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“Good idea,” I said as I fished it out of my bag. I had already put in a fresh tape and made sure the batteries were new before the investigation, just in case I wanted to use it.
However, I had forgotten about it until now. The ghost down here was a mess and impossible to understand.
“We’re just trying to help you. If you say something, I’ll try to catch it on my device here. Just talk into it.” I pulled it away from my face, my fingers still on the record button.
I held it out into the darkness surrounding us. We had ventured down into the cellars tonight. The ceilings were a lot lower than they were in the rest of the castle but the echoes were just as haunting.
It was also cold as fuck. The onesies didn’t do much to ward off the chill, but I was thankful for the extra barrier nonetheless.
Even Lincoln wasn’t complaining about his Grumpy Cat now.
“Maybe it’s a different language,” Lincoln suggested.
I shook my head. “No, it sounded like English. I swear I caught the words ‘lost’ and ‘home.’”
It had been long enough that I hoped I caught something, so I stopped recording and rewound, playing it back. We all leaned in close, huddling together for shared warmth and to listen.
“‘Ssssmmy home,’” the ghost whispered in the background.
“I swear this ghost sounds drunk,” Ethan laughed.
Something crashed nearby, proving his point. That broke the intensity of the moment and we all laughed, the sound filling the stretch of hallway ahead of us.
So far, we’d only encountered a few storage rooms close to the stairs, but as we forged ahead, it was getting dusty and damp. The cement floors were giving way to dirt and the stone walls were rough.
It was the perfect setting for a scary movie.
The long hallway was silent until we reached this strange ghost.
Basements were always one of those taboo things for people, where they thought most ghosts would lurk. Honestly, in a place this big, with a family this prominent, the only ones we’d find out here would be the servants that frequented these halls. Maybe a homeless person escaping the cold.
We opted to stick together for this investigation, not wanting to get lost in the catacombs that formed the underbelly of the castle.
Even Graham had warned us when he gave us our maps that he wasn’t certain of their accuracy. They didn’t have access outside. With one way in and out, they kept it locked most of the time and didn’t bother doing rounds down here.
I couldn’t blame them.
We all stopped walking as the hallway forked in two directions.
Only the footsteps didn’t stop with us. I could hear them stomping around, as if they were coming from all directions.
We listened, barely moving and holding our breath as we focused.
Lincoln switched his beam from red to white light, giving us better illumination of the dark hallways ahead.
There was nothing standing there, of course. Even the dust was undisturbed on the floor.
“Well, I definitely say we’re not alone down here,” Ethan mumbled as he moved, sending a fresh wave of dust into the air. I let out a cough as I waved it off.
“Brea, do you have your inhaler?” Lincoln questioned. I couldn’t blame him for asking, this was not exactly an asthmatic’s paradise.
“Yes, and I took it before I came down, I promise.”
He nodded but I knew he’d be keeping an extra eye on me now.
We continued down the hallway and I had to keep my cool as the ghost of an old man stumbled out of a nearby doorway. Something clattered at the same time, so if the Darklings saw me jump they’d brush it off.
I kept my mouth shut as he nearly toppled into me.
