Jarred saw no sign of And or Will. Maybe someone had already won, but Jarred had no plans of giving up until he knew for sure. Besides, the winner would announce his victory on the walkie-talkie as soon as he found the flag. Jarred looked down the hall in front of him and saw a dozen or so more doors to go. And he’d already been running through the old mansion for forty-five minutes. Frank had finally done a good job of hiding the flag.

Jarred threw open the first door on his right and peered into the dank room. Like almost all of the rooms in the mansion, this one would have been a guest bedroom when the house had been livable. He didn’t see a flag, so he stepped in and knelt down to look under the worn, decrepit bed, careful not to touch it. Unfortunately, the bright orange flag wasn’t lying under there among the dust and cobwebs.

When the four teenagers had first discovered the mansion out here in the middle of nowhere, they made the mistake of putting their full weight on a couch in the main sitting room. It had collapsed almost instantly. Since then, they were very careful about what they touched. Jarred wondered if it was a good idea to run and jump on the wooden floors, but the others assured him it was fine. Besides, if they had to be careful where they ran, the game wouldn’t be as much fun.

Jarred threw open the closet door, but he found only a few moth-eaten sweaters, now void of any color. No flag. He hurried out, making sure to close the door behind him, and quickly entered the room across the hall. Of course, another guest bedroom. The four of them had explored the mansion and discovered well over a hundred rooms. They had no idea how high the count went, since they had quit keeping track with a few floors to go. And that wasn’t taking into account the attic or the cellar, both of which were labyrinths in their own rights.

The orange flag didn’t make itself known in this room, either. Jarred explored the rest of the hallway but had no luck in any of the rooms. He picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button.

"Jarred here. Anyone win yet? Over."

The walkie-talkie crackled, and then And’s voice came through. "Big negative. I think Frank’s cheating us. Over."

"Hey. I hid the flag fair and square. If you guys can’t find it, that’s your fault, not mine. You have about ten minutes before I give you your first hint. Over."

"You’d just love that, wouldn’t you, Frank. Big points for you. Not that it matters. You clowns can’t catch me. Over and out."

"Always have to get the last word in, don’t you, And?" Jarred said. "Don’t worry, boys, I have a feeling I’m going to find it real soon. Over."

"What makes you think so?" Frank said. "Over."

"Just a feeling, Frank. Just a feeling. Hey, Will, you’re being awful quiet. Where you at? Over."

The walkie-talkie stayed silent except for its usual chirps and crackles.

"Frank here. I haven’t seen him. And, answer back. Have you seen Will? Over."

After a few seconds, Andy’s voice sounded through. "No. I’m sure he’s fine, though. Probably in one of his zones. You know Will. Over."

"Jarred here. We must all be on different sides of the mansion. I can’t here a peep from any of you, and I know how hard you slam doors, And. Over."

"He’s probably laughing at you two for wasting time talking and not searching. Over and out."

"Andy out."

"Jarred out."

Jarred put the walkie-talkie back on his belt and started up the stairs at the end of the hallway. A closet door hid this small staircase, making for a great secret passageway. How many other secrets did the mansion hide? This one had been discovered only because it was clearly a door to be opened in the context of their game. They planned to take a few days to search for more secrets later, but for now the game held too much excitement.

Jarred reached the fifth floor, confident the flag was near. In the half dozen games they’d played, he’d yet to win. So far, that right had been reserved for either And or Will. But the nagging thought wouldn’t leave him — today was his day.

He opened the first door on his left to find a bathroom. No flag. He quickly exited and started towards the next door, which he was pretty sure would be another guest bedroom. The master bedrooms and other well used rooms were on this floor, but in a different wing.

He opened the door and, out of the corner of his eye, saw movement at the end of the hall. The hallway was at least a hundred yards long, and Jarred hadn’t been able to make out which of his friends it had been before the person moved out of sight.

"Is that you, Will?" Jarred yelled.

No answer. Jarred shrugged and continued his search. No flag in the open, under the bed, or in the closet. Since the first hour was almost upon them, he was glad for the rule which stated that flags couldn’t be hidden in drawers, only behind doors or behind furniture as long as it was both easy to find and reach. There were six floors and so many rooms that, without the rule, it might take them all day or more to finish a game. So far, as it was, this was the longest game to date, almost an hour and ticking.

It took Jarred over five minutes to search every room in the long hallway, but he came up empty. He headed towards the next hallway, and when he had reached the beginning of it, his walkie-talkie blared to life.

"Frank here. Hour’s up. It’s hint time. Over."

"Andy here. I expected a hard game sooner or later, Frank, but I didn’t expect you to host it. Over."

"I’m just glad I finally get some points. Okay, the flag’s on the fifth floor. Next hint in fifteen minutes. Over and out."

"Jarred here. I’m on the fifth, And, where are you? Over."

"On the first. I started on the fifth, but I didn’t check everywhere. I saw someone up there, so I figured I’d start down. Over."

"Must have been Will. But I think I just saw him about five minutes ago. I wonder why he’s back up here. Over."

"Hey, Will, this is Andy. Where are you? Over."

As Jarred waited, much as he suspected And was waiting, he looked through the first room of the new hallway. After a minute or two, he decided Will wasn’t going to answer.

"Jarred here. Maybe his batteries ran out. Frank? You still there? Over."

"Frank here. I’ve been listening. I’ve been in the attic for the past ten minutes, but no sign of Will. I’ll check the basement. Over."

"Jarred here. Check, but unless either of you were on this floor five minutes ago, he’s probably not in the basement. Like I said, I saw someone streak by, but I was at the other end of a long hallway. Over."

"Wasn't me. You, Frank? Over."

"Like I said, I've been sitting in the attic. Must've been Will. I guess we’ll have to search for him after the game. After I look through the basement, I’ll come back up here and wait. If he finds the flag, he’ll have to come here anyway. Maybe Jarred's right and his batteries are dead. He probably doesn’t know about it. You know Will. Oh, and by the way, you guys have less than ten minutes until the next clue. Just thought you should know. Over and out."

"Don’t worry about me, Frank. I just started searching the fifth floor. I’ll be fine. Andy out."

During the conversation, Jarred had knocked off another, much shorter hallway. Still no luck, although his feeling that he was close to the flag wouldn’t go away. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of someone again, but when he turned to look, the hallway was empty. Maybe it had been Frank heading for the basement, but Jarred doubted it. Frank would have taken a quicker route than this.

"Jarred here. I thought I just saw someone, but only out of the corner of my eye. Was it either of you? Over."

"Frank here. Not me unless you’re near the main staircase. Over and out."

"Andy here. Don’t think it was me. I caught a glimpse of someone, too, but he darted away. Was that you? Over."

"No. We’d have seen each other. I wasn't running. This is getting weird. Where you at?"

"Near the master bedrooms. You?"

"I’m a little turned around, but I’m definitely not in that wing. Could it be Will? Over."

"I don’t think so. Sounds like we’re too far away from each other for him to move so quick. And I don’t think he would do that anyway. Over."

"Hey, Andy, I’m getting a little freaked out here. Maybe we should call it a day."

"Yeah. We’re probably just jumping at shadows, but if we stay much longer, it’s only going to get worse. Frank, you win. Lets get to the attic. Over."

Jarred started back towards the staircase he had used to come up to the fifth floor. They lead to the sixth floor and to the attic stairs. But why hadn’t Frank responded? He should be shouting with joy.

"Frank, didn’t you hear? You win. Over."

No answer. A creaking floorboard behind him made Jarred twirl around. Nothing. He closed his eyes and shook his head. If this was his imagination, it was being a little too vivid.

"There’s someone in the house with us! An adult, I think. Get out of here. We’ll meet outside. Andy over and way out."

Somewhere down the hall, where he needed to go, very deliberate footsteps sounded. Jarred turned and bolted. He couldn’t quite place where he was on the fifth floor, but he knew he would find his bearings soon enough. If he could just get to the main staircase, he’d be home free.

Blurs of light streaked in front of him, mere inches from his face. He let out a scream and scurried back the way he came. Almost immediately, he stopped dead in his tracks. At the end of the hallway stood a transparent figure, at least seven feet tall, with no distinguishable features except for its eyes. Jarred wished he couldn’t see those. They blazed white and seemed to burn right through his skull into his brain. Jarred fell to his knees. Before burying his head in his arms and curling up into a ball, though, he glanced back to the figure and saw it slowly advancing towards him.

"Snap out of it!"

He looked up and saw Will. Or at least it looked like Will. But his friend not only had a glow to him, he also floated a few feet off the ground.

"Will? Your feet aren’t touching the floor..."

"Yeah, but that’s not important. You need to get out right now, or it will get you. Get moving."

Jarred swallowed hard before any words came out, and those that did were a mere whisper. "Are you dead?"

"Yep, but now’s not the time to make a fuss. Get out of here before you are, too. I’ll see if I can hold that thing off."

Will made a bee-line towards the big ghost, now only a few steps away. Jarred didn’t look back, he just took off in the opposite direction. The flashing balls of light again leapt in front of him, but he just kept running.

When Jarred reached the end of the hallway, he looked back and saw the big ghost still advancing. He couldn’t see Will. Had his friend been overcome so quickly? Jarred choked back his tears. Grief could come later, after he’d saved his own skin.

As he rounded a corner, he took the walkie-talkie off his belt and pushed the talk button. "Guys, this is Jarred. I think Will’s dead. If you’re not out already, do it now. We’ll meet back at the car. Over and out."

He tried to put the walkie-talkie back on his belt, but it slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor. When he stopped to pick it up, the ghost rounded the corner. He gasped and ran on, forgetting the fallen walkie-talkie.

He rounded another corner and finally saw the master staircase. Home free. He darted down, taking the steps three at a time. Once he reached the third floor landing, he allowed himself a quick glance over his shoulder. He couldn’t see the big ghost, but he wasn’t about to slow down. He continued down the stairs, still three at a time.

He made it down to the ground floor in record time, but before he could dash to the front door, he saw And lying just a few feet from the bottom of the staircase. Jarred dropped to his knees beside his fallen friend and searched for any signs of life. There were none. Andy Terweg had passed away, but probably not very peacefully. He turned his friend over to search for a wound but wished he hadn’t. And’s face held a look of such fright that Jarred knew his friend, one of his best friends, had died of sheer terror. The tears started flowing freely again, and his chest hurt from the sobs.

"Go," a disembodied voice whispered. Jarred didn’t know who owned the voice, but he sprang to his feet and sprinted towards the front door. The entryway had a quiet, dead quality to it. Jarred took that as a good thing — he had a clear shot to the front door.

Once there, he turned the doorknob and pulled. The door wouldn’t budge. A high-pitched squeal erupted somewhere behind him. He twisted the knob again, and this time he tried pushing, but that didn’t work either. Loud bangs, paced like footsteps, sounded ever closer. Jarred frantically searched for a lock or something which would spring the door open, but he couldn’t find anything.

The side door. He knew he could make it in less than a minute. He could make it. It became his mantra. I can make it, I can make it. But after five steps, he realized how wrong he was. The lifeless bodies of Will, And, and Frank hung in his path, dangling like marionettes manipulated by a novice puppeteer. Jarred fell onto his backside, and the husks of his friends gathered to surround him. A squeal erupted near the staircase. Between his dead friends, he saw the big ghost float down the last few steps. The bodies of Jarred’s friends backed away, and the ghost with the burning white eyes advanced. Jarred’s reality faded to black.

* * * * *