Vacation on Monster Mountain
By RBW
"Would you rather go to the beach or the mountains this weekend?"
"Huh?" James swung his legs over the side of his bed. "The mountains, I guess, since we went to the beach two weeks ago. Why? Are we planning another vacation?"
His mother smiled. "Sort of."
"What do you mean, sort of? Either we are or we aren't."
"It'll be a family reunion. We'll invite your cousins, Colton, Quincy, and Laura, and Jessiebelle and her friends-"
"Mom! They aren't even related to us!"
"Actually, I checked and Jessiebelle is related very, very distantly to us. Isn't that fascinating?"
"What's your obsession with her?"
"We're friends with her parents, that's all."
"I bet."
"Well, you might as well start packing. We leave on Friday."
"Groan."
"We're here!" James' dad sang out.
James glared out the window of their rented limousine, prepared to hate everything about the vacation resort. But he soon found it was a hard place to hate. Large, almost purple mountains towered in the distance, peaked with powdery white snow. They were partly up one of the tallest mountain in the group, on a plateau with thin green grass. A large lake separated the vacation cabins into four different sections, one on each shore, each section owned by a different company. The largest cabin, Moon Cabin, was where they'd be staying. It was the size of a small mansion, with several rooms and even a kind of balcony leading from an attic room.
"It looks like we're here first." James' mom said. "I suppose you get first pick of the rooms, then."
"Oh." James said as he pulled Growlie's carrier out of the car. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing; in all probability, he'd either pick a room Jessiebelle didn't want, in which case it would probably be a not-so-good room, or Jessiebelle would kick him out as soon as she got there. And he would rather have her pick first than get kicked out.
He was spared the trouble when two more limousines pulled up, followed closely by a smaller green station wagon. Before the smaller car even came to a complete stop, the back door flew open. "Race you to Cousin James!" Laura shouted, leaping from the car and speeding across the bright green grass. Her waist-long deep red hair streamed behind her.
"No fair!" Quincy said, grabbing a handful of his blue hair in frustration. "Mom! Tell her that's not fair!"
Colton, however, had a different approach. He ran up to his sister, grabbed her arm, and threw her to the ground. Then, all thoughts of racing forgotten, he pinned down Laura's legs.
"Augh! Stop! Mom! He's hurting me!" Laura burst into tears.
"Baby!" Colton shouted, brushing a lock of his less-deep red hair out of his eyes.
"No, you're the baby, and you aren't running properly." Jessiebelle said like someone who had authority as she descended from the limousine in front. Turning to the chauffer, she added, "The car bounced far too much up the mountain for my liking. I'll have to tell mom about that."
Amber, one of Jessiebelle's two faithful slaves (as James called them), laughed haughtily. She had dark blonde hair and always wore the latest fashion, no matter how ridiculous or expensive it was. Her main job was to laugh haughtily after everything Jessiebelle said.
Chloe, Jessiebelle's other friend, dropped the Knip she was holding, ran up to James and hugged him around the neck. "Aren't you happy to see us?"
James, stunned as always by her sudden display of affection, took a few seconds to come up with a witty comeback. "I won't be happy until you, Jessiebelle, Amber, Laura, Colton and Quincy are all gone."
Chloe laughed in a way that resembled her Knip's yapping. That was her job.
The poodle Pokémon in question, meanwhile, was not happy that she'd been dropped, and demonstrated it by barking her head off at James.
"Oh, shut up," He growled.
Meanwhile, Rosemond, Laura and Colton's mom, succeeded in untangling her two monsters and walked over to the limousine in the back. "Need any help with your luggage?" She asked Jessiebelle's parents, noticing the entire car was filled with suitcases of various sizes.
"Oh, that's what servants are for!" Jessiebelle's dad called back.
"Dibs on first room!" Laura called.
"No fair!" Quincy shouted. "Mom! Tell her that's not fair!"
"Well, she did call dibs…"
"Mom!" Quincy shouted, shocked that his mom was not instantly leaping to his defense.
"No, I think I should pick the first room," Jessiebelle announced. She looked around at the other children, her eyes narrowed. "Anyone want to dispute the matter?"
James didn't answer.
Amber laughed haughtily even though it wasn't appropriate for the moment.
Chloe shook her head, laughing nervously.
Laura started crying again.
Quincy shrunk away.
Only Colton felt he could challenge the wicked queen's reign. "I think I should pick first."
James had to wonder how Jessiebelle managed to narrow her eyes even further without looking like she was squinting or closing her eyes. The red haired girl advanced on the red haired boy. For a long time, the two stared hard at each other, a silent dare to the other to make the first move.
Jessiebelle knelt. It looked like she was just adjusting her boot. But James saw her slip something that looked like a long leather snake out of the boot.
Suddenly she cracked the whip across Colton's hand. Colton yelped and took off running across the green grass.
"Fear my wrath!" Jessiebelle crowed triumphantly. She pursued her prey, cracking the whip again just inches away from Colton's back. "And you still aren't running properly!"
James reached into the carrier and pulled out Growlie, hugging his neck. His parent's hadn't been too thrilled about taking him, but he needed protection from all the people his parents had invited.
"Jessiebelle!" Her mom cried from across the field. "We didn't buy you that whip so you could drive your distant relatives around like slaves!"
Amber laughed haughtily.
Chloe yipped like a poodle.
"You're supposed to do that when I say something!" Jessiebelle turned on the two girls.
"Oops!" Chloe shouted.
Amber laughed haughtily.
"Cut that out! It's driving me nuts!" Her lord and master shouted.
"This is going to be the worst weekend of my life!" James sighed.
"This is my room and that's your room, Amber, and that's Chloe's room and that's James room and-"
"I thought you were going to pick your room! Not everyone's!" James protested.
"What? Questioning my choice?" Jessiebelle brought out her whip.
"Um… no…" He answered timidly.
"Fine! If you want, you can sleep in the attic for all I care! Laura can have your room!"
"I don't want you to choose my- wait- did you say James' room?" Laura's eyes brightened. She raced through the door and bounced on the bed.
"Go on! To the attic with you!" Jessiebelle commanded, like a judge sending a criminal to prison.
Amber laughed haughtily.
"I thought I told you to stop that!"
The attic wasn't as bad as all that. He had the balcony to himself, there was plenty of room for Growlie to wander all over like he did in his doghouse/mansion at home, and there were plenty of loose floorboards- perfect for hiding his secret stash of chocolate. Laura was a chocolate addict, and he wasn't taking any chances around her. Plus, he was as far from Jessiebelle as he could have been without leaving the building (He would have preferred leaving the building (and hopefully going back home) but there didn't seem to be a chance of that.)
Since the building was three stories, not counting the attic which was sort of a fourth story, if James stood on the balcony he could see a long way in every direction. He could see all the other cabins, he could see a grayish line on the far side of the lake that might have been the other shore, he could see a motorboat docked near their house, he could see some kid near the next cabin waving a silver stick around- or that's what it looked like.
"Hey!" He called out to the kid.
He (she?) looked up and beckoned downward. "Come on!" A faint voice shouted.
James hesitated for a second, and then headed downstairs and out the door with Growlie at his heels. "I'm going to see the kid next door!"
"I wanna come!" Laura shouted.
"Too bad!" James shouted back.
"I WANNA COME!" She shouted louder.
Growlie snarled softly at his master's side.
"James!" His mom called out. "Take her with, will you? Be a good cousin?"
"I don't want to be a good cousin! I don't want to be a cousin at all!"
"Take her with because I said so, then."
"Grump."
It turned out to be a girl, but a rather gothic girl. Her skimpy outfit was black and red, and her short black hair shone. Her lips were dark red, not from lip gloss, but naturally. In contrast, her skin was naturally unnaturally white. The silver stick turned out to be a fencing sword. While she was talking to them, she continually practiced jabs and parries. "So, why are you here?"
"Family reunion. What about you?"
"I live here. What you two do to make your hair that way?"
"Huh?" Laura fingered her long hair. "I thought lots of people had red hair."
"None as red as that. Actually, I did meet a few people with red hair like that once or twice, but it wasn't quite as deep. What dye did you use?"
"I didn't dye my hair," James said. "It's always been purple."
"Really? Radicool!" Then, more softly, "This makes everything easier, especially if it really is a family reunion."
"Huh?" Laura said again.
James suddenly became aware of a soft growling. He turned and saw his Growlithe cringing and trying to look fierce at the same time.
"Growlie! She's a friend."
"Anyone else in your family have hair like that?" The girl continued.
"Well, mom has hair like mine," Laura said. "So does Jessiebelle. And my brothers, Colton and Quincy, have red and blue hair, though not as red as mine."
"They have two different colors in their hair and I'm supposed to believe they didn't dye it?"
"What she means is that Colton has lighter red hair and Quincy has blue hair," James said. "What's your name?"
"Oh- my name? Vixen Chameletor (cam-MEEL-ate-or). And yours?"
"I'm James and she's Laura."
"Hey! I wanted to say my own name!"
"Tough."
"Everyone hates me!" Laura started crying again.
"Is she always like that?" Vixen asked.
"Pretty much. But she's almost the lesser of six evils."
"What are the other five?"
"Well, her brothers, you remember them? Quincy goes running to his mom whenever things don't go his way, and she almost always sides with him. Colton is really rough… He likes beating up anyone smaller than him, which, unfortunately, includes me. Amber is really high-and-mighty, and Chloe is pathetic. But the worst of them all is Jessiebelle; she can get away with anything, she fusses too much about the 'proper' way to do things, and she has this whip that she goes after people with, and she always gets her way. Always."
"That's why I live alone," Vixen mused, tossing the blade from one hand to the other.
"You live completely alone? Here? With no parents or anything?"
"Yep."
"How do you get away with it?"
"Well, it's pretty easy, considering how many tourists come here."
"Huh?"
"But business has been slow, because word has it-" She lowered her voice- "Word has it this mountain is haunted. Some people call it Monster Mountain because so many bad things have happened here. It's the Pokémon world equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle."
"What's the Bermuda Triangle?"
"This place in the sea where a lot of ships go missing or get destroyed, or so my father told me. The only difference is that lots of people live to tell about their misadventures here. People have talked about giants, dragons, talking Pokémon, and this freaky Pokémon called a Venobat whose fangs have deadly poison. They even say that there are vampires, although that's the only one that no one's sure about- a tourist goes missing and is found dead, white as a sheet with no blood, but no one really saw the culprit. I even saw a Dementor once."
"A what?"
"But you aren't scared, are you?"
"Me? Scared? Of course!"
"I thought so. Don't worry; nothing much happens in this patch of the mountain, but people stay away anyway because they're scared of the whole mountain. I've been living here for years, and nothing even came close to harming me."
"Oh, good."
James looked up and realized the sun was setting.
"Oh, no! Laura, we'd better get back home!"
"You certainly took your sweet time getting here!" Jessiebelle shouted when the two of them arrived at Moon Cabin.
Amber laughed haughtily.
Chloe yipped like a poodle.
"Look what I found!" Quincy held up a tape recorder. "Someone must have left it in my room or something."
"Is anything on the tape?" Chloe asked. "We could record the Chloe show or something!"
"The Chloe show? But I found it! Mom!" Quincy shouted.
Chloe, not paying attention, snatched the tape recorder out of his hand and pressed the record button. "Hello, this is the Chloe show, with your host, Chloe Stevenson, recording live from… what's this mountain called again?"
"Monster Mountain," Laura said.
"Recording live from Monster Mount- hey, that's not funny!"
"You're right; it's not," James said. "It's true."
"Says who?" Amber demanded.
"Says Vixen. She's the girl next door, and she lives here. All alone." James envied her terribly. Except for the fact she lived all alone on Monster Mountain.
"She's probably pulling your leg," Amber said. "Furthermore, I think this should be called the Amber show, don't you? With all the latest fashion tips!"
"But I found it!" Quincy shouted. "And I don't want to waste the tape on fashion tips!"
"Let's make up a wrestling broadcast or something!" Colton shouted. "It'll be the Colton and Quincy show!"
"Not just wrestling broadcasts!" Quincy added. "I could also explain quantum-mechanics or something."
"Since when could you explain quantum-mechanics?" Jessiebelle asked. "If anything, I think it should be called the Jessiebelle show, don't you?"
For about five seconds, everything was silent. Then James asked, "Why can't we name it something that isn't someone's name and make it everyone's show?"
"Or we could name it everyone's name," Laura said. "Like, 'The Laura-Quincy-Colton-Chloe-Amber-Jessiebelle-James Show'!"
"Or, 'The Quincy-Colton-Laura-Amber-Chloe-Jessiebelle-James Show'!"
"Or, 'The Colton-Quincy-Laura-Amber-Chloe-James-Jessiebelle Show'!"
"Or, 'The Chloe-James-Jessiebelle-Amber-Laura-Quincy-Colton Show'!"
"You put James before me! Some friend you are!" Jessiebelle lashed her whip.
"One must follow one's heart! Ouch!"
Growlie gave a short bark that sounded like laughter.
"What about 'The Amber-Jessiebelle-Colton-Quincy-Chloe-Laura-James Show'!"
"I think it should be called the Jessiebelle-Amber-Chloe-Quincy-Colton-Laura-James Show and that is final!"
"What about me?" Vixen asked, walking up. "Can I be in the show too?"
Jessiebelle gave her a withering look. "It's for relatives only."
"Wah! I can't be in the show!" Chloe whined.
"Chloe and I aren't related to anyone here," Amber pointed out.
"So can I be in the show or not?" Vixen asked. "I can tell great stories."
Jessiebelle sighed. "Fine," She said sourly. "But I get to do the opening. Welcome to the Jessiebelle-Amber-Chloe-Colton-Quincy-Laura-Vixen-James Show. I'm one of eight hosts but definitely the best looking among them. We're reporting live from Falkniss Mountain despite any claims to the contrary saying this is Monster Mountain. Now over to Colton with a sports report."
"Thank you, Jessiebelle. Currently no sports have taken place other than a violent race to James that took place earlier this morning. Laura got a head start, which was so obviously unfair that Colton reserved the right to wrestle her to the ground; however the Evil Mother broke up the fight just as it was getting good. That's all."
"And now over to Amber with today's beauty tips."
"Thank you, Jessiebelle. Today we're going to talk about split ends…"
James suffered through Quincy's quantum-mechanics discussion, Chloe's Knip Care and Crush Assistance, and Laura's description of the scenery, doing his best to wait patiently for his turn. He and Vixen exchanged tired glances.
"And now, we'll have Vixen tell us her little fairy tale about why this is called Monster Mountain."
Vixen smiled. "Thank you, Jessiebelle." She told the tape recorder what she'd told James and Laura earlier, about the Venobats, the dragons, and every threat that had ever been encountered on the mountain.
"Thank you for tuning in to the Jessiebelle-Amber-Chloe-Colton-Quincy-Laura-Vixen-James Show. This is Jessiebelle signing off."
"Wait! What about my turn?" James shouted.
"You want a turn? Fine! Now we go to James on how to scream like a little girl!" Jessiebelle chased James across the field, whip lashing. Thankfully for James, Jessiebelle wasn't the best at aiming, and only every other crack found its mark. By the time she was done, the tape recorder had been turned off.
"Let's do something!" Colton shouted. "Like a Pokémon battle!"
Chloe gasped, as though that suggestion was unthinkable. "Knipy doesn't battle!"
"Knipy?" Colton demanded. "KNIPY? What kind of a dumb name is that?"
"Knipy's name, of course!" Chloe replied, clutching the normal-type Pokémon close.
"I just have Growlie!" James protested.
"Yeah, but you still have that little floating rock you got for Christmas last year- what was it? Coffin?" Jessiebelle mused.
"Koffing. And yes, I have that, but I hardly trained it."
"You have only two Pokémon?" Quincy asked, aghast. "Me and Colton have four each!"
"Five," Colton corrected.
"It's 'I and Colton,'" Amber corrected.
"Whatever!" Quincy shouted.
"All I have is an Oddish," Jessiebelle said, not really in a complaining tone but rather in a matter-of-fact tone.
"And I only have a Delcatty," Amber continued in the same tone.
"I don't have anything!" Laura started crying.
"So we can't do a Pokémon battle," Jessiebelle said. "There aren't enough Pokémon. Not everyone can be like Ash Ketchum."
"Who?" James asked.
"Some little brat who doesn't exist yet."
"Well, if you hate him so much, I bet we'd be friends. If he existed," James added.
"He does exist, just not yet."
"You're boggling my mind," Chloe said.
"Then let's have a wrestling match!" Colton shouted. Without waiting for Her Majesty's permission, he pounced on James.
"Help!" James shouted.
But this seemed to be everyone else's idea of entertainment.
"Rock-'em-sock-'em! Yeah!" Chloe shouted.
"Doesn't that seem a little dark for you?" Jessiebelle asked.
"Wrestling is usually so boring!" Amber said. "But this is what I call exciting!"
"Yeah, but I'd better stop those two anyway. I'm going to be marrying James in the future and I don't want a crippled husband." Jessiebelle started forward.
"But I want to marry James!" Chloe shouted.
Jessiebelle gave her a puzzled look. "You actually want to marry that dumbbell?"
"If he's a dumbbell," Amber asked, "Why do you want to marry him?" She already knew the answer of course, but asking that question was her other job.
"His parents are trillionaires, you dolts!" Jessiebelle walked over to where Colton was smacking James' head against the ground. "All right, boys, break it up!"
Colton growled, but he let go.
"No fair!" Quincy shouted. "We were just having fun!"
"Give the poor kid a break, though," Jessiebelle said, smiling slyly. "I want to be sure he makes it to adulthood."
James stood up slowly, stunned that Jessiebelle had done anything but cheer and/or join in.
"Kids!" Jessiebelle's dad called. "Time to go to sleep!"
The annoying thing about the attic was that everything seemed to creak. James tried plugging his ears, but then he couldn't sleep. He rolled over and noticed that Growlie wasn't sleeping well either; made sense, since he had the more sensitive ears. He sighed and walked onto the balcony, since he'd heard sometimes looking at stars helps people get to sleep.
The view at night wasn't much different from the view at the daytime, except you could see about a million stars because there weren't any streetlights in the area. The lake looked the same, the grass looked the same, and Vixen was still out there with her sword. Lucky her. He almost shouted toward her, but then realized that would probably wake someone up.
However, she looked up and noticed him first. She waved, and then ran up to the balcony. There was a trellis that seemed too rickety to hold anyone's weight, but the girl mounted it with ease.
"What are you doing awake still?" She asked.
"Can't sleep. Everything creaks and makes noises."
"Really? Let me see!" Vixen walked in the room. "Where's your room?"
"Right here."
"In the attic?" Vixen bit her lip, as though that was a problem.
"What?"
"It's just that… if a monster decides to enter the house from the balcony, you know you'll be the first to go."
"Stop scaring me like that!"
"You want scared? You wouldn't believe how many stories I can tell you about this place- and not all are just boring old ghost stories. Want to hear some?"
"Well… okay…"
"Remember the talking Pokémon I mentioned?"
"Yeah?"
"One time a family was walking on the mountain, not on the peak but just a little below, on the opposite side of the mountain from us. All of a sudden a Raichu jumped out of nowhere and demanded in English to know where their owner was. When they told him they had no owner, the Raichu and everyone with him got mad. This young Pikachu that was with them at the time said they should kill the group because they were humans, but the Raichu said no and said that they would take the group as slaves. For the longest time they served the Pokémon, harvesting crops and catering to other Pokémon's needs, until one day they forgot to lock the father up at the end of the day. He ran away back to normal civilization. Later, while he was telling his story, he realized they'd probably let him get away to tell others stories about that place, to scare people away from there."
"What about his family?"
"What about his family? These aren't happily-ever-after fairy tales, you know."
"Some father he is, running away without his family like that."
"Maybe his family is as awful as yours."
"Ha ha. There's nothing wrong with my parents, except they apparently think me and Jessiebelle have to be BFF because we're both rich."
"You feel tired yet?" Vixen asked, walking around the room. James could have sworn she stood in front of a mirror, but he must have been at the wrong angle to see her reflection.
"Not really. That just made me more awake."
"Talking Pokémon are not about to invade this building, whereas if I told you stories about Venobats or dragons you're likely to stay awake all night."
"I suppose…"
Vixen reached under James' bed. "Looks like a floor board is out of place. It creaks every time the weight on the bed shifts." There was a loud thump. "There. It's fixed."
"Thanks!"
"No problem. See you in the mourning!"
"Same to you- wait, you mean morning, right?"
"Oh, yeah. Right. Little misspell, that's all." Vixen walked out on the balcony again, but James didn't wait to see her jump down. He collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.
He was woken up by someone screaming. He sat bolt upright, then, after a second's hesitation, raced downstairs.
Colton was sitting on the floor of the hallway, holding Quincy's limp body on his lap. "Dead! He's completely dead!"
Chloe screamed again (it was her that James heard).
Laura, noticing James in the hallway, shouted, "I solved the mystery! James did it!"
"Says who?" James demanded.
"Says me, and I'm going to prove it!" She raced up to James' room.
"Oh, brother," Amber said.
"Well, Amber, what's your explanation?" Jessiebelle demanded.
"I think someone wanted to freak us into thinking we're- wait, are you saying you actually believe James did it?"
"I'm not saying anything. I'm just listening to everyone's theories and believing the one that has the most-"
"Proof!" Laura shouted, running downstairs again.
"Don't finish my sentences!"
"No, I mean, here's the proof!" Laura held out a pistol. "This was under James' bed. It's a .38 caliber."
"And the bullet found in the victim fits the gun!" Colton shouted.
"This is what James warned me of yesterday!" Chloe shouted. "He told me, 'I won't be happy until you, Jessiebelle, Amber, Laura, Colton and Quincy are all dead!"
"Gone!" James shouted. "I said I won't be happy until you, Jessiebelle, Amber, Laura, Colton and Quincy are all gone! If I'd said dead you would have done more than just laugh at me."
"Still…" Amber said. "We know that you hate Quincy, and the gun was under your bed…" She turned white and backed away like James would suddenly shoot her down.
Chloe laughed nervously and then ran to the safety of her room.
Colton stared at James and turned as white as his brother.
Laura screamed and ran to join Chloe.
Only Jessiebelle refused to look terrified. "You just try and murder me, James!" She cracked her whip next to James' head.
"I won't!" James protested.
Growlie snarled at Jessiebelle.
"What's going on?" James' father walked up the stairs.
"Your son murdered my brother!" Colton shouted.
"WHAT!"
"I did not!"
"Then explain the gun!" Chloe shouted, no longer afraid to be there now that a grown-up was present.
"Someone must have put it under my bed! Seriously, that's the oldest trick in the book!"
"But I wouldn't have killed Quincy," Laura said. "Neither would Colton. He's our brother after all."
"And Chloe isn't bold enough to be a murderer," Amber said. "That just leaves me and Jessiebelle."
"And what would I gain from murdering him?" Jessiebelle asked. "But you…"
"You hate Quincy and Colton and all of us!" Chloe shrieked, running back to her room.
"I didn't do it!"
"James!" James' father said. "Laura, give me the gun."
"But-"
"Give it."
Laura reluctantly submitted her evidence.
"I'm not about to believe that James did it simply on the grounds that a gun was under his bed. I'll tell the police about this and give them the gun for fingerprint dusting," James father said. "Meanwhile, pack your bags. We're leaving."
"You just don't care about Quincy or any of us because we're not rich!" Colton screamed. "You think we're worthless because our mom has to work all the time!"
James' father didn't listen. He just went downstairs.
"This calls for an emergency news report," Amber said, pulling out the tape recorder. "Anyone want to?"
"Hello, this is the Jessiebelle-Amber-Chloe-Colton-Quincy-Laura-Vixen-James Show, minus Quincy because-"
"Because James murdered Quincy!" Laura screamed.
"You actually think James is smart enough to murder someone?" Amber asked.
Jessiebelle gave Laura a how-dare-you-interrupt-your-queen look and continued, "This morning, at time-that-Colton-woke-up o'clock, young Quincy what's-his-last-name was discovered dead with a bullet through his heart, and the only suspect that actually is known by any of us is everyone's least favorite person-"
"I didn't do it!"
"Prove it!" Laura shouted.
Chloe screamed like a dying poodle.
"Hey, what's up?" Vixen asked, walking up to the picnic table they were sitting at.
"James murdered my brother!" Colton shouted.
"Literally? Or is that just wrestling talk?"
"Really and truly!" Laura shouted. "It was completely terrifying!"
"How do you know it was James? What evidence do you have?"
"The gun was under his bed!" Chloe shouted.
"So if you're so sure he did it… why are you still standing next to him?" Vixen smiled coolly.
Colton turned white again and backed off. Laura ran across the lawn to the cabin.
"Cut it out!" James shouted.
"What I meant was, why isn't James in jail?" Vixen said.
"Because grown-ups are dense," Chloe said.
"Because not everyone is convinced," Amber said. "Really, do you think James is smart enough to do something like that? And where'd the gun come from anyway?"
Laura ran back carrying a large bag of chocolate. "Sorry. Snack attack," She explained, unwrapping a Twix bar.
"Well," Vixen said, "Since you're all nice and freaked out anyway, how about I tell you a really scary story?"
"I don't think you could scare me any worse than I'm scared right now," Colton said.
"Me either," Chloe said.
"Me either," Laura agreed.
Vixen turned to the others, as if to ask if they agreed.
"Nothing scares me," Jessiebelle said.
"Same here," Amber said, looking nervously over her shoulder.
"Help?" James said. The very idea of scary stories freaked him out.
"How about a dare?" Vixen said. "If I don't scare all of you, you get to push me in the lake."
"How about something worse than that?" Amber said. "That's nothing. It's summertime and everyone should be swimming anyway. How about we get to take you out in the motorboat and dump you out?"
Vixen bit her lower lip. "Well… it's all the same to me. I don't swim."
"Okay then," Jessiebelle said, grinning widely. "Tell us your scary story."
James sat petrified to the spot, wondering if he should leave, but Jessiebelle was shooting him don't-even-think-about-it looks.
Vixen closed her eyes and didn't move, didn't breathe for about fifteen seconds. Then her eyes snapped open, and she launched into the story.
"Imagine a long, grey, tattered cloak, so shredded it looks fringed. Imagine a large grey hood. You don't know what it's hiding, but you know that it can be nothing good. Imagine feeling so cold, so sad, that you'll never be happy again."
James shivered, out of the power of suggestion, no doubt. Around the table, everyone else seemed to be imagining it as well. Even Jessiebelle was rubbing her arms in a keeping-warm sort of way.
"Imagine every unhappy memory, happening again all at once, ten times as horrible as you remembered."
James shuddered. That would keep him busy for about a week.
"Imagine sickly green, bony hands, reaching out from under the cloak. When you see them, you know you must be facing… a Dementor!"
Vixen dug her long fingernails into the table, as though she couldn't stand how horrifying it was.
"Then bony hands take you by the shoulder, lifting you closer to its face… it lowers the hood and leans closer… to… suck out your soul!"
Everyone leaned closer, then all of a sudden, Amber yelled, "That's all you could come up with? Stealing someone's soul? What kind of a dumb thing to do is that? Well, now I can confidently say I was not scared one bit, and that if this Dementor creature does exist, it must be the most pathetic, wimpiest, most babyish-"
"AMBER! BEHIND YOU!" Chloe screamed.
The Dementor that had been standing behind them for the whole story grabbed Amber and spun her around, holding her up to his face. He grabbed the hood and yanked it backwards, bringing Amber to his mouth.
Everyone screamed as loud as possible, except for the Dementor himself of course. This has to be a dream! James thought.
Suddenly, Amber's screaming stopped short, and a tiny, blue light appeared near her mouth. As everyone watched in terror, the ball floated into the Dementor's mouth.
Amber breathed outward, her grey eyes surprisingly clear and unafraid- but so unbearably sad.
The monster set his victim down slowly, and then floated off.
James finally breathed out. He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath.
Jessiebelle was clutching the table so hard her knuckles were white.
Chloe looked too terrified to scream, which meant she was really afraid.
Colton looked like he was going to hide under the table.
Laura dropped the Tootsie Roll she'd been eating on the ground and forgot it.
Vixen took a deep breath. Her face was no more whiter than it had been a minute ago, which wasn't saying much since she looked deathly pale all the time, but all her cockiness was lost.
"Kids?" Rosemond walked up. "Is there a problem? I heard you screaming."
"Oh, it was horrible!" Laura burst into tears.
Chloe half shrieked, half cried, "Vixen was just telling us a story and-"
"Vixen!" Laura's mom shouted. "That isn't very nice. Don't tell them scary stories when they're already so scared after this morning."
"But-" Vixen started, then decided not to object.
"Well, as long as you're here, Vixen, you might as well stay for lunch. After this we'll head home. Come on, everyone, and help me set the table."
Nice, normal hot dogs were not usual fare for James' family, but it was delicious. The best part was that Rosemond, who had brought today's lunch, had remembered James' fondness for bottle caps of all sorts and had brought large bottles of soda for everyone. It was a brand he'd never tried before, with bottle caps he'd never seen before. Rosemond said it was soda from Britain. That would explain the caps.
The only problems were Amber's continued sadness, Jessiebelle's hovering stares, and the fact that after the meal, he couldn't find the bottle cap he'd gotten.
"Where's my bottle cap?" James demanded, looking under the table. He couldn't see the shiny purple cap, so he started to look elsewhere when he saw a flash of metal from Laura's hand.
"Hey!" He shouted, trying to grab it back.
"Come and catch it!" his cousin shouted, sprinting across the lawn.
"You're not running properly!" Jessiebelle shouted.
Ever ready, James sprinted after her, but he already knew from experience that she was about as fast as him, and Laura wasn't making the route easy. She headed for a bunch of trees that was too small to be a forest, jumping over everything in her path. James was a little better at jumping than her, however, and he'd almost reached her when his cousin leapt into a tree. Startled, he didn't notice a rock on the ground until it was too late. He landed flat on his face.
Laura laughed and jumped down from the tree, running out of the forest. But James wasn't done yet; he continued to chase her, closing in on her as she ran to the picnic table, when suddenly…
BAM! Colton's fist shot out, driving him into the ground. He started to get up, but Chloe grabbed his hands and tied them together with her hair ribbon. She was good at tying knots; much too good, since every night there was a struggle to get her hair ribbon out, but she was putting that to her advantage for the moment.
Jessiebelle stood up smugly. "Do you give up the bottle cap already?"
"Since when did you like Laura this much?" James asked.
"Since you became a criminal. Now I have you in my-" Jessiebelle broke off as Vixen raised her fencing sword, slowly, to Jessiebelle's heart.
"You… back… off. All of you! Now!"
Everyone slowly moved back.
Vixen nodded, then slashed skillfully through the ribbons, ignoring Chloe's whines about those being her favorites. "You okay, kid?"
"Fine," James whispered.
Amber sighed mournfully.
"I liked it better when you laughed haughtily!" Jessiebelle screamed. She took advantage of the fact that Vixen was distracted to crack her whip on the gothic girl's back.
But Vixen was too fast. She whirled around, her flashing blade meeting the flying strip of leather. And although a whip stings, a sword stings harder.
Vixen picked up the half of the whip Jessiebelle wasn't holding. "Thanks," She said honestly. "I always wanted a black leather bracelet."
The red haired girl stared, stunned, at her significantly shortened weapon.
"Now stop bugging your cousin, or your friend, or whatever. Stop bugging everyone. Just go away and try leaving each other alone for once!"
Everyone followed her commands as if Vixen had taken Jessiebelle's place. Only Amber remained. She didn't seem to have heard Vixen.
James and Vixen walked slowly together back to the girl's cabin. "Is that what people act like… when they get their soul sucked out, I mean?" James asked.
"You mean Amber? Yeah, that's basically it. Only for them it's much worse. For them life doesn't feel worth living anymore. She's probably wishing it had been her killed instead of Quincy. Go for her tonight."
"I didn't kill Quincy!"
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. It was too bad that Dementor had to show up, huh? It gives me the creeps, having seen that. I have to keep reminding myself that it won't happen to me."
"What, getting your soul sucked out? Why won't it happen to you?"
"Oh, um, no reason. I mean, it's highly improbable that it'll happen to me, like statistics say a house goes up in flames every three seconds or so, but my house hasn't burned down yet."
"Oh."
"It looks like clouds are gathering. Maybe it'll rain. Hope not."
"Why not?"
"Because up here, once the rain starts, it has a hard time stopping, and I'm not supposed to go out in the rain."
"I thought you said your parents aren't around."
"I just don't like getting wet. Besides, my sword might rust."
"Then you'd better get inside; I think I just felt a raindrop."
Vixen jumped and ran as fast as she could to her house.
"Golly, she sure hates getting wet. Then again, maybe I should have left as fast as her…" The rain quickly jumped from nonexistent to pouring. James raced inside.
Everybody was going nuts, especially since James' father had made the executive decision that it wasn't a good idea to go our driving down a steep mountain in heavy rainfall. Colton bounced a ball against the wall, looking blank. Jessiebelle was whining to her parents about her whip. Chloe was grooming her Knip (She was the only one who didn't look completely bored). Laura was nowhere to be found. Amber was sitting on the red plush window seat, looking at the sheets of water coming down and sighing miserably.
"I'm bored!" Colton whined.
"Me too!" said RBW.
James walked over towards Amber and sat down next to her. "What are you thinking about?" He asked.
The young girl tilted her head to one side. "Mostly about how everyone is like a raindrop. We think we're important, but really, all we do is create a tiny impact on the earth, and when the sun comes out, the existence of the raindrop was entirely futile. The plants that get watered get thirsty again. The mud that is created dries up. A select few drops land in lakes or oceans. They last longer, even after the rain clouds leave, but so what? Even they fade. And they still are only one small drop among many."
"Life sounds pretty pointless when you put it that way."
"Life is pretty pointless."
James backed off. He didn't like what he was hearing, but he couldn't seem to deny her logic.
"For example, if things work out as Jessiebelle wants and she marries you for your money, then-"
"What?"
"Jessiebelle has it all planned out. You're both rich, so she wants to double the money by marrying you in the future. Anyway, in all probability, either you'll make an unwise investment and lose all your money, or her extravagance will lead to your downfall, or despite all your money and power you will grow old and die and vanish forever."
Vanish forever.
No more money.
No more life.
Nothing.
Hopeless.
Black.
James got no sleep that night. Aside from Amber's terrible verdict, he couldn't shake the feeling that something horrible was going to happen. He walked over to the balcony but didn't step outside because it was still raining. He thought he saw something red on the dock. Next to the something red was the Dementor.
James was woken from his fitful sleep by Chloe screaming, same as yesterday. Once again, James ran downstairs.
"Laura's gone! Gone!" Chloe was crying.
"What'd you do to her?" Colton demanded, staring at James.
"Another murder?" Jessiebelle asked sleepily. "Who? Laura?"
"Well… actually… I just can't find her," Chloe whimpered. "She might be alive."
James remembered the figure he'd seen last night and had a feeling of impeding doom. "She might be outside."
It was then that everyone heard the loud thumping on the cabin door and a small voice shouting "Open the stupid door already!"
Everyone ran downstairs. They could see Laura out the window.
Chloe yanked the door open. "What's wrong? It wasn't locked."
"It was too locked! See?" Laura turned the doorknob to prove her point.
"You're turning it the wrong way," James said.
"Talking of which, that was really beastly of you to lock me out, James! However, it did give me an opportunity to meet a really great friend. Would you like me to introduce him?"
Jessiebelle blinked.
"Good. Clyde! They all want to meet you!"
The Dementor from yesterday floated in.
The result was astounding. Everyone flattened themselves against the wall in an attempt to make themselves invisible. It didn't work.
"Clyde, this is James. James, meet Clyde. James is the cousin I was talking about earlier, the one who murdered my brother."
"Did not," The purple haired boy muttered, both he and his Growlithe whimpering softly.
"This is Chloe. She's a wimp. And you already met Amber. This is Jessiebelle; she likes to tease me because I'm not as rich as her and she likes hitting people with her whip. She's not very nice. Finally here's Colton, my brother. Under no circumstances are you to endanger his soul in any way whatsoever. Got it?"
The Dementor made a sucking noise.
"He says he can't make any promises, but he'll try to resist."
"Thanks?" Colton said weakly.
James whimpered.
Jessiebelle fainted.
At least it had stopped raining. James was out on the balcony, trying to hide from his cousin.
"Hey!" Vixen shouted from below. "What's up?"
"Laura's made friends with that Dementor from yesterday."
"You're kidding."
"I wish I was."
"Oh dear. Want me to come up there?" Without waiting for an answer, Vixen sprang up the creaking trellis.
James told her about all that had happened that morning. As he was getting to the part about Colton, there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" He called out.
"IRS," Laura sang. "Open the door. I didn't know you had a lock…"
"I don't. Try turning the knob the other way."
"Oh." The door swung open. "Got any chocolate?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Can I have it?" Clyde appeared behind the cunning cousin.
James hurriedly dug his secret stash of chocolate from under the loose floorboard. "Here. And may you die a thousand deaths because of that chocolate."
Laura laughed. "Wow. You have a lot of chocolate. This is a much better bundle than either Jessiebelle or Chloe had; all Chloe had was some super-health dark chocolate and Jessiebelle didn't have any. Either that or she's very stupid to flat out deny that she had some while struggling in a Dementor's grasp." She laughed and popped two mini Crunch bars into her mouth. Then he eyes grew wide and she started coughing. Her tongue began to swell.
"You're probably allergic to chocolate," Vixen said. "Cacao intolerant."
"Are you kidding?" Laura said, speaking sort of slurred because of her tongue. "I love chocolate! I can't be allergic!"
"Fact is, you are." The gothic girl smiled triumphantly.
"You! James! This is all your fault! Everything is your fault!"
"What? What did I do now?"
"You cursed me or something. You said, 'May you die a thousand deaths because of that chocolate'!"
"It wasn't a very good curse. All I did was made you mad."
"Try to find a substitute," Vixen suggested, sounding like she actually wanted to help. "Try lollypops or something."
Laura gave Vixen a withering look. "Thank you. I will." She stuck a cherry lollypop that had ended up in James' stash somehow in her mouth. "But I will not forget this James. Just like I won't forget how you murdered my brother."
"Hello, this is the Jessiebelle-Amber-Chloe-Colton-Quincy-Laura-Vixen-James Show, minus Quincy because he's still dead, Amber because her soul got eaten by a Dementor and she's off being melancholy somewhere, Jessiebelle because she's hiding from Laura, Laura because she's hunting Jessiebelle, and Vixen because she's busy. That leaves only me, Colton, and James. How depressing."
"Yeah," Colton said. "Before you know it, James will be the only person on the show."
"Why me? Laura will get rid of me first!" James shouted.
"No, you'll murder her first!" Colton shouted back. "Along with everyone else!"
"It's our last day on this dreadful family reunion; I won't have time to murder everyone."
"Ever heard of mass murder?"
"Let's talk about something happy for a change!" Chloe shouted. "Like… The lake looks pretty today."
"I can't think of anything happy. Besides, we haven't told our listeners about Cousin Lolly yet," James said.
"Who's Cousin Lolly?" Colton asked.
"Laura. She's all about lollypops now; as soon as she finishes one she starts another, like she's trying to break a record or something. She became allergic to chocolate this morning so she had to find a substitute."
"Ha ha," Chloe said.
"I'm not kidding. This morning she took away my chocolate and tried to eat some; her throat and tongue swelled up. Then she threw all my chocolate away just so I couldn't have it."
"Wonder if that has something to do with her new Dementor friend?" Vixen wondered aloud, walking up.
"Don't call my sister Cousin Lolly! You didn't call her Cousin Cocoa before!"
"Well, times have changed. Besides, Cousin Cocoa sounds dumb."
"Wait," Vixen said. "Did you say today was your last day?"
"Yes," James said.
"Oh." Vixen looked disappointed. "Maybe we could write to each other. Could I have you guys' addresses?"
"Uh, sure!" James said. He wrote his on a piece of paper then passed it to Colton.
"I'm not interested," Colton said, passing it back.
"Your sister Cousin Lolly might be interested, though. I could give her some nice tips for caring for your Dementor."
"Ha ha. No matter what you say I'm not giving out my address."
"Okay, if that's the way you want it." The gothic girl shrugged.
Chloe started to write her address down.
"Oh, I don't need yours."
"You don't like me? Why not? We're both in love with James!"
James and Vixen both balked. "We're not in love!" They shouted at the same time. Vixen looked especially disturbed, as though for a second she really had been in love.
"Oh, well, that's alright. Some people have a hard time admitting their feelings." Chloe shrugged.
"I'm not in love!" Vixen shouted, sounding more like she was reminding herself.
"Yeah, sure, right." Chloe laughed.
Vixen abruptly changed the subject. "Those clouds have me worried. I hope it won't rain."
"The forecast predicted sunny skies," Colton said.
"Where'd you hear that? It couldn't have been the radio; we don't get any signal all the way up here."
"The newspaper."
"Then it's wrong. We don't have a newspaper."
"Oh. Drat. Well, there aren't that many clouds anyway."
"What few clouds that are there are thick and black."
"You sure hate water, don't you?" James said.
Vixen jumped. "Well, yeah. It's getting late; I should be getting back home. See you! Or not!"
"Bye!" James said. Then he paused. "Or not? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Vixen's right," Colton said. "Our parents said they wanted to leave as soon as possible. We should go back to the cabin."
Chloe yawned. "Yeah, I can't wait to get home. This place is creepy. Come on, James." She and Colton headed across the field.
"Vixen forgot her addresses. I'm going to run them over to her real quick." James snatched the piece of paper from Chloe, added Jessiebelle's address, and ran after Vixen, leaving the tape recorder, still recording, in the grass.
He caught up with her while she stopped to unlock her door. "Hey! You forgot your paper!" He handed it to her.
"Thanks, I guess."
"What did you mean by 'See you or not'?"
"Just… if you're waking up early I might not catch you. That's all. Really."
"Oh."
There was an awkward pause.
"Vixen?"
"Yes?"
"Are you in love with me?"
"No!" She screamed worriedly.
"I didn't think so. See you! Or not."
"Everything packed?" James' mom asked for the fourth time.
"Yes! Let's get out of here already," Jessiebelle screamed.
"Why can't Clyde come? He can take Quincy's seat." Cousin Lolly sounded oddly indifferent to that fact.
"Because… because… Dementor's don't like riding in cars," Rosemond said pathetically.
"Yeah they do!"
"Well, he can follow behind," Laura's mom looked uncomfortable. "Come and get in; we're leaving."
But a few second later everyone got out of their cars again.
"Why won't it start?" Jessiebelle sounded like she would cry at the prospect of spending another night at this place.
Everyone checked under their respective hoods.
"Sabotage," James father muttered. "Two whole parts missing!"
"Then let's hike down!" Suggested James, who wasn't any happier than Jessiebelle about staying here.
"Are you crazy?" Chloe asked. "I can't hike!"
"And around here, hikers, even in large groups, tend to get mobbed by monsters. Clyde told me that," Laura said authoritively.
"Why don't they have a phone in these cabins?" James' mom half-whined.
"My cell-phone isn't working!" Jessiebelle panicked.
"Now what?" James wailed.
His father shook his head. "I don't know. I just don't know."
"Let's get back to the cabin. I think it's going to rain again," Jessiebelle said in a mournful voice.
Everyone slowly headed back. Only James lingered, turning the car key over and over as though it would magically start working. Finally he gave up and headed for the cabin.
But when he got back to the house the door was locked.
"So there!" He thought he heard Cousin Lolly shout from her bedroom window. "Don't worry, me and Clyde will be out in a little while to keep you company!"
James ran to the back of the house, as if that would help when his evil cousin came after him. Then he remembered the trellis that Vixen always climbed up to get to his room.
He found the trellis and tentatively put one foot on it. So far so good. He started to lift up the other foot.
CRASH! The whole structure collapsed in a pile of splinters, some of which lodged themselves in James' hands. How the heck did Vixen manage it? He carefully pulled each small wooden thorn out, wincing on the bigger ones. His hands weren't bleeding, but you could still see the marks some of them had made.
Suddenly he heard a rustle. He quickly hid behind the bushes.
Rosemond walked out of the cabin, locking the door behind her. She sat down on the porch.
To James' surprise, Vixen walked up to her. "Hey," She said.
"Oh. Hi. You're Vixen, right? The one who tells such scary stories?"
"That's me. What are you doing out here?"
"Thinking. About Laura. And especially about Quincy."
"You miss him?"
"Naturally."
"Would you like to join him?"
"Wha-"
But Vixen stabbed Rosemond in the back before she could say another word.
James gasped softly.
Vixen rustled through a pocket on her short black skirt. "Now where did I put those bullets… oh, I can't think… too tempting…" She gazed longingly at Rosemond, and then turned to her sword. "Well, I can't think of a reason why not…" She reached for her teeth and acted like she was pulling them out. A second later, a whole set of fake teeth popped out, revealing two sharp, pointed fangs.
James gasped softly again. It all made sense now. How he'd never seen Vixen's reflection in a mirror. Her fear of water. And most importantly, why she wasn't afraid of Clyde. Vampires don't have souls.
It also explained her bright red lips and her pale skin, James thought, as Vixen licked the blood off her sword. And how she managed to live all alone. But that still didn't explain why.
When Vixen had finished her treat, she shuffled around a little longer for some bullets. Then she raised her nose like a bloodhound, twitching it. "That's funny. I smell blood… someone else's blood…"
James looked at his hands, which were still lightly bleeding from the splinters.
"It's probably nothing…" Vixen moved towards the bushes. "Still…
She cut the bushes away with one swipe of her fencing sword. "You!" She shouted when she saw James.
James needed no further invitation. He sprinted across the grass.
Cousin Lolly shook her head. "I don't see James anywhere. Do you see him Clyde?"
The Dementor shook his head.
"Wait, who's that lying on the porch?" Cousin Lolly gasped. "That's- that's my mom!"
The majority of people, upon finding their mother has been murdered, will be sad. But Cousin Lolly had never been capable of true sadness. When disaster struck, she usually was either scared or angry. And since she'd met Clyde, she was incapable of fear as well as sadness.
"James will pay for this- when I find him. Until then, how about I get revenge on Jessiebelle instead? Come on Clyde!"
James kept running, all the time thinking this had to be a bad dream. The entire vacation had to be a bad dream.
Vixen was faster than him and could leap like a gazelle. She was catching up.
James headed for the picnic table they'd been sitting at the other day, not knowing what he'd do when he got there. It was then that he realized he could hear someone screaming. He risked a look to the side.
Jessiebelle was also streaking toward the picnic table with Cousin Lolly and Clyde on her tail.
Now, James and Jessiebelle were both stupid in their own ways, but they were not dumb enough to run into each other. James swerved to the right- and tripped over the tape recorder they'd left there. Jessiebelle tripped over him, and Vixen, who was going too fast to stop, tripped over both of them and smacked into Clyde, knocking him over, and when Clyde fell, he dragged Cousin Lolly with him.
It was Vixen who got up first. She pointed her sword at James throat. "Now I can kill all of you. That makes this even easier."
"Why do you want to kill me?" James asked.
"It's nothing personal. It's a grudge my family has against your family."
"What grudge?"
"Your insert-nineteen-greats-here-grandfather and my insert-five-greats-here-grandfather fought each other."
"That's it? That's ridiculous!" Jessiebelle shouted.
"I don't think you fully grasp the magnitude of the offense. They were basically fighting to see who would control the universe. Not this universe of course. Another one. But your insert-eighteen-greats-here-grandmother escaped to this world, so my great-great-great-grandfather followed her. We have vowed to eliminate every single relative of hers."
"That's nuts!" James said.
"Nuts or not, I'm still going to kill you. Sorry. I mean, I really did like you for a second. Perhaps if our families were different, we could even have been friends. But I'm afraid-" She broke off as the sound of a gunshot rang out. Vixen turned to examine the bullet in her shoulder and laughed. She looked up at where James' father had fired at her through the open window and shouted, "Try a silver bullet next time!"
But that was all the time James needed. He grabbed Jessiebelle's hand and ran to the dock.
"Hey! You can run but you can't hide!" Vixen shouted.
"And you aren't going to take away my revenge!" Cousin Lolly countered.
Suddenly an orange blur sped across the field, knocking them both over.
"GROOOWLITHE!" Growlie cried.
Clyde reached down to help Laura up and grabbed Growlie with the other hand.
"No!" James though fast. "Growlie, Flamethrower! Aim for… where the eyes would be if Dementors had them!"
The Dementor was temporarily blinded; he dropped the puppy Pokémon, who in turn quickly ran to join James. Vixen, meanwhile, leapt up to fight the Dementor.
James turned around to see the two of them fighting each other. That's probably the dumbest battle ever, he thought: vampires don't have souls, and Dementors don't have blood. They didn't seem to notice, however; they kept fighting each other, chasing each other in circles, until finally-
It started to rain.
Vixen screamed and ran off, and the Dementor chased her. James couldn't see where they went, but he noticed Vixen left her black vest behind. On a hunch, he reached in the pocket.
It held a few car parts.
I couldn't truly say that James never saw either Vixen or Clyde again. But I will tell you that he didn't see them again for the longest time. Is that a happy ending? It will have to do, because I couldn't tell you anything happier. But then, what is so happy about a vacation on Monster Mountain?
The End