Monster Problems 2: Down for the Count

by R. L. Ullman

  “And by the way,” Aura says. “I’m also questioning what side you’re on.”

  For a second, her comment catches me off guard.

  But then I realize I shouldn’t be so surprised. I mean, I just admitted to committing an act of treason! But I just couldn’t let Kat take the blame for opening the vault door. I’m about to respond, when—

  THOOM!

  Suddenly, a green hand smashes through the wall!

  “Zombies!” Rage yells.

  “Take the girl and run!” Dr. Hagella commands, slamming the hand back through the wall with a fire extinguisher. “This is a sanctuary for the sick and injured, and if those zombies think they can mess it up they’ve got another thing coming.”

  Then, Dr. Hagella unhooks Kat from her IV and Rage and I help her to her feet. As she stands up, our eyes meet and I realize that underneath the whiskers and cat ears, she’s actually really pretty.

  “Um,” I stammer. “Do you think you can run?”

  “Like the wind,” she says.

  “Great,” Rage says. “Let’s go!”

  “Students, get behind me,” Dr. Renfield says, bursting out the infirmary door onto the school grounds.

  We follow close behind, and when I finally get outside, my eyes grow wide with horror, because there are literally dozens of zombies lumbering across campus. Their red eyes shine brightly through the night as they limp along aimlessly in packs of three of four.

  “Don’t let them bite you!” Aura calls out. “They’ll turn you into a zombie!”

  Roger that. I’m having enough trouble just being a vampire. The last thing I need is to become a vampire-zombie!

  “Dr. Renfield!” Rage yells.

  At the sound of his voice, I spin around to see two zombies grab Dr. Renfield’s arms. But just as one opens his mouth, he’s engulfed in a giant fireball and releases Dr. Renfield’s arm! Then, Dr. Renfield kicks the other zombie in the midsection and pulls free just as that zombie goes up in flames.

  Huh? How’d that happen?

  But as the two zombies collapse to the ground I have my answer. Because Professor Hexum is standing behind them with his walking stick in one hand and a torch in the other.

  “Thank you, Dr. Renfield, but I’ll take it from here,” Hexum says. “I need you to go back to the auditorium immediately and help Professor Holmwood, Professor Seward, and Mrs. Clops relocate the other students. Mr. Murray’s safety is now my concern.”

  Hexum’s comments surprise me. I mean, why is he coming back here for me when so many other kids are in danger?

  “B-But…” Dr. Renfield stammers, looking at me and then back at Hexum.

  “Dr. Renfield,” Hexum says firmly, “the Headmaster gave me full authority in his absence. Please go to the auditorium and help the others. That is an order and not a request.”

  “Of course,” Dr. Renfield says finally. Then, he looks at me and says, “Take care of yourself, Mr. Murray. Hopefully, we will meet again.”

  I smile weakly as he heads off, but for some reason, his words strike me oddly.

  “Let’s go!” Hexum barks, grabbing my hoodie and pulling me forward.

  “But, my friends,” I say, digging my feet in to stop his momentum. “I can’t just leave them.”

  Hexum turns to Aura, Rage, and Kat.

  “Very well,” he sighs, “come along.”

  “Yes!” Rage says, pumping his fist.

  “Now move!” Hexum orders.

  “Where are we going?” I ask.

  Before Hexum can answer, we’re suddenly surrounded by six more zombies!

  “Get close to me!” Hexum commands.

  But as we circle around Hexum, even more zombies close in. Hexum waves his torch around us and in the blazing light I can see the zombies’ decaying faces clearly. But Hexum’s flame does its job, keeping the creatures at bay. If I wasn’t about to die right now, I’d probably throw up.

  “W-What now?” Rage asks.

  That’s when I notice he’s breathing heavier.

  Oh no.

  If Rage loses control and turns into a purple sledgehammer, we’ll have an entirely different problem on our hands. I need to keep him calm.

  “Relax, buddy,” I say, putting my hand on his shoulder. “We’ve got this. Don’t we, Professor Hexum? Um, Professor Hexum?”

  But when I look up, I notice his eyes are closed! He’s focusing on something.

  FWOOOMMM!

  Suddenly, a giant ring of fire erupts all around us!

  “Move forward!” Hexum barks.

  At first, I resist. I mean, I don’t really want to walk straight into a raging fire. But Hexum pushes me forward, right into the zombies’ path! But instead of getting burned, the ring of fire moves with us—keeping us safely in the center of its fiery circle!

  As we charge ahead, the zombie crowd falls back, afraid of the fire blazing around us. And that’s when I realize something else—there’s no heat! If we were surrounded by an actual fire, we’d be incinerated instantly!

  So, that can only mean one thing—it’s an illusion!

  Hexum must be using his mental powers to trick the simple-minded zombies into thinking this is a real fire—and I guess my simple mind as well. Within seconds, we’ve cleared a path through the zombie brigade and made our way off of school grounds through a hole in the busted perimeter wall. Then, Hexum turns and waves his arm, causing a massive wall of fire to flare up behind us.

  There’s no way they’ll try crossing that.

  Kat looks shell-shocked.

  “W-What’s happening?” she asks.

  “Jedi mind tricks,” I say.

  “What now?” Aura asks. “What about our friends? Shouldn’t we go back and save them?”

  “No, it is too dangerous,” Hexum says. “Besides, they are in good hands with the other teachers. There is an underground escape route from the auditorium that will take them safely off campus. But Mr. Murray is no longer safe here.”

  “So, where are we going to go?” Rage asks.

  “Wait,” Kat says sniffing the air. “It’s Peter. I… I think I’ve picked up his scent. He went straight ahead. Through those woods.”

  “Excellent,” Hexum says. “We can follow the trail.”

  “Hold on,” Aura says. “Do you actually trust her? What if it’s a trap?”

  “I certainly hope so,” Hexum says heading for the woods. “Let’s go.”

  I smile at Aura, but she just frowns and floats after Hexum. I look at Rage who merely shrugs his shoulders and takes Kat by the arm, helping her along. But before I follow, I take one last view of the zombie-infested academy.

  I can’t imagine things getting worse, but deep down inside I have the dreadful feeling it will.

  “Mr. Murray!” Hexum calls out.

  “Coming!” I call back. Then, I flip my hood over my head and get moving.

  ***

  It seems like we’ve been walking for hours. Every now and then, we cross a road or some train tracks, but other than that, it’s been all woods all of the time. Hexum is still leading the way, which is pretty impressive since he needs a walking stick. Other than Aura, the rest of us look like we could collapse at any second.

  ​Kat and I are a few paces behind Hexum. Once Rage tired out, I stepped in to help her over the rough terrain, but for a girl who just stepped out of a hospital bed, she’s doing really well on her own. In fact, she seems to have no problem scampering over anything in our path.

  ​“You’re pretty agile,” I say.

  ​“Oh, thanks,” she says, smiling at me. “I guess it’s one of the perks of being part-cat. The tail not-so-much. I know I look freaky, but what’s the story with your friends? I mean, that doctor had green skin like a witch. And if I didn’t know better, I’d say that girl who doesn’t like me is a ghost. And you look, well, sort of like—”

  ​“—a vampire?” I say, finishing her sentence for her. “Yeah, well, that’s because I am a vampire. Well, half-vampire anywa
y.”

  “And what about the blond kid?” she asks.

  “You don’t want to know,” I say. “But I guess we all seem strange from your point of view. We didn’t exactly explain things to you back in the infirmary. You see, our school is a school for monster kids.”

  “Monster kids?” she says.

  “Yeah,” I say. “That’s us.”

  “Well, okay then,” she says. “I guess that explains a lot. And by the way, thanks for stepping in about that door thing. Honestly, I didn’t know what your friend was accusing me of.”

  “Oh, that’s just Aura,” I say. “Trust me, she’s okay. Just give her some time. I’m sure she’ll turn around. Well, I hope she’ll turn around. Anyway, I’m sorry about what happened to you and your brother. It’s sounds like you’ve been through a lot.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” she says. “He’s a good person. I just wish he wasn’t so impulsive all the time. That’s why I feel like I need to keep an eye on him. I never know what he’s going to get into—AH!”

  Suddenly, Kat stops and doubles over. Based on her expression, it looks like she’s in a lot pain.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, grabbing her shoulders so she doesn’t topple over. “Professor Hexum, stop!”

  “Y-Yes,” she says, straightening up and leaning back. “Just got a sharp pain in my side.”

  “That’s not good,” Rage says, catching up to us. “Maybe you should sit down for a minute.”

  “N-No,” she says, breathing heavily. “I don’t want to lose Peter’s scent. He’s close. I can smell it. Let’s just keep moving.”

  “Are you sure?” Hexum asks.

  “Yes,” she says.

  Rage and I stand next to Kat and put one of her arms over each of our shoulders. As we start up again, I’m actually surprised by how light her body seems. It’s like her bones are hollow or something.

  “You know,” Rage says. “the thing I can’t figure out is why the Dark Ones would send zombies onto campus? I mean, if you wanted to really destroy stuff, wouldn’t you send werewolves?”

  “That’s simple,” Aura says, floating beside me. “Most people think zombies are brainless, but in truth they’re just single-minded. If you give a zombie a goal, it will pursue that goal until it’s destroyed. I think you need to brush up on your Monsterology.”

  “That makes sense,” I say. “Remember when we went to the graveyard and those zombies were digging up those bones? I didn’t think of it then, but I guess that’s what they were told to do.”

  “Exactly,” Aura says.

  “Okay,” Rage says, “so what do you think they were looking for when they invaded our campus?”

  “Bram, probably,” Aura says. “Hexum said he wasn’t safe there anymore.”

  “Great,” I say, but just then something else pops into my head.

  “What’s wrong, Bram?” Aura asks. “Now you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “What? Nothing.” I say, “Except, Dr. Renfield told me there was something else on campus that Count Dracula was searching for. Something called the Spear of Darkness.”

  “Nonsense!” Hexum blurts out suddenly.

  What’s his problem? I didn’t even realize he was listening to our conversation.

  “That blowhard doesn’t know what he’s babbling about,” Hexum continues. “The Spear of Darkness is not on campus and we will not discuss it any further.”

  Rage, Aura and I exchange glances.

  What’s got him so riled up?

  “What’s the Spear of Darkness?” Rage mouths.

  “Tell you later,” I mouth back.

  “Halt,” Hexum says, blocking us with his walking stick .

  Suddenly, I realize we’re standing on the edge of a cliff. With all of the thick underbrush, I didn’t even see the ground drop off. One wrong step from here and we could have tumbled hundreds of feet to our doom. Well, I guess this is a dead end. I start to turn back, when—

  “There,” Kat says, pointing across the way.

  Huh? There? There where?

  But when I follow her arm, I see an oddly shaped structure in the distance, peeking out from behind a tall mountain. It’s definitely not a rock formation or anything natural. In fact, it kind of looks like… a tower?

  “He’s in there,” Kat says. “My brother is in there.”

  DID YOU MIST ME?

  As we stand at the cliff’s edge, looking up at the dark tower randomly jutting out from the top of the mountain, there’s only one thought running through my mind:

  Nothing good ever happens in a dark tower.

  And this one certainly fits the bill. It’s tall and thin, rising from the mountainside like a twisted spire, its tip cutting through the full moon hanging behind it in the night sky. And as I scan the mountain itself, there’s no obvious way to get up to the tower, other than scaling the mountain itself.

  “Um, what is that thing?” Rage asks.

  “Moreau’s headquarters,” Kat says. “That’s where he took Peter and me. That’s where he turned us… into this.”

  “Moreau?” Rage says, his voice cracking. “He’s… in there?”

  “Yes,” Kat says. “I can smell his putrid cologne from here. He’s in there. And so is my brother.”

  “Okay,” I say. “Everyone stay calm for a minute. Let’s take Kat’s word for it that they’re both up there. That tower has a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of everything around it. I bet they can see for miles. There’s no way anyone could sneak up on them.”

  “No,” Hexum says. “But we are not just anyone. Students, please huddle.”

  “Alright,” Aura says, rubbing her palms together. “I feel a plan coming on.”

  As Aura, Rage, and I circle around Hexum, Kat stands on the cliff’s edge.

  “Now listen closely,” Hexum says, gathering us all in with his walking stick. “If Katherine believes her brother is in that tower, then the Bell of Virtue is there as well. It must be retrieved to restore the academy’s Supernatural protection from evil. But Moreau is a brutal adversary. He will not spare you simply because you are children. Therefore, this task is far too dangerous for your skill level. You will all wait here until I return.”

  “What?” Aura and I blurt out at the same time.

  “Stop!” Rage adds, pointing at Hexum.

  “Excuse me?” Hexum says, his eyebrows raised.

  “No,” Rage says, moving around Hexum and pointing down the cliff. “Stop her!”

  Stop her? Stop who?

  But when I turn around, Kat is gone! And that’s when I see her climbing down the side of the cliff! While Hexum was talking to us, she took off on her own!

  Is she crazy! Dr. Moreau will see her coming.

  I’ve got to stop her!

  Without giving it a second thought, I picture myself as a bat and transform instantly. Then, I take flight.

  “Bram, wait!” Aura yells, but I’m already soaring through the air.

  “Mr. Murray, get back here at—!” Hexum yells, his voice fading in the distance.

  I don’t want to disobey him, but Kat is in real danger. At first, I don’t see her, but then I pick her up using radar. She’s already made it down to the base of the cliff and is bounding across the rocky surface towards the mountain. She’s fast—maybe even faster than me—but I’ve got to catch her before we get—

  AROOOOOOOOOOOOO!

  —spotted.

  Uh oh. That sounded like a horn—otherwise known as an alarm—and it came from the top of the mountain! I glance back up at the cliff and Hexum, Rage, and Aura are gone. Hopefully, they’re hiding back in the woods.

  But that’s more than I can say for Kat, because alarm or no alarm, she’s clearly not stopping. In fact, she’s reached the bottom of the mountain and is starting to climb up! It’s a long way to the top so this might be my only chance to stop her before Moreau sends who knows what army down to fight us.

  But just as I swoop in, I hear it:

  FWOOP. FW
OOP. FWOOP.

  What’s that?

  Suddenly, I pick up something massive coming right at me through the air! Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a pair of giant wings, and I dart down just as it zooms over me, generating so much wind force that it sends me into a tailspin! I flap my wings hard, pulling myself up before I crash onto the rocks below.

  What the heck was that?

  I loop around, but I don’t see it anywhere. And what’s even worse is that I don’t see Kat either! Did that thing get her?

  “Psssst!” comes a voice. “Up here! Quick!”

  I scan the mountain until I pick up a white speck waving at me from inside a cave. It’s Kat! She’s found a hideout in the side of the mountain! I’ve got to get to her and then get us out of here before—

  SQUAWK!

  I flap left as the creature nosedives past me!

  Okay, that was way too close for comfort! But when I look down, I do a double take, because what’s circling around me is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s absolutely huge, with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion! It’s like some crazy person decided to stick two animals together just for laughs.

  Except, in this case, the crazy person happens to be Dr. Moreau. But as it soars around me, I remember studying a beast like this in Monsterology class. I think it’s called a griffin, and it’s like facing two predators in one!

  “Don’t just sit there!” Kat yells. “Move!”

  Well, I don’t need to be told twice. The only problem is that the griffin isn’t just going to just let me go. I beat my wings as hard as I can, heading for Kat, but there’s no way I’m going to outrun this thing. I mean, it’s wingspan is like twenty feet long! I’m a bat snack!

  It's coming!

  Please, please somehow miss me.

  Wait a second. ‘Miss’ me? ‘Mist’ me?

  Suddenly, a lightbulb goes off.

  I focus my concentration on becoming a mist.

  But it’s right behind me!

  It’s ten feet away.

  Can’t lose focus.

  Five feet.

  C’mon!

  One foot.

  Please.

  Suddenly, my body feels weightless, and as the griffin flies through me, my molecules scatter everywhere.

  Yes! I did it!