Hey guys, here's chapter 6 of The Misadventures of Vee.
Not much used to change in Gravesfield, that's what Vee liked about it the most. So much stayed the same that when the leaves started changing colors Vee freaked, turned invisible, and hid under her bed. Camilla had to coax her out with promises that this was normal on Earth and the trees were not going rabid and they certainly did not want to eat her. Compared to the Boiling Isles where every day was marked with alchemic disasters, wild witch uprisings, errant spell misfires, and the occasional Grom escape, Gravesfield was a land of peace where nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Then the portals started opening and everything started to change.
Case in point…
"Fired?" Vee asked, unable to believe what she was hearing. "The museum caretaker was fired?"
"He sure was," Dani replied as she led the MCH toward said museum. "From what I heard, his boss discovered that he'd turned his private office into this crazy conspiracy cave with creepy pictures and insane online articles all about mole people running a casino under Gravesfield."
"Mole people?" Beth scoffed, still hobbling on her crutches. "I heard he exploded over how there was a shapeshifter hiding in the school."
"What a nutjob," Lance jeered.
"Yeah… crazy," Vee mumbled, hoping her friends didn't notice her guilt-ridden face.
All things considered; the original caretaker shouldn't be working in a museum. Not just because he had an unhealthy distrust of established history and science, but also because of the trauma he'd put Vee through. The man was not fit to run a museum, plain and simple. Still, Vee couldn't help feeling a little responsible for pushing the man to this point.
"Whoa. Girls, check it out," Lance said.
The MCH had arrived at their destination. Outside the Gravesfield Historical Society building was parked a rather unusual moving van, which was what had caught Lance's attention. The vehicle was black as night with a hood that jutted out of the front like an old jalopy. The shape was wrong. The long trailer was there but it was narrower than Vee had seen on other trucks. It sort of looked like a big… hearse.
"That's… different," Dani remarked. "Who would drive something like that?"
"And how much gas does it guzzle?" Beth added with disapproval.
"Vampires!" shouted a voice that instinctually made Vee hide behind Dani.
From the museum's door stumbled the former caretaker Jacob Hopkins, out of breath and soaked in sweat. In his hands, he waved a cross made of legos and a Gatorade bottle filled with a clear liquid.
"Back, you undead fiends!" he barked at whoever was in the museum, only to tumble backward down the short staircase in front of the building. The crash popped open his Gatorade bottle and spilled the contents all over the sidewalk.
"No! My holy water! I spent thirty bucks on ebay for that!" Jacob cried.
Desperate, the man slapped his hands on the already drying stone and then flicked his wet fingers at the museum. What few pathetic droplets he managed to fire plopped at the feet of a pale man so tall that his oily black hair brushed the veranda roof. His body was wrapped in an intimidating black cloak with a collar so high that it reached the top of his pointed ears.
"Master Hopkins, are you hurt?" the cloaked man asked, his deep voice thick with an accent that was vaguely familiar to Vee. "You are avare you can no longer claim vorkplace injuries, correct?"
"Come out here and face me, you coward!" Hopkins shot back.
The cloaked man, still hidden in the shade of the veranda, squinted up at the bright sky. "Ugh, so bright in zis country," he mumbled and donned a wide-brim sun hat before stepping into the daylight.
"N-No fair!" Hopkins wilted and aimed his Lego cross at the man.
A cloaked woman, just as pale and somehow even taller than the tall pale man, stepped out as well. She too wore a sun hat, except hers was decorated with a dreary bouquet of dead flowers.
"Vincent," the towering woman called, seemingly ignoring Jacob's cross. "Be a dear and escort Master Hopkins off ze premises."
"Yes, mother," a younger voice replied and a third figure joined them, clad not in a cloak but rather in a gray hoodie. Vincent was a young man, probably around the same age as the MCH. His hood was raised, concealing his face in darkness.
"Oh no you don't, I know how this works," Hopkins sneered, backing away. "Getting personally escorted is a one-way trip to being hypnotized by your vampire magic. I'm leaving by myself so I won't be late for my new barista job, but when my shift is over, oh, you better believe I'm coming back for you, vampires. You're not turning Gravesfield into your personal feeding grounds. Not while I'm around. Smoke bomb!" Hopkins chucked a small silver pellet at the ground and ran. The pellet did nothing at first, then after a few seconds it belched one tiny puff of smoke that could barely hide a mouse.
"Total nutjob," Lance remarked.
"Yeah, and a litterbug," Beth said, pocketing the pellet he'd left behind to throw away later.
"Luz, you okay?" Dani asked, peering over her shoulder with concern. The basilisk suddenly realized what she was doing and stepped into the open.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Vee said with a forced smile. "Just, uh, uhhhh…"
Whatever excuse Vee was going to say was interrupted by a great shadow being cast over the children. Looming over them was the tall pale couple. This close, Vee could understand why Jacob Hopkins felt the need to run.
"My goodness, look at all zese children eager to fill zeir succulent minds," the man said with a smile that for some reason looked… hungry. "I am Mr. Laurent and zis is my vife Mrs. Laurent, ve are ze new caretakers of ze museum."
"Ve are so sorry, but ze museum isn't open yet, children. Still moving in," Mrs. Laurent explained, her smile matching her husband's with that same strange hunger. She couldn't be sure, but Vee could have sworn the teeth of both adults were sharper than she'd seen from other humans. "Hovever," Mrs. Laurent continued, "I am sure my boy Vincent vould be more zan happy to give you all a pre-opening tour vhile ve vork. Vouldn't you, Vincent?"
The hooded child appeared from between his parents, his face still shrouded from view. Stone cold silence came from that darkness and it unnerved the MCH.
"He already knows vhere all ze hidden rooms are, ze secret places nobody goes," Mr. Laurent enticed. "Please, come in."
The Laurent family waved their arms in a welcoming gesture to the museum. To the MCH's collective surprise, the doors opened by themselves and waited for the kids to enter.
A flood of excuses simultaneously burst from the group, ranging from having to get home in time for dinner to making sure Ash didn't accidentally delete a save. They kept blabbering excuse after excuse as they backed away from the Laurents and didn't stop until an entire block was between them and the museum.
"Was it just me or were those people…" Dani searched for the right word.
"Creepy?" Lance suggested.
"Thank you for saying it. I didn't want to be rude, but they are super creepy," Beth agreed. "You don't think that Hopkins guy was onto something when he said they were vampires, do you?"
"What? No, of course not," Vee replied but it wasn't with confidence. Vampires were real. They were a nuisance in the Demon Realm and a lot of magical creatures had been slipping through recently. Plus, Vee didn't exactly have the greatest track record with museum caretakers. Vampires or not, Vee didn't trust the Laurents.
Later that night, a shadowy figure could be seen lurking outside, across the street from the museum. The figure hid in the bushes. It was Jacob still in his barista uniform, having just ended his shift not too long ago. Along his uniform was a utility belt full of weapons and artifacts he bought off the internet that would supposedly combat the undead.
"Alright, you undead bloodsuckers, I'm not gonna let you turn the people of Gravesfield into your mindless slaves" Jacob muttered to himself. Unbeknownst to him, there was another figure lurking around menacingly in the shadows. "Prepare to feel the wrath of Jacob Hopkins!" Jacob shouted.
The conspiracy theorist was about charge forward, only to be met by a loud screech that caused him to fall on his butt. He looked up and gasped upon what he saw. Floating down towards him was none other than Liv the banshee. Jacob's heart was beating a bit fast, but he refused to back down. If he wasn't going to let vampires get him the sure as hell wasn't going to let some sharp-toothed ghost get him.
"Back off, earth-bound specter. You're not leading me to my death!" Jacob said while pulling out what looked like a wand from one of those magical girl animes. In reality, though, it was just a useless toy, but Jacob was convinced otherwise.
Jacob swung his wand back and forth at the ghost's body... which proved to be utterly pointless. The attacks did nothing since they kept phasing through Liv's intangible body.
"Listen to me, dear, you must go. It's not safe here." Liv tried to warn the conspiracy theorist.
"Of course it's not. An evil ghost is trying to get me killed!" Jacob said while continuing his pointless attacks.
"No, listen. It's not safe here because-" Liv was cut off by a hiss.
Jacob grunted as he was attacked by an unknown figure, Liv fleeing the scene. The next thing that happened was a loud scream from Jacob filling the night sky.
The Noceda House…
It was the following morning and Vee was having a breakfast of strawberry pop-tarts dipped in leftover cold sancocho.
"You have… unique taste, mija," her mom said, a little unsettled by the odd dish.
"It tastes sorta like magic, except spicier," Vee claimed, enjoying every bite. "Es múy délicioso."
Camilla gasped. "Vee, that was very good. Your Spanish accent is getting closer. You almost sound like a full-blooded Dominican." She gave Vee's basilisk ears a congratulatory rub, making her daughter giggle and blush. The celebration was cut short unfortunately by Camilla's phone rumbling.
When her mom looked at the screen her breath hitched. "Ay, Dios mio. I'm sorry, mija, but I have to go to work early." Already in her scrubs, Camilla put her phone on the counter and started packing her purse.
"What's wrong?" Vee asked, peeking at the phone.
"Just a few bad fevers. The veterinary clinic has been slow lately so the hospital wants me to help, that's all."
Vee's eyes widened at what she saw. On the screen was an image of Jacob Hopkins laying on a hospital bed. His skin was pale as chalk and his face was slack as if he'd been drained of his energy. Now, Vee was not an expert on human diseases, she'd actually never seen a sick human before. However, a detail she did recognize immediately caught her attention: two little red spots on Jacob Hopkins' neck.
"Mija, no." Camilla snatched her phone. "You shouldn't look at that. The hospital doesn't send me the nicest pictures."
"But-but-but, mom, you said there were several people like this?"
"Sí, they were all brought in overnight, a bad bug tends to spread fast. Nothing we can't handle, though. Have a good day." Camilla kissed the top of Vee's head and went for the front door.
"Mom, wait!" In her panic, Vee dropped her disguise entirely and glided across the house and blocked the door. She was much faster with her basilisk tail. "You can't go out there! There are vampires on the loose!"
"Vampires?" Camilla asked. "What are you talking about?"
"I know those marks on his neck, that's a vampire bite. There's this weird new family in town and I didn't want to assume anything but I think they're behind this." Vee grabbed her mom's arm, pleading with her, "Please, you can't go, it's not safe."
Her mom gazed back down at her with sympathy. "First banshees and sasquatches, and now vampires in Gravesfield, I guess this small quiet town isn't so quiet anymore." She sighed. "Even if what you say is true, Vee, I have to go."
"No, mom, it's—"
"Not safe, I heard you." She cupped Vee's cheek. "But my job is to save lives, mija, I can't run and hide just because it's dangerous. I'll be careful. You do the same. Don't leave the house, let the authorities find these vampires. I'll be back before dark, I promise." With one more kiss and a long hug, Camilla left.
Vee watched her mom go, quivering with fear. She dreaded what would happen to her mom and Gravesfield, the town that was now her home. She remembered the dire warnings Jacob Hopkins had made about the vampires turning the land into their own personal feeding grounds. Could the human authorities handle this? Should she listen to her mom?
Vee took a deep breath and the quivering stopped. She opened the MCH group chat.
Gravesfield Museum…
Moments later, the MCH met up in front of the museum.
"You wanted to meet up here of all places? Why?" Dani asked.
"You've heard all the recent reports of the people at the hospital, right?" Vee asked, her friends nodding in response, "Yeah, well, one of them was the former museum manager, Jacob Hopkins"
"That conspiracy weirdo we saw the other day?" Dani raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. His skin was pale and he had two bite marks on his neck. I think you all know where I'm headed with this" Vee said.
"You want to go in there and face those pasty-faced bloodsuckers? If so then I'm in" Dani said with a smirk.
"I would say that this is risky, but we've been doing a lot of risky things lately" Beth said with a small shrug.
The girls then looked at Lance, who was playing a game on his phone. He groaned after just losing. He looked up from his phone to see the girls staring at him.
"I'm sorry, what were we talking about?" Lance asked.
The girls groaned, Dani grabbing their rich friend by the forearm as they approached the building. They knew the door was locked, so they'd have to try an alternative method of getting in. The window. It wasn't hard to get open since all they had to do was slide it to the side. Vee and Lance had to help Beth due to her crutches.
"So, do you guys know anything about these new museum managers?" Lance asked.
"The only thing I know is that these people moved from Romania or something" Dani replied.
"Guys, look at this" Vee gestured to everything around them.
The MCH had noticed that the interior of the museum had changed drastically from the last time they visited. The inside of the museum had been transformed into a gothic castle with large black candles, thick spider webs, layers of fog, etc.
"What do you think's in there?" Lance pointed over to a nearby door.
The teens looked at each other and then approached the door with a mixture of curiosity and caution. Before any of them could reach out and touch it, the door seemingly opened by itself. It revealed to be a large closet filled with hats and tons of sunblock.
"That is a lot of sunblock" Dani commented.
"Those bottles had better be biodegradable" Beth muttered. "And look over there" Beth pointed over to a nearby exhibit, "Are those coffins?"
There, against the wall were indeed coffins. Three of them, covered in dirt.
"Right. Vampires have to sleep in coffins on the dirt of their homelands... or something like that" Dani said, recalling information that she had looked up about the blood-sucking species.
"Well, I guess that makes it official. They're vampires" Lance spoke nonchalantly.
"Eh, we were bound to go up against one of the big legends eventually" Dani said with a shrug, "And we're going up against a whole family no less. A family that needs to be stopped"
That's when the MCH heard a noise. Dani pulled out four crosses and gave each other of her friends one. She had found some inside the box of creature hunting weapons. Her aunt was really prepared to help them with their little club. The MCH walked around and found that the noises were coming from the museum's library. Upon entering the library, they were greeted by none other than Vincent.
Actually, "greeted" may have been the wrong word. When the MCH entered the library, they were terrified by none other than Vincent! The hooded figure whipped around to face the kids, backlit by a massive roaring fireplace. Combined with the dark recesses of his cowl that still concealed his face inside a featureless, pitch-black cave, Vee nearly turned and ran right there and then. But she remembered her mom risking her life in the hospital and swallowed her fear.
"The jig is up Vincent," Vee said, cross aimed at the boy. "We know your family secret."
"S-Secret?" Vincent stuttered, speaking to them for the first time since they met the other day. "What are you talking about? And what are you doing here?"
It was not the voice that Vee had been expecting. Based on everything up until now, Vincent should've sounded malevolent and intimidating like an unholy beast of the night. However, the voice she'd heard had been nasally, young, and even squeaky. Vee glanced at the rest of the MCH and saw they too were perplexed. However, Vee pushed away her doubts and firmed her resolve. She would protect her mom no matter what.
"Don't play dumb," Vee pressed, marching toward the boy. "We've seen plenty."
"You don't want to mess with us, Vincent," Dani boasted at Vee's side. "We're the Magical Creature Hunters of Gravesfield."
"Yeah, we've faced monsters far worse than you," Beth claimed.
"We have?" Lance asked.
Beth shushed him.
Closer the MCH advanced, pushing Vincent deeper into the library. The alleged vampire offered no fight, most likely because of all the crosses, Vee concluded, only raised hands and feeble words.
"I-I-I seriously don't know what you guys are talking about," he said. "Stay away. Don't come any closer. I-I-I—Ah!"
The vampire tripped. Like any other kid would, Vincent stepped on a loose shoelace and toppled over backwards. In that tumble, two things happened: a crinkly potato chip bag fell out of his pocket and the cowl of his hoodie finally came down. What was revealed made everybody lower their crosses.
"Are you wearing… glasses?" Beth asked.
He was. A pair of rectangle lenses sat atop Vincent Laurent's nose. They were somewhat thick, magnifying the boy's hazel eyes, and crooked with a band of tape holding the bridge together. All in all, not what anyone would describe as vampiric.
"Do vampires wear glasses?" Beth asked Dani.
"I don't think so…?" Dani replied but she didn't sound so sure. "There wasn't any mention of glasses in my aunt's research."
"Oh sweet, chips," Lance said and plucked a potato chip off the floor. A trail of them had spilled out of the bag that Vincent had dropped. Before anyone could stop him, Lance popped the chip in his mouth. "Mmm, garlic-flavored," he said.
"G-Garlic?! But vampires can't eat— Is everything my aunt taught me wrong?" Dani demanded.
"Vhat is going on here?" The deep voice froze the kids on the spot as a familiar shadow was cast over them all. Trembling like a leaf, Vee barely peeked over her shoulder and gazed up at the unnaturally tall Mr. and Mrs. Laurent. The pale, ghoulish couple leered down at them with narrowed eyes.
Then the two smiled, flashing their sharp teeth.
"Look, my love, ze succulent children have returned," Mr. Laurent said hungrily. Then he clapped excitedly like a kid and pranced away, "I vill get ze board games!"
"Huh?" the entire MCH said as one.
"Oh, velcome, children!" Mrs. Laurent gushed like it was Christmas morning. "Ve are so glad you are here to spend time vith our precious boy. Vincent can be such a, how you say, bookvorm?"
"Mom!" Vincent whined; cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Stop it!"
Mrs. Laurent only pinched those rosy cheeks and continued on, oblivious to her son's torment. "He has such a brilliant mind," she told the teens, "But he spends every day inside reading, reading, reading. It is vonderful zat he finally has friends."
Vee exchanged awkward looks with everyone else. None of them understood what was happening. Was this for real? Some kind of vampire trick?
"I found ze games!" Mr. Laurent pranced back into the library with a stack of game boxes in his arms. "Ve have Monopoly, Life, and Turnip Farmer. Zat last one is a classic from our home country of Romania. But you can't play in here like zis. Too dark." He pulled aside one of the bulky curtains and sunlight covered every corner of the room, including the Laurents!
"Ah, much better," Mrs. Laurent said, not burning to a crisp.
"What?" sputtered Vee, trying and failing to make sense of the situation. "But you—and the—how did—the-the castle!"
"You have seen ze redecorations? Minunat! (Marvelous!)" Mr. Laurent said and waved an arm at the nearest door. It opened on its own and showed the castle-like hallways. "Be honest, vhat do you zink? I vanted to make learning history cool, more fun for ze kids. Ze automatic doors ve installed are a nice touch, no? I bought zem from grocery stores."
The MCH looked at the top of the doorframe and spotted for the first time the motion-activated sensor bar.
"But the coffins!" Vee exclaimed.
"Coffins?" Mrs. Laurent asked and peered down the hall at the piles of dirt. "Oh! No, zose are not coffins. Zey are crates of manure. I am planting a new garden in ze front yard vith flowvers from around ze vorld so ze children can learn about exotic plants."
"Mmm, it vill be beautiful, my love," Mr. Laurent said and passionately kissed the back of the woman's hand.
"Uh…" Vee, very uncomfortable, used her last pathetic card, "the sunblock?"
"You saw zat?" Mr. Laurent asked, then waved off the question. "Minor skin condition. Ve Laurents are, how you say, sensitive to light. Easy to manage. Ve visit ze beach all ze time, see?" He pulled out his phone and showed them a photo of the Laurent family in swimsuits on the sandy shores in broad daylight.
There was no doubt in the MCH's minds anymore. They had made a terrible mistake.
"Do not let us bother you," Mr. Laurent said, as he led his wife toward the exit. "You children have fun. I vill return vith snacks."
After the automatic door shut behind them, the library was filled with tense silence that felt like it would stretch on forever. Finally, Vee broke the unpleasant quiet. "We're sorry, Vincent," she said. "We really thought you were—"
"Just leave me alone," Vincent grumbled sternly. He turned away from her with an ugly grimace and started cleaning up the potato chips.
"We really are sorry, Vincent," Vee insisted.
"Yeah," Dani agreed sheepishly. "We're a bit busy with something important right now but we could hang out later."
"I don't want to hang out with you!" Vincent snapped, glaring at them. "I didn't even want to give you that tour yesterday. My parents were forcing me to do that. They're always trying to make me spend time with kids I don't know, pressuring me to make friends."
"What's wrong with friends?" Lance asked.
"Maybe I don't want any friends!" Vincent almost yelled. "Maybe I like being by myself! Maybe I don't want people butting into my life accusing me of-of-of—Why are you even here?"
"We, um… thought you and your family were vampires," Beth admitted.
"Vampires?!" Vincent scoffed. "Great, you're all crazy too. Hate to break it to you, but there's no such thing as vampires. Legends about them have been around for centuries and yet there hasn't been a single confirmed sighting of a vampire. All the so-called evidence can be easily explained. If they did exist, do you know how impossible it would be for vampires to never be spotted by humans? I'll tell you: fifty-five billion, four-hundred sixty-eight thousand, one hundred and twelve to one."
For a few moments, the MCH were left in stunned silence by the oddly specific number.
"Dude, did you calculate that yourself?" Lance asked.
All of Vincent's spite was replaced with a deep blush. He turned away to hide his embarrassment. "Just leave me alone!"
Suddenly, somewhere in the museum, there was a crash of glass.
"Mom?" Vincent called. The only response he got was a blood-curdling scream. "Mom!" The boy sprinted out of the library toward the ruckus.
"That doesn't sound good," Vee remarked.
"Come on!" Dani ordered and led the charge.
Following Vincent the best they could, the MCH wound their way through the fresh stone walls of the museum. The building was much more labyrinthian than Vee recalled. Soon, though, things started to look familiar, they were nearing the front door. The screams continued the entire time, growing more frantic by the second. Their chilling echoes made Vee feel like they were rushing into something very dangerous, something their crosses wouldn't be able to handle. Trailing behind at the back of the group, she began looking around her for something to protect them all. The suits of armor and medieval weapons were probably as fake as the torches which Vee only now noticed were completely electric with flapping scraps of red fabric instead of actual fire.
Then they passed a door that was slightly ajar and Vee spotted something that was perfect. Making sure no one was watching, she willed herself to be invisible and slipped through the door. It was Jacob Hopkins' old office, the one he had trapped Vee in so long ago. The boards of conspiracy theories were gone, replaced with Laurent family photos, but one last object from Hopkins' collection remained. There, sitting on the desk, was the training wand, an actual training wand from the Demon Realm with a limited supply of magic stored in its wood. Thankfully, Hopkins had never figured out how to wield such a powerful weapon, which meant the gleaming battery was still fully juiced.
Vee nabbed the wand and ran as fast as she could to rejoin everyone else. She'd just become visible again when she bumped into Dani's back. The entire group had come to an abrupt halt at the wide stone archway labeled Ye Olde Gift Shop. They all gawked slack-jawed at the ghastly sight. Mrs. Laurent lay slumped on the Gift Shop floor, her skin paler than usual and her neck bore two fresh red puncture marks.
Standing over her was a nightmare.
It stood on two legs, but that was as human as it got. Wiry gray fur covered nearly every inch of the thing and from its broad bony shoulders protruded a pair of leathery wings which were wrapped around poor Mr. Laurent. The man's face was frozen in pain as the… thing… buried its head in his neck.
"Dad! Get off my dad!" Vincent yelled and stormed toward the monster.
"Dude!" Lance cried and grabbed the boy's arm. Vincent wouldn't stop and it took all of the MCH to hold him back.
The struggle caught the intruder's attention. Pointed bat ears jerked to attention atop the furry head and rotated toward the teens. The creature pulled away from Mr. Laurent's neck and turned. What they saw was a blasphemous fusion of man and bat. Huge eyes blacker than night glowed dimly in a rattish face, the drooling maw lined with far more fangs than any creature should possess. The vampire unleashed a deafening screech that shook the shelves and walls. All the fight went out of Vincent and he stopped struggling. The rest of the MCH were just as petrified as they collectively realized a grisly fact.
"It's still hungry," Vee whimpered.
The vampire dropped Mr. Laurent's body and took a mighty step toward its dessert. Luck, though, was on the teens' side. As Mr. Laurent fell unceremoniously to the floor, his body caught one of the Gift Shop curtains and ripped it off its rod. A brilliant shaft light pierced through the window and struck the vampire. Immediately, the wretch convulsed and screamed, smoke sizzled off the vampire as if it were about to burst into flames. To everyone's further surprise, a layer of gray stone began to form like a second skin on the wing closest to the window.
The vampire tore itself away from the pain and slashed the stone off its wing. Then, with another bone-chilling screech, it disappeared out the Employee's Only door. The thuds of its clawed feet grew faint. It wasn't until they could no longer hear them that the spell seemed to break. The MCH frantically opened every curtain in the room, washing the Gift Shop with sunlight. Everyone was gasping for breath, trying to slow their speeding hearts.
Vincent tried to wake his parents; however, both were cold and unresponsive. They breathed, but that's all. They now had the same drained, empty husk appearance as Jacob Hopkins. It was only then that Vee remembered with utmost clarity the training wand in her hand. She'd been too scared to even raise it. Granted, she wasn't a witch, she hadn't attended Hexside like her sister, yet the vampire had instilled in her such fear that she never tried.
"Luz? Hey, Luz?" Vee looked up at Dani who was just as shaken. The girl held her. They were both trembling. "Are you okay?"
"Dani," Vee gulped, "I think we need your aunt and uncle's hunting gear."
After getting over their little scare, the MCH had taken the bus down to Dani's aunt and uncle's house. Luckily for them, it didn't take them very long to get there, Dani's aunt and uncle's house being only a few blocks away from her own. The only reason they took the bus was that the museum was on the other side of town.
"Alright, everyone, if anyone can help us take this blood-sucking freak down, it's my aunt and uncle" Dani said as she and her friends and Vince approached the door.
"Right. Your aunt and uncle have these magical items that can help us defeat this thing" Vincent said skeptically with a sarcastic tone. Dani growled at him with an intense glare, making him step back in slight fear.
The MCH's leader then rang the doorbell. The group was then met by a pair of friendly faces. The woman dress like a punk chick with a sleeveless black jean vest and sunglasses perched on the top of her head. The man was dressed in normal attire.
"Nǐ hǎo, āyí (Hello, auntie). Nǐ hǎo, shūshu (Hello, uncle)." Dani greeted her aunt and uncle.
"Nǐ hǎo, Dani (Hello, Dani)" they greeted back.
"This is an unexpected visit. Are these your friends?" Dani's aunt gestured to the other teens.
"Uh-huh" Dani nodded.
"So, these are the famous Magical Creature Hunters we've heard so much about. It's nice to finally meet you" Dani's uncle smiled. They had only known about the group because of their niece, but wasn't the point.
"Come on in" Dani's aunt stepped aside, allowing the five teens to enter. It was a nice two-story house on the outside while the inside seemed rather nice and cozy. It was a nice house overall. "So, how have you been, kiddo? What creatures have you seen lately?" Dani's aunt asked as the teens took a set at the dining room table.
"I've been good. So far we've ran into a banshee, a sasquatch, a hym—oh, and now we're going up against a bloodthirsty bat creature that's turning people into its pale victims that we need to take down and find a cure for" Dani replied, saying that last part without hesitation.
"Yeah, I heard about that on the news" Dani's aunt said, "That could be dangerous, sweetie. Are you sure you want to go up against that thing?" her aunt asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, no one else in town knows about this stuff except for us and that crazy conspiracy theorist that used to be the manager of the museum... so, yes. I mean, if we don't stop this thing then who will?" Dani asked.
"That's my girl" Dani's aunt said while affectionately rubbing her niece's head. "Luckily for you, your uncle just built something for just such an occasion"
Dani's aunt looked at her husband and nodded. Dani's uncle walked over to a nearby cabinet and pulled out what appeared to be a metallic water gun. Those large ones that you pump and get more water pressure the more you pump it.
"Is that a water gun?" Beth questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"It was, but then I converted it. It's now a sun-gun, powered by glyphs" Dani's uncle said before explaining, "The more you pump it, the more powerful the blast which will be indicated by a ball of light generated at the front of the nozzle. The more you pump the gun, the bigger the ball of light gets, the more powerful the blast"
"Cool! Will it be fired as a ball or a beam?" Lance asked.
"A beam. I'd be careful where you aim it though" Dani's uncle warned them.
"We'll keep that in mind" Dani said, "Luz, since this was your idea, I think you should be the one to take this thing down" she looked at her normally meek friend.
Dani's uncle walked over to Vee and handed her the weapon. Knowing that the glyph-powered weapons messed with her disguise, Vee decided to wear black leather gloves. She tested it out earlier and she found that the weapons didn't affect her when she wore the gloves, which was good. Though hesitant at first, Vee took the weapon into her hands.
"I... I'll try..." Vee muttered albeit with some hidden concern.
"Now, for the cure. You'll need pumpkin-"
"Wait, pumpkin? Don't you mean garlic?" Beth asked, knowing that garlic was one of the vampire's biggest weaknesses.
"Vampires hate pumpkin even more than garlic. Why do you think people put jack-o-lanterns out on Halloween?" Dani's aunt replied, "Anyway, you'll need pumpkin, holy water, and a piece of the vampire that caused this mess. Doesn't matter if its body is stone or made of flesh" she told them.
"Thanks, guys" Dani said while hugging her aunt and uncle. If she were to be honest with herself, she was probably closer to her aunt and uncle than she was to her parents. Hell, she even talked to them about her problems more than she did with her parents, but there were more important things to deal with right now. "Alright guys, we've got a nocturnal blood-sucker to stop and a town to save!" Dani told her friends... and Vincent with her usual bold enthusiasm.
Gravesfield Museum…
"This is ridiculous!" Vincent said. "Magic isn't real. There's no way that dumb toy can produce light with wavelengths between 0.4 and 0.8 micrometers. You really think that's going to protect us?"
"Keep your voice down," Dani hissed at him.
The boy did shut his mouth, but he was right. It was a comical sight, Vee leading a line of teens back into the museum with a water gun aimed ahead of her. They looked like they were entering poorly-armed into a Super Soaker war, and from the way the group hid behind Vee a passing adult could've easily mistaken their shivering for fear of being pelted with water balloons. The pumpkin in Lance's arms, which he'd bought with his family credit card, could be reasoned to be a makeshift shield from stray water. But this was no game.
Vee stopped in the center of the museum lobby and swiveled left and right, sun gun raised. There was no indication that the weapon was working. When she pumped the toy's plastic… well, pump, she could feel through her gloves the pressure build up in the reservoir that usually held water but the glyphs etched across the neon orange didn't glow with any magic. Vee could only hope that when the time came the surprisingly light hunk of colorful plastic would prove its worth.
"Anything?" Dani whispered.
Every ear in the room listened carefully.
"I think it's gone for now," Vee whispered back, but didn't lower her weapon.
"Seriously, why are we hiding behind an over-hyped flashlight?" Vincent demanded.
"Will you be quiet!" Dani whisper-shouted.
"Shh! This way," Vee said.
Slowly, Vee led everyone to the slightly ajar door to Hopkins' office. There, tucked in a corner, they found a cardboard box decorated with the eBay logo and, in it, Gatorade bottles filled with a clear liquid.
"We sure this is actual holy water?" Beth asked, stuffing as many bottles as she could in her backpack.
"Course," Lance answered confidently. "My parents own a third of the company so they have to be legit. Has eBay ever failed its customers?"
"Is that a trick question?" Vincent grumbled.
The last stop was the Gift Shop. Understandably, Vincent couldn't bring himself to go in there, opting to wait by the stone archway instead. The ripped curtain still covered his parents on the floor. Vee retrieved the final ingredient. It was hard to believe the soda-can-sized piece of rock was part of a vampire. In her hand it felt no different from a regular stone you'd find anywhere.
"That's everything my aunt mentioned," Dani said, heading for the exit. "Let's get them to the hospital and see if they can cure the people there."
"Hold on!" Vincent blocked the MCH, waving emphatically back at the Gift Shop. "Even if this insane magical pumpkin cure works, which it won't, why can't we try it on my parents first? They're right here."
"Because, Vincent," Dani growled back, her frustration with the boy's constant bad-mouthing of her plan had reached its tipping point, "we don't know how much of each ingredient we need. This might be enough to cure everyone or just one person. We. Don't. Know. Luz's mom is at the hospital, she'll help us figure it out. Now will you stop questioning everything we're doing and JUST SHUT UP!"
The moment the shout had escaped her mouth, Vee knew Dani regretted it. Her friend was too strong-willed for her own good sometimes and her temper occasionally got the best of her. Dani reeled back in shame but the damage had been done. The corners of Vincent's eyes brimmed with tears and his entire body shook as he tried to hold it all in.
"Hey," Vee said gently. "She didn't mean that. We'll come back for your parents, Vincent, I promi—"
"Fine, I'll do it myself!" Vincent yelled. He shoved past the MCH and vanished into the museum.
"Vincent, wait! We shouldn't split up!" Vee called, already chasing after him.
"Féihuá! (Crap!)" Dani swore and chased after Vee. "Lance, Beth, get to the hospital, go, we'll get Vincent."
That was easier said than done. Vee nearly lost the boy in the twists and turns of castle hallways. He clearly knew this building better than her. Several times she nearly lost him, only to catch an automatic door shutting. No matter how much Vee called out to Vincent, no matter how many times she tried to apologize for Dani, he kept running. Finally, she barreled through a door and stopped dead. She was back in the museum library, but there was something very different about it.
"Luz!" Dani, out of breath, arrived at her side. "Where is he? Did you—Whoa…"
In the exact spot where they had originally confronted Vincent, silhouetted by the still sputtering fireplace, was an open trapdoor.
"Was that always there?" Dani asked.
Vee gave her sun gun a few precautionary pumps. "Vincent?" she said. "You down there?" They inched closer, getting no response. Dani turned on her phone's flashlight and shined it into the trapdoor's depths. A tunnel was revealed to them, just big enough for a full-grown adult to stand in.
"I guess Vincent really does know where all the museum's hidden rooms and secret places are," Dani remarked.
"Where do you think it goes?" Vee asked, squinting down the tunnel.
"The vampire's lair," Dani replied coldly. "Must be how it got in and out of here during the day."
Vee swallowed and, as much as she didn't want it to be true, knew Dani was correct.
"Come on," Dani said and took Vee's hand. "We can't let him do this alone."
"Right." Vee took a deep breath and entered the tunnel.
The girls walked down the tunnel; the pathway lit by naturally glowing crystals along the walls. At the end of the tunnel, they entered a large cavern, at the end of which was a tall rock platform.
"Gāisǐ de, (God damn,) this place is huge. How much room is underneath this building?" Dani asked as they looked around.
Vee tapped Dani's shoulder, getting her attention before pointing upward. Clinging to the ceiling was the vampire creature, sleeping upside down as bats often did. Averting their gaze slightly downward, their eyes widened. What they saw was none other than Vincent, climbing the rock wall. He was also armed with one of the electric torches from the museum, as if he were wielding a stake.
"Vince!" Vee whisper-shouted, getting the boy's attention.
"Vince, get the hell down from there, you nerd!" Dani whisper-shouted.
"No way. I'll save my parents without you!" Vincent replied.
Vincent grabbed a nearby rock to pull himself up. However, the rock he grabbed broke off, making him hang on by one arm with his feet still ahold on the rocks beneath him. The piece of rock that had broken off hit the ground with a loud crash. To make matters worse, the noise had caused the vampire's eyes to shoot open. Dani and Vee softly groaned. Of course, this was going to happen.
The vampire turned its head and locked its eyes on Vincent. With a hiss, the bat creature lunged at the nerdy boy. Before it could even get its claws on him though, Vee fired a beam of light from the gun, hitting it square in the chest. The vampire roared in pain as it fell to the ground, crashing in a cloud of dust. The vampire picked itself up, growling angrily before releasing a powerful screech that shook the whole cavern.
"I've got a bad feeling about that..." Vee muttered. That's when they saw the bat creature charge for them.
"Its stone chest must've made it too heavy to fly" Dani noted, "Quick, climb up the wall!" she ordered.
The girls ran in opposite directions around the bat creature. When reaching the cavern wall, they immediately started climbing with Vee having the sun gun strapped to her back. After a short while, they reached the top, relieved that the vampire hadn't climbed after them. Its stone chest must have been what prevented it from climbing as well, which was good. Sadly, since the sun gun failed, they had no plan to deal with that thing.
At that moment, Vee's phone went off. She saw it was a video call from her mom. Nervously, she answered it.
"Hola, mama" Vee greeted Camilla with a grin.
"Mija, are you ok? Why did Beth and Lance come here talking about a vampire fight? Where are you and why aren't you at home?" Camilla asked a barrage of questions in an understandably worried and panicked tone.
"Uh, I—"
Before Vee had a chance to explain or come up with a good lie, she was a banshee shriek coming from her mother's end. It had to be Liv. She was right to do that because, in the background, a zombified Jacob had risen from his bed.
"Excuse me, do you mind? I'm trying to talk to my- AHH!" Camilla was interrupted by Jacob tackling her, ending the call.
"MOM!" Vee screamed. "I knew that screech from earlier wasn't good. It must've woken everyone that the vampire bitten and turned them into its slaves" she said in concern.
That's when a zombified Mr. and Mrs. Laurent appeared beside their vampire master. The two slaves made their way up the wall.
"Guys, get out of here" Dani told them.
"Huh?" Vee and Vincent looked at her with confusion.
"I'm going to try to distract that thing. You two just focus on getting to safety" Dani told them.
Before Vee could reach out to stop her, Dani jumped and slid down the steep wall as she shouted a volley of insults to the vampire. Vee gasped as she watched her friend. It didn't take long for the vampire for to grab Dani. Vee was about to leap down to try and help her, only to be stopped by Vincent grabbing her by the wrist.
"Hold it" Vincent told her. He looked around and caught sight of a nearby stalagmite, looking at it up and down as if he were analyzing it, "Hit this part with as much force as you can" Vincent told Vee, tapping near the base of the stalagmite with his foot.
Vee raised her leg and delivered a few good, strong kicks to the base of the stalagmite until it cracked and broke. However, that last kicked had caused Vee to slip along with the stalagmite. The basilisk screamed as she slid down the wall on the stalagmite like a sled. Steadily, she stood up, riding it like a surfboard. Vee then jumped launching into the air with the pointy rock.
Dani screamed as the vampire opened its jaws wide in preparation to bite her. The bat creature wouldn't get that chance as it was impaled through the back of its right shoulder, the creature roaring in pain as it dropped Dani. Vee leaped off the stalagmite with a somersault, landing beside her friend. Dani gasped lightly under her breath upon what she just saw. Her best friend just saved her life.
"You ok, Dani?" Vee asked as she helped her friend up.
"Uh... Yeah, I'm fine" Dani replied, her cheeks unknowingly flushing red. The girls' attention was broken when they heard the vampire his as it removed the stalagmite from it shoulder, tossing it aside as it growled at them with a glare. "Gāisǐ de! (Damn it!) That thing is still alive? Just how much power do we need to take this thing down?!" Dani said, freaking out a little as she and Vee backed up.
Power? That's it! Subtly, Vee removed the sun gun from her back. She then took out one of her magic cards and jammed it into the sun gun. The gun then began to glow with a golden aura. Vee gave the gun a few good pumps as a ball of light appeared in front of the nozzle, each pump making the ball of light bigger and bigger. The vampire then lunged at the two girls.
"Eat this!" Vee shouted at she pulled the trigger and, at point blank, blast the bat beast as it was swallowed by a beam of light. There was a bit of a recoil and shockwave as a result from said blast.
The vampire hissed loudly as the light had completely turned its body stone. When the beam dissipated, not a spec of flesh or fur was visible. The powerful blast had also caused the gun to blow up, the weapon falling to pieces.
"Ugh. It's over..." Vee sighed with relief.
"Help!" the girls heard a cry. They looked at the rock wall to see Vincent dangling by an edge. The shockwave from the sun gun had caused the platform he was on to collapse.
"Oh, crap! Come on, Luz" Dani said as they ran over to the rock wall.
The girls climbed up to try to reach the boy, only to find that there was a fissure separating them from him. The girls looked at each other, silently wondering what they should do. While they were looking at each other, Vee kicked off her shoes and now clung to the rocks by her hands and bare human feet.
"Vince, let go" Vee told him.
"What?" Dani looked at her.
"Are you senile? No way!" Vincent said while shakily clinging to the wall.
"Look, I understand why you acted the way you did earlier. You were scared. You were scared of losing the ones you love and anything or anyone that could hurt you. I know because I've felt the same way several times before and wanted to protect my family just as much as you do" Vee told him.
"We forgive you for earlier... and I'm sorry for snapping at you" Dani chimed, the apology making tears of happiness build up in the corners of the nerdy boy's eyes as he cracked a small smile, the girls smiling back. "Now, let go and Luz and I will catch you" she told him gently.
Vincent inhaled through his nose then exhaled through his mouth. He then released his grip on the rocks he was holding he fell and, like they said, was caught by the girls. The weird part was that they didn't plummet to the ground upon the catch. That's because Dani had caught Vincent with one of her arms while Vee had managed to catch him with both. The reason the latter was able to do this was because, not only were her feet gripping the rocks, they were sticking to them. Kind of like a gecko. Unlike the invisibility ability, Vee had already known about this ability beforehand.
"Luz, how are you doing that?" Dani questioned with confusion.
"Uhh... upper body strength?" Vee replied with a nervous grin.
The Coffee Shop…
The MCH were collapsed around their usual table, Dani and Vee caked with rubble while Lance and Beth were soaked in pumpkin juice. All of them were beyond exhausted.
"So…" Vee croaked out, sounding like she'd just ran a marathon, "how did it go at the hospital?"
"Don't ask," Beth begged.
"I'll never play zombie VR games again," Lance whimpered. "Well, maybe on the weekends."
Turns out, things had gone pretty bad at the hospital. All of the vampire's thralls had attacked as one, chasing after Beth and Lance and their ingredients. The two had been convinced that they were going to be forced to join the undead horde until the zombified masses suddenly dropped to the floor and moved no more. This was probably the moment when the vampire had been fully encased in stone, Vee surmised. After that, Lance and Beth were able to brew the cure with Mrs. Noceda's help.
"I'm surprised the pumpkin cure actually worked," admitted Beth.
"I guess your aunt can be occasionally right, Dani. Sorry that her sun gun blew up," Vee said, offering an apologetic smile to her friend. To her confusion, Dani immediately turned away from that smile and hid her face from the group.
"Mmm-hmm, yeah, yeah, sure, no problem. You saved my life like a kickass hero straight out of my favorite fantasy books, so water under the bridge," Dani quickly squeaked, fanning herself. "Whew, is it just me or is it hot in here?"
Before anyone could question that, Vincent arrived at the table with everyone's drinks. "Hey, guys," he said nervously. "I just wanted to say—" he noticed Dani, "—why is your face red?"
"Sun gun! Must've been the sun gun, haha!" Dani excused, pulling her collar high enough to bury her shame. "Probably gave me a minor sunburn or something, haha! That makes sense, right? Don't look at me!"
"Uh, sure…" Vincent said and then addressed the rest again. "I wanted to say I'm sorry about how I acted when we first met. I'm just so used to being by myself and doing things on my own but I never would've been able to save my parents without your help. Thank you."
"You bet, man," Lance replied.
"It's what we do," Beth added.
Dani gave a shaky thumbs-up, still hiding in her shirt.
"You can always count on the Magical Creature Hunters of Gravesfield," Vee said.
"Yeah, about that…" Vincent fiddled with his glasses a bit, glancing shyly in every direction except at the MCH. "I, um, took the liberty of analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your social group and concluded that you are severely lacking in the scientific department. It is my expert recommendation that the Magical Creature Hunters of Gravesfield would greatly benefit from a logical point of view."
It took a few seconds of blank stares for that to process.
"Are you calling us dumb?!" Dani roared, surfacing from her shirt, the red in her face now looking a lot like fury.
Vee placed a calming hand on Dani's shoulder, which shut her up very quickly. "Vince," Vee asked, "are you trying to say you want to hang out with us and hunt magical creatures?"
Vincent cleared his throat and pretended to mull it over. "Well, if you insist."
"Hold up!" Beth interrupted and squinted at Vincent. "Does your family recycle?"
"Uh, we mulch…?" Vincent answered, not getting the significance.
Beth gasped in astonishment.
"Baldur's Gate 3?" Lance prompted.
"Greatest video game of all time," Vincent answered, still not following.
"He's in!" Beth and Lance declared simultaneously.
"Wait," Dani said. Her face had lost its red hue and she peered hard at Vincent. Her domineering stature would not be disputed. She was his final challenge. "Admit that magic is real."
This was the real test and it made Vincent stiffen. He clenched his fists and hissed through his teeth, "There are… still parts of the universe… that science… cannot fully explain." He took a deep breath and spoke so softly he could barely be heard, "Like magic."
"Okay, you're in," Dani simply said.
Cheers of celebration erupted around the table and the gang wrapped their newest member in a group hug. First among those hugs was Vee, who was very happy that her circle of friends had grown just a little bit bigger.
"Vee!"
The basilisk felt her blood turn to ice. It wasn't her mom at the coffee shop door that made her shiver. It wasn't the flames of anger burning in her mom's eyes. It was that her mom had called her by real name. Not Luz, not Mija. Vee.
"Vee?" Lance asked.
"Luz, isn't that your mom?" Beth asked.
"Why did she call you—"
"Ven aquí," Camilla said in that stern commanding tone only mothers can utter. The tone that all children knew meant that they were in serious trouble. "Ahora."
Vee's Spanish had come a long way. She knew exactly what her mom was telling her to do, but at the moment she wished she didn't. Pulling out of the group hug, Vee somberly went to her mom. The woman stepped out and Vee obediently followed her to the car. There they both climbed into the vehicle and shut the doors. For a while they only sat there, Vee watching the quiet road, Camilla clinging to the steering wheel. For Vee, the silence was unbearable.
"Why didn't you stay home?" Camilla finally asked, steely gaze fixed on the wheel.
"But, mom, I… I didn't m—"
"Why didn't you listen to me? I told you to stay home and let the authorities handle this. It's not your job to save this town."
"But we did, mom," Vee cut in desperately. "You said it yourself, you keep telling me I'm a strong girl. I didn't believe you at first but you were right. If it wasn't for me and my friends, you and the rest of Gravesfield would've been turned into the vampire's mindless zombie slaves or worse, dead!"
"And what if that happened to you?" Camilla at last turned from the wheel and faced Vee. The girl was immediately hit with guilt and regret. Her mom was crying. "What if you got hurt or were bitten or— I've already lost one daughter. I can't… I can't…" Sobs racked Camilla's body so hard she couldn't finish. Vee embraced her like her mom did when she was feeling down. She hoped it helped.
"She's not gone, mom. Not forever," Vee said. "She'll come back."
"I can't lose you too, Vee," Camilla said, wiping away the tears. She took her daughter's hands. "Promise me, please, promise me that you won't do this anymore. No more chasing monsters. No more danger. No more."
"I…" Vee didn't know what to say.
This encounter had been their most menacing yet, and there were far worse creatures than vampires that could slip in from the Demon Realm. Her mom's fears were justified, Vee had fled to Earth to escape the deadly terrors of the Boiling Isles. Why would she willingly chase after them? Why? Because she had to. Vee had to keep going. She had to find the origins of the portals. This was the only way she could help bring her sister home.
"I'm sorry, mom," Vee said, hating every word. "I can't. I can't stop."
Camilla held her gaze a moment longer then let go of Vee's hands. She started the car.
"Then you're grounded," her mom said, and drove.
Alright, that's the end of this chapter. This was probably the longest chapter of this story so far. This chapter was co-written with I Write Big.
If you're wondering what Vee has the training wand for, trust me, it'll come in handy later.
This chapter introduced Vincent Laurent, an OC created by my friend IrishKatana. As shown by the chapter, he'll be the smart one of the group. For those of you that have seen Craig of the Creek, he'll basically be the Stacks of the group, doing research and stuff.
You notice those little moments with Dani near the end? Yeah, that was more or less planned out. I'm sure we all know why.
Anyway, if you have ideas for chapters and monsters for the MCH to encounter, say it in a review or feel free to message me.
Remember to Read, Review and Favorite/Follow.
