Chapter 6
"Hey, Kenny! Wait up!"
Kenny was about to back out the parking space, when he heard Chad call out to him. He stopped and waited for him and Claire to run up and toss their backpacks in the Jeep.
"Whatta you say we go to the monster mall today, Kenny?", Claire suggested. "Unless you have to head home right away?"
"Sounds good to me. Just tell me where to go", Kenny said with a smile.
"When we get there, stick with us", she said. "They know us, but might be suspicious of you at first, since you're new. But I'm sure that any of our friends that we might run into will be cool with you."
"No problem", he said, as Claire then began to guide him to their destination.
xxXXxx
Duncan looked to his fellow guys with pleading eyes, as the ghouls were all cycling him through various outfits to try on. They all smirked and gave him a look that seemed to say, 'we all went through it, buddy, consider this your initiation'. Not that he wasn't grateful to a degree. He had found several shirts, a red hoodie, and a really nice black leather vest that looked like a sleeveless biker jacket; all in a store for monsters with wings.
The guys let the ghouls torture Duncan just a little longer, then Clawd decided to have a little mercy, and suggested that the group head to the food court and get something at the Coffin Bean.
"I could use a coffee!" Duncan agreed quickly, then mouthed 'thank you' to Clawd, who smirked.
At the Coffin Bean, as the others placed their orders, Duncan was undecided.
"If you like chocolate", Clawdeen said next to him, "you can't go wrong with a double chocolate coffincino latte."
"You know, I think I'll try that", he said smiling. "Thanks."
Clawdeen smiled and blushed, as they both ordered the same drink and sat together, the others smiled knowingly. She wasn't kidding! It was delicious!
"Oh, sweet movie marathon", he said. "I could drink at least two of these a day, every day, for the rest of my life!"
"I know, right?", she smirked. "I knew you would like it. You put chocolate syrup in your coffee at home, don't you?"
"How did you….?"
"I could smell it on you", she said with pride, tapping her nose.
When they finished their drinks and snacks, the group headed towards the sporting goods store. On the way, they saw and heard a commotion up ahead.
"What are you doin' here, normie?", Manny Taur's voice was clearly heard even at this distance.
"Hey-hey! Easy, big guy! I don't want any trouble", a familiar voice replied.
It couldn't be! Kenny?! Duncan broke into a run!
xxXXxx
Kenny decided that the monster "Maul" was way cooler than the other mall; a lot of similar stores and stuff plus a lot of really cool stuff that wasn't. He did get some stares and attitude from some of the monsters, but as long as he stuck close to the fairly well-known Claire and Chad, it wasn't so bad…
Until he turned a corner and bumped into a minotaur.
"Sorry, dude, my bad", Kenny said politely.
"It's cool…", Manny started to say, then got a good look at Kenny. "What are you doin' here, normie?"
"Hey-hey! Easy, big guy! I don't want any trouble", Kenny said, taking a few steps back.
"Chill, Manny!", Claire said, as she and Chad stepped up. "He's ok, he's with us."
"You two I know, but I don't know this kid!", Manny said suspiciously. "Who are you, normie?", as he took a step towards Kenny, causing him to step back; tripping over his own feet and landing on the floor.
Duncan suddenly skidded to a halt between Manny and Kenny, and seeing Kenny on the floor, glared at the minotaur.
"Back off, Manny! What did you do to him?", Duncan growled, as the guys and ghouls caught up.
"Duncan?!", Kenny said from the floor, surprised. "Chill, I'm ok. I just tripped, he didn't touch me."
"Whoa, take it easy", Manny said. "You know this normie, Duncan?"
"Of course I know him! He's my foster brother!"
A collective gasp of surprise came from all around, followed by murmurs, while Frankie helped Kenny get up.
"Here, let me help you. Are you ok?", she asked him.
"Yeah, I'm…..o…..k….", Kenny stammered when he pushed his hair out of his eyes, and finally saw the beauty of the kind-hearted ghoul helping him up. She was wearing a blue, black and white plaid short dress with short fishnet sleeves, a black tie with a skullette pin, lightning bolt belt buckle, black&white striped high-heels, bolts on either side of her neck, and had stitched scars here and there on her body. Beautiful mint-green skin, black & white streaked hair, full ruby-red lips, but it was her eyes that made the biggest impression. Bright, friendly, innocent, kind, adventurous…. all of that danced across her different colored eyes; the right one bright blue and the left one emerald green. A small electric shock seemed to pass between them, yet caused neither of them any pain.
"Are you sure? You look a little dazed. Did you hit your head?"
"N-no, I'm fine", he said, still lost in her eyes. "y-you're just so….b-beautiful."
Frankie blushed and looked down shyly. "That's so sweet. You're kinda cute yourself. I'm Frankie Stein."
"Ken Rogers."
Meanwhile, situation had calmed, and then the questions started. Normie foster brother? How? When?
"Everybody back off and give them a minute, ok?", Clawdeen all but shouted to everyone, before turning to Duncan and whispering, "I'm here for you."
Duncan nodded in thanks and took a deep breath. "Listen…..I'll explain everything sometime soon", he said to the group, "but for now, I'll meet you all at the sporting goods store in a few minutes, ok?"
The group headed off, after most nodded, with Claire and Chad in tow. Frankie exchanged numbers with Kenny, then joined the group up ahead. Manny continued on his way, apparently to the Coffin Bean.
Duncan, Clawdeen and Kenny sat on a nearby bench.
"You ok, Bro?", Kenny asked.
"Yeah, Kenny. Go catch up with the others."
"I'll stay with him, Kenny. Don't worry", Clawdeen said. "BTW, I'm Clawdeen Wolf."
"Nice to meet you", he said, recognising the name with a small smile. "Ken Rogers. See ya in a few."
After he was gone, Duncan took a calming breath.
"Clawdeen, I need to tell you something," he said in a quiet, serious tone. "Kenny was my best friend in my old school. We lived in the desert town that got attacked by those rogue kaijus. He was orphaned in that attack. He had no other family, so my mom and I took him in and moved here."
"I can't imagine losing family like that", she said with sympathy. "It was kind of you and your mom to take him in. You went to a normie school before?"
"Yeah. I used to be able to pass for a normie with a skin condition before because….", he looked into her eyes and held her hand, "….my mom is a normie. I'm half-human, Clawdeen."
To his surprise, she smiled knowingly and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for telling me."
"You knew?! How….?"
She once again tapped her nose with pride.
"No one else knows though, don't worry. My nose seems to be better than most werewolves, so I'm the only one. But you might want to start letting our friends know though, before the rumors get outta control from that little incident a few minutes ago."
"I guess you're right", he said. "Let's catch up with the others. I still need some skates….that is if they still want me on the team?"
"They better!", she chuckled. "You got more moves than the rest of the Scream team combined!"
xxXXxx
Kenny had just left Duncan and Clawdeen to talk, and was on his way to catch up with Claire and Chad, who were with Duncan's friends. He was about half-way there, when he was grabbed and pulled into a shadowed access hallway, and pushed up against the wall by a very attractive girl with long wavy red-streaked black hair and red eyes. She wore what could best be described as a 'casual-teen' version of the low-cut, mid-thigh length, black 'seduction' dress; on one side and a red belt with a gold bat belt buckle. Her black heels made her eye-to-eye with him.
"Hi there", she said in a husky, lust filled voice. "I'm Vanna. I've been looking for you, Kenny."
"H-how do you know me?" Kenny said nervously, having noticed the fangs behind her seductive smile.
"I first saw you at the normie mall yesterday. I had to find you again, to meet you. Now look into my eyes, Kenny. Look deeeeep…..", her husky voice echoed in his ears like a heartbeat, as she put her full will into her hypnotic powers. Kenny was entranced, and his whole body relaxed on his feet.
"You're scent is sssoooo….intoxicating", she said lustily. "You will be mine."
She kissed him on the lips, and in his entranced state, he kissed her back. She then began kissing down the left side of his neck and pulled his hoodie and t-shirt aside toward his shoulder, licking her lips in anticipation. And unable to wait any longer, she gently but passionately sank her fangs into the crook of his neck, where it met his shoulder, piercing his jugular. She had broken monster law and fed on unwilling/unwitting normies before, as well as lawful willing donors, but this was on an entirely new level! As his warm sweet blood gushed into her mouth and she swallowed in earnest, the taste of his blood sent her into a virtually orgasmic state of bliss on every level of her consciousness: physical, mental, emotional, even spiritual. She didn't want to stop. But she had to, lest she drain him dry and kill him without turning him. She pried herself away from his neck.
"Oh my Ra! Your blood is fangtastic! You, and your blood, will be mine forever!", she said as she went back to him. She remembered her mother's instructions, and scratched her tongue on her left fang, drawing her own blood. She then dripped a few drops onto the bite wounds on his neck, then licked them, which mostly healed them. Anyone looking casually at him would not notice the bite, but it would be seen if subjected to scrutiny. She kissed him again, deeply this time, thrusting her bleeding tongue into his mouth. Again, in his entranced state, he returned the kiss; his own tongue wrestling with hers, as some of her blood entered his system.
Breaking the kiss, she looked into his eyes again. "Mmmmm. You are mine now, Kenny. You will come when your mistress calls. Until then….forget", Vanna said as she faded into the shadows.
Kenny blinked. How did he get here? He stepped back out into the Maul hallway and almost crashed into Duncan and Clawdeen.
"Kenny? You ok?", Duncan asked.
"Yeah", he answered. "I guess I was lookin' for a drinking fountain or something."
"Clawdeen knows I'm half-human, Kenny", Duncan said casually, but with an intent look in his eyes. Kenny got the message: 'but she doesn't know about my other half being kaiju', and nodded.
"I know our friends will be ok with it, guys", Clawdeen assured them. "After all, Jackson is one of our best friends. And I'm sure they'll understand why you kept it to yourself up to now as well."
"Ok, but we'd rather not mention the kaiju attack for now. Ok, Clawdeen?"
"Sure, Duncan", she replied as they entered 'Shock Locker', coined as 'one stop shopping for every monster athlete'.
The store was packed with athletic shoes and equipment of every kind for every monster and normie sport there is; from casketball to spookball to SKRM to swimming and more. Kenny rejoined Claire, Chad, and Frankie near the entrance, several of the others just waited right outside the store. Clawd, Robecca, and Operetta all motioned Duncan and Clawdeen to join them down one of the aisles with a smiling ghoul with blank white eyes. She had long black hair tied back with a headband, leaving her bangs draped over her forehead, her pale blue-green skin perfectly setting off her aqua colored lips.
"The skates are down here, Duncan", Clawd said. "I'm sure Scarah(he pointed to the ghoul) can find a style that you can use."
"Nice to meet you, Scarah", Duncan said amiably as he sat down where she indicated. "Here's what you have to work with." He lifted his sandled foot and showed her his claws.
"Be-gore-ah!", she said in an Irish accent that made Duncan smile. "This is a challenge! Let me find your size and take a look at what we have."
Several minutes later, Scarah showed Duncan and the others a few pairs of open-toed skates; different colors and styles.
"One'a these might be just what ya need, Duncan", she said.
Duncan agreed, but decided to ask advice from Clawd and Robecca on what to look for most in 'Scream' skates.
"You want to balance comfort and durability", Clawd told him.
"While also having both the support and flexibility you need to perform", Robecca added. "I use my steam/rocket boots myself to hover-skate, but I've helped all our teammates find the right skates for them."
In the end, Duncan chose a pair of high-top skates made of black doomaconda snakeskin with titanium struts; strong, durable, and flexible. They were also comfortable and gave good support in all the right places. Expensive, but hopefully worth it.
"Thanks for all your help, Scarah", Duncan said as he paid her.
"Twere a pleasure ta help ya, Duncan! I loik a challenge! Come back anytime", she said as she shook his hand…..and both gasped as they seized.
*flash* Duncan meets Jenna for the first time.
*flash* Dancing with Jenna at homecoming.
*flash* Fun at a carnival with Jenna, Kenny, and Isabel.
*flash* A moonlit kiss shared by Jenna and a fully transformed Duncan.
*flash* Falling powerlines.
*flash* An explosion.
*flash* Holding Jenna's broken and bleeding body in his arms.
*flash* Jenna's last breath; "Duncan….I love you."
Duncan staggered back as if jolted by electricity, as did Scarah; who nearly collapsed.
"I-I'm s-sorry…..I didn't mean ta….", Scarah stammered, then looked at Duncan with true pity and compassion. "Oh, ya poor lad." Scarah then broke down, sobbing.
Clawdeen watched Duncan wince and clench eyes and jaw against the painful memories, and reached out to him, "Duncan?"
"I….I…I have to go!", he said suddenly as he ran out of the store, past the rest of their friends, and out of the Maul.
Kenny was confused and angry, and went to confront the sobbing Scarah, who was being comforted by Robecca and Operetta.
"What did you do to him?!", he demanded.
"Easy, Kenny", Frankie said as she gently pulled him back a bit. "It wasn't intentional. Scarah is a banshee: she sees visions of death, something she can't fully control yet. And only a truly deep tragedy would cause a reaction like this."
Realization hit Kenny like a ton of bricks: Jenna!
"Oh no", he said softly.
"Duncan has seen death, hasn't he?", Clawdeen asked gently, to which Kenny exhaled heavily.
"His girlfriend, Jenna, died in his arms this summer", he said somberly.
Clawdeen's eyes widened with deep realization and understanding, and her heart broke for Duncan. Jinafire's words from before rang true in her ears: 'When you know, you will understand'.
"Oh, Duncan, I'm so sorry", she whispered softly, before running after him.
xxXXxx
Duncan could no longer hold back the tears when he got outside. He ran to his bike, put the key in the ignition and grabbed his helmet…..then yelled in anguish. He tossed down his helmet. Clawdeen emerged from the Maul in time to see him yell, then extend his wings and take off. He was gone before she could even call out to him.
"You're not losin' me that easy, Duncan", she said to herself, strapping on his helmet. His bike controls didn't look that different from Ghoulia's scooter. "I hope I don't wreck this thing."
She followed for as long as she could see him, then followed her nose. She pulled into a house on the dividing line of the two sides of town, parked his bike, and knocked urgently on the door.
A tall normie woman answered the door with a pleasant smile. "Can I help you, young lady?"
"I'm sorry to bother you, Mrs. Rosenblatt, but have you seen Duncan?", Clawdeen asked urgently. The woman first looked surprised, then worried.
"No, I haven't. But I can see you're worried, and that worries me", she said. "Come in, and explain quickly!"
Clawdeen was quickly ushered into the house, where the woman sat her down on the couch and handed her a glass of water.
"My name is 's happened to my son?", she asked as calmly as she could.
"I'm Clawdeen", she said, and saw a barely perceptible flicker in Margaret's eyes. "There was an incident with a banshee friend of mine. She accidently pulled up a vision of Duncan's memories….a vision he saw as well …..of Jenna's death."
Margaret gasped and dropped her own glass of water, and it shattered on the floor.
"Oh, my poor baby", she whispered, her eyes tearing up as she sat down. "I've tried to get him to open up about it, so has Kenny. But he wouldn't. He just kept it bottled up inside. So much pain, it practically radiated off him in waves. Until he shoved it down so deep he fooled everyone….including himself."
"Do you know of any place he would go to be alone?", Clawdeen asked hopefully. Margaret thought for a moment.
"He has a secret place he goes to sometimes. He found it not long after we moved here, but I have no idea where it is", Margaret said.
"Just point me in the right direction", Clawdeen said urgently. "I can track him. Please?"
Margaret led her to the backyard, and pointed out into the hills beyond.
"Somewhere in the Granite Hills, just beyond our property line", she said, then pulled Clawdeen into a hug. "Please, help my son. He needs you", she pleaded.
Clawdeen nodded to her, and dashed off, following Duncan's scent into the hills.
xxXXxx
Duncan entered his secret cave, quickly used a fireball to lit a fire in the firepit. Then, tears streaming down his face, he blasted multiple boulders with fireballs. He shattered more with his fists. Threw car-sized rocks across the vast cavern, shattering stalactites and stalagmites. After keeping this up for nearly twenty minutes he fell to his knees, sucked in a deep breath, and unleashed a primal roar of anguish from the depths of his soul…..then sat there….slumped…..breathing heavily.
"Duncan?"
He looked to the entrance of the cave, and could've sworn it was Jenna walking toward him. Then the image of his mind's eye resolved into the reality of Clawdeen stopping in front of him, holding out her hand. He took it, and she helped pull him to his feet, put an arm around him and walked him to the tree trunk he had long ago placed by the firepit. He sat down, and she beside him. They were silent for long minutes, and she took his hand in hers.
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Duncan", she said, her voice filled with compassion and sympathy. "I can't possibly imagine the pain you feel. But if you want to talk about it…I'm here for you."
He nodded, but remained silent a bit longer. Then he took a deep breath.
"I met her my first day at that school. Student Council, Chairperson of the Homecoming Committee, most popular girl in school; Jenna was that girl", he said, with a small smile. "I secretly helped her after the money for homecoming was stolen. We went to homecoming together, our first date….my first date ever. When she later found out I was half….monster, she was afraid at first, and rejected me. But we worked it out. We dated the rest of the school year and into the summer. But neither of us could actually tell the other how we really felt."
Clawdeen nodded, remembering when Clawd and Draculaura went through a similar phase. She lost count of how many times she told him to just tell Draculaura how much he loved her before Draculaura finally said it first.
"Then the kaijus attacked", he said, and she gasped softly. "I was doing everything I could to help, but there were too many kaijus, too many civilians, too much destruction. A busted water main partially flooded the street, I was ankle-deep in water. A kaiju smashed some powerlines, and they were falling in my direction. I would've been fried, but Jenna tackled me, knocking me out of the water. But one of the powerlines landed in a damaged gas station across the street. It exploded, blowing us a hundred feet away into a park. I was just a little banged up. But Jenna….", again he winced, and Clawdeen placed her free hand on his cheek. He looked into her eyes, and could see the deep compassion there.
"She was broken and bleeding-out in my arms. I tried my best, but there was nothing I could do", his voice began to break. "She looked into my eyes, and with her last breath…..she told me she loved me. (Clawdeen gasped and her heart clenched) Then I saw the light go out in her eyes."
Then he broke down, collapsed onto Clawdeen's shoulder and sobbed, tears falling like rain as the floodgates finally opened. She hugged him tightly, her heart breaking for him. "She died before I could even tell her I loved her!", he managed between sobs.
"I'm sure she knew how you felt, Duncan", she whispered in a soothing a tone. She managed to rock them gently there as they embraced by the fire, while he finally cried out all his pain.
A half-hour later, he wiped the last of his tears from his eyes.
"Thank you, Clawdeen", he said in true gratitude. "I guess I really needed that. How did you find me?"
"Three things", she said with a grin. "Your bike, my nose, and your mom; who is a great lady in case you didn't already know."
"Why am I not surprised", he chuckled. "It's getting dark. We should probably get back to my house."
"I'm sure I can back-track our scents to your house", she said.
"I've got a better idea", he smirked. Then he picked her up bridal style, spread his wings, and carried her into the sky.
