Shadows Chapter 9: "Haunted Horror Part 1"

Omg it's been forever since I updated. So uh...decided I'd update this maybe?! (Also: changed the title of the last chapter to fit my plans)

Toshiro of the Eternal Dream: Your welcome, and thanks! :)

Guest: He did?! :O Lol idk, thank you though. Also, sorry I was late at responding. The review somehow didn't go to my inbox, and apparently past me didn't think of checking the site because I thought that the review glitch was still going on. ️(My iPad just flipping died, so I can't even insert a facepalm emoji here since I'm on a computer... -_-)

The school bus pulled up next to the museum.

"Okay kids, single file everyone. Please exit the bus in an orderly fashion, and NO PUSHING." Ms. Bustier reminded them, as Adrien unbuckled his seatbelt to hop off the bus.

"Everyone, listen up." Ms. Bustier did a quick head count to make sure everyone was there, "Alright. So first and foremost, stay with your partner at all times. I don't want anyone ending up getting lost on their own. We will travel as a group, but you and your partner can stay behind to learn more about an exhibit, if you want. However, everyone must meet outside the museum at 2:30. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Ms. Bustier." The class chorused.

"Great." Ms. Bustier stepped out of the way to reveal a young man in a white shirt and jeans. His slick brown hair was jelled back, and he had hazel eyes.

"Hello, I will be your museum tour guide, Rob." He gestured to his name tag, then led them inside, "We will be heading to the dinosaur exhibit first, where we have an impressive display of dinosaur bones..." Rob kept talking, but Adrien hardly noticed.

Marinette should be here with us, Adrien thought, looking around.

He had to admit, it actually was pretty impressive. He could see the dinosaur exhibit from where he stood. A T-Rex skeleton has been posed with invisible wires, while another flying dinosaur, which Adrien guessed was a Pterodactyl, was posed to look like it was flying above the larger dinosaur. On the other side was the jewel exhibit, where Adrien spotted a large ruby on the display, and a smaller-looking blue sapphire. Of course these were only just two of the exhibits.

Lila motioned with her head, "Hey." She whispered, "Come on."

"I thought we were staying together as a group."

"Yeah, but Ms. Bustier never said that we couldn't wander off. She just said that we need to stick with our partners."

Adrien looked behind, where the class was examining a large dinosaur skull.

"Come on, would you rather waste time on the dumb dino exhibit, or go somewhere cooler? Plus, we only have an hour anyways. Why don't we make the most of it?"

"Fine." Adrien reluctantly agreed, following her upstairs.

"So, which exhibit should we go to first?"

"I dunno." Adrien still couldn't believe how cool she was acting, as if nothing had happened at all. As if she never did...whatever she did to make Marinette fail, to make her not come. It angered Adrien, but he didn't say anything.

"Oooo, why not the mummy exhibit?"

"Okay." Adrien mumbled, following her. Lila turned around the corner, "I think the sign said it was this way."

"Wait, you think? We're blindly exploring this place based on a hunch?! Do you know how large this place is?!"

Lila rolled her eyes, "It's not a hunch. I'm sure that the mummy exhibit is here."

"That's not what you said before."

"Oh please, when have I ever lied to you?"

"Several times, actually." Adrien deadpanned, "When you said you were Ladybug's best friend, when you said that you were a superhero, when you made up your whole arthritis story, or your sprained wrist, or that time when you almost got Marinette expelled because of your, quote unquote, 'rare disease', which apparently, doesn't even have a name."

"Yes, because the disease is SO RARE, that only a very small number of people in the world have it. In fact, some scientists were thinking of naming it after me, but I told them that it should be named after something else, because I already have SO many things named after me."

"Wow, does she ever say something that's not a lie?" Plagg poked his head out of Adrien's bag.

Adrien shrugged.

Lila smirked when she reached the area titled "MUMMY EXHIBIT" In smaller print on the sign, it read, "NO FOOD ALLOWED. DO NOT TOUCH ARTIFACTS OR LEAN ON GLASS. NO PETS ALLOWED. SMOKING IS PROHIBITED. NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY."

"See?"

Adrien followed her. An empty sarcophagus was on display, along with other smaller sarcophaguses. A bandaged mummy was inside another sarcophagus.

Lila laughed, "This exhibit is huge."

"Not so loud, Lila." Adrien warned.

"What? It's not like these things are going to come alive and eat us." Lila ventured deeper into the exhibit, making her way around several items on display, "Oooo, look, this mummy's face is unwrapped." Lila peered through the glass at the man's shriveled face.

"Ew, this place is getting freaky." Adrien said.

"I guess we have enough time to go to another exhibit...hey, did we go past the sarcophagus to the right or the one to the left...?"

"I thought we went past the one to the left...?

"But I feel like it was the right one..." Adrien looked behind him, "Or it could be the other two in the middle. This place is like a maze. But thankfully, since you led us in here, you must know the way out..."

Lila looked nervous.

"You DO, RIGHT?!"

"Well...I kinda sorta forgot my map somewhere...it's okay though, it's not like the lights have gone out or anything, so it should be easy to navigate our way around the place. Nah, that only happens in cheesy horror movies, so it definitely won't-"

As if on cue, the lights flickered off.

"ATTENTION VISITORS" A voice boomed over the loudspeaker, "PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING RIGHT NOW, AS THE POWER HAS GONE OUT. AGAIN: PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING IN A CALM MANNER. THANK YOU!"

"You just had to jinx it, didn't you?" Adrien glared at her.

"Oops." Lila said.

Adrien seethed, "Oops?! That's ALL you have to say for yourself?! You got us in here, and now, you can't even get us out! We're going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives!"

"You're overexaggerating. It's not so bad here...with a bunch of ancient dead people...in the dark..."

"You just cause problems wherever you go! I know for a fact that you're the reason Marinette isn't here, that you somehow did something to her exam paper. You don't care about anyone but yourself, do you?"

"Adrien-"

"Don't you dare 'Adrien' me right now. If Marinette were here, I'm sure she would have been able to get us out."

"Adrien-"

"Oh my GOSH, what is wrong with you?!"

"ADRIEN LOOK-"

"STOP IT! STOP TRYING TO ESCAPE THE FACT THAT YOU LIED! ABOUT EVERYTHING! YOUR LIES HURT PEOPLE, LILA!"

"ADRIEN LISTEN TO ME-"

"LISTEN TO YOU? LISTEN TO YOU?! LAST TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, I ENDED UP HERE! WHY SHOULD I-"

"ADRIEN!"

Adrien yelped, bumping into something. A vase with elaborate carvings and designs crashed down on the floor, breaking into several tiny pieces. Adrien covered his mouth with a hand, too shocked to say anything.

He spotted Lila out of the corner of his eyes, fleeing the crime scene.

"Typical Lila." Adrien growled.

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