Jaune Arc: Goosebumps Storyteller

by vanquish356

Jaune always did love telling stories, especially to his younger sisters. He even had a book filled with cheesy horror stories that his sisters loved. But after coming to Beacon, he thought he would never tell stories again. However, that wasn't the case when Ruby began asking him for stories, soon followed by Nora. Little did he know that this would cause a domino effect.

5. Chapter 5

Jaune Arc: Goosebumps Story Teller

Chapter 5: The Werewolf of Fever Swamp Part 2

"Okay. I'm back." Grady said as she came back and sat down next to Emily.

"Um, why are you wearing a sweater and a scarf covering your face?" Yang asked, confused when she saw Grady wearing a thick sweater with the hood up and a scarf covering the bottom half of his face.

"Medical condition that I'm not comfortable talking about, plus I get cold quickly as I'm not used to these temperatures." He lied before pulling the scarf up a bit. "Anyway, shall we continue."

"Sure." I said as I found where I left off. But before I could begin, Velvet cut me off.

"Wait. Before you continue, Jaune." She said before turning to Cassie and Grady. She then pointed to the cabin behind them. "Do you two know what's in that cabin?"

"Nothing important. Really, there's only a chest there that we placed there a while back. It only holds some supplies and emergency supplies." Cassie answered.

"Aren't you worried that it might collapse at any moment?" Ruby asked.

"Nah. It might look all beaten up, but it is extremely sturdy and can withstand any nature throws at it."

"I doubt that." Blake said, eyeing the condition of the cabin.

"Anyway. Let's continue the story." I said. "After getting caught in the net, Will tried to rescue Grady but ran away when the Hermit caught up to them. Yet, despite Will running away, Grady kept calling out Will's name, hoping he would return."

Story

"WILL!" Grady shouted one last time while struggling against the net. "I'M SORRY! I SWEAR I WON'T COME AROUND HERE AGAIN!"

Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears as the Hermit came closer to the net. Grady then remembered that he had some wolfsbane. Taking it out of his pocket, Grady then reached out of the net and tried to use it to ward off the Hermit. However, that only seemed to infuriate the Hermit as he growled before grabbing the wolfsbane and throwing it to the floor.

"What are you going to do?" Grady asked as the Hermit lowered the net to the ground. "HELP! NO! NO! LET ME OUT OF HERE! LET ME GO! OW!"

Ignoring Grady's screams, the Hermit began to drag him back to his home. And after ten minutes of struggling, they finally reached the Hermit's home. Entering and closing the door behind him, the Hermit locked the door while Grady continued to panic in the corner of the room.

"LET ME GO! GET ME OUT OF HERE! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Grady shouted, only to get a growl from the Hermit in return. He then walked to the other side of the cabin and began looking for something. "What are you going to do with me? You can't keep me here. Everyone will be looking for me."

The glare the Hermit sent Grady's way made him go quiet.

"Just let me go. Please. I won't tell anyone. I promise. I won't tell." Grady panted as he watched the Hermit sit down in his chair and eat a chicken leg. However, due to their close proximity, Grady could make out the Hermit's long nails and suspiciously long arm hair. "If you let me go, I'll never come back here, ever. You'll never see me again."

But Grady only got a glare and silence in return as the Hermit continued eating his food.

"My parents are probably on their way now, and they got guns. Really big guns. Have you ever seen an elephant rifle?" Grady warned.

Having had enough, the Hermit put his food away, got out of his chair, and grabbed the gun next to the nearby table. He then walked over to Grady and showed him a close-up of his weapon before hanging it on the wall. The Hermit then kneeled to be face-to-face with Grady. But before he could say anything, the sounds of owls hooting caught his attention. Turning to look out the open door, the Hermit saw that the sun had set and the full moon was nearly finished rising. The Hermit turned back to Grady and examined him for a second before becoming confused. He then stood up and exited his home.

Seeing his chance, Grady took out a knife and began to cut through the net. Although, it became increasingly difficult to concentrate with the Hermit howling at the moon. But after a few seconds, Grady managed to create an opening big enough for him to escape. Seeing that the Hermit was still busy howling at the moon, Grady slowly crawled backward. And because Grady wasn't paying attention to where he was going, he inadvertently crawled through an opening in the Hermit's home. But he wasn't going to waste this opportunity as he got up and ran for his life. Yet, the Hermit was aware that Grady had escaped. And once Grady was out of sight, the Hermit looked toward the moon and saw that it had finally stopped rising.

Real World

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHOO!

"Okay. I wish that guy would stop howling." Yang said, slightly annoyed but still scared.

"It is getting annoying." Blake agreed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHOO!

"Okay. That sounded way too close for comfort." Velvet said, looking back and forth around the camp.

"Sorry. That was me." Nora sheepishly said before letting out a much quieter howl.

"Zwei? What's the matter?" Ruby asked when Zwei suddenly barked at Grady.

"Maybe he's hungry?" Cassie suggested.

"Maybe." Ruby said before turning to me. "Did you feed Zwei while we were in detention, Jaune?"

"Yeah. A few chicken legs and bones."

"What time?"

"About an hour before you guys found me at the restaurant."

"Yeah, maybe your dog is hungry." Grady said, moving slightly backward.

"But what are we going to do? It's not like we have any food?" Yang asked.

"We have some dog food and treats in the cabin. Be right back." Cassie said before getting up and heading into the cabin. A few moments later, she returned with some treats and gave one to Wolf and Zwei. Yet, as Zwei ate his food, he kept looking back at Grady.

"So, shall we continue?" Velvet asked before leaning into me again.

"Alright." I said before clearing my throat. "After escaping the Hermit's home, Grady ran as fast as possible back to his home with the intent of telling his family what had just happened."

Story

"MOM!" Grady shouted as he closed and locked the front door. "MOM!"

"Grady? What's wrong?" The mother asked as she raced down the stairs.

"Mom. We got to get out of here."

"What's happened to you? Where have you been?" The mother asked as she stopped Grady from locking the kitchen window.

"We gotta go to a motel. Anywhere, just as long as we are away from the swamp." Grady rapidly said as his body was still running on adrenaline. He then walked over to the other kitchen door. "DAD!"

"Alright. I've had just about enough." The mother said, becoming massively worried as her son walked over to look out the kitchen window again. "You're really beginning to worry me, Grady."

"You should be scared. DAD!"

"Your father went out to get some supplies. Emily took the other car into town. Now, unless you're planning on hitchhiking, nobody's going anywhere." The mother said but became distraught when her son became more anxious. "Grady. Honey, you got to tell me what's wrong."

"It's that Swamp Hermit, mom."

"What happened? Did he hurt you?"

"No. Not exactly."

"Did he threaten you?"

"No."

"What then?"

"H-he's a werewolf."

"Oh, I don't have time for this." The mother said, exasperated and annoyed.

"Oh, come on, mom. You got to listen to me." Grady said before trying a different approach. "You and dad base everything on science, right? Things you can prove and explain. But what if the world isn't always like that? What if you knew something was true, but you couldn't prove it? Something horrible you knew could never be explained. What would you do then?"

*CLANK*

"What was that?" The mother asked, scared.

Worried, Grady and his mother slowly walked over to the window to try and find out what was making the strange clanking noise. And as they neared the window, they heard Wolf barking like mad. Almost as if he was trying to scare something away. However, they both jumped in fear when a deer suddenly burst through the window, almost as if something violently threw it at the house. But to their horror, the deer was still alive and trying to escape.

"Oh. Oh, no! Wolf." Grady said, remembering that Wolf was still outside. But as soon as he exited the house, Wolf quieted down and began to whimper in fear.

"Oh, no. The deer." The mother said when she saw the deer's pen condition.

"Wolf, what is it?" Grady asked as he checked on his dog while his mother ran over to the deer pen.

"Oh, no." The mother said when she saw a dead dear. Yet, what shook her to her core was the fact that it was not a clean kill but rather something brutally killed the deer. Seeing a broken piece of wood nearby, the mother picked it up and saw bite marks that looked distinctly canine. "Grady, go call the sheriff to get rid of that dog."

"Mom, you can't think Wolf did this?" Grady said, running over to his dog. "Do you think a dog can do that to a fence?"

"It's going to take all night to catch these deer." The mother said, not caring. "Are you going to help me, or do I have to do this myself?"

"You saw it, didn't you, boy? Don't worry. I won't let it near you again." Grady said, trying to calm his dog. However, he panicked when his mother came and tried to remove the collar. "MOM, NO! You don't know what you are doing!"

"I'm sorry, Grady. It has to be done."

Real World

"OH! COME ON!" Yang and Ruby suddenly shouted, startling everyone, including Zwei and Wolf.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The fact that the mother still thinks a dog can tear through a metal chain fence and kill those deer." Yang answered.

"And doesn't she remember the deer thrown into the window!" Ruby added.

"She does seem a bit biased toward her work." Nora agreed.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not particularly fond of dogs in general." Blake said, eyeing Zwei. "But even I would know that a regular dog would be unable to tear through a chain fence."

"I think that Grady can't be left out as he now wants to leave the swamp, all because he believed the tale Will told him." Velvet countered before adding. "But, yeah. I think the mom is being a bit too mean."

"But you have to understand, they are both devoted scientists, and this project was a dream of theirs for many years. And now, their son wants to leave because he believed this folk tale this random kid told him. Plus, I was- I mean, their kid didn't care anymore for their dream and only cared for the dog he found." Grady explained but nearly gave himself away. Thankfully, he managed to catch himself in time.

"Not to mention that Grady, the one in the story, went exploring where he wasn't supposed to and trespassed on the Hermit's home." Cassie added.

"True. But the mother is still being irrational." Ruby said with a pout.

"I mean, yeah. But you would be too if something you always wanted is destroyed days after acquiring it."

"Anyway. Let's continue." Velvet said before motioning for me to continue.

"Right. After hearing that, Grady argued that Wolf was the only protection they had as they did not believe in guns. However, it would have swayed his mother had Grady not mentioned the werewolf again."

Story

"You wanna talk about werewolves? Fine. We'll talk about werewolves." She said, furious as she began to drag Wolf away to the nearby shed, where she proceeded to open the door. "Tomorrow, we'll talk about everything from werewolves to flying monkeys! But right now, we have to catch the rest of the deer and put this dog where it can't get to the rest of them. Grady, it's time to get your priorities straight."

"Come here, boy." Grady said with Wolf escaping the mother's grip and running to him. "They are straight, mom!"

"GRADY! OPEN THIS DOOR!" The mother ordered after Grady closed the door and barricaded it.

"YOU'LL BE SAFE IN THERE, MOM! IT WON'T BE ABLE TO GET YOU!"

"GRADY! GRADY!"

"WOLF!" Grady shouted, looking for his dog. However, he didn't see him anywhere. "WHERE'D YOU GO, BOY!? WOLF!"

"AAAAHHHHHH!" Somebody screamed in the distance.

"Will? Wolf?" Grady asked, suddenly afraid again. Deciding to investigate further, he walked over to Will's house, hoping to find him or Wolf unharmed. "WILL?"

Not getting any response, Grady slowly climbed the porch that led to Will's front door. Opening the door, he peered inside and looked around but saw nothing due to the darkness.

"Will?" After stepping inside and closing the door behind him, Grady felt his nerves and anxiety levels rise to extreme levels. "Mrs. Blake?"

Real World

"Looks like the kitty got her name in a good book." Yang teased, causing Blake to roll her eyes.

"What's Grady and Will's last name?" Velvet asked.

"Tucker is Grady's last name, and Blake is Will's last name." I answered. "Anway, while Grady was exploring Will's house, Mrs. Tucker was banging on the door. Luckily, she would catch a break as a car pulled into the driveway."

Story

"GRADY? SOMEBODY? I'M IN HERE! HELP!" Mrs. Tucker shouted, hoping for someone to free her.

Unfortunately for her, Emily, who had just pulled up into the driveway, didn't hear her. And as a result, she went into the house, completely unaware of everything that had just happened. But as she went through the house, she became incredibly uneasy as all the lights were off, and nobody else seemed to be home.

And it wasn't much better for Grady as he continued exploring Will's house. As with each step he took, Grady became incredibly restless. All throughout the house, there were signs that something terrible had happened. The wallpaper seemed to be ripped off, with various parts of the walls missing, and the furniture was strewn across the floor. Licking his lips, Grady continued exploring the house.

Tucker's House

"Hello?" Emily asked as she entered the kitchen. But after receiving no answer, she became slightly worried and confused. Walking back over to the steps, Emily wondered where everyone had gone. "MOM? DAD?"

Placing her purse on the stairs' handrail, Emily went to the second floor to see if anyone was up there.

Will's House

"Will?" Grady asked as he looked inside what appeared to be a bedroom. Not getting a response, Grady went down the hall to check elsewhere for his friend. However, he noticed the numerous deer trophies hanging on the wall as he walked down the hall. And had the deers his parents brought not escaped, Grady would have brushed it off as a coincidence. But because the deer did escape, he wondered if someone or something mounted them as trophies.

Tucker's House

Opening the door, Emily looked inside and saw no one there as well.

"Hello?" Emily asked as she continued to wonder where everyone was.

Will's House

Entering the living room, Grady looked over the couch and saw that something had torn it to shreds. Grady then walked over to the window and noticed the curtains were in bad shape with plenty of holes in them. However, because of this, the full moon's light entered the room unimpeded.

Tucker's House

"Where is everyone?" Emily asked, now fully scared.

Will's House

"It got Will." Grady said, thinking it was the Swamp Hermit who got Will.

Tucker's House

"Grady? Is this your idea of a joke?" Emily asked, thinking her brother was playing a prank on her. However, she became skeptical of that when she entered the basement.

Will's House

Worried for his friend, Grady began to think of a way to save Will from the Hermit. But he quickly remembered that he would need a weapon to protect himself from the Swamp Hermit. Spotting a poker stick nearby, Grady picked it up and felt like it would make a decent makeshift weapon.

Tucker's House

Emily became almost frozen in fear when she heard a strange yet horrifying growl in the distance. Not wanting to stick around, she left the basement and headed back upstairs as fast as possible.

Will's House

Hearing the same growl but also figuring it was the Swamp Hermit, Grady immediately dashed out of the house. However, as he climbed down the porch, he became unsure of which direction the sound originated.

Ten Minutes Later

Climbing over the hill, Grady looked around in hopes of finding any clue as to where the Swamp Hermit took Will or where Wolf was.

"WILL?" Grady nervously asked as the moon shone behind him.

Tucker's House

"Grady?" Emily asked as she looked down the hall next to the stairs.

Grady

Kneeling, Grady slowly climbed down the hill while keeping the poker stick at the ready if something tried to attack him.

Tucker's House

As Emily walked to the living room, she felt her anxiety levels rise with each step she took. Hearing the floors creaking behind her, she turned around and heard an animal growling close by. Seeing the nearby door was ajar, she opened it, entered the room, and saw something that made her soul leave her body.

It was a massive creature with horrifying teeth that growled at her.

"AAAHHH!" Emily screamed as she ran out of the room. Unfortunately, the creature chased her throughout the house. Luckily, she managed to escape for the moment by going downstairs and out the back door. However, it didn't last long as the creature easily forced the door open in seconds.

"LET ME OUT!" Mrs. Duncan shouted when she heard someone screaming nearby. Although, she did become surprised when Emily suddenly opened the door. But before she could leave or ask any questions, Emily closed the door and barricaded it.

"What is it?" Mrs. Tucker asked, afraid as the vicious growling continued on the other side of the door.

"Some kind of wolf." Emily answered, panting.

"AAAAHHHHH!" They bother screamed when the creature pushed against the door.

Knowing they had to escape, the mother and daughter began to look for a way out. However, that proved challenging as the sounds of the beast growling made it difficult to concentrate. And when it jumped onto the roof of the shed, they nearly lost it. Luckily, the mother had an idea as she went over to the wall and turned off the lights. For a moment, they thought it worked as the beast stopped growling. But the creature punching through the wall proved them wrong. Grabbing a nearby metal stick, the mother started hitting the creature's hand with it in an attempt to get it to leave.

Woods

"WOLF! WILL!" Grady shouted as he continued looking around for his friend and best friend. But it was proving challenging to see anything beyond a certain range as the fog was unnaturally thick. Even the bright light of the full moon did little to illuminate the area. However, the lack of light and dense fog did little to deter Grady as he continued his search.

Tucker's House

Seeing that the creature had retracted its arm, Emily and her mother slowly moved away from the door while trying to remain as quiet as possible.

Woods

As Grady continued looking through the woods, he desperately hoped for some clue to appear that would tell him if he was on the right trail or not. Luckily, after being scared by some birds, a hint appeared in the form of wolfsbane wrapped around plants and sticks.

"WILL! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, ANSWER!" Grady shouted at the top of his lungs. But all he got in response was animals groaning. "WOLF!"

After not getting an answer, Grady decided to keep going in what he hoped was the right direction. But upon hearing some twigs snapping behind him, he turned around and screamed when he saw a beast coming right at him. Not wasting any time, Grady ran as fast as possible to try and escape whatever was chasing him. However, after a couple of seconds, he remembered the traps the Swamp Hermit had set up around the swamp.

"The net." Grady said, trying to remember where one was. Hearing some rustling, Grady turned around and came face to face with the Swamp Hermit, who he thought was the werewolf.

"GOT HIM!" The Hermit declared while tightly holding onto Grady's shoulders. He then let go of Grady and went to check on the net that supposedly captured the werewolf.

"You got the werewolf." Grady said, amazed but still scared when they reached the net and saw something squirming inside.

"You. I've waited a long time for this." The Swamp Hermit growled before roughly grabbing the net. "YOU TOOK MY WIFE AND CHILDREN FROM ME! EVERYTHING I EVER LOVED! I SWORE ONE DAY I WOULD TAKE YOUR HEART THE WAY YOU TOOK MINE!

But the Hermit made a grim realization when he saw that it wasn't the werewolf but instead a deer.

"RUN, BOY!" He ordered, knowing the real werewolf was nearby.

"LOOK OUT!" Grady shouted when he saw the werewolf pounce on the Hermit.

And as much as he wanted to help him, Grady knew that it would be suicide to do so and decided to run instead. But the pained screams of the Hermit nearly made him break down in fear. However, another problem quickly arose that grabbed Grady's attention. And that was that he was lost while the werewolf knew the swamp like the back of his paw. Yet, before he could keep running, he fell to the ground when the werewolf came up from behind and pushed him.

But before Grady could try and escape, he became confused when the werewolf started howling in pain. And after seeing it become slightly darker, Grady looked to the sky and noticed that the lunar eclipse was finally happening. Grady turned back to the werewolf and saw the creature had fallen over in pain after spazzing out for a few moments.

Grady, now curious, got up and moved closer to the werewolf. But to his immense shock, the animalistic grunts of pain soon sounded human-like, with the werewolf itself appearing more humanoid. But once the werewolf managed to calm down enough, it looked toward Grady to reveal the face of Will.

"WILL!" Grady said, shocked.

GET AWAY!" Will shouted, worried for his friend as he didn't know for how much longer he would remain in control of his curse. "GET AWAY, GRADY!"

"YOU! You're the werewolf."

"I don't want to hurt you, but I can't help myself, Grady." Will said before letting out more pained grunts.

"There's got to be something we can do." Grady said, unaware that the lunar eclipse was about to end.

"NO. LEAVE! NOW! GO!" Will painfully ordered before letting out another excruciating shriek as he struggled to keep himself from turning and hurting his friend.

Unfortunately, he could do nothing as the lunar eclipse ended with Will forcibly turning back into a full werewolf. And once he was a full werewolf again, Will stood up and grabbed a foolish and terrified Grady by the shoulders. It then picked him up and began to terrorize him. Luckily, help quickly came in the form of Grady's dog, Wolf appearing and attacking Will. And because of the pain inflicted by Wolf, the werewolf dropped Grady and turned his attention to the dog. But before he could swipe at him, the dog bit down hard on the werewolf's arm.

However, the werewolf grew furious and swung his arms, causing Wolf to let go and whimper when he hit the ground. Yet, Wolf did not stay down for long and quickly got up, charged, and pounced on the werewolf. And the force of the impact sent the werewolf tumbling down the hill and into the bog's water.

Walking up to Wolf, Grady kneeled and petted his dog while watching what he once called a friend struggle to get out of the bog. Thankfully, it didn't last long as the bog's water dragged the werewolf under its water, where it proceeded to drown.

"Thanks, Wolf. Thanks, boy. Poor Will." Grady said before standing up. He then petted his dog before motioning for him to follow him home.

The Next Day

"Come on, you guys. You can finish that later." Mrs. Tucker said while birds happily chirped.

"Okay." Grady and Mr. Tucker said as they set down their paint brushes. They then went over to sit down at the table.

"So, you two start school tomorrow." Mrs. Tucker said as she handed Emily a bowl of food.

"Yep." Grady answered as he sat down and began filling his plate.

"I hope they have some normal boys- non-werewolf types." Emily added.

"I thought you liked the werewolf types."

"Now, listen, you two. We walked about this. We know that it was some kind of wolf that attacked you that night, but there is no evidence to suggest that it was a werewolf." Mr. Tucker said, annoyed.

"Except what I saw."

"And you haven't seen Will around, have you?" Emily added, causing both parents to go silent as they knew she got them there.

"There has to be some rational explanation." Mr. Tucker said, still not willing to accept the fact that werewolves exist.

"Anyway, it's over." Mrs. Tucker said, smiling and relieved that they were out of danger.

"And I know one thing. I was wrong about Wolf." Mr. Tucker said before giving Wolf some ham. "With my apologies."

"Honey, not at the table." Mrs. Tucker chided but smiled when her husband looked at her. Smiling, everyone sat back down and enjoyed their dinner.

Two Hours Later

"How's he doing?" Mr. Tucker whispered as he and his wife looked at their sleeping son.

"He seems okay."

"Oh, good. Maybe he's finally over those nightmares." Mr. Tucker said, causing his wife to let out a relied sigh. They then smiled before closing the door. But as soon as the door closed, a new werewolf jumped out from under the sheets. However, it was only a nightmare as Grady woke up in another cold sweat.

"It's only a dream. Only a dream." He told himself while panting. But as soon as he said this, he heard wolves howling in the distance. And in the bog where Will drowned, an unknown abject began to emerge from the murky waters. But as the wolves continued to howl, Grady got up and went over to his window, where he noticed that it was a full moon tonight.

Real World

"Then, as if called by an unknown force, Grady exited his room, walked down the stairs, and left his house. He then looked up at the full moon, and for reasons he didn't understand yet, he began howling, similar to how Will howled the last few nights. The End." I said as I closed the book. "How was it?"

"IT WAS AWESOME!" Ruby and Nora shouted.

"It was pretty good." Yang agreed.

"And an interesting twist to some old werewolf stories I heard when I was younger." Velvet added, slightly scared but still liked the story.

"And aside from some inconsistencies and weird coincidences, it was a good story." Blake said before adding. "But I am curious about what happens to Grady afterward."

"Up to you to decide." I answered.

"After hearing this story, I would like to imagine him learning to control his curse while his parents desperately try to find a cure." Cassie said.

"And try to make the most of it." Grady added.

"But what of the Hermit? Did he die?" Nora asked, curious.

"He survived. But that's only because the lunar eclipse started, causing Will to regain some control of his body." I answered.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHOO!

"Okay, Nora. The story's over. You can stop now." Yang said, annoyed as the howling sounded closer than it had been.

"Uh, that wasn't me." Nora said, causing everyone else to pale.

"Please tell me you're joking." Blake said, scared.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWHOO!

"I'm not." Nora said.

"I-I think we should resume going back to Beacon." Velvet suggested.

"Right." Ruby said, with the others agreeing. And in less than a second, they grabbed their stuff before dashing in the direction of Beacon. Once they were out of sight, I turned to Grady and smiled.

"I see you got control over your curse." I said, smiling as Grady took off his sweater and scarf to reveal that he was in his hybrid form.

"It took a while to learn I could do this on a full moon and even longer to actually be able to do this."

"How did you guys think of the story?"

"It was great and pretty close to what happened."

"And thanks for accepting my request of omitting me from the story." Cassie said.

You're welcome. But remind me again, why?" I asked.

"Personal reasons, but to put it simply, I didn't want more people to tease me for my interest in werewolves and other mythical creatures." She answered.

"Uh?" I asked, confused.

"People in the past have made assumptions about me or made fun of me because they saw my name in a book, movie, and show. And whatever the character did there, they assumed I did so as well."

"Makes sense." I said, thinking it over and how ruthless some people are. But before I could say anything further, Wolf pounced on me and brought me to the floor. "Hey, Wolf. How have you been?"

"He's been good and a joy to have around." Grady answered.

"Which reminds me." I said as I stood up. "Are you three still doing hunts together?"

"Yup."

"And the Grimm back there?"

"They came out of nowhere and tried to attack Wolf and me. Luckily, Grady came in full werewolf form and saved us." Cassie answered. Afterward, we stayed silent for the next couple of moments.

"How are your parents and the Hermit?"

"My parents are fine. They did get scared when they learned about the curse but allowed Grady and me to continue hanging out."

"And my parents are still trying to find a cure to my curse and a way to subdue some other evil creatures." Grady answered.

"Sadly, the hermit died last year due to old age."

"Well, hopefully, he is in heaven with the rest of his family." I said, sad. And after looking around, another question came to my mind. "But I am surprised at how fast Fever Swamp changed."

"We're surprised too. But it has had years to change and my parents' inventions to help." Grady said, reminding me that it was four years since the incident had happened.

"Yet, despite all the bad stuff that happened here, this place does give off a sense of comfort and nostalgia every time we come here." Cassie added.

"It sure does. Oh, by the way, I saw Lucy earlier. You know, the one who's a monster that eats other monsters."

"Really. Oh, wow. How's she doing?" Grady asked.

"She's doing good. She was on her way to advance her training." I answered.

"We should meet up again and see what we could do together."

"Are you sure you don't have a crush on her?" Cassie teased, causing Grady to blush and roll his eyes.

"Anyway. When are you coming back home, Jaune?" Grady asked.

"Soon as spring break is coming." I answered.

"Well, it's almost morning. So, you better head back to Beacon." Cassi said, pointing to the rising sun. But before I could say anything, Zwei barked as he did earlier when we escaped the House of No Return. His eyes glowed a bright yellow, with his pupils becoming black slits. He then dashed off in the direction my friends went.

"I think he is another Goosebumps creature." I said, worried.

"Wouldn't surprise me, considering the camera and what else we had seen." Grady said.

"True. Anyway, see you guys. It was nice seeing you three again. And tell everyone back home I said hi." I said as we shook hands.

"Will do. Take care, Jaune." Grady said, smiling.

"But don't forget to bring your girlfriend." Cassie said, smirking before they dashed off in another direction. I was confused about what she meant but decided to let it go and worry about it after returning to Beacon and taking a nap.

Notes:

The Next Chapter will be: Beware the Snowman with Weiss & Winter appearing.