Crossing the Line

Chapter Fourteen

I'm sorry for the loooong lack of posting... the HSC and everything else over the summer robbed me of my motivation, but hey! I'm back! And I know 100% where the next chapter is going, so it should be out soon!

As the cool winter sky outside grew brighter and brighter along with the rising of the pale morning sun, and as the spirits that resided inside the house retired, the whispers and sounds throughout the building grew quieter and quieter. Shortly after they had fallen into a complete silence, Mikhail had deemed it safe enough for the group of teenagers to begin their search for their missing friend.

And so, the group re-entered the accursed hallways, calling out Bonibell's name as they walked along.

Asiyah (and the others, too, she was sure) was starting to detest these hallways, with an intense passion. She hated their tattered probably-once-was-beige wallpaper and their rotting floorboards; they seemed to go on forever and ever. She lost count of how many doors they passed, how many times they'd called "Bonibell!" only to get no response, and, how many times they'd looked into a room to see if she was in there, only to be met with blank faces or confused expressions from the ghosts waiting inside.

Once, when Mikhail peered into a room, cautiously asking if Bonibell was in there, he was not met with merely blank or confused faces. To his surprise, he was yelled at instead. The angry ghost, a boy that could be no older than twenty, shouted at him to 'get back to his room, and be quiet for God's sake!'

Asiyah wondered if he saw the irony in that demand. Miki couldn't help but notice that a vast majority of the ghosts they'd seen were teenagers, or at least in their early twenties. She felt sick.

Mikhail apologised to the angry ghost before explaining that they were looking for a friend. That may not have been the best idea, as it only infuriated the ghost further.

"Everyone who is here is supposed to be here, except for you," he retorted. "Now, get back to your room before anyone gets here and sees you! Then we'll all be in trouble; you don't want to be responsible for that, do you?!"

"Alright, alright, sorry. Jeez." Mikhail rolled his eyes as he slammed the door shut in spite.

"'Back to your room'? What's that about?" Asiyah asked Mikhail, once they were out of earshot of that particular room.

"Apparently, everyone is supposed to stay inside a room all day. They're not even allowed to talk to each other. You know how they're supposed to trap people here?"

"How could we not?"

"Ha ha," he replied dryly. "That was rhetorical. Well, they're supposed to stay in there in case of the off chance that someone who can see spirits enters. In case they'll leave."

"How could anyone think of leaving? Being trapped in a place you might die is so fun," Richard said sarcastically.

Asiyah rolled her eyes, speeding up her walk a bit, but Miki let out a quiet laugh.

It was the first time he had spoken since the previous night. Asiyah was still mad, although Miki had decided to move on. Her friend held grudges, but she didn't. Nikolai was still uninformed on the exact details of what had happened, but honestly, he preferred it that way.

Eventually they found themselves in the room that the girls had slept in, on their first night here, and decided to take a break. Coming up with a plan was also a good idea, because at the moment there was no such thing and they were merely shooting in the dark. It had felt like they were wandering in circles. Again. All the rooms, aside from this one, were decorated the same and so were useless for navigation.