Babies Day Out

          They paid for their tickets and made their way through the crowd pausing occasionally to watch the assorted performers. When the sword swallower pushed the blade down his throat, Shyroes squeaked and hid her face behind her friends’ backs. The fire breather blew his flames, and Draikeys playfully blew her own flames alongside, and the crowd cheered at the sight.

          Soon they came to the Ferris wheel and all four girls handed over their tickets and climbed into one seat together. The ride operator locked their seat and the girls giggled as the wheel began to take them into the bright blue sky.

          As the Ferris wheel reached the top, it paused, giving the girls an amazing view of the carnival and the island. In the distance, they could even see the nefarious Count Von Roo’s tomb, and Skeittyx was struck with a terrible idea… they could go and peek at him while he was sleeping… The other three girls sat in astonished silence, with gaping faces and wide-eyed stares at Skeittyx. The wheel started moving again which brought them back to real life. All at once in shrill voices, the three girls started protesting against the idea.

          As they all got off the ride, they were still arguing, but Skeittyx took off walking as fast as she could through the crowded mainway, not even stopping for the juggling Hasee stand; who was performing acrobatics alongside their juggling feats. She had gotten three-quarters of the way through the fair before the other girls could catch up with her.

          “You can not do this Tyx!” began Rosmarlie, “He’s a vampire, even if it is the middle of the afternoon, he will still have his teeth! What if he wakes up while you are lifting up his coffin lid?! I bet his room is deep down underground with no sunlight. We can’t let you do this!!” she ended in a scream.

          “I will do what I want and you can't stop me.” Skeittyx said in reply before storming off again.

          Rosmarlie, Draikeys, & Shyroes quietly looked at each other in shock and a little trepidation.

          “What now?” asked Draikeys.

          “Well we can’t let her go alone” fussed Rosmarlie

          “B-b-b-but– it’s COUNT VON ROO!” squeaked Shyroes, as she melted into a shivering, sobbing mess. The other two girls rolled their eyes and collected Shyroes. They hurried to catch up to Skeittyx; supporting the terrified Shoyru between them.

          Skeittyx was standing in front of the partially askew gate in front of Count Von Roo’s Castle fidgeting with her claws, and shifting from foot to foot, trying to gather up her courage when the other girls caught up with her.

          “Oh, Now you guys show up?” she half-heartedly sneered at them. Rosmarlie reached out a hand and gave Skeittyx’s hand a squeeze. Skeittyx gave her a grateful smile in return,

          As a group, they slipped in through the slightly gaping hole in the gate and moved towards the dilapidated castle of the dreaded vampire’s final resting place. “Maybe he’s not home?” whispered Shyroes, as they made their way through the dead thorn bushes that used to comprise the royal garden.

          Soon they arrived at what used to be the great hall, but now the only thing inside was some Spyderwebs and Barbats. Draikeys used her fiery breath to light a “torch” for each of them to see. They meandered through a maze of rooms, all in varying states of disrepair. Always seeming to be moving ever downwards. Finally, they came to a dark winding stair where the darkness was so thick that it seemed to be feasting on the remaining light of their torches, which had mostly burned down. The girls looked at one another, each trying to gain courage from the familiar faces.

          “We could turn back, no one knows we’re here…” Romarlie trailed off when she saw the look on Skeittyx’s face…

          “If you’re not *BRAVE* enough just say so.” Skeittyx retorted, as she started down the stairwell.

          The others steeled themselves, and then did the same. The air at the bottom of the stairs… was different. Thicker. Somehow darker. There was a smell that clung to the inside of their nostrils and emphasized the stench of death. They could still faintly hear the music from the carnival, but it was distorted now and the tune no longer felt bright and fun, but ominous and taunting. As their eyes adjusted to the lack of light, they became aware of the coffin on a raised dais in the middle of the room.

          Huddled closely together they slowly slunk towards it. There was only a faint dripping noise outside of their own harsh breathing and the shuffle of their shoes across the dusty stone floor.

          The coffin was closed, and seemed to shine with a light of its own. Not one mote of the prevalent dost marred its smooth mirror-like surface. The girls all just stood there, frozen for some time, no one brave enough to reach out to touch the ebony casket in front of them.

          Finally, Shyroes steeled herself, and grasped the lid and lifted with all of her might, which beckoned the others to help. As the top rose, they looked inside to find the interior plush & a deep velvety red. But no vampire. No bones. Nothing.

          “Good Afternoon” came a voice from behind them… Each girl gave a squeak from the surprise. Skeittyx blushed, as she had full-on shrieked.

          What are you… small girls doing in my home…alone? The voice asked.

          “We… Um… we.. we… we… –” stuttered Draikeys.

          ‘WE WANTED TO SEE COUNT VON ROO’S HOUSE AND SNUCK IN ALL BY OURSELVES AND NOW WE REALLY GOTTA GO!” Rosmarlie stammered quickly and grabbed her friends by the hand and was pulling them towards the door when she ran snout first into a satin-covered chest.

          “My dears… you will be staying with me,” he drawled softly. “I would ever so much like your company. It’s lonely here by myself all the time.” But before the girls could panic; he continued: “I would like to share some tea and crumpets with you. They came all the way from Neovia, and are so delicious.” The Count lit some candles with a snap of his fingers and the dark and scary room transformed into nothing more than an old-fashioned sitting room with several plush chairs surrounding a beautifully carved wooden table. “Please, won’t you join me?”

          The girls all heaved a sigh of relief and sat at the table and enjoyed the fancy pastries and sipped on the tea

          “This is the best thing I’ve ever had” declared Rosmarlle, and the other girls nodded their heads in agreement.

          “Good, good. Now it is time for you to return to your families, they must be worried about your disappearance.”

          “Can we take a picture with you?” Draikeys asked, “No one will ever believe us otherwise!”

          “If you wish the Count replied. “Let us go upstairs some, the sun has set so the twilight will help the photo develop better than these old candles.

          As a group they made their way back to the main hall, Draikeys found a good spot for the photo while Shyroes & Rosmarlie looked for something to place the camera on. Skeittyx stood next to the Count, kind of in a daze, not believing this was actually, truly happening. The Count waited patiently in the darkest corner of the room.

          Finally, Draikeys got them all positioned and in the frame with the Count in the middle, set the timer, and quickly jumped into place. The camera flashed and when the spots were finally gone from their eyes, the girls noticed that the Count was gone.

          …

          The next day the girls were working on developing the photos from their day out on Roo Island, but when they got to the shot at the Count’s castle, they were disappointed to find that their evidence of their adventure with Count Von Roo was only a shot of them against a plain wall.

          Apparently vampires don’t show up in photographs...

               The End.