The night was long and the child was sobbing down the well. He didn't want to die, but he had no alternatives, they promised that it would only be for 24 hours, no more.

Back in the police station, the moment Chris saw the new objective, he went mental.

"Get me out of here! I have to save Aidan!"

The police didn't know what to make of it, Aidan was missing, but they had no trail of the culprits, or maybe they had, but last time they were seen on the freeway speeding to go somewhere.

"There's a helicopter on the roof"

The empress informed him as he broke out of the rusted detention room, they didn't really care to oil the door.

It was in the middle of the night thus there were few people in the police department, most officers were out on patrol.

"Don't move or I'll shoot!"

Suddenly a black police lady shouted.

-I must go and save Aidan!

-Who is Aidan and where is he?

-He's in the haunted mansion, they are going to put him inside the well

-Are you alright?

-Do you want to see a 12 year boy's corpse on the news!

-No, but what you're saying doesn't make sense!

-Then come with me!

-Where were you going?

-Up to the helipad

-The roof is locked, but lets see how...

Her voice stopped as he charged through the dood with his body mass and speed it was a rather simple stunt to pull.

"Are you coming?"

He asked as he entered into the helicopter, as if they were going to leave.

"This is not what I'm being payed for"

She said as she took his arm and entered the helicopter, which begun to fly without a pilot, to hell knows where.

"It's cold! please give me something to eat! It's too dark, some light, please!"

The child had begun to plead for help, what little help would keep him alive.

Its voice ate at their concience, but the mission stated for 24 hours and it hadn't even been 2 hours since they had put it down the well.

"What do you think the next mission will be?"

George asked trying to change the topic away from the pleading child.

"I hope it's worth the torment"

Sydney said, her heart bleeding from the boy's voice.

"Just be on guard, the ghost might attack us at any moment"

Tian said as he continued crafting makeshift torches.

"I cannot do this anymore, I'm out!"

Samson shouted and went for the rope.

"The NPC stays in the well, you can leave if you want to, but the NPC stays!"

Tian shouted tyranicaly.

Samson didn't know what to do, he could leave, but chances were he wouldn't even make it to the safe space and it was out of the question for them helping him out.

"Why don't you join him?"

Jonas suddenly offered, as if mocking him, because to join him would solve nothing at all, not to say that the ghost might simply get him once he gets down there.

It felt as if the ghost was observing them and laughing at their struggles. It was as if it was waiting for someone to stray from the group. Samson sat down defeated and humilliated, he felt regret in having joined the "heroes", but could he do otherwise if he were to die.

Not doing the mission was equal to dying, could he do otherwise, the noices the boy made only made it harder.

"I'm hungry"

"Alright I'm sick and tired of this as well, take the boy out of the well"

Tian suddenly said, making everyone question his sanity.

In the safe space Six people were playing monopoly under the muzzle of a gun.

"I told you it would be fun"

Nick said while jokingly building another estate on Whitechapel road.

"Wait, what if we run out of houses?"

Mike asked.

"You'll have bankrupt before that happens, I assure you"

Nick said, but reality was complicated, the game could go either way, everyone was playing well and some were more lucky than others, alliances had to be made and broken, while at first they were forced to play, now they understood that there was nothing better to do than play this ancient board game they found inside the mansion.

"Do you believe that we will lose just because you have the biggest gun?"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Mike asked mockingly and David was infuriated, since he was the only one there without a gun, even the women had guns. Maybe if he had a gun he would be more collected and have shot at the ghost instead of using a meatshield.

Thany was already bankrupt, because she wasn't really into the game, they told her she could take a loan and continue, but she wasn't really there. She attempt twice to go down again, but every time she was stopped by the sight of her brother's corpse, which sat there upright, back turned towards her, but anyone could tell he was dead from the way his neck was bent forwards like a broken doll.

They've been playing for an hour now and the game didn't seem it would end any time soon.

The one visibly winning was Hera, because she was too darn lucky with the cards she drew.

"Nick, do you think they will make it?"

David asked seriously, in his mind he didn't see a way of escaping a ghost, it was something that defied logic.

"If they are given the objective, then it's doable with the members of our group, maybe it requires a relic or a special ability to finish, Chrysa it's your turn, don't be so absentminded"

Nick said playfully, as if their success had nothing to do with him, as if he didn't care if they succeed or not.

"So you're saying that the objectives are made depending on everyone's capabilities and relics, then what about you, did you bring any relics?"

Mike asked rather crudely, not even hiding his bad intent.

"I've brought two relics, I always bring two relics, the problem however is that they only help me survive, nothing else, thus they don't add to the difficulty of the level"

Nick said with confidence, he had experimented with relics already and knew which relics raise the dificulty and which don't.

Somewhere in the City a helicopter landed on a rooftop.

"Where are we, this is not the mansion!"

Chris shouted enraged.

"Out of fuel"

The radio said as if answering to his question. It was doing so all the way during their ride, causing the officer who was with him to think that something wasn't right, even questioning her own sanity at this point.

Chris wasn't having it, he didn't believe the machine one bit, it was probably lying, it was really good at lying.

Its main goal was his survival, it didn't care about moral high grounds, only survival.

If the death of the kid was the next objective, there was no reason to take him there, it would only impend his survival.

"Where are we now?"

Chris asked, but there was no answer.

"Judging by the height of the building we're probably on top of a hotel"

The officer said with confidence.

"Doesn't matter, we're leaving"

He said intenting to once more charge the door down.

"It might be open"

She said as he bounced off the open door, it just opened from the other side.

The two went down the elevator and like a curse the elevator stuck. Once more like the drums of war, the spirit of a warrior appeared protecting him from death, but all he knew was that there was suddenly a half naked dude with a spear in the elevator, before it begun working again.

"Freeking ghosts, scared the shit out of me"

Chris said, earning the police lady's hatred, he didn't seem scared at all, it felt as if she had unwillingly joined the doctor on his adventures, only the super bionic screw driver was missing.

"Wait, you said you would explain everything once we arrived!"

The officer complained.

"We have no time, we need to find a vehicle to take us there"

Chris tried to say, only to remember he had no idea where the mansion was, without the A.I. he was lost, he understood that he was depending on it a little too much for comfort.

"Red Empress tell me the location of the haunted mansion"

Once more there was no answer from the A.I.

"Have you seen the news?"

Suddenly he asked the police officer.

-Daily, why?

-Have you seen a story about foreigners being found in a haunted mansion

-Thats a week old news, there was also news that they all escaped from the hotel and are wanted by the police

-I'm one of them, I escaped from the facility, wait hotel?

-facility?

-Wait you're saying that only I was confined to a facility for crazy people and they were living in a hotel?

-Wait you came from the loonies'

-This is insane, they call me crazy, while those maniacs are trying to throw a child into the well

-What's this all about?

-It's these mission objectives, the next objective says to throw Aidan into the well for 22 hours, meaning that they have already done so for two hours

-I only see you looking at your watch

-Oh, I forget, you people can't see those stuff, for example you cannot see the secret piece, did you see the ghost that appeared in front of us?

-What ghost?

-It's no wonder they thought I was insane

-And you aren't?

-You saw the helicopter fly by itself and me talking with it, are you insane?

-I know nothing, I'm hallucinating and I'm going home after putting you back in jail

Before she could finish the door opened and Chris charged out like a bullet. He was really fast, too fast for her to catch up. With that kind of speed he'd be getting gold medals.

"Now what do I do?"

She asked herself before taking the radio up and announcing her location, about the helicopter and the fugitive.

"Didn't think he could highjack the helicopter, but why didn't you immediately arrest him?"

came the voice from the other side, wasting time as Chris was already in a car heading to the Haunted Mansion, the A.I. guiding him towards it while he drove the stolen race car with wild abandon for law.

As it turned out the helicopter was low on fuel and this location was the best to continue their objective, as for the police woman, the A.I. had calculated the chances of her arresting him, being rather high, fail or not didn't matter.

Hours later Chris arrived at the mansion, seeing the ambulance at the entrance, he became enraged as he understood why the ambulance was too late. Because someone had stolen the ambulance, even the reason why she died was because of Tian shooting her.

His reminsing however was stopped as he heard an explosion from inside the house, it was insane that someone would use dynamite in that place.

Not long after black smoke came from inside the house and he could hear footsteps coming towards him.

The drums of war sounded once more and the warrior appeared before him, this time it wasn't to protect him, but to attack his enemy, all he needed was an order, he never got.

"What's this thing? another 3D projection?"

George asked really interested as he approached it and put his hand through it.

"Everyone be careful, the ghost might still be alive"

George continued after wards, nobody had died from the explosion, but they would be talking about it for a long time, they at last had seen what magic could do.

"Where's Aidan?"

Chris asked George, whom was the easiest person to talk to.

"The boy, he's dead inside the well, we just couldn't..."

George didn't continue, what they couldn't, why was he dead, what happened in that basement room.

Chris wanted to go look for him, but he was held back by George and the others, it was pointless to go look for a corpse.