“Lucia’s stupid clock again,” I mumbled as I got up.

I got dressed and went into the bathroom, but as much as I wanted to pretend that this day was identical to the previous, I simply couldn’t forget Lucia’s horrid teeth and the desecrated, barely even human corpse that she left lying in the main hall.

I knew something horrible was bound to happen to us, but I thought there was at least some rational explanation to everything. None of us can even come close to explaining what happened last night!

I brushed my hair and got out of my room, somewhat ready for breakfast. I knew that Alex wouldn’t get out of his room in time and had no idea what the other four on the second floor were doing, so I knocked on Alex’s door, hoping for a positive reply.

“L-Lucia? No, leave us alone!”

“Calm down, it’s me, Petra!”

“Go back to your room. Otherwise everything will happen all over again. We’re dead!”

I can’t blame him for being scared, but we can’t just stop now, not after discovering what Lucia is capable of! I try my best to make everyone happy, but we can’t always be upbeat, especially not now!

I went to the dining room and, to my surprise, saw Amy.

“I guess you managed to get out of bed this morning,” I said.

“Is that dumbass Alex really not coming to breakfast?”

“Oh, you know that we meet up for breakfast?”

“I simply assumed because you met up for lunch yesterday. I looked around for everyone else, but Blake said he wasn’t feeling well and Dante and Eden were arguing inside Dante’s room, God knows what about.”

“Alright then, I’ll get us something to eat. It’d be dumb to waste time when we can’t afford much of it.”

“Finally someone who thinks rationally here.”

I went to the kitchen to see what Amy and I could eat. I didn’t know how to cook so I only grabbed some salami and went back into the dining room to eat it.

“I assume you’re not not a very good cook.” Amy said with her legs now on the table.

“Well, I can’t do everything.”

“Fine, let the others cook later after we eat this.”

We ate almost in complete silence. For some weird reason I felt relaxed spending time with her, which I didn’t expect because she seemed very unapproachable.

“Hey Petra, I have an idea.”

“Hmm, I’m interested.”

“I listened very carefully to Adam’s confession yesterday. He never brought up using the rope and getting down, so if there was anything at the bottom, he wouldn’t know. We should check, just in case. It’s not like you have any point in searching the second floor, I already did that in great detail, there is nothing and nobody went to the third floor yet. It is completely above the main hall ceiling, so it probably has a completely different layout unrelated to the left and right wing.”

“That’s actually not that bad of an idea. Is the rope still back where Rose and Alex found it?”

“No,” Amy reached her hand and pulled out the rope from underneath the table. “I planned on asking you to do this, so I brought the rope before you even got here.”

"Nice. I'll go over to the dumpster with the rope and you get someone else to help hold it. The others don't seem weak physically and there's no place to tie the rope in that room."

"You're actually right. I didn't take into account that more than one person is needed for someone to get down there. That could've sped up the discussion."

I carried the rope to the dumpster and patiently waited for Amy. It took a couple of minutes, probably to convince someone to leave their room, although in the end she arrived with Dante and Eden.

“What reason do you have to drag Eden and I out of our ritual?”

“Ritual?” I eyed them both in confusion.

“A great tragedy has come upon us in this location. We must cleanse this place of the tragedy’s impurity so that we may continue solving this mystery in peace.”

“Oh, I just assumed it was because you were angry that Eden didn’t show up to the discussion.”

“Blasphemy! A true enlightened man would never do something such as holding a grudge.”

Eden stopped our conversation.

“Alright, so why are we here? I’m willing to help unless you plan on doing something dangerous like yesterday’s discussion.”

“That reminds me, why did you refuse to come?” Amy asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? Who knows what Lucia planned while she made the rules for this place, it could’ve been such an obvious trap. You’re lucky you found the killer. If you hadn't, who knows what would’ve happened.”

“And you think you’ll do something by not taking a single risk and staying in Dante’s room doing weird rituals like an idiot?”

“Yes, I do. Taking risks in this dangerous situation will lead to nothing but trouble.”

“I’m too lazy to explain why that’s completely wrong and why you’re nothing but a burden if you think that, I want to get back to the reason why I called you two here. I have a theory that something is hidden at the bottom of the dumpster. However, to get down there without breaking your legs you need rope, but there’s nothing to tie it to so you guys will hold it while Petra goes down.”

“Wait, if you want me to go down, then what will you do?”

“I’ll just be here in case either they or you need some help.”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“Sounds like a way to avoid doing anything, but fine, I’ll go. I don’t like dragging things on.”

Everyone else placed the rope and I slowly descended down, avoiding the broken glass from the poison bottles when placing my feet on the ground. The walls and floor were completely made out of stone and small bugs were crawling on it.

God, this is vile!

I turned around so that I could see the entire dumpster. The bottom of the hole was way bigger than the opening, so I didn’t have any trouble moving around. In fact, the sheer size of it was frightening. As I turned around, I noticed something that I didn’t expect.

A tunnel?

It was large enough for about two people to go through if they were walking next to each other, but the end of it was completely covered in darkness.

“Hey, Amy!” I yelled from the bottom.

“What is it?”

“I found something interesting, but I need a flashlight or a lighter or something like that to be able to see it! Do you think you could go to the storage room and get something?

“Alright, just give me a second!”

This time, she returned way more quickly.

“Here you go.” Amy dropped a small flashlight without further warning and it bounced around my hands before I eventually caught it.

Time to see what’s inside. I sighed.

The only things I could hear were my footsteps and I could smell the trash that surrounded me. There were multiple different odors inside the hole, most were unrecognizable to me as well as disgusting, so I tried ignoring them. I didn’t spend much time in the darkness before I noticed faint light at the end of the tunnel, yet even that little amount of time felt like it was stabbing my heart with anxiety.

I approached the faint light, only to see that the only thing lighting up the end of the tunnel were two candles placed on a table, all tucked into a tiny area to the side. There was no room waiting for me, I reached a dead end. Knowing how vulnerable I was, I hurried to see if there was anything else on the table.

Photos?

Small and very old ones, twelve of them to be precise, all of different people. At the bottom were names.

Eugene Eller, Mary Steed, Lucia Martel, Lillith Sharp, Friede Divinitas, Joseph Divinitas, Samuel Cleeve, Peter Voss, Omar Alrawi, Mabel Umbra and Bertha Keller.

I don’t think I recognize any of these. Who could these people be? Wait, one of these is, no way, there’s no way it’s him… Alfred Wolf. There’s no doubt about it, my last name is Wolf too and the pictures my mom and dad showed me when I was younger, it’s definitely him. My great grandfather. Of all people, why is his picture here?

My grandpa and dad had told me that he’d been murdered, although I was never given any details, just that he died young, while my grandpa was still a toddler. Was he trapped in this mansion too?

These circumstances were weird enough that it was possible. I remembered that Amy said she would help if needed, so I ran back with the flashlight in hand to call her down so that we could see if one of the people on the list was her relative. I didn’t know anyone’s last name, so this was the best option.

“Amy! I found something insane, come down!”

“And just as I thought I could stay up here. I’m coming! You two, stay here, we need people near the rope.”

When Amy told Dante and Eden to stay near the rope, I was reminded to ask them for their last names too.

“Hey guys, can you tell me your last names?”

“Why should we give the name of our heavenly family?”

“Our?”

“Indeed. What may be the confusion?”

“Are you siblings?”

“Why of course! Is it not noticeable?”

“Oh, I didn’t know that, however that isn’t urgent, I need to know your surname to discover something down here, it might even lead to the secret of the mansion.”

“Divinitas.” Eden told me his last name without any hesitation. “Brother, while we should not risk our lives, we still need to help each other. We consider our family as the one that speaks for the Gods, so we need to be as generous as the Gods we speak for.”

“Thank you, my mind is still not cleansed after yesterday's events. I wish you ladies luck on whatever awaits.”

Amy came down and I pointed towards the tunnel.

“A tunnel? Well, I certainly expected something else.”

“Weren’t you watching me? You’d see me disappear from view at the very least.”

“Oh, I wasn’t paying attention.”

I sighed and went inside the tunnel with Amy. This time the candle light wasn’t waiting for us at the end.

“Did something happen?” I thought out loud.

“What did you say, I didn’t hear you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, there were just two lit candles at the end of the tunnel. I’m confused how the fire got put out.”

“That’s weird, but I’m pretty sure I know why. Think about it, the rope was hidden with purpose and it was the only way down here. Lucia was aware that we’d eventually find the tunnel, she was ready. You saw what she did to Adam, simply not being seen shouldn’t be an issue for her.”

“Please don’t remind me, I know what I saw last night. Still, you do have a point.”

We reached the end and I pointed the flashlight at the table.

“Random photos?”

“No, they’re not random. One of these people, Alfred Wolf, was my great grandfather.”

“So that’s why you asked Dante and Eden for their last name?”

“Exactly. You should also take a look if there’s anyone from your family.”

“Let’s see… Oh, I see someone with the last name Divinitas, actually there are two people. Just like there are two people with that last name currently in the mansion. Could the secret Lucia is making us search for somehow be the secret of our families?”

“I’m sure of it. There is no other possibility. I’ll find that proof!”

“I’m not going to question how you can speak so enthusiastically whilst standing inside of a dumpster looking at old photos placed on an occult-looking table.”

“Just check if there’s someone from your family on the table or not.”

“Fine. Let me see… Not him, nor her… No way in hell, she’s actually here. My great grandmother. Lilith Sharp.”

“So, do you believe that my enthusiasm is normal now?”

“There’s still a chance this is a trap made by Lucia, but if it’s not, then this has to be a massive clue. Still, you’re a bit of a maniac in my eyes, Petra.”

As if she was waiting for her name to be said, Lucia appeared inside the tunnel.

“I can assure you that this is no trap of mine. The photos have been here for a while, way before you entered this mansion. Think about it, what fun would I have watching you search around like headless chicken for something without any clues? It wouldn’t be entertaining for more than ten minutes.”

She slowly walked up to the table, pushing us out of the way and then put her finger right below one of the pictures.

Lucia Martel. Not an ancestor, but her, even though the picture looked to be just as old as all the other ones.

“How?” I nervously asked.

“That is up to you to find out. I do not wish to ruin the fun.”

Lucia then vanished, leaving the scene like she entered, unnoticeably.

What could this mean? It wasn’t a question to be solved using common sense, as I’ve witnessed common sense be defiled at least twenty times up until now, though I didn’t know how far away from common sense I was supposed to go to solve this mystery. I even missed her name and picture somehow. They were in front of me, I read it in my head, I just skipped over her like an idiot.

“Let’s go back.” I told Amy, still trying to stay calm. “We’ll think about this better in a calmer environment.”

“I know you just don’t want to freak out in front of everyone, although I agree. Let’s head out.”

We went through the tunnel again expecting a light from the mansion when we entered the trash filled room, yet no light apart from the flashlight’s was there.

I slowly became worried so I checked the walls for the rope. No rope was there.

“Dante! Eden!” I yelled out thinking they could’ve just pulled the rope up and waited for us to come back.

But nobody answered.