Catie had been cleaning the kitchen counter when the lights had gone out. She looked around confused. "What's that all about?" She asked.
"I'm not sure," Mrs. Macabre said. "There must be something wrong with the attic. This old place has a tendency to get hiccups from time to time."
"I hope we don't have a gremlin problem again," she groaned.
"Gremlins?" Jack asked, nervously. "Do they bite?"
"Don't worry, Jane and I can take care of it," Catie chuckled. "Jane?" She called out, but received no response. As Mrs. Macabre was finding a lantern in a cabinet, she went into the foyer.
The coziness that it had brought when she had first arrived was gone now. Instead, the large room felt cold and dark, she looked up and a draft howled through the winding staircase and the floors above her. "Jane, where are you?" She shivered and looked around with no sign of her. She glanced upwards and saw a feather duster resting on the grandfather clock.
"Did you find her?" Mrs. Macabre came into the room holding the lit lantern with Jack trailing behind.
"No. I don't know-" Catie began, but her sentence was cut off by a sound above her. The house began to shudder. "Why is it doing that?"
"It is afraid," Mrs. Macabre said, cautiously.
The shudder stopped and another sound soon filled the air. The pattering of feet came running down the staircase, getting closer and closer, until it reached the foyer.
"Jane- she's taken it," Elvira panted as she jumped onto the floor, her eyes wide with terror.
"Calm down, dear," Mrs. Macabre said, holding up a hand to steady her. "Taken what?"
"The broom," she gestured her head to the front door. They all looked over and saw that it was missing.
"Why would she do that?" Catie asked. She had noticed Jane had been acting odd as of late, but this was unusually suspicious of her.
"She gave it to her!" Elvira nearly screamed.
"Who?" Mrs. Macabre asked.
"The Weeping Widow," the cat replied.
Darkness swept over Mrs. Macabre's face, the likes of which Catie had never seen before. It was filled with such fury and anger that it almost frightened her. She took a step back, as if the rage was radiating off of her. "You mean, the ghost you told us about?" Catie asked.
"Yes," Elvira said, taking notice of the witch's change.
"But what would she want with the broom? And why is Jane a part of this?" She looked around as if the room itself held the answers. With such confusion and chaos happening so quickly, she just needed a simple answer to such simple questions.
"Catie, Jack, you two stay down here with Elvira," Mrs. Macabre said.
"What?" She asked, furious. "You can't just leave us here!"
"It's too dangerous. This isn't vampires we're dealing with. This is something much worse."
"She's my sister, Mrs. Macabre!"
"Catherine," she shot her a look that was filled with poison. "You will do as I say."
"I'm. Not. Staying," Catie said, planting her feet on the floor and crossing her arms. She stared right into Mrs. Macabre's eyes with just as much conviction. Several seconds past. The silence was deafening.
"Hell and damnation," Mrs. Macabre said, finally. "But do exactly as I say. Understand?"
Catie nodded and let out a breath of air, the tension within her released.
"Do I have to go?" Jack asked, raising a hand.
"Yes," they all said in unison. Mrs. Macabre turned into a raven.
"Grab hold of my foot," she said, flying over them. "I'll carry all of you."
Catie gripped her claw and Jack took her other hand. She looked up and gave him a small smile, reassuring him that everything was going to be okay. Elvira leapt onto his shoulder.
"Ready?" Mrs. Macabre asked and, before they could answer, they were flying upwards. Looking down, Catie felt a different sensation than she did when she was flying on the broom the night before. This time she was afraid of falling, she imagined letting go and hitting the floor along with Jack. No sense of wonder filled her heart now, only dread.
They reached the top floor and let go as soon as they flew over the banister. The raven turned back into Mrs. Macabre. "Get behind me," she said, holding the lantern in front of her. The white light casted an eerie glow against the hallway, like it was the moon. The door to the attic was open, but just barely. They inched closer and heard a noise beside them. Mrs. Macabre quickly turned, but there was nothing there. She spun around and the Widow floated in front of them. Her black dress billowed around her like wings and she clutched Jane close to her with an arm around her throat. In her other hand was the broom.
"Hello, there," the Widow said in a raspy whisper that made Catie's blood run cold. "It's been so long, hasn't it?"
"Let her go," Mrs. Macabre said.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Macabre," Jane began to sob. "I didn't mean to-"
"Silence, child," the Widow spat angrily. "I'll hear none of your petulant whining." She threw Jane towards them and Catie caught her.
"It's okay, it's okay," she said over and over again as Jane cried into her shoulder.
"You have the broom," Mrs. Macabre glared at her. "Now, what do you want from me?"
"To suffer," the Widow said and pointed the end of the broom towards them. Black smoke billowed from the straw and swarmed around them. Inside the thick, dark fog they could hear the faintest sound of wailing. "To suffer as you have made me and others suffer," the Widow's voice echoed through the smoke. "To live the rest of your days in unimaginable pain," the smoke formed a hundred faces screaming. "To feel the guilt boil inside of you till you feel that there is nothing left," the faces slowly drifted together, forming the Widow. "To feel the doubt of who you are strangle you to your very last breath," her skeleton arm gripped Mrs. Macabre's throat, then dissipated.
They were back in the hallway, confused of what had just happened. The Widow remained several feet away from them.
"Then why don't you, then?" Mrs. Macabre rubbed her neck. "Why don't you just get on with it?
"That would be far too easy," the Widow waved a hand, dismissively. "I want you to suffer. But only by your own making," she snapped her fingers with the sound of a match being struck. The lights returned to the house, every door lining the hallway slowly opened with loud creaks. All the monsters that were held within them came spilling out.
"To the lift! Now!" Mrs. Macabre screamed, dropping the lantern with a crash, and they all ran to the elevator. As they ran, Jane looked behind her and saw the horde of beasts that been unleashed. Giant spiders, swamp monsters, mummies, and other creatures came charging at them.
"Get in! Get in! Get in!" Elvira shouted as they reached the elevator. They all tumbled in and Mrs. Macabre turned to shut the gate, but it was stuck. She yanked again, but the gate only made a metallic shriek, sticking into place.
"Help me!" She cried out and they all got behind her, pulling the gate with all they had. The cabal of monsters grew closer and closer, then with a mighty tug, the gate came slamming shut, just as a zombie reached out to them. His arm groped at them through the gate. Catie pressed the down button and the gears began to whirl. As they descended, the zombie's arm was cut off and fell down the shaft.
"What are we going to do?" Jack asked, his hands up to his mouth.
"She has more magic than I now," Mrs. Macabre said, hopelessly. "My abilities without the broom can only do so much."
They sat in silence as the elevator continued to go down. "Unless," Jane said, finally breaking it. "We use the library."
"What do you mean?" Catie asked.
"The books. They're filled with magic, right? If we can lure the Widow in there-"
"We can give her a taste of her own medicine," Elvira finished, her ears perking up.
"You're a genius!" Catie said with her arms up and hugged her, but their celebration was cut short.
Above them, they heard a huge roar and they looked up. Something massive was falling down the shaft towards them, it finally hit the top of the elevator and they realized what it was. The huge man-eating plant was purple, magenta, and green all in one flower. It would have been beautiful if it weren't for the rows upon rows of sharp teeth that glared at them in every petal. It bloomed and snatched at the metal, causing the elevator to halt mid-shaft. Iron screamed at them as it clawed its way through. Vines shot at them like snakes.
They all screamed and moved to a corner of the elevator. Mrs. Macabre snapped her fingers and fireworks went off inside the lift with loud pops. Bright sparks of blue and red were sent up towards the plant, irritating it, shaking its head. It roared once more and began to eat its way through. Mrs. Macabre cried out as a thorn from a vine ripped through her arm. She was sent huddled into the corner, covering the wound.
"Help me get this panel off," Catie said to Jane and she pointed to the one beside her holding all the floor buttons. Jane gripped it and yanked, making a sound like a can being opened. Jack quickly joined in.
"Hurry!" Elvira said, swatting at a vine. The plant had ripped off the top of the elevator.
Catie grabbed one of the wires from the exposed panel and ripped it out. Sparks and smoke fizzled from the end of it. The plant hurdled through the elevator and she held up the wires to its mouth. It burned and popped inside the flower and the plant screamed in agony. It was sent careening back into the darkness of the shaft.
"No, you're the genius," Jane smiled at her. The elevator squeaked and was sent falling down the shaft, metal screamed and sparks flew. Everyone grabbed hold of one another and the elevator landed with a crash, sending them all tumbling out of it.
"Come on," Jane said, getting back up and grabbing Catie behind her. They all ran towards the library. She slammed the doors open and they were inside.
"Where do we hide?" Jack asked, gazing at the enormity of the place.
"Anywhere," Jane said.
"Split up," Mrs. Macabre said. "It'll be harder for her to target us, we can surprise her with an attack that way."
They all nodded and ran in different directions. Jane and Catie went through the shelves, until they heard the echo of the doors swinging back open. They hid behind a shelf.
"You think you can hide from me?" The Widow said, floating in. "Naughty, naughty." She waved the broom across the shelves and one by one, they all came tumbling down. Like dominos, the shelves fell, hitting one another with crash after crash. The twins were sent to a corner, avoiding the avalanche of books, dust filling the air. They each covered their mouths, so as not to make a sound.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," the Widow continued to taunt. She waved the broom again over a pile of books that were sent flying off to the side. Underneath was Jack, holding onto a book like a shield. "A scarecrow afraid of the slightest bump in the night. How pathetic."
"Everyone is afraid of something," Jack said and opened the book. A thunderous BOOOOOOOOO came echoing through the library, sending the Widow crashing to the other side, where Jane and Catie were hiding just feet away.
The Widow slowly regained her composure. "I have some tricks too," she said and pointed the end of the broom towards him. Fire began to swirl into a tornado, directed straight at him.
"No!" Jane cried, unable to control herself.
The fire stopped and the Widow turned to them. "There you are," she said. "So kind of you to sacrifice yourselves for him," she floated closer.
"Leave them be," Mrs. Macabre announced. "It's me you want," she stood by Jack.
The Widow turned towards her. "You never did learn to keep children out of your games," she said and held out her hand. A long, black needle grew out of her palm and she pointed it directly towards the twins.
Jane immediately placed herself in front of Catie with her back towards the Widow. "I'm sorry," she said as tears formed in her eyes. As she looked into Catie's terrified face, she realized what was going to happen. This is it, Jane thought, This was what the Reaper said. She shut her eyes tight and waited. But nothing came. Instead there was a sound behind them of the needle going through something followed by a low thump. Jane got off of Catie and they looked in silent horror at what was in front of them. Elvira laid still with the needle sticking out of her side.
"What's the matter, girls?" The Widow jeered. "Cat got your tongue?" She lunged towards them.
"I may not have enough magic," Mrs. Macabre's voice distracted them. They looked over and saw tears running down her cheeks. "But he does!" She pulled one of Jack's arms up and ripped out a single piece of straw. The Widow screamed with fury and flew towards her, broom pointed her way. The straw in Mrs. Macabre's hand turned into a whip that she flung towards the ghost. It wrapped around the broom and she tugged it, forcing it out of the Widow's hand and into hers.
The Widow floated back several paces, arms up pleading. Mrs. Macabre pointed the broom at her and chains formed around the Widow's body, capturing her.
"Time for a lesson in marine biology," the witch said. "Jane, will you do the honors?"
"W is for Widow," Jane said, picking up The Encyclopedia of Sea Monsters, "and K is for Kraken," she opened it and a gigantic sea-dragon head came out of it. Covered it dark green scales and fins, water dripped onto the floor. The Widow gazed up at it and shrieked with fear. The beast licked its lips and opened its mouth, swallowing her whole. Jane shut the book tight and it fell to the floor. It shook for a moment, then grew tentacles and slithered away.
She went back to Catie and hugged her. "Are you okay?" She asked, cupping her face with her hands.
"Yes," Catie said gently, "but I'm not the one you should be worried about," she pointed somewhere and Jane looked over.
Mrs. Macabre silently walked over to Elvira's body. She gently removed the needle and picked her up, cradling her in her arms. She went over to the fireplace and sat down in the chair. She placed Elvira in her lap and scratched her right ear, just as she liked it. They all slowly came over by her side, and stood there, saying nothing at all. Silence can leave scars, but sometimes it can allow a person to heal more than any words can. Sometimes just being there for someone can be enough.