“Alright, everyone. This next room is said to be where Lord McDougan was assassinated.” The tour guide led a group of people into the bedroom which had a large bed, a dresser, and a desk. Tapestries hung on the wall, depicting brave fights between large beasts and a man.
Personally, I thought this whole thing was kinda boring. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t even be here. However, Ava wanted to come, so here I was.
“Ryan,” Ava said, “Could you please stand still for a picture?” I turned begrudgingly toward her and smiled. She wore jeans that she’d decorated with colored pens and her favorite Imagine Dragons shirt. Her long, strawberry-blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail and had pink highlights. Her sparkling green eyes were filled with laughter, and her mouth twitched into a grin when she saw my meager attempt to smile.
“C’mon dork, smile!” I gave in and smiled, focusing on her face, and thinking of the moment, a little over a month ago, when I’d proposed. After she took the picture, she lowered her camera and walked over to me, embracing me and giving me a quick kiss. Then, we turned our attention back to the tour guide.
“Lord McDougan was killed on June 14, 1340, when he was seventy-five. His entire estate belonged to his son, but then it was discovered that his son had hired the assassin. After a long trial, the son was executed, and the lordship went to McDougan’s great-grandson, Silas Edison. He passed it to his son, and him to his son, and him to his son. That man, McDougan's fourth great-grandson, was named Percival Edison.
“He did not marry, and specifically stated that the entire estate would belong to the town. They have kept it in this condition for centuries. Though, it is said that Lord McDougan’s ghost still roams these halls, filled with rage at the fact that the castle did not stay in the family.”
The group was silent, a collective chill moving amongst them.
“Let’s move to the kitchen. The oven there is large enough to contain an adult man, though we don’t think it was used for that.” The group shuffled after the tour guide. Ava walked slower, and I stayed with her. After the group was out of sight, she walked over to the bed, going under the rope barrier and taking multiple pictures of it. Then, she moved to the tapestries, taking pictures of the entire thing, then more focused pictures of the details.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
She turned to me, “I’m working on a book that takes place in a castle like this, and I figured actually walking through one would be better than research.”
“Is that why you wanted to do this?”
“Yeah.”
I shook my head and smiled, “C’mon, we should probably catch up to the group.” She stepped under the rope and we walked down the hall. As we walked, the temperature began to drop, and we began to shiver. I offered Ava my jacket, but she refused, saying she was fine. After about ten minutes of walking, I realized something was wrong.
“We’ve been walking way longer than possible,” Ava said, “There’s no way a hallway this long could be contained in the castle.”
“You’re finally catching on,” a voice said from behind us. We turned around and Ava screamed. I admit it, I screamed too. An elderly man was standing in the middle of the hallway.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“You should have stayed with the group,” the man said. He wore a completely white outfit. Pants, shirt, jacket, shoes, even his hair and beard were white. His skin was wrinkled and pale. He raised a gnarled hand toward us and dust started falling from the ceiling. Ava pulled me backward as the ceiling collapsed, spilling stones and dust into the hall. I stood there in shock for a few moments, then Ava was pulling on my arm.
“Run!” she said. I watched as the old man ran over the rubble, moving with much more agility and speed than someone of his age would normally have. I ran after Ava and we continued down the long, straight hallway. Abruptly, the hall ended. I looked around and saw that it continued but straight up.
“What the crap is wrong with this place?” Ava asked. She walked over to the wall and jumped, grabbing onto one of the unlit torches that lined the wall. She pulled herself up and then jumped to the next one. I followed her, and when we were about six torches up the vertical hallway, the man came into view. All of a sudden, the torches disappeared and we fell. I braced to hit the ground in a few seconds, but it didn’t happen. I opened my eyes and saw that there was no floor in sight. A scream escaped my mouth as I kept falling.
I saw Ava above me trying to grab onto the wall, but it was smooth and had no handholds. She looked down at me, and terror flashed across her face. I looked down and saw that the ground was approaching. I smashed into the ground and it shattered, and my vision fractured, then repaired. I was still falling, but the castle had disappeared. I looked around and for a brief second and saw myself falling, hundreds of me, the line stretching into the distance. Then it all compacted into one and I opened my eyes, laying on the ground. Ava was next to me.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but I hope it’s over,” Ava replied.
“It’s not,” the man said as he walked up to us. I stood and tried to push him away, but my hands went through him.
“Who are you?” Ava asked.
“When I was alive, I was known as Lord McDougan.”
“You should be very dead. Are you a ghost?”
“In a way,” McDougan said. “I’ve remained here, and my soul is tied to this world. I cannot move on until my debt is paid.”
“What debt?” I asked.
“I’ve given up on the debt!” McDougan screamed. “The only thing that remains is ending those who take pleasure in my pain! The groups come through every day, forever taunting me, telling the tale of my sorrow. So I make them pay.”
“You make people disappear?” Ava asked.
“Indeed, and you’re the next ones.” He reached out to grab Ava. I moved towards her, but she stayed still.
“How come we’ve never heard of people disappearing?” Ava asked. McDougan froze.
“No one remembers them,” he said.
“Then how does that make people pay? No one remembers them, so there’s no point. You’re doing nothing.” McDougan pulled back, then smiled.
“You don’t understand,” McDougan said. He flew forward and flew through Ava, and she collapsed. Then, he turned towards me and did the same thing. I fell to the ground, feeling like my mind was on fire. Darkness invaded my vision as I blacked out.
-----
“I hope everyone had an educational time,” The tour guide said after the tour was over. Everyone left, but the young couple remained, their eyes blank.
“Excuse me?” the tour guide said. “Are you okay?” Without replying, the pair turned towards him.
“McDougan sends his regards,” they said as one. They jumped forward and grabbed his arms, dragging him down the hall. As his screams faded, laughter could be heard. Dry laughing, sounding from across thousands of years.