So Mom said that she managed to earn enough money to take me and my sisters to the casino again. I was happy and scared about that news, as the last time I was at the casino, some police officers mistook me for a crook and nearly arrested me. So, naturally, I wouldn't want to go, but Ruby kept hopping up and down on our couch, claiming that, "We're going to have so much fun together!" And Mom kept saying, "But Emerald, I thought you LIKED the casino. Don't tell me you suddenly changed your mind about you and the past"...whatever that means. But that's not all, CRYSTAL chimed in, too. Saying, "Hey, Emerald? What exactly is this, 'casino' everyone's excited for?"
So instead of making the safer decision of staying home and probably telling Crystal what a casino is, I decided to not have everyone feel down in the dumps and go to the casino with them. When we got there, there were a couple of things I remember from our time here previously that were missing this time. The crook pictures that used to be found on the front door have been removed. There were no police cars in sight either. I even started feeling positive about this trip, thinking that I'm not going to go into some deep accidental trouble this time. Oh, boy. I couldn't have been ever more wrong about that. We entered the building, and the interior was as lively as it was back then. Once again, Ruby went to check some game and Mom was counting the money she was about to spend. Meanwhile, I was looking around, seeing if that evil pinball machine from last time was still there. Surprisingly enough, it WAS still there, looking no different than from last time. Although it's screen said, "Go on, come play with me!" I knew not to make the same mistake as I've made before.
So then I kept moving along, walking towards Ruby and seeing what she was looking at, but then, there was a sudden crashing sound coming from the back. Everyone scrammed out of the door, including Mom and Ruby. When I tried to leave, the door was just shut by the last person, and for some strange reason, I couldn't open it. As soon as I attempted to open the door by yanking on the handle, the lights went out and the machines turned off. I was stuck in a building with no power whatsoever.
Before I did anything else, though, I started thinking about what just happened. First of all, why couldn't I open the door? There didn't appear to be a lock or keyhole anywhere on that door, so it couldn't have been locked. Perhaps it just ran out of oil and got stuck. Who knows? It's all just assumptions and theories at this point. Second of all, the electricity. How come the electricity just happens to disappear right as I try to open the door? My theory is that the door was connected to the fuse box, and maybe me yanking on it did a good number on it. I could be wrong about that, though.
Anyway, I looked around the area and noticed that the place was now mostly dark. The only light that was apparent was the Sun shining on through the door. Then I suddenly remembered that I'm not the only one who entered this casino. I looked through the door's transparent parts, hoping to find Mom and Ruby, but to my surprise, they weren't there. They most likely went home, completely forgetting about me. Crystal showed up and asked, "Emerald! What happened? Why is it dark in here? Are you alright?"
Now before I move on, you might be wondering how Crystal managed to waltz in a place like this, being a locked, powerless building (for all I knew). Here's the thing: Crystal isn't solid. She is a spirit of some sort that can travel right through solid objects. In this case, however, I didn't even see her go through a wall. She just faded in like a ghost. Spooky.
Anyway, Crystal asked questions and I gave her the whole story thus far, including the incidents I've had here previously. Her response was, "Oh, is this place haunted or something?"
I shrugged, but then I got an idea. "Crystal! Can you somehow provide light so we can see in here?"
Although the Sun was providing light through the door, that was it. Just the door. The other windows were barred off for some reason, so light couldn't come in or escape, thus evaporating...if light does evaporate, anyway. Crystal said, "Huh? Oh, right. Here." She handed me some sort of glowing lantern. But upon her releasing it to give it to me, the lantern went right through my hand as well as the floor(s) and ground below. Crystal dashed down in there and returned with the lantern back in her hand. I guess the lantern is just as solid as she is, which did answer a question of mine. Anyway, she then said, "Well, I guess if you can't hold it, I'll just have to hold it for you." I also noticed her blushing a little, for some strange reason. Anyhow, as we traversed through the no longer dark casino, there were some weird...noises to be heard. There was some rustling, as if someone was moving a group of noisy objects to look for something. There were also some mouse noises, which I find undesirable for customers. And last, but not least, I heard some splashing noises, and it was THIS sound that gave me the heebie jeebies. It was some sort of indication that something bad was about to happen, I just knew it.
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YOU ARE READING
The Misadventures of Emerald
Short StoryJoin Emerald as he goes into accidental adventures through... pretty much anything. See how he escapes out of this situation, and see if he can get his family to believe him.