What Lies Beneath

Chapter Thirty-Two: Day Break

After Agatha awoke from her night terror, she was unable to get back to sleep. So instead, she went for a walk around the property. While wandering around she came across Gwyneth who was standing by the pond, crying.

Agatha couldn't help but smile at this sight. When she saw the hands come out of the water and reach out for the elderly woman, her smile only grew. Finally, she wouldn't have to keep pretending to be nice to the naïve girl. It was only when the hands disappeared back into the water, that she felt anger flood through her body.

Nothing was going right. The guests were taking forever to arrive and now she was going to be stuck dealing with Gwyneth for a while longer. Half of her wanted to march up to the stupid woman and drown her herself, but the other half knew that even though she was annoying, she could still be useful in keeping the children in line.

So, instead of killing her, Agatha simply turned and walked away.

Sophie didn't know where she was. She had been wandering the shadowy halls for what seemed like forever. She had thought that she would have at least run into one of her house mates, but then again, the place was impossibly huge.

No matter how she tried to rationalize them not finding her, she only felt more alone.

Wrapping her arms across her torso, Sophie leaned against a wall and slowly sank to the floor. Maybe if she stayed put, then they would be able to find her faster. Though, that didn't mean that something else wouldn't come acrost her while she waited.

The thought of more ghosts or apparitions finding her sent shivers down her spine. No matter how much she wanted to stay put, she knew that there were other things in the house that weren't very friendly and if they found her- No, she didn't want to think about what they would do. So, with a huff, Sophie pulled herself up from the floor and started walking again.

When the trio finally made it to the kitchen, they found that they were all extremely hungry, since none of them had eaten anything in over twenty-four hours. So, instead of just watching Wyatt eat they each grabbed a bowl and a box of cereal.

Sitting down on the kitchen floor, they silently ate their food. Guilt hung in the air like the humidity of a Nebraska summer.

"We should grab some food to bring to Sophie when we find her." Wyatt stared down at his bowl of milk with small grain circles in it.

"Absolutely." Karen offered a reassuring smile to Wyatt.

"Do you think that she's okay?" Wyatt didn't say the words, but they all knew what he meant. Do you think she's still alive? After seeing what happened to Delphine after only a few hours in this house by herself, they were all terrified that it would happen to one of them.

"I'm sure, she's fine. She may be young, but she's strong." Karen reached over and placed her hand on Wyatt's shoulder. She had meant it to be a comforting gesture, but from the worry that still lingered on his furrowed brow, it hadn't worked.

During the whole conversation, Paul sat silently with his back up against the cabinets. This was all his fault. If he hadn't come to this house, then none of this would be happening. Though, perhaps it would have still happened even if he had chosen to stay away.

Paul hated it when his mind tried to rationalize his doubt away.

"We should start looking for her again." Paul set his nearly full bowl on the floor and then stood up. He was tired of sitting around and eating while one of their own was lost.

Karen and Wyatt both looked up at Paul, stunned by his sudden outburst. Instead of saying anything, they both discarded their bowls and joined him. Paul was right, they had wasted too much time. They needed to begin the search for their missing friend before it was too late.