"Fiona" by Tyler L. Abbott

It was the streaming lines of sun that awoke Sam early that morning. He had forgotten to turn the shades shut last night before he stumbled into bed, clothes still on. One of Sam’s hands moved out of the bed and rubbed over his eyes, awakening himself. After throwing the covers to the side, he slide his legs off the bed, sighing as he sat up. With a glance at the clock, he groaned. 7:30 already. His mom had probably half awakened him before she had left at 6:00, telling him not to be late, again. He got to his feet, clothes wrinkled now from being slept in. He didn’t care much, not enough to change out of them anyways. At the moment, he was wearing the usual color he wore all the time. Black. Black and more black. He was almost the stereotypical Goth. He wore all black, sometimes had his nail painted black. The only thing he didn’t do that a lot of his gothic friends were known to do was cut himself. He had no reason, drive, motivation to do it. If he did, he doubted he could do it. He had always found himself rather weak, emotional. He didn’t have enough courage to cut himself.

His house was silent as usual in the morning. A low hum of the computer in his room, scratching at the front door, most likely Ralph, the cat, wanting to come in. He ignored the cat at the door, he would come in when Sam left. Right now he had to get his stuff together. He sluggishly trailed around the house, unorganizedly grabbing random things that looked like school work and stuffing them into his book bag, that carried his laptop as well. As he went towards the door, where his shoes were, he glanced at the clock in the kitchen. 7:45. No problem, he could make it there in no time. After slipping his shoes on, he opened to door, Ralph meowing happily as he rushed by and down the hallway. Sam shook his head, always wondering why the cat didn’t like light. He was almost convinced it was a vampire cat. With a slight chuckle, he began his walk to school.

The walk was only about ten minutes, but for him, it was hell. He was extremely skinny, as he ate little. Also he wore all black, and in the extreme temperatures of Florida, it was hell. He was never one for warmth, always having liked cool days. In extreme heat, he’d been known to faint, the feeling he was used to. As he walked along the side walk the lead right to the school, he began to hum a song to himself, glad he had nabbed his MP3 player off his floor before rushing off. He rarely had his headphones on his ears, as his friends were usually talking to him while he listened to it. Instead, he wore them around his neck and merely had the volume up very loud. At the moment, he was listening to Nine Inch Nails, a favorite of his listening pleasures. A few minutes passed, as he hummed along, eyes closed. He was still walking, but failing at knowing what was in front of him. As he walked along, he increased the speed of his steps to keep to the beat.

“What the hell you freak!?” Sam heard after he had ran directly into someone. He slowly opened his eyes, instinctively turning his music down. His eyes ran upwards, eyeing the tall person in front of him.

Sam cringed lightly, and shrunk backwards. He tried to slip around the muscular person in front of him, probably a football player, but was abruptly stopped by outstretched arms. “You should watch where you’re going freak. Next time I’mma pound you.” The jock grinned and walked off in triumph.
Sam sighed, and continued on. Before the encounter, he had felt good about the day, but now it was ruined. He had a headache, either from stress or the heat. He didn’t care, now he just wanted to go home and go into his room. He finally entered the schools doors, getting bumped around by all the other people entering at the moment. He now had the headphones over his ears, as the loud banter of the school overtook the sound when he had them around his neck. He quickly maneuvered around the mass of people in the lobby and went for his first class. Thankfully it was study hall. He could wake up completely and maybe get some homework done. It didn’t matter if he did, his mom wasn’t home enough to care about his grades. His dad died a long time ago. This, however, didn’t sadden Sam, his dad had been a prick. Beating him whenever the smallest thing went wrong, or even when he had had a bad day at work.

Sam moved into the study hall room, which was just next to the lobby. After checking his name off on a list, to show he was there and hadn’t skipped, he moved to the table a few of his friends were at. He didn’t look at the people around the table carefully enough to notice there was a new person sitting there. He slung his book bag onto the floor with a rather loud assortment of sounds. He sighed and sat down at the table, his spiked bracelets clanking at his hands hit the table.

“...It’s one of those days guys.” Sam said, gently, almost to himself. Everyone at the table was wearing all black too. They seemed to be quite the secluded group. Never really talking to anyone else, even if someone else had something close to nice to say to them.

“Hang in there, Sam.” said Chrissy, one of Sam’s more then friend, friends. She saw that he didn’t quite respond to what she said and proceeded to snap her fingers in front of his eyes. “Wake up man. Didn’t you notice the new girl here? Her name is Fiona. Fiona, Sam. Sam, Fiona.”

Now Sam looked up. It wasn’t everyday that a new girl came to the school that would sit with them. His brown eyes saw something he probably wouldn’t forget anytime soon. Just across the table from him was Fiona, clad in black as the rest of them. She had shoulder length, straight red hair. The red wasn’t fiery like some redhead’s. But more of a mellow, calming color. He face was flawless, smooth and light. Eye lashes covered her eyes slightly as if challenging to on looker to find the perfect brown eyes beneath. Sam saw her wave lightly, he lips curving in a gently smile. He blushed slightly, which was enough to make his look strawberry red. He had just now realized his was staring at her features.

Fiona grinned slightly to herself, and stood up, showing her full form. Sam was once again memorized by her stunning features. She was around 5'7", an average height for 9th graders like himself. He stood himself, having a bit of trouble pushing the chair out behind him, which caused his blush to increase, somehow. After he stood, he smiled across to her, and finally spoke after the achingly long minute or so.

“Hello. I’m Sam, as Chrissy said.” he reached out his hand for her to shake, which she did. Her touch was at soft as he expected, causing him to hold on to her hand for longer then he probably should have. He released it embarrassedly and sat back down, right after she spoke.


“Why hello Sam.” her voice was heavenly. Sweet to the ears, better then any music Sam had ever heard. It was music in it’s own, a choir in itself. Her words rang in Sam’s mind as he sat down, stunned more then he had been before. What luck, to have this girl here, he began thinking to himself His music began to flood back into his ears, bringing him back to the physical world. The six others at the table were now talking about random mismatched things. Fiona was joining in on the conversation here and there, obviously not a shy one like Sam.

The hour and twenty minutes passed by like nothing, Sam listening to his music while occasionally staring at Fiona. He never once talked to the group, something that wasn’t very surprising. None of the homework had been done, he thought to himself as he trudged off to his next class, which would actually require attention. How could he even think about anything right now, his mind was on Fiona to much. He came to his locker, and twisted the dial around. 39-0-55, he repeated in his head to make his hands turn the dial the right amount. After a few unpromising tried he finally opened it. It clanged against the other lockers as he threw it open, frustrated with it beyond belief, and this was only the first class. He stuffed his book bag in, taking out the books he needed and a pencil for the class. With a slam of the locker door, he headed for the class, preparing for the long day ahead.

The second period class, French, went by smoothly. It was normal for him to either get asked no questions because the teachers were afraid he carried a weapon of some sort. Or he was asked all the questions, because the teachers didn’t agree with the way he dressed or acted. Either way, each class was hell to sit through. He wasn’t a very good participant in class, but his home works and tests showed he at least listened to what was going on. The class passed by and he went to the next, and then the next. Lunch came around, and pain struck Sam somewhere in a his stomach. Eating, to him, was disgusting. And during lunch, all the people who were supposed to be in lunch were rounded up and shoved into the cafeteria. As he was shoved into the lunch room, he felt a compulsion in his stomach, making him almost puke on the floor there in front of him. All those kids, stuffing their faces with dead birds, chopped potatoes cooked in grease. Repulsive to him. He tried to turn to leave, but was faced by stern faced teachers.

Sam sighed, and turned around again to face the room. His stomach churned again. He took a few steps forward, wondering if any of his friends were in this lunch today. His tried to stand on his toes to get a better look at the tables in the back, unfortunately where his friends would be seated. He spotted Ben with some other people and made his way through the carnage know as lunch time to their table. He almost stopped in his tracks as he saw Fiona, gently eating a green apple and leaning against the far wall. She was all by herself, her eyes closed. Sam ignored Ben, who was tugging at the side of his shirt and went straight to Fiona. She opened her brown eyes as he came near, as if sensing him. She gave him a smile that made his knees shake and his fingers run cold. She pushed off the wall slightly, to meet Sam.

“Hello again. How’s your day?” she said with her clear voice. Sam stood silent for a moment, almost as if he were high and it was taking him a few moments to process what she had said.

“Oh, its been boring. Yours?” Sam asked, his voice rather shaky. He was also shaky himself, his hands her cold, with sweat on his palms. He would seem sick to a parent or adult, to himself he was just nervous. He fell back against the wall and Fiona soon resumed the spot she was in before, next to Sam.

“For my first day, it has gone well. My last school was so small. This is a big change. It’s hard to get used to.” she ended with a smile, “But with nice people like you around I’m su---” the bell sounded in the lunch room, easily blasting over the loud chatter in the cafeteria. With a sigh, Fiona said her good bye quickly, and pushed off the wall, one of her hands tracing down the black clothed arm of Sam, leaving him there, speechless as she walked off. He shook his head, and went off to his last class.

The last class, gym, went by faster the normal. Mainly because he stood around, not participating and thinking of Fiona. He couldn’t get his mind on anything else for more then a few minutes. He had been memorized. The class ended and Sam nabbed his things for his locker and set off for home. It was 3:30 and the walk home was almost ten times as bad as the way there. By the time he walked into his house, he was slouched and sweating quite a bit.

As he entered his house, he was encountered by Ralph pawing at his leg. Sam walked pass the cat, only to have it playfully follow behind and continue to swat at his pant legs. After ditching his bag on his bed, he seated himself at the computer in his room. It was never turned off, he merely moved the mouse a bit and it sprung to life. He opened the many messengers he ran all together, checked his e-mail, finally ending up with some good music on, relaxed, and chatting about this and that to his friends. Hours passed this way. His mom came home at nine, only to quickly give him a hello and kiss on the cheek, the part he didn’t like, and pay a few bills. She was then off to her second job, something she had to take since Sam’s dad had died.

Sam’s eyes were beginning to droop slightly as the night passed by, it was 10:55 when he got a message from someone he hadn’t seen before. KilkoAnoif, was their screen name. He wondered at it, for a moment, not realizing they had type, “Hey“, to him. A few moments passed as his tired mind tried to figure out who it could be, but with no success. He finally ended up typing back.

“Hello. Who is it I’m talking to?” Sam typed out, he always made his typing fast, precise, and longer then needed.
“Heh, You know me. From school.” was the reply from the mysterious messenger.
Sam sat for another moment. He had everyone he knew and liked from school on his buddy list. “Oh? Well, you have me stumped. Your name?” he replied, a light grin on his face, this had at least woken him up enough to think about who it could be.
“See my screen name?” the stranger promptly replied, making Sam think they had it typed before he even responded, “Well, take the last five letter and type them out backwards.”
Sam snickered, riddles were fun. “F...I...O...N...A” he typed out and sent to the stranger, not even taking the time to spell what it said. He thought sending that to this person would get them to tell him their name. He was really tired.
“Good job,” was the reply. Sam sat, and wondered when the person was going to tell their name. As he sat and waited he read over the letters he had typed.
“Fe..oh..na” he said out loud to himself, trying to see what that was. He would have known right away it was Fiona, if she had spelled it out for him today at school. The clock was at 11:15 when he yelled out in surprise. “Fiona!”
“Fiona!!” he rapidly typed to her, and then added her to his buddy list, putting her at the top. “Hey! I should have asked you today if you had a screen name.” He smiled to the computer screen. Something he did a lot, along with laughing at it, or yelling at it.
After changing the song on his computer, he received, “Oh, I didn’t think you had one either. Stroke of luck, I guess.” from Fiona. Sam was now shaking lightly again. It didn’t take much, even someone typing to him that he thought looked pretty, to get him nervous.
“Where did you get my screen name, then?” he asked her through the messenger, and then started tapping the beat to the song on his desk.
It was a while before the next reply came, about five minutes. This had Sam even more nervous, and about ready to start pacing. When the reply came, it sounded with a ‘bliing‘. Sam quickly went to it. It read, “Sorry about the wait. My parents are fighting again. I should get off before I get caught in the middle of it. See ya Sam.” she then left, not even giving the fast typing Sam, time enough to say good bye.

Sam sat at the computer desk for a while, recovering from the encounter. He checked to make sure her screen name had been saved on his buddy list on for time, before putting himself on away and heading for bed. He feel into his bed, this time managing to take a few articles of clothing off. He reached down and flicked to alarm button on his clock on, and swiftly fell asleep.

Sam woke up the annoying and hated sound of his alarm clock. He reached over and pressed the alarm button on it, making it shut up. He then rose from bed, actually taking a look at the clock. 6:30 or so, good, he thought, I can have some time this morning. He got up, put on some fresh clothes, that resembled the ones he wore yesterday quite bit. He then got on the computer, turning his away message off on his messengers. He was surprised to see the Fiona had left a message for him. It read.

“Sam. I really wish you were on right now, but, I know it’s not a reasonable hour. My parents are still fighting, and I’m scared. I need someone to talk to, but no one is on. I thought I’d leave you something. It’s better to just type to an away message then to nothing. I want to get to know more of you. You seem like such a nice person, someone you can talk to for real. At least once you’re done at getting embarrassed at everything. Heh. Sorry, it’s just yesterday I noticed how shaky you were around me each time. It’s obvious what you think of me. Especially after you eyed me for the whole study hall period. I should really go, if m”

The message was sent there. Awkwardly in the middle of a sentence. He read it a few times, to see if he missed anything, but found he hadn‘t. He shrugged it off, and then proceeded to get ready and head for school. He could ask her about it in school today.

He arrived at school and went straight to his group of friends, who were located somewhere near the end of a hallway. His eyes searched about for Fiona, without success. Greetings were passed around, and Sam was quick to ask, “Is Fiona here today?”

A few of his friends shrugged, not knowing either who Fiona was, or if she were there. A few said that they hadn’t seen her on the bus to school. He was now officially worried. With what she had told him last night and the mysterious cut off. That, alone, made him nervous. But, now she wasn’t at school. What could have happened. Hundreds of possibilities raced through his mind, some making him cringe, others making him want to run off and find her. He knew he couldn’t, however. He didn’t know where she lived and getting out of school was a challenge enough.

This day went by slower then most, as Sam’s mind was fixed on worrying about Fiona. As school ended, he rushed to his locker and nabbed his laptop. As he walked home, he turned it on and connected to the internet. His messenger popped on and his eyes quickly searched over the buddies he had online. KilikoAnoif repeated in his mind. He almost dropped the laptop with surprise. He quickly started typing to her, while he hurried home.

“Fiona! Hey!” he typed rather rapidly, even though he was only typing one handed. The other one was holding the laptop.
“Sam, hello.” she responded after a minute or so.
“What was that message about last night? Why didn’t you finish it?” was his next question, which he finished sending just as he entered his house.
As Sam was setting the laptop down on his desk, she responded. “It was nothing. Please, don’t mention it to anyone..” Her response only made Sam’s worries greater. He almost had to know what happened.
“Please...you can tell me Fiona.” Sam pleaded in the text message. He wished in his mind that he could be there with her and watch the emotions on her face as she talked. Internet left much unsaid.
“I..I don’t know Sam. I don’t know what will happen if I tell.” was the response to Sam’s plead. This, also, left Sam without his answer.
“What do you mean? No on will find out. I won’t tell a soul.” Sam replied simply, truthfully.
“I mean...I mean...I don’t know what I mean. It would be so much easier to show you then to tell you.” the next message read.
“Then, can I come over?” Sam typed after minutes of thinking it over.
It was a moment before the next response. “Yes, please do. I need someone to talk to.”

Sam got the directions from her and quickly dashed out the door. He ran the whole way to her house, his mind racing with thoughts. What would he find there? What did she have to show him? It was almost to much curiosity for the boy. He soon found his way onto her street. To his surprise, he vaguely knew the street. It was the street with the long deserted mansion at the end. The mansion that boys used to dare each other to go in, and girls used to scream when near it. He walked down the street, towards the mansion. It was a extremely large mansion, towering a good three stories. It loomed over the other houses on the street, and cast a dark shadow down the street at night. The building itself was a dark brown, with shutters of black on the cobweb filled windows. The fence in front of it was weathered dark and was decaying in certain spots. To his surprise, Sam felt exhilarated by the sight of it. It’s gigantic magnificence that seemed to loath the very thought of visitors. It was something about the mysteriousness of the building that made Sam want to run inside and explore the deep deserted rooms and corridors. The only thing stopping him from doing so sometimes was his cowardice. The fact that entering it would scare him to much. The fear overcame his drive for adventure by far. For this he cursed himself, hated himself. He was soon at the door of her house. It was a quaint house, small enough to be kept clean, but not to tiny for a family of four. It was white color, without shutters. He moved to the door and hesitantly knocked on it.

The door opened fairly soon after and Sam was greeted by Fiona. She was dressed in baggy black clothes and her hair was wet, as if she had just got out of the shower. She smiled lightly as she beckoned Sam in silently, actually grabbing his coat sleeve and pulling him in. Sam stepped into a light filled room. There were so many lights on, he had to squint to see properly. Though, he was quickly escorted down a hallway, up a set of stairs and into a room. The room was dark, shades closed, blinds closed. The walls were covered with posters, ranging from band names, to movies, to anime posters. An ideal room, thought Sam. As he glanced around the room, he found the room had assorted clothes thrown around, ranging from shirts to bras. Fiona obviously hadn’t cleaned up before he came.

Fiona took a deep breath and sighed soon after sitting down on her bed. She pulled a black satin sheet up and onto her lap, holding it close as if feeling the soft cool touch would help her. “Please, sit.” she spoke for the first time that night, to him. He voice made his heart jump slightly, as it was shaky, something he hadn’t expected. He sat as asked, next to her on the bed. As he sat, he felt something shake beneath them, almost as if something heavy had fallen. He ignored it, as it was none of his business.

“What it is I want to show you is...well, something you can’t tell anyone about.” she looked at him with pleading eyes. “Promise me?”
Sam smiled lightly and reached over with his hand and daringly touched her hand. Not only was this a show of trust for her, but it also might make her see how he felt about her, if she didn’t already. “Of course Fiona. I won’t tell a soul.”
Fiona’s hand upturned and grasped his. Her hands grip was fragile, soft and caring. It made Sam’s skin curl with excitement. “Good...then let us get on with it then.” Fiona took a deep breath, and slipped off the bed, onto her knees. She clawed at the floor for a moment, leaving Sam to wonder if she was all there mentally. Soon, however, he saw the floor peel away, revealing a, rather large, hole in the ground. Fiona beckoned for Sam to follow after her. He grabbed a flash light from under her bed, showing she had done with before. She dropped down, followed by Sam. He found himself in a dark hallway, something hidden in the structure of the building. It was wide enough for two to walk side by side, and tall enough for a grown man. Sam glanced around, glad he could walk next to Fiona. He wondered how the building could have been built to have a corridor like this hidden in it. It sloped downwards, leading underground. It had no windows, but they could tell they had gone underground as the temperature dropped down and the walls of the corridor started showing sings of decay. The continued walking until finally coming to a door.

Fiona grabbed the door handle and shined the light at the door. With a deep breath, she swung the door open. They stepped forward into the darkness of the wide, open room. The smell was musky, old, rotted, accompanied by a smell of decay, of some animal or creature. Sam wondered slightly about what he had just entered. His line of vision was reduced to where Fiona dared shine her light. What he saw was mostly cobwebs, large room with paints on the far wall. The place was extravagant and rich looking. Sam’s mind swirled. Piece by piece his mind put one and one together. He was in the mansion. The mansion that pulled him in, yet shoved him away.

Sam gasped slightly, wondering to himself what this had to do with Fiona. They ventured farther into the dusty, cobweb filled room. Sam swatted through the many webs, glad he wasn’t an arachnophobia. They moved slowly onward, staying close to each other for reassurance. They moved to the giant staircase in the center of the huge room, slowly making their way up them. All the way up the stairs creaked and moaned under the unexpected weight of the kids. Their silent steps, softly placed on the dusted velvet of that covered the stairs, soon made it to the next floor. In front of them, now, was a wall with doors lined along it. Above each door was either words, or a picture. The door just in the center had an empty picture frame on it. The frame was brown, complex designs carved into it by hand. Small indents in the wood work, carefully planned and carved, were lined with golden lacing, that sparkled in the shining light the flash light gave off.

Both Sam and Fiona were silent. Neither knew what to think of the empty frame. It looked as if a thief had came and robbed the picture inside, but didn’t have the heart to take the splendid beauty that outlined the picture. Fiona was the first to move forward from the semi-stunned state. Dust arose from her foot step, though neither could properly see it. The floor below them was dimly lit, now, by the streaks of moon light coming in from the main stained glass windows. But, the floor they were on was not touched so gracefully by the moon’s hands. Sam followed behind Fiona closely, fearing her guiding light would be swallowed by the unwavering darkness. Fiona neared the door, the hand that held the flashlight beginning to waver. This is as far as she had come before. Some presence was about them, Sam was well aware of it too. As if the building had a life of it’s own, and was really trying to get rid of them.

Fiona froze as she tried to reach out and gasped the dusty golden door handle. “This is why I brought you along, Sam. I...I don’t have the courage to open this door alone. I need your help.” Fiona’s voice was wavering now, nervousness flooding her veins with a cold eerie feeling.

Fiona’s words did not give Sam an enlightened feeling. In fact, he felt worried now, he wasn’t an adventurer, what help could he give to her. “That may not have been the wisest choice. I’ve never done anything daring, like this, before.”

One of Fiona’s hands reached out in the darkness and found Sam’s. “Just having you here is all I need. And you won’t leave me, will you?” she asked, almost teasingly. She gave his hand a tight squeeze, and found the courage to open the door. Her hand touch the dusty handle and gave it a sharp twist, and then pushed the door open.

What they found inside was little more then strange. The room was completely dark. In the mansion, it would seem logically so. But even as Fiona shined her flashlight into the room, the darkness swallowed the light. The two of them strained their eyes to try and see what was inside the darkness, but no light could get passed the barrier of darkness. Either that, or what lay inside gave of fear enough to turn the light away.

It may have been a trick, being played on the poor onlookers, but it seemed as though the darkness was seeping from the holds of the room, and out the door. Fiona backed away, after a small gasp, and slammed the door shut. The two backed away from the door with hasty footsteps. They gave themselves a few minutes to recover, and a few minutes to make sure the darkness would not over take the door in it’s icy hands.

They found it safe, and also found themselves clutching each other.

A scattered noise came from the outskirts of the room, above, and below. It sounding like rain pelting a window, but a ten times more rain then there ever could be. Sam and Fiona glanced around for a moment as the sound increased. The room soon echoed with the sounds. Fiona flashed the light around the room, trying to find the heart and source of the sound. The light found the source, which Fiona may have wished it hadn’t. Hundreds of spiders were filling the room now, their eight legs hitting the floor, almost in unison to cause the sound. Fiona let out a scream, alerting Sam to the fact that the Spiders were closing in around them. Sam and Fiona both climbed onto the table in the middle of the room, which now was rattling and shaking slightly under the weight of the two. Fiona huddled close to Sam, the light from the flash light streaking around the room’s floor. The light had a strange affect on the spiders it seemed. As the light would hit them, mainly their eyes, they would give off a strange sound, shutter and turn away, as if it were blinding them.

Sam was quick to realize this, and nabbed the flashlight from Fiona’s hand, now their only way out. He took it and pointed it at the floor that was before the open doorway. The spiders all hissed, and moved out of the light, even if it meant going on top of other spiders.

“Fiona, we gotta make a run for the door. Ready?” Sam told her with a stern voice, obviously tell her that they had no other choice. Fiona nodded and followed after Sam as he leapt off the table and sprinted towards the open door. He kept the light shined in front of him. Either keeping the spiders away, or stunning them so he could easily run over them without harm. Sam made it to the door and quickly turned around. Fiona rushed past, allowing Sam to reach in and grab the door. He was ready to close the door, when he stopped for a moment, noticing as he looked back into the room, that there wasn’t a single spider. No dead ones, no sounds. Sam shook his head and gave a light sigh. The mansion was playing with them, trying to scare them away. Sam closed the door slowly, letting it shut without a sound. Fiona was backed against the railing, panting heavily. She seemed scared out of her mind, as if she had seen more then just spiders. Sam moved to her, coming to stand in front of her.

Sam watched her for a moment, noticing her eyes were unfocused, dazed. “Fiona? Are you okay? They were just spiders and I don’t even know if they were real…” he paused, and glanced back at the door, still wondering about it.

“Sp..spiders are my worst nightmare. They scare the hell out of me.” Fiona replied a moment later, he voice shaky, as was she. It came to Sam in a flash, the Mansion knew what they feared, and was exploiting it. Sam was worried, he didn’t know what his worst fear was, he had too many to find a top.

Sam shook his head, this was too much for him and Fiona. He started to walk down the corridor, towards the staircase again. As he reached the top of the staircase, he looked at the door right at the top of the stair case. His eyes ran over it and then moved up. The picture frame that had held nothing before, now held a small piece of a picture. Sam turned to face the door now, his eyes widening. The part of the picture he could see was part of his house, or so he thought. He moved closer to it, inspecting the piece of picture closer. It was a part of his house. He shook his head and went back over to where Fiona was.

“We should continue on, try a different door.” he said with an almost confident voice. He then added in a low whisper as he turned and headed down towards the door next to the one they had just been in, “and this mansion won’t conquer me.”

Fiona followed after Sam, not wanting to be next to the Spider door, as she had seemed it, for much longer. She found Sam reading what was said above the next door. It was in words, black words on a white sign. The words, however, seemed to move like they were water, slowly being shaken. The words read, “Inside is what thy would expect most. Though, once within, things will change with new thoughts. Be careful what you let enter mind and body.”

Both Sam and Fiona didn’t know what it meant. Sam gave a glance over his shoulder to Fiona, a slight, reassuring smile gracing his lips, before he turned back to the door. He gripped the door handle with firm resolution and twisted it open. His mind raced with all the things that could be inside. As the door swung open, he was confronted by an empty room. Absolutely nothing was inside. The floor, walls, ceiling were all made of dark wood, covered by nothing, not even dust. Sam stepped forward, this time only taking one step in. The moment his foot touched the ground, the room was flooded with, everything that was racing through his mind at the moment. Ghosts, water, spiders, fire, lightning, wind, even the Grim Reaper appeared within the room. As he thought it, it appeared. He gave off a scream and stepped backward. Once his foot left the rooms floor, they all disappeared.

Fiona grasped his shoulder, shaking him violently, “What are you screaming at?! The room is empty.” she said in a loud whisper.
“Didn’t you see all those horrible things when I stepped in there!?” Sam returned, in the same kind of whisper.
“No, nothing was in there. Even when you went in.” Fiona said with a scowl, “This is no time for tricks, Sam.”
Sam sighed lightly, “I wasn’t trying to trick you. You step inside and tell me what you see.” he said, challenging her.
Fiona shoved him aside, “Fine!” she stated and took the first step in. That was as far as she went. As she stepped inside, spiders appeared everywhere. Her main fears came alive in front of her. She was stilled by fear, intense fear that filled her mind. The room in front of her soon was overwhelmed with screams that she should be giving off, but only her mind could think them. The room went black, the darkness signifying fear. The fear that would soon envelop her and suck her in. As soon as it had started she was jolted backwards, tumbling over. Thankfully, he foot left the ground within the room and all her fears disappeared.

Strange, she had been scared to death a moment ago. Sam dismissed the thought, however and looked down the balcony all the doors had been on.

“We only have two more doors left. Shall we continue?” Sam said while moving on towards the wooden door way just down the hall. Fiona followed after, her movements were strangely silent, soft yet swift. She pushed by Sam and moved to the door. Her eyes went towards the object above this door. It looked like, to Same as he caught up behind her, a little door, on hinges. Like a dog door that would be put on the bottom of a door. It was swinging back and forth gently, as if something had just gone inside, or come out. The hinges gave off a squeak as the door went back and forth, soon coming to a halt as it’s momentum was lost.

Fiona didn’t even stop to figure out what this object meant. She grasped the handle, and swung the door open. She stepped inside and the floor beneath her creaked. It was followed by a burning silence. Sam watched on in disbelief as the small portion of floor Fiona stood on gave way like the hinges door above the doorway she had just walked in. As she sunk into the seeming darkness below, she screamed a high pitch scream. It pierced through the now silent mansion, raising the hairs on the back of Sam’s neck. Fiona’s form was soon last in the darkness of the endlessness below the door. The trap floor soon swung back to where it had been before, readying itself for it’s next victim.

Sam watched on with a astonished look on his face for sometime. Was it another trick the room was playing on his mind, or had that really happened? The image of her falling reoccurred in his mind, over and over. He finally blinked his eyes, stared for a moment longer and stumbled backwards, suddenly swept with an overwhelming fear. Was she dead? Where did the pit lead to? His mind raced with endless possibilities as he slowly eased himself to a seat in front of the door way. His breath seemed to stop as he merely sat, dazed at the split second that had just happened. The split second that had made him change from feeling a need to finish this mystery, to a dead cold fear of moving from the spot he was at. He wanted to turn and run like he had ever before. Just run for his life. Out of the mansion, out of his mind. Maybe no one would notice she was gone and he could just block the memories from his mind. His mind was a jumble, he wasn’t thinking straight. This wouldn’t go unnoticed. Her parents would notice, call the police. They would link it to him and he would never see the end of it.

“I must continue...maybe. Maybe she’s still alive.” Sam whispered to himself, holding his arms around his knees that were pressed against his chest. He felt so alone now. How could he possible do this by himself. Fiona wasn’t able to, she needed him there to do it with her. So, how could he do it?

“Sam! You must!” he said with defiance, slamming his fist down on the ground, with made a resounding boom. He pushed himself up, and stood with a large sigh. The door in front of him was still open, the floor back to looking normal. He took a step forward to the edge of the room. He carefully took a step, pressing his foot against the floor before stepping, to the left of where Fiona had fallen. The floor didn’t give way, so he put his foot down. He figured he had to get to the other side of the room and back. He took another step in front of him. Sturdy, safe. Both his feet went onto the spot and he tested another spot. Also safe. He was half way into the room now, which was a bland and black as the last one. He took a step forward again, the floor before him gave way without a sound. He threw his weight backwards to keep himself from falling. To much, he thought to himself as his foot slide backwards. The other, the one he had set on the trap, slammed onto the ground behind him to balance himself. The piece of floor he had just touched gave way as well, surprisingly. His arms waved madly to keep him from falling backwards as the floor beneath his foot began to give way. With a surge of effort, he pulled himself forward enough to settle on the piece of floor, nested between the two open spots.

After a minute of settling himself, he took a heavy breath and slumped his shoulders, relaxing the tenseness in his muscles. He took a gently step, off to the side a bit, not hitting the trap in front of him. The floor was sturdy. One more step, and he would be to the other side. Then he could just follow his path back. He took the next step with extreme caution. The step was a safe one. He let a sigh of relief out and touched the wall as he put both feet on the step. He turned and took the four steps onto the sturdy floor boards back to the edge of the room. He took the last step onto the balcony again. He grinned and quickly shoved the door shut with his elbow.

He was temporarily blinded by confidence, and went directly down to the next door. The words above the door stated in a clear white text that seemed to illuminate the door way. The text above the doorway read, “A barrier inside, you will find. With the help of persuasive mind and reverse thought, you will have what you need.”

Sam stared at it blankly as he did with the other things that had been above the door ways. He didn’t understand it, he knew he wouldn’t. He never understood what the signs meant until he was in the room already and it was too late. He shrugged and went to the door. With a slow, suspenseful twist, he shoved the door open. Inside, he saw another fairly regular room inside. Some furniture was inside, comfy looking chair, coffee table. On the other side of the room, the very far wall, was a Vase. The vase seemed to radiate a sense of priceless ness. It gave Sam the urgency to have it, need it, want it. He surged forward into the room, in a bee line for the Vase. As he neared it, he felt a strange resistance surround him. He pressed on closer with more effort, but found more resistance as he got closer. Soon, he felt like he was pushing a car to get any closer. Each step closer was agonizing, painful and hard. He soon found he couldn’t get any closer. After a bit more efforts, he stopped trying. The barrier he was up against slowly shoved his back, until he didn’t feel the resistance anymore, but was back away from the vase.

So, this was the barrier the words spoke of. But how was he to get by it? He needed the vase. He knew it would somehow be the end of this mystery. He thought back to what the words said.
“Persuasive mind...hmm. What does that mean?” He thought hard on it. While he thought, he started to pace back and forth slightly. He didn’t notice, as his mind was to involved in figuring out the riddle. But, as he paced back and forth, towards and away form the vase, the resistance was gone. The reason he had been resisted was because of his greed for the vase. But, now that he wasn’t thinking of it, the resistance was gone. He began to pace further into the temporarily disable barrier. Soon, he was right next to the Vase. He bumped into it. His mind jolted back to reality. He looked to the vase, in surprise. How was he so close to it now. Without wasting another second, he grabbed it greedily. The barrier reapplied, but it didn’t matter, he had a hold of the vase now. He was pushed back away from the place the Vase had been, grinning widely. He moved out the door and that was the last ever heard from Sam.

The vase evaporated into the air, somehow causing Sam to be flown towards the Center doorway. The picture on it was now almost full. There was a full picture of Sam’s house. In the center, however there was a piece missing. The outline of it looked slightly human, but Sam had no time to tell. The door in front of him lurched open. And there was the missing piece, in full size.

Fiona was in the door way, her arms stretched to the sides offensively. Her hair cascaded down her back over her shoulders, longer then before. He clothes were different, though still all black. Under her arms, was a black veil type material that arced from her arms to her back. She looked almost as if she were flying. Sam stood dumb-founded for a moment. Before he could say a word, Fiona let out a blood chilling hiss, and flew forward. Her top lip curled back, exposing two pearly white canine teeth that measured around an inch each. Sam’s head was caught by one of her hands, and pushed to the side, exposing his neck in a flash of speed and strength. Her grazed over his skin. The last words he heard from her before she plunged her teeth into his neck, were:


“Sleep well my precious. When you awaken, Our Legacy will continue.”