They aren’t called ghost strikers for nothing. Do you have what it takes to join them? Cade Mayson is determined to solve the mystery of how to defeat the aliens and kick them out of their school and world. Check out these posts and stories to see some clues for what power the aliens hold, and yet what might haunt them.
IS CADE MAYSON A GHOST?
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.
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 story to see if you can solve the mystery:
MYSTERY OF THE COSTARAY 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…
WHO IS THE COSTARAY CLOCK GHOST?
They say only students can hear it, the Costaray 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 Costaray 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 secret about the Costaray 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…
Cade and Blake are just crazy enough to enter this school to solve the mystery. Are you? The mystery to solve is first, how can they get to the Costaray Clock? Then, what’s the secret of the Costaray Clock to set the ghost free? Can you figure it out?
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. Then check out the story and enter with them…
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 Costaray 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 Costaray 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 Costaray 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 Costaray
Fight through the heavy confusion to see the 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
Determination cutting through shows the way that’s right
But the true light only shines in the dark night…
MYSTERY OF THE COSTARAY CLOCK GHOST: PART ONE
“THERE’S ALWAYS A WAY THROUGH”
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.
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 Costaray 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 or…?” 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 Costaray Clock is. He was obsessed with it, couldn’t stop staring at it.”
“You mean the Costaray 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…
WHY CAN’T CADE PLAN HALLOWEEN PARTIES ANYMORE?
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…”
WHAT IS THE YOUNG GHOST LOOKING FOR?
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 Costaray 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 Costaray 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 a while, 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…
MYSTERY OF THE COSTARAY CLOCK GHOST: PART TWO
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. Brilliant gold lights danced across the surface in numerous directions.
“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 five rows of dusty desks spread across the gloomy classroom, then smiled. “Cool, let’s build.” Blake pushed the desks in from the left while Cade pushed them in from the right. Then, they began picking up the desks from the back, stacking them on top in the center, then another layer on top of that.
“One more?” asked Cade. Blake nodded as he dragged several desks from the third row over the jagged crack in the black marble floor handing them to Cade to complete the desk pyramid. The tragic singing grew more clear.
“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. Then he gestured at the large cracks in the wall running along the outer edges of the clock. “See Cade? No way we’re moving that thing out of here. It’s so heavy it’s practically bringing the wall down.”
Cade looked around at the half circular cracks in the wall surrounding the clock with fast rising anxiety. “Look, the hour hand isn’t moving,” said Cade.
“The hour hand never moves, what you talking about?” asked Blake pointing to the dark orange glowing hand pointing out.
“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 Costaray
Fight through the heavy confusion to see the 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
Determination cutting through shows the way that’s right
But the true light only shines 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 away from the dark orange light from the Costaray Clock, flickering to the ghost song. He began crawling across the cold floor feeling the various 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 looked over the prophecy lines again. He read the lines, closes his eyes whispering to himself, then read them again. “It’s something about that clock, some message. It says the student tried too much, like that clock…” Cade stared at the clockface, shielding his eyes from the bright gold dancing lights. He shook his head with a blurred, slanting, falling expression that seemed to circle back around in an instant. “Determination cutting through shows the way…shows the way…” Cade shielded his eyes again, gazing at the hour hand barely moving, pointing out. Cade looked around the dark wall. “Wait a minute…” Then, he 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 Costaray?” 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. “I don’t see any stars, just the moon.”
“What would be the dark way in the classroom? What shined like the moon?”
“Maybe the clock, but those lights were so bright except…”
“The hour hand. It was pointing to the numbers on the clock. Maybe there’s a hidden number to find,” said 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 asked. “It must be something on the ground, the floor.” 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. “But there were no numbers on the floor were there? What else could the hour hand have been pointing to?”
“Something on the wall?”
“The cracks! It was pointing to the cracks.”
“It says go down the center,” said Cade. “There was a crack running down the center of the floor. I was close to it before this happened.” The kids worked their way into the long flickering dark orange shine. They crawled along until they felt a large crack in the ground running straight toward the moon. The two kids worked their way along the jagged groove until 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. Strong, dark orange light cut through the heavy dark waves, reaching out beyond the audience. A grand auditorium appeared, lit by bright flashing gold lights pulsating through doorways along the high rising walls and intense neon green candle clusters over the windows set over each balcony. Dark ghosts sat 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 pulled a rope. 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. “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,” Cade added. 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 faint dark orange light, then slowly broke a smile.
“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.”
MYSTERY OF THE GHOST IN THE MIRROR: PART ONE
“I DIDN’T SEE IT, I DIDN’T SEE IT, I DIDN’T SEE IT,” the old ghost kept shouting out in agony. Dazzling green mist crept along the crusty forest ground. The full moon stretched out behind the smooth, dark clouds in the late October night. The old ghost groaned out for a long, long time, the sound echoing out through the heavy neon green glowing forest. Dark orange light stretched out across the rough, black wall inside the front entryway. The dusty chandelier flickered on and off throwing out dark orange light over the cracked shelves. Dead, overgrown plants took over the shelves. A lady began crying in the corner. A small, shiny red painted wagon creaked along the lowest shelf between two cracked, pale green vases holding dead flowers.
Cade ran low to the ground from one towering evergreen to another, getting down behind several bushes. He stared out with a bright intensity. He slowly broke a smile. Pale shafts of moonlight lit up his short, dark spiraling hair falling low over his intense eyes. Blake shot fast across the cold ground, sliding to a stop next to Cade. His short, sandy hair glowed momentarily in the moonlight. He whispered something to Cade who shook his head. Then turning away, Blake mumbled something to himself. Both kids kept glancing back anxiously. Drew’s shadow slowly appeared. He barely crawled along the ground. Cade and Blake just shook their heads watching him moving incredibly slow. He shook his long, wild hair several times before finally reaching them. Then Cade pointed at them. The father and the mother remained still, watching the kids through the dark blue dusty window. The father held a worn out wrench, while the mother held a dusty, worn spoon. The two ghosts exchanged smiles. The father said, “They’re here.”
It’s almost time to join the kids in their mission to solve the mystery of the Haunted Maysher House. Something tragic happened there, but no one knows what. There’s a secret message the ghosts want people to discover, but the only way is to find the ghost who appears in the mirror. Can you figure out which mirror the ghost will appear in? Who will it be? The grandfather, the father, the mother, the maid, the daughter, or the son? The clues will be there. Will you be able to figure it out? The ghosts will not try to chase you out. They invited you, but until you solve the mystery, they won’t let you leave. Will you escape?
The dark blue sky turned black. The dark outlines of the trees grew still. Black clouds covered the moon. Dead leaves crunched under the kids’ shoes. The old house glowed in still murky green light. Blake reached for the door, then turned back to the other two, breaking a smile.
“Ready?”
“What do you think?” asked Drew. “What time is it?” he added, turning to Cade.
“Showtime,” he whispered with eyes lit. Blake slowly opened the silent door. Strong, bouncing dark orange light hit them as they entered the house. Chilling wind pushed them further in. Drew fell awkwardly on the black marble floor. The face of a middle-aged man appeared in the floor. He stared angrily at them. The wind knocked over several plants from the shelves behind them. The red wagon rolled across, stopping at the edge.
“Shut the door, you’re letting in a draft,” said Drew.
“What are you 85?” asked Blake. Cade turned around. The door slammed shut. A piano played a high-pitched flowing song, the same three high whistling chords over and over. “Happy now, Drew?”
“It’s still cold in here.”
“You want a blanket and some warm milk?”
“Well, a blanket and hot…”
“Quiet, quiet,” Cade whispered tensely. “Listen.” The house creaked and groaned around them. The black marble walls flashed in dark orange light flashing out from twisted chandeliers hanging high on the walls rising high. Dead whispers echoed out from the floor and walls. Shadows crept out from the black couch and black chairs set on each side of the dusty orange table holding a lamp with a dying, small flickering yellow light.
“It’s them,” Blake said in a low voice.
Cade shook his head. “No, there’s something else.” A low booming began, vibrating through the dusty, dirt covered floor. The green glowing square windows made of many smaller square panels rattled under the growing pressure. Just then, the door groaned so loud. The kids fell back and covered their ears. Then the door disappeared. Only a black wall remained. Neon green writing suddenly appeared:
THERE IS NO DOOR, NO ESCAPE, NO WAY OUT
UNLESS YOU SOLVE WHAT THE MYSTERY IS ABOUT
YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE UNLESS YOU SEE IT CLEARER
THAT IS, WHEN YOU SEE THE GHOST IN THE MIRROR
“What we do now?” asked Blake.
“Find a mirror,” said Drew with a shrug. The left chair started moving, dragging away from the wall. A faint white mist appeared. The dead yellow light flickered suddenly, then burned brighter against the black wall behind. As the kids watched, an older lady appeared, wearing a maid’s uniform. She got down and anxiously cleaned the floor where the chair was.
“Should we talk to her?” Drew whispered. The lady suddenly glided away toward the circular living room lit up by small dark orange candle clusters.
“Follow her,” said Blake.
“Stay in the shadows,” whispered Cade. They hurried into the large, empty living room. A circular thick orange carpet covered the floor. The lady got down and furiously scrubbed the carpet with a worn out rag. The dark orange candle clusters barely lit the room, not reaching the center.
“Hey, there’s a mirror,” said Blake pointing to a large, oval shaped mirror with a blue crystal border. “This is our chance.”
“If she stands up,” said Cade. The high-pitched piano chords started up again, playing slowly. A lady screamed from another part of the house. The maid just kept gliding around the carpet, cleaning with something in her hands. The distant lady began crying.
“We should check that out,” said Blake.
“No, wait until she stands up,” said Cade.
Drew sighed heavily, stood up and approached her saying loudly, “HEY LADY, CAN YOU STAND UP FOR A SECOND?” She kept gliding around in frantic circles. “CAN YOU HEAR ME?”
“She can’t hear you,” said Blake standing next to him. Fast footsteps ran above them. Loud dragging cut over the soft piano music. Finally she stood up. The kids looked to the mirror. But all they could see was the dark wall behind, even as she walked past.
“Maybe it’s not a mirror,” said Drew. Cade walked over and pointed to his reflection.
“See? See?” Then he started making funny faces, stretching his mouth in ways that didn’t seem possible.
“Okay, I get it. It’s a mirror.” A loud crash upstairs knocked them back. The kids hurried up a long, winding staircase lit by small dark orange candles. Cade and Blake hurried ahead, while Drew slid to a stop. A bouncing neon green light cut into the dark hall. Drew opened the door showing a bedroom with a massive dollhouse in the center. Numerous small green candles lit up the many different rooms of the house. Drew looked around with wide eyes, his face twisting in amazement as he scanned from room to room. One room had a bunch of slides. Another had small figurines on a dance floor. Another had small pools with a fountain flowing in the center. Another one had all kinds of tubes with colourful waters.
Then Drew turned his gaze to a young girl building a new room near the top left corner. Another loud crash shook the walls. Drew turned to see a large mirror covered with blue and red jewels. He walked up to it, straining to see the reflection not covered, but the girl did not appear.
Drew walked out of the room into the dim circular hallway. Small clusters of dark orange candles barely lit up small cracked shelves holding various flower pots. A green model wagon sat between two. A bright, shiny red horse-drawn carriage with carved horses sat between two large, towering flower pots. He passed another bedroom with small, dark orange lights along various shelves holding small objects. Loud hammering started up echoing all around him. Drew followed the sound to a massive-half oval shaped bedroom.
The bed was covered in bright, colourful blankets. The frames and headboard were black with all kinds of designs carved throughout. A man with sad, empty eyes hammered on a rocking chair in the corner. Drew saw the chair reflected in a small oval shaped mirror with a shimmering glowing green border. It was rocking, but empty all around. He turned back and saw the man hammering on it. Fast footsteps ran in the hall past the room. Drew hurried out into the hall. He saw a young boy disappear up a staircase around the corner. Drew started after him. Another heavy crash rocked the walls. All the lights went out. Total, cold darkness surrounded him. He felt along the wall, his shoes barely tapping the floor. The lady’s crying broke the silence, coming from the first floor. A strong, sharp chill rushed into the hall. Slow footsteps creaked toward him.
Drew started nervously whistling a hopeful tune. He smiled, reaching the staircase, whistling louder and faster, until he heard another voice whistling behind him. He stopped cold. Drew slowly turned around trying to see in the cold dark. The whistling voice drifted past them.
“Yeah I can.”
“No, you can’t.”
“I totally can, I totally can, you’ll see.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“It’ll be easy.”
“You’re crazy.” Drew finally saw a dim, dark orange light cut into the top of the staircase. A young boy disappeared into the top room. Drew entered a massive, wide room with high, grand blue crystal glass windows letting in passing moonlight. High winds beat against the walls. The room was full of massive evergreens holding smooth, triangular neon green glowing leaves. A small, pale bucket sat on a branch near a misty figure. Another crash turned their gazes toward the far corner where the bucket went flying high, hitting the next branch while an old man holding an axe came down a rope ladder held by the branch. He began walking the floor, gazing around at the trees with a strong, concerned gaze.
“What’s going on?” asked Drew.
“Cade’s acting crazy.”
“He’s always acting crazy.”
“No, you don’t understand, he thinks he’s climbing up there,” said Blake pointing to a high balcony with a tall, rectangular mirror. The trees had large branches spiraling around the tree to the top, each row of branches widely spaced.
“No way,” said Drew shaking his head wildly, “no way, he can’t jump that high, no way he does that, he must be joking.“
“He’s not,” said Blake. “I asked him ten times.”
“Cade, how do…where’d he go?” Blake pointed up, while shaking his head. Cade jumped on the branch and bounced up to the next one. He bounced from branch to branch, circling around the tree. Near the top, he jumped to the next branch, didn’t quite get there, grabbed the leaves, hung there for a moment, then dropped back to the lower branch.
“Well, I guess he’ll have to come down now, right?” asked Drew.
“Did you just meet Cade?” The two kids gazed up to see Cade stare up with a strong, fiery gaze, then jump and bounce up, this time almost past the next branch. A few minutes later, Cade reached the balcony. He gazed down to them with a confident smile before turning to the mirror. Just then, a lady screamed, and the place went completely dark and silent…
MYSTERY OF THE GHOST IN THE MIRROR: PART TWO
A strong, whistling cold wind blew through the complete darkness. High in the blackness a lady appeared in a white misty form flying through the air. She screamed out, the chilling sound echoing throughout. She faded, then grew brighter, then faded away again, flying fast. Blake and Drew got down low, struggling to see. Sharp whistling from high up slowly fell in a slow bouncing rhythm. An old man groaned nearby. Another man shouted out frantically.
“Should we light up?” Drew whispered.
“I don’t think so.”
“Cade’s not going to try to climb down in the dark is he?”
“I’d be surprised if he didn’t.” Fast, high-pitched piano chords pounded out, playing a slow rising song with a sound of exreme urgency. Another lady began crying close by. Her cries shook the darkness as she yelled out:
“Silence falls there, silence falls there, silence falls there. They will never be heard again. They will never move again. They are dead, they are still, they are silent…” The sour piano song played faster and faster. The floor started vibrating. The walls began booming around them. Faint dark orange lights formed cracks at the top. Then the face of the grandfather appeared in a ghostly reflection across the wall. He stared out with a burning, intense angry gaze. Sharp whistling continued to fall in the heavy chilling dark. The two kids began to make out the murky outlines of the high trees. Then the grandfather yelled out:
“IT WAS YOU! IT WAS YOU! YOU DID THIS, AND I’LL FIND YOU CADE MAYSON!”
“What we do now?” Blake whispered.
“We need to get out of here,” said Drew, “but Cade’s still up there.” The grandfather’s angry face slowly turned toward the far left wall, looking up toward the high balcony hidden in the dark. Intense, dark orange lights in the shapes of fancy candle clusters lit up throughout the trees. They appeared to float around while the sharp black trees remained completely still. “He’s going to find him,” Drew said nervously. Blake gazed up anxiously at the murky balcony. With a heavy boom the entire balcony lit up in a bright gold light. It was empty. Blake and Drew turned to each other and smiled.
“Now it’s time to light up,” said Blake. He took out a small candle and lit it up in dark blue. The two kids jogged toward the entrance. The grandfather slowly turned his gaze in their direction. “Take left, I’ll take right. NOW.” The two kids dove down. Drew crawled to the left of the doorway. Blake rolled over to the right. Then he gazed up at the dark orange lit evergreens. The dark orange light clusters blended with the neon green triangular leaves. Breaking moonlight streamed in through the massive high grand windows.
“Where is he?” Drew whispered.
“Right here.” Drew turned to see Cade laying flat on the floor next to him. The high whistling piano chords played faster and stronger, pounding through the walls.
“How do you always do that?” asked Drew.
“Answer questions?”
“No, you always just show up right when we’re looking for you.”
“I’ve been sitting here for five minutes.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything?”
“I was trying to be quiet.”
“You guys want to get out of here or keep going with your tea party?” asked Blake. Cade looked up as the grandfather’s angry gaze turned down to them.
“Where’s he at?” whispered Drew. Blake looked around with a sharp gaze. The grandfather appeared just past the trees, gliding fast toward them.
Cade calmly waved the other two in. “Blake, take the light, go fast down. Then double back, we’ll hang back on the steps let him go past.” Blake shot through the opening. Cade and Drew followed past the entryway. They slid to a stop, then crawled fast back behind the doorway. Blake’s light went out. The grandfather entered and glided fast down the steps. Then he disappeared around the corner. The lady kept crying in the distance. The flying lady cried out in a shrill voice somewhere above them. Cade waved them forward. The kids quietly worked their way down the steps.
Just then Blake popped up and joined them. Dark orange candle lights flickered to the slow, booming rhythm throughout the house.
“We weren’t having a tea party,” Cade mumbled. The high-pitched piano notes played in a slow, flowing rhythm.
“It was a joke.”
“I’ve never had a tea party in my life.”
“Where’s the kid?” Drew whispered.
“The boy or the girl?” asked Cade.
“I haven’t seen the boy at all.” The kids got down low at the second floor hallway.
“Where’d he go?” asked Drew.
“Check the first room,” Blake whispered. The kids got down low. Cade peered into the massive-half oval shaped bedroom.
The grandfather looked under the bright, colourful bed. The father carved furiously into the black frames and headboard adding to the elaborate designs.
“What are you looking for,” the father asked in a deadpan voice.
“The kid. He’s the one, I know it. He’s the one who let in the cold darkness that took him.”
“The boy’s the one who died,” Drew whispered.
“Watch him,” Blake whispered, “see if he shows up in the mirror.” Cade watched intently as the grandfather moved toward the rocking chair barely lit by a few dead orange lights. He passed the small oval shaped mirror with a shimmering glowing green border. The mirror reflected only the still rocking chair. Cade shook his head.
“Back up, back up,” Cade whispered. The kids laid low as the grandfather entered the hallway, then walked into the next bedroom.
“We’ve seen the maid and the grandfather, neither appeared in the mirror,” said Blake.
“I saw the young girl and the father already too,” said Drew. “Neither of them appeared.”
“So it’s either the son or the mother?” asked Cade.
“Why are they going to appear in a mirror?” asked Blake. The eerie, whistling piano notes crawled through the dim quiet hallway barely lit by small, flickering dark orange lights. They heard the grandfather groan as he entered the hall again. He pounded the wall with his fist. The lights faded. Then he entered the girl’s room.
“Why aren’t the others appearing in the mirrors?” asked Drew.
“Yeah, why aren’t they?” asked Blake.
“The one who is going to appear,” said Cade, talking fast, “must have done something to the mirrors so none of the others would appear so only they would show up, but not the others, you know?”
“Did you get any of that?” asked Drew.
“I think he’s saying the one who we’re looking for made it so none of the others would show up in the mirrors, but why?”
“He doesn’t want them to look in the mirrors maybe?” said Drew, throwing his hands up. The grandfather came back out of the boy’s room. He knocked the shelf off the wall. The two plants and shimmering carved black horse crashed down. The grandfather left down the steps. As the kids watched, the carved shiny black horse rose from the floor and floated into the boy’s room.
“Let’s go,” said Cade, “I think he’s the one.” The kids entered a small, dark room dimly lit by a single dusty dark orange candle on a shelf holding a few shiny carved animals. A small bed sat in the close, left corner. A small, shimmering black cabinet sat in the close, right corner. A dead plant stood in the far left corner while a small circular mirror hung in the far right corner. Breaking moonlight spilled into the room through a small, rectangular window.
“He’s in here,” Drew whispered.
“Watch the mirror,” said Blake. Cade walked over to the window and looked out at the lit up neon green forest. The grandfather walked out, then held up his hands high into the passing moonlight.
“He’s outside, the grandfather,” said Cade. The grandfather stood under a dead tree with broad, large twisted branches rising up in close together stacks showing stark black twisted shadows in the flickering moonlight.
“How are we going to see him in the mirror if we don’t know where he is?” asked Drew.
“Block the door so he can’t leave,” said Blake.
“He’s a ghost,” said Drew.
“So?”
“So you can’t block ghosts. They can just walk through.”
“No they can’t.” As Cade watched, half curious, half amused at the conversation behind him, dark ghosts emerged from the forest.
“He’s calling dark spirits,” said Cade, spinning around. “We’re out of time. They’re coming after us and we can’t escape.”
“Unless we solve the mystery,” said Drew.
“Why a mirror?” asked Blake.
“Why does anyone look in a mirror?” said Cade, “to look at themselves.”
“But he doesn’t want them to see themselves in the mirrors anymore,” said Drew.
“Maybe they didn’t pay attention to him,” said Cade in a low voice. A heavy bang came from the front door. A sharp chill entered the room. Drew glanced nervously at the window where flickering blue moonlight passed through stark black twisted shadows stacked closely together.
“They’re here,” said Blake.
“So we need to pay attention to him. That will lead us to the answer,” said Drew. Chilling whistling wind rushed into the house. All the lights went out. Cade quickly struck a small blue candle. He held it close to the shelf.
“Look at these,” he whispered. “I think he made these.”
“They’re really good,” Drew whispered. Blake walked over to the cabinet.
“I think he made this,” he said, “it looks just as good as the other things.”
“Why won’t he show up?” asked Drew, watching the mirror.
“Maybe he wants us to see everything he’s made,” said Cade. The room grew colder.
“They’re going to find us any minute now,” said Blake.
“Open that,” said Cade. “I’ll bet there are more in there.” Blake pulled the door open and the wall slid open revealing a set of shelves holding numerous shiny, colourful wagons, carriages, horses, trees, and model homes. They looked up to the top where a shimmering dark blue mirror showed a young boy appearing to be their age.
“We did it,” said Blake with a smile.
“Thanks for finding me,” said the kid.
“Why did you do this?” asked Drew.
“They never noticed me,” said the kid. “They never cared about what I made. They only cared about themselves, how they looked. They ignored me.”
“That’s why you blocked out the mirrors,” said Drew. The kid shook his head.
“I know they’ll keep looking for a mirror they will see themselves in. They’ll find this one and finally see what I made. I appear in this mirror because that’s the only way they’ll see me.” Ghostly whistles echoed throughout the house.
“How we getting out of here?” asked Blake. Cade gazed around the room, then stopped at the window. He turned to the other two, slowly breaking a smile. “I don’t want to know.”
“You think we can fly?” asked Drew.
“No, but we can climb,” said Cade pointing to the dark, twisted branches outside the window. The three kids did the ghost striker handshake, bumping fists, then quickly pulling their hands back flat making the sound, “Shhhhh.” Cade pulled the window open, and the three kids slipped out and scrambled down the closely stacked branches. The family entered the kid’s room just as Cade, Blake, and Drew disappeared into the forest. The family looked out the window. They couldn’t see the three kids, but they turned around, and finally saw the ghost in the mirror…