The Scream of the Banshee

The Warning

It was a crisp, cool day outside, so the gang decided to have their fun inside. They weren't exactly having fun, however, as there was a slightly different atmosphere. They had a new visitor, a relative of Doom Kitty. It was Doom's grandmother, Moira. She was very old, the fir not completely black like it used to be. There were a few spots of gray. But her age really showed as she moved around the mansion. Her movements were slow enough that it made people nervous at times. She was shaky, easily tired, and almost showed pain as she put weight on her legs.

"It's hard to have fun when this cat is so sick," sighed Iris, rubbing cream on Moira's knees.

Poor Moira had arthritis, and she just didn't want to walk much because of it. But she loved Doom so much that she didn't want to leave the mansion.

"Yes. But I'm sure we can help her feel better," assured Ruby.

Just then, there came a blood curdling, almost monstrous scream from downstairs. Someone got hurt! Or so Ruby thought.

"Oh my! Moira, just sit back in your basket. I'll move you over to Doom, and we'll go see what happened," assured Ruby, patting the old cat fondly on the head before heading to the basement with the others.

As they neared the bottom of the stairs, they saw Misery pointing up as she screamed, at Doom! But why Doom?

"Misery. What's wrong?" queried Ruby, touching Misery's shoulder, but nothing happened.

She kept right on screaming, breathing like she was scared between the screams. No matter what they did, she wouldn't pay attention to them. She'd only back away as they neared her.

"Misery!" cried Ruby.

Misery just kept right on screaming, pointing up at Doom. What could it all mean? Misery was acting very strange to the gloom gang, and no one knew what to do.

"Hang on. I have this book called The Guide to the Gloom: Things You Should Know. Maybe it will tell us what's going on," suggested Skull Boy.

"Okay! Let's see!" exclaimed Ruby excitedly, everyone but Misery following, and heading up to the living room.

Skull Boy, on the other hand, headed into his room to search for the book. In no time, he found it, and ran back to the living room, ecstatic.

"Now. Let's see," he said, sitting down beside Ruby.

Sure enough, Skull Boy had come across chapter 4. Section 2 of the chapter, had the title, Banshees. He began to read, his speech slow as he tried to process the words.

"The banshee shows itself in times of distress, usually nearing the death of a family member. It warns the family by screaming or keening, a wail in the form of a droning chant."

Everyone gasped suddenly. They knew now what was happening and were scared. Especially Scaredy.

"B-But who is going to d-die!" cried Scaredy, shaking with fear.

"Well, Moira's been pretty sick lately, and Misery was pointing up at Doom. Doom is perfectly fine, so maybe she was pointing at Doom because she knows how close Moira is, and..."

Ruby stopped, and the whole gang gasped again, just as Doom scampered into the room.