Chapter 58:

Castle Caper Part 1: Spooky Spectors

Escape Witch


Nadea glared at the girls as they ran towards the castle.

“Why does that shit have hair?” she growled.

“What do you mean?” Melinda groaned.

“Emeri. On the boat she was clean shaven, yet now she has long flowing hair again.”

“Perhaps it’s a wig, though are you sure she didn’t just fool you?”

“How bout I shave you and show you what a clean-shaven bitch looks like!”

“*Sigh* I guess it’s possible her Ginkawa genes allowed her to regrow her hair. Madoka Ginkawa had all her bones broken before leaving Japan yet was able to walk around in just 2 days.”

“Oh, so that’s why she was so willing to just give me all her hair. That little shit. I’ll make sure I destroy every damn hair follicle she’s got!”

“Patience. You will get your chance a vengeance once the game has concluded,” Melinda sneered.

                                                                     …

“Wow, this place looks cool,” Madoka mused.

“Seems like there’s quite a few people here,” Yuni stated.

“So, what is this castle anyway?” Serika asked.

“R-Castle. It’s said to be haunted by the ghost of Jack the Ripper,” Emeri stated.

“Welcome everyone,” a man in a fancy cloak stated.

“I am the Count of this castle, and I shall be your host tonight. You are all gathered here because a terrible murder has occurred. My beloved daughter, Mary has been slashed to death. Since I don’t believe in ghosts, I think one of the people living here is responsible. You fine detectives must identify the culprit before 2:00 A.M. If the culprit is not identified in the 6 hours you have, they will escape when the drawbridge is lowered. All the information you need is on the table. Please, you must catch that murderer!”

The girls walked over to the table and picked up their dossier. Inside was a list of the suspects, information on the crime scene, and a clue.

“Hunt the Baskervilles to find the passage. Float not but gaze upon the boat under the moon,” Emeri read.

“Great, we’re probably gonna have to solve one of that bitch’s crimes,” Serika growled.

“Why’re you so grumpy? We are detectives are we not? Let’s solve this mystery, partner!” Yuni smiled.

“Let me play detective too!” Madoka waved.

“Mado-chan, they are, er, were real detectives back in Japan,” Emeri sighed.

The girls walked through the halls of the castle as they searched for the answer to the clue.

“I wonder if that message is specifically for us, or if it’s part of the game,” Yuni mused.

“Where would we find Baskervilles? Maybe in the yard?” Serika suggested.

“I doubt it, the garden doesn’t seem big enough, though maybe there’s a hidden passageway there.”

“Why not try the library? Perhaps the book is what we are supposed to seek,” Emeri hypothesized.

“LOOK OUT!” Madoka yelled as she tackled the three to the ground. They just barely missed getting sliced by an axe.

A knight in armor, picked up the axe and attempted to go for round two.

“MADOKA KICK!” Madoka yelled as she sent the knight flying down the hall.

“Haha! Take that you metal headed- “

“Um, Madoka, the axe isn’t real. I think that guy was a hired actor,” Yuni nervously stated.

The girls decided to bolt for the library as staff began to gather around the unconscious knight.

“Hey, I didn’t know he was fake!” Madoka pouted.

“We’ll apologize once we get the key. We can’t risk getting kicked out,” Emeri stated.

The girls reached the library and began looking through the books.

“Oo! I found bard of the Baskervilles!” Madoka exclaimed as she pulled the book out.

“It’s not Bards of the Baskervilles you idiot,” Serika growled as she walked over.

As Madoka opened the book, a puff of sleeping gas was released. The bookcase then opened as two pairs of hands grabbed the drowsy Serika and Madoka and whisked them away before Yuni and Emeri could notice.

“I found it. This one’s got hounds in the title,” Yuni stated as a secret passageway opened.

She immediately ran in as Emeri followed behind her. Four pairs of footsteps echoed as the girls came to a window looking out into the lake.

“Yuni-chan, I see a boat floating on the water,” Emeri exclaimed.

“Hmm, I don’t see any message, say Mado-AAAHH!”

Yuni screamed in horror as she turned to see two ghastly apparitions standing behind them. One was a bloody woman, while the other was a man with a pale white face, a demented smile, and a sharp bloodstained knife. Emeri and Yuni immediately ran away as fast as they could as the apparitions gave chase.

                                                                                 …

Madoka and Serika awoke bound and gagged in a small room with a fireplace.

“Mmph! Mmph mmph!” (Hey, get us out of here already!) Serika grumbled.

However, Madoka just froze in shock as she attempted to communicate with Serika via blinking morse code.

“We-can’t-- be reckless. These- ropes- are- wired- to-bombs. BOMBS!?”

Sure enough, a single wire tied to each girls’ wrist was linked to a maniacal looking explosive device. Worst of all, the device had a timer, and was slowly ticking down to zero.

                                                                                  …

Oribia and Orise, the disowned Ginkawa twins began making preparations as Melinda showed up.

“Ah Miss M. Everything- “

“-Is going just fine,” the twins stated.

“Good. Even if the girls can find the key, they will be forced to make a difficult decision when, or should I say, IF they can manage to escape the castle alive.

                                                                               …

“Do you have ANYTHING we could use to stop those monsters!?” Yuni yelled.

“No, though it looks like we’re coming to an underground dock. Maybe we can devise something there,” Emeri said.

                                                                             …

The two ghouls gazed around the underground dock as they grunted and groaned. The ghostly man then pulled out a taser and threw it into the water. Electricity surged in that spot, as Emeri’s and Yuni’s coats rose to the surface.

“Looks like they perished,” the man snickered as he and his partner began heading back.

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