Chapter 9: More Surprises
"What are you talking about now, dweeb?" Ember asked, letting the book fall to the floor.
Pointing at the window, Danny began to explain, "Didn't the man in that window look familiar?" He asked before throwing his arms up. "He was the ghost we just fought. Somehow, this room lets us see when he was alive. That's the reason for all the books in that first room. They're all different ghosts!"
"Well, that explains the endless library, but why would someone want to kill you for this?"
"He wouldn't." Danny said as he started thinking. As quick as they entered his head, he started speaking his ideas. "He said it himself; he didn't know what this room would show someone. He's wants to kill me for a completely different reason."
"Yeah, and what would that be?" Ember asked, folding her arms across each other. "He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to just randomly attack the newbie."
"I don't know," Danny replied gravely, "But I think something big is going on, and I'm a part of it."
"Geez, and I thought Skulker thought highly of himself. You've been in the zone for, what, two days? There's no way you could be involved even if something was happening." Ember spouted out while turning to look at Danny. Even if she was going to say more, the look on his face made her stop.
"I'm serious here, something is happening. I have a feeling I know what it is, too." Danny said gravely.
"Yeah? And how would you know?" Ember replied, having a hard time believing him. "We both know you've never met that guy, and it's not like you've been able to get into trouble after Clockwork grabbed ya. As I said before, you've only been in the ghost zone for two days, and you've been with me and the mutt the entire time."
"It may sound crazy, but I had a strange dream last night, and that ghost and others were in it. They were talking, saying something about a new ghost king-" Danny explained before Ember interrupted him.
"You're right, it does sound crazy." She snapped. "You expect me to believe a dream you had? Much less something about a new ghost king? You'd have to be out of your mind to believe things like that."
Danny stopped and thought for a second. Was she right? Was what he saw just a crazy dream? After a moment, he spoke again. "Believe or don't, it's not important. What is important is that he seems to know about me and my family, and that's more than we can say about him. If I'm going to fight, I'll need to know more. I just hope everybody else is going to be okay."
- (Elsewhere in the Ghost zone) -
"Maddie, if we don't stop soon, something big is going to happen." Jack Fenton said to his wife as they sped through the vortex that was the ghost zone.
"Well, I told you to use the bathroom before we left, Jack." The two ghost hunters had sped into the ghost zone immediately after hearing that their son was abducted by a ghost. Their problem at the moment, however, was that they didn't know which ghost it was, resulting in the two of them driving through the ghost zone with no idea where they were going. "Stop at that castle over there, they might have a bathroom."
As fast as he could, Jack landed the Specter Speeder on a walkway outside of an old castle. As fast as he could, he jumped out of the speeder and ran into the castle, hurrying to find a bathroom.
Much more calm than her husband, Maddie slowly got out of the speeder and looked at where they landed. Sitting in front of her was a large castle, Medieval Europe was her best guess. Carefully, she walked inside, holding her ecto-rifle at the ready, in case the building's owner was not too friendly.
Inside was a long hallway with three wooden doors. Two were on the side walls, with one door at the very end of the hall. Walking through the hall, she noticed some simple signs were etched on the doors. The first door she passed was decorated with a toilet, making it obvious that her husband was inside that room. Going further in, she saw the next door had a bed engraved on it.
Maddie slowly opened the door, making sure that it wasn't trapped. Nodding to herself, she pushed it open and hid to the side. Seeing that nothing was happening, she looked inside.
The design of the room was simple, a single vanity mirror, a bed, and a wardrobe. It appeared that whoever owned the castle liked to keep things simple. Satisfied that there were no traps, Maddie closed the door and continued deeper into the castle. Reaching the door at the end of the hall, she looked over its wooden frame carefully.
Etched into the wood, the shape of a telescope was a lot more detailed than on the other doors. Seeing no handle, Maddie slowly pushed on the door, again making sure it wasn't trapped. Opening it fully, she was amazed at the sight. Sitting in the center of the room was a giant telescope, staring off into a hole in the roof. Stacks of books littered the floor; some probably taller than her husband.
Stepping up to one of the stacks, she took a book and examined it. It was leather bound, and didn't appear to have a title. Maddie opened the book and started to read the contents. "June 26th: The Box Ghost annoyed other ghosts; Skulker visited Technus to talk about an upgrade to his suit, otherwise all quiet." She spoke as she read. She quickly flipped through the book, most of the entries being as short as the first she read. "It's almost like someone's been watching everyone in the ghost zone from here."
After she put the first book down, Maddie heard footsteps approaching the door. She quickly turned around and prepared to shoot as soon as someone walked through the door. She held back when she saw who it was when the door busted open. "C'mon, Maddie, time to go." Jack blurted out from the doorway.
"Jeez, Jack, you scared me a bit. I thought you might be the ghost who owns this castle." Maddie let out a sigh. Sometimes her husband was a bit much for her nerves. She relaxed her hold on the ecto-rifle when a voice spoke up behind her.
"No, I have been here the entire time."
Maddie jumped away from the voice and held up her weapon, ready to fire. All she could see, though, was the stacks of books that filled the room. "Show yourself ghost!" She exclaimed, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
"Is that any way to talk to someone who let you into their home?" Toren sighed as he made himself visible. "My name is Toren, and welcome to my observatory."
