A Demon's Pursuit: a haunted house. (05)

This time: That Librarian's duties have never lead him to a stranger design. Watch as he organizes a haunted venture.

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Chapter 5: Haunted House
(Sebastian)

This will do, I thought, sliding the envelope into the mail slot of the appropriate building.

Even at this late hour, employees lit their offices, one or two venturing out into the cold February air to enter one building or another.

The facilities were clean, and very modern. All around me were honey colored beams, spiral staircases and glass windows appropriate for the smattering of trees on the grounds. Some ways away from this artistry, the practical and sterile blocks of cement seemed to be from another age entirely.

The Aurora Society was enamored with death and life. They were probably doing something not entirely legal in its many facilities. Officially, it was a research facility though, and so they got away with much of this experimental work with little or no fuss.

On a whim, I followed a man who had just left one of the buildings. He stopped by a security box, stayed a moment and came back out again. Curious, I decided to do the same.

Inside, there was an elderly guard, several security screens, and most promisingly, a box of keys.

But a moment later, I left with a pocket full of keys to copy and explore with at the next opportunity.

None of this information was required for delivering the envelope, of course, but I didn’t like the feeling of being left out of the loop. If Undertaker was interested in this society, after all, it was best to be well informed.

---

"Yes, we usually tell this story-- it's quite frightening, I'm told," the events building representative prattled on.

Inside the small building not far from the school, we sat around low tables in what functioned as a classroom for students. Why they should want to leave school to study as a group in what could be a passable hotel (by student standards) was beyond me, but this particular custom seemed popular among third year students studying for entrance exams.

The fact that we were there to entertain instead of strictly study, seemed to have escaped the representative's attention. That would not do.

"Well, sir, I'm sure stories of people dying in the distant past are quite frightening when told with the right...flare, but I'm afraid," I looked around the neat rows of tables, "another story may be in order. If you'll excuse me, I think I shall do a bit of research...and make preparations. I doubt I'll intrude on you and your staff."

One of the young men had the presence of mind to look disgruntled, but he swiftly masked it with a mask of compliance and gratitude. "Of course." He gave a slight seated bow. "Would you like Sato here to show you around?"

Sato, a primly dressed young woman with baby-cheeks and a half-awed expression, tensed noticeably at the suggestion. She bowed her head.

“It shall not be necessary. Thank you for your assistance thus far." I rose without the fuss that these humans usually did, half-stumbling into tables and pushing awkwardly off while they regained their balance.  "I'll see to it that the children are properly entertained, and off the premise on time."

---

(Ciel)

Soma could not keep his wide eyes open for more than a few seconds. He kept blinking rapidly. Finally, he managed, "But we were going to go to that sweets shop you like."

Soma stole a glare at Agni. “Ciel didn't say he was going," Soma accused.

Of late, Agni had taken to visiting the dorms in the common areas before the curfew was enforced, seeming more concerned with the safety of his ward (and said ward's friends) than was strictly necessary.

Soma's eyes glistened a bit as he tucked his chin in a hair, lips trembling as he demonstrated a full pout.  "If Ciel can go last minute, I want to go. I want to join!"

Ciel looked suspiciously at his friend. His shoulders tightened. "You're not an examinee."
"So? It's not fair that I should be restricted just for that. It's just for fun, right? I'm sure there'll be at least one more upperclassman."

Ciel looked to Agni for support, but as usual, the tall, severe-looking young man was having trouble seeing anything wrong with his charge's demands. Ciel was about to protest again when he felt the slight pressure of a hand on his shoulder.

He turned around to see Sebastian leaning into him, but not looking at him at all. He spoke to Agni instead. "I'm not certain that I could organize something that is up to Prince Soma's standards," he said modestly, a smile tugging at his lips. "I'm quite certain there is still room for the young master's friend. Please, feel free to join in on the events." His sly red eyes were properly downcast, but Ciel was quite certain he was angling for something.

"Hah. You just want Agni's help preparing because it was thrust on you last minute," Ciel accused.

Sebastian's lips twitched, but his gaze did not waver. "Agni and I have had the pleasure of working together before on an event, it is true. He has the most exquisite skills for preparing fine Indian dishes, and his courtesy knows no bounds." His mysterious manner was marred only slightly by the teasing quirk of his lips…

"I would be honored to help," Agni was quick to assure. His eyes actually glistened with loyal fever.

"I could not intrude," Sebastian insisted.

"Great!" Soma chirped. "You two go do that business stuff, and me and Ciel will go to the sweets shop! What time do we need to arrive?"
.

.

.

Kimodameshi
Several hours later, Ciel and Soma walked up the narrow path from the bus stop. The building seemed mostly well cared for, though old, and in this lightening, more than a little creepy.

But perhaps that was because of the reason everyone would gather.

The cold air prickled his skin, sending sharp tingles of electricity down his fingers.

“No one’s here yet. But I was sure the time was for 7 o’clock….”  Soma said, his voice rising in complaint.

Ciel said nothing. The lack of other participants seemed somehow ominous-- would the demon do something to his classmates? Together, they walked down the path, and Ciel thought he saw things moving just beyond the tree-line. "They're probably already inside," Ciel said quietly. He barely dared to raise his voice above a whisper.

His eyes stuck on a paper and straw ward-- the kind of thing one usually saw near a shrine, celebrating the gods in large trees. Somehow he thought this was more to pacify something...could it be that Sebastian wouldn't be able to enter the grounds?

Suddenly, from behind him, he heard someone scream. It was a short, high-pitched thing, and the sound of it made Ciel's heart race-- until it was followed by raucous laughter.

"Is that your phone?" Ciel thought he heard McMillan's voice some ways behind him.　Ciel motioned for Soma to wait.

"Whose phone is it?" Soma frowned, looking at his own smart phone suspiciously.

"You're supposed to put it on manner mode!" One of his classmates called (loudly) from behind. "Phantomhive, didn't you read the pamphlet?" Cheslock loped up casually behind him.

Ciel ignored him, slid his finger over the "Answer" button, and held it to his ear. "Hello?" But there was no answer, and when he dropped his hand to check the connection, he found his screen locked on "shut down".

"Weird," Soma commented, completely unperturbed as the others started babbling furiously.

"You don't think it was the ghost, do you?" A girl in their year asked.

"Wait, wait, wait, Phantomhive, who was that?" Cheslock demanded.

"No, listen!"

Ciel put the phone to his ear, gesturing for the others to be quiet. "Where are you now?" The voice on the phone asked. "Hey, where are you?" It seemed on the verge of laughing, and oddly familiar. It almost sounded like one of the voices of a Japanese student who they went to school with.

He took the phone from his ear, suddenly aware of the unnatural silence. And the lack of any of the usual keys to a cellphone conversation. There was no static.

As he put the phone in his bag, a voice laughed somewhere near the woods.

The students gave cries of alarm, half thrilled, and half afraid. As one, they walked speedily to the seminar room.

When the door at last shut behind them, there was only the sound of the doors, of students shifting and rearranging their bags and coats. Slowly, they started to look around for the teacher or organizer, asking of each other,

"Have you seen Mr. Hiragi?" and "Wait, did we get the room wrong?"

When the lights flickered,  the door creaked open again. In the darkness, it was hard not to tense, to lean away from the figure that approached.

"Welcome," a smooth voice said. There was only the sound of footsteps on the tatami floor.

The lights flickered as though someone drew a shutter over them, and then revealed a tall lithe figure dressed in an old-fashioned black suit. Victorian, if Ciel had his guess.

He frowned stiffly as he eyed the effect. From the tight vest to the silver pocket watch, he looked entirely too out-of-era. Whose butler does he think he is? Ciel wondered. And those gloves. Aaaarg.

"Now that you have all arrived, we can begin. Welcome to your last kimodameshi as Junior High Students. Prove your courage today, and certainly your entrance exams or year-end tests will seem that much easier.” Sebastian smiled disarmingly, as though he were doing something as straightforward as selling a good luck charm, rather than essentially guiding them through a haunted house.

Ciel’s classmates murmured all around him, excited and curious.

“Each student, please draw a number. There are two of each numbers in this pack, so you will walk through the building with whomever has your match...that's right, draw a number..." Sebastian held out a number of slips for the students to choose from. As Ciel had come to expect, Sebastian used a heavy-weight, ecru colored (or maybe cream colored) paper, and the numbers looked suspiciously hand-written. He eyed them as the students in front jostled to be the first to take their chances, and held back.

Ciel drew number four. He was neither first nor last to choose a paper, so when the girls exclaimed “No way!” he assumed that she had simply been paired with someone she did not prefer.

“But there’s only 14 of us! Soma made us an even number—” Cheslock was saying.

A cold chill went down Ciel’s back. “So who’s the extra?” Ciel looked around, swiftly counting the members.

“Someone must have joined in late!”

“What if it’s a ghost???”

“There’s no way a ghost would draw lots, you idiot.”

Sebastian cleared his throat. “I’m sure all will be made clear shortly. For now, find your partner.” He watched as the pairs moved around to make 7 groups, leaving Ciel still standing alone. The whispers started up again.

“Shouldn’t we take roll?” A girl asked nervously.

“Did you see that horror anime Another?” Cheslock asked the boy he was paired with. “Maybe it’s the dead one. The dead student who joined us…”


“Shut up, Cheslock! Nobody in our school died.” There was a moment of relieved shuffling as they settled back into their places.

“Now that you all have your partner to walk by your side in these dark halls…” Sebastian carried on in a vaguely taunting voice. He sounded darkly amused, but never once did his gaze wander to Ciel. “…Let me share with you a bit of the local history.”

Sebastian began a haunting tale of a woman who died in a fire. She had been thought to be a witch, Sebastian said, and had not been on good terms with the villagers when she was alive. And so, she became a wailing spirit, fast to curse any and all she believed connected with her untimely death, and then curse anyone who disturbed her grave.

“Her grave, you ask? It happens to be in the forest we passed to come to this study center.”

All around him, the students whispered, and one girl gave a shriek. “In the woods? Was that phone call from the ghost?”

“All right!” Sebastian said, much too cheerfully. “Line up with your partner, and prepare to take tour of the building. Try not to scream too loud—we wouldn’t want to disturb the ghost. Pair number one, please go this way. Your path will be clearly marked, so kindly don’t stray.”

The first pair left, whispering and tittering as they went. And so, group one, two and three left one after another until it was Ciel’s turn.

“Where is the other four?” Sebastian said, cruelly pronouncing the number “shi” rather than “yon” as any other teacher would have. To Ciel and all the other Japanese speakers, it sounded as though he were asking, “Where is the other “death?”

Ciel turned to the rest of the students, only to be met with white eyes of unimpressed classmates. They stared after him without a glimmer of pity—mostly suspicion on their childish faces. Ciel lifted his chin, treating it like it was a challenge. “I don’t know,” Ciel replied carefully. “But I’ll go on my own.” He walked forward, setting his slender shoulders as he went.

---

tbc...

Next: the test of courage