Have you ever wished you could live in a place where it’s always Christmas? That’s what it’s like for the country of Carolmire far up north. For them, every month is Christmas season. They work really hard to get all the work done the aliens demand of them so in the last week of every month they stay mostly in their homes and celebrate Christmas all week long. But the people don’t live in this place by choice…
Have you ever been told you’re too loud or too energetic or too positive? That’s why these people were sent to the coldest place in DarkCorner Land. The aliens watch them, so they don’t escape, because they want them punished and separated from the rest of the world, but is that the real reason? There’s an intriguing mystery to be solved in this land. There is a mysterious lady singing, but no one can figure out where the music is coming from, and no one knows who’s singing. The aliens are trying to find the music, but it’s bizarre that they’re not using all the resources they have to find it. Can you solve the mystery? Check out the post coming up called: MYSTERY OF THE SECRET SINGER OF CAROLMIRE: PART ONE The aliens and dark spirits aren’t the only ones looking for her. Cade and Blake will be working in the shadows trying to track her down and figure out how her music is so elusive. But they are in danger of getting captured and suffering the same fate as the people of Carolmire, having to work long, tough nights in the dark, cold mines. They’re determined to outsmart them and find the singer. Get ready for an adventure. Can you figure out who the singer is?
Carolmire has a secret light that shines even in the deepest, coldest dark of the far north. No one understands how this light still shines, including the aliens. There is a prophecy that offers some clues to the mystery of who the secret singer is. Here is a description of the five ladies who could possibly be the one. One of them is definitely the secret singer. Check out their descriptions, then read the prophecy for clues. But you’ll probably have to go to Carolmire with Cade and Blake to see the clues really come to light…
Amy Carashine: She has long, shiny gold hair, with a bright face. She built a twisting slide with various lights that flash different colours as you pass through. It’s really fast. She’s always cheerful, whistling various Christmas songs at a really fast pace.
Annie Carabright: She has somewhat curly, brown hair with a mysterious, but hopeful face. She works at the music shop, always playing the piano and singing like an angel. She is always cleaning the lights, making them each shine with the same dazzling brightness.
Carol Coreshine: She has short dark hair and is quite stern. She can be pretty moody, you just never quite know what you’re going to get with her. She is crazy about lights. She makes all kinds of candles of all types, colours, and smells, and she is always adding more and more to the center park of Carolmire.
Cadie Corayhope: She has curly, dark hair and has a hopeful face. She pretty much sings as she talks. She works at the candy shop, and is always coming up with new, creative kinds of candy that she reveals by hiding them in the store and slowly lighting various parts of the store until people see it.
Mary Coralight: She has slick, black hair. She is really quiet and calm, but sings really strong. She works at the library. She’s either reading at her desk, or singing quietly in a high balcony, or just quietly walking up and down the rows.
CAROLMIRE LIGHTS PROPHECY
There is a dark secret, revealed by the two Look to the light that shines to see who The key will be to watch for when they meet Then you will see who’s singing, from the street The colours blend together in the dark night Only in the stillness can you take in the sight Lights blur past you in a brilliant haze They remind us of the glorious days We hear mysterious music coming from inside The lights shine so bright for them to hide A dark secret is hiding in the corner on the floor Follow the rhythmic lights to find the door Secrets hide deep in the pages of our dreams But the way through is by the reflection streams Deep in the pool the light shows bright Look up to see the one shining in the night
The last Christmas Cade spent with his parents, something mysterious happened. The night before Christmas he noticed two of the three bright gold candles they always placed at the top of the tree (by him finding some way to climb up and put them there) were missing. He didn’t think much about it at the time, and he’s regretted it ever since. Was it a warning? Did the two missing candles represent his two parents leaving him? Was it a test? Did he fail? Was he supposed to figure out the meaning? Was he supposed to ask them about it? Are they missing somewhere in his home? Do they hold some secret? What do you think? Do you think they were leaving some kind of clue for him? Leave a comment below. This is why Cade hates seeing Christmas trees, because he wonders, what did he miss?
You have to be careful if you are going to enter Cade’s home during the Christmas season. Cade doesn’t do well with fire, and he goes way overboard every Christmas setting up Christmas lights around the home and especially in his room. They don’t have electricity so they don’t have Christmas lights like we do, and oddly enough he would probably be better off with that because it wouldn’t involve fire, but they use different kinds of candles to light up for Christmas. Cade likes using green, blue, and red candles to give off bright glowing lights everywhere. The problem is, he puts them everywhere; on the shelves, windows, hanging from the ceiling, on the floor, even on his bed. Cade is pretty shaky when lighting them up, and usually drops the match every tenth candle or so. The good news is he does carry a spray can of water with him so he can put out the small fires he starts everywhere.
When Cade’s parents were still around they didn’t get into Christmas that much, but they let him put up the candles around the home as long as it didn’t get too crazy. He realized his mom didn’t like the lights too much because he kept seeing her blowing out a few candles in the midst of the bright colourful glow.
Cade likes Christmas and Christmas songs, but for some reason, and no one knows why, he hates any Christmas song with bells in it. He does the same thing every time. When the song starts, and bells start, he lets out a really long sigh, closes his eyes, and shakes his head. Then he kind of whispers to himself for awhile. It’s a mystery why he hates these songs. He just hates the sound of the bells, but no one knows why.
Every Christmas Eve Cade’s favorite tradition was climbing a small mountain outside the City of Dayces Cameron. From the top he could see the way the Christmas lights flicker and dance in the bright, hopeful music the citizens sing from their boats along the water channels reflecting the dancing lights that seem to form shapes of dancing citizens. It’s a tough climb, usually under heavy snow. Cade has a really complicated technique for climbing under such slippery conditions, this will be hard to understand, but here it is, in his own words: “Just go fast.” He then basically slides down the long twisted slope on the way down. He won’t be climbing this mountain this Christmas, because if he did, he would not see any lights or hear any music. All he would see is his city and home in complete ruins under silent darkness.
When Cade’s mom and dad were still around, they would take a walk into the city a week before Christmas for Cashes Dade’s early Christmas celebration. They have a bunch of small shops set up in the center of the city, which is set up with many small, narrow water channels cutting through the center court, as the people go through on small boats. The people sell all kinds of Christmas candy, cookies, and other Christmas themed gifts, and they sing Christmas songs which sometimes involve bells. Cade usually plays a game of hide and seek with the other kids, hopping from boat to boat, trying to hide in the craziest places. Usually his parents didn’t seem to pay much attention to it, but one time when he decided to hide on the roof of one of the shops, while lighting all the candles on the rooftop with an extra powder that made them really bright, and more likely to start a fire, his parents scolded him about hiding there. They told him, “Those lights were too bright…”
The fight continues. If you haven’t already, check out the mystery series: THE CASHES DADE GHOST STRIKERS Click on the page BUY THE BOOKS to find more information about the books and how to get them. It’s time to really begin the fight. It’s time for the aliens to hear from the students like Cade who have been ignored for so long. It’s time for their arrogance to come crashing down. The mysteries continue in the next book called: MYSTERY OF THE BLOODY FRIDAY SPY The time is now to get involved in the DadeStar Revolution against the aliens. It’s about to get really intense as Cade, Blake, and Drew are about to get involved in a much more dangerous mission. Check out the page THE DADESTAR REVOLUTION to join the fight and see if you can find the clues in the Canndaze Prophecy for how to defeat the aliens. It will take great creativity and determination to win this fight. Do you have what it takes?
The aliens have Cashes Dade surrounded in the mountains. Coming up in this post will be a prophecy that offers a clue for how Cashes Dade can win this current fight against the aliens and break out of their trap to find a secret place where they can build an army to drive the aliens off the planet. Can you find the clue? The answer will be where the aliens don’t want you to look. Leave a comment below if you think you know which line offers the clue. The answer will be revealed in the next Character Fun Facts post. Get ready for another two-part short story featuring another mystery in the Christmas city of Carolmire. Can you figure it out? The aliens have gone far enough. They’ve taken so much from Cade already, and they haven’t allowed students like him to share how they feel about what the aliens have done, but soon enough they’re going to hear from him, and they have no idea what they’re in for…
DAYERCRAY PROPHECY
At first only one will challenge the enemy from the sky They tell us they’re here to help us reach so high They will point to the sky and show us their lights This will be their claim that they’re reached great heights There is a dark secret yet to be revealed Look to the ones who can’t be healed The kids’ enemies will not just be the alien elite They must find the one who wants the seat The real fight will come from within He must not seek the grand vision The rebel students are in for a fight from all sides They will need great stealth to find where he hides The aliens’ star rises high and fast in this age But their light only shines behind the curtain on stage There is a darkness that lurks in the far hallway But you won’t know who they are in the day The answer will be revealed in their face They can’t seem to find enough space…
A ghost sang out a slow flowing melody with no words. His song was tragic, slowly rising, rising, then falling hard every time. Cade and Blake stared intently at the massive dark orange clock set high on the empty black wall. “We found it,” said Blake high-fiving Cade. “Yeah we did,” Cade answered, nodding rhythmically. “You seriously think we’re carrying that clock out of here?” “Not anymore,” Cade answered. “I didn’t know it was this big.” “You saw the picture?” “Well yeah, but, but, I’ve never seen a clock like this before. Clocks are supposed to be small.” The kids stood right under it, gazing up at the slow ticking clock with the second hand dragging around, making the only sound in the empty room. The distant ghostly singing echoed out in hidden halls. “How we going to reach it?” Cade looked around at the dusty desks spread across the gloomy classroom, then smiled. “Cool, let’s build.” The kids dragged all the desks to the front of the class. Then they began stacking them on top in the center, then another layer on top of that, followed by a final desk in the center making a castle of desks. The tragic singing grew more clear. They worked to lift the old, worn out desk in the center up to the top of the stack.
“You think it will…” Cade jumped up on the top desk. “Hold?” “What’s the worst that could happen?” Blake asked, before giving a shaky nod to the distant floor. Cade pulled at the clock hand slowly dragging by, but couldn’t hold it back. Then he touched the different numbers he could reach. Blake started looking behind it. “Look, the hour hand isn’t moving.” “The hour hand never moves, what you talking about?” asked Blake. “Yeah it does, you just can’t see it.” “Then how you know it’s not moving?” “I can tell,” said Cade, pulling at the hour hand. It began to turn. A loud, eerie whining started up, knocking the kids back. The tragic ghostly singing suddenly stopped cold. “What is that?” “I think this must be it, the key, the hour hand is the key,” Cade said excitedly, “the key to the treasure.” “There’s no treasure,” a quiet, solemn voice answered. The kids spun around to see a frail ghost lit up in a soft green haze. “I’ve been stuck here in this cold, empty underground classroom for years.” Cade and Blake exchanged anxious looks. “You see, when you become a ghost, you can find yourself in a cold, dark empty place that you can’t escape. Every day I just sit on the bare floor and stare at the cracks in the walls. I try to picture something cool happening, something I can remember, but I can’t see anything. All I see is the dark orange clock ticking, hour after hour goes by, and nothing changes, no one visits, and I have nowhere to go.” “We’re here now,” said Cade. “That’s right,” said Blake with an energetic smile. “There is a mystery,” the ghost continued, “some way out to a better place for me where I can be free, but I can’t figure it out.” “We can,” Cade answered confidently. “That’s why you invited us,” Blake added. “What are you talking about?” the ghost asked. “You invited us here,” said Cade, “that’s what the other ghost said, the one with the mop.” Eerie whining grew louder from the slow ticking clock. “I haven’t seen him in years. He never talks to me. How would I have invited you?” Cade pulled out a small black book and opened the page to the picture of the dark orange clock. Then the ghost pointed to a blacked out section in the center of the page. “See this? The one who invited you didn’t want you to see this.” “See what?” asked Blake. Then the ghost pointed to the old, worn out desk where writing in soft green glowing letters appeared:
Someday the students will be called by the clock To find the dingy classroom closed by a heavy lock The young student failed in the art school He tried too much, to make everyone else a fool But one day he will return, to finish what he begun He cannot escape, nor can anyone else, until it’s done The way through is revealed by the name Lustaray Fight through the heavy confusion to see one way If you try to see the light all at once, you will fail Go through the center and you will prevail They all want to shine like a brilliant light This is where you will find the way that’s right But lights only shine in the dark night…
Eerie whining grew louder as Cade quickly wrote down the prophecy. Just then the ghostly singing started up again, echoing in a slow driving rhythm with a steady booming around the room. The kids turned to see the dark orange clock flashing to the rhythm. “You moved the hour hand,” the ghost answered quietly. “That’s why he invited you. He knew you would look for the secret in the clock.” “What is the secret?” asked Cade. “There’s a way to lock down the entire school. It was put in place so a dark enemy wouldn’t be able to enter, but no one can leave either, not even the ghosts. The ghost with the mop is the one who invited you here, because he doesn’t want to find a way out. The way the lockdown begins is by moving the hour hand.” A twisted-confused look came across Cade’s face. “It’s locked down now?” he asked. “It’s in the process, but it takes time,” the ghost answered. “Why did he need us?” asked Blake. “Because he’s a ghost, too weak to move it, but you can, and he knew kids like you would try it, to find the secret.” “He’s going to do everything he can to block your way.” “We need to get moving,” said Blake. “How much time until the lockdown is final?” asked Cade. “You have one hour.” The kids turned back to the prophecy, reading it over as the ghostly singing grew stronger around them. “There’s a way out in this room,” said Cade, talking fast. “What have…” He turned to the ghost but he was gone. Blake looked around at the empty dark room lit by the flashing dark orange. Then he moved over to the walls feeling the cracks. Cade started looking around the floor. Tragic singing rocked the walls. Blake glanced at the clock showing 11:10. “We have until midnight.” Cade started shaking. “What if we get trapped here? We’ll never…” “Cade, we’ll figure it out. Trust me.” Cade shook his head. With an intense gaze, Blake repeated, “Trust me. It’s us. We can find our way out of anything.” Cade slowly nodded. “Let’s go then.” The ghostly voice sang slower and slower, his voice slurring, the tragic flowing melody blurring together. Cade walked up and down the floor, staring close at the dark marble. Long dark shadows stretched right down the center from the dark orange light from the Lustaray Clock, flickering to the ghost song. He began crawling across the cold floor feeling the numerous cracks and scratches throughout. Blake started pounding at various points on the wall. Then he began launching himself at the wall. Cade turned and watched with a perplexed gaze. “This may be a dumb question, but…” “I’m just trying to find the trap door or whatever.” “Who says there’s a trap door?” “I didn’t say there was one…” “There probably isn’t.” “Well we have to try something.” Cade shrugged, then started crawling up the floor to the left of the long dark shadows stretching across the rugged crack in the floor, bouncing to the tragic song. Just then the lights went out. The ticking stopped, and the singing went quiet. “Blake, you there?” “Yeah.” Just then the sky appeared as flickering dark orange moonlight spilled through the rushing clouds. The kids looked around at the narrow valley between the mountains where the School of the Arts set nudged in the corner. The air remained completely still in the silence over the valley. “We did it!” said Cade, walking over to Blake. “We made it out.” “I don’t know what we did,” said Blake with a shrug. “I guess we’re that good.” “We made it out like that,” said Cade making a fast clapping motion. The kids started walking up the valley, celebrating. “I still don’t know what we did,” said Blake. “Yeah, that was easy.” “Too easy.” “Blake, hold up, hold up,” said Cade, taking the prophecy out of his pocket. He held it up under the passing moonlight. “Fight through the heavy confusion,” he added quietly. “We’re not out.” The kids looked around at the dreamy scene. “Get back to where we were standing.” Blake pulled out his pocketwatch as they made their way back to the field: 11:23. “What’s the clue about Lustaray?” asked Cade. “It’s in the center,” said Blake. “Look, look, there’s the word, star, in the center.” “That must be the key. So we have it, look for the star. But there was no star, so…” Cade knelt down with eyes closed tight, whispering to himself. Blake read through the lines over and over again in the silent night. After several long minutes, Cade jumped back up. Blake looked at him with a questioning look. “I got nothing,” said Cade. “Look at this,” said Blake pointing to the last three lines. “I think this is it.” “The dark way.” “What does that have to do with a star?” “Stars only shine at night,” said Cade with a shrug. “What would be the dark way in the classroom?” “Down the center? I don’t know. It would have to be, well, down the center I guess.” “How we going to find it out here?” asked Blake. “Look for clues, things that look like the classroom,” said Cade. They looked around at the field under tall, wild grass. Flickering dark orange moonlight splashed through the rough dark clouds. The kids started pacing around the slow building slope. Long, flickering rays of moonlight stretched out across the field. “Blake, you remember the grass being this tall out here?” “No. Why?” “There has to be a reason, to confuse us…” “To hide the ground,” Blake said excitedly. He started crawling along the cold ground. Cade got down then said, “It looks and feels like the floor,” he said, moving his hand over the cold ground with various cracks running through. “It has to be in the floor then,” said Blake. “In the darkest part, down the center.” Cade looked around at the passing shadows stretching past the long flickering moonlight rays. Then he glanced back up at the dark orange flashing moon before a smile slowly crept across his face. With eyes lit he said, “Let’s get out of here.” The kids worked their way into the long flickering moonlight rays. They crawled along until they felt a large crack in the ground. Darkness fell over them. Tragic, ghostly singing began from the heavy dark center of the dark waves flowing out to the left and the right. A grand auditorium appeared, dimly lit by dark orange lantern lights from high balconies. Dark ghosts sit waiting in the shadows. Cade shot a mixed-half anxious expression at the seats each displaying a different green glowing ghostly face. “What we do now?” Blake whispered. “We find the way out of here,” answered Cade. Blake glanced at his pocketwatch: 11:41. “It better be fast.” Just then the ghost with the mop appeared in a high balcony over the stage, singing the tragic song ringing out across the entire auditorium. He reached up and turned one of the lights. Cade watched as suddenly every light momentarily went out from the top, one by one, to the bottom. Just then blood red curtains flew in from both sides, flowing out to the left and the right across the stage, clashing at the center. “So what’s the way out?” asked Blake. Cade turned to him with eyes lit bright under the dark orange lights. “You already know. Let’s get there.” Just then green ghosts appeared at the ends of every aisle and across the stage. “They’re blocking our way to the stage,” said Cade. Blake crawled over the seat to the row below, with the back folding down over the chair. “How are we getting past them?” Cade asked, crawling over the seat to where Blake was. He shook his head. “Why aren’t they coming after us?” “They don’t want to close in too much and leave a space we can break through.” Cade started playing with the seats, flopping the back up and down. “Cade, this is no time for playing.” He sighed, looking at his pocketwatch: 11:47. Cade pushed it down, it came back up fast. He pushed it down harder, it came back up faster. Blake sighed again, shaking his head. Just then the ghosts began singing out the slow, tragic song, the eerie, twisted notes bouncing up and down, then falling swiftly in the dark orange flickering auditorium. Suddenly, the auditorium began slowly stretching out, further and further away. The kids turned to each other with panicked expressions. “What we do now?” asked Blake. “How we getting to the stage in time?” Cade started pushing the seat back up and down again. “Come on, Cade.” Cade looked up at the flickering dark orange lights, then smiled. “Ready to go surfing?” “What?” Then Cade whispered to Blake. Blake smiled brightly. “Let’s move.” He glanced at his pocketwatch: 11:54. The ghosts sang louder and faster around them. “On three, one, two, THREE!” Cade turned the two seats in front of them, then they jumped down on the backs, sliding down as every chair down the row fell forward. The kids surfed fast down the slowly expanding rows toward the distant stage. Ghosts rushed down the side aisles toward the stage, gathering in a crowd. The sad ghost began singing in a really slow, slurred deep voice; “I’m never going home again.” “I’m never going home again.” “I’m never going home again.” “I’m never going home again.” “I’m never going home again.” “I’m never going home again.” “I’m never going home again.” Blake checked his pocketwatch: 11:57. The stage drew closer and closer. Just then ghosts rushed in from both sides down the final aisles. The kids jumped off. “Follow my lead,” said Cade who then dove down into the next aisle. He pushed several chairs down ahead, then waited. Blurry green ghosts closed in on all sides. Blake looked at him with raised eyes. Cade motioned for them to hold. Blake pointed to the time: 11:59. Cade silently counted; one, two, three. “NOW!” Cade and Blake exploded out to the left, pushing past the stunned ghosts. They circled around them, jumped up on stage, then sprinted for the break between the two red curtains. Darkness fell over them, then the valley appeared under dark orange moonlight, lighting up the old School of the Arts. “Are we really out?” asked Blake. Cade looked down at the short dark green grassy field and smiled. “We’re free.”
When you explore the gloomy valley on an October night, where the haunted School of the Arts still stands, a place Cade and Blake have been to several times before, because they were intrigued by the story of the Lustaray Clock and it’s deep secret, or so they thought. But that’s not the real reason they ended up there. It wasn’t by chance they found the book that told of the secret of the Lustaray Clock, haunted by the old ghost who can’t find his way out. They were invited, but it’s not exactly a friendly invitation. Will they figure out the secret, the real secret? Will they have what it takes to find their way out? Because some students never did. Even as you enter the valley, you might get lost in the deep underground classrooms…
The massive hidden clock ticks in a slow rhythm. The clock hand drags around and around, sounding like a groaning ghost, groaning because he can’t find his way out. Every tick strikes with a sharp cold chill entering in you. But the groaning just goes around and around in the empty, stretching dark. Every step you take in the never ending hallway made of black dusty marble barely lit by wide-spaced dark orange lit lanterns. The lights flicker to the rhythm of the clock ticking from all sides. Inside a classroom, several ghost students sit listening to the teacher, with a low voice, talking incredibly slowly, his words slurring together. The kids just sit there completely still, staring straight ahead with emtpy expressions. As he writes various math equations he keeps repeating the same phrase over and over in a deep, slow, slurring voice: “I’m never going home again.” “I’m never going home again.”
The lesson never ends. The students have to answer a complicated essay question. If they get it right, it might finally be time to move on to the next lesson, but it never is. There’s always another question. They can’t leave their desk. They can’t leave the classroom with bare, dingy walls barely lit by gloomy green lights, that slowly grow dim, then slowly grow bright, then slowly back to dim, over and over and over. There are no windows. There is some answer to the questions that can lead them to become free, but they can’t figure it out. That’s because it’s not really about the questions, it’s about why they are there in the first place…
The never-ending hallway runs between the rows of classrooms holding students prisoner. The only ghost you see in the hallway is the one who mops the floors. He mops in slow, sweeping strokes, moving slowly up the hall. He stops from time to time, to check his mopping, scanning the floor with his sunken, empty dark eyes. Usually, he goes back to re-mop the floor, with even slower strokes. Sometimes you can barely see him, in flickering green light. Sometimes he stops to listen to what’s happening in the classrooms. There’s a mysterious moment that happens every once in awhile, when he’s listening to one of the lessons, to the students’ response, in a critical lesson or project. He sets the mop to the side, and slowly claps quietly to himself, pacing, pacing, but with a faint smile that only lasts for a moment, then while still clapping, he has a sad, anxious look on his face, before quickly getting back to his mopping the glossy floor running directly down the center of the underground…
In another classroom, a lonely student sits in one of the desks. There’s no one else there, but him. He stares at the high grand stained-glass windows with pale shafts of light that fade quickly in the dark classroom. He reads the same book, over and over again, sometimes getting up to pace around the classroom. Sometimes he draws pictures on the board, but he keeps trying to make them better, adding more and more to them until it gets to be a big mess and he erases the entire picture in frustration. He paces around, glowing in a slow green fire. He has a sad, hopeless gaze that always looks down. He always goes back to that book, reading it, studying it, trying to find the answer. He just can’t figure it out. It’s a small, colourful book, that doesn’t seem to have much to it. But no one knows what’s in it, or why he studies it, but they know what he’s trying to figure out…
Gloomy shadows reach out like long, twisted fingers, as the lonely ghost groans on and on, going around and around in the dark orange dead light. The time never stops. The sad, quiet ghost creeps along the hallway. He stops and stares through the door, directly at the student, but he never says anything. Once in awhile, the ghost students pass through the hall. The student calls out to them, talks to them, and asks them questions, but they never respond. Can they hear him? He’s not sure. He goes back to his study, trying to find the answer. He tries to figure out why that student was so popular. He wonders if there are any students who could ever help him figure out the mystery he can’t solve. Why didn’t they like him? Why didn’t he have any friends? What did he need to do? Why can’t they see him? Even when he was alive, he felt like a ghost…
Cade Mayson doesn’t get to plan the Cashes Dade school’s Halloween Party for the elementary students anymore. The aliens destroyed their school and the entire kingdom while the citizens are now hiding out in the mountains, but that has nothing to do with it. Cade was fired from the planning committee well before that because of his crazy ideas. Many of his crazy ideas were shot down in the meetings, but he still tried to work some of them in to the party. Here’s what happened:
Early on during the Halloween Party, the kids were hanging out, some dancing to the scary music playing from the band in the large auditorium of the school dimly lit by dark orange chandelier lights hanging from a high dome and along the circular walls. A cake was brought it, with glittering neon green-lit candles throughout, designed like a castle. At first, it looked like what they expected, until more candles lit up revealing a ridiculously tall cake rising well over 30 feet tall. Several kids gasped, while several others whispered, “Oh no.” The cake was supposed to be large, but not this large. It looked amazing, but it wasn’t supposed to be that tall, because it was leaning, and wobbling, as the students carrying it took one shaky step after another down the staircase trying to get the heavy cake to the stage, then it happened, but it didn’t fall, it got too close to one of the chandeliers and caught on fire.
If only that was the only thing that caught on fire that night. Cade had another idea. He wanted to conduct a scary light show. He had a small cannon that could shoot out a dark powder that would put lights out. His plan was to shoot at the high chandeliers and put out the high lights so it would get really dark, then he had these special candles he was going to light up and I guess dance around with them in the balconies. They leave streaks and impressions in the air so it can look cool. The problem was, Cade didn’t do much research about the powders when he bought it at the store, in fact he didn’t do any research. He doesn’t like research. He could have asked Ben Caldade, another student in the party planning who knew how they all worked and it might have worked out right, but he didn’t. He “thought” it was the right one. It wasn’t. It was an explosive powder. Luckily he missed the lights and it fell to the floor and hit with a bang, but shockingly he didn’t get that it was the wrong powder so he tried it several more times until he hit one of the lights. It exploded, fell to the floor, and started a small fire in the seats that had to be put out. You’d think that was the last time something would be caught on fire that night, but you’d be wrong…
One of Cade’s favorite things about Halloween is trying to scare people. Sometimes he tries to get a student to think they have to go to the school basement to get something. He’ll put out the lights and dress up as a ghost or some kind of zombie and creep up silently behind them, then just be standing there with a creepy smile on his face. Sometimes he just hides in the craziest places to jump out at just the right time. For this party though, he had a more elaborate plan, and of course, it involved fire.
For weeks Cade made his “ghost” at home. He tried to make it look as realistic as possible, whatever that means. He made sure no one would see it until that night. He hung it on a string from the balcony. Near midnight, he got ready to release it, but it couldn’t just fly across the auditorium, it needed to be on fire. So he lit it up and let it fly. The kids watched in disbelief, knowing who was behind this bizarre looking ghost on fire as it fell, and hit the seats, and started them on fire.
At midnight, Cade was with the other students in the auditorium, under close watch, when in a sudden chilling rush, all the lights went out. Loud, heavy ticking echoed throughout the auditorium, the ticking of a massive clock, ticking slowly, with the clock hand dragging, dragging around and around.
Some of the students looked at him in shocked, disbelief.
“You can’t blame this one on me,” he said gazing up curiously. The clock ticked on and on and on in the chilling dark waves through the silent auditorium carrying only the dead clicks and tragic dragging of the clock hand, going circling around and around, always missing what’s right there in front of them. Then a fiery green ghost appeared in the center aisle, holding a mop. He began mopping the floor in slow, dragging strokes. He had a rough face with sunken, dark eyes. All of the students moved back toward the wall, trying to hide in the shadows, except Cade. He just stood still, staring directly at the old ghost, swishing his mop slowly back and forth. After several long moments he looked up, gazing directly at Cade and said in a rough voice, “You don’t realize where you’re going. I know your fate. I know your fate.” “What…what are you talking about?” Cade barely got the words out. Struggling to meet his gaze he asked, “What is my fate?” “You’re looking at it…”
The minute hand ticked with a dead echo, the sound dying fast into the blood red night. Flickering red moonlight splashed over Cade’s short dark hair falling low over his intense gaze.
“You ready?” Cade asked.
“Let’s go,” Blake answered, running his hand through his short, choppy blonde hair. Cade slowly broke a smile as the two kids slowly opened the old, creaking gate, glowing like a soft orange fire. The dark orange lit up School of the Arts appeared ahead past the heavy, twisted gardens full of large green and blue leaves spiraled around. The second hand groaned slowly, echoing through the empty air, groaning slowly around and around as the two 12 year olds crept up the dark orange glowing brick path narrowly cutting through the garden.
Just then black figures flashed across the sky overhead. The kids ducked down, crawling ahead in the deep shadows. A chilling wind pushed down on them. The image of the dark orange clock appeared. The minute hand left a burning orange glow. The second hand blazed across the clock face with empty darkness between them. The ghost cried out across the sky. The kids looked up to find themselves inside the garden room of the school, locked inside…
We’ll get back inside the School of the Arts in a moment. The mystery to solve is how can they get to the Lustaray Clock, and how can they escape? What’s the secret of the Lustaray Clock? Knowing that answer will be a strong clue for how to escape this haunted school. Can you figure it out? Check out the post called:
DARKCORNER LAND FEATURE: WHO IS THE LUSTARAY CLOCK GHOST?
This post will give you a description of the School of the Arts which will offer clues to the mystery. Check out the prophecy at the end which offers the key clues to finding the answer for the mystery. Click on this link to check it out:
Let’s get back to the story, but be prepared, you might not escape…
The kids gazed up at the massively high marble black walls in the gigantic room, dimly lit by numerous dark orange candles hanging from the trees throughout the hall.
“How did we get in here?” Blake whispered. Cade just flashed him a wide-eyed, confused expression. The dead hands ticked on and on and on.
“Over here,” Cade whispered, ducking into a narrow, twisted path between dark twisted green trees called Deyvas. Chilling winds whistled through the glittering green leaves, barely lit by the dark orange candles hanging from the twisted branches curling around.
“What?” asked Blake.
“I said, ‘over here,'” answered Cade. The minute hand pounded against the wall on all sides, dying into the chilling silence.
“No, I heard that.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Because you said something after that.” The tragic groaning circled back around, never ending, never finding relief.
“Maybe I said something clever about the trees.”
“Did you?”
“I don’t know.” The deyvas closed in, falling down over the path ahead. “Back up slowly.”
“That’s what you said?”
“No, that’s what I’m saying now.” The distant ghost groaned through the massive dark chamber with the turning second hand.
“How do you not know what you said?”
“I don’t know. You remember everything you’ve ever said?”
“In the last thirty seconds? Yeah.” Dead whispers shot out from the high balconies holding more Deyvas, hanging far over the edge with long candles pulling them low over the black marble floor. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah, it’s them,” Cade answered in a low voice. Heavy trees closed in. Candles lit up just ahead of them. The ghost cried out again in a voice searching in the dark. The kids found a narrow path cutting ahead where more whispers went back and forth. The clock groaned louder around them. Two long dark pools appeared ahead, reflecting the flickering candle lights with a single round table between them. The kids slowly crept ahead. Just then the dark orange clock appeared high above them.
“We found it,” said Blake as the kids gazed up at the clock groaning louder and louder around them. A chilling wind rushed down through the dark twisted gardens. Most of the candle lights went out. Whispers grew louder around them. The kids pushed ahead as the branches closed in.
“Stay focused on it,” said Cade, “stay focused on it.” The clock grew brighter and brighter, burning in a dark orange fire until all around them went completely dark.
“What’s going on?” Blake whispered.
“I’m not sure.” Just then eerie, sour sounding fiddle music started up around them with a cheerful but off-key melody. Green glowing ghosts began to appear, dancing in swift, sharp motions ahead of them, stretching far to the left and right seemingly endless. The kids backed up against the cold dark wall. The hidden clock ticked quietly with distant dead echoes. “I think we’re farther away.” Cade nodded strongly.
“Let’s get past them,” said Cade. The kids jogged along the wall, staring down at the designs of twisted ghostly faces, hiding from incredibly tall people looking down at them from high towers, gazing down from the balconies. Dark orange crystal chandeliers floated around in the murky dark air high above the dancing ghosts. Blake gazed out at the many complicated scenes of politcal debates and battles across the black marble floor barely lit by the dingy lights flickering to the fast, stumbling rhythm of the floating music. After several minutes the floor turned dark before complicated designs of dances and games spread out across the floor under the dancing ghosts.
A bright green ghost appeared suddenly directly ahead, mopping the floor. He held out his hand, letting go of the mop as it froze in place. His rugged face turned on them. The kids spun around and flew back down the wall.
“Should we cut across the floor?” whispered Blake.
“I’m not sure.” Cade glanced back. The old ghost started tapping his feet to the rhythm of the music and the mop fell back into his hands. Then he started gliding fast towards them.
“How are we getting away?”
“We have to disappear. Follow me.” Cade kept glancing at the dancing ghosts, moving in wide circles. “Now.” Blake slid across the floor as Cade disappeared. He turned right. Cade flew between two dancing circles. Blake sprinted after him, staying low to the slick floor. The kids took a sharp turn cutting between two more groups of dancing ghosts. “See?” Cade turned back momentarily, with a smile, “They’re too focused on their dance, as long as we don’t cut between them.” Blake glanced back at the empty darkness.
“He’s long gone,” he said, nodding rhythmically. The kids swerved to avoid another group then sprinted between several more groups before reaching the far wall. They turned around, leaning back against the cold wall, vibrating to the barely audible dead ticks of the distant clock. They could only see the dancing ghosts across the vast floor under the dingy floating shine. Just then the old ghost appeared again. The kids started to run, but he held out his right hand and they fell back against the wall.
“You can’t outrun me,” he said in a raspy voice as the kids struggled to move from the wall, but they were frozen in place. His eyes glowed in a dark, dead green stare.
“What do you want?” asked Cade.
“How are you going to find the Lustaray Clock?”
“Who says we’re trying to?” asked Blake.
“That’s why everyone enters here, looking for the secret clock. Everyone enters this school with big dreams, but they all turn to nightmares.”
“Who are you?” asked Cade in a low voice.
“I was a janitor here when this school was open. I died 30 years ago. I’ve been here ever since. I have to clean this entire floor tonight. They demand that this floor shines under the lights for the party.” Blake and Cade exchanged highly anxious looks.
“You do realize you don’t have to do this anymore right?” asked Blake. “I mean, you’re dead.” Cade nudged him hard in his side. “What? He is,” Blake answered as he felt the clock’s dead ticking heavier and heavier behind the wall.
“I don’t have a choice,” the old ghost answered. “I can’t get any other job. They won’t let me leave, and I don’t know how to escape.”
“But you’re…”
“Life continues on after death, it’s just a lot…quieter. We continue as spirits. They told me I have to do this job while I’m here, and I just can’t leave, but I’m not sure why. I just can’t leave. Ghosts can get stuck in different places for years and years, maybe never escape.” His sad, empty eyes turned downward as he dragged the mop slowly across the floor.
“Is there a God? Have you seen Heaven?” asked Cade, shuffling his feet across the slick floor as the eerie, sour music continued around them.
“I don’t know if God or Heaven exists,” the ghost answered, leaning heavier on his mop. His dark eyes began to reflect a slow hand turning, circling slowly around and around. “We don’t know yet.” The dancing ghosts and the dingy lights turned to a murky, gloomy glow behind him. “But I wish I could leave, but I never could, watching the students building their projects, creating new dances, creating amazing designs, I always thought I could do something like that, but every time I got started, it just got too complicated, they never wanted it, it was never good enough, never good enough…”
“They’re gone now,” said Cade. “The students are gone.”
“No,” he answered, with a crooked smile, “some are still here, still trying to finish their projects, especially him.”
“Who?” asked Cade.
“The one who is stuck in the underground classroom where the Lustaray Clock is. He was obsessed with it, couldn’t stop staring at it.”
“You mean the Lustaray Clock ghost?” asked Blake. “He was a student here?”
“That’s right, and he’s been expecting you.”
“What do you mean?” asked Cade.
“Didn’t you realize the real reason you’re here? He invited you, and it’s time, time to meet him.” Cold darkness fell over them. They couldn’t see anything. The emptiness around them was silent until they heard it…
Dead, heavy ticking of a massive clock, with the clock hand groaning as it swung around and around and around, never ending, never reaching it’s destination, just circling around and around slowly in the empty cold darkness, where time never stops, and no one ever leaves…
They say only students can hear it, the Lustaray Clock, hidden deep inside the haunted School of the Arts in Cashes Dade. Late at night, some students can hear it, especially in October. Every tick of the clock sounds like the boom of a cannon. They can hear the other clock hand dragging, dragging slowly going around and around, never ending, sounding like a tragic, ghostly wail over and over. Some students, including Cade and Blake, can also hear the ghost, the one who haunts the Lustaray Clock, the one they say is trapped inside the underground classroom where the massive clock glows dark orange in the dark classroom, set high on the black marble wall. They say there is a dark mystery, a dark secret about the Lustaray Clock. They say you can hear him groaning, groaning with a deep sadness, desperately hoping to escape, desperately hoping to lead someone to enter the school and help him find his way out, or become trapped there with him…
There’s only one way to enter the School of the Arts, through the dark front gate. It’s a confusing, dark twisted school. No one knows how to find the Lustaray Clock. But getting there is only half the mystery, getting out is even more mysterious. There is a secret to finding the clock and finding the way out, a secret the ghost desperately wants to discover. Can you figure it out? We’ll soon find out. But be warned, because the ghost is calling students, students like Cade and Blake, to the school, and you can be trapped in there with him forever if you can’t find the way out.
When you push through, you enter the front lawn covered by heavy, twisted gardens. Then you suddenly find yourself inside, in the garden room. Massive black marble walls rise up really high on all sides with numerous balconies holding twisted dark green trees called Deyvas. Their branches curl around and through eachother with glittering green leaves that whisper in the dark. They seem to grow and stretch around you, closing in on you. Two long dark pools run along the walls with a single round table between them. Large twisted, dead trees grow all throughout the floor holding dark orange-lit candles that whisper when they light up.
The reading room holds massive bookshelves full of large, dusty books. Ghosts appear, glowing in neon green fiery lights, floating up and down the shelves, picking out books, then showing up in the various fancy furniture to read them. There are many pieces of furniture, all with elaborate designs. At the center of the room are two circular couches on both sides of a slick, black chair. It’s best not to disturb them, or they will start whispering to you which might send you to the darker places of the school, where you could be trapped forever…
The ballroom floor has designs of twisted faces, hiding from incredibly tall people looking down at them from high towers, gazing down from the balconies. Dark orange crystal chandeliers float around from the murky ceiling to barely light up the green glowing ghosts dancing to the eerie, off-key music, dancing over the many complicated scenes of politcal debates and battles, and dances and games. Somewhere in the center is the design showing students learning in school. The music can be overpowering, and move you, but it can move you to places you don’t want to go…
The grand auditorium is dimly lit by dark orange lantern lights from the high balconies, where dark ghosts sit waiting to capture any who enter. Every seat displays a different green glowing ghostly face. If you make eye contact with any of them, a ghost will be after you in the dark aisles etched in an elaborate maze. Blood red curtains fly in from both sides across the stage, clashing at the center. When the ghosts begin to sing, the auditorium stretches and stretches seemingly forever, and it is really hard to find the way out…
Cade and Blake are determined to find the Lustaray Clock, which is held in the underground classroom. It’s a dark, empty room with just two rows of empty desks, casting long dark stretching shadows from the dark orange light coming only from the Lustaray Clock. This is the darkest, emptiest room ever found. You feel a heavy despair when you enter here, and a heavy confusion, especially where the crack runs across the floor under the long dark stretching shadows. A sharp, bitter chill fills the room in the complete silence except for the sound of the ticking clock, where the hour hand goes around, forever and ever, never reaching it’s destination. The ghost haunts this room, because he can’t get out, and if anyone enters, he will try to keep them from ever getting out as well…
Someday the students will be called by the clock To find the dingy classroom closed by a heavy lock The young student failed in the art school He tried too much, to make everyone else a fool But one day he will return, to finish what he begun He cannot escape, nor can anyone else, until it’s done The way through is revealed by the name Lustaray Fight through the heavy confusion to see one way If you try to see the light all at once, you will fail Go through the center and you will prevail They all want to shine like a brilliant light This is where you will find the way that’s right But lights only shine in the dark night…
Cade Mayson is constantly disappearing, and reappearing, though many times he will reappear far, far away, and you have to wonder, is he a ghost? There are different reasons why people call him a ghost. Sometimes he is just so fast, he can get from one place to another way too fast to be real. He’s also really sneaky. One of Cade’s favorite things is to quietly sneak up on someone and just all the sudden be standing there. It can be quite creepy. Cade also hides really well, then just shows up seemingly out of nowhere. He likes scaring people, and for that reason, and a few secret ones, his favorite holiday is Halloween.
Before we learn more about whether Cade is a ghost, it’s time to reveal the mystery challenge from the last post. Did you figure it out? Are you ready to find out? Where did Jake hide his gold? Here is the answer:
He hid his gold in the underground of the Kingdom of Cadendas, City of Heyvas Caradames.
Here are the key prophecy lines that offer the clues: The message of the ghost who sings opera is the key You must listen close to the bright music of all three Turning it around then following to the end is the key You’ll know you found the secret when you find the letter C In the end, the secret is best kept by the light Follow the directions to figure out what’s right…
Cade has remarkable speed, and it becomes the most mysterious in the game of tag. If you’re it, don’t try to get Cade. Everyone tries to get Cade, because no one ever has before, but it’s hopeless. One time in a game of tag in a courtyard in the city, under a fiery red evening, a kid had Cade cornered. Cade started to do his fake-out dance, and the kid got himself ready for him to make his move, thinking he would keep trying to fake one way then fly the other, but Cade just went for it, sprinting right past him. By the time the kid reached out to tag him, he was long gone on the other side of the courtyard. How does he move that fast?
One year, before the aliens invaded, the kids at school were planning the next Halloween Party, and Cade wasn’t invited, to the planning that is. He was more than welcome to the party, but he was not allowed to be in on the planning anymore because he has way too many crazy ideas, many of which got way out of control. We’ll find out more about that later. But the kids decided to have a secret planning meeting at a secret location which was the roof of the school at midnight. They had been really quiet about it and told no one. They checked every time they talked about it to make sure Cade was nowhere in sight. But when they finished their meeting on the rooftop, and got ready to leave, there was Cade, standing there smiling brightly in the flickering moonlight.
The biggest reason people think Cade is a ghost, is because he seems to appear and disappear out of nowhere, something only ghosts can do. One time on a class trip into the mountains, they were all gathered at a large lake. Several of his classmates went exploring down a long narrow valley. They thought Cade was going to join them later, but they kept looking back up the the grassy slope with no trees and didn’t see him. Several kids slipped on the slick grass on the way down the long slope, but eventually they made it to the end. The two mountains on both sides were really steep with slick black stones. When they reached the end, they glanced back again and still didn’t see him anywhere. One kid asked another if they thought Cade would try to climb the steep mountain rising in front of them. They all spun around when they heard a voice answer, “I think he would.” It was Cade. How did he get there?
Cade doesn’t just act like a ghost, he goes looking for them. Check out the next post to see if you can solve the mystery in the post titled:
MYSTERY OF THE LUSTARAY CLOCK GHOST
Read the story about the time when Cade and Blake went exploring the old school set deep in the mountains that students claim is haunted. What they find will shock them. But more importantly, will they be able to find their way out?
Cade Mayson is on a secret mission to start a revolution against the aliens. He doesn’t just want to take back his school and his country that’s been burned to the ground, he wants them off the planet, by any means necessary. There is a lot of mystery about these aliens: Who are they? Where did they come from? Why are they here? How did they get so advanced? What are those neon lights flashing rhythmically in the darkest nights? What scares them? No one seems to know the answer to any of those questions, especially the last one, except Cade…
Austin Candor will never forget the first time he attended a show at the Dascade Iris Playhouse. Bright moonlight spilled across the massive three-layered castle-like complex glowing bright blue in the chilling night. Austin is relatively short and slim with short dark brown hair that shifts slightly to the right just over part of his eyes. Though on this night he had it coloured blue. It glowed in the moonlight. His bright, energetic eyes shifted sideways as his face twisted in anxiety. He didn’t like how it was built, it looked like it was leaning and too heavy on the top like it could collapse at any moment. He’ll never forget that night, because he’ll never forget what he saw.
Floating bright gold chandelier lights floated by as Austin entered, then left, then re-entered, then left, then re-entered the first hall, just practicing his fast exit. He noticed a lot of intriguing places as he kept getting away from his mom to explore the playhouse. In this story, the mystery challenge for you to solve will be what feature of one of the playhouse rooms is the Daycoryay Prophecy talking about? A feature could be a light, a clock, a table, a tree, a window, something like that but it will be mentioned in the story below describing Austin’s adventure in the playhouse. There will be something significant about the feature described. First read the story, then check out the prophecy after to see if you can figure out what feature the prophecy is describing. The feature offers a clue about who the opera singer is and where she comes from. Leave a comment below if you have a guess. The answer will be revealed in the next Character Fun Facts post. Can you figure it out?
Austin saw the lights flicker as they passed by. He shook his head with his eyes slanting and moved faster ahead. Then he heard music playing. He walked along the wall, running his hand along the smooth crystal blue, just making sure it was solid, and found a large rounded door, glowing with a burning blue light. It had a picture of a face with only eyes glowing bright green. Austin stared at the face, then looked away, then turned back, then looked away, started to open the door, then turned back, just making sure the ghost face wasn’t watching him. Finally he pushed into a massive dining room. The floor was made of blue and white dazzling tiles. Flickering moonlight spilled through the gigantic grand blue stained glass windows. The light moved constantly across the room over a table with a fancy white cloth made with a design of dancing citizens and shiny dishes set on the table. Austin wanted to look out the window, and the table was really long, so he jumped up on a chair, rolled over the table then jumped over another chair. He was about to look out when he heard clanging behind him. He spun around fast. Forks, knives, and spoons were moving, clanging on a dazzling white plate, with a flower pattern engraved in it, in a complicated musical rhythm. Austin backed up against the window feeling the passing lights. This time he dove under the table, jumped up on a chair and launched himself to the door. He hurried out, glancing back several times at the green ghost eyes, staring directly at him.
Later on, Austin found himself in a small square room with really tall walls rising high. They all held dark, dusty books. Moonlight grew brighter shining through the sky window with a pattern of red, blue, and gold crystals. The light splashed down the walls. Various books began glowing in rhythm to low, booming music coming from the creamy blue spiral shaped pool in the center of the room. Austin glanced to make sure the door was close. The slim, tall door was still glowing with a burning gold light. He turned back to see one book showing a sword, another book showing an arrow, and another glowing book showed a city tower. But it was the ghostly singing, that led him to check out another room.
Austin slowly opened the fancy creaking door, with blank ghostly faces painted on it, glowing with a green light. Austin told the door to stay quiet, but the door didn’t listen. He crept along the wide circular wall of the massive ballroom with a marble white floor that had elaborate designs throughout. Bright flickering moonlight splashed through the rising grand stained glass windows. Just then a chilling wind rushed into the room. The windows went dark. Austin leaned back against the wall looking around sharply in the complete darkness. Then he heard it, a grand piano playing in the room, a sad song with a bright, energetic melody fighting through with sour notes. The piano lit up in a glowing blue light, floating around in the room. Austin slowly inched his way toward the door. Moonlight started streaming through each window one by one. One lit up showing a blue ghost staring down, another lit up showing a green ghost looking up, while another one lit up showing a a ghost staring ahead with fiery eyes. Just as Austin turned for the door, he saw a ghostly lady in a white dress glide across the floor and leave the room…
DAYCORYAY PROPHECY
When the lightning finally strikes the tower
When the dark hand finally points to the hour
The clock will slowly, slowly turn to reveal the time
Look for the ghosts’ plan to turn on a dime
The key will be to look at the three ways
They are the ones who don’t appear in the days
Read the revealing clues line by line by line
Make sure you see what’s missing in the shine
You will not want to miss what’s coming soon
It will strike like lightning out of a clear sky at noon
The shadow elite sit up high in their tower
They’re waiting and preparing for the darkest hour
The aliens have a secret plan no one knows about
Ghosts whisper in every corner ready for the shout
The ghost leans against the cold wall flinching at every tick
Blood red moonlight will slowly light up every brick
Students with determination and intense fire
Who find new ways to climb higher and higher
Are the ones the aliens want to shut down
Through the glittering lights of the crystal crown
But these students are the ones who found the clue
Maybe the aliens are afraid of what they can do
A lady sings hidden by the mist over the pool
She sings so her dream-like song reaches the school
She can’t be seen, but only heard in the moonlight
She only sings bright opera in the darkest night
She seems to have a message for those across the blue
