Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Project Zero ❯ 1st night: Part three ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3

1st night: Part two

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Hello! Updated again! This chapter may be a little long and may be a little confusing. If any questions appear, please type it in a review or if you wish to speak privately, email me. My email is on my profile. Now then, here we go,

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Lina took a step back and aimed her camera at the screen. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the button for the shutter. The picture slipped out of the small slit and she held it up to her flashlight. It slowly developed, revealing the screen.

But the something happened, and the picture changed. She didn't see the screen, but a door.

"The screen doesn't show up," She said, looking back up at the screen. She peeked behind it, but couldn't see anything. She carefully placed the camera on the floor and grabbed the screen with two hands.

She let out a small squeal when the screen nearly fell on her. She pushed it back into an upright position and pulled it back slowly. It came with a little force and she leaned it against the staircase. She turned back and looked at the door that had been revealed.

"Just like in the photo," Lina stooped down and picked up the camera, and the stared at the door for just a few moments.

Finally, she built up her courage. She carefully placed her hand on the doorknob. It was warm, as though someone had already placed his or her hand on it. She shook her head; that was impossible. Unless…

"Zel!" Lina swung the door open, only to come face to face with a ghostly white face. The spirit disappeared before she could get a look at it, but it did leave something behind. They were speaking to her again. The voices; many of them. But this time, she could actually hear what they were saying.

"The key? Where is the key?" Lina shut her eyes shut and dug her fingernails into her palms. This wasn't going to go any farther than it had already. She had to find her brother.

"Go away," She said through gritted teeth. The voice slowly died down and she took a deep breath.

Lina stepped into the hallway. It was covered in oriental lamps that were hanging from the ceiling. It actually made the place seem kind of warm, aside from the really creepy aspects. She walked down the hallway and around the corner.

Down the hall, a simple brown closet sat, and to her left, a door. She opened the door slowly and carefully. Stepping in, her vision was obscured by a line of screens. She walked around them and to her surprise she realized that the room looked kind of like a bedroom, except, it had no furniture aside from a single dresser. There was a window that allowed the moon to shimmer through, and a single closet.

There was also a strange noise. It sounded like paper being crumbled up, except like it was coming from some kind of animal. And it was coming from the closet. She walked towards it, but stopped when she found an old newspaper article on the dresser.

Late yesterday, a human body with no limbs was found in Mikumoru Mountain, located in the second region of the prefecture. The body's hands, feet, and head were all torn off. The police are investigating the case as both a murder and an accident.

The body has not been identified as of yet, but is believed to be a man of around the age of 30. The police are also taking into consideration that a body, mutilated in the same manner, was found in the same location 15 years ago.

Lina stared at the article a moment before placing it with the other scraps she had found in her bag. The noises hadn't stopped. She took a deep breath and slowly opened the closet.

Inside, sitting on a dresser, was a tape recorder. It was running and about half way done. She slowly reached for it. A hand shot out of the darkness and grabbed her wrist. Lina froze; her heart sped up and her breath became forced and slow.

A scene flashed before her eyes.

Mr. Gabrief, Sylphiel, and Xellos entered the mansion. The floor creaked as they stepped in. Xellos looked around, and Sylphiel shivered.

"This place, it has a bad feeling to it," Sylphiel said, inching closer to Mr. Gabrief.

Xellos rolled his eyes. "Not more of that "Sixth sense" junk,"

Sylphiel shot a look at Xellos. "You be quiet. You obviously are walking in the dark, but I feel something,"

She was cut off by a startling slam of the door behind them.

Mr. Gabrief shrugged. "Must have been the wind,"

Lina pulled away, startled and slightly shook up. She muffled down a shriek when she saw a pale white figure fall onto the dresser. It stayed there a brief moment before disappearing. Lina stood there for a few minutes, trying to collect her nerves. Finally, she grabbed the tape recorder and pressed play. She heard Mr. Gabrief's voice slip through the small speaker.

"Sept. 9 5:40 PM

The mansion was nowhere to be seen on the map, so we finally had to ask the locals how to find it. They told us Mikumoru Mansion has been empty for several decades now. The same one who told us where it was also warned us not to come here, it was quite disconcerting."

The tape stopped here. Lina cocked her head. How very odd. It said Sept. 9, which means it wasn't made that far in the past from the time they disappeared. Lina put the tape recorder in her bag and turned to walk out. She stopped.

"But that wasn't open a moment ago," Lina said. A small slide away door was open behind her, but she distinctly remembered it being closed. She hesitated, and then went into the room.

The room was filled with many kimonos of all different colors and sizes. They were all sitting on large racks. They seemed to make a maze, because as she stepped in, they seemed to make a pathway for her.

She walked around, until she came to notice a small window. She walked towards it and looked out, but her vision was obscured. She turned around slowly. She nearly screamed when the figure of a pale white man appeared in front of her.

He reached forward towards her. She stumbled back and ran towards the door. When she reached it, she frantically tried to pull it open, but it was as if some force was holding it closed. She turned around just as the spirit reached her. It reached out and grabbed her.

Lina screamed as she felt a sharp pain strike her right where the spirit was holding her. He let go, and she fell to the ground. As she fell, her finger accidentally struck the shutter button on her camera. The ghost screamed, a sound that hurt the ears and took a few steps back before disappearing.

Lina stared down at the camera. "What… what happened? Did it… was it…" She couldn't finish her sentence; it had reappeared. Lina looked up, and then looked back down at the camera. She narrowed her eyes and ran to one corner. She put her back to the corner and held the camera up to her eye.

The spirit stumbled forward. Lina wait a few seconds. The camera, it was emitting some kind of aura. The longer she waited the stronger the aura got. Just as the spirit was reaching out for her, Lina snapped the shutter. The ghost shrieked again, and then seemed to be pulled into the photo that had slipped out of the camera.

Lina wait a few minutes for her heart to settle. What had just happened? She shook her head.

She walked back over to the window. Below it, there was a small case. She tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"I know something is in there, something I need," She said. She knew it because she felt some force pulling her towards it. She looked up and noticed above it there was another case. But this one had an imprint on. It was shaped like a small hand mirror. She thought about it for a moment.

"Maybe," She brought the camera to her eyes. Maybe it was like the screen. She snapped the shutter and pulled the photo out. It developed slowly, and revealed instead of a case with an imprint in it, a large mask that looked like a lion.

"I've seen this before," She said looking at the photo. She turned and opened the door. "Maybe that's the key,"