Monster High: Monster Rescue: Track Down Twyla!

by Misty von Spooks

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  MONSTER HIGH and associated trademarks are owned by and used under license from Mattel. © 2017 Mattel. All Rights Reserved.

  Cover design by Véronique Lefèvre Sweet.

  Cover illustration by Yulia Rumyantseva.

  Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

  1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104

  Visit us at LBYR.com

  Visit monsterhigh.com

  First Edition: August 2017

  Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2017943267

  ISBNs: 978-0-316-43160-6 (hardcover), 978-0-316-43162-0 (ebook)

  E3-20170623-JV-NF

  Contents

  COVER

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 1

  Whoosh!

  Draculaura steadied herself, and then she reached out a hand to make sure her newest ghoulfriend, Lagoona Blue, didn’t stumble as the Monster Mapalogue dropped them in the grass right outside Monster High. But with years of experience surfing, Lagoona was ready for the unexpected landing. Even though she’d spent most of her time in the crystal-blue waters of the Great Barrier Reef, Lagoona was surprisingly steady on dry land!

  Draculaura snuck a sideways glance at Lagoona as the sea ghoul shielded her eyes and stared up at the building looming ahead of them. I wish I knew what she was thinking, Draculaura thought. The moment when a monster set eyes on Monster High for the very first time always filled her with nervous expectation.

  But there was no need for Draculaura to worry. An enormous smile spread across Lagoona’s pale-blue face. “Crikey!” she exclaimed. “It’s fintastic!”

  “Yay!” Draculaura squealed as she clapped her hands together. “I’m so happy you are here!”

  Nearby, Draculaura’s other ghoulfriends—Clawdeen Wolf, Frankie Stein, and Cleo de Nile—picked themselves up and peeled off the special wetsuits they’d designed to find Lagoona in the Great Barrier Reef.

  “Ahhh, it’s so good to be home,” Clawdeen sighed happily as she squeezed salt water out of her thick hair.

  Home. That was what Draculaura had called the sprawling mansion her entire life. In fact, she’d never known anything different. Ever since the great monster Fright Flight, Draculaura and her father, Dracula, had been in hiding from humans (or “Normies,” as they were known in the monster world). It had been just the two of them, century after century, in the rambling mansion. It wasn’t the worst life—Draculaura loved her dad a lot, and she always had fun fanging out with her pet spider, Webby—but it could get lonely. Really lonely. More than anything, Draculaura had longed for ghoulfriends her own age. But how could she ever meet a new ghoulfriend when she had to hide from everyone?

  Then, on the night of her first flying lesson, everything changed. Draculaura met Frankie, and they had the brilliant idea to transform Draculaura’s home into Monster High: a school where monsters could finally come out of the shadows and just be themselves! It had taken a lot of planning—and a lot of work—but at last, Monster High was just about ready to open. Draculaura and her ghoulfriends had been working overtime to track down new students for Monster High. Frankie and Clawdeen had been living nearby, but there was a whole wide world of lonely monsters who longed for friends, just like Draculaura had. With the help of the Monster Mapalogue, Draculaura, Frankie, and Clawdeen had traveled far and wide to find and rescue Cleo and Lagoona. From fighting mummies in the cursed tombs of Egypt’s deserts to surviving a massive tropical cyclone in the Great Barrier Reef, Draculaura wasn’t just excited to be back at Monster High; she was relieved. It felt fangtastic to be home!

  Draculaura reached out to link arms with Lagoona. “What do you think?” she asked. “Ready for the grand tour?”

  Lagoona flicked her long blonde-and-blue hair over her scaly shoulder. “You know it, ghoul!” she said in her bubbly, upbeat way that made everyone want to be her new best ghoulfriend. “But, just wondering, do you have a pool?”

  Draculaura put her hands on her hips and pretended to be outraged. “Do you really think I’d bring you all the way here just to leave you totally landlocked?” she asked—but the twinkle in her eyes told everyone she was just joking.

  Lagoona started to laugh, and the other ghouls joined in. “It’s going to be a big change, and I’m ready to ride the wave,” she replied. “I’m lucky—since I’m a sea monster, I can manage on land and in the water. But I have to admit, I’d miss the chance to start each day with a swim and a stroll along the shore.”

  “We’re not quite ready to offer you a sandy beach,” Clawdeen spoke up, “but there is a pool!”

  “It’s where Clawdeen taught me how to swim!” Cleo chimed in. Her golden chandelier earrings gleamed in the sunlight. “And it’s where I daringly tested out Frankie’s new wetsuit before we came to rescue you!”

  “Sounds positively fintastic,” Lagoona replied.

  “Getting you settled in will be top priority,” Clawdeen promised as the ghoulfriends began the short walk up the Hill to Monster High.

  “Unless we need to set off on another urgent monster-rescue mission,” Cleo added.

  “Yeah, about that…” Draculaura began.

  Everyone turned to look at her.

  “Maybe we should finish getting Monster High ready before we start searching for more students,” Draculaura suggested. “Think about it—there are five of us now. If we keep going at this pace, we’ll have full enrollment before you know it. What will we do with all the monsters we rescue?”

  “Hmmm,” Clawdeen replied. “I hadn’t thought of it like that before.”

  “Don’t you think any ghouls or goblins who contact us would rather be here, at an unfinished Monster High, than stuck where they are?” Cleo pointed out. “I mean, I was becoming totally unwrapped in my tomb for that millennium. It was phenomenally boring! I can say with full confidence that I’d much rather be here, helping out, than there, bored out of my mind.”

  “That’s a good point,” Draculaura admitted. “I hate to make any monsters wait even one day longer than they absolutely have to.”

  “I’ve got an idea,” Frankie announced. “Since we don’t have any monsters waiting on us right now, we can all just get to work on Monster High! We’ll focus on finishing every important thing that still needs attention, and if we receive any really urgent calls, we can go get o
ur ghoul.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Draculaura said. “I’m going to the Howl of History! It’s in need of some serious organization.”

  “Not to mention some serious dusting,” Cleo added, making a face.

  “Those books might have a thousand years’ worth of dust on them,” Draculaura replied with a laugh. “Dad’s never been the best with the feather duster.”

  “You’re coming with me,” Frankie told Lagoona. “I want you to check out the pool and let me know if we need to make any modifications so it feels just like home.”

  “Thanks, ghoulfriend,” Lagoona said gratefully. “I really appreciate it!”

  Draculaura turned to Clawdeen and Cleo. “What about you two?” she asked. “Any ideas?”

  “Schedules!” Clawdeen and Cleo replied at the same time. The two ghouls turned to each other in surprise.

  “I have to admit, I’m kind of surprised,” said Clawdeen. “I didn’t know you were interested in class schedules too.”

  Cleo’s blue eyes grew as wide as the gems in her bejeweled headband. “Oh no, not at all,” she assured Clawdeen. “I’m talking about extracurricular schedules. You know: clubs, sports, teams—the fun stuff!”

  Draculaura laughed again. “I think it’s all going to be fun, once Monster High is really up and running,” she said. “Come on, let’s grab some Mummy Mochas and get to work!”

  An hour later, Draculaura found herself in the deserted Howl of History. She’d taken a quick detour to her bedroom to pick up her pet spider, Webby, for some company—and some extra help too.

  Draculaura had been to the Howl of History before when she was searching for clues to rescue Cleo, but that didn’t lessen her sense of wonder as she gazed at the enchanted maps and ancient volumes of monster lore that lined the walls. “It’s so fangtastic,” Draculaura said in awe.

  Then she sneezed so loudly that she kicked up a cloud of dust!

  “Whoops!” Draculaura giggled as she waved her hand in front of her face. “Sorry, Webby,” she added as the little spider sneezed too. “I guess Cleo was right; it is pretty dusty in here! But not for long… let’s do this thing!”

  Draculaura quickly checked her iCoffin to make sure she didn’t have any missed messages before she put her full concentration into organizing the Howl of History’s shelves. All clear to clean! she thought to herself as she put aside her phone, rolled up her sleeves, and got right to work. She started dusting the highest bookshelves so that eventually all the dust would fall to the floor. Even Webby pitched in, shooting strands of his sticky spiderweb across the room to trap itty-bitty specks of dust.

  “Not bad—achoo!—huh?” Draculaura asked through a sneezing attack. “Once we—achoo!—mop the—achoo!—floors—”

  Crash!

  Draculaura froze mid-sneeze.

  At the far end of the Howl of History, there was an ancient text lying on the floor. A creepy feeling crawled down Draculaura’s spine. She was certain that book hadn’t been there just moments ago.

  “It’s probably no big deal,” Draculaura said slowly. Her voice echoed through the room. “Maybe it just fell… when I was dusting… on the other side of the room…”

  Crash!

  This time, Draculaura didn’t need to speculate. She just saw another book fly off the very same shelf with her own two vampire eyes!

  The sight was so alarming that in a split second, Draculaura had transformed into a bat. She had one goal and one goal only: grab Webby and fly as far from this haunted Howl of History as she possibly could. She had a terrible feeling that someone—or something—was making those books fly off the shelves. There couldn’t possibly be another explanation.

  Or could there?

  CHAPTER 2

  Draculaura’s wings flapped as she hovered in midair with Webby holding on tightly to her back. Glancing at Webby’s frightened eyes, Draculaura realized what she had to do. Then, just as quickly as she’d transformed into a bat, she changed back into her usual self. “It’s up to us, Webby,” she said with a determined edge to her voice as she held Webby up to her face. “We’re not gonna fly away just because things get spooky, right?”

  From the safety of Draculaura’s palm, Webby nodded enthusiastically.

  “That’s right! We’re going to investigate!” vowed Draculaura, sounding braver than she felt. “So let’s do it!”

  In a flash, Webby shot up a string and perched right above the door, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. That wasn’t exactly the support she’d hoped for.

  “Oh, I get it,” Draculaura said, trying to think positive. “If there’s trouble, you’ll go for help, right?”

  Webby nodded again.

  “Okay,” Draculaura said, taking a deep breath. “Here I go.”

  Just then, a third book flew right off the shelf! Draculaura screamed—and Webby bolted!

  “I am not afraid,” Draculaura said. She tried to convince herself by repeating the words. “I am not afraid!”

  She took a cautious step forward. Then another. And another.

  That’s when Draculaura noticed her iCoffin blinking on the bookshelf. As it vibrated, the books near it started to jump, jiggling along the shelf until one started teetering, about to fall to the floor. Draculaura caught it just in time and breathed a big sigh of relief.

  “Not the spooky spirit I was expecting,” she said to her phone with a laugh.

  As Draculaura stared at the screen, though, a frown crossed her face. Something was definitely wrong with her phone. It was blinking in an unusual pattern as snippets of letters flashed across the screen.

  That’s weird, Draculaura thought. She turned her phone off, then on, but the message was still unclear. She paused for a moment to think. Then, at last, she came up with a brilliant plan! Draculaura hit her phone against her palm. Thwak. Thwak. Thwak.

  “Whoa, now,” Frankie’s voice floated in from the doorway. “What did your phone ever do to you?”

  Draculaura scrambled to her feet as Frankie, Cleo, Clawdeen, and Lagoona entered the Howl of History. “What are you ghouls doing here?” she asked.

  “Webby told us it was urgent!” Cleo replied. “It sounds like you were the one who needed to be rescued this time!”

  Draculaura laughed. “Not exactly,” she said. “But my phone is acting pretty weird. Something’s wrong with the screen—see?”

  As Draculaura held up her phone to show the other ghouls, she realized that the letters had finally become clear. “Oh! I guess I fixed it!” she said in surprise.

  YOU HAVE ONE NEW VIDEO MESSAGE

  The ghouls exchanged a look. A new video probably meant a new rescue mission.

  But were they ready?

  “Go on, Draculaura,” Clawdeen urged her. “Let’s see it!”

  The other ghouls crowded around Draculaura and peered over her shoulder as the video started to play. A pale ghoul with long purple-and-mint-green hair appeared on the screen.

  “Hellooo,” she said in a soft, drawn-out voice. “It’s me, Twyla. I just saw Draculaura’s video about Monster High and I am intrigued. A school for monsters? That’s pretty spooktacular. It’s almost impossible to imagine a place where monsters can just be themselves… even a Boogey-ghoul like me. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and—”

  The image on the screen froze as a series of wavy lines distorted it.

  “Not again!” Draculaura groaned. She was just about to thwak the phone against her palm again when Frankie reached out and grabbed her wrist.

  “I’m not sure that’s going to help,” she said. “How long has your phone been acting up like this?”

  “It just started,” Draculaura replied. “Actually, it was kind of slow loading messages this morning. But the weirdness with the static and the wavy lines is new.”

  “Mind if I take a look?” asked Frankie. The bolts in her neck started to crackle with electrical charge.

  Clawdeen leaned over to Lagoona. “You might have already guessed this, but Frank
ie is our resident tech genius,” she whispered. “If it’s broken, she can fix it. If it doesn’t exist yet, she can invent it!”

  “I’m not a bit surprised,” Lagoona replied. “You should have seen her testing the pool water for chemicals and contamination! She has some serious mad-science skills.”

  “Thanks, ghouls,” Frankie added without even looking up from the phone. She pulled a small tool kit from her pocket and unscrewed the exterior case from Draculaura’s phone.

  “Whoa! That’s creepy-cool!” Draculaura said, marveling at the network of wires, electrodes, and sensors that made her phone tick.

  “And super degraded,” Frankie said with a frown. “I wonder if some seawater got in here, Drac. The connectors between the electrodes are totally shot.”

  “Salt water will do that,” Lagoona told her ghoulfriends. “You would not even believe how many times we had to replace our entire MonsterWeb system.”

  “Er, that doesn’t sound good,” Draculaura replied.

  “It’s not,” Frankie said. “If it’s saltwater damage, there’s probably nothing I can do except replace them. But maybe I can supercharge them… it’s worth a try, anyway…” Frankie rubbed her hands together until small sparks of electricity jumped between her fingers. Then she leaned over and deftly touched a pair of electrodes in Draculaura’s phone.

  Zzzzzzap!

  The sparks of electricity jumped straight from Frankie’s fingers to the electrodes, making them gleam with a blindingly bright light. Draculaura could barely keep her hopes in check…

  Until the spark sizzled out, leaving two gray, dull electrodes behind.

  “No luck,” Frankie shook her head. “Well, the hard way is usually the more interesting way. I’m going to have to figure out how to strengthen the connectivity between the electrodes—even if I have to invent it myself!”

  “Thanks for trying, Frankie,” Draculaura sighed. “Do you have any idea how long that will take? We didn’t even get to watch the rest of Twyla’s video.”

  “I have no idea,” Frankie replied. “Could be hours… could be weeks.”