Super Princess Peach

Ch. 17

Slowly, Peach slipped out of bed and tiptoed past the bed's nightstand, where she'd placed her Vibe Necklace. She walked towards the ghost of herself and then stood directly beside it.

They looked just alike, almost like copies of each other. Peach had a gut feeling, however, that this ghost was not friendly. She could tell because the ghost-Peach was smiling slightly, and scary-looking fangs poked out from under her lips.

"Who are you?" Peach demanded.

Instead of answering, the Ghost of Peach turned and walked out of the room at a quick pace. Surprised, Peach found that she could do nothing but follow.

Slowly walking so that she would not wake up anyone, Peach tiptoed over the polished floor and closed the bedroom door behind her. She then followed the apparition down the second-floor stairs, where it was waiting by the front door, almost impatiently. When Peach approached, Peach's ghost turned and walked right through the door. Peach grabbed the doorknob and thrust it open.

It was storming outside. Lightning and thunder crashed through the sky. Heavy rain pounded the ground, forming thick brown mud and puddles that dotted the entire area. Peach looked doubtfully at the ground, for she'd forgotten to put on her boots.

But the Ghost of Peach wasn't waiting - she was steady walking through the heavy rain and towards the woods. Biting her lip, Peach stepped out onto the grass and followed her.

The rain was so heavy and in such thick sheets that Peach could hardly see where she was going; she almost ran into a tree at one point. Again, the spindly trees did nothing to stop or lessen Mother Nature's brutal onslaught - even when they were in the woods, it poured down like they were in the open. Peach's hair became stringy and drenched, and it stuck to her forehead and got into her mouth.

The faint glow of the Ghost of Peach was the only thing she could see: it kept moving forward, and she followed it as best she could.

Suddenly, the glowing white dot ahead stopped. Peach's heart leapt with hope. In the biting rain, maybe the ghost had realized that she'd been moving too quickly and was giving Peach a chance to catch up. But just where was this ghost taking her?

Peach stumbled forward, shielding her eyes as best she could, and moved closer and closer to the apparition. She was almost there...she could see the spirit's huge, blank eyes now...she could see each individual strand of her hair...

Suddenly, the Ghost of Peach's face split into a huge grin that was rimmed with fanged teeth.

Peach froze, but not quickly enough - she slipped in the mud and fell to the ground. Grunting, Peach scrabbled to get a firm hold on something, but there was nothing around but the slippery grass. She slid forward and tumbled off the edge...of a cliff!

Peach's mouth opened and she screamed, and as she began to fall, her hand caught on something protruding from the cliff face. She gasped as her fall abruptly stopped, and she crashed into the side of the cliff. She'd caught on a vine!

Gasping, Peach looked downward. Below her muddy, dangling bare feet, the Atlantic Ocean frothed and crashed against the side of the cliff, inviting her downward into its cold oblivion. Her heart leaping in panic, Peach this time looked upward. She was hanging onto a thin, slippery vine that was embedded in the side of the precipice. Above that hovered the Ghost of Peach over open air.

She'd lured her out here to kill her!

"Rest in peace, witchy!" the ghost spat in an irritatingly girly voice that sounded nothing like Peach's. Then, Peach's look-alike spun on her heels and disappeared in a vortex of white air.