran to the door. "Whoa whoa whoa, DERWENT MANOR?! As in, the most haunted house in town?!" There had always been creepy stories about the stately home on the outskirts of the town. Anyone who had moved in had moved out again within a few months for unknown reasons, and were never seen anywhere near the area again. Raven had been fascinated by the place ever since she was a young girl. Her mother had never gotten a call from there! This could be her chance! She could finally meet some spirits. So for the first time in years, she asked her mum, "Please can I go? Pleaasee!!!"
Her mother smiled and let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry Raven," she said gently, "but this is very important and I need to keep it to the four of us in the team, ok?" Raven grumbled but nodded reluctantly. "Why don't you go put some fresh food in the bird feeder for Shadow?" Suggested her mum. Raven got up and walked back down the hall towards the back garden, giving her mother a wave as she walked away. She sprinted down to the large garden and called for her feathered friend. "Shadow!" A large raven with shiny black feathers flew down from the apple tree. Raven put some seeds on her shoulder and Shadow perched on top of it, pecking at the snack. "Eat quickly - we're going spirit hunting!" Shadow soon demolished the bird feed and was flying alongside Raven as she broke into a run. She grabbed a bag that she always kept by the front door and dashed through, quickly shutting it behind her. The grey backpack was her 'spirit hunting bag.' It had torches, money and some other equipment she had 'borrowed' from her mother. She raced to the bus stop just in time as a blue bus pulled up. She was the only one on it. "Derwent Manor," she exclaimed to the driver as she gave him a few coins. He raised his eyebrows but said nothing of it, and soon she was driving down the roads to the spooky mansion. Soon the roads got thinner and more and more trees hung overhead. Finally, Raven reached the mansion. A huge, old building with ivy trailing up the walls and the stone wearing away. One of the chimneys was crumbling and several roof tiles had fallen off. There was a cracked window on the first floor. The garden, meanwhile, was overgrown with weeds and nettles. The pond was surrounded with wilted lilies and reeds. There was a broken down bench underneath an old, rotting cherry tree. The driveway was gravel, and crunched under Raven's booted feet as she walked over to the huge oak doors. The paint was peeling off and one of the handles was slightly loose. The door knocker was a griffin. A dusty sign next to the door read 'Derwent Manor.' The door was slightly ajar - her mother must have just gone inside. Raven slid through and made a gesture to her pet bird to keep quiet. Shadow perched on her shoulder, so that his wings would not beat too loud and make a noise. Raven wanted to explore, but she needed to start spirit hunting as soon as possible. She climbed the stairs that creaked underfoot. She felt one was very unstable, and so leaped over to the next step. Finally, after going up three flights of stairs, she heard voices. It was coming from up a small door that Raven recognised usually led to the attic. She was too small to reach, but Shadow flew up and pecked at a small button. The door opened and a rope ladder came down. Talk about old! Raven thought as she carefully went up the ladder. Shadow was waiting for her at the top. The attic was just like any other, random boxes, cobwebs and dust. However, there was a door. The voices were increasingly louder. They must be coming from the other side, concluded Raven in her mind. She pressed her ear to the keyhole. "So you're saying that there's a secret room behind that solid wall?" Asked a deep voice Raven didn't recognize. "Yes! The noises were coming from there! I was up here a few weeks ago looking through the boxes, I just moved in you see, and I heard a weird noise. Whispering. And I'm telling you, it's coming from behind that wall!" Another unrecognizable voice cried, this time a woman. "Okay, Clarissa. We can see this is really bothering you. We'll try our best to see what's going on, ok?" Soothed a voice that was finally familiar. Mother! "Okay, guys. I will stay downstairs with Clarissa. If you can put in some cameras in here, and any other places you find, I'll monitor to help suggest what you can do, and if something happens I will be here to call the boss, the ambulance, the police or the fire department, ok?" Asked a voice that Raven vaguely remembered. It was someone in her mum's team that was really good with tech and had come round for lunch one day. Raven was suddenly broken out of her thoughts when Shadow let out a quiet squawk. "They're starting the investigation!" She whispered to herself. She opened the door. Thankfully, it was unlocked. "Mum! I'm joining in!" Raven shouted. Everyone turned their heads to the teenager. Her mum had a mixed look of dissaproval, curiosity and fear on her face. "RAVEN CHELSEA MCINTYRE WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She screeched.
"Don't say my middle name," Raven mumbled in annoyance.
"Who's this?" Asked the man with the deep voice. He had brown hair and stubble on his chin. "My disobedient daughter," answered Raven's mother irritably. "Oh, Han, just let her come! She's small so she might be a help!" A woman with long, brown hair exclaimed kindly. "Yeah! And she has a bird with her! It could be a help too! It's a raven, they're smart!" Added the owner of the house, who Raven assumed was Clarissa. "'It' is called Shadow and 'it' is a boy. And yes, he's very smart," spoke up Raven. "Ok, fine. But if you get scared-" began Raven's mother, Hannah. But Raven cut her off. "Scared? Mum, I just came here on my own by bus and decided I wanted to go spirit hunting in the most haunted house in Sickleby! Why would I be scared?" Clarissa whimpered when Raven mentioned her house being haunted, and Hannah gave her daughter a dissaproving look. "Ok Hannah, lets leave you guys to it," said the man Raven had seen before, who she recalled was called Matthew. He had slightly curly dark hair and glasses. He carried a computer. Matthew and Clarissa walked out of the attic room, leaving the three adults, one teenager and one large black bird in there. It was very dark and cramped, with a random pile of bricks in the corner and paintings on the walls. "So Raven, do you know what all the equipment is for?" Asked the woman with brown hair. Raven nodded. "The radio is for detecting noises that the human ear can't hear. Some of the cameras are infered, so that we can see things the naked eye can't. The scanner is for detecting paranormal activity on the objects. The walkie talkies are for if the ipad stops working, because the ipad is what helps us communicate with Matthew and Clarissa. And the torch is for helping us see in dark rooms," Raven exclaimed. "Wow!" Said the bald man in awe. "This girl knows her stuff! By the way, I'm Dan, and this," he explained, pointing at the woman who had questioned Raven, "is Jasmine."
"You can call me Jas though," added Jasmine.

(A/N, Jas is pronounced like "J-a-zz", and also, she is inspired by Exriee !)

Raven nodded. "Okay people!" She shouted. "Dan, you scan the paintings. Mum, you and Jas can look at the bricks. I'll put up a camera on the shelf and help Dan," ordered the teenager. Hannah shook her head and facepalmed, but Jas and Dan just laughed and went to their places. It didn't take long for Jas to tell everyone she found something. "A spanner!" Dan exclaimed. "There's a hatch in the floor with some bolts on. Maybe I could use it to open it," he added. Everyone stood around Dan as he undid the bolts. He opened the hatch. "Some keys?" Jas questioned, confused. Suddenly, there was a weird tapping noise. They looked around to see Shadow pecking at two wooden boards on the wall, each with a keyhole. "Good job Shadow!" Raven praised and they walked over to the wall, quickly unlocking them. An Ouija board was behind each one, and a piece of paper was next to one of them. Hannah read it out. "When the U and the I connect, the door is opened," she recited. "Look! There's a little metal tab on each board!" Jas exclaimed. "One on the U and one on the I," Raven added. A ping sounded and all at once everyone but Raven crowded around the ipad. "Matthew sent a message!" Jas squealed eagerly. It read:
I think I know what this means. If one of you puts a finger on the U with the tab, and another on the I with the tab, and all join together, then there will be a door that opens.

Dan walked over to one of the boards and put his finger on the metal tab, while Hannah did the same for the other. Everyone held hands and waited. BANG! Part of the wall crashed down from inbetween the boards, making a platform leading to another room. The spirit hunt had begun...