Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen



"I don't wanna do this!"

Eileen was petrified of ghosts! No way she was going to set foot in a haunted house!

Egbert just gave her a cool glance and said, "You promised me."

Eileen's face fell, "But..."

Egbert raised an eyebrow. "Going back on your word?"

Eileen felt so frustrated. Pouting, she tried to negotiate, "Can I just wait for you at the entrance?"

Egbert shook his head.

Eileen thought Egbert was being totally unreasonable! But then, he leaned in closer and spoke gently, "Think of it as an adventure. You were pretty brave in Haunted Chronicles, right?"

Haunted Chronicles?

Well, she had to admit, she had done pretty well last time in Haunted Chronicles, even became the Wraith Ruler.

With that thought, Eileen suddenly felt a surge of confidence, "If it's the show footing the bill... then I guess... let's give it a shot."

Ten minutes later, they entered the haunted house, one trailing the other.

Two minutes after that.

"Ahhh! Let go of me! I want out! I don't wanna do this anymore! Wahhh! I admit my mistake!"

Egbert couldn't help but chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, soothing her, "It's just sound effects. You're scared of sound effects?"novelbin

Eileen, sheltered in Egbert's arms, clung to the hem of his shirt, nodding meekly, "I'm scared."

Egbert shook his head, then he held her tighter and guided her hands to encircle his waist.

Reluctantly, Eileen hugged Egbert's waist and buried her face in his chest, her eyes shut tight, and mumbled, "Then you lead the way."

He chuckled softly, "Alright."

Unfortunately, Egbert got them lost.

Eileen was on the verge of tears, "Why is it taking so long?"

He held her close and whispered, "It's too dark, I took a wrong turn. Let's head back."

The thought of going back petrified her, and she buried her face even deeper into the crook of Egbert's neck.

Laughing softly, he turned around and started back.

The ten-minute walk from the entrance to the exit somehow managed to consume more than half an hour of their time. When they finally stepped back into the light, Eileen was drenched in sweat.

She flopped onto the ground, reaching for her face mask before remembering she couldn't reveal her identity, and resorted to fanning herself with her palm.

Egbert helped her up, tenderly wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue, and fixed her hair, "Not bad, you were very brave."

Eileen, still in shock, muttered, "I'm never going in a haunted house again."

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you've made it through, come over here for a chance to win a prize," a staff member from the haunted house announced. Eileen was taken aback, she hadn't expected a prize draw.

She and Egbert went over and drew two consolation prize cards.

Eileen received a key chain and curiously asked, "What's the grand prize?"

"A car," the staff member replied.

Eileen became upset.

Looking at the flyer handed to her, she saw it indeed listed a car as the top prize. She grabbed Egbert's arm and exclaimed, "Let's go again!" Egbert had to follow her back.

The tickets were on the show, it wasn't costing them anything, so why not try again as many times as they could? That was Eileen's initial thought. But three minutes later, facing the familiar, ominous entrance once more, Eileen hesitated and finally stuttered, "Maybe not, the sacrifice seems too great... I'm actually quite wealthy, I... I can afford my own car..." And with that, she thrust her ticket into Egbert's hand and bolted! Egbert was speechless.

It took three hours before they rejoined Hobson, Sylvia, and the others.

Isabel had not seen her aunt in a long time. As soon as she saw Eileen return, she abandoned her ice cream and ran towards her, crying out, "Mommy!"

In that brief moment, Eileen watched as Isabel ran towards her, only to fall midway, roll over on the ground, and then lay there, her little arms scraped and bleeding.

Eileen was stunned! How could the child be so clumsy?

She rushed over and picked up Isabel, examining her arms, "How are you? Does it hurt?"

Isabel's eyes and nose were red, tears brimming, as she tried not to cry, but large drops fell from her eyes anyway.

Eileen's heart ached. She picked up the child and turned to Egbert, "Didn't we pass a first-aid station a while back?"

Egbert frowned at Isabel's scrapes and nodded, "Over there."

Hobson and Sylvia hurried over, regretful for not watching Isabel closely enough.

Hobson apologized, "I'm sorry, I..."

Egbert raised his hand, stopping him, "It's an accident, let's get to the clinic."

They rushed to the clinic, only to find it packed and had to wait in line.

It was the weekend, and the park was filled with kids-some had fallen, others bumped into things, and a few had upset stomachs from overeating. A variety of minor emergencies.

Finally, it was their turn, and Eileen held Isabel as they approached the doctor.

The doctor assessed the wounds, "Nothing serious, just some scrapes. A bit of antiseptic will do."

Eileen thought it didn't look too bad and reassured Isabel, "The doctor says it's not serious. Can you stop crying for me, Isabel?"

Isabel didn't want to cry, but tears kept coming. She buried her face in Eileen's blouse. She held the belief that if her tears remained unseen, no one would know that she was crying.

Eileen sighed and held her close, "Let's get the medicine, then."

The doctor dipped a cotton swab in alcohol to disinfect the wound.

That one swab was all it took for Isabel, who had been quietly sobbing, to burst into loud tears.

"Waaaah..." Little Isabel's cries tore through the room, her face beet-red and hiccupping with the force of her sobs.

Eileen quickly said to the doctor, "Please, could you be a bit more gentle?"

The doctor, startled by the outburst, immediately softened his touch, but it still hurt like heck!

Watching Isabel's fierce struggle, Eileen tried to distract her, "Sweetie, look over there, what's that?"

Isabel glanced in the direction and saw a small rubber ball. Sniffling, she murmured, "...a ball."

Eileen stroked her hair, asking, "Do you know why a ball is round?"

Isabel cleaned her tears with her aunt's sleeve and choked out, "...because squares don't roll."

Eileen was at a loss for words.

Realizing that analogy hadn't worked, Eileen pointed at the doctor who was applying the medicine and said, "Isabel, look, the doctor has his mask on. Do you know why he wears that mask?"

Isabel had no idea, but she hazarded a pained guess, "Is it because he's afraid I'll remember his face and come after him for revenge?"