"Human sacrifices, huh?" Hugo said inspecting a pile of bones. Bubbles was hissing at the mirror. I patted her head and she calmed down a bit.

"I don't like this place." she said still staring at the mirror.

"Might as well make a declaration to war." Hugo said. I tilt my head.

What?

He looked at me and smiled. He took a deep breath.

"Listen up! We aren't going to go down so easily without a fight, so you better be prepared!" Hugo yelled though out the house. His voice echoed through the halls and we waited.

All was silent.

Soon, the house began to shake in response. Vases crashed onto the floor and bloodcurdling screams were heard. Then ever so slowly, the house soon began to quiet down. I looked at Hugo and he nodded.

"Alright, let's find a place to rest." he said walking through the dark hallway. I followed him and Ivy followed close by. Hugo tried to open a door, but it would't budge. A small breeze made my hair fly towards the opposite direction. I turned around and saw a little girl that looked close to Ivy's age. She had litle braids and was deathly pale. Her eyes were a pretty shade of blue and she wore an old dress, it was clear that she was one of the children from the village. She smiled at me, her mouth cracked and dry. I blinked and for a brief second, her appearance changed. Her mouth was stitched up, blood dripping from the stitches. Her eyes hollow and black. Her dress covered in dried blood and dirt. I blinked again and she returned to her same appearance. She smiled again at me and disappeared.

"Be careful of what you get yourself into." a faint voice said as she disappeared.

"Scar?" Ivy said and I looked back. Ivy was a few feet away with Hugo. I walked up to them and they started walking again.

"Did you see something?" Hugo asked.

Nothing important.

"I see..." he said, we reached another room and Hugo tried to open it, but it still wouldn't open. We heard little children giggling. We looked up and saw a teddy bear sitting only a few steps away from us.

"Aw, it's a teddy." Ivy said walking towards it. I grabbed her shoulder and she looked at me. I shake my head no and she nodded slowly,"Okay..." We walked passed it and walked for a few minutes until we reached another teddy bear, but this time it looked a lot more older and dirty. One of its ears was missing. It held a sign.

'Why did you leave me?' the sign read.

"That's creepy." Hugo said walking passed it again. Ivy and I followed close behind. Bubbles was sleeping on my shoulders. We walked some more and we finally reached a room that had some light coming from it, it was open just a crack and Hugo looked at me. He shrugged and opened it some more. We peeked through and saw a normal looking room. It had two queen sized beds and was brightly lit. Ivy flopped onto the bed and immediately fell asleep. I picked her up and properly laid her on the bed. I tucked her in and sat on the bed. I took Bubbles off of my shoulder and put her on the bed with Ivy.

"I'll take first shift." Hugo said. I nodded and went to the other bed and Hugo turned the lights off. I drifted off to sleep.

I was only able to get a few hours of sleep when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and sat up in bed.

"Do you want to sleep some more?" Hugo asked. I shook my head.

I'm fine, you need your rest too.

Hugo nodded and laid down on the bed.

"If you're tired, just wake me up." he said. I nodded and went over to a chair by the desk.

Nothing weird happened, right?

"Surprisingly, nothing happened." Hugo said,"I thought we were going to get ambushed by a ton of dead people, but it was really peaceful."

That's very suspicious.

"Let's just hope nothing happens to you." Hugo said. A few minutes has passed and I could hear faint snores coming from Hugo. It was dark in the room, but faint light was seeping in from the window. I looked around and nothing seemed to be misplaced or missing. I got up and walked over to the window. It was a misty night, no one was around just as Silas said, however I could sense a presence coming from behind the tree. I squinted and saw a figure. They came out from hiding and my eyes widened, it was the same guy I saw in the alley.

Right before I fell unconscious.

He waved at me. He had slick black hair and pale skin. He had dark grey eyes that shimmered in the moonlight. He smiled up at me. I reached into the pocket of my shorts and pulled out the locket that I found back then. This guy is associated with my sister somehow, either way he's someone I can't trust. I watched him and he disappeared in a black mist. I watched the spot where he was for a while.

For some unknown reason, it feels like I know him from somewhere. I turned back and went back to the desk with the chair. I sat down and I felt a cold sensation behind me. I turned around, but nothing was there except a musty old letter. I picked the letter up and read it.

'If you walk alone in the halls, just remember, to never look behind you.'

The words were written in a dark red substance with scraggly hand writing. I set the letter back on the table and proceeded to look out like nothing happened. Ivy was probably very hungry after we didn't get to eat, so I made a mental note to get her a snack later on. I don't know how people on look out duty never get bored or tired, but I know I was getting pretty bored from just sitting. The sound of a piano was being played somewhere in the house, it was a soothing and hypnotizing sound. My eyes drooped a little, but I fought the urge to sleep.

'Don't fall asleep' a voice said. I sat up straight and awake. Whose voice was that?

'Don't fall asleep' the voice said again.

'If you fall asleep, you will die' the voice was small and quiet. It was a girl's voice, the same voice that said to be careful of what I get myself into. A small swirl of wind appeared in front of me and there formed the little girl I met in the hallway.

"Don't fall asleep or else you'll die." she said in a warning voice,"Don't listen to the piano, it will make you fall asleep, they kill you when everyone's asleep." She looked around as if she was afraid to get caught. She looked back at me.

"I can hear you if you can't speak." she whispered.

You can read my mind?

She nodded.

"Some spirits have the ability to do different things like read minds, but since I'm young, I only have little spirit energy. The more spirit energy you have, the stronger your powers are." she whispered.

Why are you telling me this?

"You give off a different energy from all the humans that come by here." she said,"Its a sweet and sad feeling, it makes me feel attached to you somehow." she said and smiled.

What about the other spirits?

"The other spirits are bad. They killed all the humans that were here. They think it's all a game, that life is a game." she said quietly,"I shouldn't be talking to you, but they don't suspect anything yet. Anyways, when the spirits don't have anything left to kill, they start going for all the people in the village, so that's when the chief started giving human sacrifices so that the spirits would be satisfied."

Were you someone from the village?

She nodded.

"My name is Ellie. I'm the chief's daughter.... or was anyway." she said sadly. My eyes widened.

Why would the chief use his own daughter as a sacrifice?!

Small, clear tears fell from her eyes and disappeared as they dropped out of her eyes.

"I don't know. I loved daddy and daddy loved me. He started to change when people started dying. One night, when I was asleep daddy picked me up from my bed. He was very scary, he had bags under his eyes and he looked desperate. I asked him where he was taking me and he told me that I should go back to sleep. I did what I was told and then I woke up in this home, it was painful." she said. I wanted to hug Ellie, but when I tried to pat her head, my hand went through. She looked up at me and smiled. She went over to me and gave me a hug. She was cold, but her ghostly self solidified and I was able to hug her. I caressed her tangled hair, then she stepped back.

"You have to be careful." she said drying up her tears,"They'll do anything that they think is fun. They stole my eyes and they stitched my mouth." She changed showing me what they did.

How many died here, exactly?

She changed back.

"I'm not sure. I was one of the first who was killed here, but there was a lot of people who were used as sacrifices. The spirits would leave the people in the village alone for a month until he would strike again, so every month or so we have sacrifices, it would be children mostly, but sometimes we would get adults. Once you're in, the spirits don't let you out." she said. The piano ballad was playing in the background while we were talking, then it stopped. Ellie stopped talking, she had the look of fear in her ghostly eyes.

"I have to go now, but I'll come to you later." she said and started fading away,"Don't ever go anywhere alone. Don't let everyone fall asleep. And don't look behind you if you walk in the halls alone. The spirits aren't as active in the daytime, escape when you have the chance." She said quickly, she disappeared leaving me alone. I looked over to the window, the sun was beginning to rise.