An apology plus a story that has nothing to do with a dream

The apology is for my brain...it is only feeding me nightmares about family or dreams that are too fluffy to speak of (like unicorns and Care Bears fluff)...so...I offer another Halloween story instead:

Evidence

Begin report:  November 3, 2011.

It started like most days with the craziness that is middle school.  I mean, I knew the truth, but I wasn’t one to say much.  I was in on the secret.  It would be better to hear the start of this, at least, from one of the kids.

Journal entries for Eloise Montgomery beginning with October 14, 2011, and ending at October 31:

I am standing on the threshold of a new school, a new day, a new beginning.  I am Eloise Montgomery.  My daddy got transferred here from New York.  Before that, we lived in Dallas.  Before that, we lived in some hick town in Tennessee.  And before that, we lived where I was born: in the middle of nowhere in Florida.  Throughout elementary and my first two years of middle school, I’ve been on the journalistic team for the newspapers at my school.  I love following a good story.  That’s why my first day at Johnson Middle School was weirder than weird.

I was standing in my first period classroom on my first day of eighth grade at this new school.  It was pretty amazing.  I made a friend first period.  And, the funny thing is: she was a tutor!  I still kinda laugh about that.  Her name was Miss Cathy.  She said, “You must be the newbie.  Welcome to the craziness that is AVID tutoring!”  I laughed.  A girl named Aria came over and told me that Miss Cathy was pretty awesome and so was Ms. Darius, the teacher.  She also told me there were secrets around the school, but I didn’t think anything of it at the time.

I made several friends that first period.  Second and third period went without a hitch, too.  The teachers were weird, but nice.  Pretty much everyone was nice, save for a handful of bullies.  But, bullies will always be there.  I saw Miss Cathy in the hallway around fourth period and waved.  She waved back and asked how my day was going.  I told her it was weird, but good.  She smiled and let me get onto class.

It wasn’t until lunch that I understood the weirdness a little better.  I sat down next to Aria and her friend Chelsea.  We made the introductions and started eating.

“Have you noticed anything weird?”  Chelsea asked me.

I shook my head.  “Not that I can think of,” I said, looking down at my pizza.

“She’s talking about the staff,” Aria said.

I shrugged.  “Some of the teachers seem a little off, but nothing that’s not too abnormal.”

Chelsea nodded as a teacher walked by, then leaned in to whisper.  “The teachers are hiding something from us.”

“Like what?”  I asked, totally intrigued by that point.

“We’re not sure,” Aria said.  “But something is going on.”

Well, that was pretty much my first day’s weirdness.  That Friday wasn’t that weird at all, but I used my instincts to get a little bit more information.  Not any worth mentioning yet.

It wasn’t until the following Tuesday that I noticed something weird.  Chelsea and I were talking before first period when we noticed that three of the teachers were watching us with interest.  We walked into the girls’ room.

“What was that all about?”  Chelsea asked.  “They were creeping at us.”

“That was just plain weirdness,” I said.  “It was like they were listening in to make sure we didn’t know something.”

Aria agreed.

Evoni and Lily walked in and waved at their friends. 

“What’s up?”  Lily asked.

“Three teachers were creeping at us,” Aria said.

“I think they’re all up to something,” Evoni said.  “It’s like they all have a secret.”

“You think the tutors are in on it?”  I asked.

The others shrugged.

“It’s hard to tell with them, ‘cause they’re not here every day,” Chelsea said.

Eloise nodded.  “But I like some of the teachers, and definitely some of the tutors.”

“So do we,” Lily said.  “But that doesn’t mean something’s not weird.”

The others agreed.

“For all we know, they’re just friendly and don’t care much about the weirdness, but still know about whatever’s going on,” I said.

“She’s got a point,” Chelsea said.  “Although, I have to admit, I don’t like thinking that way about Ms. Darius, our tutors, and some of the other teachers.”

The girls all agreed.

“We should gather as many clues and pieces to this puzzle as possible and have a sleep over on Friday,” Evoni said.

Everyone agreed and headed to their first period classes.

Miss Cathy greeted us and took our papers for grading.  She told me how to get a better grade with one of my questions and handed me my paper without grading it.  I fixed it and handed it back.  She gave me a thumbs-up and handed my paper back to me.  I took it over to my group.

Ms. Darius came in, and we started tutorials.

Over the next several days, we girls scouted the teachers for abnormalities and clues.  We wound up at Chelsea’s house on Friday night to deliver our findings.

“So, Mr. Parvoni looked like he had fangs yesterday,” Aria said, pulling her blanket around her arms.

We had waited until Chelsea’s family had gone to sleep before starting our share time.

“So did several others,” I said.

Chelsea nodded.  “Miss Cathy even looked like she had baby vampire fangs!”

The others nodded.

“I think our teachers our vampires,” Evoni said.  “And, yet, I’m pretty sure they’re the good kind, though.”

The others agreed.  I wasn’t so sure.  But, then again, I was new.  I had more lessons in being a skeptic and a pessimist than they did.

Chelsea’s brother, Adam, came barging in.  “You girls and your conspiracy theories,” he said.

Chelsea stuck her tongue out at him.  “Go away,” she said.

“I wanna see the proof you have,” he said.

“Like these,” Aria said, dumping some rune-covered stones on the ground in front of us.

Adam studied them.  “These are freaky,” he said, rubbing his finger over one that looked like an odd shaped flower.  It began to glow.  He dropped it with a jerk and a gasp.  “Correction, that is waaaay freaky.”

The girls nodded.

I reached out and took it in hand, placing it near the other runed stones.  They all began to glow.

“Make it stop,” Adam said.

An image began to form above them: a lotus-like flower surrounded by nine-pointed stars with a crescent moon floating above it.  The runes began to form words: “Keep these findings a secret, lest you be erased from memory.”

Adam squealed like a girl and ran to his room.

“Boys,” Chelsea said, moving the runes away from each other.

The image disappeared.

“Who can we trust with these findings?”  I asked.

“Miss Cathy, probably,” Chelsea said.  “I mean, she is our Facebook friend.”

“I wonder if she’s on right now,” Evoni said, flipping her phone on and checking.  “She just posted that she can’t stop editing a story she’s working on.”

“Let’s message her about the runes,” Chelsea said.

They all agreed.

I wasn’t so sure, but I went along with it anyway.

Miss Cathy’s reply came quickly: “Do not go any further in your investigation, girls.  This is weirder than it looks.  Bring me the rune stones tomorrow at the movie theater.  I’ll get them back where they belong and treat you to a movie as well as an explanation of as much as I can say.  Whatever you do, though, DO NOT go to anyone with what you’ve found.”

The girls shuddered.

Aria threw the stones in a pouch from her bag.

“Let’s go to the movies tomorrow then,” I said.

They nodded.

I was practically vibrating with excitement.  We would finally get some answers.

The next day, Chelsea’s mom dropped us off at the movie theatre and headed off to run some errands for a few hours.  Miss Cathy waved to us.  We walked over to her.  Aria handed her the pouch, which she weighed in one hand before settling it in her purse. 

“What would you like to see, ladies?”  She asked us, pointing to the showtimes.

We debated, settling on a cartoon movie that had been out for a while and would likely have a mostly empty theatre, so we could talk.

They settled in with popcorn, nachos, and drinks, circling Miss Cathy.

“Okay, ladies.  Here’s what I can tell you,” Miss Cathy started.  “The teachers are not going to harm you.  Yes, we have a secret.  No, I cannot tell you exactly what it is.  But, for now, ladies, give up your investigation.  It will lead you to nothing but trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”  I asked, knowing I probably shouldn’t.

She turned to me and frowned, sad eyed.  “You don’t want to find out, trust me.”

We watched the movie in silence, chewing our popcorn and drinking our drinks slowly.  I had so many more questions that wouldn’t stay quiet in my head. 

Halfway through the movie, Miss Cathy turned to me and said softly, so the others couldn’t hear, “Don’t listen to those questions in your head.  It’s not worth it.  Go find out who’s stealing food from the cafeteria during your lunch period, ‘kay?”

I nodded, unsure if that would be enough to satisfy my journalistic appetite.

After a few minutes, Miss Cathy reached into her purse and pulled out a phone, not her regular phone, either, some dark red looking number that glowed when it was ringing, even if it wasn’t making sound.  She read a text, that none of us could see; replied; and continued to watch the movie, tensing and relaxing her muscles.  When the movie was over, she walked us out, waited for Chelsea’s mom, talked to her for a bit, then headed off to her own car.  Our group went to the park and sat near the lake, waiting for Chelsea’s mom to head off with Chelsea’s little sister to the swingset.  We whispered about what happened and, eventually, dropped it.

Two days passed and we were back at tutorials.  Miss Cathy waved to us, all smiles and professionalism.  She pulled Chelsea and Aria aside to whisper.  They spread the word to the rest of us that the rune stones had been returned without incident.

Adam, that night, told Chelsea, who told all of us, that he had told one of his counselors about the rune stones and the glowing and stuff.  We all thought he could be in danger, so we decided to warn him.

The next morning, Chelsea came in. I had reread my journal entries that morning before school.  I asked her if her brother was all right.

“I don’t have a brother,” she said, perplexed.

I blinked and realized that, beyond what I had written, I couldn’t remember Adam.  “I guess, I’m thinking of someone else,” I said.  “Sorry.”

“No worries,” Chelsea said.

I decided it was time to crack a caper about a food thief and ignore the rune magic stuff.

It took me exactly two days to figure out that Michael Witzmansky was stealing pizza from the cafeteria.  He didn’t get in much trouble, though, because his family was going through a rough time where he was being pretty much ignored all the time.  All the teachers took pity on him and began sneaking him gifts of food, giftcards for shoes and supplies, and other smaller gifts.

Even though I realized that the teachers were nice, my journalistic instincts wanted to find out the whole story.  So, I set out to do just that.  The next week, I began searching through teachers’ stuff, asking stupid-sounding questions, and digging through things I knew could get me into trouble.  Miss Cathy, somehow, figured out what I was up to and warned me not to go there.  Her eyes were more sad than angry, like she didn’t want something to happen to me unnecessarily.

I was in the bathroom during fourth period when she found me.  She checked each stall then stood in front of the door so no one would come in.

“I have a pass for you for fourth period,” she said.  “What do you need to know in order to stop this investigating?”

I looked around, realizing the walls were all sparkly.  “Uh, first off, why are the walls all blingy?”

She smiled.  “I’m making it so others can’t hear our conversation.”

I nodded.  “What are you?  Are you a vampire?”

She shook her head.  “Not really,” she said with a grin.  “Noticing my mini-fangs?”

I nodded.

“I’m what is known as an enchantress: half vampire, half sorceress.”

I shook my head in total disbelief.

“The other teachers are of various species and crafts, save a handful who are actually human through and through,” she said.  “That is our secret.”

“Why?”  I asked.

“We have to keep it from the kids,” she said, eyeing me purposefully.

“What happened to Adam?”  I asked, before I lost my courage.

She gulped.  “You’re not supposed to remember him,” she said, sad-eyed.  “You need to bring me your journal.”

I shook my head.  “What happened to him?”

“He’s living with a family of sorcerers in Iowa with no recollection of who you, Chelsea, or anyone else here is,” she said.  “He revealed the secret, which could have cost us our lives.”

“But, how can we forget someone?”  I asked, not really meaning it as a real question.

“Only an enchantress can erase a memory from human minds,” she said sadly.

I gasped.

“I don’t like doing it,” she said.  “Especially not to kids I care about and want nothing more than to help.  That is why I am answering your questions.  I hope, with all my heart, that hearing the answer will be enough for you.”

“Do you suck blood?”  I asked, gulping.

She shook her head.  “I’m only half-vampire.  I don’t do the blood thing.  The real vampires really don’t do the blood thing, either, to be honest.  They prefer actual food.”

I nodded.

“Is that enough information?”  She asked.

I nodded, still thinking, but not letting it show.

She nodded, released the spell, handed me my pass, and let me go.

I knew without a doubt that the teachers here were nice, but couldn’t get past the whole my-teacher’s-are-vampires thing.

Over the next few days, I tried hard to forget things, but couldn’t.  The other girls did, but I couldn’t.  I had figure out that Ms. Darius was a vampire, Mr. Coltin was a sorceress, Mr. Jordyn was some sort of ghost-like phantom, and Ms. Anna was just a human in on the secret.  I also figured out that the principals were all werewolves, a handful of teachers were vampires, one of the counselors was a sorceress, two of the male teachers were sorcerers, and a handful of the other teachers were of various other species: fairy, goblin, and wizard, among other lesser knowns.  That’s when I decided to put this out on the internet, as a blog.  Once posted, I couldn’t take it back; so, I waited until Halloween to do so.  Everyone thought it was a story I’d made up.  That is, everyone except the teachers.

Miss Cathy came to my door the following night.  Mom let her in, entranced.  My mom, dad, and two brothers sat on the couch and stared into space.  I was so frightened.

Miss Cathy took me by the hand, eyes sad.  “I was so sure you wouldn’t do something stupid,” she said.

I bowed my head in shame.

“Let’s pack your things,” she said.

“What?!”  I backed away.

“Everyone’s memories of you are being erased,” she said sadly.  “When they wake up tomorrow and go on as normal, you will not be in anyone’s mind except your teachers’ and mine.  Let’s get your things packed.”

My limbs moved of their own accord.  I began packing up all evidence that I had been alive and living in that house.  She moved my stuff to a moving van and piled me inside.  The door shut, locked, and the car wouldn’t start no matter how I tried.  She emerged from my house, tears in her eyes. 

“Why did this have to happen?  What happens to me know?”  I asked.

“Write what you’ve witnessed in your journal,” she said, pointing to the notebook on my lap.

I did as I was told, knowing she would take it from me.

Take it from her, I did.  I hated doing it.  I hated the next step, too.  I put her to sleep, giving her a new identity: Ellie MacGentis.  I let her sleep, as time froze and opened before me.  I transported her to Maine, to a family of fairies.  They welcomed her with open arms.  I made sure her journals were burned, save one which I tucked under my coat in order to save.

Once all measures were taken, I woke up Ellie, giving her time to adjust.

“What happened?”  She asked me, realizing she knew me somehow.

“You were in that wreck with your family,” I said, softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“You’re the police officer person, right?”  She asked.

I nodded.  “Child Protection Division,” I said.  “We’ve managed to place you with a new family.  It will take some adjustment.”

I made all the introductions.  The fairies took her in carefully, quietly.  I made the drive home.

Unfortunately, I realized something too late…I had forgotten to erase parts of the school from her memory.  That is why I am writing this report.  If ever she should remember anything about us, about her family, about anything simply from that lost memory, this will tell what happened.

We are kind and caring creatures, who do not like to do what sometimes we are forced to do.  We live in peace.  We care about the wellbeing of others.  We love the kids we teach.  We mean no one any harm. 

I do not like erasing memories.  I do not wish to ever do this again.

End of report.     

Pretty Epic Dream...in my humble opinion

So...there was a zombie contagion outbreak on Earth, and a group of us got together and, from a fortress we had built (it looked like the Sanctuary of SyFy fame), built a ginormous spaceship to carry us away until we'd found a cure or a new place to settle.  So, I was one of the guards, flamethrower in hand, defeating zombie hordes coming to attack us.  I was asked to go with on the spaceship by Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping is awesome!).  I readily accepted the invite, helping keep the zombies at bay with flamethrowers while we boarded the ship.  I was the head security officer on board. 

I feel the need to pause and mention names of people (or their characters) who were aboard: Helen Magnus, Will, Biggie, Henry, a boatload of abnormals, Clinton Kelly, Stacy London, Kirsten Vangsness, Pauley Perrette, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, Claudia, Artie, Myka, Pete, Trailer, the Leverage team, Jayne and Mal, Spencer Reid (why he was there in character and Garcia was not, I know not), various food network stars (making cameos: Guy Fiera, Giada, and Bobby Flay), and various people from my real life, including some of my besties...as well as a teenager (that my mind made up) who's name was Sofie, but she called herself Sophiestia.

It was obvious from the beginning that Magnus was in charge (el capitan!).  I took the security team (which consisted of Henry, Biggie, Clinton Kelly, Pauley Perrette, LeVar Burton, Claudia, Pete, Myka, and the Leverage team) all over the ship, killing any zombies that had snuck aboard and dumping their bodies out the loading bay doors.  (The ship was very steampunk, btw!  Think the Firefly Serenity, only bigger like the U.S.S. Enterprise!) 

Anyhoo, after we'd done that, we started to get settled in, making sure family units were comfortable in their quarters, checking everything out, double checking our supplies, etc. (this was the only boring part of the dream).  I headed for my quarters, which were off the security HQ.  I was settling in for bed when a teenage girl (about 14-16) stuck her head down from a compartment and said, "I want your money!"

I shook my head, pulled her down from the compartment, and said, "Who are you?"

She said, "I am called Sophiestia!"  And she tried to run out the door and up some stairs to the main hallway.

I caught her and asked, "Where did you come from?  And you're not very smart for telling me your name."

She laughed and shook her head.  "I came from Earth."

I grinned.  "Where's your family?"

She looked at me sadly.  "They were infected.  I'm apparently immune."

I nodded and hugged her.  "What are you duties aboard the ship?"

"I work in the galley.  I'm on microwave and blender detail," she said.

She ran toward the galley.  I followed her.  Magnus was in the study area in the galley working on a plan.  Clinton Kelly, Biggie, and Pete were playing pool in the rec area off the galley (still somewhat in the galley, but not in-in...I know that made no sense...but it's not coming out the way it is in my head!).  Dr. Magnus looked up and scolded the teen, who frowned.  I asked her to show me what her duties were.  She showed me what she was supposed to do.

"That's not very much, is it?"  I asked her.

She shook her head.  "I don't think the cooks trust me too much."

At which point Bobby Flay entered, grabbed a water from the replicating refrigerator, shook his head at Sofie, and headed back out.  I chuckled.  Sophiestia shook her head at me.

"Fine," I said.  "We'll just have to put you to work elsewhere."

She smiled at me.  "I think you're the only cool adult here."

Magnus looked up.  "I resent that," she said with a grin.

Sofie laughed.

"Where's your bunk?"  Magnus asked her.

"I have to share with two women who can be annoying sometimes," she answered.

"Who?"  Magnus asked.

"Anna and Grace Zumberqwatch," Sofie answered.  (Yes, my brain did actually make up some names and people.)

Magnus chuckled.  "They're a little odd.  I'll try to place you elsewhere."

"I have an extra room in security," I said.  "She's welcome to it, as long as she stays out of trouble."

Magnus looked from me to Sofie.

Sofie jumped up and down.  "Please?  Please?  Please?  I'll behave!"

Magnus chuckled and nodded.

Biggie and Henry waved to me from the pool table.

I waved back.  (This was the moment I realized I was an abnormal.)

Magnus asked me, "How are your abilities adjusting to space?"

I nodded.  "Quite well, actually.  I thought it would be harder to transition, but it really isn't."

She nodded and went back to her work.

Sofie followed me to the pool table where Clinton Kelly was getting ready to sink the eight ball in a corner pocket for the win.

"You're angled wrong," I said.

He repositioned, took the shot, and missed.

"You needed to be on the other side of the table," I said.

Sofie giggled then yawned.  "Can I move tonight?"

I nodded and moved to follow her.  Biggie stopped me and grunted at me in a whisper-y sort of way.  I nodded and smiled at him.  He went back to playing pool while I followed Sophiestia to her old quarters. 

We met up with Kirsten Vangsness and Pauley Perrette on the way, chatted for a few minutes about security and comfort on the ship before Sofie started yawning again.  I motioned her onward.  She gathered her things from her old room and followed me to the security office.  I motioned her to a room off the side and laid down some ground rules.  She nodded, got situated, and fell asleep.

I headed for my room.  Biggie was standing there.  We went in to my room.

(I woke up, turned over, went back to sleep.  I think you can gather what happened between abnormal me and the big guy.)

Anyhoo...so...Guy Fiera and Giada were making everyone breakfast the next morning.  Biggie, Sofie, and I headed into the galley and joined a table with Clinton Kelly and Stacy London.  Trailer was sitting under our table.  Spencer Reid, Jayne, and Mal joined us.  Mal was upset with the flight plan.  I told him to take it up with Magnus, if he dared.  He stopped complaining.  Jayne just laughed at the way I shut him up.  Reid was feeding his bacon to Trailer.  I was feeding mine to the Big Guy.  Stacy and Clinton were eyeing me from across the table.  Sofie was quietly eating.  I looked at her questioningly.

"I had nightmares about the zombie outbreak last night," she said.  "I couldn't sleep well."

"Your parents?"  I asked.

She nodded.  I hugged her gently.  She leaned into me.

"You make an odd little family," Stacy told me, nodding to Biggie and Sofie.

I grinned.  "I like it, though."

Fast forward through some boring conversations and stuff...We found a planet, much like Earth, only the gravitational pull was a bit less.  The security team went out to check everything, since the oxygen/nitrogen levels were perfect for breathing.  We found a perfect patch of land to start colonizing.  (Monotony ensued with unloading and building and planting and such.)

Fast forward to the colony being set up...It looked a lot like New York City (without the lights and the Starbucks and with more farms and ranches).  The ground was ideal for planting, but we wanted to stay close.  So we built houses on top of each other with lift systems to get us up and down as well as a stairwell for emergencies.  Biggie, Sofie, and I had a house on the ground floor of one of the five housing buildings (yes, we lived together.).  We started farming, raising cattle and sheep and pigs and the like, finding out about the wildlife (what was dangerous, what we could eat, what we could keep as pets), setting up patrols in case we encountered anything hostile, etc. 

(Dream Fast forwarded...) We'd been there about a year (I could only gauge this, because I suddenly had "another" daughter) when a tribe of vampire people came out of nowhere and started trying to kill us all for our blood.  The security team held them off while we loaded up everyone and everything that hadn't been infected by the vampires and took off to find another planet.

Artie and Brent Spiner were helping load the women and children.  Biggie was pushing me inside with our baby and our teenage adoptee, grunting at me to keep the kids safe.  I was arguing back that I was head of security.  Artie looked at me and yelled, "You just had a baby!  Get your butt inside that ship, now!"

I did as told, only because Artie rarely yelled. 

Once in the air, the security team (sans me) looked throughout the ship for infected people or stowaway vampires.  They were either killed or taken to a security hold.  We dropped those in the hold back onto the planet before we left the atmosphere.  Brent Spiner and Biggie (among others) found Magnus, myself, and my little family on the main bridge talking.  Biggie took our daughter and was cuddling her.  Magnus just eyed him with a grin.  Brent Spiner shook his head sadly.

"What is it?"  She asked him (because, apparently, he was an abnormal who could sense things).

"There is no decent place nearby for us to go," he said.  "And we're almost out of natural fuel."

I nodded.  "We'll have to adapt our travelling to compensate."

"But how?"  Magnus asked.  "Can we fix the engines mid-flight?"

I shrugged.  "I'm no engineer.  That'd be Alec Hardison you need to talk to."

Magnus nodded and called him to the bridge.  He arrived and saluted awkwardly.  Magnus relayed the information and the question to him.

He replied, "I might be able to compensate with something else."  He thought for a minute then went off into some technological mumbo-jumbo that made no sense to anyone in the bridge (except maybe Henry, who followed him out as he mumbled).

"We'll have to wait and see," I said.

Another few months went by (the dream fast forwarded, in other words), and we hadn't found a new home.  We had decided to turn around and go back to Earth.  But, we were running out of fuel and supplies.  We were forced to land on vampire planet and get more supplies and make more fuel (the composition of which dealt with corn meal and sunflowers???).  We kept everything aboard the ship and escaped without so much as a sighting.  The security teams still checked every inch of the ship with a fine-toothed comb just in case.  Everything was fine.  We got back to earth to find that most of the zombies had died of starvation by this time.  We set up a colony on the most untouched part of land we could find (somewhere in Scotland).

We built walls to keep anyone with the zombie plague out, purged the land we were living on of the plague with a vaccine-like spray thingy, and began setting up a colony much like the one we had on vampire planet.  Only difference was there was enough room to have separate houses stacked only two or three high.  We started our colony and lived in relative peace.  People started leaving the colony, though (not any of the aforementioned celebs, but did include the Zumberqwatches), and moving out into the world to see what was left.  This started a whole new outbreak of zombies.  The zombies wound their way to the giant, thick metal walls surrounding our colony.

This is when I woke up.  But, I have a feeling (with this awesome cast) we were able to defeat the zombie horde and reclaim the Earth for humankind.  Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed dreaming it!

I'm in a Halloween mood

Anyhoo...In honor of me being in a Halloween mood, I am posting a non-dream (or two...see a post coming soon to this blog)!  ENJOY! Buahahahaha!  It is entitled:

Scary House

 As I approached Adelaide’s house, the only thing I could think was, “This house is scary!”  The lawn was either dead or dying.  The giant oak was gnarled and black, leafless and naked. Dark red paint peeled from the house at odd angles like blood from a vampire’s fangs.  The porch was dilapidated and creaked beneath my weight.  None of this was helped by the gravestones, skeletons, bats, and cobwebs placed strategically about.  I looked to the carved pumpkins as the doorbell rang with an odd creaking twang at the end.  I clutched my “My Little Pony” sleeping bag and bright pink overnight bag in my hands. 

Adelaide, a petite, raven-haired, fair-skinned twelve-year-old threw open the door and hugged me.  “Come in, Vera!”

I smiled, hugged my bestie, and let her shut the rickety, blood-peeling door behind me.  In contrast, the house was more welcoming, or at least more laughable, than the eeriness outdoors.  The entryway was lit with a golden glow from a crystal chandelier that was missing a few of its pieces and hung from a chain.  Stairs led from either direction, winding up to the second floor with puke-orange shag carpeting.  I looked past the stairs to the living room where a fire blazed in a yellow-tiled fireplace.  It seemed to cast dancing shadows across the 1970’s throwback furniture.

I followed Adelaide up the stairs to the first bedroom on the left.  The door had once been painted cream and black, but was peeling in patterns like batwings.  I shook my head.  I was imagining things.  It was a Halloween sleepover, and I was letting my overactive, creative mind get the best of me.  I set up my sleeping bag and pillow next to Adelaide’s monster-themed pink and black bed. 

We changed into our costumes.  I put on my mom-sewn “My Little Pony” Rarity-turned-human costume.  Adelaide grinned and complimented it as she put on her horned-crazy-furry monster costume.  Her older sister, Amellie, knocked on the door.  She was wearing a steampunk costume complete with a fake bronze-cyborg-type arm and purple-hued goggles.

“You two ready for dinner then the party?”  She asked.

We eyed each other, giggled, and nodded.

Amellie smiled and headed down the stairs.

Adelaide ran downstairs for a minute when her daddy called to her.

I followed slowly.

“Of course not, Daddy,” I heard her say.  “Vera’s my best friend.  You best behave, too!”

Her dad laughed.  “I promise,” he said.

“As do I,” her mother said, a bit slowly.

I frowned, brushed it off, and moved around the corner.

Adelaide’s father smiled at me.

“Hi,” I said, smiling back.

Adelaide’s father and mother both looked like Adelaide had been a carbon-copy of them.  They all had hair as black as coal, fair skin, petite-ish frames, and pale grey-blue eyes that seemed to glow with that other-worldly sense you only hear in stories or see on movies.

Her mom ushered us to the kitchen and fixed us beef tacos with extra cheese with gooey ghostly gourmet chocolate cupcakes for dessert.  Amellie took us to the local rec center for the tweeny-teeny Halloweeny ball.  The three of us got a total sugar-high and bounced all the way home, giggling, around eight.

“Don’t go around the house without me after midnight,” Adelaide whispered to me as we headed toward her bedroom to change into our pajamas.

I eyed her, but nodded.  “You’re house is kinda scary anyway,” I said with a giggle.  “I don’t think I’d like to go around it by myself.”

She giggled.  “I know.”

Amellie and Adelaide’s mom, Astrid, both checked in on us after an hour.

Amellie handed me a locket.  “Wear it all night.  Whatever you do, don’t take it off until daybreak.”

I put it on, completely weirded.  I mean, I knew Adelaide’s family went all out for Halloween.  But, this was ridiculous!

Adelaide and I took one last trip to the bathroom before settling in to her room to watch scary movies.  Adelaide settled on her bed wearing her black and red goth-like pj’s.  I settled next to her wearing my Hello Kitty garb.  Amellie entered with candied popcorn balls and taffy wearing brown pj bottoms and a blue shirt with gears across it.  It was then I noticed Amellie had red hair, green eyes, and freckled, darker skin.  I smiled at her and accepted my popcorn ball.

The movie was over.  We were all giggling.  Amellie made “boo” noises at us to make us laugh before she headed out the door and across the hall to her bedroom.  The look she gave her sister seemed like a warning.  Adelaide shook her head and giggled.

I smiled at Amellie and waved as she closed her door.

Adelaide sat on her bed, feet tucked beneath the covers.  I sat snuggled inside my sleeping bag, hugging my pillow.

“I’m not sleepy,” Adelaide said.

“Me, either,” I said, looking up at her.  “What do we do, then?”

Adelaide shrugged.  Her eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight spilling from her window.  “We could watch another movie?”

I shrugged, not really wanting to watch another scary movie.  I looked at the clock.  It was 11:02.

Adelaide’s dad, Alistair, peeked in at us.  “Goodnight, ladies,” he said with a goofy smile.

“Goodnight, Mr. Albu,” I said, smiling back.

“Night, Daddy,” Adelaide said.

Adelaide flopped back on her bed and sighed.

I heard Amellie and Mr. Albu talking in the hallway, but pretended to be interested in my overnight bag’s contents.

“You know what will happen if you try it again,” Amellie said.

“Indeed, keeper, Amellie,” Mr. Albu said, his voice was raspy, death-like.

“Remind your wife,” Amellie whispered, slightly menacing.

I pulled out a card game and held it up in the moonlight.

Adelaide smiled at me and moved to sit on the floor with me.

We played the silly card game until Mrs. Albu knocked on the door and told us it was lights out time.

Adelaide and I turned out the lights, so only the moonlight was dancing through the window and across the bedpost and the floor.  Adelaide settled in her bed and snuggled beneath the covers.  I watched the moon.

Amellie peeked in at us and smiled at me, mouthing “goodnight” as she shut the door.

I watched the moon, as the clouds parted and revealed its full glory.

The clock on the wall turned to midnight.

I swallowed as a neighborhood dog howled.

I looked toward Adelaide’s bed, but she wasn’t there.  I stood suddenly and looked around the room.  Had I fallen asleep watching the moon?  Had she gone to the bathroom, and I didn’t realize it?  I shook my head and continued my search, in the closet, under the bed, even in her old toy chest.  Nothing.  Adelaide had disappeared!  I looked to the door, hoping Amellie would come in.  Nothing happened.

Turning slowly, I noticed a reflection in the mirror that wasn’t mine.  It looked like Adelaide.  The ghostly reflection waved to me and smiled.  I heard Adelaide’s laugh as the girl in the mirror giggled.  I gasped and turned around.  No one was there.  I moved toward the door, feeling for the knob.

“Don’t go,” Adelaide’s voice whispered, ethereal.

“You’re a ghost?!”  I wanted to freak out and scream, but could barely get out the words on a whisper.

Adelaide’s reflection nodded.  “I was hoping you’d go to sleep first.  I’m only a ghost when I sleep.”

“How?”  I asked, looking at her reflection.

She shrugged and moved to play with my hair.  In the mirror, I could see her hands working my crazy frizz into braids.  When I looked out of the corner of my eye, there was nothing, but my hair was moving anyway.  I concentrated on the mirror.

“Your parents?”  I asked.

“They’re not ghosts,” she whispered.  “They’re also not really my parents.” 

I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved at that or utterly afraid.

“Don’t wander the house without me,” she said.

I nodded and turned to watch her reflection in the mirror.  “What about Amellie?”

“Amellie is our keeper,” Adelaide said.

“What’s that?”

“She keeps us out of trouble and helps us appear as a family.”  She finished with one braid and started on the other side.

“You’re obviously a friendly ghost, though,” I said.

“To most people,” she said with a grin.  “You’re my bestie!”

I had to grin back.  “I’m besties with a ghostie.”

We giggled.

Amellie peeked in and eyed my moving hair.  “You know about Addy, huh?”

I nodded.  “Adelaide the friendly ghost,” I said with a smile.

Amellie smiled.  “Just watch over her, Addy,” she said, looking behind me where I could see Adelaide in the mirror.  It was as though she could actually see her.

“Of course,” Adelaide said.  “I won’t let anything happen to her.”

Amellie grinned.  “If you need me, I’m in my bedroom, now.”

We nodded and watched her go.

“I need t go to the bathroom,” I whispered.

Adelaide giggled.  “I’ll haunt the bathtub while you do.”

I chuckled.  “Somehow, that’s oddly comforting.”

She laughed and opened the door for me.

It was weird having a ghost for a BFFEAE.  But, I didn’t mind one bit.

We went into the bathroom.  I took care of my needs and washed my hands.  Adelaide opened the door to find her mother in the hall.  She closed the door again.

“What’s wrong?”  I whispered.

“Mother’s in the hallway,” she whispered back.  “She can’t see you.”

I nodded, knowing this was of the utmost urgency.

Adelaide became somewhat visible and locked the door.

Somehow, I could sense Mrs. Albu turn toward the bathroom door and glare.  I shivered.

Adelaide looked at me.  “Oh em gee!”

I looked at her.  “What?”

“You can sense her?”  She asked, looking at me again.

I nodded.  “She’s standing outside the door, glaring at it.”

“Can you tell what she is?”  Adelaide asked, looking at me again.

I thought a moment and gulped.  “Is she…is she a vampire of some sort?”

Adelaide nodded slowly.  “She’s what we call a night-bringer vampire.”

I looked at the misted form of my friend questioningly.

“It just means she can go out in the sunlight without vaporizing,” my misty friend furnished.

I nodded.  “She’s moving down the hall.”

Adelaide nodded.  “We can make it to Amellie’s room.”

“Is Amellie more than a keeper?”  I asked as we moved a short way down the hall to Amellie’s room.

Adelaide nodded, opening the door.

“I’m more than human, aren’t I?”  I asked as we moved inside.

Amellie looked up at us and nodded to me.

I heard a screech as Astrid zoomed down the hall at us, fangs bared.  I held up a hand and screamed…well, it was more like a squeak of fear.

Amellie laughed behind me.

Astrid stood frozen in the hallway, shrinking from me and eyeing Amellie.  “You didn’t tell us she was one of your kind.”

Amellie shook her head.  “She’s not.  She’s a different kind, and you know it.”

Astrid shrieked, her skin was almost white, now.  Her eyes were red and filled with fire.  Her fangs, what can I say about those hideous things?!

I looked her in the eye and said, “Leave.”

Astrid shriveled up and “left.”

I shivered.  “What just happened?”  I turned to Amellie.

“You sent her to the monster realm,” Amellie said, a little too matter-of-factly for my liking.

“Oookay,” I said, shaking my head at her.

Adelaide laughed. “Just tell her,” she said to Amellie.

“I’m a monster keeper.  You’re a monster hunter,” Amellie said.

I raised a curious brow at her.

She chuckled.

I turned to the open door.  “A zombie’s coming?”

“That would be Mr. Albu,” Amellie said.

“He’s…a…zombie?”  I asked, looking from Amellie to the door.

Amellie nodded.

“Like, the walking undead who eat brains?”

Adelaide nodded.

I turned and watched him turn to us.  His skin was green-ish and dying.  He had no real eyes, just sockets where eyes should be.  And his teeth were yellowed, what ones were actually there.  I grimaced.

“He’s relatively harmless by day,” Amellie said.

He groaned slightly.

I motioned him away.

He looked at me, turned slowly, dropped his jaw (literally), picked it up, and put it on as he walked back towards his room.

“So…um…what does all this mean?”  I asked Amellie and Adelaide.

“It means, in all likelihood, your parents are monster keepers or monster hunters,” Amellie said.

“Is Amellie your real name?”  I asked.  “And is Adelaide your real name?”

“My real name is Katie,” Adelaide said.  “But, that was eons ago.  I like the name Adelaide, though.  It’s sweet, like an old song.”

I smiled.

Amellie turned to me.  “Amellie is the title given to a master keeper.  My name is Brynn.”

I smiled at her, too.  “You’re not really a cyborg or something, right?”

She laughed.  “No.  I’m a faerie of sorts.”

“A fairy?”  I asked.  “Like with wings and magic dust?”

She laughed.  “No.  A faerie.  A keeper of non-mortal souls.  Monster keepers usually are faeries.”

I turned to the hallway.  “This was the oddest sleepover ever,” I said. 

The other two laughed.

“So, do I ask my parents about the whole monster hunting thing?”  I asked.

“No,” Amellie Brynn said.  “That could turn into a disaster.”

I nodded.  “So, what now?”

Amellie smiled at me.  “Monster hunters and keepers usually team up.”

“Seriously?!”  I was too excited for words.

The two girls laughed.

“What’s a monster hunter’s title?”

“Your monster world name is now Morius Vera,” Amellie said.

“Morius,” I said with a smile.  “Am I human?”

Amellie shook her head.  “You’re a pixwaith.”

“A what?”

“A cross between a pixie and a creature called an umbwaith.  I could sense it from the start.”

“What’s an umbwaith?”

“A wizard-like being.  I think one of your parents must be an umbwaith and the other a pixie.  No way of telling who’s who, though.  Not unless you want to sense them and have to move out.”

I shook my head a bit too emphatically.

The two girls laughed again.

“Hmm…”

“What is it?”  Amellie asked.

“There’s at least one werewolf in the basement,” I said.

Amellie grabbed a steampunk-looking rifle and motioned me out into the hallway.  “Let’s go trap a werewolf.”

I grinned.

Adelaide grinned back at me and watched us head down the hallway, floating happily up and down.

I fingered the locket and smiled, knowing what it meant: Amellie had known all along what I was.

An eerie howl came from the basement, but, somehow, the house wasn’t so scary anymore.

Amellie opened the door and flicked on a light.

Four pairs of eyes gleamed back at us.

I smiled and turned to them as they readied to pounce.