Five Friends and A Mansion

Part 5

1 hour earlier...

Joan led the way, like always. She was the bravest, but also the most curious. They were on the first floor. Their target right now was either the necklace or the bow and arrow. The bow and arrow would be easy, it would stand out. The necklace, on the other hand, would be a lot more complicated. But their mission was not as complicated as the other team's, Willow and Abbey needed to find the book which was almost impossible.

"Do you guys hear that?" said Laguna. Her eyes went wide, searching for the source of the voice.

"Laguna, Laguna, Laguna..." chanted the ghostly voice. It felt like one of the scenes from a horror movie where the ghost tries to lure the victim in. But this was not a ghost, it sounded more like a siren from the sea.

"No, we don't hear anything. Are you alright? Do we need to call a mental hospital ambulance?"

The two girls frowned at her.

"What? I was joking" groaned Joan, a little too sarcastic.

The whispering didn't stop, it got louder as they walked. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She was both irritated and curious. She pledged to find the source of the voice, but also made sure that the others wouldn't notice her odd behavior. She stumbled in front of Joan, hopefully making her think that it was just an accident. Laguna wasn't the kind of girl who would take other people's spotlight.

Suddenly, she felt a magnetic pulse. Not a tug on the arm but more like a tingle. She couldn't ignore it, no matter how hard she tried.

"Guys, I think we should check some of the rooms. Starting with this one of course" exclaimed Laguna, she tried not to sound too excited but failed miserably.

"OK, sure. Why not?" said Stella, a little bit confused.

Laguna walked to the wide barn doors, her head up high like an ostrich. The door was twice her size, faded red with flowers carved on it. She touched the door handle carefully. The old rusted metal might give her rashes. But as soon as her skin met brass, an electric current shot through her. Not the type that made you scream in pain, more like the type that made you wince and flinch.

"You OK there? Cause we could always call the ER" said Joan, half-joking half concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just - the brass is really cold" she lied.

Before they could respond, Laguna opened the door.

The room was magnificent. It wasn't really a room, since most of the space was taken up by a ginormous swimming pool. The floor was covered in sand, the same sand they found on the beach a couple of hours ago. Stones were placed on the edge of the pool Not bland grey and black, but marble white, faded pink, and rosepetal cream.

The surroundings were charming, various plants and flowers were growing all over the place. Covering the glass walls and seashore floor. Some plants she recognized: roses, hydrangeas, dinner-plate dahlias, and some water lilies floating on the pool.

The pool itself was breath-taking. The water was so clean, cleaner than any lake she's ever seen. It scintillates in the brightness like diamonds in sunlight. Inside the water were mountains of treasures, the kind that you would see in castles and pyramids. Sheeny gold doubloons and glittery jewels of all colors. Necklaces, rings, bracelets, crowns, every single treasure that you could think of. In the middle of it all was a necklace. The necklace was simple, the chain was made of various vibrant beads that seemed totally random. There was only one charm on it, it looked like a dream catcher with tiny shells stuck to it. Half of the wooden frame was covered in pearls.