Spooky Short Stories of the Spiral Contest

[Celestialmoon]

Ahoy pirates!

The time has come for pumpkin carvin', eating sweets till our bellies hurt and gathering around a campfire sharing the most spooky and terrifying stories ever told!

Welcome to the 2019 Spooky Short Stories of the Spiral Contest!

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Contest Rules

• Each member is allowed only 1 entry
• Entries should be of a reasonable length...1000 words or less, but you will not be penalized for going slightly over 1000.
• Entries must be posted in this thread not to me via PM or on my profile.
• All entries must detail some sort of spooky adventure in the spiral, whether it be a scary boss fight, wandering through a haunted captain's quarters or perhaps a paranormal happening while traveling through the Haunted Skyway.

Prizes
1st Place - 25,000 Crowns + 1 Halloween Clockwork Steed Mount
2nd Place - 15,000 Crowns
3rd Place - 10,000 Crowns
4th Place - 5,000 Crowns
4 runners up - 1,000 Crowns Each



This contest will run from 10/6/2019 - 10/13/2019 ending at 11:59pm Central time.

Good luck to all participants!

[CrispyWyvern]

Once upon a time, there was a bull ronin named Kobe Yojimbo. He was coming home to the captain's quarters from a party in Avery's court. It as late at night, and Kobe was getting quite tired. Once upon a time, there was a bull ronin named Kobe Yojimbo. He was coming home to the captain's quarters from a party in Avery's court. It as late at night, and Kobe was getting quite tired.

While heading home, Kobe had a feeling that he was being followed, and every time he looked around, there was nobody there, with no noise, but didn't think much of it.

That night, Kobe kept hearing strange sounds coming from the hallway, so he decided to investigate the constant noises. Eventually, he just brushed it off and decided to go to the bathroom. Unbeknownst to him, something was lurking in there. As Kobe flipped on the light and looked at the mirror, looking back at him was a horrific visage of a grotesque, zombie-like monster, which was tall, and very skinny, where you could see its bones. It had glowing red eyes as well as a creepy large grin. Kobe couldn't believe what he was seeing and was scared, screaming off the top of his lungs and bolting out of the bathroom. The zombie thing was chasing after him, running really fast on all fours, screaming very loudly, as Kobe was screaming as well.

After what felt like hours, Gracie came out of her room, to see what the commotion was all about, and when she saw the scary zombie monster, she screamed, “WHAT IS THAT?” Kobe grabbed her arm and the two ran as fast as they could, so they could outrun it and try to find a hiding spot. They hid in a closet, hoping that whatever that monster was wouldn't find them.

It felt like hours until the screaming turned into silence, Kobe and Gracie felt relieved as that monster seemed to be gone. Then, out of nowhere, they heard a scream behind him. Scared, Kobe and Gracie screamed as well. Kobe turned on the closet light to be greeted by Subodai, laughing so hard and said, "Happy Halloween!" Kobe and Gracie were so confused. Turns out, that zombie monster turned out to be a doll that Subodai used to prank Kobe for Halloween.

The end!

I hope this wasn't too long XD
Good luck to everyone as well!

[GoldenGuardian]

Greetings Captain. Attached below are JOURNAL EXCERPTS FROM CAPTAIN SILVER DINO HAWKINS, found in battered condition. This came to us three days ago in Fort Dread. Make of it what you will Avery, but I have changed my mind and we must stop further operations and investigations into what lies below. I have sent copies to the ambassadors of other worlds and have initiated a meeting with the Spiral Union in three days. The Queen of Marleybone has graciously let us use the Eastminister Abbey as a place to discuss this important matter. I hope you join us.

Yours Sincerely,
Commander Bjorn, Grand-Admiral of Fort Dread

Journal of Captain Dino Hawkins, Year 576BG, Day 212:

“We’ve been on quite the adventure, haven’t we captain??? But I deem it unwise to descend this far so soon…”

Kane was right. It is interesting to hear words of companionship and wisdom from my once greatest rival. Five years ago I battled the resurrected King of the Armada a second time- not to defeat him, but to give him a heart. Everyone deserves to be born with a chance to do good, even seemingly soulless machines. Since that day, the great Machine War ended with peace, as mechanical marines brought joy and smiles to the homeless orphans of Marleybone and Mooshu. The armada was devoted to rebuilding and helping the spiral, at all costs…

But some costs are very heavy… it is a shame that most of the Armada is now extinct. Many machines and soldiers gave up their life to stop the guardian of El Dorado twelve full moons ago, including the famed heroes Rooke, Kastle, Bishop and Queen. On that fateful day, Napoleguin’s greed for the great treasure of El Dorado knew no bounds as he awakened the dormant golden guardian. His devotion lead to the death of the valiant. Even to this day I think of the brave heroes, and the deep sadness in my soul has not left. As for the remaining, I try to comfort them, but Kane, Deacon and Phule still struggle to understand their own emotions of grief.

And the great treasure that lay in the heart of the city of gold? Why it was a map… of Skull island. To be precise, a map of what’s well below Skull Island. How ironic that a map lead to another map, and how ironic that our journey to El Dorado has ended from where it began… in the skyways of Avery’s refuge.

In three weeks from now, we will begin Expedition Beyond, our 28th expedition below the skyways of skull island, and this will be the first time we hope to descend below Fort Dread. I am excited, but very nervous.

Journal of Captain Dino Hawkins, Year 576BG, Day 219:

Today has marked two new interesting developments before we begin Expedition Beyond.

Firstly, the Spiral Union has finally finished upgrading our fleet to handle conditions beyond Fort Dread. Our ships have been reinforced with Titanic armor imported from Aquila. Dark-Moor and Celestial mages have increased our magic resistance 10 forth. Marleybone, Krokotopia and Mooshu have combined forces to produce the most powerful cannons, mortars and sails ever built. General Gortez of Monquista has provided enough food [mainly bananas] to last us 3 months. Many adventurous pirates across the spiral have decided to brave the depths of the deep below and our numbers have increased.

Secondly, Vadima has translated some of runes on the Map using dark magic from the nightmare realm. They briefly speak of the Mordekai’s people, the extinct hammerhead race. Mordekai has now decided to join our expedition, leavinging only three class trainers to guard the Skyways above. I am excited to learn from him.

In other news, Subodai, Hawkules and Monkey king have greatly improved sparring against each other. Bonnie and Rat are at it again for the billionth time this week. We will begin our descent in five days, and hope to go beyond in two weeks.

Journal of Captain Dino Hawkins, Year 576BG, Day 224:

We are now seven hours into our descent, and Fort Dread is at least another seven away. The Blue skies of skull island are no more. Only dark grey clouds surround us. Occasionally we see shipwrecks floating in the clouds. We only needed to fight six colossal batucada who got too violent, and after our ship upgrades, we did so with ease. I am still alarmed that these fish are the size of skiffs. I wonder if there are bigger things below Fort Dread. Perhaps its best to sharpen my swashbuckling skills in case…
.
.
.
Ah, we have finally docked in Fort Dread, our final safe haven. I remember after Kane’s first defeat many moons ago, the then haywire Armada attacked Skull Island with ten massive dreadnaughts. With heavy resistance, all ten sunk below the skyways. In our sixth expedition, we found 7 of these dreadnaughts. In 1 year we managed to combine and rebuild all seven dreadnaughts into a massive base of operations and refuge, now known as Fort Dread. I will meet with the Commander of Fort Dread, Valhala Bjorn tomorrow, right now my adventurous spirit needs rest.

Journal of Captain Dino Hawkins, Year 576BG, Day 230:

“I still deem it unwise to descend, I have lost many brothers and sisters in the spirit of adventure!”

Kane made a valid point in our final meeting before departure. It was curiosity that lead to the downfall of many in El Dorado, and it could likely result in a similar scenario here.

“I understand your concern”, said a rough, grizzly voice. “But Alas, this map demands investigation. We must find out what is below us. Without this knowledge, we could be in peril”.

Commander Bjorn, the legendary Polarian Admiral, was also right. If there is something evil below, we should destroy it before it destroys us. That’s what heroes do right?? Nonetheless, the outcome has been decided. We depart Fort Dread tomorrow.

Journal of Captain Dino Hawkins, Year 576BG, Day 235:

Our descent has begun. All we see is darkness, and all we hear is silence. Only the illuminating magic of our witchdoctors guide our path. ...We hear a soft rumbling and crashing sound well below us, and I think it is getting slightly louder each hour. There is nothing more to say for now.

Journal of Captain Dino Hawkins, Year 576BG, Day 236:

“Cap’n My Cap’n, come and see below us”

Old Scratch woke me from my slumber. Nearly a hundred yards beneath our floating fleet was water. Endless water violently crashing and rising and falling in all sorts of directions, for as far as the eyed could see… It appears the expedition is at a stand still for now. I feel there is something dark and sinister about these waters, but I think perhaps I am just over reacting.

Journal of Captain Dino Hawkins, Year 576BG, Day 237:

To whom it may concern and to whoever reads this, these are the final words of Captain Dino Hawkins. All that remains is despair and death. I am the last survivor. I cannot describe the evil here, for the words of a feeble mortal simply do not do it justice. To anyone who finds this, never may you descend beyond the skyways of skull island.

[sarcasticjoseph]

Once upon a time. Nurse quinn is no longer a meme!!!

[monkeycrew]

I wrote a lil story - yes, it's based off the song. I love it.

Legend of the Ghost Riders

It was a typical evening in the small town of Cooper's Roost. Dust was gently kicking through the land, the moon flooded its light on the roads, and nobody- and absolutely nobody- was in the streets.
Wolf suddenly noticed this and did a double-take around town. Nothing looked odder than usual. Or did it? He thought he was crazy himself for thinking such a bizarre thought. He turned to his firstmate, Subodai.
"Does anything feel off to you, too?" he asked the horse.
"No, captain," Subodai replied, "but it is Halloween night, don't you know?"
Of course Wolf forgot ever since he stopped celebrating it. He never liked that feeling on October 31st when everyone acted wild and scared small kids out of their candy. But this was different. Instead of feeling resentment, he felt a scent of... adventure in the air. In the windlanes. He must check it out.
As he and his crew were just leaving into the skyway, a sheriff stopped them. It was Rooster Cogburn. He traveled with Wolf sometimes but eventually left to be sheriff again. He said to them,
"It's Halloween night, boys. Haven't you heard the legend?"
"No," Wolf said, "those are never real."
"Don't doubt superstitions," Cogburn replied, "this is about the Ghost Riders."
"Ghostriders?" Subodai asked, "Like the Poultrygeists in Pecos Skyway?"
"No. Every Halloween night they ride in on red-eyed horses and take the souls of those birds unfortunate to run into them. Then they become ghost riders themselves! They're very real; I once saw 'em with my own eyes."

Wolf shrugged and said, "Well I've been here 7 years and never saw no Rider. I'm gonna be heading out, see you sometime."
As Wolf sailed the dark, shipless skyway, he pondered the idea of running into one of these so-called ghost riders. It sounded like a real challenge to him, and that's something he'd craved more than ever. He went into Arroyo Grande Skyway - a sure place to find one.
As he docked in the canyon he was surprised to find Junction was empty as well. That must mean Tumbleweed, McMurtry, and Village as well, he thought. Surely this must be real. He was too proud to admit he was shaking in his boots a little, but Subodai knew his captain. Sure enough, they heard a winny in the distance - the riders were on their way.
Going down into the Arroyo Grande Canyon, Wolf and Subodai saw an unusual sight - especially at this hour - Black Storm bison. What he saw was very wrong; they were doing some kind of ritual, but it was off. There was a flood of green light within it, and their eyes glowed red - just like the riders on the horses. Suddenly, Wolf and his firstmate looked up - they were there!
Wolf jumped in his boots as did Subodai.
"They are here," Subodai said sternly, "Attack them!"
The riders landed from the sky in the turquoise spirit horses they were on. However, they did not seem to want to fight or take the souls of a pirate and khan. In fact, they weren't armed at all. The Black Storm bison stopped their ritual and grinned with joy that their dance succeeded in bringing these creatures down from the spirit world.
Wolf, angered and perplexed, asked them, "What the heck is going on here?"
A chief replied to the pirate, "Do not worry, young pirate and companion. They are your friends. But do not tell the claw feet of our doing. We like to bring these spirits on Halloween night and keep the tradition alive of the Ghost Riders in the Sky. This day is a tradition of many things that scare the claw feet and others. We hope you will not stops us; we do not wish to take souls but to have a laugh in the frightened. We will not hurt you, we promise."
Wolf chuckled; although he had wished for a fight, he was relieved there was no threat in his second home. Subodai had the mutual feeling as well and put down his sword.
"Thanks, guys," Wolf said, shaking the chief's hand, "and absolutely, we will keep your secret."

[maple9300]

the captain’s strange account

“I couldn’t tell dream from reality. Even now I don’t want to believe what I saw, what I thought I must’ve seen, but I remember it all too vividly.”

"...what are you saying, captain? We never left."

...

They were commissioned on an expedition to explore the new world, then dubbed Darkmoor, after its stormgate had appeared out of nowhere. For reasons unknown to them, the windstones weren’t responding, and so they could not leave the way they came—they were stranded, and marooned in this strange, unfamiliar world.

Wary of their new surroundings, the crew anchored their ship in the middle of the pitch-black skyway, and decided they’d continue their exploration in the morning—assuming morning ever existed in this world.

It was then that it happened to the captain, in the dark of the ship at night.

...

The captain worked tirelessly in his quarters, writing letters of correspondence and trying to figure out how they could leave this world. The rest of the crew remained soundly asleep in their quarters. The safety of the crew was his priority—they were all counting on him.

He was in his room all alone. It was somehow getting darker than it already was outside.

Suddenly, he heard his door open, with an unusual slowness. Its slow creaking alarmed him.

He walked over to see if one of his crew members needed something. No one was there.

...

He continued to work persistently at his desk, awaiting the moment he would finally finish.

Exhaustion began to seep in; his vision began to blur.

He then heard a door slam from outside the hallway. The loud noise startled him out of fatigue.

He listened for which of his crew were up and about, but the loud slam was followed by a deafening silence.

...

Hours of excruciating work had finally come to an end. He didn’t know enough about the world to know how they could leave—they’d have to do more investigating the next day.

He looked out the window. The black of night had thoroughly blanketed the world.

Looking to wash up before retreating to slumber, the captain got up and headed towards the door.

He closed the door on his way out. Eyes peered at him from the keyhole.

...

Now before him was the long, narrow hallway. Why did he feel suddenly tense?

It must be just the ship. It was quite old, and its constant creaking always did make him anxious.

He started down the hallway. The captain walked a few steps, until he froze in place.

A figure stood at the end of the hall.

...

Unease filled his whole body. His heart beat fast, adrenaline rushing through. It felt so loud, he feared even the figure might hear it.

It had the outline of a person, but he could not make out any of its features. But somehow he knew it wasn’t any of his crew.

The figure stood there as if staring at the captain, carefully tilting what seemed like its head, observing his every move—but it had no eyes, no nothing—a figure of ominous black.

He blinked to close his eyes, and the figure disappeared. As quickly as it appeared, it had gone.

...

He stood there alone in the hallway. Was it gone? Were they really safe?

Terrified and filled with a sense of urgency, he felt compelled to check every single room to confirm his crew’s safety.

It’s okay. It’ll be okay.

Upon checking cabin after cabin however, whatever sense of security within him left his body. Where was his crew?

...

He searched everywhere on the ship—the main deck, the cabins—there seemed to be no signs of life on their ship—all except for his—and whatever it was that he saw.

The unease within him continued to grow. It didn't make sense; everything about this situation was impossible. In the middle of the skyway, where was his crew?

There was only one place left for him to check: the cargo hold.

Reluctant, he descended down the stairs, lantern in hand, and entered the doors to the hold.

...

It was dark, completely pitch black. The only source of light was his lantern, and from its light he could make out a crouching figure at the end of the room.

He walked a few steps, approaching what he thought would be a familiar face, just before the lantern’s flame abruptly went out.

Something was wrong. Who—what was that—

He hurriedly reached into his pockets for matches, not wanting to be left in the dark for too long.

...

Upon lighting the match, however, with such close proximity to his own—he found a pair of eyes staring back at him.

[Nojow]

I have a story that will terrify any treasure hunting pirate!


Many have heard of the lost treasure of Captain Blood in the Haunted Skyway, but few have heard of the lost treasure of Jojo Mojo, renowned necromonkey who terrorized the spiral until finally being defeated by an aspiring Witchdoctor at Boot Hill. Some say the treasure was cursed, some even say it doesn’t even exist! Why would someone as evil as Jojo Mojo, who hated pirates, hide treasure for them to find? Not everyone saw it that way, however.

For instance, Captain Zest of Skull Island had spent most of his life searching for the fabled treasure and was the first to find information on it in years. When pursuing a lead went wrong, he lost a hand to the legendary bloodbat Madclaw! It was not a complete loss though, for what he had heard was correct, for in some of the debris left behind by the long lost victims of Madclaw was a crate containing the map to a strange island hidden deep in Haunted Skyway, surely this was where the treasure was!

Zest quickly assembled a crew on his trusty boat, The Sky’s Star. With a wooden hook crudely attached to where his hand use to be, he set off towards the uncharted island deep in the Haunted Skyway. On the way there, Zest saw it all, abandoned ships, Darkmoor ships, a giant squid, and even some Ghost ships, likely some of Jojo Mojo’s handywork, he thought. His crew was anxious, but Zest assured them that curses aren’t real, and it was merely necromancy performed by the evil Jojo Mojo, this didn’t seem to calm them, however.

Eventually they reached the island, it’s no wonder no one found it, he thought. The island blended in quite well with the gloomy backdrop of the Haunted Skyway, not to mention nearby captains would be too busy trying to avoid the ghost ships to notice it. The Sky’s Star docked at the strange island, and Zest’s crew was terrified. To try and reassure them, Zest volunteered to disembark the ship and look around before they followed, which he did. He did not see much aside from some foliage surrounding the area. He turned back to his crew to assure them nothing would attack them but to his surprise they were sailing away, in his own ship! Zest had considered the idea of a mutiny happening like this after they got the loot, but not before! He yelled back them “What do you think you’re doing with me ship! What’re you even running from!?” Then heard a noise. He quickly turned around to see zombies! Not just any zombies, zombie ghosts! This was indeed Jojo Mojo’s hidden island, and he was trapped at the docks with a horde of zombie ghosts approaching. No wonder his crew ditched him, there were more then enough to take on the whole crew, but it would’ve certainly been nice for them to allow him to board the ship before they left!

Cornered, Zest made his last stand at the edge of the docks, quickly being overwhelmed by the horde of zombie ghosts approaching, another fool lost hunting for Jojo’s treasure, or so he thought. He fell on the ground expecting to be devoured but to his surprise the zombie ghosts were unable to eat him, they were ghosts, after all. This must’ve been a spell cast long ago to scare off any would-be looters. He’d call back to his crew to tell them of this ruse, had they not already abandoned him! He swore revenge on those scallywags! Nonetheless, he wandered for a bit, ignoring the zombie ghosts continually trying to eat him until he found a cave. Not to far in, he found a strange man-like creature guarding a door. “Whatever you’re hoping for, you won’t find it here.” He warned. Zest had gone too far to give up however, with no ride home after all, maybe there would be a ship in a bottle in the treasure pile. So Zest drew his sword! The creature lunged at him with phantom-like speed. Zest immediately slashed at him with his sword but too his surprise it had no effect, it was completely impervious to his weapons. The creature immediately disarmed him and tackled him to the ground. The zombie ghosts may not have been able to eat him, but this thing was certainly going to! In a last-ditch effort, Zest stabbed him with the tip of his wooden hook, and to his surprise the creature immediately turned to dust.

At first he was relieved, then he realized what had happened. That creature was a vampire, and he was bitten! Hopefully there was an antidote amongst the loot, or he would end up a vampire too! Zest took a key from the dust pile and opened the door. There was the loot! He had found Jojo Mojo’s secret treasure! It was all in that suspiciously small chest…

What he found shook him too his core, something horrible was inside, any pirates greatest fear! Worse than any hex or curse he could have ever imagined, but a curse nonetheless. In the chest he found a note.


Greetings, Captain!

You may have come here expecting treasure! But you already found it!
The real treasure was the friends you made along the way!

-Jojo


And so Zest sat there, doomed to become the next vampire guarding the chest, trying to warn would-be adventurers of what’s inside.

[RealDux]

Bonnie Anne was plotting to scare Old Scratch on the day of Halloween, and Hawkules was in on it. There was one small issue, the skeleton is very difficult to spook!

"How do you think we can give the ol' bag of bones a scare you recon, Hawkules?" Bonnie began.

"If anything, we could probably use the help of almighty Zeus! He'll lend a hand, did I mention he is my father?" Hawkules said.

Anne was already conjuring up several ideas. "Right then, let's get on with it, I think I know just how to send shivers down his spine!"

After contacting Zeus himself through an oracle, the stage was set. Lightning would rain down from the skies and give Old Scratch a fright. Everything was set. Old Scratch, who has stored candy in his skull, walked out of the Kraken Skulls. Scratch was planning on giving the candy to a local orphanage across the way, when suddenly the clouds grew dark. Hawkules arrived on queue, screaming about evil undead arising all over Skull Island.

"The dead, they've risen again! Oh, sweet deities save me, I wish my father were here!" Hawkules yelled.

Scratch could not detect a hint of magic anywhere, and this truly frightened him. "This mojo be so powerful it surpasses my senses! No telling where it be coming from."

A vampire appeared, but this was no ordinary vampire, it was a fox! Dressed in fancy black-and-red clothing with a long overcoat, the vampire fox made her way over to the shaking skeleton.

"Boo! Bleh bleh bleh, I am the... ancient, uh... evil vampire of, Avalon! Yes I think so... and you have disturbed my slumber!"

Fearing she may be a powerful demon, Old Scratch incited formally. "O, Ancient One, what powerful mojo do you posses as to be-..."

Lightning began circling over the frightened skeleton and zapped him with a massive jolt. BOOM! Old Scratch's bones went flying everywhere, along with the candy he stored, which was now sprawled all over the sand. The orphanage which was nearby, took notice and all the children scooped up both the candy and the bones of Old Scratch, disregarding the evil fox vampire. The lightning and dark clouds receded. The children laughed and played as all the bones pulled themselves back together, forming Old Scratch again.

"I an' I am very confused" Old Scratch stated.

Bonnie started an uncontrollable giggle. "We've just given you a fright is all, with the help of Hawkules and his father."

"So there be no evil mojo?"

"None at all, you ol' fossil!"

Hawkules gave Old Scratch a concerned look. "Not sure if actually hitting you with any of the lightning was part of my father's plan, but I'm glad you're dead anyways! And Miss Anne, you're looking rather marvelous in your new uniform, you should attire it more often!"

Anne drew out a sigh. "Thanks, Hawkules, I'm glad you like it. Say, where's Ratbeard?"

Tumbling down the steps to Skull Island, the rat hurried over to them and kept running as he passed. "The dead, the dead! Rising everywhere Hawkules said! Didn't ye hear that bizarre thunder? Run for yer lives!"

[WickedChase]

This piece takes place on an imaginary island in Skull Island where the dead are buried. There's also special memorials held here for the best pirates, and those best pirates are buried in their own gardens. Without further a-do...

"Words of The Dead"

By Wicked Chase

There were many colors, so many so that the ambience seemed to vibrate on a celestial level. Chase was sure that the display must have taken hours to put together. He sauntered forward curiously, his fingers gently tracing the warm stones around him, grazing the flowery towers of nature which those stones guarded. His vision was graced with dozens of twinkling white lights. His breath mingled with the scent of a pleasant dew. And at the at the center of the garden, the statue stood magnificently, doused with dozens of bouquets of roses, dahlias and peonies. That was to be expected. They were Ethan’s favorite flowers after all.
Chase was wearing his best black attire, topped with a rose-thorn eyepatch. He carried his two lucky doubloons in his pocket, and one blessed charm just for the occasion.
“Okay, Chase,” he said to himself, continuing to walk forward. “You can do this... Ethan was your best friend and a dang good pirate, not like many of those exist… He’s gone now, but his memory lives forever… He—” Suddenly, Chase froze, because now standing beside the statue was the ghost of Ethan himself.
There was silence for a moment. Chase could only stare, and Ethan’s ghost stared back.
“Finally come to visit, ey?” said Ethan’s ghost. His voice echoed, sounding distant yet eerily close all the same. “And at dusk of all times. Don’t you know you to only visit the dead during daylight?”
Chase didn’t know what to say. He had heard tales of pirates’ ghosts appearing with unfinished before, like at the ship-wrecked Maria Celestia, but he never really believed it. Not until now. “I—You… Ethan?” He got goosebumps.
“Yes, it’s me. In the flesh,” Ethan’s ghost smirked. Even in death, he had his charm.
“What—What are you doing here?”
Ethan’s ghost frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together. “I was loved in life,” he began. He looked around himself. “Look at all this. I was an infamous pirate… But all the while, I never had the truest love.” The air in the garden began to chill. “There was a girl. Alura… We promised each other this love, and loved her I did. But…”
Now Ethan looked like he was in pain. He wailed softly.
“But what?” Chase whispered, his breath coming out as a puff of fog. It was getting darker and even colder. “What happened?”
Ethan’s ghost began to levitate, aura changing from a light aqua to navy blue. Wind swirled around him. “She did me in, Chase. All to steal my riches. You must avenge me. Take back what’s mine and give it to my old crew. They deserve more than this.”
Chase began to back away. “I will. But, Ethan, you’re scaring me. Please, stop this wind.”
Ethan’s ghost was suddenly surprised at himself. He must not have realized what he was doing. “I’m sorry,” he said, and he floated back down. The garden was calmer. “My emotions got the best of me.”
“That’s okay,” Chase said. He sighed. “How do I find her?”
“She’s—”
Suddenly, they heard something make a noise nearby.
Ethan’s ghost eyes widened. “I must go,” he said quickly. “Remember. Please help me rest.”
“Wait!” Chase called.
It was too late. Ethan’s ghost had disappeared.
After a few moments of silence, Chase approached the statue and kneeled before it. He placed the blessed charm at Ethan’s stone feet and began to finally pay his respects.
Someone knelt beside him, and he looked over. She was wearing a black veil.
“Were you a friend of Ethan’s?” she asked quietly, still facing the statue.
“I was,” said Chase. “His best friend.”
The lady lifted her veil and looked at him. “You must be Chase.”
“I am. And you?”
“I was his true love.”
Chase’s eyes widened, but he kept quiet. Then he faced forward. After a few moments, he spoke. “You must be Alura.”
“Yes.”
“Well, Alura, you and I have some unfinished business.”

[WickedChase]

Testing because my post wasn't working yesterday