Chapter 5: Ballroom and Boudoir
Adrianna and Mike walked through "Phantom Manor" as they now called it, heading towards the ballroom. They knew they were getting close when they heard music playing – a large organ, playing a beautiful and sad tune. They saw some light, and when they got closer, realized that they were on some sort of balcony – the ballroom appeared to have two floors. And what they saw below them was the biggest shock yet.
There were dozens – maybe hundreds – of ghosts in this giant ballroom. Many of them were waltzing, twirling about, doomed to repeat those same steps in 3/4 time forever. Others were partying, drinking from ghostly goblets, and eating from what looked like empty plates. There were even a few ghosts on a chandelier! Adrianna scanned the crowd for the bride, or the phantom, and Mike continued to look at the other guests in awe. There was an organist, playing from a huge pipe organ, while spectral wraiths flew out of it; a large line of seemingly never-ending ghosts, arms full of wedding presents for the bride and groom; and on a large banquet table, a wedding cake. Unlike the people that were to be eating it, the cake had aged – it had wilted over, grown moldy, and there were even some spider webs on it.
"Yum," Mike said sarcastically.
"Look! There's Melanie!" Whispered Adrianna. She had appeared across the room, on a smaller balcony that had a staircase leading to the lowest floor.
"My dear family and friends," she said in a beautiful voice. All of the ghosts became quiet, and focused their attention on Melanie. Adrianna watched the bride – this was the first time she had heard her speak.
"I regret to inform you that my…my groom to be…has not shown up yet. Perhaps if we wait for him for just a few hours more." The guests cheered, and continued to drink and eat. Melanie rushed away. And Adrianna and Mike saw something no one else could see: The Phantom.
He stood in the window, cackling at the bride's misfortune and the guests' obliviousness, his cape billowing in the thundering wind. A flash of lightning allowed Adrianna to see his face for the first time – it looked unnatural…very pale, with black eyes…But Adrianna could not see him clearly, because he was on the other side of the room.
"Let's go find Melanie," Adrianna said, and they moved on from the balcony.
They eventually stumbled across the room where Melanie was – her boudoir. They silently looked in the room, and Melanie was crying. She was facing the opposite wall, so they couldn't see her, but when she turned to look at her mirror, Adrianna and Mike could see the side of her face.
Melanie had aged.
She looked much older – she still had her brown hair, but there were obviously wrinkles on her face. Still in her wedding dress, she continued to cry.
"Leota was right," Mike whispered.
"Look at the mirror!" Adrianna said with a gasp. Every time Melanie looked away from her mirror, it fogged over, leaving three spots unfogged, making it look like a skeleton.
When she turned to look at it again, it quickly vanished.
"This is horrible," Adrianna said as they quietly closed the door, "We have to help her."
All of a sudden, the two heard a cackling sound coming from outside. They looked out one of the windows, to the back of the house. There stood the Phantom, and a hideous looking animal that Adrianna and Mike couldn't see clearly. He was laughing, and appeared to have just dug a grave.
"We have to go out there and stop him! He's trying to kill Melanie!" Adrianna said.
"Again!" Mike quipped.
They rushed back downstairs and out to the porch, and finally got a look at the Phantom. And what they saw was not pretty.
The Phantom's face was stripped of all flesh – it was just a skull. The animal, a grotesque canine of leathery flesh stretched tight over it's bones, started to growl at them. The Phantom laughed at them, and all of a sudden vanished.
"Hey! Where'd he go?" Adrianna yelled. All of a sudden, the Phantom materialized in front of them, grabbed Mike by the neck, and seemed to fly back to where he was standing.
"Mike!" Adrianna screamed. Mike was struggling to loosen the Phantom's bony grip, but it was no use. The Phantom grinned evilly at Adrianna and dropped Mike into the grave.
Without a second thought, Adrianna ran over to the grave and jumped in it, going after Mike. The grave seemed endless. As she fell into the darkness, the Phantom's laughter faded away…