Chapter 1: A Simple Talk
The fifteen-year-old girl woke up to the sound of her her phone ringing . She shot up directly and reached to her side where she found it. "Darn this thing," she cursed under her breathe as she had trouble unlocking her phone. She was the never the one who was involved in modern gadgets, the only reason why she always kept it with her was because her parents gave it to her as a gift (and plus, they would kill her if she wouldn't answer or reply). The phone blared a deafening tone and on the blinking screen there was a "Incoming Call: Mom" sign.
She sighed in relief as she finally unlocked the phone and hit the 'answer' button.
"Mom, I'm up," She said at once, "Yeah.. I'll be there in a moment. What? What for?... the police still there? no? Okay, I'll come as quickly as possible just give me some time to change up.. Yes mom, I won't forget to thank Mrs. Lovat and Wybie for making me stay for the night... Okay bye.. yeah yeah.. okay fine."
She hung up then threw herself out of bed. She walked towards the window where there was a view of the Pink Palace. It was an unusual sight as she was used to early morning drizzles. The sun was already up and as if there was no sign of a storm last night.
This is wrong.
Last night's events came back to her; how they just came back from the dinner stuffed and exhausted, she was already looking forward in removing that itchy dress her mother made her wear when all of the sudden they heard an earsplitting scream from below. They ran to the sound immediately and was met by a very gruesome scene.
Her parents ushered her back into her room. But of course, being Coraline, she couldn't just keep her nose out of this. She crouched low on the top of the stairs where she is hidden at their sight but where she can see and hear them correctly.
Her father was already on the phone. She heard a loud gasp from her mother followed by her panicking. Soon, Mr. Bobinsky had joined in. Silent cries echoed. Then sooner, she heard sirens wailing close.
That's when she realized it was a better option to stay in her room. She quickly got up and ran. She also haven't realized that she have been crying. She felt confused but scared.
The house was cold. She hid under her blankets. She blocked out the noise of crying mixed with the sound of rain pouring heavily and occasional thunder.
ten.. twenty..thirty.. minutes passed. She started to feel uneasy. The calamity downstairs had died down a bit but the rain kept pouring. Then suddenly, the thoughts came swirling into her mind; Who did this? What happened? What is happening?
She didn't even think about how that person did it..
..or was it even a person?
She bolt straight up at the thought. She started to pant heavily, she wanted out. She doesn't want to be alone. Then she heard something, a familiar sound. A sound of something scuttling. She covered her ears. No, no no.
Then the door to her room opened.
She almost screamed but was relieved at the appearance of her mother and father. Real mother and father. No buttons. Just eyes.
"Mom!" she gasped. Mel responded with a hug, Charlie sat down on the bed, stroking his daughter's hair. They both explained, as calm as possible. How Ms. Spink is dead and yes- she was clearly murdered (Coraline shuddered at the thought). Angus, the dog, also died but he seemed to die in his sickness. Not an idea who or what did this.
After the little talk, they made her stay at the Lovat's for the night.
After dressing up, she went down to find Wybie and Mrs. Lovat sitting down at the table eating breakfast. She greeted them warmly, "Good morning."
"Breakfast, Coraline?" Mrs. Lovat asked.
"No thank you, Mrs. Lovat. I need to get back to our flat." Coraline responded.
"You sure, Jonesy?" Wybie asked.
"Now, Wyborne. It's not nice to make fun of other people's surnames." Mrs. Lovat scolded her grandson.
"Yes, Wyborne. It's not really nice," Coraline chuckled as she saw Wybie grimaced , "Thank you again for making me stay for the night, Mrs. Lovat."
"Anytime, dear. You're always welcome." and with that, Coraline sprinted outside.
Mel Jones glanced at the digital clock beside her bed, 6:50, it read.
She sat up groggily. Charlie was still fast asleep. Now, Mel was never the one to procrastinate. When you could do it now, why do it later? was her personal quote. That is why when she got up earlier than expected, she didn't think twice about standing up and making herself a cup of coffee so she could have a head start with a new project for the gardening catalog she and Charlie had been working on for four years.
She tried to keep last night's memories away. She already consumed too much time. The dinner last night made her fall back on her work schedule. The only reason she agreed is because she just couldn't say no to Miss Spink and Forcible. They had helped her a lot with her daughter.
She took the steaming cup and sat down on the kitchen table but before she could even turn on her laptop, someone knocked on the door.
Annoyed, Mel got up and walked towards the door. She was shocked to see Miss Forcible standing at her doorway, "Mel, we need to talk."
Miss Spink and Miss Forcible were always polite with others but when some things like this happens, it's no joke. Something serious is going on. She allowed Miss Forcible entry in her home and made her wait in the living room, "Would you like coffee, Miss Forcible?"
"No, no," Miss Forcible replies rather quickly, "Coffee is too strong. Tea would be fine."
Mel disappeared into the kitchen to prepare the guest's request. Minutes later, she returned and offered the tea. Miss Forcible didn't even mutter a simple 'thank you'. She took a small sip before she started speaking, "Not much time. We need to leave."
Mel was taken aback by the sudden statement, "E-Excuse me..?"
"I believe you have been suspecting something from last night's tragic event?"
"I-I don't understand.."
"Mel," Miss Forcible's face full of concern and apprehension, "I perfectly know that you know. We can't run from our past. I know you're trying to forget about your past. Me and April also tried. But right now, our lives are in grave danger. The worst thing we feared would come.. had came."
"No, this can't be," she whispered, silently wishing that Charlie doesn't get up until an hour later. She doesn't want him to hear anything on this, "Y-you're lying."
"Don't be childish!," Miss Forcible whispered back harshly, "You have all the proof, Mel. That incident with your daughter.. the way she explained what happened with her doctor. It sounds all too familiar! Your daughter was almost another victim! We need you to leave. She's coming back," she quickly pulls out a key from her pocket and thrusts it to Mel, "I saw this. This was supposed to be gone. If it's back, that means she's back."
She was frozen in fear, then slowly, she opened her mouth to speak, ".. If we'll leave right this instant then we'll never hear from you or anyone else in this... this-" her voice shaked. She didn't know what word to use, "..thing?"
Miss Forcible pursed her lips. Mel had a bad feeling about this.
"No," She replied, "I believe your daughter had done great damage to her. She will never forget Coraline. She'll be out for vengeance. Just like what she did to April, " at this point her eyes starts to get moist, "Remember, she's not trapped in her world anymore. She's out here, hiding. By just leaving, she'll still find you. We need to defeat her.. we cannot hold her back into her realm anymore."
"I'm not going to be a part of this ," she stated angrily but there was a slight sound of fear in her voice, "I will not put my daughter and my family in danger."
"You can't just run away!"
"I've been running from my past for years. I'm not going to get sucked in it again."
"You don't understand! We're all going to die! We cannot escape the wrath of the Beldam!"
The room turned silent.
"Wh-Why? I thought it was all over. Is this because of what I have done all those years ago? I tried fixing it, didn't I?"
"Fate," Miss Forcible said calmly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "has an awful way of bringing back dark pasts to us. Coraline is a brave girl. She had faced the wicked. Coraline is special, just like you and me. That is the witch wanted her in the first place. But this.. we need to work together. We need to defeat her. She is no longer imprisoned in her own world. She'll be out for everyone and I meant everyone, who's helped in imprisoning her in that world.
Before April died.. she left us somethings to do. One was, find her family," Miss Forcible told her, "Her parents are long dead and her siblings are scattered in places in Europe, that's where I'll be looking. Though, she has some distant relatives here. I came to you because I know that you know who exactly they are."
"Don't be silly, I have no idea." Mel whispered.
"April's real name was Agatha April Prenderghast," Miss Forcible said, "Named after a great-great-great aunt who was hung to death. She used a stage name because.. let's say she wasn't quite proud of what her family was known for."
Her eyes widened in shock.
"Can I entrust you with the mission to find them? I've been in touch with one before.. but he passed away four years ago. He was a great help, he had the special talent that the Beldam was always looking for. He had told me that the last one who inherited the talent was his nephew. I've seen the boy once.. it was years ago. Right now, he's probably as old as your daughter." Miss Forcible said.
Mel felt like as if she had been crushed by a boulder. She didn't look up but she gave a small nod, "But, there is one thing I wanted to ask. Was the death of April Spink really an accident?"
"No," Miss Forcible replied, "She wanted to buy us time. The Beldam isn't at her full power and by murdering someone as powerful as April, it will weaken her. For now, she doesn't have the power to attack any of us at the moment but she will be back. And also, by moving, we might also extend that time. We could still plan. But mark my words, we cannot run away this time. She will find us and destroy every single one of us."
"I-I understand."
Then she hastily stood up and went upstairs. Charlie was still fast asleep. She pulled out an old box from under her bed and started rummaging through it then she finally pulled out a black-and-white high school year book.
She flipped rapidly through the pages until she saw exactly what she went looking for.
Sandra Prenderghast, On the picture above was a thin girl and Mel remembered that she had long blond hair. They were both bestfriends. Until Mel left for college and never returned. She always knew Sandra as the 'homey' type. She loved baking, cooking and all those other 'motherly' material Mel never had. She knew that her friend finished her college in that very town and got married and probably had kids. She figured that Sandra wasn't really the one to move to another place for she always found their town as her home.
That was it.
She was going back to Blithe Hollow.
She took out her phone and quickly dialed Coraline's number. She tapped her fingers impatiently as she waited for her to pick up. After three rings, she finally did, "Mom, I'm up," the girl said at once.
"Good, now get back here. I need you to pack your bags... just because, Coraline... No, the police are gone. Okay. And don't forget to thank Mrs. Lovat for making you stay. Okay, bye. Wait- please hurry," and then with a click, Mel exhaled deeply.
She went back downstairs then she saw Miss Forcible still in the living room, "Before I go, I need to give this to you."
It was a small chest. Mel stared at it, confused.
"It's for Coraline."
"What would Coraline want with this?" she asked.
"I have no idea," Miss Forcible replied, "But if she left it for her, then it's best if you gave it to her."
She took her coat and opened the door but before she left, she turned back around and pulled another key out of her coat pocket and a card, "I almost forgot. Again, you should have this. I believe you already know where you're going to search for them? So, I thought that you might want some place to stay rather than their shabby little inn's. Don't worry, the house had been well kept throughout these years."
Mel took the key, "Thank you."
"No, thank you." Miss Forcible replied as she left. The same time as she went out of the doorway,the blue-haired fifteen year old came.
"Mom I'm- Miss Forcible? What are you doing here?" Coraline asked, puzzled.
"Just discussing matters, Coraline," Miss Forcible replied as she smiled at her, "Have great day ahead."
As Miss Forcible went out of ear-shot, Coraline turned to her mother, "What was that ab-"
"No more questions, pack your bags."
"What for?"
"We're going on a.. trip." Mel said, using her words carefully.
"When?"
"Later."
"What!?"
Mel put her hands on her hips, "No more questions, just hurry up and pack your bags now."
Coraline grew a suspicion. She sighed silently and trudged upstairs, "Does dad know about this?"
"..It's supposed to be a surprise." Mel lied.
"Okay." Coraline replied, rolling her eyes when she was out of her mother's eyesight.
As soon as Mel heard Coraline shutting the door to her room, she immediately turned her computer to find tickets that could take them to Blithe Hollow as soon as possible.
"Isn't this great, Coraline?" Charlie Jones smiled, "We're finally going on a family vacation.. at your mother's hometown!"
Her father seemed to be all good about it. Which was bad because Coraline expected him to oppose the idea. They've had family vacations before.. but it was always to Michigan where her father and the rest of his relatives are. She was actually shocked to hear that they'll be going back to her mother's hometown which was Blithe Hollow. She then realized that this was the first time her mother every brought up her home town. Coraline always thought she grew up in Michigan, like her father. It didn't seem all that bad at first but as she researched more on the town, she found out that the town's center of attraction was a witch hanging in the 1712's which made her less excited about going and more on frightened.
"Coraline, is there something wrong?" asked her father.
"No, nothing," Coraline replied, snapping out of her trance, "Just.. tired. A bit."
Charlie understood what Coraline meant and decided to let her be and then he proceeds to talk to Mel, whom Coraline haven't spoken too since this morning.
She looked out the window and soon, she fell asleep.
She was back to the place where she remembered they said their last goodbyes.
In a meadow, under an old oak tree, a thin white blanket was spread out and on it were the delicious food she remembered all too well; salads, sandwiches, nuts and fruit, jugs of lemonade, water and thick milk chocolate. The breeze was mellow. It was a perfect day for a picnic. She slowly reached for a sandwich as if it was going to bite her then suddenly a voice made her jerk her arm away.
"We were wrong, miss," it was the ghost boy with red velvet knee britches and a frilly white shirt, "She's coming back."
She turned around and the three of them were standing there. They still looked the same; young and fresh but their faces were filled with fear, "Who?"
"She!" cried the winged girl, "The one who captured us!"
Coraline refused to believe, "What?"
"Have you gone deaf, girl?" replied Mrs. Lovat's twin sister, the sweet ghost girl, "The Beldam is coming back!"
"And you, miss, are in grave danger!" the boy grabbed her by the arms and shook her furiously, "She loathes you, Coraline Jones! You are number one on her list! She will come after you! She has already murdered one!"
Coraline pushed away the boy, terrified, "I w-won't believe you! Y-you're all nothing but a .. dream! Get away!"
The three gasped, "What has happened, miss?" the winged girl asked, "You..you had a brave heart! You freed us all! You can't be afraid now!"
"Aye," agreed the boy, "You are our savior."
"Miss Jones, you have grew. You are no longer mere a mere child like us but that doesn't mean you could forget what has happened." said the sweet ghost girl.
Then the scenes went back to her. The small door. The other mother. The mirror. The snowglobe. The well. The key.
Coraline shooked her head in fear, "I-I don't understand. I thought this finally ended. I thought you guys finally moved on! I freed your souls, didn't I? Your souls are no longer in her clutches! Why can't you rest in peace?"
"That is why.. we are asking for your help once more," said the boy sadly, "We don't know why we can't move on. We crossed the bridge. We were just walking.. it was paradise. Then suddenly, she came along. And told us everything. Next thing we knew, we were running.. back to this place."
"She? Who's she?"
Their head turned simultaneously to the old oak tree and as if on cue a girl, about the same age as the ghost children, appeared. She had long black hair, thick eyebrows and rosy red cheeks. She approached timidly, her grey eyes meeting Coraline's hazel ones.
"What's your name?" Coraline asked softly, not wanting to scare the poor child.
"Aggie," she replied, "My name was Aggie."
Coraline glanced at the three ghost children before approaching the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Now, Aggie. Tell me. What are you doing here? What do you need? What's wrong?"
"They hanged and buried me here," came her reply which made Coraline's eyes go wide, "And.. I need your help. It's not just me, Coraline Jones. It's not just the three children. There's many of us and we are all in danger. You're the only one left who came out untouched. The first one.. she is now dead. The Beldam is coming back. And all these children she once held captive.. are in danger. She might take all of us again!
..and, my mommy. Coraline, please help me. She took my mommy again. My mommy is gone. The beldam took her."
At the last statement, Coraline's heart sank. She knew how it felt. Her parents. They were once trapped and she remembered how useless she felt, "Aggie, we're going to fix this. Just tell me that you're going to help me."
That I'm not going to do this alone again.
"We're all in this together, miss," said the boy, "Because this isn't your fight alone anymore. It is now also ours."
She almost smiled but one look at Aggie's tear-stained cheeks made her heart drop.
"Don't worry, Coraline," said Aggie, "We're not part of the living anymore. So, we could only appear in dreams or visions such as this one. But believe me, you are not alone. He will help you. You will meet him at some point. He can see unlikely things. He also had a brave heart."
"Who?"
"You'll meet him in time."
From the distance, Coraline could hear a voice calling out, "Aggie?"
"There he is right now," said the sweet ghost girl. Coraline could make out a silhouette of a boy, he was calling out Aggie's name. The sweet ghost girl took Coraline's hand, the winged girl took the other, "Let us go now, miss. Two living people meeting in one dream could be dangerous."
She looked back at Aggie, who gave her a hopeful smile in response.
The three ghosts led her deeper into the meadow.. and as they walked farther, the sight became all too familiar. Then they came to a stop. The well was there. The same well at her home.
"Also, miss, your mother is hiding something from you," the boy said, "But don't make it let you think that she is a bad person. She is good in nature, but it is best if you find it out sooner."
She took note of that.
The boy opened the well with the help of the winged girl. Coraline wasn't told what to do but she walked towards the well and without a word, she let herself drop in. She went down in a splash but she couldn't feel anything.. she was only floating. Panic didn't strike or nor did she have any reactions.
Then suddenly, she could feel herself slipping out of consciousness..
She was woken by her father saying that they have arrived. She figured she slept throughout the entire flight and thankful that she didn't need to suffer airsickness. But her dream, though. Was it real? Or was it even a dream?
She was silent the rest of the taxi ride to the town. Which was still another hour away. She didn't even dare to close her eyes anymore.
Soon, they reached the place where a huge sign read:
'Welcome to Blithe Hollow! A great place to hang!'
She didn't know what to react.
[Author's Note:] Chapter one. As promised :) I'm sorry if it took so long! I planned on finishing this before Christmas break ends but then I got sick and had to be sent to the hospital days before school starts again -.- yeah, and I got out a week later which meant I was already tied to a rough school schedule due to my absence. I'm sorry! But, right now, school's over and I'm all free. *evil laugh*
I finally got my Coraline book back so I added some book canons. Since the ghosts were described in the books and there were no Lovats either, I decided to change the tall ghost girl to Mrs. Lovat because let's admit it, the butterfly girl is just to awesome to exclude.
Thank you for the reviews, alerts and faves, puppy-anime-luvr, Delorean7, 575 and Nicktendo Squad!
'Til the next chapter!
-IriMono
