Phantasmagoria
Jurassic Traffic

Ithink this may be the coolest thing I've seen so far in this game.Hundreds of dinosaurs walking down a highway is not a common sight,after all. I see pterodactyls flying above us, screeching andscreaming in unison with the moans of the brontosauruses andstegosauruses. I see Kelsey just looking forward on top of hertriceratops, with a bored face again.

''Howfar is it to her?'' I ask Kelsey.

''Well,until the timer's up. That's when the gate keeper should take over,''she answers. Cara is going to come back?

''It'sthe gate keeper's duty to ensure you get to the next level safely,remember? I'm just guiding you down the right path, since there isnothing else to do,'' she responds to my silent thought.

''So...eventhough you're technically taking me there...,'' I begin to make senseof where we're going.

''No,I'm taking you on the right path. There are many paths to Diana. Thisone is the true path. The gate keeper will let you through to Dianaby means of a door,'' Kelsey explains.

Adoor? Alright then; so I'll just keep on this path and then wait forCara to come and let me through a door. Then I will meet...Diana.

''Arethe other participants on this road too?'' I ask. Are they gettingthis special treatment as well?

''Ican't tell you about the other participants, I'm afraid. It mayhinder your progression to Diana. I also cannot tell them of yourstatus, neither,'' Kelsey answers. Right. So there arelimits to how much information she can give. Guess that fulfils the'keeping' part of her title.

I dowonder who is left over though. However, I don't think she will tellme this either.

''Nope;no can do. I know you want to know who else is in the game, but as Isaid before, it may hinder your progression, so I have to keepsilent,'' Kelsey replies to what I was thinking again. Great. Iassume that I will have to replace out once I get to Diana.

''Ugh,what on earth is going on?'' Kelsey asks aloud.

Whatis she referring to?

Ifollow her gaze ahead and see that the dinosaur procession has begunto slow down almost to a halt. The dinosaurs begin to make beepingnoises like car horns instead of moaning. It's now become a case ofJurassic traffic now.

''Whatcan you see?'' I ask her. I try to crane my neck forward to see wherethe source of the commotion is. My diplodocus keeps getting in theway, though. What is going on?

''MARRRGGGGHHHHOOOOOO!''we hear a loud moan come from one of the dinosaurs in front. Me andKelsey look at each other, then back to where we thought we may haveheard to sound come from.

''Whatwas that?'' I ask aloud. Kelsey wants to know too, and in the nextmoment she's off. She takes her triceratops and goes off of thehighway, and races froward to see what has happened.

''It'salright! A dinosaur has just fallen over!'' she yells back to me onceshe ascertains what was causing the pile-up. I see her dismount fromthe triceratops and go into the herd of dinosaurs. I can't see herany more, but I believe she's helping the dinosaur back up. As I waitfor her to do that, I notice some of the other dinosaurs beginning tolook...agitated. Some of them begin to moan and growl louder. Soon, Ibegin hearing this from everywhere. Even my diplodocus doesn't soundtoo happy. What is happening to them...

I gazein horror as I see the rainbow-coloured sky become dark like it wasonce before. I hear thunder...no, more like...whispering...very loudwhisperings bellow out from the sky....

Awhispering thunder.

Thatis how I can describe it. And I know what the whispering signals...

''Geists!''I say aloud to myself. The situation has turned bad now. And anythingbad is always linked to that wrathful rascal Wraith.

''Kelsey!Kelsey, can you hear me?'' I shout out to Kelsey. I don't know if shecan hear me at all. I can't see her within the herd of the dinosaurs.

''Ican hear you, Mr Williams! I'm coming over to you now!'' I hear hervoice shout back. Oh, thank God. I thought she had been trampled orsomething. Or, even worse...

I seeKelsey get back up on to her triceratops and race back towards me.The dinosaurs begin to move again, but they are moving in adisorientated manner. Their groans are becoming louder and louder,but so is the whisperings.

''It'sWraith!'' I say to Kelsey as soon as she comes back.

''Iknow! I don't think he's particularly happy!'' she responds.

Youthink?

''Whatdo we do?'' I ask her. I don't know what is going to happen now. Ishe going to come for us?

''Howcome the timer's stopped?'' I hear Kelsey ask. I look to the timerlike she is doing and see the timer is on 5:09...

Andstaying on that time.

''Isit stuck?'' I ask her. I look at her face, but she looks...pale.She's staring at the timer...in shock. What's going on?

''Ohno,'' I hear her mumble.

Oh no,what?

''What'sup?'' I ask Kelsey. She slowly turns to me, then begins to have alook of panic on her face.

''He'spermeated all levels now. He's everywhere,'' she says. Everywhere? Inall the levels? The other levels are affected too?

''Ithink he wants to have a final showdown with you,'' she says. Arethose her thoughts or Diana's?

I lookup to the sky, listening to the deafening whispers of the Geists.

''Comeand get me, then,'' I say to myself.

Did Ijust say that?

Am Icrazy?

Idon't know why, but I feel...excited. Excited to be doing battle withWraith. Excited to be duelling with a remnant of Diana.

Excited...andscared.

Oh,Hannah, please wake me up from this nightmare.