The Favorite Fives Frightful Fables #1: Bat Her Up
The scenery that is being observed is a stage. A spotlight is lighting the center of it. Steven Cooper comes outside of the curtains. He spoke after clearing his throat. "Hello. I came to inform you of a certain topic. Halloween is one of the best holidays out there. Mostly for us kids. There's trick or treating, parties, candy, pretty much most of it is what makes it special. But that doesn't mean it's a peaceful holiday. There are scary things like haunted tales, zombie attack fantasies, nightmares about monsters, you get the idea. Even though me and my friends aren't that scared, the little ones such as my sister Bianca are easily frightened by it. And this story is no exception. It's a scary adventure for us. I don't want to sound like a parent, but I might as well do so to avoid angry letters. Send your kids to bed so they won't get scared of this story. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED."
The boy felt his arm being squished. Steven looked down to see his little sister Bianca Cooper nervously holding his arm in fear. Steven sighed as he grabbed his little sister, who was trembling in fear. "I-is i-it true? Zo-ombies e-eat yo-our brains?"
Steven hugged the girl to comfort her. "Don't worry about that, little sis. Zombies aren't real. If you want, I can let you sleep with me on my bed tonight with your night light,"
Bianca nodded in fear while burying her heard on his chest as Steven held her. The boy looked back at the camera. He held up a sign saying, "Enjoy the story."
On an evening at Quiet Country, the kids, including the Favorite Fives, were just exiting Joseph Elementary School just in time for Halloween. After a day of watching the film "Bite of the Brutes", it was time for them to prepare for the holiday.
"That was one great film back there! The spookiness stepped up their game!" Crank Watterson spoke up.
"The scariest parts where the close encounters with the vampires and their desire for biting people," Linka Test voiced her opinion.
"Music and atmosphere are two things I can highlight. Even its tone impresses me,"
"I am amused with how the speed of vampires have been increased. Their abilities are unexpected. Seems the humans want to have their power," Luke Foster cleaned his glasses.
"Do the humans look like they want their power?" Jennifer Fitzgerald was puzzled.
The five kids stopped walking since a red light was flashing. Cars crossed, but a box of strange creatures came out the back when the vehicle possessing it had hit a speed bumper. None of the kids noticed or heard this occur. All of them heading back to their respective homes to prepare for Halloween. Usually, parents got the costumes ready for their kids to get candy from door to door. The Favorite Fives decided to break this tradition for themselves by making their costumes. It took them over a week, but they were prepared. Steven is going out as an adventurer, Linka will be a princess, Luke is going to dress up as a robot, Crank will become a furry animal, and Jennifer will be coming out as a spy. Before the five begun their collecting candy spree, they all met at the treehouse.
Steven was the first to speak. "Everyone, got your pillowcases? No amount of trick-or-treat bags will be big enough to cover the stashes of goodies we will collect."
The other kids held up their pillowcases in response. However, they started to hear some squeaking. Jennifer was the first to ask. "Did anyone hear that?"
"I didn't know your little sister was going to join us for trick-or-treating, Steven," Crank commented on the situation.
"Nah. She is going to be accompanied with my parents for that. She's a bit scared of this holiday, so it will be her first time on getting candy on this occasion,"
"That can be accurate. She could also be with my sibling Georgia. I just hope she doesn't get shocked by electric wires again," Luke hoped for the best.
"Let's head out before the good stuff's taken!" Linka climbed out of the treehouse with the ladder. She and the others were unaware that upon first stepping on the sidewalk, small shadows began to follow.
The five kids walked up to the first house and rang the doorbell. The camera zoomed out to show it was Linka's house. When the door opened, it revealed two tall boys. Their names were Mighty and Ray Test. The two are the older brothers of Linka. Mighty is 15 years old, had brown hair, tan skin, blue colored eyes, a small shirt, and shorts. A common fact about him is that he is afraid of snakes. Ray is similar to Mighty, even the same age as him. But there are differences between him and his brother. For one, his hair is fuzzier with a more orange hue. He is timid and nervous most of the time. He has similar attire, with the only key difference is that he had a broken shoelace. Apart from that, the two are very protective of their little sister, like their father.
Mighty spoke up. "Hey, Ray. Look, we got trick-or-treaters here!"
"Good thing I got the candy prepared, Mighty," As he handed out the goods, he noticed his little sister. "Hi, Linka. You're looking pretty tonight."
Linka beamed a smile as Ray rubbed her hair. "Oh, to be so young again. What a carefree girl. Hey, Steven. Did you know that Linka once saw y—"
Ray was interrupted when Mighty nudged hum on the shoulder. Linka facepalmed in embarrassment. Mighty finished giving candy to the kids. "Have a Happy Halloween, guys! And look out for any hazards, Linka!"
As the five kids walked out of the area, Ray started to rub his shoulder. "Our little sis sure has her habits. There are some things she does that she never knows we observed,"
Mighty glared at his brother. "You saying I'm a peeping tom?"
"So, what if I am?" Ray growled back. The two begun knocking each other's block off by throwing punches and kicks. As The Favorite Fives were walking around the path after a few houses, Linka suddenly felt her tiara move. It flew out of her head thanks to the wind, and it passed by bushes.
Steven and the others decided to halt their candy collecting to help Linka find the tiara. Steven even gave Linka some of his candy. "Don't worry, Linka. We'll assist you to find that tiara,"
Linka felt relaxed that her friends were supporting her to help her complete her minor task. As the five split up to cover more ground, Linka heard the squeaking again. She happened to notice the small crate. She kneeled on the ground to inspect the damage. Her eyes widened when she noticed that it was a bat. "What were you doing in there?"
What the bat did in response was fly fast to her neck and sink its fangs on her. Linka screamed in pain. The others were alarmed of this action and ran back to her position. Crank swatted the bat away. Steven kneeled to comfort his friend. "It's okay, Linka. We are here. What happened?"
Linka covered her neck as a tear escaped her eye. "I saw a bat on a crate. It flew to my neck and bit me," The girl grabbed one of Steven's hands.
Jennifer pulled a bandage that she received from her mother. "Don't worry, girl. Just move your hand a bit so we can cover that injury of yours,"
After Linka moved her hand, the others were shocked at her neck bite. It had two holes, with some blood leaking out of her neck. Jennifer applied the bandage on her neck to cover the holes. Linka mutters in worry. "I sure hope this isn't permanent,"
"Take it easy, girl. You might feel a bit of pain, but I can promise you that it will cease soon on," Jennifer and Steven grabbed both of Linka's hands and helped her off the ground.
"I think that's enough Halloween for us one night," Crank commented.
"Agreed. It is for the best, especially for Linka," Luke replied.
The five kids walked out of the area and began to head back to Linka's home to protect her before they headed back to their own homes. Words can't describe how fearful her brothers upon hearing the news. Later, the two tucked their sister in bed. Linka's room has a lot of adorable stuff including fluffy pillows, plush animals, and a soft rug on the floor. Mighty gave her sister some water. "We're so sorry, Linka. We should have gone with you to trick-or-treating!"
Ray was biting his fingernails in fear. "Creatures like bats and snakes are scary!"
Linka finished drinking her water. "Don't worry about it, you two. Don't blame yourselves. I just need to wait for this injury to heal,"
Mighty and Ray kissed their sister on the forehead. Ray sighed. "Very well. But if you start to feel worse or anything, let us know so we can have Mom take care of you in the hospital,"
Linka nodded before she and her two brothers said goodnight to each other. The two boys left her room and closed the door. They walked back to their own room while worrying about their sister. Mighty gulped. "You know, Ray? None of this would have happened if we just joined her friends on Halloween,"
Ray agreed. "You got that right. Even if we might be getting too old for it, we could have at least joined in the fun before we officially retire from it. That bat must pay for harming her. I will strangle the guy who caused all of this to happen,"
Mighty looked angrily at his brother. "You saying it's my fault?"
Ray bit back. "So, what if I am?"
The two brothers begun to brawl on each other before being in a fight cloud. Back at Linka's bedroom, the girl was tossing and turning. She was mumbling as the camera zoomed closer to her. Her bite mark glowed. Suddenly, two of Linka's front teeth popped right off and were replaced with sharp fangs.
The next morning, the sun was bright, indicating it was daytime. Linka's house can be described as a suburb kind. There was a garage, a pool, and a lake outside. The interior was a different story. It was spacious. There was a kitchen, stairs, bathrooms, living room, and the bedrooms. Linka's home can be described as a quiet settlement for the family since not much unexpected events occur there. But today will be a starting point. The shade from Linka's window as sunlight made its path. The girl yawned while opening her eyes.
"Hope this day becomes good for me," Linka grumbled from the exhaustion of last night. Her hair was a mess from her struggle of sleeping. The girl was unaware due to her droopy eyelids, but when she faced the mirror, her reflection was unable to be seen. Linka decided to take a shower to freshen herself up. Once that was accomplished, she headed back to her room to get ready for the day. Her comb felt lighter than usual when she brushed her hair. After putting on her clothes and bow, the girl headed to the kitchen to prepare for breakfast. The two brothers were watching a TV episode of their favorite show called "Neighborhood Tykes". It was about kids going on zany adventures while beating up villains.
Mighty noticed Linka was trying to reach the pancakes on the higher cabinet. He was about to get up from the couch to help his sister but stopped when he saw her levitate in the air for a bit and grab her target. She warmed up the waffles and got an orange juice carton. The boy looked at his apple juice and nudged it away from himself. Ray gave Linka her backpack before she left the house to join with her friends.
"Hey, Linka. Are you feeling any better?" Steven was concerned with his friend, along with the others.
"Well, I had a rough time sleeping. That bite mark did irritate me. It's gonna be a while before it fully heals,"
Jennifer cleared her throat. "I think you should make sure to not make the injury worse. Come on, we are getting closer to the school."
The five kids went inside Joseph Elementary. The school got redecorated lately to fit with the Halloween theme. There were sugar cookies, pumpkins, fake tombstones, anything discovered to fit with the holiday, but other than that, the school still had its normal look. Steven and the others were unaware first, but there were some strange effects that the bitten girl would go through. They first heard a crack occurring. It was at the ceiling. A tile was about to nail Steven in the head, but Linka grabbed him and pulled him away just in time.
"Whoa. Thanks, Linka. My head would have become bruised up if it weren't for you,"
Steven said sheepishly.
"The least I can do for you!"
Later, it was P.E. class. The person in charge of the class was a gym teacher known as Coach Ratchet. He had black hair, gray eyes, a great voice, and encouraging spirit. He is also slender. "Alright, students. You happen to know the rules. There should be an area with the flag. Your objective is to reach there as fast as you can. Once you go that area, return to the previous location where you were in. Go be awesome out there!" The coach positions his hand in the air. After closing on fingers, he snapped them, letting the kids know to run. Normally, Crank would be in the leading position since he has experienced this kind of activity. Linka is going to change that. She was gaining speed as she ran. The athletic boy felt his eyes widen when the girl boosted ahead of him.
"Wow. That was very unexpected!" Linka couldn't believe her eyes.
"Not to mention you were legendary back there!" the coach complimented.
Steven and the others were also impressed by Linka's new skill. The same can be applied for the other classmates. It wasn't until the next day when more effects were about to affect Linka. When the group got into the school the next day, they encountered a blonde hair girl name Clover Henderson. She is a mean popular girl to those that she crosses her, including Linka. One trait of Clover's is that she commonly hits on people like Steven. He gets annoyed about this, but Linka is more than annoyed about it.
Clover started to get on Linka's nerves. "Hey, people. Check out the Freaky Five here. Linka's one dumb goofball is the weak link!"
Linka clenched her fists. "Just stop bugging us, Clover. That's not going to get you anywhere,"
"Maybe for me it won't, but I guarantee it can transport you one place: Dumbsville!"
Linka growled while the blonde girl laughed. Suddenly, the lights started to flicker on and off repeatedly. Most of the kids were shocked at this happening. Everything went dark for a couple seconds. Clover was heard screaming before the lights went back on. Clover was seen covering her neck in pain. Linka and the others were confused about this result. The blonde girl limped away in pain. She raised a certain finger to mess with the kids.
"Is it me, or did Clover got attacked by surprise?" Steven asked in curiosity. He was the only one that noticed something odd about Clover's injury.
"It can be true, although there would be no way someone would strike at her and vanish," Luke theorized.
"Let's head to the café. We are going to get starving if we just stand here," Jennifer led her friends to the cafeteria. The area is known to be a common elementary school cafeteria. What can be described is that it is a multi-purpose room. The things that occupy it are tables, chairs, and a stage. The seats in the tables are connected to the tables and are circular. Large meetings, classes, plays are what can be used for. Some spotlights are above the tables, though they aren't enabled. The kitchen/serving area also exists in it. The students lined up in the place. Today's food would be a roll, chocolate milk in cartons, spaghetti with meatballs, and a fruit cup. The Favorite Fives sat down in their usual table where they hung out during lunch.
"Hope we get to see that movie again in history class. I was very charmed for it thanks to its character building with the animals it was used," Crank started up the conversation.
"I'll say. That squirrel cracks me up whenever his antics cause chaos!" Jennifer added.
Luke wasn't really talking much since he saw something strange with Linka. He couldn't help but notice that Linka bit on the milk carton with her teeth, which shown her fangs, sucking the milk out of it. What took the camel's back was that Linka sunk her fangs into the spaghetti sauce. It was gone within seconds before she wiped her face with napkins. After the kids dumped their trash on a nearby garbage can, they walked upstairs to their next class. Jennifer started to see some strange changes in Linka as well. During their upstairs transportation, the mirror behind them that usually had their reflections, Linka's was nowhere to be seen. Jennifer cleaned her glasses, thinking they were just covered by fog. "I should probably get a new pair."
The end of the day seemed to be the strangest of all. When the five kids exited their school, buses were arriving. Few of them were not in the best driving condition since it was raining, making the road slippery for people to drive. One bus was out of control. The Favorite Fives heard the bus approaching. Steven screamed as he covered himself since the bus was going to hit him. He didn't feel any pain for some reason. He opened his eyes and found out that Linka was in front of him, holding the bus with her hand. The bus stopped before it could crush anyone. The girl's friends were in major shock about this, including Crank. Steven laughed for a bit nervously before fainting, which Linka caught him before falling on the ground.
"What the heck was that?!" Crank shouted in surprise. The others can't argue with him there since they were in sight of the event.
Linka rubbed her eyes with one of her hands to recall what happened. She stopped a bus from hitting her friend. "This is surprisingly new. And strange as well,"
The others were still in surprise about this. A few hours later, the four of them were back in the treehouse except for Linka. She was busy spending time with Mighty and Ray. Steven woke up from fainting, so he was at the center of the treehouse while the three kids sat on the couch. "This has been a crazy number of days for us, guys. All these strange occurrences around us have been frequent. Linka could have something that is causing all of this,"
Jennifer cleared her throat. "Precisely. No regular human can do that kind of stuff she had done recently. Except for the running part. No offense, Crank."
Crank shrugged his shoulders. "There is something wrong with Linka. I'm sure of it. She wouldn't wear a jacket/coat on sunny days like this,"
Steven was confused. "Wait, you noticed that too? I seen some strange stuff as well. When Clover got attacked, she got bite marks that looked exactly like the ones Linka got from that bat few nights ago."
Jennifer stepped in with her thoughts. "I should have brought this up before as well. I thought it was mind games, but it was sketchy that Linka's reflection wasn't there in the mirror upstairs. Not to mention that she hissed when some sunlight was on her arm."
Luke even added his opinion. "Then there's that time Steven almost got hit by a bus. Linka saved Steven from being hit by it, even though it is impossible one human alone can stop it in its tracks,"
"Maybe we should ask her brothers to see what's up with her. They know her better than us," Steven concluded.
The four climbed down from the treehouse and walked to Linka's home. Unaware to them, a squeaking noise can be heard. It was a while, but they reached their destination. Upon knocking the door, Linka's two brothers answered. Their hair was messy.
"What happened to you guys?" Jennifer asked.
"Long story short, Linka got involved." Ray gasped for air.
"You guys didn't do anything bad to her, did you?" Mighty interrogated the four kids.
Steven pondered for a moment. He recalled what happened on Halloween night. "All I can recall is that Linka lost her tiara thanks to the wind blowing it away. We split up to- "
"Find it, which Linka got bit by a bit. Yeah. She told us," Ray scratched his back.
"Did you guys try to do anything about it?" Crank asked.
"Well, we were waiting for the injury to pass by. Her mother even treated her to some stuff that should do the trick. But it's not going as well as we expected."
Everyone got interrupted when they heard some noises coming from the kitchen. They rushed in to see Linka burying through cans. The others' eyes widened when they witness Linka singing her teeth in the can without opening it. Her fangs got noticeable this time. Linka threw the can away once sucking it. "Ah, tomato juice. Not as good as blood, though,"
Mighty and Ray felt nervous seeing their sister like this. But what raised the stakes was that upon rising from the cans, Linka's clothes were different. Her green bow was replaced by a sharper red kind, some of her long hair was cut to make spikes, and her eyes teeth were sharper. The biggest change was that Linka's clothes were no longer normal. They seemed the kind of clothes a vampire would wear – Cape and all.
"Linka? Are you ok?" Steven asked while approaching her.
The girl straightened her bow before answering. "Just hungry. You guys better get back to your homes. We got school in the morning. Good bite—I mean, night!" She hissed for a bit when some sunlight hit her arm.
The four kids and Test brothers eyed the girl in suspicion. Steven walked to the empty cans. He saw that they were all filled with tomato juice before Linka came. "This can't be a coincidence, can it?"
"We should probably head back to the treehouse tomorrow to see what we can find," Jennifer suggested.
Things would go from bad to worse with the kids before that even occurred. After putting on his pajamas, Steven was back at his bed, sleeping for the night. He grumbled for a bit when some noises were heard. A window was opened, letting a shadow go inside. After closing it, the shadow crawled to Steven's bed. Steven opened his eyes a little to see something in front of him. He grabbed his glasses and found out that Linka was on top of him. She had her vampire outfit on, but her fangs were more noticeable now. "Linka? What are you doing here?"
"I am here to suck your blood, human!"
"Linka, Halloween ended already. I got to get some sleep." The boy mumbled before sinking back to his bed. Linka wasn't having any of it, so she pulled the boy to herself, and prepared to bite on his neck. However, she was stopped when some light shined on her. Steven looked to see it was Bianca in her pajamas. She was shocked to see Linka about to bite on her brother.
"Don't harm my brother!" Bianca aimed her flashlight on Linka. The vampire girl hissed before transforming into a bat and breaking through the window. Steven couldn't believe what he witnessed. He arranged an emergency meeting at the treehouse the following morning. Strangely enough, Steven wasn't the only one that had a rough night. His friends had been disturbed by the vampire girl as well. Jennifer's hair was messy along with a bit of her glasses cracked. Crank had bags on his eyes, and Luke's overalls were loose.
"There is definitely something wrong with that girl," Jennifer yawned with exhausted. "I almost fell off my bed when she landed near me."
"The way she reacted to the light was unexpected," Luke scratched his head.
"I'm shocked she didn't get hurt when she broke through my window," Crank commented on the problem.
Steven pondered for a bit. "Guys, you believe Linka's becoming a vampire? For real?"
The three friends murmured about this. It can be hard to believe since vampires are fictional, and they don't exist in real life. Then again, they did encounter leprechauns before.
"Does anyone remember that vampire movie we saw last week at school?" Luke asked.
"Ech. That film was cheesy. Not to mention that love story of the girl choosing to be with the vampire or werewolf is complicated," Jennifer expressed her opinion.
"You got that right. My older sister is melodramatic about that film," the leader of the Favorite Fives rolled his eyes. "Luke, what are you trying to point out?"
"Based on the climax and falling action, it seems the vampires have weaknesses. Three common items to stop them are sunlight, wooden stakes, and garlic."
Steven and the others looked worried. As much as they wanted to deal with their vampire problem, they don't want to harm Linka. Hurting her is something they wouldn't dare of doing. The kids did the next possible thing: meet up with Mighty and Ray tonight. Once the problem was discussed, the two older brothers took the four young kids to their room. Compared to Linka's room, the brothers' room was larger like the parents' bedroom. The two had bunk beds as their way to sleep. They have a portable TV, a video game console, some home movies, and a VHS player that has their favorite movies growing up.
Mighty recalled that when they watched a vampire movie back in the 90s, the two boys had created a few items based on it to show their friends. "Based on what we have seen from Tuffy the Vampire Killer movie, we made some stakes and flashlights to pretend that we were fighting vampires. Ray almost got a splinter using them, so we resorted to using gloves when it comes to using stakes."
Ray sneezed before explaining their strategy. "We have to trap Linka in an area that she cannot escape easily. It won't be easy, but we have to turn her back into a human,"
"How will we do that without harming her?" Steven asked in worry.
"I think we must find the bat who bit her. It is heard that if we kill the head vampire, those that are bitten are restored," Luke suggested.
The four kids with the help of the Test brothers went outside to deal with the threat. However, they encountered Clover Henderson, who was standing on the road for some reason.
"Clover? What are you doing here?" Steven approached her.
Clover smacked his hand and walked to him. "Looks like you will make a great accomplice to Count Linka!" The blond girl donned the same outfit as Linka and had her share of fangs. The others gasped in response. Clover tried to bite Steven in the neck, but Jennifer slammed her face with a frying pan she grabbed from the kitchen.
Steven nervously walked back for a bit before the blond-haired vampire regains her strength. Clover started hissing before transforming into a bat and flying away. Everyone sighed. That was a close one.
"What the heck do we do now?" Crank asked.
"We have to track Count Linka down and avoid being turned into vampires. We must be prepared for this moment. Everyone, grab as many garlic, stakes, and flashlights as you can." Steven leaded the team as he put on sunglasses. "We're going on a vampire hunt."
Meanwhile back at the treehouse, Count Linka was drinking some blood of a young boy. She snapped her fingers to order the bats to bring her the next victim. The bat that bit her approached the girl. The bat squeaked into her ear about the news. The vampire girl was not pleased as she pounded the chair with her fists. "So, they think they can escape being bit? Well, two can bite at that stake!"
Steven and the gang walked around the neighborhood to find out where Count Linka is. They heard some crying. Using their flashlights, they traced the source of the sobbing. It was revealed to be Georgia, who was crying near some trash cans.
"Georgia? Is that you?" Luke asked with worry. He started to get closer to his little sister.
Jennifer leaned in for a closer look from a safe distance. "No, don't!" She pulled on Luke's arm, pulling him back.
Before any response was given, Georgia turned back and faced the others. She was a vampire like the others. She sped to bite them, but she tripped on a rock and fell into a coffin on the road. Suddenly, a car was speeding and hit the coffin, causing an explosion. Everyone's jaws dropped at this result. Luke felt himself land on the ground with his knees. Dust came out of the air. Steven put his hand on Luke's shoulder to comfort him. Unknown to them, Luke yelped in pain and covered his neck. It was shown that Georgia became a bat and secretly bit her brother. The others backed away from Luke as the genius was transforming into a vampire. Suddenly, the vampire transformation sped up. Luke is now a vampire. Georgia landed next to him.
"Your blood is tasty. Come closer so we can have some," the two Foster siblings said together. Jennifer shot some garlic at them, making them cough. This was ample time for them to escape. Crank sensed something behind them, but the others didn't notice it. Before it was too late, Crank pushed a vampire kid away from Mighty and Ray. Unfortunately, his neck was also bit by the vampire kid due to shoving the kid by the mouth, which gave the fangs an easy target to stretch its head and bite. Jennifer quickly aimed at her flashlight at Crank, which caused him to hiss and run off.
"This is getting out of hand," Steven muttered.
"We should split up and cover more ground so we can find any leads," Mighty suggested, as Ray nodded in agreement.
"You sure about that?" Steven asked in doubt.
"Well, gangs in shows we watch do that to find more clues. It won't hurt to try it out," Ray shrugged.
The leader of the Favorite Fives caved in for the idea. The Test brothers ran back to the house while Steven and Jennifer went back to Joseph Elementary School. An hour later, the two were planning to sneak inside the school to find any clues of Linka's whereabouts. However, some tall silhouettes were blocking the entrance and were carrying loaded guns. "Halt, who goes there?"
"It's just the two of us. Some students from this school," Jennifer replied.
This did not satisfy the silhouetted people, as they aimed their weapons at the two kids. "State your name and business!"
"I'm Steven Cooper and this is Jennifer Fitzgerald. We are just looking to find the whereabouts of our friend. She unfortunately isn't feeling well, so we need to bring her home,"
The two tall figures stepped out of the shadows to reveal they were Mighty and Ray, who were bitten by a vampire.
Jennifer facepalmed. "This is getting out of hand,"
The two kids were about to unleash their defenses, but the two older ones used their guns to shoot them away. Bullets destroyed the garlic, stakes, and flashlights. Some of them even hit Steven and Jennifer by their hair and arms.
"Ouch!" Steven shouted in pain, as he and Jennifer covered their wounds. Some blood escaped from the holes, which caused Mighty and Ray to look satisfied.
A shadow stepped behind from the Test brothers. It was revealed to be Count Linka. "You two have been living as human far enough. Why won't you just lean your necks in so we can cut to the chase?"
Before Steven can respond, Jennifer grabbed his hand. "No. THIS is cutting to the chase," She and the boy went down to the sewer can as an escape attempt.
Count Linka growled as her eyes glowed red. She pointed to the sewer can. "After them! We must have them become one of us!"
The two brothers nodded before transforming into bats to chase the two human kids. They tried to locate them, but they ended up being swept away by the wave. The two kids got out of their hiding place behind a dark area.
"That was close, Jennifer,"
"Ugh. This is nuts. The rest of us are dropping like flies, Linka's still a vampire, who knows how long before we become the only two humans not to get bitten by them!" Jennifer facepalmed.
Things would go worse upon exiting the place. The bat swept from before was hiding in a tree. When Jennifer stepped out the sewer, the bat quickly flew in and bit on her wound that was caused by the gun. The girl shouted in pain before Steven came to her aid. "Jennifer! Not you, too!"
"Listen, Steven. There's only one thing that will help us. I need you to head back to the treehouse. There's something in there that will deal with this vampire problem for good. I had to keep it a secret for drastic measures. There's a little cage inside there. It should trap the little bat. When you get it, try to kill it so we can be restored,"
"I can't just leave you! We need to do this together!" Steven didn't want to leave her.
Jennifer moves her hand at Steven, but manages to restrain herself, breathing heavily, and instead punches the road, causing a hole. "You need to..." The girl's eyes shone up and start glowing. She spoke the rest of her words in a vampire voice. "…run! NOW!"
Steven wasted no time sprinting to avoid being bit. The only place he could conceal himself for a bit was his own home. Once he went inside the front door, the boy quickly hid in the kitchen. There was no way he was going to hide in his room from the vampires. His encounter with Count Linka made him learn that lesson. He looked up to see that it was almost daytime. Linka and the others would be doomed since the sunlight would kill them if they were not careful. Steven had to make sure they were restored, and fast, He carefully sneaked into Bianca's room. It was like Linka's room, but it was smaller. The boy looked inside her closet to see what any use for him would be to defeat the vampires. He found an old vampire costume Bianca wore years ago.
I've got no other choice, Steven thought to himself. There are some actions we must do even with the loss of dignity.
The boy walked back to the one place he assumed Count Linka would be hiding: the treehouse. As he sighed, he noticed that the treehouse had some changes. It was mostly decorated with items relating to vampires. There were coffins, capes, stakes, and blood. Steven knew that Count Linka was nearby. He had to make his own entrance to the treehouse to avoid being caught by any of the vampires. Once he climbed up to the treehouse, he took a glimpse inside. There were some vampires decorated items in it too. Count Linka was seen to be sleeping, as her vampire wings were wrapped around herself. The boy spotted a bat next to her. It could be the head vampire. Steven tiptoed inside the treehouse to sneak up on it.
This was a mistake, as the vampire girl sped and tackled him. "Nice try, but you aren't going to defeat me that easily,"
"How did you even know I was in here? I didn't even make a noise."
"Supersonic hearing. Vampires have that, silly," Count Linka sneered. "Don't even think I am fooled by that costume. That cliché is ludicrous since I know you haven't been bitten yet thanks to my vampire powers."
Steven had enough of these surprises being pulled right out of nowhere. "This vampire stuff has gone far too long! It's time you meet your end, bat!" He rolled over to be released from the girl's hold. The bat flew to bite Steven, but he prepared his flashlight to stun his opponents. When the two hissed, the boy trapped the bat inside the little cage.
This angered Count Linka. She hissed loudly.
"You won't stop me. I'm bringing you back to your normal self. Besides it's one to-"
The other vampires, including the other members of the Favorite Fives, Clover, Georgia, and the Test brothers surrounded Steven. They all stared at him with angry eyes and bloody fangs.
"Way more than what I have expected." The boy leapt through the window to evade capture. He had a bruise from the fall, but there was no time to focus on that since Steven had grabbed the cage and ran for dear life. The vampires were not waking this easy as they flew to catch up to him. Steven tried hiding in other locations, but they always found him no matter where he concealed himself.
"Give up now, and the bite won't be as painful!" Vampire Crank shouted.
"The odds of victory for you are incomplete!" Vampire Luke said.
"Nowhere for you to run, little man." Vampire Jennifer taunted.
"One of us! One of us!" Vampire Bianca chanted.
Steven spotted the sky turning into a bright blue. The night would soon be over, but the others would be killed. Steven had to act right now. Steven pulled out a stake and was about to kill the bat with it, but Count Linka managed to tackle him again, this time with the assistance of the other vampires. This caused the cage to be broken, freeing the bat. Count Linka prepared to complete her plan. The bat watched with glee as Steven was about to be bitten.
Steven quickly threw the stake at the bat's direction. "Better luck necks time, bat."
Before anyone could react, the stake hit the bat's chest. It tried to escape it, but it was no use, as it was dying. Count Linka's fangs almost touched Steven's neck. In no time at all, the bat died, restoring every person that was bit by the vampire back to normal.
"Ugh. My head," Jennifer complained.
"Those were eight crazy nights, not gonna lie," Crank commented.
"What we are all doing here?" Luke was still dizzy.
Linka was affected the most since she unintentionally started this whole debacle. After rubbing her eyes, she looked around where she was. It is bright on Quiet Country, Ohio. She looked down on the ground and her eyes widened from the sight she witnessed. Steven was bruised up. "Steven, are you hurt?!"
"Yeah. Got a hole in my arm due to a bullet wound, had some bruises and blood along the way, I even almost got bitten by people," Steven tried to stand up, but his legs were exhausted from all the running he had to do.
"Steven. Don't worry. We will get you to a hospital," Linka, with the help of Jennifer and Bianca, lifted him and brought him to the Quiet Country Hospital.
"Any chance he'll be okay?" Crank was concerned.
"Considering Linka's mother works there; it is for the best. She does a great job taking care of her patients like her daughter, it would be no problem if she took care of Steven as he recovers." Luke explained.
Days have passed by since the incident. Many people were wearing bandages on their necks due to the bites they received, some had full on casts to help heal the damage from their arms, blood work was being done. Steven was moving through the hospital, locating his room. He had just got done talking with his friends about his status. Linka was upset about being the cause of all this, but the boy reassured her that the bat was to blame since it attacked her.
The boy thought to himself, I'm glad this is all over. Linka and the others have been visiting me often to check up on me, and I appreciate it. I just hope we never have to deal with this vampire stuff again.
After the boy got up to his bed, a male doctor entered the room. He had black hair, white skin, gray eyes, and a strong grip. "Hello, you must be my patient. I am your doctor for today. I had assigned Mrs. Cooper to help heal some preschoolers that had bruises."
Steven sighed as the doctor did his daily routine for checking patients. The boy took deep breaths as instructed, let the doctor hit his knees with a tiny hammer, and checked out his heart rate.
"Move your arm so we can do this blood test"
The boy rolled up his sleeves on his medical gown so the doctor can position his needle on the correct position. Steven felt quite a pinch on his arm, so he closed his eyes and kept his breath to make it less painful. A few seconds pass, and the pain was getting worse for some reason. Steven opened his eyes and cannot believe his sight. His doctor was biting down on the patient's neck. Steven pushed the doctor away and covered his arm. Not only he was in worse pain that before, but his mouth was also in pain. "What did you do?"
The doctor smiled, showing his own set of fangs. "Apologies for the lack of identity. You can call me Dr. Bill Bite. And today is your lucky day."
Steven ushered to the mirror to see his condition. His hair changed a bit, the hole on his arm was bigger, more blood was leaking, but what took the cake was that his two front teeth were replaced by vampire fangs.
"Happy Fangs-giving, mortal,"
Steven screamed as the camera zoomed in his mouth, fading to black.
The scene changed back to the stage before the story began. Steven came in front of the curtains. "Well, I hope you liked that story. I will admit, it wasn't that bad for our first Halloween chapter. There could be more of our Halloween adventures as the years pass by, but only time will tell. I'm just saying. Happy Halloween, everyone!" The boy turned into a bat and flew away.