A scream to which would curddle the blood of a dead man echoed the mansion. Ryan flew to the top of the basement stairs, Jonathon met Mike and Sei as they ran down the grand stairs a ebony black box under Mike's arm.
A cackling laugh and another scream trails off to a sound of one teen in pain and horror.
"Did you hear that?" asked Jonathon.
Nary a word spoken but the faces of all standing in the foyer knew it was Eric who screamed. As Ryan took the lead the others followed as a search for Eric began.
Since Ryan was down the basement he knew Eric did not scream there. The others were upstairs or Jonathon had gone out the patio. The best direction to check was the dinning room, kitchen, or servants quarters.
As Ryan opened the ten foot tall double doors to the dinning room he peered in not knowing what he might see. The room was long and narrow, high marbled walls and a checkboard black and white tiled floor. A long table for which only one place service stood set for someone's personal dinning.
As yet no sign of Eric and no more screams to chart where he might be injured or dead. Again Ryan pushed back the two pocket doors which ajoined the kitchen. A white cupboard and stainless steel counters, stoves, and smoke hoods, but not a sign of life.
Four boy now scared for Eric and themselves pressed on toward the servants quarters. A winding stairs which went up a good three floor was the entrance to where the four heard a evil cackle.
Climbing the stair each boy walked extra softly so as not to make a sound. Above in one of the rooms a scratchy voice cackled and said, "boy lovely young boys, how I love thee! Spin my boy spin, twine, and wax, spin and spin, tie and bind! Oh how pretty ye shall be when next ye wake for such as me, cackle, cackle!" went the old and female voice.
Down the long and very narrow hall went Ryan first, then Mike, Sei, and Jonathon. Try as they might the creaking floor boards told of their coming. Ryan held up his hand as he stopped and then walk forward again. Every once in a while the cackle came again, it echoed the tall hallway. Ryan had seen about enough and heard more than he'd ever wish to hear as he turned to see scared old arms reach out and grab Mike into a side room.
"HEY!" yelled Ryan as he saw nothing of Jonathon, Sei, and now Mike.
Moving back down the narrow hall he came to the door where Mike had just been keyholed into. Kneeling down he peered in through the old style keyhole. Inside stood Mike his arms tied behind him and trussed off his feet hung on a sort of spool. A peering look right saw Sei and Jonathon too strung up and wiggling to get free.
The old and broad in the beam woman worked feverishly at a table to the left. Time after time she would pull off a spool twine and then reaching right she's grab a hose of steaming liquid. She poured the liquid on what was in front of her and cackled while she worked.
"Almost done my sweety, boy's will be boys but when Grandma finds them they always do what I ask, right there boy?" she said talking to someone there.
At last she stopped and standing back put her hands clodded with something sticky to her waist. Then reaching out she lifted what had been her work, that's when Ryan gasp.
There leaning against a almost verticle table top was what looked to be a wax and twine bound mummified human form. Sei and Jonathon cried and screamed, begging to be released. Mike was silent for some reason but his wide eyes told his true thoughts.
"My boy can you still hear me?" asked the woman to what she had worked over.
A muffled moan and maybe the word yes seemed to come from what stood there.
"Listen to me, and listen good! I have wrapped each arm, leg, in wool made of sheep and goat. The wax was applied with each layer and twine wrapped to hold the wool and you my dear. Windings of wool then bound around the head, neck, body, thighs, legs and the special prepped feet. I took special pains to be sure those feet will be just perfect to your coming tasks. Your ears, eyes, and mouth are filled with the wax, making you a living mummy in my special cacoon!" A cackle or two.
"Boys, each of you has a special place in my heart! You little one and this Asian will work my ultimate plan well. To be so young you will forget all you ever learned, while the Asian here will wish he was better off dead. Ah, the strong one, Mike! A strong name suggests a strong body, for which I have just the place! Oh and the one in the hall, he too shall know his place when I call the name Ryan." said the woman as she looked unto the door.
The woman stepped to the far left and out of Ryan's view. As he began to stand up a cackle made him swallow hard. As Ryan stood up he turned toward the cackle only to see a burlap sack yanked down over his head all the way touching the floor.
Quickly talanted old hands spun his around a stiff twine bound him ever so tight.