Freaky Friday (but on a Tuesday)

Chapter 10 - Following the Signal

The Van Helsing blimp treaded along in the sky.

Dracula was able to captain the airship and navigate his way with Johnny by his side holding a map of the world. Right now, they were about to exit the European continent and begin covering the massive expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. In the back of the blimp's gondola, the other humans and monsters remained onboard, marveling at all the different contraptions that were on it and wondering what they all did.

Out of all of them, the wolf pups were the ones that caused the most trouble on board. One was playing among the bear traps, evading the snap of the metal jaws by just a hair each time. Another dozen were swinging happily along on a pendulum. The smallest pup, Sunny, was nibbling on a grenade like it was a chew toy. Wayne tried to step up and control the mass, a job he normally left for his wife, but as she was human at the moment, he decided to cut her a break.

"Waldo, get down from there! Willy, we don't play with that! Wanye, you'll get yourself hurt with that!" Just then a harpoon flew right past the werewolf's nose and into the wall behind them. Wayne growled, and looked in the direction of where it was fired.

"Wesley, what did I tell you about - "

But when he looked, he saw that it wasn't his most mischievous pup that had fired the weapon. It was Mandy! She looked sheepishly at him, the weapon still in her hands.

"Heh, oops! Sorry about that, Wayne. I picked this up to move it somewhere out of their reach, but I accidentally pulled the trigger instead."

Taking the opportunity, one of the wolf pups jumped up and snatched the harpoon launcher from her hands, firing it yet again. This time, it flew up to the front of the blimp, where it landed against the dashboard with a sharp thud, startling Johnny who gave a short yelp.

Dracula gave a sigh. "Johnny, hold on to the wheel for a moment," he commanded.

With the redhead holding the wheel, Drac turned around and, using his magic, set everything straight in the blimp. Boxes that were moved promptly went back to their spots, weapons were stowed away, and all of the wolf pups were put back into their place.

"Okay guys, let's not have any more trouble," he said, speaking firmly. "This blimp belongs to my wife too, you know, and I don't want it to get messed up!"

"Sorry, Drac!" all the voices in the back chorused at the same time.

The Count adjusted the safari hat better on his head and turned back to grab the wheel again.

"Wow," Johnny commented, looking around to the back of the blimp. "It's crazy how much arsenal Van Helsing has!"

Dracula shrugged. "Well, he and Ericka used to be monster hunters. Doesn't really surprise me too much. To see it all here at once is what does. " Drac remembered all those times a century ago when Van Helsing was younger and still had a capably functioning human body. He would chase the vampire and his friends endlessly throughout the land, never resting, and always toting along some strange contraption that in the end never served its purpose of eliminating him. He cast the memories away from his mind as a more pleasant thought surfaced. "At least that's all in the past now."

Johnny smiled. "That's what the power of the zing will do, Drac!"

Dracula chuckled. "You're telling me?" A swooning sigh took hold of the vampire and he thought of how enamored he had been when first meeting his bride. She was perfect, just one hundred percent absolutely perfect, an angel in white. To lose his zing was a nightmare that he did not want to relive again. One was more than enough.