by Minda Webber
About four months later Robbie dumped him mid-way through our sophomore year. Now that I’m a junior, teen wolf tried to get back with me about three months ago. I laughed in his furry face and walked off and pretended I didn’t see him peeing on my car’s tire in the parking lot later that afternoon.
Now that I’ve told this, you’ll think I’m paranormal- prejudiced, except for vampire royalty. No way! I don’t care if a boy happens to be a fang-face. I might not normally want to French kiss one of the terminally furred when the fangs are out. But that’s because blood is so not my thing. And I don’t care if a guy’s white as a sheet or partially corporeal, I’ll still be their friend if I can see them. I don’t even care if someone is a mummy and basically keeps to himself and his feelings under wraps, I’ll still dance. But in the case of my old boyfriend, I just happen to think that once a wolf, always a wolf, once a cheater; always a cheater... and I happen to be right. I may be just sixteen going on seventeen, but I’m smart for my age. All Frankensteins are.
My grandmother says it is because we have been able to pick and choose brains from a wide source; from Einstein to Newton, and this has helped the Frankenstein gene pool. Take my little brother Frankie. My dad fixed him up with some clever brains and then added some noteworthy musicians too. My brother is a whiz at math, science and he can play guitar like he’s ringing a bell. Frankie listens to a lot of Eagles and Jerry Lee Lewis since my dad does. But then he’s really old. My dad, not my brother. Frankie’s only eight in some ways, although I must admit, other body parts are older.
“What’s up?” I asked as I approached the little clique. I noted how the freshman looked up at me. Her eyes were filling up with tears, while the others were circling the waters like sharks scenting blood.
“Is it any of your business?” Robbie asked hatefully. She did hateful so well. But then, she’s had a lot of practice.
“I’m making it my business.” I stared her down, not easy to do when you’re human staring down a werewolf. Or when the person you are staring down is two inches taller than you are.
“Look, V.J,” Carol began as she posed with a hand on her hip. She was taller than I was by about four inches, which meant she was pretty tall for a girl. Carol was also heavier and built with a square face. She wasn’t that pretty, but for some odd reason she was popular, even though she bought her popularity by the suffering of others. I bet she tortures small animals as well. If she wasn’t a terrorist in training, I felt sure she was a serial killer in the making.
“We’re just playing around with Zoe. She doesn’t mind, she’s only a freshman.” Carol added the last looking positively gleeful.
I remembered the freshman’s name now. Zoe Usher. She lived in that really big house off Heimer. It was old and falling apart. It probably didn’t help her popularity at school. I mean who’d want to go visit it unless you were ghost?.
“I mind. She’s a freshman and you’re a senior, Carol. The rest of you are juniors so go pick on somebody your own size.”
“Who’s going to make us?” Carol, asked her eyes mere slits now.
“Yeah, who’s going to stop us?” Robbie quickly added her two cents worth as she began to crowd me. Robbie loved power and the more power or prestige she got, the more she wanted.
“Ya’ll could pretend you’re half-way grown up.” I was standing next to Zoe. “If you have something hateful to say, aren’t you big enough to do it on your own without all this help?” I glanced at the group of girls and I know my face revealed the repulsion I felt for them. Although I didn’t want to start a fight right before a pep rally, I had little choice. Hey, principles were at stake here. Somebody has to do what’s right, even if it hurts or gets blood on my cheerleading uniform.
Two members of her little group stepped closer, crowding me. Carol smiled an ugly smile and shoved me. I shoved right back. Suddenly I spotted Bea running up on my left.
“So, we’ve got the mob mentality going again. What good little terrorists you guys are growing up to be.” Bea’s voice was filled with sarcasm as she glared at the group of seven who had stood so strong against the one.
“Butt out now!” Robbie snarled, almost snapping at her. No surprise, since it was getting close to the full moon. In fact, for this football game, our two wereanimals on the cheerleading squad wouldn’t be able to cheerlead. The reason being that the full moon was too close to game night and they might accidently turn one of the squad members. It was a law in Texas and most of the Southwest and Midwestern states.
“Think again. I’m with V.J. on this. You know ya’ll need to get a life. Quit tramping all over people’s rights.” Bea remarked critically. Being a Franklin, she was old fashioned about some things. Bea truly believed in American values like the freedom to be happy. She took this to heart and spoke about it. Nobody should stomp on somebody else’s happiness or their rights. Our little Miss Liberty.
I patted her hand to let her know I appreciated her support. Ben, her ancestor, would be proud of her for doing the right thing, even though she didn’t fly kites in electrical storms or write almanacs.
Bea shook her head in disgust. “Ya’ll remind me of the chickens at my uncle’s farm. Pecking and pecking on those weaker, like solo freshmen, pecking them to death. Shame on you.”
Robbie snarled and I smiled while Carol smirked as she glanced from us then back to her safety net of six others. “Why don’t you go mind your own business and get out of here while you can. The odds aren’t in your favor.”
“They’re getting better,” Hart said as he ambled up beside us. Hart had been picked on enough when he was little about his uncle, who had a thing for whiskey and showing up drunk at school functions.
“Ditto,” Debbs said as she hopped up in her short red skirt with the black trim (our school colors). Her cheerleading sweater was red with black lettering. And can I say, how nice we look in our uniforms.
“Beat it!” she stated coldly, staring directly at Carol and Robbie.
My motley crew stared at each of the seven tormentors, the disgust plain in our eyes. They faded into the distance in groups of two and three, whispering, I’m sure, ugly things about us. Carol and Robbie were the last to go.
Carol stuck her finger in my chest practically snarling at me. “This isn’t over by a long shot. I don’t forget a bad done to me.”
“You started it Carol, you always start it. But you can bet I’ll always be the one to end it.” I said proudly as I watched them stomp away.
“Well, the good guys won this round,” Bea said, then winked at me. “Liberty is safe for a while yet. The chickens got saved.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Zoe whispered, as she stood wringing her hands. I don’t think she thought she’d be rescued. “Thanks. They always seem to find me when I’m alone and do that.” Tears filled her eyes making them shimmer. “You guys are heroes.”
“They’ve done this before?” Bea asked, ignoring the hero remark, but I didn’t. It made me feel good inside. Maybe heroes aren’t just the ones you read about in history books, maybe they are ordinary people who stand up for those in trouble, those who are different and those who aren’t beauty contest winners, even if they are strangers.
Zoe nodded shyly. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Have you ever thought about just walking off when they start ganging up?” Debbs asked. Trust Debbs to cut to the core of a problem.
Bea shook her head at Debbs, feeling like she was being insensitive to Zoe’s problem, I think.
“I’ve tried that but they just follow and circle me again. I try to hide and I don’t even go to the restroom at school anymore because they always find me,” Zoe replied, wiping at her eyes with the sleeves of her jacket.
Without her glasses her eyes showed up better. They were a frosty green color with flecks of amber in them. Pretty. And I didn’t blame her about the school’s bathrooms. Sometimes I hated stepping inside to see what surprises were in store.
�
�They always seem to find me, no matter where I try to hide. I just hate lunch because it takes so long and I’m always afraid they’re going to attack again. Most of the time I’m too nervous to eat and Sunday night I get headaches thinking about coming back to school.”
I nodded. “It’s hard to hide when you have a werewolf tracking you.” Robbie had a good nose, it was bred into her.
“Well, you can sit by me at the pep rally, Zoe.” Bea smiled. “Any time you want.”
We all hurried towards the gym as Bea showed me her phone. “Look, I just got a text back from the old stepmom. I can come tonight. I can hardly wait to meet vampire royalty,” Bea said, her blue eyes alight with excitement.
At the pep rally we split up. Zoe and Bea sat in the front of the bleachers while Hart was sitting with the band, where he played drums. Hart could also play the electric guitar and the bass guitar. He was very musically inclined.
I ran to the other side of the gym and slipped in the huge entrance way, lining up behind Bryan, a werelion. Bryan wasn’t tall, but he was rangy and very strong, with blondish-red hair that hung to his shoulders in wild waves. He could really roar out the cheers. Behind me was Debbs and behind her was Ling Sung and Bryan Valdez. There were ten of us, four boys and six girls, eight humans, two wereanimals and a witch on the squad.
I could hear the kids stomping their feet and yelling as the first notes of the school song began to play. People had started singing as we ran out the entrance door and onto the gym floor. I loved this.
I ran, pom-poms shaking and me singing at the top of my lungs as I threw down my pom-poms and did a Hurkey. It was my best jump and the one I was known for. Glancing over at Debbs, I nodded and we both did two cartwheels, a round-off and ended up in splits. The crowd went wild (some of them were actually wild supernatural creatures) and I loved it. Every single minute, even with Robbie glowering at me from behind her pom-poms. Did I mention that her Hurkey was never as good as mine were? I know, a shallow point. But a point none the less.
CHAPTER NINE
Someone was screaming as a ghost flew overhead and blended into the darkened crevices of the haunted house, where dim lighting and darkened corners threw deep shadows across the living room. The house was almost a relief in black, white and gray with judicious use of red splattered across beheaded corpses or dripping down walls. I loved this place. Despite the seriousness of my business with Rhonda Macon, my informant, I was grinning. “Isn’t it great?” I asked Dagan who was standing beside me.
He glanced around taking in the ghost floating above us, a real ghost by the way, since the River Walk Haunted House originally came from Bastrop, Texas. It had been relocated to San Antonio and placed along the River Walk. The ghosts haunting the place, of course, stayed with the house. Now there were six of them that kept the tourists and locals coming back every month in October. Besides the ghosts, vampires and goblins were also hired to add to the frightening atmosphere.
Sometimes they had werewolves as well, but not before or right after the full moon, since their beasts were too close to the surface for them to be reliable. Kind of like in cheerleading. Before the full moon, football players and cheerleaders couldn’t cheer or play in the games. Due to their more beastly behavior. Yep, a person never knew what they were going to find when they went through the old three-story house. Hey, it stirred my Frankenstein blood.
“I like it,” he replied, smiling back at me, and took my hand in his. I could feel my heart beat faster as I blushed. I already liked him so much. Earlier, Dagan had taken me out to eat when it had turned dark. We spoke some more about those hunting us, and about the stuff we liked and disliked. I now knew Dagan had hated most vegetables as a kid, except for tomatoes and potatoes. He hated it when the temperature soared above ninety, loved snow, racing boats and traveling. His favorite hobby was to read or to hike in woods all over Europe and America. He had also done a little spelunking and really enjoyed the challenge of navigating caves. He liked tight places, which was good since he was going to spending a lot of time in coffins. His favorite color was red, which was lucky since he was now a vampire, not to mention, I had red hair. His favorite subject in school had been English and his favorite movie was The Lord of the Rings.
Mine was Young Frankenstein. I know it’s an old movie, but it details my family. So how could it not be special to me? Dagan also learned that I loved snow although we rarely got any in San Antonio, inventing things, music and I liked to take nature walks as well. I also had some caving experience.
“It’s kind of creepy,” Bea said, her smile almost as big as my own. Bea loved the mysterious and the paranormal. She was also excited about meeting Dracula’s grandson. She had actually stammered as she was first introduced, when she’d picked us up from Bennington’s Café. Later, she had whispered in my ear, forgetting that vampires have great hearing, how gorgeous he was. Bea was right. Dagan was to die for. “It’s great,” Bea added.
Hart just fidgeted. He didn’t really do the scary stuff well for someone who hung with the grave robbing crowd, while Debbs shook her head. “You guys say the same thing every year. Come on,” she urged, “we’ve got business to attend to.”
Debbs looked down to my hand being held by Dagan’s. “This isn’t a date night; it’s a night to find out who ratted on us.” She didn’t look happy.
Dagan ignored the terseness of her voice and comment, but I didn’t. It hurt my feelings that one of my best friends could feel this way about the guy I was falling head-over-heels in deep-like with. I know, she’s a vampire slayer and all that, but, still, I’m her best friend. How I was feeling should count for something too. Even though I hadn’t exactly told her yet that I liked Dagan more than I had ever liked anybody before. But if she had any sense at all she could tell I totally liked him and still she disapproved.
“All right Debbs, we get the picture. I thought we could look the house over and have some fun while looking for Rhonda.” I wanted Dagan to see the whole house and all the goofy, scary stuff in it.
“I think we need to find out as soon as we can what’s going on and who’s against us,” Debbs argued. But then she was a Van Helsing and used to people being annoyed at them. “Hart and I can take the second story, while you, Bea and the Prince can take the third story.” She said the word prince in a hateful way.
“Happy to,” I replied, giving her a dirty look. I was going to have to talk to her and the sooner, the better. Debbs and I had been through too much to let a guy get in the way. She’d just have to see it my way.
“Let’s go,” I said, as the three of us started up the staircase to the third floor. On the second floor landing a ghost flew overhead screaming. Bea and I both ducked, but Dagan just laughed as we continued up the stairs. At the third floor the stairs stopped and a long corridor led off to the right. All the doors were closed.
“Let’s start at the end,” Dagan suggested, and he took the lead. As we passed the second door a vampire popped out, claws outstretched, and did this creepy laugh. Both Bea and I screamed while my hero placed himself in front of us and glared at the vampire. The vampire, who looked like Abraham Lincoln, bowed and smiled and popped back in the closet closing the door behind him. He even had the really tall hat.
“That was so great,” Bea said. “It almost scared the pants off me. Boy, did that vamp look like Lincoln or what? Of course, he should have been the vampire hunter.” She sighed. “I guess it’s too much to expect that more people know American history.”
“Yeah, I know. But the rest is great,” I added. Even though we went every year, several times usually, the house always kept changing which always made it interesting. It also didn’t hurt that three years ago someone had gotten bitten and almost died from a rogue vampire, who had pretended to be one of the vampires hired for the Halloween season. That added element kept us on our toes, or at least wearing crosses. I touched the cross hidden beneath my shirt.
Dagan just shook his head. I imagine he was used to muc
h scarier vampires flying out with fangs flashing, being a Dracula and all. He grabbed my hand again and started back down the hall. I know it wasn’t a date like to the prom or anything. I mean, I wasn’t dressed in my prom dress looking hot and we weren’t at the school gymnasium decorated for a dance, but I didn’t care. The way he was holding my hand and looked down at me as we walked, smiling, made me feel light inside almost as if I were floating on air. The whole world was beautiful and everything was great. I felt so very alive, like the cells inside my body were dancing as they do when charged with electricity. I wanted to shout out with joy just by being with him.
We passed quickly as we walked down the hallway. It was wide enough for us to walk side by side. Dagan was on one side of me and Bea on the other. A vampire bat flew out of one of the doors which caused Bea to scream and clutch at her hair. Dagan and I laughed. The vampire bat, uninterested in any of us, flew on down the hallway and disappeared into the shadows of the stairway.
Nothing else popped out at us as we reached the last doorway. Once there we stopped and Dagan opened it revealing a chamber of horrors. Large chains hung from the back wall where a girl was chained up, bound by her ankles and her arms outstretched to either side. A vampire in a black mask of a skeleton was leaning near her pretending to bite her. I looked closely, but the girl in chains was a blonde and not a brunette like Rhonda. Bea raised questioning eyes to me. I shook my head.
In another corner of the room was a wax statue of a werewolf ripping out the throat of a man. Another wax figure was Jack the Ripper holding a gleaming silver scalpel. A lady of dubious reputation stood in front of him dressed in a lacy red gown with black gloves and black lace around the plunging neckline. Her mouth was open in an eternal scream.
