Katherine sighed. “Another bloody castle.” She thought to herself, as she followed her travelling companions up the narrow, spiraling staircase. Of course, that’s what she got for taking a summer trip to England with a pair of bookworms more interested in some old ruins somewhere then the many pubs, she fondly imagined were no doubt filled with cute English boys. <br /><br />She’d passed plenty while they’d been in London touring, but hadn’t had a chance to go into one before her brainy sister Laura and her equally nerdy friend Patricia, had dragged her off to the London Museum or the Tower of London or some other dumb museum. <br /><br />They’d left London behind about a week ago and since then dragged Katherine from one boring old ruin to another old castle. This latest one purported to be the ancestral castle of the Moorland Baronetcy. Laura and Patty had talked about nothing but it during the train ride out here. The Barons that had lived here apparently had had a pretty grisly reputation, even by medieval standards. <br /><br />The brochure Katherine had been handed by a bored looking guard was filled with stories about hidden dungeons the barons had stuffed full of poor maidens; stories of ghosts seen walking the halls and people disappearing while exploring the ruined corridors and hallways, though Katherine noticed the brochure, somewhat reluctantly, admitted no trace of the fabled dungeons had ever been found, and most of the stories were probably nothing more than local legend.<br /><br />“Probably made it up to attract tourists.” Katherine thought to herself as she passed by a tall, narrow window. She glanced out through it in the direction of the small country village where they were staying. The sky had turned a bright orange-red as the sun set over the hills. <br /><br />“Crap!” Katherine thought. “It must be getting late!” They’d gotten to the castle late in the evening; mainly because Katherine’s annoying travelling companions had wasted nearly three hours looking for some restaurant that was supposed to be over four hundred years old. <br /><br />The guard, when he’d taken their tickets and handed Katherine the brochure, had warned them they shut the gates at sundown. Laura and Patty had promised to be quick, but they’d forgotten, of course. <br /><br />Speaking of them…Katherine glanced around. When she’d glanced at the window, they must have kept walking, ignoring her of course. Now, there was no sign of the two of them. <br /><br />Well she’d be damned if she spent the night locked in here. She turned, only to realize she didn’t know the way back to the gate anymore then she knew which way Laura and Patty had gone off. The cheap brochure didn’t have a map either. <br /><br />Suddenly, in the corner of Katherine’s eye, there was a flash of white. She turned just in time to see a young woman disappear around a corner. Oddly, she was dressed in medieval clothes. <br /><br />“Must be a re-enactor.” Katherine thought to herself. She hadn’t seen any here, but the castle was pretty big, they might have just missed them. At any rate, she must know the way out at least. <br /><br />“Hey!” Katherine called, hurrying down the hallway after the woman, “Wait up!” <br /><br />To her surprise, when she rounded the corner, the hallway ended in a dead end and several doors which proved to be locked shut. The woman must have gone through one of those and locked it behind her. Looked like she’d have to find the way out on her own. <br /><br />Reasoning the best thing to do would be to get down to ground level, Katherine found some stairs and headed down. By this time, however, it had gotten quite dark outside, the only light now coming from electric lights strung on the walls every few feet or so. <br /><br />The stairs were narrow and rubbed smooth from countless feet treading on them over the years. Katherine had to take the stairs slowly, keeping one hand on the wall for support. Even then, there were a few tense moments when she almost slipped. <br /><br />“That would be the perfect way to round out this day.” Katherine thought bitterly “fall down and break a leg, or worse. Luck was with her, however; when she made it to the bottom of the stairs, and she recognized the room she was in. She crossed it and headed towards the gate…which was closed and locked shut.<br /><br />“No no no!!!” Katherine said, trying the door desperately. She banged on the door trying to get someone’s attention. “Hey! Let me out!” Surely they wouldn’t lock up the castle with people still inside it? <br /><br />Suddenly, everything went dark as the electric lights, which until then had been lighting up the castle, suddenly went dark, plunging the corridor, and Katherine, into darkness. <br /><br />“Guess they would.” Katherine thought glumly. She sighed. Best to sit tight here, hope someone came by before too long and found her. <br /><br />Suddenly Katherine heard Laura scream, far off in the distance. The sound was muffled and distorted by echoes from the stone walls, but Katherine had played enough pranks on her sister as a girl to recognize her sister’s cry of fright when she heard it. It was followed by a second yelp that she assumed was Patty. <br /><br />“Scardy-cats.” Katherine thought with a grin, imagining the two causes of her present situation huddled together in the dark shivering with fright. Briefly, she considered looking for them, but decided against it. Even after her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she could barely make out the corridors. <br /><br />She remembered the narrow spiraling stairs she’d had so much trouble climbing with the light son. Doing the same in the dark would be nearly impossible. <br /><br />“Guess you’ll have to keep yourselves company tonight.” Katherine thought. She was staying right here, until someone unlocked the doors.<br /><br />Suddenly, Katherine saw a flash of white. It was the woman from before! Her pale skin and white dress practically glowed in the gloomy darkness. She walked quickly down the hallway, sure-footed, despite the darkness. Hope rose in Katherine’s chest. It was the re-enactor. She was still here! Surely she could let Katherine out. <br /><br />Katherine hurried after the woman, who had disappeared around the corner. Katherine heard a muffled yelp which was suddenly cut off, and she rounded the corner. To her shock, a second actor, dressed as a knight, had grabbed the woman. One mailed hand was clamped over the woman’s mouth; the other held a dagger to her throat. <br /><br />“Umm…excuse me…” Katherine said, stepping forward, wondering what these two were doing. Maybe they were practicing after hours? Katherine didn’t notice that the two were glowing in the darkness, every detail crystal clear…<br /><br />The man ignored Katherine, talking to the woman. “I’m sorry, Milady,” he growled. “But I’m afraid you won’t be able to warn your brother, the Count. I’ve got a special place in the dungeons for you!” <br /><br />Katherine suddenly noticed he was holding the knife so close to the woman’s throat he’d already made a small cut. The drops of ruby-red blood were stark against her pale white skin. The woman’s eyes were wide with mortal terror. They weren’t acting!<br /><br />“Hey! What are you doing!?! Let her go!” Katherine shouted, not really thinking things through. <br /><br />She was interrupted when a mail-clad arm suddenly wrapped itself around her chest. She was pinned up against another knight, who suddenly appeared behind Katherine from out of nowhere. <br /><br />“Baron! I’ve caught another wench spying on us!” The Knight said. Katherine struggled helplessly in his grip, unable to break free. The last thing Katherine heard before a mailed fist crashed into the back of her head was a man saying “excellent. Take her to the dungeon like the rest…” Darkness enveloped her…<br /><br />***<br /><br />When Katherine awoke, she felt like crap. Her head was pounding. There was a weight around her neck, dragging her head down as she struggled to sit up. <br /><br />Suddenly, Katherine realized with a lurch of horror, the weight was from a large iron collar locked around her neck. Iron manacles circled her wrists and ankles. Chains ran from all of them to a D-ring bolted to a stone block in the dirty stone floor. Worst of all, a metal ring had been slipped between her teeth, held there with leather straps. <br /><br />Nervously, Katherine looked around, taking in her surroundings. She was at the bottom of a tall, narrow room, the walls of which were made of roughly cut stone blocks. The top of the shaft was covered with a metal grate through which early morning daylight slipped in, providing the only light source. A wooden door strengthened with iron bars appeared to be the only way in or out. <br /><br />Katherine wondered what was going on. The last thing she remembered was getting grabbed by a knight, now she was here. With mounting horror, Katherine noticed the stones of her prison were new, the mortar between them smooth and fresh, in sharp contrast to the old stone and crumbling mortar that had made up the castle. <br /><br />Suddenly, Katherine heard a short, gag-muffled cry for help, echoing through the stone cell. It was followed by another one from somewhere else in the dungeons. So she wasn’t here alone after all. That brought scant comfort. <br /><br />She turned as the door to the cell opened with a creak of wood. Her eyes went wide with fear and surprise…