Holthum Manor

The Yacht

Light rain rippled the water along the shoreline as they arrived at the wooden dock. The smell of rain and wet wood filled the air. "Here it is." Henry said as they approached the dock. A massive white and silver yacht rocked back and forth creating small waves. "How do we get on it? Its way too tall to climb." Sasha said as she shook from the cold. "Here." Fern said grabbing a 12 foot plank off the dock's edge. "We can angle it onto the backside cause it sits much lower." He added. "I'll go first." Henry said, helping move the end of the plank onto the yacht. He stepped on the plank leaning back and forth before catching stability. He slowly inched across the plank until reaching the metal that outlined the mahogany floor of the yacht. "I'll hold this side while the rest of you walk across!" Henry yelled across the gap. "Alright!" Fern yelled back.

They made their way one by one across the plank. "I'll stay here and keep watch to make sure nobody comes or goes!" Fern yelled. "Are you sure?" Henry yelled back. "Yes!" He confirmed. "Here!" Sadie howled, tossing the letter opener she had used to cut D's binds with earlier across the gap. "Be careful!" She ended with before turning to follow the group up a spiral staircase. Fog engulfed the floor between each step along golden railings following it's border. "Where should we start?" Madelaine asked as they reached the top of the steps. "It's hard to say, this thing is huge." Sasha said looking at her surroundings. A jacuzzi sat between the top of the stairs outlined in electric green steps with double glass doors directly across from it. Martin pulled on the doors, sliding them to the sides. "At least we didn't have to break this door." He said with a laugh as he entered the archway into a large room. 4 round booths were placed on each side of the doorway leading to a black and red marbled kitchen. A glass table sat positioned in the corner with round white chairs facing a balcony.

"Look's like we can start in here." Sadie exclaimed, rushing passed Sasha. "Are you alright?" Henry asked while looking at Sasha's cheek. "I'll be fine, I deserved it. I was getting carried away." She replied nervously. "Nobody deserves to get slapped in the face. I appreciate you standing up for me though. I just wanted to say thank and i'm sorry she hit you." Henry said with empathy on his tongue. "Don't mention it, and I'll live." She said giving him a smile. Martin turned the flashlight on and set it on the counter facing the ceiling, illuminating most of the room. "The notes didn't really tell us shit. So, anything that looks interesting consider a clue." Martin said while starting to look through the cabinets. He shuffled through the cabinet, sending silverware and plates crashing to the wooden floor. "We should probably keep it down. We don't know if there's anybody here!" D said whispering through his teeth.

"Good point." Martin said while slowly closing the cupboard. "What do you think we're looking for?" Sasha asked Henry while kneeling next to him. "I'm not sure. But hopefully, whatever it is, it won't be too hard to find." He said as he looked under the the booths. "What's wrong with Madelaine? She seemed...off towards you before we came out here." Sasha interrogated. "I don't know. She started acting different right after we left the cellar that was under that office." Henry concluded as he arose to his feet. "There's nothing here, i'm looking somewhere else." Martin expressed, walking toward the archway to leave the room. "I'll go with him. You guys finish searching in here and we'll meet you guys back here when we're finished." D demanded, following after Martin. "Sure thing." Henry answered. The rain danced around the boat, getting heavier by the minute. "It's starting to really pour out there." Madelaine said as she looked out the archway into the gloominess. Rain drops splashed water through the door onto the inside floor.

"Do you guys feel that?" Sadie questioned with fear. "Feel what?" Madelaine asked looking at the others. The boat started tilting from side to side bringing dishes crashing to the ground. "The waves must be getting large." Sadie alarmed, running through the room. She slipped on the accumulated water at the archway. "Shit!" She screamed as she slipped, plummeting onto the wet floor of the deck. "I thought we were tied off." Henry sounded out. "Me too." Sasha said frightened. "Be careful!" Madelaine yelled in their direction as she stepped out of the room towards Sadie. Footsteps could be heard rushing above them back and forth. "Let's get out of here." Henry said while grabbing Sasha's hand, charging out of the room. "We're swaying from the dock!" Martin yelled from a walkway above them as they stepped out of the room. Henry looked over to see the dock in the distance. "We're gonna have to swim! Take these!" Martin shouted down as he dropped 3 orange and black life vests over the golden railing. "Careful, the wind!" Henry yelled up. He jumped with his arms up, gripping 2 vests in his hands. "No!" He yelled as a strong gust of wind caught the third one, blowing it over the edge into the abyss.