Taken Over

by Z. Fraillon

  Boris helped Jasper to his feet.

  ‘Why were you in such a hurry?’ Jasper asked, gingerly feeling the bump on his head with his fingertips.

  Boris shook his head furiously and clamped his lips shut.

  Jasper looked at Boris. He knew that look. Total fear and disbelief. The look that every first-year had on their face when Principal Von Strasser showed them the Blibberwail on their first day, as proof that monsters existed. ‘You’ve seen one, haven’t you?’ asked Jasper.

  Boris’s eyes narrowed. ‘Seen one what?’

  ‘You know what. A monster.’ Jasper hoped he was right about Boris or else he’d sound like a complete loony.

  Boris turned pale. ‘No, I didn’t. Because I couldn’t have. Because monsters aren’t real. Because if they were real, and if they were here, then Bruno would’ve told me, and, and there is all this whispering all the time, and … What is this stupid place anyway?!’ he exploded.

  Jasper nodded. ‘Yep, you saw one. Don’t worry, the panic eases off soon. The best thing to do is just accept it.’

  Boris’s eyes were darting all over the place. ‘But it was so horrible. It had this long tongue and three noses. And why was the Principal taking it for a walk on a leash?’

  Definitely the Blibberwail, Jasper decided. ‘It’s a trained monster. It lives in the basement, but every now and then Von Strasser takes it out for a walk. That’s one of the ways he makes it less monsterish, so he can train it. By being nice to it,’ Jasper explained.

  Boris looked completely confused. It all sounded perfectly normal to Jasper, but then, he had been learning about monsters for the last year. There was no way Boris could understand it all in one go.

  ‘OK, first off,’ said Jasper, ‘monsters are real. Everyone knows that as a kid. It’s just that when people get older, they stop seeing them. It’s all to do with shrinkage – of the brain,’ he clarified.

  Boris was breathing in short, sharp gasps.

  ‘When you get older, your brain shrinks. And that’s why most people can’t see them anymore. But you can still see them, and you’re older.’

  Boris was pacing up and down. ‘This is just too weird. There’s no way ...’

  Jasper wasn’t sure what to say next. When Señor Hermes had told him about the whispering last year, he was completely freaked out. And he still didn’t really want anyone to know about it. But if Boris was a Whispered too, then he had to know about it, or he’d become a monster himself.

  Jasper took a deep breath. ‘You said you can hear whispering. So I think you might’ve been bitten by a monster. When you were a kid or something,’ Jasper said slowly.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Boris.

  ‘If you were bitten by a monster,’ Jasper continued slowly, ‘then you’re like me. A Whispered. It means that you have this stuff called monsterness inside you and –’

  Boris clapped his hand over Jasper’s mouth. ‘Stop,’ he said. ‘This can’t be true.’

  Jasper shrugged. Boris slowly took his hand away.

  ‘Look,’ Jasper tried again. ‘You’ve been hearing some creepy whispering, right?’

  ‘Yeah, maybe,’ said Boris quietly. ‘But I don’t know what it’s saying.’

  ‘That’s the first stage. Whispering is the first monster characteristic to develop. You’ve got to learn to control the whispering. If you don’t, you will turn more and more, well, monsterish.’ Jasper tried to look reassuring, and not to think about what might happen in the next stages.

  ‘Monsterish?’ asked Boris, his face turning even paler.

  ‘Yes,’ said Jasper. ‘You’re kind of … becoming a monster. The whispering you can hear is your monster side trying to guide you. But you can control it.’

  ’Contol. Right. Good,’ said Boris, trying to gather himself together. ‘I’m good at control. So, what do I do? Push-ups? Sit-ups? Marching? I’ll walk all night if I have to.’

  ‘You’ll have to talk to Señor Hermes. I’ll take you there. And maybe we should tell Stenka too,’ Jasper conceded.

  Boris shook his head. ‘No way. You can’t tell anyone!’ he said forcefully. ‘I can’t go to one of your teachers. I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to know about the whole monster thing. None of the other prefects do. The teachers will kick me out for knowing about it. It’ll be the end of the line for me. My family would never understand. They would kill me. They’d never talk to me again. I would be homeless. I would –’

  Jasper held up his hand to stop Boris mid-panic. ‘OK, I get it. But I’m sure they won’t kick you out.’ Yet, even as Jasper said it, he had to wonder. The whole reason the prefects were there was because they couldn’t see monsters. They couldn’t be scared or affected by them. Maybe Boris could become a student? Although he was pretty old. His brain must have started shrinking already. Jasper didn’t meet Boris’s gaze.

  ‘Can’t you help me? You can hear the whispering too, right?’ Boris was looking desperate.

  Jasper wanted to help, but he was only just learning how to control his own whisper. He didn’t know if he could help someone else. ‘You know, I’m really not that good at it. You would be much better off –’

  Boris punched the wall in frustration, leaving a large fist-sized hole next to Jasper’s head.

  ‘Sorry!’ Boris gasped. ‘I’ve never done that before! I just feel so, so frustrated and angry! See? That must be my monster side! It’s coming! It’s getting worse! Aaaaargh!’ Boris punched another hole in the wall. ‘Yikes!’ he yelped. ‘I did it again. I’m really, really sorry! You’ve gotta help me. I can count on you, can’t I?’ Boris pleaded.

  ‘OK! OK!’ said Jasper, looking at the two holes in the wall. It didn’t look like he had much choice.

  8

  ‘Dog drool,’ Stenka pointed to the large flasks of murky liquid stacked along the wall.

  Jasper collapsed into the comfy couch next to the fire. Felix put down the flask in his hand.

  ‘Gross!’ Felix whispered, wiping his hand on his hoodie.

  ‘At this moment, the prefects are tempting every single dog on campus with pieces of steak, and carefully collecting their saliva,’ Stenka explained. ‘I imagine they are looking for someone to assist them, so if I were you, I would tread very carefully.’ She peered around the class of students. No-one moved.

  ‘McPhee!’ she barked. Jasper flinched. ‘Can you tell me why the prefects are collecting dog saliva? And keep in mind, the wrong answer will be rewarded with an hour of drool-collecting.’

  Because that’s all they’re good for, was the first response that entered Jasper’s head. But since coming to Monstrum House, Jasper had learnt not to act on impulse. Not all the time anyway. ‘Because that is the Skrinkerscreech’s weakness?’ he suggested.

  Stenka looked disappointed. ‘Exactly. Dog saliva has the ability to freeze a Skrinkerscreech solid. As of now, you are all required to wear your hunt belts, and to carry a flask of dog drool with you at all times. It is not to be taken off. Not in the shower, not in bed, not anywhere. Anyone found without their drool will be severely dealt with,’ she added with menace.

  ‘To catch the monsters before the queen lays her eggs, you will all need to be at the top of your game. As I haven’t seen the top of anyone’s game in the last year, I hold grave fears for the success of this mission. So listen.’

  Jasper’s leg was burning next to the crackling fire. He desperately wanted to move his chair away, but he didn’t want to draw attention to himself and interrupt Stenka’s speech. He decided that catching on fire was probably the better option.

  ‘Skrinkerscreech fly in a swarm surrounding the queen,’ Stenka said as she paced up and down the room. ‘While you need to catch the queen and her eggs, it is the drones that are most dangerous to you. It is their duty to find the best place for the queen to nest. There are two things that the Skrinkerscreech queen needs to lay her eggs. One,’ Stenka cracked her stick against the board, ‘she needs a plentiful
supply of screechwort from which to make her nest. Two,’ she cracked her stick again, ‘she needs an environment that is full of fear. If the drones do not find a suitable site, they will make a place fearful.’

  Stenka eyeballed the students one by one. ‘Your aim is to find the nest and get the eggs before the hatchlings can eat the screechwort. Without being attacked, obviously. The queen herself is quite harmless, yet she is mesmerising and powerful. But her eighteen drones will not wait to be provoked before they attack. They will do anything to protect her. Their antennae are able to sense any kind of threat to the queen.’

  ‘Stenka,’ said Felix. ‘Er, what happens if we get attacked?’

  ‘The sting from a Skrinkerscreech is very painful, Mr Brown. Within seconds, the victim erupts into hives. The hives fill with pus and burst. The victim then has open wounds leaking fluid from their bodies. It’s a hideous sight, made worse by the fact that the hives also contain a paralysing fear gas. When the hives pop, anyone close to the victim will become paralysed with fear. And once you are paralysed, it is not easy to escape the Skrinkerscreech.’

  Stenka looked particularly pleased with the response rippling around the room.

  There was a sharp rap on the door. Stenka turned. ‘ENTER!’

  A prefect marched into the room. It was the same prefect Saffy had given her cancel card to earlier in the day. He saluted Stenka and handed her a rolled-up note. As he was leaving, he spotted Felix, Jasper and Saffy by the fire. His eyes narrowed nastily.

  ‘Gee, thanks a lot, Saffy,’ Felix whispered as soon as the prefect had left. ‘That’s just what we need. Now monsters are taking over the school and the thug brigade is out to get us. Couldn’t you have just taken the penalty points?’

  ‘Mr Brown, unless you have a passion for collecting dog saliva, I suggest you refrain from speaking in my class,’ said Stenka, her voice like ice.

  Felix’s mouth clamped shut and he shrank into his chair.

  ‘I have just received a red alert.’ Stenka glanced down at the note in her hand. ‘The Skrinkerscreech swarm has been detected inside the Monstrum House grounds. As of now, all classes are cancelled. You will be formed into emergency hunt crews. It is imperative that you catch the queen. Listen for a low buzzing – the sound of the monsters’ wings. You will hear it four seconds before being attacked. Although, if you hear buzzing, I imagine it will be too late to do much.’

  Stenka crushed the note in her hand. ‘Use the dog drool wisely. Unfortunately, until the capture of the monsters, the teachers will have to keep a low profile. We will communicate with the prefects in the case of an emergency. But you students will be on your own, as on any other Hunt.’

  ‘On our own? So, if we catch a monster, what are we supposed to do with it?’ Saffy demanded.

  ‘There will be older students on hand to direct the disposal of caught monsters,’ Stenka replied. She handed Saffy a penalty card with two points on it. ‘And don’t question me.’ Stenka smiled nastily.

  Saffy didn’t miss a beat. She pulled a cancel card from her pocket. ‘I’ll use this then,’ she said, matching Stenka’s smile.

  Felix and Jasper turned to each other. Two cards? How on earth had Saffy managed to get two cards?

  Stenka scowled. ‘Master Poon and his cancel cards,’ Stenka muttered. She took the card, eyeing Saffy suspiciously. ‘You must have impressed him, Ms Dominguez. I will ask him why he’s rewarded you.’

  Saffy shrugged.

  ‘Right, you, you, you and you,’ Stenka pointed to four students. ‘Crew 1.’

  She continued to break the students into crews. Felix and Saffy ended up together, but Jasper was stuck in a separate crew.

  ‘Maybe you can swap?’ Felix suggested.

  ‘No swapping! Now move!’ Stenka yelled.

  Jasper shrugged. ‘Guess not. Good luck,’ he said to Felix, who looked as though he wanted to throw up.

  ‘You too,’ Saffy said. ‘Oh, and here.’ She shoved a squashed tin can into Jasper’s hand. ‘My first attempt at Functional Fixedness. It might come in handy now we’re not together.’ Saffy turned the can over, revealing a small red button. ‘Walkie-talkies,’ she grinned.

  Jasper’s eyes grew wide. ‘Are you serious?’ he asked. But Saffy was already pulling Felix out of the classroom to catch up with their crew. ‘Don’t forget your dog drool,’ she called.

  Jasper turned to find Stenka towering over him. He shoved the tin-can invention into his pocket.

  ‘Crew 4, over here,’ Stenka ordered. The other members of the crew looked as worried as Jasper felt.

  ‘You won’t be hunting,’ Stenka said quietly. ‘Find Señor Hermes, in Room 10. He will explain. I need to round up the other Whispered students.’ She turned and strode away.

  Jasper and the other three stood uncertainly in the now-empty room. ‘You guys are all Whispered too?’ he asked.

  They all looked at each other, and nodded.

  ‘Well, that explains that,’ Jasper said. ‘But why on earth aren’t we allowed to hunt?’

  9

  Señor Hermes was waiting outside Room 10.

  ‘Quickly!’ he ordered, ushering Jasper and the others into the room.

  The room was already half-full of students from other classes and year levels. Four or five of the school’s dogs were mingling among the students. Jasper recognised Woof from last year. Woof wagged his tail and bounded over to Jasper. He was an awesome dog. Somehow, he always seemed to understand what Jasper was saying.

  ‘Hey, fella,’ Jasper whispered into Woof’s ear. ‘What’s going on, hey?’ Woof licked him in response.

  Mac pushed his way through the students towards Jasper. He looked worried.

  ‘Something’s wrong,’ Mac said quietly. ‘I wasn’t around for the last Day of Laying, but I don’t get why we’ve been shoved in here. We’re the ones who know how to find the monsters. We need to be out there!’

  Jasper had never seen Mac look so agitated.

  Señor Hermes hurried the last few students through the door before slamming it shut and bolting it.

  ‘All right, settle down,’ Señor Hermes said softly. Jasper noticed that even Hermes seemed on edge. Jasper was beginning to feel nervous himself.

  ‘What’s going on? Why are we all stuck in here?’ Mac called out. There were murmurs of agreement from some of the other students.

  Hermes held up his hand for silence. ‘I know,’ he said, ‘you want to be out there catching the monsters. But this is one Hunt you all have to sit out.’

  Mac shook his head. ‘No way! This is when we’re needed the most!’ he protested.

  ‘When it is nesting, the Skrinkerscreech is a particularly vicious, protective and territorial species,’ Hermes explained over the complaints. ‘They don’t just frighten off potential threats. They kill them. Monsters don’t usually fight amongst themselves, but at nesting time, some species become more aggressive.’

  ‘But aren’t the others in danger?’ Jasper asked, trying not to think about Felix and Saffy.

  ‘The others are only in danger of being stung and severely frightened. The Skrinkerscreech’s aggressive streak is reserved for other monsters. Their antennae are designed to detect other monsters in their nesting grounds, and, well ...’ Señor Hermes gestured to the students gathered in the room. He didn’t need to finish the sentence.

  We are all part-monster, Jasper realised. And that’s why there are no teachers on the Hunt. They’re all at risk too.

  ‘I take it you have all heard of the Reversal Room,’ Hermes added. ‘It is where monsters are taken once they’re caught to be, essentially, de-monstered. The room is warm and light, and the monsters are pampered to within an inch of their lives. The more love they are given, the less monster they become. That is where we must go.’

  A few kids looked perked up by this news. None of the students had ever been in Reversal Room before.

  ‘It’s the one room in the school where we know the Skrinkerscreech and thei
r birth plant can’t infiltrate. Screechwort needs the dark, icy, harsh environment of Monstrum House to grow, and the Skrinkerscreech could never nest there as there’s too much good feeling,’ Hermes explained.

  Mac still looked disgruntled. Jasper figured that he wanted to get in as much hunting as he could in his last year.

  Jasper scratched Woof behind the ears. ‘Did those dumb prefects get much drool from you?’ he asked, then froze.

  The prefects! Boris!

  Jasper had to get word to Boris. He was in serious danger. Jasper looked at the bolted door. He was trapped. Woof licked his hand reassuringly.

  ‘Since when have I ever let a locked door stop me, hey, boy?’ Jasper grinned.

  He walked quickly to Señor Hermes. ‘Um, I really need to pee.’ Jasper tried to look embarrassed.

  Hermes shook his head. ‘You will have to wait. I’m just waiting for word that everyone is in place, and then we leave.’

  Jasper crossed his legs. ‘But I really have to go.’

  Hermes looked at him sharply. ‘Jasper, I’m warning you. I don’t want you doing anything stupid. If the monsters find you, they will kill you.’

  Jasper put on his best anxious face. ‘It’s either in the toilet or on the floor. What if I take one of the dogs with me?’ he suggested. Woof wagged his tail.

  Hermes looked at his watch. ‘If you step one toe out of line, you’ll have me to answer to. Matheson!’ Hermes turned to a fourth-year student. ‘Can you please accompany young McPhee here to the toilet? We wouldn’t want any accidents.’

  Jasper smiled, but Hermes didn’t appear to get the joke. Jasper didn’t know Matheson very well, but he didn’t look friendly.

  Hermes turned to Woof. ‘Guard!’ he said, pointing at Jasper.

  Woof seemed to grow in size. He turned to Jasper and snarled, as if to show Hermes that he wouldn’t take any nonsense. Hermes quickly unbolted the door, and checked the hallway before shooing Jasper, Matheson and Woof out.