Fragments (One-Shots) | Mystery Skulls Animated

But I'm Afraid (1/3)

[Arthur's and Vivi's bust goes wrong when a strange blue tree woman crashes the party.]

Vivi drove the van along the road, tapping the steering wheel with her fingers and humming to herself. They rounded a corner and the van slowed down. Arthur threw her a questioning look. "Why are you slowing down?"

        "I'm not," she frowned, pressing at the accelerator. The van sputtered and drew to a stop on the side of the road.

        Vivi groaned. "Not again! I thought you fixed it for this bust?"

        "Uh," he replied smartly. "I did—Uncle Lance checked it over for me. It should be fine. . ."

        "Well, it's not," she retorted, slumping frustratedly against her seat.

        Arthur fiddled with his fingers, gazing out the windscreen. His mind felt floaty as he recalled last week's visit to the ghostly mansion. "Well. . . how far are we from the warehouse? I can probably get her up and running again in an hour or so."

        She leaned over and checked the dashboard GPS. Frowning, she gave it a quick couple of taps. "It. . . says we're here?"

        Arthur could have sworn he saw a purple spark travelling along the wires before they disappeared into the dash. Unnerved, he leaned over as well.

        "Hey, look! There's a gate over there." She pointed across the road and he squinted.

        Two deep purple brick pillars, bearing large black barred gates, topped with sharp iron spikes.

        "That looks. . . new."

        "Well, someone still owns this place, right? They probably refurbished it."

        Arthur wasn't convinced. "Renovating a haunted shed?"

        She only shrugged. "Yeah, well, some people are picky like that." She sat for a moment, fingers tapping the wheel, before decisively releasing her seatbelt and turning to Arthur. "Well, come on," she urged. "I know the mansion was a bit of a weird one, but we can do this, yeah? At least this one won't disappear without a trace come tomorrow morning."

        Suddenly, he could feel his stomach sinking. He exhaled, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. Not again.

        "C'mon Skulls, let's go." Vivi's voice made him look up, and he averted his eyes, focussing instead on the road ahead of them.

        There was a toxic green mist creeping across the road, and he reared back. Green. Like the dreams.

        "Arthur? What's the matter?"

        His chest felt tight, and he drew in a breath. "Do you see that?"

        She glanced out the windscreen, shooting him a strange look. "What, the road?"

        "The mist."

        Vivi followed his gaze, with Mystery craning over the dashboard to get a better look. "Arthur. . . The road's clear. There's nothing out there."

        A chill swept down his spine. They can't see it?

        He blinked, and, as quickly as it had come, the mist disappeared, snapping out of existence like a figment of his imagination.

        He drew a shaky breath, and then cleared his throat to disguise his unease, pushing his anxieties to the back of his head. "Uhm. . . I'll just stay here. Keep a lookout." He thought for a moment. "And fix the van. Again."