Echoes of the Void

The Vampire Skull - 9. The Butler

Ellie's heart started beating faster, "Who's there?" she asked.

"Yeah, who the fudge is there?" Skully shouted as if anyone but Ellie could hear him.

Ellie fumbled through her pocket and grabbed her device, light was what she desperately needed right now.

"I am the butler of this mansion, and you, miss, are trespassing. This is private property, and quite frankly I am tired of you kids breaking an entry for fun. I am quite cross right now," The butler snapped.

Ellie swiftly turned on the light on her device and shone it right into his face. It was a long, thin face, pale with a big frown. His eyes glinted against the light, his mouth opened as he bared his fangs. Ellie stepped back for a moment and almost placed her foot into the hole in the floor.

"I'm sorry, we didn't know. I- I didn't know. I thought it was abandoned, I'm new in Dawn. I'm sorry again," Ellie stuttered, her hands clenched around Skully. A knot formed at the bottom of her stomach, she should have listened to Skully.

The butler hissed, "I am not in the mood for apologies today, and I am also quite hungry." His fangs seemed to grow longer and sharper.

"Fudge, stay away from Ellie, you fiend," Skully yelled out.

"I'm sorry, I'll just run off and never come back," Ellie pleaded as his long, thin fingers reached out for her. 

His eyes seemed to gleam through the dark, and he wrapped his hand around her neck; his fingers felt hard and cold, like marble. The butler lifted her up into the air as if she weighed nothing, Ellie tried her best to remove his hand, but he was immensely strong. Her heart raced as she tried to catch her breath.

"Please," she coughed as his fingers tightened around her neck.

"Let her go, you fudging... Ugh... What can I even do? I am helpless. I can't even help Ellie when she's in trouble," Skully grumbled.

"I am hungry..." The butler repeated as he held her firmly.

Ellie felt her head spinning, was this her last adventure? She felt weak, her fingers lost their grip around the skull and he fell to the floor with a thud.

Skully felt a rage rising inside of him, why could he not do anything? A small green flash filled the room, only visible to Skully, to Ellie. The butler pulled her closer, ready to tear into her neck with his thin fangs. Ellie closed her eyes, she could feel herself being pulled down, far down, into darkness, into nothingness.

The green light flashed in her eyes and they opened wide, "Fudge, what is this?" Skully exclaimed in Ellie's voice, "Wait, am I in Ellie's body?"

He stared straight into the fanged mouth that was ready to consume every last drop of Ellie's blood, and Skully knew at that moment; he could help Ellie.

"Fudge you, vampire butler," Skully yelled in Ellie's voice and sent a fist flying toward the butler's cheek.

With one hard punch, the butler fell back against the wall. He hissed and reached out his cold hands for Ellie again. Skully clenched Ellie's fist again, aiming it for the butler's other cheek. Skully was faster, the butler seemed to be slowed down by his desperate hunger and hit the floor this time. Skully glanced down at him with narrow eyes, he knew this person. Skully had seen him before, he was someone Skully had known well.

"Fudge. Stay down or I'll kick you," he shouted at the butler who glanced back up at him.

"I am sorry, I don't know what's come over me," the butler suddenly withdrew his fangs.

Skully stared at him, it felt eerie; this house, the butler. Why was he even in Ellie's body? How was that possible? Skully stared down at Ellie's hands, and he felt a lightness come over him. Before long it all went dark, and he found himself in a place so dark. Had he been there before?

He glanced around at the darkness, there was nothing there. He stepped forward and heard water splash beneath his feet. His eyes widened as he realized the whole place was like a sea of darkness.

"Anyone here?" He called out, only to hear his voice echo right back to him.

He glanced down at the black water only to see a reflection stare back at him. Was this his face? He knelt down to get a closer look, his hair was as dark as the water and his eyes the same green as the flash just now.

"Fudge. Is this me?" He kept staring at his own face.

"Skully? Is that you?" He heard Ellie shouting from the distance.

"I'm here, it's me. I think..." he yelled back at her.

Her feet splashed in the water as she ran over, and her eyes widened when she realized he was not a skull, "Skully? What's going on?"

"I don't have the slightest fudging idea. What's this place?" He asked her.

Ellie kept staring at Skully, "Is this what you look like?" She muttered and ignored his question.

"I think so. This doesn't make any sense though," he grunted as Ellie kept staring at his face.

"I–" Her voice faded and something pulled her into the sea.

Skully reached out his hand to no avail, Ellie was gone. He stared into the darkness, and it seemed to stare right back into him.

"Ellie?" His voice echoed across the sea of darkness again.

He felt alone, the same as he had felt before Ellie came along. An island in the dark. He wanted to go back to Ellie, back to the skull. He didn't want to be left alone in the dark yet again.