Chapter 5
"A ghost is someone who hasn't made it - in other words, who died, and they don't know they're dead. So they keep walking around and thinking that you're inhabiting their - let's say, their domain. So they're aggravated with you"
Sylvia Browne
Credit goes to Gigih Perwira for the big help. The hall in this chapter is based on Samlesbury Hall.
"Ow, I'm hungry! Tell me we will see a town soon!" Another evening protest from a certain red eyed man inside a certain jeep; one day after leaving Leyline the group hasn't found any place worthy of visiting so…here goes the rant.
"Hungry or sleepy? Make up your mind!" Marilyn, annoyed, delivers a quick and caring respond, "Five minutes ago you said you feel tired and you want to sleep, and just now you said you want to eat! Pick one; don't annoy us with your rants! You're not the only who feels the need to fill your stomach or enjoying a comfy bed!"
"Oh…great…" Alvin mutters to himself, quietly so no one disturbs him from driving, "Here comes another lovey-dovey battle…"
"What's the difference? We still need to stop in a town!" Cliff carries the battle wholeheartedly, "How come we forgot to collect foods in Leyline, anyway?"
"Maybe the fact that Leyline Observatory was massacred and got destroyed into pieces by two monsters would explain why we didn't get to collect any foods…" Sophia dryly joins the war, "Not to mention we didn't spot wolves to be roasted…"
"What?" Cliff and Marilyn pause, because Sophia remembering things is rarer than a chicken's teeth, "You remember that much, Sophia?"
"What? Remember what?" Too bad, she's gone back to her normal self.
"Ah…forget it…" The two lets out a disappointed sigh. Somewhat the current atmosphere is dull.
"Guys, this is just our luck" Alvin enlightens his nearly collapsed friends, "It's a town!"
"Where?" Cliff & Marilyn shout in unison before rushing to see where Alvin is pointing. Not far from them, around ninety feet away, there's a old western styled town and they could see people wandering inside it. That means, there are living persons in the town. They are saved, "Finally!"
Telling Alvin to drive as fast as possible, the group reaches the town in less than five minutes. First thing they do once they step their legs inside the town is finding an inn before literally assaulting the restaurant to fulfill their stomachs (much to the shock of the innkeeper). After the massacre…I mean, the dinner, the four quietly sits to let their body digest the nutrition.
"Man, does it feel good to eat that meat" Alvin gets the first chance to express his gratitude, "Thanks God we found this town"
"I'm not one to usually praise foods, but I got to second that" Marilyn rightfully agrees, "The steak was the best part"
"Indeed, the steak was awesome!" Cliff gently praises the food he just ate, "I feel like having a lot of energy to sleep!"
"What?" The 'sleep' word catches Marilyn's curiosity, "You actually need energy to sleep?"
"Sure" Cliff rises from his seat and heads to the receptionist, "Now, if you don't mind I would like to book a room so I can call it a day"
But, of course Marilyn takes offense to that, "Hey, wait! This is still 5.30 pm! You cannot just sleep! At least do something worthy for us!"
"What? What thing?"
"Treasure hunting!" As usual, realistic ways of things, "Let's go finding something worthy around this town before we call it a day!"
"Ow, but I want to sleep!" And as usual too, the lankily sleepy man.
"Silence! There are four of us here, so we should vote!" That's reasonable, "All in favor for treasure hunting raise your hand!"
Bad for Cliff, he sees his three other comrades raising their hand so the deed is pretty much sealed.
"Alrighty, then!" Marilyn pats Cliff's back so he doesn't feel to sad, "Don't worry, better luck next time"
"Pfft!" Alvin chuckles seeing the two; it seems to him observing the soulmates is a noteworthy feat for his own fun and amusement, "Okay, so where are we going to hunt some treasures?"
"Well, let's ask the people in this town if there's any famous spot nearby" Marilyn calls for the innkeeper and asks him, "Sir, do you know any famous adventuring spot around this town? A little map guidance would do us lots of favors"
"Yeah, lady. Actually, there is one spot" The innkeeper begins his story, "You see, there's an old medieval manor hall in the suburban area of this town called Buryles Hall, which was built around 500 years before The Genesis War. The original hall was built with its solar end windows facing east, as was the practice. When the chapel was constructed 140 years later, it too was built to face east. However, when the chapel was connected to the main hall a further 60 years later, the angle of connection was less than 90° because of the solstice change in the sun's position over the years. The chapel was originally built by a noble family; in order to upgrade the house to a manor house several parts of it have been upgraded. But, a legend has it that one night; one of the sons of the noble family was killed by one of his servants in a gruesome manner. Eventually, the family left the hall without bringing most of their wealth and then the hall became abandoned. And it seems that so many people have spotted the sight of the ghost of the murdered son inside the hall. Nowadays, no one really wants to go near the hall"
"Wow, sounds cool!" Marilyn seems to fine the ghost not dangerous, "Okay, let's go there!"
"Hey, he says the place is haunted, right?" Sophia, however, quickly questions the decision, "Wouldn't that be dangerous?"
"Come on, sis! You still believe in ghost at this day and age?" Marilyn confidently responds, "There's no such thing as ghost! That's just a make up belief!"
"Yeah, if any ghost shows up I would just kick him in the face" Alvin adds.
"Or shoot him" Cliff finishes, although not in a lively tone as he's sleepy.
Anyway, the group makes their way to the haunted house and it is just as eerie as anyone could imagine. Steeped in shadow, darkness echoed and folded inside itself until sunlight was absorbed completely, and the trees, large mammoths of green foliage bunched over, bent and stopped, pouring more exhaunerating shadows across the hallows of what used to be the most prestigious house in the town. Dead trees with branches, long and spindly, waved in the air, veining like capillaries; the bark flaked off in spots, diseased with a forging moss that stewed for years and ate its way into the tree's innards, killing from the inside out. Brown crispy leaves littered the yard and danced macabre on light feet, and they smelled of fungus and autumnal-moisture, waiting for a sunlight to dry up its ravaged and rotted being. To sum it up, the house is living up to its reputation.
Alvin: This place is as eerie as any place could get.
Cliff: I second that.
Sophia: I wonder if a ghost would really come out.
Cliff: Maybe the ghost would…I mean, the sky is getting darker as we speak. It's almost nighttime; I don't see why the ghost wouldn't come out.
Alvin: Either way, I'm curious where the treasures would have been left.
Cliff: We should ask Marilyn for that. Right, Marilyn?
Marilyn: …eh? Oh, yeah. Yes…
Cliff: Hey, what's wrong? You look pale.
Alvin: You don't feel well?
Marilyn: No, no! Not at all! I was just….I mean, just forget about it, okay? Thanks for noticing but I'm fine, really.
Cliff: Well, if u say so.
Alvin: Guys…where is Sophia?
"Huh?" The other quickly notices Sophia is nowhere to be seen. When they were busy giving their attention at Marilyn, Sophia has wandered somewhere they don't know, "She…where the hell is she?"
"This is bad! That air-head could be anywhere inside the hall!" Alvin rubs the back of his head, "What if she meets the ghost? The ghost would swallow her!'
"We need to find her real quick!" Cliff draws his Dreadnaught, "Let's go guys!"
The two boys dash, but Marilyn stays. Of course this gets the boys' attention just fine.
"Marilyn? What are you doing there? Come on!" Cliff calls for the swordswoman but Marilyn doesn't seem so eager to move. Cliff looks at Alvin; both don't understand what the hell is going on with the girls. Perhaps coming to the hall is a bad idea after all.
"I think…I'll guard the entrance" Marilyn slowly unsheathes her sword much to the surprise of the boys, "You two can get inside and search for Sophia"
"Hey, it doesn't work that way, okay? You pitched the idea to find a treasure here and now you're just going to wait here?" Alvin feels somewhat annoyed by the girls today, "Why would you want to guard this place alone anyway? What if the ghost shows up here?"
"No, no! He won't show up here!" Marilyn dispatches the possibility in a rather careless attempt, "Look…I apologize for making the both of you coming here, but I'll stay. So, please if you guys don't mind…find Sophia"
Alvin looks at Cliff before shrugging his shoulder. It cannot be helped. And then, the two goes inside to find Sophia. Outside, Marilyn is left wondering for herself, "I'm sorry guys, but I really cannot enter! I never thought the place would be this creepy! It brings back bad memories!"
Around five years ago, when she was still living with the man she loves, Marilyn went to a carnival in Little Twister. There, she entered a haunted house alone after trying out several games alongside her man. Before the attraction even finished, she ran outside while freaking out for the first time ever on her life because she was afraid seeing the ghosts. And it also turned out that somewhat, she hates dark places. Of course, she doesn't allow anyone but her man to know this secret. So, she did her best covering herself. Although, maybe it would cost her a lot.
"Don't worry, Marilyn. Next time, if a real ghost comes out, I'll protect you"
The words he used to calm her down and ease her fear from that time are echoing on her ear. "Oh, Lord Green…if only you were here I wouldn't be scared like this" Marilyn mutters to herself, "Where are you? How are you doing? Why did you leave me? I miss you, you know…"
Time passed, but no sign of either one of the three coming out. The darkness starts covering the sky, and Marilyn is getting more nervous as time slowly goes for her, "Where are they? What are they doing inside? It's almost 45 minutes...tsk, I shouldn't have chosen to be left here alone!"
And that's when suddenly the swordswoman hears a creaking sound from the floor inside, near the entrance. Marilyn prepares a stance out of shock and tries to find who is causing the creaking sound, but she sees no one. "Who's that?" Marilyn shouts, trying to calm herself while telling to her mind that isn't a ghost, "If you want a piece of me, why don't you come out?"
Of course, no one comes out. And this freaks her out, "No, no, no, no! That cannot be a ghost! Such thing like a ghost doesn't exist! That cannot be a ghost…I repeat, that cannot be a ghost!"
But another creak ensures Marilyn she isn't alone, and she doesn't want to stay on the entrance. Without even activating her Accelerator, she runs inside the hall and stops in what seems to be a living room. It is so full of dusts and spider webs, spare the darkness. "Alvin! Cliff!" Marilyn calls for the boys but none of them answers, "Where are you guys?"
Having no voice replying hers, she could feel somewhat her spine is chilling, as if someone is trying to get her attention from behind. Marilyn waves her Iskander Bey around, trying to fend off anything that attempts to harm her. But she sees no one and she doesn't feel anyone's presence around her. And there is only one thing in this world you cannot see or feel…ghost.
"Wuaaaaaaaaah! Somebody help me!" Marilyn loses her cool and runs to one of the corridors, not wanting to see any ghost if one does come out. She keeps running inside the corridor without even caring or realizing she is heading to the darkest part of the hall. Trying to catch her breath, she stops while panting before looking over her shoulder to ensure no one is coming at her. Indeed, no one does.
"Oh...thank God…" Just a moment after she feels grateful, she sees a white silhouette passes by, around fifteen feet from her point, "Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Ghost!"
Marilyn heads back to her previous direction and runs as fast as she could, she doesn't care if Cliff laughs at her or Alvin teases her after this, she just doesn't want to see a ghost. After running for quite awhile, she stops again to catch some air. This time, she hears someone approaching her from behind, "Who's that? The ghost? No, no, no! Please don't come here! What do you want from me? I didn't do anything to you! Why don't you chase Cliff? He said he would shoot you if you come out! He hates you more than me! Chase Cliff, not me!"
Too bad, it seems the ghost won't do her a favor because the ghost keeps approaching her and…pats her shoulder from behind. "Aaaaaaah! Don't touch me!" Marilyn, out of fear, swings her sword and hits the ghost right on his neck, knocking it down to the floor, "Don't come near me you gho…Cliff?"
"What did I do to deserve your wrath, Marilyn? I'm not a ghost!" The hit didn't actually hurt, but it annoys Cliff just fine, "And what are you doing inside? Didn't you say you would wait outside?"
"But…the ghost appeared outside! I decided to get in to avoid him but it seems that…" With a slight of embarrassment, Marilyn explains, "He…is following me here"
Cliff frowns before rising up, feeling something is wrong with his soulmate, "And that comes from someone who told Sophia there wouldn't be a ghost at this day and age? Nice"
"Hey, this isn't the right time to be so sarcastic, okay? I really saw a ghost! You think I would be lying?"
"No, I know you're not a liar. But, I thought you would be braver than you are now" Cliff honestly replies, "I thought if a ghost shows up in front of your nose, you would give him the taste of your Guillotine. You freaking out isn't one of my predictions, and I'm being honest"
"Well, that's…" If only Cliff pays more attention to Marilyn's face, he would see a tiny blush. Too bad he doesn't, "I…I just…"
"Wait, don't tell me…" With an amused look, Cliff throws a wild guess, "You're afraid of ghost?"
"No, I'm not! I'm not afraid of ghost!" And Cliff hits the bulls-eye, "Don't you ever say that again! I'm not afraid of ghost!"
"So…you're not afraid of that thing behind you?"
"Wuaaaaaaah! What thing?" Marilyn freaks out again before swaying her sword to her behind, only to see nothing. Cliff tricked her perfectly.
"Wuahahahahahaha! You're really afraid of ghost!" Cliff bursts out laughing, "I cannot believe this! Marilyn Westerfield, the fearsome Spider Lily, is afraid of ghost! Wuahahahaha!"
"Why you!" Bad move, cause Marilyn is mad at the ARMs wielder now. Her face is red not only because she feels embarrassed but also because of the anger, "How dare you trick me like that! I'm going to kill you!"
Seeing the silver haired girl raising her sword, Cliff gets taken aback, "Marilyn, wait! I was just kidding!"
"And that's going to cost you dearly!"
"Please, wait! I didn't mean it! I won't tell anyone!" Cliff worried face turns questioned, "Hey…what's that thing behind you?"
"You think I'm going to buy that?"
"No! There really is something behind you!" Cliff tries his best to make Marilyn believes him; well, he shouldn't trick her earlier, "There's a white thing coming at us from your behind! I swear of God!"
Marilyn glances and…indeed, there is a white she saw earlier coming at them, "Aaaaaaaaah! Ghost!"
Marilyn attempts to run away again, but she forgets Cliff is standing near her. She runs into him and causes both of them to fall to the floor. Thanks to old age, the floor crumbles and both soulmates fall deep to the underground.
The landing isn't too nice, at least for Cliff. As for Marilyn, well she lands on something not really hard but not really soft either, more like a meat. When the two realizes, Marilyn is lying on top of Cliff who is lying on the ground.
"What? What are you doing there?" Marilyn reacts, "Are you trying to do something indecent? Get away, Cliff!"
"No, you get away from me! What are you doing on top of me?" Cliff steams, "And where are we, by the way?"
After the two separates, they try to look for a clue on where they are. "I think we're on the deepest underground level of the hall…" Marilyn deciphers the mystery rather quick, "See? The hole where we feel seems so high from here"
"And it doesn't look like we can climb up either" Cliff sighs, "I guess we will have to wait for either Alvin or Sophia to help us"
"What? Can't we find our way out of here?"
"Unlikely" Cliff points out to the only direction they got. It seems the underground level used to be a large storage. On their right is a brick wall which seems to lead to nowhere whereas on their left they see an endless tunnel of darkness, "Unless we have something as a source of light, I don't recommend any of us going there inside the darkness. And seeing how fragile this entire building this, I believe any means of force would crumble it and bury us here"
"So…what do we do now?" Marilyn sounds as if she wants a hope. She doesn't like dark places anyway.
"We sit and wait; what else?" Cliff leans on the wall before comfortably sitting down, "Don't worry, Alvin must have heard you screaming earlier. He will find us and help us"
"You…always feel calm at times like this…" Marilyn sits right beside the red eyed man, "That's a good part of you"
"Thanks, but it's not like anything would change if I freak out anyway. So, I prefer to remain calm and tranquil" Cliff gazes at his comrade, "How about you? Are you hurt? You bleed somewhere?"
"No, I don't think so" Marilyn slowly shakes her head, "I'm not injured at all…but I guess I don't have to ask how about you, huh? With a body like that falling from fifty feet high wouldn't even cut you"
"Right" Cliff escapes a friendly chuckle, "At least we both are okay. That's good"
For a moment, silence casts its magic on the two and their surrounding. No voices, no moves, not even a single thing is wavering. Although Cliff frankly doesn't feel anything at the moment, it's the other way around with Marilyn. She feels uncomfortable not having anything to ease her mind while she's being afraid. She wants to break the ice, but she doesn't know how.
"I hope Gunner's Heaven would benefit us" Cliff speaks up, breaking the ice, "That place got one hell of a bad reputation for the illegal fights, I hope we won't run into some unnecessary problems"
"Like?"
"The Peacemakers" Cliff puts a serious tone on his answer, "Around ten minutes before we met upstairs, the PDA I took happen to catch a signal and new info. It seems that World Union has sent two Peacemakers from division VI, Gomez Delphic and Brooke Serf, to take care of The Four Garrison…us. We knew Gunner's Heaven is filled with shed loads of powerful drifters, if we happen to see one and two Peacemakers at the same time we really need to work our ass off"
"Well, hopefully we can count on your durability if that really happens" Marilyn forms a little encouraging smile for the red haired man, who nods to answer the smile.
"Nice, giving the proper time and space at least I can take down a Peacemaker" Cliff mirthfully welcomes the praise. Seeing the ice breaking attempt is successful, Cliff reveals his true intention, "So, are you feeling better now?"
"Huh?" Marilyn doesn't seem to get his point.
"I mean, you're not scared anymore?" Now, the point is clearer, "Ever since we fell here, it seems to me that you've been afraid of something I don't know. And…I think I might loosen up the grip a little, so I picked the issue of the PDA and stuff"
"Oh…" Marilyn widens both her eyes. She doesn't like to admit this, but what the hell, "So you realized it after all?'
"Betcha" The ARMs wielder nods, "Cannot hide it from me, sister. It was written all over your face. Thank goodness it's gone now, you look better like that"
Although that's not a romantic way to put it, Marilyn feels like a burden has been lifted. Cliff's right, she doesn't feel afraid anymore. "You know…I think in a way or another you're the bastardized version of Lord Green"
"Aww…is that supposed to be a compliment?" Cliff never gets tired of Marilyn's antics, especially about her love.
"Tell me about it" Marilyn responds with style, "Although he put in a more romantic way to calm me down"
"By saying?"
"By saying 'Don't worry, Marilyn. Next time, if a real ghost comes out, I'll protect you'"Marilyn sounds happy recalling it back, "Yeah, like that"
"I can do the same to you, but only with jokes"
"What jokes?"
"Ghost jokes, Marilyn. You know, just to lighten up the mood more"
"Fine with me"
"A widow live in a an apartment and someone calls her phone and says, "I am the viper, I'll be up in an hour." she jut thinks it is a prank but then fifteen minutes later the same person call and says, "It's the viper, I'll be there soon." so she calls the police and then the door bell rings five minutes later and she says, "thank god the police are finally here!" But it is a man with a sponge and a bucket of water. He says,"I am the viper. I vish to vash and vipe the vindows!"
"Ha! That's pretty funny" See? Marilyn is entertained, "Have another one?"
"Once there was this beautiful flower lady who died of an illness at this very hospital. That night, a security guard was doing his rounding on the second level. . on a distant, he heard a faint sound. . .
psst. .
he could smell a faint aroma of the lavender. . he remembered about the flower lady who had died on this level. The ward was somewhere twards the end of the hall but he brush away the thought of ghost and such. .he continued walking. .
psst!
the sound gotten stronger and the smell of the lavender grew heavier. .
feeling a bit scared, he decided to walk faster. .
psst!
this time the hissing get more louder and the aroma get even more heavier. The guard felt like he was getting near to something or even. . somebody. . .he look ahead. . then he realise he was getting near the ward where the flower lady died. . . he keep on walking
psST!
he sense something was wrong as he approached the ward. . he began praying as he walk trying to ignore the ghostly thought. .
and soon as he stand infront of the ward. .
PSST!
He heard that the sound was just above him and the smell was so strong. .
he look up. .
slowly. . .
slowly. . .
and. . .
(ready?)
damn it! stupid air refresher!"
"Wow! Alright! That's a funny one too!"
"Okay here's the last one! A young girl alone at home, the phone rings, she answers 'who is it?'.. 'the man with the bloody fingers 5 doors away', the man in the other end of the line says. She screams and hangs up. But it rings again...'who is it ?' ...'the man with the bloody fingers 4 doors away', it says. she screams again... it goes on and eventually the doorbell rings …shaking, she opens it... there is a tall menacing man n the doorstep, he lifts a bloody hand and says...
'excuse me , do you have a plaster for my bleeding finger?"
"Woooo! Cool! I like it! Not romantic like Lord Green, but I like it" Marilyn had a good time.
"Hee…you always seem different when it comes to Lord Green, eh?" Cliff carries the conversation on, "It's like…you're filled with joy whenever you speak of him"
"The beauty of love, Cliff. Only those who have fallen for someone deeply would understand what I'm saying" Marilyn pokes her fellow Garrison, "I'm telling you the truth. You have to wait till the day you feel like you love someone"
"And I suppose that day isn't going to come for me soon…or is it?
"God only knows" Not an encouraging reply, but true, "But, trust me. You'll find your right person"
"Yeah, the person I can share my dream, whatever it might be, with" Cliff makes the same face like Marilyn did just a minute ago.
It sounds so distant after the last time she heard that, so Marilyn feels like saying something, "You know, Cliff…about your dre…"
CREK!
Too bad the atmosphere is ruined by the sound of someone stepping towards them. Cliff quickly rises and pulls out his Dreadnaught while Marilyn, out of desperation, hides behind Cliff in a quick pace. It's the white thing again! Cliff slowly takes aim to blast the ghost once and for all, but before he could do so…the white thing covering the ghost falls to the ground and reveals the ghost's true face.
"Sophia?" Cliff yells, "What the hell? It was you after all?"
"Eh?" Sophia seems confused, "It was me? What are you talking about? It was Marilyn who has been cruelly avoiding me!"
Actually, when the guys were busy asking Marilyn on the entrance, Sophia entered the hall alone. She wandered off and ran into one of the old curtains which feel and draped over her, turning her somewhat looks like a ghost. That's when she got confused and ran everywhere in the hall…twice in front of Marilyn.
"She wasn't avoiding you! She was shocked by your appearance!" Cliff defends the swordswoman in a rare occasion, "Hell, I was shocked too when I first saw you so I wouldn't really blame her though"
"Ow…sorry" Sophia apologizes after 'kind of' realizing her mistake, "I didn't realize I was draped under a curtain"
"Good" Cliff withdraws his ARMs. Everything seems settled right now.
"Ow, we left you for an hour and you two are already lovers? Get a room, guys!" Alvin shouts from above the hole. He brings a rope and several jewelries with him, "I found the treasures! It's four boxes of jewelries! But, I think the scene I'm viewing right now is waaaaay more priceless!"
"What scene?" Cliff doesn't get it.
"Look behind you, Romeo!" Alvin points to Cliff's back, "Juliet's waiting for you!"
Cliff turns over his shoulder while Sophia takes a glance. What they see is Marilyn holding to Cliff from behind with both her eyes closed. And it doesn't seem she will let go of it anytime soon.
"Goodness, you don't realize it at all?" Alvin cannot believe he would say this, "Damn you, Cliff! Now, will you wake her up from her nightmare and give her a kiss or let her hug you till the end of time? I say, why don't you do both!"
"Marilyn, Marilyn" Cliff ignores Alvin and pats the swordswoman's head, "It's over, girl. Sophia's the ghost, we all mistook her"
"It's…over?" Marilyn raises her head. She looks like she's about to cry.
"Yeah, it's over" Cliff calms her down, "Let's go back, okay? Alvin found the treasures"
"Yeah, and it's called love" Alvin says to himself before throwing the rope down. It doesn't take long for them to get outside the hall and stops at the entrance.
"Well, our journey today was great. We found the treasures" Alvin informs Cliff and Marilyn who don't really pay attention to his words, "Hey…where is Sophia?"
"What?" Cliff shouts, "Not again!"
Thank God, Sophia quickly comes out, but by dragging someone with her from inside, "Guys! I made a new friend!"
"New friend?"
"Yes" She pulls out her new friend, a man with knives sticking from inside him from head to toe and blood covering his whole body. Shortly he doesn't look normal, "His name is Jack. He said he was killed here years ago!"
"Aaaaah! Ghooooooost!" And Marilyn's scream pretty much ends the story for tonight, because she and t other two drifters ran like thunder after seeing Jack, leaving Sophia alone.
"What's wrong with them, Jack?"
"I don't know, Sophia. People are always like that whenever they see me. Is it because my look? It's my look isn't it?"
There! You like the side story? See u next chappy!
