Chapter 1 – Strange Meetings
In the American countryside, there was a little town known as ShadeHaven . where it's sky tended to have nothing but thick clouds that rolled in from the nearby surrounding mountains, though today was one of it's rare sunny summer days here in the year 1989 , Almost all the townspeople were out and about in the gloriously warm bright weather, and many of the kids were up early on this fine morning ready to take advantage of it; riding bikes, playing baseball and other activities most kids found Fun, while the adults mostly went on about their day in a rather busy fashion.
However, Meanwhile, high up in the air was a little bat flying ever so swiftly above the streets; soaring high and low. At first glance it looked like any other ordinary bat, but it definitely wasn't. This was a female purple bat! After fluttering close over the many town buildings as she flipped and spun like it was an exercise, she stopped and stayed stationery in the air; staring down at many of the folks below her.
Suddenly, BONG! A loud chime emerged from a clock tower; ringing in the distance and striking quarter-past nine. Looking as though she had somewhere to be, the bat flittered away at top speed. She glided down; soaring past the many buildings and over the rooftops until she made her way out of town, into the lovely forestry area; flying past the many branches like a professional hang glider. However, the trees soon went from being lush green and thriving with life, to being dead and grimly dark. The nimble bat fluttered further through a growing mist that covered every portion of the forest she was in, and down by the swampy water where she playfully soared and placed one of her wings in the water and let it trail along before flapping back into the air again and shooting herself upward through the air boldly.
Now, you may wonder where a bat could possibly have to be at a specific time of day. Well, as said before, this is no ordinary bat, as now she finally came to an opening where a large old eerie mansion-like house sat on a hill and was surrounded by a large stone wall. This was the Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Ghouls – otherwise known as the Ghoul School – a place that houses many young strange and fascinating residents, who are all ghouls alike from around the world. The swift bat swooped down into the yard and just before she got to the ground, she suddenly transformed into a young violet vampire girl with long beautiful well-groomed dark purple hair; wearing a slim dark purple dress with a red belt. The girl went by the name of Sibella – the daughter of the great vampire Dracula. Though despite that title, she was a rather kind and polite young lady.
Sibella grinned and stretched her arms around herself.
"Ah. Nothing like a morning flight to start the day," she spoke in a soft feminine voice that had a bit of a sultry tone to it as well. Just then though, the vampire's sense of calmness was disturbed as she looked over the yard to see that someone was rigorously digging a hole in the dead lawn nearby. Shaking her head in a lightly annoyed manner, Sibella strolled over to the hole.
"Winnie! How many times must you be told not to bury anything in the yard? We have enough of that with Matches doing the exact same thing." the vampire now spoke in a scolding tone.
"Hey! I'm not trying to bury anything! Matches is the only one to blame here!" A growling raspy voice came from the hole, "He's been scattering my possessions all over the place again, and I need to find out where he stashed them."
Soon, a short young werewolf popped her head out of the hole. She had light brown fur and orange curly Hair, and wore an old blue dirty dress. "Ha! I found one!" she proudly stated while holding up a little bone in her paw.
Winnie was the daughter of the Wolf-Man, and was known for having a rather loud and rough personality; sometimes acting a bit impulsive.
" I think I got this one from last week's steak." Winnie placed it in her jaws and gnawed viciously on it, "Yep! That's it alright."
Sibella rolled her eyes lightly at her friend's beastly behavior. "Well, Winnie, that can wait for now. Classes will be starting soon. It's nearly nine-thirty." the vampire said calmly as she walked over to the school, "So hurry along. Miss Grimwood isn't going to want to hear that you are late just because you wanted to find a bone."
Winnie grumbled as she hopped out of the hole and followed her friend to the school. "You know, I should be allowed to at least do something I like in the morning. Not everyone has the ability to fly like you!"
"Well, I'm sure Phanty, would disagree." Sibella smirked,
"She only floats. Not the same." Winnie bluntly stated, "Besides, what's the big deal? It's the same thing every day in class. It's not like we'll be missing much." she said as she stuck one of her claws in her ears and dug out some wax before flicking it off.
"Oh, why must you have such a brash outlook on things?" Sibella muttered quietly before speaking outwardly, "It's classes like these that'll teach you about the finer things in life." she said while crossing her arms, though was caught well off guard as Winnie ran up in front of her while walking backwards.
"Hey, nothing can be finer than a steak on a plate!" the little ghoul stated, "To me, that's what matters, and besides, you should know by now we werewolves don't need to worry about every little thing; we just go with the flow." she proudly said before suddenly tripping over something! "GAH! UGH!"
A growl was then heard as Winnie and Sibella looked down to see a small green reptilian creature holding its tail and grumbling. It had light green scales and dark green horns with a small patch of green Hair on its head, and glared at Winnie with its yellow eyes that were as bright a fire's glow.
"Heh. Sorry, Matches. I didn't see you there." Winnie apologized sheepishly before suddenly Realized, "Wait a minute! Where have you been burying my stuff?!"
Matches took a bone he was hiding behind him and placed it in his mouth, with a very mischievous grin aimed at Winnie.
"Give that back!" Winnie barked.
Matches snarled back and darted off! Winnie stared daggers and gave chase, while Sibella merely rolled her eyes and followed along.
The naughty dragon ran into the school with Winnie in pursuit as Sibella tranquilly walked in; making their way into a classroom where a middle-aged woman was seen waiting for them. The woman wore a pink dress and had a red cloak that was attached with little skull shaped buttons. This was in fact their headmistress and guardian, Miss Grimwood.
"Ah, Winnie, Sibella, glad you could join us. The lesson's just about to start," she said in a calm and polite formal tone with a hint of a British accent as she spoke "Please settle in now," she added.
Matches ran behind Miss Grimwood, who was his owner, and held the bone tightly in his claws; growling at Winnie, "Soon! I first need to take back my bone back from that thieving lizard," Winnie snarled,
"Now, now, Winnie, you can play with Matches later. Class is starting, so please take your seat, " Miss Grimwood said; retaining her calm tone of voice.
Seeing no way in arguing with her headmistress, Winnie surrendered. "Yes, Miss Grimwood." she said with a pout, while Matches stuck his tongue out at her as he gnawed on the bone.
In the room were three other ghouls who were sitting at their desks. One was a teenage Frankenstein monster named Elsa Frankenteen, who had a liking for science, and wore a dark green dress over a lighter green shirt, and had large brown sandals on her feet; writing down on pieces of paper that were scattered about her area.
" Come on, you got it in there! You just need to get it out!" the big ghoul said in a rather slow and monotone voice, though the hint of frustration could still be heard. She rattled the side of her head with her large hand as she got herself deep in thought. But very shortly, she had her eureka moment with a big "Aha!" and wrote down her solution, "Three drops of troll sweat! That's got to be it!" Suddenly, one of the other ghouls appeared right next to her.
"Troll sweat? Now whatever could you be needing troll sweat for?" the ghoul asked in in a shrill giggling tone.
This ghoul was a see-through light blue ghost girl named Phantasma, more commonly named Phanty. She had white hair with a blue streak, and was extremely hyperactive and friendly to others, and would tend to always speak in that same shrill tone of voice.
"Well, you see I've been trying to see what scientific formula would cause hair color to alter without the use of hair dye or magical spells. Just imagine it! Ghouls would think it's remarkable to have such a formula on their shelves and I'd be the genius who invented it!" the Frankenstein ghoul proclaimed proudly.
"Well, I suppose that would really be dandy. But you might want to find a way to deal with the smell." Phanty smirked, "I'm pretty sure it's the same stuff used to ward off fire rats." she whispered in Elsa's ear, before floating off back to her desk in a dash with an irresistible giggle, which irritated Elsa very much so.
"You think I don't know that?!" Elsa rhetorically asked in a raised voice before looking back down at her paper trying to get back in thought, before giving up and slamming her head on the desk with a miserable groan.
"Aw, don't feel bad, Elsa. I think it sounds like a great idea." reassured another ghoul in a very sweet manner. This was the little mummy, Tanis. whose bandages resembled a simple cute dress. She also wore a big red bow on top her head that had a bandage strand hanging from it that resembled a ponytail. Tanis was an innocent little ghoul that always tried to behind to others, and was also the youngest in the school.
Right then, Winnie and Sibella took their seats next to the others as Miss Grimwood stepped out in front of the class and spoke out to them all.
"Now, my young ghouls, we will start off today's lesson, which will be passing our social expressions through art." She walked over to her desk that was stationed before the class and picked up a very large and dark book set on top it.
"One can express themselves through art in many ways. Through paintings, sculpting, or even writing but there is another way, and I think this would be a good activity for you all, because in this case, you'll be using the art of magic." she announced while patting a dainty hand on the book, and everyone soon perked up in interest with an eager lean forward.
"Expressing my thoughts through artistic magic ? That should be fun. I never thought of trying it!" Elsa said in her slow monotone voice that couldn't hide her intrigue.
"I've never used magic. But my mummy-daddy used tell me fun stories of how he put curses on people who'd try to rob his tomb." Tanis said with an innocent giggle.
"So, would artistic magic be through the use of spells and potions and such?" Sibella now asked while pondering over the topic.
"Right you are, Sibella." Miss Grimwood jollily said, "Which is just what these magic lessons will be focusing on."
Winnie though arched her brow. "I don't know... don't you have to be witch or something in order to do anything like that?" she asked as Miss Grimwood looked at her, and gave an understanding nod.
"Oh, I know what you mean, Winnie dear. Magic is mostly practiced and studied by witches such as myself, but that doesn't mean any other ghoul cannot learn it. In fact, it has been practiced by many species of ghoul for years and years.
You see, the art of magic is held inside one's self. You can express it through sheer willpower and emotion.", she stated as the ghouls all took even more interest with enlarging eyeballs.
"In fact, all these lessons will be helping you tap into all sorts of magical properties and all the kinds of effects that magic can have on oneself."
However, Winnie itched her head as she pondered over the topic again. "Would it explain what that horrible witch Relvolta tried to do to us? You know, using a spell on us to turn us evil, or something like that?"
The mood suddenly became very uncomfortable after that name came up as they remembered when a wicked witch named Revolta kidnapped all the Grimwood Girls and tried to make them her slaves, but they were thankfully saved by their former human gym coach, Shaggy; his two dogs, Scooby and Scrappy Doo, and the Calloway Cadets from their neighbor human school.
Miss Grimwood soon cleared her throat and spoke up once again. "Well... yes, she did, but she was using a different kind of magic than what I'll be teaching any of you. She used one with bad intentions, you see. Magic can be used by almost anyone, but it's how you use it that really makes it matter. you ghouls must learn that things are indeed what you decide make it, remember the stories you were told about how different things were long ago, long ago when humans and monsters didn't get along in the slightest way, the times when they all thought ghouls were bad creatures and because some bad ghouls would go about terrorizing Humans ? it was those who did the bad things that made it hard for the rest who wished to do no harm to one another. "
" Oh yeah, I always hear things were really different then from what they are now from my parent's " phantasma stated,
" indeed, my father used to say how Humans resented vampire's way back in Transylvania long before I was around, I heard they, even used to hunt us, Sibella said with a slight shudder at the thought, " He said it was called the dark ages "
" Oh, I know, it's rather bizarre how things have once been a long time ago, at least now Humans can acknowledge that we exist. and not to mention when Halloween comes around, I hear some even like to dress up as ghouls " Phantasma responded,
Winnie snickered " Yeah, but let's face it, they still get spooked very easily by actual ghouls, whenever we go into town, they look at us like we're freaks, which I guess we are to them. but that only makes them fun to mess with sometimes "
" Oh Winnie, causing trouble with the townsfolk has always been your favorite thing hasn't it,, why can't you just let them be and show that we ghouls are just a civil and well-mannered as them, Sibella said,
" Hey it's not my fault they can't get used to Ghouls living in the area, like I said humans are just too easily spooked and that can lead to some fun for me, besides you get to go on a flight through town disguised as a bat, not to mention being a vampire means you practically look more human than most of us, they'd probably consider you one, " Winnie teased, earning as another roll of the eyes from the vampire.
" well I remember when shaggy used to be afraid of us when he first came here, but he warmed up to us right away, I'm sure by now in the town Have also as well, " Tanis said with a nod,
" oh yes, those two were pretty much afraid of everything, but at least they pulled themselves together to rescue us from revolta, with the help of those cadet boys too " phantasma added with a giggle.
" * Ahem * girls I think your getting off track here,.." Miss grimwood said with a slight chuckle," you are all right, humans do find our lifestyle to be most, how you say not what they'd think normal, but we should all be glad we can now live at peace with them as we do now, " she said as she took a light breath," and as I was saying, Magic itself can be one of those things they don't seem to understand, in fact, I believe most if not all humans can't even learn it if they wanted too, at least not the way us ghouls can, but sense you gales have the ability too, it's why I Now want to begin with these lessons, and I know where the best place to start is,"
she said now as she held up the book she had been holding, it was a large red book with a gold trim all around it, " this book is going to be a very useful tool in your Magical lessons, " she said as as rubbed her hand along it as all the ghouls eyes the book,
" what is that ? " Elsa asked looking at the book with great interest
" This my ghouls, Is the Dreamholder Book, a very old spell book that has been passed down in my family for generations, it holds many, many magical elements in it, from spells, potions, rituals, you name it, it has been used by my Auntie when she herself was the Head mistress of this school and taught Magic classes, she passed it on to me when I was very young, you can weave almost any form of magic with it, so I thought it' be very fitting for this class, It'll be your guide book in this case," she explained as all the ghouls looked quite eager to learn more about the book,
" oh, I just can't wait to see what it does, ! " Tanis said excitedly " Magic sounds really fun."
" well, I hope it can do really amazing stuff, this may be the most interesting class, winnie said with a bit of enthusiasm
" Well then girls, let's see how powerful this book still holds up to be " she smiled and opened the book as suddenly a bright light flashed from it, causing of the ghouls to shield their eyes. " still very strong indeed, " miss Grimwood said with a chuckle,
" great screaming banshee, what was that ? " phantasma said with a high chuckle,
" That was the magical aura around the book, " Miss Grimwood spoke. " you see a spell was placed on this book, so that it will lose any of its magical abilities if it's taken out of the magical barrier of this school, which the spell surrounds the land around the house, which ends at very wall that is built around the manor,.
" Interesting, but why is it that was done ? " sibella asked next.
" because. If this book fell into the wrong hands, it can be used for many things, good and bad, and even if it was found by someone who didn't understand it...they may accidentally use it and do harm by mistake, so if brought outside the walls...it appears to be nothing more than a normal book, the only way to break the spell is to use the book itself to do so. " Miss grimwood answered, as the Ghouls all looked on no doubt Intrigued by this new lesson.
" That is simply fascinating " sibella said.
" Isn't it my dear, " this book has many fascinating stories behind it, but those are for another day, let's begin our lesson " Miss Grimwood spoke, as she did though , she as well as the ghouls were unaware that they were being watched in the window by a very strange looking Bat that Hung upside down on the window,., it stared
at the Book rather intently with it's large glaring eyes.
...
Meanwhile, back in the nearby Human town of shade Haven..
while the ghoul girls went on about their daily lessons at school with the Magic Book known as the dream holder something else was going on back in town the school sat just outside of, particularly at a certain outside this house there was large Moving Van labeled " Moving you, moving service " which was seen being ready to leave from the premise, .A Woman was seen standing outside the front Door thanking a man before he walked off and headed to a truck and soon drove off ,. the women then turned around and headed inside, she picked up a cardboard box off the ground and made her way further into the house,
Meanwhile in another room, A stereo could be heard loud blaring music from it, an Album from a band commonly known around there as the Hex girls, a Gothic metal band popular no doubt among Gothic folk though even those not into the goth scene couldn't deny that their music was entrancing to the ear.
The room the stereo sat in itself was very messy, filled with opened and unopened Boxes, Junk scattered around all over, laundry placed messily about and a series of junk food wrappers and soda cans, however, what one could probably notice the most about this room was the many Horror based products placed all about it, on Shelves were cluttered Knick knacks of mini Horror figurines, Posters Hung on the walls of many Horror movies popular at the time as well as a few classic Horror movies such as, Frankenstein, the Wolfman and even Dracula, If one thing, it looked like the room of a real Horror obsessed Geek,
which is what one might call that who owns it, and that would be none other than, Wilbie Mearns, Ten years of age, and who was spending his day in his new Room reading Horror comics lying on his Bed, he was rather short boy, he Had Black Messy Hair styled into a scruffy mullet, like he never cleaned it in months, his eyes a darkish brown, and three small freckles on either side of his cheeks, he wore a light black shaggy T-shirt that had a skull and crossbones on it, the skull was sticking it's tongue out in a teasing manner, His Pants consisted of Baggy jeans t and typical red and white sneakers, and as stated, He was laying their on his bed mind his own, when then his door opened.
" Sweetie, the movers just delivered the last of the-" , said the Women from earlier as she stepped inside Holding the large cardboard Box still in her Arms, she wore a red tank top with slim shoulder traps and a Light blue knee length skirt, she stopped herself in mid-sentence as looked around the room for a moment as if examining things before she simply shook her head, she then set the box down as she made her way over to the radio as she turned it down radio and the spoke to him again
" Wilbie sweetie, I thought I told you to get your room organized when you unpacked, and look at all these junk food wrappers scattered around, I really hope you didn't plan on bringing those habits with you when we moved ? " she spoke to him, her voice sounding stern but nowhere near harsh, and also showing a hint of a soft queen's new yorker accent.
wilbie looked up from his comic, He looked around at his cluttered room for a moment the back at her,
" I did Ma, this is an, uh organized Mess ? so, I know where everything Is and will be, " he said with a slight sly smile, his voice also showing hints of slight Queens accent to it,
" mmm hmm, well it seems to me you just opened your box's and tossed everything around. There's some clothes Barb's cage doesn't you know ? " she said glancing over to a shirt draped over a cage,
Wilbie rubbed his neck " eh heh...right, uh, missed that one, " he said with a sheepish grin as he got up and plucked the shirt off the top of the cage inside the cage, he could see his Rose Hair tarantula, Barb's glaring up at him with her two front legs crossed.
Wilbie chuckled quietly " heh heh sorry Barbs, " he apologized as he knelt down to face her, though she simply turned her head away,
" Oh, come on girl, you know you can never stay mad at me " he said with pleading puppy eyes as the Spider looked at him blinking a few times before rolling her eye and giving a softer look to him.
" what I tell ya " he said sticking finger inside and petting her slightly on the back,
Helen just chuckled at their way of making amends " well don't forget to feed her today, as if I need to remind you on that " she giggled slightly, " anyway, I came to tell you the movers had just delivered the last of the stuff from our old apartment so everything is officially here, " she said with a relieved look, as Wilbie just nodded and proceed to look at his comic again " oh and another thing , I don't want you to be just sitting around in your room all day, we been here for three days, I think you should do something else then read comics , " she said folding her arms,
wilbie was about to speak when his mother Interrupted " or watch TV or play video games, the movers may have just delivered it along with the rest of the stuff, but until your father sends me those instructions on how to set up everything to go with it, no one's going to be using it, plus I need to dig out the VCR player and game system from the boxes. so, it's not an option either way " she said with a sly smirk.
wilbie crossed his arm, " and what do you suppose I do then ?"
His mother placed the box in her arms down and taps her chin and spoke in jokingly sarcastic way, " well I don't know, it's such a beautiful day...most kids are out enjoying that, maybe this is a good time for you to get to know the neighborhood,"
wilbie looks down unsure, " I don't know, what could there be to do in this town, I still don't even know why you chose this place to move to,, it's in the middle of nowhere,, and really, I'm not much for making new friends,. And you know that " he said sitting back on his bed resting his head on the bed frame,
His mother then walked over to him and sat down next to him, " Wilbe, shadeHaven is a very wonderful Town , trust me I heard its full of lots to do and many great things, you just got to go out and see it ,"
Wilbie still looked unsure " yeah, but I don't know if anyone would bother wanting to get to know me, being the new kid isn't as easy as you may think. " he then proceeded to read his comic
his mother plucked the comic from him and set is aside " don't be silly wilbie, if you get to know the other Kids around here, I'm sure you can make great friends with them. all you got to do is go meet some, and I won't take no for an answer young Man, " she says to him with a stern but playful look.
wilbie sighs and shrugs. " alright I'll give it my best shot, " he says sounding still uninterested..
" That's the spirit, now you run along and have fun, I have lots of unpacking to still do and I bet you wouldn't want to be stuck sorting through things with me instead ," she says nearly shoving him out the front Door, " oh and still be careful honey. don't wander off too far. and be sure to be back for supper it should be done by 7:00...maybe 7:30 pending on how unpacking goes. " she says as she closes the door behind him.
Wilbie looks back and shakes his head, " Have fun " he said in a Mocking yet teasing tone, as he then glanced around the neighborhood.
" right then, if she want's that, I'll provide it for myself, " he smirked as he revealed another rolled up Horror comic that he had manage to sneakily snag before she pushed him out the door ," he opened the comic and started looking through it, he then decided to start walking down the sidewalk as he did...,
As he did, he walked passed many kids that were playing in their yards, running and yelling, playing baseball, Frisbee, and other sports, He was never one to care much for sports, His mother could never get him to join any Little league teams, not even his father, whom was always busy at work which away from home, he spent most of his time which could be months on one of those big oil Rigs out at sea, meaning he hardly ever got to see him, but his job was one of the main reasons they were even able to afford moving out here, wilbie then sighed and he thought about this Move.
His mother always talked about wanting to move from the Busy and noisy atmosphere of New York city and somewhere secluded and more peaceful, some place that had to look beautiful and still had lots to do, so his mother choose this place, for it's wonderful scenery , wilbie thought with a roll of his eyes and looked around, so now here they are, moving into a New home , in a new town, with new people, ,which that wasn't too much of a big deal sense he never was much for meeting new people, but still, he wasn't sure what to think of this, it wasn't a overly big ordeal or anything,, but Having to make New friends on his mother's wishes ?..now that might be he thought as he walked on.
If one thing about making new friends he knew, it was never was he was never the best at it, In fact, he didn't have much back in New York as far as he can ever recall. usually because wherever he was, his distinct taste in the Horror genre sort of made Kids give him strange looks all the time, and it's one thing to like horror movies, a lot of people do, but with wilbie, it was basically all that was on his mind, not just horror movies but anything horror related, from monsters, yes, especially ghouls, whenever he wanted to talk about ghosts and ghouls, kids sometimes acted as awkwardly nervous around him, or like they were just really weirded out, and wilbie could understand that a bit. But hey, he didn't see it as weird. To him it was fun and neat, .he remembered being into those kinds of things for as long as he could recall,
his father used to give him countless of little books with fuzzy little monsters in it ever sense he could hold a book on his own. And from there he remembered being practically obsessed with anything... considered spooky, the lives of ghouls especially, He knew they were a bunch that didn't bother much with people and his kind in return didn't bother them, but still, he couldn't help but be fascinated with them.
he thought more on it to himself as he now looked up to see where he'd been going, that's when he took notice. That he had walked off pretty far from the Neighborhood.. as he couldn't see any more signs of houses in front of him, but what he did see, got his attention...just off to his left he could see a large forest. But it had an opening to it, and what looked like a long trail that led deep into it, however it was what was next to the opening that caught his attention...A old wooden sign that had the word's painted on..." THE GRIM TRAIL "
rubbing his head wilbie looked around, that was...a very peculiar name for...a trail...wasn't it ? he thought as he stood there for a good moment...well...sense his mom had told him to explore, he couldn't see the harm in checking that out. It's got to lead to something interesting he thought, and hoped..
wilbie found himself walling down the trail for what felt like forever., however despite what he had just previously hoped, it didn't seem like this place was worth checking out. Just a boring old looking trail...that didn't seem to be going anywhere...he thought to himself. Though it sort of reminded him of that horror comic he once read where this couple went onto a old creepy trail they found near their camp and as you would guess it led to something really creepy, some sort of Monstrous fortress where these awful beings wanted to capture them and drain their brains out and- while deep in his thoughts Wilbie didn't notice that an oncoming object was fast approaching him, soon he felt something quickly crashing onto his head , bouncing off and soon landing in his arms and knocking his comic on to the ground,.." huh ? " He looked down and notice he was holding a Volley-Ball.. " what the ? " * Crash! * before he knew it a felt a hard force collide with his Body, knocking him onto the ground..
" Ow my head " wilbie said rubbing it in a daze, " he then heard someone groaning, and saw another kid laying on the ground next to him, the kid then looked up groggily and over at wilbie, " Hey Kid ! why don't you watch where you are going ! " he said standing himself up and brushing his legs off,, "
wilbie stood up still holding the ball. " sorry, didn't see you coming " he says
" well...then just be careful next time, you're interfering with very important training procedures here " the boy said grabbing the ball from him, "
wilbie looks confused " training ? " the boy spits on the ball and shines it with his shirt,
" Yes training, " wilbie looks around before asking, " what kind of training ? "
The kid spun the ball with his finger. " We need to work on our Volleyball Tactics, it's Stander training around here, and you are ?" the boy asked, " as wilbie stared at the kid for a moment, taking notice the kid was wearing some strange blue, Military like uniform.
" Uuuh, the names Wilbie, I'm New to the area, uhh where is here anyway ? " wilbie then asked looking around realizing he had wonder off a bit further then he had expected for sure now, it didn't look like he was even on a trail now.
" Hey Tug what's the hold up ? " suddenly another boy yelled off in the distance, soon four other boys appeared, wilbie noticed all of them were dressed up in some sort of Military Uniform attire,
" Tug what's with the stalling, we need to continue with practice, colonel will be here to inspect us anytime, " the boy then looking at wilbie, " who this ? a new recruit ? " he asked,
The boy wilbie was talking to turned to look at him who he was now guessing was named Tug,
" No just someone who wondered in here, and to answer your question, " he said now facing wilbie again " This here is the Callaway Military school, and you are technically trespassing on the premises ," he said pointing to an open gate that he must have wondered into,
" Oh well sorry...I was lost in my thought's...wasn't paying attention that's all," wilbie responded
" well, you better scram before the Colonel gets here, " Tug said,
" Before for I what now ? " said a stern voice spoke up,
all the kids here a voice speak out to them, immediately all the kids save for wilbie get in a straight line, and stood firmly, soon a tall and slim looking man approaches them all, wilbie notices he was also wearing Military attire,
"Uh nothing commander colonel Sir, " Tug says, "
" Hmm I see...well I just came to see how your training is working out.."
" well, it's going fine colonel sir. we have been practicing all day so far, " said another boy whose name was Baxter,
"Affirmative, " said a tall slender boy who went by the name of Jamal, " we've run all the courses and now begun the volly-boll tactics.
" well, I'm glad to hear that news. I say you boys should keep up the hard work an- ".he was about to finish his sentence when he turned around and noticed Wilbie standing there
" Aaaaand, um, just who is this, I don't believe your one of my cadets, " the man said stokking his chin " unless I'm supposed to be receiving a new recruit, which I do not think I am, so that leaves me to wonder why you are standing here in my school yard distracting my cadets, tell me young Man, state you your name and business for being here at once, that's an order !? " he spoke almost a bit harshly, wilbie looked perplexed at the man.
" Well um..." wilbe stammered for a moment, not sure what to say to this man he found strange to him, "
please Hurry I haven't all day " he said a little sternly, "
um..wilbie...um sir ? " he said, "
" Hmmm well wilbie, whatever your reason here is, I can't have you distracting my cadets, so I am going to have to ask you to leave the premise until their training is done, then you can come back and visit with your friends, but that may not be for another six hours, " he then turned to the boys, " Now you boys, proceed your training, I'll be on my way, " he says as he leaves the boys alone, once he was gone wilbie looked at the cadets,
" What kind Of Military training requires Volleyball anyway, isn't that a sport you'd play at the beach or something ? " wilbie now asked,
" Hey volleyball is important here, it really builds good stamina" Tug replied
wilbie smirks at this, " well this is one strange military school if you ask me, but, who am I judge, and whatever works is good I guess, "
" Now just you wait, Callaway is a top-notch school, we are always on top of our game and well organized, " Tug said looking firm,
" yeah, Unlike the Grimwood school " said another kid, who name was Grunt,
" Grimwood school ? " wilbie looked interested now, remembering the name of the trail he was on, " Now that's an interesting name." wilbie said, the thinking to the trail sigh he saw earlier " ..what is that place ? " wilbie asked,
" Oh, uh, well " Tug began to explain, " The grim wood school is a place full of creepy kids who act like it's Halloween all year round...they like creepy things you wouldn't expect most people to like,, best to stay away from that place if your not used to that kind of stuff trust me," tug said,
" creepy kids, Halloween, now that's, now that sound like something I want to know more about " wilbie said with a smirk and rubbing his chin, "...tell me more ? " wilbie says intrigued
" hmm...well all I should say is it's quite a, uh strange place...it's not for everyone, I'm not sure if it's what you are wanting to check out or even expecting,"
wilbie then spoke out, " well this place sound like it's full of kids who have great taste, do you know where it is? "
" Unless you like werewolves , ghost and vampires " Tug said almost as though he was trying to imply a message. But if he was, wilbie wasn't reading into it, " I would say it's best to stay away, but if you really want to know, it's located not too far from here, in fact it's within walking distance to your right if you are heading out of here just down the rest of the trail, You'll know the place when you see it " he said
wilbie then rubs his chin, " Hmm this sounds like it can be a cool place to check out " he muttered to himself... " thanks for the info...I got to go.." he looked down and saw his comic on the ground, he knelt down and grabbed it," see ya " he says as he starts to head out..
" Yeah...well just watch where you are going from now on." Tug yelled as wilbie left the School,
As soon as wilbie as well out of ear range, Baxter spoke up,
" Um tug, why didn't you tell Him who lives at that place...it sounds like he's actually going to check it out ? " He said,,
" Well he said he was new around here, and you know not all folk are so keen on learning of just who the town's neighbors are and beside, You think he'd actually want to check out such a described place ? " he said as he seemed to be inspecting the ball,
" he uh, seemed very keen to me " Jamal spoke up,
" Oh well uh, he's going to find out sooner or later living here anyway, guess he'll learn it for himself . " he said tossing the ball into the air as the rest saw wilbie exit the premises.
...
A little while later.
Wilbie walked along the path, this Grimwood place sounded like something he's be very interested in learning more about, and he was...kids who liked Vampires and werewolves, ? " that was right up his Alley, perhaps looking for some friends won't be so hard after all, wilbie thought, becoming lost to his thoughts once again, he gazed around...he noticed that the trees all around him were getting, quite odd looking, they were starting to look old and dead, leaves were starting to fall off around the them,...also the sky was starting to Turn Grey as well..
" That's pretty strange, but neat looking ! ". he said to himself as he looked around some more, he noticed that there were no houses along this trail at all, or anything indicating a residence .also there seemed to be a harsh growth in the wind, as a strange fog was starting to set in, as if it came out of nowhere, wilbie could only here his shoes crunching on the gravel below him as well,
wilbie was a little stunned on how the scenery could change so quickly, from being basically Beautiful and lush, to Dark and gritty, ..he then heard a sound come from the distance, he looked up and noticed an Owl perched on a tree branch staring down at him it gave him stare before taking Off...it was just a long old road that seemed to be leading him deep into a creepy forest, he walked along longer until he notices a slight glow of lights in the distance.." I wonder what-Oof " he felt himself bump into something hard, " ow " he said backing up...he saw an old sign in front of him. " Okay maybe I really do need to work on seeing where I'm going, " he rubbed his head then proceeded to read the sign, " Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Ghouls ? " was what was written on the old looking wooden sign,
" Ghouls !? " wilbie thought for a moment. " Ghouls, now that was a word that'd no doubt catch his interest anywhere...He like many people were aware of what Ghouls were, the species of people he loved in his Comic and horror movies...the species he knew lived in their own settlements all over the world away from people...but had always hoped he could someday meet one..
he stared at the old sign again.." Finishing school...that though is was sorta threw him off, isn't that something for girls ? but the sign said for ghouls..wilbie rubbed his chin.." " the boys at the Calloway school did say this was a strange or creepy place..." but wilbie never thought of ghouls as.. knew how others looked at them at times, how people didn't understand them, and even though he's never seen one in person let alone met one ( they were not too common near large human settlements such as New york ) he always dreamed that he could, He looked up and notice that the sign was hung on a large Stone brick wall, that seemed to stretch rather far in both directions..wilbie took a few steps back an notices a large Iron rusty Gate built into the Wall, he walked over to it and placed both his hands in a bar and peeked his head through, He noticed in the distance a large building that was hidden in from the growing Fog, he squinted his eyes to make out it' features, he saw that the building looked nothing like he was expecting, in fact it didn't look like a building for a school at all, it looked more like...a mansion of some sort, it was an old grey colour, it had red shingles on its roof, some seemed to have fallen off, , it was covered in many dusty looking windows all over, some of the shutters hung loose form them,
" could this place be...actually a place for " wilbie began to think, it almost seemed too good to be true, in fact it could be a place just for kids like him perhaps, kids who like all things related to horror and ghouls, it'd made more sense, as he never imagined a ghoul place being so close to a human town, even if not impossible, it just seemed like it was too good, he had to find out more about this place now, he thought as he looked more onto to the place...
" wow, looks like nobody's even home, " he said allowed to himself and why would they be what kind of finishing school, or any school for that matter would be in a place like normal one that's for sure..? wilbe looked around before thinking what he should do, he couldn't get into the place, it was locked shut and, even if this was a place that could Have ghouls associated with it, he'd not be able to just, easily head on in to find out, but still...this, this was too exciting for him to just leave now, he thought as he rubbed his chin, that's when he noticed something, he saw a silhouette in one of the windows, he narrowed his eyes and pushed his head against the bars to get a closer look, someone did have to be home then,, however he could not see well from here, he backed up again and began to look around, he spotted a large number of vines that were seeing growing up along the stone wall, he grinned and quickly made his way over to it, as he was about to climb up it, he heard a crack come from behind him, he turned around to see what that could of been.
He however saw nothing but the forest around him, he shrugged and began climbing, as he did though, a dark small figure peeked from up in a tree and watched him climb,
Once he got to the top he stepped onto the ledge of the stone wall, which was about 10 feet off the ground, he began to gaze around the house, He noticed that there was a Moat that went around the house, however he saw Nothing else at all, no lights seemed to be on, no one looked as though they were walking inside, the House still looked abandoned, wilbie shrugged, " I wonder why those Cadet kids wouldn't say anything more about this place, it looks amazing, " he then looked around..." perhaps I should come back and check it out when I know more about it, " he said as he was about to turn around and look to climb back down when suddenly he noticed his foot was tangled on one of the vines, he muttered as he started tugging on it with his Foot, but his foot stayed wedged, he grabbed his leg and started pulling his Foot, he gave one Hard tug and got his foot Loose, but he suddenly lost balance and started to stumble back off the ledge, " Darn..." he muttered as fell off and landed on the ground with a Hard crash, he laid there then slowly and dizzily sat up before he collapsed back down and everything went Black...
later Wilbie heard a voice speaking to him,
"excuse me ,Are you okay ? "
wilbie Groaned as he felt his head spinning,..
" are you ? " He heard the voice say again,, he opened his eyes as he saw someone standing above him, once his vision settled, he saw what they were wearing, it appeared to be a little girl... who was Dressed as a Mummy ? at leas that's what wilbie could think is his still dizzy state as at up rubbing his head as he looked at her, she was indeed dressed in a mummy costume, one with a little Bow atop their Head,
" Hello...I saw you laying out here, you look as though you had a nasty Fall by the way you were laying there with your eyes closed and the bump on your head, were you climbing on the Wall or something ? " she asked again,
wilbie shook his head to get the dizziness out, " uh Yeah , yeah I'm fine...just, um, I'm sorry I wasn't thinking anyone was here, so I decided to get a better look on the place, and, I think I lost balance or something, I feel fine though, " he said getting up and brushing the dirt off himself, he rubbed his head he noticed that she was very short, which was saying a lot from him, based on his rather short stature,
" well, That's good to hear you feel fine, I was just out Picking some black tulips for a project I''m doing, there to be used in ingredients,, that's when I saw you, oh and allow me to introduce myself, My Name is Tanis." she said sweetly,
Wilbie Grinned, " well nice to meet you Tanis, my name is wilbie,...I uh.. like your Mummy costume, " he said trying to sound nice , " I take it your one of the students here then ,? "
she giggled sweetly and nodded, " Nice to meet you wilbie, and Yes I am, though I'm not wearing a costume, . " she then smiled,
" Uh huh ? " wilbie still said in a bit of a daze as he rubbed his head feeling a bit of a pain pass over him, " well then. Sense you seem to be busy, perhaps I should come back or something i didn't mean to intrude or anything ? "
" Oh I'm sure our headmistress won't mind, we rarely get visitors here, especially human ones, and besides. That nasty looking Bump on your Head there,..I could tend to that if you like I have some special bandages that really help with those sort of things " she said pointing to a visible lump on the boy's head..
wilbie raised an eyebrow then felt it with his finger causing him to wince " ooh yeah, that's gonna be something to explain to mom " he said as his eyes then widen, as all the statements she had just said had kicked in Wait , wait, wait ! not a costume ?, not many Human visitors...the sign by the gate..." wilbie the stopped talking and looked like he was tensing up.
" um ?, are you okay ? " The little mummy asked now looking a bit concerned..
" I'm, I'm okay...I just...look I came to check out this place when I was just given a tiny bit of info on it " he said " some kids told me this place was here, and I thought I'd check it out...and when I got here, there was a sign out there that...said something about, a school for, uuuh, a school for Ghouls " wilbie finally let out as Tanis looked up at him..
" Well, that doesn't surprise me, I mean. It wouldn't be called a Ghoul school if it wasn't " she said in a most sweet tone " as wilbie stared at her with a bit of a stunned look , " well anyway this one is Miss Grimwoods Finishing school for ghouls," she stated.
wilbie looked behind him and forward again as he followed the young Mummy girl continued to to talk, " um..Tanis..when you mean ghouls ,do you mean actual ghouls,like,real life actual ghouls ? " he asked her his expression seeing to grow more intrigued as far as she could guess
" uuuh, yeah, why wouldn't I ? " Tanis asked
" This place is a school for actual ghouls ? " wilbie said again seeming to want to reassure it.
Tanis looked around like she was unsure what to say..but she nodded
" Tanis, are you. a, a ? "
before wilbie could finish she already began nodding to confirm his question
wilbie felt his heart beginning to increase it's beating, ..it..it was true then..his hopes were true, all his dreams he had sense he could even remember, the thought of getting to meet an actual ghoul had just come true now..! wilbe stood their, a complete stunned look on his face, one that looked like he was ready to burst at any moment with pure joy, cause here he was, suddenly taking to a ghoul who was and an actual mummy...
" Are you going to be okay ? " Tanis said looking at him seeing his very strange reaction, " I know some people aren't used to ghouls...but you don't have anything to worry about, were not rabid monsters or anything,...some just monsters I think ," Tanis said rubbing her chin though trying to sound like she was reassuring him,
" I...I ...I have not any idea what to say.." he stuttered a bit..." I Never thought I'd be talking to a ghoul ever...much less today of all days "
" That's not a problem is it ? " Tanis asked looking a bit concerned..
" wilbie looked at her..." No...not at all ! " he blurted
Tanis looked a little surprised by that.
" I..I actually think this is Amazing...you have no idea how Cool this is for me.I am like the biggest fan Of Ghouls and monsters ! " wilbie exclaimed, " I had been interested in ghoul culture ever sense I was like..a baby I imagine, however I just never thought I'd ever get to see or speak with one for real," wilbie said with excitement
Tanis looked surprised. But she soon got a little smile on her face and a pure look of happiness from hearing that .." well that's wonderful to here...I'm sure the others will love to hear that, you have to meet them "
wilbie looked astounded, " others..like..there are other ghouls...of all different Kinds, who are they " he said more excited now
" well you'll just have to meet them...they are inside...they'll be interested in meeting a human with a fascination such as yours,,"
" you think so...I can't believe I'm about to meet actual ghouls "
Tanis Led wilbie up to the house, they first had to cross a drawbridge that went over the moat surrounding the house, wilbie looked down into the murky water below,, he then noticed something in the water, a shark fin...
" you guys...have a shark ? "
" Just A two headed one " Tanis added, she then walked over to the large door in front of the house,
wilbie looked perplexed as he saw the shark peek it's to heads out of the water, they stared deathly at him, but he didn't seem so bothered. Not as all, In fact, it only seemed to make him grow more excited .
" alright then, ready to meet the others, ? " she said as she opened the door,
wilbie turned to her and simply nodded,
Tanis smiled " great then, let's get to it and get that head of yours Mended.." she said as she motioned for him to follow her inside, to which he did, Tanis then shut the door, however she did do that, they were being watched the whole time by a pair of sinister looking eyes from the same Bat that had been watching the ghoul's morning lesson off in the distance...