The Body at Auercliff by Amy Cross Page B

over to join me. He peers skeptically both ways along the corridor, as if he thinks that somehow there is a ghost out here and I just haven't noticed it.
    “You can go back to bed if you want,” I tell him.
    “I'm going to!”
    “Off you go, then.”
    He hesitates, seemingly struck by a new wave of fear. “Can you walk me back?”
    “No way. It's only along that way and down the stairs, I'm sure you can find your way.”
    “But -”
    “You're not a baby, Nathan,” I continue, really enjoying the fact that I feel so much braver. “You can choose. Either come with me, or go back through to the main part of the house by yourself.”
    “Becky, please...”
    “I'm not your nanny,” I add with a faint smile, before turning and making my way further along the corridor. Honestly, I don't even know what I was so scared of before. Auercliff is just an old house, and it's very babyish and immature for anyone to start thinking there are ghosts here. I'm more grown-up than that now.
    “Becky, come back!” Nathan calls after me.
    He sounds genuinely scared.
    “Your choice,” I mutter, reaching the next turning and looking along yet another dark corridor. “If you do go back, though, don't tell anyone where I am. I'm just gonna keep -”
    Suddenly I hear footsteps running away, and I turn just in time to see Nathan racing toward the stairs in the distance. A moment later I hear him clattering down to the ground floor, and I realize with a faint smile that he bolted and went back through to the main part of the house.
    “Thanks for leaving me all alone, jackass,” I say with a sigh, before turning and making my way along the next corridor.
    There are doors on either side, some of them shut and some of them open. I take a quick look behind each of them, but in truth I'm starting to get a little bored of finding so many empty, abandoned rooms. I guess I was hoping for something a little more exciting, maybe even something spooky, but by the time I get to yet another junction and look both ways, I'm already wondering whether I should just give up and turn back. After all, it's pretty cold in here and -
    Suddenly hearing footsteps, I realize Nathan has caught up to me.
    “Hey,” I mutter, turning to him. “Nice to -”
    The footsteps stop immediately, and I find myself staring along a dark, empty corridor.
    “Nathan?” I call out, looking at the various open doors. “What are you doing?”
    Stepping over to the nearest door, I peer through and see another empty room. I check a couple more doors, before realizing that either I imagined the whole thing, or my dumb little brother is playing games with me. I honestly didn't think he was smart or brave enough to come sneaking up behind me, but I guess I shouldn't completely underestimate him.
    “Okay,” I say finally, turning and heading back along toward the junction. “Do what you want. I'm too old to play dumb games.”
    Taking the left turn, I make my way along yet another uneventful corridor, entertaining myself by glancing into empty room after empty room. At the far end, I find myself in what appears to be a dead-end, although after a moment I spot a door in the corner and I head over, only to find that it's locked. I try a couple more times, but clearly someone just forgot to leave this one open.
    Wandering over to the window, I turn the latch and then slide the frame up. A gust of cool wind blows against me as I lean out and look along the side of the building. Sure enough, there's clearly a fairly large section behind the locked door, but I guess I'll have to wait until morning to explore properly. Then again, as I lean a little further out, I realize I can see an exterior door down below, leading off from one of the house's corners, which might offer another way into the section I can't access. I know it'd be crazy to go down there now, but my curiosity is piqued. I'm not tired, and I'm already pretty cold, and -
    Suddenly I spot something moving in one of the