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S
O, WHAT DO you want me to start with?” Jonathan asked.
Camille opened the folder and separated the notes that had already been sorted by day from what hadn’t. She handed the unsorted pile to Jonathan. “If you could start by putting these in chronological order, that would be great.”
“I think I can manage that.” He took the pile from her.
“Lachlan, if you want to keep reading through the journal, see if anything jumps out?” He nodded and reclaimed the journal from the pile.
“I’d love to go through the old albums from the attic,” Jayne offered, and with a smile, Camille shoved the box toward her.
“The sorted notes or the huge book?” Camille asked Grace.
“The book for me, please.”
Camille grabbed the pile of notes and eyed her window seat as she made herself comfortable on the cushions. She figured it probably wasn’t fair to sit up there while her friends were all on the floor.
It didn’t take long before she was submerged in the mystery of the manor, poring over one page after another. She rubbed her eyes, already sore from reading, and she looked up. The room had darkened a surprising amount without their notice, thanks to the storm clouds approaching the manor grounds. Camille got to her feet and had a quick stretch, barely garnering a reaction from her friends, and went to turn on the lights.
“Check this out,” Lachlan said, and Camille hurried back to their circle. He held the journal open to show them the same symbol as the basketball uniforms drawn across the full length of the page.
“What does our school logo have to do with the manor?” Jonathan asked.
“It must mean something.” Grace held up the book she was reading and showed them a close-up photo of the weathervane from atop the manor. There was no mistaking it was the same symbol.
“So, it’s not just some cool design someone came up with for our school,” Jonathan half-joked.
“Doesn’t look like it,” Lachlan replied dryly. “The journal says it’s the combination of two symbols. The first is the lemniscate. The mathematical symbol for infinity. The second one, where the snake head comes from, is uroboros. Wholeness and infinity.”
They sat in silence, looking at each other.
“Okay, am I missing something?” Jonathan asked. “It seems totally weird, but I have no idea what this actually means.” He sighed in frustration. Camille shrugged. “Neither do I, but it’s not a coincidence. I’d bet on that much. Does the journal say anything else about it?”
Lachlan scanned the next few pages. “Not a great deal, but it says that the combination of the two symbols was extremely powerful and rare. He’d found two other references to it. One where it was carved into a large standing stone at Dover, facing out to sea. The other was in France, engraved on a stone plaque at Calais, which he believed was facing the direction of the other.”
“Okay, this is just getting weirder,” Grace stated.
“Well, we know the LeRoux’s came from France,” Camille said, “so we have the connection between the two countries. As for the symbol found on a standing stone, I think it’s safe to assume it was there a long time before Caleb LeRoux and his family came over.”
“I think they’re connected, though,” Grace added.
“This is interesting.” Lachlan pointed at the journal. “It looks like when the manor was built, the LeRoux’s owned the whole of Woodville. Not just the manor land.”
“That’s probably not that unusual for back then,” Grace said, “but it explains why the LeRoux’s have always been a big deal.”
“True.” Lachlan nodded. “But it proves the link between the family and Woodville existed way before the manor.”
“And it says here,” Grace announced, pushing the heavy book into the centre of the group, “Caleb LeRoux and his family were living in this house before and during the manor’s construction. That house now makes up part of the high school.”
“Does it say how long they lived there before the manor was built?” Camille asked. Grace shook her head. A huge clap of thunder sounded, and they all jumped. “Bloody hell.” Camille turned and looked out the window with wide eyes at the dark afternoon.
“So, I think it’s probably bad timing, but I found something creepy,” Jayne stated.
“Cool! What is it?” Jonathan asked.
“There was a thin notebook at the bottom of the album box, and it’s filled with old newspaper clippings about mysterious animal mutilations and local pets going missing from around Woodville.”
“Ew,” Grace replied. “When was that from?”
Jayne flicked back to the start of the notebook. “Looks like the first article is from 1874. But what’s really weird is there’s a child’s drawings all over it.” She held it up for them to see, slowly turning the pages. The faded drawings covered the pages in an array of colours—rainbows, flowers, and animals.
“The drawings are around the articles,” Lachlan added. “Pretty safe to assume they were done after they’d been stuck into the book, right?”
“Oh, gross.” Jayne clapped a hand over her mouth. “Do you think it was a child killing the animals?”
“No way,” Jonathan said, his voice heavy with disgust. “I bet the kid just came across the book and used it to colour in after the fact.”
“Wait a second.” Camille scrambled for the McAllister Family Tree. “1874. That was the year Mena—Alice—arrived at the manor and was taken in by Caroline.” The group stared at each other in silence, the recent findings hanging over them as heavily as the rapidly approaching storm. “What else do the articles say?” Camille asked Jayne, realising she’d asked it barely over a whisper; she wasn’t sure she really wanted to know the answer.
They waited as Jayne flipped through the articles. “Well, in 1877, a whole lot of animal bones were found in the woods that border the manor. They launched an investigation and apparently found old human bones arranged in what they believed to be a ‘ritualistic nature’.”
“Anything else?” Camille asked, only half listening. While Jayne read out the articles’ highlights, Camille experienced the strangest combination of déjà vu and not feeling wholly present, as though she weren’t really there with her friends in her bedroom. She’d never felt anything like it, and though it passed quickly, it left her unnerved and anxious. “Sorry, what was that?” she asked.
Jayne looked up at her briefly before rereading the article. “It says no one was charged, and the and the investigation quickly wrapped up. The LeRoux family had the woods’ heritage listed and included them as part of the estate, making them private property.”
“That’s not half suspicious...” Jonathan scoffed.
“Hmm...” Camille frowned. “Why do I feel like it had to be Mena? I mean Alice. Or whatever we’re calling her.”
“That’s just wrong,” Jonathan declared with a scowl. “She was just a little girl then. It couldn’t have been her.”
Another clap of thunder crashed outside. Then the clouds opened, and heavy rain pummelled the windows. The ferocity with which the raindrops hit the glass panes made Camille think of tiny fists beating against them in protest, trying to make her and her friends stop what they were doing.
Lachlan’s next words pulled her away from the image. “My uncle wrote that the LeRoux’s’ wealth grew static after Caleb’s passing. They didn’t have any significant financial growth after that, like all their money just... stopped coming in. Then in 1874, it all came flooding back again.”
“That’s weird, right?” Jonathan asked.
“Well, again, that’s the same year that Alice was adopted by Caroline and the animal problems started,” Camille said. “I’d say that’s more than weird.”
“You’re still convinced Alice is actually Mena?” Lachlan asked.
Camille nodded. “I know it sounds crazy and makes no logical sense. I know if Mena was alive in 1874, she should have at least been in her fifties, not still six years old. But I know it’s her. I mean, just look at the pictures. You can’t deny it.”
Her statement was punctuated by another thunderous crack from the storm, making them all jump. They stared at each other in momentary surprise before Jonathan chuckled. “Talk about creating an atmosphere...” Camille opened her mouth to respond but was silenced by the bedroom light flickering overhead.
“Uh... how likely is it that this place loses power if this storm keeps up?” Jayne asked nervously, staring up at the ceiling light.
“I have no idea,” Camille said. “This is the first storm we’ve had here. But I’m sure it’s be fine. If it makes you feel better, I’ll go ask my parents where they keep the flashlights.” Jayne gave her a relieved smile.
“I’ll come with you,” Lachlan stated, and the Jayne’s smile disappeared just as quickly.
Camille tried to avoid looking at her as she got to her feet. The room lit up in a brilliant flash of lightning, shortly followed by another booming roar of thunder shuddering through the house.
“We’ll be right back,” Camille reassured them, then she and Lachlan stepped out of the circle. As soon as they did, the room shook around them. Camille tried to keep her balance as she stared at Lachlan in surprise; his expression mirrored her own as the shaking intensified. “Is this normal for your storms here?” she yelled over the noise. Lachlan shook his head as he reached out for her hand. As soon as their fingers touched, they were hurled apart by a sudden, unseen force that sent them both sliding across the wooden floor in opposite directions. Jayne screeched, she and Grace grabbed a hold of Jonathan, and the three of them huddled together, looking back and forth between Lachlan and Camille.
Lachlan pushed himself to his feet and strode resolutely toward Camille. He held out his hand again. She hesitated for a moment before reaching up for him. This time, he grasped her hand tightly, and the subsequent thunderclap roared so loudly, it sounded like it came from within the room. Then he pulled her to her feet and pressed her against him. She didn’t have time to register their closeness as the lamp flew off the bedside table, hurtling toward them and shattering at their feet.
“What the hell is going on?” Lachlan yelled. Camille couldn’t reply but looked to where her friends huddled together on the floor. She gestured for them to stay where they were, then stepped away from Lachlan with his hand in hers. Before they could move any farther, the floor shifted violently. She lost her balance and tumbled to the floor, almost pulling Lachlan down with her and crying out at the bite of broken glass piercing her skin.
Lachlan lunged toward her and almost fell himself. “Are you okay?” he asked, helping her to her feet as they braced themselves against each other to keep their footing. Camille looked up into his eyes and suddenly felt oblivious to the mayhem surrounding them—and the filthy stare Jayne shot her way. Swallowing thickly, she nodded, not trusting herself to speak. There was a final clap of thunder, sounding weakened as it ebbed away, and Lachlan and Camille gazed at each other.
“Camille, you’re bleeding!” Jayne cried out, and Lachlan stepped back to get a better look.
He swore under his breath and lifted her hand to reveal the jagged cuts running down the length of her arm. It made her wince. He Lachlan stared at her intently, as though trying to determine what caused the pain.
“Her leg,” Grace declared, pointing.
Camille’s eyes widened when she looked down to see it for herself. She could only see blood seeping through her shirt at her ribs, but from the outside of her thigh protruded a slim shard of glass from the shattered lamp. Reaching down, she made to pull it out, but Lachlan grabbed her wrist and moved it away.
“I don’t think you should do that. At least not until we have a first-aid kit or something. We don’t know how deep it is.”
Camille nodded “So we’ll add first-aid kit to the list with the torches, then?”
“I don’t think you should be going anywhere—”
“It will be way quicker for me to go than for me to try giving any of you directions through this place.”
“I’m not keen on the idea,” Jonathan offered, “but I think she has a point.” Another clap of thunder shook the windows. They all stared nervously around the room, waiting for the next crazy thing to happen. When it didn’t, they relaxed just enough to return to the task at hand.
“Maybe we should all go together?” Jayne offered.
“Probably best if you lot stay here,” Lachlan replied. “In case that earthquake or whatever it was kicks up again. It’s a lot safer in here than wandering around the manor.” Jayne didn’t reply, staring at Camille’s hand still in Lachlan’s. Camille let go of him and took a step to the side.
“Uh, you all saw that lamp, didn’t you?” Grace asked. “And you want us to stay here?”
Camille looked from Grace to Lachlan, uncertain what to do. “I just don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“Hey, I think the storm’s passing,” Lachlan said as a large clap of thunder rattled the room again.
“Yeah, it sounds like it...” Jayne replied.
“Did that not sound a little less fierce?” he asked with a shrug.
“Look, guys. Maybe they’re right,” Grace said. “This is freaky, but at least in here, we can see the four walls, and I’m pretty sure there’s nothing else that can smash. They’re just leaving for a few minutes.”
Jayne stared at her with wide eyes. “Grace—”
“We’re all a little scared,” Grace continued. “How about we push Camille’s bed against the wall? If the three of us sit there and waited with all these cushions, wouldn’t that make you feel better?”
Jayne sighed and shakily got to her feet, her eyes on Lachlan as she feigned instability, but his attention was already back on Camille.
“Do you really think you’re up for this?”
Camille nodded. “It’s not far, and these look worse than they are. I promise.”
“Okay. Let’s get this over and done with, then.”
As another bout of thunder shook the room, the lights flickered off. Jayne and Grace screamed before the lights turned back on, pulsing as though threatening to turn off again at any minute.
Lachlan offered his arm, and Camille leaned on it for support. “Let’s go.”
“Be careful,” Grace said. “And hurry back.”
