It was dark. Dark and dusty. Gigi remembered being trapped there for hours—maybe a whole day.
The same day the world fell apart.
She was happy to hear about the news of the others. Her thoughts wandered and soon she found herself reminiscing about her time stuck in the school, trapped between the heavy debris. Dust fell from the ruins like snow. She remembered crying out for help, her voice more hoarse with each futile strain of her vocal cords. Then she had quieted, relinquishing herself to defeat. She let her body go limp and give into the agonizing crushing.
It wasn't until Romulus had freed her that she was able to regain some form of hope. His werewolf senses had discovered her, and she was able to help the other monsters by granting wishes her power allowed.
But she couldn't help everyone. They left the school a day later, hastily filling their empty stomachs. If only they could have filled the void in their hearts.
Then, today, she found out some survived. She had witnessed many deaths the day the school fell, and she knew there were survivors living in the city, but some monsters didn't return to civilization. They had stayed off the grid, just like them.
There were only eight of them and they had managed to disappear completely. Except for Catty who had returned to former pop-stardom and strayed as far from Monster High and the city as possible. Her exposure had helped their small group remain undetected, and they were thankful. After the catastrophe that had befallen Monster High, the world was transformed. Humans no longer coexisted with monsters and the elder, more ancient, fantastical monsters had simply vanished from existence. The world was remade, and a younger generation of monsters took over.
Gigi and her seven companions didn't want to be a part of it. They wanted to observe; to watch from the sidelines. All they had wanted to know these past five years was the one who had done this. Who wrecked the world? But now it didn't matter to them. Now, they were just living, comfortable in the shadows.
The genie ran her long nails along the stairs' wooden railing. She sat on the last step, propping her chin up with her elbows on her knees. She stared at the door with a bubbling excitement, gleefully anticipating the arrival of the ones who had made it out of Monster High alive.
"There's nobody here, Clawdeen," Spectra said, gliding over to her friend. "How are we supposed to find them?"
"We just will, okay?" the she-wolf retorted, more harshly than she meant to. She slammed another wooden door. No one in there either, she thought bitterly. Clawdeen regretted walking into this particular building: it was completely wooden and lacked light. Usually, her werewolf senses won out, but this building reeked.
She opened another door. Another bedroom. Another empty bedroom. A vexed growl rumbled in Clawdeen's throat. What if she didn't find them? Then the drive here would've been for nothing. Venus' death would've been for nothing.
Clawdeen relayed the deceased ghoul's information to her closest friends at the palace, Spectra and Skelita. They had agreed to set out and find the rebel encampment alongside Clawdeen, and the Wolf was extremely grateful to have them by her side.
Spectra's glowing frame hovered beside her in the dim hallway. "If we don't find them here then there should be a way to..."
"A way to what?" Clawdeen asked after some silence. She looked over her shoulder. "Spectra? A way to what?"
The ghost grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I..." She nervously played with her fingers. "I think I lost Porter."
Clawdeen sighed, remembering that they had to bring the poltergeist along. Not that she didn't like him, he was just...
"Don't worry, I'm here." Porter's green form smoothly glided down to Spectra's side, a small spray can of ghost paint trailing behind him. The can stopped to float beside him, and he grinned. "This place is pretty dull."
Spectra raised an eyebrow. "So you were spray-painting their home?"
Porter shrugged shamelessly. "You know how I am—it's ghost paint. By the time they get back, it'll have disappeared."
The ghost playfully rolled her eyes as the other wrapped an arm around her waist. He gave Clawdeen a questioning look. "So what are we looking for again?"
The werewolf ghoul rubbed her temples. "Spectra, fill him in, please." Clawdeen took purposeful strides down the corridor and let the sunlight flood her vision. Skelita was making her way across the field from the pavilion.
"Find anything?" Clawdeen asked while approaching her.
The skeleton ghoul shook her head. "No. Sorry, Clawdeen."
The Wolf crossed her arms. "It's not your fault, Skelita. You know, Spectra was saying something earlier. If we can't find them then there should be a way to..?"
Skelita tilted her head to the side. "A way to find them? They probably left. This area doesn't appear to have been abandoned for long."
Clawdeen's lips pursed thoughtfully. "You're right about that. It's like they disappeared. There should be a way to track them." Raising her nose high, Clawdeen took a long whiff.
Gasoline, she thought at the distinct scent. They must've left on wheels.
She followed the smell until it became so strong, she coughed from disgust. The werewolf now found herself past a garden, in a patch of dirt sparsely littered with grass.
She knelt down. "There was some sort of vehicle here—a big one," she told Skelita.
The ghoul sighed. "Then how will we find them now?"
The werewolf squinted as she inspected the ground. She delicately brushed her fingers along the slight, unnatural grooves. "Tire tracks make it simple to find cars in cities, but you really gotta look to notice a trail on land like this."
Clawdeen rose from the ground and turned to head back to where she left the ghosts. A confident grin spread onto her face. "They should be easy to find."
"Are we there yet?"
"Are you seriously asking that?"
"Sorry, I'm just a little... antsy."
Toralei rolled her eyes, unimpressed with my response. "Look at all of us. We've been in this world a lot longer than you have, and you go on and say you're 'antsy'?"
"Don't bother listening to her, Frankie." A glance over my shoulder let me see Cleo standing in the threshold. "I know where you're coming from."
She shot the werecat a nasty look before stepping into the room, guiding Deuce by the hand. The area was stuffed with monsters, and the couple made it almost suffocating. Luckily, they were the last ones.
When Gil had arrived at our camp, he said that Jinafire had given him directions to find us. Everyone was thrilled that Clawd and the others were safe, but Gil insisted on taking us because he wasn't in good shape. Nevertheless, Draculaura was ecstatic.
It wasn't likely we'd be able to fit onto one vehicle. But as it turned out, Gil drove a massive tour bus provided by Catty Noir. The bus was long and spacious, but it was still a tight squeeze. It was fairly luxurious, but everyone else seemed more interested in the fact that there was air conditioning.
We crammed into the back room, a bedroom with three sets of curtain-lined bunks on each wall. Some sat on the beds, whether on the edge or tucked deep into the wall. Toralei and the werecat twins lay on their stomachs on the top bunks while the rest of us filled up the spares. Abbey and Whisp sat on either side of me. Neither appeared comfortable. Cleo and Deuce barely strayed from the archway.
"Good. Everyone's here." Heath sat up. When he noticed the looks on our faces he let out a nervous laugh. "You think we'd be used to things moving quickly by now, but a bunch of stuff happened in less than a month. So..." He glanced around the room. "Thoughts?"
"Well, we're past the 'Cleo is Frankie' debacle," Scarah said from the bunk across from me. Relief radiated from her blank eyes. "It's a lot less to worry about."
"We found Ghoulia when we went to the school," Robecca said. "Hopefully Slo-Mo can help her..." The zombie decided not to join us and instead turned back to help Ghoulia calm her frazzled mind at Monster High.
"There was that party," Operetta addressed from the corner. Johnny Spirit hovered at her side, arms crossed and eyes closed as if he was tuning us all out.
Gory Fangtell let out a laugh from a nook on the bunk. "The party was fun. But we were steered off course."
"Off course to where?" Rochelle questioned. "Excusez-moi, but where are we trying to go with this?"
"Take down the Queen," Lagoona said. "Remember?"
"But the Queen isn't responsible," Howleen said. She pointed in my direction. "Frankie told us Whisp is."
"So we execute the genie?" Bram sneered from Gory's side. The blond sent Whisp a sardonic glare, but it was clear she found the suggestion unnerving.
"She's only half responsible. Nefera is the one who put her up to it," Twyla said. "She's the one who's been masquerading as Frankie this whole time. She imprisoned Whisp by turning her magic against her."
Iris had her eye closed as she nodded repeatedly. "I don't think we should hold this against Whisp."
"Do not think you should be talking in front of ghoul either," Abbey muttered under her breath.
"I totally agree," Draculaura interjected, not having heard Abbey. "But now we know what caused this. What do we do now?"
Jackson hesitated to speak. "Mission accomplished?"
"Mission not accomplished," Lagoona said, getting onto her feet. "If Nefera was behind all this, then we can't just sit here. We may have discovered the truth of this messed-up world but no one else has. There are monsters all over the world who still don't understand why the normies left or why their parents and mentors have disappeared. They don't deserve to be in the dark like this."
"Here's the thing," Deuce sighed. His blind, reptilian eyes didn't bother to blink. "Most of us don't have any actual identities in this world. Ones that aren't labeled dead, anyway."
"Just make new ones," Meowlody and Purrsephone said in unison.
Honey narrowed her green eyes at them. "I don't understand the problem with stayin' secret. Who says you gotta have an identity to get done what needs to be done?"
Gory looked appalled. "That's big talk for someone who has an identity."
The pink snakes in Viperine's platinum hair hissed. "Don't forget that monsters like us left our lives behind to help all of you. I did this to stop the Queen. But what are we doing now? Running away?"
"No." I froze when everyone faced me. After what felt like hours of silence, I let out a breath. "We're not running. At least, not away. Right now, we're just going to see our friends."
I braced myself, anticipating someone to counter my statement, but no one did. So I continued, "What happened is important, but it's not something we need to focus on. If we're going to take steps against Nefera, we worry about it later, not now. In fact, if we should be focusing on anything right now it's that we left Venus behind at the palace and she's probably not coming back."
Each set of eyes darted away instantly. It was like a bomb fell and blasted away everyone's voice. The only sound was the rhythmic thump of the treading bus. Venus decided to stay behind with Nefera and Valentine. I shuddered. How could Venus handle herself against Valentine?
A loud sigh broke the silence. The bunk shifted, and Holt slid off. "I'm going to ask if there's a radio."
He left the room, and the monsters seemed to take it as their cue to disperse as if the conversation had never happened.
Abbey let out a huff. She crossed her arms. "Did not think it was polite to talk about Whisp like not sitting in front of faces."
"It's fine," Whisp said. She wouldn't look up. "It doesn't matter. You can go ahead, Frankie." Her eyes remained glued to the floor. "I'll be here."
I glanced up, the werecats' tails swaying out the curtains of top bunks. "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "I could use a nap."
I looked to Abbey, and she shrugged. "Okay..."
I reluctantly rose and followed Abbey out from under the archway. The next part of the tour bus consisted of a mini kitchen and a small dining area across from it. Proceeding it were two long black couches, where the monsters lounged beneath blind-covered windows.
I backtracked to the restroom. I had just recently been placed back in my body, and I was excited to see myself. When my eyes landed on the mirror, I cringed. The ghoul staring back at me looked nothing like the ghoul I knew. Nefera had hidden her face. The last time I had seen my face like this was when I was trapped in Cleo's body with amnesia, and I was captured and brought to the Queen. I didn't have her jewelry or her updo or crown, but I didn't like what I saw.
I looked exactly like her.
I forcefully scrubbed my face with a damp towel until it was stained green and blue with makeup. I gingerly ran a finger along the exposed stitches. If I rubbed any harder, they would've come undone. I undid the braid Nefera had left me in. If only I could change out of the nightgown. Fortunately, its short length and thin straps allowed me to notice the makeup hiding my other stitches. An exasperated sigh fell from my lips, and I resumed scrubbing at myself.
After a thorough cleansing, I plopped down onto the toilet seat. Thank ghoul Nefera hadn't painted my nails. Glancing back to the mirror, I was somewhat surprised by what I saw. My face was recognizable but bare; completely devoid of any lipstick, eyeshadow, or mascara. My hair hung past my shoulders in a wavy mess of black and white. I looked wild yet calm and natural. There were no traces of Nefera left. Or even who I was at Monster High.
Rising to my feet, I took a closer look, glad that Nefera hadn't gone to bed with the colored contact she had worn over my green eye. Unfortunately, my neck bolts were gold and not their original silver. Paint would have to cover them. I didn't think I had developed over the years like the other monsters but, when I skimmed over the rest of my body, it turned out I did. And for the first time in my short life, I felt self-conscious.
I was bound to spend the rest of the ride in the restroom until a knock made me jump. I set the towel beside the sink and slid open the door. Lagoona seemed surprised to see me. Then she smiled.
"Nice look, Frankie. It suits you."
I pushed back some of my hair. "Thanks. How are things with Gil?"
She put her hands on her hips. "Well, I can't say it's not good to see him but..."
"But what?"
The sea ghoul frowned. "He's been hiding all these years. Shouldn't I be angry?"
I thought about it for a moment. "Are you?"
She sighed. "No. I guess that answers my question, doesn't it?"
Lagoona grinned and I smiled back. I moved to let her into the restroom when another thought occurred to me. "Hey, Lagoona?"
The door was closed midway. "Yeah?"
"How come we met in the bedroom and not here?" I pointed at the couches everyone sat on; not smooshed.
Her green eyes rolled. "Does 'Heath's idea' count as a reasonable explanation?"
A grimace creased my lips. "Yeah. It does." The door began to close again, but I stopped her. "Do you know how long the ride will be?"
"Gil said about a day." Lagoona shut the door before I could say anything else.
Taking in the information, I sat on the edge of the couch. My eyes scanned over the group. Stuck on a moving vehicle with these monsters? It felt like the start of a crazy adventure, just like in high school.
If only I had the chance to finish it.
