Oliver and Violet were hurrying along Willow Grove's dimly lit streets, determined to get it to Mrs. Peabody's house, when they noticed a quick movement in the shadows. Oliver turned and felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of Mr. Dunor's weathered body, his visage twisting with an anger that sent shivers down the little boy's spine and his eyes crazy.
The old man growled, "You!" as he stared at Oliver's pocket watch, which he was holding in his shaking hands. "How dare you take what is mine!"
Violet took a step forward, her face unwavering. "Mr. Dunor, please, you don't understand-"
But with a brutal wave of his hand, the elderly man interrupted her. "Girl, I totally get it," he spit out. "That watch is the only thing that keeps the darkness at bay, the only thing that has protected me from the horrors that lurk in the spectral realm."
Oliver was terrified, but he also felt a wave of pity. His voice steady and serene, "We're trying to help, Mr. Dunor," he added. "We want to break the curse, to free you from the watch's hold."
Dunor laughed harshly and mockingly, and his eyes narrowed. Sneering, "Break the curse?" "Boy, you have no idea what's coming at you. The watch is an integral part of who I am and my spirit. And if I let you take it from me, I'll be damned!"
Dunor surged forward, his gnarled hands grasping for the pocket watch with a speed belying his age. Oliver attempted to sidestep, but the old man's hold was as strong as iron, and he had to work hard to prevent the cursed object from slipping out of his hands.
Violet let out a cry and attempted to remove Dunor's fingers with her own hands joining the struggle. Oliver sensed the old man becoming more unforgiving, his strength increasing due to his desperation, and the watch started to escape his grasp.
His voice was desperate as he said, "No!" It's not yours, Mr. Dunor! You're not sure what you're doing."
Oliver felt a shiver run down his spine as the old man's eyes burned with a madness that could only be expressed by a savage snarl. The tiny child felt a wave of fear rush over him as the pocket watch slid from his grasp, knowing that his attempt to break the curse had failed.
With a twisted, vengeful delight on his face, Dunor clasped the tarnished timepiece to his chest, his triumphant grin resonating through the night. "You see?" the child asked. "It is mine, and it will be mine forever. Even the ghosts of the dead cannot take it from me."
Oliver and Violet could only stare in fear as the elderly guy turned and ran away, disappearing into the darkness with his laughing fading into the distance. And at that very moment, they both realized that the struggle had only just started because, now that Dunor had the pocket watch back, the curse would only intensify and the ghostly forces that had been drawn to its power would unleash their fury against Willow Grove.