ANGRY SPIRIT PART 3 Chapter 3

Dinner had been surprisingly pleasant, not in the least lacking in quantity or quality, as Nathan has suspected it might have been given the modest nature of the accommodation they had been allotted.

The meal commenced with a generously proportioned bowl of steaming homemade soup with crispy bread. The main course was cacophony of vegetables precisely cooked to present their texture and flavour. Three succulent slices of the delicious roast beef, coated in a thick, flavoursome gravy that complimented the tasty ingredients of which it concealed beneath. Finally, a mouth-watery triangle of warm, juicy apple pie, over which was drizzled a healthy coating of ice-cold double cream.

For the duration of time it took to consume the perfectly prepared feast, all thoughts of terror and mystery were masked from their minds. Both enjoyed the feeling of contentment that only a meal of such careful preparation could bring.
When Godfrey entered to clear away the gratefully emptied plates and cutlery he poured out two goblets of a fine red wine and placed them before the appreciative diners.

"I trust the meal was to your liking?" Godfrey enquired, in uncharacteristic amenable tones.
"Yes. Thank you!" Miranda replied politely. "I was delicious."
"Perfect. Thank you!" Nathan said, wiping the remnants of cream from his lips.
"Excellent. I shall convey your approval to cook." Godfrey began his slow retreat to the doorway, after placing the remainder of the wine on the table. He paused for a moment before leaving; "Lady Ashton has instructed me to tell you that she raises no objection to you exploring the interior of the house. However, she wishes me to emphasize that the rooms to the left of the lower landing are out of bounds and would appreciate your compliance with her wishes in this matter." On that, he left, closing the door behind him.

"Ok, so what’s so special about that area?" Nathan exclaimed, the instant the door clicked shut.
"I have no idea, and to be honest I have no intention of finding out."
"Maybe she’s hiding something up there?"
"And maybe the area to the left of the landing is her private quarters and she doesn’t want every Tom Dick and Harry traipsing through them, invading her privacy." Miranda retorted, somewhat irritated by Nathan’s quick assumption.
"Well, I think she’s hiding something, and she doesn’t want us to find her secret."
"And I think we have enough problems to solve without creating even more. Don’t you?"

For the time being at least, Nathan resigned himself to the fact that the rest of the house was free to be explored and was eager to begin doing exactly that. He was somewhat surprised when the level of Miranda’s enthusiasm fell well short of matching his. Her intuitive powers obviously persuaded her to air on the side of caution, though in truth, she didn’t mind admitting to herself that her inherent fear of what she may stumble upon played a far greater influencing factor in her decision than any need for caution.

Clearly she had little chance of persuading Nathan to adopt the same way of thinking and promptly agreed to accompany him on his mystery tour of the remainder of the house.
When they emerged out into the hallway, the sunlight outside was beginning to dim as night drew ever closer. Two arched windows at either side of the main entrance allowed the last vestiges of the setting sun’s rays to pierce through and trace their way in two long fingers across the floor. Each one culminating at the steel feet of the ancient suits of medieval armour.

The subtle glow of the gallery lights shone down on the sinister portraits of the Ashton ancestors, giving their coal black eyes an eerie sense of animation that allowed them to stare down in disdain at their unsuspecting spectators.
"The Ashton family has never been blessed with good looks, have they?" Nathan observed with a sarcastic smile.
Miranda replied with a patronizing half smile. Instinct reminding her of the consequences should she venture towards disrespect.

"I thought you’d be in your element in a place like this." Nathan quipped.
"Everything is just one big joke to you, isn’t it?" Miranda’s tort reply was quick and unexpected; striking Nathan with an instant guilty effect that took him off guard.
"You don’t know the first thing about me. So, don’t you stand there judging me." The venomous words hissed from his lips, beyond his control, as if some inner voice were being exorcised from within him, regardless of his will to resist.
Miranda stood open-mouthed, shocked by the severity of his reply, yet instantly regretful that she had instigated it in the first place.

"I’m sorry, Nathan. I didn’t mean …."
"No Miranda. It was your idea to come to this place. Maybe it’s you who should start taking things more seriously"
Before she could respond, Nathan stormed away in the direction of the centre staircase, where he instantly stopped in confuse quandary. Even in the height of heated temperature he found it impossible to ignore the grotesque portrait on the second floor landing. Miranda shared this emotion, and in that bizarre moment, the mutual decision was made to forget their petty differences and join forces in hasty retreat.

"We can’t carry on doing this!" Nathan, announced, breathlessly, when the eventually reached what they considered a safe distance down the dingy lit passage. "There must be another way to gain access to the second floor without using the centre staircase."
"I would think so, in a house this size." Miranda agreed.
When they resumed a more dignified pace, and continued on, each passing an occasion, instinctive glance behind them as they took the first few tentative steps. Nathan took a reluctant lead in their expedition, paying over zealous attention to the many dark corners and dimly lit junctions where corridor met with corridor, or culminated in a confusing myriad of closed doors.

Their already heightened sense of anxiety frequently peaked in spine tingly horror when a floor board creaked under foot, or an unseen door slammed shut on a distant corridor.
"Oh, I hate this place!" Miranda exclaimed, after stopping and emitting a barely controlled screech.
After what seemed an age, Nathan decided to call a halt to their aimless wandering and suggested they pause for a moment on two conveniently placed straight back chairs located a few feet ahead, roughly mid-way along the dingy passage way they were currently occupying. There they could reassess the situation, while at the same time resting their aching legs. The latter being an affliction that had besieged them both at an alarmingly rapid rate during the previous minutes.

"I feel like I’ve been walking for hours," Miranda disclosed in breathless tones, to which Nathan agreed in kind.
"Why don’t we call it a night and go back to our room?" Nathan suggested. "We’ll probably be here for a few days, so there’s no particular rush is there?"
"I agree," Miranda began. "But, there’s just one problem we have to overcome first, isn’t there?"
Nathan looked puzzled. "I don’t know. Is there?"
"Yes. There is. There’s the small matter of finding our room. Have you any idea where it is?"

"I haven’t the foggiest. I thought you might remember where it is."
"Oh that’s just great. Why should I remember where it is? I’ve been following you! I thought you were …" Miranda suddenly stopped mid-sentence when she appeared distracted.
"What’s wrong?" Nathan asked, when he noticed his companion’s attention become focused on the area to their left, where the corridor ended and branched off in two opposing directions.
"I thought I saw something, down there at the end of the corridor."
"Something, like what?"
"I’m not sure. It looked like someone walking along the other corridor."
"It could have been Godfrey," Nathan exclaimed. "Maybe he’s been checking up on us."

"If it is Godfrey, he can show us the way back to our room," Miranda replied, a little hesitantly. "But what if it wasn’t Godfrey?"
"Who else could it be? As far as I know there’s only us and Godfrey left in the house."
Miranda began to slowly walk towards the end of the corridor. "Something doesn’t feel right, Nathan. I’m not sure I like this!"
"Do you have any idea how much I hate it when you say things like that?"
"I’m sorry … I can’t help the way I feel. This place is full of spirits; it could be anyone, or anything!"
"Oh great … just bloody great," Nathan said, striding out a brisk pace to follow in Miranda’s steps. "Spirits and strangers I can handle. It’s the ‘things’ that worry me. I’ve had enough ‘things’ jumping out at me recently to last me a lifetime."

"Don’t you feel it?" She stopped suddenly and faced him directly, her unblinking eyes met his. "Don’t you feel how cold it is?"
The bead of sweat, tracking its way slowly down Nathan’s temple, before eventually soaking away into the bushiness of his brow was answer enough. He was clearly beginning to sense something, but coldness was not it.
A familiar tingling teased the small hairs about his neck. The sound of his increasing heart beat, pounded, drum-like in his ears, as adrenaline charged blood gushed through his veins, quickly flooding excited brain cells with prickly fear, and pending panic.

"Leave me alone!" The voice was deep, devilishly deep!"
"Did you hear that?" Nathan exclaimed in a loud whisper.
"Yes!"
"Where did it come from?"
"Leave me alone!" This time the voice rang out in a furious scream. A blast of foul smelling air hit them both full in the face, with sufficient force to lay them flat and helpless against the wall.
The blast faded, whooshing with angry effect down the corridor, like a speeding express train screaming past a station platform. As it dissipated into the darkness the gut wrenching smell lingered behind, leaving its victims reeling and disgusted by savage nausea.

"What the hell was …. that?" His words were panicked and interrupted by the instinctive urge to swallow the vomit that exploded from within his stomach. The acrid taste of gastric acid burned his throat, almost choking him with its indelible effect.
His next decision came easily and with scant regard for forethought. In a single, desperate lunge he grabbed Miranda’s hand firmly in his and ran, obeying the overwhelming instinct to put as much distance between themselves and whatever had just passed by.

They spanned the length of two corridors before the panic subsided. Nathan slowed and finally stopped. It was only then that Miranda realized their location. In their blind panic they had accomplished more than all their previous aimless wandering.
"We’ve made it!" she announced with some relief. "Our room is just along this corridor. I recognize the mirror on the wall outside our room."
The chance of any lasting relief soon vanished. Nathan was the first to hear the footsteps. Faint at first, but gradually becoming louder as they echoed down the corridor behind them. "Somebody’s coming!" he exclaimed in a forced whisper.

"It’s probably Godfrey," Miranda replied, hope ringing clear in her voice.
"Sounds more like a woman to me!"
"Well, wait and find out if you want. I’ve had enough of all this, I’m going to our room," on that she began her departure, somewhat hesitantly, leaving Nathan momentarily alone, still straining his ears to hear the approaching footsteps, which now had the added distinctive swooshing sound of material, much like the rustling noise of a long skirt.
"It’s definitely a woman!" His words fell on deaf ears; Miranda was already poised with her hand on the cold brass door handle to their room.

"Are you coming?" she called, "or are you going to stand there all night?"
Nathan passed a quick glance down the adjoining corridor, expecting to see the approaching female figure. None was seen, yet the steps were clear enough to suggest that who was walking towards him was only a feet away. Once again the raging adrenaline prompted an immediate decision on his part. "Wait! I’m coming!" he called, while making an unsuccessful attempt at not looking unduly concerned.
Once inside the room, Nathan clicked the door quickly shut, leaning against its inner surface, believing his weight might prevent it being reopened from the outside.

For a moment neither spoke. Their stares were fixed on each other, as they listened to the approaching steps until, silence! The footsteps stopped outside in the corridor.
It took all Nathan’s resolve to stop himself leaping from the door in horror, when the brass handle began to angle downwards, as if someone on the other side were depressing it and intending to enter.
Miranda clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle the scream that welled in her throat. Nathan remained stone-like, forcing himself backwards, pressing his heels hard against the floor to add extra precious purchase to his efforts.

He aloud a brief sigh of relief to escape his lips when slowly the handle rose to its original, horizontal position. Relieved that who or whatever was on the other side had relinquished their intention of entering.
For a few brief seconds all was quiet, too quiet to offer any comfort. A fact which was instantly enforced when …
‘BANG !" The solid wooden flexed from its center, with enough force and effect to launch Nathan helplessly towards the center of the room.
"What the…?" The brief exclamation was a painful mix of fear, confusion and fury, only surpassed by Miranda’s ear piercing scream.
Above the sound of Miranda’s terrified sobs, the footsteps began again, receding agonizingly slowly down the corridor, as the unseen, would-be intruder retreated.