Chapter 4

Grandmother's Visitor

I'm back. And just in time for Halloween. This is more of a "slice-of-life" chapter. But hey, it gets the story going.

Danny's POV

Upon our return to the Pub, I found myself shivering off the vertigo the trip gave me. On the upside, I've got my first non-vehicular weapon. On the bad side, according to Canny Tim, we had to find the Grim Reaper if my 12x grandfather and I were going to defeat Zane and set the world back to normal.

In addition, I have no idea short of death on where to find the Grim Reaper.

Before either of us could speak, I spotted Winston floating down from his lookout to check on us.

"What happened to you two? I just came back a few minutes ago and you've just disappeared!"

I held up my hand to calm the 140 year-old ghost as I spoke.

"Easy, Winston. We've just been in the Hall of Heroes."

After telling Winston about our being in such a sacred place, especially me being a normal living girl, we told him that we needed to find the Grim Reaper in order to find out the next step.

"So now the question is where we can find him without dying."

The three of us remained silent, thinking about what to do when Winston got an idea.

"I'll see if any of my ghost friends know where he might be. In the meantime, Danny, you should check in with your grandmum. I'm getting worried about her and all those undead out there."

I immediately got worried when Winston said that. In my haste to get me and my two dead cohorts to safety, I completely forgot about my grandmother. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and headed outside while Winston spoke with my grandfather. After looking around for any of Zane's spies, I pressed the number on my phone and waited for my grandmother to pick up.

After a few rings, I got a voice.

"Hello?"

"Gran? It's me. Danny."

My grandmother sounded surprised as she spoke.

"Oh! Thank heavens! Are you alright, dear? I've seen that London is under chaos on the news! Are you safe? What's going on?"

I had to interrupt my grandmother in order to get a word in edgewise. When my grandmother worries, it's a pain.

"Ok, Gran. Calm down. Calm down. Take a seat and let me explain."

I proceeded to tell my grandmother about what was going on since I left the house this morning. Knowing my grandmother, she was anxious when I told her what happened to Zane and what he was doing to London.

But when I got to how I escaped with Great x12 Grandpa Dan, she relaxed, she freaking relaxed!

"Oh, thank heavens. So glad to hear that at least you're being protected, dear."

My eyes became the size of dinner plates when I heard this.

"Uh…Gran? You sure you're ok with this?"

I heard my grandmother "hmphed" on the line.

"Well of course I'm alright with this. Danielle, your grandfather and I have been prepared for something like this since our wedding. I knew your namesake would and will protect you. Especially after I have just had tea with someone who may help you."

I raised an eyebrow at this.

"Tea? With whom?"

"Why, Mr. Death, of course."

My jaw dropped. My grandmother, a sweet sixty-six year old woman, had tea with Death himself? And yet she was still talking to me alive?

Ok. Granted, I wasn't sure at the time if my grandmother was still alive or not. What I did know was that we needed to find the Grim Reaper a.s.a.p. before Zane could get worse.

"H...he was looking for us?"

"Of course, dear. What Zane did is making him work overtime. He has actually hired several interns and is hiring more just to keep up. The poor dear was relieved when I suggested a cup of tea to him. And he was quite starving too. He ate seven scones before he left, too."

Again, I wasn't sure which the weirdest part of the day was. My grandmother was talking about her teatime with Death like she was chatting up with an old friend. Maybe she may have met him when he came to collect my grandfather?

Snapping myself out of my stupor, I spoke to my grandmother again.

"I…Is he still there, Gran?"

"Oh, my. No. He had to get back to work, the poor dear. But he did tell me where you could find him."

"Where, Gran? It's important that we'd find him."

My grandmother remained silent for a moment, no doubt trying to find a notebook on whatever she had the information on. What she told me next sent chills down my spine.

"Ah, yes. He is in Northumberland. He's got work in Chillingham Castle."

I've heard of the infamous Chillingham Castle. It was one of the most haunted places in the world. Learned about it from watching "Scariest Places on Earth." Even though I doubt the people on the show, I've always got the creeps upon seeing the castle.

And the entity we had to see was in this castle.

Lovely.

"Well, guess it means Grandpa Dan and I have to go to Northumberland. Will you be alright, Gran? Do I need to bring you to the Pub?"

"Oh, no dear. I'm perfectly fine. Your grandfather has made this house secure and Mr. Death has casted a ward on the house. So you're free to go and meet with him and not worry about me. If I need you, I'll call."

I was wary about leaving my grandmother alone with zombies and demons crawling about. As much as I wanted to double check, I had to hurry. From London, it was a five hour drive to Chillingham. So I didn't want to waste anymore daylight.

"Well…alright, Gran. But be sure to call me if something comes up. I'll send Winston to you just in case."

"Of course, dear. Good luck."

After I said good-bye to my grandmother, something in me told me she was going to have more fun than I was.

Meanwhile, at Danny's house…

Narrator's POV

After she got off the phone with her granddaughter, Danny's grandmother looked out a window to her driveway, which a zombie hoard started to stagger towards her house. Calmly, she removed a hanging portrait of her wedding day, revealing a metal panel. She then opened it and pressed the first of 200 glowing buttons and left the panel.

Outside, sections of the house opened up to reveal weapons of every size and caliber from guns to missiles. And you know how in TV, there's a house or a fortress that is duked out in weaponry? Well that's what the Fortesque house looked like at that moment.

That was…until the weaponry started to go off.

As blasts could be heard outside, Danny's grandmother poured herself a cup of tea and retreated to her rocking chair that faced a large window in the living room. As she rocked, body parts started to rain down like a very Halloween-ish shower. But the owner of the house just sighed as she relaxed.

"Oh, dear. Looks like it's going to be a rainy day."

She then sipped her tea as she watched.

Back with the Dans.

Danny's POV

I felt a chill go up my spine as I looked up the best route to Chillingham on MapQuest. And it wasn't a chill of dread either. Had I known what my grandmother was doing at the time, I would've gone home and check the place for nukes. But Death was waiting for us and I didn't want to wait any longer to meet him.

I returned my attention to my cellphone once the data came through. I let out a loud groan as I saw how long it was going to take to get to Northumberland. According to my calculations, it was going to be late in the afternoon before we get there.

It was a good thing I packed a sandwich in my bag, because there was no way other than gas that I was going to stop.

I moved the van out and left it running while I went to get the others. I found them sitting at one of the bar tables as I approached.

"Well, I just contacted my grandmother and guess who visited her? The Grim Reaper."

Dan's eye almost fell out of the socket when I told him.

"What was he doing there?" he asked.

I continued on with the explanation.

"Turns out he was there to have her pass a message to us. Apparently, we're supposed to meet him in the Chillingham Castle in Northumberland."

Winston phased through his seat as he spoke in fear.

"I…I've heard of that place. It is one of the most haunted places in Britain!"

I nodded as I pressed on.

"Well, he wants to meet me and Dan in the castle. In the meantime, I want you to watch over Gram while we're gone."

Winston was relieved to hear this while Grandpa Dan began shaking in his armor, which is weird since Chillingham was built after he defeated Zarok in 1286 and shouldn't know about how haunted the castle is. Maybe he interpreted Winston's worries and that the word "haunted" got him shaking.

I then continued.

"Meanwhile, Dan and I will drive to Northumberland. And I would like to get going right away. It's going to take five hours to get there."

I heard my grandfather groan, not that I blame him. His first ride in a horseless vehicle wasn't pleasant, after all. But he also knew that Death needed to see us about what's been going on. We both just wished he would've chose a closer location.

After Winston left, I told my grandfather to ride in the back again. That last thing we want is to provide Zane with more zombies when other drivers see him. Which left me the driver. Good thing I've brought my wallet with me.

Once we were ready, I put my foot on the gas and we were off to Chillingham Castle.

Just wait for when they meet Mr. Death. I've discussed ideas with SaphiraRyuka and found one that's really funny.

Happy Early Halloween!

Please Review.