Jaune Arc: Goosebumps Storyteller
Chapter 10: When the Ghost Dog Howls
*AAWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO! AWO-AWO-AWOOOOOOO!*
"The reason why you should ALWAYS be careful what you wish for. Especially when making those wishes requires something that belongs to something else that wants it back." Grady answered as the creature continued howling.
"W-what do you mean?" Ruby nervously asked.
"You ever see those movies where the genie grants three wishes, but they never go how you want?" Roman asked, standing up while keeping his ears strained to see if the howling was coming closer or not. However, it seemed to be coming from all around them.
"Yeah." Yang said, looking around while suppressing a shiver. Even though she could face down most Grimm and not even flinch, whatever was howling back sent chills down her spine. Her survival instincts even kicked in and told her not to go looking for it.
"Think like that, except you can have as many as you want and how you want it. But the catch is that for every wish you make, something terrifying comes ever closer." Cassie added.
"One that you can't escape, fight, or even wish away." Lucy gulped.
"Can you all stop being so cryptic and tell us what creature or monster is howling back?" Weiss asked, slightly annoyed.
*AAWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!*
"I-I think it heard you, Schnee." Coco said, unsure if she should bring out
Gianduja or not.
"Y-yeah."
"What is it, Jaune?" Velvet asked.
"We call it the Ghost Dog, and it takes the form of a Blue Kerlew Hound."
"But?" Blake asked, faunus ears twitching violently.
*BOOM*
"I'll tell you later. Right now, let's head back to Beacon or someplace dry." Jaune answered with a sigh as it started to rain. He then turned to Roman and Neo while picking up the camera. "I know this is going to cost me. But do you think two can return the camera?"
"Sure. And it won't cost you this time, kid, since we also want this camera gone." Roman said while grabbing his camera before adjusting his hat. "See you around, and hopefully under better circumstances."
"Hopefully."
'See you, cutie.' Neo said with a wink to get a rise out of Velvet. However, it failed as Velvet didn't know sign language and was enjoying the hug from her new boyfriend. Silently chuckling, she turned around and left with Roman.
"You know, I don't recall the weatherman saying that it was supposed to rain today." Yatsuhashi said, wishing he brought an umbrella.
"This isn't normal rain." Cassie said.
"Normal rain?" Pyrrha asked, confused.
"What do you mean by that?" Ren asked.
"It is normal rain. But what makes it not normal is what caused it." Cassie said.
"So what's causing it?" Nora asked.
*AAWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!*
"The Ghost Dog caused it to start raining. We don't know a lot about it. But one thing we do know is that it causes bad luck to everyone around it." Lucy said.
"We'll tell you everything we know once we're out of the rain." Jaune said.
"Including the story?" Coco asked.
"Fox is asking if you're also going to tell us the story about it if you have it." Yatsuhashi said.
"If you want." Jaune said before turning to Grady, Cassie, Wolf, and Lucy. "You guys want to come?"
"No. I have to head home." Lucy answered.
"Same." Cassie and Grady said.
"But we also want to check around to see if the Ghost Dog caused anyone else bad luck." Grady added.
"Alright. Just be careful... because you know." Jaune said.
"Right. See you guys." Cassie said.
"Come on, Wolf." Grady said as they left. Wolf turned to Zwei and let out a friendly bark before running after his owner.
"So, do you guys want to head to Beacon or somewhere else dry?" Jaune asked.
"Doesn't matter." Velvet answered, cuddling him.
"We know you're happy that you finally got together with Jaune, Velvet. But still, it would be best for everyone if we got out of the rain, including you and your boyfriend." Coco said.
"R-right."
"We should probably head to Beacon since, as you said, Jaune, it is late." Pyrrha said. But no sooner than she said this, their scrolls went off, alerting them to a message.
"Talk about timing." Yang said.
"Yeah. Do you the... Ghost Dog caused the bullheads to go down?" Blake asked.
"Most likely." Jaune answered with a sigh.
"So... what now?" Ren asked.
"Do you know of any other places where we can go, Jaune?" Weiss asked.
"One that is preferably not already haunted." Yang added.
"I know of one place. It's not the best, but it would put some distance between us and the Ghost Dog." Jaune answered. "Follow me."
*Bark* Zwei barked before happily trotting alongside Ruby.
Ninety Minutes Later
"Well, this is a cozy little cottage home." Weiss said, looking over the house as Jaune fumbled with the spare key to get the door unlocked and open it.
"It is. My family used to come here when I was younger. I even made my first friend and... discovery here." Jaune said.
"That's nice, Jaune." Velvet said, wondering if she could share a bed with Jaune tonight if they had to sleep here.
"But the name of the place is kind of weird." Yang said.
"Yeah." Blake said, ears still twitching as, despite moving, the sound of the Ghost Dog howling still seemed to have moved with them.
"Who would name the street Shocker Street?" Yatsuhashi asked, looking at the street sign.
"Uh. They probably ran out of names and chose two words at random." Jaune quickly said before finally opening the door. "Alright. Let's head inside and dry off."
"Wow. This place looks real cozy." Nora said, looking around and seeing so many couches and chairs. There was even a fireplace.
"Definitely gives off a summer home." Ruby said.
"Where's the bathroom, Jaune?" Coco asked.
"Upstairs, down the hall, and last door on the right."
"Thanks. Be back in a bit."
"So, what now?" Ren asked.
*AAWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO! AWO-AWO-AWOOOOOOO!*
"Fox says he thinks it would be best if Jaune tells us about the Ghost Dog." Yatsuhashi nervously said, internally debating if he should bring out Fulcrum or not since he doubted he could hit a GHOST DOG.
*AAWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!* Zwei howled back.
"Yeah." The others agreed.
"Alright. Let me just make everyone some hot chocolate, coffee, or something warm; then we can get started." Jaune said.
"Want me to help?" Pyrrha asked.
"Sure." Jaune said before turning to Velvet. "Velv?"
"Yes, Jaune?" Velvet asked.
"Can you get some blankets for all of us? They are in the first room on the left upstairs."
"Alright." Velvet said before they left with the others gathering in the living room while Ren set up the fireplace.
Twenty Minutes Later
"This is some good coffee, blondie." Coco said as they all sipped their drinks.
"T-thanks." Jaune stuttered with a heavy blush on his face. After a bit of deciding, the three teams agreed to sit together on their own couch. However, despite agreeing to that, Velvet chose to sit next to Jaune, cuddling into his side under the blanket.
"Well, while this is nice, we aren't on vacation." Weiss said.
"Weiss is right." Yang said while putting down her drink.
"What can you tell us about the Ghost Dog, Jaune?" Ren asked.
"Not much since there's barely any records about it in general." Jaune half-lief. While there were some records, they involved some places and creatures that should remain anonymous.
"So... What can you tell us?" Blake asked.
"Well, as you all already know, the Ghost Dog causes bad luck to everything around it. Also, it's a ghost, so harming it physically is out of the question. However, its biggest power is its ability to make wishes."
"How can it do that?" Pyrrha asked.
"And are there any restrictions to the wishes?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"Its teeth or one tooth. I'm not entirely sure. But it uses them to make the wishes. However, here's the thing. It can grant you any wish, but the Ghost Dog is unaffected by the wishes granted by the tooth. You can't wish it away or out of existence."
"So we can't use it against it. Great." Yang said.
"I'm not sure how to ask this. But does the dog have like an objective or mission or something?" Ruby asked.
"In a sense. Again, we don't have much about the Ghost Dog. Most of what we know comes from the only two survivors who..." Jaune began before trailing off as he remembered that the Ghost Dog was connected to the place he wanted to exclude as much as possible. "... ever walked away mostly okay. But to answer your question, the Ghost Dog is after the tooth that it lost. We don't know why or how, but it keeps losing it and just wants it back. And I should also mention this, but the Ghost Dog somehow always knows where it is."
"Do you know how many have encountered the Ghost Dog?" Ren asked.
"No. From what we have discovered, the earliest document report of someone encountering the Ghost Dog was a sorcerer of a small village who was tasked with getting rid of it. But he only barely managed to succeed after using magic to make some of the Ghost Dog's teeth fall out. However, he later died when the Ghost Dog returned for the tooth. After that and up until now, we believe there have been only four others who have encountered the Ghost Dog."
"Who was the most recent one?" Nora asked.
"And were they the ones that came out mostly okay?" Velvet asked.
"The most recent one was a kid named Andy. There was also his cousin, Marnie Myers. But we generally lump them together since they experienced it at the same time." Jaune answered before remembering Andy's grueling fate at the hands of Jonathan Chiller. "But only Andy came out relatively okay. He was left scarred for a while but was eventually able to overcome it."
"Do you have any of their stories?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"Yes, but only about Andy's and Marnie's encounter with the Ghost Dog."
"Can you tell us the story? It might not be much, but anything you can tell us about the Ghost Dog would help us." Weiss said.
"Alright." Jaune said as he set the book on the table before flipping to the correct page. However, before he could read, Zwei suddenly appeared again, standing on the pages.
"Zwei. Get off Jaune's book. Come here and sit next to me under the blanket." Ruby said, extending her hands. Zwei barked with his eyes returning to normal before jumping into Ruby's awaiting arms. She pulled him into a hug before wrapping the blanket around them. Zwei then poked his head out of the blanket before licking Ruby's cheek, causing her to chuckle. While everyone was still on edge about Zwei's barking and glowing eyes, they calmed down when they realized Zwei was still the same friendly dog they knew.
"Alright. Here's the page. Let's begin. Oh, and this story will be from Andy's perspective." Jaune said as he adjusted himself. "There have been many relics throughout the Remnant's history. Some have greatly benefited mankind, while others threatened to wipe humanity and Faunus off the map. However, there are some relics that both sides would agree on never to use. The reason: They have powers you may not want to unleash. We begin with Andy and his cousin Marnie at a theme park, eating popcorn. After taking a few bites from her popcorn, Marnie looks toward Andy and almost demands to trade popcorn bags with her."
Story
"Andy, trade popcorn bags with me," Marnie said as she tried to grab my popcorn bag. I reflexively moved it away but ended up spilling it all over my lap.
"Marnie, give me a break." I said, groaning. "Why do you want mine?"
"Yours looks like it tastes better."
"Huh?" I asked, confused, while squinting at my popcorn. "They're exactly the same."
"Then you don't mind trading-right?" Marnie laughed.
Honestly, my cousin, Marnie Myers, might be the grabbiest person in the world. And she always wants everything that's mine. But at least she has a sense of humor. She's twelve, the same age as me. Yet she laughs like a little kid. She looks younger than me, too. In fact, despite being cousins, we hardly looked alike. Marnie's short, thin, has a narrow face, straight brown hair that reaches her shoulders, and big green eyes.
Dad, for some reason, says I could be a middle linebacker. I guess that's his polite way of saying I'm big and maybe a little chubby. I have a round face with short black hair and brown eyes. Yet what confuses me the most was how he and many others would say I always had a worried look, even though nothing was wrong.
Yet, despite our differences, Marnie and I get along really well, except when she's grabbing my popcorn or taking handfuls of French fries off my plate at lunch.
"Well? Aren't you going to give me yours?" I asked, handing her my popcorn bag before reaching for hers. But she smacked my hand away.
"I have to taste them both first." Marnie said.
We were in a horror-themed amusement park, sitting in the Haunted Theater, waiting for the show to start. The theater looked like a creepy, old haunted house in a horror movie. The auditorium was dark, except for flickering candles on the walls. Thick cobwebs hung down from the balcony while creepy organ music played. A skeleton usher stood in the aisle, holding a flashlight. Suddenly, jagged lightning bolts flashed on the black curtain across the stage. And thunder boomed over the auditorium.
"This is too scary! I don't like it." A kid behind us cried. His parents stood up, pulled him to the aisle, and led him out.
Marnie and I laughed. We'd been having good, scary fun all week in HorrorLand, especially since our parents let us go off on our own most of the time. Some of the rides were terrifying. And we both screamed our heads off in Werewolf Village. The half-human, half-wolf creatures looked so real! We actually wondered if they were men wearing hairy costumes. The way they growled and snapped their pointed teeth, you'd swear you were staring at the real thing! And another of our favorite places was The
Game Preserve as there were miles and miles of video games. Of course, we had to play until Marnie beat me at every game.
And now here we were, in the third row of the Haunted Theater, waiting for the show to start. A sign over the stage in dripping green letters read: GHOST TOWN CLOWN SHOW. Storm sounds poured out of the loudspeakers. Lightning flashed. Thunder boomed. And I gasped as someone grabbed my shoulder and squeezed it hard.
"Hey!" I said, staring up at the face of a grinning clown standing in the aisle.
The clown leaned over me and squeezed my shoulder again. The clown's face was caked in white makeup. His painted grin was crooked and smeared; he had a red bulb for a nose and a red-and-blue ruffled collar around his neck. And as he leaned over me, I saw a hatchet buried deep in the top of his bald head. The blade was halfway in his skull. The handle poked up at an angle. Painted blood trickled down both sides of his face.
"Hiya, kid." The clown growled in a hoarse voice. Let me introduce myself to ya. I'm Murder the Clown."
My mouth hung open. I wanted to say something, but I was too startled. He brought his face close to mine, and I could tell that his breath smelled like onions. His eyes were bloodshot, and there were cracks all over his white makeup.
"Hey, kid! Know why they call me Murder the Clown?" He growled.
"Because you have a hatchet in your head?" I answered.
"I HAVE A WHAT?!" The clown said, eyes bulging out. But he laughed, which caused me to laugh. However, I stopped when he grabbed me by the arm and jerked me to my feet before guiding me to the stage. "Come on, kid. Enough of this. You're outta here."
"Huh? What did I do?" I asked, trying but failing to break free. "Hey, let go! Where are you taking me?"
Thunder crashed, shaking the auditorium. In the flicker of a lightning flash, I saw faces in the audience staring at the big clown and me. Behind me, Marnie jumped to her feet and made her way toward us.
"Come on, kiddo." Murder growled before pushing me up the aisle. "You've been volunteered."
"I've been what?" I asked, shocked.
"You've been volunteered to be in the show. Fun time. You'll love it. Maybe you'll win a prize. What size clown costume do you wear? Are you a medium or a large? You're pretty big. I think I have an extra large back there."
"Wait a minute! Why does Andy get to be in it? I want to be in it, too." Marnie shouted, grabbing Murder by his collar.
"I like you. I think I have a big nose that will fit you." Murder rasped, turning his watery eyes to Marnie. He then gave us both a push. "Come on. We don't want to make the zombie clowns late for their meals. Know what they're having for lunch today?"
"No. What?" I asked, nervous about the answer.
"YOU!"
I didn't want to do this. No way. I'm kind of shy. Marnie was a lot more excited about going onstage than I was. But a few minutes later, there we were in our red-and-white polka-dot clown costumes. I had a big pillow tucked in my front to make me look fat and a stiff yellow wig that stood straight up in the air like a broom.
Marnie wore enormous platform boots that made her about eight feet tall. She had an ugly red smile smeared over her white face. Along with her polka-dot costume, she wore a pointy red-striped hat tilted on her head like a dunce cap.
"Break a leg!" Murder whispered.
He raised his big, gloved hands and shoved us out onto the stage. The show had already started. The lights were dim. Creepy music played. A ghostly fog billowed all over the stage. Scary-looking clowns in drab black-and-gray costumes were doing handstands and somersaults in the mist. Marnie and I were the only ones wearing bright colors.
As I stumbled onstage, I saw a clown with a skull instead of a face. His ugly clown smile was painted in bright red lipstick on the skull. Beside
him, I saw a sad-looking clown dressed in rags. He kept moaning and pulling out hunks of his curly hair.
The audience cheered as the clowns started to juggle. What were they throwing back and forth? It was hard to see in the fog. Were those shrunken heads they were tossing? The clown with the skeleton face pulled Marnie and me into the circle of ghost clowns before someone else threw me a shrunken head.
"That's my Uncle Herman!" Someone shouted. "Toss him back!"
The head felt soft and warm. I tossed it back to the clown. Soon, Marnie and I were tossing the heads around with the other clowns, faster and faster, till the audience cheered.
"You're doing great, kids." Murder the Clown called from the side of the stage. But then I saw something that made me gasp. And that moment is where the fun ended, and the terror began.
In front of the stage, a fat clown was waving his hands at the audience. Suddenly, his hands vanished, and he waved with bony stubs. The hands returned a second later, but that quickly changed to just the fingers floating at the end of his arms.
As I stared, the hands kept appearing and disappearing. Was the fog playing tricks on my eyes? I turned to see what Marnie was doing and saw a bald clown with sad black eyes lift his head off his neck. He tossed it across the stage to another clown.
"Hey!" I let out a cry. I gaped at the clown's stub of a neck poking up from his ruffled collar. The second clown tossed the head in the air, and it floated above the stage. It bobbed high above us and didn't come down.
My heart started to pound.
Is this really happening?
"Relax, Andy." Marnie said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "It's all just part of the show."
"But- but clown." I said, pointing to the headless clown. The lights came on in the theater. I turned and squinted at the audience. "Oh, wow. Marnie, look!"
I grabbed my cousin by the shoulders and pointed. When we were sitting out there, the theater had been filled with normal people. Kids and families. But now, some of the people in the audience looked like creatures from a horror movie! I saw rotting faces with missing eyeballs. Heads with patches of hair torn away and bare skulls poking out at the top... Missing arms... Open, toothless mouths with thick gobs of drool pouring over decayed chins...Shirts torn open and bloody guts dangling down.
"They look like GHOULS!" I said, scared. "Ghouls and zombies!"
As I stared, the ugly creatures pulled themselves to their feet and began to push their way into the aisles. People screamed. Kids were crying. Some of the people that still seemed to be human grabbed their belongings and hurried to leave. Frightened groans and moans filled the auditorium. The ugly creatures staggered toward the stage, eyes shut, arms stretched out in front of them.
Marnie and I froze, watching in terror as the ghouls lumbered toward us. I stared into the dark, empty eye sockets of a grinning skull belonging to a ghoulish woman covered in spiders. She tore out clumps of her hair as she staggered toward us.
"NOOOO!" I screamed. But I felt a chill go down my spine and sweat form on my forehead when I realized we were alone. "Marnie the clowns! They all disappeared!"
Marnie and I were alone up there. Bony green hands grabbed the edge of the stage. And then one of the creatures swung himself up. Groaning, moaning, they were all hoisting themselves onto the stage. Holding on to my cousin, I took a trembling step back. But as soon as we did, we heard the frightened voice of Murder the Clown.
"Malfunction! Malfunction!" He screamed. "Something is WRONG! Can't anyone SHUT THEM DOWN? The zombies are out of control!"
His terrified cry sent a chill down my body. I could tell it wasn't an act. The clown was really afraid! More ghoulish creatures climbed onto the stage. Their heavy shoes scraped the floor. They moaned as if they were in pain. As they staggered forward, their eyes were locked on Marnie and me. Their hands were outstretched, reaching for us.
"Marnie! The stage door!" I frantically screamed while pointing at the wooden door in the corner.
We took another step back while I gazed around the room. After a moment, we took off toward the back wall. Reaching the door, I grabbed the handle and attempted to open it. But to our horror, it was locked.
"It-it's LOCKED!" I cried.
I gripped the knob with both hands and shook the door with all my strength. But it wouldn't budge. The hideous, decaying creatures staggered closer. The air suddenly smelled like rotting meat. Glancing down, I saw a trail of yellow slime on the floor. Marnie pounded both fists on the stage door.
"Open up!" Marnie shrieked. "Open up! Can't anybody HELP us?"
"Feed! Feed!" A green-skinned ghoul with eyeballs rolling inside his skull groaned while rubbing his stomach. He raised two fingers to his mouth and loudly slurped, pretending to eat. As they formed a ragged line in front of us, the others took up the terrifying cry.
"Feed! Feed! Feed!"
Marnie and I had our backs pressed against the brick wall at the rear of the stage. As the disgusting creatures chanted and rubbed their bellies, we began to edge to one side.
"Feed... Feed!"
Slowly, we tried to slip away from them, sliding our feet silently over the floor, our backs pressed against the wall.
"HEY!" I shouted as I tripped over something and stumbled to my knees.
Looking to see what it was, I noticed that I had tripped over a big spotlight with the light on. An idea quickly formed in my mind. Grabbing the spotlight, I aimed the light at the ghouls. The ghouls groaned before raising their arms to shield their 'eyes.' They then began to back away. I kept it on them until I could barely make them out anymore. However, once they were gone, I quickly moved the light to aim it at the other ghouls that were getting too close. However, while four were stunned, many more were still stumbling toward us. My whole body trembling, I struggled to hold the big spotlight steady. I swept it over the line of moaning ghouls and zombies.
"Feed... Feed... Feed..."
They tried to shield their eyes. In the circle of bright light, they appeared to shrivel ... shrivel and shrink. Moaning in pain, they staggered back.
"Keep it on them!" Marnie shouted. "It's working! Keep the bright light on them!"
I gripped the sides of the spotlight tightly. Could I keep the ugly creatures away till help arrived?
No.
I gasped as the light flickered and flickered before going out. Darkness fell over the stage. The ghouls uncovered their eyes and pulled themselves up. They shook themselves. I saw an arm fall off and thud to the floor. They began lurching toward Marnie and me again.
"Feed... Feed..."
Struggling to breathe, I shook the spotlight as hard as I could. But it was fruitless. The light was dead. I let go of the spotlight when I felt a hand grip my shoulder. Turning around, I saw that it was Murder the Clown.
"This way." He growled while pulling out a key.
Murder opened the stage door before pushing Marnie and me through it. He then closed the door hard. We heard a squeal followed by a groan of pain. I glanced back and saw two arms caught in the door. The fingers twitched, but the hands didn't stop reaching for us. Yet, despite the door being closed, I could still hear them.
"Feed... Feed... Feed..."
I swallowed. My throat was as dry as cotton. I glanced around and realized that we were in a long, dimly lit hall.
"Quick thinking with that spotlight, kid. You held them back, at least for a while." Murder rasped. His watery eyes flashed as he rubbed his hands together before leaning to the side of my head. "You passed your first test. Now it gets REAL!"
"Huh?" I cried. "What do you mean? There's more?"
"Were those zombies real? Was it all a fake? Or were we really in danger?" Marnie demanded. Murder the Clown tossed back his head and laughed before winking at us.
"Of course, it was all a fake." Murder said. "Everything in HorrorLand is a fake - right?"
'Then why is he sweating like that?' I wondered as he led us down the long hall. And why did he sound so frightened when we heard him pleading for someone to shut off the zombies?
"I was just kidding. You kids are finished. You did a great job. We gave everyone in the audience a thrill."
Was he joking? When the zombies and ghouls headed for the stage, most of the audience ran away! Murder hummed to himself as he led us into a
little dressing room. He helped us clean off the clown makeup before getting us out of the clown costumes.
"This way, kids," Murder said as he showed us a shiny black door before going over to open it. "Glad you enjoyed yourselves."
"Uh. Thanks." I said, unsure of what to say. But I became worried when Murder stopped opening the door. A ragged grin formed on his white-caked face.
"Know why they call me Murder the Clown?" He asked but didn't give us time to answer. "Because I murder the audience! I really murder them!"
'I really hope he is joking.' I thought.
"Don't let it hit you on the way out." Murder said as we went through the door before slamming it shut behind us.
"N-now what?" I stammered. "Where are we?"
Real World
"Wait. So, was that all an act?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"Or was it real?" Weiss asked.
"No one knows for sure. We do know there were some humans and faunus there, but other than that, we don't know." Jaune answered.
"But what's with Murder the Clown?" Ren asked.
"And was he being serious or joking when he said he killed the audience?" Velvet asked.
"UUUHHHHH." Jaune began, trying to come up with an answer, as Murder never existed since it was a disguise. "He was an employee of the theme park. We don't know his name, but we do know that he started off very differently before becoming how Andy and Marnie first saw him."
"How did he begin?" Pyrrha asked.
"Murder began as a technician fixing the rides. But he always had a passion for making people laugh. However, he had no idea what his 'identity' while on stage should be. Yet, he took on the name Murder the Clown when someone nearly died from laughter because she couldn't breathe. From then on that was his stage name. We don't know his real name. But to answer Velvet's question, he was only kidding."
"That's good." Velvet said.
"But what was the name of the theme park?" Coco asked.
"And is it still around?" Ruby and Nora excitedly asked.
"We don't know the name of the theme park. And it closed down." Jaune lied. In reality, the place was still around, and he knew the various paths they had to take to get there. However, he didn't want to risk word getting out about it.
"Well, that's too bad. If it really was as scary as how they said it was, then it might have been worth going." Coco said.
'I doubt it.'
"For some anyway." Blake said, not really liking their parks.
*BOOM*
"Wow. It's really coming down hard out there." Yang said as the rain pelted the window.
"Fox wants to know if there is any way to determine how close the Ghost Dog is." Yatsuhashi said.
"No. Unless you wish for something, there's no way to tell how close it is." Jaune answered. "Anyway. Let's continue. After Murder the Clown closed the door, Andy and Marnie heard a bell ring above their heads. However, they had to blink a few times to adjust to the sudden brightness of the room."
Story
The first thing I saw was a row of glass shelves against a blue wall. The shelves were filled with little dolls. I took a step closer and realized that the dolls had human bodies. Male and female, dressed in dark-striped business suits and frilly dresses in all colors. Still blinking, I took another step closer. The dolls had human bodies, but their heads were strange... They all had wolf heads! Were they werewolf dolls?
"Check this out," Marnie laughed as she lifted a red and yellow package off a shelf. It read MAKE YOUR OWN QUICKSAND on the front. The box showed a boy and girl up to their necks in yellow-brown sand. "Look. It says you just add water and sand!"
"Kind of funny." I muttered. A slim green lizard with bright red eyes caught my attention. Was it made of rubber? Plastic? A sign read: Go AHEAD. PET THE LIZARD. I reached out two fingers and gently rubbed the toy lizard's back.
"AAAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!"
I jumped a mile as a deafening scream blared from the lizard's open mouth. But while I calmed my racing heart, Marnie laughed at the sight.
"That really gotcha, Andy! Ha-ha. I want one of those!" Marnie said.
"Is this some kind of joke store?" I asked.
As if something compelled us to do so, we turned around and saw a blue-and-white sign above the cash register counter. In big, drippy letters, it read: CHILLER HOUSE. Under that, it said: GIFTS & SOUVENIRS. ESTABLISHED 1496.
"Yeah. For sure. 1496. Like I believe that." I said, rolling my eyes.
"This store is awesome," Marnie said, picking up a glass candy jar. The label read: SOUR GUMMI GERMS. "Check it out, Andy. I guess they're all shaped like germs!"
"Yum!"
Glancing around, I realized that we were in a relatively small store. But it had shelves from floor to ceiling on every wall and display counters and shelves stacked high in the middle of the room. Things were piled everywhere. There was barely room to walk. All the shelves were jammed with toys, candy, dolls, scarves, masks, T-shirts, and all kinds of junk. Marnie and I were the only customers. I didn't see anyone behind the cash register. I picked up a box with a giant gorilla on the front. It said: INFLATABLE 800-POUND GORILLA. I set it down next to a massive shark jaw.
"Anyone home?" Marnie called.
Silence.
"Anyone here? Is the store open?" Marnie said, cupping her hands around her mouth.
I heard a rustling sound from somewhere behind us. Then I heard footsteps. A man stepped out from behind a stack of boxes. I blinked a few times as I took in his appearance. He was big, balding, and resembled some historical figures I saw in my history books. Or maybe the old guy on the Quaker Oats oatmeal box. He looked very old-fashioned.
He had little square eyeglasses perched low on his long, pointed nose. He had pale blue eyes and thick white eyebrows. His thinning gray hair was swept back on his broad pink forehead and was scraggly in the back. He wore a dark suit with a vest under the jacket. A ruffly white shirt and a black bow tie, big and loosely tied, completed the look.
"Hello. Welcome." He said.
He had a croaky and raspy voice. When he smiled, a gold tooth gleamed in his mouth. He rubbed his hands together as if he were cold. I saw a sparkly blue-jeweled ring on his right hand. He stepped out from behind the boxes while studying us over the rims of his square eyeglasses.
"Welcome to Chiller House." The guy said, his gold tooth flashing. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the owner of this shop, Jonathan Chiller."
"Cool shop." I said, "Is that a real shark jaw?"
"It's hard to say what is real and what isn't real." Chiller said, rubbing his hands. He picked up a pink animal hoof and dangled it by the little chain attached to it before tossing it to Marnie. "Is this a real Lucky Pig's Foot? Or is it a fake? I guess it comes down to what you believe."
"Well, it wasn't lucky for the pig!" Marnie said after examining it. Chiller's smile tightened across his face as he turned to me.
"I see you're interested in the inflatable 800-pound gorilla. I have a good air pump to go with it. It only takes a few days to inflate it."
"I don't think my room is big enough." I said, shaking my head.
"This would make a nice gift for someone." Chiller said, holding up a wriggling brown thing. "It's a two-headed worm. It's alive. I have plenty
of worm food you can buy for it."
"Yuck." Marnie said, disgusted. Something caught my eye on a high shelf. I pulled it down and saw that it was a large animal tooth on a leather cord.
"Is this from a jungle animal?" I asked. Jonathan Chiller raised both hands as if saying stop.
"That's not really for kids." Jonathan said. "You might want to put that back on the shelf."
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"It has powers you may not want to unleash."
"Chicken." Marnie said after seeing me nearly drop the tooth. Thankfully, I managed to catch it by the cord.
"It isn't a joke," Chiller said, taking the tooth from me before polishing it.
The yellowish tooth had to come from a gigantic animal. It was nearly as big as my thumb! It was flat on the top except for a slender dent in
the middle. It came down to two sharp points.
"Is it a tiger's tooth?" I asked, causing Chiller to shake his head.
"I'll tell you the history of this tooth." Chiller said, rubbing the tooth. "This tooth is more than three hundred years old. It comes from a tiny Highland village in Scotland. The people of the village were fishermen and sheep herders. Their village was a cold, bleak place. It was winter there for six months of the year. They were cut off from the rest of the world and very superstitious."
'Then how did they survive?' I wondered.
"One day, an unusual dog wandered into the village. The dog was a Blue Kerlew Hound. I know you've never heard of it. It was a rare breed of Scottish wolfhound. The hound's fur really was a dark shade of blue. The villagers didn't like a stranger in their village, especially a stranger with blue fur. But bad things started to happen. The lake suddenly stopped giving up fish. And the sheep began dying from an unknown disease."
"Did they know what was causing it?" Marnie asked.
"They blamed it on the dog. They claimed the dog was enchanted and had brought the bad luck to their village. They tried to chase the dog away, but it wouldn't leave. They were afraid to kill it because of its evil powers."
"What did they do?" I asked.
"The desperate villagers sent for a sorcerer who lived nearby. They offered him the best house in the village if he could rid them of the dog. The sorcerer tried several spells to make the hound vanish. But the vanishing spells all failed. Finally, the sorcerer tried a different kind of
spell. He cast a spell to make the hound lose all its teeth. He believed that would take the dog's power away. But the spell wasn't powerful enough. The dog lost only a single tooth. As the sorcerer watched, the dog uttered a howl of surprise. And then it turned and ran away. It wasn't seen again."
"What happened afterward?" Marnie asked.
"People began catching fish once more. The sheep stopped dying. Good luck returned. The sorcerer was a hero in the village. He stayed in the best house, high on a green hill overlooking the lake. The sorcerer kept the tooth as a good luck charm. To his surprise, he discovered that it
could grant wishes. The tooth made him famous. Highlanders came from distant villages to have their wishes granted. Poems were written about
the sorcerer, and songs were sung."
"But I feel like something terrible happened to the sorcerer." I said.
"And you would be correct. His story ended on a stormy, cold night. As the rain poured down, villagers heard horrible howls and cries from up on the hill. A flash of lightning lit up the sorcerer's cottage. Several villagers braved the rain to run up there. They found the tooth in a puddle of rainwater. And they found the sorcerer dead, torn to pieces. The villagers immediately knew it was the dog when they saw its footprints surrounding the sorcerer's house. They knew that the Blue Kerlew Hound had returned for its revenge."
"How did you get the tooth?" I asked as we gazed at the tooth while Chiller dangled it before us.
"I'm a collector." Chiller answered, shrugging.
"The tooth really grants wishes?"
"Yeah. Sure. Like in all the old stories," Marnie said, rolling her eyes. "It grants you three wishes - right? But the first two wishes don't turn out right. So you have to use the third wish to undo the first two wishes."
"No." Chiller said softly, rubbing the tooth as he gazed at us with his pale eyes. "It's not like the old stories. The tooth grants ALL wishes. You just have to be careful of one thing."
"And what's that?" I asked.
"Don't let it get wet. The tooth was lying in a rain puddle. There's a lesson there. Keep it dry. Always keep it dry."
"What happens if it gets wet?"
"You'll get a shock."
"A shock? What kind of shock?"
"You still want to buy it?" Chiller shrugged, not bothering to answer my question.
"I'll buy it!" Marnie said.
"Whoa. Wait. Give me a break, Marnie. I saw it first. I took it off the shelf. I want it." I said, causing Marnie to stick her tongue at me.
"We'll both buy one!" Marnie said, turning to Chiller.
"No. That's impossible. There's only one Blue Kerlew tooth
in the world." Chiller said.
"I called it first. I said I'd buy it first." Marnie insisted.
"But I saw it first. Why are you such a copycat? Why do you always have to have what I have?" I asked, causing Marnie to shut up for a moment.
"Okay, okay. Fine." Marnie snapped. "Take it. Go ahead, Andy. It's a total fake. You know it is. It probably isn't even a dog's tooth. I don't want it."
"Okay, great." I said before turning back to Chiller, who had an amused and slightly off-putting grin on his face. "I'll take it."
Chiller was already wrapping the tooth up in tissue paper. Then he placed it in a little box and wrapped a blue ribbon around it. Once he tied it off, he pulled a furry little figure from a drawer. It was a tiny green-and-purple creature, like the park workers of the theme park. He attached the little creature to the ribbon before gazing at me hard. "Take a little creature home with you."
"How much does it cost?" I asked, reaching for my wallet. However, Chiller waved me away.
"No. No money." He said. "You will pay me back next time you see me."
I stared at him, confused.
What did he mean by that?
Real World
"Wait. So this Jonathan Chiller figure was the one who gave Andy and Marnie the tooth the Ghost Dog is looking for?" Weiss asked.
"Yes." Jaune answered.
"Why would he give something so dangerous to two kids that don't seem to be that mature?" Coco asked.
"We don't know. But if you ever see him or his shop, you're more than welcome to ask him."
"What do you mean by that, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
"Simple. Chiller has something that makes it so that you can only find him or his shop if he wants you to find them."
"Do you know anything about him?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"Not much. We know that he had a lonely childhood because of his mother; we don't know the reason, though. And somehow, he became an expert in collecting rare but dangerous items. Chiller also likes to play games and loves his toys, but that's all we know about him."
"Do you know of anyone else who received... items from Chiller?" Ren asked.
"We know some, but most likely not all of them. Thankfully, all the ones we do know are safe and are leading mostly normal lives again."
"Do they still have the items Chiller gave them?" Yang asked.
"Only two of them had an item from Chiller's shop. But only one of them had the item Chiller originally gave him; the other grabbed a different item from his shop."
"Did you ever meet Chiller, Jaune?" Ruby asked.
"Thankfully, no." Jaune answered.
"But what about the little... creature keychain that Chiller gave them?" Nora asked.
"Yeah. I feel like he gave them for a different reason other than a gift on the house or a souvenir." Velvet said.
"Fox is saying he thinks it has something to do with Chiller saying that Andy will pay him back another time." Yatsuhashi said.
"I wonder what he meant by that." Blake said.
"Fox is correct. And you'll see toward the end of the story." Jaune said. "Anyway, back to the story. It was a few days later, and Andy was finally home after a long day at school. He placed the little creature on the shelf of his bookcase. However, he has yet to unwrap the tooth Jonathan Chiller gave him."
Story
The following Saturday, Marnie's parents dropped her off at my house for the day. She lives about twenty minutes away, so we're always visiting each other. I didn't mind, though, as Marnie and I always got along great, except when she drove me crazy. And today, she was driving me crazy about the Blue Kerlew tooth. We were up in my room, and I wanted to finish my math assignment, so maybe we could go to the mall or something. But Marnie wouldn't let up about the tooth.
"Where is it, Andy? Why haven't you tried it? Come on. Get it. Let's make a wish." Marnie asked, looking around my room before getting up close and personal.
"It's a joke." I said, pushing her away. "You didn't really believe that crazy old guy's story, did you?"
"How do you know it's crazy unless you try it? Come on. Just one wish. Where is it? Where?" Marnie said, reaching into my shirt pocket. But she started tickling me after I pulled away. She knew I was ticklish. "Come on. Give it up, Andy. Where is it? Where?"
"Stop! Stop it!" I shouted, laughing.
"Just one wish, Andy. Then I'll stop talking about it." Marnie said, moving back.
"Promise?" I asked, gasping for air.
"I swear." Marnie said, raising two fingers in the air.
"Okay, okay."
Grumbling, I pulled the box from the desk drawer where I'd hidden it. I opened it and unwrapped the tissue paper. Marnie made a grab for the tooth, but I swung it out of her reach. I slid the leather cord around my neck. Then I adjusted the big tooth on my chest.
"Let's think. .. . What should we wish for?" Marnie asked, closing her eyes and thinking. I squeezed the tooth in one hand. We stared at each other, thinking hard. Downstairs, I heard my parents' voices. They were talking about dinner.
"I wish we could go out for dinner. Mom's cooking is, like, disgusting." I said without thinking.
"Andy, are you ready? We're going out to the Burger Basket for dinner." My dad shouted from downstairs.
"Yessss!" I pumped my fist in the air as Marnie's mouth dropped open.
"Andy. You made a wish. And it came true!"
"Huh?"
"I wish I could go to the Burger Basket with you!" Marnie shouted, grabbing the tooth from me and squeezing it.
"Marnie. Would you like to come with us?" Dad shouted from downstairs. We were both so stunned that we burst out laughing. "Is everything okay up there?"
"No problem. We're coming." I shouted.
"The tooth - it works!" Marnie said, staring hard at it. "You squeeze it in your fingers and make a wish. And it works instantly!"
"It had to be a total coincidence. Don't make a big deal about it, Marnie." I said, shaking my head as I headed for the door. But she grabbed me and spun me around.
"Let's make a big deal. Let's make a BIG wish. Something crazy."
"Not now. Mom and Dad are waiting for us."
"Let's see... I wish... I wish..."
"I wish Dad got a huge, brand-new red Escalade!" I said, clasping my hand over her mouth.
"Good one. Let's see if it came true." Marnie said, pushing me away. We raced down the stairs. At the bottom, Marnie tripped me, and I nearly fell on my head.
"What's the rush? Are you two starving?" Mom called.
We ignored her and hurtled to the front door. I held my breath. Was the tooth for real? Would there really be a new Escalade in the drive? I pulled open the front door and leaped onto the stoop. My eyes swept up and down the driveway.
No.
No new car.
"I don't BELIEVE it!" Marnie screamed from behind me. She grabbed my head with both hands and turned it to the street. I uttered a cry when I saw a brand-new red Escalade parked at the curb.
"That's - that's impossible!" I stammered. "No WAY!"
"Like it?" Dad asked, coming up from behind with a smile on his face.
"Well ... YEAH!" I blurted out.
"The dealer is so desperate to sell it." Dad said. "He's letting me test drive it for a few days."
Marnie and I stared at each other. We were practically bursting with joy. So far, the tooth has granted three wishes out of three! I tucked the tooth down the front of my T-shirt. Marnie and I climbed into the back of the car. It was a real climb. The car was about a mile off the ground! I took a long, deep breath. I love that new car smell. I rubbed my hands over the smooth leather seat.
"Check it out, Marnie." I pointed to the DVD screen in front of us. "Is that totally awesome?"
"What movie should we wish for?" She whispered.
"Stop!" I said, glancing to the front. Mom and Dad were fastening their seat belts. "Not another word about the tooth."
"Andy, don't you realize how incredible this is? We can have anything we want. Anything!"
"Why do you keep saying we?"
"Did you forget? It's MY tooth."
"I know it. So big deal. Besides, stop saying we. I know you. You'll start making wish after wish, and I won't get a word in."
"What's that about wishes?" Mom asked, turning to us. "What are you two arguing about?"
"Nothing." I said. "We wish we could decide whether to get fries or onion rings."
"Why don't you get both?"
"See?" Marnie whispered, poking me in the ribs. "Another wish came true!"
Half an Hour Later
We sat in a big booth at the Burger Basket. Mom and Dad sat across from Marnie and me. My dad is a clothing store manager, and he's a very calm, very serious person. But tonight, he was totally psyched. All he wanted to talk about was the Escalade.
"I'm not sure we need such a huge thing." Mom said.
"Sure, we do." Dad insisted. "Look how easy it will be to drive the soccer team."
"But I'm not on the soccer team!" I said.
"You might get on the soccer team some time." Dad argued.
'Good one, Dad.'
Of course, Marnie and I were psyched, too. We were totally excited about the tooth. We were both bursting to tell my parents. But we both knew we had to keep it secret. My parents don't have the greatest imaginations. If they thought I was getting crazy ideas about this big tooth I was wearing, they would definitely take it away from me.
The waitress took our order. Marnie and I both got fries and onion rings. Suddenly, my parents jumped up. They saw some friends across the restaurant. They slid out of the booth and hurried over to say hi. As soon as they were gone, Marnie stuck out her hand.
"Quick. Pull out the tooth."
"No way. They'll be back here in a second." I said.
"I'll tickle you. I really will." Marnie said, wiggling her fingers at me. I let out a long sigh before pulling the tooth from under my shirt. Once she saw it, Marnie immediately grabbed it. "I wish they bring me TWICE as many French fries as you!"
"Nice," I muttered. I took the tooth back and tucked it away. "Do you really think you can use MY tooth whenever you want?"
"Yes. Don't be selfish." We both sat there staring straight ahead. Mom and Dad slid back into the booth.
"You two are certainly quiet tonight." Mom said.
"We're... uh ... thinking about homework." I lied. The waitress brought the food. She set down the plates of French fries. And as we expected, Marnie got twice as many fries as me.
"What's so funny?" Dad asked when Marnie giggled.
"So many fries!" Marnie said, causing me to roll my eyes. Sometimes, my cousin is totally annoying.
One Hour Later
After dinner, we drove Marnie to her house. She opened the back door and jumped down from the Escalade.
"Cool car!" She shouted. Then she leaned back into the car and whispered to me. "Be sure to bring the tooth to school."
"Huh? I don't think so." I said.
"Andy, just think," Marnie whispered. "We're never going to fail another test!"
She slammed the door and hurried up the walk to her house. I sat back on the smooth leather seat and sighed. I suddenly felt very tense. My heart began beating fast. I could feel the big tooth against my chest. Was this thing too good to be true?
Real World
"I can already see how and why Marnie didn't make it." Blake said.
"Yeah. She's playing with fire now." Coco added.
"Yeah. I don't like giving spoilers, but it was her greed that was her downfall. And it wasn't a clean one either." Jaune said.
"You know, if it weren't supernatural or a wishing granting tooth, this would have been a good story about what greed can do to a person and the consequences that could follow." Weiss said, with the others agreeing. Although, they did find it ironic that it came from Weiss, who was technically the wealthiest person among them.
"Oh. Jaune. I just remembered something." Velvet asked.
"What is it?"
"Why did Chiller say not to get the tooth wet?"
"You'll see in a bit."
"How long do the wishes last?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, the truck. Does it disappear after a short while, or is it there forever?"
"That depends on the wish. As with the fries, it didn't last since Marnie ate them. But as for something like the Escalade, it will stay there until the family decides to get rid of it or it gets destroyed."
"Can the tooth alter the minds of others or anything to make a wish come true? Or make it make sense, like having a dealer practically give the car away to Andy's father?" Ren asked.
"Again, it depends on the wish. But yeah, the tooth will alter things to make whatever the wish was seem more realistic." Jaune answered. "Anyway-"
*BOOM*
*ZAP*
"And there goes the lights." Yang said, annoyed, as the lights went out, and they sat in the darkness.
"Yeah." Jaune said, rubbing his forehead.
"Do you have a backup generator, Jaune?" Nora asked.
"Yes, we have a gas-powered generator. But we don't have any spare gas or gas in it. And even if we did, I doubt it would work since I think the Ghost Dog caused the lights to go out."
"Then what should we do? The light from the fireplace is enough for this room. But what if we have to leave?" Ruby asked.
"I'm pretty sure we have some candles we could use."
"Do you know where they are?" Pyrrha asked.
"Last time I saw them, they were in the closet in the hallway. And there's a lighter in the drawer next to the stove."
"Alright. I'll be back in a moment."
Five Minutes Later
"Now, this is cozy." Velvet said, snuggling into Jaune's side. Blushing, Jaune moved his arm so he could wrap it around Velvet, causing her to smile.
"It's almost like we're camping." Ruby said, with Zwei barking between her legs.
"All we need now is some smores." Nora said.
"Maybe one day we could go out camping." Jaune said.
"That would be nice." Coco agreed.
"So long as there are no werewolves." Weiss said.
"Don't worry, Weiss. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to tell when one is near." Pyrrha said.
"Pyrrha's right. There are ways to see if a werewolf is near." Jaune said, silently wondering how Pyrrha knew that. "Anyway. Back to the story. It was late. Andy was in his room, worrying about the tooth. He knew it was powerful. As such, he feared what the catch to each wish was. But more importantly, he wondered how he would keep Marnie away since he knew she didn't have any self-control."
Story
I gazed at the tooth on the nightstand next to my bed. Pale moonlight poured in from my open window. It made the tooth glow with an eerie green light. I grabbed the leather cord and held the tooth in front of my face.
'Do I really want to take it to school?'
I pictured Marnie showing it off to all her friends, strutting around, acting like it was her tooth. Then I imagined her friends grabbing for it, tugging it away, eager to make wishes of their own. A riot with kids fighting over the tooth, battling in the halls, wrecking the whole school, and making crazy wish after wish. And who would get blamed? Good old Andy.
'A mistake.' I thought, gazing at the glowing tooth next to me. Bringing it to school could be a horrible mistake. I shut my eyes and tried to go to sleep. But no sooner than I did, I heard a deep growl. My eyes snapped open as I jerked upright in bed. "Huh?"
What WAS that? I listened hard. And through the open window, I heard a long, mournful howl. An animal howl. Was it a dog? A neighborhood dog. I've lived here all my life and never heard a dog howling this late at night before. The dog howled again, a long, warbling wail, causing a shiver to run down my spine.
Jonathan Chiller flashed into my mind. And once again, I heard his croaky voice telling the story of the Blue Kerlew Hound. The mournful howls on the hill ... The villagers running through the stormy night ... finding the sorcerer torn to pieces. TORN TO PIECES! Outside, I heard another sad animal howl. I slid down under the covers and shut my eyes.
But I saw the big blue hound coming for me. It lumbered forward steadily with its tail raised straight behind it ... with its head high, eyes glowing red as fire. Howling... howling as it came to tear me to pieces, as it came back for its missing tooth. Another howl. Right outside. So close... so close. I pulled the covers over my head and pressed my hands over my ears. But still, I could hear it. Even under the covers, I could hear it howling... howling into the night.
How much sleep did I get? Maybe an hour or two.
The following day, I arrived at school with bloodshot eyes, yawning my head off. My head felt heavy as if it were made of solid rock. Sure enough, guess whose cousin was waiting for me at my locker.
"Did you bring it?" Marnie asked. "Did you?"
"Good morning to you, too," I muttered as I turned the combination on my lock and pulled open the locker door.
"I'm not going to make a wish or anything." Marnie said. "I just want to show it to Judy."
I KNEW IT!
"The bell is going to ring," I said, squatting to pick up books from the bottom of my locker.
"Did you bring it or not?"
"Yes, I brought it. It's under my shirt, but -" I said as I closed my locker. But I then saw some kids watching us. I grabbed Marnie's arm and pulled her around the corner, out of sight.
"What's the big idea?" Marnie asked.
"Sshhh." I said, raising a finger to my lips. "Listen, Marnie, this is serious. I mean, really. I heard a dog howling last night."
"So? You heard a dog. Big whoop."
"The dog howled all night. Right outside my window."
"Andy, why didn't you close the window?"
That's when I lost it.
"Don't you get it?" I asked, grabbing Marnie by her shoulders. "The Blue Kerlew Hound? Remember? They found the sorcerer torn to pieces. The dog came back?"
"You think the ghost dog came back to get you? That's nutty, Andy, and you know it. It was probably some dog down the street who didn't want to be left outdoors." Marnie said, laughing. I let go of her shoulders.
"Maybe. Maybe not. But listen, Marnie. Let's keep the tooth a secret, okay? I mean, for now. Making wishes is cool. But . .. I feel kind of creeped out by the dog howling."
"Well... if you don't want the tooth, you could give it to me. I mean, if you're totally stressed about it, I'd be happy to take it." Marnie said, tugging the leather cord around my neck. But I slapped her hand away.
"You never give up, do you!? Listen, I'm keeping the tooth. I just want to be careful, that's all."
"Okay, okay." Marnie rolled her eyes. "No problem. We'll be careful."
"Good." I said. I let out a long sigh and started to relax.
And that's when Marnie grabbed the cord. She pulled the tooth out from under my shirt and squeezed her hand around it. Her green eyes flashed. A devilish grin spread over her face.
"I wish ... I wish the school would get out early because there's a cow loose in the building!" Marnie shouted.
"NO! Are you CRAZY?" I pried the tooth from her hand and started to jam it back into its hiding place under my shirt.
But sure enough, I heard some kids screaming somewhere down the hall. Then ... running footsteps.
And then: M0000000000000.
A Few Days Later
Sunday afternoon, Mom dropped me off at the Cloverfield Mall. She said I could buy my own sneakers, as long as I didn't buy the ones with lights that flash when you walk. I told her that wasn't a problem since I had no reason to buy those kinds. But today was a big deal. She was actually trusting me to shop on my own. As I exited the car, she tucked a ten-dollar bill into my shirt pocket.
"You didn't have much lunch, Andy. Buy yourself a snack." Mom said before making a face. "Why do you insist on wearing that ugly tooth everywhere?"
"Dunno. It's like a good luck thing." I shrugged before waving goodbye and closing the door. I had no way of knowing that the tooth would not bring me good luck that day.
The mall was really crowded. A high school band was playing in the rotunda. And across from it, a big mob gathered around a totally awesome sports car being auctioned off. I tried to push my way to the front to get a better look. But I felt a hand on my shoulder followed by a familiar voice.
"Why don't you trade the Escalade for the cool sports car?" Marnie asked.
"Marnie, how did you know I'd be here?" I asked, turning around. Marnie wore a pale blue sweater and a short denim skirt over blue tights. She had a blue headband in her brown hair.
"I'm psychic." She said. "Didn't you know I can read minds?"
"Really? What am I thinking right now?" I demanded.
"You're thinking you want to use the tooth to get me all kinds of cool stuff at the mall today."
I burst out laughing.
"I'm serious." She said while her gaze was still on the tooth. "Let's see what we can wish for."
"Let's not." I said. I turned and started walking toward Shoe Universe. She hurried after me.
"Andy, you're no fun. We haven't had any fun at all with the tooth."
"Stop saying we."
"Okay, okay."
"I don't think it should be used for fun. The tooth is serious. It's kind of scary. It's like .. . having too much power."
"We could just get some little things." She said before inhaling deeply. "Mmmmm. Those cinnamon buns smell so great!"
"My dad says it's a trick. He said they pipe that cinnamon smell out into the mall to get you to stop and buy one of their buns."
"I don't care." Marnie said. "How about wishing for cinnamon buns? One for each of us. That's not too scary, is it?"
"Here," I said, pulling the ten-dollar bill from my pocket. "Mom gave me this for snacks. We can buy two cinnamon buns."
"That's a lot of fun. Not." Marnie said, pouting.
We walked past the Cineplex. Three teenage dudes were arguing with the girl in the glass ticket booth that they were old enough to go into some movie. It must have been R-rated. The girl was at her wit's end as she kept asking them for their ID.
"How about free movie tickets?" Marnie suggested.
"No way. I'm here to buy sneakers." I said, shaking my head.
"Why don't you just wish for the sneakers?"
"I want to pick them out."
"How about just one crazy wish, Andy? You know. Something insane. Like a cow loose in the mall."
"Give me a break, Marnie. You already did that, remember?"
"And it was awesome!" she said, giggling.
"No more cows."
Marnie took off toward her favorite store, Boutique Boutique. The sign in the window said: SO NICE WE NAMED IT TWICE. She nearly collided with two women pushing baby strollers.
"Andy, check it out." Marnie said. I made my way slowly up to the shop window. Marnie had her face to the glass, staring at a pile of sweaters. A little sign read: PURE CASHMERE.
"Don't drool. It's very immature." I said, earning a hard shove in the ribs.
"I just want the blue one and the pale green one. Or maybe the creamy white one. I'm really not into sweaters, but those are amazing. Please, Andy? It's so simple. Just make a wish for me to have two of them in my size. What can it hurt?" Marnie said before turning to me. And up until this point, I had been calm and patient. But it was when she grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me that I lost it. "Please? Pretty please!?"
"You're driving me CRAZY! I wish you'd STOP TALKING about the tooth!"
Marnie made a hard swallowing sound like she was choking. Then she moved her lips... and no sound came out.
"What's wrong? I can't hear you." I asked as her face turned red. And while I wasn't that great at reading lips, I could make out what she was saying.
"I ... can't ... talk. I ... can't ... talk!"
"You're joking - right?"
She shook her head. Her eyes bulged. I could see she was trying to shout. But no sound came out. She really couldn't speak. A chill ran down my back. My mouth dropped open in fright.
What have I DONE?!
Marnie waved her hands frantically. She struggled to speak, to make a sound. A hoarse bleat escaped her throat, and she started to cough.
My mind whirred from thought to thought: Serves her right. She was making me NUTS, wishing for everything she saw.
But then I thought: This is terrible! What if she can never speak again? What if I've ruined her life? She tugged my sleeve with one hand and pointed wildly to her throat with the other. I couldn't read her lips. But I knew what she wanted. She wanted me to wish her voice back.
"Okay," I said. But she grabbed the tooth before I had a chance. She tugged it so hard that the cord dug into my neck. "OUCH! Hey - you CUT me! Is it bleeding?"
Marnie scowled at me. With a deep sigh, she grabbed the tooth and made the wish for her.
"Yes! It's back. My voice... I can talk again." She said before punching my shoulder. "How could you DO that to me?"
"I... I didn't mean to," I stammered. "It was a total accident. But you asked for it, didn't you?"
"I love my voice! It's beautiful!"
"Look what you did to me. Is there a bruise? Is it bleeding?" I asked, pressing my hand against my neck.
"It's a little cut. Just a tiny drip of blood. Sorry. I didn't mean
to cut you. It was an emergency."
"Emergency?" I cried. "It wouldn't be an emergency if you didn't drive me crazy with all your wishes. If - if -"
I stopped. People were staring at us. I recognized two kids from school. They were pointing at us and laughing. I spun away and started to walk.
"Let's go." I said. "Shoe Universe is around the corner. Are
you coming with me?"
"Tell you what." She said, trotting after me. "I'll make you a deal."
"No deal."
"Andy, you're being a total jerk."
"Stop trying to get on my good side."
"One wish. That's all. Come on. One wish - and I'll shut up. I won't even mention the tooth for the rest of the day."
"How about for the rest of the week?"
"Promise."
"If we do one wish, you promise you won't say the word tooth for a week? Raise your hand and swear."
"I swear. But it has to be a good wish."
"Okay. Deal." I said. We were standing outside Shoe Universe. I pulled the leather cord over my head. I held the big tooth in front of me.
"Let me make the wish." Marnie said. She grabbed for the tooth, but it fell out of my hand.
"Get back." I said when I saw that the tooth landed in a sticky puddle. It looked like orange soda. I picked it up and wiped it with my hand. "Here goes."
Marnie's eyes flashed eagerly. She had an excited grin frozen on her face. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the worst.
"I wish for Shoe Universe to give you and me free pairs of their absolutely most awesome sneakers!"
I waited. I realized I was still holding my breath. I heard a buzzing sound. It sounded like a hive of bees all buzzing at once. It took me a few seconds to realize the tooth was buzzing. And then it started to vibrate in my hand. Harder ... harder ... until it made my hand ache.
"Huh?" I said, confused.
A blinding light made me shut my eyes. Marnie screamed. A white bolt of electricity roared over me. I didn't even realize I was dancing. Caught in the jolting electricity, my body twisted and jerked. My arms flew over my head. My legs did a wild jig. The loud buzzing no longer surrounded me. It was in my head now. It was like a thousand bees buzzing... bumping against my brain... bumping me as I danced in the painful current. And then, nothing. Just silent darkness.
Real World
"How old are they, Jaune?" Coco asked.
"I believe they were twelve or thirteen when this happened." Jaune answered.
"Well. Young or not, Marnie is starting to get annoying." Weiss said.
"Yeah. I would not have been as patient as Andy was with her." Yang said.
"We can chalk some of it to her being only a pre-teen, but still." Ren said.
"Do you think they would have still been friends if they both survived?" Ruby asked.
"No, not after their encounter with the Ghost Dog. What Marnie did afterward really severed their friendship. Andy would have told her off and never to come close to him again. Not to mention what she's about to do next." Jaune answered.
"I'm honestly surprised Andy and Marnie have been friends up to this point." Blake said.
"According to Andy, Marnie was never bad before they found the tooth. She was just annoying at times. But the tooth brought out the greed in her."
"I can see that. If the tooth didn't show up, then they might have still been friends. But speaking of the tooth, Fox is asking is that why Chiller said not to get the tooth wet?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"We're not sure. Our only leading theory is that it was the work of one of the sorcerer's spells."
"Hopefully, it's just that, and it didn't piss off the Ghost Dog."
"Hopefully."
*BARK! BARK! BARK!*
"Zwei! Calm down! What's wrong?" Ruby asked when Zwei suddenly started barking.
"What's wrong with your dog, Ruby?" Coco asked.
"I have no idea."
"Perhaps he's hungry." Nora said.
"Maybe. But he also knows how to open his can of dog food and feed himself.
"Perhaps he has to-" Weiss began.
*AAWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!*
*BARK! BARK! BARK!* Zwei jumped out of Ruby's lap and dashed to the window to continue barking.
"Okay. That sounds way too close for comfort." Yatsuhashi said.
"Yeah." Everyone else said, suppressing a shiver. And goosebumps formed on their skins while their heart rate significantly increased when a gust of wind nearly blew out all the candles despite them being inside with all the windows closed.
"So, what happened next, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, eyeing Zwei, who kept barking at the window. They all felt the hairs on their bodies stand up straight when Zwei's barking started echoing.
"The darkness was slowly replaced by a bright light. It was as if someone were lifting a window shade in front of Andy's face." Jaune began. "Andy heard himself groan as his head throbbed. He could feel the blood pulsing at his temples."
Story
I shut my eyes and saw flashing red lights.
"Andy?" A voice called my name from somewhere far in the distance. The red lights faded to gray. "Andy? Are you waking up?"
I blinked, letting in the bright light again. Why did my head hurt so much? Why did my whole body ache? I felt as if I could feel every one of my bones.
"He's opening his eyes." A girl said.
Was it Marnie?
"He's coming around." Another voice, still far away.
Mom?
My body twitched. My mouth opened with a gurgling sound. I tried to sit up. But a shock of pain to my heart made me drop back down.
"Where am I?"
Was that my voice? So hoarse and husky. I blinked a few more times. I saw a red ceiling light. And then green curtains blowing at an open window.
My room?
No. The colors were all wrong. I didn't have a red ceiling light and green curtains. Brown eyes floated over me behind black eyeglasses. Thinning brown hair. A bushy brown mustache.
"Hello?" I asked. "Where am I?"
"Don't you recognize me?" The man said, his face hovering over mine. "I'm your dad."
"My dad? No, you're not."
"Give him some air." A woman said. She pulled the man back from my bed. I groaned again. Marnie sat by the bed, looking very tense and pale.
"Marnie - where am I? Who are these people?"
"They're your parents." She whispered.
"But I've never seen them before!"
"Just be calm. You're safe and sound." The woman said. She smoothed her warm hand over my forehead, brushing my hair up.
"You had a bad shock." Marnie said. "At the mall."
"Did he fry his brain?" The man asked the woman. "Did he fry it?"
"They think you fried your brain."
"No!" I cried. A stab of pain made me cringe. "My brain is okay. But I don't know these people!"
"Andy, are you faking?" A blond-haired little girl asked, poking her face over mine.
"Huh? Faking? Who are you?" I asked, confused.
"Your sister, of course. Don't you remember me? Margaret? But you call me Muggy?"
"Muggy?"
My mouth was suddenly too dry to talk. My heart pounded. I didn't remember her. I didn't remember any of them except for Marnie. Did I fry my brain? Was my memory wrecked? The red ceiling light started to spin. The bed tilted. I grabbed the sheets to keep them from falling out.
"Marnie - help me!" I cried. "Help me remember. I don't know these people."
"Is his brain fried?" The man repeated. "Is it fried?"
"Muggy Muggy Muggy, you're so Uggy Uggy Uggy!" The little girl sang as she pushed her face up to mine. She then poked me in the ribs. "Don't you remember that song? You made it up. You always sing it to make me mad?"
"I-I don't remember." I choked out. "I-I'm so sorry, everyone. I don't remember you. I really don't."
"The tooth was wet." Marnie said. "Jonathan Chiller said you'd get a shock. You didn't dry off the tooth, Andy. And you fried your brain."
"NO -PLEASE!" I cried. "DON'T SAY THAT!"
"He fried it." The man said as he and the woman shook their heads. "He fried it."
"Muggy Muggy Muggy, you're so Uggy Uggy Uggy!" The little girl sang as she pinched my shoulders hard.
"Stop-please!" I moaned. "Stop singing that."
"I'm going to sing it till you remember me! Muggy Muggy Muggy, you're so Uggy Uggy Uggy!"
"Don't you see?" Marnie said. "The tooth was wet. You made a wish when the tooth was wet."
"And you fried your brain." the man said. "I'm your dad. And I'm telling you the truth. You fried it."
"NOOOO! You're not my dad! And you're not my mom! And I don't have a sister! This is crazy!" I screamed before grabbing my head with both my hands. "I-I wish I was ten thousand miles away from all of you!"
RRRRRRRRRRRIPPPPPPP!
I heard a loud ripping sound, like someone tugging open a Velcro shoe. And then I felt myself being ripped away, torn from the bed ... from the strange room. Ripped away as if pulled by a powerful vacuum cleaner.
I shut my eyes.
Was that ME screaming?
RRRRRRRRRRRIPPPPPPP!
The sound seemed to be following me.
I landed with a jolt on something hard. My eyes shot open.
I blinked, struggling to focus. Where was I? I was buckled into a hard metal seat, staring out a wide window, staring out into the darkness. No. As my eyes adjusted, I saw twinkling stars, millions of twinkling stars.
And then a planet floated into view far above me. A green-and-blue planet. It took me a while to recognize the shape... and then I gasped. I swallowed hard. My breath caught in my throat.
What was REMNANT doing way out there?!
My seat bounced. I glanced down and saw some kind of control panel spread out in front of me. Lights blinked. Numbers flashed on LED screens. Computer monitors showed views of the stars outside. I gazed from the controls to the floating ball that was Remnant, high outside the window. It took me a long while to realize I was in some kind of space capsule.
My heart pounded. I gripped the sides of the chair so hard my hands ached. And I stared into the black depths of space all around me. The blinking stars were tiny bright dots, like pinpricks against the blackness. Am I really ten thousand miles from Remnant?
The question repeated in my mind.
Impossible. Impossible.
But here I was. I wished it... and here I was. All alone, floating in outer space. Chill after chill rolled down my back. Was I afraid? Yes. Of course. I grabbed for the tooth on the cord around my neck. I was ready to wish myself back home. But I stopped myself. I was too dazzled by the incredible view. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I couldn't take my eyes off our blue-and-green planet. How many people were lucky enough to see Remnant this way?
"Wow. I wish Marnie could see this." I said. I didn't think. I didn't mean to make a wish. The words just burst from my mouth as I gazed out the capsule's window. And...
RRRRRRRRRRRIPPPPPP!
That sound again. It was like someone was tearing fabric. The capsule rocked. I was tossed forward, then back. Marnie popped into the seat beside me. She bounced once, then settled on the metal chair.
"NO000!" Marnie screamed. Her eyes bulged at the view out the window. And then she saw me beside her. "Andy? Where ARE we?"
"Outer space," I said. I pointed toward Remnant floating above us.
"NO!" Marnie cried again. "You wished...?"
"I wished for you to see this, too. Isn't it amazing?"
"No! It's not! I don't like it, Andy. I don't want to be in outer space! Why did you do this to me? Why?"
"I told you -"
"Get us back!" Marnie screamed. "I don't want to be here. You KNOW I'm afraid of flying!"
"Huh? Flying?"
"I am terrified. Do you understand?" Her whole body trembled.
"Marnie, don't freak." I said, trying to calm her down. "Take a deep breath. Look how awesome it is!"
"I don't want to look! Get us home, Andy! Get us home! Get us home!" Marnie screamed, covering her eyes. She then began pounding the control panel with both fists. "Get us home! Get us home!"
"Okay!" But before I could make a wish, she turned and grabbed the cord around my neck. She swung her hand up and pulled the tooth over my head. "Give it back!"
I cried. I made a grab for it... and it floated out of Marnie's grasp.
"It - it's weightless!"
I made another grab.
Missed!
The tooth floated higher toward the ceiling of the capsule. Marnie unbuckled her seat belt. She floated out of her chair. She reached out both hands and swiped at the tooth.
Missed!
The tooth floated higher and higher... toward some kind of air vent. I unbuckled myself, kicked off, and went sailing up out of my chair. I floated toward the top of the capsule - and dove for the tooth. My fingers wrapped around it. But the tooth slid right through them and sailed higher. Marnie and I bumped heads.
"OW!" I cried. "Look out!"
"How can I look out?" Marnie cried. "I've never flown before."
"It's going into that vent!" I cried. We both stretched our arms out, trying to fly higher. Thankfully, I managed to grab it and pull it close to me. "Yes!"
But Marnie and I flew into each other again. My arms got tangled in hers. We struggled to pull apart.
"We're upside down!"
Marnie tried to swing herself around... and kicked me in the chest. Now, we were both sailing down headfirst.
"Can't... turn... around... " I said. And then my head bumped the control panel. "Ouch!"
I heard another thud. Marnie winced as she bumped the panel, too. The whole capsule jerked and tilted from side to side.
And then I could feel it start to fall. Floating in front of the window, I felt a strong pull against me, like a magnet pulling me down.
"We're dropping!" I shouted.
Out the window, I could see the blue-and-green ball of Remnant appear to grow larger. The capsule picked up speed as it fell. Faster ... faster. I could feel the pressure. Feel the incredible pull. It felt like someone was trying to pull my skin off! I couldn't move ... couldn't breathe. Remnant rose up in front of us, bigger ... BIGGER.
"We're falling FAST!" Marnie shrieked. "We're going to crash!"
I gaped in horror as our planet filled the whole window.
The tooth. Andy, the tooth.
The words flew through my brain. In my total panic, I'd forgotten about it. I had it gripped tightly in my fist. I squeezed it hard. I struggled to breathe. I couldn't think straight. We were hurtling toward Remnant, about to smash into the planet. I pictured us crushed, like an egg tossed against a brick wall.
What should I wish for?
"I-I wish I was back in my own bed!" I choked out.
Will it work?
RRRRRRRRRRRIPPPPP!
I heard the sound again. And felt myself being snapped away. A bright whir of dancing colors flew past my eyes. They spun so fast that they made me dizzy. I clamped my eyes shut. And felt a hard thud. The landing knocked my breath out. Choking, I opened my eyes and stared up at solid blue. It took me a long moment to realize I was lying in bed. My head rested on a pillow. The covers were pulled up to my chin. A black-and-red bedspread. MY bedspread.
Yes! The tooth had come through again and granted my wish!
I was definitely in my own bed. But where was I?
I stared up at the solid blue. A pale, white cloud floated into view. The sky. I was gazing up at the sky. How did my bed get outdoors? I pushed down the bedspread, swung my feet to the ground, and sat up. My eyes focused on a curtain of metal bars. A wall of thin bars rose up high above my head.
Cage bars?
Yes. I twisted around and gazed behind me. There were bars all around me. A cage. I was in a large cage. The ground was soft black dirt. I saw leafy trees inside the cage.
"Huh?"
With a gasp, I jumped to my feet. My heart began to race in my chest. The cage was huge, bigger than my front yard. I saw a tire swing hanging from a limb of a tree. A row of tall bushes. A red-and-blue beach ball rested in a big sandbox, like you see in kiddie playgrounds.
"What's up with this?" I asked.
I took a few steps across the dirt... and realized I wasn't alone. Eyes stared in at me from the other side of the cage bars. I gasped when the faces came into focus. People were staring into the cage ... staring at ME!
Was I in a zoo?
I saw about a dozen people. Some of them had goofy grins on their faces. They stared at me, poked each other, and giggled and pointed. Were they laughing at me? I struggled to get over my shock.
"Hey! Hey - where am I?" I shouted. They jabbered back at me in funny, squeaky voices, like cartoon voices. I couldn't understand them at all. It sounded like gibberish. I could feel the panic sweeping over me. "Hey! Answer me! Where am I?"
"Hubbahubbahubba."
"Do you think I'm some kind of monkey?" I shouted, grabbing the cage bars.
That's when I realized they weren't staring at me. They were staring past me. I wasn't alone in the cage. I heard heavy thuds pound the ground behind me. I swung around - and stared at a huge creature with dark brown fur. At least four or five feet taller than me and as wide as a Jeep! It lumbered forward on its two fat, furry legs, kicking up black clouds of dirt. He gnashed two giant rows of teeth together as he thundered closer. His big black eyes were locked on mine.
It was an enormous ape, like out of a horror movie. He kicked the beach ball against the cage bars and kept coming.
"I'm not a monkey!" I screamed. "I'm not a monkey!"
I was out of my head with fear. I didn't know what I was saying. The big ape didn't seem to care. He tossed back his furry head and snarled. Then he gnashed his teeth together furiously. He stopped for a moment and picked up a disgusting blob of grass and weeds from the dirt before shoving it into his big mouth and swallowing it whole. It seemed like he wanted to show what he was going to do with me.
But apes don't eat meat - DO they?!
Outside the cage, the crowd grew quiet. No one moved. No one blinked. The snarling ape strode closer, kicking up a tornado of dirt.
"The tooth!" I shouted, suddenly remembering it.
Yes. The tooth. It was my only way out. Why had I waited so long? I grabbed it, wrapped my hand around it, and lifted it from the front of my shirt. But before I could make my escape wish, the ape reached out an enormous paw... and swiped it from me.
"Hey!" I shouted as I made a frantic dive for it.
I bounced off his leg and landed hard in the swirling dirt. I then saw the ape stomp away with the tooth. The huge ape smacked the tire swing as he stomped past it. The tire rocked back and forth so hard the whole tree shook.
"Give that tooth back!" I shouted. The furry ape turned and raised the tooth in the air.
WAIT!
WAS HE GOING TO THROW IT OUT OF THE CAGE?!
I froze. In my panic, I knew I had to get that tooth back. If I didn't, I could spend the rest of my life in this zoo cage. The giant ape held the tooth up close to his face like he was studying it. He held the tooth out to me. Then he pulled back his arm and tossed the tooth over the cage bars. No. He only pretended to toss the tooth. He held it up to show me the tooth was still gripped tightly in his paw. The creature was teasing me with it!
What could I do?
Fear paralyzed my brain. I couldn't think of anything. A gust of wind blew through the cage. The beach ball bounced against my legs. With a sigh, I started to kick it out of my way. But then I stopped. I had an idea. I picked up the big ball in both hands.
Was the huge ape ready for a game of catch?
I raised the beach ball over my head and heaved it at the ape. The ape caught the ball in midair. And the tooth fell from his hand to the ground. I made a wild dive into the dirt. My hand scraped the ape's foot. My fingers wrapped around the leather cord.
Wet! The tooth had landed in a puddle of water!
I snatched the tooth up and raised it to my face. The ape leaned down and made a wild grab for me with both paws. I rolled out from under the giant creature while squeezing the tooth.
"I wish I was back home safe and sound!" I screamed while closing my eyes.
ZZZZZZZAAAAAPPPPPPP!
A powerful current shocked my body. My arms shot up over my head. All my muscles tensed, then throbbed with pain.
Another electrical shock.
My teeth clamped together. I bit my tongue. My throat closed. I couldn't breathe. And still, the current jolted through me, making me toss, spin, and dance, a dance of pain and terror. The last thing I saw were those big black ape eyes... gleaming black... staring at me in surprise. The creature's eyes seemed to grow... to inflate to the size of black balloons.
And then, everything went black.
"Ohhhh." A sharp pain made the back of my head throb.
I tried to raise my head, but it felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. I opened my eyes. I saw a bright blur of yellow and white, like a fried egg, in front of my face. I blinked until my eyes started to focus. I was gazing up at a high ceiling. The yellow yolk was a ceiling light.
"Where am I?" I groaned.
My voice sounded hoarse as if I'd been asleep for a long time. I stretched my arms at my sides. I was sprawled on my back on a hard floor. I tried my legs. I pulled my knees up, sliding my shoes on the floor. Yes. Legs and arms were working. Faces appeared over me. Worried faces, squinting at me, studying me with tight-lipped frowns. And then Marnie's face floated over me.
"Andy? Are you waking up?" Marnie asked.
"I don't know," I murmured, rubbing the back of my head. "Am I awake? Where are we?"
Several people were kneeling at my sides. A white-haired woman was leaning over me, squeezing my wrist, taking my pulse. A very pale man with thick eyeglasses helped pull me to a sitting position. I leaned my head against a tile wall. In front of me, I saw a familiar store window: Shoe Universe.
"Did anyone call for an ambulance?" The man asked. "Does he need an ambulance?"
"Did he faint?" A woman said. "Does he have a medical condition?"
"I don't think he needs an ambulance." The white-haired woman said before letting go of my wrist. Then she squinted at me. "Do you remember your name and address?"
"Yes. I'm Andy Meadows." I said before telling her my address.
"If you have a headache later, you should call your doctor." The lady said while standing up.
"Okay." I said. Shaking their heads and murmuring to each other, people started to leave. Marnie dropped down beside me.
"Andy, you got a nasty shock." Marnie said.
"Oh, my gosh! Marnie, how did you get here?" I asked, relieved. She frowned at me.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I-I totally forgot about you! I'm so sorry! I left you in that space capsule! I can't believe I did that! How did you get back to the mall from outer space?"
"Uh-oh. Did you say outer space?" Marnie said, paling. I nodded but wince when a pang of pain shot through my body. She then stood up. "Maybe you DO need a doctor. You're not making any sense. I'll call your mom and dad. I'll tell them what happened. It won't take them long to get here."
"But, Marnie -" I grabbed her arm and pulled her back down beside me. "Remember? I was in bed? In a strange room. Not my own room. With people I'd never seen before. I made a wish. And we were in the space capsule. Then, it began to fall to Remnant. Then I was in a weird zoo. In a cage, like an animal. A huge ape came after me, and-"
"Andy, don't move," Marnie said, pulling my hand off her arm before jumping up. She pointed a trembling finger down at me. "Don't move."
"But, Marnie-"
"I'll get help," she said. She looked around frantically. "Listen. You're all mixed up. You've been here in the mall the whole time."
"Huh?" I gasped. "No way -"
"Andy, you got a shock, and it knocked you out. You've been out for almost ten minutes."
"Huh? Only ten minutes?" I said, confused. It felt like hours.
"Ten minutes," she said. "I was SO worried-"
"But what about the space capsule? The ape in the zoo?"
"You haven't moved, Andy. You've been flat out on your back. The shock must have given you some weird dreams."
My head was spinning. I felt totally confused. Of course. Those adventures had to be dreams. My brain went berserk while I was out cold. With a groan, I hoisted myself to my feet and shook off my dizziness. A few worried adults were still there watching me. I told them I felt fine. I watched them stroll away down the wide aisles.
"I feel a lot better." I told Marnie while stretching.
I was about to continue but stopped when something caught my eye. My breath caught in my throat. I stared hard. And then I let out a cry:
"Marnie - why are YOU wearing my tooth?"
"No. No fever." Marnie said, placing her hand on my forehead. I kept staring at the big tooth dangling from the cord around her neck.
"My tooth-"
"Your tooth?" Marnie said. "Oh, wow. Since when is it your tooth?"
"But-but-"
"You're starting to scare me, Andy. I mean, really. I'm really worried about you. You hit your head on the hard floor when you fell. Maybe you have a concussion or something."
"I-I don't understand."
"The tooth is mine," Marnie said. She squeezed it between two fingers. "It's never been yours."
"Not true! I bought it and-" I shouted. She raised a finger to my lips to hush me up.
"Don't you remember, Andy? At HorrorLand? We were in that little shop, and you didn't want the tooth. That weird shopkeeper offered it to you first. And you said you thought it was dumb."
"Wait. That's not what I remember. I -"
"So I bought it from the shopkeeper. Chiller, or whatever his name was. I thought it was cool looking, so I bought it. It's my tooth. It's always been my tooth."
I felt dizzy again. The store windows tilted and swayed. The bright lights flickered above me. I shut my eyes and waited for the dizziness to pass.
'Is my memory totally messed up?' I asked myself.
I thought I was the one who bought the tooth. Was that another one of my crazy dreams? It didn't seem like a dream. Why did I remember so clearly that the wishing tooth belonged to me? I had to get it straight in my mind. I hated feeling so totally confused. I grabbed Marnie's shoulder.
"Marnie, remember? A few days after we got back from HorrorLand? You were at my house, and my parents were talking about dinner. I had the tooth, and I made a wish that we would go out for dinner. Then, instantly, my dad said, 'Let's go out for dinner.' Remember?"
"Excuse me?" Marnie said, acting offended. "Don't you remember? I made all the wishes, Andy. I wished that I could go with you. I wished your dad had a new car?"
"But-but-"
"Don't you remember? I wished to get twice as many French fries as you. And my wish came true?"
"Well ... yes. Yes, I remember that. But -"
"And then I wished for a cow to appear in school so we'd get out for the day?"
"Yes. I remember that, too."
"I made all the wishes because the tooth was mine. I was wearing it, Andy. So I made all those wishes." Marnie said, secretly happy that she was fooling Andy.
I swallowed. I felt a shiver run down my back.
"Do you think I'm going crazy?"
"I think the shock messed up your memory. You had all those weird dreams while you were knocked out. And you imagined the tooth was yours."
"But it seems so real. Me wearing the tooth to school and to the mall and-"
"Andy, it's been in my dresser drawer since last Monday, the day I wished for the cow in school. You never owned the tooth. It's mine. Today is the first day I took it out of my drawer."
"Are you sure?" My voice came out high and tiny. Marnie nodded.
"Don't you remember any of this? I brought the tooth to the mall. And I started to make a wish in front of the shoe store. But I dropped the tooth. You tried to pick it up for me, remember? And then you got that terrible shock?"
I leaned against the wall. My brain was spinning in my head. I felt sick. My stomach lurched. I held my breath and pressed my hand over my mouth to keep from heaving.
"Are you okay? Are you feeling sick?" Marnie asked, paling.
"A... little." I barely managed to choke out.
I couldn't stop my brain from churning. How could my memory play such weird tricks on me? The tooth belongs to Marnie? Marnie bought the tooth necklace from Jonathan Chiller? For a moment, I had the strangest feeling.
'I'm still messed up!' I thought.
I'm confused because I'm in a dream. I'm going to wake up and remember it all just the way it really happened. But I knew that was wrong. I knew I was awake. No space capsule. No giant ape in a zoo cage. No dream. Just the real world. There was only one thing wrong. My brain was completely scrambled.
Real World
"If it weren't for the fact that I knew it was a magic tooth that caused that, I would have said that Andy went on one hell of an acid trip." Coco said before growling. "But wow. That was one scumbag move on Marnie's part."
"Yeah." Yatsuhashi agreed while Fox narrowed his eyes.
"If that happened to me and I realized it, Marnie wouldn't have any teeth left in her mouth and two black eyes." Yang said.
"While I would prefer to handle situations peacefully if it can be done, especially when it comes to family or close friends, I would have gladly turned a blind eye and make an exception for this." Ren said.
"I know I would. Instead of helping a family member who was badly hurt, she took the moment to steal the tooth. Then, while he was still getting his mind together, she lied to make him believe it was hers all this time." Velvet said.
"Now you guys know why Marnie never had many friends to begin with." Jaune said.
"I know I would never be friends with someone like that." Pyrrha said.
*BARK! BARK! BARK!*
"Zwei. We get it. You don't... uh. Where's Zwei?" Ruby began before asking when she didn't see Zwei anymore.
"What do you mean? He's by the... never mind." Nora said, turning to the window and not seeing Zwei.
"Do you think he went outside or to another room?" Weiss asked.
"Possibly to another room since all the doors are closed and locked, and we don't have any doggy doors." Jaune answered.
*AAWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO! GRRRRRR!*
"Okay. That sounded like it was right next door." Yatsuhashi said.
"Yeah." Everyone except Blake agreed.
"Uh. Jaune." Blake said.
"Yes, Blake?" Jaune asked, turning to her and noticing how pale she was. Sweat was pouring down her forehead while goosebumps covered his skin.
"Uh. What breed was the Ghost Dog again?"
"Blue Kerlew Hound. Well, that's what the villagers called it."
"Do you know what it looks like, aside from being a ghost and see-through?"
"It's completely blue, whiteish-glowing eyes, and seemingly very muscular. He also has a blue snout. But that's all I can really tell you since he is a ghost and somewhat see-through. Why?" Jaune asked, curious.
Instead of answering, Blake raised a trembling hand and pointed behind herself. Curious but also confused, everyone looked past Blake and saw something that nearly made some of them faint.
It was the Ghost Dog.
And it looked pissed.
"SHIT!" Everyone shouted as they stood up and pulled out their weapon. But they were highly doubted they could do anything as the Ghost Dog passed through the couch like it wasn't even there.
"W-what do we do?" Velvet asked.
"I-I have no idea." Jaune stuttered as the Ghost Dog slowly moved forward.
*BARK! BARK! BARK!* Zwei barked as he appeared in front of the Ghost Dog and stood his ground.
"ZWEI!" Ruby shouted, both relieved that Zwei was alright but scared that he could get hurt.
However, it seemed like Zwei would be fine as his barks started echoing while his eyes turned yellow and his pupils turned to black slits. The Ghost Dog seemed curious about Zwei as it tilted its head to the side. But it then looked back to the teens as if wanting to convey something. Then, in a surprising move, the Ghost Dog moved past Zwei, grabbed Jaune's book, and brought it to them. It placed it on the ground and flipped it open to the page they were just on about its story before pushing it close to Jaune by using its snout.
"Y-You want me to finish reading your s-story with Andy and Marnie?" Jaune hesitantly asked, earning a nod from the Ghost Dog.
"Jaune. Don't." Velvet began, grabbing his arm. But she stopped when the Ghost Dog quickly turned to her and growled.
"I-it'll be alright, Velvet." Jaune said, picking up the book. "Okay. Let's continue."
Story
"How did it go at the mall?" Mom asked.
"Uh ... not bad," I said.
I probably should have told the truth. But I wanted to go up to my room and think and be by myself. You know. Try to get my brain straight. Mom and Dad were on the den floor with a Scrabble board spread out on the coffee table. They play the slowest, most boring Scrabble games. It's painful to play with them. They spend hours with their little dictionary, looking up words and then arguing about them. Somehow, Mom always wins. I don't see the fun in it. But they love it. I said good night and hurried away. I was halfway up the stairs when Mom's voice stopped me.
"Andy, let me see the sneakers you bought." Mom said.
Sneakers? Uh-oh.
"Uh . . . I didn't buy any." I said.
"You're kidding. Why not?"
"Just didn't see any I liked. Guess I'll have to go back."
"What did you buy there?" Dad called.
"Uh ... well ... nothing/ You see, I got a very bad shock that knocked me out and made me have all these crazy dreams. And now my memory is totally messed up. And I'm freaking out because my brain is fried."
"That's nice." Dad said. "See you in the morning."
"Good night, dear." Mom added.
I knew they weren't listening! Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. It takes a lot to get them to even look up from their game. Shaking my head, I climbed the rest of the way to my room. And before I entered my room, I could hear them start to argue again.
"Fleg is not a word." Mom said.
"Sure, it is." Dad said. "Look it up."
"No need. There's no such word as fleg. What is a fleg, anyway? Use it in a sentence."
"Okay. We fly the fleg on the Fourth of July."
They both broke up laughing. I closed my bedroom door. I wasn't in the mood for Dad's horrible Scrabble jokes.
My head felt like someone was pounding on it with a big wood mallet. I decided to go to bed early. When I wake up in the morning, the headache will be gone. And my memory will be back. That's what I told myself. I changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed. Then I pulled the covers up to my chin and shut my eyes. It felt really good to be back in my own bed in my own room. I settled my head deep into my pillow. I let out a long sigh and tried to relax.
But the sound outside my open window made me sit up with a jerk. A long, low moan. Not a human sound. And then another, higher, closer. An animal howl. It rose and fell like an ambulance siren. And then another. A dog's howl. An angry howl.
The Blue Kerlew Hound!
I knew it had to be that long-dead creature. The ghostly dog prowling right outside my house. Howling... howling up at my window.
But... why?
I didn't have its tooth. Why was it coming after me? Another terrifying howl sent a chill down my back. I jumped out of bed. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. I hurried to my window and peered down at the front yard. No dog.
Pale moonlight made the yard look silvery, eerie. The flowers in my mom's flower bed swayed from side to side in a gusty breeze. A chipmunk scampered behind the big maple tree by the curb.
Was the ghostly dog invisible?
I hugged myself tightly, trying to stop my chills. The next long howl made me jump. It seemed to be coming from right inside my room. I spun around with a loud gasp.
No. Calm down, Andy. Take a deep breath, dude.
No way I could get to sleep. I clicked on my desk lamp and dropped down in front of my computer. I brought up Google and typed in Blue Kerlew Hound. After a few seconds, the screen changed. I blinked, surprised that only a single entry came up. It had the headline: CREATURES OF LEGEND & MYTH. I clicked on it, and it took me to a weird site about Scotland. A long article filled the screen. I scrolled down, searching for a picture. Something to show me what the hound looked like. But no. No image or drawing.
I went back up to the top and began to read. The whole story was there. The same story Jonathan Chiller told us in his shop at HorrorLand. My eyes scanned down the screen, and I read the story all over again. The tiny town in the Highlands of Scotland... the mysterious blue dog... the bad luck it brought the town... the sorcerer who cursed the dog's teeth to drive it away... the sorcerer discovering the one tooth could grant wishes... the night the dog returned, and the sorcerer was found torn to pieces. It was all there. But then there was more. My mouth dropped open as I read the bottom of the article.
The part Jonathan Chiller didn't tell us . . . It said: "The tooth has been missing for three hundred years. No one knows if it is owned by anyone or if it has disappeared for all time. Over time, the legend of the Kerlew Hound's tooth grew. It was said that the ghost dog roams Remnant, looking for its missing tooth. And that each wish made with the tooth sends a signal. The hound follows the signals. And when the dog finally finds its tooth, the owner will share the same horrifying fate as the sorcerer."
My heart thundered in my chest as I read the last sentences: "Of course, the story of the Blue Kerlew Hound is only legend, a tale made up in the Highlands of Scotland. But those people who know the legend admit they would not keep the tooth if they found it. No one wants to come face-to-face with the deadly hound."
Taking a look at the time, I saw that it was nearly one o'clock in the morning. But I didn't care. I had to warn Marnie. I had to warn her that every wish she made on the tooth was dangerous. I picked up my jeans from where I'd tossed them on the floor. I dug my cell phone out of my pocket and punched in Marnie's number. I listened to it ring... two times... three... four... Finally, Marnie answered.
"Andy? What do you want?" Her voice was hoarse.
"I know I woke you up." I said. "But this is important."
"It better be. What do you want?" Marnie is a total grouch when you wake her up.
"Don't use the tooth anymore. Every wish is dangerous. No more wishes, Marnie. Every wish brings the blue hound closer."
Silence for a long moment. Then Marnie burst out laughing.
"Nice try, Andy." she said. "Did you think that up all by yourself?"
"No. Really-" I said.
"That's how jealous you are? You'd try a cheap trick like that to stop me from using my tooth?"
"Marnie, listen to me. You can look it up yourself. I'm not making it up-"
"Andy, you tried to convince me we were in outer space - remember? Why
should I believe a word you say?"
"It's true. It's really dangerous. Don't use the tooth, Marnie."
"Well, you just watch me tomorrow, Andy. Stand back and watch me - because I'm going to have some fun!"
I couldn't get to sleep for hours. When my alarm went off, I yawned and squinted out my bedroom window. The sky was almost as dark as night, with storm clouds hanging low over the trees. I groaned and tried to sit up. I felt as if I had dark storm clouds fogging my brain.
At breakfast the following day, Mom gave me a hard time about not buying sneakers.
"I can't believe you wasted all that time yesterday, Andy. What did you do
with the money I gave you?" She asked.
"I still have it." I said. "No problem. I was trying to be a good shopper."
"Good shopper?" Dad looked up from his laptop and laughed. "How can you be a good shopper if you don't buy anything?"
I wanted to tell them that I was serious about the electrical shock and everything. But then they would probably keep me out of school, ask me a million questions, and make me see Dr Hanson. I tilted the bowl to my mouth and slurped down the last drops of milk from my cornflakes.
"I have to go." I said before heading outside.
Getting on my bike, I rode it to school. I was half a block away when the rain started to come down. I tossed my bike at the bike rack and went running into the building. I strode down the hall, shaking off water. My jacket was soaked through. And my hair was matted flat against my head. I pulled open my locker. Marnie came running up.
"Andy, you feeling okay?" She asked. But she didn't give me a chance to answer. Instead, she swung herself around. "Check out the new backpack. It's Prada. Feel the leather."
"Smooth," I said, feeling the leather. "Doesn't that cost, like, a thousand dollars or something?"
"I didn't pay for it. I wished for it." Then I saw the big tooth dangling on its cord around her neck. "These new jeans, too. I never had straight-leg jeans that fit this well. Think I'm going to wish for another pair."
"Listen, Marnie, I Googled the whole thing last night." I said, chasing after Marnie as she ran down the hallway. "The tooth is more dangerous than Jonathan Chiller told us."
"We've been there, Andy." She said, rolling her eyes. "Remember? You called me last night. I didn't believe you then. Why should I believe you now?"
"Because it's true."
"Got to go, dude."
"I-I heard the dog again last night. Every wish brings it closer."
"If the big blue dog comes after me, I'll wish it away!" Marnie said. Then she ran to catch up to her friend that I didn't recognize. She must have wished for her to be a friend. I then watched her showing off her new backpack.
The hall was noisy, with kids shouting and laughing and locker doors slamming. But in my mind, I kept hearing the eerie howls, the mournful cries that had kept me up most of the night. I half-slept through class all morning. Luckily, Mrs. Parker didn't call on me. When the bell rang for our mid-morning break, Marnie came running up to me with a big grin. She waved a paper in front of my face.
"Andy, check it out. I grabbed it and studied it. "Your math quiz? You got an A?"
"You . .. you wished it? Andy, I'm never going to get a bad grade in math again! I'm a genius now. I'm a math genius!"
"Nice." I said. My stomach suddenly felt as if I'd swallowed a big rock. "How many wishes are you going to make today?"
"Maybe a million." She gave me a punch in the stomach and hurried away.
I stood there, thinking hard. What if the story I read last night was true? What if every wish Marnie made brought the ghost hound closer? I felt totally tense. Every muscle in my body had a knot in it. Worst of all, my memory still wasn't working. I didn't remember anything correctly that happened before the electrical shock.
I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Mrs. Parker gazing down at me. Mrs. Parker is about six feet tall and very thin. She has blond hair and blue eyes and looks like a model in some of the magazines that moms read. Mrs. Parker told us that she came from Norway, where just about everyone looks like her. Now, all of us guys want to move to Norway!
"Andy, what are you thinking about so intensely?" she asked.
"Uh ... math." I lied.
"Why don't I believe you?" Mrs. Parker laughed.
"Because I'm lying?" That made her laugh even harder.
"We're having a very interesting assembly this afternoon. Congressman Boltz is going to tell us some fascinating things that have happened to him in Washington."
'Oh, thrills.' I thought. 'Maybe if I sit in a back row, I can catch up on my sleep.'
"And he's going to announce the winner of the five-hundred-dollar essay prize."
"I could win that," I said. "I worked really hard on that essay."
"Yes, you did." Mrs. Parker said, smiling. "I thought yours was the best, Andy. The best by far. But I wasn't one of the judges."
"Now I really am thinking of math." I said. "I'm thinking about the number five hundred!"
"Good luck," Mrs. Parker said as the bell rang. She then headed to her desk to get ready for class.
All through class, I kept thinking about the five hundred dollars. Thinking about how Mrs. Parker said my essay was the best. How big of an idiot I am? Possibly the biggest idiot by far. Why did I even think I had a chance when Marnie had the tooth? Yet, I still hoped I would win.
I stayed awake all through Congressman Boltz's talk in the auditorium. He had some pretty funny stories about going to the wrong meetings and getting locked in his office one night. He was younger than I thought he'd be. Actually, he was a pretty cool guy. And then it came time to announce the big prize winner in the essay contest. I sat up straight in my seat and gripped the chair's arms. I held my breath.
A hush fell over the auditorium. A lot of kids had entered the essay contest. A lot of kids believed they had a chance of winning. Jerks. All of us. But then all my hope of winning the competition came crashing down. How big of an idiot I am? Possibly the biggest idiot by far. Why did I even think I had a chance when Marnie had the tooth? Because, of course, Congressman Boltz leaned into the microphone and announced:
"The grand prize winner is sixth-grader... Marnie Myers!"
Some kids cheered as Marnie jumped up. She acted totally surprised. She screamed, jumped up and down, tore at her hair, and even had tears in her eyes. I just groaned and slumped down in my seat as low as I could go. I covered my face with my hands. I didn't want to watch her go onstage and collect the big check. I never had a chance. School ended after the assembly. Some kids wanted to hang around the playground and get up a soccer game. But I told them I had to hurry home. I didn't feel like talking to anyone. I saw Marnie joining the game. I knew she'd suddenly be the best soccer player in school history.
Another wish... and another wish... and another wish. When I shut my eyes, I could picture the snarling blue hound ripping us both apart... tearing off our arms and legs... snapping and frothing, chewing... chewing... until we were just scraps of meat.
All because Marnie wouldn't stop wishing.
I slumped home, kicking stones and things out of my way. Mom and Dad were at work. I was glad. I didn't want to talk to them, either. I was in a very bad mood. And for some reason, I felt like it was about to get even worse.
I pulled myself up to my bedroom. I was hot and sweaty from the walk home, so I tugged off my T-shirt and grabbed a fresh one from the dresser drawer. But before I pulled it on, I caught a glimpse of myself in the dresser mirror. And I let out a scream of total shock.
I leaned over the dresser and brought my face up close to the mirror. I was breathing hard, my chest thumping. My breath steamed the glass. It had to be a shadow I'd seen. That dark line across my neck. I raised my fingers to it. No. Not a shadow. It was real. A cut on my neck. A dark red line.
"A bruise." I whispered to myself.
I grabbed the top of the dresser with both hands and turned my face one way, then the other. Yes, that thin line was a bruise. The bruise that Marnie gave me when she tried to tug the tooth cord off my neck while we were in front of the shoe store. She tried to take it away from me. I remembered so clearly. She pulled so hard that the leather dug into my neck.
The bruise was still there!
"Marnie LIED! LIED!" I screamed. "MARNIE LIED!"
I stood there screaming at my reflection in the dresser mirror. She wanted the tooth so badly. She said she would do ANYTHING to have the tooth. So when I got that shock... when I blacked out... when I was out cold... she TOOK it. She put the tooth around her neck. And when I woke up, she made me think I was crazy. She made me think my memory was messed up. She really made me believe that the tooth had been hers the whole time.
Wow!
I stared into the mirror at the bruise on my neck.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
I knew Marnie wanted the tooth badly. But I didn't realize HOW badly. Bad enough to make her own cousin think he was losing his mind! And now, here she was, making wish after wish after wish. Acing every quiz and test, winning big bucks in the essay contest. Getting everything she wanted.
With MY tooth!
Mine! Mine!
I couldn't help it. My anger boiled over. I felt like my head exploded. I totally lost it. I started pounding the dresser with both fists.
Pounding it!
Punching it!
As if it were Marnie!
Punching the dresser again and again, I kept punching it until my fists throbbed.
I stopped when I saw my mom's reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bulging, and her mouth hung wide open. Panting hard, my fists aching, I slowly turned to face her.
"Andy?" She asked, staring hard at me. "Andy? Are you okay?"
"No. I'm not okay." I answered. "I have to murder my cousin. I have no choice, Mom. I'm really sorry, but I have to murder my cousin Marnie."
"Go ahead. That's no problem. I don't like her, either."
That didn't really happen. I didn't say that, and Mom sure didn't say that, either. I was so angry, so out of control; that's what I wished we had said. But it went something like this.
"Andy? What are you doing? Are you okay?" Mom asked.
"Uh, yeah, Mom. One of the dresser drawers stuck. That's all." I answered.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'm fine, Mom. Really." I could see that she didn't believe me. But she finally turned and started for the hall.
"Don't beat up your furniture, Andy."
"No, Mom. I'll try to give the dresser a break."
She headed downstairs to make dinner. I let out a long sigh. My fists ached from pounding my poor dresser. I knew who I really wanted to pound. I kept picturing Marnie leaning over me at the mall, acting so worried after I'd been knocked out, asking me if I was okay with my tooth dangling around her neck.
I sat down in my desk chair. My head spun with plan after plan for revenge. I saw myself grabbing the tooth away from Marnie. Then I'd wish that she would turn into a chicken. And there she'd be, all brown and yellow feathers, clucking away, pecking the floor for seed. Then, maybe after a few weeks, I'd decide to give her a break and change her back. That made me laugh. I imagined changing Marnie into all kinds of animals. Maybe a big, fat cow. Then she could stampede through the school, and we'd all get the day off again!
Not bad.
But I knew I could do better. If I thought about it long enough, I knew I could plan the perfect revenge. I was still plotting and scheming later that night as I climbed into bed... and heard the animal howl outside my window. The revenge plots leaped from my mind. I sat up straight and listened.
Another howl rose from beneath my window. So close. It could be coming from my room! That thought sent a cold shiver down my whole body. Did anyone else hear it? Once again, I tiptoed to the window. I pulled it open all the way. A cool gust of wind brushed my pajamas.
The dog howled again.
Could it be the Blue Kerlew? Was it back for its tooth?
I gripped the ledge and leaned out the window. I stared down into total darkness. I couldn't even see the flower bed at the side of the house. Another frightening howl. And then I saw it. I SAW it! And in that instant, I knew what my revenge against Marnie was going to be. I knew the dog
would bring me my revenge!
Real World
"Okay. I'm liking Marnie less and less." Coco said.
"Yeah." Everyone else agreed. But they all tensed when the Ghost Dog growled.
"I-I think he does not like Marnie either." Blake nervously said, earning a nod from the Ghost Dog, surprising them.
"Uh. Can the Ghost Dog understand us, Jaune?" Ren asked.
"I'm pretty sure he can, along with many others we will encounter." Pyrrha answered before Jaune could say anything. But they couldn't dwell on it as the Ghost Dog nodded again.
"Pyrrha's right. Most... creatures can understand us, even if they don't speak our language or languages in general. We don't know why or how, but it is convenient." Jaune said.
"Is there any way we can understand the Ghost Dog?" Velvet asked, curious.
"I would say the tooth since it's the first thing to come to mind, but I'm not sure if it would even work." Jaune answered with the Ghost Dog shaking its head. "Anyway. We're just about done. It was a few days later, and Andy rushed to sit beside Marnie as she sat in the cafeteria, eating her lunch."
Story
"Marnie, I can't sleep at night because that creepy dog keeps howling
outside my window." I said. "Could you use your tooth for me? Make a wish that the dog would go away?"
"I'm kind of busy." She said, scrunching up her face.
"Well, could you maybe help me with something else?"She waved to some girls at a table across the lunchroom. She wasn't even listening to me. "I'm building a game arcade machine for my class project. It's going to be awesome. Just like the game machines they have in arcades."
"So?"
"I downloaded a ton of old video games. And I have a monitor to use. But I'm having trouble building the box for it. Could you make a wish that I get it done in time?"
"I don't think so." Marnie said. "That really wouldn't be fair to the other kids, would it?"
"But-" She waved me off and hurried to join her friends. I almost tossed my lunch tray at her. That really was the last straw.
Saturday afternoon, I called Marnie.
"Can you come over?" I asked.
"I don't know." Marnie said. She sounded out of breath. "I just won a tennis tournament. You know. At the indoor courts. It was a long match. It took five sets. I let the other girl win a couple of sets. You know. To make it look good."
"Wow. You really are enjoying that wishing tooth, aren't you? I guess you're glad you bought it."
"Hello. It's the best thing I have ever bought. Too bad that guy Chiller didn't have one for you, Andy." I balled my hands into tight fists. I wanted to growl like an animal into the phone.
"Yeah. Too bad. Listen, Marnie, I need help with my game machine. The one I told you about? Can you come over? All of my friends are busy."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I'm building the frame for it. And I can't do it by myself."
"If we finish it, can we play it?"
"Yeah. Sure. I downloaded all the great old games. Ms. Pac-Man... Frogger... Space Invaders... "
"Cool."
I knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to come over, play my game machine - and beat me at all the games. Is there a more competitive person in the world than Marnie? I don't think so. Without thinking, I was rubbing the slender bruise on my neck.
"So, can you come over and help me?"
"Yeah, I guess. I'm probably better at building that thing than you. See you after lunch."
Two Hours Later
Marnie and I were working in my garage. First, she had to show off the cool new leather jacket she had wished for and received for free. The tooth was around her neck, under her T-shirt. I could see the leather cord. Everyone in sixth grade has to build some kind of machine.
Last week, I downloaded the video games onto my dad's old computer. Now, the plan was to build a wooden case around the computer to make it look like an arcade game. Dad and I bought the lumber we needed. We
painted it all bright red and yellow. And Dad helped me saw it into the right shapes. Now I just had to fasten the sides and back together. Fit the computer inside so the monitor screen shows in the front. Set up the control pads. And nail on the bottom.
I had the plans all drawn out. It wasn't hard. It just took two people. Marnie and I carefully fit one of the red side panels to the back. I had a jar of nails ready. I poured some of them onto the garage floor and picked up a hammer.
"Just hold the two boards like this." I said. "And I'll pound in a few nails."
"Where does the power cord go?" She asked as she pressed the side and backboards together.
"See that hole in the back panel? It'll fit through there."
"And what about ventilation? Did you leave room for a fan or anything?"
'What a know-it-all! Did she always have to show off?' I thought, annoyed. "It won't get too hot. I left plenty of air space around the computer."
"This is awesome. If it works."
"It'll work," I said as I pounded in the first nail. It was a little crooked, but it went in regardless.
"I can pound straighter than that. Here. Give me the hammer. I'll do it." Before I could say anything, we heard a sound.
A dog's howl.
"Hey!" I shouted as I jumped and accidentally kicked over a jar of nails. The dog's howl rose high and shrill, then dropped. It sounded so close - like it was in the driveway. "D-did you hear that?"
"Is that the dog you heard before?" She asked, a look of fear on her face.
"I... think so."
The dog howled again. The sound echoed off the concrete garage walls. Marnie dropped the two boards. They clattered onto the floor in front of her. She took a step back.
"It sounds... ghostly. Close and far away at the same time. Not like a real dog." She whispered. The next howl was even closer. And then I saw the creature's shadow slide over the driveway by the garage door.
"Look out. Here it comes." I said, my voice trembling. Marnie's eyes grew wide. She took another step back and stumbled into my dad's power mower.
"Ow!" Marnie grunted as she tumbled into the garage wall, and a garden rake fell off its hook and crashed to the concrete floor.
I kicked it out of the way. Then I backed up beside Marnie. We both watched as the shadow lengthened over the driveway. A dark head slid into view. Marnie gasped. The big front paws moved silently over the ground. The dog lowered its head as it stepped into its own shadow.
"A hound dog!" I whispered to Marnie as I started to tremble.
She swallowed and tried to speak. But no sound came out. The dog lumbered into the shade of the garage. Its big dark eyes were wet as it turned its gaze on us. Its long, ragged ears drooped down. Its tongue hung loosely out of one side of its gaping mouth.
"It's... so big!" Marnie murmured, finally finding her voice. The dog uttered a low growl.
"Marnie - look at its fur! It's... BLUE!"
"It... it can't be!" Marnie said, teeth chattering.
"The B-blue Kerlew Hound!" Growling softly, it moved toward us, head lowered, wet eyes in a dead stare.
"It's messed up. Its fur is all matted and filthy. It's got all that dirt stuck to it." Marnie said, pointing at the dog. "Leaves. Sticks and mud and leaves."
"Like it came from a graveyard!"
"Nooooo!" Marnie shouted.
I could see her legs trembling. She pressed her back against the garage wall. The dog's tail stood straight out. The frightening creature made a snuffling sound as it moved closer. One slow step at a time.
"Maybe we can make a run for it." I whispered, motioning for the door.
"I... don't think so. It's so big. How could we get around it? It... it's not a real dog, right? It's... back from the dead."
It's the Blue Kerlew Hound. It's here. And you know what it came for. It came to take back its tooth!"
"Andy. It looks so angry. What is it going to do to us?" Marnie whispered, grabbing my hand. Her hand felt cold as ice.
"I don't know." I answered. The big dog took another lumbering step toward us. It hunkered in the middle of the garage now, blocking our way to the door.
"We can call for help. If we shout, your parents-"
"They're not home."
She uttered another cry. Her chin was trembling. She had her arms crossed tightly in front of her, like a shield. I stared down at the dirt and dead leaves clinging to the creature's blue fur. I took a step forward. I lowered my head toward it.
"Don't look at me." I said to the dog before pointing to Marnie. "It's HER tooth!"
"Andy... what are you doing?" Marnie cried. But I ignored her.
"It's Marnie's tooth. She bought it. She bought it at the theme park, and she's been wearing it ever since." The dog raised its wet eyes to Marnie and uttered a low, menacing growl. "Give it to him, Marnie! Quick! Give him the tooth! Or else he'll tear you to pieces! Like the sorcerer!"
"Noooo!" Marnie wailed. She tugged at the tooth and struggled to pull the cord off her neck. The cord caught in her hair. Finally, she jerked it loose. Then she jammed the tooth into my hand.
"It's Andy's! It's not mine! It's his! I-I stole it from him!" Marnie shouted. The old hound gazed up at her without moving. "I stole it from him! Andy is the one who bought it. It's his. REALLY!"
A heavy silence fell over the garage. And then, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I burst out laughing.
"I KNEW it! I knew you were a thief, Marnie!" I shouted. Her mouth dropped open. Her eyes bulged.
"Andy? Why are you laughing? Th-that dog-" She struggled to get out.
"You're busted, Marnie. I totally got you! That dog isn't the Blue Kerlew Hound. That's Jack, my new neighbor's dog."
"You... you planned this? You did this to scare me?" Marnie asked, dumbfounded.
"To scare the truth out of you."
Well... you really got me. I was a little scared."
"A little scared?" I laughed again. I was totally enjoying myself. Talk about a plan working perfectly!
"That dog?"
"It's the dog that's been keeping me up for nights. At first, I honestly thought it was the Blue Kerlew Hound since we hadn't had dogs howling for a long time around here. But then I realized it was my new neighbor's dog, Jack. Jack isn't used to this neighborhood. So he howls at night. I went to see the new neighbor. Mr. Murphy. He said he was sorry about the hound dog howling every night. But when I saw the dog, it gave me the idea."
"To scare me?"
"To spray it blue and scare you And to get you to admit you stole my wishing tooth."
"I admit it." Marnie said, blushing. "Okay? Happy? I admit it."
"You're totally blushing. You're actually embarrassed, aren't you!"
"Yes. I'm embarrassed. It was crazy. Stealing that tooth necklace while
you were out cold. Then saying it was mine all along." Marnie said before averting her gaze. "I think I lost my mind. I'm sorry, Andy. Really. You must hate me. I'm so sorry."
"Good boy," I said, still reeling from my plan working. But then I stopped. The Blue Kerlew Hound took a step closer. The creature made a snuffling sound. Slowly, slowly, it raised its head.
And ...
And ...
And... a shock of horror made my whole body jerk.
"Hey!" I shouted, my blood running cold. "Hey! Wait! What's going on here? That's the WRONG DOG!"
"Wrong dog?" Marnie asked. "Andy, what are you talking about?"
My breath caught in my throat. I couldn't move. I Couldn't speak! I kept my eyes on the growling hound. Not Jack. Definitely not Jack. I knew what I was staring at. But how could it be? How could I be staring at the real Blue Kerlew Hound?
"I-I borrowed Mr. Murphy's hound dog." I stammered. "I sprayed him blue. I stuck twigs and mud on him. But... but... "
Suddenly, another dog slunk into view at the garage door. Smaller. Cleaner. It was Jack, looking forlorn. His head down. His whole body was
quivering.
"Who's that other dog?" Marnie asked.
"Th-that's Jack." I answered, my voice trembling. "That's the dog I borrowed. He's too frightened to come in. Look. He's totally scared... scared of the Blue Kerlew Hound. He knows this dog is evil."
Jack whimpered and hurried out of sight. The Blue Kerlew Hound bared its ugly, jagged teeth and snarled at us.
"This-this is all your fault."
"MY fault? YOU'RE the one who kept making all the wishes. I warned you that each wish brought the hound closer. But you didn't believe me." I shouted. Marnie didn't reply as she knew I had her there.
White froth bubbled out of the evil dog's open mouth. It lowered its head, preparing to attack. I pressed my back against the garage wall.
"What are we going to do?" Marnie asked, shuddering.
I stared down at the dirt and dead leaves clinging to the creature's blue fur. From the graveyard... From the grave... The dog tensed its back, preparing to leap at us.
"Give it to him, Marnie!" I shouted. "Quick! Give him the tooth! That's what he came for! Give him the tooth, or else he'll tear us to pieces!"
"Andy! YOU have it!" She cried. "The tooth! You're squeezing it in your hand!"
I was so terrified I didn't even feel it. An ugly roar escaped the dog's throat. He turned on me. His dark eyes suddenly glowed bright RED! He bent his back legs, preparing to leap. I squeezed the tooth in my hand and shouted at the top of my lungs.
"I WISH FOR THE HOUND TO DISAPPEAR!"
Nothing happened.
I squeezed the tooth so hard it dug into my palm. I held my breath and stared at the growling beast. I shouted the wish again.
"I wish for the hound to disappear!"
Nothing happened.
The evil hound stared up at us. The wishes made on his tooth didn't work on him. The dog reared back, kicked off from the garage floor, and attacked. It leaped onto me, snarling and growling. I felt its putrid breath on my face. Then I felt its heavy paws wrap around my waist. So powerful. The dog heaved its weight against me, and I slammed hard against the wall.
I couldn't move. It had me pinned against the concrete. White slobber poured from its mouth as it opened its jaws - and slashed its deadly teeth at my face. I struggled to break free. But the huge hound had me trapped. It pressed its enormous paws down on me. The dog smelled like rotting meat. I could feel its hot drool as its gaping mouth prepared to close, to clamp its powerful fangs down on me. I still had the tooth wrapped in my hand.
'If I can't make HIM disappear, maybe I can make us disappear!' I thought. "I-I wish Marnie and I were invisible!"
Would this wish work?
Yes!
I knew the wish had been granted when the hound released a surprise yelp. The dog dropped to the floor. His red eyes swept rapidly from right to left, searching for us. I turned around and couldn't see Marnie beside me. We were both invisible!
"Run!" I screamed. "To the house! He can't see us!"
The dog uttered a puzzled whine. I took off, running hard. I hoped Marnie was running beside me. My heart pounded as I ran full speed down the
driveway to the kitchen door. Would we be safe inside the house? I glanced back. The dog had started trotting toward the house. Did he figure out where we were? Could he hear us? Gasping for breath, I leaped onto the back stoop.
'Got to get inside! Got to get inside!' I thought.
I grasped the handle to the back door and... and my hand went right THROUGH IT!
"Huh?"
I grabbed for the door handle again. No. I couldn't feel it. My fingers went right through it. I grabbed at it again. Again. I couldn't touch anything. I couldn't move anything! This is not what I thought would happen if you were invisible.
"Andy! Hurry!" Marnie cried, right behind me on the stoop. "The dog smells us. He's coming for us! Hurry! Open the door!"
"I-I can't!" I shouted. "My hand is going right through the handle! We're trapped out here! We can't get inside!"
"Look out! Here he COMES!"
Sniffing the air, the hound came running toward the back stoop. I didn't think. I just moved. I leaned my shoulder against the kitchen door and pushed. And I slipped right through the wooden door. Startled, I stumbled halfway across the kitchen.
"Marnie!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Go through the door! You can dive right through the door!"
"Why are you screaming?" She asked, slightly annoyed. "I'm standing right next to you."
I took in a deep, shuddering breath. My heart pounded so hard that I felt dizzy. I tried to lean against the kitchen counter. But I couldn't feel it. I sank halfway through it.
"Did you hear that growl?" Marnie asked. I didn't have to see her to know how terrified she was. "It's out there, Andy. And it knows we're in here."
"Do you think the hound can go through a solid door, too?"
"M-maybe."
"It's a ghost, right? It can probably go through anything."
"What are we going to do?" I asked, my voice no louder than a whisper.
Silence.
We were both thinking hard. From the backyard, I heard another low, menacing growl. I crossed the kitchen to the back window and peered out. The blue hound sat in the driveway, sniffing the air.
"It's waiting for us to come out." I said. "We're trapped in here."
"Maybe we can call for help." Marnie said. "Call your parents. Or my parents. Maybe if someone else comes, the dog won't want to show itself ... "
"...and it will run away. Maybe. It's a plan, I guess." Outside, the dog let out a long, angry howl. I stepped up to the wall phone next to the kitchen table. "My dad has his cell. I'll try him first."
But as I reached for the phone, I remembered our other problem.
"Oh, nooooo!
I grabbed at it again. But I got the same result.
"No. This isn't happening."
"You can't pick it up?" Marnie asked.
"My hand goes right through it."
"How could I forget? This is so weird. We can't touch or pick up anything. No way we can call for help."
"Well, then make us visible again so we can call for help. Hurry before that dog gets restless and comes charging in here."
"Yes. I'll make a wish. The tooth. I -" A wave of panic rolled over me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see straight!
"Andy - what's wrong?"
"The tooth. I don't have it. It must have fallen from my hand when I turned invisible."
A long silence.
"You really don't have it?" Marnie whispered.
"It-it must have fallen to the garage floor. It's .. . in the garage!"
"Well, you have to go get it! Go! Hurry!"
"Me? Why do I have to do it?"
"It's your tooth!"
"HA!" I exclaimed. "Nice how you remember whose tooth it is when you want me to risk my LIFE!"
"I'm sorry." Marnie said. "Sorry, I acted like such a jerk. But you have to go get the tooth, Andy. If you don't, we'll be invisible forever!"
I took a few trembling steps to the kitchen door. The hound can't see me, I told myself. But I have to walk right past him to get into the garage.
"Just run." Marnie said. "Run right past him. You can do it, Andy. You have to!"
My legs were shaking so hard I could barely walk. I took another deep breath, pushed myself through the kitchen door, and onto the back stoop. As soon as I burst outside, the dog raised its head and climbed to its feet. It was alert, VERY ALERT! It opened its jaws and let out a fierce growl. Then it lowered its head menacingly and came trotting toward me, growling all the way.
'It can't see me. The dog can't see me.'
I kept repeating those words to myself over and over. I stepped off the stoop. Moving silently and carefully, I made my way across the grass toward the garage.
'Don't make a sound. Don't make a sound. The dog can't see you.'
The dog stopped suddenly. It was only a few feet from me now. I could smell it, smell the foul aroma of the graveyard on its fur. And I knew it could smell me, too. It raised its head and sniffed the air again before staring STRAIGHT AT ME!
'It can't see me. It can't see me.'
I took off running. I lowered my head and shoulders and rocketed toward the garage. My invisible sneakers didn't make a sound as I stormed up the driveway and into the shadows of the garage.
I glanced back.
The dog had turned. Its head was lowered again, and it was trotting in my direction. I let out a gasp. Was I going to be trapped in the garage with the evil hound? Squinting into the dim light of the garage, I saw the tooth on the concrete floor.
I dove for it!
I could hear the dog pick up its steps behind me. It knew where I was. I grabbed the tooth. My hand went right through it.
"Oh, noooo!"
I tried to pinch it between my thumb and pointer finger. But I couldn't touch it. I couldn't pick up the tooth. I heard a raging snarl. The dog thundered into the garage. It bared its long fangs. White drool dripped from his mouth. The hound knew it had me... had me trapped.
My legs were shaking too hard to hold me. I dropped to my knees. My knee landed on the tooth. I couldn't feel it. But maybe if I was covering it... maybe ...
"I wish Marnie and I were visible again!" I screamed.
Startled by my cry, the hound stopped. And, yes! Yes! There I was! I saw my legs ... my knees. I saw my arms. I shook my hands rapidly in the air.
I was back!
"Uh-Oh!"
Back in time to be torn to pieces by the furious ghost dog!
"No!" I picked up the tooth before jumping to my feet. "I know why you came back! You came back for this. The sorcerer didn't return it. And so you tore him apart. But I'm going to return it. I'm giving you back your tooth!"
I pulled my arm back and heaved the tooth as hard as I could. I watched it sail out of the garage and over the driveway. The tooth and its cord flew to the front, nearly to the street. For a moment, I felt slightly annoyed and irritated that I never got to use the tooth for wishes outside of testing it the first time. But I knew getting rid of it was for the best.
"Go get it!" I shouted to the dog. "It's all yours!"
With a final growl, the dog spun away from me. It lowered its head and raced down the driveway to get its prize. I hunched over with my hands on my knees and struggled to catch my breath. When I looked up, I saw Marnie poke her head out the kitchen door.
"Is it gone?" She asked. "Andy, we're visible again! Did you wish that dog away? Is it really gone?"
"I ... gave it back the tooth," I choked out while nodding. I gazed down the driveway. I didn't see the hound. "I think it's gone. I think it's gone for good!"
Marnie and I both cheered. Marnie hurried over to me. We cheered again, did a victory dance, and touched knuckles. Then I gasped. A blue dog walked out slowly from the side of the garage. It took me a few seconds to remember it was Jack. Poor, frightened Jack.
"It's okay, Jack. That bad dog is gone." I said, walking over to him. I heard a shout. I turned and saw a man jogging up the driveway.
"Mr. Murphy!" I shouted. "You're back!"
"How's it going?" Mr. Murphey asked, jogging up to us. "How is my buddy Jack?"
"He's right there. Thanks for letting him visit." I said, pointing to him. Mr. Murphy took a few steps toward the hound. Then he stopped. His mouth dropped open. He turned to me. "What's wrong?"
"I'll tell you what's wrong." He answered. "This isn't my dog!"
A shock of fear made my heart skip a beat.
"Oh, no!" I gasped. Did the wrong dog run away? Is the evil ghost dog standing here?
"This can't be my dog! My dog is brown. This dog is BLUE!" Mr. Murphy laughed as he wrapped his arms around the dog's neck. It licked his face. I let out a long sigh of relief. Mr. Murphy was joking. The dog was Jack, after all.
"I-I can explain." I stammered.
"We were making a video for school." Marnie interjected. "About a weird dog."
"I sprayed him blue, Mr. Murphy." I quickly added. "It will come right out. Marnie and I will give him a bath. Then we'll bring him home to you."
"You turned Jack blue? What kind of video were you making?" Mr. Murphy asked, scratching his head. "A horror video?"
"Uh ... yes. A very realistic horror video."
Marnie and I pulled a big metal tub from the garage. We plopped Jack inside it with lots of sudsy water. I used the garden hose to spray the blue color off his fur. Once we finished, Marnie said goodbye and headed for home. I dried Jack off and returned him to Mr. Murphy. I walked home with a big smile on my face. Now, life would return to normal. I had decided I love normal!
Late that night, I lay in bed, still awake. I guess it was hard to calm down after such a terrifying day. I was just closing my eyes when I heard the first dog howl. I sat straight up in bed. A gasp escaped my throat. Another long howl. So nearby. Like right outside my window. I scolded myself for getting scared. That had to be Jack. Jack across the street, up to his old tricks. I heard another low howl. And then my phone rang.
So late at night?
"Hello? Marnie?" I said after answering. "What's up? What's the problem?"
"Well..." She hesitated. "Andy, I have a confession to make."
Outside, the dog howls sounded angry. They sent shivers down my spine as goosebumps formed on my skin.
"Confession?" I asked. "Marnie, what are you talking about?"
"I... uh... I found the tooth in the driveway. Don't kill me, okay?"
"You what?!"
"I found the tooth. I... couldn't resist it. I took it back."
"You mean the Blue Kerlew Hound didn't get its tooth?" I weakly said, suddenly very cold.
"I guess not. I'm wearing the tooth. But I promise I'll share, Andy. This time, I'll share." I ignored her and silently hung up.
How could I sleep? I sat straight up in bed, listening to the dog howl outside. The clock said it was two in the morning. But I was wide awake. Suddenly, I saw a bright green-yellow glow on the wall in front of me. It was coming from the top of my bookshelf.
"Huh?"
Was I dreaming again? Going crazy? Blinking into the shimmering light, I made my way across the room. I stared at the little creature. The toy that the shopkeeper at the theme park had attached to my souvenir package. The green-yellow glow flared all around it. I remembered what the old guy said. Jonathan Chiller. I remember he put the tooth in a box and wrapped the box in a ribbon before attaching the little creature to the ribbon.
And then he said: "Take a little creature home with you."
And now the creature was suddenly glowing on my bookshelf. It was glowing like a candle. I couldn't take my eyes off it. I was drawn to it.
I felt pulled... pulled into its gleaming light.
All of a sudden, I was surrounded by the shimmering green-yellow flames. They swept around me, lifting me from my room.
Pulling me ... pulling me into their strange fire.
"No!" I shouted. I instantly realized I was no longer at home. My eyes adjusted to the light, and I saw shelf after shelf of weird objects, gifts, and souvenirs. I was back in the little shop.
Back in Chiller House!
And Jonathan Chiller stood in front of me with a grin on his face. Not a friendly grin. It was somehow cold and menacing.
"H-how did I get back here?" I choked out. He didn't answer my question. Instead, he pushed the little square spectacles back on his pointed nose.
"Welcome back, Andy." Chiller said.
"But why? Why am I here?"
"It's payback time." Chiller answered in an unsettling tone. "Time to pay for your gift."
"Excuse me?"
"Time for you to pay me back for all the fun you've had with your wishing tooth."
"But-but-" I sputtered. "I didn't have any fun!"
"Don't worry, Andy." Chiller said, his smile tightening against his pale face. "The fun is just beginning! MY kind of fun!"
Real World
"As Chiller laughed, Andy wondered how his luck had gotten this bad. And the last thing he heard before everything went black was the familiar laughter of Murder the Clown. The End. For now." Jaune said as he closed the book.
"Wow. So even after all that happened, Marnie still went back for the tooth." Yang said.
"Well, greed is a powerful thing. As I recall reading at one point: There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. And the tooth granted it." Jaune said, closing the book.
"That is true. Greed can compel people to do things many others would find immoral or dangerous." Weiss said.
"So, what happened to Andy and Marnie?" Coco asked.
"Andy's story is not yet finished. I'll tell you that story another time. But for Marnie, she died. The Ghost Dog came for her; she panicked, wished herself away, lost the tooth, and ended up in a prison she could not escape from." Jaune answered.
"Wow. Hopefully, it was a painless death." Ren said.
"You could say that."
"But speaking of the tooth and Ghost Dog, what should we do about OUR current situation?" Yatsuhashi asked. Turning back to the Ghost Dog, they saw that it was staring at them with great intensity.
"I-I don't know. I want to say the Ghost Dog only wants its tooth back. But now I'm not sure. It wanted me to finish the story. Not to mention, we don't have the tooth." Jaune answered.
*BARK! BARK! BARK!*
"ZWEI!" Ruby shouted as Zwei ran with something in his mouth to stand between the teens and the Ghost Dog. But before anyone could say anything, Zwei spat out whatever was in his mouth. And what they saw shocked them.
"THE TOOTH!" They shouted with the Ghost Dog growling.
"QUICK! GET RID OF IT!" Nora shouted as the Ghost Dog moved closer, with its eyes turning red.
"NO! USE IT TO GET US OUT OF HERE! THEN WE CAN WISH IT BACK TO THE GHOST DOG!" Coco shouted.
"Wait. I have a better idea." Ruby said.
"What are you doing, Ruby?" Yang asked as Ruby held her hands up while slowly inching forward to the tooth.
"You'll see." Ruby said as she picked up the tooth. The Ghost Dog loudly growled but quieted down when Ruby approached him. "You want your tooth back, right? You like having all your teeth. But the mean old sorcerer and Chiller kept it from you for a long time, right?"
"Careful, Ruby." Yatsuhashi said as the Ghost Dog nodded its head yet still growled.
"But you keep losing it somehow. I'm not sure if it's because you're a ghost or something else is doing it. But let me help you put it back in your mouth." Ruby said, holding out the tooth.
The Ghost Dog seemed surprised by the offer, but it seemed to accept it nonetheless. It opened its mouth to reveal its sharp teeth but, more importantly, the spot where the tooth belonged. Steeling her nerves, Ruby approached the Ghost Dog and kneeled beside its mouth. Adjusting her grip, she inserted the tooth into the spot. And to her surprise, it went in without any trouble. Ruby then stood up and moved back to give the Ghost Dog some space. It opened and closed its mouth a few times before licking its teeth. The Ghost Dog seemed happy that it finally got its tooth back.
*AAWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!* The Ghost Dog howled.
*AAWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO!* Zwei howled.
"Well, it seems happy now." Weiss said.
"Yeah." Blake agreed before realizing something. "Hey. The rain stopped."
"And the lights came back on." Velvet said, relieved, as the lights came back on.
"While that's nice... what now?" Pyrrha asked, curious.
"I have no idea." Jaune answered as the tension and dread in the room dissipated. However, the Ghost Dog remained in the room.
"Uh. Do you... are you... still needing something else?" Ren asked the Ghost Dog. Instead of answering, the Ghost Dog's mouth began to glow. Everyone was worried about what would happen but became confused when a paper with writing on it appeared in Ruby's hand.
"Uh."
"What does it say?" Weiss asked.
"I'm not sure. I can't read it. It just has strange red symbols on it." Ruby answered.
"Let me see." Pyrrha said, grabbing the paper. "Oh. It says that in exchange for giving the Ghost Dog its tooth back and putting it in its mouth instead of doing what others have done, it is willing to give you a wish of your choice, Ruby."
"Wait. How did you know how to-" Jaune began but went silent when the Ghost Dog growled.
"Any wish I want?" Ruby asked, earning a nod from the Ghost Dog.
"Careful, Ruby." Yang said as Ruby thought about her wish.
"I got it. I wish my mother and Yang's stepmother, Summer Rose, were alive again." Nodding, the Ghost Dog's mouth glowed a bright white that nearly blinded everyone. After a moment, it died down. However, to everyone's confusion, Summer Rose wasn't there. Even the Ghost Dog seemed confused by this. "Did it work?"
"I don't see her." Yang added.
"Hey. The symbols on the paper changed." Pyrrha said.
"What do they say now?" Nora asked.
"It says that the Ghost Dog is not sure what happened or why it didn't work. It then asks you to try again, but make it so that you are wishing for Summer Rose to be here with us and that she is in good health."
"Alright. I wish that my mother and Yang's stepmother, Summer Rose, was here with us and is in perfect health." Ruby said.
The same thing from before happened, where the Ghost Dog's teeth glowed and nearly blinded everyone. But unlike the previous time, when the light died down, they saw Summer Rose standing there. She seemed slightly out of it and confused but was otherwise fine. Yet, that changed when Summer spotted Yang and Ruby. Granted, the confusion still remained when she realized they were teens and not little kids.
"Yang. Ruby. Are you two really here?" Summer asked, sounding hopeful.
"MOM!" Yang and Ruby shouted before running up to hug their mother/stepmother.
"Well, this is a lovely moment." Weiss said as they watched the scene unfold while the Ghost Dog moved to sit next to Jaune.
"Yeah." The others agreed.
"We missed you so much." Yang and Ruby said, tears in their eyes.
"I missed you both so much as well. I spent every day in that cursed Camp of Lost Legends, wishing I could be with my family again. I-I don't know how I am back here. But it doesn't matter. Now I get to make up for all the time that I lost." Summer said, tears streaming down her face. But she let out a laugh when Zwei came up to her. "And I missed you as well, Zwei."
'Wait. She was in the Camp of the Lost Legends?! That would make a lot of sense. But what's going to happen now since someone must always be there.'Jaune wondered.
"As nice as this moment is, I have to ask." Coco said, turning to Pyrrha. "How do you know how to read those strange symbols?"
"Yeah. I have never seen those symbols before. I don't recall seeing them in any historical book or records of language books." Weiss added.
"Oh. Um." Pyrrha nervously began while scratching the back of her head. However, before she could continue or the others asked any other question, the lights suddenly went out again, with the rain resuming. 'Oh, thank Oum for that.'
"Wow. Talk about timing." Ren said.
"But why did the Ghost Dog cause the lights to go out and rain to come back?" Velvet asked, curious. They all turned to the Ghost Dog and saw it shake its head as if to say it didn't do it.
"Then what caused it? Or was it natural?' Blake asked.
"Wait. Why is the Blue Kerlew Hound here?" Summer asked, curious.
"It's a long story. But we would also like to know how you know about the Blue Kerlew Hound." Jaune said.
"Same as you. It's a long story."
"We can discuss it later. Right now, let's-" Ren said.
*BAM*
"Wow. That lightning sounded too close." Nora said as lightning started striking every few seconds.
"Yeah." Velvet said. However, everyone tensed up again when they heard someone pounding on the front door. Even the Ghost Dog seemed on edge as it started growling at the door and whoever/whatever was behind it.
*BAM! BAM! BAM!*
"Who could that be?" Blake asked, worried.
"I-I'll go see." Jaune said.
"Careful, Jaune." Velvet said.
Nodding, Jaune slowly moved toward the front door. And with each step, the sound of lightning cracking seemed to grow louder and more frequent. Soon, he was only a few feet from the door. However, before he could force himself the rest of the way, the door suddenly flew open all the way to reveal a figure standing there. Yet, for some reason, nobody could make out who it was since it was so dark. Moreover, even when lighting lit up the place briefly, the figure remained shrouded in darkness that nobody could make any detail out.
"Who are you?" Yatsuhashi asked. The figure didn't answer or even move. But after a second, it finally responded.
"Salutations everyone."
Notes:
Was tying a new way to get this chapter done since the old way was shut down. So it took a bit longer to get this chapter out.
Rereading this story made me remember why I liked When the Ghost Dog Howls and why Marnie was my least favorite character in the entire Goosebumps series.
Also, I made some slight changes (Such as changing Horrorland to Theme Park) because Jaune wants to keep it a secret for now and Horrorland will play a bigger part down the road.
The Next Chapter will feature Penny and Shocker on Shock Steet.
Updated List of characters and their potential stories
Doctor Oobleck: The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb and Return of the Mummy
Professor Peach: Stay Out of the Basement
Professor Port: How to Kill a Monster
Glynda: The Ghost Next Door
Cinder: Honor of meeting Slappy
Ozpin: A Night in Terror Tower
Blake: Cry of the Cat
Ruby: The Haunted Mask
Yang: The Haunted School
Weiss: The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena
Nora & Ren: The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight
Pyrrha: Vampire Breath
Velvet: Bad Hare Day
Yatsuhashi: Monster Blood
Yatsuhashi, Ciel, and Ace Operatives: All The Monster Blood Sequels
Coco: The Curse of Camp Cold Lake
Fox: The Horror of Camp Jelly Jam
Qrow: It Came from Beneath the Sink
Raven: The Horrors of the Black Ring.
Summer: Legend of the Lost Legend
Winter: 12 Screams of Christmas
Some/most of these stories will be about their past experiences and how they tell Jaune about it. Not all of them are 100% certain yet. As for Pyrrha's story: It's based on how we never see her father or other family members. And supposedly, the one who visited Pyrrha's statue at night was her mother. And the reason no one sees them is because they are vampires and can only come out at night. And Pyrrha received something that allowed her to live her life like a normal person (Being able to go out during the daytime and not needing blood as substance).
