"The halls arent fully connected. If you arent paying attention you'll fall and be trapped. Just like those possums."

My head snapped up from watching the three animals crawling along the ground. A hole in the hall that stretched from either wall and as far lengthwise fell to what looked like a bottomless room. I bit my lip, backing up and jumping, grabbing onto the top of the ceiling to make it to the next bit of hall.

"That seems like it's just hard to keep up with everything then. Putting traps for animals.." I said, catching up with the other three.

The tallest turned around, looking at me. His blue green eyes touched every part of my face before he began talking again, "it's also an old house full of the haunted history of America.. it's not going to be simple."

I stared at him, pulling my hair back behind my shoulder, "Then you should know more history about here if you know so much about why the architecture is that way." I said, walking past him and starting ahead of the group.

I looked over my shoulder at the guy, his eyes watching me as he started to walk again. His facial shape kept changing. Close up it was a hard cut jaw, blue green eyes, buzz cut hair and stubble on his chin and lining his jaw. Further away, when I wanted away, his jaw line softened, hair a little longer as if the cut was months before, and the stubble was a little longer. The two faces of people I knew..but only one I wanted.

He finally looked away at the other two men in the group. I looked back forward, seeing the next hallway we were approaching. My eyebrows raised as I saw someone trying to fix a candle shade. The room behind it was made of marble with a glorious Cinderella staircase along the far wall. The young woman fixing the shade frowned, unable to get it on.

"Hold on," I softly said, jogging down to meet her, "I've seen this kind of shade.. we have them in a building that I grew up in." I gently grabbed the shade, setting it evenly on the two inch screw that was thruster into the pedestal, and started to slowly turn it inwards.

It took a couple tries: if the shade tilted any way instead of straight it would stick and not go on correctly.

When it finally went on, the girl started to walk away. Beside me were dozens of LED candles, all of which following the path that my small group was starting to walk.

"Why do you use LEDs? Real candles work as well with all of these." I commented, looking at the young woman who was doing it previously.

"We dont use true candles. Because of the paranormal activity, it eliminates a way for spirits to react with the environment." She turned around as she finished, my body freezing as I got off the pedestal.

She wore a dress and bonnet similar to 1800s maidwear, pale skin and dark brown hair...but the features of her face were faded, her eyes visible but not clear, her lips moving but not filled in, and her nose there, but no shadow beside it.

She turned back around as commotion started to fill the room and what looks like hundreds of people started to fill the room.

I caught up to my group, the other two looking at me, "what does that name mean?" One asked, looking up the staircase.

The name Ms. Carolina was typed onto a piece of paper stuck on the wall in the middle of the staircase.

"Oh.. that's Carolina. She killed herself by standing st the top of the staircase," as I spoke I moved, almost following the last steps of the woman, "and looking down she screamed and cut her head off, following her tumbling head down to the bottom of the staircase." I stopped next to him, looking down the way.

He grabbed his phone, pulling up a video, "you mean this?" He asked, shoving the phone in my face.

I frowned, grabbing it and putting it in a respectable distance from my face.

The black and white video had a group of people at the bottom of the stairs, a loud scream, and then a women's lifeless body falling down and resting at the foot of the staircase.

"Yes. That's her." I said. "But how do you have a video? This was back in the late 1800s-"

The key on my necklace started to burn my skin. I winced, grabbing it and pulling it into my hand. I frowned before the room fell to a hush, all of us looking up at the top of the staircase. I heard a screech, silence demanded after it disappeared.

A man stood at the top of the staircase, his slicked back hair and daunting eyes chuckled as every head was turned to him. He spoke with multiple voices, different pitches and tones playing at once, making simple words difficult to understand and hear...

The leader of our small group turned to the rest of us, "okay. We need to get these in the right order. What number do you have Olivo." He looked at the guy to my left.

"2592." He said, holding his key up

"Okay. And you?" He looked at the guy to my right.

"2684." He said, smirking at the higher number.

"Okay Probst, good." He said, "what about you McKenna."

I looked at him, "I have 24-"

"-okay. When we get up there, we need to pit them all in order, starting with me, okay?"

"Got it, Matt." Olivo and Probst said, nodding as the three started to walk.

I frowned, looking at my key, 2491. I shook my head before I followed them, running to catch up.

The guys were making a huge commotion, them in front of the man as I ran up behind them. The man chuckled, a wide grin on his face as his dark green eyes scanned over us. His teeth shined in the LED candlelight as the body pushing their keys into view, the numbers visible to the man. I looked at mine, not knowing where to fit in before I pushed mine into the end of the row, the man's hand having his key in the middle.

I looked at it, a red orange glow around it as the one began vibrating on it. His number..one..

This is the devil...

I pulled away, the boys stumbling back in shock as the man chuckled. He slid his key into the pocket on his left chest side.

"Too bad," he growled, starting to walk down the stairs.

The boys stood there in shock. I frowned and followed the man down. "Hey! You arent leaving just like that! You can't!" I shouted my voice just as low as the man.

He turned around at the door he opened along the wall as he chuckled, "You? Miss 2491? Sure." He started to open the door before I put my hand on it, stopping it mid open.

"I'm tired of you running my life.." I spit out, glaring as his eyes turned red, the teeth in his wide smile starting to sharpen.

"We'll see about that." He smirked before the door slammed shut. The force knocked me forward, my body slamming into it.

I growled, staring at the lock. I looked at the key I held in my hand and stopped.

The 2491 was gone.

All it said was 6.

-Fin-