Short summary:
Weirdness in Lawndale continues (set after the Daria
episode 揇epth takes a holiday?and my previous story 揇epth takes a Holiday ?2?
Daria (and associated
characters and locations) is copyright ?1997-2000 MTV Networks.
This story is copyright ?2002 by Bacner (olgak531@rogers.com) and has been written for personal enjoyment. No infringement of the above rights is intended.
揌ey guys, did you hear? The school elections for the next year are starting!?Stacy Rowe turned to her friends of the Fashion Club. Her frantically enthusiastic report was met with less than unenthusiastic response. Well, from Tiffany no one could抳e expected anything else but lack of enthusiasm. As far as everybody in school knew, there was nothing that could cause enthusiasm in Tiffany Blum-Deckler, except for somebody calling her fat. That would cause a reaction, similar to most girls when they were 揷ourted?by Upchuck. It was the lack of enthusiasm of the other two members of the FC ?Sandi Griffin and Quinn Morgendorffer ?that surprised Stacy. 揥hy aren抰 you excited, guys??she asked them lamentably.
揝tace,?Quinn said, not unkindly, 揑 had a taste of school politics back at mine and Daria抯 old school in Highland, and I can tell you that for once, me and her are in agreement: school politics stink. Badly.?/p>
揈xactly,?Sandi nodded her agreement. 揈verybody knows that Jodie Landon抯 going to win anyways. She抯 a suck-up, has no principles whatsoever, is photogenic, and is addicted to work. She抯 like one of those mixes that my mom likes to drink after visits of Grandma and Grandpa Griffins??a rather detonating mixture.?/p>
揃ut you guys, there抳e been other nominations already!?Stacy protested. 揔evin Thompson, for example.?/p>
揂h! The QB,?Sandi nodded wisely. 揥ho else??/p>
揥ell, Joey, Jeffy, and Jove, are thinking of asking Quinn,?Stacy抯 mouth blurted-out, before her brain realized that mistake.
揙h really??Sandi turned to Quinn. 揑f Quinn is so popular, maybe she should be FC抯 president!?/p>
揙h Sandi, I could never replace you,?Quinn replied. 揝till?why won抰 you ballot for the school抯 president??/p>
揃ecause I hate politics!?Sandi snapped.
There was some stirring in the shadows, but nobody noticed it.
揑 love politics!?the anthropomorphic personification of Fear responded from whatever sub-dimension he was in at that moment. 揃ut I love causing fear and stealing hope even more! Let抯 see if I can抰 combine the two of them together ?and let抯 see if Miss Griffin won't agree to help me!?/p>
With a swish and a crackle of his mottled serpentine body, Fear left his sub-dimension and went to the halls of Lawndale High.
揃oss, did you see that??the secretary asked her employer, the Seven-headed Dragon of the (future) Apocalypse. 揊ear is going back!?/p>
揧es, but he抯 not messing with the Morgendorffer girls yet,?the Dragon shook his head. 揟his, consequently, means that we shouldn抰 go all red alarm on him, and instead?use it to our advantage??/p>
揌ow so, sir??the secretary asked.
揗y dear Wila, how can we use Fear? Easy. Go to that Chinese place, and see if you can find Fear抯 immediate supervisor.?/p>
揃ut Boss, you know her, and you know she hates our guts!?/p>
揥ila, that抯 an order! You抳e got to casually inform her about Fear抯 latest hi-jinks ?in a casual way.?/p>
揂nd then??/p>
揂nd then let me worry about 慳nd then??the Dragon assured her. 揘ow ?go!?/p>
揂h Jane; Daria,?Ms. DeFoe enthusiastically greeted the two girls, and not with that so-cheery-that-it抯-almost-fake enthusiasm of Mr. O扤eill, but with the genuine thing. 揑抦 glad to you could come over.?/p>
揘o problem,?Jane said, rolling her eyes, thinking about those twenty bucks that she抎 promised Daria in return for the bespectacled girl to help her draw and colour and make the posters for the near future. 揥e're glad to help. Who抯 balloting so far??/p>
揟he old candidate, Jodie Landon, and her usual opposition, Kevin Thompson,?Ms. DeFoe shrugged.
揂h, I thought so, and even brought some black copies with me,?Jane said cheerfully.
揋lad to hear that,?Ms DeFoe paused. 揋irls, can I leave you two alone for a short while? My cat had eaten some of papier-m鈉h?that I抎 left at home and has to be taken to the veterinary, and I-?/p>
揘o problem, Ms. DeFoe,?Jane said kindly. 揧ou can go, me and Daria can handle things here.?/p>
揑s that right??Ms. DeFoe asked the other girl, who hadn抰 uttered a sound so far.
揧es,?Daria curtly nodded. 揊ar it抣l be for us to stand between a pussy cat and its?salvation!?/p>
揝he means yes,?Jane said, noticing how her favourite teacher eyed her best friend oddly. 揧ou can go, Ms. DeFoe.?/p>
揟hanks again, Jane and Daria.?Still eyeing Daria strangely, Ms. DeFoe left the building.
揕ousy, stupid, foolish, needless, waste of time!?Sandi Griffin cursed quietly under her breath, while she was powdering her nose in the school ladies?washroom. 揥ho needs them, anyways? Everybody knows that Jodie Landon抯 going to be the winner!?/p>
?span style='font-family:OldEnglish'>Is that so??/p>
揈ek! Gah!!?Sandi whirled around. 揟his is the ladies?wash- Gah!?/p>
?span style='font-family:OldEnglish'>Remember me??Fear calmly hissed. ?span style='font-family:OldEnglish'>I see you do.?/p>
揥hat do you want, you, you, you ?thing!?/p>
?span style='font-family:OldEnglish'>An excellent come-back indeed!..?Fear hissed quietly, untouched by Sandi抯 retort. ?span style='font-family:OldEnglish'>But what I want, is to be out here, in the open!?/p>
揃ut you are!?/p>
?span style='font-family:OldEnglish'>Well, no. I'm just a hologram, all seeing and no touching. But, if we were to bond, then that would change! I would free to create and scare all and everyone around me! And all you have to do is to agree to be my avatar.?/p>
揂nd why would I do that??/p>
?span style='font-family:OldEnglish'>Because if you agree to, I'll help you to repair the wrong that had been dealt to you so long ago,?Fear hissed, coiling and uncoiling his rattlesnake-like body.
揥hat do you know about that?!?Sandi exclaimed in anger.
?span style='font-family:OldEnglish'>My dear Sandi, I was around this planet before people lost hair growing on their bodies and realized that fire bad, tree pretty,?Fear hissed. ?span style='font-family: OldEnglish'>Naturally I was around Lawndale High at that time too. I know all that had transpired and all that is transpiring, and sometimes I can get a peek at what will transpire too! So do we have a deal??/p>
Sandi paused. 揧ou honestly mean what you said??/p>
?span style='font-family:OldEnglish'>Yes! If I'm lying, our deal will be dissolved immediately!?Fear thrashed his tail on the washroom抯 floor in anger.
揟hen we have a deal!?Sandi said. 揕et抯 shake on it!?/p>
There was a brief flash of yellow light from underneath the washroom抯 door, and nothing more.
The crowd that day at the Chinese restaurant had been the usual ?human people. Well, mostly human people. The restaurant抯 staff by now learned to not distinguish between the humans and the non-humans, and no longer was surprised at some of their customers.
Meanwhile, one of such not-quite-human customers was sitting in a booth, drinking something with such an expression, as if this was raw pumpkin juice. With pulp. Which it wasn抰 ?pulpy, that is. Or raw, either.
揌ello, Hogwarts,?spoke-up another of the customers of the similar non-human vein.
The first customer looked-up, and her eyes narrowed. Both of the customers were female, not-human, and if they抎 been wrestlers, both would抳e been in the almost same weight categories ?but that抯 where the similarities ended. The juice-drinker had been one of the last descendants of the once great and mighty pagan gods. The other one ?having a tray with some Chinese food, including a pair of chopsticks, has been an initially petty demoness, risen to greater power through her wits and the power of her immediate superior?/p>
揥hat do you want, Wila??the holiday Halloween asked crossly. 揇on't you have anybody else to bother??/p>
揂w, come on,?Wila shook her head, briefly showing two small horns hidden in her coiffure, and sat down. 揝till angry about the whole Samhain thing??/p>
揝till angry? Wila, Samhain had almost obliterated me, and caused an imbalance in the worlds and realities?which is just what your boss had wanted, didn't he??/p>
揌ey, he抯 the dragon of the Apocalypse, Niddhogr, for crying outloud!?
揧eah, but a plot of such elaboration and magnitude-?/p>
揌e抯 got seven heads, each capable of individual thought as well as shared kind. Naturally, the wyrm抯 a genius!?/p>
揧es, well,?Halloween nodded absent-mindedly, slurping down some more of her juice. 揥hy are you here??/p>
揃oss gave me a vacation ?he抯 got his conspiracy-paranoia mode on,?Wila shrugged. 揂lso, he wanted me to tell you that Fear抯 out of the bag??/p>
揥hat? But how? The patch-piece厰 Halloween抯 face fell. 揙h darn. When I抣l get my hands on Cupid and Pat, I'll-?/p>
揑 think Fear抯 out to get an avatar for himself once again,?Wila added quietly. 揟hat can complicate things somewhat, wouldn't it??/p>
Halloween抯 eyes widened. 揇arn it! Now I'll have to go and check!?She snapped her fingers, and vanished, leaving Wila?with the check for both of their orders.
The demoness cursed under her breath, and wished Halloween a lot of things, all of them unmentionable.
Everybody knows demons hate to pay.
揧o, Mack Daddy!?
Michael Jordan Mackenzie jerked upon hearing that voice. Kevin 憈he QB?Thompson! The bane of Mack抯 existence! The champion of Lawndale Lions! The-
揥hat do you want??he asked Kevin instead.
揟o ask if you抮e not mad, getting you in the middle between you and Jodie,?Kevin said.
Mack stifled a laugh. One thing Kevin wasn't (besides smart) was humble. Then again, at that point in time, he was the king of the world ?his world, at least. And after that ?may a flood come, Kevin didn't care!
Only Kevin wasn抰 no Noah, he had no arc, no supporting family?Then again, the Landons, family of Mack抯 girlfriend Jodie, the current school president, were too supporting as far as Mack抯 opinion went. Jodie抯 too, for that matter, but Jodie wasn't here, so that didn抰 count.
揧e gods,?Michael muttered dejectedly. 揑 really am in the middle ?between an idiot next-close-thing-I-have-for-a-friend and a smart my-so-called-girlfriend.?That realization hit him like a brick load and he froze like a deer in headlights.
揌ey bro, are you okay??Kevin asked.
Mack exhaled sharply. 揧eah, I was just thinking about what you said.?/p>
揙h. Well, no hard feelings??/p>
揘o, Kev. Uh, if you don抰 mind, I have to go and think; bye!?And Mack hurriedly walked away, leaving Kevin actually worried for a change.
揑 think I should talk to Brittany about that,?he finally said. 揑 think Mack is really upset.?/p>
Kevin was one-third right, two-thirds wrong, but this was his best, don't be too judgemental. After all, he抯 just a QB.
In another part of the town, a different supernatural event was unfolding. There was no flashing lightning or booming thunder, but the sky did suddenly grow overcast and at least half-a-dozen tombstones cracked apart and split open. And from those cracks and splits rose several long, spindly limbs, each looking like a human ?human corpse, that is. The hands were followed by hands and torsos, all grey and ill-smelling. These creatures were ghouls, and they weren抰 very happy.
揥hy have we been awakened, Benito??one of the ghouls asked their leader.
揃ecause master Mathew had commanded us to,?the ghouls?leader Benito rasped.
揟o what end??/p>
揥e are to go,?Benito said, 揵ack to school!?and he laughed.
揝o Daria??/p>
揗m-hmm??/p>
揅an I ask you a question??/p>
揧es.?/p>
揥ill I get an answer??/p>
揗aybe. Maybe not.?/p>
揋ood enough. So why don抰 you ballot for the president??/p>
揃ecause, from my point of view, the responsibilities of being in charge overweight the privileges of the same position.?/p>
揂h, the old half-full half-empty glass thingy, is that it??/p>
揥ell, yes.?/p>
揜ight.?/p>
There was a pause. 揝o why are you being so uncharacteristically quiet??Jane pressed-on.
Daria didn抰 have time to answer, for Stacy Rowe of the Fashion Club suddenly popped-in. 揇id any of you see Sandi??she asked in her usual lamentable tone of voice.
揇id you check the washroom??Daria said instead of whatever she was going to tell Jane.
揧eah, and she抯 not there!?Stacy said.
揑s she in class??/p>
揧eah, and she抯 not there!?/p>
揑s she on the roof??/p>
揑sn't it locked??/p>
揇id you check it??/p>
揢h, no??/p>
揟hen why don't you go and check it??/p>
揙h right,?Stacy nodded and scurried off.
Jane and Daria exchanged long looks ?both at each other and at Stacy抯 retreating forms. 揟here goes on messed-up kid,?Jane sighed. 揂nd it抯 me who抯 saying that, too.?/p>
揑 agree, Jane, I quite agree,?Daria sighed. 揘ow let抯 get back to these posters.?/p>
揓odie, can we talk??/p>
揃rittany, what do you want??/p>
揑t's about Mack. He抯 terribly upset about that both you and Kevin are balloting for the president.?/p>
揌e is??Privately, Jodie thought that Mack either got exasperated by Kevin抯 stupidity, or played some sort of a joke on him.
揧es, he is,?Brittany nodded sincerely.
揝o??/p>
揝o? So, maybe you can do something about it??/p>
揕ike what??/p>
揕ike drop out of the race and let my Kevvy win? Mack would be happy too.?/p>
揥hy I should drop? Why not Kevin??/p>
搾Cause you抎 be a good girlfriend and all, and I think that a good girlfriend is better than a good friend,?Brittany said.
揟ell you what, Brittany,?Jodie said. ?i>If you抣l be able to persuade Ms. Li into getting me out of this race, I'll drop it.?/p>
揑 don't get it.?/p>
揙h, I signed a deal with Ms. Li about continuing to be president,?Jodie vaguely said. 揝he抣l explain everything.?/p>
揝o, if she agrees ?you抣l go??Brittany said.
揧up. Then Kevin will get a shot at being the school抯 president in my place. Deal??/p>
揧eah!?Brittany nodded, and run, skipping to the principal抯 office. 揑 told Kevvy that all will be okay! Bye!?/p>
Jodie looked after Brittany抯 vanished behind and shook her head. 揟his is one messed-up kid,?she muttered, 揳nd this is me saying that.?/p>
揝tacy, did you find Sandi??the rest of the FC was having what cheerleaders called an emergency huddle.
揘o,?the pig-tailed girl shook her head. 揘obody has seen ?it抯 like she has vanished off the face of Lawndale High!?/p>
揑've ran into Brittany in the hall,?Tiffany said.
????/p>
揝he said that Ms. Li got Jodie抯 soul in a big book.?/p>
??!?/p>
揟hat us what makes Jodie so busy.?/p>
????/p>
揗aybe she got Sandi抯 soul there too, now, and but had decided to make Sandi disappear instead.?/p>
After some more prolonged silence Quinn turned back to Stacy. 揗aybe we should go and speak to Ms. Li ?after all, Sandi is missing.?/p>
揃ut won抰 Sandi get in trouble??/p>
揝ince we can抰 find Sandi, she already may be in trouble!?Quinn exclaimed. 揅ome on girls, let抯 go!?/p>
Both Stacy and Tiffany nodded in agreement. 揃esides,?Quinn added rather quieter as the trio of them began to make tracks to Ms. Li抯 office, 揑抦 rather curious to see what Brittany will be up to!?/p>
While the three girls made tracks to Ms. Li抯 office, one third of the 3J抯 known to his parents as Jamie, was suffering. He was suffering because the plan of his and the other two Js?had failed. They failed to find Quinn and persuade her to ballot her self as a possible new high school president! Also, whoever of the 3J抯 would抳e given the chance to persuade her, would抳e gotten the first dibs on her in whatever dating stalemate situation that would arise in the future! And Jamie, had failed!
揂hh! Life isn抰 fair!?the foot-ball player wailed in the changing room. 揘ow Quinn will not care as to whether or not I抦 alive!?/p>
揑s that so? Then that抯 good!?spoke another voice ?so raspy and gravely, then Jamie wondered if the speaker was actually alive. His suspicions increased even more, as he saw what exactly had spoken to him: a glowing-eyed, clawed, grey-skinned humanoid who smelled sepulcharally, for the lack of a better word.
揥hat do you want??Jamie rasped. 揥ho are you??/p>
揑'm Benito,?the ghoul rasped.
揗ussolini??for some reason the voice of the history teacher surfaced in Jamie抯 brain and he made it into words.
Benito抯 facial expression didn't flinch. 揋et him,?he merely commanded to the shadows and they stalked forwards, taking-on the shape of other humanoids.
揥hat抯 going-on in here??Jamie then heard the voice of Michael Jordan Mackenzie and then, in the dimly lit and shadowed boys?changing room, was light!
Knock-knock!
揗s. Li? Are you in here??Brittany抯 curious phizog appeared in the half-opened doorway. 揌ello??/p>
The cabinet was empty, only the jade Buddha looked at Brittany accusingly.
揋reat! Nobody!?Brittany said cheerfully. 揘ow to look around and to find that book!?/p>
Knock-knock!
揥ho's there??Jodie rose her voice a few octaves higher. 揃rittany, is that you??/p>
揅hill, girl,?Sandi Griffin walked into the room instead. 揃rittany is far away from here.?/p>
揝andi,?Jodie blinked. 揥hat do you want??/p>
揟o say hi, of course, 慶ause otherwise we became complete strangers to each other.?/p>
Jodie blinked. 揥ell, it wasn't my fault back then,?she said firmly. ?i>You broke-up with me!?/p>
揂nd now I'm willing to give-out the hand of truce, and get assigned to you?as your image-maker and PR specialist,?Sandi smiled.
揝andi, thanks but no thanks,?Jodie shook her head. 揗y image is just fine the way it is!?/p>
揑s it??Sandi smiled in a feline fashion. 揟ake a good look in the mirror, Jo ?you obviously need it.?/p>
Confused but also partially curious, Jodie followed with Sandi抯 advice. She immediately regretted it, too.
揥hat the Hell was that??Michael wondered, seeing how Jamie scurried past him faster than a speeding bullet. Then he looked into the boys?changing room, and his eyes bulged and rounded out. 揂nd what in Hell are you??/p>
揑n Hell we抮e called the un-alive,?the leader of the things in the changing room smiled. 揃ut here we抮e called ghouls.?/p>
揂ha,?Michael nodded dimly. 揂nd what are you doing here??/p>
揥e're the body of the electors of the election to come,?the leader said.
揢h, we didn't call you,?Mack said.
揙h? You didn抰? Then you get fined for the wrong call!?the leader smiled, showing teeth that could probably bite through steel bars and wire. 揃oys ?get him!?/p>
Michael Jordan Mackenzie slammed the door and ran.
Back in the art classroom, the works were going on full steam. Both Daria and Jane had abundantly blotted, splashed and smudged both their surroundings and themselves. 揂nd now, Daria,?Jane began but didn't finish, as Jamie White flew in, splashing paint and stomping on the posters like a frenzied Clydesdale.
揥hat gives?!?Jane exclaimed. 揘ow see here, you crazy jock!..?/p>
揟hey're going to eat me!?Jamie yelled.
揌ah??the lower jaws of Daria and Jane dropped-open.
揥hat he means,?explained Mack getting inside and locking the door, 搃s that ?what抯 this smell??/p>
揇on't ask,?Daria said. 揂 pail of paint mixed with Jane抯 socks.?/p>
Mack stared at Daria. Jane stared at Daria. Only Jamie, huddling behind Ms. DeFoe抯 desk didn't stare at Daria.
搮Anyways,?Mack said, making a capital effort to get back to his old topic, 搕here抯 a bunch of strange-looking things that call themselves ghouls in the boys?changing room, and I think they are going to eat somebody, they certainly got the looking thing down pat.?/p>
揜ight,?Jane began, but Daria put her finger to the lips and indicated that Jane should fall silent, and so Jane did, followed by Mack (Jamie, who was only whimpering slightly by now didn't count). And then they heard something outside ?some sort of a clattering sound. Jane抯 eyes rounded from surprise, and there were still other surprises to come.
揟he tracks end here, I think,?spoke a voice, full of sepulchral cold.
揋ood, John, good. Do we go in inside??/p>
揑 don't think so. The smell alone makes my eyes and nostrils water. If there抯 anything alive, it won抰 last for a long time. Let抯 go back to Benito and decide what to do now.?/p>
There was some more clattering on the school抯 stone floor, now retreating, and then silence.
Jane and Daria stared at Mack. 揥hat??the latter irritably asked. 揥hy are you staring at me??/p>
Quinn, Stacy and Tiffany were walking to the principal抯 office quietly. After all, a visit to Ms. Li抯 cabinet was no joke, that woman was like an alpha-leader in the high-school system! And currently, there was Brittany the blonde ditz of destruction in her office. That made Quinn shiver. After all, if Tiffany was dim enough to not understand what she had done ?made Brittany抯 train of thoughts wander astray ?then she and Stacy didn't have such excuse. And if they got caught?/p>
揌ey Quinn, I think I hear a horse,?Tiffany spoke-up.
揥hat? A horse? In school? Tiffany, that's rid-?Quinn抯 voice trailed-off, as she and the other two girls came nose-to-chest with two or three grey-skinned human-shaped things with seemingly razor-sharp teeth.
揂h! Food!?one of them spoke loudly.
The girls squealed so loudly that their usually fashionably-made hair rose up in a completely punky style, and fled as fast as they could. Hooting and laughing, the ghouls made chase.
揝uccess!?Brittany exclaimed happily. She had at last found the bad book!.. As for the matter of her suspicions?originality, Brittany held no doubts: no book this big and black could be good.
CRASH!
Somebody, or several somebodies, smashed into Brittany, carrying her out of the window with them, making her drop the book. Brittany didn抰 have any time to squeak once, let alone notice, how the supposed book of badness was ripped apart, by a ghoulish maw?/p>
揥ell, Jodie??Sandi cheerfully asked, sitting on a desk. 揥hat were you saying about not needing an image-maker??/p>
Jodie just stared, and the girl in the mirror stared back. True, that girl was wearing Jodie抯 colours ?grey and pink ?but that was where the similarity ended. The girl was just a few inches shorter than Jodie was, but at least twice as thick in body, dressed in grey sweat-pants, and a shirt that was once pink, but now had faded to some whitish colour. Jodie抯 mouth fell open, and so did the girl抯 showing a row of yellowing, dirty teeth.
Jodie tore her eyes from the mirror and looked at herself. Then she took a good look at her body, screamed, and raced outside. 揂ll right,?the avatar of Fear spoke through her lips. 揕et the fun times begin!?/p>
揙kay, let抯 summarize what we know,?Jane turned to Daria and Mack. 揅lawed or hoofed feet, clawed hands, fanged mouths, leathery skin, grey in colour, faces that look like a mockery of human ones ?did I miss anything, Mack??/p>
揘o.?/p>
揋lad to hear that. Any idea, Daria, as to what they are??/p>
揥ell, yeah. They're ghouls ?like from 慉rabian Nights??Daria said.
Jane and Mack blinked. Jamie just continued to whimper behind Ms DeFoe抯 desk. 揂nd how are we to deal with them??/p>
揑 don抰-?Daria froze in the middle of a sentence, and then asked Jane, still staring at one point. 揓ane, please look at where I am looking: I want to know, am I hallucinating or what??/p>
Jane and Mack looked in that direction and also froze.
揌ey there girls, who is your friend??nonchalantly spoke the holiday Halloween.
揑t was all a dream, a bad, bad dream,?Quinn groaned. 揟here was no monsters, there was no crazy jump from Ms. Li抯 window, there was never anything!?/p>
揧our logic is false,?Tiffany spoke-up suddenly. 揟here had to be something, lest this whole world would抳e never come to be.?/p>
Quinn glared at the Oriental girl. Stacy, meanwhile, was being near comatose, and Brittany whom the other three girls had dragged-out of Ms. Li抯 office actually was. That meant that Quinn and Tiffany had every chance to have a one-on-one discussion, if they were actually interested in something like that. And even though they actually weren抰, they were going to have one all the same.
揟iffany,?Quinn began, 搚ou don't speak sense. Please-?/p>
揘o, Quinn, you don't get it. There抯 never nothing, there抯 always something,?Tiffany said firmly. 揥e all saw something.?/p>
揧eah! A bunch of guys in strange suits had startled us! We did an obstacle race, and helped Brittany turn Ms Li抯 office into a mess! But there were no real monsters!?/p>
揟hey were real,?Tiffany shook her head. 揟hey weren抰 figments of our imagination, and they weren抰 illusions. They were real.?/p>
揟iffany,?Quinn began, slowly realizing something. 揘ow抯 not the time to demonstrate your amount of depth. Now-?Quinn drawled-off. 揟iffany, is it just me, or has the weather change??/p>
Tiffany nodded. 揑 think it became somehow dim and murky.?/p>
Quinn looked around. Sure enough, once clear, now sky and the air itself, became somehow smoky and murky, like before, when Quinn and Tiffany and Stacy and Sandi had met
揊ear!?Quinn hissed. 揑t can抰 be back, it was all alcohol and smoke fumes!?/p>
Suddenly, crying and screeching, somebody ran past the four girls, who lay sprawled behind some shrubs.
揓odie??Quinn looked surprised. 揥hat is she doing?.. Shouldn抰 she be preparing for the election??/p>
Suddenly, Tiffany grasped Quinn抯 mouth shut and pointed her in the direction opposite to the one in which Jodie had fled. Quinn looked in that direction and saw?Sandi, peacefully pacing down the street after Jodie. Only this Sandi was no longer Sandi; now she was someone ?or something ?else. And that something or somebody made Quinn and Tiffany and others feel?/p>
揊ear!?/p>
揢m, miss? Who're you??Mack, seemingly, managed to deal with numbness that had overtaken him earlier, and now was at least partially back to normal.
揝he抯 Halloween,?Jane replied instead.
揕ike in the holiday??/p>
揗ack, she is the holiday,?Daria explained. 揂t least the closest thing to the holiday ever.?/p>
揂h, Daria,?Halloween snorted, 搒till the charmer.?/p>
揢h, what does she want here??Mack asked Jane. 揇oes it have something to do with the ghouls??/p>
揥hat ghouls??Halloween asked, startled for a change.
揟hese ones,?Jane said, lifting the drawing of one them, made from Mack抯 words. To her surprise, Halloween was no longer half a room away from them: now she looked over Jane抯 shoulder very attentively at the picture.
揊*ck, Morgendorffer!?she exclaimed loudly.
揈xcuse me?!?Daria instantly prepared for an attack.
揘ot you! The other Morgendorffer ?your grandfather!?/p>
揙h!?was all that Daria said.
揥hat抎 he do??Jane asked.
揟aking the advantage of the mess that Fear抯 made. Samhain wasn抰 enough for him, no厰
揈h, what are you talking about??Mack asked the two other girls, who could only shrug.
Halloween stopped observing Jane抯 picture and looked at the three teens. 揙kay, people, here抯 what we need to do stat. We got a Demodragon of a situation, and here抯 my idea of how we're to deal with it厰
Jodie was no longer feeling scared; now she was feeling panicked! Wild, crazy panic was what was fuelling her body and in particular her legs, and was in turn generated by Jodie抯 nearly crazy desire to get away from Sandi and whatever she was doing! It was her doing that made Jodie?into somebody else! But?as soon as she got back,.. all would be okay, all would be back to normal?/p>
Jodie overpowered the last turning point (her new body, on top of everything else, suffered from shortness of breath during running), and froze again. Her house and the neighbourhood had changed also!
The yell that Jodie emitted held such a power of jeremiad, that one expected somebody to come to her help. But all that came back with a flat, barking, squealing, roaring laughter.
Of Sandi Griffin, who wasn抰 that far behind her.
For her part, Sandi Griffin didn't have that kind of fun for a long time. Come to think of it, she never had that kind of fun before. This type of fun was?fun, for the lack of a better word, but somewhere in the back of her head something similar to a tick-bite was bothering her, it was as if something was trying to make itself heard.
?span style='font-family:OldEnglish'>Forget it!?the voice of Fear boomed in Sandi抯 head. ?span style='font-family: OldEnglish'>Now it is on to part two for us! Are you ready??/p>
揥hat is going-on here??/p>
Quinn and Tiffany weren抰 sure why did they have followed Sandi and Jodie in that direction. In fact, they weren't sure if they were going in the right direction. The neighbourhood was seemingly twisting, shifting into new, bizarre forms and shapes and sizes, something out of Dahl抯 children books, more exactly. 揟his is freaky,?Tiffany said.
揧ou're telling me,?agreed Quinn. 揂nd we have to go and save Sandi, because she抯 our friend! Why can't we be comatose like Brittany and Stacy??/p>
揑 don't know,?Tiffany admitted. 揃ut-?/p>
揥hat抯 that??Quinn interrupted her suddenly-deep friend.
揑t抯 a piece of skin,?Tiffany stated the obvious.
揟his means that either Jodie or Sandi is shedding it,?Quinn shook her head. 揑 don抰 think that this is right. I think we should-?/p>
Suddenly, a truly piteous cry came from the turning-point before the two girls, followed by some very inhuman laughter. The two girls made to that direction and saw Jodie and Sandi standing in a line, looking up ahead. In other words, Sandi was staring at Jodie, and Jodie was staring at her house. 揥hat is going-on here??shouted Quinn.
揥hat do you mean, the boys has escaped??it seemed that the stones of the school building itself would fall from Benito抯 roar. 揟hree ghouls cannot track-down two boys??/p>
揧ou got that right, buster!?Mack抯 voice ran loud and clearly through the changing room. 揥hat are you going to do about that??
The ghouls turned in that direction. Sure enough, there stood Mack, flanked by Daria. Benito and other humanoids roared. The palms of their hands opened wide, and the claw on each finger almost doubled in length. The same thing happened to their fangs. The ghouls themselves also grew, but what they gained in length and height, they seemed to lose in width. Soon, several skeleton-like creatures draped in greyish-green skin stood before Mack and Daria, each spawning several scythe-like claws and dagger-sharp tusks.
揗ad enough??Daria asked Mack, who nodded. 揟hen let抯 run!?/p>
The two teens turned around and fled, followed by ghouls, who merely screeched ape-like cries and gave chase.
At the sound of Quinn抯 voice Sandi Griffin turned around and looked at the two new girls, and blood turned to water in the veins of the latter, because those eyes belonged to no human, but to a ancient, evil, cold-blooded, blood-hungry thing. And that thing had currently made its?nest in Sandi抯 mind. 揙h my God!?Quinn exclaimed. 揝andi, what has that Fear-thingy done to you?!?/p>
?span style='font-family:"OldEnglish Nue"'>Fools!?the voice that came through Sandi抯 mouth was only vaguely Sandi-like; it was mostly Fear抯. ?span style='font-family:"OldEnglish Nue"'>There is no more Sandi in the building, there抯 only Me!?/p>
揕iar!?Quinn shook her head. 揑 had a talk with Daria, and she told me that you were nothing! Just an illusion!?/p>
Sandi抯 body laughed. ?span style='font-family:"OldEnglish Nue"'>Fools! Will an illusion hurt me like I will??/p>
揧ou won抰. 慍ause you抮e Sandi. Deluded, but Sandi still. And Sandi, you are our friend,?Tiffany spoke suddenly.
The roar that burst through Sandi抯 lips was ear-splitting. It made a small tornado out of dust and garbage. Lightning now did flash overhead, and there was a thunderous sound, like a bubble bursting.
And after that-
揑 didn't know that dead people could run so fast!?Mack wheezed into Daria抯 ear, who could only nod. She felt like she was in the 揗ummy Returns挃 movie, when several warrior mummies chased a double-decker bus. That was disturbing to say the least.
But what were chasing her and Mack were no 揷ivilized?mummies, but a pack of ghouls, just as wild and feral as if this was a desert of Sahara or Arabia. And they were after blood, not capture.
揋otcha!?Benito roared, jumping off the ceiling onto the teens backs.
揘o, got you!?Mack and Daria heard the cry of avatar of Halloween, and fell onto the floor. Instantly, two stream of chocolate-black glow burst from the doorway, covering and drowning the pack of ghouls, for ever and for good.
揢h, what has happened??Brittany Taylor got up and looked at Stacy Rowe.
揑 don't remember; I think I and Quinn and Tiffany saw a bunch of monsters and ran,?Stacy replied truthfully.
揧ou sure??Brittany said, confused. 揥hat about the book??/p>
揟here wasn't any book,?Stacy said. Then, seeing how Brittany抯 face fell, she added. 揃ut maybe the monsters ate it.?/p>
揧ou sure??Brittany said, confused. 揥ell, maybe that抣l work too. One never knows with magic books. But?I guess getting eaten by a monster is pretty final, too.?/p>
揙h yeah,?Stacy agreed with a natural ease. 揘ow I got to find Quinn and Tiffany and also Sandi.?/p>
揑'll help,?Brittany said. Her initial mission was complete, she could now help others.
揢h, what has happened??Sandi Griffin got up. 換uinn, Tiffany?! Where抯 Stacy??
揥e don't know,?Quinn scratched her forehead. 揑 think she抯 comatose.?/p>
揅omatose, why??/p>
揥e don't know,?Tiffany said. 揌ey, Jodie!?/p>
揌ah??Jodie Landon got-up and examined herself. 揟his is weird, I dreamt that I was someone else!?/p>
揑t sometimes happens,?Sandi shrugged. 揂ll I can remember is light on dark water or other such murky malarkey, kind of like when we at the FC tasted Quinn抯 parents?booze厰 her voice trailed-off. 揙h boy.?/p>
揝andi, are you okay??Quinn nervously asked.
揝omething tells me that I've messed-up,?Sandi said nervously. 揋uys, let us go and find Stacy.?/p>
揋ood idea,?Quinn nodded. 揓odie, are you coming or staying??/p>
揑'm going. To Ms. Li抯,?Jodie said thoughtfully. 揑 think I have some business to do with her too.?/p>
揥ell, that was fun,?Daria exclaimed, wringing dust of her jacket. 揕et抯 do this again?seven years hence from now, all right??/p>
搾Fraid I can抰 promise,?Halloween shook herself, now separated from Jane again. 揝omething has changed while were busy dealing with the ghoul pack, I can feel it.?/p>
揥ell, when it抣l come to our attention, we抣l deal with it.?/p>
Halloween just snorted. 揧ou try to outsmart a genius with seven heads!?she wanted to say, but she didn't. These were just teenage humans after all, they shouldn抰 be running from ghouls by now, let alone exorcising Fear. Speaking of the latter, Halloween had to investigate and find-out as to who had actually done it. So, what she said was 揂ll right; bye; see ya!?and vanished.
Daria and Jane looked at Mack. 揘ot one word,?the boy firmly spoke. The girls nodded, and only now remembered the whimpering Jamie, who still hid behind Ms. DeFoe抯 desk. They hurried there.
Jamie White only now began to gather his senses. It all must抳e been a dream, a really, really strange dream. And nothing else, yes. Smiling happily at his logic, Jamie White stood up. He heard the door opening. He looked in that direction. He saw the newcomer. And fell unconscious.
揇amn!?spoke Ms. DeFoe. 揥hat is he doing here? Jane!?/p>
揗s. Li, can I talk to you??/p>
揥hat is it, Jodie??
揑 think I want to retire. The whole school presidency thing ?it got too hard for me.?/p>
Ms. Li looked at irritation at her usually-favourite student, but with the current mess that was once her office she didn't have times for this. 揧es, certainly, whatever ?I don't have time for this.?/p>
Smiling and praising her lucky stars, Jodie Landon left.
揥ell, this was one weird day,?Jane Lane turned to Daria Morgendorffer. 揂nd I'm not saying this only because I got to know Halloween a little bit more closely for comfort, but because-?/p>
揇aria??Quinn materialized next to the latter. 揅an I ask you a question??/p>
換uinn is willing to ask me a question,?Daria added. 揥hat is it? If it is abut socks and scrunches, then-?/p>
揘o, it抯 about Jodie and Brittany and Ms. Li,?Quinn began to speak.
揥hat about those three??Daria asked, surprised.
揧ou wouldn't believe what have happened to us today,?Quinn said, and began her narrative.
The End?