A/N: Please note, I have never been to Disney Land. While writing this chapter, I did hours of research on the Haunted Mansion, to make my story as accurate as possible. If I've gotten something wrong, please ignore it ^^
- 10-
After deciding to try the Haunted Mansion, the group headed through a set of ornate metal gates towards an elaborate, looming mansion on the top of a small hill. Laura twitched as the gate
squeaked closed behind them, but her nervousness was of an entirely different sort. She was still shaken over the thought of hearing Kimura, but she reassured herself by thinking that perhaps
she had heard nothing, as only one sense had picked up a trace.
"Outstanding," Brian murmured. They had just entered the foyer of the Haunted Mansion, and witnessed an introductory scene, along with about twenty other guests (some who had traded
uneasy glances on seeing Cessily and Santo, but had not commented).
Laura was mildly impressed—and distracted. She could hear the soft whurrs of machinery, the scent of oil; but the visual effects were well coordinated, and some of the audible effects almost
concealed the components of construction. The room had 'stretched' (an optical illusion, as Laura's sharp eyes caught the motions in-between the striped wall-paper as panels slid into place),
and four portraits had been revealed, each playing out a scene. She turned her head left and right, and for the first time realized the extent of life's creativity; perhaps a sense of what she |
had missed in her cell.
To her, this mansion had no purpose. But it was still, somehow…entertaining.
Above them, the chandelier suddenly lit up and exposed a semi-realistic corpse suspended from the rafters by a noose. Laura studied it, her ears hearing the whirring sound of an elevator
descending. She caught sight of a control panel—well camouflaged but accessible—in the corner.
"The angle of his neck is wrong," she murmured to Julian. "A spine broken by a noose would assume an approximate angle of—"
"Shh." He took her hand in his as a wall suddenly disappeared beside them. Laura could hear the casters as it rolled, hear the pulleys in their sockets. She decided not to comment and followed
the pull on her hand as Julian headed down the revealed corridor.
On their left hand side, artificial thunder began to sound out from the dirty windows. On their right; several portraits changed to show bloody scenes.
As they reached the end of the hallway, more effects began to occur. Statues appeared to follow the group, rotating on their pedestals;, and Cessily remarked loudly how 'cool' it was. Laura knew
that the 'statues' were actually negative impressions on the wall that relied upon simple optical illusions to operate, but she again withheld comment, as Julian seemed to want her to do.
They reached a cold room, thick with dust, and containing black, upright, pods with bucket seats, firmly attached to rails. There were two to a car. Each had a metal restraining bar in a raised position.
Laura noted an attendant in the shadows, dressed in a costume fitting the period theme of the mansion's interior. A man. Her eyes fell on him, and seemed to linger; Laura felt the hackles on the
back of her neck rise, but a snff revealed nothing. She hadn't seen this person before.
"Let's grab the same one," Julian suggested, unaware of the interaction. She followed him to a car near the front and slipped into the seat, still feeling uneasy about the woman she'd noticed. Another
attendant passed by to ensure that they were seated properly and that the metal bar had been moved into the proper restraining position.
A few minutes passed, as the attendants loaded the other twenty-or-so people that were to accompany them on the ride.
"Pretty empty," Kevin mumbled, in the seat behind them with Cessily.
"That's coz it's late…this must be the last ride for the day," Julian said. He grinned at Laura. "Bet he loves this place…it's totally the thing for a—oof!"
Cessily's arm had whipped around the chair and thumped him in the sternum.
"Shut up!" she hissed from behind.
Laura heard the vertebrae in Kevin's neck move as he looked down, along with an increase in hormones. He was angered by the comment.
Julian rubbed his chest and stared straight ahead, but he was still smirking. The ride began to move, at a slow rate, and Laura redirected her attention to the attraction, although her mind
was on other matters.
Why did he feel the urge to make others feel uncomfortable?
The ride began to slow even further, and they were presented with what appeared to be an endless hallway, with a candlebra floating in the middle.
Laura squinted. "There are two mirrors, on either side," she whispered. "A thin sheet of fabric is obscuring the view and creating the—"
He elbowed her in the ribs again. "Laura," he scolded. "You're ruining it."
"I am only calling your attention to facts," Laura whispered in protest.
"Well, it spoils it for everyone. We like not knowing how it's done. Just stop thinking so much and enjoy it, okay?" he murmured in her ear.
"Okay," Laura said, not used to being unaware of her environment. He kissed her ear lobe and rested his head on her shoulder, looking ahead once more. They passed a figure in old
armor that seemed to move.
The cars turned to face a room constructed of metal and glass, filled with fake foliage that had been created to appear dead. Laura found this unrealistic because she could smell no
rot. She remained silent, and watched the animatronic scene of a corpse trying to escape a coffin.
"Wow," Cessily whispered from the back row, impressed.
The ride continued, moving into another corridor filled with doors. They moved errantly, shuddering and groaning, and one door appeared to expand and retract in the motion of breathing.
There were also several portraits of corpses adorning walls covered in paper portraying strange creatures with eyes that glowed.
The ride jerked to a halt.
"Didn't do this last time," Julian said.
"Weird," Cessily said from behind. "Maybe someone touched the tracks?"
Laura suddenly felt uneasy again. She almost stood up in the buggy, her head turning around wildly in either direction.
"Sit down," Julian hissed. "Don't want to have to—"
Tink, tink, tonk!
Laura's eyes widened as she heard the sound: a small object clattering onto the rails; then her eyes rolled up in her head.
…
"…"
Laura awakened slowly, to find herself still in the cart, her chin slumped against her collarbone.
Julian. He was gone. She straightened quickly, found herself still restrained by the bar; a snkkt split the air and she sliced it out of her way, then climbed out of the buggy. Sniffing the air provided
no clue as to whom their assailant was…but she could smell death.
She froze. The lights had been cut, but she could see in the dark. She turned her head slowly and found herself staring at a long line of corpses, with slowly-bleeding holes on their pale foreheads.
Laura faltered slightly as she stared. There were several small children, perhaps four or five years old.
Focus.
Her friends were not amongst the dead. Laura raised her leg over the side and stepped onto the carpet of the hallway carefully. Sniffing the air again, she focused on the scent of her friends, faint
but traceable, and followed it down the track to the next scene of the ride.
…
Julian raised his head slowly. It hurt. And it was dark.
He was in a large, stuffy room, his hands chained above his head. His limbs felt stiff and incompliant, as if he had spent a good deal of time in this position.
"…L-laura?" he called softly, because his head was still spinning from whatever had been used to drug him.
A cold hand reached out of the darkness and laid itself on his cheek.
"X isn't here. But you're going to put on a little show for her…oh, yes, you are."
The voice was female; a woman's, yet spoken in a girlish, high-pitched fashion. Mocking him. He had a sudden feeling—perhaps instinctual, and very obscure, since he'd only heard it twice—that he knew
this woman's name.
"Kimura?" he asked weakly.
"Oho!" The woman laughed in the darkness beside him. "The one and only. How sweet, the clone told you about me. Did she tell you what I like to do?"
She punishes me when I disobey. She is my handler. Laura's words suddenly came to the forefront of his memory with horrifying clarity. The cold hand on his cheek flexed; its nails bit into his flesh, deeper and
deeper until it was clawing at him.
"Nggn—" he twisted his head away from her hand, and felt something wet pouring down his neck. Blood.
"I punish X," Kimura whispered, her voice serious now. "I'll punish X how I see fit, because she's been a bad clone. And you…you helped her disobey."
She paused.
"I'm going to punish you, too."
"You're c-crazy," he hissed through his rubbery jaw. "You can't…hurt me. I'm…telekinetic…you idiot."
"Oh really?" Kimura leaned closer, so he could make out part of her face. "Why do you think we drugged the hell out of you kids? Why would we bother? I could've shot you along with the rest of those sticks…but I
didn't. Because we're going to play a little game."
Even as she spoke, Julian realized she was right. He could barely string thoughts together, let alone lift things with them. He sagged into his shackles and hoped that Laura would…would…he began to black out again.
…
Laura followed the rail track into a dimly lit room, decorated with suspended musical instruments, some floating slightly in place. A large drop awaited her on either side; peering down, she could see nets strung
between the two surfaces, supposedly for accidents.
Across the gap sat a chair and a table, in the center of which was a round, glass ball. Inside was a blank, white head with a wig.
Laura was about to move on, when a motion caught her eye. An image had been projected onto the face in the glass ball; that of a woman.
She opened her mouth, but it wasn't a stranger's voice that came out.
"Hello, X," Kimura's voice flooded the stage room. Laura was riveted to the floor, her spine stiff like a steel rod, her pores suddenly producing cold sweat. No.
The voice reverberated for a while through the empty set. Laura stared at the ball. The woman's face continued to make speaking expressions, but no words came out, as the audio had obviously been hijacked.
"Enjoying the show, clone? It's nothing compared to what's coming up."
"No," Laura said out loud.
"Hurry up! We're all ready to go!" A pause.
In the distance, faintly, a loud yell of pain. Julian's voice.
"No!" Laura began to run, leaving the display behind. Her boots caught on the buggy rails and she fell face-first in a sprawled heap, momentarily spraining her wrist as she struggled to catch herself.
She thought. Now, she could just run, run the other way, to freedom, to the clean air and sunshine. Kimura would not expect it, because she had taken something precious and fragile—and was going to break it, as
she had tried to break Megan and Debbie that night in the basement.
Laura's eyebrows drew together. No, she couldn't.
Behind her, Kimura laughed. Laura sat still for a moment, then realized the ground was shaking. She turned and saw the train of buggies heading towards her at neck-breaking speed.
Quickly she sat up and threw herself into the first cart, ignoring the two bodies occupying it as she avoided being crushed. She knew that she was supposed to do this, supposed to follow the track, for
whatever Kimura had planned would be in the next exhibit.
…
The carts jerked to a stop in front of an enormous wall of glass, separating guests from a large ballroom with elaborate props. Laura's eyes barely took in her surroundings; she sat in the cart, numb,
waiting for the next sign of Kimura's presence.
She could detect nothing. Not a sound…not a scent. Her senses tried to convince her that she was alone. But that didn't fool her.
Images flickered on the glass, shielded behind a layer of Plexiglas. Quickly, suddenly; almost as soon as they were there, they were gone. Laura got out of the cart and approached the Plexiglas, her
fingers stretching out, and she pressed them against the surface, her eyes wide.
She could only see her own reflection on the second layer of glass. Beyond was a stage, a long table set for what appeared to be a birthday party; a cake with electric candles sat at the end.
Then…again, the images flickered, and stayed longer. Dancers fluttered across, dressed in gowns far more elaborate than those she'd encountered at the school dance; people sat at the table, smiling,
and a girl leaned over the cake to blow out the candles.
There. Laura's eyes were drawn to the ceiling, where she saw the faint reflection of Julian, his head hanging and his arms suspended above his head with shackles—and he was bleeding. There was a
large cut on his cheek, and several stains blotching his shirt.
And a hand, holding a buck knife.
The images disappeared, but Laura was done watching.
"Kimura!" she shouted, whipping around, her eyes searching. This was an illusion—she knew that Julian had to be somewhere behind and possible above her, judging from the angle. She could see nothing,
but she was certain. Laura ran to the other side of the room and began running her fingers over it; then she heard another muffled cry.
She froze, and looked at the glass. The knife was running along Julian's throat, in a threatening gesture.
Laura tilted her head up, towards the source of the sound. Up was the only possibility. She popped all of her claws and sunk them into the plaster of the wall, gritting her teeth as she reached the ceiling,
then shoving her fist through it.
"AHA!" Kimura's voice, now audible through the hole she'd made. Laura moved quickly, cutting the ceiling—rather, floor—out of her way and lunging through to the top level.
She was on a stage filled with animatronic figures moving around on metal tracks. In the center of this flurry of commotion was Julian, his wrists shackled above his head, which had sagged on his shoulder.
"Kimura," Laura said, seeing her handler as she poised the knife against his throat, restricting his intake of air. "Let him go. He is not—"
"I think he's a big part of this, X," the woman said. "More than you could understand. I'm going to finally teach you a lesson…and you're going to remember this one, aren't you?"
Julian raised his head slightly. "Luh…" he said.
Laura froze. She didn't want him to see what they would do, what Kimura would do to her. He was still innocent.
The decision was solidified in the split second that Kimura moved to cut his throat with the buck knife; Laura charged, catching the woman by surprise, and off the edge of the stage they flew.
SMASH!
Shards of Plexiglas and real glass filled the air as the woman and the girl sailed through the barrier between the viewing stage and the cars on the rails, then dropped to the ground, farther
down than Laura had expected.
There were three levels.
"ARRRRRRRRRGH! CLONE!" Kimura screamed, having taken the brunt of the impact. She grabbed a handful of Laura's hair and pulled; the girl grimaced in pain and struggled to fight back.
Kimura ripped her head backwards and grinned, revealing very white, even teeth. "You're so stupid, X. You know I'm just going to go back and kill him. Why even bother to fight me? All you're
doing is costing Disneyland a fortune!"
Laura raised her still-clawed fist and sliced through the chunk of hair, freeing her from the woman's grasp. She had to act quickly; Kimura could not be defeated, so the mission was to escape—but
she had to find the others first. And free Julian. She had to get back to the upper level. She looked up and saw the enormous chandelier.
Whirling around, Laura ran towards the small, broken staircase in the back of the room, Kimura in hot pursuit. She leapt on top of a large piano (the keys of which depressed without visible contact)
and over it, then shoved the unit as hard as she could into the other woman's stomach.
"ARRGH!" Kimura roared, having not expected the movement. She stumbled backwards, but Laura kept going; her heart pounded almost as loudly as her boots on the rickety staircase, her eyes on the chandelier.
Would it hold?
"CLONE! COME BACK HERE!" Kimura shouted, but it was too late. Laura had already leapt, and hit the chandelier with a thunderous tinkle, focusing her effort on leaning forwards. She would only get
one chance. If she failed…
The ceiling groaned as the chandelier swung over towards the mid level of the balconies; and Laura's fingers caught the edge. She swung her claws into the underside to further anchor herself, then
crawled up, Kimura screaming insults at her all the while.
Running into the darkness, Laura headed back towards the first room they'd encountered, on foot. The elevator.
Kimura was not long in escaping the bottom level. Laura could hear the woman's boots thudding dully on the carpet behind her, and her heavy, crazed breathing. Her heart was beating hard—not with
fear, or anxiety that her charge would escape, Laura knew—but with the thrill of the hunt.
Quite quickly—far faster than the buggies had moved—Laura reached the room with striped wall paper—and stopped.
"I'm disappointed, X," Kimura said, coming to a halt as well, inside the room. "You're not even going to try to save them? Huh. I thought you were a hero now."
"I am not a hero," Laura said coldly, her hand finding the control panel she'd seen earlier, and pressing the button. Then she ripped her claws through the entire panel, destroying it.
"CLO—" Kimura shouted, but it was too late. Laura had withdrawn her hand, and the striped room moved upwards, leaving a blank expanse.
It had bought her five, maybe ten minutes. She whirled around and tore off into the darkness once more, back the way she had come.