CHAPTER 11 - THE VAMPIRE CAMPFIRE
There standing on the other side of the river was a giant troll swinging a club. He was mad and he was ugly. The closer Amoeba Mike’s massive gum-like body stretched out, the closer they all got within swinging distance. Michaelah squirmed in her sticky seat, while Koji panicked behind her.
From this far away the troll looked like the world’s worst baseball player, and the most poorly dressed. He swung the club at them like a batter does against the pitcher’s ball. And that was what gave Michaelah the idea. She told Amoeba Mike to release his grip on the goo clinging back to the land which they came from, and he did. The gummy pink goo snapped together in the air and formed a ball, just as Michaelah predicted. They plummeted right for the troll’s club.
The troll, through no fault of his own, took a step back and swung forth at the perfect time. The club connected with the giant wad of Amoeba Mike, who tried his hardest to be as un-sticky as possible. It didn't work that well for Mike. The troll rocketed the goo into the sky, and, with it, took along the swinging club. The troll was left empty handed as if waving goodbye to them if it wasn’t for the curious look on his toothless face.
“Did that hurt?” Michaelah asked.
“No, but this might,” said Amoeba Mike, as they arched back down for the forest.
The troll’s club they were dragging didn’t really get much air and was the first to get caught in the trees. That caused Amoeba Mike to get whipped backwards but he was ready, and shot Michaelah and Koji forward, tearing them apart. They leeched forth a little more as the giant piece of goo, now almost devoid of all debris, wretched backwards towards the treeline on the coast.
When Michaelah and Koji landed they had just enough goo left to bounce to safety and barely missed colliding with all the trees. The day was getting late again and the forest was cold. As they walked and the sut set behind the trees, Michaelah started to feel the cold even beneath her red cloak.
“Maybe we should make a fire?” asked Michaelah.
“How do you make a fire?” asked Koji.
They both starred at the ground as if they were waiting for it to do something, light itself on fire or spontaneously combust. It did not. The woods were getting darker and darker.
“So this is Spooky Territory, huh?” asked Koji.
“I believe it was Scary Territory. I’d check the map but-”
“It’s too dark to read.” Koji cut her off by finishing Michaelah’s sentence.
“That’s right. Too bad the wizard didn’t give us any fire.”
“Maybe he did,” said Koji, “and we just haven’t found it yet.”
Michaelah looked at her TV remote, she had to be really careful about how to use it. She turned that whole building into feathers. This thing was dangerous and should come with a user guide. She looked at it closely. One of the buttons was glowing ever so softly. She looked closer, holding it up to her face. It was the symbol of a flame. Michaelah pointed it at the ground and pressed the flame button.
A spark shot out into the ground creating a hole, the dirt spun around the hole creating a funnel that glowed red down at the bottom. The moving dirt slid rectangular rocks into place, a big circle around the hole which now spat out six logs of flaming wood. The dirt stopped spinning and the firewood fell on top of each other within the stone circle, creating a campfire. Koji looked back and forth between the fire and Michaelah with a fool’s grin on his face. Moments later he would be snoring.
The warmth was extremely comforting. The only problem was it also being extremely inviting. Three dark shadows popped up around them.
“Magic campfire, eh?”
“Mind if we join you?”
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“Its cold out here, even for us.”
The three of them almost talked like they were one person. They were finely dressed, which was weird, as if they just left a funeral. Furthermore, they appeared to be human. The closer they got to the fire the more Michaelah could see them. Their skin was so pale, all three of them, and they didn’t just have bags under their eyes, they had shadows under them. Even their hair was so dark and dreary it looked as though they were wearing formal shadow hats.
“Who are you?” asked Michaelah.
“Oh how rude of us.”
“We didn’t introduce ourselves.”
“I am Carlyle, that is Seth, and this here is Vlad.”
“Those are some very interesting names. I am Michaelah, and this is my bodyguard, Ser Koji, the panda.” she said, elbowing Koji awake.
The panda rolled forth and yawned, scratching himself until he realized there were three strange men standing beside the fire. He adjusted his helmet and put his paw on the plunger.
“May we help you?” asked Koji, trying his hardest to keep his voice from shaking.
“There is no reason to be alarmed,” said Seth.
“You do not need to fear us,” said Vlad.
“We saw your fire from the road and could use the warmth,” said Carlyle.
Michaelah and Koji did not let their guard down as the three strange me got closer to the fire. One even sat on the ground next to it. He looked like he was a corpse, but the one you find in a mortuary with all the makeup on, before the ceremonies.
“You do not seem convinced,” said Seth.
“Why do you fear us?” asked Vlad.
“Have we done something to offend you?” asked Carlyle.
“It’s not that,” Michaelah answered, “It’s just that we were told this is Scary Territory and no offense but you three look pretty scary.”
Koji laughed but it was a nervous laugh.
“It is true you are in Scary Territory.”
“But just because we are vampires doesn’t mean-”
“Vampires?!” Michaelah and Koji said together as they panicked.
“Wait,” Carlyle said.
“You’re not…” Seth stumbled.
“Supposed to do that,” Vlad said, shaking his head. All three brothers started screaming.
“The rhythm is off! The rhythm is off!”
Their faces bent and twisted and mutated into wide blank eyes, furry faces, fangs, large pointy ears, and caverns for noses. They were turning into bats. Michaelah kicked a log out of the fire and picked it up with her red cloak, so it didn’t burn her. She used it as a torch as they ran further into the forest, leaving the campfire behind and entering pure darkness.
The bats swirled around them. They could tell without having to see them because they could hear laughter and wings flapping. For the first time, Michaelah wished she never left home and never started this crazy adventure. She did not want to get bit by a vampire. She just wanted to go home. Michaelah was overcome with anger and resentment over how her life was turning out. She stopped running. Koji stumbled behind her as he tripped on himself trying to turn around.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
The sinister laughter got closer.
“I’m not running anymore,” she said, holding the TV remote out like a weapon.
The vampires charged at them like ferocious bats. They were flying so low their bellies rubbed the ground. They wanted to eat Michaelah and Koji. Koji stuffed his head into his furry arm, so he didn’t have to see what happened next. Right before the vampires ate them up, Michaelah pressed the Power On/Off button on the TV remote, which looked like a symbol of the sun.
Suddenly, night turned to day. The sun was shining through the trees of the forest, creating beams of light. The bats flew through the beams. Each time they passed through a beam it burned them up. After a couple, they burned back into their human forms. Seth, Vlad, and Carlyle were stuck in between the beams of light, in the shadow of the trees on their knees begging Michaelah and Koji to forgive them.
Michaelah and Koji decided to leave. From above, the sun moved the shadows around all day. Michaelah understood that there would be no way of knowing for sure if the vampires perished or got away. All she could think about was how they managed to escaped again. Things were only going to get more and more dangerous. Hopefully, they would make it through Scary Territory and get home safe.