Chapter 19

X X X

Zeke took another look around, to make sure the coast was clear, before checking his phone for a text reply from Julie.

"Come on... where can she be?"

He didn't have long to dwell on that thought, however, as the Count appeared once again. Zeke aimed his gun at him and pulled the trigger, but only a little bit of holy water came out, followed by a small burst of air.

"Aw, come on!" Zeke cried, "Now?!"

"Like they say, all good things must come to an end."

Zeke shrugged.

"Okay," he said, "so maybe I can't outfight you. But I CAN outrun you. Question is though: can you outrun that thing behind you?"

Eveer turned around.

"What thing? I don't see any-... Hey!"

Zeke hightailed it as fast as his feet would carry him. He eventually found himself outside, checking his phone again for a response from Julie. But once again, he had little time to express his disappointment, before he suddenly felt an icy cold hand clutch his throat. Zeke dropped both his phone and his water gun, as he instinctively struggled to free himself from the vampire's grasp.

"Gotcha!" Count Eveer remarked, licking his lips at the sight of Zeke's neck, "I have waited a long time for this."

"Ugh... is that right?" Zeke replied, "Well... I'd hate to break it to ya... but I think... you may have waited... a bit too long."

"What do you mean? ...Oh no, don't tell me."

The Count turned his head, just in time to see the sun coming up. He sighed in exasperation.

"Well, drat."

And with that, the Count disintigrated into a pile of dust. Zeke took a moment to catch his breath, before retrieving his gun and phone off the ground.

"Glad that's over with." he muttered to himself, looking at his watch, "Man, have I really been running from him for THAT long?! Aw, whatever. I better find Julie. I hope she's okay."

X X X

"And once you find the location of this fortress, you'll have one chance to find those kids and any other survivors, and bring them back alive." the General told Harry, "Remember, Lieutenant, those kids are still your responsibility."

"I understand, Sir. I'll get right on it immediately."

Harry hung up the phone, just as Sergeant Weber came into the room.

"Sir!" he said, "We've pinpointed the location of Dr. Tongue's hideout!"

"Good. Then there's no time to lose! Round up your squad and meet me at the hangar in five."

The Sergeant saluted and hastily exited.

X X X

Zeke cautiously walked down the castle halls, keeping a wary eye out for Julie.

"Julie?" he called out, "Are you alright? Come on, please answer me!"

As he neared the dungeon, he finally heard a female voice call out, "Hello?"

Zeke ran up to the door and peered through the bars. But instead of Julie, he saw the four cheerleaders that were missing from the base, shackled to the wall.

"Look, girls!" Tina cried out, "It's like Zeke and Julie! They've totally come to save us, or some junk!"

Feeling slightly disappointed, Zeke fished around in his pocket for the dungeon key.

"Yeah, umm... about that..." he replied, pulling out the key and unlocking the door.

The girls were then surprised to see Zeke open the door and walk in by himself.

"Where's Julie?" Jenny asked.

"That's kinda what I've been trying to figure out myself, since we got separated. But if it's any consolation, at least the vampire's been taken care of."

The girls found themselves simultaneously relieved and worried as Zeke unlocked their shackles.

"Well, I hope we find her soon." Lisa said, "This place gives me the creeps."

"Yeah, so do I." Zeke responded, "I've almost lost her several times already. If anything's happened to her..."

"Gosh, like... you really care that much for her or some junk?" Tina queried.

"I know I haven't proved it very well lately... but yeah, I... I love her. With all my heart. Now let's go find her!"

As the five of them walked out of the dungeon, Debby whispered to Lisa, "Maybe we've been wrong about him after all."

The group hadn't gone far though, when a door at the end of the hallway was knocked open. In the doorway, stood a balding man in a hockey mask, holding a chainsaw. The cheerleaders screamed in terror, as he raised the chainsaw in the air and roared.

"Oh no... not another one of those guys!" Zeke blustered, "Stand back, girls!"

Zeke raised his gun as the burly man came closer, but again nothing came out when he pulled the trigger.

"Oh... right. Crap. I guess we should run then."

The group turned and started to run, but then noticed another chainsaw-wielding monster approaching from the other direction.

"Okay, umm... this way then!"

Zeke and the girls turned to the side, but yet another monster in a hockey mask approached them.

"Let me guess." Zeke blandly said, "There's a fourth one coming up behind us, isn't there?"

"Umm, yeah. Like, there totally is." Tina responded.

Soon, the four chainsaw-wielding men surrounded the group. But to their surprise, the monsters all stopped and held their chainsaws still. Then one of them grunted and motioned for the group to follow him.

"Okay... I wasn't expecting that." Zeke told the girls, "Doesn't look like we've got a choice though."

With that, the four burly monsters escorted the reluctant teenagers away.

X X X

Julie grimaced at the zombie; who had once tried to win her heart in life- and did a poor job of doing so-, as she struggled in vain to free herself from the ropes tied around her wrists and ankles.

"I don't care how much he 'loved' me before!" she snapped at Dr. Tongue, "I'll NEVER marry him, dead or alive!"

"Very well, my dear." Dr. Tongue replied, "If you won't do thith the eathy way, then we'll..."

Dr. Tongue was cut off, as the door to his lab was kicked open. Julie then watched as a masked burly man with a chainsaw entered the room and roared, as he motioned for the group behind him to follow. It didn't take long for Julie to recognize the prisoners being escorted into the lab. Most notably...

"Zeke!"

"Julie!" Zeke cried.

He started to run towards her, but stopped when one of the monsters held his chainsaw in front of him and shook his head at him.

"Let her go, you mad psycho!" Zeke shouted at Dr. Tongue.

Dr. Tongue chuckled.

"Thorry... Theke, ith it? But I'm afraid I can't do that. It would make my newetht creathion here motht unhappy." (Sorry... Zeke, is it? But I'm afraid I can't do that. It would make my newest creation here most unhappy.)

To Zeke's surprise,- and the cheerleaders' surprise as well- a familiar-looking zombie turned to face them.

"Morris?!" Zeke blustered.

"Like, oh my God!" cried Tina, "It's that creep, Morris Blakely!"

"Eww!" the other girls cried.

Upon recognizing Zeke, Morris pointed at him and grunted, before making a challenging gesture at him.

"Well, well..." Dr. Tongue mused, "it would theem that thith blatht from your patht would like to thettle a thcore with you. Perhapth we can make a deal then." (it would seem that this blast from your past would like to settle a score with you. Perhaps we can make a deal then.)

Dr. Tongue flipped a switch on the wall, and then the lab began to transform. There was now a dance floor in the center of the room, a scoreboard on the wall, and a DJ station in the corner- with a zombie acting as a DJ.

'No!' Julie thought, 'This can't be happening!'

Zeke took off his 3D glasses and looked around in amazement.

'Wait...' he thought, 'this must be that dream Julie was talking about!'

"Tho, here'th the deal, Theke." Dr. Tongue continued, "You and Morrith here will take part in a little danthe competithion, and the winner getth the girl. Any quethtionth?" (So, here's the deal, Zeke. You and Morris here will take part in a little dance competition, and the winner gets the girl. Any questions?)

"This is stupid!" Zeke snapped, "A dance contest?! Come on!"

Dr. Tongue then whipped out his raygun and pointed it at Julie's head.

"Humor me, or thee dieth." (Humor me, or she dies.)

With that, Zeke put his 3D glasses on, pointed at Morris and said, "Bring it on, punk!"

Morris pointed back at Zeke and grunted in response.

"That'th more like it." Dr. Tongue said, putting his gun away, "Platheth, everyone!" (That's more like it. Places, everyone!)

The lead chainsaw-wielding monster directed Zeke, Morris, the cheerleaders, and his three comrades to their positions. Zeke stood on one side of the dance floor, with the cheerleaders at his back, and Morris stood at the other side, with the masked men at his back. Then one of the masked monsters put down his chainsaw and went to retrieve a box; which he held out to the cheerleaders and opened. Inside the box was four pairs of pom poms. The cheerleaders looked at each other and shrugged, then they each took a pair. The monster then threw the box aside and returned to his position.

"Alright, playerth, let'th begin! Theke, you'll thtart." (Alright, players, let's begin! Zeke, you'll start.)

The zombie DJ stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles, causing the fingers on one hand to fall off. Dr. Tongue sighed and covered his face with his hand, as the zombie sheepishly picked the fingers up and put them back on. Then he put in a CD and set the first song to play.

"I won't let you down, Julie!" Zeke told her, as he stepped into position.

Knowing that this was a spot on recreation of her nightmare so far, Julie's heart sank. She just watched as Zeke danced to the music and the cheerleaders cheered him on. The masked chainsaw-wielding men meanwhile danced in support of Morris, when his turn came.

The soldiers saluted as Harry approached them.

"At ease, men." he said, "Now listen up. Recently, this city has been terrorized by things that go bump in the night. Including zombies, werewolves, and even living toys. And yet it has stood strong, thanks to the help of two individuals; who are now being held captive by the madman responsible for unleashing those monstrosities upon the city. Those two have been a big help to all of us, so now is the time for us to return the favor. Any of you who don't wish to come on this mission, walk away now."

One short and skinny soldier started to back away, until he saw two others glaring at him. He then snapped back into position and nervously grinned.

"Okay, then. Let's get those kids back home."

Zeke scoffed, noting Morris' score was still twenty points behind Zeke's, as the zombie stepped back.

"You're pretty spry for a dead guy," he said, moving back to position, "but you're still no match for me!"

"Let's go, Zeke!" the cheerleaders cheered, "You're the one who doesn't reek! Yay, Zeke!"

"Hmmph... we'll jutht thee about that!" Dr. Tongue responded, nodding to the DJ.

Zeke braced himself, as the zombie obediently switched CDs again. This time, however, Zeke suddenly found himself ill-prepared for the song that played.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." he muttered.

Zeke did his best to move along with the music, but failed to concentrate, due to how much he hated the song that was playing. As a result, he was awarded no points for that round. He sighed dejectedly, and moved aside for Morris to get in position.

As Julie watched this go on, she couldn't help thinking about how the competition would conclude:

'And that concludth the final round! I'm tho thorry Theke, but it lookth like you loothe! Goodbye!' (And that concludes the final round! I'm so sorry, Zeke, but it looks like you lose! Goodbye!)

Dr. Tongue whipped out a remote and pressed a button; which opened the floor underneath Zeke.

'Whoaaaaaaaaa!' Zeke cried out, as he fell.

'Zeke!' Julie cried, 'NOOOOOO!'

Julie shook her head.

'NO!' she thought, 'It can't end like this! Zeke saved me from his nightmare. There's gotta be a way I can save him from mine. If I could just get free, and get my gun back...'

She looked around frantically, for a way to free herself from the ropes. Finally, she noticed what looked like a scalpel, sticking out of one of Dr. Tongue's pockets. Julie glanced at her feet and nodded, then slipped one shoe off and reached her legs out towards Dr. Tongue's coat. Dr. Tongue, noticing this out of the corner of his eye, turned to face her.

"Err... just stretching my legs!" she said, quickly moving her legs to the side, "And uh... my foot itches!"

She hastily began scratching her bare foot with her shoed one. Dr. Tongue gave her a strange look for a moment, then shrugged and continued watching the dance off. Julie reached for the scalpel a second time, this time managing to grasp it between her toes and pull it out. Dr. Tongue failed to notice this time, as she put the scalpel down on the floor and moved until she could reach it with her hands.

"Man, you must have the absolute worst taste in music ever!" Zeke remarked, as he watched Morris dance.

Dr. Tongue chuckled.

"Now, now! Let'th not have any thore lootherth, thall we?" (Now, now! Let's not have any sore losers, shall we?)

He once again failed to notice as Julie, now free from her restraints, retrieved her water gun and knocked him unconscious with a quick- but hard- blow to the back of the head. Then, after putting her shoe back on, Julie took Dr. Tongue's remote out of his other pocket and threw it onto the floor; where a quick stomp of her foot turned it into a broken piece of junk.

"They don't make 'em like they used to." she mused.

Zeke sighed with disbelief, as Morris's score now surpassed his by about thirty points.

'Come on, Zeke!' he thought, moving into position as the song dragged on, 'You promised Julie you wouldn't let her down!'

"Come on, girls! What should we say?" Debby asked the other cheerleaders.

"Like, I got nothing." Tina replied.

"Me neither." said Lisa.

"Wait, girls!" Jenny said, pointing at the DJ station, "Look!"

The cheerleaders all looked, along with Zeke; who overheard the commotion. To their amazement, they saw the DJ being blasted with holy water from Julie's gun. As the undead DJ exploded, Julie entered the DJ station and removed the CD that was playing.

"I think we've heard enough of this crap!" she said.

Julie flung the CD into the wall, shattering it into several pieces, and looked through the other CDs. After finding a karaoke hits album, she turned it around and looked at the tracks.

"Ah, perfect!"

She popped in the CD and selected the track, then picked up a nearby microphone and switched it on. Morris and the chainsaw-wielding monsters stared in confusion, wondering where Julie was going with this.

"This on? Okay. Here's a special dedication to one of our contestants."

After pressing the play button, Julie began to sing.

"He went away, and you hung around,

and bothered me every night.

And when I wouldn't go out with you,

you said things that weren't very nice."

As she was saying this, Zeke quickly recognized the tune and smiled at Julie. He then pushed Morris back and said, "Scoot over, sonny boy! Time for a pro to show you how it's really done!"

"I think we all know what to do too." Jenny told the other cheerleaders; who all nodded.

"My boyfriend's back and you're gonna be in trouble."

"Hey-la, day-la, my boyfriend's back!" the cheerleaders sung along, continuing to dance in support of Zeke.

This time it was Morris who failed to concentrate, as the girls taunted him with the song's lyrics. Zeke meanwhile started racking up points with his dance moves once again, now that his motivation was restored. But as the song was coming to a close, Julie suddenly stopped singing. Out of the corner of her eye, she'd noticed Morris reaching into his chest and pulling out what looked like a pulsating unstable organ. He then pointed in Zeke's direction with his other hand, and prepared to throw.

"Zeke!" Julie shouted, "Look out!"

Zeke was so lost in the music, that he didn't catch her warning, before the explosive organ came his way. However, Julie needn't have worried for his safety. For Zeke had finished his number with a kick move that just happened to strike the projectile, unwittingly sending it flying right back to the thrower.

"What the...?" Zeke muttered, as he watched the organ smack Morris in the face.

Morris stumbled backwards, falling right onto the chainsaws of two of his startled masked comrades. The cheerleaders then screamed and instinctively ran for cover, just before the organ exploded. Soon, body parts began flying everywhere, having been severed either by the explosion or running chainsaw blades; which fortunately became jammed by the organs that got caught in them. When it was finally over, Zeke took a quick look around.

"I uhh... meant to do that! Really! Heh... you girls alright?"

As the shaken cheerleaders brushed themselves off and approached him, Tina opened her mouth to speak, but then gasped in fear.

"Zeke!" she cried, pointing behind him, "Like, look out!"

Zeke spun around, as the one surviving masked monster approached him, yanking on the chainsaw cord until it started to rev up again. As the monster raised his weapon above his head and roared, Zeke suddenly heard Julie whistle behind him.

"Think fast, Zeke!" she called, tossing her crucifix towards him.

Zeke deftly caught the religious symbol and pressed it into the monster's chest. Now the monster roared in pain, rather than aggressiveness, before he finally exploded. As Zeke stood there, catching his breath, he turned to face an approaching Julie. Lifting his 3D glasses to his forehead, Zeke gladly accepted her embrace.

"I knew you could do it!" he whispered in her ear.

As they eventually pulled away, Julie turned to face the cheerleaders.

"Well, girls," she said, "let's hear it for the boy!"

As the five girls began to applaud, Zeke smiled and bowed in response.

"You were like, totally amazing on the dance floor, or some junk!" Tina told him.

The other girls nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, but... I couldn't have done it without Julie's help. Speaking of which, I think it's time to get these girls home now."

"Agreed." Julie replied, taking out Lil' Sparky.

She promptly set the coordinates and activated the door.

"Ladies first." Zeke said, gesturing towards the door.

The cheerleaders walked through the door, not hesitating to take advantage of his courtesy. Zeke and Julie watched until the four of them made it through. But just as they were about to step through the door themselves, they were suddenly startled by a laser blast that struck Lil' Sparky. Julie dropped the device in horror, as the door vanished away. She and Zeke stared at the short-circuiting device's remains, until they heard a voice on the other side of the room.

"Going thomewhere?"

The teens turned to face a very angry-looking Dr. Tongue; who was pointing his raygun at them and rubbing his head with his other hand.

X X X

To be Continued.