Fiend Club | Andley/Ghorror/Angeless [C]

Chapter 4 | Smoke & Mirrors

"Did you hear that!? Tell me you guys heard that!"

They were only two steps inside, and Andy had already nearly jumped out of his skin.

CC rolled his eyes. "It was the door shutting, you wuss."

Andy looked over his shoulder, and sure enough the door had shut completely. It was extremely old, to be fair, and he was surprised it was still functioning and not totally rotten. Speaking of how old it was, this place was centuries old. How was everything still so intact? Andy had imagined a crumbling foundation, a totally, stereotypical abandoned castle. Aside from a few cobwebs, and scattering mice and spiders, it looked well kept. Almost like someone still lived here.

Andy then shot a 'not cool' look at his friend beside him, crossing his arms. Angelo placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at CC as well.

"He can't help it if he's nervous, okay? Now be nice to him." He said calmly, "Alright, now let's split up and explore, but in pairs. That means no wandering off by yourself. If the stories are true, this place is a maze, and I don't want to have to explain to anybody's parents why their son went missing."

There were a few grumbles among the group as they nodded.

"Good. I'll go with Vinny, since he's the youngest and most careless." Angelo sighed.

"Hey!" Vinny protested. "I'm not a baby!"

"You are in this case, buddy." Kuza laughed, "Whaddya say, Balz? Wanna go provoke some ghosts?" He said in an over dramatic voice, and then looked at CC. "You wanna come with? We're gonna see if we can find the dungeon."

Josh grinned in agreement, looking at CC for an answer. He didn't even hesitate, high-fiving them and wandering off with their flashlights. "Don't get too spooked, Andy!" He shouted as they disappeared. Andy stuck his tongue out, despite the fact they were gone.

"Looks like it's just you and me." Ghost hummed, lazily slinging an arm around his shoulder. Andy cringed and nodded, gripping his flashlight so tight his knuckles were white. "Hey, hey, hey... Relax. The fun's just starting."

Andy took a deep breath and nodded, taking a few steps towards the grand staircase before them.

"Don't forget you have first-aid in your backpack!" He heard Angelo shout as he and Vinny went off a different way.

Andy looked at Ghost and nodded, going up the first half of the stairs. They reached the top and then looked to each side. The staircase split halfway up, both seeming to lead to equally spooky hallways.

"Which way?" he asked shakily, looking back and forth. Ghost knelt down and eyed what looked to be a single foot print, not acknowledging Andy's question for a moment. "Ghost? What's wrong?" He asked, worry creeping up his throat.

Ghost shook his head quickly and stood, brushing off the eerie footprint. Ghosts weren't real. "Nothing. Uh, let's go right." He said and lead the way up the stairs.

Met with a long, dark, ominous hallway, Andy froze. He didn't know why he froze, he just did. Something about being here gave him an off-feeling. Something about that door at the end of the hall made him... uneasy... Ghost rolled his eyes and tugged him along, looking at the doors along the way.

"Is this a library?" Andy frowned when Ghost opened a door.

"What else would it be?" He laughed and walked in to examine the room.

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On the other side of the castle, Angelo and Vinny had found what seemed to be the kitchen. Vinny shined his flashlight across the counter, stopping. "What are these?" He frowned and picked up a labeled jar. "Hey, Angelo? What's lemon balm?"