The House of Sorrows

Chapter 10: "Taken"

When Mr. Creed left the house, the group agreed that they would take the case, though they were all suspicious of him. The suspicion only made them more eager to proceed. After preparing for the case—George heading to the archives for additional research—they set off for the factory around 4:00 PM. They wanted to have plenty of time to search the large factory while it was still daylight. As they reached the street where the factory stood, it loomed before them, tall and ominous. The building was covered in weathered dark brown bricks, with iron columns on every wall.

They exited the taxi and made their way to the front of the building, where they found Mr. Creed waiting for them.

"Welcome. You're early. That's always appreciated," Mr. Creed greeted them with a fake smile, guiding them through the massive iron doors. Inside, they saw many old posters, but one recent one caught their attention. It read, "IN FORECLOSURE." Lockwood noticed it too, his face showing confusion. The Fittes team found it odd; Creed Iron was a large company, and it didn't make sense for them to have a building in foreclosure unless they were struggling financially. The suspicion lingered in their minds as they continued with the tour.

The factory was two levels. The first floor housed large equipment for manufacturing iron products, while the second level had storage boxes and other materials used in production. By 6:00 PM, they had finished the tour—it was a vast place, not exactly clean, but clearly well-used. Mr. Creed then said his goodbyes and left them to their investigation.

They set up their iron circle on the first floor, with Lockwood and Lucy preparing their equipment while George explained the history of the factory to Holly. The skull remained safely in Lucy's bag, occasionally popping out to try and scare them.

The history of the factory was curious. There had been multiple deaths over the years—accidents that occurred while using the heavy machinery. However, none of the deaths stood out, so they weren't sure what to expect from this ghost.

"George, do you have any suspicions as to who the ghost might be?" Lucy asked while helping Lockwood carry some more iron chains, preparing for any emergencies.

"No, not really. I searched for hours and nothing unusual came up," George replied, a hint of disappointment on his face.

Lockwood reassured George that they would be fine. And, for the most part, they had been. It had been four hours since they arrived and finished the tour, but they had felt almost no psychic pressure, and there had been no supernatural occurrences. They tried to keep their nerves in check, but after such a long time with no incidents, they began to relax. That was, until around 12:00 AM, when they heard rustling noises upstairs.

Lockwood and Lucy took the lead, with George and Holly following behind them.

They headed up the stairs, stopping every few steps to record the temperature, but it wasn't dropping, nor were they experiencing any signs of a haunting—no miasma, malaise, or creeping fear. They began to wonder if a living person had taken up residence in the factory, hoping the iron would protect them, though it wouldn't offer complete safety. They stayed on guard, drawing their rapiers. Once they reached the top of the stairs, they split into two groups—Lockwood and George, and Holly and Lucy. They moved through the second floor.

Lucy heard more noise, shuffling and mumbling. She told Holly, who didn't seem to hear anything, suggesting it could possibly be the ghost of some sort—perhaps a shade or a gray haze. They continued into the shadows, with only the faint glow of the moon shining through the windows.

Lucy stopped just before a chunk of unfinished ironwork. She heard nothing—no sounds except her and Holly's breathing. Then, a clang echoed from in front of them, the sound seeming to radiate from behind the iron. Lucy readied her rapier and slowly moved forward, Holly close behind. As they turned the corner, they saw nothing—no shade or unearthly glow, just the quiet of the factory. But then they heard something else. Breathing. Not two breaths, nor two heartbeats, but five. Five heartbeats, five heavy breaths.

From the shadows emerged two tall, towering figures. They had no supernatural glow or strange phenomena surrounding them. They were human.

"Lucy, run!" The skull's voice shouted from her bag, trying to warn her. But it was too late. As Lucy and Holly turned to escape, they were confronted by another man, even bigger than the two previous figures. He grabbed Holly by her arm and held a knife to her neck. "Drop yer' rapiers or I'll slit her throat!" His voice grumbled deeply, as if an earthquake rose up from his chest. Though Lucy complied, so did Holly, we didn't want to. Because we were now virtually defenseless.