(Author's Note: This story is episode 1 of the new "Growing Up Creepier" series, a sequel series to "Being Born Creepie".
As usual, updates once per day for the next three days.
Rated "T" for blood and mature themes. Reader discretion is advised)
"Growing Up Creepier" Episode 01:
Happy Girl Part 1
Chris-Alice closed her eyes and gripped the arms of her chair, taking several deep breaths to steady herself. Clear her mind, focus on her objective. That was what her sensei had always told her in her Karate classes. If she could clear her mind of everything except what she wanted to do, then she could do anything. She could reach Dr. Gerald, she could get her hands on his weapon, and she could save her best friend…
Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she launched herself forward, ignoring the tears of fear and worry that flew into the air around her. The chair launched back, alerting the doctor that she'd risen from it, but the gun was only halfway around when she reached him and brought both hands up underneath it, launching it into the air over the console.
Chris-Alice jumped up onto the console and leapt for the weapon, leaping at the same time that Dr. Gerald reached his hand up for it. Chris-Alice's heart stopped beating when her hand touched the pommel, gripping it tightly in her hand with one finger coming down on the trigger, pressing it in. Wait, she thought, which way was the barrel aiming? She hadn't been paying attention, but it was too late now. The weapon erupted in a flash of sparks and a thunderous bang whose sound echoed far through the empty hallways outside the door.
Chris-Alice came back down heavily, bouncing off of the control panel as the gun tumbled from her hand. She slammed into the floor below the control panel with a pained grunt and took a few moments to recover with her eyes closed. The room was eerily silent except for the soft sound of her breath echoing from her chest. Her hand moved slowly above her head, slipping across the smooth metal until suddenly her fingers touched something thick and wet.
On arms shaking from fear and panic, she slowly pushed herself up from the floor and opened her eyes. Her eyes turned downward at first, seeing her fingers covered in dark red liquid, on the ground right next to a wide, and increasingly large pool of it. Slowly her eyes rose across the floor, her heartbeat racing faster and faster as they moved across the large, glistening pool of red. There was so much of it, for a moment it was like she was going to drown in it.
Her heart stopped, she was sure of it, when there in the center of the wide pool of glistening blood she saw the body of her best friend, Creepie Creecher. Her large violet eyes were staring coldly at the ceiling, as her beautiful multicolored gossamer wings were drowned out by the thick blood that now coated every inch of them, pouring from her body in an unstoppable torrent. Chris-Alice opened her mouth, but she couldn't say anything. She struggled to make her tongue work, to make any sound at all, even a scream.
"CREEPIE!" Chris-Alice screamed as she sat bolt-upright in her bed. She could feel the cold sweat all over her body, soaking the dainty pink nightgown she wore in the darkness of her bedroom. Her heart was racing so fast that it was beginning to hurt, a strong counterpoint to the tears she felt washing down her cheeks. For a moment she sat confused upright in her bed, then her hands reached quickly for the phone on her nightstand.
Her quaking hands barely managed to snatch up the receiver and lift it into her lap, clumsily pressing the keypad over and over until finally she managed to get the number right. She raised the receiver to her ears with both hands to keep it steady. She couldn't stand the wait, but there was nothing else she could do besides listen to the steady ringing through the headset. Nine, ten, eleven, she counted the rings. She gulped in fear and worry, but her heart leapt when she finally heard the soft click on the other end of the line.
"Hello?" Creepie's low, grumbling voice came over the phone irritably. "Who is this?"
"C-Creepie…" Chris-Alice heaved a sigh of relief and closed her eyes.
"Chris-Alice?" Creepie asked curiously. "What're you doing? It's three AM on a school night."
"I kn-know, sorry." Chris-Alice gulped, trying unsuccessfully to steady her quaking voice. "I just needed to hear your voice, I guess."
"Chris-Alice? Are you crying?" Creepie's voice softened a bit.
"No-nono." Chris-Alice insisted quickly. "I just… sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. Goodnight." Chris-Alice hung up the phone before Creepie could respond and let the receiver fall into her lap. She leaned back against her headboard, fighting back against the tears and sobs that threatened to overwhelm her. She fought her hardest, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hold them back. She hugged her knees against her chest and leaned against her headboard, giving up and letting the tears flow.
Creepie Creecher's locker closed with a bang and she slipped the padlock into place on the handle, leaving her math book nestled snugly in with the rest of her things. Her blue-haired hand patted the lock for a moment before she moved away, the gossamer wings on her back swaying against the soft, refreshing breeze that blew through the hallways of Middlington Middle School. She smiled slightly at the sensation and turned to head down the hallway with her long arms swaying at her sides.
It had been six months since the incident with the Rembrandt Corporation, and things had mostly returned to normal. Her birthmother, Maria Suarez, had proven to be very good with legal stuff, and quickly managed to turn what could have been a disaster for Creepie into a huge victory against her former employers. Creepie had even been allowed to stay with the Creecher family who, due to their unusual insect sentience, had been declared legal U.S. citizens. It was a strange move, but everything had worked out wonderfully for Creepie. Even Maria had decided to stay in Middlington, though she didn't try to take custody of Creepie, for which she was thankful.
"Hey, Creepzilla!" Creepie stopped and looked back over her shoulder to see Carla approaching and waving one hand, with a small clipboard held in her other. Melanie had taken up her usual position beside her. "As you know, the end of the school year is coming fast, which means goodbye to Middlington Middle School."
"And hello Middlington High." Melanie grinned. "I can't wait!"
"Right." Carla smirked slightly and turned back to Creepie. "And Middlington tradition says at the end of their final year of Middle School, students can put on a show to say goodbye to the rest of the classmates they're leaving behind." Carla raised a pen to the notepad. "You think you're gonna want to participate?"
"I don't think so, public performances aren't really my thing." Creepie shook her head. "I'm sure Chris-Alice will drag me into her show somehow, though."
Carla exchanged a glance with Melanie and cleared her throat. "Actually, Chris-Alice already said she's not interested."
"What?" Creepie gasped with genuine surprise. "But Chris-Alice loves putting on shows and performing. She practically lives for it."
"I know, I was surprised too." Carla shrugged, though she looked just as confused as Creepie felt. "But if she doesn't wanna do it, we can't really make her."
"I'll have a talk with her." Creepie insisted. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't think I want to be involved with this thing."
"Hey, no big. Miss Monseratte just asked me to make a list of names. You know where to find me if you change your mind though." Carla waved and turned to leave with Melanie. Creepie waved after the two of them, then turned to head the other direction with her hands clasped behind her back. Chris-Alice had been acting strange lately, but for her to turn down a chance to put on a show was just downright weird.
Creepie walked through the entire school as the students filed out of the front doors, but she couldn't find her redheaded friend anywhere. Finally after almost every other student had left she stood outside the school doors with her arms crossed over her stomach. By now she was very worried about her friend, it wasn't like her to spend the day avoiding Creepie… something had to be seriously wrong with her.
Her wings beat suddenly at the afternoon air and Creepie kicked off the ground into the sky, hovering high into the air over the small town of Middlington. It spread out below her, haloed in the bright yellow light of the sun and the crisp blue sky as she flew overhead, an undetectable speck against the bright blue backdrop of the sky. She flew the short distance until she saw Chris-Alice's house looming below her. Her eyes narrowed when she saw her friend walking up the steps to the door, her arms wrapped tightly around her books.
Creepie moved through the sky toward Chris-Alice, but her friend disappeared into her house before Creepie could reach her. She hovered down in front of the house for a moment, then moved up to the second story to look into Chris-Alice's bedroom. She watched her friend enter, dropping the books limply on the desk beside her door and then falling back onto her bed like a log, where she remained still for longer than Creepie had ever seen her hold still before.
After watching enough of this, Creepie floated closer to the window and rapped lightly on the glass with her knuckle. Chris-Alice gasped and looked up, then crawled over to the bed to pull the window open. "Creepie? What's up?"
"You tell me." Creepie replied. Chris-Alice scooted back so Creepie could pull herself into the window and settle onto her butt on the bed. "Why were you avoiding me at school?"
"Avoiding you? I wasn't!" Chris-Alice shook her head vigorously. "I just… had a lot on my mind is all. So many plans to make for the future. Only a few years of school left before we have to set out on our own. I want to be prepared."
"Uh-huh." Creepie cocked one eyebrow.
"Really, I have all sorts of plans." Chris-Alice moved to slide off the bed, but she was stopped by Creepie grabbing her wrist. She looked back with a nervous smile on her face. "Creepie? What is it?"
"Carla said you declined a chance to put on a show for the school." Creepie stared at her friend intently. "Is there something wrong you'd like to talk about?"
"Wrong? With me?" Chris-Alice laughed at the very idea, a light chirp of a laugh that sounded genuine enough. "Creepie, you're so silly sometimes. Nothing's ever wrong with me! I just don't have time right now, between martial arts classes and cheerleading and family business."
"I guess that makes sense. I was just worried there was something on your mind." Creepie hesitated a moment before speaking again. "You haven't really been yourself since…" She trailed off.
"Oh Creepie, all in the past." Chris-Alice flashed her a light, comforting smile. "I'm right as rain and fine as a feather, so don't worry about me, okay?"
"Well, alright." Creepie nodded slowly. "Just don't be a stranger. I'm still around."
"Of course. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other important things to take care of. A busy schedule is a good schedule." Chris-Alice pushed Creepie suddenly straight out the second-story window, a move that caught Creepie off-guard. It took her a moment to remember to beat her wings and stay airborne rather than let herself plummet to the grass below. She hovered quickly back up to her friend's window, but the window was already closed with the soft blue curtains drawn over them, blocking her view.
Creepie narrowed her eyes, but she didn't want to anger her gentle friend, so she turned to fly away from her house toward home.
Chris-Alice sat in her dining room later in the evening, staring down at the plate of spaghetti that her mother had set down for her. The sight of it made her stomach churn, so she pushed it away slightly and instead focused on sipping slowly at her glass of milk so that her parents wouldn't notice her not eating. They didn't even glance at her, too busy talking back and forth about the day's work each of them had put in. Her father going into detail about the insects he'd encountered and exterminated while her mother yammered on about business deals and property values.
She watched her parents talk with a silent gaze, then gasped when suddenly her mind's eye flashed for an instant to something that made her stomach begin doing flip-flops inside her body. Instantly Chris-Alice slid off of her seat and plucked her plate off of the table. "May I be excused, mother?"
"Of course, sweetie." Mrs. Hollyruller replied with a bright smile. If she'd looked down she would have noticed Chris-Alice's full plate, but instead she turned forward again to continue her conversation with her husband George.
This suited her fine, Chris-Alice turned to walk into the kitchen and dump her spaghetti into the trash can before approaching the sink and washing the plate thoroughly. Once she'd finished that she stopped in the middle of the kitchen… just stopped and stated at the door with a blank gaze as if it was going to come get her. Something was spinning around her mind… what was it? She could feel the tears pressing against her eyes, it was a feeling she'd been getting more and more used to lately. She wasn't even sure why it happened anymore… no, that wasn't true. She knew exactly why it was happening… she just didn't know what to do about it.
Her head turned to sweep across the kitchen, incidentally sweeping past the clock hanging on the wall. It was a little after seven… wait, now she remembered! "Soggy muffins! I forgot cheerleading practice! We have the final game this week too!" Chris-Alice exclaimed in dismay and turned to charge up to her room, yelling a quick explanation at her parents as she passed. She was out the door in her cheerleading uniform seconds later, dashing down the street to the Middlington Middle School courtyard in the last golden rays of the evening.
She arrived panting for breath to find the rest of the cheerleading squad mingling in the middle of the field chatting in low tones. "I'm here! I'm sorry, I lost track of the time!" Chris-Alice huffed as she ran to join them.
"Hey, you showed up… just not on time." Carla smirked slightly. "We were just about to call it a night."
"What!? Nono, I still have practicing to do! I have to nail the aerial pirouette! I can't do it by myself" Chris-Alice complained.
"It's nothing to wig out over, your pirouette is fine, and we still have a few days before the big game." Carla pointed out.
"Fine? Fine!?" Chris-Alice shrieked. "Fine isn't good enough! My pirouette needs to be PERFECT!" Chris-Alice whirled away from her and grabbed at her hair in frustration, yanking it down around her shoulders. "I should have nailed it weeks ago! Why can't I do it right!?" She gasped when her hands jerked downward suddenly, and looked in surprise to see that she was holding two clumps of bright red hair in her hands.
"Geeze! That had to hurt…" Carla rushed up beside her and took one of her arms in her hands. "Be careful, you don't want to go bald right before the game."
"S-sorry. I just…" Chris-Alice stared down at the hair in her hands, then looked up at Carla. For an instant Carla looked unnaturally pale, and was framed by the orange-red light of the setting sun, looking a lot like a pool of blood gathering behind her body. She knew it was a trick of the light, but still it was enough to send Chris-Alice's mind into a frenzy, clutching at her hair and panting.
"Chris-Alice?" Carla asked worriedly.
"S-sorry! I just remembered I have to go!" Chris-Alice turned to sprint away from the other cheerleaders, leaving her bright red hairs to flutter to the grass in the breeze while she ran away as fast as her legs could take her. She ignored Carla's confused yells from behind her, her feet pounding down the sidewalk at a furious sprint that carried her across half of Middlington before she just couldn't run anymore.
Her heart was still racing, but her legs wouldn't take her any further. They gave out without warning, locking into place and sending her hurtling head-first into the sidewalk. "Oowwwwie!" Chris-Alice cried in pain and clutched at the ground, though she made no move to get up. She could feel tears on her cheeks again, no matter how vigorously she tried to wipe them off with the back of her hand. They continued to flow, sparkling on her hand against the last traces of the sun's golden light.
"Man…" Chris-Alice sobbed on the ground. "What am I supposed to do now?" Instead of getting up from the sidewalk, she curled up into a tight ball and closed her eyes, trying to drown out the omnipresent memory that bore its way back to the surface. "What's wrong with me…?"
TO BE CONTINUED