Nightmare Academy

by Dean Lorey

  “Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you,” Charlie said. “They only chew on electrical stuff.”

  “I know that, Noob, but they’re still disgusting.”

  “I’m sure they’re not crazy about you, either,” Charlie replied, snatching the Gameboy back. “I discovered this area before, by accident, when we were trying to find my parents.” He gave the Gameboy to Violet. “Here, turn it on and round up as many Gremlins as you can. They’ll be attracted to it.”

  “I’ll do it,” Theodore offered. “I can do it better than she can.”

  Charlie shook his head. “She’s a Banisher. This is the kind of stuff she’s supposed to do. And besides, I need you to open a portal back to the Nightmare Academy.”

  “The Nightmare Academy?” Theodore said. “But I thought we were going to portal to—”

  “It’s not for us; it’s for Brooke,” Charlie interrupted. “I’m sending her home.”

  “Wrong,” Brooke said. “I’m not leaving.”

  Charlie could feel his brain starting to hurt. “Why not?”

  “Because you three are obviously up to something, and I’m going to make sure you don’t get away with it. Whatever you’re doing, I’m going with you.”

  “Forget it,” Charlie said.

  “Just try to stop me, then,” Brooke replied, stepping toward him. Her very nearness was incredibly intimidating…and a little thrilling. Charlie wanted to scream, but he forced himself to calm down.

  “Fine,” he said, then turned to Violet. “Let’s just get started.”

  “What are we gonna do with the Gremlins once I round them up?” she asked.

  “You’ll see. Go ahead, turn it on.”

  “This is gonna be gross,” she muttered as she flipped the switch on the Gameboy. Instantly, hundreds of Gremlins swiveled their heads toward her, like rockets homing in on a target. With a groan, she ran into the thickest group of them, waving the Gameboy wildly. The Gremlins frantically scrambled toward her, leaping and jumping, trying to pry the tiny device from her fingers. There were so many of them that soon she was completely submerged in a pile of the frantic, grasping creatures.

  “Why are you doing this?” Brooke demanded.

  “You’ll find out in just a second,” Charlie said, and then, closing his eyes, he began to concentrate on opening another portal.

  The Headmaster stood before the Director of the Nightmare Division in the polished chrome and steel of the High Council chamber. She was clearly unhappy to be there, particularly since Drake was in a screaming frenzy.

  “I warned you,” he yelled, spittle flying from his mouth in a disgusting spray. “I told you that if you took the boy, the consequences of his actions would rest on your shoulders.”

  “Indeed you did,” she replied.

  “And now the very worst has happened. We face not only Verminion but Barakkas, as well, not to mention an army of fully mature Nethercreatures, ready and waiting to attack.”

  “That’s true,” she agreed. “And yet…we discovered that information, as well as the exact location of their lair, solely through the extraordinary efforts of the boy.”

  “This is not a shell game, Brazenhope, and you will not protect the boy with your sleight-of-hand wordplay. He has failed us most grievously and he will be punished.”

  “He will not,” she said simply. “I will not allow it.”

  “I alone am in charge here and my word is law!” Drake snapped. “The boy will be Reduced and kept under the control of the Nightmare Division until such a time as we feel he is no longer a threat.”

  The twelve Council members nodded their assent.

  “If that’s your decision,” the Headmaster said mildly, “you will force me to take action I do not wish to take.”

  Drake leaped from his chair and stormed toward her.

  “Do not threaten me, woman,” he said, veins bulging on a forehead that had gone scarlet with fury. “I have tolerated you long enough because of your history of service to the Nightmare Division, but if you stand against me in opposition to all of our laws, I will declare you a traitor and use the entire resources of the ND to bring you to justice!”

  “Which laws are you referring to?” she replied. “The ones we have always followed, or the new ones you seem to vomit up daily?”

  Suddenly, a portal opened up in the middle of the High Council chamber. Rex rushed through, followed by Tabitha.

  “What is this?” Drake thundered. “It’s forbidden to portal directly into the Nightmare Division. You must portal outside and come through security first.”

  “Wish we could,” Rex said, “but I’m afraid there’s no time for formalities.” He turned to the Headmaster. “It’s about Charlie,” he said. “He’s gone and done something—not sure what, exactly, but I know it’s not good.”

  The Headmaster sighed. “I was afraid of this,” she said. Suddenly, another portal snapped open inside the High Council chamber.

  “What now?” Drake shrieked. “Have we lost all sense of procedure? Have we simply descended into chaos?”

  And that was when a Gameboy sailed through the portal and landed with a crash on the hard stone floor.

  “What in the world…,” Drake muttered, bending down to look at it. Just then, hundreds of Gremlins leaped through the open portal in an uncontrollable flood. They quickly engulfed the Director, grabbing desperately for the Gameboy. “Help!” he shrieked. “I’m being attacked! Assassination attempt!”

  But before anyone could respond, the Gremlins suddenly stopped fighting over the tiny device as they realized, in an almost singular rush, that they were now in an electronic candy store with tasty wires and cables and brightly buzzing computer terminals above and below and on all sides.

  As Director Drake continued his calls for the destruction of the rampaging creatures, the Gremlins abandoned him and immediately attacked the walls and ceiling, ripping open panels to chew on the wiring beneath, scrabbling through vents to get to the juicy inner workings of the technological marvel that was the Nightmare Division.

  “To arms! To arms!” Drake yelled. “The ND has been compromised! Banish them before we lose power!”

  As the flood of Gremlins disappeared into the electric heart of the Nightmare Division, hundreds more poured through the portal to take their place. But they weren’t alone.

  Three small humans came through as well, unnoticed.

  Almost unnoticed.

  The Headmaster spied Charlie, Violet, and Theodore as they darted through the rampaging Gremlins and sneaked out of the High Council chamber.

  “Clever boy,” she said.

  The hallway was a frenzy of activity.

  Gremlins ran amok, skittering along the ceiling and running frantically underfoot as various workers tried to repair the damage. Nethermancers and Banishers worked furiously to get rid of the troublesome creatures. The overhead lights flickered uncertainly and showers of sparks rained from EXIT signs, computer terminals, and the Salivometers that locked various doors.

  “What are we looking for?” Violet asked, leaping over a snake’s nest of hissing cables.

  “The bracer,” Charlie said. “Barakkas’s bracer is being kept here, and we need to find it.”

  “Mr. Benjamin!” a voice shouted from behind them.

  Charlie turned to see the Headmaster racing toward them, followed by Rex and Tabitha. Brooke trailed behind with a smug smile.

  “Great,” Theodore said. “She told on us.”

  “What do we do?” Violet asked.

  “I guess we’d better talk to them,” Charlie said.

  “I would ask you what in the world you think you’re doing,” the Headmaster admonished as she arrived at the group of three kids, “but I’m afraid I can already guess. I know you want to save your parents, but stealing Barakkas’s bracer to bargain for their lives is not the way.”

  “That’s what I was trying to tell them!” Brooke chimed in.

  “You must understand,” the He
admaster continued, “the Named will say anything to retrieve it and then they will kill you, all of you…or worse.”

  “Exactly,” Brooke said.

  “Look, I’m not crazy,” Charlie said. “I know this doesn’t seem like it makes sense, but I do have a plan. I’m not as stupid as you think.”

  “We do not think you’re stupid, Mr. Benjamin,” the Headmaster replied. “But you are young and impulsive and may not fully understand the dangers you place yourself and your friends in, not to mention the rest of us. There is a larger picture here that must be considered.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve forgotten about the smaller one. That’s the one I’m looking at, and in that one, people die. People I know and love. I won’t let that happen.”

  “I understand your passion, but I simply can’t let you do what you’re trying to do. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.”

  “Then you’re going to have to stop me,” Charlie said. “Because I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t.”

  There was a momentary standoff.

  Suddenly, the overhead lights throughout the building went dark as the Gremlins continued their rampage. Emergency lights popped on, bathing everything in a frantic red glow that was interrupted only by the white brilliance of erupting sparks. Smoke and shouts filled the air.

  “Look, I know I may be completely wrong here,” Charlie said softly, “and I know the consequences of being wrong could be terrible. This may not seem like the most logical thing to do or the safest, but it’s the right thing—I know it is, in my gut. Over and over, you guys asked me to trust your judgment, and I did. Now I’m asking you to do the same for me.”

  The Headmaster stared at him intently, almost as if trying to read his mind and figure out the truth behind his words.

  Suddenly, a voice boomed from the far end of the hallway. It was Director Drake. “Banishers! Nethermancers!” he yelled, stomping toward them through a rat’s nest of wall panels and sparking cables. “You will apprehend the traitor, Charlie Benjamin, as well as his accomplices, and bring them to the Reduction Room immediately!”

  Several Banishers and Nethermancers turned to Charlie.

  “Headmaster?” Charlie said.

  “Go,” she replied, gesturing down the hallway. “Barakkas’s bracer is behind a door marked SPECIAL PROJECTS.”

  “You can’t let him do that!” Brooke protested. “It’s…it’s against the rules! There will be consequences!”

  “I certainly hope they won’t be too severe,” the Headmaster said, “because you’re going with them.”

  “What?” Brooke gasped.

  “What?” Charlie echoed.

  “You are a Facilitator, young lady. Your job is to facilitate, which means to help, and that is precisely what I expect you to do.”

  “But the Nightmare Division’s Guide to the Nether—[ ]Drake edition—clearly states that—”

  “I do not teach the Drake edition at the Nightmare Academy!” the Headmaster thundered. “I teach the Goodnight edition and, in that edition, Facilitators are not mere snitches whose job it is to tattle on their team. In that edition, you are a valuable and critical member of a unit whose goal is to protect humanity. You started this little adventure together and I expect you to finish it together.”

  “But…” Brooke moaned.

  “Go!” the Headmaster roared. “Both of you!”

  Brooke stumbled backward, startled, then turned and joined Violet and Theodore as they ran down the hall.

  “What about the Director?” Charlie asked, eyeing Drake, who was clawing around a fallen heating duct, trying to get to him.

  “Don’t worry about that,” the Headmaster said cooly. “We will handle him.”

  “Thank you,” Charlie replied, and ran down the hallway to catch up to the other kids.

  “You!” Drake shouted, eyes wild with fury, as he finally arrived at Rex, Tabitha, and the Headmaster. “You three will immediately assist in capturing the traitors, or I will hold all of you accountable.”

  “Really?” the Headmaster said. She turned to Rex. “I think you know what to do.”

  “Sure do,” Rex replied, and, one throw of his lasso later, Director Drake found himself completely immobilized, tied up like a calf in a rodeo.

  “What in the world do you think you’re doing?” Drake thundered. “You know what this means, don’t you? I will have you all stripped of rank and jailed indefinitely. I will have you Reduced.”

  “Tabitha,” the Headmaster said. “A portal if you don’t mind.”

  “Any place in particular?” she asked.

  “Oh, indeed,” the Headmaster answered. “There’s one very specific place I would like us all to travel to….”

  Charlie strained to read the signs on the doors as they raced past, trying desperately to keep one step ahead of the Banishers and Nethermancers who pursued them.

  NETHERSTALKER WEB PATTERN ANALYSIS, one of the doors said.

  GORGON DE-HEADING FACILITY, said another.

  “There it is!” Theodore shouted, pointing ahead of him.

  “Open it,” Charlie said as they reached the door marked SPECIAL PROJECTS. “It should be unlocked now that the power’s off.”

  Violet and Theodore threw their weight against it and were surprised to discover that it opened easily. The four of them leaped inside and Charlie slammed the door closed just as their pursuers arrived.

  “Brooke, hold it shut,” Charlie said.

  “I will not,” she replied. “Bylaw 17 in Nightmare Division’s Guide to the Nether both Drake and Goodnight editions, plainly states—”

  “I don’t care what the rules say!”

  “You should, because you’re the one breaking them!”

  “That may be true,” Charlie said. “But so are you.”

  Brooke looked startled. “What?”

  “You followed us into the Nether after Rex told us not to go. You were with us when we rounded up the Gremlins. You were part of the group when we destroyed the Nightmare Division, and you’re here with us now in the Special Projects room.”

  Brooke went pale. “You know none of that was my fault.”

  “Try explaining that to Director Drake.”

  The door began to buckle as the Banishers slammed against it. “The Headmaster told you to help us,” Charlie said. “So, please…help us.”

  Brooke’s eyes blazed with anger. “I really hate you,” she said, then leaned her shoulder against the door, absorbing the heavy blows from the other side. “Hurry up. I won’t be able to hold it long.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Charlie replied, then turned around to check out the room.

  There, right in front of him, was the giant severed arm of Barakkas sitting on a metal examining table. It had already begun to decompose. Skin was sloughing off in great gray sheets. The bracer, however, was still around its thick wrist, shimmering boldly in the gloom.

  “That’s it,” Charlie said. “That’s Barakkas’s bracer.”

  “So grab it already,” Theodore shouted, “and let’s get outta here before we get caught.”

  “Too late,” came a voice from the darkness.

  Everyone turned as a tall, muscular man with a great shock of wavy black hair stepped toward them. An enormous two-handed sword was sheathed at his waist. Theodore’s mouth dropped open in amazement.

  “Dad?” he said. “I thought you were on a black op?”

  “I am,” his father replied, gesturing to the giant severed arm. “This is it. I’ve been on assignment to guard the bracer from any Nethercreatures that might try to steal it—but I never imagined that I’d be defending it against my own son.” He turned to the other kids. “My name’s William Dagget.”

  “Nice to meet you, sir,” Violet said.

  “Same here,” Charlie echoed. “I’m…well, I’m your son’s best friend, I guess. My name is Charlie.”

  “I know who you are,” William said with a slight frown. “Didn’t take you too long to get him i
nto trouble, I see.”

  “That’s just what he did to me!” Brooke yelled, still struggling with the door.

  “It wasn’t just him, Dad,” Theodore said quickly. “We’re all in this together. See, we’re on a mission to save people.”

  “That’s pretty amazing, considering you’ve been a Banisher all of—what, two days?”

  A Banisher.

  Theodore looked away, not sure how to respond.

  “Speaking of being a Banisher,” his father continued, looking him over carefully, “where’s your weapon?”

  “Um, well…,” Theodore mumbled, “the thing of it is, there was a problem with the Trout. You know, the one in the Nether? The Trout of Truth?”

  “I know it well.”

  “Well, it was sick or something and, get this, it said I was lying when I yelled out that I was a Banisher—[ ]crazy, huh?”

  His father stared at him, eyes narrowing.

  “And, uh,” Theodore continued, stammering, “the Headmaster decided that, just for the time being, of course, that I should be a Nethermancer—you know, just until the problem with the Trout could get sorted out. So, Nethermancer for now…Banisher real soon. Just like you, Dad.”

  Theodore tried his best to smile. It broke Charlie’s heart.

  “You failed,” his father said simply. “Don’t lie to me, boy. You’re no Banisher, and I was a fool to think you could be.”

  Theodore turned away then, ashamed and embarrassed.

  “That’s right,” Charlie said, stepping toward the tall man. “He’s not a Banisher. He’s a Nethermancer—[ ]maybe one of the greatest. You should have seen him the first day in class, sir. He was one of the only ones who opened a portal. He rocked. You should be proud of him.”

  “Proud that my son is no better than a bus driver?” William replied, “dropping people off at their stops in the Nether?”

  “It’s okay, Charlie,” Theodore said. “Just forget about it.”

  “No, it’s not okay,” Charlie replied. “In order to open a portal, we have to tap into our deepest, darkest fear. You know what your son’s was? That you would find out he wasn’t a Banisher and wouldn’t love him after that. That’s the fear that let him open up his first portal.”