I wear a Chain

In another part of town, where it looked eerie and foggy, Charles, along with Karai and Gamer, drove up near a house in a horse and carriage as Charles narrated.

Scrooge lived in the chambers that had once belonged to his old business partner, Jacob Marley.

“Apple?” Gamer offered Mr. Dickens.

“Not while I'm telling the story.” He declined.

The building was tall and eerie. And some might say, even spooky. Now, bear in mind, that Marley was dead, so what happens next may be a little frightening.

Karai raised her brow at how Charles was whispering. “Why are you talking like that?”

“I'm putting dramatic emphasis.” Charles shrugged.

At that moment, they saw Scrooge walking up to the house and stood by the door. But as he bent down to unlock the door, he looked at the face on the knocker which looked like it was morphing. He saw it turn into a shockingly familiar face to him. The knocker resembled a guy with long brown hair with black colored eyes.

“Jacob Marley?!” Scrooge gulped.

“SCROOOOOOGE!” the face bellowed scaringly. Not only did it startled Scrooge, but the horse was spooked as well, neighing in fright while causing Charles, Karai, and Gamer to fall of the carriage. As Gamer and Karai got up, they saw Charles lying on his back motionless and panicked.

Meanwhile, Scrooge looked at knocker to see it was back to normal.

“Humbug.” He murmured before he unlocked the door.

“Bro! I mean, Mr Dickens!” Gamer cried as he patted Charles’ face.

“Are you okay?” Karai shook him while holding his hat.

Just then, Charles sat up like normal, speaking to the audience. “I told you it would be frightening.”

“Least he’s alright.” Gamer muttered.

“Pardon?” Charles turned to him while accepting his hat from Karai and putting it back on.

“Nothing.”

Just then, they all heard the door close, meaning Scrooge went in. Charles got up. “Cmon! We’ll sneak to the back.”

As they hurried, Charles continued to narrate.

It was always dark in Scrooge’s chambers. Darkness was cheap and Scrooge loved it. But the incident at the door had Scrooge troubled, causing him to do a thorough investigation from top to bottom.

“Okay. Hold up!” The trio stopped as Gamer continued to Charles. “How do you know what’s going on in there? He’s up there and we’re down.”

“Like I said, it’s a narrator thing.” Charles shrugged.

To conduct this search, Scrooge was forced to light all the lamps.

At that moment, they all looked up to see the windows light up.

“How does he do that?” Gamer whispered to Karai.

“Don’t look at me. He’s your brother.” Karai shrugged.

After he lit all the lamps, Scrooge slowly walked up the stairs. Unknown to him, a shadow of a figure covered in chains followed right behind him. Scrooge heard the footsteps and chains rattling behind him. But when he quickly turned around, there was nothing there. He took a couple more steps and eyed behind him and turned around again only to see nothing again. Scrooge looked franticly around the staircase, looking for any signs of life before deadpanning to himself.

“Humbug.” He mumbled as he made it up to his bedroom, unaware he slammed the door on the shadow.

------

Not long after, Scrooge was dressed in his evening wear, having his dinner by the fireplace. Suddenly, the service bell rang for no reason. Before Scrooge could go back to his dinner, it rang again. The fire then died down suddenly as he then heard a spooky voice call out to him.

“Ebeneezer Scroooooooge!”

Scrooge swallowed his breath as a figure fazed through the door. His face was what the knocker turned to. He wore a white bandage around his brown hair and all around his body was a long chain with trinkets and containers. His skin was as white as snow and his eyes were black as sackcloth (Night Shine).

At last, Scrooge gained the courage to ask the glaring figure. “Who-who are you?”

The figure didn’t change his face as he spoke gravely. “Ask me not who I am. Ask me who I was.”

“Very well. Who were you?”

“In life, I was your partner, Jacob Marley.”

Scrooge did not look convinced. “You look like him, but I don’t believe it.”

“Why do you doubt your senses?” Marley asked.

“Because a little thing can affect a man. A slight disorder of the stomach can make them cheat! You may be a little bit of undigested beef.” Marley just flapped his hand as Scrooge talked. “A blob of mustard. A crumb of cheese. Yes. There’s more gravy than the grave about you!”

Marley then breathed heavily before howling frightfully, startling Scrooge as he fell off his chair.

“Do you believe in me NOW?” he growled.

Scrooge frightfully got back in his chair. “Why have you come to me, Marley?”

“It is required of every man that their spirit within him to walk abroad among his fellow man. And if that spirit does not go forth in life, he is condemned to do so after death! To witness what he cannot share but might’ve shared and turned to happiness. See me as I am. Condemned to walk the earth for eternity. Because I have wasted my life.”

“Wasted? How, dear Marley?” Scrooge asked.

“Remember when I was alive, I robbed the widows and swindled the poor?”

“And all in the same day. That was a personal record for you, Jacob.” Scrooge recalled.

“Well, I WAS WRONG! I handed myself to money! Instead of helping my neighbor! Now I must carry this chain of greed and heartlessness I forged in life!” Marley moaned and began to sing.

After Marley finished, Scrooge tried to reason with his old partner. “But it is not right for you to be so condemned! You were only doing business in life as I do now! And business is business.”

“Mankind should have been my business.” Marley then turned to Scrooge. “You still have time to repent!”

“How?” Scrooge begged.

“Tonight, you will be visited by three spirits.”

“Haunted? I’d rather not.”

Marely howled again at Scrooge’s remark. “Without their visits, you cannot even hope to escape the fate I suffer! Expect the first ghost when the bell tolls one!”

“Can’t- can’t I meet them all at once and get it over with?” Scrooge hoped.

Marley then led Scrooge to the window. “Come.” Scrooge looked to see other ghosts like Marley (Rahzar, Shredder, Kavaxas, Newtralizer, Mozar, and Kraang droids), all wearing chains and looking miserable. “See the phantoms that roam the night air. Each with chains. None free. And I must join them.” Marley floated down to the other spirits and then called out to his partner. “Observe and know our misery, o Scrooge. Now we seek to do good in human matters. But lost the power forever. Repent.”

The other spooks joined Marley in chanting. “Repent! REPENT! REPENT! REPENT!”

“No! NO!” Scrooge quickly slammed his window shut and hurried to his chair.

Soon he opened his eyes to see his fireplace lit up like normal, like nothing happened.

And with that, the spirit of Scrooge’s partner and the other spirits vanished, leaving him one again alone in his room.

Gamer shuddered. “That was creepy! Should we be worried any of the kids in the audience?”

“Nah, this is culture.” Charles shrugged.

“Ah.” Karai and Gamer nodded.

“So, what now?” Karai asked.

“C’mon. let’s get in position for the next scene.” Charles sugeested as he led the two forward to the back of the chambers.

To Be Continued

Author's Note:

Special thanks to Jebens1 for a little help on the dialogue.

There's another version of Jacob Marley's song from a broadway version of A Christmas Carol, but I chose the short version from Ranklin/Bass's 'Stingiest Man in town'.

And I think that's it.

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