Cadaver Island (10 page)

“
We’ll do our best to help
him. How much do the flasks cost?” Dr. Stine said.

“
Oh, I wouldn’t think of
charging you for them. Take them as a token of my appreciation. We
don’t see many strangers in Blanton these days. And if you can
somehow free my son from the cathedral, that would be a blessing,”
she said.

“
Thank you. We appreciate
your hospitality,” Angelique said.

“
Yes. And I’ll find a way
to help your son. I promise,” Dr. Stine said.

Dr. Stine placed the flasks
in the empty pocket of his robe. He didn’t want them to clank
against the spare battery pack, which was in his other pocket.
Angelique and Razor followed him to the shop’s front door. He held
the door open for them and watched them step outside. He glanced at
the old lady and said: “Thanks again for the free
flasks.”

“
Don’t forget about the
clock tower. When the bell rings, you should find a place to hide.
Reverend Stark spares no one. If he finds you, you
will
die,” the old lady warned.

***

White and pink blossoms
spread across the branches of dogwood and magnolia trees at the
base of the tall hill where the cathedral stood. As Dr. Stine
guided Angelique and Razor toward a narrow path which climbed a
steep incline, they watched people emerge from their homes and
monitor their progress. They listened to people whisper to each
other as more and more citizens gathered in the street. When Dr.
Stine, Angelique, and Razor climbed the hill and walked toward the
cathedral, people cheered and applauded.

A statue of Jesus Christ
stood in the center of a courtyard near the heavy, oak doors of the
cathedral. Undead cannibals slept on stone benches next to a pool
of clear water while the boy’s voice flowed from within the chapel.
Dr. Stine and Angelique cringed when they stepped over the
outstretched arms of disemboweled corpses. Razor growled when one
of the cannibals, who slouched against one of the cathedral’s
stained glass windows, flipped over on his belly. When the cannibal
didn’t wake up, Razor relaxed and followed Dr. Stine and Angelique
toward the cathedral’s entrance. Dr. Stine pushed the left door
inward and stepped inside. Lit candles, which adorned the tips of
freestanding, brass candlesticks, provided dim light in the
cathedral’s atrium.

Angelique picked up Razor
while she stepped over the remnants of another corpse’s intestines
and liver. Dr. Stine guided them toward the main chamber of the
cathedral, where a replica of
The Last Supper
hung on the
wall above an arched doorway. As they stepped into the main chapel,
Dr. Stine and Angelique noticed several cannibals sprawled across
the velvet cushions of the mahogany pews. The cannibals’ eyelids
twitched. Reverend Stark’s minions shifted on the cushions while
they slept and dreamed.

Dr. Stine walked down the
central aisle, which formed a wide path between the pews. At the
end of the aisle, a pastor’s pulpit rose from an elevated floor.
Next to the pulpit, Dr. Stine observed, holy water spilled over the
edge of a stone fountain. He removed the flasks from his pocket,
stepped over the cannibals and stiff corpses, and walked toward the
end of the aisle. Angelique and Razor noticed a blonde-haired boy,
who turned the frail pages of a Bible while he sat next to stereo
components, which boasted the SONY logo. Despite the boy’s voice,
Dr. Stine and Angelique heard the clock tower’s bell
ring.

“
Reverend Stark is back in
town. We need to hurry,” Angelique said.

“
It won’t take long to fill
the flasks,” Dr. Stine said.

His hands shook nervously
as he placed the flasks next to a Bible. Then he removed the first
container’s cork and plunged the flask into the pool of clear
water. On the nearby pews, the cannibals shifted and stirred at the
sound of their voices. Angelique gasped when one of the cannibals,
a gray-haired, skinny, naked man, opened his eyes and pointed at
her.

The cannibal exhaled a
shrill screech. A loud hunger pang rumbled in the remnants of his
abdomen. His maggot-infested tongue wagged in his mouth while he
spoke.

His counterparts heard his
voice and opened their eyes. They fixed their stare on Angelique
and Dr. Stine and rose from the pews. Some of the cannibals ripped
frail pages from Bibles while others scratched the sides of the
pews with their long, dirty fingernails. They crawled over each
other and flopped into the center aisle. White foam and strands of
slobber dripped from their jaws while they crawled toward the
pulpit.

Dr. Stine popped the cork
out of the last flask and submerged the glass tube into the holy
water. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed that the young boy
had stopped reading the Bible and was standing behind him. In the
distance, the clock tower’s bell continued to ring.

“
We can’t stay much longer.
Reverend Stark will be here soon,” the boy said.

“
Keep reading the verses!
Buy us some more time!” Dr. Stine demanded.

“
My voice has no effect on
Reverend Stark. He’ll kill us all!” The boy grabbed a large,
plastic case, which held his clothes, with his left hand. He picked
up the Bible with his right hand. He stepped behind the piano and
approached a vine-covered wall.

Dr. Stine removed the last
flask from the holy water and shoved the cork into its opening. He
joined the boy next to the piano. Angelique and Razor followed them
as the boy guided Dr. Stine into a narrow hallway. At the end of
the corridor, a spiral staircase dived toward a sublevel. Dr. Stine
placed the flasks into his pocket and thrust his scepter into the
gloom. White light radiated from the tip of the weapon, enabling
them to see slippery, algae-covered steps. At the bottom of the
staircase, the boy approached a heavy, oak door and pushed it open.
He glanced over his shoulder and said: “We might have time to make
it to the river. The rats and cannibals don’t like water,” he
said.

“
Angelique and Razor will
rust if they’re exposed to water,” Dr. Stine said.

The boy ignored him and
started running. Dr. Stine, Angelique, and Razor sprinted across
the slippery surface of a cobblestone sidewalk. Dr. Stine heard
chains rattling and the sound of wheels rolling across a solid
surface. He glanced over his shoulder and gasped. Lefty and Righty
walked briskly toward them while they yanked on the large chains
that pulled Reverend Stark’s chariot. A swarm of rats formed a
fast-moving sea of sharp teeth, pink tails, and beady eyes while
the minions followed the Doom Wagon.

“
We’re not going to make
it. We’re going to die, aren’t we?” Angelique said.

“
My magic isn’t strong
enough to fight Reverend Stark! His negative energy is
overwhelming! Keep running. Don’t give up. We must get to safety!”
Dr. Stine said.

Dr. Stine and Angelique
glanced to the left and watched a horde of undead cannibals emerge
from behind the trunks of dogwoods, magnolias, and oaks. Their
white eyes glowed and their lips peeled away from their razor-sharp
teeth. Up ahead, the blonde-haired boy reached the end of the
cobblestone path and sprinted toward a long, wooden pier. A strong
piece of rope held a rowboat next to the pier and kept it from
floating into the river. Dr. Stine smiled, jogged onto the
water-damaged boards of the pier, and glanced over his shoulder.
Angelique and Razor were right behind him. The cannibals, Righty
and Lefty, and Reverend Stark’s Doom Wagon closed the distance
quickly.

“
Get into the boat! We
still have time!” the blonde-haired boy said. He placed the plastic
case and the Bible on the bottom of the boat and unfastened the
rope from the pier.

Dr. Stine helped Angelique
and Razor get into the rowboat. The boy used his strong legs to
push the boat away from the pier once everyone settled. One of the
cannibal’s teeth snapped and chomped inches away from Angelique’s
throat. Another cannibal’s claws grazed Dr. Stine’s left cheek and
caused blood to trickle down to his chin. Reverend Stark exhaled a
roar of rage which caused fish to flop out of the water, twitch in
the air, and die instantly. The boy and Dr. Stine grabbed oars and
rowed as fast as they could. On the bank of the river, Lefty and
Righty pointed at the rowboat while the rats and the cannibals gave
chase. But when the river widened, Dr. Stine and the boy steered
the rowboat toward a tributary that couldn’t be accessed by
Reverend Stark’s minions.

“
There’s another dock west
of here. It’s near a swamp. We need to be vigilant.”

“
You never told us your
name,” Dr. Stine said. He offered his hand and the boy shook
it.

“
I’m Alexander Blanton.
It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” he said. They rowed until
their arms got sore. And they prayed that Reverend Stark wouldn’t
try to follow them.

Thirty minutes later, Dr.
Stine and Alexander guided the front of the rowboat toward a
fragile, water-damaged pier. Angelique yawned and Razor cuddled
against her stomach while they stared at the moss-covered trees and
murky water of the nearby swamplands. Angelique gasped and Razor’s
ears perked up when the front of the boat impacted the side of the
pier. Two planks snapped and tumbled into the water. Alexander
found a strong support beam and fastened a rope around it. Then he
tied the other end of the rope around a metal hook in the boat.
When he felt confident that the boat wouldn’t float away, he
snatched the Bible and the plastic case from the bottom of the boat
and hopped onto a stable section of the pier. Rust caused Razor’s
joints to creak and grind as he jumped out of the boat and followed
Alexander toward the edge of the swamp. Dr. Stine and Angelique
glanced toward the shoreline to make sure that Reverend Stark and
the Doom Wagon were nowhere in sight.

“
I don’t think he’ll give
up. I think he’ll keep coming after us,” Angelique said.

Alexander interrupted their
conversation. He said: “You do realize that everyone in Blanton is
dead, don’t you? If I’d kept reading the Bible, everyone would
still be alive. But you guided Reverend Stark to the cathedral. He
never would’ve gone to the church if your
scent
hadn’t lured
him there.” His hostile tone of voice stunned them.

“
We didn’t know that
everyone would die if we interrupted you. I’m so sorry for what
happened. Can you please forgive us?” Angelique said.

“
We disturbed the ritual.
We interfered with your ability to keep the cannibals asleep. And
we left invisible footprints that guided Reverend Stark and his
minions straight to the cathedral. I feel horrible about what we’ve
done. This never would’ve happened if it weren’t for Xavier
Thames,” Dr. Stine said. He closed his eyes and prayed for the
people of Blanton.

“
I admire you for showing
remorse. I can tell you’re people,” Alexander said.

“
Please forgive us. I
didn’t understand the ramifications of our actions. Hopefully, we
can make it up to you somehow,” Angelique said.

“
I appreciate your apology.
All I want is revenge. Sir Xavier Thames is the one who unleashed
Reverend Stark on my town. I want to get even with him!” the boy
said.

“
Ah, so it’s true! Reverend
Stark is one of Xavier’s cronies. I should’ve known that Xavier
would place obstacles in our path,” Dr. Stine said.

“
You’re going after Xavier?
What did he do to you?” Alexander asked.

“
He abducted my lover, Sir
Zachary Plate, and placed him on trial for witchcraft and
espionage. Then he stole a cache of battery packs from Dr. Stine’s
office and took them to his castle. If we don’t get to the castle
soon, my mechanical heart will run out of energy and I’ll die,”
Angelique said. Her left hand brushed against her
breasts.

“
I want to come with you!
I’ll do whatever I can to help!” the boy said.

“
We could always use
another ally, couldn’t we?” Dr. Stine said.

“
Yes. Thanks, Alexander. I
admire your courage and determination,” Angelique said.

They listened to hooves
gallop across the plank boards of a wooden path, which hovered
above the murky water and penetrated the swamp’s depths. Moments
later, the black stallion trotted toward them and exhaled a loud
whinny. The horse nudged Dr. Stine’s face with his wet nose. Dr.
Stine smiled and stroked the horse’s mane with his left
hand.

“
I was worried about you.
I’m so glad you found us!” Dr. Stine said.

“
He wants to join us. I
think we should give him a name,” Angelique said.

“
He looks like a shadow to
me. I think Shadow would be a cool name,” the boy said.

“
That’s perfect, Alexander!
We’ll call him Shadow from now on,” Dr. Stine said.

“
Let’s find a place to set
up camp. Since we found a spare battery pack, I think we can afford
to stop and get some rest,” Dr. Stine said. He held Shadow’s reins,
walked next to the horse, and guided him toward the swamp’s wooden
walkway.

“
Even though I’m exhausted,
I think we should keep moving,” Angelique said.

“
Yeah, what if Reverend
Stark is right behind us?” Alexander said.