Chapter 2, Part 1: Greetings from the Shadow Monster

Notes:

Yep. Definitely gonna need a week and a half between chapters especially when I attack myself by writing a scene that takes place in an upside-down graveyard. Anyways, enjoy!

William

William barreled into the bedroom, following the sounds of the screams. Alice’s parents were holding their ground against what at first appeared to be creeping shadows.  

“Back! Back!” Valeria shouted, thrusting out a torch as Cyrus assumed a defensive stance. 

The room had a heavy atmosphere that didn’t match the rest of the house. As the shadows started to form, William could finally see exactly what was causing it: Two glowing red eyes and a sinister smile were painted a lanky figure with wiry hair.

“Get back!” William growled.

“That’s what I’ve been telling it,” Alice’s mother hissed, gripping her sword. 

Where in sages’ names had she gotten that thing? William clenched his fists and tried to maintain a sense of calm. “Not the monster, you. You get back unless you intend to throw down with a supernatural beast.”

“We don’t,” Cyrus said quickly, tugging her back. He blew out the torch. “Drop the sword honey, the vampire is here.” 

Valeria looked positively mutinous.

Ignoring the daggers she was staring into his back, William transformed into his dark form.

“Run,” he told them before turning his attention back to the shadow creature. “Alright, beasty, you can come easy, or you can come hard. It’s up to you how much this will hurt.”

The shadow stood and tilted its head, but its expression didn’t change. For a second, the heaviness lifted, and the room felt like it was spinning.

As soon as the door shut, William and the beast were plunged into darkness.

Swallowing down his nausea, William delivered a smooth kick. The creature dodged with surprising dexterity, and the last great knight of Windenburg had to spin to regain his footing. In another powerful kick, he arced his leg, bringing it down, but the shadow blocked and ducked. 

Shite. That should have laid it flat! William thought.

Faking like he was lowering his leg, he waited for the shadow creature to straighten before he drew back and threw another kick. It landed, and the creature broke apart into a swirl of bright colors.

The fight could not have been that long, but William was exhausted. It felt like he was making every move underwater and any ground he gained from that powerful kick quickly evaporated. The shadows gathered again, resolidifying as something shaggier…

Taller…

And very werewolf-like…

It leaped into the air, casting off the darkness. William stood, rooted to the ground, his entire body in shock.

He recovered as soon as the beast landed, and the two began to grapple.

Pinned and choked, he grabbed the creature’s wrist, tensing until he heard the sound of breaking bones. 

The injury didn’t slow it. The hand clutching William became a shadowed manacle, pulling him ever closer while a large set of teeth and wide-open mouth clamped down.

Dimly, the old knight wondered about the irony of being a sharp-toothed monster dying while caught in the jaws of another sharp-toothed monster.  

Mikel

Mikel paused to make a few measurements and then continued soldering the hull patch. “Hand me that wrench; I’m almost done.” 

“I can’t believe I’m in a spaceship with an alien, and the tools we’re using to make repairs are just a wrench and a soldering iron,” Anastasia said, handing it over. “You might want to get a jump on that; I can hear the air whistling through the lock,” she added.

It turned out a vampire was a convenient thing to have on a spaceship. So far, she’d sussed out several structural issues just by sound alone. And thank the Sixam suns for that; Mikel’s internal systems were severely damaged. He was surprised he could hear her, let alone see what he was repairing. 

“Okay, here we go,” he said, lifting the metal grate off the table. “You’ll hold it in place after I secure it to the inner hull.”

“Don’t you need the soldering iron?”

“Nope,” Mikel pulled out a bottle of Galatic Glue and tossed it to her. “Never travel without it. You want space age? Here it is.”

She peered at the bottle and then coughed delicately into her hand.

“What?”

She raised her eyebrows in sheepish amusement. “I just thought it’d be more impressive.”

Mikel groaned, “What’s not impressive about a colloid that bonds with the surrounding matter to create an impenetrable hold?” He liked almost everything about this planet and its creatures except their bizarre characterizations of alien technology.

“Alright, alright,” she held out her hands, “Don’t get your space suit in a twist.”

“It’s not a spacesuit; these are just—”

“I’m kidding.” She rolled her eyes and took the grate out of his hand, “You are clearly the brains of this little intergalactic adventure. I’m happy to be the brawn. Lead the way.”

Mikel laughed. He thought it would be harder to think of Miss Hell as Anastasia. After all, he knew her as the well-coiffed murderer who conspired against Alice and Vlad. But she was actually enjoyable to be around and a good teammate, which made him feel a little sad. Penny was MIA, and his other friends were in danger while he was up here floating through space.

And what would he say when he finally got these repairs done and launched a rescue mission? Sorry that it took so long to come and help you. By the way, the vampire who conspired to kill you is pretty cool.

“Come on,” he said, his expression sobering. “Let’s finish this repair.”

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