"Here is the room where Madame Leota is located."
Melanie opened the door to a room filled with musical instruments, with a dusty table in the middle of the room with a crystal ball. But the ball seemed to contain… A head.
"Who dares to interrupt my spell?," threatened the head inside the crystal ball.
Alyssa and Bradley stayed silent.
"I apologize for disturbing you, Madame Leota, but I have found some mortals who can help us," Melanie approached Leota.
"In that case, come in, we have a session to start."
The doors slammed shut, and the instruments began to play.
"I will make sure the Phantom does not interrupt us. See you later," Melanie disappeared from the room.
"Wait!"
"So you want to set us free, huh?"
"Yes, I guess…"
Leota looked at the young girl suspiciously.
"Alyssa is your name, right?"
"How do you know that?"
"I know everything, young lady. Just like I know you came to write an article. Is that why you want to save us, to have a story to tell?"
"Hey, how dare you speak about my friend like that!" Bradley raised his voice.
"Leota, how can they be free?" Melanie intervened.
"Goblins and ghoulies, creatures of fright, we summon you now to dance through the night!"
The group listened in silence to Leota.
"If you want to free us from this doom, the ravishing bride must meet the vanishing groom. The key to everything will be revealed if you search the mines, that's it…"
"The vanishing groom? Wait, that's why you said the wedding was never held!"
Melanie nodded sadly.
"His name was Jake, he was a miner for my father. The night of the wedding, he never showed up… I am sure he took him, like my father."
"The Phantom…"
"So, we need to find this guy Jake," Bradley commented. "But how do we get out of this mansion exactly?"
"Through my boudoir, I used to escape through the window when I was… You know."
"Great! We can finally get out of here," Bradley was almost jumping with joy.
"The problem is that the Phantom will still follow us."
"He can leave the mansion?," Bradley's joy disappeared.
Melanie headed towards the spot, followed by Alyssa's disappointed friend.
"Before you leave, Alyssa," Leota said, "I want to ask you something. Why put yourself in danger for this story?"
Alyssa remained silent for a moment.
"I need a good story to impress the publisher, and this one is it."
"The publisher… of course."
The trio advanced through the mansion's corridors quickly, their hearts constricted by what might happen. After walking a bit further, they ended up reaching the ballroom. Before the amazed eyes of Alyssa and Bradley, a bunch of ghosts were drinking, dancing, and laughing in the place.
"Wow, I didn't know it was this lively…," said Melanie.
"It's been like this for years," replied another voice.
At the top of the ballroom staircase, a mysterious figure appeared.
"So, you are the outsiders everyone is talking about…," Sheriff Moon said, aiming his gun at the group.
"Damn it, he's the town sheriff… and the right hand of the Phantom," explained Melanie.
"Wait, the sheriff is on the Phantom's side? Why?" asked one of the group members.
"Let's say I have a special deal with him. I do his dirty work, and he doesn't torture me. Seems fair to me," replied Moon.
"Corrupt even after death, huh, Moon?" Melanie glared at him with anger.
"Life isn't fair, sweetheart. And now, I'm afraid I will have to kill your friends."
Alyssa closed her eyes at what was about to happen.
"Oh, guys, you're here. I lost you," Lucius appeared out of nowhere, as calm as the last time they saw him.
"Lucius!"
"Who are you?" Moon asked, pointing his gun at him.
"Wow! Nice costume."
"It's not a costume!"
Alyssa and Bradley ran out, diving into the midst of the dancers.
"Hey, don't escape!" Gunshots echoed all around.
Lucius, frightened, started running as well.
"It's a real gun, damn it!"
"You guys get out of here, I'll distract him!" Melanie yelled.
Moon followed Melanie through the enormous hall.
"No more games, give me your friends!"
But when he reached her, he realized the others weren't with her.
"I'm sorry, Moon, this is not your day."
"Where have they gone!"
Moon tightly grasped the gun and aimed at Melanie's head.
"Are you going to kill a ghost?"
"What happened in there?!" Lucius trembled as the group entered Melanie's boudoir.
"This house is haunted, in summary," Bradley explained in his own way.
"Come on, we have to get to the Big Thunder Mountain mines."
"Are you crazy? The mines are dangerous. Locals say that a curse lurks within their walls, a spirit known as the Thunderbird."
"If we don't go to those mines, these spirits will be trapped for eternity by that Phantom!"
"Wait… The Phantom is real?! Then we have to leave!"
"No, we have to help them! I need the stor… I mean, they need our help!"
Lucius fell silent for a moment.
"I guess I can't let you venture into the mines alone, unfortunately… Lucky for you, I've studied them."
"I'm not going to try to convince you anymore, you're stubborn," protested Bradley.