Daphne's heart sunk as she saw the ghostly man approach, inching closer and closer by the second.
Whilst the TV host part of her wanted to stay and film the potential paranormal occurrence, the frightened part of her told her to run as fast as she could, without stopping.
"Sumley?" Daphne called, in a panicky state.
"Yes, my dear?" Sumley replied back. His footsteps could be heard, quickly rushing into the room.
Daphne didn't have to speak to alert Sumley of the impending danger.
"My my my, that is quite the predicament, isn't it?" Sumley observed. Daphne couldn't tell if Sumley was genuinely as curious as he sounded, or if he was just trying to hide the intense fear that he was feeling inside.
As Sumley spoke, the apparition kept slowly making his way over to Daphne.
"Get back in your painting this instant!" Sumley authoritatively shouted.
The ghostly man paid no attention to Sumley's instruction, and continued towards Daphne, only a few feet away now. Slowly losing faith in Sumley's ability to control the creature that came out of the painting, the redhead ran as quickly as she could and headed for the door leading to upstairs.
"Prick up your ears, old chap! I said, get back in your painting!" Sumley insisted, still clearly not coming to terms with the fact that the ghostly figure had no intention of being obedient. The apparition gave a very macabre smile, bearing its teeth in a very devilish grin.
Visibly distraught, Sumley followed Daphne's lead and began running in the opposite direction of the grinning ghoul.
Daphne had made her way back to the stairwell, which she quickly raced up so she could once again be in the safe upstairs. Right behind her, Sumley let out a small sigh of exhaustion, panting as he struggled to catch his breath from the strenuous getaway.
"I just don't understand it, my dear!" Sumley articulated his sentence in a frustrated manner. "I've been living in this residence for 20 years, and not once have the beings in the paintings ever tried to harm me!"
"Well, like you said before, I am a guest here. Maybe the ghost is sensing there's something off?" Daphne struggled to get the image of the brutally scarred phantom out of her head as she spoke.
"Maybe, but I feel as if there's something else afoot. Even after you departed the basement, the ghost still paid no heed to what I said. I sense there is something odd occurring here." Sumley responded.
Meanwhile, completely oblivious to what had just happened, Isabel came down from her long slumber. The blonde donned a pink fleece sweater, along with a pair of blue jeans and black boots. She also wore a gray scarf that was so poofy that it completely covered her neck.
"Hey, Daph!" Isabel chirped. "Oh, this must be Lorde Sumley! So nice to meet you!"
Sumley, still somewhat lost in thought, shook the blonde's hand as he said "Ah yes, you must be Ms. Blake's friend, Irene."
"It's Isabel," the blonde corrected.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry my dear, so nice to meet you." Sumley removed his top hat as he took an ostentatious bow, much like one you would see of a stereotypical British character in an old movie.
Isabel looked as if she were about to almost die with excitement, when she realized her very strange way of greeting Charles the previous night was actually correct.
"No, the pleasure is all mine!" Isabel said, as she did a curtsy whilst once again removing her nonexistent top hat. This time, however, the blonde yelped in pain after attempting a half-formed curtsy.
"Apparently, you shouldn't try to bend your legs to curtsy in skinny jeans! Take that as a lesson and don't make my mistake, Mr. Sumley." Isabel said, before pausing to realize the ridiculousness of her previous comment.
"Well, I do say I've never actually worn skinny jeans, though I will be sure to take your advice should that ever occur." Sumley responded, visibly offput by Isabel's odd comment.
The man tried to inconspicuously whisper in Daphne's ear, "I must ask, is your friend always this odd?"
Daphne simply responded, "Yeah, she's a lot of work."
"Who's a lot of work?" Isabel questioned.
"Umm...nothing!" Daphne nonchalantly uttered, trying to draw attention away from her potentially rude comment.
"Okay! So what have you guys been up to?" Isabel asked.
"Nothing much, just being chased by a ghost." Daphne mentioned.
"Oh..." Isabel paused for a moment, trying to process the conflicting message between what Daphne said and her tone of voice. "Wait, what?"
"Yes, my dear, I'm afraid one of my paintings came to life and attempted to attack us." Sumley added.
"You say that like it's a normal thing?" the blonde responded, again confused.
"Well, you see, it is and it isn't. Ever since I bought this house 20 years ago, the creatures in the paintings have always been restless during the night. However, this is the first time in which a creature has attempted to do bodily harm to one of my guests, or I, for that matter!" Sumley elaborated.
"Wait...so this house isn't haunted by a ghost, but rather hundreds of ghosts in different paintings?" Isabel interrogated.
Sumley's facial expression clearly displayed how exasperated he was by the blonde girl's constant questions. Finally, he answered, "Why don't we talk more about this over breakfast? Ms. Blake and I have already eaten, though we don't mind providing you some company whilst you dine, do we Ms. Blake?"
The redhead perked up at the sound of her own name, and replied "Mhm, sure," before switching her attention over to Charles, who had just entered the room.
"How may I be of assistance, ladies and gents?" Charles inquired.
"Charles, do you still have leftovers from our breakfast this morning?" Sumley requested.
"Why yes, as a matter of fact I do!" Charles said. "I can quick make another stack of pancakes for you. I believe the hash browns and sausages are still nice and warm, as well."
"Oh, it's okay, I just need one pancake is all. I'm not usually very hungry in the mornings." Isabel explained.
Daphne held back the urge to make a joke about Isabel's comment. Finally, after only a few seconds of self-control and willpower, Daphne smirked and said "Gotta keep those curves intact, right?"
Isabel fought back the urge to laugh, though not well enough, as she began giggling uncontrollably. "Daphne! That's supposed to be private!"
"Oh, I fully understand, ladies. After all, I need to keep in shape as well!" Sumley laughed, as he patted his somewhat large stomach.
Charles looked surprised by Sumley's attempt at humor, and simply replied "Alright, I shall just get one pancake for Ms. Isabel then."
"Come on, Iz. We'll show you the dining room." The redhead ushered for her friend to follow.
Even though Daphne had seen the dining room before, she was still amazed by how massive it was. The room was filled in Medieval decor, with early Victorian furnishings and various shelves with knick-knacks on them. The table was enormous, and could easily fit 20 people at a time. Quite odd, Daphne thought, considering that it seemed Sumley didn't have much company since his wife died.
"Breakfast is served!" Charles said, once again balancing several plates between his two hands.
"Mmm, looks delicious!" Isabel said.
"Would you like any powdered sugar on your pancake?" the butler asked.
"Aww, that sounds so cute! Sure, I'll try it." the blonde responded.
"Just say when!" the butler instructed, as he began lightly sprinkling powdered sugar over her pancake.
"That's fine, thanks." Isabel said, after the pancake was sufficiently covered in powdered sugar.
"Oh dear, I forgot to get you a fork!" Charles exclaimed.
"Oh, I shan't be needing that." Isabel said, pretending to shove her entire face in the pancake.
"Isabel!" Daphne said, astonished at what her friend had just uttered. "We're guests in someone's home!"
"Calm down, I was kidding!" Isabel fired back in a snarky tone.
Charles quickly rushed back, handing the blonde her fork.
"Good!" Isabel rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "Now to indulge in my snowy goodness!"
The blonde cut off a small piece of the powdered sugar covered pancake and slowly put the morsel into her mouth. Her face immediately lit up with excitement, and Daphne could have sworn her eyes expanded to the size of saucers.
"Umm...I take it you liked it, Isabel?" Daphne said, unsure of how else to respond to her friend's odd facial expression.
"If you could taste a dream, and mix it with the brightness of twenty-thousand rainbows, that's how good this tastes." Isabel responded, clearly unable to contain her excitement.
"Well...okay then." Daphne laughed.
"Ladies, I believe there is the matter of the paintings that we also need to dutifully attend to." Sumley interrupted.
"Oh yeah, let's start discussing that. You have both of our undivided attention." Daphne stated, before looking back over at Isabel. The pink-sweatered female was in the process of chewing another piece of pancake.
"Oh my god. This is so freaking delicious I could cry!"
"Well, I take that back. You have one of our undivided attention." Daphne rolled her eyes at Isabel's overreaction.
"If I died right now from choking on this pancake, I think I would go to heaven achieving enlightenment."
"Okay, let's ignore the crazy girl." Daphne scoffed. "So, what's our plan, Lorde?"
"I say, what if Charles and Isabel follow us down? Maybe the ghosts will feel less intimidated if all four of us come downstairs at once. We could even explain to them what you are trying to do!"
The idea certainly sounded odd, especially talking to paintings which may or may not comprehend what they were saying, but an idea was an idea, as far as Daphne was concerned.
"I like the idea, but I mean, they're still undead spirits. Who's to say that they wouldn't be more active with more people disturbing them?" Daphne suggested.
"Hmm, you make a fine argument, Ms. Blake. Albeit I imagine you did not simply come all this way to leave without getting any proper footage." Sumley elaborated. "We might as well give it a sufficient chance, as far as I'm concerned."
"Well, I guess it's not as if I haven't encountered angry apparitions before," Daphne pondered. "I guess we'll give it a shot."
"Jolly good show, then!" Sumley affirmed. "But I must warn you, I make no assurances that the spirits will respond with pleasantries. They may be very vicious, and we may have to once again flee for our lives."
"I think we're all willing to take that chance. Except maybe Charles." Daphne stated.
"Oh no, Charles has been my faithful servant and friend since I bought the house. He's well acquainted with the spirits." Sumley responded.
"Well, I guess if Isabel's done, let's go and explore the basement!" Daphne glanced over to her friend's plate. She quickly discovered that it was still nearly full, due to Isabel only nibbling at the pancake. "Could you eat a little faster, Iz? We're trying to get back down to the basement before midnight." Daphne said sarcastically.
Practically drooling whilst savoring her treasured pancake, Isabel looked up and responded "No! I need to savor every bite. Speaking of which, how strange would it be if I prayed to this pancake?"
"Very. And you know, you could just ask Charles to make you another one, right?"
"Nah, I'm good with just the one. I roll at my own pace."
"Yeah, slow and slower. Now are you coming with us or not?"
"Eh, you can just go ahead with Lorde and Charles. I'll follow you down in a minute."
Daphne shrugged at her friend's quirkiness, and looked towards Sumley and Charles and announced "Alright, let's get going!"
The two gentlemen followed the redhead down into the basement, as her odd blonde friend continued to nibble at her pancake.
"So, should we go back to the scarred ghost's painting, or see what other spirits want to say hello?" Daphne said sarcastically.
"Oh my, that is a dilemma, isn't it?" Sumley answered, prompting Daphne to give him a strange look. She wasn't expecting to have been taken seriously. "I suppose we could explore a new room."
Daphne shivered as the trio passed the canvas of the deformed phantom, worried that at any moment, the painting's inhabitant would pay them an unwelcome visit. Continuing to walk, the three wandered past the familiar umbrella stand into a new room, which was filled with new paintings. These paintings perhaps looked more frightening than the previous bunch. One with a cloaked ghoul caught Daphne's eye in particular, partially due to the creature's blue skin to match its navy blue cloak. Under the cloak, the ghoul donned a gentleman's black tuxedo, along with gray dress pants. Though she continued to stay alert of the other paintings, Daphne found her eyes continuously going back to that particular one, ensuring that it didn't move without her noticing.
Momentarily, Daphne noticed another very odd decoration on the wall, though this one wasn't a painting. It was similar to a trophy head, though rather than any animal you could hunt, the trophy head featured the head of a condor-like bird, with humanoid arms. The bird had a ghastly grimace on its face, the kind which Daphne didn't think she would forget for a long time.
"That's an interesting decoration, Lorde." Daphne commented.
"Yes, it is. I bought it at a local store one day. They had it prominently featured on sale for ninety percent off its original price, practically giving it away."
"What's that it has in its hand?" Daphne looked, reaching towards the ugly bird for a close look.
"Oh, I'm afraid I wouldn't be doing that, if I were you." Sumley yelled.
Daphne quickly pulled her hand back, awaiting Sumley's explanation.
"You see, I believe the reason the statue was so cheap is because it, like the paintings, is haunted."
"A haunted bird?" Daphne giggled at the thought.
"Yes, I understand how silly that sounds. But, out of the corner of my eye, I believe to have seen the bird move its hand slightly." Sumley said, visibly a bit uneasy.
"What is that though, in its hand, Lorde?"
"Oh, that. It's a piggy bank."
Daphne scrunched her face, forming a disgruntled look. "What?"
"Yes, quite an odd choice of decor, I'm aware. It came with the bird, and...I do ask you let me fully explain, as it is rather complicated...the sales clerk recommended I never separate the piggy bank from the bird's hand. At first, I thought it looked silly, so I moved the piggy bank and was going to donate it to the local orphanage. But right after I separated the two items, that's when I began to see the bird doing strange things out of the corner of my eye. Moving its arm, shifting its gaze, and...this is the most bizarre of them all...putting a coin into the piggy bank!"
Daphne was struck a bit odd by Sumley's last comment, though given what she had seen throughout her years mystery solving and ghost hunting, nothing really surprised her that much anymore.
"Did you ever check the piggy bank, after you thought you saw the bird put something into it?" the redhead inquired.
"No, I disgracefully admit that I was too afraid to do so."
"Well, that's where I come in." In a flash, Daphne turned on her camera and instantly reached for the piggy bank.
"Ms. Blake!" Sumley shouted in a flustered way.
"Yes?" Daphne asked, anticipant of the response.
"Just...be careful!"
"Yes, please be careful, Ms. Blake." Charles chimed in, having not said anything previously for the duration of their time in basement.
Daphne didn't respond, but rather grabbed the piggy bank and shook it.
"There was nothing you put in here, right?" Daphne asked.
"No, as I said, I was too nervous to try to do anything after I saw the bird moved. Or, at least, when I believed I did." Sumley uttered.
"Well…" Daphne's determined gaze quickly turned to that of a nervous glance. "There is now."
As Sumley and Charles slightly recoiled in discomfort, Daphne shook the single coin out of the piggy bank.
"What type of coin is it?" Charles questioned.
"I don't know, it looks like something...ahhh!" Daphne jumped back and dropped the coin to the ground. Sumley and Charles were taken aback as well, by their companion's sharp movement.
"What is it, Ms. Blake?" Sumley said, his speech visibly slower with a hint of anxiety.
"It said...beware of the cursed coin of Donne." Daphne spoke.
Sumley squinted towards the coin on the ground, which was now surrounded by an eerie yellow glow. "I do say, I've never seen this coin in my life before! Where could it have came from?"
"Not a clue, sir!" Charles confirmed.
"Well, let's not wait around and find out." Daphne said, clearly spooked. The redhead picked the coin up off of the hardwood floor, and put in back in its respective piggy bank. She quickly set it back in the bird's grasp.
"Not a moment too soon." Daphne said with relief.
No response.
"Lorde? Charles?" Daphne looked around frantically, before being solaced by a familiar looking shadow next to her. She would have been frightened, but the shadow displayed the exact same suit type and figure as Charles. On a second glance, she noticed an odd piece of fabric dangling from Charles's backside. It almost looked like...
A cloak.
Daphne spun around to see none other than the ghoul from the painting, who now had its arms straight up in the air, and spoke with an almost alien-like echo in its voice.
"You have disturbed the sacred resting place of the Spirit Lord Donne! Lord Donne shall make you pay for your sins with the torture of a thousand deaths!"
The blue-faced ghoul took a swipe at Daphne, but she was already several feet away as her feet took her as fast as she could possibly run. Zooming up the stairs, Daphne didn't even look back to see how close the ghoul was to her until she was several feet out of the dark basement.
Once she was within safe distance from the encounter, Daphne finally turned around, panting with both exhaustion and panic.
Silence.
Daphne nearly jumped ten feet when she heard a familiar voice.
"Ms. Blake! I'm so glad you escaped!" Sumley said. "That ghoul nearly had you."
Daphne only responded with heavy breaths, full of a deep anxiety.
"Ms. Blake? Are you alright?" Sumley persisted.
"I'm fine, except I nearly crapped myself when you snuck up on me like that!" Daphne snapped.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We'll be better planned next time, should you choose to venture back down into the paintings." Sumley apologized.
"If there is a next time." Daphne responded, still catching her breath.
"But Ms. Blake, as you told me yesterday, you're a horror host! You seek to capture the uncapturable, explore the unexplored! Tell the stories which men have feared to speak of!"
"Yes, Lorde, I have had many experiences with the paranormal. But usually it's with one ghost, not 80!"
"I know my house can be a bit...challenging. But I would love if someone would tell the story of it to the world! Speak of the evil I have been living with for nearly twenty years!"
"I'm not worried about some filming issue or lack of motivation. I'm worried about dying!" Daphne shouted.
"I understand you're very frightened, Ms. Blake, but as a horror host, you should know better than anyone, you cannot give up! The show must go on!"
"Yes, I am very frightened. Maybe you could give me more than five seconds to recover from nearly having 'the torture of a thousand deaths' before trying to convince me to go back down into that deathtrap?" Daphne snapped.
"Yes...well…" Sumley smiled, as he looked slightly to the right by the window. "Maybe your friend will provide you with a little cheer."
Daphne looked over to the window, where Isabel was peacefully rested on a padded bench, sunning herself and closing her eyes. She was very cutely positioned on the furniture, and it was difficult for Daphne to remain angry and frightened after seeing something that adorable.
Isabel made a high-pitched mumble in her sleep, before ever-so-slightly opening her eyes to see her three companions around her.
"Mhm." Isabel sleepily grumbled. "How are you doing, Daph?
"Well, I almost got killed by a Spirit Lord. How are you?" Daphne said sarcastically.
Seemingly ignoring her friend's ominous remark, Isabel replied "I ate five pancakes. I'm so full I can't move."
Daphne laughed, "Well, that's what you get! Now get up and help us come up with a plan of how to capture these ghosts on film without getting murdered."
Making her voice sound exasperated and whiney, Isabel moaned "It's so much work!"
Sighing at her friend's stubbornness, Daphne tried to make it simpler for the bubbly blonde. "Just stand up, walk three steps to face us, and listen to our ideas. You don't even have to say anything."
"You mean I would have to stand up and walk all the way over there?" Isabel dramatically sighed, pointing to a distance which was only a few inches from where she was laying. Daphne nodded at her friend's comment.
"It's too much!" Isabel whined.
"How about this? You lay there like a lump, and whenever you like one of our ideas, just say so." Daphne said, unsure of how she could make her request possibly be simpler.
"Okay, fine. But can you just do one teensy little favor for your friend?" Isabel smiled.
"Sure, if you listen. What is it?" Daphne replied, afraid of her friend's response.
"Scratch my nose."
"What?" Daphne snapped, feeling tricked. "Why do I have to do it?"
"I'm itchy." Isabel chirped, trying to make her request more likely to be fulfilled by acting cute.
"Ugh! Fine!" Daphne said. "See what I mean that she's a lot of work?"
"Yes, clearly." Sumley sympathized.
Daphne scratched her unwilling friend's nose briefly with her ring finger, as Isabel gave her a big smile whilst doing so.
"I didn't say stop!" Isabel said in a silly voice, though Daphne took annoyance regardless.
Visibly frustrated, Daphne tried to contain herself and simply asked. "How long do you want me to scratch it then?"
"The whole conversation!" Isabel responded boldly.
Daphne didn't even bother to respond, but continued scratching Isabel's nose as she spoke to get her to be quiet.
"Thank you!" Isabel said, as she continued cheerfully smiling while her friend relieved the itching.
"So, what are our options? We either leave or go into the basement and die?" Daphne bluntly, before pausing to notice the paintings by the staircase out of the corner of her eye. "Hey, why don't those paintings move?"
"Hmm, you have an interesting point, Ms. Blake!" Sumley pondered. "I have seen those particular portraits move previously, yet they have not so much as stirred whilst you and your friend have been here."
A smile came over Daphne's face as she fully formulated her thoughts. "What if…"
"...you keep scratching my nose? Please do, I'm very content." Isabel smirked.
"No!" Daphne snapped. "What if we filmed the paintings in the stairwell and see what happened? There's that trophy head, as well."
The redhead pointed towards the fanged creature which she had noticed on her way down to breakfast earlier.
"Excellent idea, Ms. Blake!" Sumley exclaimed. "What do you think Charles?"
"Yes, I must say that is an ingenious plan! That should potentially give us some insight into how the paintings work."
"Okay, what are we waiting for then?" Daphne asked. "Is your nose sufficiently scratched, your highness?"
"Well, yeah." Isabel disappointedly stated. Her pretend pouting didn't last long, however. The blonde's face immediately lit up with a smile and said "But you know...my hair could use a good petting."
Daphne gave her a cranky look of frustration.
"What? My hair needs love too!"
"Just come on!" Daphne grabbed Isabel's hand forcefully before she finally got up.
"Fine." Isabel harrumphed. "Walking is so hard when you have to do it yourself!"
Daphne rolled her eyes at her friend's whiney remark.
The two women followed Sumley and Charles onto the staircase.
"Let me know when you're recording, Ms. Blake." Sumley inquired.
"Okay, you're on in 3, 2, 1!" Daphne gave Sumley an anticipant stare, alerting him that it was his time to speak.
"Hello again, fellow comrades. This is Coast to Coast with Daphne Blake, and I'm here with hostess Daphne Blake, and her friend, Isabel -" Sumley paused for a moment, unsure of his next words. "I'm terribly sorry. What is your friend's last name again, Ms. Blake?"
"Clingyandannoying."
"...and her friend, Isabel Cli-" It took Sumley a minute to realize Daphne was being sarcastic. "Never mind, the matter is unimportant. Daphne Blake and her friend Isabel are here with us, trying to see if we can spot any paranormal activity in the stairwell paintings."
Daphne switched the camera focus from Sumley to the paintings on the staircase. She continued to point the camera directly towards the paintings, but nothing peculiar occured.
After nearly 30 minutes of holding the camera steady, Daphne was about ready to give up. The four hadn't actually seen any signs of anything, so continuing to film seemed pointless.
"I think we ought to give up, Lorde." Daphne suggested.
"Yes, yes, I quite agree. We haven't seen hide nor hair of anything paranormal yet." Sumley responded.
Daphne continued filming for the last few precious seconds, and subsequently turned off the camera in disappointment.
"Guess there's nothing to see here." Daphne commented. "Where next, gang?"
Daphne paused after articulating the word "gang." It felt natural as she said it, but after the fact, it felt awkward to call anyone but her old friends that.
"I mean, where else have the ghosts been sighted, Lorde?" Isabel asked.
"Well, there is the theatre room." Sumley mentioned.
"Theatre room? Fancy!" Isabel exclaimed.
"Yes, I did fancy it quite a bit. But ever since my beloved wife died and my kids left the house, it hasn't seen much use I'm afraid." Sumley said, as Isabel cocked her head to the side in confusion (Sumley had clearly misunderstood the way she used the word "fancy").
"When did you last see paranormal activity in there, then?" Daphne inquired.
"As I said, it's been quite a while. Maybe, say, five years. But five years ago, I saw a ghastly sea monster in the theatre room whilst my children and I were watching a film."
"Sea monster?" Daphne said in surprise.
"Aren't they supposed to be...you know, in the sea?" Isabel asked.
"Well, one of the paintings in that room had a sea monster in it, so I imagine it came out of there." Sumley explained.
"You mean you didn't see it come out of the painting?" Daphne pondered curiously.
"No, I'm afraid not. We were entranced in the movie and weren't paying attention to our surroundings too diligently."
Daphne shrugged. "I suppose it's as good of place to start as any. Coming with us, Iz?"
Once again lying down in a very uncomfortable looking position at the bottom of the stairwell, Isabel yawned and used her hand to flatten down her hair, which was very messy from laying on the hardwood floor.
"You mean I would have to stand up, and walk all the way over there?" Isabel let out an exasperated sigh.
Knowing what she was going say, Daphne mimicked Isabel, causing the two girls to both simultaneously whine "It's too much!"
With a squeak in her voice, Isabel giggled "Clearly you know me well!"
"Are you coming or not, Iz?" Daphne sighed.
"Can you at least help me up?" Isabel said, barely extending out her hands for Daphne to grab.
"Fine." Daphne grabbed Isabel's hand, though Isabel just laid there like a lump, forcing Daphne to bear the burden of lifting Isabel's entire weight.
"Thanks, Daph. You're a good friend!" Isabel said, as she gave the redhead an awkward pat on the head.
Daphne rolled her eyes, as she followed Lorde to the theatre room.
"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly are you two friends again?" Sumley said.
"Usually she's not this whiney." Daphne whispered, as so Isabel couldn't hear it.
A moment later, Isabel poked her head into Daphne and Sumley's conversation. "What are we talking about?" she whispered. "I like whispering too!"
Annoyed with the blonde, Daphne blurted "We're talking about how whiney you are!"
"Yeah, but you love me anyway, right?" Isabel mustered a fake-looking innocent smile.
"We'll see." Daphne responded.
"Wait, we're just having fun, right?" Isabel said, now seeming genuinely concerned.
"You are maybe, but some of us are trying to be serious and focus on the problem at hand." Daphne said, still annoyed.
Isabel's perpetual smile momentarily turned into a face of worry and guilt. "Sorry Daph. I'll shut up. I don't want you to hate me like you do the gang."
Daphne paused a moment, realizing she may have been too harsh on her blonde friend.
"No, Iz. You should be yourself, even if you are overly silly at times."
"Me? Silly? No!" Isabel gasped.
"See, there's you. Don't let people define who you are, even if it's stupid friends like myself. I'm sorry I let my frustration get the best of me." Daphne said regretfully.
"Thanks, Daph. You know, you really are a good friend."
The redhead wrapped her arms around the blonde as a gesture of forgiveness.
After the two had finished hugging, Daphne spoke up. "And for the record, I don't hate the gang. In fact, I think I'm beginning to forgive them, as well as myself, in some ways."
"Yourself?" Isabel asked.
"Yeah. I mean, people go their separate ways. No reason for me to get bent out of shape about it. And I mean, I never hated Shaggy and Scooby. It's just…" The redhead was going to say complicated but thought better of it.
"Just what?" Isabel asked.
"Just...Velma and Fred! Yeah, I just was mad at Velma and Fred." Daphne laughed nervously, hoping Isabel wouldn't interrogate her further.
Quickly changing the subject to avoid any uncomfortableness, Daphne said "You know, when I think about it, I really like your personality."
Isabel smiled, and responded "Yeah, I like my personality too. You have any idea how fun it is for me to think I'm this cute every day?"
Daphne burst out laughing.
"What? I think everyone should of themselves as cute! We all are pretty odd and quirky, when you think about it. Everyone's fun and unique in their own way, and I think we all should embrace that part of us!"
"You have an awesome view of life, Isabel." Daphne responded, appreciating how insightful the blonde's comment truly was.
"Why thank you! I wish everyone loved life as much as I do." Isabel smiled.
Daphne and Isabel had been so caught up in talking that they hadn't even noticed that Sumley had lead them all the way to the theater room already.
"Ladies, we're here." Sumley announced. "Are you ready to venture into the unknown? Go where no man has been...well...in five years?"
Daphne let out a laugh. "I think I'm ready! Iz?"
"I volunteer as a tribute!"
"I think we're ready, Lorde." Daphne affirmed.
Sumley opened the door, which let out an ominous creak. When the dark room was fully open, he reached for the light switch slowly, unsure of what he would find. The lights flickered for a brief moment, before the room was fully visible.
"My word!" Sumley exclaimed.
The room had been completely trashed. Debris was fully covering the room. The material which had previously been seats was now just a sea of ripped cotton. Dried up popcorn kernels from a stationary popcorn machine were scattered all over the area, adding to the already overwhelming mess.
"No!" Sumley shouted again.
"Sumley? What happened?" Daphne asked in a panic.
"The paintings! The frames have been destroyed." Sumley said, visibly sweating with fear.
"Isn't that a good thing, though?" Isabel asked. "That means the ghosts can't come out of the paintings anymore!"
"That's just it, though. I didn't tell you ladies this previously, as I didn't find it to be relevant. When I acquired these paintings, the man I purchased them from told me to make sure the frames never become damaged, or the consequences could be drastic."
"Why did you buy them then?" Isabel was very confused by this notion, as surely the seller's ominous language should have been a hint for Sumley to not complete the transaction.
"Ah, you see I thought he was just being colorful at the time. But once I realized the true nature of the paintings, I have worried about damaging the frames in any way since then." Sumley elaborated.
"It's okay, I think we can still remain calm." Daphne assured. "Where's Charles? Maybe he can help us."
"I believe he went to go start on fixing lunch, so he won't be of any assistance to us, I'm afraid." Sumley said, his hand slightly shaking.
"Lorde, are you okay? Your hands look shaky." Daphne observed, beginning to become anxious.
No answer.
"Well, what exactly happens when the frames break?" Daphne asked, in one last attempt to calm the terrified man in front of her.
"That's just it, Ms. Blake! I don't know what unspeakable evil might happen!" Sumley said, stuttering with fear. "You know, I think we ought to leave this room. I don't know if I'm able to handle the suspense any longer."
"That's okay, feel free to leave, Lorde. You too, Iz. I want to stay here for just a moment; this could be our moment to catch something else on camera." Daphne explained.
All of a sudden, the lights began to flicker.
"Uh...maybe I should leave." Daphne said, beginning to give into the sea of fear which drowned her terrified mind.
As Daphne began to use the flashes of light to allow her to see the way out, the door slammed shut and the lights went entirely out.
"Shit!" Isabel blurted out, beginning to hyperventilate.
In an instant, the light returned, though it wasn't the kind any of the three wanted to see.
The light came from the essence of ten apparitions, whose ghastly yellow glow illuminated the room.
A few of the spirits were recognizable - the caped ghost from the basement, the Frankenstein's monster, the wolfman, and the ghoulish vampire all from the staircase paintings. Others were previously unseen by the two girls, which included Sumley's sea monster, a ghostly man in a Civil War uniform, a glowing person who was fully in a bug exterminator type-suit, which was bright orange, a ghostly looking woman with all black attire and a glowing white face, and some sort of strange being which looked to be just a shadow.
There also was a see-through skeleton, whose face was half raw skull and the other half a deformed, fleshy version of a human's face. The skeleton was the only one to speak, and pointed with his long, bony finger as he did so.
"You have been warned! Now you will be punished for interfering with the Spirit Lord's resting place!"
Author's note:
And that's a wrap, folks!
So hopefully you enjoyed chapter 12. It was a ton of fun writing, though honestly this chapter took longer to write than any other chapter. Not for any particular reason really, I was in a bit of an odd writing mood these past four months and took lengthier breaks in between writing sessions. It seemed that whenever I wanted to write, I had no time to, and whenever I had the time to write, I was really lazy and didn't feel like writing lol.
It's been fun to be a bit looser on self-imposed writing restrictions. Like, I'll usually have an idea for a chapter and say "Oh, this will be one chapter long, or this will be a two-part chapter", etc. With this chapter, I've just kind of let myself write whatever without having an idea in mind for how long this "painting" arc will go on. At the moment, I'm thinking it will probably conclude in this next chapter, but honestly, it could go into chapter 14 too depending on how deep I decide to go with this whole "haunted paintings" plot.
I hope you all enjoyed Isabel's goofiness in this chapter, and that her whining wasn't too annoying. It ended up going on for a bit longer than I had thought it would, but I personally really enjoyed writing the "It's too much!" dialogue (hence the title of the chapter).
Another thing which you may or may not find interesting is that Isabel's life philosophies after Daphne apologizes are very similar to that of my own. Well, besides the thinking she's cute thing, but I guess if you go through life thinking you're really cute all the time, then good for you lol!
"We all are pretty odd and quirky, when you think about it. Everyone's fun and unique in their own way, and I think we all should embrace that part of us!"
And I don't mean that in a sappy "aww, we're all special!" way, but I think all of us humans are very interesting and unique in our own way, and when you think about it, it is pretty amazing how we all have our own little (or big) quirks in our personalities. I guess from my perspective, it's all about embracing your quirks and loving your unique identity. In today's society, there is SO much conformity and intolerance for differences, yet we all are so different in our own amazing way. And that just got way more preachy than I wanted it to, lol.
The "Clingyandannoying" last name that Daphne jokingly gave Isabel was a last-minute addition. I was going to have Lorde Sumley, who as you probably can tell speaks very formally, refer to Isabel by her last name. However, I quickly realized I haven't actually ever given Isabel a last name yet, so the "Clingyandannoying" name is sort of a filler in absence of coming up with a last name for her. At some point, I'll probably come up with something and put it in the story, but for now that's just a funny little addition alluding to my mistaken perception that I had come up with last names for every character.
As always, I included a lot of references to other Scooby stuff and random other shows/movies. And that means it's reference time!
The cloaked ghoul is a reference to the ghoul that giggled as he took Shaggy's exterminator equipment in "The Exterminator" As a refresher, these past two chapters have both been subtle "reimaginings" of this episode from The New Scooby-Doo Movies, which guest starred Don Adams. The ghost bird with the piggy bank is also a reference to this episode, as well as the vampire, Frankenstein's monster, wolfman and sea monster in the final scene of this chapter. The theater room is additionally a reference to the one in the episode.
"I volunteer as a tribute!" is a reference to Katniss's famous line from The Hunger Games. I thought it might be fun to include a reference to the book/film series, seeing as I'm quite fond of it and I had mentioned it previously in the author's notes for chapter 8.
This isn't a reference per se, but when I was writing the "half-formed fleshy skeleton," I was thinking of Morgan Moonscar's transformation in the pit with Shaggy and Scooby from "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island." Just thought that might be interesting/fun to mention, seeing as this is a continuation of Zombie Island after all.
Thank you so much again to everyone who read this, and I really hope you're enjoying this story so far! As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated, even if it's just general comments or whatever about how you felt.
Until next time, with "lucky" chapter 13! :)
