A brumby near the edge of the herd looked up from the water and caught Draculaura’s eye. It tilted its head to the side as Draculaura and the brumby gazed at each other. When Drac inched forward, the brumby didn’t move away. It didn’t even flinch.
That’s encouraging, Draculaura thought. She continued to move closer until she was a few inches away. Then she gradually extended her arm, palm up, toward the brumby.
Draculaura held her breath as she waited to see how the brumby would respond. Would it rear back? Would it gallop away?
The brumby blinked its big brown eyes. Then it leaned down and sniffed Draculaura’s hand!
Draculaura rubbed the brumby’s nose and scratched the white star-shaped mark between its eyes. Then she gestured for Cleo, Clawdeen, and Frankie to find their own brumbies. Drac was grateful that her ghoulfriends were being so cautious. If the herd panicked and bolted when they were so close to success, it would be a catastrophe!
Soon Cleo and Clawdeen found a pair of tame brumbies. Just Frankie was left. But she was at a disadvantage; her supercharged invention was still crackling, and it made all the brumbies anxious. Draculaura understood why Frankie didn’t want to stash the invention in her backpack. Keeping it close was the best way for the ghouls to know if they were on the right route to the ocean. But if the stick prevented Frankie from riding a brumby to the coast, they’d have no choice but to put her invention away—and hope they were heading in the right direction.
Draculaura watched as Frankie approached a gray brumby with a gleaming black mane. The brumby took one look at the silver stick, snorted, and bolted away. When Frankie looked over at Draculaura and shrugged helplessly, Drac knew exactly what she had to do. She gestured at the invention, then pointed at Frankie’s bag. Frankie nodded to show that she understood. She hid the silver stick, then approached another brumby. And this one let her get close!
Draculaura smiled, then started stroking her brumby’s mane. “Do you think you could give me a ride?” Draculaura asked. She had no idea if the brumby could understand her, but it seemed polite to ask. When the brumby still didn’t bolt, Draculaura hoisted herself up onto its back.
After the other ghouls had mounted their brumbies, Draculaura nodded at them. It was time to go!
“Can you take us to the ocean?” Draculaura asked. The brumby whickered softly in response. Draculaura pressed her knees against the brumby’s sides and held on tight.
The brumby must’ve remembered what to do when someone wanted to ride. It reared back on its hind legs, then started galloping across the Outback! Draculaura shrieked with glee as her hair streamed behind her. Drac could feel her heart beating in time to the brumby’s thundering hooves. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cleo first—then Clawdeen—and then Frankie—all holding on just as tightly and, Drac could tell, smiling just as broadly as she was. Riding a wild brumby through the dramatic landscape of the Outback was an adventure the ghouls would remember forever!
For nearly two hours, the ghouls rode the brumbies as the blazing sun crossed the sky. Gradually, the landscape changed. The plants grew taller and greener. There were signs of other creatures—cockatiels and rabbits, snakes and lizards, dingoes and kangaroos. And eventually the dusty red dirt gave way to something else: soft, golden sand. Draculaura could hear the ocean before she could see it. The roar of the waves made her even more excited: They were back on track at last!
When the brumbies finally reached the coast, Draculaura was surprised to see that the ferocious storm had completely vanished. Once more, the sky was clear, without a single cloud. The waves were rougher than she remembered from her first visit with Clawdeen, but not nearly as dangerous as they’d been during the tropical cyclone.
Draculaura slid off her brumby and threw her arms around its neck. “Thanks for the ride,” she whispered near its ear as she gave it one last hug. The brumby tossed its mane, pawed at the sand, and then began to gallop back in the opposite direction. The other brumbies followed; the ghouls watched until the horses were enveloped in a cloud of dust and then gone from sight.
“Back to the beach!” Cleo cheered as she knelt down and scooped up a handful of sand. “I never thought I’d be this happy to see the ocean again!”
“Me too!” Draculaura replied. “That was a big detour, but at least we’re back on track now.”
“Yeah,” added Clawdeen. “Operation Go Get Lagoona is back in action!”
Draculaura glanced around. Except for the four ghouls, the beach was deserted. “I guess all the Normies are still waiting out the storm,” she said.
“They could come back at any moment,” Cleo said, a note of worry in her voice.
“You’re right. Let’s get back to the ocean,” Clawdeen said. “Maybe we can find that dolphin again. She might be able to lead us to Lagoona now that the storm is over.”
Frankie began inspecting her wetsuit. “Gotta make sure there aren’t any rips or tears,” she said. “After the day we’ve had, you can’t be too careful.”
“I don’t want to rush you or anything,” Cleo spoke up, “but the weather is getting better and better. I bet the Normies will show up any minute.”
“I’ll go as fast as I can,” Frankie promised.
“Uh, ghouls?” Clawdeen began. “Don’t freak or anything, but I think they’re already here. Check it out.”
When the other ghouls looked out toward the horizon, Draculaura’s heart sank. There was someone in the ocean after all. Where did she come from? Draculaura wondered. The Normie hadn’t been there just moments ago.
Wait a minute, Draculaura thought as she narrowed her eyes. A wave swelled. The figure, crouched on a surfboard, stood up with perfect balance. Her blond hair was streaked with blue highlights that were just a shade darker than her skin—and that was when Draculaura knew.
“Lagoona!” she screamed.
CHAPTER 12
Draculaura, Cleo, Clawdeen, and Frankie raced down to the edge of the ocean, never taking their eyes off the ghoul on the surfboard. The ghoul made it look effortless, even when the wave crested in a rush of swirling foam. About twenty feet from shore, she spotted Drac and her ghoulfriends. She looked alarmed for about half a second—then total excitement flooded her face. She did an aerial 360 on the board, then rode in to shore.
“Draculaura! Ghoulfriend!” she cried. “Is that really you?”
“Lagoona!” Draculaura exclaimed. “At last! This is Clawdeen, and this is Frankie, and—”
“I’m Cleo,” Cleo interrupted with a bright smile. “I can’t believe we finally found you!”
“And I can’t believe you’re finally here!” Lagoona said.
“Sorry it took so long,” Draculaura said. “We’ve had a few… obstacles.” And they’re not over yet, Drac thought to herself, but she didn’t want to say those words aloud. Lagoona was so happy to see them; Draculaura didn’t want to ruin things by telling her about the lost Skullette and the challenge it would be to return to Monster High.
“That’s dreadful,” Lagoona said. “I’m sorry I missed you when you first arrived. I was surfing—we always try to enjoy the ocean when the Normies aren’t around. Oh! That reminds me. Does this belong to you?”
Lagoona unzipped a pocket on her wetsuit and pulled out something that dangled from a thin golden chain. Draculaura blinked in disbelief. “The Skullette! How did you find it?” she exclaimed.
“The chain caught on an edge of the reef near my home,” Lagoona explained. “When I saw it, I just knew it had to belong to you! What is it, anyway?”
“It’s our ticket back to Monster High!” said Draculaura, laughing. “It’s part of the Monster Mapalogue, which helps us travel all over the world. I lost it when the cyclone picked us up and, well… it’s a long story. I can’t boo-lieve this—I never thought I’d see it again!”
“I was starting to think I’d never see you!” Lagoona said as she gave Draculaura a big hug. “There aren’t any other monsters my age around here. I love my f
amily, but a ghoul needs mates too.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Draculaura replied.
“Honestly, I was starting to give up hope,” Lagoona continued.
Draculaura’s face wrinkled into a frown. “Didn’t you get my messages?” she asked.
“Messages?” Lagoona repeated, her eyes wide. She shook her head. “I haven’t gotten anything from you since your announcement about the opening of Monster High.”
Drac and Frankie exchanged a knowing look. “We really did try to reach you,” Drac said. “I don’t know why our messages didn’t make it through.”
“Crikey, that’s not your fault,” Lagoona assured her. “The Monster Web’s been spotty with that storm brewing. It’s not very reliable under the best of circumstances, anyway.”
“Want me to take a look?” Frankie offered. “I might be able to fix it.”
“That would be fintastic!” Lagoona replied. “Of course, I’ll want to stay in touch with my fam when I’m at Monster High.”
“And while Frankie fixes your connection to the Monster Web, we can help you pack,” Draculaura said. “After all, that’s what ghoulfriends are for.”
Lagoona started to laugh. “Oh, ghoul, I’m already packed,” she said. “I’ve been ready to go since the moment I heard about Monster High!”
As the other ghouls joined in the laughter, Draculaura smiled. This, she thought happily. This moment is what Monster High is all about.
“But there is one thing we should do before we leave,” Lagoona suggested.
“What?” asked Cleo.
“Catch some waves!” Lagoona announced. “What do you say? Fancy a surfing lesson?”
“From you?” Draculaura exclaimed. “Fangtastic!”
“Do you have enough boards for all of us?” asked Clawdeen.
Lagoona laughed. “Does the Blue family have enough boards!” she said. “Well, there’s one for my dad, and one for my mum, and each of my sisters has one, and then my brothers—”
Draculaura and the other ghouls started laughing too.
“Come on,” Lagoona said. “Last one in is a silly sea critter!”
We did it, Draculaura thought happily as she splashed into the water with Cleo, Clawdeen, Frankie, and Lagoona. We found another student—and even more important, we made a new ghoulfriend.
And that was exactly what Monster High was about!
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Monster Rescue: Go Get Lagoona! Page 7
