NOVEL NEXT Chapter 463.
Chapter 463. An Exciting Night with Two Girls Outside the City: The Alleged Haunted Castle. (6/10)
I reached for the two-way radio I still had on me and clutched it tight. There was a function on it that could signal Rosa to turn her radio on if I needed to tell her something.
After they pass by, I’ll tell her and Dawn to immediately get out of the castle. If they couldn’t get out in time, then they could at the very least hide. From the sound of it, it seemed these two weren’t taking things very seriously. The castle was large and it was pretty unlikely they’d do a very thorough patrol of the place.
The biggest concern would be if they checked the gate Dawn’s pickup truck was parked at. If they discovered that, they’d know for certain that someone was here.
However, judging by how they weren’t already aware of it being there, they must have used another entrance to get inside. Maybe they got in through the collapsed wall Rosa came across.
If that was true, it might be dangerous to exit through it. They could have someone posted up there?
While I analyzed the situation, the two who’d been complaining walked right past me. When they turned the corner, I exhaled a sigh of relief. I pressed the button to signal Rosa, and a minute later, her voice came through, “What is it? Did something happen?”
“The two of you should get out of the castle if you can or hide. There are two guys coming in right now.”
“Oh? There are other people here?”
“Yeah.”
“Did they see you?”
“No.”
“What do you think they’re doing here?”
“How would I know? But I doubt it’s anything good.”
“I see. Well, I suppose we’ll try to get out now.”
“Be careful, they might have someone on lookout by the collapsed wall. If you can’t get out just stay hidden until they’re gone.”
“Sure. What do you plan to do?”
“Me? Nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing? Don’t be such a bore, investigate what they’re up to.”
“Investigate? It’s none of my business.”
“What if I said it is your business?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Do you remember that glimpse of light you saw that led us here?”
“Uh… yeah… what of it?”
“You can see light given off by people’s souls, right? That’s how you’ve been able to spot me so easily in the dark since I sold my soul to you, right?”
“Well… yeah. But, I can’t just see anyone’s soul.”
“But you can at the very least see the souls of people who have sold theirs to you, right?”
“You mean…”
“Yeah, that light you saw, that was Wisteria.”
“What! She’s here? Why!”
“Well, the truth is, the story I heard about this place was something I made up. Remember that strand of hair on your shoulder?”
“Yeah…”
“In truth, I noticed it when you sat up so I could give you a lap pillow. It immediately made me think of Wisteria. While you were asleep I checked in with her and found out she was tailing her target who was headed out of the city. The last text I received was that she was headed into a castle her target had entered. After that, I didn’t hear back from her again. While you were asleep, I came up with that story so we could head out here to check on her situation should she not respond.”
“You’re saying all of this was something you planned? Then what about Dawn’s soul?”
“Just consider that a little bit of repayment for keeping you out of the loop.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me from the beginning.”
“I didn’t want you to stress out over it when we’re supposed to be on vacation. While I separated from you and Dawn I’d been scouring the premises not just for a rabbit, but also for traces of Wisteria. I didn’t find anything though.”
“Then the reason you were so obsessed with searching for a torture chamber and hidden rooms was actually to find Wisteria?”
“Yeah… with the lack of response from her, I’m afraid the worst might have happened.”
“I don’t think she’s been caught. I overheard the two talking just now and it seems someone in the castle might have caught just a glimpse of her hair when she was rounding a corner. It sounds like these two were called to patrol the area and find that person. They seem convinced that person was just seeing things and are doubtful that anyone is really here.”
“I see. That’s a relief. But we should still verify Wisteria really hasn’t been captured by them. It wouldn’t be funny if we misunderstood and she turns up on the academy’s MIA or presumed dead list later on.”
“That would be… pretty bad.”
“Did you see where those two came from?”
“Yeah, I did. On the side of the castle, there’s an entrance leading into the ground below the castle. It’s camouflaged pretty well with thick shrubbery on top of it.”
“Then while those two are out and distracted searching the castle, check it out. I would do it myself, but I don’t want to risk leaving Dawn hiding alone inside the castle. If she’s caught, who knows what they’ll do to her. We’ve been talking for too long and I’m sure they’re probably already searching the castle so slipping out now likely isn’t possible.”
“You’re right.”
“Then, hurry up. I’m turning the radio off now and heading back to Dawn. If an emergency pops up, send me an emergency ping through the radio again.”
“Okay.”
Our conversation ended there.
I turned off my radio and grumbled to myself, “How do I always find myself in these sorts of situations lately?”
Well, whatever I guess.
I’ll just take a little peek inside for Wisteria and leave. If I find her, great. If I don’t, then even better, she probably escaped safely.
I stood up behind the tree and made sure the coast was clear before I cautiously approached the cellar door embedded in the ground. It really was well hidden, there was thick vegetation growing on top of it. If you didn’t know to look here, you’d likely never find it. You could walk over it without ever realizing anything was off.
I bent over, slipped my hands under the wooden panel, then carefully lifted it up a quarter of the way and slipped under it. The hinges were rusted and they creaked when opened and closed, so I was especially careful to avoid making too much noise.
If they put something heavy on top of the door, you could end up trapped like a rat and unable to escape. That is… unless there was a second way out. Logically speaking, the reverse could also happen to them. Meaning, it was almost certain there was another way out. An escape tunnel would make sense. This could be one of many entrances hidden throughout the region.
Beneath the door, there were stairs leading deeper down below ground level. There wasn’t any light though. It seemed the light I’d seen before hadn’t been from the tunnel itself but from a flashlight the two were using.
Why wasn’t there any lighting if they had electricity available? Hmm… I suppose that would require the installation of a lot more electrical wiring. But if it wasn’t being used for lighting, then what was it being used for exactly?
I didn’t have any way to know. Wait, the two earlier had referred to the person who called them here Dox. But Wisteria was here after her target who I suspected to be the doctor who was with Aurelia. What if they were really saying Doc’s rather than Dox?
Then… this could be related to the shady dealings in how that doctor was able to pull strings with Dawn’s father’s suppliers. Just what was it though? I felt like I was getting closer to unraveling the mystery but I was missing that one last crucial detail for all the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place. Just what damning secret was this doctor hiding under this castle?
An insatiable curiosity rose to the surface within me. I was dying to solve that final mystery. As an author, I couldn’t help but want to seek out that final clue.