Ruins ~End of Part One~

[goforfink]

* This is my first attempt at an actual story type story, my last one was just following what happened to my sim. I'm not entirely sure where this is going yet, but i have at least the first part worked out :) Please be nice, please comment, constructive criticism welcome. Any ideas? Please don't hesitate to put them forward. Questions? Feel free to ask. Also, thank you to all the custom content creators, the extent of my own creation is a few bed covers :)*


RUINS

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It was late.
Paige crawled into bed, exhausted from the day's events. She had attended a lecture on the preservation of artifacts found at a site. Simple stuff you would think, but somehow they managed to drag in on well into the night. Anyway, she was past that, she was calm, drifting, relaxed.

The shrill sound of the phone brought her back.

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"Hello?"
"Paige? Sorry to call so late." It was her lecturer, Professor Benson, she was sure it was going to be about her essay... it was due last week and she hadn't even written it yet.
"Um, look, I'll hand in the essay first thing in the morning, I promise."
"This isn't about the essay Paige." What else could it be she thought. Maybe he was going to ask her out... she shuddered at the thought. He was an older gentleman, not bad looking, but definately not her type.
"I've been asked to go to South Lamond, immediately. Seems there's been a landslide, it's uncovered some ruins, they've asked me to have a look at a few things." Hmmm, so the essay could wait a few more days by the look of it.
"Usually I'm not allowed to do this, but because this is such an unusual find I've been given the option of bringing an assistant... I thought you could use the extra credit."
It was true. Paige was on the verge on failing, she just couldn't seem to keep her head in the right place. Lately it had just been getting worse.
"Sure, why not."
"Excellent! There's a ticket waiting for you at the train station. I'll meet you when you get to South Lamond. Oh, and make sure you have something warm to wear."
He hung up before Paige could get another word in.


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Conveniently, Paige had made the midnight train.
It would take all night, and most of the next day to get to South Lamond. It seemed a lot for a bit of extra credit, but she needed this.
Her father had always had an interest in digging. Their whole yard during her Childhood had been holes. He would find bones, rocks, and once, a treasure chest. It turned out to be a hoax of course, placed there by the neighborhood kids, who used to call him 'old man bones'.
"Don't you listen to them," He would tell Paige, "One day i'll find something worth its weight in gold, then we'll see who's teasing who.

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He had never found anything of value, and had died before Paige went to college.

Nontheless, his passion for digging had rubbed off, and Paige had decided to become an Archaeologist. She didn't realize how much hard work and study would be involved, and wasn't enjoying it as much as she thought. Maybe this trip would give her the break she needed to rekindle her love for digging.

She spend most of the train ride reading a book Benson had left with her ticket. It was on the history of South Lamond.
'Castle Lamond stood proud and tall among the mountainous country side.' 'No one knows when it was built exactly, and as no one knows the whereabouts of the castle, no pictures are available for further study.' 'Rumor is a landslide fell over the castle, sealing it from the world, taking its secrets with it.'

Paige was intrigued. 'Why would Benson have me read a book on a castle?'
Was it just a good read, to keep her busy on the long ride, or did this new landslide have something to do with the castle?

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Paige's mind was racing, but she needed sleep, it looked like she had an interesting trip ahead of her.

[leos_pride]

ooo a new Goforfink story..this looks good, cant wait for more

[romyhorse]

Interesting start, looking forward to seeing where it goes.

[goforfink]

I am in the process of an update... i've had a slight issue with my game crashing etc, which is making it difficult. I think i've solved the problem for now though, so it's likely i'll update tomorrow :) thanks for ur comments so far, i'm a bit nervous about this story as its my first real story.

[PennyTheCorgi]

Good start, I'm definitely interested. :)

[goforfink]

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Paige stood on the platform. She couldn't see Benson, in fact she couldn't see much at all. Seems South Lamond is nothing more than a train station.
'That would be right, he's forgotten me.'
She looked at her watch, 5pm. Paige hadn't eaten since yesteray, she was starving. There was a small cafe in the station, she took a seat and had another look around for Benson.
"What will it be luv?"
"Oh, just a grilled cheese sandwich thanks."
"Coming right up."

She had a clear view of the platform from her seat, there wasn't another passenger in sight. Seems Paige was the only one on the train.
"There you go luv," The waitress handed Paige a poor looking grilled cheese sandwich "Cafe closes in 10 minutes."


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"Great." Paige said sarcastically, hoping Benson would show up before then. She dug into her sandwich, but could only eat half... it really wasn't the best sandwich she'd ever had.


"Excuse me, but are you Miss Adams?"
"Yeah." Paige turned around to see a man, about her age. "How do you know my name?"
"Oh, sorry, um, James Benson sent me to pick you up. He and my Dad were in a meeting, so I offered to make the drive to the station and get you."
"I was begining to think i'd be spending the night in an igloo." She wasn't impressed.
"Yeah, uh, the weather made it difficult to see where i was driving."


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Paige was too tired to complain to the man, two days on a train had exhausted her... and this guy was kinda good looking, she could forgive him this once.
"It's about a half hour drive to the hotel." He said as the two got into the car. They headed down the main street, a dirty little old track with nothing more than trees and paddocks in site.
"The whole team is staying at the hotel. By the way, i'm Nate, Nate Jenkins."
"You're working at the site too?"
"Kind of, my Dad is running the excavation, so i'm hanging around, checking out some of the finds."
"So what have you found exactly?"
"They're not entirely sure yet, it's some kind of old building, mid 12th century perhaps."
"Big enough to be a castle?"
"Perhaps."


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The hotel was a run down, filthy excuse for accomodation. It wouldn't have had half a star for a rating. Still, it had a comfy bed, and that was all Paige needed right now.


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She sat on the motel bed, again reading the book Benson had left her.
'The castle was once home to Count Van Lamond.' '... Untold wealth lies within the castle walls.' 'Count Lamond disappeared along with the castle.' 'Of course, everything is mere speculation, no records have ever been found of Count Lamond'.

The more she read, the more she was convinced this is what Benson had been asked to come to South Lamond for.

[romyhorse]

Another interesting chapter, looking forward to seeing the dig.

[leos_pride]

I really don't know what to say as a comment...sorry. So what i will say instead is Update soon, i am really enjoying it!

[goforfink]

Chapter 2

There was a knock at the door. Paige woke suddenly, sure she had dreamt it until she heard it again.


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"Yes?" She asked, opening the door to see Nate standing there, ready for the day.
"Oh, did I forget to tell you last night? We have to leave at 6." Paige looked at the clock on the hotel wall, 5 to 6.
"S*%t." She slammed the door in Nate's face, hurrying to get ready. She ran to the car to see Benson waiting for her, not looking impressed.
"Sorry." She muttered, climbing into the back seat.


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They had been driving for an hour, Paige was starting to get uncomfortable in the back seat, not to mention once again she was starving. She hadn't had time to eat before running out the motel door.
"There it is." Benson said from the front seat. Paige looked out the window, there was a mountain in the distance. They were still at least half an hour off site.
'This place is in the middle of nowhere' she thought. "How did anyone find a landslide this far out of civilization?"
"There's one local, calls himself Bill." Nate replied, "He's lived atop the mountain his whole life. The landslide took his shack with it, fortunately he wasn't in it at the time."


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"Yes the site wouldn't have been found if it wasn't for Bill." Benson added.
"Of course Bill was more worried about his house than what he'd actually found after the landslide. The cleanup crew thought it was a little odd when they started digging up stone bricks when Bill's shack was made of logs."
"Uh huh.... so it is the castle?" Paige questioned.
"It might be." The tone in Benson's voice was that of excitement. It was the tone he always had after giving a lecture. Archaeology just seemed to have him mesmerized.


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They arrived at the site, and quickly went into a small temporary building out of the cold.
"James!" Zen Jenkins shouted across the room. "So nice to see you my good friend."
"You too Zen."
"Come, help yourself to some breakfast, we're having pancakes."


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Paige practically ate her pancakes whole.
"Slow down Kelper." Nate said, "There's plenty for everyone."
"I know, I'm just so hungry."
Nate got up, walking to the small kithenette, bringing back a second plate of pancakes for Paige and himself.
"Thanks."
"Your welcome, just promise me you wont chuck up from eating too much."


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Paige dug into her second plate.
"Do you think it really is?"
"It could be, stone walls, pots, statues... Nothing like this was in Bills house."
She listened intently on Zen and Benson's conversation.
"I'll take a look at the finds after breakfast."
"Yes, there's one in particular i'd like you to look at."


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"It's not polite to listen in on other people's conversations." Nate whispered. "You'll find out what they're talking about in time."
"What about you? Have you seen anything they've found?"
"No, this is as close as I've gotten to the site. Dad hasn't allowed me to go futher than his tent."
"Oh." Paige was a bit disappointed. Had Benson brought her along only to fill out papers? Was she actually going to see the site? Or any of the finds?
"They're keeping the artifacts on site... not even under lock and key."
"Is that safe?" Paige asked.
"Well, who's gonna drive all the way out here to take a couple of old vases?"
"Good point." Paige finished her pancakes and took her plate to the sink.

"Paige," Benson said, "I'm going to look at some of the artifacts with Professor Jenkins, Id like you to stay here with Nate."
'Great,' Paige thought, 'Bring on the boredom.'
"It will give you time to work on your essay." He added, leaving the building.

Paige wasn't happy. She was asked to come on this trip, for extra credit. Now she had to sit in a dingy building that smelt like pancakes all day, not getting to see anything exciting at all. AND, she still had to write her essay.
"Don't worry about it." Nate said, "Do you know how to play chess?"

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[leos_pride]

I love her face when she finally got to eat the pancakes LOL.

[goforfink]

* Sorry this has taken so long, my son has been sick, and he's passed on his virus to me so I feel pretty crappy at the moment. I've been working on this for a while and thought I'd buckle down today while the lil dude's having a nap... lol, 10 hours later he's asleep for the night and I'm finally done :) *



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Paige had spent the morning playing chess with Nate, and the afternoon working on her essay. She was only about half way done, and was completely bored. Zen and Benson's return was a welcome distraction.
"We'll be spending the night." Benson announced. "The weather's too bad to drive back to the hotel."

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It was getting dark, and a snow storm had set in. Even inside it was freezing. Paige sat on the old couch eating her spaghetti.
'I'll freeze to death before I get to see anything.' She thought.
"Why so glum Kelper?" Nate joined her.
"It wasn't quite the day I'd hoped it would be." It wasn't at all the day Paige had hoped it would be. She had imagined digging at the site, finding something amazing she could put her name on. Or at least getting to look at what had been found so far.
"Cheer up. It can only get better from here."

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Lights out was right after dinner. Everyone was exhausted after such a long day. Paige just couldn't sleep. The howling wind kept her awake. She pulled the blankets up tightly, but she was still cold.
"You awake?" It was Nate.
"Who could possibly sleep in here?"
Benson's snoring was just audible above the wind.
"Come on, it's time to get up."
"What?" It was only just after midnight, and Paige had no intention on getting out of her sleeping bag.
"Do you want to see what they found or not?"
That caught her attention.
"What do you mean see what they found?"
Nate held up a key.
"Come on, before these old bats wake up."

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Nate led Paige to a small trailer just past where the temp building was. He unlocked the door and the two quickly ran inside out of the cold.
"Hang on, there's a furnace out back."
Paige couldn't see anything in the dark, Nate stumbled around for a minute, finding the light switch and starting the furnace.
"It should heat up in a minute." Nate took a seat at a small desk, eyeing a vase.
"Is that one of the finds?" Paige asked.
"Yeah, looks like a mid 14th century vase, good condition. Might just be the kind of thing you'd find in a spooky castle." Nate joked.

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Paige walked around the small room. There was a couple of vases, mostly whole which was interesting. She eyed each artifact carefully, it all looked 14th century. It all looked like it could have come from a castle. It all looked genuine.

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She was in awe, everything she had learnt at uni was falling into place. Reaching the end of the row of artifacts, something caught her eye in the corner of the room.
"Yeah I think that might be what Dad wanted Benson to look at."
"What is it?"
"Well, it's a painting." Nate said sarcastically.
"Duh."

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"It needs a good clean, but they think it could be quite valuable."
"Really?" Paige looked at the painting, it didn't look like anything special. She knew old paintings were usually valuable, but most of them were by well known artists, had appealing subject matter, and were more than a black and white image. As far as she could tell, the artist hadn't left a mark, the girl in the picture wasn't instantly recognizable, and it was plainly a black image on a white canvas.
"It's a bit creepy isn't it?" Nate stood close to Paige. She looked further into the painting. He was right, it was creepy. "It's almost like she's a ghost."
"Yeah, I think it's her face. It's almost like.... a skeleten or something." The wind howled violenly outside.

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"You know, back in those times, they used to paint pictures of the dead. So I guess she could be a skeleten." Nate smiled a little.
"Oooh spooky eh?"
A clap of thunder startled them both.

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"Come on, lets get out of here before they notice we're gone." Nate took Paige's hand, and led her out the door. She took one more look at the painting, it was almost as if the girl in the picture was looking back at her. Looking right through her.

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She couldn't help but shudder. Not just from the cold.

[goforfink]

Paige had slept uneasy all night. She had dreams of the girl in the painting. Dreams of her father. His whole life he had wanted to see something as amazing as that, but he hadn't. He had searched and searched, but came up with only junk. Now he was gone, he had wasted his whole life digging, when he had the greatest treasure right in front of him all along.

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Of course, he never knew that. He loved Paige, but he never had the time for her. She bought his attention by digging with him in the yard. In time, she learnt to love to dig too. She learnt to love her father.


"Ready?" Nate asked.
"Yeah."

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They were going to the excavation site today. Benson had given Paige a notebook with the instructions of writing down everything that happens.
'I'll spend the whole day with my head in this book and won't see anything.' She thought.
The site was only a short walk from the buildings, it was cold, thankfully the snow storm had stopped overnight but it was still unbearable.
"Think warm thoughts." Zen advised. Everyone gathered around a small fire. "Basically, were going to be digging over here today. The team found a couple of interesting things just by that wall two days ago, and we want to take another look before moving on."
"The weathers not going to let up, so keep warm, we'll head back to the buildings at 12:30 for lunch." Benson added.

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The heavy snowfall had covered the dig site, everyone quickly set to removing the thick layer.
"Don't go too far, we're just doing this one area." Benson had warned. Paige and Nate headed for the far north corner.
"So, I was thinking about the items we saw last night." Nate wasn't paying much attention to where he was moving the snow, and threw it right into Paige. "Uh, sorry, um, yeah I think I have an old book with that painting in it."
"Great! We can find out what it is."
"Yeah, just one problem, the book is back at the hotel." Paige was disappointed. With all the boredom of the dig so far, researching an old painting seemed exciting. "I'm sure we'll be heading back there tonight."

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"I hope so, another night of Benson's snoring and I'll turn into a zombie." Paige joked.
"Haha, yeah it's like sleeping next to a hair dryer." Nate giggled. The two of them laughed stupidly, they got on surprisingly well. But then they came from the same background, they worked in the same fíeld, and they had the same sense of humor. Paige continued shovelling snow, thinking about what a pointless endevour this was.
'It's only gonna get covered in snow again tonight.' She thought.

Suddenly Paige felt uneasy.

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She stood for a second, unsure of what she was feeling.
"Whats wrong?" Nate questioned.
"... It's nothing." She thoguht she'd caught a glimpse of someone in the snow over Nate's shoulder.
"Tell me?"

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".... I just, thought I saw someone by the wall over there."
"Hahaha!" Nate laughed, "That painting's got you spooked."
"... Yeah, I'm seeing things." Paige smiled, still a little uneasy.
"It was probably that old man, Bill. He's been hanging around, making sure we don't keep any of his valuables."
She felt a little better. It probably was Bill. Besides, she wasn't thinking straight in this cold.


By lunchtime everyone was exhausted from clearing the snow. Not much had been acheived, but they had moved enough snow to continue digging in a small area by the western wall. Zen and Benson went back after lunch, keeping contact by shortwave radio. Paige was carefully detailing everything.
"The rock's a little more dense here, perhaps limestone." Benson said. "Looks like it could have been the floor. Getting all this Paige?"
"Yes Professor." Paige was bored out of her brains, it was late, she was hungry, and it was starting to snow again.
"Alright. We're heading back now."


Paige was glad to be back at the hotel. Back in her comfy room with her comfy bed. She was looking forward to a good nights sleep. There was a quick debrief downstairs, not much was said. It hadn't been the most productive two days. The floor was an interesting find, and plans were to keep digging tomorrow and see how far the flooring goes. Paige headed straight for bed, leaving Zen and Benson chatting about the days events, seemed they had endless things to talk about.

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She tossed and turned all night. Again dreaming of her father.
'Never give up Paige.' It was almost a distant memory. 'One day, I'll be famous, we'll be rich, we can leave this town behind us.'

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He was right about one thing, Paige had made it out of that dead end town. She was going to make something of her life.
"PAIGE!"

The scream startled Paige, waking her from her slumber. 'I must have been dreaming.' She thought.
"Paige?" A voice, again.
"Who's there?" She yelled into the dark.
"It's Nate."
She calmed down a little, got up and opened the door for Nate.
"What are you doing up this late?" She asked.
"I was reading. I've found the painting." Nate looked excited. Paige was intregued, but she desperately wanted to go back to sleep. "Take a look." Nate shoved the book in her face.


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'It was painted by Vlad Manon, a little known French painter.' '1378' 'Manon disappeared along with the painting in 1382' 'It was known as 'La nuit de filles triste.'' 'It is unknown for sure, but the girl is said to be his daughter, Grace.' 'Manon's daughter also disappeared around 1382.'

"Wow. So how did it end up in South Lamond?"
"Good question." Nate took the book. "Lamond was an art collector, he did travel, it could be he just saw it, liked it and took it... at the price of a few innocents lives."
'Nice guy', Paige thought.
"Anyway, I'm heading out to the site, if you'd like to join me?"
"What? I thought we didn't have to leave til 7?"
"I wasn't planning on waiting for Dad and Benson..."

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[leos_pride]

i am terrible and i owe you an apology, i read your last update (one before just now) and completely forgot to comment..i am sorry!
But i am commenting now LOL ....its getting spooky! Who was the figure!? Cant wait to find out. Awesome update (i love that word right now LOL)

[romyhorse]

That's my daughter's favourite word too :lol:
Great update, I'm interested in finding out more about Vlad and his daughter.

[goforfink]

Thanks guys for the comments :D
I'll hopefully have an update soon. Real life gets in the way unfortunately. My laptop died on me yeseterday, turns out it was just a power glitch so everythings good. Had me scared though! I'm working on an update now but I doubt it'll be finished before tomorrow, I only have a few hours and other work to do before going out tonight, coz sadly putting out people's burning houses comes before simming (sometimes only just).
Anyway again a big thanks and hugs for everyone who's reading and hopefully enjoying my story so far :) PROMISE I'll have an update by tomorrow night at the latest.

[goforfink]

Chapter 5

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The car ride to the site was quiet. Partly because Paige was so tired, partly because she had other things on her mind.
"What's up?" Nate asked. Paige looked at him for a moment.
"I was just thinking, maybe we should wait til morning to go to the site." She still felt a little uneasy.
"We're nearly there, there's no point turning back now."
"I know... It's just..."
"You're still creeped out about that painting."
"Yeah, a bit." Paige managed a smile.
"Haha, you'll be right, an old painting isn't going to hurt you! Oh S#@T!" Nate swerved violently, narrowly missing a tree. "What the hell was that?"
Paige hadn't seen anything, Nate looked terrified.

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"What? What was it?"
"... Must have been some kind of animal, it was standing in the middle of the road." Nate go back into the car, and drove back onto the road. "I should put the high beams on I guess."
Paige couldn't help thinking perhaps they had been given a warning to turn back.


The site was even more creepy in the dark than it had been during the morning, and Paige was feeling even more uneasy. They quickly went into the trailer to warm up.
"Nate... What are we doing here?" Paige asked.
"Well," Nate walked around the room, he stopped in front of the painting. "We're going to take a closer look at this."
He pulled the painting from the wall and examined it closely.

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"What are you looking for?" Paige asked.
"A map."
'A map?' Paige thought. 'Why would he be looking for a map?'
"Ah, here we are!"
"What? What is it?"
"Calm down."
"I don't see anything."
"It's right here see." Nate pointed to a spot on the painting.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_f4d0b316.jpg

Paige looked at Nate. He was insane. There was no map there.
"It's the number 2 you see." Nate said.
"Yeah it's a number."
"Uh huh, and if you match it to this map of the site, you get this spot, right here." Nate pulled out a map of the site, and pointed to grid 2. Now Paige really thought he was insane. How could a number in a six hundred year old painting have anything to do with a map of an excavation area?
"You're joking right?" Paige was confused.
"Come on, they haven't searched this grid yet, we might find something."

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_b4d0b448.jpg

Paige followed Nate out into the cold, she didn't know why. She was reasonably sure Nate had no idea what he was doing, but the fact that he had said they might find something had Paige sucked in. They walked over to an area near a stone wall, on the other side of the site to where they had been digging all day.
"We'll start here, work our way north." Nate said, they both started digging, clearing the snow at first, and then the dirt.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_f4d0b4c2.jpg

"Got something." Nate said excitedly. He cleared a little more dirt. "Looks like a floor."
"Awesome!" Paige screamed.
"It's not that awesome, Dad and Benson found a floor today remember? It could be anything. Maybe just a natural limestone layer even."
'Rats' Paige thought. She had gotten her hopes up a bit early, for something that probably was nothing. She slammed her shovel into the ground in disgust.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_54d0b650.jpg

The ground shook a little, Nate and Paige both stood stone still.
"What was that?" Paige asked.
"I don't know." Nate answered. She could tell by his voice he was just as scared as she was. There was a loud rumble from underneath them.
"RUN!" Nate screamed.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_d4d0b8db.jpg

Paige tried to run, she could feel the ground moving and she knew she was falling, there was nothing she could do. She gave in, letting the floor take her with it. She watched the sky as she fell.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_74d0b902.jpg

The sky faded to darkness. She heard a distant voice...
"PAIGE."

[leos_pride]

OMG....noooo...don't leave us there...ARRR!!!!!

[romyhorse]

It gets better and better :D

[goforfink]

* Not a large update, sorry, my son is sick again, and real grumpy, also I'm trying to use my spare time to play freetime a bit :D not that I've had much of a chance to do that, anyway, enjoy, and hopefully I'll have another update in the next few days. *

It was dark. So dark Paige couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She picked herself up and managed to feel her way to a wall.
'I'm alive.' She thought. 'No perminant damage.'

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_d4d47a61.jpg

Suddenly she remembered Nate. Hopefully he had outrun the collapse and was getting help.
'Just have to sit it out.'
She stared up, and again couldn't see anything. The moonlight should have been visable.
'S#@t.'
Dirt had covered where she had fallen in. She was trapped underground. Burried alive. Of course, she was lucky she hadn't been crushed, but Paige didn't see it that way. How would they find her now? Soon snow would cover the site again, what if the extra weight caused another collapse?

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_d4d479ef.jpg

In the distance, she thought she had seen a light.
"Hello?" She called out. Only the echo of her own voice answered her. Again, she saw a light. She was sure this time it was real.
"Is someone there?" No answer. She started walking towards the light, keeping one hand close to the wall as a guide. The more she walked, the further away the light seemed to be.
"Hello?" She called again. "I need some help."

The light vanished. She was once again in complete darkness.

'Fantastic.' She thought. She kicked the ground in anger, and continued along the wall dispite the black. She came to a gap in the wall, a doorway perhaps.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_54d47a2a.jpg

Paige followed the gap in the wall. It did seem like a doorway, suddenly the dirt beneath her feet had changed into a wooden floor.
'I'm imagining it.' She thought. 'There couldn't possibly be wood.'
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
The room lit up with a brilliant glow. Paige covered her eyes, the light was a shock after such darkness. After a moment, her eyes adjusted, and she looked around. She was in a library. Wall to wall covered with bookcases, and in the center, a desk.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_74d47b28.jpg

Paige walked over to the desk. There was a book, she took another look around, and realizing no one was there, took a seat at the desk and picked up the book.
'The Diary Of Vlad Manon. 1383.'

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_54d47b63.jpg

The pages were blank.

"How strange?" Paige said aloud. Why was there a blank diary of a French painter in a room, underground, in South Lamond? She put the book down and looked around the room, catching a glimpse of someone in the doorway.
"Hello?" By the time she had run over, there was no one there. "Hello? Please??? I need help!"

The lights turned off as suddenly as they had turned on. Paige was once again in total darkness.
"What the hell is going on???" She screamed.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_14d47b93.jpg

"PAIGE" A distant voice cried...

[romyhorse]

Yeah! Great update :D, I wonder who the person in the doorway was?

[leos_pride]

OMG....arr....between you and Romy and your cliff hangers i am going to end up in a mental institution, complete with no hair!
Great update..even though you are causing me baldness LOL

[goforfink]

Sorry for e lack of updates once again, I'll have an update up tonight, hopefully in the next few hours :)

[goforfink]

Paige was certain she had heard a voice down the corridor. She ran as fast as she could, in the dark, she tripped, falling head first into a large pile of dirt.
"PAIGE" She heard again, she picked herself up and kept going, this time, feeling the wall as she went.
"Hello?" She called.
"Paige? Is that you?"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_74dc59ba.jpg

"Nate?" She couldn't see anything in the dark, but she was certain it was him. "Where are you?"
"Over here." Nate called. Where was over here? She kept feeling along the wall, and came to another doorway.
"Nate?" Once again the darkness became blinding light. "Nate what are you doing?"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_94dc5ba8.jpg

He was sitting in the center of a small room. Paige had that uneasy feeling again.

"Nate?" We need to get out of here Nate."
"There's no way out."
"What?" The words sent shivers down Paige's spine. "What do you mean there's no way out?"
"The grounds covered the hole. We're trapped."
"There has to be another way out, have you looked around?"
"There's no point."
The room turned to darkness again.
"Nate? NATE?" He didn't reply. Paige felt around the room the best she could in the dark. She couldn't find him. 'Where the hell is he?' She thought.
"What is going on here?" She screamed. The light turned back on, she was alone. Nate was nowhere to be seen.
"Nate?" Paige was scared, something just wasn't right about this place, lights going on and off, secret rooms, people disappearing, she didn't like the situation at all. But it was a few words Nate had said that had scared her the most, 'there's no way out'. He couldn't be right, he just couldn't.

Paige ran back to where she had fallen in, or at least to where she assumed she had fallen in, it was hard to tell in the darkness once again. If she jumped, she could touch the ceiling. It was rock hard.
'Maybe this isn't where I fell.' She thought, continuing quickly along the wall. It felt like she was running in circles.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_34dc59e2.jpg

She ran, faster and faster, starting to panic. What if Nate was right? Where did he go? Why had he left her alone? She was running to fast she wasn't holding the wall anymore, she was blind.
"I have to get out!" She screamed. There was a blinding light, Paige stopped herself moments before meeting a wall face first.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_f4dc5c82.jpg

Paige was in a room, much larger than where she had met Nate, much brighter even. It was white, nothing but white. In the far corner, stood a figure.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_14dc5ca5.jpg

"Nate?" She tried to walk to him, but a force stopped her. Nate turned around, looking Paige in the eyes, even from scross the room his gaze was piercing.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_74dc5cd4.jpg

"I told you, there's no way out."

[romyhorse]

Aaaaarrrggghh! Great update!!

[leos_pride]

Woha......Nate has gone all freaky! Update soon...i am dying to know what happens to them.

[goforfink]

* I had some time this afternoon, so... an update! YAY :D lol I was excited anyway... On with the update. *


Paige stood stunned. She couldn't move.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/first.jpg

Nate looked at her, and she knew something wasn't right. It was like he wasn't there, like he was someone else.
"Nate.... Come on Nate help me find a way out." He just stared at her, intensely.
"There's no way out."
"Your wrong Nate!" He had to be wrong. She couldn't be trapped in this place forever, she just couldn't.
"Stop calling me that."
"What???" Paige was confused. "Stop calling you what?"
"Stop calling me Nate." He smiled at her, just slightly, and once again, she left completely uneasy. She took a step back, there was a door behind her, perhaps she could make a run for it.
"Don't even try it." He said before Paige had even moved. She didn't listen, she turned and ran as fast as she could, but it was no use, the door disappeared before her very eyes.
"What? Where did it go?" She felt around where the door had been, there was nothing but a thick white wall, as if a door had never been there.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/atwalllight.jpg

Paige turned and faced Nate. He was still standing in the corner, he hadn't moved.
"What do you want from me?" She asked. Nate continued smiling at her. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" She screamed.
"Quieten down, you'll wake the dead screaming like that." The blinding light turned to darkness once more. Paige was too scared to yell out. She backed up against the wall, and stayed as still as she possibly could. It was silent, only the sound of her breathing was audible. She fought to keep herself from tears, not even letting out a whimper, though she felt like screaming.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/darkupset.jpg

She leaned on the wall, kicking it, almost in defeat of her situation. Suddenly she fell backwards.
'What happened to the wall?' She thought, still trying to be as silent as possible. She picked helself up and searched the darkness for another wall. It wasn't long before she had found one, though this wall wasn't like every other wall she had found so far. Even in the dark she could feel it was textured, painted maybe. She followed the wall. It seemed it was just a certain section that was like this. She felt around more, perhaps it was a doorway of some kind. Finally, she could feel something in the wall.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/paigewalldark.jpg

'What is that?' She thought. It was an indentation of some kind in the wall, a hand print maybe. Paige put her hand up to it, as she touched it, the light came back on.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/paigewall.jpg

She moved her hand quickly, staring at the wall.
"It couldn't be." She said aloud, taking one step back from the wall.
It was almost the same painting that had been found at the site... Only much bigger, and in color. Paige couldn't help but stare. She was lost in the painting, the girl just had her fixated. She didn't look real.

"Paige." A voice whispered. She had been hearing it for a while... at first she had thought it was Nate's voice, calling for help in the darkness, but now, as she stood before the painting on the wall, she knew it was the girl.
"What do you want?" She asked, her voice was shaky from fear. The light went off, again Paige was in darkness, She put her hand to the wall once more, this time, leaving it there. There was a light, more blinding than before, coming from the wall. Paige removed her hand and stepped backwards, more scared now.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/lightwall.jpg

The light continued to grow, Paige covered her eyes but it was useless, the light was everywhere. She ran, but couldn't see where she was going, still she ran. The floor beneath her disappeared, and she had that familiar feeling of falling.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/arm.jpg

She tried to scream, but no noise came out.
"PAIGE!" She heard again, distant now, and desperate. "PAIGE!" As she fell into the darkness...

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/black.jpg

Then, again, there was silence.

[goforfink]

Lol, I know this is random, but, just hit 2 pages :D YAY!

[romyhorse]

Another great update! I wonder if that was Nate, the real Nate, calling for her?

I just wanted to add that I'm surprised there aren't more people reading/commenting on your story, it's really good :).

[leos_pride]

Maybe she is in a coma and having weird dreams...hmm.
And agree with Romy, it is a good story!

[goforfink]

Aww shucks :D you guys are real nice. Your comments are greatly appreciated, as this is my first 'story' type story, it really means a lot for people to say they think it's good. Thanx heaps, you all rock :)

[I.nfectious_SC]

this looks like it's going to be an interesting story... I'll look forward to the next update :)

[goforfink]

* Another update, 3 in 3 days :D wow *


Paige lay in silence, scared to move. She heard nothing, and was too scared to open her eyes to look around. She lust lay there, huddled in a ball, she was freezing, so much she couldn't even shiver.
'I don't get it, the temperature was fine a minute ago.' Something soft touched her face, something cold. 'What? Snow?'

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_f4df16c2.jpg

She mustered the courage to open her eyes. Sure enough, she was lying in snow. No wonder she was cold, she could barely move.
"Nate?" She called. There was no reply, she could hear to wind howling now, and could see familiar stone walls. She was back at the site.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_f4df1660.jpg

"NATE?" She called again, as loud as she could.
"Paige?" Came a distant call. It was Benson. He came running across the snow towards her. "Paige? Oh thank heavens we found you."
"What?" She was confused, how did she get back to the site? She was sure she had been underground, and had fallen further down, it made no sense.
"Are you alright?" Benson asked. She nodded. She was cold, but she was certainly alright.
"Where's Nate?" She asked.
".....We haven't found him, yet."
"What do you mean you haven't found him yet?" Benson avoided Paige's gaze. He looked over her shoulder, and nodded, Paige turned around, Zen was frantically looking around the site, she could hear him calling now, calling for Nate.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_d4df1888.jpg

"What happened?" Benson asked.
"We were digging.... the ground collapsed under us, we fell into a hallway, there was a library, and the lights kept going on and off... and Nate-"
"-Calm down Paige." Benson looked at her, concerned. "There's no way you could have fallen anywhere, its solid ground." Paige looked at him in disbelief, she looked around, he was right, there was no sign of ground collapse anywhere.
"But we fell, I swear!"
"I think you should come with me... Zen! Over here! I've got Paige."
Zen ran over, but the look on his face when he realized Nate wasn't there was just hopeless.

"Come on, lets get her out of the cold." Zen said sadly, he handed Paige a blanket and they walked over to the car.
"What about Nate?" Paige asked. Benson shrugged.
"The snows too thick... we were about to leave when I spotted you in the snow, your lucky."
They got into the car, and started to drive back towards the hotel.
"We cant leave him here!" Paige screamed.
"A search party will be here tomorrow... there's nothing we can do until then, its just too cold." Benson said calmly. Zen didn't say a word, he drove silently the whole way.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_74df15c2.jpg

The motel was an unwelcome sight. Paige felt awful, Nate had been left there, either underground, or in the cold. Either way, the chances of him coming back alive looked slim. Paige crawled into bed, exhausted. Benson sat in a chair across the room.
"I just don't think you should be left alone." He had said. Paige didn't care. She tried to forget he was there, and eventually, she fell asleep to the sound of his constant snores. She dreamed of running. Running through darkness. It had been real, she was sure of it.

"PAIGE!" She woke suddenly to the loud scream. She looked around the room, even in the dark she could see Benson had gone.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_34df1497.jpg

"Hello?" She called into the dark. It was silent. Dead silent. She couldn't even hear the ticking of the clock.
'That's strange.' She thought. She climbed out of bed, still dressed, and headed out the hotel room door.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called into the hallway. Still silence. She walked along, finally getting to the end of the hall, standing still in front of a grandfather clock.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_94df1558.jpg

'Must be broken.' She thought. It wasn't ticking. 'Everyone's gone to sleep.' She walked back along the hall, getting to her room door, just as the clock struck midnight...
".... It wasn't working a minute ago." She whispered to herself.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_f4df1574.jpg

The sound of heavy breathing started close by... Paige stood frozen in the hallway.

[leos_pride]

Oh wow...this is getting weird...Still a great story though!

[I.nfectious_SC]

woah, scary! remind me not to read this at night lol..

[goforfink]

lol :D thanks for the comments guys.

[romyhorse]

More and more intriguing!

[goforfink]

The heavy breathing made Paige cringe in the dark. She looked around, she could just make out a figure sitting in the hallway.
"Benson?"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_54f2eae3.jpg

He made no effort to respond, and continued breathing heavily. Paige knelt down in front of him, nervously.
"Benson? Do you need me to get some help?" Again, only his breathing answered her, "I'm going to get help..." She turned to get up, Benson grabbed her wrist tightly.
"There's no way out."

The words froze Paige.
"What are you talking about?"
"THERE'S NO WAY OUT!" Benson screamed.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_14f2ebe3.jpg

The ground started shaking, Paige tried to run but Benson's grip was too strong. The shaking got worse, the walls started falling down around them, and Paige could see the floor starting to collapse at the end of the hall. She kept trying, but she just couldn't escape Benson's grasp. She felt the floor moving under her, once again it was gone, and she was falling into darkness.
"There's no way out." Benson's words echoed.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_54f2ebf8.jpg

Paige picked herself up slowly, hitting the ground hard this many times was starting to take its toll, she was begining to ache all over.
"Hello?" Benson?" She called into the dark. Silence replied.
'What's going on now???' She thought, 'First Nate, now Benson.' She was scared, she was cold, and she had no idea what she was going to do to get out of here. She put her back to a wall, and sat. This time, she wasn't going anywhere. Zen and Benson had said a search party would be there in the morning, perhaps they would be able to find her. It was after midnight, surely they were on their way. Eventually, she fell asleep.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_f4f2ec5f.jpg

She woke up to the sound of screaming.
"PAIGE!" The desperate cry came.
"Nate? Benson?" She called into the darkness. She could see a figure running towards her. "Hello?"
"Paige!" It was Zen. "Paige run!"
"What?" She could see now, Zen was being chased. By what she couldn't see in the dark, but he was running for his life. He ran straight past her, she sat motionless. The figure walked up to Paige, all she could see was a pair of piercing eyes. "...Nate? Is that you?"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_74f2ed16.jpg

Nate looked at Paige, grinning menacingly. He turned to the direction his father had gone, and kept walking.
"Nate???" Paige called after him. He didn't reply. She could hear his footsteps in the dark, Zen had cowered in a corner close by, and Nate was closing in.
"Nate, what are you doing Nate?" Zen cried, his voice trembleing. "NATE! Nate no... Nate AHHHHH!!!" Zen screamed. Paige covered her ears, the sound was horrific. Zen didn't make another sound. Nate soon turned his attention to Paige, she got up, ready to run, she hung onto the wall for dear life. Nate started walking towards her, she felt trapped, as if she couldn't move. Nate began to run, she closed her eyes, and listened to his footsteps getting closer.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_34f2ecbe.jpg

Paige expectedthe worst... Suddenly, the wall behind her disappeared, and she was thust into blinding light.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_d4f2e9b6.jpg

Nate had gone. She was in a vacant room. A familiar painting against the far wall.
"What??? How did I end up here again?" She was starting to panic now. All this falling, dark corridors, blinding lights, Nate killing his own father... It was insane.
"They don't like the light." A voice said. Paige turned to see a girl, about her age. She was blonde... except for that, she looked just like Paige. It was the girl from the painting, Vlad's Daughter.
".... Grace... Grace Manon?"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_f4f2ea05.jpg

"Follow me." Grace said. She touched the wall, covering it with light, creating an opening. Paige hesitated, not sure if she should trust a 600 year old dead girl. "...Come on, we don't have much time."

[romyhorse]

Great update :D, but what happened to Chapter Ten :P

[leos_pride]

Woha! I wouldn't trust the long ago dead girl that looks like me..thats just freaky!

[goforfink]

Lol thanx Romy! :D I thought I might have done that but I was so tired last night I didn't chek.

[goforfink]

* Morning all! I bring an update today, hooray! It's been a while I know. I've had a few family issues, and been busy with work... but on the plus I've had some time to work out where this story is going :) on with the update. *


Paige followed Grace threw the opening in the wall. She causiously looked around, but all she saw was a long bright white hallway

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/noone.jpg

"Where are you taking me?" Paige called. Grace stopped for a moment, looking her deep in the eyes.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/notwo.jpg

Her stare was haunting, it was like she could see every part of Paige. It was like they were connected. Like they had known each other forever. And then, Paige felt at ease, she trusted Grace. She didn't know why, but she felt safe with her, in this bright light.

"You must have some questions." Grace said slowly, still watching Paige carefully. 'What an understatement.' Paige thought.
"Why are you here? In South Lamond? I thought Vlad Manon was a Fren-"
"-Vlad Manon does not exist." Grace was calm, she made a gesture towards the wall and another opening appeared, leading into a small room with a table and two chairs. She ushered Paige to sit, and then did the same.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/nothree.jpg

"Vlad Manon is an anagram. For Van Lamond, my father."
"... I don't understand?"
"My father had quite the reputation, he was a bit of a ladies man, and a bit of a gambler, and he got himself into a lot of trouble back home in France."

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/nofour.jpg

"Luckily he had some moral sense, and when my Mother left me as a babe, he took me in, made sure I had everything I needed... everything except a proper Father, he was always too busy for me.
Paige sure understood how that felt.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/nofive.jpg

"His bad habits caught up with him, and his associates demanded payment. He painted a portait of me, and made up the name 'Vlad Manon', naming him the painter. He paid his debt with the painting, then stole it back in the night. He couldn't bare to part with such a treatured posession. Its a shame he treasured the painting more than the real thing."
"What do you mean?" Paige asked, intrigued.
"He moved me here, to South Lamond. Said it was for my own protection. But before long, strange things started happening."
"Strange things?"
"It would go dark, suddenly, at all hours of the day and night. So dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face."

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/nosix.jpg

"Then the servants started acting strangely."
Paige thought back to how Nate and Benson had been acting, it sure had been strange. She thought about poor Zen, and how he screamed when Nate attacked him.
"You've already seen what I speak of." Grace said quietly. Paige looked at her, she could feel the fear returning to her body.
"What do I have to do to get out of here?" She asked.
"Follow me."

Grace led Paige through another opening, into that same room with the painting on the wall.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/noseven.jpg

"You have the light within you, I saw it when you touched the painting." Grace moved closer to the wall. "I have never been able to understand how it works, the light in me isn't strong enough to open the portal."
"Portal?"
"Yes, between your world and ours. I can use my light for short amounts of time, but I grow weak quickly. The light in you is much stronger than anything I have ever een able to do. You might just have the power to escape."
"... But... I don't know how I did that before! It just happened!" Paige yelled, the light started to grow dimmer. "What's going on?"
"I'm getting weak." Grace said. "I can not keep them away for long."
"Them? Who's them?"
"Those who are acting strange... like canibals, like they have no soul, like they are not alive."
"You mean my friends?"
"They are not your friends anymore. Your friends are gone."
"What?" Paige was getting distressed. The light dimmed more.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/noeight.jpg

"Once the light goes out they will come for you. You need to fight back."
"WHAT? What am I supposed to fight with?"

The room went dark.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/nonine.jpg

Grace's voice echoed "Use the light..."

[bluemoon11]

Cool! I'm glad this story's back... I missed it. And it just keeps getting creepier!

[romyhorse]

Great update, missed it too!

[goforfink]

* Wow... I got busy and came up with another update today! *


Paige stood in the darkness, not sure what her first move should be.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_551159cf.jpg

She thought about just running for it, but she wouldn't have a clue where she was going. She couldn't see in front of her let alone work out where she was in this maze. She closed her eyes, and lent against the wall for a moment. How had it come to this? Trapped underground, in a castle, all her friends practically zombies, taking advise from a dead girl... all she wanted was to study archaeology, become what her father had spent his whole life dreaming of. But now, now she had to focus on getting out of this hell.

She thought about what Grace had said. 'Use the light?' She didn't know how to use the light. It had just happened at the painting. That was it, the paining on the wall. Paige turned around and felt the wall, she was still at the painting.
"This worked before." She said quietly, touching the wall.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_15115a40.jpg

Nothing happened.

She stood there for a moment in disbelief. How could nothing happen??? She had touched the wall just like before. She tried again, and still nothing happened. She tried moving her hands over the wall, there was only the one indentation, she was sure, but the more she touched it the more she felt she was wasting her time.
"You won't find it." Came a voice behind Paige.
"... Nate?"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_55115a7b.jpg

"You wont find the light."
"... How do you know about the light?" Paige moved up against the wall, she looked around, but in the dark she couldn't see which way she should run.
"I don't like the light, it keeps me grounded, keeps me from performing my tasks."
"What tasks? What are you talking about Nate? We came here to do a dig remember? Nate-"
"-STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Nate screamed.
"... Oh, Ok..." She made a split second decision and ran as fast as she could to the right. She didn't get far before Nate was once again blocking her way.
"You don't get it do you? There's no way out."
"Yes there is!" Paige screamed, she threw herself at Nate, pushing him backwards. He smiled at her, laughing.
"Hahahahaha... did you really think that you could hurt me?"
Paige looked at him, she was angry now, angry that she had been dragged into a 600 year old story, angry that she had taken this extra credit opportunity only to be fighting for her life, angry that someone who was supposed to be her friend was trying to hurt her. She stood there, watching him laugh at her til she could barely hold in the frustration.
"Join us Paige, or die like that silly old bat Zen." That was the last straw. Paige lunged at him, screaming with all her might.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_d5115ab0.jpg

She barely managed to shake him.
"Hahahahahahaha!" Nate stood there, mocking her. "Stupid girl, now you're going to pay." He took a step towards her, she closed her eyes, and a blinding light came over her.
"What is this????" Nate screamed. She opened her eyes, he was burning.... the light was burning him.


She couldn't help but feel guilty, her friend was burning, but the more she thought about her guilt the quicker the flames were subsiding. Nate began to laugh again, she lunged for him once more... the moment she touched him he turned to ash.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_35115b71.jpg

Nate was gone... Paige couldn't believe it. The darkness had turned to light once more, and nothing but a pile of ash stood before her. She didn't know how she had done it, but she had.
"I knew it was in you." Grace appeared.
"... How did I do that?"
"You'll have to work that out yourself..." Grace walked through another wall. Paige was alone, alone in the light. She turned her attention to the painting. Grace had said this was the portal, so this was the way out. She put her hand to the wall once more, this time concious to focus all her energy on this 'light'. She closed her eyes, and she could feel it. She felt the warmth running through her, then she could see it, she could see the light.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_b5115942-1.jpg

The light grew brighter and wider, and soon, it was as if an opening was in front of Paige. She put her arm forward, and it went through the wall... it WAS an opening, it was the way out.

She looked back at the pile of ash, still smoking on the floor, before stepping through the portal.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_b511599e.jpg

* Oh my god... I killed Nate! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! And I apologise for not having a picture of him burning... I just couldn't make it happen right. *

[romyhorse]

So how's she going to explain that one? :lol:

[goforfink]

lol I know :) it was slightly unexpected... *oops*
I'm gonna have another update in a day or so... trying to make up for the lack of updates in the last few weeks.

Hahaha oh... sorry, I just realized that I apparently joined this community 15 years before I was born... wow

[goforfink]

I smashed my wrist last week, so typing is kinda painful lol :) I'm working on an update but no guarantees it'll be up before tomorrow night....

[goforfink]

* I apologize, I'm not very happy with the pictures at all. Also I apologize for this taking me 3 days to do... *


The blinding light surrounded Paige. She felt nothing but it's warmth. When she opened her eyes, it was all she could see, a bright white light. A fuzzy bright white light. Suddenly she regained her focus and realized she was staring at the ceiling.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_9521059a.jpg

"What the hell???" She shouted, sitting up abruptly. She was in a white room.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_752105ea.jpg

'The portal must have taken me here.' She thought, getting up and walking to the window. There was green grass outside, she was far enough from South Lamond that it wasn't snowing. Her joints were a little stiff, and she could feel her muscles aching, but she knew there was no perminant damage... and from what she could tell, she was safe.

Her attention quickly turned to the door as it opened, an older woman walking in.
"Oh it's nice to see you up."
Paige backed herself into the corner of the room. This woman didn't look dangerous, but after the incident with Nate she wasn't going to be taking chances.
"It's alright dear I'm just bringing you your breakfast." The woman put a plate of fresh pancakes on a small table. She looked at Paige. "Well come on, before it gets cold." Paige cautiously walked to the table and took a seat. She was starving, and dug into the pancakes, all the while this woman standing watching her. The sudden thought of her friends came into her head.
"Where's Benson?" Paige asked in between a bite.
"We've been through this Paige, don't make me say it again."
"... Say what?"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_7521067a.jpg

"You killed them Paige. Benson, Zen, Nate. We don't need to bring this up at breakfast."
Paige was a little stunned, and didn't quite know what to say. Obviously, this woman was dilusional. Paige had nothing to do with what had happened to Benson and Zen, and as for Nate, he had attacked her.
Finally she spoke, "... I don't understand." The woman looked at her, a little concerned. "I went through the portal..." She tried to explain, but the woman wouldn't hear it.
"I'll speak to you later Paige, Doctor Parker will be in shortly." She walked out of the room.
"Wait! Who's Doctor Parker?" The woman slammed the door behind her, and Paige heard it lock. She tried to open it anyway, to no avail. "Hello??? Where the hell am I?" She was starting to think the castle walls were better than this.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_752106ee.jpg

Panic had set it, and Paige fought with her tears. How could that woman say she had killed her friends? What an awful thing to make up. She looked around the small room, everything was white, everything was plain, simple, sterile.
'It must be a hospital.' She thought, wiping the tears from her face. 'I got out, they found me, I'm at the hospital.' It made sense. The stark white room, the old lady a nurse perhaps, the doctor. The only thing that hadn't made sense was that Paige had killed Zen and Benson. 'They're just confused, I'll straighten them out.'
The door opened, and a man walked in.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_15210780.jpg

"Morning Paige."
"Who are you? And where am I? And where are my friends? That woman said I killed them but she's jus-"
"-Calm down a little..." She couldn't help herself, all the questions in her head came out at once. "Janet said you seemed a bit brighter today, I didn't expect quite this greeting though."
Paige sat in the chair, calmer now this man seemed to know what was going on.
"So your Parker?"
"Doctor Parker, yes."
"And this is a hospital?"
"... Of sorts, yes."

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_d52107dd.jpg

"What does that mean?" Paige questioned Parker, again, she couldn't help herself.
"It's a hospital of a different sort... for the criminally insane."
"WHAT???" Paige was no criminal... and she CERTAINLY wasn't insane. "What are you talking about? I don't belong here? Get me out of here!"
"Just calm down...." He grabbed her arm, reassuringly. "We need to go over a few things... I see Janet's already told you that you killed 3 people."
"I didn't kill Benson or Zen and Nate came straight for me I don't know what happened I swear!"
"Alright..." Parker seemed very calm about the whole situation. Much calmer than Paige would have thought given they were talking about murder here. "I believe you." She hadn't expected that.
"Why do you believe me?"
"You're young, you have no record, you don't seem to have any tendancies towards violence or mental illness, from what I've seen over the past few days anyway... and... nevermind."
Paige felt he wanted to tell her something else, but didn't push her luck. She felt a little better now, knowing someone believed her.
"So where are my friends?" She asked, although she feared she knew the answer.
"They are dead... the rescue crew found them at the dig site. You were the only one found alive." Paige felt awful.
"... Why do they think I killed them then?"
"The bodies were mutilated... one burned, and as you were the only other person up there at the time, it was a natural assumption." She was starting to get the picture. It had been a misunderstanding in thinking she had caused this.
"What about Grace? Did they find Grace?"
"... There was only four people found. You and the rest of the team... there's no record of any Grace."

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_55210888.jpg

"What about the hotel? Did they check there?"
"... There's no hotel in South Lamond Paige."
"Of course there's a hotel we stayed the night there twice-"
"There's no hotel. There's nothing in South Lamond except a mountain and a crazy old bat who lives at the top." Paige sat, feeling confused again, what the hell had they stayed in if it wasn't a hotel? Had she just made the hotel up in her mind? Was the whole trip in her mind?
"Look, don't beat yourself up. You're not the first person to say that. You're not the first one to have had... an experience in South Lamond."
Paige looked at him, he deffinately knew more than he was letting on, but for some reason he wouldn't say. He got out a piece of paper and quickly scribbled something down on it, pushing it across the table towards Paige. Then got up and walked toward the door.
'What am i supposed to do with this?' Paige thought, an address was scribbled on the paper.
"There's some clothes in the dresser, it might pay to get changed."

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/Sims%202/Story/snapshot_34bef06c_752109a3.jpg

"... I might happen to forget to lock this door on my way out."

[peachizncream]

Talk about creepy...Good story though! :thumb:

[goforfink]

I'm working on an update hopefully to be up tomorrow.
A quick question, who's actually reading this??? Sorry to be annoying, just the lack of comments is a little discouraging...

[ndayeni]

I've been reading this :) I've liked what I've read so far and am curious to see where it's going.

[goforfink]

* ndayeni, thanx! :) It really is nice to get comments every now and then so I know I'm on the right track to a good story.
This update has been long overdue... :) *


Paige stood outside the hospital.
'How the hell did I get out of there without anyone noticing???' She thought. It had been so easy. She had changed her clothes, and her hair, and picked up the small amount of cash sitting in the draw. She didn't think it was enough to disguise her, but she had walked straight past 5 people in the hallway before casually walking out the front door.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_553c877b.jpg

She looked at the piece of paper in her hand.
'183 Hudson Road, Arlington.'
This was where she had to go. A sign across the road in front of her read 'Arlington Prep Academy, 183 Hudson Road.'
"... That was just too convinient." Paige said, a little suspicious, but crossing the road into the large brick building anyway.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Professor Ryan?" Paige asked the receptionist.
"Another history student are you? Down the hall to the left."
"Thanks."
Paige headed down the hall. Thoughts of her friends once more flooding her head. What had happened to Nate? To Zen? To Benson? She tried to put it out of mind, as she entered the Professors office.
"Professor Ryan?" She asked. A man stood at a bookshelf, muttering about not being able to find a book. He turned around, looking a little startled.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_f53c87d5.jpg

"Oh! My dear! You scared me!"
"Ah, sorry sir."
"No problem, no problem, come take a seat. How can I help you?"
Paige sat down, unsure how to start explaining why she was here.
"Well... Doctor Parker gave me your address."
"Doctor Parker? Why is he sending people to see me now?"
"He didn't say.... but maybe you can help me, I was at South Lamond and-"
"-South Lamond?"
This had peaked Ryan's interest.
"Yes. We were on a dig."
"... What did you say your name was again?"
"I didn't... and it's Paige."
"Hmmm.... go on."
Paige explained to Professor Ryan what had happened at South Lamond, about falling, and how Nate had gone all zombie like, and how there had been a portal.
"You must think I'm crazy." She said.
"No dear, not at all."

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_153c8812.jpg

Paige was confused. Any normal person would have thought she was completely out of her mind. Paige herself was starting to think so. But, both Doctor Parker and Professor Ryan seemed to believe her.
"Strange things have been happening at South Lamond for 600 year now." Ryan explained. "It all started with that girl."
"Grace."
"... Ah so you met Grace did you?"
"Well, yes... she helped me use the light."
"You managed to leave that bit out of your story!" Ryan ran to the bookshelf. "Where is it... Ah!" He ran back to the desk.
"You see my dear, not just anyone can use the light."
"What is the light? And how did I use it to open the portal?"
"One thing at a time dear. We'll start at the begining."
"... Ok."
"Now, the light, many people have reported seeing a girl disappear into a white light. Well, many people who have made it out of South Lamond that is."
"So there are other people who haven't made it out? Like Nate?"
"Yes my dear, there are many stories of people disappearing at the site where the Castle was found. Many, many stories over many, many centuries, why do you think it's such an uninhabited place still?"
This didn't make Paige feel any better at all. In fact, she was wondering why no one had bothered to explain this before they had gotten there.
"Anyway back to the light... how did you manage to use it?"
"I'm not sure, I was hoping you could answer that... Grace told me to use the light. She said it was strong enough to open the portal... and keep away Nate and the others."
"Interesting."

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_f53c8866.jpg

Paige felt this was getting her nowhere. This man was just asking questions, and wasn't helping her find Nate, Zen and Benson at all. They needed to contact the search party, not sit here.
"We have to go back there." Ryan announced. She was hoping he wouldn't say that. She wanted to help her friends, but she didn't want to go back there.
"I... I cant." Paige said, trembling.
"We HAVE to Paige. We have to find Grace."
"Grace??? What about my freinds?"
"Yes them too."
Paige knew he would have a reason to go there, to find Grace. He wanted to use her to find a 600 year old dead girl. Paige was angry, her friends were dead, she was traumatized, trying to work this all out, and this man wanted to find Grace???
"I'm not going back there." Paige said firmly.
"My dear... You don't have a choice."
"What?"
Ryan stood up, and said a few words Paige didn't understand. Darkness started to surround them, a familiar darkness Paige was not keen on seeing again.
"What have you done?" She screamed. She was surrounded in darkness once more.
"Stay with me."
Ryan grabbed her arm and pulled her along the dark corridor.
'This man is insane.' She thought. 'I've walked right into the trap of a mad man, and now, I'm back at this stupid castle.'
"Alright. Do it." Ryan said, stopping suddenly.
"Do what?" Paige asked.
"The light... use the light, were not going to find anything in this darkness."
"I told you I don't know how to use the light!"
"JUST DO IT!" Ryan screamed.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_753c88ad.jpg

"I knew you'd be back." A voice in came in the dark.
"Who's there?" Ryan asked.
"... Thats Benson." Paige said.
"Benson? Professor Benson? Benson my friend! So glad you're here! Help us you old man!"
Ryan walked in the direction of the voice.
"No-"
"-Shut up Paige." Benson screamed.
"It's not Benson!"
"Don't be stupid." Ryan walked ever closer, Paige could see his figure in the dark.
"He's one of them!"
"Nonsense, he'll help us find Grace."
'This man IS insane!' Paige started running in the opposite direction, she could hear Ryan meeting his demise behind her.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_953c88f8.jpg

"Come on!" She said, panicing, "Use the light Paige!" She stood still, and concentrated hard. She could see the light in her mind, and then, it was all around her.
"The painting!" She ran to the wall.
"Paige." Grace stood behind her. "What are you doing?"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_b53ca94c.jpg

"Ryan... he called the darkness.... I have to get out of here." She put her hand on the painting.
"WAIT!" Grace grabbed her, "We have to stop this."
"I don't care! I have to get out!!!
"It wont end Paige! He opened the portal it wont stop!"
"I DON'T CARE!" Paige pressed her hand hard to the wall, and the light surrounded her once more.
'I have to get out. I have to get out.' She repeated to herself.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_553ca9e8.jpg

.... And then, she was in the dark once more.
"Excuse me."
Paige tried to ignore the voice.
"Excuse me miss."
She got up.
"Can I help you?"
"This is the last stop miss, I'm afraid you have to get off the train."
"... The train?"

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p63/goforfink/snapshot_34bef06c_753caabf.jpg

"Yes miss, were in the city."
She was home.... home in the city, home far away from South Lamond. Suddenly she didn't care about Grace, or Nate or Zen... or even Benson. She could put it all behind her for a moment. Pretend it had never happened.

Paige walked into her dorm room, someone had stolen the picture above her be while she was gone
'Nice...' She thought. Her bed was there, her dresser, side table. She sat on her bed, cool, calm, collected.
"I'm safe." She said.
The phone rang. Startling her.
"Hello?" She said reluctantly.
"Paige! Have you done that ground essay? I completely forgot about it."
"Jamie?.... Yeah I've done it."
"Cool, I'll grab it off you in the morning."
"Alright."
Paige hung up the phone, that essay wasn't due for over a month. She picked up her cell phone and checked the date... sure enough, the essay was due, TOMORROW. Luckily, it was the only thing she had managed to do ahead of time, being that it was only 500 words long and consisted mainly of pictures, which Paige didn't consider work at all.
She crawled into bed, exhausted. She was a bit confused about where an entire month had gone, but after what she had been through, decided not to dwell on the unexplained. She felt safe for the first time since arriving at South Lamond.

Perhaps now that it was all over, she could get back to her life. Get back to being a typical Uni student, without a care in the world...

[Charley-x]

heyyy:)
good story,
keep writing.

[romyhorse]

Finally had time to read the last 2 chapters. Great updates! I wonder what's going to happen now?

[goforfink]

After some considerable thought, I have decided that I'm gonna end this story here for a while. Its not really the end, but lets call it, the end of part one. I think this is a good place to pause.
There's a few reasons for this.
First off, I've started back at work, just this week after taking a year off after having my son. He's 10 months old now, and I felt it was time to return to the land of those who work for a living :) I need a new car desperately (as the old crudy one commited suicide last week) so I'm working 7 shifts a week at the moment.
Secondly, I want to take some time to work on my neighborhood story, Kai Mountain (www.kaimountain.blogspot.com). I'm trying to find a direction for it and its rather confusing trying to write Ruins and Kai Mountain at once.

I want to say a heartfelt thanks to everyone who read and commented on this story, as it was the first story I wrote that was more than just documenting my sims life, all your feedback was really appreciated. I hope that I'll start the second part within a few months, once life settles down. I have a few ideas of whats to come but I'm not giving any hints just yet :D

This has nothing to do with Ruins but I feel its important to mention as it was an important part of my simming expirience... I'm not sure how many of you know Jade's Isle of Thyme (http://www.isleofthyme.net/), if you do, you know what a wonderful world it is. Those of you who dont, I encourage you to check it out now as Jade is closing the site at the end of the month. I know Thyme has been an inspiration to me to keep writing sim stories, and I hope Jade's creativity inspires many other people as well.

Once again, thanks for your encouragement, I will be back, and I hope you all enjoyed Ruins, Part One.

Fink

[romyhorse]

I'll be waiting ;) meanwhile I'm going to chack out Kai Mountain.

[leos_pride]

I haven't left a msg in a while, but i have been reading every chapter you put up. I am sad that you are taking a break, BUT do understand why. I will be watching closely for part two! And will also be checking out Kai Mountain. *S*

[Charley-x]

ahh its can't wait till part two :)
good luck with your other stuff.

[Abbey12388]

Awesome job, its very well written and interesting.