Hello again! Sorry it took me a while to update, I was having problems with this site... or maybe it was my computer... hmm. lol. But anyways, LOVE the reviews. Keeps me writing. So anyways—here’s the next chapter…

OK—finally we start getting into some interesting stuff.  Hope you guys enjoy! And thanks for all the positive reviews! I’m sooooo happy! You guys are so nice! Anyways—here it goes…

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From Scarlett’s diary:

I’m either going insane—or this is really happening to me. I met the ‘ghost’ tonight. I was in my secret room—crying if you want to know—when suddenly he was there. I screamed but he actually tried calming me down. I found out very roughly who he is—or was, cause of course he’s a ghost. But the lightning and thunder keeps muffling out his voice. I think he said his name was Jonah. He was wearing very different clothes—he must’ve been dead a long time. The astonishing thing is he actually seems to understand me—unlike other people who all think I’m crazy. Now I feel at rest since I’ve met this Jonah. He told me he wasn’t trying to hurt me… just trying to help…

Kevin watched as Joe walked back and forth, back and forth across their room—reading that book.Believe it or not it was actually quite interesting watching him. Joe was so immersed in Scarlett’s diary—that he was beginning to become unaware of his surroundings… like the door he’s just about to run into…

He rammed full force into the door and literally bounced back. He shook his head.

“Whoa… door there…” he muttered, and then turned and kept walking and reading.

Kevin looked over at the second bed and realized Nick was laughing hysterically. Kevin smiled and looked back at Joe.

“You’re beginning to wear away a path in the carpet, Joseph.”

“No I’m not, Kevin,” Joe said, not looking up from his book. “Now stop being… Ouch! Holy…” he smacked the TV with his fist—which he’d just run into, and in the process stubbed his toe. Joe looked over at Kevin who was laughing. “Kevin, seriously, this thing was not here a minute ago.”

“Really, Joseph?” Kevin smiled. “I find that hard to believe.”

“No really,” Joe insisted. “It just grew up in front of me—or something.” He sat down on the bed and sighed. He finally put the book down and rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”

“A quarter after ten,” Kevin answered, looking at his watch. “And a storms beginning to brew outside, so I think it’s about time to head out.” Kevin looked over at Nick for a moment. “Hey, Nicholas… what’d you tell dad when he asked why you wanted to spend the night in our room?”

“Oh… just told him we were planning on staying up all night playing cards and watching TV.”

Kevin stared at him. His dad would never buy that!

“You’re kidding me?” Kevin asked.

“Nope. Seriously dad was all for it. He just said don’t wake up tomorrow and expect to be all bright and cheerful.”

Kevin looked at his watch and got up, heading for the door.

“Time to go,” he announced. Joe could tell he was chomping at the bit.

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They all walked out into the hallway. Everything was dark, except for an occasional lamp on the wall. They walked around the upstairs looking around for anything out of the ordinary. Nick was pressed very close to Joe, shaking a bit. Not one of them could lie that they weren’t at least a little scared. Everything seemed so much more eerie at night.

Lightning suddenly flashed making the halls flicker with light. All three boys jumped, and Nick nearly screamed if it wasn’t for Joe—who quickly covered his younger brothers mouth with a hand. They all suddenly realized after a while of wondering, they had no idea where they were going—or where they were in the upstairs of the hotel. There were so many rooms and hallways, someone could easily get lost at night. Why hadn’t they thought of bringing at least a flashlight?

They were trying to get back to their room, deciding this wasn’t as fun as originally thought, when the power suddenly cut off, and all the lights disappeared. Now they were in complete darkness. They panicked and dashed around the room frantically. The darkness was so thick they couldn’t see the floor or their feet. Then a noise suddenly made Joe jump. It was music.

“Hey, do you guys hear that?” Joe dared to whisper.

“Hear what?” both Kevin and Nick said in union.

“The music—don’t you hear it?”

“No,” both boys answered. “You’re just imagining things, Joseph.”

Joe took the lead.

“Common, I’ll lead us to it,” Joe said, even though inside he almost didn’t want to know where or what that sound was coming from. Maybe it was Ms Johnson—and if it was, maybe she could help them back to their rooms. But they better think of a good excuse for wondering around before they see her.

Joe’s heart seemed to burn inside him, knowing something was horribly wrong. He turned and jumped as he heard a thunderously loud creak and blast from a huge door being shut somewhere downstairs. He walked with his brothers very cautiously, vigilant of his surroundings, but not seeing where he was headed. Everything was quiet for a moment again, except for the sound of his breath echoing off the nearby walls and the thunder screaming in the distance.

As they strolled farther into the room, the dark became engulfed around them, as if they were swimming through a cloud of ink. The eerie music started again, and he followed it—slowly getting closer and closer.

Joe tried swallowing his fears, but it didn’t do much good. Every second his heart beat faster—not knowing what was coming or when it would arrive. He almost wanted it to come, so he wouldn’t have to wait for it any longer. Joe suddenly saw a light. The music was easily heard now. Wait wasn’t there an organ in the foyer? His hand rested on something familiar and he realized it was the stair railing.

“You guys, look the foyer’s down there. We’re at the stairs…” suddenly Joe stopped.

Nick let out a slight yelp, and Kevin quickly grabbed him. They all stood there, frozen in horror. Kevin pointed at the hazy figure sitting at the organ, with a candle lit beside it.

“Is… is that…” he stammered, his voice shaking so bad nobody could understand a word he was saying for a moment. “Is that what I think it is? Can you guys see that?”

“Bright and clear,” Joe finally got out. He was shaking so bad he had to hold onto the stair railing for support. There in the foyer… was the ghost. It had to be, they could see right through it. “K…K… Kevin?”

“Wh… what?” Kevin stuttered, still holding Nick for dear life.

“I… think I’m gonna scream now…” Joe said.

He opened his mouth, but Kevin quickly jumped and grabbed him.

“Wait Joe,” Kevin said in his ear, noticing something.

Joe looked up and noticed what Kevin was talking about.

“What’s she doing here?” he growled.

Walking over to the ghost… was none other than Ms Johnson herself.

“What’s she doin’?” Joe whispered, confused.

They watched as Ms Johnson passed by the ghost and watched as it played the organ. But the ghost never even noticed her. Joe watched very carefully. Something was wrong with all this. Nothing made sense.

“Why’s the ghost crying?” Joe whispered aloud, thinking hard.

“What?” Kevin asked, confused. “I don’t hear a thing.”

“You don’t hear a thing?” Joe said, finding that very hard to believe. “Don’t you hear the music she’s playing? It’s so loud I’m surprised none of the guests have complained.”

Kevin and Nick just stared at him. Their brother was beginning to worry them.

“Joe…” Nick said. “We don’t hear anything.”

“I think it’s time we go to bed,” Kevin said, his voice still trembling. He got up, thinking Joe was probably just tired and imagining things. “I’m sure we can find our way back to our room now that we know we’re at the stairs.”

Nick and Joe got up to follow, but Joe suddenly gave a slight yelp as he slipped down a step of the stairs. Suddenly the music stopped. Joe looked and saw to his horror the ghost was looking directly at him—and he realized it wasn’t a man at all. It was Mrs. Scarlett. She gasped and put a hand over her mouth as she stared at him wide-eyed. Joe was confused. How come she could see him—but she couldn’t see Ms Johnson?

Suddenly they heard someone yell, “Who’s there?”

They should’ve know… Ms Johnson.

“We’re in trouble…” Joe said. “But I think she’s caught us, cause we can’t exactly run.”

“Stand right where you are,” Ms Johnson said, walking up the stairs with the candle. “And don’t you move.”

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Mwahaha! Hope that was a good enough ending. Sorry it was kinda short but… I didn’t feel like writing much today—I’m kinda busy. Please write a review and tell me what you think!!

See ya!

.•*¨¯¨*•. A lie creeping behind stone walls,
`•-•*.....)The truth waiting beneath earth,      . •*¨¯¨*•.                       
......¸.•´.......•*¨¯¨*•.A restless mind, ¸.•*¨¯¨*•...(.....*•-•´.•*¨¯¨*•                              
.¸.•*¨¯¨*•...(.....*•-•´.•*¨¯¨*•.A voice.  (......*•-•´¸.•*¨¯¨*•...`•-•*.....)....•*¨¯¨*•
(......*•-•´¸.•*¨¯¨*•...`•-•*.....)....•*¨¯¨*•.Tangled mysteries ....¸.•´...(.....*•-•´
.`•.,¸_¸,.•´....*•-•´ ..........¸.•´...(.....*•-•´ *•-~-~ And the ~Seen and Unseen~
         ………………..............•.,¸.•´                                                    •.,¸.•´

Megan Reid

 And if any of you missed the first chapter here it is...

The place seemed to stare down at him, ready to gobble him up at any moment. He knew there was something waiting inside he didn’t want to see. The ten-year-old boy standing at the old abandoned house’s doorstep wanted nothing more than to run and get himself as far away as possible—but he couldn’t. He could only stand there wondering if he’d even make it out alive to see his family again.

“C'mon, Joe Jonas!” Jeremiah Williams taunted him with an evil smile. “You aren’t scared of an old ‘haunted’ house are you, JJ?”

Joe looked back at him and glared at the twelve-year-old boy and his friends watching.

“Yes, I am, Jeremiah,” Joe snapped back at him. “Now can I please go home?”

Jeremiah laughed at him. He was the bully of their school, and he wanted to make sure all the new kids understood that clearly. Joe was one of them.

“You can’t go home till you walk through that house and out. You ain’t gonna make friends here kid if we label you a ‘scaredy-cat’.” He and his friends laughed. “Yeah, and we’ll make sure you stay miserable forever if you don’t do this.”

Joe swallowed. If only he wasn’t so much smaller than Jeremiah he might have a chance of getting away. He wanted to run so badly, but he knew if he chickened out he’d be made the laughing stock at school. He had to do it.

“W…well,” Joe stuttered, grabbing hold of the porch railing to steady himself. “If it’s so easy for you to say Jeremiah, why don’t you go inside?”

“Don’t be smart with me kid. I already passed that test long ago. Why do you think I have so many friends? Huh? Now get going! We don’t have all day.”

Joe sighed heavily and turned to the door. Heslowly turned the knob, and thenquickly he threw it open. Andthere, standing in the doorway... was a person. Joe nearly jumped off the porch. He gave a yelp and scrambledaway as fast as his legs would let him. He tried running back to school, but Jeremiah quickly had him by the collar. He was laughing hysterically.

“That was the funniest thing I ever saw!” Jeremiah cried, grabbing Joe’s arm as the boy fought to get out of his grasp.

“No! Let go!” Joe screamed in horror. “Don’t make me go near that house again! There’s something in there!”

Suddenly the personwalked out of the house. Joe realized the boys had played a nasty prank on him. It wasn’t a ghost at all, just one of Jeremiah’s friends... but... that didn’t seem right. Joe blinked, confused. He was almost positive he saw something else…someone foggy and translucent.

“Still believe in ghosts, JJ?” Jeremiah taunted.

“You’re such a jerk, Jeremiah!” Joe cried, still struggling to get away from his grasp. He hit him in the arm as hard as he could—but it didn’t do much good considering how much bigger the kid was than him. “Now let me go!”

“Why?” Jeremiah grinned, pushing him roughly to the ground. “It’s much more fun watching you scream.”

Jeremiah’s buddies crowded around Joe’s small form on the ground. The poor boy just watched helplessly as they got closer.

“Hey!” called a voice behind them.

Joe jumped to his feet. He knew that voice well.

“Kevin!” he cried, seeing his twelve-year-old brother.

“What do you guys think you’re doin’ with my little brother?” Kevin asked the boys—who were in the same grade as he. “Huh? You think it’s fun pushin’ kids around?”

“Oh, c'mon, Kevin!” Jeremiah cried, beginning to get a worried look on his face, seeing as Kevin was taller than him. “We were just getting a good laugh.”

Kevin stormed up to him, his face red with growing fury. Joe knew by the way his older brother looked—Jeremiah would be real sorry.

“No one messes with my brothers...” Kevin hissed, and then slammed a fist into Jeremiah’s jaw.

The kid yelped with pain, clenching his face in agony. Joe let out a laugh as he saw Jeremiah and his friends flee back towards the school.

“Told yah you were a bullfrog, Jeremiah!” Joe yelled back at the boy.

When they were safely away, Joe ran up to his big brother and gave him a hug.

“You’re the best brother ever, Kevin!” he cried.

Kevin eyed him seriously.

“Joseph, what have I told you about hanging around with those boys?” Kevin scolded.

“I couldn’t help it, Kevin. All I did was tell Jeremiah he was a… a bullfrog, like in that song? Then he got mad and forced me into going inside the haunted house.”

Kevin at that smiled, ruffling his little brother’s wavy black hair.

“He deserved to be called a bullfrog,” Joe grumbled. “But thank goodness I have you—or he would’ve… done something bad to…” Joe shrugged. “But what do I care? You gave that punk a good smash in the face,” he said with a big smile.

“Hey, that’s what brother’s are for, right?” his brother said, patting his little brother on the back

“Just promise me you’ll never make me go in a haunted house again.” Joe said. “Not ever.”

“Alright little bro.”

8 Years Later...

“What! It’s a haunted mansion?” Joe Jonas cried as their cab drove into the driveway of the 1850’s hotel. It loomed above them in the night in an almost unearthly manner as the rain pelted downupon it. The glow of lights inside the mansionmade the house look almost alive. The place seemed as coldasit's stone walls, Joe thought, his stomach beginning to get little butterflies.

“I think I’m beginning to feel sick,” Joe said grasping his side with a hand.

His older brother at that slapped him.

“C'mon, Joseph, get over it,” he said. “It’s just an old mansion.”

“Doesn’t seem like just any old mansion to me, Kevin,” Joe muttered, not too thrilled about their vacation spot already.

“Yep, it’s an unusual place,” said the driver, not helping Joe feel any better. “They just recently made it back into a hotel. For a while it just stood there, abandoned and mysterious. But the owner finally decided to fix it up about five years ago, and now it’s a thriving hotel. People been sayin’ they’ve seen stuff in there—like ghosts and all that, but no one ever hears from those guests again. Kinda’ odd if you ask me. But either way it’s a first rate place to stay. And don’t you go believin’ those things about ghosts boys, ‘cause they aren’t true.”

Joe glanced over at his older brother, Kevin, who was twenty. He hoped he’d see some hint of worry in his face, but as usual Kevin was perfectly calm.

“Thank you sir for your time,” Kevin said in his usualgentleman-likemanner,getting out of the cab. Joe followed him, and lastly came their younger brother Nick, who was fifteen.

“Dad could’ve told us ahead of time it was ‘haunted’,” Joe muttered, shoving his hands in the pockets of his coat as they made their way up the steps to the revolving glass doors.

“Would you quit going on about that?” Nick asked. He was always the logical minded one.

“Did I not say the word ‘haunted’ clearly enough because you guys don’t seem to be fazed by it?”

Kevin patted him on the back and smiled.

“Easy now bro,” he said as they walked into a revolving door. “You don’t actually believe in all that stuff, do you? It’s just people making up a story to get attention, that’s all…”

All three suddenly stopped in awe at the scene before them. Inside was beautiful. The carpets and walls were crimson red, and the furniture intricately carved cherry oak. There was a huge glimmering chandelier above them, and in front of them down the foyer was the grand staircase.

The front desk was to their right. Kevin, followed by the others, walked up to the woman standing behind it.

“Welcome to the Melone Hotel,” she said with a sort of pleasant smile. She was around forty and had blond hair and cold, penetrating blue eyes that seemed—in Joe’s opinion—to search one’s very soul. “How may I help you gentlemen?”

The three boys assumed a very rigid stance, knowing this lady wouldn’t tolerate any fooling around.

“We’re looking for our father, Redmond Jonas,” Kevin explained in his naturally professional voice, “he sent us here to meet him?”

Her eyebrows suddenly furrowed as she realized who they were. She nodded and smiled.

“Awe,” she said, a look of excitement on her face. The boys didn’t know they were so popular. “So you’re his sons?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kevin answered. The others just nodded.

“So what’s it like having a detective father?” she asked after paging Mr. Jonas’s room. “Do you guys get to help solve any of his cases?”

“Not… usually,” Kevin said, looking slightly uncomfortable. Most of their fathers business was very confidential;he didn’t talk about it much with other people. And tobe honest, though they were his sons,their father never really told them anything about what he was doing either. Kevin stole a glance back at his brothers. Nick was standing quietly as usual. Joe on the other hand had wandered off to a painting on the opposite wall. Kevin wanted to strangle him as he saw his younger brother running his fingers down the portrait. Joe could never seem to hold himself back from touching things. “Joseph!” Kevin scolded. “Get over here!”

Joe turned and walked to them, his hazel eyes wide with either excitement or horror—Kevin couldn’t tell.

“Is that a picture of the first owner?” Joe asked the woman.

“Yes it is,” she said. “Mrs. Scarlett Vona Glen. She was my great, great, greatgrandmother.”

All three boys stared at her.

“You’re a relative?” Joe asked, astounded. “So does that mean you’re the owner of this place?”

“Yes it does actually. It was eventually passed down to my mother—who wanted nothing to do with it, then down to me. I fixed it back up to a hotel as it once was. This place holds more than just mere memories—”

“Mrs. Scarlett’s ghost, right?” Joe interrupted.

Kevin looked back at him and slapped him.

“Joe!” he growled. “Stop being so immature.”

“I’ve told all our guests here this,” Ms Johnson explained seriously, “and now I’ll also tell you. No matter what people’ll try to get you to believe, there are no ghosts in this hotel. I assure you you’re all perfectly safe here.”

Just then Mr. Jonas walked up. He wore a nice suit and his normally curly black hair was flattened to the side. His face was beaming with a smile in seeing his sons—showing his handsome features.

“Hey, boys!” he greeted, hugging them. “How was your trip?”

“Oh… interesting,” Kevin recalled. “Joe didn’t stop talking the whole way, but, yeah, it was alright I guess.”

“Didn’t like the flight,” Joe added suddenly. “Never have liked flying. Just the thought of being so high up… yeah. Didn’t really like it.”

His father patted him on the shoulder.

“I know son, neither do I.”

“Well to get on the positive side of things…” Kevin said, glaring a Joe, “We’re happy to finally be here and see you dad. A month of being away is a long time.”

“Yeah, well, that’s being a detective for you. It’s hard work boys. But it’s harder staying away from you guys so long—and that’s why I brought you here. I thought you’d like staying with me a while in this hotel to get away from things back home. I’m surethings have gotten a little rusty back there since I’ve been gone, but I’m sure it’ll be a nice break for you guys anyhow.”

“It sure beats doing nothing but school,” Nick added.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun I’m sure,” Kevin said with a smile. Then he looked at Joe’s worried expression. “Except for Joseph here. He’s not to thrilled about the whole ‘haunted’ business.”

His father walked over to Joe, grinning, and put an arm around him.

“Aww, c'mon now Joe,” he said. “Where’s that adventurous side of you we all know of? I mean, you’re the kid who used to swallow quarters so he could brag to all his friends—and you’re afraid of a ghost that doesn't even exist?” He glanced at Kevin and Nick with a grin. “I’m surprised at you son. You’ve always been the stronger out of the three boys.” He patted him. “Now where’s that enthusiasm I want to see? Hmm? Put back on Joe Jonas and stop being a wimp. You’re eighteen, boy, get over it.”

Joe grinned.

“Fine, I’ll try,” he said.

As their dad began talking to Nick, Kevin looked at Joe.

“I forgot Joe… how much did all the quarters you swallowed add up to?”

Joe counted on his fingers for a minute.

“A dollar and… fifty cents. That’s as high as I got. I couldn’tdo anymore after that though, because I began getting these really bad stomach aches…”

Kevin had to laugh. He putting his arm around his brother, and followed their father and Nick up the stairs.

“Man, we were an interesting bunch of kids,” he said.

“Yes we were… and are,” Joe smiled.

Kevin snorted.

“You can say that again.”

Next morning Kevin and Nick were the first up. They met their father in the foyer downstairs just as they were going to the dining hall. Mr. Jonas seemed in a hurry.

“Listen boys,” he said quickly. “I know I told you we’d go do some stuff together today, but I got a last minute appointment that I have to do. It’s concerning the case I just finished. I’ll try to be back in a reasonable hour, but while I’m gone—watch on the two younger boys will you Kevin?”

“But…” both boys tried to protest—but their father was already out the door.

Kevin sighed heavily.

“Well so much for having ‘fun’. I guess we get to sit around doing nothing all day.”

“I’m sure we’ll think of something, Kevin,” Nick said, trying to sound positive. “Where’s Joe?”

“Last time I checked he was in the shower. It figures.” Kevin shook his head and sighed. “Seriously, Nick, if I have to share a room with that boy again, I’ll literally go insane.”

“Oh, common, Kevin. He can’t be that bad. I’ve never heard him snore once,” Nick said, who shared a room with their father.

“No, no, no!” Kevin said quickly, waving his hands in the air. “Listen, Nick. All night he talked in his sleep. That creeps me out—I don’t know about you, but it’s pretty creepy to me.”

“Really? What kinds of things was he saying?” Nick asked smiling, interested.

“He’d be like, “No mommy, I promise I didn’t put Nick in the washer machine…” Yeah, things like that. Come to think of it—I remember the time he did that…” He sighed. “Man, what I would give to know exactly what that boy thinks sometimes.”

“Well… maybe he’ll give us an idea of what to do,” Nick suggested. “He’s always doing something…”

Just then they heard a sound and both looked up to see none other than their eighteen-year-old brother sliding down the stair railing. His sudden appearance was impressive but not unusual. Joe was notorious for these sorts of thoughtless stunts. He slid down the railing with almost perfect balance.

Kevin sighed heavily and laid his head in his hands. How immature could his brother get?

“Just tell me when he falls,” he said to Nick.

There was a screeching sound and next moment Joe was flying through the air. As he collided on the floor the whole mansion seemed to shake. Kevin looked up as he felt the impact.

“Owe,” they heard Joe mutter after a minute. They both saw him get painfully to his feet. “Man! Why does that never work in real life?”

Nick snorted and turned around trying to hide his laughter.

“Yah know… at least you’re hardheaded, Joseph” Kevin admitted, “Cause if normal people fell off stair railings as much as you did, they’d probably have brain damage by now. Although… I think some of your… issues come from hitting the ground headfirst so many times…”

Joe rubbed his head and grimaced.

“Um, no,” he said. “Actually my brain damage comes from the time you busted my head open. Remember that?” Kevin, embarrassed about the subject, turned away. Joe suddenly looked over at Nick. “Hey, how do I look?”

Nick looked him over, and nodded—even though he wouldn’t have picked it to wear himself. Joe’s choice of clothing could sometimes get a little interesting.

“You look… unique—as always,” Nick answered. Then he looked at Joe’s dark wavy hair. “But, seriously, Joseph, don’t you think the hair’s getting a little… long?”

Joe’s mouth dropped.

“Long?” he cried. “Long? My hair is my most prized possession, Nick. I am never cutting this thing. How couldyousay that?”

“O—K,” Nick said shrugging. “Just a suggestion. You asked for it.”

“Well, for future reference,” Joe said with a smile, “You’re only aloud to tell me how good I look.”

“All right, Joe,” Kevin said, tired of his brother’s fooling around. “Listen… Dad just left, and we’re stuck here with nothing to do. We were wondering what you had in mind.”

“Well, I was planning to work on my balance on the stair railing if you wanted to join me…”

Kevin smiled and put an arm around his brother.

“Listen, Joseph, I know you’ve been practicing that all night—while everyone was asleep, but let’s not do that again, alright? We don’t want to get in trouble with Ms Johnson, do we?” Kevin looked over his shoulder at Nick and whispered, “Thank God she didn’t see that.”

Joe laughed.

“All right, Kevin,” he said shoving his brother away. “I get it. You don’t have the guts to do anything extreme. But don’t feel bad about it bro. I understand.”

Kevin just snorted.

They all walked over to the dining area, which was to the right of the front desk. Ms Johnson waved to them as they passed.

“How was your sleep, boys?” she asked politely.

They walked up to her.

“It was entertaining, that’s for sure,” Kevin said, smiling, but wishing she could cut the conversation short. He was getting hungry. “Joe talks, you see, to himself at night. It’s kinda’ interesting.”

“Oh, well if you guys would rather have separate rooms, I’d be glad to get you some,” she said. “I can understand sibling rivalries, I had three younger brothers who were always fighting. Do you boys get along very well?”

“Yeah,” Joe said with one of his good citizen smiles, “We do.” He put his arm around Kevin. “We’re like best friends. We only fistfight twice a day.”

Nick couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah… well…” Kevin said, trying to get away so they could eat. “We’re going to the dining hall to have some breakfast. So we’ll see yah.” He pulled his brothers away.

When they were far enough from Ms Johnson, Kevin looked at Joe.

“Joseph, when are you gonna learn to grow up?” he asked.

“I dunno. Man! Why do you have to ask such tough questions?” Joe laughed, unfazed by his brother’s scolding. “Is there a rule book that says you have to grow up at eighteen? ‘Cause if there is, life just got real boring.”

“But you never take anything seriously,” Kevin said, looking for a table.

“That’s because there's no reason I need to,” Joe said, grabbing a chair to an unoccupied table. “Life is good.”

“But Joe…”

“So anyway,” Nick interrupted Kevin, trying to keep his two old brothers from bickering. “We still haven’t figured out what to do today. Does anyone have any input? Or are we just going to sit around doing nothing? There’s got to be something to do here.”

There was silence for a moment. Then Kevin’s eyes widened as he got a sudden thought.

“Hey…” he said sitting straighter in his seat. “Maybe we can ask Ms Johnson if she’ll let us explore the house. It’s bound to have something interesting—like a library or something. What do you say?”

Nick nodded his agreement.

“I say,” Joe said looking at the menu, “it sounds boring. What could possibly be in a library except books? Books are boring. Sliding down the stair railing is a lot more fun…”

“Yes, Joseph, you’ve already informed us of that,” Kevin said, still frustrated with him. “But, as I said before, the stair railing is not an option.”

Joe slapped his menu down and stared at his older brother.

“Why not?” he cried. “Mom let me at home!”

“Yes. But this isn’t our home, Joseph!”

“But how are we supposed to have a vacation if we don’t have fun, Kevin?” Joe cried back.

“We can have fun, Joe!” Kevin snapped. “It’s just your definition of fun isn’t normal peoples idea of having a good time!”

“So what’re you saying? That I’m not normal?” Joe fumed.

“No! You’re not!”

“Hey! Boy’s c'mon!” Nick interrupted. “What’s with the arguing all the sudden? Jeez, you’re worse than our neighbors!”

“Well, Joseph—with the big-mouth here—started it!” Kevin grumbled.

Joe glared at him, then grabbed his menu and twisted his seat around so he was sitting directly away from them.

“Joe come back here and sit at the table like a civilized person!” Kevin scolded, slamming the table with his hand.

“Nope.”

“Joseph Adam Jonas!”

“Not talking to you anymore, Kevin…” Joe muttered, his face buried in the menu.

“Well… you…”

Nick put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder to silence him.

“Common, Kevin,” he said. “Leave him be. He’ll snap out of it in a while.”

And he did. After they ate, Joe was back to his normal self—as if nothing between him and Kevin had happened.

“Alright…” Kevin said, walking into their room after coming back from talking to Ms. Johnson. Even though Nick slept in their father’s room, he always hung out in his two older brothers rooms in the day. It was hard for the three of them to be separated from each other for a long time. “I just talked to Ms Johnson—and she says there is a library, and that she’ll let us in there, but on one condition.” He eyed Joe. “That we don’t go exploring anywhere else… and don’t touch anything in the room except the books.”

“Man,” Joe said, looking at himself in the mirror. “She’s strict. If she expects us to read without at least sitting down…”

“No, I don’t think she meant that, Joe,” Kevin said. “She just meant don’t touch anything you’re not supposed to—like paintings and vases and valuable things like that. She’s waiting out in the foyer for us so she can lead us there.”

Joe shook his head, walked over and jumped, flopping down on his bed, causing the whole thing to jump a bit. Suddenly he heard something large collide with the ground, and looked up to see that Nick was no longer on his bed.

“Where’d Nick go?” he asked.

“On the floor Joe,” they heard Nick mutter painfully. He got up rubbing his head. “Thanks for the flying lesson,” he said sarcastically. “Just don’t jump on your bed like that again if someone’s on it, alright?”

“Oops…” Joe winced.

“Anyways—to the topic at hand…” Kevin said, smiling a bit at the interesting event he just witnessed. “Ms Johnson says it’s her own private library, but since we seemed like such good kids she’d let us in, since there isn’t much else for us to do here.”

“Or maybe,” Joe said thinking, “she doesn’t want us getting board… because we might get into something she doesn’t want us to know about—” he suddenly sat up as if he was on to something groundbreaking, “so she’s distracting us by keeping us in the library!”

Kevin took a moment to stare at him. His brother could amaze him sometimes with the crazy things he came up with.

“Yeah, Joseph,” he said sarcastically. “You’d make a great detective someday—just like dad.” He began walking towards the door. “Common, we can’t keep her waiting.”

They followed him out into the hallway, then down the stairs. Kevin made sure to hold onto Joe as they walked down the steps, he didn’t want Ms Johnson seeing his brother doing anything stupid—like ride down the stair railing.

Ms Johnson had someone else at the desk. When she saw the boys she motioned them to follow her. They passed the living room area where guests were casually reading a newspaper or sipping coffee. It had two huge windows that looked out to the gardens and beyond that the sunny, cheerful landscape. Joe’s spirits lifted, and he wanted to skip or do something happy, but he knew his brothers would not approve. So he shoved his hands in his pockets and followed quietly. But that wouldn’t do. Something was bursting inside him.

“I don’t know why Kevin, but I have this sudden sensation to sing,” he said.

“Don’t,” Kevin whispered back, dashing everything.

“Why?” Joe asked. “Mandy always thought I was a really good singer.” He sighed, thinking of home. “She also used to laugh when I’d act stupid.”

“Well either way, Joseph, don’t sing… please,” Kevin said. “Some people would rather not hear an eighteen-year-old kid sing right now.” He stole a glance at all the older ladies sipping tea.

Ms Johnson finally stopped at a huge door just beyond the living room. She opened it with a key and walked inside. The boys naturally followed, but all three stopped at the doorway in sudden surprise. The room was filled with enormous amounts of books on shelves that reached up nearly to the room’s eleven-foot ceiling.

“Wow…” Joe gasped in awe.

“This was Mrs. Scarlett’s library,” Ms. Johnson explained. “And most of the books here were hers. Apparently she spent most of her time here.” She began walking out of the room. “Just keep in mind, as I said before, don’t touch anything except the books—there are a lot of valuable items in this room. And be careful with the older books please. Some are falling apart, and I’d like to keep as many as possible preserved.”

Kevin nodded politely and smiled.

“Thanks Ms Johnson,” he said.

She nodded to them and smiled, then exited the room, shutting the door behind them.

Joe suddenly laughed evilly and rubbed his hands together with one of his sinister, scheming smiles.

“And she leaves…” he whispered, looking around the room—probably for something he could get into.

Nick tapped him on the shoulder.

“Easy now, Joe,” he smiled. “Control yourself. Just because she leaves doesn’t mean you can go jump on the couches or play football with a vase.” He turned to one of the bookshelves and scanned it. “Besides, she’s probably got camera’s on us everywhere… not to mention bugs…” Nick joked.

Joe snorted and pulled out a book from the self nearest to him.

“Yeah she’s probably watching our every move,” he said mysteriously. “Who knows… she might’ve put a bug in my sandwich.”

Nick smiled, and then it faded and he looked at his brother seriously.

“You don’t like her do you?” he asked.

The question shocked Joe for a moment, but then he grinned. Nick was so intelligent—he’d probably become a great detective when he got older. Sometimes Joe wished he could be more like him.

“Yeah,” Joe said, pretending to read a page in his book. “There’s just something about her—maybe it’s her eyes, that just gives me the creeps. I can’t get over it.”

“Well,” Nick said. “Just make sure you don’t judge someone unless you really know them. She could be one of the nicest ladies ever, and you may never know because you’re too caught up in assuming she’s ‘evil’.”

Why’s he giving me all the advice? Joe wondered. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Meanwhile, Kevin was scanning the shelf of old books. He noticed most of them were on the ‘nature of ghosts’ and ‘the dead and living’. It was beginning to creep him out.

“Man…” he said, looking carefully through one book. “This lady—Mrs. Scarlett, must’ve really been interested in ghosts for some reason. Look at all these books…”

“Hey, you guys!” Joe cried at the other side of the room. He was standing by a gigantic wardrobe. “Look at this awesome old wardrobe. It’s huge!” He knocked his fist against it. “And it’s solid wood. This thing must weigh a ton… not to mention worth a ton.”

“Maybe, if you open it and go inside, Joe” Nick said with a smile, “you’ll find Narnia.”

Joe glared at him.

“Sure, Nick.”

He opened it and looked inside. Nothing except some coats and a few cobwebs. He was just about to turn away when he noticed something. He looked behind the coats. Was that a doorknob? Confused he closed the door to the wardrobe and went to it’s side and saw something unusual. Instead of having a back, it was directly connected to the wall. So he went back and opened the door to the wardrobe and looked inside, and sure enough there was a secret door behind the coats.

“Uh… you guys…” Joe stammered. But they didn’t hear him. They were too interested in their books.

He kind of felt stupid for doing this, but he stepped inside, all the while thinking, maybe Narnia is real. To his surprise he found the door unlocked. He swallowed and gathered up all his courage—and slowly opened the door. When he saw what was on the other side he jumped for a moment, breaking the doorknob in the process, but then sighed. It was only an old room.

He hadn’t realized he’d broken the doorknob till he noticed he held something cold in his hand.

“Oops…” he said aloud.

Suddenly his brothers were running for him. That word always caught their attention—especially if it was coming from Joe’s mouth. It never meant anything good.

“Joseph Adam Jonas, what’d you do!” Kevin cried.

“I broke a doorknob, Kevin,” Joe said. “Nothing serious.”

“It is too serious!” Kevin cried. “Does that doorknob look like a book to you? No! And you’re… you’re standing in a wardrobe for goodness sakes! What’re you doing?”

“Looking for Narnia,” Nick laughed.

“But Kevin listen! I found a room back here—a secret room.”

Kevin and Nick stared at him for a moment. Their brother couldn’t possibly be serious… could he?

“What?” they both said.

Joe rolled his eyes.

“Common!” he said waving them to come in the wardrobe. He opened the secret door, which had shut slightly, so they could see what he was talking about.

“What in the world?” Kevin gasped.

Both boys walked through the wardrobe after Joe who now stood in the secret room. The room was unfinished and cobwebs hung about—not to mention it was musty. The only thing interesting was an old chair and desk in the middle of the room.

“I wonder how long it’s been since someone’s been in this room,” Joe said walking up to the desk.

Everything was so old, and lifeless. It was creepy… and yet there was something mysterious about that room.

“I think we should leave now…” Kevin said, his voice shaking, his eyes darting around the room almost as if something might jump out at any moment and grab him.

Joe didn’t hear him; he was too busy opening a little cabinet in the desk. Inside, almost completely hidden beneath all the dust and cobwebs, was a little book. Joe carefully grabbed it.

“You guys…” he said, his voice shaking with excitement as he opened the cover. “I think I just found the diary of Mrs. Scarlett.”

“What? Really?” Kevin cried, rushing to his brother’s side. Nick did the same.

Kevin looked at it for a second as Joe began reading a few pages.

“Um… I don’t know if you should be looking at that,” Kevin said worriedly. “It’s Ms Johnson’s private property.”

Joe didn’t hear him. He was too caught up in the book.

Kevin began walking out of the room. He was uneasy about the whole situation.

“Common you guys,” he said. “I’m not to sure how Ms Johnson would feel if she found us snooping around in here.”

Nick followed Kevin and they both walked out. Joe slowly followed, but his attention was firmly in the diaries pages. When he was out of the wardrobe he suddenly stopped. His brothers looked back at him as Joe suddenly gasped, “Oh, no…” he looked up at them, his bright hazel eyes wide with apparent horror.

“What’s the matter?” both boys asked.

“Scarlett…” Joe swallowed—but didn’t finish his sentence.

Their brother was beginning to scare them. He hardly ever acted this way. Kevin and Nick moved closer to him.

“Joe, what’s wrong?”

Joe looked at him.

“Kevin,” he stammered. “She saw the ghost.”

Kevin stared at him.

“What?”

“Yeah…” Joe began pacing. His brothers knew he always paced when he was deep in thought. “So that means that the ‘ghost’ people have been seeing here, isn’t Mrs. Scarlett—it’s someone else.”

“Oh, common! The ladies probably just crazy,” Nick said, laughing. But he suddenly stopped when he saw Joe’s serious face.

“No, Nick, I don’t think so,” Joe said. “She’s scared. You can tell by the way she explains things.” He flipped back a page. “Listen to what she writes before she’s seen the ‘ghost’:

‘I couldn’t sleep tonight. I was so scared. I cried; I wished someone were there to protect me. I know there’s something in this house—something watching and following me. But every time I look I don’t see it. Why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this? Something must not want me here. I know it because the lightning storms get worse and worse the longer I stay.’”

Joe flipped a couple of pages. “And then she writes a little while later…

‘I’ve seen the ghost for a couple of nights now. He watches my every move—but never dares to come out of the shadows. I only see him at night when there’s a lightning storm. I try to tell my father of this, but he hasn’t spoken to me since. I’m afraid he thinks I’ve gone crazy…’”

“Lightning storm?” Kevin asked, confused. “How come she only sees the ghost in a lightning storm?”

“And how come they seemed to be happening so often?” Nick added.

“I don’t know…” Joe said, thinking. “But we’re about to find out. I want to get to the bottom of this. Something’s just not right here…”

“Aren’t we supposed to have a storm tonight?” Nick asked, remembering what the weatherman had said over the radio that morning.

“Well, if we are, I say we go find out what Mrs. Scarlett’s been seeing,” Kevin said.

“I agree,” Joe said.

Both of his brothers looked at him, astounded.

“Are you serious?” Kevin almost laughed. “Last time I checked you were scared to death of ghosts.”

“Well, yeah… but…” Joe stammered. He sighed and looked down at the book. “I don’t know why, but I seem to sympathize with Scarlett. There’s something mysterious about this—and I’m not about to ignore it. I want to know what’s going on.” He gave a sort of grin and shrugged. “Hey, it’ll give us something to do.”

“Well then tonight… we’re going ghost hunting,” Kevin said with a determined look in his eyes and a smile. “And I don’t think we should tell anyone about it right at the moment. Especially Ms Johnson…”

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