Chapter 15: Joseph's Debut
(in other words, Joseph Williams comes back from the grave. And he's not happy.)
Kevin, Sandy, and Courage were unaware that the tunnel they were in would actually lead them directly to their families. By this time, Kevin's sister Katie was so exhausted from fear, she had fallen asleep next to her Mom and Dad. Carl and Diane comforted their daughter as best they could while at the same time comforting themselves. Muriel had moved closer to the Hendersons and comforted them as well. Only Eustace had the nerve to get up and attempt to distinguish his surroundings. However, there was practically no light in the room, except from that clump of glowing moss. Eustace began pacing to kill off time.
To save energy, they all acted as though the moss was a fire and always kept close to it. It was cold in the room, but not cold enough to see one's breath. Everyone tried huddling together to keep warm, because the heat that came from the moss didn't really help all that much. No one said anything for a while. However, something was bothering Carl, and he turned to his wife.
"Honey, when we first came to town, you said that it looked familiar. Well, where have you heard about the town before?"
"You mean Nowhere?" asked Diane.
"Yes, dear," answered Carl.
Diane sighed. She glanced at Muriel, who was also interested. Eustace wasn't paying attention, so she explained:
"You see, one of my earliest memories is of my grandfather telling me that his father built his own town. I asked Granddaddy how he did that, and he said he had help from a friend to build it. He never told me what happened to him, but he told me that the name of the town was Nowhere."
"Yesss..." whispered a voice loudly in the darkness. It made everyone jump. "Some friend he turned out to be." It was the same voice who had spoken earlier.
"What do you want with us?" whispered Carl, who didn't want to wake Katie.
"And who are you?" asked Muriel.
"Ask him where the heck we are!" grumbled Eustace.
"I'll answer all of yer questions momentarily. But first, let's shed a little light on the situation, shall we?"
All was silent for a moment. Then, about forty feet in front of everyone, a ball of light emerged. It hovered over the ground several feet in the air. It resembled the Star of Bethlehem, but it was green in color. It grew brighter and brighter. Soon, it had illuminated the entire room.
Eustace, Muriel, and the Hendersons could now see where they were. They were in a circular, domed room about eighty feet in diameter. Everyone was against the wall, and they could see the light hovering over a stone altar in the center of the room. It was a round, elevated platform with funny markings along the side of it. Off to one side, there lay the entrance of a tunnel. Opposite the tunnel, on the other wall, there was a staircase leading upwards toward the surface. On the ceiling, right in the center of the dome, there was a hole that apparently looked covered up if you looked hard enough.
Everyone's attention suddenly focused on the light. Several things were happening to it. First, it began to grow larger as well as brighter. Second, it was beginning to head upwards toward the ceiling. Finally, a strange green mist began materializing around it. When the light was halfway towards the ceiling, it stopped. The mist transformed into a fog that reached down towards the ground. The Hendersons and Baggs watched in horror as appendages appeared out of the fog. Then a torso. Then a head. At last, the fog dissipated and revealed, in his green, glowing glory... (dum-dum-dummm...) THE GHOST OF JOSEPH WILLIAMS!!!
Everyone began screaming, especially Katie who awoke at that very moment. The ghostly Joseph began to laugh. He really was a sight to see. He actually looked very similar to the Flying Dutchman from Spongebob Squarepants. He had a ghostly tail instead of legs, tattered clothes, and a beard. Instead of a pirate hat, a mass of shaggy black hair sat atop his head. His eyes were slightly buggy and his teeth looked very gruesome. But Kevin was right: he did bare a faint resemblance to Diane Henderson.
"A-ha ha ha! My dearest great-granddaughter Diane. It's a pleasure to finally see you."
Diane felt as if she was about to faint. Her family was equally shocked. "How do you know my name?" she asked, shakily.
"Oh, I've been expecting you and your family for a long time now. I've been trapped down here for over a century waiting for this moment, and now it's finally arrived!"
"Where are we?!" shouted Muriel.
"Aahh. Welcome to my underground mausoleum!" declared Joseph, and he spread out his hands. "I was buried several hundred feet above here. My body has long since decayed, but my spirit worked its way down here." He pointed to the plugged-up hole in the ceiling. "I created this room with my own power. I also created the vast network of passageways that run under the town of Nowhere as well!"
"P-power?" quivered Diane.
"Yes, my spirit has a dark power within itself. It's the same power that created the vortex which brought to you here!" He laughed mightily. Nobody else joined in.
"What do you want?" shouted Carl again.
Joseph Williams grinned evilly. "Just a little postmortem payback, that's all. You see, I overheard the little story you just previously recited, Diane. But what my son forgot to tell you is that my so-called "friend" was nothing but a back-stabbing, know-it-all louse...a louse whose decendant is that old man standing next to you!"
Everyone turned to Eustace with amazement. This was the first time that the Hendersons and Muriel knew the connection between Eustace and Joseph. Even Eustace was surprised. "What huh?" he said.
Joseph then explained the history of Nowhere, how he and Reginald built the town, and how Reginald Baggs became so wealthy. (which you all should know by now.)
"He had more money than I ever had as Mayor. He had become a greedy, money-grabbing creep who wouldn't even give a cent to me. ME! His best friend and former mayor!"
"And I don't blame him," grumbled Eustace.
Joseph turned to Eustace. "You Baggs never change," he angrily said under his breath. His arm quickly transformed into a translucent tentacle which hurled itself at Eustace. It hit Eustace in the stomach, causing him to fly back into the wall. He then fell to the floor, unconsciously. "Eustace!" shouted Muriel.
The Hendersons and Muriel were all terrified by this point. Muriel came over to try and help Carl and Diane protect Katie.
"Eustace is no concern of mine, but that did feel good," laughed Joseph. "Now, I'm very sure that Reginald is somewhere nearby. He's heard about my plot to capture you all and is trying to stop me, I'm sure. And I want you all to help me do away with him once and for all!"
"Why should we help you?!" screamed Diane, who finally snapped. "You killed a man. Your best friend! I can't even believe that I'm related to you!"
"SILENCE!" bellowed Joseph. Everyone flew back against the wall. Joseph leaned in so that his face was ten feet away from the cowering relatives. "Let's face it. You ARE related to me. So now, you must help me fulfill my prophecy! Or else dire consequences will ensue!" Joseph pointed to Eustace, still unconscious, sitting against the wall. "That man's grandfather was my best friend once upon a time! But it's all in the past. Now, my retribution must be fulfilled! So I am ordering you all to help me destroy that evil man, Reginald Baggs!!!"
"He's not evil!!!" shouted a voice to the side. "And don't you DARE talk to my family like that, you worm-eaten piece of filth!!"
Alarmed, Joseph Williams turned in the direction of the voice. The Hendersons and Muriel also looked in the direction of the tunnel.
There, standing in the mouth of the tunnel, was Kevin Henderson. He was breathing heavily, and his black bangs were partially covering his eyes. But you could still see the angered gleam in them. Behind him, Courage and Sandy peered out from behind Kevin's legs. Both of them knew that maybe this wasn't the best way to make an entrance.
(Eeek! The whole gang's together again! Will they stay together for very long? And where is Reginald anyway?)
Be prepared...Courage swallows his fear again and stands up to the impossible in Chapter 16: The Definition of Courage.