Spliced

“Guys? Cat? Zeph?” she called, her voice hesitant, a hint of worry showing for the first time since they’d entered the house.

Wolf kept his eyes on Indi, unable to shake the feeling that something had gone horribly wrong.

Indi turned to face him, her violet eyes wide, behind dark rimmed glasses. “Where’d they go?”

“They probably just went to check out some other rooms,” Wolf replied, not believing it for a second.

“Even after our experience with the teleportation room?” Indi pressed, too smart to believe Wolf’s lie but grasping for some kind of hope.

Wolf just pressed his lips together. He’d never been very good at calming people down. That was more Amanda’s thing. Behind Indi he noticed that the harpoon gun was still there but the harpoon itself was gone. Wherever they’d gone, he suspected Cat still had the harpoon. He wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. He supposed it was better than finding it just lying on the floor as if someone had dropped it. “I think we should find them before we go back to that room above.” Wolf replied.

Indi nodded in agreement, then paused. “What if that room moved us? To an identical room or through time or...?” She trailed off, unable to think of any other obvious simple options, although her mind now skipped through several convoluted ones.

Wolf frowned. He considered time travel unlikely but not impossible. He glanced at the window. The sun didn’t seem to have moved, although that didn’t rule much out. They could just be in a different day. The sky still looked the same and given the Elemental festival he suspected a higher than usual chance of inconsistent weather, so if they had moved through time it was unlikely that the weather outside would look close to what it had been 5 minutes ago. Of course the chance of it looking close to what it had done 5 minutes ago was also almost as unlikely. Either way he’d always been a believer in going with the simplest explanation first and that definitely wasn’t time travel. The simplest option was that they’d simply been distracted by something and moved elsewhere on their own accord. So why was his gut telling him otherwise?

“Cat? Zeph?” Indi stuck her head out into the hallway and called loudly in each direction.

Wolf considered himself a pragmatic person but that didn’t mean he ruled out following gut instinct. Quite the opposite. He believed that gut instinct was just the more immediate output of the physical senses. The product of things that the thinking part of the brain had yet to process but which had been fine tuned through years of evolution to result in quick reactions that preserved life. And right now he was fighting an instinct to run.

He wanted to go to the window and see if there might be a way down, but that would mean turning away from Indi and another one of his instincts was telling him that the second he did that he might turn again and find her not there. Besides from memory, the windows in this room hadn’t looked like they would open. He also realised, that while Indi did seem worried, she wasn’t quite at his level of afraid. He trusted himself to keep a calm head even when in a panic, but he wasn’t sure how Indi might react if she started to think they were actually in danger.

Indi’s call down the hall had been met with silence. She turned back to Wolf with a frown on her brow. “What do we do now?”

Wolf wasn’t sure if they were better off staying put while they made a plan and tried to contact the others. Instinct made him feel like they should move, but logic told him it would be easier for the others to find them again if they stayed in the same place, at least for now. He pointed at Indi’s small shoulder purse. “Phone.”

Indi shook her head. “I don’t think Cat had hers.”

“But Zeph did. Do you have his number?”

Indi hesitated a moment as she pulled her cellphone from the purse. “I have Kass’s, oh wait I think I can remember Zeph's.” She started dialing.

“Should have made sure we all actually had everyone’s numbers when you checked if everyone had phones,” Wolf pointed out.

“Cat or Amanda always call him,” Indi replied as she held her now dialing phone to her ear.

Wolf crossed his arms as he waited. He was starting to think that they could have planned this evening out a lot better.

It took only a second for another frown to appear on Indi’s face. Wolf didn’t like the look of it. The uneasy feeling he had grew. He raised his eyebrows at her in a silent question.

“I’m just getting a solid tone.” She held the phone out for Wolf to hear. “Maybe it’s the weather.”

He leaned froward but didn’t take it from her. He could hear from there a soft solid tone that suggested no connection.

“We should try from outside,” Wolf said.

“I could try Kass.” Indi started dialing.

“From outside,” Wolf repeated.

“I don’t think that will make any difference.” Indi frowned as she watched Wolf reach behind her to pick up a thick piece of rope a few metres long from on the ground. He handed Indi one end which she hesitantly took with a confused look.

“Hold that end. Don’t let go,” Wolf instructed before nodding at the door.

“What’s this supposed to do? If you’re worried about me disappearing I don’t think a piece of rope is going to do much.”

“Some magic works based on touch,” Wolf explained. He gripped the other end, coiled among the extra length of rope, leaving only a little between him and Indi.

“Well by that argument we’re all touching the floor,” Indi complained as she turned around to face the door. Then she asked, “Do you think they’re okay?”

“For some magic you’d be right. This is more direct though, not through shoes for starters, but especially if you focus on the rope and how it feels. It won’t stop everything but it might help.” Wolf replied ignoring the only actual question she’d asked.

“Fine, okay.” Indi took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway. “We didn’t come in this way so I don’t know which way to go to get out.”

Wolf stepped into the hall behind her. He noticed that instinctively she’d faced the better lit end of the hallway. He agreed with that assessment although he did take a moment to ponder the irony of a vampire, even a half vampire, drawn to the light. “I think that way is a good start,” he agreed.

She glanced back to check that he was indeed referring to the way she was facing, before she gave a nod and started walking down the hall. Her boots knocked against the hardwood floor and caused creaks in the crevices. Wolf followed behind her, treading so softly that it sounded as if there was only one set of footsteps.

They continued down the hallway passing several closed doors. The end of the hallway turned left bringing them to face the source of the sunlight. A string of hip-height to ceiling windows lined the western wall. Indi walked faster toward them, keen to see the view. It was the same side of the house that the art room had faced, but even a slight change of perspective drew Indi’s interest.

Wolf increased his speed too, given these windows looked like the might actually open. They were the kind that slid sideways with criss-cross panels painted in a yellowing white that didn’t match the darker wood around them.

As Indi stopped to look out at the garden, Wolf brought both hands up, sitll holding the rope in one, and gave a good pull on the window. It stuck fast. He could see that it had opened once but now it seemed that it had been glued or painted shut. He gave an extra tug, just to be sure, but it was to no avail. He considered smashing one, but the nature of the panes meant he would have had to break them too.

Indi watched him with curiosity. Then she looked around the rest of this section of corridor. She was surprised and confused to find a solid wall no more than three metres further along. There were no more doors here either. The corridor just ended, going nowhere. She looked back the way they came, feeling a sense of unease about heading back into the darker part of the house again. “Well I guess they didn’t come this way.” She spoke only to break the silence that was starting to feel suffocating. She tried to sound lighthearted, like she was making a joke and everything was fine but she could tell by the way Wolf looked at her that the quiver in her voice had been unmistakable.

He nodded and she appreciated how calm he looked, like this was just an everyday thing. He looked back along the corridor as if considering what to do next, in no obvious rush. It calmed Indi a little.

“After you,” Wolf said with a nod. He didn’t sound afraid, like she imagined Zephyr would have sounded if he had he said it. No, he sounded more like he was just being polite.

Yet another look at the darkness made Indi hesitate at taking the first step. Was the hallway darker than it had been a moment before? Now that she thought about it, she realised, that in just the time they’d been standing here, the light outside had dimmed as evening approached. “Why me first?” she asked in an almost whisper as if the house might hear her.

“So I can make sure you’re still there,” Wolf replied.

“What if you disappear?” Indi asked in reply.

Wolf thought a moment, shrugged, seemed to come to a decision, hesitated another moment and then started back down the corridor first. Indi followed close behind. Close enough that Wolf could hear her breathing behind him. It was enough to keep him satisfied.

He paused when he got to the start of the long section of the corridor again. He was unsure if they should try each of the rooms, or bypass them in favor of the main route.

Indi made up the decision for him. She reached forward, brushing past his right shoulder and reached a hand for the nearest door. It was locked. She tried twisting the handle different ways and pushing but the door didn’t budge.

Eventually Wolf interrupted. “We’ll try the next one.”

Wolf opened the next door on the left. This time the door swung in revealing a beautifully decorated pink bedroom. A large four poster bed rested in the middle of the room against one wall, covered in a pink lace trimmed duvet. A white dresser lined with jewellery, makeup, pens, unused but dusty paper, and other various everyday items stood against the opposite wall. The only truly distinctive feature on it was a pretty pink music box, laying open but silent. Indi couldn’t guess for how long it had been that way but the millions of abandoned cobwebs lining the tops of the four poster bed provided some indication. It gave the room a sad sense of feeling, like something lost and forgotten. Indi felt as if she had just set foot on someone’s grave. She shivered, and Wolf, probably having felt her shiver, given how close she was standing to him right now, pulled her back and closed the door.

They both noticed it at the same time, a strange rotting smell in the air. It appeared out of nowhere and almost caused them both to gag. Indi did gasp. And as they looked for the source of the smell they saw something even more worrying.

It was dark at the other end of the hallway, dark enough that one would think no shape would be distinguishable, and yet right there in the middle of that darkness was something even darker. Something that hadn’t been there before. It didn’t stand out enough for either to be sure it was really there or to see what it was, but they both stopped and stared at the same patch of darkness.

And then it moved.

Wolf reacted fastest. He grabbed the handle of the nearest door. It was locked but it didn’t matter to Wolf. He twisted, and at the same time thrust his shoulder into the door. It burst open, breaking the lock. He grabbed Indi, who was still frozen, and pulled her inside with him, slamming the door behind them and holding it shut with his weight.

On the other side something heavy crashed into the door. The door creaked but it did not budge.

Wolf stayed there holding the door as Indi scanned the room.

It was a narrow room, only a metre wide of floor space where they stood. Either side of them, floor to ceiling shelves housed an array of items, junk and treasures alike. One shelf actually seemed to contain a pile of golden coins, although they were like none Indi had ever seen before.

The room was dimly lit, although Indi could not see a light bulb or candle anywhere. The light appeared to be coming from something glowing brightly atop the highest shelf. It had a light bluish sheen to it. Now that Indi was looking up she realised that ceiling was far higher than it had been out in the hallway. It wasn’t quite two floors worth of height, maybe a floor and half. Enough that she was at least 70% sure there was no room above them, This house was making her question things like ordinary dimensions.

She tiptoed silently towards the back of the room. The shelves didn’t extend all the way to the back wall. Instead there seemed to be enough room left for the walkway to extend around the shelves so it’s overall shape was that of a ‘T’.

As Indi eyed the contents of the shelves, Wolf glanced back from his post at the door and warned, “Don’t touch anything.”

Indi hadn’t even considered the idea until Wolf had mentioned it. Now that she did, her fingers itched, but she kept them by her sides and continued moving toward the back of the room. She paused at the end, realising that this room was shorter than the other ones. However, given there were no windows, it did not bother her. It just meant there would be some extra space between this room and the outside wall. Maybe enough for a secret passage? Despite their current predicament Indi still found the idea a bit exciting.

The thing outside the door had not tried to get in since hitting it the first time and Indi wondered if they had imagined it. But no, that thump had been unmistakable. There had been something there. She was reminded of the mimics they’d encountered a few weeks ago, and a chill went down her spine. She shook it off. There was no way there were mimics in this house, someone would have noticed that for sure. But what if it was something worse? Indi wasn’t familiar enough with all the creatures that existed to be sure if there were such a thing.

A little bit of hope returned to Indi, as she noticed on the floor at the back of the room, what looked like a trap door. “Hey Wolf,” she whispered as loudly as she dared with her head poking back around the corner. “Guess what I found. There’s a trapdoor back here.”

He turned to look at her, his body still pressed against the door. He frowned “It might just be more storage.”

Indi could read the doubt and hesitation in his voice this time. He seemed to shift his body closer to where she was, as if he wanted to come and see but was indecisive about leaving his post, he remained holding the door.

Indi made up his mind for him and returned to the trap door.

She heard him say, “Careful,” as she turned away.

She found that the trapdoor pulled up easily. She realised once she’d pulled it open that she really had been expecting just some more storage space, for she found herself surprised to find a ladder going down into what looked like a corridor. She could see little bits of sunlight, much brighter than earlier filtering through the mismatched boards that lined the outer wall.

“It’s a passageway,” Indi told Wolf.

She watched his eyebrows rise and his face seemed to relax. With a cautious glance at the door he carefully released his hold and backed away slowly. He didn’t turn until he’d reached the end of the room and stood next to Indi. Then his gaze lit on the trapdoor and Indi thought she caught the hint of smile.

One more glance back at the door, but it thankfully stayed silent. Then Wolf bent down and took a good look through the trapdoor. Satisfied there was nothing dangerous waiting inside, he nodded at Indi to go first.

Indi did, climbing down as quietly as she could. The corridor was dusty and unmistakably not a main one. Indeed it was exactly what she imagined a secret passage to look like. She tried to peer through the boards that the sunlight was filtering through but all she could see was more wood. No indication of where the light was coming from or even if it was sunlight. It was nowhere near as dim as she had thought when she’d been looking out the window earlier. But maybe she’d just gotten used to the darkness, so that in comparison the light seemed much brighter again. Wolf dropped down beside her and Indi coughed as some disturbed dust flew up her nose. She then looked up and realised he’d closed the trapdoor behind him.

They shared a brief glance before Wolf headed off in the only direction they could go. She noticed that he still had the rope, only she’d dropped her end when he’d pulled her inside the storeroom above. Now Wolf held all of it. She didn’t ask for her end back again, she didn’t think it was necessary.

The corridor weaved it’s way strangely through the house, and not always in straight lines. At one point it felt like they’d walked the entire width of the house and Indi was unsure as to what this meant for the rest of the layout on this floor.

It took quite some time before they reached the base of another ladder going up to the floor above. Ahead the passage continued on. The light was dimmer now. Usually vampire eyesight, and likewise werewolf eyesight, was good for low-light. However, Indi hadn’t inherited that particular gene. So when Wolf stopped below the ladder she bumped right into him.

“Sorry,” she mumbled as he shot her a glance.

She looked up at the ladder, but Wolf guessing at her thoughts, shook his head and continued down the corridor.

They walked in silence for a bit before Wolf asked, “Can you see?”

“Well enough,” Indi replied, but she was honestly at this point almost walking blind. She could feel the walls where it was darkest though, and she could just make out Wolf’s moving shape up ahead. She could also hear him, just, if she paused. Her own footsteps were too loud usually to make out the sound of Wolf shuffling through the dust. There was just enough visual difference that she didn’t need to though. If he’d asked for a detailed description of their surroundings she wouldn’t have been able to give one but details weren’t necessary for moving through this narrow passage. The trick seemed to just be to keep moving forward until you hit a wall.

She would have missed the door if she’d been on her own. Somehow Wolf spotted it, pressed into the left-hand side with only a small piece of wood sticking out for a handle.

She wasn’t immediately sure as to why he had stopped again, until he pushed it open and light flooded in.

Wolf moved through it and Indi followed, temporarily too blinded, this time by the light, to see where they were exiting to.

She was surprised to find they were outside, well sort of. There was no roof but there were four walls. They stood on grass in some kind of internal garden. Brick walls as grey as the current sky surrounded them on all sides, reaching up a couple of stories, three or four at least. She counted by the windows but they didn’t match up with her idea of where a floor should be. She’d always been good at estimating distance and holding a 3D model in her head. She’d considered studying architecture once upon a time, but the idea of making detailed plans, and then waiting several months to see anything get built had put her off. She preferred a bit more spontaneity and patience had never been her strong suit.

The garden was filled with creepy looking statues. Some of them looked like fairies, with wings on the backs, but the expressions on the faces and the rows of teeth on some of them made Indi want to keep her distance.

She noticed there were no other doors, at least not on this level. Two stories up, a door seemed to be built into the middle of the wall. She wondered if it had once had balcony but the surrounding structure didn’t look like it was missing anything. It was just a door in the middle of the wall, two floors up.

She turned back to look at where they had come from, while Wolf studied some of the statues. For a second she thought she must be looking at the wrong wall, but as she turned around again, eyeing every wall she realised the way they had come from was gone.

“Err, Wolf...” Indi just kept staring at the wall where the door had been a moment before, sure it had just closed and was hard to find. But there was too much of nothing.

She felt Wolf appear beside her and give an exasperated sigh. “That’s a pain,” he said.

Indi turned and looked for the only other door, the one a few floors up. It was still there at least.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s an option,” Wolf said, following her eye line.

“You still have the rope.”

“Yeah but what would we sling it on to?”

“Maybe there’s another hidden door somewhere?” Indi suggested, refusing to give up hope and acknowledge that they were well and truly trapped in this courtyard. She tried not to think about what would happen if they couldn’t get out and no one came to find them. She walked around the garden looking for other signs of escape. Eventually she turned her head skywards and felt a glimmer of hope at remembering that Falco was Flyer. Sure he didn’t like heights but if he knew she was trapped here then he would surely fly in to save her. But then, an air balloon would work just as well. Except all of that plan assumed knowledge of her location. One would have to think to go over the top of the house, and why would one assume that, if one thought she was trapped in the house? Indi tried not to panic. She looked back in Wolf’s direction figuring he was often calm and that that would in turn calm her. Only as she looked back at where she thought he’d been standing she realised that he wasn’t there at all.

For a moment she thought he’d just been hidden behind one of the statues but as she walked into the centre of the courtyard and then did a loop, she realised her worries from a moment before, now paled in comparison.

Not only was she trapped in courtyard with no exit in the middle of a creepy house that seemed to keep disappearing people, she was also now, well and truly alone.