Chapter 6: When the Crypt Doors Creak…
Crystal's feet touched ground, and she let go of the trellis. There seemed to be a path through the graveyard that wound all away through it and back to the house. She figured that it'd just be best to follow it, and ask any ghosts she met along the way. Crystal passed under an iron gate and into the beginning of the graveyard. She passed many ghosts – some were having a tea party, others were shooting apples off each others heads, and some were bicycling through the sky. Crystal asked each group of ghosts that she passed by, but none of them had seen the book. She was just about to give up when she heard some singing off in the distance. Walking a bit farther, she was surprised to see some marble busts – they were all men, lined up next to each other. And they were all singing.
They seemed to be finishing their song, but Crystal heard the last part of it. Something about 'Grim, Grinning Ghosts' or whatever. As she approached them, they finished with a very long drawn out chord, each holding a different note. They bowed their heads, and then stared at Crystal.
After a few seconds, one of them said, "Well?"
Crystal stared at it. "Well what?"
"Aren't you going to applaud?"
"Oh! Sorry!" Crystal said, and clapped furiously. The busts smiled.
"We just love an audience – it's nice to see one so lively!" Another bust said, "Would you like to hear anything else?"
"Actually, I was wondering if you had seen a red book around here."
"No, I'm afraid not. We don't usually get around the mansion much, and we would certainly know if it was around here."
"Well…okay…thanks for your help," Crystal said, and started to leave. The busts began to sing another song, all harmonizing perfectly.
Crystal continued through the graveyard, and eventually came across a hearse. It seemed to be stuck in some mud, and it looked like it'd been there for centuries.
"Is anyone here?" She called, still searching for the book, as well as people that might know where it is. All of a sudden, she heard a horse neigh. It seemed to be coming from the hearse, but there was nothing there.
"Hello?" Crystal called again, and there was another neigh. She walked around to the front and side of the hearse. Crystal reached her hand out slowly, and was amazed to feel an invisible animal in front of it. It was a horse.
"Woah…" Crystal said, patting the invisible flank.
"Hey, he likes you!" A voice said from above crystal. She turned her head to look at the driver's seat and saw that there was a ghost sitting in it. He was wearing a driver's uniform, rectangle spectacles and a top hat, and was smiling at Crystal.
"Nice to meet you," He said, jumping down to ground level, and offered his hand out, "I'm Dustin. Dustin T. Dust."
"It's nice to meet you Dustin," Crystal said with a grin, shaking his hand, "I know it's rude to just go around asking like this," she added automatically, having said this many times before to many other ghosts, "But have you seen a small red spell book around here?"
Dustin thought for a moment, tugging at his bowtie absentmindedly. After a few seconds, he said "No, I don't have it…but I know who might."
A few minutes later Crystal was getting a ride through the rest of the graveyard. It was uncomfortable lying on the velvet padding that was meant for a coffin, but it was better than walking. And Dustin was a good conversationalist.
"So, George brought you here to break the curse, eh?" He asked cheerily.
"Yep. It's been an interesting day."
"Well it's nice to see some new blood around here – Rolly and I have been so bored, just hanging out with the same old crowd."
"Rolly?"
"Oh! I forgot to introduce you – Rolly's my horse. He's a bit jumpy though…prefers to stay invisible."
"Well…I'm sure he…looked…very nice," Crystal said pathetically, realizing halfway through the compliment that it was useless.
"Yes…Rolly was a great horse, back in the day. Of course, once all of the deaths started, he became overworked and ragged…eventually did himself in."
"That's a shame," Crystal said. The conversation seemed to hit a dead end there.
A few minutes passed, and Dustin said "We're here." Crystal looked at her surroundings and saw that she was near the entrance of a large crypt.
"What's down there?" She asked apprehensively.
"The guys who probably know where this book is. Don't be afraid...they shouldn't give you too much trouble."
"Are you sure you can't come with me?" Crystal asked, hopping out of the hearse. Dustin nodded.
"I've had some bad happenings with those three…kept hopping on my hearse and scaring the living daylights out of me," Dustin said, realizing that was an oxymoron.
Crystal waved goodbye to Dustin and he and Rolly headed back to their spot in the graveyard. She took a step towards the crypt, and all of a sudden torches lit up on either side of it, illuminating the entryway. It was quite old – spider webs covered the sides of the opening, and Crystal was pretty sure that the things around her feet were skulls and bones. The torches were being held by large statues that reminded her of the Grim Reaper – and in their other hands, they held plaques that said "Non Omnis Moriar." She figured this was Latin, but had no idea what it meant. Crystal gathered her courage and began her descent.
"Nothing to worry about," Crystal reminded herself as she walked down the stone steps into darkness, "Nothing at all."
Note: The "Dustin T. Dust" and "Rolly"charactersare based characters created by Aquarian Wolf, used with permission. For more stories that have Dustin in a larger part, see Aquarian Wolf's Haunted Mansion stories.
