Ghosts! Why did it always have to be ghosts! Well, Erin wasn't convinced that it was ghosts, but she kept an open mind lest she offend Abbie.

"So, why are we here again?" Stef asked, carefully aiming her flashlight down the dusty hallway.

"To put Miss Baker's mind at ease," Erin said as she swept her own flashlight across the old wallpaper covered walls of the manor.

She had received a note from a one Eleanor Baker who used to own this manor many years ago. When her husband eventually passed she decided to sell the estate. However, right after it hit the market strange occurrences started happening around the manor. Miss Baker was convinced it was her late husband haunting the grounds, sending a message from beyond the grave that the manor was not to be sold.

Fast forward to today, almost 10 years later, and Eleanor was ready to put those superstitions behind her and get to the bottom of what was actually happening at the house. She had asked Erin to look into the house and see if she could figure out the source of the "haunting." Was it her late husband after all? Or was there something else going on?

Not wanting to explore a creepy old house all by herself, Erin had asked her friends to come with her as backup. Thankfully they had all been free, and so joining her on her ghost hunting expedition were Abbie, Divya, and Stef. It was nice to have backup like this, and Erin was grateful that they had all agreed to come along. She knew Abbie would be game, but was honestly surprised her other two friends agreed. Stef was being quite brave, trekking through the dimly lit manor with confidence, even if she did find the atmosphere rather spooky. Divya on the hand was quite on edge, hanging at the back of the group gripping her flashlight tight with both hands.

To be fair, it was quite the creepy environment. Cobwebs littered the manor, and the floors creaked and groaned with every step. There was no power either, hence the need for flashlights. The outdated Victorian era style decor didn't help detract from the creepy vibes either. Not that there was anything inherently off putting about the decor in general, but paired with the dust and the darkness it just felt like one of those cliche haunted houses you'd go through at a carnival. Add to that the fact that they were quite literally trying to find evidence of a ghost and well...it was a recipe for the shivers.

Taking a deep breath, Erin continued onward, sweeping her light around looking into the empty rooms. She wasn't exactly sure what she and the girls were looking for, but figured she'd know it when she saw it.

*WHOOSH! BAMMMMMM!*

Erin jumped as large cloud of dust whooshed past her. Uncovering her face once the dust had settled, she found herself staring at a wall! It hadn't been there before, and was clearly the result of triggering some kind of trap. It had split the group in half with Divya and Abbie stuck on the other side. Erin ran over to the wall and shouted through it.

"Abbie! Divya! Are you guys okay?"

She pressed her ear against the wall as Abbie responded.

"Yeah, all good over here, how about you guys?"

"We're fine," Erin said, "do you see any way to undo the trap or whatever this was?"

"Negative," Abbie responded, "I don't think this thing is going to budge."

"Alright, well...just hang on, I'll find a way around with Stef!"

Erin turned to her best friend who nodded. Together, with flashlights in hand, they took off looking for a way through the manor to rejoin Abbie and Divya. They looked for a good while, but what they soon discovered was that they had been trapped in a totally separate wing of the manor! There didn't seem to be any connecting hallways between their wing and any of the others. Whoever had placed that trap had done so perfectly. They were totally cut off! Making their way back to the dropped wall, Erin relayed the news.

"Guess it's up to us then," Abbie said, "we'll find a way to get you guys out of there! Don't worry. Right, Divya?"

"...yeah...let's just hurry up and get on with it. I'm really starting to dislike this place."

"It's okay," Stef said consoling her from the other side of the wall, "I don't like this either, but we'll find a way out! I guess this rules out ghosts then."

"Not necessarily!" Abbie said, "a ghost could have set up this trap you know."

Stef saved her breath, she wasn't going to argue with Abbie about this right now. They had other things to focus on.

"Well, whatever the case," Erin said, "let's just stick together in pairs like this and try and figure something out. You guys look around on your end, and we'll keep looking over here. Let's meet back in like ten minutes and report what we find."

"Sounds good," Abbie said.

As if the manor wasn't creepy enough, now the girls were separated! At least Erin still had one of her friends by her side, Stef at that. Abbie and Divya would make a good duo too, Abbie compensating for Divya's fear. It was a pretty good split, and Erin was confident that they'd find a way back together!

"I have an idea," she told Stef as they continued back into the wing.

"Oh yeah? What are you thinking?"

"There's no way this wing is totally cut off," Erin said, "whoever set that trap wouldn't be dumb enough to just block off an entire wing of the manor like that."

"So did we just miss a doorway or...?"

"Yes, and no. We missed a hidden doorway!"

"Ah, Erin O'Malley, you've done it again! That's got to be it."

Erin smiled, "come on, let's get searching!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall, Divya and Abbie were hard at work trying to find a way to Erin and Stef from their side. Abbie trekked confidently through the halls searching each room as Divya trailed closely behind, relying on Abbie to lead the way.

"What are we looking for?" Divya asked.

"Well, if that wall really was a trap, then maybe there's some kind of hidden passage that connects the two together. Something that whoever laid the trap would be able to access, but those trapped would have no idea about."

"Good idea!"

The two girls carefully investigated each room looking for any kind of clues of a hidden passageway. It was proving to be a more difficult task than they had imagined though. There were no obvious signs of a hidden passage, meaning if there was actually one it was very cleverly hidden to avoid anyone finding it by accident. They were going to need to be more thorough.

"This is tough," Abbie said as she and Divya struck out on another room, "finding this passage is going to take a while."

"Yeah...and we're almost to the ten minute mark. Should we head back and see if Erin and Stef found anything?"

"Sure, I want to just check out this last room really quick."

Standing in the doorway, Divya watched as Abbie headed into the room and looked around. There were some bookshelves on the wall, and a bunch of boxes stacked around the edges of the room. A large ornate carpet was placed right in the center of the room. As Abbie checked the room to see if there were any signs of a hidden passage. It was another bust though.

As Abbie headed back to Divya, there was a loud clicking sound heard when she crossed over the carpet. She paused, aiming her flashlight down at her feet. Divya did the same. Was this the secret passage?!

"Did you hear that?" Abbie asked.

"Yeah," said Divya, "sounds like you triggered some kind of mechanism. Come to think of it, that target is pretty obviously placed. It's not nearly as dusty as it should be."

"There must be some kind of trap door underneath it, come on help me get it..."

*WHOOSH!*

The floor opened up beneath Abbie as she fell through, taking the carpet down with her. Dropping her flashlight, Divya raced over to try and grab her hand, but it was too late. By the time she got there, the floor had closed back up.

"Abbie! Abbie, are you okay?!"

Divya pounded on the floor trying to get a response from her friend, but there was nothing. Standing up, she dusted off her jeans and took a deep breath. With Abbie gone she was officially on her own. She dug deep and mustered every ounce of courage she had.

"You got this, Divya," she said hyping herself up, "you got this!"

Marching over to her flashlight, she scooped it up and aimed it down the hallway. She was on the second floor, meaning that Abbie had probably fallen somewhere downstairs. Divya's best bet was to head down and see if she could find a way to contact Abbie from the first floor. She just hoped her friend was okay...

At least for Erin and Stef trouble hadn't befallen them!

Yet...

They continued their quest to find the entrance to the secret passage they had theorized about. Entering a study room, Erin headed for the bookcase at the back of the room. It was a bit cliche to suspect the shelf might be the entrance to the secret passage, but she needed to be thorough and check every possibility! Stef helped her, pulling books back one by one. The shelf was full of books, and even between the two of them there were quite a lot to check. After being at it for a while, Erin was about to give up when she heard a loud clicking sound as if a mechanism or something had unlocked. She turned to Stef.

"Did you find it?"

"Yeah, I think that..."

All of the sudden the bookcase by where Stef was standing swung around, taking Stef with it!

*BOOOOOM!*

Erin fell back to the ground as the floor shook.

"Stef! Stef, are you okay!"

Erin jumped up and shouted for her friend, but there was no reply. At least they had found the secret passage, but now they were separated from each other. The wall had spun around 180 degrees, revealing the other side of it...which was just another bookcase. Erin desperately pulled on the new books hoping to trigger the trap door again. Surely, there had to be a way to re-trigger the trap.

*click!*

"Got it," Erin said triumphantly as the wall swung open and she slipped through to the other side.

She was standing in a narrow hallway now. Aiming her flashlight straight ahead, so called for Stef.

"Stef? Stef where are you?"

But there was no reply. It wasn't a good sign, that much Erin knew. She hadn't been separated from Stef for that long, plus Stef should have just waited for her on the other side. At the very least this confirmed what Erin had suspected was going on...someone, no not a ghost but a real person, was messing with them. She didn't know why, or who, but there was definitely someone on the loose. Whoever it was had been waiting for her and Stef and had grabbed her when the wall spun around. That was Erin's working theory at least, and with it in mind she carried on carefully lest she too end up compromised!

At the same time, Divya was doing just the same as she looked for Abbie. She was too busy trying to keep her cool that she hadn't bothered to come up with any theories as to what was going on. Her only concern at the moment was finding Abbie and getting the hell out of this godforsaken manor! Making her way downstairs, she looked around where she thought Abbie might have fallen through. As she approached one locked door in particular, she swore she could hear something coming from inside. Was it Abbie? Or...

No, Divya shook her head, ghosts weren't real. It had to be Abbie!

Reaching for the handle, her hand shaking, she opened the door and peered inside.

"Mmmmph ffffffmph nnnnmph!"

There was that sound again! It was coming from the corner of the room. Divya aimed her flashlight in that direction and spied a large white sheet rustling in the corner.

"Mmmmmmmmph!"

Divya's face turned pale. What was that thing in the corner?! Was it a ghost?

"Mmmmmph nnnnnnnmph!

Divya paused a second and listened. It sure looked like a ghost, but that sound was oddly familiar. It sounded like...

"Abbie?"

"MMMMMMPH!"

It sure sounded like Abbie! But how had she ended up under that sheet? Divya rushed over and grabbing the sheet she pulled it back.

"Ffffmmmmph!"

It was Abbie!

She was trussed up with rope wound about her arms and legs. Her feet were bare, her discarded oxfords laying on the ground next to her. Whoever had tied her up had made clever use of her socks, stuffing them into her mouth and sealing them in with a cloth pulled taut between her lips.

"Mmmmmmmmph!"

"Hang on, Abbie, I'll get you out of there!"

But Divya had been so focused on what was ahead of her that she hadn't done a thorough check of her surroundings. From the shadows a figure emerged from behind her, Abbie saw it coming but Divya was caught totally off guard.

"Nnnnnnmph gggggnnnnmph!"

"I'll get you out of there, just give me a smmmmmph!"

Divya was pulled back, a meaty hand clasping over her mouth. Wrestling her to the ground, her attacker pulled her arms behind her back and quickly lashed her wrists together with rope. The soft cord was pulled tight and dug into her skin through her sleeves.

"Ouch! Let me go!"

Divya was really struggling and making far too much noise for her captor's comfort, and so reaching down to her black boots he tore them off revealing a pair of cute socks underneath them. Divya was having flashbacks from her trip to London...

"Don't you dare even think about using thommmmmmmmmmph!"

Her attacker spared no expense in shoving both socks straight into her protesting mouth, pushing them in as far back as they would go.

"Ggggnnnmph!"

A cloth was pulled between her lips to complete the gag, just like Abbie. From here, Divya's attacker applied more ropes to her body around her legs and upper arms. Unlike Abbie, Divya was treated to some extra ropes as her legs were pulled back and connected to her wrists in a hogtie.

"Mmmmph!"

Divya winced as her arms were forced back and her chest lifted off the floor. There was no need for her ropes to be that tight!

"Fffffmph mmmmmph!"

But no amount of muffled protesting was going to save Divya now. What had been done was done, and now she and Abbie were both trussed up together. The two girls shuffled in their binds, mewing through their stuffed mouths. They hoped that perhaps Erin and Stef were having more luck than they were and would be on the way to their rescue soon!

Unfortunately, Erin and Stef were still separated, but Erin was hot on the trail! She wasn't separated that long from Stef, surely she had to be somewhere nearby! The passageway Erin was currently in was quite narrow, and due to how drafty it was she guessed that it was built between the inner walls of the manor and the outer siding. The passage was super long and winding too with lots of intersections. Erin had no idea where she was going really, she just knew she was looking for some kind of door or way out of the passageway.

She was getting worried that she hadn't run into Stef yet. Obviously something had happened to her, because otherwise she would have just been waiting for Erin right on the other side of door. Batting away cobwebs and dust, Erin managed to find her way to the end of the passage. There was what appeared to be a false wall at the end of the long path, along with an inconspicuous lever on the wall. Pulling it caused the wall to unlock as Erin pushed it open further and stepped through to the other side.

She was in some kind of storage room now, lots of boxes and crates lined walls of the room. No sign of Stef though which had Erin worried. Tightening her grip on her flashlight, Erin continued onward leaving the room behind and investigating the hallway.

She was back on the other side of the manor! Stepping out from the storage room, Erin found herself near the entrance, the grand staircase was visible just down the hall. She also spied the kitchen area too. This meant she was close not only to Stef, but to Abbie and Divya too. She was at least making progress, now she just needed to find her friends!

"Come on, Stef," Erin whispered, "where are you?"

*tap! tap! tap! tap!*

Erin whipped her head around, aiming her flashlight in the direction that sound had just come from. It was faint, but she had heard it alright! It sounded like someone was tapping something. Could it be Stef? Or perhaps a trap...

Either way, Erin had to investigate, even if there was a chance it could be Stef or the others. Walking over toward the kitchen, she listened closely in case she heard the sound again.

*tap! tap! tap!*

There it was! She was getting closer too. As she rounded the corner into the kitchen, she heard the sound once more only this time she knew exactly where it was coming from. There was a closed door just before entering the kitchen area, the sound was most definitely coming from there! Erin readied herself for whatever was on the other side.

Throwing the door open she pointed her flashlight inside, lighting the room up. It was some kind of pantry space, albeit an empty pantry now. Well, not entirely empty...

"Mmmmmmmph!"

Stef was laying on the floor, bound with ropes and chewing on a length of cloth tied around her head keeping another bundle of cloth firmly lodged in her mouth. That tapping sound had been her alright, tapping on the door with the heels of her boots.

"Oh my god, Stef!"

Erin's first reaction was to try and save her friend, but before she even had the chance she was grabbed from behind. Her attacker was quite strong and managed to wrestle Erin to the ground, pinning her to the floor between their legs.

"Hey! What the hell?!"

Ignoring Erin, he pulled her arms behind her back and tied them together with rope. Stef could only watch as her best friend was tied up in the same manner she had been. Once Erin was secured, her attacker dragged her into the pantry and sat her up behind Stef so that their backs were to each other. From here, Erin was able to get a good look at him. He was dressed in all black, with a ski mask covering his face. In other words, very much not a ghost but a real person. Who he was though, Erin had no idea. She was about to interrogate him to try and figure out who he was and what his motives were, but just before she was about to open her mouth to speak he stuffed a rag into Erin's mouth.

"Hhhhmmmmmph!"

Not giving her a chance to try and push it out, he pulled a cloth between her lips and tied it off tightly at the base of her neck. As a final measure, he connected Erin and Stef together by wrapping multiple lengths of rope around both of their bodies. Stef's blonde locks swished against the back of Erin's head as she struggled in her ropes.

"Ggnnnnmph mmmmmph!"

"That should teach you girls a lesson! And to think, things were going so well. That old crone should pass any day now, and this manor will be all mine! Who's going to want to buy a 'haunted' house anyway? They'll put it up for auction, and because of the hauntings no one's going to make a bid. On the other hand, I'll be there, buying it at the lowest possible price. Then, I'll fix it up, squash the rumors about there being any haunting, and make a fortune! I was going to get away with everything without any trouble until you lousy snoops showed up! Now I'm in a real pickle...got to figure out what to do with you."

Erin rolled her eyes. He could have started by not revealing his entire plan to them! What an idiot this guy was...

"Oh well," he said, "I'll figure that out later. You two just stay put for now until I figure things out!"

"Fffmmmph yyymmmph! Mmmmmmph!"

Their speech muffled behind their gags, the girls shouted at the man as he made his leave slamming the door shut behind him. At least he had left their flashlights, but as a tradeoff he had really tied their ropes tight! Erin struggled to find any give in the knots, and could tell Stef was having just as hard of a time behind her given how much she was struggling.

"Mmmmph!"

Erin cursed herself for getting in this mess! Then again, what did she expect from snooping around a creepy abandoned manor?!