Chapter 11
Jollie
Things have been quiet since Molly and Libby tried to set up Darryl and June on a date. Since they had nothing to do today, the two girlfriends decided to spend the day together by taking a walk through Brighton, holding each others hand. They hadn't gotten far before they heard someone call out for them. It was at that moment when Ollie approached them, panting from exhaustion.
"Ollie? Are you okay?" Molly asked, noticing how exhausted her friend is.
"I'm so glad I found you two! Listen, I was just attacked by Jinx last night." Ollie panted.
"What?!" Libby gasped in shock. "That's awful! Jinx didn't hurt you, did she?"
Ollie shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm fine! I barely managed to escape, but I was able to do some research on the Ghost World. I think I might have found a way to stop Jinx, but we are going to need the Chairman's cloak for it to work."
Both, Molly and Libby shared a couple of confused glances with each other. Neither of them knew what kind of research gave Ollie that idea.
"So, what is your plan to stop Jinx, anyway?" Molly asked.
"Look, there's no time to explain! Just meet me at my house and I'll explain everything! Also, don't forget to bring the cloak!" Ollie replied.
"But why do we need the cloak?" Libby asked.
"I said, there's no time to explain!" Ollie suddenly yelled in anger.
Shocked by the outburst, Molly glared at Ollie. "Hey, I know you want to stop Jinx, but that's no reason to yell at us like that!"
Once he realized what he said, Ollie took a moment to calm down. He took a deep breath before he apologized.
"S-Sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. Please, just bring the cloak."
With that, Ollie turned and walked away, leaving the two girlfriends confused with what happened. It wasn't like Ollie to get angry and yell at them.
"Hey, Molly? Did Ollie seem a little strange just now?" Libby asked.
Molly nodded. "He did. I think he was just a little stressed out from his encounter with Jinx. Don't worry! I'm sure that everything would go back to normal once we stop Jinx!"
Despite how optimistic Molly was trying to be, something didn't seem right to Libby. She knew that Ollie would never snap at her like that. She didn't have too much time to think about it as she followed Molly to her house.
It wasn't long before Molly and Libby retrieved the cloak from Molly's house. The two girlfriends then made their way to Ollie's house before knocking on the door. At that moment, the door opened as Ollie greeted them.
"Oh, good! You're here! Did you bring the cloak?" Ollie asked.
"Uh, sure." Molly replied as she showed Ollie the cloak. "So, how is this going to stop Jinx?"
"I can't really say." Ollie avoided eye contact. "Jinx could be spying on us right now. Quick, follow me inside."
At the moment, Ollie led Molly and Libby inside the house. As she followed her friend, Libby gazed at Ollie in suspicion. Ollie has been acting weird all day. Something strange was going on, and she was going to find out what.
It wasn't long before Ollie led Molly and Libby down to the lab. He closed the door before turning towards the two friends.
"Good! Now, no one should bother us! Molly, hand me the cloak so I can stop Jinx!" Ollie held out his hand.
A brief look of hesitation appeared on Molly's face as she looked from the cloak and back to Ollie. She was about to hand over the cloak before Libby stopped her.
"Molly, wait." Libby held out her arm in front of Molly before bringing her attention to Ollie. "You still didn't tell us how giving you the cloak would defeat Jinx."
With a nervous chuckle, Ollie avoided eye contact with Libby. "Uh, you know! It mainly involves a lot of ghost hunting science that you wouldn't really understand!"
Now more suspicious than ever, Libby began to press Ollie for some more questions. "By the way, do you remember the day when we first met at my mom's bookshop?"
"Libby, what are you talking about?" Molly asked, not remembering that at all.
Libby ignored Molly as she continued to ask questions. "Surely you remember! We were such great friends, weren't we? Only best friends would remember."
Now, Ollie was more nervous than ever as he stuttered, "O-Of course I remember! The day we met at your mother's bookshop was one of the best days of my life! We became best friends the moment we met!"
"Aha!" Libby pointed an accusing finger at Ollie. "I knew you would fall for that! We didn't meet at my mom's bookshop! We met when you moved in! I didn't even like you when we first met because I was worried you might take Molly away from me! If you can't even remember that, then you are not really Ollie!"
The room remained silent as Ollie glared at Libby. Before long, the silence was broken by a sinister chuckle from Ollie as he closed his eyes in amusement.
"Very clever, Libby! Looks like I won't have to keep up this charade anymore!"
Ollie soon opened his eyes to reveal a pair of yellow eyes. Both, Molly and Libby jumped in shock the moment Ollie summoned an all too familiar blue scythe.
Shocked by what she was seeing, Libby took a moment to find her voice. "I-It can't be!"
"Jinx?!" Molly gasped in shock.
"That's right, Molly!" Jinx spoke in Ollie's voice. "Now, hand over the cloak, or I will slaughter you, along with your girlfriend!"
Molly and Libby couldn't believe what they were seeing. After all the time they spent with Ollie, they never would have thought they would be afraid of him. However, they had to remind themselves, that it wasn't really Ollie that they are face to face with, but Jinx instead.
As Jinx ran towards them with her scythe, Molly and Libby made a dash towards the exit. They both screamed in fear as Jinx chased them down, trying to slash at them with her scythe. It wasn't long before Molly and Libby ran out the lab and into the living room. Here, the rest of the Chens came rushing into the living room to see what all the commotion was about.
"Molly? Libby?" Ruben was surprised to see Molly and Libby here. "Are you two okay? We just heard screaming."
Before Molly and Libby could explain what was going on, Jinx, or Ollie, as the Chens were aware of, stepped into the room. Ollie's eyes turned back to normal as Jinx spoke in Ollie's voice, pretending to be Ruben and Ester's son.
"Sorry, Mom and Dad! I was showing Molly and Libby around the lab, and they got spooked by one of the ghosts." Jinx lied.
"What?! Ollie, you know that you are not supposed to bring guests down into the lab!" Ester lectured her supposed son.
"I am so sorry you two had to see that!" Ruben apologized to Molly and Libby. "I hope you weren't too frightened!"
Molly and Libby opened their mouths to explain that the boy who they were talking to wasn't really Ollie. However, before they could say a word, Jinx walked close to them and spoke in a low whisper so the Chens wouldn't hear her.
"Say a word about this, and Ollie dies, here and now!"
Not wanting to risk Jinx killing their friend, Molly and Libby stayed silent. Their unease didn't go unnoticed though as Ruben noticed how nervous Molly and Libby were.
"Are you two okay?" Ruben asked, concerned.
With a nervous smile, Libby replied, "Don't worry, Mr. Chen! Molly and I were just scared by the ghost. That's all. We're fine."
Despite how calm Molly and Libby tried to be, Ruben got the feeling that they were hiding something from him.
"Are you sure?" Ruben asked, to which Molly and Libby nodded in unison. "Very well. Just make sure you don't go back in the lab. It is really dangerous down there. Speaking of which, I think we should increase our security to the lab. What do you think, Ester?" Ruben asked his wife.
Ester nodded in agreement. "That might be for the best. Kids, while we modify the security for the lab, we want you to stay out of trouble."
With that, Ruben and Ester made their way down the lab. Jinx watched as Ruben and Ester added some security to the lab, but she didn't appear to be fazed by this in the least.
"It seems that there has been a change of plan. Extra security or not, they can't keep the Frightmares captive forever! Hold on to the Chairman's cloak for me, McGee. I'll come back for it later!" said Jinx.
"Huh? Ollie, what are you talking about?" June asked, still unaware that her brother is currently being possessed by Jinx. The ghost simply ignored June as she walked upstairs. "Molly. Libby. What's going on?"
"It's kind of a long story. Perhaps we should have this conversation somewhere more private." Libby suggested, not wanting Jinx to overhear them.
After leaving the Chens' house, Molly and Libby gathered their friends in Molly's room to explain what just happened to Ollie. This left everyone shocked, especially June, who was devastated by what happened to her brother. Her sorrowful expression soon turned to a look of rage, furious at the ghost who took her brother away from her.
"Jinx has gone too far this time!" June growled.
"I agree. Don't worry, June! I'm sure we will find a way to save your brother!" Libby assured.
"Libby is right. Maybe if we explore the Ghost World, we might find something to help us defeat Jollie." Molly suggested.
Scratch sent Molly a puzzled look in response. "I'm sorry. Did you just say, Jollie?"
Molly nodded. "Yeah. Since Ollie is now possessed by Jinx, I decided to combine Jinx and Ollie's names together and name this new entity, Jollie!"
"Who cares what it's called? This conversation is getting us nowhere!" Darryl complained.
"Actually, Molly might be onto something. Entering the Ghost World might be a good idea." Libby explained. "Who better to ask about ghost stuff than the Ghost Council themselves? If we can ask for their advice, we might be able to find a way to save Ollie."
"Oh, Ahuvati! You are such a genius!" Molly embraced her girlfriend in a hug, causing Libby to blush.
With a roll of his eyes, Scratch grabbed the Chairman's cloak. "Hey, save the romance for after you save Brighton from Jinx."
Once Scratch handed her the cloak, Molly put it on, transforming her into her wraith form once more. She summoned a portal to the Ghost World, allowing Libby to jump through the portal. Just like last time, Libby's spirit separated itself from its body. Libby was about to join Molly and Scratch in entering the Ghost World before she asked one last favor from her friends.
"Darryl, while Molly, Scratch, and I are gone, can you and June look after my body to make sure it doesn't wander off?"
"Do we have to? I don't like the way she's looking at me!" Darryl was creeped out by the emotionless stare Libby's body was giving him.
June didn't let Libby's body creep her out too much as she said, "Don't worry, Libby! We promise we won't let your body go anywhere! Good luck in the Ghost World!"
After giving their friend a couple of grateful smiles, Molly and Libby floated next to Scratch, ready to enter the Ghost World. Both, Molly and Libby held each others hand before following Scratch through the portal as they were both determined to do whatever it takes to save Ollie.