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I didn’t even bother to look at Lincoln, knowing both of us were judging ourselves at this point. We were professional ghost hunters and still jumping at noises.
It was quiet then and the footsteps were gone.
Just when I let my guard down, a flash of white caught my attention. A bloody figure stumbled down the hallway in front of us. Before I could say anything it was gone.
“Did you see that?” I hissed.
“No?” Lincoln asked more than said.
At this point, I took off at a jog to follow the direction the figure was heading, Lincoln keeping up easily.
“What did you see?” he demanded.
“It looked like a man. He’s hurt, blood dripping, which I guess makes sense for the footsteps,” I said as the man appeared again.
Once again he flickered out of view, appearing further down again.
He led us further into the castle. We’d only explored the one hallway but he’d led us through an unfamiliar area, ending at a balcony overlooking the ballroom below.
I had no clue how we’d even get back at this point.
“This place is crazy,” I said. “It’s like a maze.”
Lincoln started to answer when he stumbled forward, nearly toppling over the railing that was not tall enough for his large frame.
His hand caught in the banister at the same moment that I reached for him, gripping the back of his shirt and dropping my weight to keep him from tumbling over the edge.
Even as I tugged on him he was still moving forward, like something was shoving him over the edge. I grunted against the pressure. My fingers were aching but I refused to let go.
“Let me go!” he growled, his own fingers white as he clutched the railing for dear life.
My pulse was loud in my ears as I looked around frantically.
This time it wasn’t the white figure behind us but another black shadow that disappeared into the nothingness.
Lincoln dropped down next to me on the floor and looked back with wild eyes.
“Something fucking pushed me,” Lincoln said. His voice was shaking with nerves. It was somehow more startling coming from him. He was always the calm one.
Neither one of us were willing to stand next to that banister again, even if the shadows had receded.
“What the actual fuck?”
“I don’t know,” was all I could offer.
Weirdly, I had a feeling that the two hauntings were not related. The bloody figure was leading us to something, probably trying to prove his innocence that he so loudly tried to tell us about earlier.
Until something intervened.
Now the air felt heavy. It was almost hard to take a breath, and that uneasiness I had earlier wasn’t just a small feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was an overwhelming anxiety that clutched at me, clawed at my chest, and dragged me down.
“We have to get out of here,” I said. We scooted away from the railing before we even tried to stand up. Even then, I stayed crouched as we put distance between us and the balcony.
I don’t think I took a proper breath until we were back in the main hall. We were so shaken that neither one of us bothered to talk about it, and I was almost frustrated that I didn’t get it on video.
Not that I would have shown that to the Darklings, but it was definitely something to show to Elizabeth.
I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, especially the staff.
