"RUN!" Rachel yelled. Everyone ran away as Mr. Horseman's body charged towards them, cackling that horrible laugh. They ran into the storage closet and slammed the door shut. Rachel and Sasha pointed their wands and recited a spell together.
Reinforcement enchantment. Shield this door, that's our commandment!
Two beams of bright blue magic blasted the door, covering it with a magical shimmer. Despite the spell, loud banging can be heard on the other side.
"That won't hold my body for long!" said Mr. Horseman. "We got to do something!"
"Will someone please tell me what is going on?!" asked a hysterical Poppy.
"It happens when my head is separated from my body for too long!" said Mr. Horseman. "It'll go on a rampage until my head is reattached!"
Rachel put two fingers in her mouth and whistled sharply. "Okay, people! Focus! We've got to stop that body before someone really gets hurt!"
Vee raised her hand. "I'll go out there and keep Mr. Horseman's body busy!"
"What?! No way, kid!" said Wolf. "You and your friends stay here where it's safe!"
Sasha patted Wolf's shoulder. "It's okay, Wolf. Vampirina can handle this."
When she said the name; 'Vampirina', Wolf and the other animals looked at Sasha like she just spoke Japanese. "What did you call her?" asked Wolf.
"Vampirina, that's Vee's full name." Sasha answered. "She's a vampire. So, she's got just the skills we need to stop that brainless body."
"Oh! That makes sense." Pirahna said, calming down. A moment later, his fear skyrocketed. "V-VAMPIRO?!" He felt his insides bubble with gas. He took out the jar of Gut Gummies and shoveled a handful into his mouth. The rest of the Bad Guys backed away from Vampirina.
"Whatever possesed you to lock us up in here with a vampire?!" snapped Snake.
"Guys! It's okay! Vee's a nice vampire!" said Poppy.
"Yeah! She doesn't drink blood at all!" Bridget included.
Vampirina nodded. "That's right! I-" She blinked and turned to her friend, stunned as well as offended. "What?! Drink blood?! Why would I do that?! Is that what humans are saying about us?!"
"GUYS!" Rachel yelled. "THE DOOR-!"
It was too late. The girls' magic gave in and Mr. Horseman's body crashed through the door.
"I got this!" Pirahna charged forward and launched himself at the headless body. He delivered a hard kick directly to his chest. But the body didn't give an inch. Pirahna screamed painfully as he fell to the ground. "MY LEG!"
"What happened?!" asked Taranula.
Pirahna couldn't answer. He was screaming and yelling in painful Spanish while holding his now broken leg. Snake took action and wrapped himself tightly around the body. "Gotcha!" But he felt the body trying to break free. Snake hissed in pain as he felt the strain. "SOMEONE! HURRY!"
With her vampire speed, Vampirina grabbed Mr. Horseman's head and placed it back on his shoulders. Much to his relief, Snake felt the body stop resisting. He untied himself as Mr. Horseman stood up. "Ahhh, it's sooo good to be back!" He flexed his cold, greenish fingers.
"What was that all about, Mr. Horseman?!" asked Poppy. "Why would your body go crazy like that?!"
"And why was your body hard as steel?!" asked Pirahna, still in pain. Madame Spook scooped him up and cradled the fish in her see-through arms.
An exhausted Snake laid himself on the floor like a pair of overstretched pantyhose. "And strong!" he panted out. "You nearly tore me in half!"
A few moments of silence, Mr. Horseman sighed, his breath smelling of pumpkin spice. "Well, when I was alive, I was a solider in the Hessian army. But I wanted to be stronger. So, I...well, I...uh, did some things I wasn't necessarily proud of."
Rachel narrowed her eyes. "Like what?" she asked with suspicion.
"I..." The horseman sighed again. "I used a forbidden spell."
"WHAT?!" Rachel, Sasha, and Vampirina yelled, making the horseman flinch. Madame Spook almost dropped Pirahna!
"Are you out of your mind?!" Rachel snapped.
"What were you thinking?!" Sasha hollered.
Mr. Horseman lowered his head in shame.
"Forbidden spells are dangerous!" said Vampirina. "And for good reason! They're made with dark magic! And dark magic always has their price on those who cast them!"
The Bad Guys could see the light in Mr Horseman's head finally turn black. Fascinated, they watched him reach up and open the top of his head and removed his burnt out scented handle. "I know. And I paid for it."
"How?" asked Poppy.
"The spell said that it would make my body stronger. And it did. I went into battle and no matter how much I was shot, stabbed, or stepped on, nothing could bring me down." His face became a scowl. "Until a cannonball came out of nowhere and blasted my head off!" he roared. "Apparently, the spell worked on my body, but not my head!" Mr. Horseman noticed his booming voice was making the walls shake. He managed to calm himself down.
"So...the spell didn't affect your head?" Sasha said. "Kind of like Achillies and his heel?"
Mr. Horseman nodded mutely.
"Then what happened?!" asked Vampirina.
"After the cannon blast, my soul was lost. But my body was still alive because of the dark magic. That's when it went on a rampage. Hurting people and scaring them half to death, it was a complete nightmare! Finally, a coven of witches were able to find a solution. They figured out that my body was going crazy because my head wasn't there to guide it! So, they held a seance to conjure my spirit back and place it in my new head. Then they reattached my head to me body and the nighmare was over."
Wolf knitted his brow. "They used a pumpkin as your new head?"
Mr. Horseman shrugged. "It was all they had on short notice."
"Wow, I'm so sorry you went through all that, Mr. Horseman." Bridget said softly.
"Don't be sorry, kid. I did this to myself." Mr. Horseman said honestly. "When I was human, I was more dangerous and terrifying than any monster because I was obsessed with power. And this is my comeuppance. But once I regained my body, I was finally able to make peace with my fate. From that day on, I fully embraced being not just a monster, but a changed person."
Rachel smiled and patted Mr. Horseman's shoulder. "That was beautiful, Mr. H."
"Thanks, Rachel." The horseman smiled. "Speaking of monsters, who's up for the Scare Fair tonight?"
Madame Spook poofed into the room right next to Wolf. "EVERYONE!" she wailed.
Wolf screamed, jumping into Shark's arms.
"Oops! Sorry, Mr. Wolf! said Madame Spook.
"What's up, Madame?" asked Rachel.
"It's terrible! There's some kind of out-of-control happening outside!" Madame Spook shrilled.
"WHAT?!" everyone screamed.
