The Phantom Manor

Chapter Three

    "What?" Hannah asked. But yet again, her arm was grabbed forcefully. Luka, too, was taken. The touch sent chills down her spine. Then they were being half-walked, half-dragged out of the ballroom down the hall. Hannah turned and yanked her arm roughly from her captor, who shouted. Hannah whirled around and her eyes widened when she saw that it was the man from earlier, whom they had met at the painting.

    "You!" Hannah gasped. "You're working for him?!"

    The man gritted his teeth. "You must say it properly, Hannah. Sending you away is merciful for him. He would much rather kill you. Say HIM with respect, else he may kill you instead."

    "I will not respect someone who takes advantage of an innocent young woman. And who lives in a manor that does not belong to him, but belongs to her, and has the audacity to laugh and make fun of her for being sick in the head!!!"

    "Shhh!!!" the man said urgently, looking around them fearfully.

    Hannah rolled her eyes at him, but it was Luka who spoke. "Why are you all so afraid of him?"

    "SAY IT WITH RESPECT, YOU FOOLS!"

    "Why are you all so afraid of Him?" Luka corrected himself. Hannah folded her arms across her chest.

    "He is the master of this manor!" the man insisted. "He controls everything here. If we disobey his commands, we will be in grave danger!"

    "How could you be in GRAVE DANGER?" Hannah demanded. "Because when normal people say that, they mean they could die. But you are already dead!"

  "It is a fate worse than death," the man explained. "I cannot describe it. It is a prison, for us. He wields its power. If we disobey his commands, he can suck us all into a terrible prison of pain and suffering."

   "A prison?" Hannah repeated.

    The man nodded gravely. "Yes. He has used it only once before, and that was enough to frighten the rest of us into submission."

"He used it before? What happened?"

The man bit his lip. "That is not entirely true. He used it twice, but only once on a person, I suppose."

"And the other time, what did he use it on?"

The man hesitated, and shook his head, biting his lip. "I cannot tell you. You must go. Come. I will take you to the nearest exit. And stay close. Lagging behind is to the Phantom and invitation to kill."

The singing came again, suddenly, as they were walking. The man's demeanor changed, from urgency to sadness. Hannah studied him. "Did you know her?" she found herself asking as she followed the man through the halls.

The man started, as though not expecting anyone to interrupt the song. He nodded. "Truth be told," he said, "I loved her."

    Hannah stared at him, unsure how to reply. "Can you..." She hesitated. "Can you tell me what happened to her? What made her like this?"

He bit his lip. "She..." He sighed. "She was engaged. She was engaged to be married to a man who never showed up at the wedding. He broke her heart. And she never recovered."

The haunting singing echoed through the halls, but with new meaning. Hannah looked around, the story making the manor all the more interesting. "The man she was to marry...he never showed up?"

"He was..." The man paused. "He was prevented from coming."

"Prevented? By the Phantom?" Luka guessed.

The man nodded. "And another. Who helped Him."

"That's terrible." Hannah stared at him. "And now...she's trapped here! By him!"

"Yes," the man agreed. "By Him."

    "But..." Hannah looked up at the man. "Why?"

    The man set his jaw. "It's time for you to go, now."

    "Wait!" Hannah ducked under his arm. "Tell me why."

    "I can't."

    Hannah stared at him. He bit his lip.

    Then she took of running down the hall.