Chapter 1: The Letter

The morning was the same as every other in Scare School.

Friends were talking amongst each other, eating their sloppy breakfast served by the cafeteria lady, going over last night's homework, or about what the lessons might hold for them today, or just plain gossiping to each other.

Thatch was being a jerk and bullying anybody that passed him, as usual, while the friendly trio, Casper, Mantha, and Ra, sat a few tables away from the bully gang, watching with disgust.

Usually, Casper would throw himself in to stop the problem, but in honesty, he was quite relieved that the vampire was acting his normal bully self after everything that happened yesterday.

The night before, Wolfie was working on a science project, attempting to capture moonlight in some sort of strange box. His project had worked, but it came with consequences. The trapped moonlight had turned everyone into their opposites. Casper was only lucky not to be in the middle of the blast because he was out in Deedstown, helping his fleshie friend, Jimmy.

Mantha, the usually smart zombie, was dimwitted and slow. Ra, the usually nice and funny mummy, was pushy and cracked horrible jokes. The skeletwins, Mickey and Monaco, were incredibly smart instead of dimwitted and shallow. But what shocked Casper the most, was that the normally cruel and bully vampire, Thatch, was friendly and cared for others.

It seemed so natural, the way Thatch was so nice, as if he had been that way his whole life! He almost seemed, relieved with his new personality. And when Casper told him the truth about his normal personality, the vampire… didn't really seem that shocked, just… confused.

Casper probably would've allowed this to be the new norm, but he missed his real friends, and the school was in danger by both a friendly sea monster turned vicious, and a rampaging Wolfie that tore up the place.

But still, Casper couldn't help but remember how heartbroken Thatch looked when he agreed to help turn things back to normal. He remembered it clearly.

…

Casper turned away from the classroom door after he had peered in with Thatch. He was about to address the team, when he suddenly felt someone wrap their arms around his neck and pull him into a hug.

"Bye Casper." Thatch said before releasing the smaller creature. "Here, I want you to have this."

Casper watched as Thatch reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope with a bat seal on it.

"It's a letter of me promising to never trap your locker again." The vampire explained.

Casper smiled warmly as he took the letter, looking up at the vampire.

Thatch's eyes looked so heartbroken. There was a hint of… longing in those eyes. Casper didn't quite understand it, and assumed that perhaps this nice Thatch was still getting over the fact that he can't stay like this. Casper would've more than anything be happy to allow Thatch to stay like this, but he had to think of the safety of others first, as at the moment they were about to be eaten by the sea monster.

"Thanks Thatch." The ghost finally said. "I doubt you'll admit you wrote it."

"Heh, probably, but it's worth a shot." Thatch smiled back, that longing look still never leaving his eyes.

…

Casper smiled and reached into his bag, pulling out the letter, which he still hadn't opened yet.

"I'm glad everything is back to normal." Mantha announced. "But could've we at least kept the nice Thatch around?"

"Not unless we'd have sent him to Deedstown." Casper shook his head, admiring the smooth black bat seal that kept the letter closed. "Besides, we needed him to help turn everything back."

"You still haven't opened that letter he gave you?" Ra frowned, taking notice.

"Not that Thatch would believe he wrote it anyway." Mantha talked her eyes. "I doubt he would even recognize his own handwriting."

"Thatch was using his left hand a lot during that time, so you're probably right." Casper agreed.

"But still, aren't you curious to read what exactly he said?" Ra pressed. "I mean, if he was friendly, what would the friendly Thatch have said?"

"Hmm, you got a point Ra."

"And let's be honest, when will Mantha and I get a chance to hear legit friendly words coming from the vampire bully himself?"

"I must admit, I am a little curious." Mantha agreed. "So why don't you open it and see what's inside?"

"Ok, ok, I'll open it." Casper chuckled, bringing the letter up onto the table.

Careful as to not break the seal, Casper opened the envelope and pulled out the thin parchment paper from inside. The letter was folded, but right away, Casper could see that the letter was long. Much longer than a simple promise.

'Huh, odd.' Casper thought as he unfolded the letter.

Once the letter was unfolded, Casper began scanning the delicate words written in black ink. As he skimmed over the sentences, his eyes widened in shock, his jaw hanging in apall.

"What in the world?!" He gasped.

"What is it, Casper?" Mantha urged, then frowned. "Did he trick you?"

"N-No. I-I don't know." The ghost shook his head.

"What is it then Casp?" Ra asked. "What's wrong?"

Instead of answering his friends, Casper's gaze quickly snapped over to the vampire, and he immediately wished he hadn't.

Thatch was staring directly at the friendly trio, or more specifically, Casper. There was hatred in those eyes, much different than the friendly longing the ghost had seen in the more nicer side of the bully. A spark of red flashed through Thatch's eyes, his gaze moving to the letter.

Slightly terrified, Casper quickly turned around and hid the letter from view. A shiver went down his spine, despite being a ghost. Thatch seemed a bit more hostile than usual, and the ghost was beginning to understand why.

"Casper?"

Casper looked up at his two friends and saw their worried expressions. He had to tell them what he saw in the letter… but he couldn't tell them here.

"Not here." He whispered quietly to them. "It's not safe."

"What do you mean?" Mantha frowned. "Casper what's wrong."

Casper slightly shook his head and quickly flicked his eyes to the right, towards the direction of Thatch, who was still glaring at them.

Mantha and Ra immediately understood and slightly nodded. Whatever was in that letter, apparently Thatch wasn't allowed to see.

But if that's the case, then it was obviously not a friendly promise in that letter.

"Let's talk in the dorm." Mantha suggested. "We still got enough time before classes start."

"Good idea." Casper nodded.

With that, the three of them stood up from their table and began walking out the cafeteria. Thatch watched them from his seat, but he did not get up to follow them. Casper was overwhelmed with relief. After seeing what was in that letter, he didn't want the vampire anywhere near him or his friends.

…

The three friendly creatures walked in silence down the hall to the boys dorm. Not a word was spoken until they finally got to the dorm, closing the door behind them.

"Ok, we're here and nobody can hear us." Mantha sighed, crossing her arms as she looked at her ghostly friend. "Now spill. What is in that letter?"

"Yeah, obviously it's not anything nice, is it?" Ra asked.

"No, it's not nice at all." Casper shook his head. "In fact, it's utterly terrifying."

With that, Casper pulled the letter back out and spread it onto the floor. The friendly trio gathered around and sat on the floor together, reading what the letter had to say. They were unprepared to be reading what the words had to say.

Dear Casper, Mantha, and Ra,

What I write to you is not what you would expect, obviously, but I need you to listen and to understand. I need your help. When Wolfie's project turned everybody into their opposites, it didn't just turn me opposite, it set me free, if at least for a brief moment. Allow me to explain. What you are used to be seeing from me is NOT the real me, but rather a dark and evil Shadow Demon who I had accidently released many years ago. This demon has been using me as his host, biding his time to allow his powers to grow stronger until he can use them and mine to spread darkness and evil through the entire world. He has me trapped in my own body. I have tried fighting against him, and I have been able to break through a few times, but he is much stronger than I am. I cannot stay in control of my body for much long until he pushes me back. I am forever trapped behind my own eyes. You must stop him before he regains full use of his powers! I have heard him say that by the next full moon, he'll be ready. You have to stop him, or else I will be trapped forever, and our world will be lost. I know you can do it. I have seen your courage, your wisdom, and your dedication. I have faith in you, but you must hurry. The next full moon is only in another 29 days.

Sincerely,

The Real Thatch