Broomsticks And Owls

Sarah awoke with a splitting headache. She sat up and was hit with a wave of dizziness. She rested her head against the wall and opened her eyes. The room she was in was pitch black. What was going on? How did she get here? Where was she? Sarah crawled around on the floor, not daring to stand up, trying to find a way out of the darkness. It was no use. The only thing she found was a package of some sort.

Sarah opened the package to find a couple sandwiches and what appeared to be a bathrobe. What an odd combination, she thought. Sarah had no desire to eat the sandwiches without knowing how they'd gotten there or even how long they'd been there. Not to mention the fact that she didn't feel very good at the moment.

Sarah tried to think of something to do. Where were her friends? Were they ok? But Sarah found that she couldn't think straight. Her mind felt fuzzy and her head thudded with pain. She wanted to stay awake and think things through, but she just couldn't. A minute or so later, Sarah succumbed to the pain in her throbbing head and the dizziness and she passed out on the dirty floor.

No one was present except for the two young boys who appeared rather shocked and lost. The source of the killing curse was long gone. Only a faint trace of magic still remained.
"Have they been confunded?" Juvenis questioned himself. Still enchanted by the invisibility spell, he stepped closer to the boys and listened attentively.

Linda heard a muffled thump from the wall next to her. Was someone in there? Mew. Linda jumped. A little gray kitten was standing in front of her. Mew. It walked closer. Linda picked the little animal up. It's warmth was like a tonic, seeping through her in twisting veins of comfort. Drip, went the moist walls. Mew, went the cat. It was almost like music. Drip, drip, mew. Drip, drip, mew. Drip, drip, mew, tap. Linda knocked the wall, adding in her own beat. Drip, drip, mew, tap. Drip, drip, mew, tap. Drip, drip, mew, tap. Drip, drip, mew, tap, BAM. The wall she'd been hitting collapsed. Oops. Peering through the dust, Linda saw an all too familiar figure sprawled on the dirt floor.

Sarah awoke with a jolt as she heard a loud crashing noise next to her. How long had she been passed out? She opened her tired eyes and stared into the hole. It was still incredibly dark, but she was able to make out a figure standing in the hole. Sarah struggled into a sitting position, still not wanting to stand completely upright, and rubbed her eyes as the dirt settled.

A few moments later, Sarah's eyes had adjusted to the empty blackness that surrounded her and she was able to just make out the figure. It was Linda! Sarah's heart skipped a beat as she recognized her friend. "Linda?" she asked cautiously. "What happened?"

Linda bit her lip.
"Ya see, I was kind of tapping this wall, and it kind of fell.......... So here I am. What are you doing here?" Linda helped Sarah up. As she did so, she noticed that the kitten was gone. Oh well. Once in the tunnel again, Linda saw Sarah stare at her necklace. "My mother gave it to me." she muttered, suddenly nervous. What if Sarah thought she was in league with the people who had captured them? What if her mother was? What if? What if? LIfe was too full of what ifs.

"Should we take a look around in side?", Tancred suggested. He was slightly afraid to enter, but anything was better than just standing around outside.
"Uh- okay." John complied. Tancred helped John up the porch, picked the lock, and entered the empty house.

The house was empty. Not just empty of people, though, John thought. It was eerie, and very weird. It was like the house had lost its soul. It wasn't a home anymore, it wasn't like it had been the last time John visited.

"We've got to look for a clue," he said. "We need to find Sarah and Linda."

"Right. --You don't think we should split up, do you?" Tancred asked hopefuly.
"Definitely not." Was the firm reply. "It's much to dangerous."
The two friends set off around the unnaturally dark house looking for anything that might point them in some sort of direction. They were just about to give up on the first level and head to the second when John tripped on a lose floorboard and landed with his face on the floor next to a small folded up piece of paper.
"John! Are you okay? You didn't land directly on your hurt leg, did you?" Tancred cried, as he rushed over to help his mate up.
"No. I think I'm okay." John responded, rubbing his jaw where he fell and sitting up. It was then that he saw the note. John picked it up and handed it to Tanc as he hauled himself to his feet by way of the banister.
Red unfolded it. It was made of the same material as the note that had been the start of all this trouble. He unfolded it and saw that it seemed to be written on with the same strange language of symbols as the other one as well.
"John," Tancred swallowed, "I think that we've found our clue."

Linda and Sarah walked in silence for a while, until Sarah spoke, "This is weird."
"Very." Linda agreed, "Why did we have to get involved? Why us? Why now?"
"I don't know." Sarah murmered.