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Copyright © 2017 by Mark Morrison.
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To my loving family.
They said I could do it and I did.
CHAPTER 1
SOFT RAIN PELTED THE WINDSHIELD as the rhythmic swishing of the worn wipers lulled her mother into a trance, her head nodding off to one side.
Sarah reached over from the rear seat and tapped her mother’s shoulder. “Mom, are you all right?”
Her mother jolted her head upright. “Huh? What?”
“Are you okay, Mom?” Sarah asked again.
“Yeah, yeah,” her mother said, shaking her head a few times and running a hand over her face. “We’ll be there in a few hours.”
Sarah leaned back, still concerned.
Moments later, her mother’s eyes momentarily conceded to the jet lag again. The car drifted across the center line and into oncoming traffic.
Before Sarah could react, glaring headlights and a screaming horn jerked her mother back to her senses. She tugged the steering wheel and cursed, attempting to correct the car’s position. The car hydroplaned as it careened off the edge of the roadway and came to a stop inches from the edge of a deep ravine.
“Mom!” Sarah yelled, pulling herself up from her brother’s lap.
Her mother’s boyfriend, Percy, had been jolted from a sound sleep. “What the hell happened?”
“I’m sorry, Honey,” Sarah’s mother said, her face pressed into her hands. “I nodded off.”
Sarah’s twin brother, Jon, was more concerned with finding his videogame than anyone’s health.
“Is everyone okay back there?” her mother asked.
“Yeah, Mom. We’re fine.” Sarah replied.
“Speak for yourself,” Jon added as he searched the floor of the car. “My Gameboy’s missing.”
Percy looked her mother over for any injuries. “I think I need to drive now, Sam.”
“That’s a good idea,” her mother said, unbuckling her seat-belt. Her hands were trembling.
They both braved the rain, nervously switching seats.
Percy adjusted the seat and mirrors. “You know, I used to drive a cab in New York. I drove plenty of—”
Her mom interrupted him. “We know…celebrities.”
Percy feigned being insulted and pressed the clutch, turned the key and pumped hard on the gas pedal of the old rental car. It coughed a few times, moaned, then sparked back to life. He slapped the dash. “Good girl,” he said and ground the gears in a series of shifting maneuvers.
As the car spun its wheels from the muddy roadside, Sarah could smell the tart scent of burnt petroleum.
“Piece of foreign junk!” Percy barked as he weaved into the correct lane.
After traveling halfway around the world for most of the first day of their summer vacation, jet lag rooted itself in the minds and bodies of Sarah and her family as they drove through the enchanted foothills surrounding Snowdon Mountain in Wales.
Sarah looked at Jon. He’d fallen back to sleep, leaning against the window and snoring. His obnoxious mouth breathing allowed the spicy odor of beef jerky and Cheetos to fill the little air space they shared. She rolled her window open a crack, pressing her nose against it, and inhaled deeply.
Her mom complained about the wind noise but it was better than suffocating from the putrid stench. She cringed in disgust as a slow moving glob of brown and orange drool leaked out the side of Jon’s open mouth, adding another gross tee-shirt stain to his greasy, revolting collection. At least his silly video game was silent, for now. There was no way that they were really twins.
Time dragged as they passed by one boring hamlet-like neighborhood after another. Sarah’s eyelids weighed heavily. The scenery was different than her home back in Massachusetts. Driving on the wrong side of the road felt strange. Even the air was different. It was too wet, dreary and cold here for it to be summertime.
As they’d flown over Wales, Sarah had seen dozens of ancient castles dotting the harsh, mountainous landscape. Sheep rambled along the slopes and foothills, tended by rugged men carrying big sticks and small energetic dogs.
They had a considerable amount of coastline to travel from Cardiff Airport before working their way inland to the more mountainous regions. They’d passed through several residential areas where most of the homes looked like castles with great stone walls.
Sarah gawked at a street sign. “Has anybody noticed that all the signs are written in two languages?”
“The Welsh are proud of their cultural differences and want to preserve its integrity. So they post all their signage in the more natural Brythonic language and their adopted tongue, English,” Percy answered.
“How’d you know that?” Sarah asked.
“I traveled with the Merchant Marines for a decade or so during my more adventurous youth,” he reminisced. “The government passed a referendum to force the local populations to enhance the postings by including their language.”
“Okay,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But everything looks old.”
Her mother chimed in. “Sarah, that’s because Wales has been around for a long time.”
“Your mother’s right, the United States of America was established only a few hundred years ago,” Percy said. “The United Kingdom and all of Europe has been around for many thousands of years. They’ve even brought their own architectural, engineering and design influences across the Atlantic to our country.”
Sarah snickered. “Wow. How boringly interesting.”
The sun had nearly set and they were passing through the small town of Snowdon. A storm brewed in the distance above the mountain peaks. Sarah suddenly felt ill. All she could hear were her brother’s snoring, the intermittent swishing from the wipers, and the dull, lifeless drone of the car’s motor.
Percy was driving, chatting softly back and forth to her mother about her boring medical practice and his even more boring employment prospects. Percy stopped to snicker every time the GPS spat out a command in a sultry feminine voice.
Sarah yawned loudly.
“Message received,” Percy said, glancing over his shoulder and smiling.
They were taking the children to their grandparents for a long overdue visit. Her mom had grown up here but hadn’t visited much. Sarah and Jon had met them once at a family reunion back home. They intended on staying through the summer, then return in time for the new school year.
The rain was picking up. The windshield was fogged and her mother and Percy were fiddling with the buttons of the air conditioner trying to get the defroster working.
“Just keep your eyes on the road,” her mom told Percy. “I’ll monkey with this darn thing.”
Percy groaned and rolled his eyes. Suddenly a large brown furry blur flashed in front of the car. He slammed the brakes to the floor and the car skidded sideways in a fishtailing spin smashing head first into a brown figure, bringing them to an immediate stop.
The engine had stalled but the wipers continued to beat softly to the rhythm of a soft rock song on the radio.
“Holy crap!” her mother yelped, her fingers white knuckled and clinging to the dashboard. “What was that?”
Percy moaned as he rubbed his forehead. “Is everyone okay? Did you guys see that thing? It jumped right out in front of us. I didn’t have a chance to stop…”
“I only saw a blur,” her mother answered, craning forward and trying to peer through the foggy windshield. “Is it dead?”
Percy looked over the dash and wiped the inside of the windshield. Even with the wipers rotating back and forth at full speed
he couldn’t see over the hood of the car. “What do you think, Sam?”
“I don’t know,” her mom whispered. “Maybe I’ll go outside and see.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Percy said, straining his eyes.
“But that poor dog…” she said.
Sarah leaned forward. “That was one big dog then.”
“I just want to go back to sleep. Let’s go!” Jon had returned to his videogame and was no longer interested.
“Who cares, Jon. All you want to do is play your stupid video games,” Sarah spat, frantically looking out the window. “Percy killed a dog!”
“Now we’re not sure about that,” her mom said. “I’m going to go outside and see.”
“That’d be a bad idea,” Percy argued, cautiously easing his door open. “You stay here.”
“Okay, but be careful,” she said, nudging him out the door. Percy eased back in the car, gently closing the door. “Why don’t we call the police first?”
“By the time they get here it could be too late,” she said, prodding him.
Percy started to ease the door open again but stopped abruptly. “Wait a second…we should probably call animal control. It’s really their job. And it could have rabies.”
“Help that poor animal before it bleeds to death.”
Percy opened the door, the rain pelting him, and paused momentarily trying to get his nerve. Meanwhile, Jon opened his door and stepped out.
“Get back in here Jon!” her mother shouted. “It could be a wild animal!”
“But you’re making him go!” Jon whined as he clambered back inside.
“He’s an adult!” she snapped back at him.
Before Jon could reply, there was a loud thud as something slammed onto the hood of the car. Sarah and her mom screamed. Percy slammed the door shut and clutched Sarah’s mother. The kids squealed then squinted desperately trying to see through the downpour.
A huge brown paw raked down the hood of the car. Enormous claws dug deep into the paint, slowly dragging down the hood until it disappeared from sight, leaving behind five enormous scratches and a red smear. The sound was like fingernails on a chalkboard.
“I-I-I don’t think Percy should go out there,” Sarah stammered. “I think that was a bear!”
“There are no bears around here,” her mother whispered. “Are there Percy?”
Percy straightened in his seat and cleared his throat. “Realistically speaking, bears died out before the middle ages in Wales. But it could be an escapee from the Welsh Mountain Zoo. They’ve got a respectable bear exhibit.”
Sarah’s mother turned to Percy. “Now how do you know that?”
“I researched Wales before we came,” he replied, looking around the car. “Didn’t you guys?”
Her mother shook her head, dismayed. “Really, Percy?”
“What should we do, Mom?” Sarah interrupted them.
“Stay in the car!” her mom ordered.
“Cool beans! We’re gonna be canned bear food!” Jon cheered. Their mother sneered at him.
“Everyone just calm down. We’re probably safe in here,” Percy said nervously. “I volunteered at a zoo when I was younger and I happen to know most bears don’t have the dexterity to open a car door.”
“Most?” Sarah gulped.
Percy popped the car door open again and Sarah’s mother handed him a small rainbow striped umbrella. “Be careful,” she whispered.
He smiled. “An umbrella? Definitely not my first choice in weaponry.”
“For the rain, Percy,” she said, shoving him.
He took the umbrella. “Yup! I’m really worried about getting wet.”
“Here. Use this on it,” her mother said, opening the glove box and pulling out a can of bug spray.
“Okay…” Percy looked at the can quizzically, hefting it a couple of times to test its weight.
“Be careful, Percy,” Sarah said.
He stepped out into the deluge apprehensively, leaving the door slightly ajar as he crept to the front of the car. He clutched the umbrella and held the bug-spray out in front of him. The moon, full and brilliant, peeked through the thunderclouds giving Sarah a slightly better view of what was going on outside of the car.
Sarah’s mom rolled the side window down a bit. “Careful, Percy. Don’t let it bite you. It might have rabies.”
“Thanks for that thought. I’ll ask it first, then de-flea it.”
Mud squished loudly under his leather boots and he sank down nearly ankle depth. He slipped a couple of times as he made his way around to the front of the car.
Sarah cranked her window down to see better, aimed her phone at Percy and started recording.
As Percy rounded the front bumper, lightning flashed, exposing a peculiar look of disgust on his face. Everyone leaned forward in their seats to get a better look.
“What is it?” Sarah’s mom shouted through the crack in the window.
“I’m not sure but I think it-it’s some kind of dog,” he answered, stooping down closer. “It’s not moving.”
“Well, get back in the car and let’s get out of here. I’m scared,” her mother pleaded. She reached over and popped the driver side door all the way open for him.
Suddenly, another set of headlights beamed across their car. The roadway lit brightly as a passerby slowed to see what had happened. The driver rolled their window down halfway, looked at the furry body in the road and sped away immediately.
Percy shook the umbrella at him. “Thanks for the compassion. We’re tourists you know! Americans!”
Sarah bobbed and weaved her head trying to get a better look. It was still drizzling, and only one headlight was working.
The creature jumped up, swatted the umbrella from Percy’s hand and pounced on top of him, knocking him to the ground. He fumbled with the spray can, releasing a huge puff of poisonous gas into his own face. He shrieked with surprise.
The creature began snapping ferociously at his throat and arms. He fumbled in the mud until he found the umbrella, and frantically struggled to defend himself. It quickly shredded the umbrella and then stopped abruptly, glaring at him with strange, glowing red eyes. It growled deeply, turned and ran directly into the bumper, tumbling over in the mud.
Percy scrambled to his feet, wiping madly at his aching eyes. At the same time, the creature staggered on all fours, shook its huge head and then stood fully erect. It arched its back and bayed at the full moon. A bright flash of lightning revealed a crude human-like face, contorted and bleeding. Before limping into the underbrush, it snarled and showed its huge set of crooked teeth.
Sarah clutched her brother in the backseat of the car, watching in horror as the creature scrambled its way up the side of a steep, muddy embankment.
“What the…” Percy murmured, pulling himself to his feet and making his way back to the driver’s side door.
“Are you okay?” Sarah’s mom asked.
Percy stood in silence, clearly shaken.
Sarah’s mother shifted into the driver’s seat. “I’m driving. Get in!”
Shredded umbrella in hand, he nodded weakly and limped around to the other side of the car. He leapt in and Sarah noticed one of his boots was missing.
“Lock your doors everyone!” Sarah’s mother shouted. She mashed the clutch to the floor, shifted the car into gear and swerved back onto the road. She popped open the door, reached into the mud and snatched up Percy’s boot as they rolled past. She casually dropped it at Percy’s feet. His jaw fell open in awe after seeing that maneuver.
“That was awesome, Mom!” Jon cheered.
Sarah’s mom didn’t respond right away. “Did anyone get a good look at that thing?”
“It was a werewolf!” Jon spat immediately. “A big smelly werewolf!”
Percy spun around. “There’s no such thing!”
Jon stuck his tongue out. “Just like in the movies!”
“Don’t be silly,” Sarah’s mom said, fiddling wit
h the windshield defroster.
“We’ll need to call the rental company when we get to your parents, Sam,” Percy muttered. “That thing tore up the hood and fender. Broke a headlight too.”
Jon squirmed in his seat, setting down his video game. “This place is super cool! Percy, did it bite you?”
“I-I don’t think so…” Percy said, running his hands over the back of his neck and along his torn, frayed shirt. He stared out the side window, his eyes glassy and far away. “I don’t think so.”
CHAPTER 2
SARAH WAS JERKED AWAKE by the car coming to a complete stop. The rain had relaxed to a light mist, revealing a clear view of a mountaintop and two fortress-like gates at its crest. The adjoining slopes were carpeted with vast rows of apple and olive orchards. Vultures soared among the mysterious gray mist that hung ominously overhead.
“What do you suppose that place is?” Percy asked. “It’s kinda spooky isn’t it?”
“I think it’s beautiful,” Sarah’s mother said. “It always was. Always will be.”
Sarah pressed her face to the window. “What is it?”
“It’s called TwoSpells,” her mother replied. “It’s a—castle, of sorts.”
“I don’t see a castle,” Jon muttered.
Their mother laughed. “Well, this one’s not like the others. You can’t see it from the outside.”
As the car passed closer, Sarah could see the massive granite and iron gates. Twisting green ivy wound up the sides and over the massive crater behind them. Her mom was right. There were no towers or pointed peaks or anything resembling a castle behind those gates.
“Maybe Dracula lives there!” Jon lunged for Sarah’s neck. “I vant to suck your blood!”
“Get off!” Sarah said, swatting him away with a frown. “Idiot.”
“Cut it out, Jon,” their mother snapped. “And don’t make fun of vampires.”
Percy scoffed. “There’s no such thing as vampires.”
“Then who is Dracula?” Jon asked.
Before Percy could answer, Sarah giggled. “Another idiot.”
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