Midnight Scare
By Rachelle
Morton Koopa Jr. loved to talk. From talk
shows to public speeches to everyday conversations, anything remotely related
to talking would spark his interest. Most of the Koopas who lived in the castle
with him would tell you that the only times he was ever quiet were either when
he was scared or watching a talk show on TV.
Somehow, no one else seemed to understand
just how great talking was. When speaking, Morton seemed to ramble on more
times that not. He'd been cut off more times than he could count. He often
daydreamed about hosting his own talk show, or at least a TV show of some sort,
where he could talk to his heart's content and people would listen. Not only
would they listen, but they'd also pay attention to what he was saying.
What other people said wasn't entirely
true; he was sometimes quiet. When he was alone, he wasn't usually that
talkative. Oh sure, sometimes he'd practice a speech or even talk to himself
occasionally, but talking was only really fun when there was someone around.
Looking out of his bedroom window, he noted
that most of the leaves on the tree nearest to the window had fallen off. A few
withered leaves still clung bravely to the branches, but they'd be gone soon
enough.
Once in class, Morton had accidentally
stumbled upon some human history. Apparently, they called this time of year
autumn. Autumn, he thought. What a funny word. A shiver raced up his back as a
chilly breeze swept in. Yes, it was now officially well into autumn.
Halloween was coming soon. Memories of
Bowser chasing off the young Trick or Treaters always made him laugh, for there
were always a few Mushroomer children still innocent enough to mistake Bowser's
castle for an old mansion, preferably owned by some little old lady who would
give them loads of sweets. The costume contest was something of a tradition for
the Koopalings, though he couldn't recall ever winning.
As he lay there on his bed, a thought
struck him. Well, there wasn't really a thunderbolt or anything exciting like
that, but he did have an idea.
"That's what I'll do!" he announced,
apparently to the empty room.
He would host a TV show, a Halloween
special. He had the money and the resources, being the son of a mighty tyrant
king has its advantages. Now all he needed was a good topic.
After a little researching in the royal
library, he found the perfect place: an old abandoned mansion located in a
desolate corner of Dark Land. Of course, Dark Land was pretty desolate already,
but this old mansion had a bit of a back-story. According to local myth, a
family of Goombas had lived in the mansion some 400 years ago. But
mysteriously, they all disappeared one day. Their bodies were found in the
basement soon after their disappearance. Supposedly, their spirits had stayed in
the mansion, waiting to seek their revenge on the unlucky soul who stumbled
inside. The mansion's real-estate value plummeted and was never re-sold.
Of course, Morton didn't believe in such
tales. Probably just the result of a few locals with way too much time on their
hands, he decided. But the mansion itself would be the perfect setting for a
Halloween story, dark, old and creepy. A ghost story!
He recruited a small gang of photographers
and others he thought could help him along the way. They were reluctant at
first, but he offered them some of the profit money as thanks for helping.
Larry came along to help as a photographer.
With his experience in spying, Morton deemed he'd get all the right shots.
Wendy also agreed to help because of her ties with a Plit broadcasting company.
She'd be staying behind with Iggy, who would be watching what was being taped
with her. They'd decide how it looked and give him tips through the microphone.
Another amateur cameraman, a Lakitu named Breeze, would also be accompanying
them; two different camera angles would ensure a better shot, they figured.
The date was set for Halloween itself, and
Mushroomers and Koopas alike would all have the chance to watch it. The show
would be a scary tour of the mansion, complete with creepy atmosphere and
somewhat of a history lesson on the mansion itself. The only problem was,
Halloween was at least a week away. Morton tried to ignore that as best he
could and concentrate more on the pros of the situation.
***
The week crawled by at a snail's pace. Each
day seemed to take forever, even when Morton's mind wasn't on his upcoming
debut. He tried various activities to keep him busy, but his thoughts always
drifted back to the show.
A few days before Halloween, he was in the
auditorium practising public speaking. Though he wouldn't be able to see his
audience, the show would be filming live. So he figured he should practise,
even though he wasn't going to be presenting any speeches. When he had
finished, he looked around at the dismally empty room.
"I certainly hope more people find my TV
show more interesting than they do my speeches," he sighed.
***
On the morning of Halloween, Morton was up
before even the birds. He rushed downstairs to make sure everything was ready
for that night.
It was still dark, and he strained his eyes
to make out anything as he fumbled for the light switch. His claw landed on
something small, hard and protruding. The light switch. He struggled to flick
it on, but it wouldn't budge. He used both hands in an attempt to force the
switch down. Using all of his weight, he finally managed to move it, but it
felt as if the wall was caving in. Instead of the room lighting up the only
result was a loud crash that made him jump about a foot high.
Since what he had assumed to be the light
switch was obviously not, he felt his way along the wall until he found the
real switch. It flicked on easily and he could finally see.
It turned out that what he had first though
was the light switch was in fact one of the cameras, leaning against the wall.
He had knocked it over while trying to turn the light on.
"Oops," he said, staring at the fallen
camera.
"Ahem," said an impatient voice suddenly.
The noise from the crash had woken a few of
the Koopalings. Morton turned around to face Wendy, Lemmy and a very
angry-looking Roy.
"What are you doing up this early?"
demanded Wendy. "Your show isn't until late tonight!"
"Erm, I was… checking up on the equipment,
and I accidentally knocked over a camera," said Morton.
"Well, you should try to be a little more
careful," yawned Lemmy. Only half awake, he seemed to be having trouble
balancing on his ball. "Especially at this hour."
"You woke me up for a camera?" puffed Roy,
obviously unhappy about being so rudely awakened.
"Well, I didn't mean to! It was an
accident, a mistake, an unintended mishap, a-"
"Shut it! You're darn lucky that I don't
feel very up to it right now, or you'd have been in for the beating of yer
life!" he roared, storming out of the room. Lemmy followed, rolling in a
crooked pattern as he left. Wendy stayed only long enough to set the camera
back up again before leaving too.
"Oh well," sighed Morton. "I guess I can
wait until tonight."
***