Chapter 14
X X X
Zeke lay down on the bed, still clothed, staring up at the ceiling as he wondered how and when to make amends to Julie, for his negligence of her in the past. Julie meanwhile, after replacing Lil' Sparky's batteries and setting him down with the water guns, yawned and untied one of her shoes. But as she was about to remove it, she suddenly looked up at Zeke.
"Zeke? You okay?" she asked.
"Hmm? Oh, uh... yeah." Zeke responded, as he snapped back into reality, "I just... I still can't believe all this, you know? I mean, nothing ever happens in this town for years and then suddenly, boom! Zombies, werewolves, evil toys... and WE of all people are the ones who get drafted into doing something about it. Not that I'm complaining or anything. It has been pretty fun overall, if a little frightening at times."
Julie shrugged in agreement, pulled her shoe off, and dropped it onto the floor. Then as she reached for her other shoe, she stopped to think for a moment.
"Hey, Zeke," she said, "I've been meaning to ask you something."
"What's up?"
"Are you, by any chance, still good at dancing?"
"Dancing? Hmm... I suppose so. I mean, its been a while, but I think I still remember most of my old moves. Why do you ask?"
"Well... it's kinda weird," Julie responded, as she untied her shoe, "but... I couldn't sleep last night because I had a bad dream. I dreamed that-..."
"Wait..." Zeke interrupted, "what was that noise?"
Julie stopped and looked up when she suddenly heard the fluttering of bat wings nearby. Then she shrieked and fell backwards, onto the bed, as the bat flew towards her face and screeched at her.
"How did that thing get in here?!" Zeke cried, as he and Julie rose to their feet.
After dodging him for a while, Julie finally picked up her shoe off the floor.
"Shoo!" she cried, swinging it at the bat, "Get outta here!"
All of a sudden, the bat opened its mouth and breathed a noxious cloud into Julie's face. She suddenly became very light-headed and fell back onto her bed, dropping her shoe into the floor.
"Julie!"
Zeke quickly grabbed his gun and fired several bursts of holy water, but the bat easily outmaneuvered them and then perched on top of the plastic weapon. Zeke stared in shock, as the bat smiled at him and began to chuckle at his and Julie's vain attempts to fight him off. Soon, Zeke snapped out of it and was about to slap the creature with his free hand. But it was too late. The bat exhaled another puff of the gas that had incapacitated Julie. Zeke struggled to breathe, barely even managing to cough, before fainting onto the floor. The bat then settled down to the floor and transformed into a humanoid form.
"All too easy." the vampire muttered, kicking the water gun away from Zeke's hand, "I would have enjoyed just a small taste of their young blood though."
X X X
Zeke gradually came into consciousness, as he felt Julie's bare foot nudging his side.
"Zeke! Hey, Zeke!" she whispered to him, "Wake up!"
Zeke groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Ugh... what happened?" he muttered, "Where are we? And... please don't tell me my arms are chained to the wall."
"Okay." Julie replied, "I won't."
Zeke jerked his arms forward, but the chains- that were indeed shackled to his wrists- wouldn't allow them to go very far. Glancing at Julie, he noticed that she was in the same boat and wasn't looking any happier about it than he was, especially since she was still missing one of her shoes. It was obvious at that point, that they had been thrown into some kind of dungeon.
"I don't know what that bat breathed on us," Julie continued, "but it must've knocked us out."
Zeke sighed and added, "And now we're stuck here, in a dungeon, with no weapons..."
"No Lil' Sparky..."
"And no escape!" uttered a third voice.
There was a puff of smoke in front of the teens; which slowly dissipated to reveal a pale-skinned man in a suit. He had jet black eyes that matched his hair and sharp fangs among his teeth; which clearly showed as he chuckled maniacally.
"Welcome to my castle. I am Count Christof Eveer, lord of this manor and most powerful nosferatu ever to walk this world!"
"So... you're a vampire lord?" Zeke queried.
The Count grimaced a bit and replied, "If you want to put it simply, then yes, I am a vampire lord."
"So does that mean... vampires are invading the city now?"
"Correct! Well... okay, not YET we aren't. But- assuming my unwilling 'master' keeps his end of the bargain- soon, the ritual will summon my subjects to this world and all will tremble before our might!"
The Count began to chuckle once again.
"Wait... ritual?" Julie asked, "What ritual? And... who's this 'master' of yours?"
"Ah, but I have said too much." the Count responded, "Now then... if you'll excuse me, there are only a few hours until dawn. Thus, I must retire now. I hope you've had a good night, because this is the last one that you will ever enjoy!"
The vampire let out another sinister chuckle as he vanished in a puff of smoke. Zeke, meanwhile, continued yanking on the chains. But it was no use. He sighed in resignation.
"Well, I guess this is it then. Sorry I got you into all this, Julie."
Julie looked at her feet and sighed as well.
"Well, Zeke," she said, "if this still matters to you... here's what I dreamed last night."
She paused to take a breath and started to speak again.
"I dreamed that I was being held captive by a mad scientist; who threatened to kill me unless you took part in this dance competition against this... monster he created. And... well..."
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that dance thing didn't go too well." Zeke queried, "Am I right?"
Julie nodded and attempted to wipe a tear away with her forearm.
"It was a weird dream," she continued, "but it frightened me. It just seemed so real and I just couldn't sleep, because I kept worrying for you."
Zeke couldn't help but smile a little, but it quickly faded as guilt over how neglectful he was of her in the past struck him.
"I had a scary dream a while ago too; which also involved you." he replied, "Remember when we ran into your mom when she was fighting the zombies and... that certain one; who... you know...?"
"How could I forget?" Julie responded with a sigh, "That was one of the scariest days of my life! I almost thought I'd never see Mom again, and then I suddenly almost did lose her!"
Zeke sighed.
"You're right about that. Probably more so than you know."
"...What?"
"Well, you see, in my dream..." Zeke went on, "all three of those officers fell victim to that one zombie alone; who almost got you too, right before I woke up. Which is why I sprung into action like that, risking my life to keep that nightmare from coming true."
Julie looked at him in amazement. She was so flattered that, if her wrists weren't chained, she would have placed her hand over her heart.
"You... did all that... for me? Oh, Zeke!"
At that moment, she instantly had a thought.
'Okay, my mind is made up. He's staying my boyfriend.'
Zeke had a thought at that point too.
'Well, it's now or never. Time to make up for being a lousy boyfriend.'
But just as they each opened their mouths to speak, their attention was suddenly diverted to the cell door opening just a little bit. For a brief moment, nothing happened. Then a hand came through the door, holding Julie's missing shoe. The hand's owner tossed the shoe; which landed just a few inches away from Julie, then quickly closed the cell door and left. Julie and Zeke both scoffed in utter disappointment.
"Gee, thanks!" Zeke remarked at the thrower, sarcastically.
Letting out another sigh, Julie reached out with her bare foot and gripped the heel of the shoe with her toes. After pulling the shoe closer to her, she started to insert her foot into it. But she stopped and stared down at it, when her toes felt something hard and metal, with a piece of paper wrapped around it.
"Hey... there's something in it!" she cried.
Zeke watched in amazement as Julie gripped the object with her toes, pulled it out of the shoe, and placed it on the floor. She slipped off her other shoe and then used both feet to unwrap the paper and smooth it out. It was a note, which was wrapped around a key.
"Hmm... I guess we owe him an apology then, huh?" Zeke asked.
"Perhaps."
Julie picked up the note with the toes on her left foot and lifted her leg up to where she could read it.
"Make fun of his speech impediment." she read aloud, "That'll give you your chance."
"Whose speech impediment?"
Julie shrugged in response and continued reading.
"I'll meet you in the lab after you escape. Follow my directions on the back and-..."
Julie stopped reading when the sound of footsteps came towards their cell. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the key and dropped it into her right shoe, before putting her right foot back inside. Then she stuffed the note- and her left foot- into her left shoe, right before the cell door slowly opened. Zeke and Julie then watched as a bald, middle-aged man in a lab coat approached them. To their astonishment, he had a long tongue that dangled from his mouth- not unlike the average boxer breed of dog. He stopped and took a quick moment to appraise the teens, before he began to speak.
"Tho, thethe are the two troublethome teenagerth; who have been thpoiling my planth!" he said, "Not tho rethourthful now, are you?" (So, these are the two troublesome teenagers; who have been spoiling my plans! Not so resourceful now, are you?)
Julie stared in surprise and glanced towards Zeke; who had already started to snicker in amusement at the way Dr. Tongue spoke. She quickly decided to play along and started to giggle along with him.
"Thoon," Dr. Tongue continued, "very thoon, you thall become the very thingth you've been theeking to dethtroy! For onthe I've finithed with your bodieth, you..." (Soon, very soon, you shall become the very things you've been seeking to destroy! For once I've finished with your bodies, you...)
He stopped when he noticed the prisoners starting to laugh even harder.
"What'th tho funny?"
Zeke ceased his laughter, just long enough to speak.
"Uhh... could you do us a favor? Say 'Sufferin' succotash, I just saw a giant mouse!'"
"Thufferin' thuccotath, I jutht thaw a giant mouth. Now what ith tho funny about that?"
The teens laughed even harder, then Julie added, "Okay, okay, now... 'Silly Sally sitting on the sunday stairs!'"
"Thilly Thally thitting on the thun- wait a minute!"
Dr. Tongue glared in anger as the teens continued sharing a laugh at his expense. Finally, he turned around.
"Dr. Weithman... oh, where ith he... Dr. Weithman!" he shouted, as he stormed out of the cell and slammed the door behind him.
"Who's Dr. Weithman?" Zeke asked, as his and Julie's laughter gradually died down, "Or... Weisman... or whatever."
"Doesn't matter." Julie replied, hastily slipping her shoes off again, "Man, that key's cold! Let's just get outta here while we still can!"
After retrieving the key with her toes, Julie lifted up her leg and did her best to transfer the key from her foot to her hand. Finally, just as the strain started to become unbearable, she managed to grasp it in between her fingers. She then took a quick second to return her leg to the floor and breath a quick sigh of temporary relief, before moving the key to a more secure position in her hand- where it would be less likely to be dropped- and poking around for the keyhole.
"That's what I call fancy footwork!" Zeke mused.
Julie smirked and wiggled her toes in response. Then after finding the keyhole, she braced herself for another strain and turned the key as best as she could. Finally, the shackle unlocked and set her arm free, thus allowing her to unlock the other one with ease. With both arms free, Julie stood up and unlocked Zeke's shackles. Zeke sighed with relief and shook his wrists, as Julie retrieved the note and stepped back into her shoes; which she quickly retied.
"So, question is, how do we get through that door?" Zeke asked, as he rose to his feet.
Julie took a moment to think, but was interrupted when the sounds of footsteps returned. But then...
"I've got an idea!" she said.
Dr. Weisman pushed the cell door open slowly, straightened his glasses, and began to read Dr. Tongue's speech as he walked inside.
"Attention captive teenagers:" he read aloud, "For your intervention with Dr. Tongue's plans for this city, you are about to be made-..."
He suddenly looked up in shock.
"Hey, what the...?" he cried out, "They're gone!"
"What?!" shouted Dr. Tongue; who was eavesdropping from outside the cell.
Dr. Tongue ran inside and the two of them looked around the area, but all they could see were the now-open shackles that previously held their prisoners.
"I don't underthtand it! They were jutht here, mere minutheth ago!" (I don't understand it! They were just here, mere minutes ago!"
Suddenly, without warning, the cell door slammed shut behind the two scientists and was quickly locked.
"So long, suckers!" Zeke shouted from outside, as he took out his 3D glasses and put them on, "Or, should I say... tho long, thuckerth!"
With that, Zeke and Julie ran off to the laboratory, laughing at the scientists' expense.
"Hmmph... hiding behind the door, while our backs were turned." Dr. Weisman muttered, "They're quite clever, for seventeen-year-olds."
"Yeth... but how did they ethcape from thothe thackleth?" Dr. Tongue asked. (Yes... but how did they escape from those shackles?)
Dr. Weisman shifted uncomfortably, as he replied, "Search me."
"Nethermind. Jutht get thith door open, tho I can thtop them!" (Nevermind. Just get this door open, so I can stop them!)
X X X
Julie scratched her chin, as she looked at the small map on the back of the note, and looked back up at the wall; where three egyptian coffins were lined up.
"Hmm... according to this, the lab entrance should be through here."
"Must be a secret entrance." Zeke replied, "Maybe it's through one of these coffins."
He cautiously opened one, then cried out in shock and slammed it shut as a mummified corpse started to fall forward.
"Sorry, King Tut!" he mused, "Go back to sleep!"
Julie smirked at him and tried knocking on the other two coffins, while Zeke caught his breath. One of the coffins made a hollow sound. She opened it and, sure enough, there was nothing inside but a false panel with a red button; which she pressed.
"Err... I was gonna try that." Zeke told her, as the panel opened.
"Sure, Zeke."
The teens walked through the false coffin and looked around the laboratory. Zeke lifted his glasses in amazement.
"Whoa..." he said, "this place is huge! And get a load of all this stuff!"
"Yeah!" Julie agreed, "I'd be impressed, if it wasn't all being used for evil."
Soon, Zeke spotted a strange-looking purple gun-like weapon on the wall. Curiously, he approached it.
"Hmm... I wonder what this thing-..."
"Thtop right there!" a voice shouted.
Zeke and Julie were startled to see Dr. Tongue standing on a balcony overhead.
"What?!" Julie cried, "How did you...?"
"There'll be time for exthplanationth later. Now then, be a good pair of tetht thubjecth and return to your thellth. Otherwithe I'll have to uthe forthe!" (There'll be time for explanations later. Now then, be a good pair of test subjects and return to your cells. Otherwise, I'll have to use force!)
Zeke snickered, still amused by the way Dr. Tongue spoke.
"Never!" he shouted back, lowering his glasses, "We're NOT your test subjects, you hear? Our town may have its problems, sure, but we still enjoy living there and we're not going to let you destroy it!"
"And we're certainly NOT going to help you destroy it either!" Julie added.
"Yeah!"
"Very well. Tho be it!" Dr. Tongue responded, pulling out a remote control and pressing a button, "Awaken, Frankie!"
Dr. Tongue began laughing maniacally, as a medical bed started to rotate and turn upward. The teens then stared in horror as a white sheet fell off the occupant.
"...You've gotta be kidding me!" Zeke blustered.
Strapped to the bed was a pale, green-skinned, six-foot-tall humanoid person, with bolts stuck in his neck. He slowly opened his eyes and started to groan, as bolts of electricity surged through his body. Dr. Tongue pressed another button on his remote and the straps came undone.
"Now, Frankie, go forth and teach thothe meddling teenagerth a leththon!" (Now, Frankie, go forth and teach those meddling teenagers a lesson!)
'Frankie' grunted in response and raised his arms, before slowly moving towards the teenagers; who backed away in fear.
"You know, Zeke..." Julie told him, "this might not be a bad time to see what that weapon over there does. Err... Zeke?"
When she looked around for him, she noticed he was already grabbing the weapon off the wall.
"Way ahead of ya, Julie!" he called back.
With the weapon in his hands, Zeke ran in front of the monster and pointed it at him.
"Eat THIS, creep!" he shouted, "...Whatever THIS happens to be..."
As he pulled the trigger, a gout of flame shot out from the muzzle and engulfed the monster; who began to roar in pain. Zeke released the trigger and stared back in amazement, with Julie, as the monster stood there and flailed his arms about. Finally, he fell onto the floor and grew silent as his body continued to burn. Dr. Tongue was stunned.
"No! NO!" he cried, "What have you done to my greatetht creathion?!"
He growled with anger and pulled a flask out of his labcoat pocket.
"You won't get away with thith!" he shouted, before drinking the contents of the flask.
Dr. Tongue started to chuckle, then suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke. The teens stared in confusion, until they distinctly heard his voice from the other side of the castle.
"Oh, blatht it! That wath my teleportathion pothion! Now where did I leave my thecret weapon pothionth?" (Oh, blast it! That was my teleportation potion! Now where did I leave my secret weapon potions?)
The teens looked down at Frankie; who was now reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes, then at the flamethrower in Zeke's hands.
"So... a flamethrower, huh?" Julie commented, "Cool."
"Don't you mean 'hot?'" Zeke corrected her, with a chuckle.
Julie smirked and was about to slap his shoulder, when she and Zeke suddenly heard footsteps behind them and the sound of a pair of hands slowly clapping. Turning on their heels, the teens were surprised to see their mysterious helper approaching them.
"Well done, you two." he told them, "You've certainly put a large dent in Dr. Tongue's plans now."
"Err... thanks." Zeke replied, "Umm... not to sound ungrateful or anything, but... who are you anyway? And why are you helping us?"
"I'm afraid I still can't tell you. I must maintain my cover until Dr. Tongue is stopped for good. Besides, I believe you two have more important things to worry about at the moment."
"He's right, Zeke." Julie said, "We have to stop that vampire, or the world will be swarming with them."
"Yes." Michael responded, "Fortunately though, you've still got about two weeks until that ritual of his is supposed to commence. Furthermore, I believe Father Vittorio may know of a way to help you put a stop to it."
Michael then reached into his pocket and pulled out Lil' Sparky.
"But for now," he concluded, handing it back to Julie, "get back to base for some rest and keep doing what you're doing. I'll try to help you again, when and if I can. Good luck."
The teens watched as Michael ran out the secret entrance to the lab and vanished from sight. Then Julie turned to Zeke.
"He does seem to know a bit too much about everything that's been going on." she said, "Don't you think?"
Zeke nodded in response, as he put the flamethrower down. Then he let out a light yawn and took off his glasses.
"Well, it doesn't matter." he told Julie, "I'm thinking a good night's sleep- or what's left of one- sounds pretty appealing right now."
Unable to argue with that, Julie promptly activated the door. As they started to go through it, they each suddenly had a thought.
'Oh, crap... I forgot to apologize to her for...'
'Aw, damn it... I forgot to tell him that I...'
After a brief pause, they both thought, 'Oh well, some other day.'
And with that, they raced through the door.
X X X
To be Continued