Fear of Ghosts Fear of Ghosts
Chapter 3

Amelia got to her feet as a cold shiver thundered down her spine. There was someone else here in this cellar? Impossible! She was the only one in here! She was certain of it! Who else could there be in here?

Was it Zelgadis?

No, that's unlikely. Knowing the chimera he'd probably already left the village, on his way on his never-ending quest. Who knows where he could be now?

Amelia could feel her hands clench into a fist. Who cares anyway? She wasn't keen on seeing Zel again. Certainly not after he broke her heart. Certainly not after he pushed her away. Certainly not after he rejected her love. Certainly not after he was so cold....

Yes, from the look of it, Zel was probably a million miles from the village.

This meant that Amelia was the only one left in this abandoned village.....

So where were these voices coming from.....?

"W-W-Who's there?" Amelia called, her voice at once both shaky and nervous.

Suddenly the voices ceased.

Amelia blinked. She wasn't expecting the voices to end so abruptly. What was going on here? She was the only one left in this village.....

.....Right?

Suddenly, the princess was struck by a horrific thought.

What if the voices were the work of that ghost girl?!

No! It can't be!

Amelia hands rushed to nurse her temples. No. Don't think like that!

Suddenly the princess' thoughts were interrupted by a new noise.

It was the unmistakable sound of footsteps....

Footsteps making their way across the floor of the ruined house, above.

Amelia blinked in horror. What the hell was going on here?!?!

Who was roaming up above, in that ruined house?

Was it Zelgadis?

Was it that ghost.....?

Amelia felt a cold shudder envelop her form. Her hands began shaking in fear. With her eyes bewildered with the nightmare enveloping around her, Amelia pressed her hands to her mouth. There is little point in screaming, because no one's going to hear her....

Suddenly events took an astonishing turn: The footsteps, that were thundering above, were now making their way across the floor. Then, judging by the sound of it, the feet had found a staircase.....

....And now they were descending these newly-discovered stairs.

The footsteps thundered throughout the cellar and, in particular, within Amelia's eardrums. The princess was now too petrified to speak. What was going on.....?

Suddenly she was struck by a revelation. Those footsteps were growing louder with each step. The reason being? These footsteps were upon a staircase - one which led the feet down to this very cellar!!!

With her entire body swept up in a tsunami of absolute terror, her movements were minimalist and plagued with hesitation. Very slowly, Amelia crept backwards, until she found herself with her back against the wall.

The feet thundered closer and closer.

Suddenly they stopped.

And a door creaked open....

....The very door to this very cellar!!!!!

Amelia didn't make a sound. And how could she? She was paralysed with fear. She couldn't run, even if she wanted to. All she could do was quail in fear at this mysterious interloper.....

Despite every square inch of body screaming at her to run, Amelia tried to gather her scrambled thoughts and proceeded in the impossible task of putting them together.

Well, this intruder was in the cellar. But who was this intruder? What was he doing in this cellar? Come to think of it, what was he doing in this village? Did he know she was here? What did he want with her?

Suddenly the footsteps started up again. They were now marching across the cellar, making a crunching noise upon the gravel floor as they proceeded.

And they were heading towards the princess.....

Amelia raised her shaking hands in front of her, as if ready to cast a spell. But, as her hands were unbelievably shaky, she couldn't cast a spell, even if she tried. However, Amelia wasn't prepared to go down without a fight!

The footsteps continued their advance......

Amelia stood quaking but battle-ready....

The footsteps thundered closer and closer.....

Suddenly Amelia's eyes widened more then ever.

The footsteps were growing closer and closer towards the princess....

But not one other person came into sight!

But was even more disturbing was that the footsteps marched right through Amelia and towards the wall - where they abruptly ceased.

The cellar, with it's single occupant, was deathly silent.

Amelia's head was immediately washed up in a mass of confusion. WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE?!!? How could she still be the only one in the cellar?! Where did those footsteps come from and where did they go?! Who made them? Why didn't he, or she, show herself?

Could it have been another ghost.....?

Amelia held her hands to her head. No. Don't think like that. Don't think like that! DON'T THINK LIKE THAT!!!!!! Don't think about ghosts! Try to forget them! Remember a Champion of Justice laughs in the face of fear!!!!

But who was Amelia trying to fool? She was so frightened by this village and it's ghostly inhabitants. What made it worse was that Zel wasn't there when she needed him the most.

Amelia gradually lay herself down on the gravel floor of the cellar, and pulled her cape around her. Well, if Zel wasn't here, then this was one fight she would have to overcome by herself.....

Amelia slowly closed her eyes and went to sleep...

But sleep wasn't easy.....


Zelgadis' jaw dropped at the ghostly monks who made their way down the stairs and towards the chimera. Zel's brain was practically screaming for him to run but the chimera's legs wouldn't comply. All Zel could do was remain paralysed as the procession advanced.

Zel's eyes hardened. Warily, he tightened his hands into a fist, as if ready to cast a spell....

But no such spell came across. Indeed, much to Zelgadis' surprise, the ghosts marched on right past the chimera. They continued on their way, showing absolutely no interest in the intruder. The ghosts went on, right past the surprised Zel, and out of the ruined mansion.

Leaving Zel behind to collect his thoughts.

What was going on here? First he has an extremely bizarre encounter with a bunch of friendly kids and now he comes across a procession of ghostly monks! This village is getting more and more peculiar by the minute....

...And more unsettling too.....

There were ghosts inhabiting this village....?

Well, that would certainly explain why those children were here in this desolate village...

And how they disappeared so quickly....

But what were these monks doing here? It seems that Zel's quest for answers were only resulting in the discovery of more questions requiring answers...

But one thing's for certain. Something terrible had befallen this village. A disaster most horrendous no doubt.

And whatever this catastrophe was, it was certainly keeping the dead souls from their eternal rest...

Zel's hand clenched into a fist. He must find out what's going on here, in this accursed village.

And, chances are, those monks might have the answers he seeks...

And without a further hesitation, The chimera headed out of the ruined mansion in pursuit of the strange procession...

Once Zel had left the mansion, he had no difficulty finding the monks. They were heading off, single file, into the trees upon the mansion grounds.

Zel blinked. Into the tress? This wasn't making any sense!

Zelgadis slowly and silently made his way across the mansion grounds towards the trees, after the monks. The monks continued on their way through trees, their stride purposeful and unfaltering. Their heads, although cowled and disguised, were held high, as if carrying a sense of purpose.

Zel, continued his pursuit working within the concealment that the trees had to offer. His ever-vigilant eyes caught the peculiar stride that the monks took. Obviously there was something more than meets the eye here. Something of great importance....

But what?!

With his head full with the buzzing of a thousand and one questions, Zel continued his ever-silent pursuit...

And for a while nothing happened. The procession continued on it's way, heading deeper and deeper into the forest, unaware of an intruder that was following them....

Eventually the procession arrived at their goal - A group of stone monoliths. These monoliths were standing in a circle formation, each monolith radiating with a sense of purpose. It was into this circle that the ghosts entered. The procession marched in front in a line before each of the stones, with each ghost taking his place before one of the monoliths.

Zel blinked at these proceedings. A procession of ghost monks.......marching into a ring of specially formatted stones.....within a well-concealed clutch of trees.

Obviously something of great importance was going to take place here....

While remaining concealed in amongst the trees, Zel proceeded to watch the events unfold within the circle....

All of the ghosts stood in front of a monolith each.....

Suddenly, they thrust their arms out forward, in an outstretched fashion. And then the ghosts began to chant.

But this chant was nothing short of disturbing. The chant was emerging from hollow, dry, long dead throats and long forgotten vocal chords. The words the ghosts' chanted, constructed a long forgotten incantation. Forgotten words. Forbidden words. Tainted words. Words that spell doom to all who hear them....

Zel continued his silent observations. His senses now receiving the danger radiating from this ritual. What was going on here? Were these the answers he was seeking?

Suddenly events took a surprising turn around. Much to the chimera's astonishment, a thunderclap rocked the skies above. Seconds later, a huge lightening bolt lit up the night sky. But still the ghosts continued their chanting.

Zel blinked in surprise. Where did that storm come from....?

Did those ghosts summon that storm by themselves?!?!

No! That can't be! That's impossible!

Suddenly the chaotic scene was rocked by another lightening bolt. Only this time the bolt struck the stone circle.

In the dead centre!

The ghosts' chanting go more rapid and more louder. Zel blinked at the mayhem unfolding around him. His eyes travelled to the spot where the lightening struck....

....And his eyes nearly fell out of his head.

There, in the centre of the circle was a ball of raw power. This ball flashed and roared - like a thunderstorm, illuminating the entire scene with a brilliant shade of electric blue. But if the monks were worried about the ball's destructive power, they certainly didn't show it. Instead they continued their chanting.....

With the ball growing larger and larger with each passing moment.

Zelgadis blinked in horror. A ball of lightening? Here? In the middle of a stone circle? In the middle of some occult and long-forgotten ritual?

These monks were trying to harness such a destructive force?

DID THEY HAVE ANY IDEA AS TO WHAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH HERE?!?!!

Suddenly something happened, that made events take a complete turn around.

And it happened very quickly.

The monks' chanting was now reaching it's peak. But suddenly it came to an abrupt halt - for each monk vaporised! Where once stood a ghost was now a puff of smoke!

But that wasn't the worst of it! The ball of lightening was now free from it's restrictions of control. It was now growing increasingly enormous and was crackling with furious energy and destructive power.

Zel quickly bowed his head and shielded his eyes. He knew what was going to happen.

It was going to explode.

Normally he wouldn't have ducked, because of his cursed form would've taken the brunt of such an explosion. But now he wasn't going to take any chances.....

But the explosion never occurred.

Peeking out from over his cape, Zel saw the fate of the lightening ball...

And when he saw it, he couldn't believe his eyes.

The lightening ball did explode but not the way Zel had expected it to.

The lightening ball did explode but without a sound.

The lightening ball did explode but without an outburst of the energy that was being contained.

The lightening ball did explode but without a shock-wave or a tsunami of destructive force.

What the lightening ball did was explode. Yet the explosion soon evaporated into thin air.

Within seconds, the stone circle was as silent as a tomb.

Zelgadis emerged from hiding, his eyes widened and his brain confused.

What the Hell just happened here?!?


Elsewhere Amelia was having troubled dreams.

Her sub-consciousness was being disturbed and disrupted by images of a sad woman.

A sad woman with her features wizened and old. A sad woman concealed under a shawl. A sad woman whose misery was tearing her at her soul, making her wretched with depression. A sad woman who mouthed silent words to the sleeping princess. A sad woman who mouthed words that were never there. A sad woman who mouthed silent words that would never be heard....

Amelia woke with a start, her eyes wide with fear.

The princess paused to catch her breath.

That dream....

....It was only a dream yet it was so clear....

...That old woman....

Amelia buried her face in her hands. The dream had shocked her to the core.

Amelia's eyes hardened. Ever since she'd entered this village things had certainly turned on their head. First there was the mysterious fog, and then came the footsteps and now this dream!

It was only a dream but....

....But it was the last straw.

Amelia got to her feet. Her latest horror was only but a dream yet it was enough to convince her - To get out of this accursed village!

She wasn't keen on spending another moment in this hellhole! She was leaving - NOW! It didn't matter that it was the middle of the night! It didn't matter if the mist may thwart her escape route! What mattered was getting out of here!

Amelia's mind was made up. She was leaving. She got to her feet with flourish and headed over to the doors that brought her to this place. She grasped their handles and pulled.....

But there was just one little problem.

The doors were locked tight!

Amelia blinked in confusion. What!? They're locked?! They can't be! How could they have been locked?! Who could've locked them?! They weren't unlocked when she last left them!

Amelia shock the doors with all her might but to no avail. They remained shut and a permanent hazard in Amelia's escape route.

The princess sighed with defeat. Great. Now what was she going to do?

Suddenly she was struck by sudden inspiration. The other door! The one that led to the inside of the house! That provided another way of getting out of here!

Amelia raced across the cellar to find this door.

It didn't take her long to find it.

Grinning with triumph, Amelia grabbed the door handle....

....Only to find that this door was locked too!

Amelia blinked in disbelief.

No.

It can't be.

You can't possibly be serious!!!!

This door can't be locked!!!!!

But it was. And no amount of struggling, cursing, swearing and bashing the door could make it budge.

Eventually Amelia slumped to her feet, defeated. Both door in and out of this place were locked tight. Her two escape routes were blocked. She was stuck here.....

Just then, Amelia's ears pricked up. She could hear something...

Was it.....

There it was again!

Odd. She could've sworn she'd heard the sound of children laughing....


Chapter 4
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