Kate's entrance was pretty funny. Nice job! :-P

Also, was that a black widow spider??? 

Thanks! Somehow, I almost posted this under my real CB name this time.

___ 

4.

We took a few, cautious steps towards the girl. "Uh," I repeated, "and how did you get in here?"

She flicked her wand through the air and hid it back inside her clothes so quickly nobody could even catch a glimpse. "Magic."

Booksy Owly crossed her arms. "Right . . . so Kate, why are you here? This is supposed to be a party." 

"Ahem," she said, "for one, my name is Kate the Great, and I am here because I basically own this mansion. You really didn't think it was abandoned, did you?" She shot a prideful look at me.

"Um," I said slowly, "spooky house. Nobody inside. Cemetary. Makes sense that there would be no owner."

"Unless," Arwen put in, "the owner is . . . a ghost!" She pointed an accusing finger at Kate-the-Great.

"Andi knew that wass grave yard!" said Poofball.

Kate placed her hand across her chest and gasped indignantly. "Oh please, I'm definitely am not a ghost!" 

"You know," Booksy replied slowly, narrowing her eyes at her, "several tests could prove otherwise. We would have to measure her solubility in fluid, if she can float through objects, and her style to see if she comes from any past eras. And search her for any hidden chains."

Before the ghost-accused girl could respond, a loud, scary thud was heard outside.

Jarwen peeked at Kate for a second, hoping to see some more mysterious magic.

As if she read his thoughts, she promptly brushed him away. "Sorry, I'm not doing anymore tonight. You have to see what's out there yourself."

I sighed and said, "You can open the door and go look. It's probably just a cat or something. I'll get Kate--" I was met with an expectant glare. "I mean the Great--a towel to clean the pie off. The others can also get settled in." I went off through the living room and disappeared into a large, dark hallway.

Jarwen stared at everyone then poked Arwen nervously. "You go see who it is."

"Not, she told you to do it." She poked him back reluctantly. 

"She never mentioned anyone specifically." Poke again.

"No." Another poke.

After several seconds of poking and arguing, Hazelle finally broke it up. "Act like civilized beings! Jarwen, you should go out and look."

The AE scrunched up his face and groaned. "Just because I'm the boy . . ." He carefully approached the door, which had somehow closed behind them after they entered, and tried to gaze out the window.

Cobwebs and dust produced several thick, grimey layers, even though the window was large and oval with intricate carvings. He slowly placed his hand on the knob and swung it open, listening to the the eerie creak.

Outside, it had began to storm lightly, clouds looming overhead while filling the clear night sky with gray cotton candy, and making water drops pit-pat against the earth.

Suddenly, another thud and a sharp scuffle sounded again.

"Who-who's out there?" called Jarwen nervously, stepping out onto the porch and down the steps.

A flash of lightning lit up the night for an instant, revealing the outline of a figure.

"Not another weird person thingy!"  

"What? I'm a human!" called the figure.

"That depends on your definition," he said slowly. "Come out please."

"Sure." The person stepped out from the darkness. "The name's Brookiera. And I'm soaked." 

"Yeah . . ." It was defintely true. The girl had water stains all up and down her clothes. Her hair shined in the dim light and stuck to her face and neck. 

"Sorry," she said, "my little brother got his hands on the mask, but my mom somehow confiscated it before he could surprise me. So in other words, I'm late."

"Well," said Jarwen, "you better get inside and dry off and stuff. The party's almost gonna start."

She nodded and quickly padded up the porch stairs. Somehow the mysterious double-doors kept closing on their own, so she flung them open and stood in the doorway. 

Jarwen came up behind her just as I came back into the room.

"And yeah," he said, noticing my look. "We're gonna need more towels."

___

Somehow, I can't help adding a touch of humor to stories, no matter how dramatic they're supposed to be. :P 

Toooooooop

I love how everyone else was on the bus, and i'm just outside like "oi I'm soaked, lend a hand here."

Love it! I have to go pack, but are you Novelist? I can't remember if Novelist joined this thread or not.

Don't worry, I'm still writing this. It's just taking me longer than usual because most of the time I like to have most of the plot and action planned out in my head before I actually start writing. In other words, I'm having minor writers' block and writing from a different way (I just couldn't wait on this one for some reason). Btw, yes, that was a black widow spider, and Brookiera, I honestly can't tell if that was sarcasm or not . . . and as for your question Kate, the answer is: Magic.

____

5.

The new visitor flopped down in another chair in the dining room. Purple, velvety carpet with black swirls padded the floor, while a giant chandelier hung from the ceiling in the hall. The hall connected the living room to the dining one, and two staircases, big and curved, swept upwards to the next level of the mansion. The big light fixture was made from shiny, sparkling brass, and lit with fake candles, flickering on and off with electricity.

"So," she said, her teeth chattering slightly, "nice place you have here." She sat down in a creaky wooden chair. "I'm surprised you don't have butler or anything . . . ?"

"Well," I said, handing her a towel, "I wanted to cut down on the amount of uh, incidents."

She raised an eyebrow. "Incidents? Like what?"

"Technically it's my house," Kate-the-Great cut in. "A more important question, is how did you get here without the broomsticks?"

Brookeria thought for a moment, trying to extract a certain memory. "Uhhh, actually I think there was a broom waiting for me?"

"Huh," I said, "must've left one behind . . ." I shrugged when suddenly Ashlee came up to me.

"Ah," she said, studying me, "it's Novelist, isn't it?"  

I grin, whipping off my shadow-mask and tossing it to the side. "Good job. How did you know?"

Before she could respond,, Arwen drifted into the room, an excited glint in her eyes. "Sooo, when are we gonna start having fun?"

Suddenly, Jarnen peeked his head into the dining room, and noticed a long, wooden table in the middle, with a shiny brass candlestick holder.

"Hey," he said, an idea forming in his mind, "got any party punch or something?"

"Ah," I said, "that's right! I keep it in the basement. Must've forgotten to bring up when getting ready."

"I-i-in the basement?" stammered the AE.

Arwen playfully shoved him and strutted out of the room. "Oh he's such a big baby. I'll go this time. What could be down there anyway?"

Jarwen sighed a secret sigh of relief and watched her disappear into the hallway. He could hear her shout, "Is it through this door?" 

"Yes," I yelled back.

~

Arwen slowly opened the large, wooden door and listened as its iron hinges creaked with rust. She gulped and peered down the long, dark stairway, the only light coming from upstairs.

"I honestly can't decided whether Novelist intentionally made it this way or not . . ." She reached out her hand and tried to feel along the wall for a light switch. She finally found a little plastic stub and flicked it on. 

The dark steps were suddenly illuminated from a large lightbulb, and she quickly made her way down.

"I'm not afraid of anything," she said aloud. "And plus, what's there to be afraid of?" She grinned mischieviously and flipped on another light.  

The basement was cold and damp, with hints of mold swirling inside her nose. She could hear water slowly dripping from somewhere, producing a faint pat-pat-pat, as if she were in a cave. She assumed there was some kind of leak. Along the walls were several, neat, raw wood shelves, lined with all sorts of objects. One had some tools, another completed dedicated to duct tape, and one with several things, but they were all covered with a white sheet.

She shrugged and noticed a big jug of homemade party juice sitting in a corner shelf. It was thick and sticky-looking, with a shade of red. Not the bright, artificial kind of red, but a hue mysteriously a bit darker. Arwen wondered how the color could look that way.

Next to it were a stack of tiny paper cups. "Eh," she said, "why not." She unscrewed the cap from the juice jug and poured some into a cup. She put the lid back on and took a sip from her drink.

Somehow, she balanced the large jug and the stack of cups  in one arm and continued to sip the juice in the other, all while walking back up the stairs.

She grinned. "Not bad. Very fruity, with a hint of something oddly sweet and tangy."

Once she got all the way back upstairs, she kicked the basement door closed with her foot and stumbled into the hallway.

"Ya know," she called out, taking more and more sips of the oddly delicious drink, "I took the liberty of taste-testing this, and I have to say--"

Suddenly, there was a loud, deep thud, and Jarwen said, "Hey! You okay?" After several agonizing seconds of silence, we raced into the room.  

Lying there was Arwen's body, stiff and unmoving. The other AE gasped. "What happened?" He gently nudged her with his fist. "Hey wake up! What's the matter?"

Booksy Owly bent down and firmly placed her index and middle finger against the side of her neck. She gasped with horror. "S-she's d-dead."

Jarwen looked up at her then back down. "Oh gosh, no . . . " 

"It has begun," whispered Kate-the-Great. 

The others looked down at the ground, and watched as the jug of juice sat on the carpet, while Arwen's cup of punch laid on its side, the red liquid slowly seeping out from it.

____

Sorry if this to too scary, I actually don't write spooky stuff that much... (this'll probably be the worst of it)