Mrs Hawthorne had insisted that the Louds and their guests sat down in the living room, which looked just as fancy as the exterior of the building had. The furniture was snow white, with an obsidian table in the center and a flat screen tv. A bear skin rug was on the floor, but something about it didn't look quite like a normal bear.
"Our guests have arrived." She said to someone waiting in the living room. It was a man, a vampire too from the looks of it, and he looked like he was expecting someone to try and take his picture any second now. He was seated on a white chair facing the couch, a table between the two pieces of furniture, and a newspaper in his hands. Atop the table was what looked like a candelabra, except it had three red crystal candles instead of wax ones.
"Ah, you're here. Welcome, take a seat." He greeted, gesturing to the couch after putting down the newspaper.
Rita sat down first, and Lincoln, Lucy, Stella, Ronnie Anne, and Clyde soon joined her. Clyde was still shivering a little. The gorgon and the other Nevermore left the area, to do who knows what else.
"Hello everyone, my name is Barry Hawthorne, this is my wife Belle, and you already met our son Blake."
"Where's the other hostage? The girl?" Rita demanded, remembering the picture she saw of Sid strapped to a surgical table.
"She's safe, but she'll remain hidden until we're done. We mean no harm, but we also needed to make sure you wouldn't come in all wands blazing ready to hex first and ask questions later. She'll be brought out after we finish our discussion."
Rita fumed and crossed her arms. "Why did you want us here, Hawthorne?"
"Oh please, no need to be formal. But as for why, I'm sure you've already heard that we got our son out of prison, and you're surely upset about that."
"You're damn right I am!" Stella almost shouted.
"Rest assured, Blake will not get away with this. You see, the Nosferatu Law means that vampires can decide on the punishment of our own without needing a trial, but a punishment must be done and a judge must approve of it. We have twenty-four hours to decide what will happen to Blake that a judge will agree with, so he will be punished. I promise you."
"And what? You want us to ask for leniency?" Rita asked. "Your son turned mine into a dhampir."
"Which he should not have done. That was foolish and reckless of him and I apologize. As a mother I understand that you want to throw the book at him, but as a mother I hope you understand that I don't want anything too extreme. Am I right?"
"If you think we can just forgive that brat, the answer is hell no." Rita affirmed.
Barry and Belle grinned before leaning in a little. "And what if we had something that might persuade you to consider it?"
"Like what?" Rita asked.
With that, the two vampires leaned back, looking more comfortable.
"Did they just say they were vampires?" Clyde whispered, and Lincoln just nodded.
"Let me explain something for the kids." Barry said, moving his gaze to look at the teens. "We're business people. I'm sure you've already been told about Nevermores, and by now you probably know that most Nevermores can't exactly walk around in human society undisguised. But humans have resources that we need. Food, medicine, power, we need all that too and we can't exactly walk into a Walmart and buy it. Fortunately as vampires, we have an easier time. So we do business with humans, and in turn do business with other Nevermore."
"And why should we care about this?" Stella asked, running out of patience.
"We were getting to that dear." Belle continued. "You see, we do still need human assistance in this arrangement. There are some things we cannot get on our own, or times we cannot get it ourselves. That's where your relatives, the Cuis, come in. They are our human partners in our business. They help us acquire what we need, and we in turn pay them a good amount."
"If you weren't already aware, Nevermore money converts quite nicely into human money. It's very easy for a human working with us to get rich. Hell, we paid for this place by converting some kidna into dollars." Barry added.
"So my mother's relatives give you… whatever it is you ask them for, and they get paid. And you sell whatever they give you to other Nevermores and that's how you get paid." Stella summarized.
Barry and Belle nodded. "It's just business."
"What do you sell then?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Not important."
"Right. What is important is who decided to force me to be with Blake." Stella stated, still convinced someone had an agenda here.
The two vampires looked disinterested in answering that, prompting Stella to growl.
"Alright, fine, if you really must know. We mentioned the idea first, but your aunt and uncle never had a problem with it." Belle claimed.
"Though to be fair, we did give them a motive to want that." Barry added.
"Details! Now!" Stella demanded.
"One moment." Barry said, reaching under his chair. Soon he pulled out an old piece of paper and placed it on the table, using the candelabra to hold it in place. Half of it showed what looked like a map of some islands with a big purple triangle drawn over it, and the other half showed some kind of writing. They couldn't read the writing since most of it was covered by the candelabra's base.
"What is this?" Lucy asked.
"We acquired this some time ago, and have reason to believe it will lead us to an opportunity to flourish even more. The only problem is to complete the search, we need partners who can walk in the day. And sadly, while the Cui family have been good at keeping up their end of the partnership, we suspect they'd be too opportunistic to share in the prize. When we learned about you, we thought perhaps we could persuade you to work with us on a more fair basis. Just to ensure your relatives didn't swindle us in the end."
Stella grit her teeth. "So you made me date your son in the hopes that I'd warm up to your family and help you on a treasure hunt?"
"It was a good idea at the time." Belle said. "I don't know what Blake was thinking when he bit you. My best guess is he decided that he could tell you weren't into him and he wanted to make sure that you couldn't say no to our request."
Stella leaned back and crossed her arms. "Dhampir or not, I'm still saying no! I don't want anything to do with you or my mom's relatives ever again!"
"We want to make a deal." Barry claimed, clasping his hands.
"What could you possibly have that I would want?!" Stella asked.
"A cure. A way to stop being a dhampir altogether."
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne blinked, but Stella scoffed.
"A likely story. You didn't intend on turning me into a dhampir, but you conveniently have the cure for it? How stupid do you think I am?"
"We will take a trip to the locations on this map this summer, it's the best time for us to go. Once there, we would like you to handle the parts of the hunt that must be done in the daytime. When we have what we want, we will reward you. Not only with the cure for dhampirism, but freedom for your family."
Stella was still skeptical, but she raised an eyebrow.
"No more need to spend time with Blake. No more debt hanging over your parent's heads. Complete freedom from your relatives and us. It will be as if none of this ever happened. Isn't that what you truly want, Stella?" Barry asked.
"Why her? Why not someone else who can be out in the sun?" Lucy asked.
"We already have a Plan B, and if we have to go with that then as far as we're concerned all of you can suffer the fate of all dhampirs. This is your one chance to not die and become…"
Barry trailed off, seeing the confused looks of the three. This made him grin.
"Oh, you don't know what happens to a dhampir if they don't get their medicine?"
"They die." Lincoln answered.
Barry and Belle chuckled. "Oh, if only it was that simple. No, it's much worse than that. Do you want to know?"
"I don't want anything from you." Stella stated. "Whatever treasure you're looking for, I don't care. And right now I wouldn't trust you if you said you could give me the cure for cancer."
"Don't say anything you'll regret, Stella." Belle warned.
Rita rose to her feet. "We heard your offer and she has refused. If you want any leniency from us regarding what your son did to these kids, give up your hostage and let us leave. Or do I have to get violent?"
Barry smirked. "You want violence? Go ahead, try it witch."
Rita was immediately confused and guarded, but she had to make sure they weren't bluffing. For starters, she tried to cast a spell where their chairs would bind them down, making them unable to get up. Nothing happened, except for the crystal candles glowing a little.
'What was that?' Clyde asked himself, seeing the candles glow a soft blue for a moment.
Barry and Belle chuckled, confident and unhindered. "What's the matter? Magic got a short circuit?"
"Magic suppression. How much blood did that cost you?" Rita rued.
"Not important. What is important is that you remember that assault laws exist and we invited you into our house. Plus we have a gorgon and others here too if you decide to start anything."
"Our business is done, now release the girl so we can leave." Rita insisted.
Belle and Barry shared a glance and nodded, then looked back at her. "No."
"No?" Rita and Ronnie Anne repeated.
"We need a Plan B, and so this Sid Chang will have to be it. Unless Stella wishes to change her mind."
Lincoln and Ronnie Anne together reached out and grabbed the underside of the table before throwing it up at them. Their strength surprised them and the table did more than just go on its side and hit their feet, it flew up and at them like a blunt projectile, knocking them and their chairs backwards to the floor and under the table. Clattering was heard and one of the crystal candles rolled towards Clyde's feet.
"Go! Now!" Lincoln said, jumping to his feet. The others followed, though Clyde paused to grab the crystal.
"Where do we start?" Stella asked.
"Anywhere! Everywhere! Just don't stop looking until you find Sid!" Ronnie Anne answered, rushing down the hallway. Rita meanwhile went down another.
Lincoln and Stella went down another hallway with Clyde following. Or at least he was, but he soon overtook them.
"Looks like someone's got a little extra adrenaline today." Stella remarked.
"We're in a vampire's home and I got turned to stone earlier. I'm 100% adrenaline right now Stella." He said, breathing heavily and knocking down the first door he came across. "She's not in here."
"Clyde, your hand." Lincoln said to his friend.
Clyde ignored him or didn't hear him, he continued to break down the doors in each hall. The rooms behind them all resembled normal rooms, or at least what one might expect to find inside a mansion. Nothing that screamed 'yes a vampire lives here' to him at all.
"Clyde!" Stella spoke up, making him stop.
"What?" He asked.
Lincoln and Stella pointed at his hand, which had steam emitting from it not. Naturally he dropped the crystal and blew on his hand, but when he saw it he gasped.
"What happened to me?" He asked, seeing his hand covered in brown fur and sporting claws. Though these features quickly began to recede and his hand returned to normal.
Curious, Lincoln grabbed the crystal. It felt warm and uncomfortable but nothing happened. Then he passed it to Stella, who showed no reaction.
"What is this thing?" She asked.
Before they could speculate, a beam of light came towards them and hit Stella, petrifying her. The crystal dropped out of her hand just before, clattering on the floor. Lincoln turned and saw the gorgon, who looked like she was charging up for another shot. This made him see red, literally. His eyes turned red and he snarled, showing off his fangs like an angry lion. For a split second the gorgon was thrown off, causing her to misfire and hit the wall instead. Lincoln took the opportunity to go at her, trying to knock her unconscious but instead slashing the side of her face. The gorgon hissed and showed her own fangs with her snakes trying to bite him viciously. Lincoln grabbed them and yanked her head, forcing her to face away from him before she could bite or turn him to stone.
Clyde tried to break Stella free, assuming she was not completely stone but rather encased in it like he had been. And while he was unusually athletic, he couldn't shatter solid stone with his bare hands. Glancing down, he saw the crystal by his feet.
'Desperate times call for desperate measures.' He told himself before picking up the red stone. Steam emitted again and his hand transformed, but this time he didn't fight it. The brown fur spread up his arm and very quickly covered his entire body. His eyes turned a shade of yellow somewhere between amber and gold, fangs sprouted in his mouth, and his ears moved to the top of his head, becoming canine in shape.
'I'm a werewolf now?' Clyde asked, checking himself out. This was weird, but at the same time he really liked it so he put the crystal in his pocket. 'Awesome. This could really come in handy.'
Lincoln and the gorgon didn't notice at all. Lincoln couldn't grab all her snakes and a few free ones managed to bite his hands, forcing him to release her and back away. His hands hurt and the pain went up his arms, making him wince in agony. The gorgon took the opportunity to knock him over and pin him down. With his arms struggling to cooperate, he couldn't free himself.
"Sssorry kid, but-"
The gorgon couldn't finish that because she was tackled by Clyde, knocked back into the entry room and slamming into a table, shattering it. Clyde took the opportunity to pin her down beneath him, using both arms and legs to keep her from squirming too much while keeping her eyes looking anywhere except at him. The snakes on her head were long enough to bite him, but Clyde showed no reaction to their venom.
"Clyde?" Lincoln said, coming up and seeing his friend.
"I'll handle her. I've got a score to settle. Go free Stella." Clyde told him. Lincoln nodded and went back to his other friend, knocking her over. Upon impact with the floor the stone casing shattered.
"What just happened?" Stella asked, feeling sore and cold.
"Later. Let's keep looking." Lincoln said.
In the other end of the house, Rita, Lucy, and Ronnie Anne had already checked the rooms they could find. But they did find a stairway to a basement, and so decided to check down there.
At first glance the basement looked like a large laundry room but at the far end there was an iron door that did not belong.
Ronnie Anne went right up to it and tried to pull it open. It wasn't locked but it was heavy. Rita and Lucy came up and helped her pull.
To their surprise, the door began to open from the other side, like someone else was helping them. From the other side emerged a man dressed in surgeon garb with a mask.
"Who are you?"
Ronnie Anne and Lucy looked around the man, seeing a surgical table in the middle of the room with someone strapped down. Someone who was very familiar to the Hispanic girl.
"SID!"
Sid was wide awake and turned towards the voice of her friend. Her mouth was gagged so she could only make muffled cries for help. Another surgeon was by her, a woman judging by the hair, and she had a jar with an organ in her hands.
Ronnie Anne got pissed at the sight and the implications, resulting in her barging into the room, fangs bared and a roar in her throat. The first doctor stumbled backwards but didn't fall, and Ronnie Anne went right up to the table trying to rip apart the bindings on her friend. However, the second surgeon attacked her with a knife, cutting her arm. Ronnie Anne yelled in pain but then she turned her attention towards the doctor.
Rita tried to cast a spell to push the first doctor up against a wall and make him stick there, but the magic suppression feature of the estate remained active.
"Helpless without magic, huh witch bitch?" He mocked, only for her to attack him with her bare fists.
"I'm not one of those silver spoon witches that can't even tie her shoelaces without magic! I'm a working mother in the suburbs! And I'm mad!"
Lucy looked around, seeing what was in the room. Be it a weapon she could use or a clue as to what they were doing. There were a lot of glass jars containing organs, surgical tools, a diagram of the human body, and something akin to a generator. Sid herself was in just her panties, no bra, and no tarp covering her for modesty. There was a cable connected to Sid's scalp via what looked like a bolt drilled above her left ear. But that was nothing compared to the fact that her skin was now pale, almost blue, covered in stitches, and the top half of her head was cut off, exposing her brain. And somehow she was still awake.
'No way, it's impossible. Just a story, right?' Lucy thought.
Ronnie Anne and the second doctor circled each other, neither able to get too close to each other. The doctor was armed and Ronnie Anne was… well, a dhampir. Sid and the table were in between them, also creating a barrier between them.
The second doctor got near the generator and swiftly pulled a switch. It whirled alive with energy and all of a sudden Sid's body spasmed with lightning dancing all over her. She tried to scream but she couldn't with the gag in place.
Ronnie Anne snarled and pounced, throwing the second doctor against the wall really hard. It knocked her out cold but Ronnie Anne still got ready to bite down on her neck.
"Don't!" Lucy insisted, going up to the Hispanic girl and stopping her.
"And why should I?" Ronnie Anne asked, eyes glowing red.
"Focus on helping your friend more." The gothic girl told her. Ronnie Anne looked annoyed, but nodded and released the unconscious woman to go help Sid.
Rita still fought the first doctor and while she was not helpless she lacked the strength he had. She tried to take him down quickly with a kick to the crotch but he turned enough for her miss and instead hit his thigh. He in turn clocked her in the face, knocking her off her feet. Then he put his foot on her side to pin her down, but Lucy came up and jabbed one of the scalpels in his side. He screamed and released Rita in order to pull the surgical tool out, but Lucy also picked up an empty jar and threw it into his head, shattering it. That certainly knocked him out cold.
"Thanks Lucy. A bit savage though, but thanks."
"I just asked myself what would Lola do if she were here." Lucy replied, and Rita wasn't sure if that was a joke or not.
"What did they do to you?" Ronnie Anne asked when she took the gag out of Sid's mouth. Sid tried to answer, but the need to cough and take deep breaths was stronger. But with the straps undone she could at least move again.
"If I had to guess, it looks like they were turning her into a frankenperson." Rita theorized, climbing to her feet.
"But that's impossible. Frankenpeople aren't created in labs. That's just the movies." Lucy countered.
Sid yanked the cable off her head, but the bolt it had been connected to remained, just above her left ear. Then she gingerly reached higher, just barely touching her exposed brain.
"Wh… errrrr… my… heeeeeaddddd…?" She managed to say, speaking as if her voice box was low on batteries or something.
"Over there." Lucy pointed towards a shelf, where they saw the top half of Sid's cranium by several jars containing what looked like pieces of brains.
"One sec, Sid." Ronnie Anne insisted before peering into her friend's skull. This was so gross, but it needed to be done. "Okay, it doesn't look like they took anything out yet. We must have gotten to you before they could do anything. Wait, you are Sid, right? This isn't someone else's brain in her body?"
Sid did some more coughing. Rita brought her some water to drink, which she gladly accepted. "The… combination to… your locker is… 3-30-43."
Ronnie Anne smiled and hugged her. "Good, it's still you."
"Can someone… get me my head? And my clothes?" Sid asked.
Ronnie Anne let her go and grabbed the piece of scalp before placing it on her head. Lucy grabbed her clothes too, which had been shoved in a pile in a corner of the room. Sid tried to dress herself but when she bent over her scalp shifted a little and nearly fell off.
"We'll stitch it back on when we get out of here. Now to take care of all this once and for all." Rita told everyone, taking out her phone.
While the others had been searching the house, Clyde continued to fight the gorgon. Despite his change, he had quickly taken the lead. However, the Hawthornes had not been actually hurt by their own furniture being thrown at them like that, more stunned than anything. Now they were fighting back, assisting the gorgon.
"They brought a werewolf with them?" Barry asked, surprised. He brandished claws of his own and swiped at Clyde who deflected with his own claws. Both men winced at impact but Clyde could smell that he had drawn blood.
"Go get the defenses!" Belle said to the gorgon, who was hiding behind a counter in the kitchen.
"Yesss bossss." She replied, darting towards the back of the house. Before she left, she tried another petrifying beam at Clyde, who ducked to avoid it.
Barry went towards the fireplace and grabbed a poker, coming at Clyde from behind like he had a spear. He jabbed the werewolf in the back, missing anything vital and making the boy howl in pain.
Taking the opportunity, Belle came in with a knife, clearly intending on helping her husband finish them off. Clyde glared and grit his fangs, and just when she got in close enough he reached out and bit down on her arm.
Belle reacted tremendously, dropping the knife and sounding much more hurt than Clyde himself had. Barry gasped and let go of the fireplace poker, though it remained lodged in Clyde's body, going right up to his wife.
"Belle? Belle!" He said, checking her as she collapsed to the floor on her knees, clutching her wound. Right away her veins going up her arm were visible, and they were black. Her skin was also turning an ash gray. Barry went to the kitchen, checking all the shelves, looking for something but not sure where it was.
'Ah, looks like these guys are vulnerable to werewolf bites.' Clyde thought, pulling the poker out of her back. He then held it like a club.
During his search, Barry glared at Clyde with pure hate. His face would make a serpent proud. "You've made a big mistake, lycan."
"Not so fun when the other guy can bite back, eh vampire?" Clyde remarked.
There was the sound of a door opening, and Barry then grinned deviously.
"You tell me."
Confused, Clyde was distracted by the sudden smell of rotting meat and the groaning of someone who sounded like they were struggling to move. He looked towards the back of the house, and in no time he saw several people lumbering his way. People with rotting skin, glossed over eyes, and decrepit clothes.
"You have zombies?" Clyde asked, stepping back and holding the poker like a lance.
"I got it!" Barry said, holding up a purple bottle with green around the top. Ignoring Clyde, he went to his wife and had her chug the contents. When she was done, she had a little burp and the color on her arm began to return to normal.
Clyde ignored those two and tried to think of what to do about the zombies. Right now he saw four, and it was clear there were more behind them. Drawing a blank on ideas, Clyde chose to get away rather than fight, going the direction he saw Rita head. Maybe she knew what to do about zombies.
Lincoln and Stella checked more rooms, finding most of them to be normal. Nothing in particular caught their attention. But then they found one that did. A room with medical equipment by a bed, and Blake laying in it.
Stella immediately got angry, her eyes turning red and her fangs bared. She stomped up to him and if Blake had been asleep before, he was awake now.
"Well well, come back to me, heh?" He asked, trying to sound like he won something. But the life support kind of ruined that image.
"I've got some questions, and if you don't want to die you will answer them!" Stella demanded.
"You don't have the stomach to kill me." He taunted.
Growling, Stella went over to the wall and pulled a plug. Right away one of the machines made a flatline sound and Blake looked worried.
"I had to eat garbage today because of you. My stomach is a lot stronger than you can expect." She replied.
"Alright! Alright!" Blake pleaded, and Stella replugged the life support.
Lincoln went by the door, hoping someone wouldn't come and interfere in case those machines had some kind of SOS signal in the house. Stella meanwhile got right up by Blake.
"Did my relatives tell you to bite me? Or was that all on you?"
"I had their permission, but nobody made me do it." Blake replied.
"Is there a real cure for this? A way to turn me back to a normal human?" Stella rued, wanting to hurt her aunt and uncle. At the same time, she had to make sure the Hawthornes were lying.
"If there is, I wouldn't know where to find it."
"What about the don't die medicine I need now thanks to you? Is there any in this house?"
"Here? Of course not. Why would we need it? We're not dhampirs." Blake asked back.
"Am I the first girl you… no, forget it. That doesn't matter. What I want to know is do I have to kill you to keep you away from me?"
Blake sweated nervously. "Hey, no need to go that far. You want to break up? Alright, you're free. You'll never hear from me again."
Stella took hold of the plug again, but didn't pull it yet. "And why should I believe you?"
"Look at how angry you are now. I'd be crazy to risk making you angrier."
Stella paused to consider, but ultimately she released the plug with it still in the socket. Blake sighed in relief and she turned to leave the room, pausing for another moment.
"If I hear that you did this to another girl, I'll stab you with so many stakes that it won't matter if I hit your heart or not."
"Sheesh, when did you become so bloodthirsty?" Blake asked.
Stella snarled, again showing her new fangs. "You should know, vampire."
She then left the room, followed by Lincoln. No longer interested in searching, the two went back downstairs.
Right away they were greeted by zombies and two angry adult vampires, forcing them to back up the stairs a little.
"There's no escape. Now, if either of you two expect to walk out of here alive, you'll do as we say." Barry warned.
Stella smirked. "You could do that, but if you do Blake will be dead in seconds."
They looked confused, as did Lincoln. "What? What did you do to him?" Belle demanded.
Stella crossed his arms. "How long can someone live if their life support is unplugged? A minute? Two if they're lucky?"
Belle paled and ran up the stairs, practically shoving them out of her way. Lincoln and Stella avoided falling over but the zombies reached out and grabbed them both, pulling them down. Naturally they fought back but the zombies were stronger than they looked. They were able to force the two teens on their knees before Barry.
"All you had to do was help us find some treasure, Stella. But now, you and your friends will have to die." He said, sounding like a disappointed parent.
"All this, for some gold coins?" Lincoln asked, sounding angry and confused.
Barry chuckled. "Anyone can have gold coins. We're after something far more valuable and profitable. Too bad you'll never know."
The vampire looked to the zombies and was about to give them an order, Clyde came up from behind and bit into his shoulder. He yowled in pain and tried to pry the werewolf off him, but Ronnie Anne, Lucy, and Rita came up to help keep him from fighting back. Sid meanwhile went over to Ronnie Anne and Stella and hit away the zombies, who seemed mostly inert now.
"Sid? Dear lord what did they do to you?" Lincoln asked.
"Oh, you know, a little makeover. Some highlights in my hair. What the fuck do you think they did to me?! They turned me into a freaking Frankenstein!" She replied, sarcastic at first but then all serious.
There was a loud bang at the front door and soon it burst open with three people coming through, dressed similar to police.
"FREEZE!"
Everyone halted and put their hands up, though in Sid's case she jumped a little and the top of her head fell off again.
"Are those zombies?" One of the cops, one that looked like a humanoid cat, asked.
Sid slowly made a move for her scalp and put it back where it was supposed to be.
"Officers, my name is Rita Loud. I'm the one who called you."
"This is my house! You have no right to be here without a warrant!" Barry shouted.
"There are illegal undead here, no warrant is needed to search the premises." Another cop, one that looked like a mummy, countered.
"Kill them!" Barry ordered, and the zombies attempted to ambush the cops.
The mummy right away spun around, but soon stopped when nothing happened. "The anti-magic warning is legit!" He warned as a zombie came up and chomped down on his arm.
"Don't need it!" The third cop, who was clearly a frankenstein, declared as he went up to the nearest zombie and grabbed it. Right away his hands sparked before the zombie was covered in visible electricity dancing over its body, making it spasm then collapse.
Sid gasped and stared at her own hands. 'Can I do that now?'
The cat cop moved nimbly and avoided the zombies by ducking low, slashing at their legs to make them collapse. The mummy meanwhile forced the zombie off his arm and then proceeded to rip its head off.
Seeing that this wasn't going to work out that well for him, Barry tried to run upstairs and escape. But he was blocked by Clyde, who growled and snapped his jaws, not afraid to bite him again. Barry decided to take his chances and tried to punch Clyde, but Clyde pulled back to avoid it without moving from his spot. Lincoln and Stella got up behind him and grabbed ahold of his arms, prompting him to try and get loose.
"Let me go! Belle, help!"
There was no response.
The frankenstein cop came up to the vampire and slapped some handcuffs on his wrists. "Assaulting an office with zombies, attempted murder with zombies, possession of zombies, you're under arrest."
Barry said nothing as they escorted him out. Once outside, the three police officers paused as they saw something unexpected. Two other cops who remained outside by their car were now turned to stone, the garage door was open, and a black car with darkened windows was rushing down the road.
The cat cop pulled out her walkie-talkie. "Everyone, this is Officer Brady, we have a runaway vampire and a house filled with illegal undead and possibly more contraband. Request additional backup, and be prepared for the involvement of a gorgon."
When Barry was put into the police car and the petrified cops were freed, the Louds and their company went outside, unsure what would come next.
"Okay, could someone please tell me what the hell this was all about? Or at least sew the top of my head back on?" Sid asked.
"After we give our statements, I'll take us all for pizza. And you'll get all the answers you need." Rita assured her.