At the sight of the massive figure standing before them, Autumn released hold of her straw hat and clutched onto Beatrix.
The hand immediately scrambled out from underneath and crawled past the girls, making its escape down the hall.
The figure had long, stringy hair that went down to its waist—an impressive feat for a creature so tall. They had pale green skin, just like the detached hand, and crooked lines of stitches cutting across their entire body.
"Ah! There you are!" the creature's voice boomed.
Beatrix and Autumn clung to each other in terror.
The figure ran towards them, their heavy footsteps thundering. They were headed straight towards them.
We're about to be stomped on, Beatrix's mind raced. This is the end.
Then Beatrix remembered: She was there to be Autumn's protector.
And here I am, cowering and hiding behind the friend I'm supposed to be looking out for.
It dawned on Beatrix that moments like these were exactly what she needed to defend Autumn against.
Beatrix yanked herself loose from Autumn's grasp, pushed her to the side, and stood in front of the creature's path. They were approaching fast.
With a better view of her potential foe, Beatrix saw the creature had mismatched blue and green eyes. The sight of them made Beatrix's stomach drop. She had no idea what she was up against.
"Stay back! Or else!" Beatrix warned.
Beatrix looked around for potential modes of defense. All the doors in the hall were closed and their bags were still by the dorm entrance. As a final resort, Beatrix wiggled out of her left boot and held it up as a weapon.
"This is your last chance!"
Beatrix got ready to swing her measly shoe.
But as the creature was almost upon her, she hesitated. There was no way she could overpower them. They stood nearly a foot taller than her and her threats weren't working. The creature didn't seem to register Beatrix at all. Actually, it was like they were looking just past her instead, narrowing in on something else entirely. Regardless, Beatrix was out of time to figure out another way to defend Autumn.
Beatrix braced herself. She figured throwing the boot at the creature's face would at least buy them some time to run away.
Thankfully, Beatrix didn't need to carry out her plan. To Beatrix's surprise, the creature swerved out of the way and ran past her and her raised boot.
They instead rushed further down the hall after the crawling hand.
Beatrix and Autumn watched as the creature caught up to the appendage. The hand was scrambling to get as far away as possible, but the creature snatched it up from the ground with their other hand.
"Sneaky little thing," the creature said, their tone softer now, like they'd finally collected themselves.
I guess they did collect themselves… literally, Beatrix realized.
The hand squirmed within their grasp. The detached appendage was relentless in its resistance. The creature was struggling to hold the hand still.
"Do you need help?" Autumn piped up from her spot on the ground.
The creature looked back at Beatrix and Autumn, as if they just noticed the girls. "Oh hi!"
Beatrix lowered her boot. "Hi?"
Autumn sheepishly waved.
"Help would be great!" the creature said.
Although Autumn's skin was made up entirely of burlap sacks, Beatrix could have sworn she paled. Autumn looked at Beatrix like she'd made a grave mistake.
Autumn urgently said under her breath, "I don't know why I offered to help. We nearly got flattened just now. I don't want to touch that hand. I offered to help out of habit. I mean, they're struggling, right? Wouldn't it be a nice thing to do? Maybe they won't kill us if we help. It looks like the hand needs to be stitched back on. Bea, what do we do?"
Beatrix relaxed her posture. "Right, okay, I'll handle this."
Beatrix couldn't tell if she was dealing with a student or another member of the school staff. She thought of the unnerving gatekeeper she'd met earlier that day and hoped this monster wouldn't give her as much trouble.
Beatrix walked to the creature's side cautiously. The creature didn't seem to notice how scary their entrance had been, because now they simply hummed cheerfully to themselves while fumbling with the hand, as if nothing life-threatening had happened a moment ago.
"You have a name?" Beatrix asked, also pretending like nothing had happened. Threatening someone with a boot doesn't make for such a great first impression anyway.
"Frankie," they responded, almost losing grip of their hand. "Thanks for catching him for me! He's quite a handful." Frankie giggled at their own pun.
"He?" Autumn wondered aloud from the other end of the hallway, still keeping a safe distance.
"Ya, he used to belong to some pianist. That was a long time ago though. Now he's mine," Frankie cooed, stroking the hand affectionately like they were petting a cat. The hand squirmed in response.
A pianist's hand? Explains why he's so nimble, I guess, Beatrix thought. The idea that Frankie's body part didn't originally belong to them intrigued her.
Now calm and up close, Beatrix looked Frankie's tall physique over. Frankie had long white hair with straight black streaks and a prosthetic metal leg. The stitches covering Frankie's body were most obvious near the joints of their limbs and around their neck. With so many stitches, Beatrix wondered how many different bodies Frankie was made of.
Beatrix looked up at Frankie's face. Upon closer inspection, she had to admit she thought Frankie's different colored eyes were pretty cool.
"I can attach, uh, him back to your wrist. But I need you to hold him still for me," Beatrix said.
"Can do…" Frankie started, unsure what to call her.
"Beatrix. And that's Autumn."
"I'm a scarecrow," Autumn blurted out awkwardly.
"Wow! I've never met a scarecrow before! Are you one too?" Frankie asked Beatrix.
The question made Beatrix pause. She doesn't know I'm a witch either, like most people. So Grey must be the only one who can tell I don't have a soul just by looking at me.
Beatrix figured it was better not to share her identity if it wasn't necessary. "I'm not a scarecrow. I'm just Autumn's aid," was all she said. Beatrix pulled out her usual needle and thread from her front pocket but had second thoughts. "Wait, Frankie, do you have any tools I can use? I don't know if it'll be… well, sanitary to use my own needle to attach your hand."
I'll need something more heavy duty than my sewing needle to pierce through human flesh with wire, after all.
"I do! Everything you could ever need is in my room. It's on the third floor," Frankie said enthusiastically, booming again. It seemed like Frankie didn't realize how much their voice carried.
"What floor are you on?" Frankie continued.
"We're on the top floor. We haven't moved in yet, we still need to bring our things up," Beatrix responded.
"Then in exchange for your help, let me carry your stuff!"
"Really? That's so nice of you!" Autumn said, popping up beside Beatrix.
"It's the least I can do since you caught my hand for me!" Frankie grinned. "I really am impressed, he evades everyone. You must have a good reaction time."
Autumn beamed with pride at the remark. The scarecrow had never been complimented on her agility before. "Why thank you. Usually I trip all over myself, so I'm surprised I got him!"
"With those reflexes, you could make a good fear squad member," Frankie said.
"What's a fear squad?"
"It's a team I joined last year when I was a freshman. We cheer and host pep rallies for the sports teams here. How strong are you?"
"Not strong at all. I mean, look at me," Autumn wiggled her straw-filled arms. They were a stark contrast to Frankie's sturdy frame.
"That's okay! I'm sure we could find a spot for–"
"We better get going or else your little friend's gonna escape again," Beatrix interrupted.
She'd pointed it out partly because the hand was growing restless within Frankie's grip, and partly because she was feeling like a third wheel in the conversation.
Beatrix made her way to a spiral staircase at the end of the hall, the other two following close behind her, and they journeyed to Frankie's dorm room.
As the trio climbed the steps to the third floor, Beatrix found herself suppressing a hint of suspicion as she listened to Frankie explain to Autumn what a pep rally was.
Beatrix yanked her fingers away from Frankie. "Ouch!"
Frankie's neck bolts were buzzing with electricity and had shocked Beatrix yet again.
"Sorry!" Frankie said. "I can finish it if you want."
"No, it's alright. I'm almost done." Beatrix went back in with her wrench and continued to tighten the right bolt protruding out of Frankie's neck.
Beatrix and Frankie sat on Autumn's dorm room bed with an array of surgical tools laid out between them on the bare mattress. The three of them had swung by Frankie's room—which showcased a massive metallic charging bed, a lineup of half-filled testing tubes and vials, and more books on human anatomy than Beatrix could count—and had brought Frankie's tool kit up to Beatrix and Autumn's shared dorm.
Frankie didn't have a roommate because of how large they were. Being a six foot three frankenmonster had its perks.
Afterwards, Frankie had managed to carry Beatrix and Autumn's numerous bags to the top floor with ease. They hadn't even broken a sweat.
Frankie's strong, alright, Beatrix had thought.
In their room, Autumn had already unpacked the majority of her bags and the only thing left was to put on her bed sheets and comforter. Autumn had even unpacked both of Beatrix's bags as well, putting the few things Beatrix brought with her in their designated drawers.
In the meantime, Beatrix had attached Frankie's hand back on their wrist, had redone and straightened out a line of stitches that ran along their right cheek, and had tightened the two bolts that were fixed into their neck. Beatrix had already shocked her fingertips multiple times when she had done so, and the bolts had gotten one last zap in for good measure. According to Frankie, the neck bolts allowed them to absorb electricity to use as energy to keep their body working.
Frankie had been amazed over Beatrix's stitching skills.
"You do it so much better than me!" they had gushed.
Autumn had explained to Frankie their childhoods on the farm, the scarecrow village she'd been raised in, and how Beatrix had learned her sewing skills from helping Autumn for years. Frankie hung on Autumn's every word. They'd learned that Frankie had only been conscious for a little over a year.
However, Frankie's physical age was that of a fully-grown person in their late teens. And despite being a monster made up of parts from different people, they had been created with a well-balanced body, unlike other frankenmonsters Frankie had been exposed to.
Beatrix couldn't imagine what kind of mad science would be capable of an accomplishment like Frankie. Creating a sentient being, reproducing life from scratch, it made Beatrix question everything she knew. She knew there were some necromancy spells her aunts used to practice back in their glory days, before Beatrix was born, but they were shotty at best. Her Aunt Constance had created a horde of undead monstrosities once, yet they had rotted away off their bones before she could make any use of them. Necromancy was one of the most difficult witchcraft forms to master, if one even could. Beatrix had never heard of a witch raising the dead going well. However, Frankie's birth hadn't been the work of any sorceress. They were alive purely through scientific means.
"So Frankie… are your parents like you?" Beatrix inquired.
Frankie's mismatched eyes glazed over. "No. I don't have parents, not really," they said in a monotone voice. Frankie looked like a ghost of their initially cheerful self.
In the middle of folding a flannel shirt, Autumn looked over at them, as if she could telepathically communicate with Beatrix. Her expression seemed to say: This is clearly a sensitive topic. You shouldn't press further, Bea.
Beatrix ignored her friend and said, "Oh. Then who made you?" Her curiosity prevailed over politeness, as usual.
Also, I just repaired, like, half of their body. I deserve to hear some Frankie backstory. Beatrix knew that Autumn didn't approve of Beatrix's "tit for tat" way of dealing with others. It was how Beatrix had justified being difficult with her aunts and evading witchy responsibilities in the past, which were, in Autumn's eyes, all too mean-spirited for her taste.
Beatrix had always said it was simply receiving something in exchange for giving something. She believed there were no nefarious motives beyond that.
"My creator made me… We don't…" Frankie said vaguely.
"Get along well?" Beatrix finished. "Trust me, I can relate. My aunts always act like they have a broom up their—"
"Bea," Autumn pleaded for her to stop.
Beatrix adjusted her questioning angle. "So why are you here so early before school starts? We're here to get Autumn's transfer paperwork set up. What's your excuse?"
"I live here year round. Including during the summers," Frankie said. "Monster High is my home, basically." Some light shone in Frankie's eyes again talking about the school. "I really love it here. Everyone is so nice, and there's so many fun on-campus activities!"
"That sounds so fun!" Autumn said, happy for a change in subject.
"I've lived here for my entire undead life, I know you're going to love it too!"
"But you're alone here during the summers?" Beatrix asked, bringing the energy back down. "Must be rough."
"Sorry, Frankie, Bea just wants to learn more about the school, for good and for bad," Autumn apologized on her behalf to alleviate any possible unease.
"Oh, it's okay," Frankie said, a bit melancholic now. "Summers here aren't half bad. The grounds are really fun to explore and I get time to conduct some science experiments while everyone is away. It's better being a little lonely here than…"
Beatrix could fill in the blank. Frankie was alluding to wanting to avoid staying with their mad scientist creator if they could help it.
To be fair, a human man who wants to become a God with the power of resurrection doesn't sound like an appealing housemate.
Beatrix wondered if they considered the scientist their father or not. However, Beatrix knew better than to ask for more details. She'd gotten enough backstory to be satisfied for now.
"There, good as new," Beatrix said, pulling away from Frankie's neck.
The metal bolts sparked in excitement. "Thank you so much! Good thing we live in the same dorm. I'll have to call you the next time my hand runs loose again. I wish you were my student aid so you could do this for me all the time!"
Beatrix worried that the sparks from Frankie's body were a fire hazard. Autumn was made of dry hay; if she got zapped by Frankie's voltage she was a goner. She'd have to warn Autumn about this later.
"Speaking of, is being a student aid like being a familiar?" Frankie asked.
Beatrix tried to maintain an unbothered expression at the question. From what she knew, a familiar was a supernatural entity that could assist a witch in her practice of magic. Frankie's inquiry was tiptoeing into the witchcraft territory too much for Beatrix's liking. She still wanted to keep her identity discrete for now.
I barely know this monster. What if they go off and spread the information all over school next week?
"What's a familiar?" Autumn asked, being candid with her lack of knowledge, as usual.
"Familiars are the servants of vampires and other powerful monsters. They usually run errands for them and stuff," Frankie explained.
"Oh, I hadn't heard that definition before," Beatrix said.
"And you think I'm among these powerful monsters?" Autumn asked in both disbelief and delight at another implied compliment. "Well, Bea isn't my familiar. She's my friend, not a servant. Also, I'm just a scarecrow."
"I see. But you seem pretty powerful to me! You caught my hand, after all!" Frankie laughed. They stretched out their newly-attached hand, now in complete control of its movements. "And you have quite the eye for interior decorating."
Beatrix looked around the room at Autumn's finished work. Photos from home lined the desks and she'd thrown crocheted pillows in every corner of the dorm. Autumn had placed her stuffed animal, Vincent Van Crowe, on her bedside table and had hung paintings of flowers she'd done herself above her headboard.
"Autumn, you brought strands of ivy?" Beatrix guffawed. The plants were placed along the edges of their closets, framing their shelves.
"I was worried they were going to get crushed in my bags, but look! They turned out okay!" Autumn said. She grabbed a wicker basket full of sheets and blankets and approached Beatrix and Frankie, who were still sitting on her bed. "Alright, time for the last step. You're done fixing Frankie now, right?"
"Ya, Frankie's good."
"You even have a homemade carpet! Wow! I wish my room was this cozy!" Frankie exclaimed. Their boisterous voice blared in Beatrix's ears.
Beatrix looked at the dorm floor and saw a sunset orange rug laid out. But what caught Beatrix's attention was the floor just beyond the edge of the rug. Beneath the entry door, a puddle of water was seeping in.
"Guys?" Beatrix pointed. "There's a leak."
Both Autumn and Frankie jumped up onto Autumn's bed, each letting out a yelp. If either of them were to make contact with water, Beatrix knew they'd be in trouble. Frankie would likely electrocute anyone around her and Autumn would make a soggy mess of her scarecrow filling.
"Hey, Autumn, careful!" Beatrix warned, remembering that touching Frankie may also end up in a fiery disaster. The bed sloped down under Frankie's weight as they stood on top of the mattress, and all of Frankie's surgical tools slid and threatened to spill to the floor.
Then, Beatrix let out a yelp of her own when she heard an abrupt knock at the door.