Shortcake*

Chapter 50: Ghosts

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Cleo was circling the room anxiously. The sky was starting to slowly lighten up. She hadn't slept at all, just kept anxiously waiting for Jerrica to come back. She spent most of the night looking for something, anything that she might have missed or laying on the bed trying to sleep. Besides the twin bed, which was bolted to the floor, the chair was a flimsy, folding camp chair she was almost afraid to sit on because it looked like she would break it into matchsticks. A closer inspection of the window revealed thick, heavy pains of glass which would be a bitch to break even if she had something to do it with. There was a set of sliding double doors at one end that opened to reveal a deep, empty closet, and the door to the room was made of solid wood with an old-fashioned lock. Sighing, she lay down on the bed again and closed her eyes, listening to the faint sounds of the house settling.

"Do you really think she's going to let you out?"

Cleo almost jumped out of her skin and sat up quickly, looking around. The voice was clear and childlike, but the room was empty. "Who's there?" She put her hand over her heart and willed it to slow down. "What do you mean? Can you help me?" She swallowed as no one answered her and moved, so she was sitting against the wall. "Hello?" The closet door slid back a fraction, and she froze, staring at it. It didn't move again, and after several minutes, she relaxed enough to stand up and walk over to it. She opened the door all the way and turned on the light. It was empty like she knew it was, but she decided to search it a little more carefully.

She was running her hands over the shelving when she stepped on a floorboard, and it dipped a little. Looking down, she stepped again and watched as it rose a bit on one end. Dropping quickly to the floor, she pressed down with her knee and gripped the edge that came up with her fingers. A quick pull and the board lifted right up, revealing a hiding spot full of small things. "Oh!" She said softly. "Is this where you hid your treasures?" There was no answer, and after a moment of hesitation, she started pulling them out: a white My Little Pony with blue hair and a gem on her hindquarters that rattled a little when she picked it up, a very outdated, half-full box of vanilla Dunkaroos, a colouring book and crayons and a pen and journal, both My Little Pony themed.

Picking up the journal, she started to open it, but seeing the childish handwriting and the words "I wish my dad was here" broke her heart, and she decided it would be best if she left it for Link. "Okay, I found your things." She brought what she pulled out over to the bed and laid them down. "Now what?" She picked up the toy pony, shaking it gently. She wasn't sure if ghosts were real and Kimber was trying to help her or if she had an audio hallucination, and she subconsciously put together that she would have had a hiding spot from her mother, but speaking out loud was helping her cope. "Is there something in here?" she murmured.

Cleo gripped the head of the toy and tugged it until it came off. Shaking it over the bed, she watched in amazement as an old-fashioned key fell out of the toy. "No way." She muttered, smiling as she picked it up. "Kimber, you sweetheart." She put the head back on the toy and went to the door hopefully. Inserting the key, she closed her eyes, murmured a quick "Please work," and turned it. The lock clicked, and she opened her eyes excitedly. "Yes!" She opened the door and did a quick walk-through. There were two other rooms; one was a master bedroom, and one was an office with a spare bed in it. As she walked through, she noticed that it was set up like a show home, with no personal items anywhere. Clearly, Jerrica wasn't living there and she had a sinking feeling that the voice she heard was right, Jerrica had no intention of coming back and letting her go whether she got the ransom or not. A wave of nausea washed over her, and she knew she had to get out of there. Going back to the room, she dumped the box of Dunkaroos and used it to carry Kimber's things. As she passed through the kitchen, she began to cough, and her eyes immediately started wandering. Looking around, she noticed the oven door was partially opened, and the gas was on.