Freaky Friday (but on a Tuesday)

Chapter 6 - Out of Hand

Mavis and Ericka had just arrived to Van Helsing's basement laboratory. Van Helsing had the crystal ray hooked up to some intricate contraption and was running a series of diagnostics on it. The computer screen he had beeped angrily several times as it ran through.

"Well," Van Helsing finally sighed. "It's broken. The crystal cracked, and it cracked beyond any repair."

Mavis was stunned. "Wh-what? Can't you get a new one?"

"Well, I wish I could young lady, but these crystals turn out to be VERY rare and VERY difficult to come by," Van Helsing reported. "Why, this one that you see here took me a good three years to find! The three years right before I came into guardianship of Ericka. I was but a young monster hunter at the time - okay, maybe not so young, but I felt young - with many more years of monster-hunting still ahead of me - "

Ericka put a hand up. "Okay, great-grandfather, please, you can save it for another time. We're on a little bit of a time crunch here." She turned to Mavis and whispered to her. "When my great-grandfather starts to tell a story of his monster-hunting past, you will never hear the end of it."

Mavis chuckled. "Kind of the same with my dad when he starts talking about his life before building the hotel. That's like 400 years worth of stories!"

The girls laughed a little and brought their attention back to Van Helsing. He continued.

"Yes, well, luckily my brilliant professor mind was able to think of installing a crystal locator on the ray itself, just for this very situation." He held up the ray, switching a hidden lever on it. It bleeped with a loud ping, and a hologram of the earth showed up before them. It swirled a few times, trying to pinpoint a location on the hemisphere, before indicating a location on the map with a bright red dot. Van Helsing announced where it had landed. "There it is! South America! That's where the new crystal will be!"

"South America?!" Mavis repeated incredulously. "All the way over there?"

"Oh, it's not so bad, Mavis," Ericka assured. "I've navigated through a jungle before. My great-grandfather had me train in the African vegetation for a few years for when I was still learning to be a monster hunter, and I'm sure South America won't be any different. We can just go there and grab a new one."

"I wish I could say it was that simple, Ericka," Van Helsing interrupted. "First, you will have to overcome the most perilous obstacles - jungle that stretches for miles and miles, under blistering heat, down a perilous river, with danger around every corner, not to mention the predators that will want to attack you!"

Ericka scoffed. "Oh come on, Is that all? I thought you knew me better than that great-grandfather."

He chortled a bit. "Yes, but then you will have to enter the cave of the REFLECTION!" His voice boomed, and Mavis's head shrunk in her shoulders. "Escape is impossible! For in your reflection, the guardians shall awaken, and you will soon be faced with an unspeakable EVIL!!!" He caught his breath from the outburst, almost sobbing at the traumatic memory. "It.. it... It cost me my right back wheel!"

Mavis and Ericka looked to where Van Helsing was pointing. The back wheel on his iron gray-body was now a smaller, sparklier purple one.

"I'm awfully sorry to hear that," Mavis commented politely.

Van Helsing tossed the ray to Ericka and wheeled off. "Well, happy hunting girls!" he told them.

Mavis groaned in exasperation. "This is disastrous!" She sat on the floor, tugging her knees up close to her head in order to conceal her distraught face. Ericka came up to her and patted the girl on the back.