Corona

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell felt slightly guilty for being so distant to the two people with her. She promised herself after her rape that she would not change her belief in people. She didn't want to mistrust everyone...but she still made mistakes. She still had that need for distance - a need to protect herself.

"I...I hear something," Ton'yell said shakily. "It's...It's Alex!" She instantly ran towards the voice. "Alex?! Where are you?" Only stopping at times to listen to where the voice was coming from, she ran to the dance hall. Please please please be here. It was thanks to Alex that Ton'yell didn't lose herself completely her protective barrier - he reminded her that people were people, and not objects to be analyzed.  

[SiberDrac]

Everything snapped back to Alex when he heard the voice. "Miss Jordan?" he thought. "What is she doing here? She must have heard me, but why is she even in the house?" He felt a heavy weight about him, and realized that Chris must have put something on him he hadn't approved of. The dress must have weighed twenty pounds. He struggled to heave it off his small body and threw it on the floor, then picked up his knapsack and walked calmly out to the corner of the stage, partially hidden by the thick curtain and looking again at the upset table settings in the room. In his faded blue jeans, old walking shoes, and white tee-shirt, he was the image of innocence. His eyes were calm as they landed on his therapist.
"Miss Jordan? Were you looking for me?"  

[Anima Shadow]

Meanwhile, Rebecca was stepping through the side door into the hallway. There was no way she was going to stick around for another person. She had come here with the intent to explore alone and alone she would explore.

Clicking off the flashlight, Rebecca considered the doors the lined the hall. Which one should she check out first?  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell looked up to see Alex and gave a relieved smile. "Alex. There you are!" She walked up to him and gave him a hug. "I was worried when your mother said you disappeared. I came to see if you were here." She let go of him, now feeling better that he was alive and well.  

[SiberDrac]

Alex looked up at her calmly. "I hope I didn't worry anyone. I thought she would still be asleep." Miss Jordan had always been kind to him, though he did worry about what she thought of his mother. Sometimes she was a little too friendly, although it wasn't often. Jesse seemed to like her at least a little, although he stayed away from her when he could, most of the time. Chris usually didn't care all that much one way or the other. Every now and then, she'd express some sort of respect of the woman's knowledge, but it was more of an acknowledgement that the therapist might be worth her time than anything else.
"Do I have to go home?"  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell nodded at Alex's explanation. He hadn't had much of a chance to really be a kid before with his mother's issues. She never spoke against his mother; she knew Alex wouldn't take to it kindly, and it would do no one any good. Unless she saw signs that Alex was in danger with his mother, then she wouldn't do anything.

Pausing for a moment to think, she said, "You will eventually need to go home. But," she added, "we can continue exploring for a while, if you want." It wouldn't hurt to let him look around a little more before leaving.  

[NativeForeigner]

The longer they stayed withing the manor, the louder the sounds of the house seemed to become, almost as if the building was aware of their presence. New, more lively, sounds began to join in.

Heavy breathing, footsteps, and the occasional faint whispers through the air.

A sound that caught everyone's attention came from upstairs as a loud crash was heard followed by the sound of breaking glass.  

[SiberDrac]

Alex's face brightened at the suggestion of continued exploration. "Well... sure. Yeah, there's this place backstage with all these costumes..." He started beckoning her to follow him back there when he heard the crash.
There was something sinister in the way it mixed with the noise of the house. At first, the voices had seemed to be a part of the natural creaking of such an old place, but the shattering glass somehow made them much more recognizable as what they were. In his mind's eye, Jesse turned to him with an impish grin. "We should go up there first." He pointed back in the direction of the main hall.

But...

Fine, ya scaredy-cat. I'll go.

Alex reached a hand up to scratch the back of his head, then coughed, blinked rapidly, and then, as the blinking slowed, put his hand back down. Ton'yell knew this meant he had changed personalities. It took maybe four seconds all told. When it finished, he looked at her with that same impish grin Jesse had just given him. His entire mien had changed. His features were anything but placid; he leaned back on one leg when he stood still; he hooked his thumbs in his pockets; and he slumped his shoulders.

"Hey, Tony," he snickered. He liked calling her that. Tony. "Wanna check upstairs? Or are ya scared?"  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell was tense after she heard the crash. There is something wrong with this house. It could have been from Tom or Rebecca. Maybe I'm just paranoid. She was deep in thought when Jesse came out to talk.

If she wasn't such a patient person, she may have rolled her eyes at Jesse's words. She was black - there were plenty of worse things said to her than whatever Jesse spewed out of his mouth. "I don't mind checking upstairs. Someone may be hurt up there." She walked along side him towards the stairs.  

[Anima Shadow]

((Now, now, I don't think it fair to be leaving Shell behind like this, Tom isn't some mindless husk that follows the leader instantly with absolutely nothing to contribute.

Slow down a bit. This thread isn't going anywhere.))  

[Dreamshell]

Tom snapped out of the daze that had overtaken him. For a moment, one of the noises the house had been making, it almost sounded like... but, no. It couldn't be.

"Wait a minute," he said suddenly, looking to Ton'yell and a new underage child (where had Little Rebecca gone?). "I don't know if you've noticed or not, ma'am, but there's something going on with this house. My wife came here and now she's disappeared. And others might be missing, as well."

Tom paced about, searching for words. Finally, he sighed, seemingly having come to a decision.

"Look, no offense meant, but in all honestly, I think it's a better idea if you took these two back to wherever it is they belong. As for me, I have some investigating to do."  

[Anima Shadow]

((Rebecca is currently not there. She's back in that hallway that went off to the left... Or was it right? Either way, there is only one underage child in that room.))

Rebecca literally jumped when the crash sounded. Three feet in the air. The crash came from upstairs, and the others were still on the first floor, as far as Rebecca knew. Which meant that there was some one else in this house.

She remembered the thing from the other room and shuddered. She would stay where she was for now.  

[SiberDrac]

Jesse fixed Tom with a hard stare while the man paced. "Oh come on, dude, do not be a wuss about this," he said under his breath. He rolled his eyes with a jeering grin and reached in his knapsack for his pack of cigarettes. He offered one to Tom after he had stopped. "Wanna cig? It'll help. I'm goin' exploring, with you or not, and you ain't gonna send me home." He got one for himself and lit it, taking a long drag. "Damn, it's stuffy in here," he muttered. "Can't breathe."

These two? So there was some other kid in the house? Damnit, why'd things have to get complicated?  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell looked at Tom with a raised eyebrow. "I've heard the rumors of this house, and I don't believe that this place is haunted. It's more likely that this place is home of a kidnapping circle." She looked at Jesse with a slight furrow in her eyebrows. I really wish he wouldn't smoke. "And if it were home to a kidnapping ring, I doubt that they'd stay this long in one place." Still, perhaps it was better to leave this place. Better safe than sorry, especially if there are children involved.

She must have stared at Jesse for too long, because he was starting to stare right back at her. "I know you realize that smoking is detrimental to your health," she said as she stole the pack of cigarettes from his hand. "I honestly wish you would quit."

Before Jesse had a chance to complain, Ton'yell added, "We should go. Your mother is very worried about you." She actually came to me for help. Alex's mother hated Ton'yell - she didn't want for Ton'yell to take away Alex away from his own mother. If I can't convince him to leave this place, I can always carry him over my shoulder and leave.