The House That Light Forgot
Part Three: Suspicions
The next morning Heero found Duo searching through the pantries in the
kitchen, obviously looking for something.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
Duo smiled as his stomach grumbled, giving away his intent. "It's
strange- the refrigerator and this pantry look as if they haven't been
used in years. At any rate, you're out of food."
"Oh."
Duo headed to the telephone, thinking he could call into town for a
ride, and was surprised to find the line dead. "Odd. Do you have a way
to get into town?"
Heero frowned. "Do you have to go?"
"Well, I can't have us starving to death."
"Sorry, I don't. You'll have to walk."
"No prob, I'll take the shortcut." Duo kissed the scowling Heero on the
cheek, moving to leave the kitchen. "Don't be like that, I'll be back."
Heero nodded. "Okay."
Duo made his way out of the kitchen and into the gardens. If he
remembered right, if he took a right into the gardenias he would be in
the town in less than forty minutes. He had gone five minutes into the
garden when a sliver of gold caught in his peripheral vision, and he
turned around to see the blond boy running away from him. He stopped,
than started to run after the creature, diving in and out of the browns
and grees of Nefura gardens. The boy always seemed out of his reach,
and he found himself stopping to pant a little, mildly shocked when he
realized he didn't recognize this portion of the property.
There were vines and moss every where, creeping up on low and broken
down benches. Stone walls were built up around the pathway, covered in
the same decaying plant life, and statues of feminine figures stood on
those. The figures were in a state of disarray, none of them whole, all
of them missing limbs or heads. Duo walked along a stone wall, coming
to a gap that opened into a clearing. Overgrown trees marked the
perimeter of the opening, and the grass here stood out taller than any
where else in the garden. It was unnaturally shady, the trees blocking
out any vestiges of daylight, maintaining a perpetual dusk.
Duo waded into the grass, feeling uneasiness creep up his spine,
fighting the chill that had overtaken his body in this shady place.
Something gray jutted out of the land in front of him, and he ignored
his growing premonition, stepping forward to touch it when he suddenly
stopped, mid step. Common knowledge had reawakened in his mind, and he
realized with clarity what that thing was… a tombstone, hidden among
the gardens of Nefura. Duo reached out to brush the grass away,
curiosity taking a grip of him, when there was a rustling of grass
behind him. He spun around, heart beating wildly, to catch sight of the
blond boy from before. He stepped back and grasped at the tombstone,
the only solid thing he could hold on to.
The blond boy stepped forward, eyes wide and scared. He spoke, for the
first time, voice high-pitched and caked with mild frenzy.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Duo closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to dispel the vision.
When he opened his eyes again, the boy was gone.
* * *
It had taken him an hour to walk into town. After his contact with the
boy he had forgotten all about the tombstone, and had instead shakily
made his way out of the gardens. That had been the hard part, finding
his way out from the garden, when he didn't even know where he was. He
had hurried into town, grabbing necessary provisions through his
confusion. He had bought enough supplies for two weeks, all the
while thinking the same questions. Who was the blond boy? Where did the
tombstone come from? Who did it belong to? The answer to the third
question, Duo thought, could have been obvious enough, but he didn't
want his mind to wander towards that point.
Duo stopped, realizing he was in front of the town library. Maybe the
old structure would hold the answers he was seeking. Gripping his
groceries, he made a decision, and walked up the stone steps to enter
the building.
* * *
A hundred years worth of newspapers, containing thousands of articles,
and they were all on microfiche. Duo placed the next roll into the
bulky machine, speed scrolling through it as he read the headlines. He
had gone through a few of them already, intent on searching out the
word ‘Nefura'. He wasn't paying attention to anything else, only that
one of these rolls could contain the secrets of the manor. Something
made him stop, suddenly, and he scrolled back a few pages.
Tragedy at Nefura Manor
The headline cried out at Duo, leaving him to question whether or not
he wanted to read the article. In the end, though, the need to know won
out, and his eyes scanned over the short article. He read, wide eyed,
as the story unraveled itself before him, and he wondered why no one
had ever mentioned it before.
It seemed that one of the house's owners had gone quite mad one day.
The woman had always been eccentric, but was a long time resident of
the place, and no one really thought she was capable of doing any harm
to anything. But one day, she must have gotten into an argument with
her only relative, and had stabbed the young boy with a kitchen knife.
She killed herself right afterwards, consumed with guilt and grief over
the murder. According to the servants, the boy had been the source of
her joy in her dwindling years, and no one knew exactly why she would
commit such a gruesome act.
Duo plucked the microfiche from the machine, dropping it into its case
as he made his way out. He couldn't believe the story was true, though
it stirred an uneasiness in him. He didn't know why he was so
disquieted by the tale, instead forcing his odd feelings away. So the
blond boy… he must have been the murdered boy. Duo couldn't compress a
shiver, walking back outside to hail taxi home.
"You want to go to Nefura?" The taxi driver eyed Duo as if he were
crazy, but the braided boy merely shook it off.
"Yes."
The man eyed his groceries, expression one of disbelief. "Will you be
staying there for long?"
"Yes."
"Okay," the man revved up the engine. "Whatever you say. As for me, I'd
never stay there. I heard the place is haunted."
A shiver went down Duo's spine. "Really?"
"Yeah. It looks it, all run down and shit. And people say they see
things there whenever the light's not around, an old lady walking
through the halls, a boy walking around the gardens. Freaky shit."
"Oh," Duo leaned further against the car seat, wondering how Heero
could deal with all these things.
"Yeah. It hasn't been sunny at Nefura in a long time."
* * *
Next time he was in town, Duo decided, he would have to look into
fixing the phone lines and buying as car. He should get some one to
come out here, too, to check out the plumbing and everything. He was in
the middle of putting food away when suddenly, two arms wrapped around
him, and he nearly screamed.
"Oh my god! Heero, don't do that."
The other boy snickered. "You took a long time."
"Sorry. I got sidetracked." Duo turned around to kiss the other boy
hello. "Why didn't you ever tell me this place was haunted?"
Heero gently broke out of the embrace, frowning. "It's not."
"I read all about it, Heero, the old lady and her son or whatever. And
then there's this blond boy running around our backyard-"
"A boy?"
"Yeah. You must have seen him before."
"No. I haven't."
"And then the tombstone-"
"Duo, what are you talking about?"
Duo blinked at Heero's expression. "Tombstone. In the backyard."
"I don't know about any boy or tombstone, Duo," Heero replied, looking
somewhat annoyed, "but maybe you shouldn't be spending so much time out
in the gardens."
And then he walked out, leaving a confused Duo to stare out after him.
* * *
Duo tossed fitfully, images assaulting him in his sleep. They came in
violent flashes, tearing at his subconscious. The content, at first,
wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It was him, and Heero, walking
around the manor and talking. Rather, it was the sense of foreboding
and danger the scenes carried with them. Voices drifted in and out of
the images, and Duo recognized them as conversations the two had once
held.
why don't you come home with me
home? where's that…this is my home
you can come to my home…to america
what would I do there?
you could be with me, we could be
together
…
don't tell me you want to spend your
life here
i don't know anything else
we'll do anything you want to do,
just say you'll come with me
…okay…I will
Duo's brow creased as he remembered. But Heero hadn't come with
him…Heero had stayed…and he had left. Why didn't the other boy leave
with him? It had to do with Une…of course, Heero would be obligated to
stay by the woman's side. But then why didn't Duo stay with him? More
images assaulted Duo's mind, his graduation, their celebratory night
together, packing…and they were both packing in that image, not just
Duo. Then suddenly, out of nowhere…
"You can't take him! He belongs to Nefura!"
Duo's eyes snapped open at the screeching voice, surprised to see Lady
Une standing in front of him. Something about the woman frightened
him…she was abnormally thin, skin pale and drawn over bones. Anger
rolled off of her in waves, her eyes fiery and not quite altogether
there.
"I thought I had gotten rid of you."
"Lady Une?"
The woman stepped up to him, menacingly, fabrics flowing all around
her. "What are you doing here? I though I got rid of you years ago."
"Well…I'm back."
Une's eyes burned with glowing hatred and rising insanity. "You tried
to take Heero away from me."
"But I didn't…Heero's still here."
The skin around the lady's thin lips curled into a smile, cruel and
superior. "That's right. And he'll always be here."
Une advanced upon him as she spoke, and soon she was less than a foot
in front of him. He smelled decay around her, and the smell made him
gag. He blinked, once, and when he opened his eyes she was gone.
Duo looked around, confused…so it had been a dream.
Duo got up, having fallen asleep at a desk in one of the studies. Heero
had mentioned that the woman was still alive, wondering around the
halls of the manor. Duo wondered why he hadn't seen her yet, and
decided to pay the lady a visit. She had, after all, made his studies
here possible, the least he could do was say hello.
Duo walked towards the east wing, the smallest of the manor. Une
inhabited the third floor, so Duo headed there first. What he saw made
him stop in his tracks. The hallway wasn't even in livable conditions,
the windows hanging out of their frames and in peril of falling. Even
the stones were dislodging themselves from the walls, and for some
reason everything was dark and drafty. Cobwebs hung in corners, the
decorations here faded and dusty. The carpet looked as though it hadn't
been walked on for years. Duo walked through the rooms, finding them in
the same state. Une couldn't be living here…no one had lived here for
at least five years or so. Duo frowned, looking up just in time to see
a figure ghosting past the door. It had been eerily quiet, and if Duo
hadn't been looking he wouldn't have noticed it. He stepped out of the
room, looking in the direction the figure had gone in, but there was
nothing there.
Duo left the wing then, eager to be outside. The old house and the
article he had read had combined to give him the creeps, and he just
wanted some fresh air. He was sitting on a bench, trying to get a hold
of himself, when all of the sudden a small hand enclosed around his
wrist.