Chapter 4
The darkness and tranquility of the forest was eerie at best. I considered myself an indoor werecat, so the woods just weren't for me, but running and bounding through the dense brush was sort of thrilling. I moved my body in ways I rarely had as the blood swept through every muscle and fiber. Pawl dashed right along with me. I couldn't believe the excitement of it all. We jumped over rocks and thickets grabbing onto trees and swinging around the branches. I felt like one of my fearsome ancestors.
I was fascinated with all of us. I watched Clawd maneuver through the forest as if he were a shark on the attack. Toralei, Purrsephone, and Meowlody were swinging from branches as elegantly as gymnasts. Spectra, Kiyomi, and Porter soared right through tree trunks at high speeds. I had no idea ghosts could move so swiftly and with such direction. Poor Scarah could not keep the pace, and it was hard to tell how well Billy was keeping up since he kept going invisible.
As we got closer, Clawd and Clawdeen signaled for us to slow down. Clawd motioned to the teams to start going in different directions. At that point, Billy reappeared. Billy had us huddle up before getting any closer. We were the team that had to investigate the area of Scare Block 5 closest to Monster High. The adrenaline was pumping. My nervousness and excitement were getting all jumbled up inside.
"Okay. Remember, we have to stay together. Only go ahead if you are told to go ahead." Billy was prepping all of us, but his eyes kept falling on Howleen. "Kiyomi, you'll be our eyes in the air. You'll be the first one to head in that direction." Billy pointed in the direction of the notorious prison.
"Yes. I will rattle my chains if I see anything dangerous." Kiyomi slightly shook the pink accessory chains hanging from her belt to demonstrate.
"Good idea." Billy nodded. "I'm going to go ahead. Since I'm invisible, it's best I take the lead. I'll make my face appear as a signal saying it's safe to move on."
"What are we supposed to expect?" Howleen asked.
"I'm thinking some kind of massive wall." Pawl suggested.
"Yeah, that's great and all, but I mean are there gonna be men guarding the wall? Will there be traps?" Howleen clarified.
"Howleen, none of us really know. That's why we have to be especially careful." I said.
"And we know you have a reputation for not always being careful." Billy snickered and we all laughed nervously. Howleen grumbled a bit, but then she giggled.
"Alright, are we ready?" Howleen asked.
"Stay close and watch or listen for signals." Billy said looking at Kiyomi.
Kiyomi's normally blue translucent skin turned pink then green as she floated higher into the sky. Her body showed the emotion that was sometimes difficult to see on her almost nonexistent face. Like a set of dominoes, Billy soon disappeared before our eyes. Luckily, werecat and werewolf hearing was excellent, so we were able to hear his footsteps as he began walking in the same direction as Kiyomi. All I could wonder about is what we would encounter and how the others were doing.
Pawl and I stepped carefully in the same direction as Kiyomi and Billy. Every step we took, snapping branches and crunching leaves, sounded louder and louder as we drew closer to our destination. In the distance, we could see searchlights scanning the area. They must have been from Scare Block 5. We tried our best to stay under the cover of the trees as long as possible, but a clearing was coming up fast.
Billy's head appeared at the tree line. That meant he wanted us to move closer. I listened for Kiyomi's chains, but could not hear them. Pawl and Howleen were already stepping closer to the opening. I followed. Even though it was dark, I could see a large stonewall ahead. While the wall's look was not nearly as intimidating as Monster High, I still felt something was bound to go wrong. Monsters were definitely inside, and not the friendly ones that could be found at Monster High.
When we got to the clearing, the wall was highly visible. It was tall, maybe three or four stories. There were openings in the walls, so it must have been thick enough for monsters and men to walk around inside. My fur stood on end when my mind wondered what kind of weapons they might stick out those openings. That had to be what they were for. I watched the openings carefully. I didn't see or hear anything. I felt better believing that there were no people on the wall.
We crept around the opening and moved closer and closer toward the wall. Howleen and Pawl were still a few paces ahead of me. Billy was now fully visible. I had to concentrate and observe. I reminded myself that my job was to bring back information to the others. The wall was formidable. This was definitely a job for a bigger group. Would I report that there were no MHAT men guarding the wall? At least it seemed like there were none on this side of the wall.
We definitely needed to tell the others about the openings. Next time there could be men sticking weapons out of them. Even though there were searchlights, the closer to the wall we got, the darker it seemed. It didn't seem like a very intelligent design to me.
"It's quiet." Billy whispered to us.
"Too quiet." Pawl nodded.
"Do you all smell that?" Howleen sniffed the air with a smile.
"I smell something, but it doesn't smell good." I replied with a sniff.
"Yeah, but it's really strong." Pawl sniffed.
"I don't smell anything." Billy shrugged.
"No. It's comin' from hear!" Howleen said excitedly. She seemed to be salivating as she moved with haste along the edge of the wall. Where was she going?
Pawl and I chased after her. That ghoul seemed prone for trouble. She was clearly attracted to that awful odor. What was that smell anyway? It was familiarly unpleasant. Oh my ghoul…
"It's a trap!" I shrieked. "That's red meat!" Werewolves were famously attracted, no, addicted to red meat.
All at once, my ears twitched and we all paused at the sound of Kiyomi's chains. As we looked up to find Kiyomi, from my blind spot I saw movement on the wall. An orange sleeve popped out of one of the openings and tossed some sort of grenade at us. I looked around to warn the others, but I must have been the only one who saw the arm, or the last one to see the arm because Pawl continued chasing after Howleen, and Billy was following them. I picked up speed and ran with urgency. I didn't want to see what would happen to the grenade thing.
"They're all coming to the wall!" I heard Kiyomi shouting from the air. "Get away from the wall!"
Howleen kept running right along the edge of the wall. "I can't. It's too good!" Howleen shouted as she licked her lips.
"Howleen, you have to stop!" Pawl yelled. "They're trying to trick you!"
"Think about your sister!" Billy reminded her. "You can't help her if you're in there with her!"
At this point we were all frantically chasing after Howleen. Pawl was getting closer to her. He reached one of his strong, blue furry arms out. He grabbed her. Both of them stopped running. She struggled and tried to pull away from him, but he wasn't letting her go. Howleen even howled and barked.
"Listen to me." Pawl said firmly. "We need to go! They will do anything to tra…" Pawl couldn't finish his sentence.
They must have been watching because just when he was talking some sense into Howleen, just as we were about to run away from the wall, a piercing screech came over a speaker system. The sound was unbearable, like drilling a hole through our ears right into our brains. Howleen, Pawl, and I fell to our knees with pain. I tried my best to block my ears, but it was useless. The pain paralyzed me.
I could see Billy was unaffected. He was still standing, not even touching his ears. It was like he couldn't even hear it. He was saying something, but it was nearly impossible for any of us to hear. He was flailing his arms, calling us over. I was trying to read his lips. Was he shouting our names? I desperately attempted to get to my feet. Somehow the pain made my legs weak, but I stood up and struggled toward him. Pawl and Howleen were managing to get up too.
That is when another grenade-like object dropped from the wall. When it hit the ground, a strange yellowish gas emerged. We didn't know what it was, but we all knew we should probably get away from it. But the gas was moving faster then us, and eventually it was upon us. I held my breath, and I could only hope that Pawl and Howleen were doing the same.
When the gas hit my body, I expected it to burn, but it didn't. It didn't seem to be doing anything, so I continued to hold my breath and kept struggling to get further from the wall. The gas around us had gotten so thick, I couldn't see Pawl or Howleen, and Billy was even starting to fade from sight. I just kept on moving my legs forward despite the painful noise and ominous gas.
Then, through the excruciating noise, I heard a thud. I thought at first it might have been Pawl, but it sounded like it was closer. It was becoming more and more difficult to hold my breath. The thought of breathing was scary, though. If I chose to take this stuff into my body, then I might be risking death.
"It's not for you!" I heard through the screeching. "It was for me!"
Through the gas, I saw a lump of purple, blue, and pink on the ground. It was Kiyomi. Her skin seemed dull and her chains looked unusually heavy. What had they done to her? I finally took a breath and uncovered my ears. The noise was deafening, but I couldn't leave Kiyomi there. She was right. The gas didn't seem to be having any immediate effect and it was beginning to clear away.
"Kiyomi, what happened?" I shouted…I think. It was hard to hear even my own voice.
"I …er….um…so….ju…." I know she was actually saying something, but I was practically deaf at that point.
Billy rushed over. "We need to go!" He lifted her up and carried her toward the woods. I was about to follow him, but then I remembered Pawl and Howleen were struggling too. Were they still holding their breath? I turned and saw the unthinkable. Howleen was on the ground. She was clawing at the dirt. She looked like she was in some sort of trap. Her leg was stuck on something, maybe a shackle attached to a chain. Pawl was struggling to help her, but I could see whatever had her was also slowly pulling her toward the wall.
I ran over to help. I extended my nails and slashed at the chain in full fury. I scratched it over and over, but it was far too thick. I thought it would likely take me at least a few minutes to break through the chain entirely. Meanwhile, Pawl was trying to help her wriggle out, but every time they made a little progress, the chain was pulled and Howleen would panic. I knew I just had to keep scratching. We just had to save that poor ghoul!
I felt tears falling down my face as I scratched and scratched. "We're going to save you!" I shouted, though I doubt she could hear me through the awful noise and her own crying.
And then a miracle, CLINK, I scratched through a link in the chain.
"Pull her, Pawl!" I screamed. "With all your strength!"
Pawl nodded. With his two massive arms, he grabbed Howleen from her waist. He squeezed her tight and pulled, digging his heels into the earth. The broken link needed to be stretched open in order to break the chain. I held Howleen's foot and pushed. Together, we stretched the link just enough to break the chain. As soon as it broke, Pawl tossed Howleen over his shoulder and ran toward the woods. I followed. We escaped! How were we going to explain all this to the others? How could we even consider coming back?