We drove along the road for a while, Scott making small talk with Melanie in the front seat, and me letting the wind blow in my hair in the back. I said nothing all the way to Thunder Mesa. But Melanie didn't notice, and if she did, she didn't say anything.

Finally, we arrived at the entrance to the town. It looked much different now then it had when my father and I had come to stay. Instead of being kept in a pristine state, every tree, weed, and patch of grass was overgrown. Ivy crawled over chipped fences that had once been painted shining white, but were now just rotting wood.

Buildings were dark with broken windows, and the streets were deserted of all life. I tapped Melanie on the shoulder, and when she turned around in the seat to look at me, I glanced at her appealingly.

"Mellie, what happened? Everything looks so different. "

She nodded. "Christine, what you're seeing is my Thunder Mesa."

"Your Thunder Mesa?"

She nodded. "Yes, my Thunder Mesa. After your last summer here with your father, the people who kept up the town became bankrupt and had to desert the project. And after that, the citizens of the town took it back. Now it's the way they like it."

"And where exactly are the citizens of Thunder Mesa?"

She grinned. "Shut your eyes. They're coming. They know I'm here, and they like you, so they want to give you a good welcome."

In obedience to Melanie, I shut my eyes. I could feel Scott continuing to drive the car down the town's main drag. When we finally stopped, Melanie told me to open my eyes.

"WELCOME HOME, MELANIE!"

When I opened my eyes, I could not stop myself from gasping in surprise. What had been an empty landscape just minutes before was now a bustling street full to the brim with lively, excited (and dead,) citizens of the ghost town of Thunder Mesa.

Scott hopped out of the front seat, and hurried around to open car doors, first for Melanie, then for me.

When the two of us had gotten out of the car, a red suited, heavily bearded man came toward us. He embraced Melanie.

"Welcome home Miss Melanie. And is this Miss Christine?" he released Melanie to look at me.

"Why yes, it must be. Miss Christine, I'm Charlie Reilly, Mayor of Thunder Mesa. We've been wondering if we were going to ever see you again."

Then, he bowed deeply, and as he did so, I had the "pleasure" of finding out how he died. He went to tip his hat, and accidentally took his head with it!

"Oh, darn. I have to remember to let go slowly after I've bowed to a lady, so that my head doesn't come off with it. I'm sorry if it disturbed you."

I shrugged. "It's fine. My mansion is haunted too, and there's one woman in it who's nothing but a head, so I'm quite used to it."

"Christine's body got carried off by mad beasts at the circus a few days ago, so she hasn't been a ghost for very long." Melanie told Charlie.

His eyes widened. "Well I'll be. And here I thought you came and brought us a live girl."

I looked away from Charlie and around at the group of spectators who had come to greet me and Melanie. A movement in the crowd caught my eye. It was a young man, maybe a little older then me. He had been staring at me the whole time that Melanie and I had been talking to Charlie, and when he noticed me staring back, he ran away before I could even move towards him.

Melanie had followed my gaze, and she apparently knew who my admirer was. But when I asked her for his name, she just grinned secretly at me and said "you'll see, Christine, you'll see."

Finally, Scott came up behind us carrying some stuff that I had brought along with me. Melanie told me to follow her, and we walked through the town, her telling me lots of stories about the old Thunder Mesa, and especially about the major earthquake that preceded her death.

"They were fine times before the quake, Chrissy. Everybody acted like neighbors. Mother and Father had many friends in this town, and so did I. some people though, say that Father wasn't too happy with my choice of fiancé, which is true. He thought Jack was too simple. The weird thing is that some people think the Phantom is my father!"

That made me snort. "Really? Oh, Freud would have a field day with that one. It makes no sense. Why would your father be stalkerishly in love with you?"

Melanie laughed. "I don't know! But that is actually kind of an easy mistake to make because the Phantom is the ghost of the man my father wanted me to marry. They spent a lot of time in each other's company."

"What happened to him, the Phantom I mean?"

"Oh, he was in the saloon during the quake. The roof split his head when it caved in. I guess he was either so in love with me or so determined to keep his promise to my father that he stayed around. But, now that he's at your house fighting with that horrible Leota woman over who's more evil, we get some time without him.

And Melanie was right. When we entered her house, I could feel a calm, pleasant vibe.

Then, she walked me to her bedroom. "Now, do you want to meet your secret admirer?"

I nodded happily, and she left to go get him. A few minutes later, Scott came into the room.

"Sorry for disturbing you, Christine, but I heard you and Melanie talking, and I'm curious. What do you think of the Phantom?"

"I think he's just awful! The stuff he's done to Melanie is so bad."

"And what about Madame Leota?"

"I hate her, too. She wrecked my entire family."

Scott looked at me pityingly. "Are you sure that's what you think about them? be careful Christine."

"Why are you asking me about them? you can't know Leota!"

He looked at me as if I were stupid. "What kind of person doesn't know their own parents?"

I could feel my jaw drop. "That's not possible! The Phantom died seventy years ago. He can't have kids!"

Scott laughed. "God you're stupid. You're beautiful, but you're stupid. Besides being a spirit medium, my mother was also a witch."

"That's what I've thought of her my whole life, but not exactly with that first consonant."

But Scott was going on as if I hadn't spoken. "She was actually truly alive at the same time as my father. She kept herself young with voodoo potions, and after the earthquake killed my father, she resurrected his spirit. But instead of going back to my mother, he left her for Melanie, and she doesn't even return his feelings! I haven't been in my parents' good graces for a while now, but they told me that if I got rid of you and Melanie for good, we would be a family again for all eternity. And the way I see it, every kid deserves a family."

He stopped talking then and went to a cabinet, taking out of it a book of voodoo spells. He flipped through pages, finally coming to the right spell. He shut the door and all the windows so I couldn't escape, and began the incantation. I couldn't understand any of it, but my eyes widened as I realized that the more Scott chanted, the floor began to move and shake until it broke, exposing the ground. Then, the room filled with bright blue light and a sucking sound emitted from a hole he'd carved in the floor.

The wind began to suck the various things in the vortex, and I realized that if I didn't do something quick, I'd be next.

Aquarian Wolf- Surprise! Hope you like this chapter! I didn't plan the ending.