by Dean Lorey
Everyone glanced at each other, confused.
“Why is she doing this?” Violet whispered.
Charlie shrugged. “No idea.”
The Headmaster calmed the clamour with a wave of her hand. “Although the four Named Lords of the Nether are now gone, along with the Fifth and her terrible Elemental Golems, our world is still overrun with the Monster Army that they assembled - and many more monsters are growing strong in the Nether even as we speak, just waiting to come to Earth through our nightmares.
“There are two reasons for my decision to decline your offer. The first is that, in spite of our most recent triumph, our job here at the Nightmare Division is not yet over - in fact, it has only just begun. And it will most likely go on for many years, which means that someone must train the next generation of monster hunters.” She smiled. “That someone is me, as it has always been. Therefore, I choose to remain in my position as Headmaster of the Nightmare Academy.
“The second reason - perhaps the more important one
- is that I am not the best candidate for the job.” She sighed wearily. “I stand before you, weak in body and tired in mind. We have all been living, for far too long, in a dark and frightening age. The last Director led us astray and we are now lost in the wilderness. We need someone fresh and bold and full of hope to lead us back to the light. Someone with skill and courage and honour. Someone untainted by the old and unafraid to open the door to something marvellous and new. That person is here with us today, sitting quietly in this High Council chamber…and his name is Charlie Benjamin.”
Charlie froze.
Did she really just say my name? he thought. Seriously?
“But he’s just a student, you are surely thinking. How could he possibly run something as complicated as the Nightmare Division - he doesn’t know any of its rules or politics!” The Headmaster grinned pleasantly. “In answer to your unspoken question - no, he does not. Which is precisely why we need him to lead us. It is not what’s in Mr Benjamin’s head that makes me want to follow him, it is what’s in his heart - and I would follow his kind heart anywhere, even to the ends of this good, green Earth and beyond.”
Rex stood up at the front of the chamber. “So will I.”
“And me,” Tabitha said, standing as well. “I will follow Charlie Benjamin.”
There was silence then as all the Nethermancers, Banishers and Facilitators glanced at each other, wondering what their fellow monster hunters were going to do.
Finally, Coogan, the red-haired Nethermancer, broke the quiet and stood. “I will follow him too.”
“So will I,” said the bald Banisher who had screamed for Charlie’s blood after the boy had been turned to stone by a Gorgon. And then, one by one, everyone in the room began to stand.
I will follow him…I will follow him…I will follow him…
Finally, Charlie Benjamin and his friends were the only ones left sitting. Theodore rose to his feet. “Well, I pretty much have followed Charlie everywhere and I can promise you this - there won’t ever come a day when I’ll stop.” He grinned. “I will follow him.”
“And so will I,” Violet said, standing.
“And so will I,” Brooke echoed, rising as well.
“It is unanimous,” the Headmaster proclaimed, beaming. “Ladies and gentlemen of the Nightmare Division, I present to you your new Director - Charles Benjamin.”
The applause was deafening.
“Go on up there, Charles,” Theodore said, smiling from ear to ear.
Charlie stood and walked towards the dais down the long centre aisle of the High Council chamber. He could vividly remember making that same walk less than a year ago, absolutely terrified, as he strode forward to face Director Drake for the first time.
Now he was the Director. What a difference a year made…
The Headmaster stepped aside as Charlie took centre stage. He waited for the applause to die down before he spoke.
“Well, this is…pretty unexpected. I don’t know what to say really. Like the Headmaster mentioned, we have a lot of work to do. There are monsters everywhere and more are popping up in the Nether every second. I don’t exactly know what the answer to that is, but I do know this - we have to keep on fighting.”
He looked out across the sea of expectant faces, unsure how to continue. What did they want from him? What was there to say? And then his eyes locked on to Theodore, Violet and Brooke, staring up at him, smiling proudly, and the words flowed easily.
“Less than a year ago, I pretty much didn’t have a friend in the world. Outside of my parents, everyone was scared of me and it sort of looked like that’s how I was going to spend the rest of my life - alone and unwanted. And that’s a really frightening thought, you know? Scarier than all the monsters I’ve ever faced, trust me.” He smiled. “But then I found out that there were other people out there just like me - people like you. And that made everything seem a whole lot better. And even though things were getting more and more terrible, having friends gave me the strength to want to change that. And I think that’s the key really. You are not alone…and neither am I. We’ll battle the monsters together - not for ourselves, but for each other. Because friendship is the most important thing in the world, and the world is worth fighting for.”
And with that, Charlie Benjamin stepped off the dais and walked down the aisle to rejoin his friends, his ears ringing from thunderous applause.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO AN OLD FRIEND
“There’s my boy!” Mr Benjamin exclaimed, snatching Charlie up in his arms. He hugged him tightly. “You look fine and fit, son!”
“Stop hogging our child,” Mrs Benjamin said, pulling Charlie to her. “And he does not look fine and fit - he looks entirely too thin, as usual.”
“I guess I was referring more to the fact that he’s alive.”
Olga smiled warmly. “He certainly is at that.”
Charlie threw his arms around both of them. It had been one week since he’d been named Director of the Nightmare Division and this was the first chance he’d had to be with his parents. “It’s so great to see you. Did you get menaced by any monsters while I was gone?”
Barrington nodded. “Indeed, we did! And I racked up quite a few kills, thank you very much.” He turned to his wife. “How many Netherstalkers did I destroy with my
baseball bat? Nine?”
“Five,” she replied.
“A minimum of eight,” Barrington confirmed with a nod. “I’m quite sure of it.”
“And I discovered that I have no tolerance for Hags,” Olga said. “None at all. In fact, two of them landed on our porch and I took care of them quite handily, I think.”
Barrington laughed. “That she did - although now I need to get a new three-iron. She twisted my previous club like a pretzel.” He leaned towards Charlie and whispered, “Hag heads are harder than you think.”
“They sure are,” Charlie said, smiling. He led them across the warm sand in front of the Nightmare Academy, towards the giant tent that had been erected. A party to celebrate Charlie’s appointment as Director was in full swing. Underneath the colourful, wind-whipped fabric, delicious piles of food lined long, wooden tables - fish taken wriggling from the ocean just hours earlier, juicy fruits that grew wild on the island and a variety of tropical drinks.
“Hey, it’s the Three Bs!” Theodore chirped, walking up, a cheerful grin on his sunburned face. “Mr Benjamin, Mrs Benjamin and Boy Benjamin!”
Charlie smiled. “You’re totally sunburned - you know that, right?”
Theodore nodded. “I lack the necessary melanin in my skin to resist the sun’s crippling rays.”
“Either that or you lack the necessary sense to get out of the sun’s crippling rays.”
“That’s another sillier way to put it, but yes.” Suddenly, Theodore clapped a hand over his mouth. “Oh, Charlie, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have said it like that, given your new position. What I mean is that’s another sillier way to put it…Dir
ector.”
Charlie couldn’t help but chuckle. “Much better.”
“Come on, princess!” a voice thundered across the dance floor in the middle of the tent, and Charlie recognised Rex’s Texan twang immediately. If Barbie and Ken dolls had different ‘looks’, then so did he - this was Tropical Rex, who looked pretty much like Regular Rex except that he wore shorts and sandals instead of jeans and cowboy boots. “Get over here and shake a tailfeather with the fella you can’t get outta your mind.”
Rex grinned at Tabitha, who stood on the opposite side of the tent, talking to a group of girls. She looked particularly pretty, with her fiery red hair set off by an emerald sundress that fluttered playfully in the breeze. She turned to him.
“What is broken in your brain that makes you think I can’t ‘get you outta my mind’?”
“Hey, it’s not your fault. I mean, after all, who could? Just look at me!” Rex spread his arms wide as if to say ‘check out the merchandise’. “Besides, I’m the General now, thanks to the new Director.” He winked at Charlie and Charlie, smiling, waved back.
“Well, I’m busy right now,” Tabitha said coyly. “So why don’t you go and dance by yourself for a while, General?”
Rex grinned. “Sorry, no can do. See, I’m too much man to keep to myself, darlin’. I’m concentrated. If I don’t spread me around a little, I might just explode.” With that, Rex unlooped the lariat clipped to his belt and, with a quick, graceful motion, he sailed it across the tent and lassoed Tabitha around the waist.
“You’ve finally lost your mind, haven’t you?” she said, staring at him incredulously.
“No, ma’am - it just looked like you needed a little encouragement is all.”
He began to pull her towards him and her shoes left two trenches in the sand. It was such a bizarre and funny sight that even Tabitha had to laugh. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
“Naw, you’re crazy - for me.”
“Really? Then why would I do this?”
Purple fire crackled across her and, moments later, she opened up a portal directly beneath Rex. He fell into the Nether with a shout. Unfortunately for Tabitha, he was still holding on to the rope around her waist and yanked her, screaming, into the Nether right after him.
Everyone burst out laughing - Charlie hardest of all. He looked over to see Mama Rose and Professor Xix chuckling along with the Headmaster. Already, she was beginning to look much healthier.
“Why don’t you go on and see some of your friends, son?” Barrington said. “Your mother and I don’t need babysitting.”
“I might even drag your father out on to the dance floor,” Olga added, “and see if those old bones of his have any new moves left in them.”
“Sounds good,” Charlie replied, smiling. He glanced over and saw Violet sitting on a bench by herself, her long hair loose and flowing in the warm breeze. He hadn’t seen her looking this relaxed in, well, ever.
“What you doing?” he asked as he walked over.
She held up a sketchbook with a drawing of a dragon - it looked remarkably like the Chasm Wyrm they had fought.
“Cool!” Charlie said. “I didn’t know you’d started drawing again.”
Violet nodded. “It makes me happy. I can’t be a Banisher all the time, you know - I’ve got to do some fun stuff too. I’m trying hard to remember that.” She looked up at him with a serious expression. “So should you - Director.”
“Yeah.”
She set the sketchbook down. “Tell you what. I saw Theodore and Brooke walking off together just a minute ago. Want to join them?”
“Definitely.”
They took off, running, and a few minutes later, found their friends sitting together by the Banishing caves.
“Want some company?” Charlie asked.
“Sure,” Brooke replied. “That is, if you don’t mind hanging out with a frog.”
Violet smiled. “Maybe you just need to be kissed by a handsome prince. At least, that’s how it works in fairy tales.”
Theodore raised his hand. “I’ll kiss her. Seriously. I’m not a prince exactly, and I don’t know if I’m handsome enough, but—”
Brooke leaned over and kissed him on the lips. It was gentle and sweet. When she pulled away, she turned to the others. “Well? Anything?”
They stared at her, waiting for some sign of a transformation. Finally, Charlie shook his head. “Nope. Sorry, Brooke.”
She smiled. “Well, it was a nice kiss anyway. Thanks for trying, Theo.”
“Any time.”
“Don’t I get a shot at it?” Charlie asked.
Brooke nodded. “Sure. What harm can it do?”
Charlie leaned over, closed his eyes and gave her a kiss. It was just as sweet and gentle as the first time he had kissed her, here on this very same beach.
“So…anything magical happening?” Brooke asked, after Charlie leaned back. The other three shook their heads sadly.
“You know, it’s really not fair,” Violet said with a sigh. “Brooke is the only one whose sacrifice is permanent - or at least seems to be.”
“We’ll find a way to change you back, Brooke,” Charlie said. “Trust me.”
“I do, Charlie.”
The four of them sat, enjoying each other’s company, chatting and throwing pebbles into the crashing surf. For the first time in a long while, everything seemed good.
“So what’s the plan, Stan?” Theodore asked finally when the sun was low in the sky, painting the beach a glorious fire-orange. “How do you figure we can end this Monster War once and for all?”
Charlie shrugged. “Wish I knew. The only thing I’m sure of is we have to try something different. The more monsters we kill, the more of them spawn in the Nether, which means this war will never end. There has to be another way. Something new. Something big. Something that we haven’t seen or even thought of before…”
Suddenly, Charlie’s eyes grew wide. He stood up.
“What?” Violet asked.
“That’s it! Something new - something we haven’t seen or thought of before! I have to leave!”
“Now?” Brooke asked. “But we’re in the middle of your party!”
“There’s no time to waste.” Charlie turned to go, then looked back at his friends one more time. “By the way, I love you guys.”
“Same here,” Theodore said as the rest of them replied with a nod. Charlie was amazed to see that it almost looked as if Violet and Brooke’s eyes were shiny with tears.
“Well, see you soon,” he said awkwardly and, with a wave of his hand, he opened a portal deep into the Nether, stepped through it and was gone.
Even though he had seen glimpses of the Inner Circle before, Charlie had never actually been there in person. The sky above him churned a fiery red, which made the twisted statuary in the massive courtyard seem to flicker and shift ominously. The four palaces of the Named that stood at each corner of the courtyard were silent - silent and still - and they loomed over everything like temple gods.
In the Slumber, which was a mirror image of the Nether, a giant platform had hovered above the courtyard in the Inner Circle, held aloft by bridges from each palace. On that platform there stood a giant portal - the one Charlie had run through to get back to his body.
Was there also a giant portal here in the Nether? he wondered. Just like there was in the Slumber? And if there was, where would it lead?
He looked up. A dark platform, covered in wicked-looking runes, hung high above the Inner Circle
- just like the one in the Slumber. In the centre of the platform, an enormous portal hovered mysteriously. It was a deep, swirling green. Charlie couldn’t see through it to the other side.
“Wow,” he muttered.
“Wow indeed,” a deep voice replied, startling him.
Charlie recognised that voice immediately and his heart nearly stopped beating.
“It is a pleasure to see you again, Charlie Benjamin.”
Charlie slowly turne
d to look at the palace directly behind him. Standing there on the obsidian steps, smiling pleasantly, was Barakkas the Rager.
“How?” Charlie gasped, staring in awe at the giant, blue-skinned beast, easily ten storeys tall. “You were killed.”
Barakkas shook his head. “Eons ago, the Fifth created me in the Otherworld - me and all the Named. We served her like good children but, instead of thanking us, she destroyed us. But she did not kill us. She sent us back to the Otherworld - there, beyond the Monster Portal.” The great beast gestured to the churning green portal that hung in the air high above them.
“Your arm!” Charlie exclaimed, looking at the hand that Barakkas pointed with. “That’s the same one I cut off
- it’s back!”
Barakkas nodded. Charlie could hear the swish of the Named Lord’s enormous horns as they sliced through the air. “Yes. There, in the Otherworld, we were reborn, healthy and whole.” He flexed his reconstituted right hand.
“So why did you come back through the Monster Portal?” Charlie asked. “Why did you come back here to the Nether?”
Barakkas shrugged. “This is where my palace is. This is where I belong.” The massive creature strode down the stairs towards Charlie. His thick hooves sparked showers of flame with every step.
Charlie backed away. “What about the others? Slagguron and Tyrannus and Verminion?”
“Slagguron and Tyrannus chose to remain in the Other.” Barakkas sighed deeply, as if their choice disappointed him. “As for Verminion - he is dead. The Fifth couldn’t return him to the Otherworld because he had already been killed by Edward Pinch.” Barakkas smiled, showing many sharp teeth. “Speaking of Pinch, where is he anyway? I would so much like to talk to him…”
From the look on Barakkas’s face, Charlie was pretty sure that the great beast wanted to do more than just talk.
Charlie shrugged. “Don’t know exactly. The last time I saw him, he was going to drink the blood of the Fifth and transform himself into a monster permanently. He’s on your side now.”
