(my mind's) fully fading | Mystery Skulls Animated [Editing]

Chapter 1: New Moon - Arthur

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

        "I'm not," he 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 could have sworn he saw a purple spark travelling along the wires before they disappeared into the dash. Unnerved, he leaned over to look. 

        "Hey, wait—isn't that the place?"

        Arthur followed her pointing finger out the side window. Before them stood a tall dark mansion, windows emanating a strange pinkish-purple light. Frowning, he unlocked his phone and checked the tip-off post they had been following. ". . . Huh. Yeah, I guess it is."

        "Sweet!" Vivi squealed, flinging her seatbelt off and almost hitting Mystery with the flying buckle. The dog gave a surprised whuff.

        Arthur stayed buckled in his seat, staring out at the haunt. It was huge, cutting an imposing black shape against the night sky, and from all the windows he could see, he couldn't imagine how many rooms the thing had. How long would it take for them to find something in a place that big?

        "C'mon, scaredy-cat," Vivi tittered, bobbing up in his window. He frowned.

        "Vivi, this place is huge. How are we gonna find anything in there?"

        She gave an exaggerated sigh and pulled the door open. "Haven't noticed the windows at all?"

        "Well, yeah," he replied uncertainly. "But. . ."

        Her eyes were on him, waiting expectantly for a rebuttal. An excuse. He could see the comeback on the tip of her tongue with the slight curl of her lip.

        He relented, clicking off his seatbelt. ". . . Nevermind. Let's go."

        "Okay, great!" Vivi bounced, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the van. "Now c'mon! You're taking so long the ghosts are all gonna fall asleep before we get in there."

        "Do ghosts even sleep?" he asked, earning an exasperated glare from Vivi.

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Arthur didn't even have the space to think before he was shoving the key into the ignition and mashing the accelerator to the floor. They were off in a screeching cloud of dust and only once he glanced at the rear view mirror to see that the thing was fucking gone that he remembered the van shouldn't even be working.

        What. The. Fuck was that?! he thought, trying to calm his breathing.

        "What the heck was that?!" Vivi cried, grabbing at his arm, and he flinched. "Arthur that ghost was literally just about to touch me and you pulled me away!!"

        "Good thing I did!" he shot back, glancing nervously to the mirror again. "Did you see that thing?! If we hadn't run we would've been roasted!"

        "I'd rather have been roasted than miss out on something huge like that!"

        "Don't you dare say that," he hissed, voice dropping seriously. Stunned, Vivi sat back, quiet, and he raked a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Look, I'm. . . I'm sorry, Vivi. I know this stuff means a lot to you but. . . our lives mean more to me than some ghost bust! That guy had it in for me! Did you see the look in his eyes? He could've just as easily snapped and gone for you, too!"