Curse of Wickery Manor Pt 1

“All right, class, it's time to discuss the notes for your report due at the end of the month.”  

A collective groan went up among the students in Mrs. Raskell's senior English Lit. class at Imperial High.  Her eyes sparkled with a curious wonder though that left the students wondering just what she had in mind.  When the room grew silent again, she handed a set of papers to a student in the front row to pass out among the rest of the class before she strode to the front of her desk and perched herself comfortably on the edge of it.  

“You will see on this list, several groups.  Your name will appear somewhere in one of those groups.  Take note of who is with your name as they will be your partners for this assignment.”  Her lip quirked as a new set of groans went up.  “I understand that this means several of you could very well be working with people you would rather not be-”

“You can say that again,” Mireille Kornari muttered under her breath as her heart sank at the names listed with her own.  Glancing over her shoulder she saw Orifiel Bru'diin keeping his eyes on his paper while Bahgel Brune gave her a wink.  She managed a small smile when Binda reached over and touched her shoulder.

“It could be worse.”

“Somehow I find that hard to believe.”

“However,” Mrs. Raskell continued, raising her voice just enough to let the class know they were to settle down and listen up.  “You all get to choose your own topic to write about.  The only theme requirement is that it has something to do with Halloween, or something that would go along the lines with the concept of witches, or haunted houses, or superstitions.”

Mireille frowned thoughtfully.  “Anything along those lines?”

“Yes, Miss. Kornari.  I take it you have an idea?”

“Perhaps.”  The teen smiled faintly down at her notebook as the ideas swarmed in her mind.

“I know what I am doing my report on.”  Eyes rolled as heads turned to face a teen with long, jet black hair and flashing teal eyes.  She seemed quite content with herself as she found herself the center of attention.   

“We're listening, Miss. Spiers.”

“Old Wickery Manner.”

Mireille's frown deepened.  “Jade, you have got to be kidding me.  You know the history of that place.”

“That's right, I do.  That's what makes it perfect.”  She stood and flicked her hair over her shoulder, her eyes burning into Mireille's bright blue ones.  “A haunted house, right here in Ethosis.  What a better topic.”

“Those are just scary camp stories told before a dare is put to some poor shmuck to go stand on the front porch of that place,” another boy piped up from the back.  His group of friends snickered in response.

“Perhaps, but what if there were some truth to it, Zidar?”  Jade returned her focus to the class as he rolled his eyes in return.  “Really? What if there was some truth to all the stories?  We have all heard them.  How the house seems to speak to you from every floor.  The windows weep blood on the stroke of midnight.  The walls reach out hands to touch any who happen to be near it-”

“The fact that anyone who goes in there either disappears, dies, or goes completely mental,” Mireille stood to face the teen, her face flush with excitement and yet a small degree of frustration.  “How do you intend to prove these events, Jade?  You know there is only one way to do so.”

Jade shrugged.  “I don't see a problem.  I'm not afraid of things that go bump in the night.”

Mireille tossed a glare at Orifiel who had begun to smirk at the remark.  “Are you daring to say that I am?”

Leaning forward, Jade met Mireille's look head on.  “I don't know.... Am I?”

Binda stood to pull Mireille back and try to ease the sudden flare up of tension.  “Knock it off, Jade.  You know better than that.”

“Binda, shut the-”

“If you ladies are done discussing the topic,”  Mrs. Raskell quickly interrupted I would like to continue with the guidelines for your report.”

“Yes, Mrs. Raskell,” Jade said, returning to her seat.

“Sorry, Mrs. Raskell,” Mireille added in unison with Jade as she turned and retook her seat once more as well.  

Mrs. Raskell coughed and stood straighter before taking her breath to speak.  “Once you are in your groups, decide your topic.  Everyone will be turning in their own paper and they had better all be written differently.  I will be able to know if one person did the work or not, so don't try to cheat out this,” she said with a pointed look toward the back corner.

Mireille had followed the teacher's gaze to what had been dubbed “The Chainers' Corner” and her teeth clenched.  The group consisted of ten teens; five male and five female.  They hardly took part in any school event, choosing mostly to keep to themselves.  It was not known for certain how they all managed to keep their grades up enough to make it through school, but there had been a suspicion that one of the girls was doing the work to carry the whole group through the year.  

Guess there is no cheating this time, Chainers...  Mireille blinked and returned her gaze to her notebook when an icy blue gaze met hers.  It never seemed to fail.  She despised the Chainers with a passion, but when Orifiel looked upon her, she could almost feel her body begin to overheat.  Swallowing hard, she tried to concentrate on the teacher's words.

“Each report is to have a minimum of five pages double spaced, with any direct quotes and references indexed properly.  It will be due first thing on November first.   So meet with your group, and meet often to ensure you get your stories straight.  Designate who will be taking care of what and make it a team effort.”  Mrs. Raskell glanced at the clock and then back at the class.  “Any questions?”

“Can many teams work together on a similar topic?  Or do we have to remain only with who we were partnered with?” a voice from the back of the room asked.

“I suppose, as long as all within the teams agree, I don't see a problem with a combined effort.  Just bear in mind the deadline and the theme. “  The teacher was cut off by the ringing of the bell signaling the end of the school day.  She stepped out of the way as her students filed out of the door.

“Hey, Jade!  Got anything more on this Wickery Manner?”

Mireille groaned.  “There isn't that much more to tell.”

“You sure sound like a skeptic, Kornari,” came a sneer from behind her.  She cringed when a thick arm dropped around her shoulders.

“What's the matter, Miri?” Bahgel purred as he sniffed at her hair.  “Worried that some ghost might get you?”  He smirked devilishly.  “I'll be there to protect you.”

“Hardly,” Mireille groaned, slipping away from his grasp with a glare.  She hated the nickname he had given her with a passion, but had long since given up fighting with him over it. “If anyone would be protecting anyone there, it would be me protecting you because you would have absolutely no idea what you would be getting into.”

“Then protect me,” Bahgel returned slyly.  “Be my guardian angel.”

“No, thank you.  Now if you don't mind, keep your hands to yourself during this report, Brune.”

Bahgel clasped his hands dramatically over his heart.  “You hurt me, Kornari.  You hurt me.”

Mireille grinned secretively as she leaned closer to him.  “Not yet, but touch me again when you have not been given permission, and trust me I will.”  

“Back off the girl and give her some space, Brune.”  Bahgel backed away in disappointment and Mireille looked up as she watched Orifiel step forward.   She always found herself amazed at the command he had over the group.  He was not even the true leader of the gang, but he was respected enough that when he gave an order, they listened.

“Orifiel.”

“Mireille.”  He nodded in acknowledgment.  “Look, we all know that we would rather not do this report, but Raskell back there isn't giving us much of a choice.”

“Do you have an idea for this?”

“Not Wickory Manner, that's for sure.”

“Why not, Orifiel?”  Jade stepped closer to them.  “We know how you are always looking for that perfect makeout spot.  What better place than a deserted two story home?”

“I said no.”

Mireille was not sure what came over her, but suddenly she knew she wanted to test him, even at the risk of completely contradicting herself.  “Whats the matter, Orifiel?  Afraid the ghosts will get you?”

He lowered his voice as he looked down upon her.  “I don't fear ghosts.  They fear me.”

“Oh?”  She swallowed back her rush of nerves as she stepped closer to him.  “Care to prove that?”

“I have nothing to prove, Kornari.”

“Sure you don't.”  She cocked her head to one side, her challenge in her eyes.  “The Chainers just can't  measure up.  They will always be one step behind us.”

“Wait, wait, wait.”  Jade grabbed Mireille's shoulder tightly.  “Does this mean we're going?”

“Yes, Jade.  Against my own better judgement, we are going to put to test all those rumors.  So get the research books out.”  Mireille glanced over at the rest of her friends.  “We need to know just what we are up against.  What we should expect.”

“I'm not going and you can't make me.  You heard the rules.  We all had to agree.”  Orifiel folded his arms in front of his chest.  “No woman is going to tell me what to do.”

Mireille chuckled under her breath.  “I'm sure there is some way to persuade you.”

“Nope.”

“Orifiel, you and your friends need to get out more,” Binda interjected.  “You never partake in anything the school does.”

“Not in our code to do so,” Zidar returned as he stepped up beside Orifiel.  

“It's also not in your code to talk to outsiders,” Mireille fired back coolly.

Silence.  

Jade laughed quietly.  “Guess she got you there.”

“Since you are not allowed to talk to outsiders, I guess that means the Outsiders have the say.  And just think.  If no Chainers show up?  You all fail this report.  And we all know how important these end of the month reports are to our grades.  If any of you were to have a chance, at least one of you would have to be there.”  Mireille added calmly, never taking her eyes off the man in front of her.

Orifiel's jaw set and for a moment, Mireille thought he might have been angry, but suddenly that smile full of charm flashed over his handsome features. “Fine, have it your way then.  We'll all go.”  He took a step closer, putting him less than an inch away.  She froze when his head dipped lower to meet hers and she felt his lips brush her ear as he spoke, sending her heart racing so quickly she thought it would burst from her chest.  “You owe me, Kornari,” he whispered.  “And believe me, I will collect.”

He snapped his fingers and his friends fell into step behind him as he brushed passed her and made his way to the parking lot, leaving Mireille staring after him.  Her eyes were filled with questions as she watched him leave.  His girlfriend latched her arm around his and glanced back at her with a sneering look.  

“Mireille?”  Binda tapped her friend's arm in an attempt to distract her.

“Hmm?”  There was no distracting her when those icy eyes turned her way once more.  There was a seriousness in them that made her wonder what made him change his mind.  He gave her one last nod before ducking into his vehicle and driving off.

“Mireille, you ready to get home?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah.”  She said, mentally shaking off the sudden uneasiness.  “We just have to be quiet, okay?  Uncle Akil is still needing his rest.”

“Sure thing, Mireille.  Not a problem.”

Mireille allowed herself to move with her group, but her mind became clouded.  She began to worry about her decision to go to Wickery Manner. She began to wonder if maybe she had been too rash.  Then in a matter of seconds, her mind had drifted back to Orifiel and his barely veiled words.

”You owe me, Kornari.”

“Owe him for what?” she whispered too low to be heard.  

"And believe me, I will collect...”  

Mireille sighed.  “Gods... what have I gotten us into?  And just what will he want from me?”