Freaky Friday (but on a Tuesday)

Chapter 14 - Running Out of Time

Ericka continued to chase after Dracula.

The vampire bat flapped as fast as he could while also trying to keep watch of the directions his phone gave him to the Crystal Cave. It was no easy feat, as he had to avoid flying trees and rocks swinging at him in a blind rage from behind. He finally reached the end of the jungle, where the space opened up to a wide valley. He paused to catch his breath and spoke into his voice command GPS.

"Okay, which way now?"

The GPS answered in a creepy, tense voice. "Turn right! Here! Now! You imbecile!"

Ericka suddenly burst out of the foliage and leaped down into the valley after him. He picked up his pace as the roaring beast that had become his wife remained only a few short, terrifying paces from him. A stream of flames burst out and caught him by the wing. The Count yelped, but pressed onward. There was no time to stop now.

Another burning sensation caught him on the back, but this was not of Ericka's cause. He looked up, and began seeing the sky light up, turning the dark blue hue into streaks of orange and red. Dawn was breaking, and the first light of the sun's rays were beginning to shine through. He crouched down in the safety of the shade and flew the last several meters.

"Here! You Moron! You've reached your destination!" the GPS voice called out.

Dracula swept across the last leg of the valley and leapt inside of an open space to avoid Ericka's swiping claws. He caught his breath, wiping the sweat of his brow with a wing, before daring to pop his head out.

"Okay, love guts," he said as calmly as he could. "Just wait right outside here for me. I'll be back in a moment, I promise!"

Her response was a fierce roar, and a pounding against the rock face of the valley as her husband disappeared from view. Dracula failed to notice that she morphed again, the monster transformation still continuing to work its way through her body, making her bigger, more ferocious, and badder. Her rage encompassed her senses, driving away any thoughts of logic or safety and replacing them all with a desire to get revenge for how she was wronged. Ericka was ready to attack.

And when she did, she would make sure she would win.

***

As soon as Drac stepped foot inside the Crystal Cave, he could immediately sense something was wrong in the atmosphere.

Of course, he hadn't expected anyone to greet him right away at the entrance, but the longer he kept trekking inside, he found it strange to not see any one of them. To lose a group that big - six humans, five monsters, a dhampir, and nearly a dozen or so wolf pups - was highly unusual.

"Guys? Mavis? Johnny?"

"Drac?"

The vampire whipped around at the sound of a voice. It sounded like -

"Murray?" he asked tentatively.

Suddenly, he heard another shriek that sounded like a lot like Eunice. Eunice running away from something. Or could it be, someone?

"Eunice?" he called.

Another scream echoed in the cave, a voice shouting "get away from me!!"

"Why are you doing this?" yet another called, sounding an awful lot like Frank.

Drac grew more uncomfortable. He thought he could hear Griffin and the werewolves, but he wasn't sure. He picked up his pace and kept an eye out, nervous. Not watching where he was going, he accidentally bumped into someone in front of him. It was Mavis!

"Oh, Mavy! I'm so glad I found you," he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Mavis didn't share in his happiness. "The mission is called off, Dad. We couldn't find the crystal, so we're all just leaving now. You may as well turn around and go back to where you came from," she replied with a stern voice, pushing Drac away from wandering the cave anymore.