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HM: Change of Pace - Chapter 2

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Story Title: Change of Pace

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the Haunted Mansion, they belong to Disney

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Chapter Title: Ghoulish Search
Chapter #: 2


It was not long after that the two hitchhikers had abandoned the road in favor of the graveyard. The specters were not all that numerous at this time of day, though with the clouds overhead, more were out socializing with each other than normal. The idea had popped into Phineas's head that perhaps Ezra had been seen by the other spooks and they could lead the Gus and him to where he was hiding.

This rather bright idea started to dim as they asked the ghosts around the graves. It was becoming apparent that these haunts were sort of oblivious to what was going on around them. The sounds of disappointing sighs started to become very familiar to the two hitchhikers.

They had recently left the sights of the resident mummy. That conversation had been rather repetitive and long, as it seemed that the pulling out of his brain had translated into his death. Nothing good had come out of it and as they left, the larger ghost heard him ask his neighbor who they were.

It seemed rather odd to see such light and transparent characters move so heavily along the ground, Phineas more so than Gus. This endeavor that they had started looked like it was going to go nowhere

The sound of a throat clearing caught the right ear of Phineas. This too was strange as the dead had no need to do something like that, but it was obvious it was to get his attention. He looked over and then down at what had done this.

It was one of those popup ghouls that he hadn't even noticed. They were called popups because they never left the tombstones that they hid behind and would hop up to scare unsuspecting passersby. This particular one was at the moment, leaning lazily overtop of the gravestone, his head resting on this top of his rag-covered arms. His face was droopy, sagging aged skin being tugged by gravity, or it had been. One of his eyes was perpetually closed as a result of the sagging, while the other one bulged a bit, though at the moment it was half closed. His mouth, normally agape, was shut as the side of his head leaned against the stone and his limb. Over all, he looked tired, like he had woken up too early and couldn't go back to sleep.

Seeing that the sizable ghost had turned and looked at him, his bulging eye glanced up and he moved his head a bit. "I 'ear ya lookin' fer that tall friend of yers," he commented.

Phineas was astonished at the moment, forgetting that he had a task at hand. In all the years of being stuck at the mansion, he never once spoke to one of these beings. He was not quite sure if they were a result of some left over ghostly energy or if they had actually been human once. Perhaps they were what some ghosts turned into after staying there for too long. He saw the creature raise his brow as he waited for an answer, causing Phineas to remember why he was out there. "Oh, yeah, have you seen Ezra?" he asked, feeling a little strange.

The popup nodded his head very slightly. "Yea, I've seen 'im. 'E came by 'ere a little bit ago,"

Phineas widened his eyes. Gus and he had spent the last hour or so going from ghost to ghost with no avail and then this ghoul shows up having seen him. "I wonder why you saw him and the others didn't," he asked, only partly thinking out loud.

"By othas, yer talkin' about those like ya," the ghoul commented. He gave a small sigh then continued. "Ya full bodied ghosties don't really notice us, so if that friend'a yers is 'idin' from ya guys, den 'e's not really carin' or detectin' us little ghoulies,"

Crouching, Phineas became eye level with the spook. "Where is he? Did you see where he went?" he asked impatiently.

The ghoul went silent, lazily looking the hitchhiker up and down. He was contemplating if he should tell him. What would he get out of it anyway? None of those self-absorbed haunts ever paid attention to him or the other pop ups. He studied this carpetbag carrying one, noticing the concern that was hidden behind his eyes. The popup had seen them around, sometimes getting a kick out of the tricks they pulled on the other residence; it was strange to see such concern in this place of death. Or perhaps it was the idea of change that was scaring this full-bodied haunt. A lazy sigh escaped from his lips, honestly, the ghoul had nothing better to do.

The pop up shifted his position and then lifted one of his thin arms, pointed off to just beyond the curve of the mansion. "Ova there," he droned. "'E was 'eadin' to the old stables. 'E looked like 'e didn't wantta be seen,"

A wide smile grew onto Phineas's face and he abruptly stood up, looking in that direction. Finally, they had a lead. "Gus, I know where we're going!" he called, only to notice that the small man was nowhere to be seen. "Um…. Gus?"

Not too far away, there was a loud shirk that sounded feminine and mortal. Phineas turned his head in that direction and saw Gus in the distance, waving goodbye to a mortal girl who was running away screaming. A small sigh escaped his lips and he started to walk away, only to pause. "Oh, um," he turned and looked at the popup ghoul. "Thanks," there was another pause as he studied his face. "You know, I have something that could help you with that soggy skin. I'll give you a discount for helping us,"

The ghoul's expression shifted to a lazy yet intense glare, making Phineas turn and swiftly move away from him. It dawned on the hitchhiker why he had actually never spoken to these ghouls; they were scary, even to a ghost. He caught up to Gus who was inspecting an empty box that had holes in it. "What was that all about?"

Gus looked up to him. "Just a guest, look," he pointed to box. "She brought me a gift,"

Phineas raised an eyebrow. "O…k," after an awkward pause, he shook his head clear of thoughts and spoke again. "Come on, we have a lead as to where Ezra might be going when he just disappears," he pointed off in the other direction.

Immediately forgetting his new "gift," Gus followed Phineas through the gravestones, toward the other side of the house. This leading them right to the old stables.
So, here is chapter 2 of this story of mine. Really, it is just something for fun and nothing too serious. I liked writing this chapter more than the first.

Haunted Mansion belongs to Disney
The idea for the story was mine
© 2010 - 2024 distantShade
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Gyzmo-Grim's avatar
write more please!