You know, I really wish we could insert music into fanfics for all to hear. XD
So here we go! The scary, epic journey of Crystalline Island continues! Here we go! ...Again. :D
And in case anyone is confused, I just want to clear something up. NO ONE is going to die. Trust me. I'm not that cruel, and plus, it's just like one of the urban legend episodes. No one dies in those! So don't worry, I hope I didn't scare anyone with that.
Oh, and I recently just heard that Craig Bartlett once said that Gerald and Phoebe are an official couple. XD Yay! I like that pairing too, besides Arnold and Helga, of course. :D I always knew since getting back into the series that there was something between them.
--
The cellar door slammed shut behind them, and the kids rushed off back into the living room, scared out of their wits, panting hard. Despite all the scary urban legend adventures they had been on, not once had they ever seen a dead body! Not even in the graveyard during their search for the Ghost Bride.
"Y-You guys okay?" Gerald questioned. "Phoebe?"
"Y-Yes Gerald, I'm fine now." Phoebe calmed herself down and held his arm nervously.
"That was a dead body! Dead body! This place is haunted! Get me out of here!!" Harold cried, holding onto a pillar. "Mommy!!!"
"Calm down, pink boy!" Helga scolded. "Relax, it was just a skeleton! It wasn't going to suddenly animate and chase us! Sheesh."
Still, it was evident that she was scared to death. Arnold noticed this, and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. She visibly relaxed for a moment, allowing him to touch her, before pulling away.
"That was radical!" Curly said. "I've never seen a skeleton before! I'm gonna go down there again!"
"We should split up, we could cover the entire house that way." Arnold said, though looking around nervously as he saw something misshapen in the shadows. Or was it just his imagination?
"What?! Are you out of your mind!?" Helga chided. "Come on Arnold, I know you must have seen enough horror movies to know that's a bad idea! Anytime the group splits up, the killer goes and hacks them to pieces one by one! So no! We're not going to split up!"
Everyone suddenly froze in fear, their eyes wide. Phoebe clung to Gerald, shaking, as was he. Arnold gingerly took a step back, Curly gulped lightly, and Harold bit into his hat to avoid screaming.
"What?! What are you all looking at?!" Helga demanded.
"H-H-Helg-g-ga...b-be-behind..." Arnold stammered, shakily raising his finger to point.
That's when she saw they weren't looking at her. They were looking past her at something else. Whirling around, she came to see a tall, hulking figure standing directly behind her. Thunder crashed, and they could see a wet body, dressed in a coat, pants, and boots, covered in seaweed...wearing a football helmet and holding an ax.
Lightning struck, illuminating the room.
"AAAHH!!! IT'S JACKSON VANDERBURGH!!!!"
"HE'S GONNA KILL US!!!"
"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!!!"
The tall figure, now Jackson, grabbed Helga by her neck, holding the ax toward her face threateningly. She choked, grabbing at his arm to try to pry it off, squeezing her eyes shut, unable to scream.
"Oh no! Helga!!" Phoebe cried.
Seeing this happen, despite the fear and terror he felt, Arnold felt anger and protective instincts kicking in the moment he saw the killer grab Helga like that. Quickly he ran in to rush to her aid, pushing at him.
"Let go of her!" He yelled, bringing his karate moves back into good use.
"Helga!" Phoebe ran in too, grabbing onto Helga to try to pull her away.
Arnold kicked and karate chopped Jackson in the stomach, making him falter and letting out a strangled cry, faltering back a few steps and releasing Helga. She fell to her knees, clutching her neck and breathing hard, nearly falling onto Phoebe.
"Come on! Hurry!" Arnold grabbed Helga's hand and stood her up. "Let's get out of here now!"
They all ran off to the front door, and tried to open it, but it wouldn't open!
"Come on Arnold, hurry!"
"I'm trying, I'm trying!"
Heavy, thudding footsteps were heard, and they turned in horror to see Jackson coming toward them from the living room, ax raised, ready to strike them.
"RUUUUUNN!!" Harold squealed in terror.
Screaming, the kids all ran off in separate directions, Gerald and Phoebe ran for the basement, Curly and Harold ran out to the kitchen, Arnold ran upstairs and Helga, who was disoriented and scared, pushed Jackson hard so that he fell to the floor and then ran upstairs too.
--~~--
Downstairs in the cellar, Gerald and Phoebe hid in the compartment under the stairs, clutching each other and shivering with fright. They were so scared, barely even realizing how close they were together.
"You...you all right, Phoebe?" Gerald finally asked, rubbing her back in comfort.
"Y-Yes...I...I'm all right now...we managed to get away." Phoebe said softly, looking up at him. "Gerald...do you think the others got away?"
Uncertainty struck Gerald, and he gave a small shrug. "I hope so. I hope Jackson didn't get to them first."
"Gerald... I'm so scared... I want to go home." Phoebe sniffled, burying her face in his neck, her arms tightening around him.
A small smile crossed his face and how close she was to him, and he held her tighter too, stroking her hair to comfort her.
"Don't worry babe, we're gonna be fine...we'll all make it out here." Gerald soothed her.
Still scared, sobbing softly, Phoebe relaxed a little in his arms and managed a tiny smile. Despite the entire situation, she felt a little better now, being in Gerald's arms and with him comforting her.
"I hope so, Gerald..."
--
"Harold? Harold, stop shaking!" Curly hissed in the darkness. "Don't worry! We're gonna be fine!"
"Easy for you to say! You're crazy!" Harold whined.
"No! Because I got THIS!" Curly held up something he had found. It was a baseball bat. Though worn and aged, it was still intact. "We'll face him with this!"
"Y-You go ahead! I'm staying here!" Harold huddled into the corner of the storage closet.
"All right, then here I go!" Curly dashed out of the closet and ran for the living room. "Hey Jackson! Eat my-huh!?"
There was no one in sight.
"...Where did he go?" Curly faltered, lowering his baseball bat.
--
Upstairs, Helga was hiding in one of the bedroom closets, huddled in the darkness and scared out of her wits. Thankfully no noises were heard, though she wondered where Jackson had gone, or where he was hiding. She hugged herself, trembling with fear as she fought back tears. She hoped everyone else was okay, especially Arnold and Phoebe. They had all run off in different directions, she couldn't say for sure.
Gingerly, she peeked out into the room through the keyhole, the only light source was through the single window, with the rain pattering on it noisily. Nothing. The room was empty and caked with dust.
"Criminy...." Helga murmured, moving herself from the key hole and sinking back into the corner. "Now what do I do...my best friend and my dear beloved are out there..."
She took out her locket and though she couldn't see it, she felt it and stroked it lovingly.
"Oh Arnold my beloved....I dearly hope you're all right, my terrified and brave angel...how I long to feel your embrace in this darkest moment..." She murmured.
Helga gave a little dreamy sigh as she remembered how Arnold had run in to try to save her from being strangled, standing right up to the killer and defending her. Heck, throughout this whole ordeal he'd expressed concern to her, so much so that she couldn't help but melt.
"Arnold...I love you, darling, and I hope you're okay. ...I wish you were here..."
Suddenly, she heard the door creak open, making her eyes snap open too. She tucked her locket away in an inner pocket of her dress and huddled back in the corner, too scared to look out through the keyhole. Instead she closed her eyes, hugging her knees and burying her face in her legs, trembling.
Footsteps were heard, very quietly as if whoever was in the room was trying to be elusive. She hoped and prayed they wouldn't find her, but no, the footsteps were approaching the closet. There was no way out. So she stayed there, huddled, and waited for the slasher to find her and kill her. It was over.
The closet door open and she flinched, waiting for it.
"Helga?"
Snapping up at hearing her name, and THAT voice, Helga looked to see none other than Arnold in the doorway of the closet.
"Arnold?!"
"Helga, are you okay?" He asked in concern, coming into the closet with her.
"Arnold!!!" She couldn't help it, she was so scared, and so relieved to see him alive and well, she threw her arms around him and held him to her tightly. "You're okay! Arnold you're alive!"
Arnold was taken aback by her sudden hug attack, but he relaxed and hugged her back, he could see she was very scared, and he understood. She clung to him tightly, her face buried in his neck, and she trembled.
"Arnold I'm scared...I'm so scared..."
"It's okay, Helga, I'm here for you, it's okay." Arnold soothed, rubbing her back and stroking her hair.
The dire situation at hand must have been getting to her, because she didn't push him away or start calling him names. She just didn't have the strength to do so, not like this. They were about to die, and the last thing she wanted was for them to die on bad terms.
No, she wanted to accept his concern, she wanted him to hold her in his arms. She needed it.
"Don't leave me, Arnold...just hold me..." She sniffled, clinging to her beloved.
"I won't, Helga. I'm here, don't worry." He whispered to her, holding her tight. "I won't leave you."
Still scared, she managed to relax in his arms and allowed herself to smile a little.
--~~--
Downstairs back in the cellar, when all has been quiet for some time, Gerald and Phoebe gingerly crept out from under the stairs, making sure the killer wasn't there to kill them. Luckily, nothing.
"Okay, coast is clear. C'mon!" Gerald whispered.
Phoebe nodded and followed out after him, clutching his hand. As they came out, they went and approached the skeletons that had fallen out of the closet earlier when they all had been down here. Gerald gulped, and nudged the skull lightly with his shoe. A cake of dust fell off it.
"I-Is those things...real?" Gerald gulped.
Phoebe took a breath and bravely approached one of the skeletons, inspecting the bones, the hair that was still hanging on to the skull, the tattered bits of clothing. She shone her flashlight along it and nodded.
"Yes. It's a real skeleton. They all are ...I suppose Patricia Vanderburgh hid the bodies down here after she killed the babysitters..."
"Well I'll be...." Gerald uttered, covering his mouth with his hand. "This ain't good at all, Phoebe. We need to get the heck out of here."
"I concur with that, Gerald." Phoebe murmured, looking up at him. "What should we do?"
"I've got no idea...we'll have to figure something out somehow." He gave her a soft smile. "I got your back, Phoebe. Don't worry."
Phoebe smiled back and gave him a little hug. "I have your back as well, Gerald."
The two parted and looked at each other, still holding hands, their eyes meeting. Slowly and slowly, they moved in closer to each other.
"Gerald! Phoebe!"
The startled pair looked up to see Curly come bounding down the stairs with a baseball bat in hand, looking unharmed.
"Curly! You're all right, man! What happened? Where's Harold?" Gerald asked, surprised and relieved. "...And what's with the bat?"
"I'm peachy! Harold's okay too, he's hiding in the closet upstairs. I found this bat there too, and I went out to go find Jackson, but he was nowhere to be seen! No idea where he went!" Curly exclaimed. "So! What's up?"
"We were just examining the skeletons that fell out from the closet earlier. And they appear to be the dead bodies of the babysitters." Phoebe explained. "We assume Patricia Vanderburgh hid them here after she killed them. It would make sense, since they are fifty year old skeletons by now."
"Oh MAN!" Curly went over and looked at the skeletons. "This is radical! Crazy!"
"You're crazy." Gerald muttered, rolling his eyes.
"I'm serious! You guys ever that one story, about the bride who got locked inside of a trunk in an attic, and no matter how many times she screamed for help, no one knew she was there. And then many years later, a maid finds the trunk, opens it, and there's the missing bride! And by then she's a skeleton!" Curly recited dramatically, waving his arms for emphasis as lightning struck outside and thunder crashed in the distance.
Gerald and Phoebe stared at him, unblinking, and pretty unfazed.
"Curly, I believe that's just a fictional horror story." Phoebe told him. "Do you know where Arnold and Helga are?"
"Ah...not really." Curly admitted. "But I think they might be upstairs on the second floor!"
"Oh, I hope they're okay." Phoebe murmured. "Come on, let's go find Harold and we'll go upstairs and find Arnold and Helga."
"Then we'll get the heck outta this house and off this island!" Gerald added. "C'mon guys, let's go!"
The three of them carefully and quietly crept up the steps, one step at a time. They were old, and creaked awfully loud with each step. It always made them wonder why stairs or the floors seemed to be the loudest when they were trying to be stealthy. Gerald, leading the way with Phoebe's flashlight, gripped her hand tightly from where she was following behind him.
Gingerly, Gerald slowly pushed open the door, and they came out into the kitchen, with no one in sight. Not a sound, except for the rain pounding outside, was heard. Seeing as it was safe, Gerald motioned for them to follow him, and they stepped out of the cellar.
SLAM!
"Shh!" Gerald hissed, a finger to his lips.
"Sorry." Curly whispered, having slammed the cellar door.
Sighing, Gerald shone the flashlight around the kitchen once more, and motioned for Curly to go to the closet he'd been previously hiding in with Harold. The spectacled boy nodded and rushed to the said closet, going in and coming back out with Harold, who was still shaking in fear.
"Okay, that's nearly all of us." Phoebe whispered. "Now we just need to find Arnold and Helga."
"You said they were upstairs. Come on, let's go-"
Gerald was cut off when the sound of loud, heavy, thudding footsteps were heard. They all froze in place, and Gerald shut off the flashlight, they all huddled together in the middle of the kitchen, shaking with fright.
To their horror, the footsteps were coming from the second floor.
--
This was the end. They could feel it.
Arnold and Helga huddled in the closet, holding each other tightly and softly trembling in fright, keeping as quiet as they could. The loud, heavy footsteps out in the hallway were getting closer, closer... Any minute now, Jackson would be in the room and would find them hiding, and kill them.
There wasn't anything they could do now, they were trapped.
Helga was shaking hard in his arms, letting out soft, scared sobs, and Arnold held her tighter, his heart wrenching. He'd never seen her so terrified, so full of despair in his entire life. And he hated seeing her like this. But he knew all he could do was hold her. It would be over soon...and he knew it. No matter how much he wanted to prevent it otherwise.
"A-Arnold...." Helga's broken, soft voice quavered.
"Shh, shh, it's okay, Helga..." Arnold whispered soothingly. "I'm here with you... don't worry. I-I won't let you die alone."
"Arnold....before we die...." She looked at him a bit through the darkness and choked back a sob. "I wanted to tell you, I'm sorry for everything, I don't hate you.... I...I love..."
His grip on her tightened more, and his eyes met hers in the darkness. He knew what she was going to say.
"I know, Helga... I feel the same way. I love you too."
Helga's shoulders trembled, and despite the terror and the despair of their impending deaths, she smiled widely, tears running down her face. Arnold smiled at her, and raised his hand to her face, feeling the wetness of her tears. Maybe they were about to die, but at least, they could die happy. It was absurd how they'd waited until they were about to be killed to reveal their feelings, but at least they did none the less.
They leaned in and kissed each other, making it last as much as they could, holding each other close. Arnold nearly cried himself, seeing now that it was all over and he had barely any time to show her his love. Still, Helga kissed him with all she had, and he did too.
At least she'll die loved... He thought.
They would have kissed longer, but the sudden slamming of the door in the room they were in caused them to break apart. Arnold held Helga closer to him, and shut his eyes, and Helga did too, clinging to him for dear life.
This was it. Death was soon approaching. Their dreaded, impending doom.
But at least they would die together, and in in love.
"Don't let go, Arnold..."
"Never. I won't."
The loud, heavy footsteps then approached, making the floor shake a bit. Closer and closer they came, to their hiding place. The two kids shivered, holding each other, eyes tightly shut, as they waited for it to be over. That was all they could do. Wait.
Then, the door swung open.
