Chapter 3: A Dreadful Encounter
From The Die-ary of Ula-D,
Something really weird happened today. I was supposed to help the ghouls with our summer project, but I think someone is stalking me. What if there's some creep out there who's following me to do something really bad? I don't even want to think about it! I can't even focus on anything important that I have to do!
The worst part is that nobody believes me. They all think I'm being paranoid about nothing! I'm not paranoid! I know there's something following me! But why? Why me? What for? And why won't anyone believe me? It's not like I would make up something like this for attention. I promise that if I get out of this, they won't get any help from me if it happens to them!
At the other end of the maul, a glamorous boutique was set up to display its most extravagant wares. Men's and women's formal and semi-formal attire was put out to draw the eye of even the most discerning customers. The ones who knew what they wanted and could see where to find it.
At the front of the store, a young vampire looked carefully over each one of the mannequins that was put up in the display window. Her meticulous and experienced eyes scanned over each article of clothing, silently critiquing each seam, hem and fold of fabric. Not a single thread escaped her discerning gaze, falling under her strict criticism of what it should and should not be.
After waiting a short while for inspiration to come to her, Draculaura had decided that it was time to go and look for it. Yet it still eluded her, even as she looked over the clothes at the formal boutique. Ultimately, she made her decision.
"It's still not vhat I'm looking for…" she said to herself.
Though she heard her steps approaching, Draculaura acted like she hadn't heard when Abbey stepped beside her to look in the display window as well.
"These clothes are lovely, no?" Abbey asked.
"Yes. But I don't think it's right for vhat I vant for the show," Draculaura replied.
Abbey looked over the display for a moment, then said, "I don't know this. Perhaps there is something that ve can do to make vork."
"Are you saying that formal vear is the vay to ring in the new school year? Please. Ve're not trying to draw in a crowd of Cleos," Draculaura said.
"Listen to vhat I am saying," Abbey continued. "Vhat if ve find vay to simply give casual clothes the look and vibe of formal clothing. Observe: if a gown such as this lovely blue silk one behind me vere to be fashioned from layers of less fancy stuffs, it vould create the look of something elegant and formal. I believe this principle is called 'doing it yourself?"
Draculaura watched as Abbey assumed the same pose as the mannequin in the window. She could understand the words Abbey had spoken, but the idea of it wasn't clearly forming in her mind. In fact, the more that she thought about it, the less sense it made to showcase anything like formal wear for what she had in mind.
"Mmm…I don't think so. Ve'll just have to keep looking," Draculaura finally said.
But they had been looking. They had been doing the same thing since before lunchtime, and the tiresome chore was eating into their afternoon. For Abbey and the other ghouls, a day at the maul was a day of good fun and good purchases. Under Draculaura's mandate, it was a long, tiresome dredge that they couldn't wait to be over. Still, the end result would be worth it. After they discovered the inspiration that eluded them, they could put that entire frustrating ordeal behind them and keep chugging along with their project smoothly.
As she turned to move on to the next place to search, Draculaura saw Lagoona trotting toward her with a small shopping bag on her wrist.
"I think I finally got it," Lagoona said.
"Vhere's Ghoulia? Vasn't she vith you?" Draculaura asked.
"Oh, she ran into Slo Mo and the two of them jogged off somewhere."
"Is interesting to think of a zombie to jog," Abbey quipped.
"You know what I mean," Lagoona said. "Anyway, I think I found what we need to get our show on."
"Vhat is it?" Draculaura said, eagerly awaiting to see what wonder Lagoona would produce from her shopping bag.
Lagoona's hand disappeared into her bag for less than a second before she revealed her prize.
"Ta-daaaahh!" Lagoona victoriously said.
Abbey smiled at the revelation and asked where Lagoona had found such a thing so that she could buy it for herself. Draculaura, however, didn't understand what the big fuss was about. "It's a pair of shoes," she glibly said.
"I know. But aren't they just the cutest things?" Lagoona giggled.
"Indeed they are. Oh! I'd be thrilled if they came in my size," said Abbey, who was lucky to find any footwear she liked in a size ten and a half.
But Draculaura took a more pragmatic approach to the discovery, "How does it help us find a theme for our show?"
"Don't you think 'cute' is a good theme for a show? Everyone loves cute things," Lagoona giggled, imagining herself on a runway with an outfit to match her new shoes.
"Indeed is so. No yeti can resist sight of baby yak or tiny snowman family," Abbey added.
"Alright. But ve're not just trying to appeal to yeti ghouls. Ve need a theme that everyone vill like," Draculaura said.
"I think it vill be greatly appeal to everyone. Ve yeti are alvays thought to be frigid and frosty. It vill be great delight to show othervise," Abbey said, folding her hands and shrugging her shoulders in a cutesy pout.
"Yeah. It's not just ghouls who will like it. No matter how tough some of them act, even boys can't resist an adorable look," Lagoona said.
"Let's have an example," Draculaura challenged.
"Alright," Lagoona said, taking not even a second to think about it, "Deuce, Mr. Cool-and- Collected, makes those little pastries. Gill, our intrepid swim captain, could spend hours watching his pet guppies play in their fish tank. And let's not forget your own burly monster-mountain, Clawd, who adores his bite-sized amore."
It was true that Draculaura and Clawd were very much in love. But she couldn't think that it was just because she was little and cute. They had too many common interests; too many things that they connected on for it to simply be that she was Clawd's pocket princess.
"Let's keep looking," Draculaura sighed.
"What?!" Lagoona and Abbey both said at once.
"I thought you were picking a vinning suggestion," Abbey said.
"Yeah. Doesn't it seem like something we can all get behind?" Lagoona asked.
If there was anything that Draculaura could count on, it was that her friends would be behind her no matter what she decided. For so long they had all agonized with her over the very first preliminary step of their project, even as the days passed and they still couldn't decide on anything that Draculaura would approve of. For Draculaura herself, the pressure was beginning to mount upon her. She had only signed on to decide what clothes they all would wear and what they should all do when they were wearing them. Now she was constrained by some intangible obstacle that made her job that much more difficult. And there was still more to do on her end. It was up to her to get the materials that they all needed for the show. To keep everyone on their tasks. To lead the design of the show's exhibits. To coordinate what would be exhibited by who and when.
"Draculaura? Are you feeling okay?" Lagoona asked.
"Hm?" Draculaura asked. It was only then that she must have realized how she had looked to her friends at that moment and quickly collected herself. "Yeah. I'm fine. Uh, I'm just going to go and see vhat they had over at Aberzombie and Vitch again."
"Alright. We'll go with," Lagoona said.
"No. You ghouls just keep looking around for something that can help give us an idea. Ve'll cover more ground separately," Draculaura quickly said.
Before Abbey could ask why she was acting so hastily, Draculaura turned and left them behind, walking more quickly than she had probably meant to. Behind her, Abbey and Lagoona watched her for a few seconds more, feeling as if the grief and frustration of the project wouldn't end unless they made it.
"So vhere exactly did you get those shoes?" Abbey asked again.
"I'll show you. Follow me," Lagoona replied, walking her new shoes through the air before she led Abbey away.
Draculaura wished that this could have been easier. She wanted so badly to see it through to the end, but the strain that this one single setback was putting on her was becoming unbearable. What she needed was to clear her head. To unclutter her thoughts and start to be able to see what was going to help her on her path going forward.
Directly on the path ahead of her, there was Ghoulia and Slo Mo. It seemed that Slo Mo had been doing a bit of shopping himself, and was hauling a load of weights for his barbell at home. Ghoulia was helping by carrying two smaller– though still heavy– dumbbells for him. As zombies, they were slow enough. Weighed down by the iron she was carrying made Ghoulia trudge along at a snail's pace. Slo Mo, it seemed, was more accustomed to carrying such heavy loads, and was hindered quite a bit less.
When he had noticed how far behind Ghoulia had fallen due to her heavy load, Slo Mo stopped for a moment and called back to her.
"Uh, you okay back there, Ghouli-babes?"* he asked her, pointing to the heavy load she was carrying.
[*Translated from Zombie]
"I'm just fine…Superb, even…Don't worry about me…This is the best exercise I've had…since I started pi-lates…" Ghoulia puffed, taking a short moment to catch her breath
"Pi-huh?" Slo Mo wondered.
Pi-lates…A radical…groundbreaking new exercise regimen…mathematically engineered to engage the body…and the brain both to peak…performance…!" Ghoulia strained as she practically dragged herself nearer.
"Oh. Okay," Slo Mo said, nodding his head. "Is it working for you?"
"Oh, yes…I've never…felt…more…more…" Ghoulia strained, before gravity did its job and pulled her by her heavily laden arms to the ground.
The moment that she saw Ghoulia go down, Draculaura had already taken the first steps to rush to her aid. Except Slo Mo had reacted exceptionally quickly to aid her first. He was already a few steps from Ghoulia, ready to help her with her heavy burden. Except that he encountered an unexpected obstacle on the way.
Draculaura gasped as something all black appeared on the very edge of her vision as it moved toward her. There was a sudden thump as Slo Mo walked right into another shopper who absentmindedly crossed paths with him. He never did see who it was. Only that she was carrying a huge armful of flowers, which reacted to the impact by billowing out a cloud of pollen.
"I'm sorry! So sorry," she said, before she hurried along her way.
It had only been someone dressed in black. A relief to Draculaura. Not so much was the way that Slo Mo was huffing and sniffling.
Whatever flowers they were, they were by and large the most potent that Slo Mo had ever come across. His eyes watered heavily, as if all the moisture in his body was escaping through his eyes. The world around him became a dull haze as his head began to swim and the sounds of the mall became a tinny echo like coins in a can.
Ghoulia's still heart might have jumped when she saw Slo Mo swaying with his heavy load of weights. Thinking quickly, she held onto the grounded dumbbells and kicked off from the ground behind her. The round heads of the dumbbells were good enough for a temporary set of wheels as she kept her body parallel to the ground. In less than a second, she was near enough to stop herself, stand up and steady Slo Mo before he unleashed a tremorous sneeze over her shoulder. The danger had passed. Nobody was in any more danger of getting crushed, so Ghoulia helped Slo Mo over to the nearest bench.
"Thanks, babes," Slo Mo moaned.
"I told you. Pi-lates can do wonders," Ghoulia managed to say, indicating one of the dumbbells she had been holding.
As Ghoulia began wiping the pollen off of Slo Mo's face with her lens cloth as Draculaura hurried over to them.
"Are you okay? I saw from over there!" Draculaura said.
"It's okay. We're fi…FI…!" Slo Mo huffed, before sneezing into his elbow.
"Draculaura? Could you find the nearest powder room and get some damp paper towels for Slo Mo's face?" Ghoulia asked.
Draculaura turned and trotted off to find what Ghoulia had requested. She followed the signs to the restroom a short distance away and walked herself down the hall that led to her destination. After several feet, the hallway angled, keeping her from seeing the rest of the maul behind her. By the time that she reached the door to the ghoul's room, Draculaura had wondered why mauls had such long hallways to their restrooms, since it was especially inconvenient for real emergencies. Still, there she was and she entered.
The door closed with a hydraulic hiss, and the sounds of the maul behind her were drowned out by its closing. Dim lights and the faint smell of fresh ammonia assaulted Draculaura's senses as she walked around the wall that separated the door from the facilities to gather up handfuls of paper towels from their dispenser. Once she had enough she walked over to the sink, where she nearly knocked over a half-full bottle of ammonia with her elbow. Once she steadied it and silently chastised the careless janitor who had left it there, she turned on the sink and began soaking the paper towels.
From inside her pocket, there was a small, sharp beep. As quickly as a reflex, Draculaura reached inside her pocket and took out her iCoffin.
Still can't find anything. We'll keep looking
Cleo 2:02
Draculaura briefly reflected on the folly of being contacted about not being able to find anything useful, before she placed her phone onto the sink and resumed her task.
As she squeezed the excess water out of the paper towels, Draculaura's mind began to wander. For the first time since she had proposed the project and initiated it, she felt as though some of the weight upon her had alleviated. Away from the noises and the worries of the maul, she could think.
This project. This obstacle she had to overcome. This beast that she had chosen to face down. It was beginning to feel like something insurmountable. Even with the help of the other ghouls, it seemed like she couldn't take on. Draculaura squeezed the paper towels in her hands and tried to remember the lessons that she had learned from her adoptive father. Ever since he had saved her life by turning her into a vampire, she had learned many things from him, including the value of perseverance. Because of that particular quality, she and her father were able to make a new unlife for themselves away from their ancestral home and found a place where all monsters could go for sanctuary.
Draculaura's eyes lit up the moment she remembered her first day at Monster High. She had taken those first uneasy steps with her best friend, Clawdeen, and soon found herself mingling in a place that was more open and accepting than anywhere else she had been. It was the single greatest feeling she had ever experienced, and strived from then on to integrate that into everything she did.
A small laugh issued from Draculaura's throat. She had been overthinking everything. The answer for the back-to-school show's theme had been within her the whole time. She had just been focusing on everything else that didn't matter. Now, things were going to be much simpler.
Only then did Draculaura notice that she had been mangling the wet paper towels in her hands to the point that they had nearly become pulp once more. With a quiet groan, she trashed the useless paper towels and went back to the dispenser for some fresh ones.
One crank of the lever and nothing happened.
Two cranks, and still no paper towels.
Three cranks. Nothing.
"Oh, fruit bats!" Draculaura groaned, slapping the side of the dispenser. "A door opens, then a vindow closes!"
The low hiss of hydraulics filled the restroom from the other side of the wall that was between her and the door. Seeing no more reason to stay, Draculaura began to walk to the wall until she heard something.
A loud, deep sniff echoed slightly off the tiled walls of the ghoul's room. Then several more, as if some bloodhound were on the trail of an escaped criminal. And with a quiet thud, the door closed again.
"Uh…Hello?" Draculaura cautiously said, curious to the nature of why anyone would sniff so much in a public restroom.
Her answer was more sniffing. It was then accompanied by a shuffling noise, which was overlaid with a series of clicks. Draculaura knew that noise immediately. The same as when Clawdeen slept over at her place and forgot to clip her toenails. Except that there were too many claws and too many steps. Too many legs for a werewolf who had neglected her personal care.
Draculaura gripped her collar when a snout that was almost as high as her chest slowly drifted into view from around the corner. Its fangs bared as another deep sniff issued from it.
Instinct spurred Draculaura away from the predator. The way it was sniffing made her sure it would find her no matter where she hid.
She grabbed the bottle of ammonia from the sink and sprinkled it on the floor around her.
The thing began snorting loudly.
Wanting as much distance between herself and that beast, Draculaura ran to the farthest stall and shut herself inside it. She waited, listening to the sounds of claws across the floor. They were slowly tapping on the tile, sounding closer with each passing second.
Another sniff, and the thing began snorting loudly, growling in frustration.
It was then that Draculuara noticed that her feet were visible from the bottom of the stall she was in. She made a painful effort to remain silent as she climbed to the top of the toilet's cistern.
There was a rattle of porcelain from the lid.
Draculaura froze, not daring to breathe.
The thing outside kept growling. The growls were followed by a loud, constant flapping noise and the sounds of claws scraping.
The ammonia was working. Draculaura carefully finished her climb until she was perched on top of the cistern. And for the first time she thanked how short she was, finding that she wouldn't be visible over the top of the stall. Once she was there, she reached into her pocket to send a text to any of her friends. Except when she reached into her empty pocket, she remembered the message that she had been sent before, and how she had left her iCoffin on the counter by the sink.
The sounds of the thing ended, except for its claws in a frenzy on the tiles. With luck it would go away and leave her alone until she was safely back with her friends.
Draculaura's throat clenched when she heard the shuffling and clicking of the thing's steps across the tile. They were unbearably sluggish now. So slow that she was barely able to tell if they were nearer or farther than they were before.
One more step and she was sure that it was closer. If only she had taken the time to learn how to transform into a bat. She could have snuck out easily ages ago when that thing first came in. When she happened to glance at the floor, Draculaura nearly bit through her lip.
A trail of ammonia was stopped right outside the stall she had chosen to hide in. Without knowing, she had given herself away.
Another step from the phantom predator, closer now. Closer.
She had to know. If anything, Draculaura was going to see how far away the thing was from finding her. Slowly, she peered over the top of the stall. From her vantage, she could only see the very back of it and the very top of its head as it shuffled along the floor.
Draculaura crouched back down. There were two stalls between her and the door. The thing wasn't sniffing anymore for the ammonia she had sprinkled. If she moved quietly enough, she would escape. Except that the idea of being caught by the thing made her hesitate.
Through nothing but force of will, Draculaura quietly climbed down from her perch. Even when her nerves were screaming at her to stay still and silent, she touched down to the floor and laid herself down without a sound.
For the first time she had a good look at the legs of the thing. Unlike any dog she had ever seen, its legs were thick and stocky and its claws were wickedly long and curved like a bear's. It was that one look that was needed to spur Draculaura along. Gripping the edge of the neighboring stall's dividing wall, she pulled herself along.
The floor was surprisingly sleek and allowed Draculaura to slide herself with relative ease. The fabric of her clothes scraped slightly upon the floor, and she internally fretted over the damage that was being done to her ensemble. Deep inside, she feared that the rustling of her clothes would alert the thing to her position.
She was well into the neighboring stall when she heard a step that was all too near to her. When she looked to her side, Draculaura had to hold her breath to keep from gasping. The claws of the beast were within arm's reach of her. And they were stopped at the end of the stall that she was trying to reach.
Draculaura didn't dare to move. Not with those claws so close. Just one of those paws looked like they could crush her head if their owner so chose.
The claws shuffled across the floor, clicking their claws as they went. They scuffled unevenly across the sleek, wet floor, sliding toward Draculaura's nose.
Draculaura shifted herself away until the back of her head stopped against the base of the toilet in the stall. She grimaced as she placed her hand on the opposite side of the toilet's base and pushed herself along, ever watching the claws of the thing. No breath escaped her sealed lips as she quietly made her escape. Disgust welled up inside her as the smell of the ammonia mingled with the rest of the ghoul's room and crawled its way up her nose.
She reached for the divider of the final stall, gripped it, then pulled herself onward. Her eyes never left the sluggishly moving claws, the frontmost of which had only reached the end of the stall she was in. When she felt she was far enough along, Draculaura pulled her legs through and planted her soles on the floor. She then pushed off the floor with her heels as she pulled herself through to the other stall.
Draculaura's head passed through to the last stall. She could feel it. She was nearly free. All she had to do was repeat the same method and–
Something brushed her toe. Stifling a yelp, Draculaura pulled her foot sharply to the side and saw that the claws of the thing had slipped beneath the door of the stall and came dangerously close to her feet. Another second and the beast regained its footing, before it resumed its trek.
Now was the time. Draculaura planted her soles again and pushed herself through to the final stall with almost no noise. She gripped the edge of the final stall and wormed her way beneath it. When she was halfway out, she heard a horrible scraping sound. She looked around the corner of the stall and saw the beast scratching at the door of the farthest stall, the empty ammonia bottle crushed beneath its paw.
Taking a deep breath, Draculaura silently slipped out from beneath the stall and crawled to her feet. She looked one last time at the back of the beast, then quietly walked toward the door.
"Draculaura?"
All of the terror and tension pent up in Draculaura's being released itself in a loud shriek as she bolted for the door. To her horror, she was stopped by someone grabbing her arm.
"Draculaura?! Vhat are you doing!?" Abbey asked.
"Run, Abbey! It's in there! Hurry!" Draculaura panicked.
Abbey leaned around the corner, then back. "Vhat is down there?" she asked.
"That…thing! It's been after me for days! Ve have to go! Now!" Draculaura said.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free from Abbey's grip. And when she saw Abbey was looking at her like she had grown a second head, Draculaura gradually began to stop fighting against her. But she never stopped trembling.
"Is there something I should know about?" Abbey asked, heavily concerned.
She let go of Draculaura's arm as Draculaura peered back around the dividing wall and saw to her complete and utter disbelief that the beast had disappeared from sight. But the stall that it was scratching was now open.
"There! In the farthest stall!" Draculaura said, pointing the way.
"Er…Am I going to vant to see this?" Abbey warily asked.
"Just go look! And don't hesitate to freeze anything you find there!" Draculaura whispered.
Though she couldn't imagine what could possibly be the cause of it, Abbey could see that the fear and worry in Draculaura was completely genuine. She lightly clenched her fist, creating a swirl of frost around her hand. With that, she began walking slowly toward the stall at the far end of the ghoul's room.
Draculaura felt as if she could crack the concrete of the wall she gripped as she watched Abbey proceed. She knew Abbey was strong enough to hold her own against most who got in her way. But there was something different about this beast. Something unnatural.
One last step and Abbey was stopped in front of the farthest stall. She put her hand on the door and opened it as she readied her other hand to attack.
The door was pushed open.
Draculaura winced and closed her eyes. Only, there was now silence.
"Is this vhat you vanted me to see?" Abbey asked.
When she opened her eyes, Draculaura saw Abbey holding the crushed ammonia bottle.
"Is annoying to find garbage not in garbage receptacle. But hardly vorthy of note. Nor of fear," Abbey continued.
Draculaura couldn't believe it. She crouched down low and saw that the paws of the thing weren't beneath any of the stalls. Not even beneath the sinks.
"No! No! It vas there! I saw it! It vas after me!" Draculaura said.
"Vhat vas?" Abbey asked.
"I don't know! But it vas! I think…I think it's been following me."
"Draculaura, Ghoulia send me in here to find out vhy you are taking so long vith towels of paper. Here I find you now stinking like ghoul's room floor and raving about being followed. Vhat is going on?" Abbey asked.
"I'm not raving!" Draculaura snapped. "There vas something in here vith me! I saw it at the scareport, then I saw it at the movies! Ask Frankie! She vas there vith me vhen it happened! And now it's…It's…"
"Draculaura? Vhat is it you vampires say you have vhen you make no sense? Bats in your belfry?" Abbey asked.
"But…It vas…It…
Draculaura knew she had spoken the truth. Frankie had been there with her when it first appeared to her. Except Frankie had acted like she hadn't seen anything. Now that Abbey was with her, whose appearance seemed to have banished the thing from existence. For now, at least. It was just her now. Her and her friend, who still had things to do.
"It's…Nothing, I guess," Draculaura sighed. "Uh, let's go and get those paper towels for Ghoulia."
"Do let us," Abbey agreed. "Vill you be alright, I vonder?"
"Yeah. I guess I'm just freaking out about everything I have to do," Draculaura said, though she couldn't help but glance at the stall at the end of the room.
As Draculaura tried to leave, Abbey walked over to the paper towel dispenser.
"Don't bother. That one's emp–" Draculaura had to cut herself off mid-speech as Abbey cranked the handle and a sheet of paper towels edged its way out.
"Vhat are you saying?" Abbey asked.
More than anything, Draculaura wished she could say something about how it had been empty when she tried to use it. However, she decided to not risk sounding even crazier and answered, "...Nothing. Let's just get these to Slo Mo."
And so she did. But for the rest of the day, Draculaura watched every shadow warily and stayed within the company of her friends until she had to go home.
A/N: It seems more and more like Draculaura might be in danger. What's the nature of the beast? Why does it seem to only appear to her specifically? That's going to be answered later. Right now, let's talk about this chapter.
That part at the end was inspired by urban legends. Around the world, there are urban legends about being the only person in a public restroom and using the stall at the farthest end. In most of those stories, you'll be visited by some monstrous creature if you do. Sometimes it asks you a riddle, and kills you for failing to answer. Sometimes it shows you how you're going to die later in life. Sometimes, it just steals all of your toilet paper. No matter what, a visit from one of those things isn't pleasant.
On her end of things, Draculaura seems to have gotten over her frustrating creative block. To all you writers in the audience, I know it's not always the easiest thing, but a lot of the times getting past a point that you're stumped on usually has the simplest solution. It just has to align with what you know the best. I'm sure a few of you have proceeded writing your own stories that way.
We see mentions of how Draculaura was adopted and turned into a vampire by Count Dracula. This is something that is never mentioned in the cartoons, as far as I know. Apparently, Draculaura was born as a human on Valentine's Day in the year 410. When she was still a baby, her human parents died in the plague and her dad's friend, Count Dracula, saved her by biting her, then took her in as his own daughter. It's funny how that's never touched upon, because it seems like it would be a really cool story to explore.
That's all for now. Same as last time, I'm letting you all know that I wrote a book. It's called Secret Seekers: The Hidden Girl, and it's the first in a series I'm working on about a group of girls who discover the strange things that live in their fantasy world. It's inspired by things like Monster High, so you'll probably like that if you like this story. Search for it at the Lulu website. Thanks for that.