"What are you doing, really?" Kim giggled, watching Jess recoil in horror just by seeing her holding a knife.

"D-Don't play with me, y-you evil of a w-woman," Jess yelled. She could have escaped when Kim went to get a knife to peel the apple, but her legs could no longer carry her own body; she's trembling.

"Now that's too much," Kim mocked. "Foul words should never come out of a pregnant woman's mouth. They baby could hear it."

"Yeah? Then I a-appreciate it if you will just leave," Jess's voice sounded like she's about to cry which only amused Kim even more.

"Aren't you appreciating this?" She pointed the apple with the knife. "I'm trying my best to be good here, Jess. Just go along with that before I change my mind."

Jess sucked her lips to stop them from quivering. Maybe, that's the best thing she could do. It would be a problem if she gets on Kim's evil side; she might die before Scott or Junel arrives. Seeing that Jess is finally agreeing with her term, she chortled.

"That's what I love about you, little Jess. You are too easy to control," Kim sliced the apple into four and placed them on the saucer before facing her. "Now, would you like to know a secret?"

Jess didn't even think twice to shake her head. "I-I'm good. I just want s-some of those apples, p-please."

"That's a bummer," Kim's lips thinned, rolling her eyes. "I just want to tell you what will happen to you and your child if we can't leech anything out of those bunch of imbeciles."

Jess gulped. She doesn't have any idea what Kim is talking about, but a gut feeling is freezing her in her spot even more.

"You want these more, huh?" Kim reached to the saucer and handed it to her. "Come to think of it, you knew very well what kind of people you're staying with; Haven't the the idea of being tortured and die helplessly, like those people, ever crossed your mind?"

Jess's breaths went even deeper; she could feel as if her heart is already touching her lungs. "W-What are you trying to say?"

Kim sat on the table beside her, still lifting the saucer which is now the answer to what she's going to propose. "I want you to do something for me and if you did it well, with no flaws, I'll get you away from here; you and your child will live a normal life free from curses… demons."

"Are you suggesting a t-trade?"

Kim laughed. "Honey, trade is when you're given an option to choose from."

***

"Yep, nothing," Kaiser rubbed his nose, placing a random notebook back to its original place. Carefully, he darted beside the window and peeked outside.

"They've only gotten manier," he whispered and gasped when he heard the main door opened and closed soon after. As if in a cue, he grabbed both ends of the dusty curtain beside him and covered himself with it.

Slowly, he peered to see no one. He haven't heard foot steps either; although he could have sworn someone entered. There's a shallow wall standing against his view to the door as he's standing on the same side, but he's certain he'd see the person right away even if it only stood there, doing nothing. Once he made sure there isn't, he went out with caution.

"The haunting is starting," he whispered to himself, tittering, and was about to turn towards the stairs when a putrid smell almost make him hurl in disgust. It came out of nowhere, he wasn't able to react right away. It wasn't there before they came in; where did it come from?

Kaiser covered his nose with a handkerchief he pulled out of his pocket. The smell is pungent; thus, the source should be just in the hall. Even though he sees nothing, he's convinced that it is something to do with the discoloration appearing on the wall he's now looking at. It wasn't there before, too.

With the vibe he got from years of experience, he could tell right away, someone's been pinned on there. Though hidden in naked eye, the stain projecting before him scrubbed visible evidences.

"Hey, Scott! You should see this," he started off in a cheerful tone; Scott didn't answer. "He must be already inside the library," Kaiser thought and was about to check the stain on the wall when he heard a faint noise coming from the hallway which he remembered leading towards the basement. The part is about to crumble in old age, thus, none of them dared to check; nontheless, the noise which Kaiser could tell to be a metal clinking, drew his attention. Now, he found himself trailing the basement.