Fourteen Little Cephalopods (Splatoon fanfiction) [Cancelled]

Chapter 8

Mia and Jenny climbed up the stairs to the third floor. They could hear the distant voices of the others. Mia looked at Jenny, concerned. She hadn't said anything in a while. "Hey," she said in a caring voice. "You okay?"

Jenny looked at her. "Yeah..." she answered and looked away. Mia knew she was lying, but decided not to pressure her for more. "So, I say we search one room each at a time, and we also gotta stay together," Mia said. "Sound good?"

Jenny nodded her head slowly. Mia wanted to suggest to her to just wait downstairs, but she didn't want to leave her all by herself, and quite frankly, she was too scared herself to be on her own. Mia stepped into a large room, while Jenny continued down the corridor. "Just call out if something happens!" Mia called. Jenny gave a sound that Mia took as a yes. She looked over the room. It looked like an old playroom, with old billiard tables and tables for playing cards. There were also throwing darts by the wall, and Mia picked up one. It was rusty, but still usable. She positioned herself a few meters from the target and took aim. She took a deep breath and threw the dart. It flew through the air and hit the target straight in the middle. A bullseye! Mia was surprised. She hadn't expected much, but it had taken no effort at all to hit it. It was like it came to her naturally. Mia couldn't remember being any good at throwing darts. But on the other hand, she couldn't remember anything. Maybe it was beginners luck? She picked up another one and threw it, this time from a further distance. Bullseye! She raised an eyebrow and picked up another one. That one hit the middle as well. Mia couldn't help but smile, picked up the fourth one and backed even further away. She took a deep breath, putting all her energy and focus on hitting the target. But just as she was about to throw it, the floor creaked behind her. Mia flinched, threw the dart and turned around. Her heart was racing and adrenaline was rushing through her body. The creaking had come from the doorway, but alas, no one was there. Mia tried to calm herself. "Had someone been there?" she thought. She kept staring at the doorway, like she was waiting for someone to show up. But, no one came. Mia took a deep breath. "It's just your imagination," she murmured. "There was no one there. Your brain is just messing with you. It wasn't rea—"

She froze mid thought. A cold shiver crept down her back. The dart she had thrown had landed on the wall. Normally, there was nothing wrong with that. Maybe she was still calming down from the shock. The morning sun shone through the window, casting a shadow of Mia on the wall. The dart had landed exactly in the middle of where Mia's head was. Mia could feel goosebumps crawling on her skin. Could this really happen by chance? What are the chances of the dart landing on her shadow's head? Mia shook her head. "No!" she thought. "You're being stupid! It doesn't mean anything! Your head is just playing tricks on you!"

She looked over the room. There was nothing else there, no point in searching for anything. Mia turned and walked towards the door. Just as she was about to walk out, she turned her head. The dart was still on the wall. Looking at it filled Mia with anxiety, so she closed the door and walked further down the corridor. She could see Jenny in one of the rooms, searching in a large box. "Find anything?" Mia called. Jenny raised her head from the box. "Nothing notable," she answered and continued to search through the box. Mia nodded. She looked down. Her legs were shaking. She took a deep, shaky breath, before walking into the next room.

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Amanda opened the front door, followed by Scout and Irina. The slight breeze in the wind moved the branches on the trees, making them dance in the wind. Amanda looked up, staring up at the trees towering over them. They stood tall, taller than the mansion itself, the dense branches making it so that sunlight didn't touch the walls of the mansion, painting it in a dark shadow. Scout looked through the widows of the house, spotting a few of the others. Irina turned to face the other two. "So, what's the plan?" she asked. She was clearly trying to keep a straight face, but Amanda could see something was bothering her. Amanda didn't know how to explain it, but there was something about Irina. It was like Amanda could read her. It was a strange feeling. Amanda was ripped out of her thoughts when Scout spoke up. "Well, it's like Fjord said," he answered. "We just search around for any clues or anything useful."