I do not own "Haunting Ground" or any of the characters in this story, except Katie.
I also do not own any of the music in this story, as it is written like a musical.
But I did have to change some of the lyrics to fit the story.
"A Haunting Ground Musical: The Secrets Of Belli Castle"
Chapter One
OVERTURE / WHAT IS THIS FEELING?
----------------
"AAAAHHHHH!"
Katie screamed as she shot upright in bed, breathing heavily as she stared wide eyed at the vanity mirror that was across the room, in front of her bed. She saw that she was sweating, even though she had a light sheet over herself. When she was able to collect her thoughts and remember that she was in her own apartment, she breathed a sigh of relief.
She felt something wet wash across her hand, and she looked down to see that her dog, Hewie, was licking her. She smiled. "Morning, boy." She bet him on the head, and le placed his hand on the side of the bed next to her. "You know what day it is, don't you?" she asked. Then, she pulled the sheet off of her and placed her feet on the floor, standing up. She walked over to the window, where the curtains were closed. She was about to pull the blinds open, but first looked back at Hewie. Despite being just a dog, his brown eyes held so much history in them--a history that she would have tried to forget long ago, had it not been for Fiona.
Katie shook off the memory, as it was too tragic. Yet, her mind and heart seemed to be singing together, a melody that only she could hear as she looked at Hewie.
KATIE: "A faithful dog, indeed. You're just as loyal as you were then. Will you still remember when even I, myself, and dead?"
Katie turned her attention back to her curtains, reached up, and pulled them open, letting the blinding sunlight into her small bedroom.
oOo
[As Katie opens the curtains, the overture from "The Phantom Of The Opera" begins to play. The scene changes from the apartment to outside the window, where everything appears to dissolve and changes to a scene from five years earlier, at Katie's high school.]
oOo
As the last bell of the school year rang, all of the students bounded out of their class rooms, yelping and shouting for joy. What a great relief to know that the school year was finally over!
After everyone had left class room, Katie and her friend Jennifer walked at a fairly quick pace out of the room. "Finally!" Jennifer exclaimed. "Summer vacation is here!"
"I know! Where are you going for your vacation this year?" Katie asked as they headed out the main doors.
"I'm note sure, probably Jamaica!"
Katie laughed out loud.
"What? It's nice to dream, isn't it?"
Before Katie could answer, she spotted the every so familiar young woman a few feet in front of her. She hadn't noticed Katie because she was busy talking with some of her other friends, but it wouldn't be too long before their eyes met.
Jessica also saw the girl, and gulped. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Fine," Katie replied in a low voice.
"Remember, you have to be nice her. Your dad said so."
Katie sighed. "I know… but she's so… snobby. And she lets me know it all the time!"
"Well, unless you want to be grounded all summer, you'd better try to be nice," Jennifer pointed out.
The truth was Katie didn't really care what her father thought because… she hated him, too. He was a no good drunk, and she could hardly stand living with him. However, she wouldn't have to deal with him for too much longer, as she had made some secret summer plans of her own.
At that moment, the girl turned her head, and her smile abruptly left her face as her eyes met with Katie's.
Katie took a deep breath as she stepped forward to greet the girl. "Hey Fiona," she said in a low tone of voice.
"Hello Katie," Fiona replied in a similar, yet a little more upper-class manner.
Katie moved her tongue around her cheek, trying to think of something to say. "So… got any plans for the summer?"
"Yes, actually. My parents and I are going to our country house by the beach."
"Cool… When are you leaving?"
"This afternoon."
"Where's your house?"
"By the beach, a few miles away."
This surprised Katie, but she hid her reaction. "You mean… along the back roads by the mountains?"
"Yes… Why?"
That was the rout she was planning to take for her little vacation. "No reason," she lied.
And then, they were silent, and stood there staring at each other with annoyance in their eyes.
Fiona sighed out of frustration. "What do you want, Katie?"
"I was just saying hi… Man, what's up with you?"
"I don't understand why you're being so friendly all of a sudden."
"At least I'm nicer than you," Katie snapped.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Fiona snapped back.
"You figure it out!" Katie yelled.
By this time, there was a small crowd of other students watching from a safe distance.
[At this point, the song "What Is This Feeling?" from the musical "Wicked" begins to play, and the two girls begin singing to one another.]
KATIE: What is this feeling, so sudden and new…
FIONA: I felt the moment I laid eyes on you?
KATIE: My pulse is rushing…
FIONA: My head is reeling…
KATIE: My face is flushing…
BOTH: What is this feeling? Fervid as a flame. Does it have a name? Yes… Loathing! Unadulterated loathing.
FIONA: For your face…
KATIE: You're voice…
FIONA: You're clothing…
BOTH: Let's just say I loath it all! Every little trait however small makes my very flesh begin to crawl with simple, utter loathing. There's a strange exhilaration in such total detestation. It's so pure, so strong. Though I do admit, it came on fast. Still, I do believe that it can last. And I will be loathing--for forever--loathing--truly, deeply--loathing you… MY WHOLE LIFE LONG!
[Immediately after the song ends, Katie and Fiona each turn on their heals and walk away from each other in a snit, and the crowd of students disperses and leaves the scene.]
After the bus dropped Katie off at her house, she marched up to the front door and was about to turn the knob, but heard her father grunt loudly, and something break on the inside. She turned around to see that the bus had already driven off, so there was no going back now. She quickly turned the knob and ran up the stairs that were directly in front of the door. But before she could make it all the way up to her room…
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" her father yelled from behind her.
She turned around to see her father, standing at the bottom of the stairs with a broken beer bottle in his hand. "I was at school."
"You're late!" he yelled.
"Only by twenty minutes, it's no big deal."
He pointed his finger at her. "From now on, I want you to come home right after school. Got it?!"
"I had a good reason! There was a meeting the mess hall, and everyone had to attend--including me!"
They stared at each other with a spark of anger flying between them.
"I'm going to my room," Katie said before she turned and headed back up the stairs.
"You just remember our agreement!" her father yelled. "The minute you graduate, you're getting a job, and then you're outa here!"
Katie slammed the door to her room and locked it behind her. "I'd like nothing more, believe me." She rushed over to her bed, bent down to reach under it, and pulled out her backpack. She unzipped it to make sure that everything was still packed, in case her father may have found it while she was at school. Inside was a wallet that held about a hundred dollars, some clothes, her toothbrush, and a letter from her mother's sister in Maryland, where she would be heading.
She was going to leave tonight.
oOo
Katie's father was passed out on the couch downstairs, so she figured that now would be the best time to leave. As she was changing in front of her mirror, she remembered the awkward mark on the back of her shoulder, and picked up a small hand held mirror, turned around and looked through the mirror to see the mark's reflection in the larger mirror. She thought it was a birth mark, but it was in an awkward shape, and it tended to flare up from time to time when she got angry, mostly when she was around that stupid Fiona Belli!
She wore a white tank top with a pair of khaki pants and a white knitted sweater to keep warm, as it was now six thirty in the morning. She slung her back pack over her shoulder and walked over to the window beside her bed. She didn't bother leaving a note for her father, as she could care less about what he thought. She wouldn't be coming back.
She opened the window and looked down at the ground, which was only a few feet down. She threw her back pack out, then carefully climbed out, placing her feet on the outside wall, gripping the edge of the window sill. With a deep breath, she pushed herself off of the wall and landed on her feet, swiftly grabbed her back pack, and took off running through the yard until she reached the bare road. She didn't really know which direction to go in, so she randomly chose to go in the right direction, not looking back.
After a half hour of running, Katie had tired herself out, and was now walking. The sun was hidden by the clouds, and it looked like it was going to rain.
As she walked up the hill, a strange sight came into view. It looked like a file of thick logs had been piled up in the middle of the road, making a wall. When she reached the top of the hill, Katie stopped and gasped at the horrific sight. A small, red car had rammed into the wall, it's windows shattered. A woman who had sitting in the front seat and been thrown through the front window, and was lying on the hood of the engine, obviously dead. The driver was a man, leaning back in his seat… with a strange looking knife stabbed in his chest.
Katie recognized the two right away. They were Ugo and Ayla Belli--Fiona's parents.
She ran over to the care, careful not to touch anything as she peeked into the back seat. Fiona was not there, but it appeared as though someone had been sitting in that seat. She walked over to the driver's side, and looked in puzzlement and horror at Ugo Belli, with a bloody, strange looking dagger in his chest. She had to cover her mouth, as it would have made her sick otherwise. She was beginning to wonder if maybe she should run home and call the police.
As she examined the car further, she noticed a set of… footprints in the mud along the side of the road. They appeared to be leading into the woods. "Maybe Fiona survived and went to get help," she thought to herself as she took off running in the direction the footprints were leading.
oOo
Katie stared up in awe at the cathedral-like castle. The place looked remarkably big, and there were lights brightening it's many windows. The main double doors had been left open, so Katie slowly walked inside, looking around. She appeared to be walking into the court yard, but all of the flowers and bushed were wilted, or near death. "I wonder if there's a chance I could find a phone here," she said to herself.
Then, a loud creaking noise echoed behind her, and she whirled around just in time to see the doors slam shut, and a click was heard.
Katie ran over to it and pulled on the handles, but it was no use. The doors had locked. She turned back around to face the castle.
"BARK! BARK! BARK!"
She jumped at the sound of the dog barking, and jerked her head around until she stopped the white German shepherd, crouching down next to a tree, staring back at her with large, brown eyes. She held out her hand to calm the dog down. "Easy, boy… I won't hurt you."
The dog got up, growing, and Katie tensed up. With one more loud bark, the dog took off bounding away from her and the tree. Katie watched as it ran until it came to a dead end wall, then appeared to head down a flight of stairs that had been built into the ground.
She took off running after him.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know that this first chapter doesn't seem like very much, but there's more of the story to be told yet. This story is basically a re-write of Haunting Ground, but with a major twist that you'll only find out about at the very end… Also, I should point out that this "re-write" is not perfect, and I'm not going into too much detail when it comes to the puzzle solving. This is being written mainly for story... And it's written like a musical, because I think that Haunting Ground would make a cool musical, but there won't be a song in every chapter, just where I think there should be one... I know it seems strange, but please bare with me! Thanks!
OVERTURE: "from The Phantom Of The Opera"
WHAT IS THIS FEELING?: from "Wicked"
