And this is the sneak peek for the one-shot that you all voted for! I'm all for that self-promotion. All the information about the actual one-shot will be at the end.
Photo #71: Confess
Eadlyn was never one to believe in myths or urban legends. She's a woman of pure facts and the kinds of words associated with myths and urban legends are pure fiction in her ears. Hearing those only gave her joy since she only interpreted those are fluff and comedic entertainment. She was never even spooked by them. If anything, myths and urban legends never fazed her. Not even one.
Well, except one.
It was a myth that originated in her own home. In the past, when Eadlyn, her siblings, and the Woodwork children were younger, they heard about this one specific myth from staff whispers so they had to get to the bottom of it. When they asked their parents, it was a sensitive topic that they would often beat around the bush or just avoid it overall. Looking at past articles from the media were also a total bust because they were either vague articles or conspiracy theories removed by the royals.
Looking at the photo of her mother and the woman this theory is based on, it's hard to believe. Eadlyn sees a beautiful woman whose glamor would get people talking about her looks rather than her death. Her name, given its new context, sends shivers down Eadlyn's spine.
This woman is Celeste Newsome.
-o-
"So, this is our plan," Kile says, unrolling a piece of construction paper that has a list of steps written in different colored crayons. "We've all heard the stories about the Women's Room or as it's lesser known as The Newsome Library. Our plan is to spend one night in that room and catch the ghost that our parents will never tell us about."
"Maybe they had to make a promise to a higher power to not tell us about," Ahren guesses. "Like a ghost king or queen."
The other kids nod, seeing that as possible. As of right now, the oldest kid is Kile who's eleven-years-old. With those many young minds all huddled around this myth, the imagination surely does run wild, especially since they have no foundational premise to stand on when it comes to this urban legend.
They're still going to go through with their plan.
"Josie," Kaden starts, "if you don't care about the ghost, then get the supplies."
Josie nods excitedly, taking Osten with her. In all actuality, Josie doesn't care about the whole Newsome ghost since her mindset hovers around the concept that ghosts are not real. However, she is all for sleepovers, especially now since they're putting her in charge of getting all the supplies. She gets to pick all the snacks, sleeping bags, pajamas - it's a dream come true for her.
To their surprise, their parents were okay with them having a sleepover there. They just didn't mention the reason behind their sleepover.
Hours later, they all meet up in a dark Women's Room (or Newsome Library), wearing the pajamas. All the furniture is pushed to the side to make room for their sleeping bags which they formed as a circle. They all sit in the center, where all of their sleeping bags meet and hold their flashlights up to their faces.
"Now, the story of the Newsome Library," Kile starts in a creepy storytelling voice. "A long time ago, a woman was trapped here in this room as punishment and died."
"I heard she got murdered," Ahren says.
"By a rebel!" Kaden exclaims, immediately being shushed by the others.
There's a moment of stark silence as the rush of fear hits it climax before settling back down.
"I think she possessed this room," Kile states.
At the sound of that, Josie pulls out some sage scented oils and starts spraying them all over her sleeping bag. Typically, sage has to be burned in order to protect the area from demons or negative spirits but she isn't allowed to handle matches. Josie doesn't even believe in the Newsome ghost that may or may not be there, but she just doesn't want to take any chances. The smell of sage is problematic but nobody seems to really care since it will clear the room of demons.
"That's ridiculous," Eadlyn states.
"It used to be The Women's Room and now it's called The Newsome Library," Kile argues.
"They just renamed it. Things get renamed all the time, that doesn't mean this room is possessed."
"Then why is your mother the only one who truly calls it The Newsome Library?"
The same stark silence from a few moments ago fills the room again. The Schreave kids think about the possibility of their mom being possessed by the ghost of Celeste Newsome. It seems incredibly ridiculous but possible given the semi-credible evidence they have.
"Are you saying that this Celeste girl possessed our mom?" Osten asks, chewing nervously on his thumb.
Kile shrugs. Josie passes Osten one of her sage spray bottles just in case. The stories and rumors of the ghost of Celeste Newsome continue circuling just like the snacks. Josie, being bored of all this ghost-related stuff, lies in her sleeping bag and starts reading a magazine she brought with her to pass the time. Then she reads an interesting article that gets her to -
"Boo!" She exclaims, startling Kaden, who's sleeping bag is next to hers, by rapidly nudging him with her clawed-out hands.
Kaden screams a little as everyone's hearts peaked dramatically. Josie snickers as they all chuck their pillows at her.
"Don't do that!" Kaden yells at her.
Josie laugh a little despite the serious tension in the room. "Why not? Ghosts aren't real and I read a magazine that said shocking is good for the skin. See?"
Josie shows them the magazine she was just reading. It was an old issue that was still glossy with big and bold headlines, as though it was the latest in the series. The other kids all huddle to get a look at the article Josie was talking about. It was nothing credibly proven with science, but an article is an article and this was one they didn't bother to read.
What got their attention was the advertisement on the next page for a diet soft drink. Eadlyn shines her flashlight on it so they could get a better look at it. The model was holding a glass bottle of the drink with a straw in it. Her perfectly plump and red lips were on the straw as her bright eyes were looking up and away from the camera. Her dark hair was tousled lightly to compliment the striking white dress she was wearing.
They all recognized her.
The model in the advertisement was Celeste Newsome.
The fact that even a photo of her in a magazine from years ago was present in the Newsome Library while they were investigating the rumors about Celeste Newsome freaked them all so much that they all ran out screaming. That is, except for Josie who continued reading her magazine on her sage-scented sleeping bag.
Not gonna lie, I would be Josie in this situation. Anyways, here is the summary for my OS which is out now!
Confess - Celeste, well-aware that she's dead, wounds up in America's hospital room post-heart attack instead of the afterlife. What could this all mean? (OS)
As for the other one-shot that was in the poll, that will be up when I feel like putting it up. I have another story up first because I'm self-promotion trash.
Stay Tuned - "You're definitely bluffing."
