Chapter VII - The Monumental Meal

To celebrate the life of Butler Burns, at the food hall, many chefs were cooking the mouth-watering buffet. The smell of succulent meats lingered in the air - travelling down the colossal hallway and the imposing layout of the room suggested that this was no ordinary meal that was about to commence. The captivating ceiling of the food hall was intricately carved, with small speckles of gold dotted in random places. An extravagant dinner table ridiculously stretched over a large area of the dining room, with long, heavy curtains hanging from the monstrous tinted windows in the corners of the room. The dimly lit room made it hard to see for the Horror Hillians, although it did paint a significant ambience. Shadows cast in the corners of the vast interior as the lights only focused on the centre of the dining room. The bar, which was placed to the side of the dinner table, was lit up with lavish neon lights reflecting off the hanging wine glasses, and the cocktail maker rested on the side of the counter waiting to serve the customers. Soon after everything was set up, the meal began.

Sir Hollow Eyes had recently recovered from his electric shock, so he was proud to reappear and welcome the Horror Hillians into the glorious room.

Peering through the glass pane in the magnificent, imperial door, stood a large, slender silhouette. The excessively tall figure loomed over the hallway. His name was Viscount Phantom. He was a proud Horror Hillian who didn't hesitate to point something out of place. Viscount Phantom had died many centuries ago in the Elizabethan Era and spoke with a Shakespearean dialect. Lord Horror Hill had come across his body encased in a block of magical ice that preserved his functions and organs and had taken him to Horror Hill. Earlier, Viscount Phantom had been busy poaching. He was extremely fond of shooting innocent little animals that lived in the depth of Blood Hill Woods. He had a pointy, hawked nose and a gargantuan smile that hid his teeth. Confidently striding into the dinner hall, he realised he was the first member to sit down. Greeted by Sir Hollow Eyes at the door, Viscount Phantom casually walked into the room before leisurely slouching back in his chair.

The next person to arrive was Electro Von Poison. Smirking, he took off his brown flat cap - before rudely flinging it across the room. Sir Hollow Eyes handed Electro the menu. Electro snatched it off the dainty Horror Hillian and chose a seat next to Viscount Phantom at the table, whom he was good friends with.

****

Everyone was seated and waiting patiently for the meal to commence. Twiddling his thumbs, Electro spoke:

"May I make an announcement, Lord Horror Hill?"

"Well, if you must Von Poison," Lord Horror Hill remarked in a bewildered manner.

"I would like to oversee the dungeon from now on as I do think that you have a lot of jobs to do around the house and it would be better if we were all assigned roles."

Thinking deeply, Lord Horror Hill started to respond to the random proclaim:

"Electro Von Poison, I do think I am very capable of accomplishing my duty! Now sit down at once." Lord Horror Hill formulated his response in a strong and effective manner.

Soon after the interruption, the buffet was served. The Horror Hillians jumped off their seats and raced to grab their food. They created an orderly queue and patiently congregated around the bar - collecting their drinks.

Chomping down on the exquisite buffet, everyone ate in silence until... Dr Lazer spoke - finishing his mouthful, he began:

"I have a speculation, Lord; may I address it to all the Horror Hillians?"

Dr Lazer commented in an extremely polite manner. "If you must, but no talking after this. I would like to eat in peace," Lord Horror Hill chuckled.

"When I visited the med bay a couple of days ago, I gazed at Butler Burns - all solitary and still. I wanted to say my goodbyes, so I took off the blanket to see his face for the final time. What I saw was horrific..." Dr Lazer's voice quickly trailed off and was replaced with a more firm, harsh tone.

Lord Horror Hill slammed his knife and fork on the table and stood up to speak.

"Vincent John Lazer! We have spoken about this. You do not bring any of this up at the dinner table!"

"Let him finish, Lord. I'm quite curious as to what he has to say." Electro Von Poison grimaced at Dr Lazer, his eyes piercing through his soul, waiting for him to speak again.

"As I was saying, when I went in the room and looked at Burns, his eyes were gouged, his hair was chaotic and the worst of all, some sort of white froth dribbled from his mouth. I am not trying to stir up any trouble whatsoever, for I don't like that nonsense, but I think we may have a murderer amongst us. I am not pointing anyone out, but Electro does seem very suspicious as he was the last person to exit the med bay." Dr Lazer composedly spoke in a poised manner.

"Right enough, young Lazer! We are not pointing fingers at anyone. As I said, this is not to be discussed now!" Lord Horror Hill shouted across the room.

"I did what? You're really accusing me of a crime I did not commit! I don't think so!" Electro gasped in astonishment, full of rage.

Suddenly, he darted a table knife at Dr Lazer. Ducking, Dr Lazer threw his goblet of red wine towards Electro. Lord Horror Hill bellowed in anger at the bubbling chaos. Viscount Phantom joined in to try and calm the situation. Food zipped across the room. Showers of gravy and meat hammered down on the innocent Sir Hollow Eyes and all over the exquisitely decorated room. Splatters of the meat and potato pie dripped from the walls. Shards of smashed plates surrounded the floor. Sir Hollow Eyes stood motionless in astonishment; horror filled his veins. Reckless Horror Hillians darted across the room, screaming, violently attacking each other in fury!

"Stop this at once! Everyone, calm down immediately before anything worse happens!" Sir Hollow Eyes wailed in an irritated uproar.

Still, no Horror Hillians obeyed the sensible individual. Blood spouted from Dr Lazer's nose. Lord Horror Hill hobbled towards the door, swiftly exiting the hectic hysteria; not taking any attempt to resolve the situation! Also, rushing towards the door was Dr Lazer, who was terribly guilty for starting the argument - though he did think he came across quite polite. Electro's violent side had now fully emerged as he shoved Viscount Phantom to one side. The Viscount began to scuttle to the door, dodging Electro's attacks, and leaping for safety. He hurried to his bedroom across the corridor in exhaustion and closed the door.

Sir Hollow Eyes stared at Electro and the aftermath of the situation; he sighed in exasperation - again, holding his hands on his head.