Chapter Text
“Sam are you certain about this?” Elton asked as they stared up at the towering door in front of them. Corey held the camera tight in his hand as he tried to will whatever ill feeling was trying to take him out of his body. Colby shifted uncomfortably at the back, his bandages long since gone and almost a hundred percent healed. His hair was almost back to its normal length but his scars hidden as they may appear are still on his mind.
“No but we need answers.” Sam responded as he reached up ringing the doorbell as the faint chime came from beyond the door. They stood in silence for a few moments before they heard the faint clicking of someone approaching the door. The door swung open as a man in a fancy suit stood opposite the group of young men dressed in jeans and t-shirts.
“May I help you?” The man asked, sounding rather annoyed.
“I have a meeting with Victoria at 10, we are a bit early.” Sam states as the guy dug out his cellphone scanning over the screen.
“Sam Golbach?” Sam nodded as he pushed the door open further. “Very well, Ms. Victoria should be finished with her meeting. I’m Andrew, her assistant, would you like anything to drink.” Andrew asked as he guided the group into the mansion. The group shook their heads as Colby shut the door behind them as Andrew led them deep into the mansion before moving them into an office. The room was lined with books covering most of the walls, and a few pictures sat at the large desk. The group silently crossed to the couch as Sam sat down first with Elton sitting beside him and Corey finding a chair to the side as he set up the camera ready to record whenever. Colby scanned an image on the wall, his heart plummeting as the sight of fox manor in the background.
The creaking of the door snapped them out of their thoughts as a dark haired woman walked in, her sweater a light cream and her skin almost flawless. She smiled before moving across the room, offering to her hand as Sam rose to his feet taking her hand.
“Victoria Evans. You must be Sam.” Victoria said with a smile as Sam nodded.
“I am and these are my friends, Elton.” Elton jumped to his feet taking the woman’s hand. “Corey, behind the camera.” Corey waved at Victoria as she nodded. “And Colby.” Sam gestured as Colby moved around the couch taking Victoria’s hand. She froze her eyes locking with Colby’s for a few moments, before the two of them pulled away.
“Pleasure.” She said before sitting down in a chair opposite the group. Sam, Elton and Colby sat on the couch as they got settled and ready for the interview. “You spoke about this being videoed. Does this have to do with my ex?” Corey started recording.
“No. But it does have to do with your old house.” Sam clarified as the woman hesitated.
“Fox manor?” Sam nodded.
“I got word that it burned down about four months ago now.” VIctoria stated.
“Can you tell us a bit about the house?”
“Well if you want to know about the manor, you have to know a bit about me as well. At that time, I was Victoria Fox and I had married my ex Matt about a year prior. We bought the property hoping to start a home there, as you can probably see we are both pretty wealthy. So we built an extravagant home, a bit pricey but we both loved it. After moving into the house… things started happening.” Victoria stated as Sam nodded.
“What kind of things?” Colby asked.
“Well doors would open and things. We brought in a Native American Shaman and they said the house was haunted. We tried to stay in the house but ultimately it got too dangerous, so we left and broke up about two years later.” Victoria finished with a smile as Sam nodded scanning over the notes.
“So you don’t thi-”
“Liar.” Colby stated as Victoria cast him a confused look and all attention was on him.
“Excuse me.” Victoria snapped.
“Colby what are you doing?” Sam asked.
“You just told us what the tabloids said. You aren’t telling us the truth, what happened in the manor?” Colby questioned as he leaned forward. Elton cast a glance at Sam before taking Colby’s arm and trying to pull him back but the youngest pulled out of the grip.
“I think you are mistaken.”
“Not mistaken. You aren’t telling us the truth.”
“What the hell man.” Elton growled as he yanked Colby back by the shoulders. Victoria froze her eyes meeting Colby’s for a few moments, they weren’t the same eyes that she met earlier. They weren’t the ocean blue of the young man’s that she met but they were silver like a blade.
“She’s haunting you.” Victoria whispered as the group fell silent. Victoria took a deep breath, glancing at the camera for a few moments before releasing the air. “The truth… That’s what you want isn’t it, Dawn.” Victoria stated as Colby didn’t move.
“Dawn?” Corey asked.
“That’s the name of the fox spirit. The spirit that is currently using your friend to talk to me.” Victoria responded. “The truth, my husband believed in a dark power. He did unspeakable things within that house and at the time, I wasn’t aware.”
“What was he doing?” Sam asked.
“Dark rituals, using people's souls as the sacrifice to conduct them.” Victoria admitted.
“You did nothing.” Colby whispered. “You left them there to suffer alone.”
“What was I supposed to do? My husband was a psycho.” Victoria snapped. “Did you want me to remain there?”
“No.” Colby muttered. “But you should have destroyed it, instead they did.” Colby gestured towards Sam, Elton and Corey. “They did what you couldn’t.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because it’s time for us to go home.” Colby stated as he got to his feet. Sam and Elton were immediately up after him, as they grabbed Colby’s arms. “We are coming home.” Colby said as he went limp in their arms.
“Holy shit! Colby!” Sam yelled as they caught their friend lowering him to the ground. The lights above them flickered, before breaking apart sending pieces of glass falling down around them. Victoria screamed trying to shield herself as Corey ducked away from the glass. No glass came down around Sam, Elton and Colby as a shimmer of red appeared between the group. The silver eyes of the fox glowed in the darkness, as voices swirled above them. Shadows crawled along the walls, with long claws and hollow eyes as they screamed and yelled out in pain.
HoMe… cOMinG… hOMe… the voices whispered as the figures swam through the air before slamming into Victoria. Things clawed at their skin as shadows emerged, tearing themselves from Sam’s, Elton’s, Corey’s and Colby’s bodies before they rushed around the room. The red form of the fox took shape as more spirits swirled through the air. Colby groaned as he sat up coming eye to eye with the fox as the ghosts flickered into the space between.
The fox turned, staring at the four young men as it almost smiled it’s ears lowering slightly, as it gave a small bow. StAy… Safe… The fox rose from the bow before disappearing into a small flash of red light and fading away into the darkness. Victoria was staring at them as the group jumped to their feet sprinting out of the house, leaving the woman alone with the voices of the dead.
They breathed in the dry air, the feeling of dread leaving them as they headed away from the house. The voices that seemed to be a constant in their minds were silent and the world seemed to correct itself. No worries badgered them or the thoughts of doing something to anger the spirits. However, as the relief flooded through them they were left missing a small piece of light that had seemed to fit itself just perfectly in their hectic lives.
The fox watched them from a window, her ears flickering as she thought. The soft voices of the spirits whirled around her as she turned to the human that remained in her seat unmoving her head bowed. StAy… SAfe… sAm… CoLBy… elToN… CoREy… gOOdbYe...