Sealing Death (8 page)

      Mr. Braddock put all of Betty's purchases in the trunks of the minivan and cop car. "Okay everyone!" he yelled, "Let's get out of here!"

The Dragon Is Back

      Once everyone got in the vehicles, a loud roar blasted their eardrums. "Oh no!" Sir Arthur cautioned loudly, "That sounds all too familiar!" A dark shadow flew over the landscape and flames roasted the ground. Mr. Braddock frantically shoved the ignition key inside and twisted it. The engine revved up and Braddock stomped on the gas.

      "Is that the Dragon!" Cassie cried out, "Mr. S.!" Arthur nodded as he raced to the crack with the cruiser close behind. The Dragon landed in front of the vehicles and flapped its monstrous bat-like wings. The wind blew down trees and tipped the van. "He's going to eat us, and since we can't kill him, we are his next meal for sure!" Will panicked.

      Stella remembered how they stopped Saxton. She remembered the lion pop that landed in front of her. It was her time to shine!

      Betty looked at the beast. Don't monsters have anything better to do than terrorize the innocent!

      Charlie was leaning on the window. He was so scared. There was a huge, hideous, man-eating lizard about 30 yards away. Its eyes looked around, but it's head didn't move.

      The Dragon opened its mouth and scorched the golf cart as a warning. It only wanted one thing. Well, one person that is. "Brad-dock!" it growled. It swung its tail at the minivan tipping it right side up.

      Will knew who it wanted and why. Sir Arthur told him about it after he came home the night he 'slayed' it. Will had spent the rest of the night trying to convince Braddock that it's only slaying if done with a sword or dagger of the sort. He pushed it into the water, so he basically put its fire out.

      Now it was back, and hungry for revenge. There is nothing worse than getting eaten, and living the whole way through. It was both terrifying and gross at the same time.

      Cassie had to do something. The Dragon was huge, but couldn't be killed. There was no escape and no way to slay it, since it was already dead.

      Mr. Braddock stepped on the gas again, but didn't get too far before the flying lizard smashed the van with its tail again.

      Jason, the Dragon, roared and stomped. "Brad-dock!" it growled again, "Cass-an-dra!" The beast flapped its wings and pushed the minivan around with his head.

      "Why does it want me?" Cassie asked, "I didn't kill it!" Mr. Braddock looked up at it. "I don't know why." he answered as they were shaken about.

      Stella had to do something. She had no idea what, but she needed to help. Stella twirled her hand.

      The Dragon sneezed as a snowflake landed on his snout. He looked around, and saw the intimidating cloud in the sky. Snow fell harder, and the Dragon tried to melt it all as it fell, but it was too much. As he thrashed through it, he tripped on his tail and hit the ground with a bang. The snow stung his skin as it hit. He howled in pain, hoping it stopped.

      Stella clenched her fist, the snow stopped. She then climbed out of Betty's van and walked across the snow to the dragon. "Here goes nothing!" she piped as she clenched both fists again. Ice spread out from her feet and shot across the ground to the dragon. The Dragon tried to get up, but it's leg was already frozen to the ground. The ice continued to dance across surfaces, coating the Dragon's scales thickly. The beast breathed fire, but it was no use. The ice climbed up its neck and encircled the head. Stella ran back to the van as Cassie tipped it right side up.

      Smoke rolled from the frozen lizard and it howled from inside its prison. "We need to hurry." Stella informed, "That isn't going to stay forever."

      Sir Arthur shook his head yes and stepped on the gas. The two vehicles raced away as the Dragon continued to produce smoke. Mr. Braddock knew it was trying to go to human form and smash out, so they had very little time. The crack soon came into view and they rocketed to it. Cassie looked back, and saw nothing. They flew in the crack and shot out in the next realm.

      Cassandra looked at the ice sculpture dragon. It tried it's hardest to get out, but had no luck. "Poor thing," teased the reflection, "I can get you out if you agree to something." The Dragon silenced itself and listened. "There is an association," she began, "and we want you."

For The Birds

      The van and car dove straight into a flock of birds, making them all fly away. Cassie looked around. There were birds in every shape, size, and color imaginable, and then some. Squawks, tweets, chirps, and whistles echoed throughout the place.

      Mr. Braddock turned around and began to drive back through the crack when James pulled in front of him. Braddock jumped out ferociously and walked over to the car. "What are you doing?!" he demanded to know. "Well," James began, "I know you are dead and such, that doesn't mean us living people don't need to rest. This place looks peaceful, so before we rush into another battle, I say we rest here for a little bit." Susan added, "Most of us have been awake for at least thirty hours."

      Sir Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fine!" he conceded, "But at least one of us has to be on guard at all times."

    Cassie fell out of the minivan. "Agreed! You take first watch." Cassie ordered, "Will and I will gather some food, since I can't remember the last time I ate." Cassie secretly wanted some time alone with her boyfriend while she could.

    "You living people are so needy!" Sir Arthur yelled in exasperation, "I'm tired! I'm hungry! Let's rest! Let's eat!" Mr. Braddock had spent so long being dead that he forgot how annoying the living were. "Just try not to get into any trouble!" Mr. Braddock warned, "And give me everything you find so I can check if it's safe!"

      Cassie grabbed Will from the minivan and ran off into the distance. She was starving! They hadn't eaten in forever, and there was the whole Will thing too. No one knew they were back together yet, so they couldn't be too friendly in front of the group.

      Stella watched Cassie's strange behavior. Something was going on, and she was going to find out. She looked at Charlie whose movement was improving greatly. He said his neck was still numb, but everything else was better. Stella reached over and straightened his head.

      "Thanks." Charlie whispered. He was very distraught by the speed of how close Cassie and Will were getting. He had thought that him and Cassie would be getting back together in a few hours at most, but he was wrong. Were they ever getting back together? Or did he lose her for good?

      Betty got out some fruits she had bought in Skeentu. "You have food!" Charlie yelled, "Why didn't you tell Cassie?" Betty shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it didn't occur to me in time." She set a cloth on the car and put a fruit on top. As she went to pick up a knife, a bird swooped down and swiped the delicacy. "Darn thieving birds!" Betty cursed, shaking her fist in the air at the robber as it flew.

      Charlie opened the van door and got out. He stumbled around a bit until Stella caught him. "Where do you think you're going, mister?" she teased. "I want to fetch Cassie and tell her we have food." he lied. He really wanted to spy on her with Will. "I'll help you!" Stella announced.

    As the two separated from the group, Stella leaned close. "I know you want to spy on her," Stella whispered, "and I won't allow it unless I can too." Charlie smiled at her. Stella was just as suspicious as he was, and together, they'd be the best spy duo ever. "Let's get to it then!" he chirped quietly.

      Charlie and Stella weren't the only spies in the realm. A shadowy figure watched the couple from the dense forest by the road. "You two won't like what you'll find, that's for sure!" he mumbled, "Unless your hoping to find a lot of danger." The man turned around and ran to deeper hiding.

      Stella heard a crack from the woods that made her jump. Charlie was thrown to the side and he landed on the ground. "Char-Char!" Stella squeaked, "Are you okay?"

      Charlie spit dirt out of his mouth. "I'm fine." he assured, "Just peachy."

      Cassie and Will ended up settling down in a little willow tree grove. "So," Cassie sighed, "Where are we finding food?" Will looked around at all of the birds. "We can't do that!" Cassie yelped, "Or can we?"

      The hiding man was not going to allow them to kill any of his children! "You can't!" he screamed jumping out from his hiding spot, "My name is Mr. Angla, and I am the protector of the birds!"

      Cassie and Will hopped up from their seat. "Did you say Mr. Angla?" Cassie asked.

      The man nodded. He was six feet tall, and covered with feathers. Instead of a nose, he had a beak protruding from between his eyes. His eyes were completely black. It was if he was some kind of man-bird.

      Cassie remembered her old English teacher, Alice Harper. In her stories, she told of a man named Mr. Angla who she met in her closet. She called him awful names, because he was apparently very rude when she tripped over a bird. She claimed he tried to kill her!

      Cassie looked at Will. "Alice Harper's closet was really magic, wasn't it?" she guessed. Will just nodded. "You opened it, and an octopus almost killed the whole class. She then gassed the school so everyone forgot, but I took her gas mask." Will retold, "That's why she burnt down the school. Her closet."

      Mr. Angla squawked, "Enough! I do know Alice Harper, and soon you'll be with her again!" He clawed the sky and crowed, "I am going to kill you now!" Cassie laughed loudly, angering the bird guy. "Didn't you understand?" he cried, "You are going to die!" Cassie turned to the man. "No one can die. Death is open." she informed, "Get with the program!"

      The angry bird flailed its arm and screeched loudly. Cassie looked at him. Then it got extremely dark. Looking up, Cassie saw trillions of birds swirling down to the ground as one giant cyclone.

      Stella helped Charlie along. She looked at his cute face. He was tots adorbs! The light disappeared causing Stella to look up. "Whoa!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Char-Char!  Are those birds?"

      Charlie looked up. "Cassie!" he blurted, "We need to go faster!" He pulled away from his human crutch and somehow broke into a sprint. "Char-Char!" Stella called running after him, "Wait for me!"

      Birds swooped down left and right. Cassie pulled Will back up the path to where they started. Birds clawed and scratched at them. Cassie produced fire in her hand and swatted them away as the two ran.

      Charlie and Stella ran and saw Cassie and Will running their way. They stopped, and waited for them, but Cassie yelled, "Run!" So they did. All four of them were now running from thousands of flocks of birds that were out for blood.

      Mr. Angla flew close behind. He was going to destroy that girl if it was the last thing he did! He flew up into the sky and landed on their minivan.

      "What are you?!" Betty screeched, throwing fruit at him. "I-" he began, getting hit with the foods. "Stop it!" he demanded, swinging his wings to save himself from the abuse. Betty ran out of fruit and ran at him with a lawn chair. Mr. Angla squawked and flew into a tree. Betty threw the chair up at him, and it got caught in the branches. "James!" she screamed, "Take care of this thing!"

      Mr. Angla began to speak, but was interrupted by a gunshot. "What!" he cried. He jumped out of the tree, bullets flying past. Hiding behind the van, he demanded them to stop again.

    "We have to leave!" Cassie warned, running into their camp. Mr. Braddock was in the driver's seat, and soon everyone was ready to go. The engines started up with birds pecking feverishly on the automobiles.

    Mr. Angla stood up and banged on the van. "You're not getting away that easi-OW!" he cried as the van ran over his foot. Mr. Angla flew into the air as they escaped through the crack. "This isn't over!" the cuckoo man-bird tweeted, "You will get what you deserve!"

Alasku: The Realm of Rest

      Cassie looked around at the serenity before her. It was beautiful. She felt so relaxed, that she almost forgot about the Scarrcedenhogg. "Let's stop here!" she sighed with content.

      Mr. Braddock pulled over, signaling James to do the same. "Is this our rest stop?" Betty yelled. Cassie nodded, "Only this time, we rest, then explore."

      Arthur took watch as everyone else slept. It was so peaceful, that it seemed nothing bad could happen, but Arthur knew better. "Nothing can be this good." he muttered as Betty snored, "We need to hurry up and close Death, and any breaks could be a liability."

      In the Glaames Realm, the Glaas fled this way and that as a hungry Scarrcedenhogg destroyed the world. It's excess of heads soared through the bulky realm with glee as they gobbled up everything in sight. The Destroyer Of The Realms wagged its tail around, crashing into the locals. Bees Realm was pushed directly into the Fire Realm, frying everything, with only the snuffed flaming realm left.

      The beast looked around at all of the realms. It swam over to an empty part of the nothing and curled into a ball. One of the Scarrcedenhogg's favorite things to do, after destroying, is sleeping. It closed all of its eyes and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

      Hours later, Cassie woke up laying on a large flat rock. "Huh?" she sighed, studying her surroundings. Her company were all fastened to their stone beds as well, and they were being watched by an old man with a spear. The man reminded Cassie of the Native Americans she learned about in history. Adorned with feathers of all colors and sizes, the guard showed no emotion whatsoever.

      "Cassie!" Mr. Braddock called from a few tables over, "Don't do anything! We are safe. Trust me!"

      The others all awoke, and Mr. Braddock gave them all the same warning. "I feel totally unsafe, Mr. Braddock!" Stella shouted, "That happens when I'm tied up!" Stella squirmed around. She was in no condition to be tied to a rock! It was totally not comfy!

      A door flew open, and another man came in. Like the guard, he wore feathers, but his head sported a pair of horns that shot from a hat of sorts. "Who are you uninvited peoples?!" he demanded to know, "Tell or be punished!"

      Charlie stuck his head up. "It doesn't sound safe either!" he whimpered. Charlie was on a very lumpy slab that hurt his back side, and had his head in a plop of what he hoped was mud.

      "Answer peoples!" demanded the man, "Or we shall cut off your limbs one by one until you do!" Betty moaned, "Come on! That is old school for even me! Get with the times!" The man held up his hand and bent two fingers three times. On his cue, three young men marched in with very sharp knives.

      "We are trying to stop the Scarrcedenhogg!" Cassie squealed. Ever since she left her mother, knives freaked her out. Especially when there was talk of arm and leg removal.

      The man with the horns clapped his hands once and the three armed men retreated to the door. "The Scarrcedenhogg?" he questioned, "You stand not a chance! You are just children! Not even I, the great Chief Nastumea, stands a chance!" The chief laughed. "The only one who can is the Lost Hero!" Nastumea explained, "And they are not able."

      "Well what do you suppose we do, Chiefo?" Stella snipped, "Here's an idea, let us go, and we'll try our best!" Nastumea steamed over to Stella. "Foolish girl! I will not allow anyone to face that beast!" he roared, "Unless they are approved by the Lost Hero them self!"

      "Show me the hero." Cassie ordered, "Where can we find this Lost Hero. They will approve."

      The chief motioned for them to be freed. "The Lost Hero is in the vast tunnel network underneath Alasku." he expounded, "Find them, get their approval, and if you return, alive, you may go fight the Scarrcedenhogg."

      "What do you mean 'if we return alive'?!" Charlie stammered. "There are many creatures, unbeknownst to even I, that dwell below." Nastumea answered, "We've tried, many times, to fill in the tunnels, but no one returns alive to finish the job. The screams that are heard describe a terrible monster, huge in size, and foul in smell. They say it speaks of a girl who cursed it, but that is what they say."