2. Wrong Move

“It’s a f*****g mansion, alright.”  Marc’s mouth just kept on falling open at the sight.  He turned to his companions who seemed both at a loss for words.  “Why the hell did they build this here?”

 

Bryan managed to shrug.  “Beats me.”  His devious nature was slowly resurfacing itself on his face.  “Boy, are we gonna be stinking rich after this!”

 

Jake rolled his eyes.  For them, it was all about the money.  But for him, it’s different.  If it weren’t for the sake of his peace of mind, he wouldn’t even be there, standing awkwardly outside the huge, ancient gates of the Weiss Manor.

 

“Hey, hey, I think we can climb our way inside.”  Bryan was now looking anxious.  He waved for the other two to follow him to a part of the wide, cement wall surrounding the mansion that was almost completely covered with creeping plants.

 

Marc tugged on one of the thicker-looking vines.  “You sure this doesn’t have any thorns?  Getting pricked insanely hurts.”  He rubbed one of his forefingers, as if to ease a forgotten pain that was once there.

 

“Don’t be such a baby, Marc.”  Bryan whacked him slightly on the back.  “C’mon.  I don’t wanna get caught by some secret service whatever that they might have.”

 

Marc started grabbing unto the vines one by one, careful not to slip.  Bryan went after him, following his exact movements.  Jake lagged behind.

 

After a few minutes of struggling over the concrete wall, they finally reached the other side. 

 

The mansion loomed above them in welcome, looking bigger than ever.  Huge trees were planted all over the place.  The bushes seriously needed trimming.  And through one of the windows, one can see the inside of the house completely engulfed by darkness.

 

“Wait, no guard dogs?  No nothing?”  Jake’s eyes studied his surroundings, waiting for something to move.  When nothing seemed to be coming for them, he took a huge breath of air.  “We’re like in a horror movie.”

 

Marc nodded.  “Let’s just hope this isn’t going to be like one of those crazy suspense thrillers where the ghost turns out to be a maniac who kills everybody and then they all go to hell.”

 

Jake flinched.  Hell.  To him, it sounded so appropriate.

 

Bryan found a window by the nearest tree, open.  Since it was taller than a normal human being, they had no problem enter the house through it.  The heavy, black curtain supposedly covering it was pushed and tied to the side.

 

Despite the fact that all the lights are turned off, and what little light the sun could’ve probably provided are being blocked by the thick curtains, they were able to make perfect sense of what was inside the room they had entered.

 

A tall bookshelf stood at a corner, filled with hardbound books from top to bottom.  In front of it were a long couch and a small coffee table.  Three tall, rectangular tables lined another wall.  Figurines and picture frames were placed on top of them.  Antique-looking vases were located at random parts of the room, serving as decorations.  And a large, crystal chandelier hanged from the center of the ceiling.  It glistened whenever it caught a stray of sunlight, peeking in between the curtains.

 

But the most striking thing in the room was the object right below the chandelier – a red, grand piano.

 

“Take everything you can, boys.”  Bryan sounded hungry with greed.  He started grabbing the small, old-looking figurines lying on top of the tall tables.

 

Marc followed him further inside, looking a little annoyed.  “Who are you calling ‘boys’?  I don’t remember making you the boss.”  He headed for the bookshelf and started grabbing books.

 

“Whatever, dude,” Bryan snapped, turning around to look at him.  He chuckled when he saw what Marc was doing.  “Hey, why are you stealing books?  I said take everything you can, but what I meant was, take everything we can sell.”

 

“Oh, but we can sell these.”  He grinned.  “If one of these babies happens to be a collector’s item, we can make millions!  You have no idea how many idiotic book lovers are out there, willing to bid their very lives to have old books like these.”

 

Jake ignored his bickering companions and went straight to the center of the room, towards the only thing that caught his attention.

 

He pulled out the chair under the piano and sat on it.  Finding it unlocked, he lifted the top.  He ran a gentle hand over the alternating black and white keys that shone under the light coming from the open window where they had entered.  It felt smooth under his fingers.

 

Snapping out of the shallow trance, he stared at the paper in front of him.  It was a piano piece.  Slowly, his mind started to make sense of it.

 

Like any ordinary child, Jake had been forced to learn at least one decent instrument during summer, when school’s out.  Coincidently, that had been the piano.  But unlike any ordinary child, who would’ve cried or thrown a tantrum just to get off the hook, he found himself enjoying and actually learning how to play.  Ever since, he practiced whenever he can on the portable keyboard he had at home.

 

His right hand started hitting the right keys, and then, his left hand joined in.  The piece was a little complicated, but he played without struggling.

 

The melody was enigmatic.  It was slow, but it sounded powerful.  It was like chanting.

 

Bryan and Marc stopped and turned to face the piano.

 

“Jake, what are you doing?” Marc exclaimed in a low voice.

 

Jake hands froze in the air.  “Oh, uh, sorry man.”

 

A loud thud made everybody’s head snap towards the door.  Jake stood up from the chair while Bryan and Marc started fixing their bags, which were now filled with stolen items.

 

“S**t! C’mon, we have to get out of here!”  Bryan practically ran towards the window and jumped out.  Marc and Jake followed without another word.

 

After a few minutes, about half the time it took them to get in, they were back at the other side of the wall.

 

OO.OO.OO.OO

 

Cassandra walked inside the room the moment the three trespassers jumped out of the window.  She walked towards the grand piano and took the piece of paper containing the composition one of them played.  She was resting on her bedroom when the music echoed throughout the house.  She jumped out of bed with a thud, sending a warning to the unwanted visitors.

 

She extended her hand, her slender fingers feeling the warmth of the keys.  She wouldn’t have bothered to scare them out of the house if they’d only broken or stolen some things.  She didn’t really care about the furniture, or the books.  She only wished they wouldn’t touch the piano.

 

Slowly, she walked towards the open window.  She grabbed the only black curtain pushed to one side.  She had no idea that people were going to break into the manor that day.  Usually, she would know of it the moment people with intentions of doing so are near enough that she hears their thoughts.

 

She sighed, knowing exactly what had happened.  She glanced around.  The house knew.

 

Cassandra pulled the curtains back to its place.  Jake Treadway.  She closed her eyes.