Chapter 18
"Now what are we going to do?" asked Matt to the others.
"Nothing. We'll just hang tight." said Gannon, playing on his Nintendo 3ds.
"How could you play video games at a time like this you moron?" asked Garret.
"I'm just letting out some steam by playing Smash Bros." said Garret.
"Ooo, can I play?" asked Matt suddenly.
"Sure." replied Gannon, handing Matt his 3ds.
"Well, now that everyone's settled, you did put extra salt right?" asked Tyrone.
"I emptied the large can I bought from the gnome," said Garret.
"Good. I hope it kicks unwanted creepies out." said Tyrone.
"Creepies." said Matt with a chuckle and Tyrone sat next to him.
"Who was that guy anyway? That thing?" asked Tyrone.
"That guy was the Germ. He's an old enemy of the forest." said Garret.
"Didn't we just give you guys an explanation?" asked Gannon.
"Not really." said Tyrone.
"The Germ is a politician. Or ex politician. He's a person who is strongly against diversity and other things." said Garret.
"So he's corrupt?" asked Tyrone.
"Something like that. He's just very bad." said Gannon.
"As a person, he was entitled to his opinions and people just ignored him. But one day, he took things too far. He poisoned a fellow politician who was trying to announce a bill to save the lives of deer folk in the forest." said Garret.
"Deer folk?" asked Tyrone.
"You'll get to know our world little by little. To make a long story short, the Germ did arson and murder. Imani sentenced him to death and the Mothman took care of him in a war that took place in Yakima, Washington." said Garret.
"Who's Imani?" asked Matt.
"She's the Queen of Rood Bridge Park." replied Gannon.
"Queen? There's a queen here?" asked Matt.
"I know it all sounds so weird and different guys. But believe us, Rood Bridge Park is our home. And it hurts us when bad people like the Germ attack it." said Garret.
"The Germ is just one of many folks who are against our peaceful way of life." said Gannon.
"You have a ton of enemies." said Tyrone, folding his arms tensely.
"You have no idea dude," said Garret.
"There is Zephyr, the Hobgoblin. Zakariak the Techno Wizard. Moss the Wendigo, Montressor of Beavertown, Merlock the black winged angel, Viscount Brion, and last but not least the Germ." said Gannon.
Garret shot Gannon a look and shook his head. "Dude, you said it!" he cried.
"What? What did I say?" asked Gannon.
"Are those cursed names or something?" asked Matt.
"Beaver "town"? Don't you mean Beaverton?" asked Tyrone.
"Oh yeah! Beaverton! So sorry. I think that's what I got wrong." said Gannon.
"No you nimrod. You said… him. The Viscount." said Garret.
"Oh please dude. It's just his name." said Gannon.
"Whose name can't we say?" asked Matt.
Gannon rolled his eyes as Garret was zipping his lips furiously. He turned to answer the others.
"Viscount Brion. He's the chief bad guy of Rood Bridge Park. Not to worry though. The fool's locked up in some prison that is far from everyone else's reach." said Gannon.
"Is he like BogeyMan?" asked Matt worriedly, putting down the 3ds. Tyrone looked at Gannon and Garret, their expressions nervous. It was Garret who nodded.
"Much worse. The BogeyMan is nothing more but a little kid with a temper tantrum. The Viscount on the other hand is like a mix between Emperor Palpatine, Lord Voldemort and the Disney demon from Fantasia." said Garret.
"You mean Chernabog." corrected Gannon.
"That's what I said." said Garret.
"And I thought you were the geek." said Gannon.
Tyrone put some thought into this and spoke aloud. "Do you guys know exactly where he's being kept?"
"Not exactly." replied Gannon.
Garret bit his lip and he looked at everyone in the room. "Actually, I think I know where he's being kept." he said suddenly.
Just then, the door burst open and the Germ was standing there with his big yellow eyes opened wide and showing a scowl of disapproval.
"Your salt is very cheap. Very cheap indeed." he sneered.
"But how did you get past the salt?" cried Gannon, pulling his sword out. Tyrone stood in front of Matt and Garret stood in front of them.
"Please boys. The gnomes have never developed good salt before. On the plus side, I'm a germ. Germs can go through anything. Even two annoying pests like you two." said the Germ.
"Where's the BogeyMan?" asked Garret suddenly.
Just then, Matt felt cold hands on his mouth. He tried to push them away, but the hands were holding him tight. Tyrone turned to come face to face with the BogeyMan, who was losing his sense of humanity.
"Leave him alone!" cried Tyrone, punching the BogeyMan's face. The BogeyMan indeed let go and covered his face from the heavy blows Tyrone punched at him and the boys quickly ran to the back door.
"You weak and insignificant human." said the Germ slowly.
Gannon swung his sword towards the Germ, but he quickly went past him, making Gannon feel ill. He fell to the floor, feeling chills and sneezing.
"Pity. You were such a healthy kid." said the Germ.
Garret also swung his sword, and he tried to hit the Germ on the head, not at the body. Garret hoped that would work. But like his own body, the Germ allowed the sword to go through him and then he walked through Garret, also giving him a cold.
"You two should lie down and rest. Doctor's orders." said the Germ. He then walked towards the BogeyMan, who was on the ground with one knee and pressing down on his cheek. Tyrone really did punch him hard. But he was not ready for the sudden cold slap of the Germ.
"Useless." he sneered.
The BogeyMan then screamed bloody murder and stood up. He grabbed the germ from the shoulders and began to shake him violently.
Matt started to cry out of fear, tears rolling down his cheeks. Tyrone quickly pulled him away to take him inside the house while Gannon and Garrot stood on their feet. They were sneezing and having extremely runny noses, but they stood in front of Tyrone and Matt, guarding them both as the boys went inside.
"Let me go you vile heathen!" demanded the Germ. He slapped the BogeyMan again in the face, this time much harder than before and he fell to the ground. When that happened, the Germ then began to kick him.
"Stay there and die!" he cried out loud.
The BogeyMan tried to defend himself, but the Germ's kicks were very hard. Gannon and Garret both flinched just by watching the creature kick the defenseless guy on the ground. With each kick, the boys could have sworn to have heard bones crunching. Thankfully, that was not the case, but the idea was frightening all by itself.
"Stop that you freak!" cried Gannon. He ran towards the Germ and stabbed him with the tip of his sword. The Germ squealed and turned around, his eyes mad with rage. He then placed both of his hands on Gannon's sleeveless arms and the Germ smiled a toothy grin.
"Young man, it's really cold out here. You may catch a cold." he said calmly. Moments ago, he was freaking out at the BogeyMan and then at Gannon briefly just by stabbing him, but now he was calm.
Gannon felt his body turn to ice and his nose became numb with pain. The Germ was sucking away the warmth out of Gannon's body! Garret pulled out his sword and ran towards the Germ, only for him to use Gannon as a shield.
"You hurt me, your brother will die." he threatened. He then looked at Gannon and smiled once again.
"I may not use the pure hearted boys inside the house, but you are a Sword Warrior. One of Imani's pets. Your heart should be considered pure. Yes, you will do. You will open the door for me." said the Germ.
"No!" cried Garret.
"We had a deal!" managed to say the BogeyMan, who was on the floor, bleeding from the mouth. The Germ turned to him and scowled.
"You had many chances. You hesitated before and you failed me many times. The deal is off. Natalie is now dead thanks to you." said the Germ.
"You mother f #$!" cried the BogeyMan.
He stood up weakly and formed an electrical looking ball on his hands. The Germ then opened a portal out of nothing and jumped through, taking Gannon with him.
The BogeyMan threw the ball too late and it flew past the already closing portal. Instead, Garret was standing there. First there was the loud thud. Then Garret's whole body was electrified. In a matter of seconds, Garret fell to the ground. The BogeyMan's eyes widened and he weakly stood up to examine the body. He shook his head in disbelief and looked for any signs of a pulse.
There was nothing. And then, the BogeyMan felt a new pain. A pain through his stomach. He pressed tight, only to see blood on his hands. He managed to look up and saw Tyrone, with a rifle in hand.
