Sunlight trickled through tall, cobwebbed-embellished windows. My heels left hard clicks behind me as I held my books to my chest. I was at ease. Comfortable. Yet a nagging worry pricked at my skin. I had a test in Dead Languages next period and although I had studied, I couldn't help but be anxious.
Monsters dashed past me in a blur of colors. An array of pink and purple dotted each wall, where rows of coffin-shaped lockers stood. I slowed when I reached mine, my fingers fiddling at the combination.
Just as I shut my locker, a cluster of ghouls walked my way. I smiled. They assured me the Dead Languages test was nothing to worry about, so the topic shifted to a party happening in the catacombs. We enthused about what we'd wear and what time we'd start getting ready for tonight. During lunch, we dished whatever drama took place that day until the bell rang and we dispersed into our respective classes.
A day at Monster High usually went like this. By the school day's end, we'd reconvene at the Coffin Bean for homework only to distract ourselves with shopping.
But it wasn't a usual day at Monster High that changed everything. It wasn't even a school day, yet that day changed Monster High forever; different than it had before. Not different like some days, where we'd travel to the past or party with humans on Halloween. None of us suspected it at the time but, on that day, Monster High was doomed.
Now, nothing is as it seems. But one thing is for sure:
Monster High is gone.
-.-.-.-
A gasp escaped my lungs the second I opened my eyes. It was a dream. Everything in the dream was familiar but why couldn't...
I recognized those monsters; that place. They meant something to me. But what? What about them made me care for them? I felt a strong, aimless sense of loss. Even so, the dream felt... right. Comfortable. My head throbbed as I tried to dig further into my thoughts. Memories? I wasn't sure.
I decided to turn my attention to what was around me instead of grasping at thoughts I didn't have.
I felt a thin, white blanket draped over my body all the way past my head. A hard surface collided with my elbows when I moved my arms. The ceiling? I brought my arms down closer to my chest and dragged the blanket off my face from there. Darkness. Perhaps it was the ceiling. My limbs were numb. Holding my palms out, I felt a smooth surface surrounding me at all sides only inches away.
I was trapped.
My breaths were frantic and desperate as I pounded the lid of whatever box enclosed me. A scream came out hoarse, scratching at my throat like rust on metal. My fists felt bruised by the time light blinded my vision, and the confining atmosphere gave way. There was a loud creak. I grew silent and still, watching the lid open completely.
The scent of sulfur hit me first. I managed to move my stiff joints and got onto my knees. The room was small yet elegant with an ancient, rustic interior; a faint glow from torches on the wall.
I got out of the box and took a closer look at my former prison, too elegant to be a mere coffin. I traced the elaborate designs with my forefinger.
A sarcophagus...
Looking past the open lid of the sarcophagus, I noticed another, more ornate sarcophagus a few feet away. I walked toward it, tempted to open it and see who—or what—was inside. Slipping my fingers between the crevice, I tried opening the lid but each tug left my fingertips raw. It wouldn't budge. I sighed, and a shiver raked my body. I followed the direction of the cold wind to see large golden doors leading out.
Abbey Bominable trudged through the snow, going through the same daily routine as always: finding food. Her miniature pet mammoth, Shiver, ran ahead of her, a purplish smudge on the white snow making sure the path was safe for Abbey. It wasn't snowing but footfalls were never uncommon.
Snow always blanketed this mountain—she should know, she lived here. It wasn't the Himalayas, but it was home when Abbey had moved west. Except during the school year, when she lived with the headmistress.
It had been five years and yet it felt like only yesterday for Abbey. She desperately wished it was. She would rather be with the headmistress instead of here, scavenging for food like an animal. If only it hadn't been for that day.
The day it all went to hell.
She remembered receiving calls from her family in the Himalayas, her cousins frantically trying to explain the disappearance of their great uncle Frostovitch as well as that of Abbey's own parents. She remained where she was until she received further news, but there was none.
Her parents vanished.
And when she finally decided to visit her Himalayan home, she greatly regretted it. The remaining Yetis were lost without the elders and had torn it apart.
When Abbey returned to the States, she got calls from Marisol in the south, inviting her to the Bigfoot village. Abbey hadn't considered traveling there by the time she was unable to pay the phone bills. Or any bills.
She lived every day the same as any other, the hope for change being the only thing that kept her going. A shame she didn't decide to break her routine and change things herself. She didn't like to think about what she could do, she simply did like she always had.
Abbey would often wonder why she remained on the snow-covered mountain instead of venturing into this changed, new world but every time she almost left, she remembered how safe the mountain made her feel. It made her feel safe in a world so unfamiliar. It made her feel at home in a place that didn't have anyone she loved but her pet, Shiver. But the incessant question would leap back at her:
Where is home?
Abbey sighed and followed Shiver higher up the mountain. A few steps later, she almost tripped over her. Abbey regained her footing, ready to scold Shiver until she glanced ahead and saw a ghoul's body sprawled in the snow.
Abbey took tentative steps forward, a loud crunch sounding beneath each one. The body was underdressed for the weather. The Yeti ghoul shook her head in pity.
Careless, she thought. Abbey knelt down and brushed some snow off the poor ghoul, and stilled.
Her face...
With shaky hands, Abbey reached for the ghoul's wrist and felt a faint but steady beat. The Yeti let out a choked, relieved sob.
The ghoul was alive.
