FreeNovel
Chapter 200
Haunted Chronicles was a mega interactive live reality show produced by VisionStream, with a focus
on scientific truth-seeking.
Most shows involving ghosts and spirits were usually pretty bloody and violent and got scrutinized
pretty hardcore by the TV regulatory body.
But Haunted Chronicles was a different breed. Sure, it spun tales of ghostly figures, but what it’s really
digging at were deeper social issues.
The main tone of the show was science and education, so the content of the program was also
uplifting. VisionStream was all in on Haunted Chronicles, throwing a truckload of cash at it.
That’s why the big cheese director had the guts to invest in setting up Satan’s Lair.
Today wasn’t the premiere of the show, just the six guests shooting the trailer.
The trailer was a no-brainer, just each guest taking a stroll through Wicked Woods.
But they never saw it coming. During the shoot with the first guest, all hell broke loose.
The backstage crew had to scramble.
It was a team effort, but they managed to get a hold on Eileen!
They pulled off a daring rescue of a crew member who was on death’s door.
The guy was nearly scared to death, and the rest of the crew got a good fright too.
The director glared at Eileen, barking, “Are you out of your mind? Look at what you’ve done to him!”
The spooky sound effects and lights of Satan’s Lair were switched off, and the lights in the workspace
were turned on.
Things were bright and the people around Eileen were just regular crew in regular clothes.
It was then that Eileen finally let out a sigh of relief.
The director stared at Eileen and snapped, “Can you even continue shooting?”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtEileen, trembling, managed to say, “I need to make a call.”
The director scowled and said impatiently, “Make it quick!”
Eileen pulled out her phone and called Ophelia from a corner, but there was no answer.
She tried again but still, no answer.
Eileen remembered how Ophelia had sweet-talked her into signing onto the show.
She also remembered Ophelia mocking her when they signed the contract, telling her the penalty for
breaching the contract was half a million bucks.
Eileen went silent.
She felt like she had been played. Ophelia couldn’t get through on the phone.
Five minutes later, the director started hurrying her.
Eileen had no choice but to put away her phone and walk over, saying resignedly, “I’m ready.”
The director glanced at her and asked, “You sure you’re okay this time?”
Eileen was on the verge of tears but could only nod and say, “I’m fine…”
The director picked up the walkie-talkie and called out, “All departments, get ready, the lights and music
are connected.”
Fifteen minutes later, Eileen was back in the bone-chilling Satan’s Lair.
The director backstage was watching the slender figure on the monitor with satisfaction, nodding
approvingly.
“Not bad, just a bit too fast.”
Hearing the director’s command, the cameraman swiftly manipulated the infrared jib camera, changing
the camera angle.
The camera gradually shifted from Eileen’s calm collected back and long strides to her front.
When Eileen’s front appeared on the screen, the set fell into eerie silence.
One crew member thought he was seeing things. He rubbed his eyes and asked in disbelief, “Am I
seeing things? Is she walking with her eyes closed?”
The director was silent for a moment before saying slowly, “Yes, she’s walking…with her eyes
closed…”
She walked with her eyes closed, her steps hurried, her body rigid, her face expressionless.
She raced from one end of Wicked Woods to the other like a bat out of hell!
The assistant director frowned, clearly unhappy. “Do we need to do another take? She needs to open
her eyes at least.”
The director thought about the injured crew member still backstage who hadn’t yet recovered.
He said to the assistant director, “Yeah, let’s do another take, you tell her.”
The assistant director’s face suddenly turned sour. After a while, she said seriously, “A reshoot is going
to cost us. I think this is fine. We can fix her eyes in post-production.”
The director was speechless.
Eileen finally finished the shoot!
Back in the dressing room, she was drenched in sweat, as if she had just been fished out of the water.
Eileen grabbed a tissue and sat down on the couch across the room, still haunted by those horrifying
ghosts.
It was nightmarishly terrifying!
The dressing room was dead silent, the fluorescent light overhead blazing.
Eileen started to feel nervous again.
Eileen told herself to stop thinking about it!
To distract herself, she pulled out her phone, planning to send Ophelia a complaining message.
But when she opened WhatsApp, she saw 99+ unread messages in her group chat.
Eileen clicked and saw everyone was talking about Phyllis Sankner.
The verdict for Phyllis’ lawsuit was out. The court ruled against PrismPulse Entertainment and Kenley,
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmordering them to publicly apologize to Phyllis and compensate her for all her loss.
Eileen skimmed through a long thread, about to type a message to congratulate Phyllis on the win.
Just then, the door to the dressing room swung open!
Eileen immediately looked up, locking eyes with the girl at the door.
A minute later.
Eileen was sitting on one end of the couch, Jaqueline on the other.
Neither paid any attention to the other.
After a while, Jaqueline couldn’t help but break the silence, “So, you’re on the show too?”
Eileen responded, “None of your business.”
Jaqueline was speechless.
She knew she shouldn’t have asked!
A few more minutes passed, and the dressing room door opened again. This time, a guy walked in.
Seeing the handsome young man, Jaqueline practically leaped to her feet, exclaiming, “Bartley
Forrest!”
Bartley? Eileen looked up too.
She looked ahead and sure enough, there was Bartley, walking in through the door with a smile on his
face.
His eyes lit up the moment he saw Eileen.
He greeted the two girls in the room and then took a seat next to Eileen, chuckling as he said, “Ms.
Lopez, fancy seeing you again.”
Eileen scrunched up her eyebrows, gave Bartley a cold look, and snidely remarked, “Am I blind or
something? Isn’t it obvious we’re meeting again? Do I need you to point that out?”
Bartley went speechless.
Just then, Jaqueline cracked a smile. For some reason, seeing Eileen being cold to not just her but
also to Bartley, gave her a sense of balance, maybe even a bit of happiness.
What the heck was happening? Was her brain malfunctioning?
Bartley was totally lost. He couldn’t figure out why Eileen was suddenly giving him the cold shoulder.
By this time, Eileen was stiff-faced! The sight of Bartley bothered her.
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