Chapter 2: The Mysterious Mansion
Quick Disclaimer: I do not own anything Disney, characters, attractions or otherwise. I only own my 10 OC's and the unfolding plot of this story, so no flames please!
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Carmen's P.O.V.
The sun was high in the sky, yet there was slight chill in the air, which for Florida in the summer was strange That was one of the first things I noticed as I walked through the front gates of The Magic Kingdom, Cinderella Castle shimmering at the end of Main Street U.S.A. I looked down at the invite I had received last week, the gold lettering shimmering against the creamy white paper.
Miss Carmen Kendall,
You are cordially invited to Walt Disney Land Resort in Orlando, Florida.
At 12: 00 noon on August the 16, you are asked to report to the Cinderella Castle to join in a party with the other contest winners! Further information upon arrival.
This invitation had come as a complete surprise. I had never entered a contest. The last time I had been here was when I was 6, and the memories were kinda fuzzy. Still I was excited, as I loved Disney, even though I was 18. Checking my watch, I had about 3 hours until I was scheduled to go to the castle, so I thought I might ride some rides! Looking at a map, I decided to go to the Haunted Mansion. What can I say, I like being scared!
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Ashley's P.O.V.
I stood in line, tapping my foot. I, Ashley Jackson, HATED, waiting in line! If the Haunted Mansion hadn't been my favorite ride, I'd be long gone.
"Gosh, this line is long," said a voice behind me. I whipped around, my red hair smacking into my face.
"Oh sorry, didn't mean to startle you" said the girl behind me, her brown hair fluttering in the light breeze. She smiled kindly, and I felt myself smiling back.
"Oh that's ok. On this ride, you're supposed to be scared" I laughed, tucking a lock of hair around my ear. She laughed before clearing her throat.
"I'm Carmen," said the girl, holding out her hand.
"Ashley" I said, firmly grasping it.
"So, how long have you been at Disney?" I asked, glad to be doing something as I waited.
"Just got here today. I won some sort of contest," she said, jumping a bit in surprise as I gasped.
"Wait a minute! Are you supposed to go to Cinderella Castle at noon today?" I asked excitedly.
"Yes! Are you one of them as well?" she asked smiling.
"Yes, and I'm so glad that I've found someone to wait for me in this hellish line," I laughed, as did she. The line moved, bringing us upside the graveyard.
"How much longer do you think it will take? I don't want to be late," she said, standing up on her tiptoes, as someone tapped me on the shoulder, startling me again as I let out a shriek. Some little boys started laughing at my outburst, and my fear quickly turned to annoyance.
"God, does everyone want to scare me today!" I said, my patience wearing thin from standing in the line.
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Chloe's P.O.V.
"Wow I'm sorry," I said, as the red headed girl jumped, shrieking as she turned to me.
"God does everyone want to scare me today?" she asked, trying, and failing to get her red hair out of her face.
"Um no," I said, a bit confused.
"Sorry. We've just been standing in line for a long time" said the girl in front of her, who had long brown hair and a kind smile.
"That's all right, I'm not fond of lines either," I laughed, putting my hand on my hip. "Though it does help when you have interesting things to look at while you wait," I said, gesturing to the clever epitaphs written on the headstones. The brown haired girl grinned and offered her hand.
"I'm Carmen, and the cranky one's Ashley" she said, shaking my hand. The redhead rolled her eyes, but she didn't look too upset.
"I'm Chloe. Chloe Turner" I said smiling.
"Sorry. Favorite ride, but not great on the whole line thing," said Ashley shaking my hand, finally giving a smile, going all the way into her green eyes.
"Are you two contest winners too?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at their shocked expression.
"How did you know?" asked Carmen, her brown eyes wide with amazement.
"That guy down there. He said to come stand with you guys," I said, pointing at one of the park guards standing at the entrance to the line. He was dressed in one of the servant uniforms of the ride, but the smile he gave us was slightly unnerving, especially since the employs of this ride rarely smiled.
"That's a little creepy, but seeing as were near the mansion, I like it," said Ashley, nodding in approval.
"Well, at least the line's moving" I said, because while we had been talking, the line had moved inside the mansion. Right before the doors shut, a girl jumped in, much to the annoyance of the costumed actors working it.
"Coming through. Sorry, special guest entering!" she said, her black hair flying every which way.
"Hey, over here!" I said, motioning her over. She trotted over; her grey eyes sparkling with excitement even in the dim light.
"Glad I made it. So you guys are some of the other special guests?" she asked, though in that panting sort of way, as it looked like she had sprinted to get inside the ride. Introductions were made, as the girl introduced herself as Ivy Roberts, her median length black hair with a purple stripe swishing around her. By then, they had made it through the stretching room and to the loading area for the doom buggies.
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Ivy's P.O.V.
The four of us were shown into two separate doom buggies, Chloe and I in the first buggy and Carmen and Ashley in the second. This was one of my favorite rides, like the other girls, and we screamed and laughed our heads off as we went through the ride. We were fast approaching my favorite room, the attic, with Constance Hatchway, the murderess black widow bride! There had been many incarnations of the brides, but she had been my favorite by far. I guess it was because her story was the most fleshed out, both by park workers and park guests. But, as the first notes of the ghostly wedding march hit my ears, I felt that something was wrong.
The lights were different, red instead of blue. It also seemed quieter, even though the familiar haunting tune played and the creak of the doom buggies remained. The noise of conversation had also gone down.
"Um, Ashley? Carmen? Are there any other cars behind us?" I asked, the hairs standing up on the back of my neck, not something that usually happened to me. I heard them gasp, the slight creak of what I thought was one of them turning around to check the area.
"No! We are the only 2 cars here!" said Carmen, her voice tight and panicked sounding.
I heard Ashley swear nervously, as Chloe gulped, and reached for my hand, which I quickly took. I may have only known her for a few minutes, but I was scared.
"Maybe we should try and get off. Something clearly isn't right here," said Chloe, her nails beginning to dig into my skin.
"Good idea," I said, and I was about to stand up, sure I could slip out from the safety bar, when they slammed down, pinning Chloe and I almost painfully to our seats. I heard grunts of pain and surprise, Carmen and Ashley sounding trapped too.
"Let us out!" yelled Ashley, my heart feeling like it was about to explode from fear. I liked being scared for fun, but this was too far!
By then, we had made it to Constance, who stood, silent and still, her axe glinting in her hand. And maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt like she was looking right at our car.
"Uh guys" I managed to squeak out before I got the worst scare of my life. Constance looked at us, her hatchet appearing in her hands and refracting the red light.
"Four girls, four destiny's. So easily snapped." She stroked the dull side of her axe, the four of us shaking so bad, the car seemed to vibrate.
"She's talking to us. Why is she talking to us?" stuttered Chloe, giving out a whimper of fear a the ghostly women pointed at her.
"You four, along with the others, will face many dangers. If you succeed, you will save the magic. But I cannot allow that to happen, so it seems that you will be shown my favorite pastime."
"What would that be exactly?" Chloe squeaked out, her knuckles white as she gripped the safety bar. Constance chuckled, a sound that made me feel like ice was being poured down my spine, as she stroked the blunt side of the axe blade lovingly.
She swung her axe as we ducked, the wind whistling from the speed of the swing, followed by the sickening thud as the blade struck the doom buggy. Constance then started laughing, that scared me even more then her chuckle. We screamed as the car pulled forward, the light changing from red to blue, Constance resuming her usual stance. The four of us were shaky till the end of the ride, the ghost filled cemetery seeming to blur by, and booked it out as soon as we stopped. We ran like we were being chased by hell itself, that not being outside the realm of possibility, not stopping until we had reached Small World, tourists laughing as we passed, thinking we were being funny. We didn't speak, the voice of that evil bride ringing in my mind, and what I assumed, was going through the heads of the other girls. Something was very wrong here, but I wasn't about to go back and find out what it was!
The first chapter is always the hardest to write, but I like this one because when I thought of the storyline, it came to me very clearly, and I love the Haunted Mansion, despite it's dark subject matter. We are introduced to the first 4 characters, my OC girls, and they are all very different. We have Carmen, Ashley, Chloe and Ivy. There are many more to come, 6 more actually, and I hope to get their personalities right and most of all believable, because it's one thing to see them in my head and quite another to get those personalities across on paper. Hope you like this and please review!