"Hey, guys, where you been?" Chase says as Leo and I walk into the common room.
"We just finished watching a twenty-four-hour horror movie marathon," I say.
"I was so scared, I chewed through all my fingernails. But on the bright side, I had a big bowl of popcorn, so they were delightfully tasty." Leo says.
"Guys, how is our first Halloween at the academy going to be spooky when all we have is this pathetic little box of Halloween decorations?" Bree says.
"And, uh, what is this disgusting slime in the trick-or-treat bowl?" I say, pulling out a bowl that was filled with orange-looking slime.
"Oh, that's not slime. That's last year's pumpkin. You know, I'm surprised it didn't keep." Adam says. He sniffs the slime and gags.
"Ew!" Bree says, putting the bowl down.
"Hey, guys," Bob says, walking into the room.
"Bob, what are you doing here? All the other students are out with Mr. Davenport on a field trip to the Davenport birthplace and museum." Chase says.
"Gosh, darn it, I can't believe I'm missing that," Bob says sarcastically.
"Really, Bob?" Bree says.
"Oh, come on. Part of the tour is him reenacting his birth." Bob says.
"This kid might be smarter than we thought," Adam says.
"Ooh, smoothie," Bob says as he grabs the bowl of orange slime and walks out.
"Maybe not," Adam says, walking after him.
"Later, machine people. I'm taking the metal detector to the beach to look for other people's money." Perry says, walking into the room.
"So what, you're done going through our wallets?" Leo says.
"Yep. How do you think I paid for this thing?" Perry says. "If you need me, I'll be at the island across the way."
"What island? The deserted one?" Douglas says, walking into the room.
"Yeah. Care to join me?" Perry says. "There's room for two in my inflatable kayak. If you're good, we could play shipwrecked passenger and curious island native."
"How about we play shipwrecked passenger and rescue pilot who just keeps flying?" Douglas says.
"Hey, I've always wondered about that island. Oh, maybe there are waterfalls." Bree says.
"And caves," Leo says.
"And lagoons," I say.
"Maybe we'll be introduced to cool new species of insects," Chase says.
"And then, we can introduce them to an uncool species of human," I say, making Chase glare at me.
"Trust me. You don't wanna go to that island. From what I hear, that place is uninhabited for a reason." Douglas says. "It's a scary jungle full of venomous snakes, rabid bats, and toxic plants that cause rashes."
"Rashes don't bother me. I'm rarely without one." Perry says.
"I'm headed to the mainland for a supply run. Just promise me you won't go there." Douglas says as he steps onto the hydro loop.
"Sure. No problem." Perry says. The hydro loop doors close and shoots away. "Well, I'm off to that other island."
"Hey, Douglas just told you not to go there," Chase says.
"Yeah, well, the only voices I listen to are the three inside my head," Perry says. She leaves the room and we follow her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Douglas was right. This place is creepy." Leo says once we arrive on the island. We jumped when we heard a bird squawking. "Okay, seen it, saw it, done. Dooley's out."
"Leo. I can't believe you. You and Cassie just watched a horror movie marathon and now you're scared?" Bree says.
"I am not scared. I wanna leave for a very manly reason. I have a blister on my pinky toe." Leo says.
"The island is full of animals I've never seen before. Some of them aren't even in my database." Chase says. We turn our heads when we hear a rustling sound coming from the bushes. "Whoa! Here comes one crashing through the underbrush. I bet it's an exotic wild boar." Perry comes crashing through the bushes with her metal detector.
"You were right," I say.
"Why are you wearing gloves?" Leo says.
"Don't wanna devalue any rare finds with my oily fingers. Also, I'm on an island with four people I despise. Mom always said, never leave fingerprints." Perry says.
"Have you ever even found anything valuable with that thing?" Chase says.
"For your information, I found my grandma's lost wedding ring. It's been in my family for generations." Perry says.
"Wow. That's actually kind of sweet." Bree says.
"Yeah. I made a bundle on it when I sold it back to her." Perry says.
"Well, this island is obviously uninhabited, so I highly doubt you'll find anything here," Chase says just as Perry's metal detector starts beeping rapidly.
"Jackpot!" Perry says. She kneels down and as she begins to dig, she starts flinging sand at us. When she was done, she pulled out a skull made of metal. "Payday. A skull found out here in the middle of nowhere. It's gotta be some sort of treasure. I'm gonna make a fortune!"
"You know that's not a real skull, right? It's made of metal." I say.
"Looks more human than those three," Perry says, pointing to Bree, Chase, and Leo.
"I've heard about ancient relics being taken from their resting place. They say bad things happen to the people that remove them." Bree says.
"What harm is taking a little old skull gonna do? Let's let Boney decide. Hey, Boney, do you mind if I take you?" Perry says. Then she starts speaking in an accent for the skull. "Of course not. Sell me. Just keep me away from these losers."
"Look, that skull is creepy, and more importantly, it doesn't belong to you. Leave it." Chase says.
"You guys are wimps. Fine. If you're that freaked out, I'll put it back." Perry groans, putting the skull down.
"Good," Chase says.
"Let's go," Leo says as he, Bree, Chase, and I walk off.
"Suckers. Come on, Boney, let's get outta here. You remind me of my grandma the second time I took her ring." Perry says, grabbing the skull and following after us.
Back at the academy, Adam was in the training room setting up scary Halloween decorations when Bob walked in. "Hey, Bob, check out this prank I set up for Halloween," Adam says.
"Awesome. Who's Halloween?" Bob says.
"Halloween is not a person. It's the best holiday ever. Oh, right, you're a blank slate because of Krane's mind control." Adam says.
"Plus, I don't have a good memory. And I'm not a very good listener. Plus I don't have a good memory." Bob says.
"Halloween is a holiday where you scare people. You can help me prank Chase, Cassie, Bree, and Leo." Adam says.
"Cool," Bob says.
"Here they come," Adam says. "Quick, distract them so I can spring this on them. They'll never see it coming."
"On it," Bob says. Adam hoists the ghoul decoration up and hides behind the wall just as Bree, Chase, Leo, and I walk in. "Hi, guys."
"Hey, Bob, whatcha doing?" Bree says.
"I'm distracting you so Adam can scare you with this fake Halloween thingy," Bob says. We looked up at the ceiling and sighed when we saw the ghoul hanging above us. I smiled and walked over to Bob.
"I am so glad you and Adam found each other," I say. Bree, Chase, Leo, and I leave the room.
"Bob. You can't warn people they're gonna be scared before you scare them. Who would be scared when they know it's coming?" Adam says. Bob and Adam scream and hug each other when the ghoul drops from the ceiling and makes a cackling sound.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Authentic vintage collectible. Made out of...rare black gold." Perry says as she works on her computer in the common room.
"She lied to us and took the skull from the island. We're cursed." Leo says as he, Bree, Chase, and I walk into the room.
"Relax. I've been with the skull all day. Nothing bad has happened to me. A little heartburn around noon. I got a chunk of hotdog stuck in the old air hose, but I'll work it out by dinner." Perry says.
"Just because nothing bad has happened yet doesn't mean it won't." Leo says.
"Yeah, in that movie, Skull Apocalypse, a group of kids dug up a cursed skull, and one by one, they all met horrible deaths because there's no cheating fate." I say.
"We're all gonna die!" Leo shouts.
"Good to see you guys are not overreacting," Bree says.
"That's exactly what the pretty brown-haired girl said right before she became the pretty brown-haired girl on a hook," Leo says.
"Perry, you shouldn't have taken it from that island. You don't know who buried it there or why." Chase says.
"He's right. In Skull Apocalypse, there was this really tall man in blue jean overalls, and he had no face." I say.
"Okay, guys, relax. It was just a movie." Bree says, putting her hands on my shoulders.
"Was it, Bree? Or was it a premonition? We're all gonna die!" Leo says.
"Stop saying that!" Bree says.
"That is it. This thing is going back where it belongs." Chase says, grabbing the skull.
"Wait. They're already bidding on it. Oh, never mind. I'll just find a real skull and spray-paint it." Perry says. She looks at Bree. "You've got a nice one." Leo's jaw dropped in horror while Bree and I just gave her weird looks and stepped away from her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Sorry, I messed up your prank. But this will make up for it. Welcome to Bob's house of horror. Everything in the world I find terrifying." Bob says as he and Adam walk into the training room which is filled with a bunch of podiums.
"Cool. Let's see what you got." Adam says.
"First up, old math tests," Bob says as he rips off a sheet, revealing a math test with a D+ on it. "And...a potato whose eyes follow you no matter where you go. And finally, the most horrifying of all." Bob rips off a sheet, revealing a Santa Clause decoration.
"Come on, Bob. No one thinks Santa's scary." Adam says.
"Are you kidding? A strange man breaks into your house in the middle of the night and steals your cookies. No, thank you." Bob says.
"Bob, shh. He's watching." Adam says, motioning to the Santa decoration.
"He is?" Bob says.
"Yeah. He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. Oh my, he is creepy." Adam says as he and Bob step away from the cardboard Santa.
In the Mentor's Quarters, Bree, Leo, and I were standing in the kitchen when Perry came running in, screaming in a high-pitched tone. "What's wrong?" Bree says.
"Dooley and Shorty were right. The skull is cursed. Over the last hour, I've had three near-fatal accidents. That's two more than my daily average." Perry says.
"Okay, what are you talking about?" I say as we walked over to Perry.
"First, I was in the shower when the glass door shattered into jagged pieces. Then, I drew a bath, but the blow dryer fell in, electrocuting the water. So then, I hopped into the kitchen sink, but my foot got stuck in the garbage disposal." Perry says.
"Why were you that determined to get clean?" Bree says.
"I'm like a lizard. Once a year, I shed my top layer. There's a whole skin outline of me circling the drain." Perry says. Suddenly, I clutched my head when I started to feel a sharp pain.
"Ow!" I say.
"Cassie, what's wrong?" Bree asks as she and Leo give me concerned looks.
"I'm having a vision," I say.
"What do you see?" Leo says.
"I see...get out of the way!" I shout. We all ran out of the way and screamed when the ceiling fan dropped to the floor.
"See? What did I tell you?" Perry exclaimed.
"Okay, okay, everyone just calm down. This is probably just a freakish coincidence. Nothing to be scared of." Bree says just as three knives from the counter launch at Leo, who blocks them by holding a book in front of his face.
"That is not a coincidence," Leo says, looking at Bree. "This is just like the movie. You brought the curse back, and now we're doomed."
"Okay, everyone just calm down. If we stay still, nothing bad can happen to us, right?" Bree says. We all just nodded our heads as we held out our hands and not moving a muscle. Suddenly, a fireball shoots out of the fireplace and it scorches Perry's hair.
"My hairpiece," Perry says.
"Okay, well, there you have it. The curse is real, and her hair is not." Bree says.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"The knives came flying right at me," Leo says as he, Bree, Perry, and I explain the crazy events that happened to Adam in the Mentor's Quarters.
"And then the fireplace shot a fireball right at us," Bree says.
"That's why my hair smells like barbecue," Perry says.
"That's not why your hair smells like barbecue," I say.
"This is now officially a death trap island, just like in that movie Deathtrap Island," Leo says.
"Okay, let me get this straight. Only the people who took the skull from the island are cursed, right?" Adam says.
"Yes," Leo and I both say.
"Oh, cool. Then Bob and I are all good." Adam says, pointing to Bob who just walked into the room. "Don't stand there, Bob. Bad things are gonna happen to 'em."
"Oh, you mean the knives and the ceiling fan? That wasn't a curse. That was Chase." Bob says.
"What?" I say.
"Yeah. I saw him setting up his own house of terror. He used his magnetism app to control those knives. I would've told you guys earlier, but I didn't wanna ruin the surprise." Bob says.
"That doesn't make any sense. Why would Chase do that?" I say, turning to Bree and Leo.
"Because I want to kill you!" Chase yells as he runs into the room with the skull in his hand, making Bree, Leo, Adam, and I scream while Bob just laughs. Chase was really pale and had bright red eyes.
"The curse must've possessed him and made him crazy," Leo shouted in horror. Adam, Bree, Leo, Perry and I run out of the room screaming as Chase picks up a knife.
"Wow. Chase, you are way better at scaring people than Adam." Bob says. "You really look like you're gonna stab me." Chase growls, making Bob scream like a girl and run out of the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I don't get it. Why would the skull only curse Chase?" Bree says as she, Adam, Leo, Perry, Bob, and I stand in the common room.
"Leo, this is exactly like that movie we watched, When Cursed Friends Kill, where a curse made this kid turn into a monster and go after all of his friends," I say.
"Okay, where do you guys even find those movies?" Bree says.
"We had to special order that one from Finland," Leo says.
"Ah, Finland. A little-known fact. They invented dogs." Adam says.
"Okay, we have to stop Chase before he hurts anyone," Bree says.
"Here, robot, use my laser cuffs," Perry says, handing Bree two pairs of bionic signal-interrupting cuffs. Bree takes the cuffs and super speeds out of the room, returning back seconds later with Chase locked in the cuffs but he is still holding the skull.
"If the skull is really cursed, we have to get rid of it. I'm taking it back to the island," Bree says.
"I'll go with you," I say. I grab the skull from Chase and before Bree and I could leave, Bob stops us.
"Wait. I'll miss you." Bob says, looking at Bree.
"Come on," Bree says. She grabs my arm and super-speeds us out of the room. Adam grabs Chase and holds him back just as Douglas walks out of the hydro loop.
"What's going on?" Douglas says.
"You came back to rescue me. Take me away from this place. We can live on the run. No looking back. I know a guy who can get us new passports and jobs at a tire factory in Uzbekistan." Perry says, running up to Douglas.
"This is all your fault, Perry. You're the one who brought the skull back from the island and cursed Chase." Leo says.
"You went to the island?" Douglas says. "The one I said specifically not to go to?"
"Sorry, Dougie. I've been a bad, bad girl. Let's work on my punishment together." Perry says.
"And while you were there, you found a skull made of shiny black metal?" Douglas says.
"How did you know that?" Leo says.
"Because I know what's going on. It's not a curse. Chase has a virus that I created during my evil days. It turns people psychotic, and makes them want to annihilate everyone." Douglas says.
"Why would you ever create such a thing?" Leo says.
"I was going through a rough patch, and wanted to watch societies destroy each other," Douglas says.
"Can you say anything wrong?" Perry says.
"I never meant for it to be used. It was in my big box of evil. So when I saw that uninhabited island, I thought I might be able to bury my past where nobody would ever go." Douglas says.
"Why didn't you just destroy the virus?" Leo says. Chase grabs Leo, making him scream but Adam holds Chase back.
"I guess I figured it would be good to have around in case I ever got the evil bug again," Douglas says.
"Spend enough time with me and you're bound to catch something," Perry says.
"You guys are cute. I should grab Bree, and we can double date." Bob says.
"The skull was just an old paperweight. It got contaminated when I spilled some of the virus on it. That's why I buried it. Anyone who touches it becomes a crazed maniac." Douglas says.
"Crazed maniac," Chase says.
"But I'm the one who found it, and it didn't turn me evil," Perry says.
"Probably because you're already there," Douglas says.
"No, you were protected by the gloves you were wearing," Leo says.
"Wait, so Chase turned into a deranged maniac because of the virus you created?" Adam says.
"Yeah!" Chase snarled, nodding his head.
"This Halloween thing is way too complicated. When's the holiday where we go around the yard laying eggs?" Bob says.
"Guys. This is just like that movie where..."
"Shut it!" Bob, Adam, and Perry all shouted, cutting Leo off.
"Shut it!" Chase growled.
"Where's the skull?" Douglas asked. "We have to destroy it before anyone else gets infected."
"Bree and Cassie have it. They're taking it to the island." Leo gasps.
"What? If either of them touch it, they'll be infected." Douglas says. "We have to find them before it's too late."
"This is just like that...actually, this isn't like anything. I may go to Finland and pitch this to the studios." Leo says.
"Look, Bob, watch Chase," Douglas says. Adam hands Chase over to Bob and he, Douglas, and Leo run out of the room to go look for Bree and me.
"Don't try anything funny or I'm gonna write a letter to Santa and tell him all about you," Bob says. Suddenly, Bree and I walk into the room, our skin pale and eyes red.
"Wow, Bree. Your eyes look really pretty today." Bob says.
"I'm gonna rip out your heart." Bree snarls.
"You already have, snookums," Bob says. "You already have."
A minute later, Bob was handcuffed and tied up against a post. "Guys. Anybody?" Bob shouts.
"Bob. What happened?" Adam asks as he, Perry, Leo, and Douglas run into the room.
"I found Bree and Cassie. They're infected now, too." Bob says.
"You're lucky they didn't hurt you," Douglas says.
"Oh, they're going to. Cassie wanted to find a tool that would inflict the most pain." Bob says. "I think this may be the most attention Bree has ever given me."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"According to my calculations, we have a sixty-two percent chance of taking them out in one shot if we can lure them all into the pool and Cassie charges the water with at least one hundred volts of electrical current. But whoever's wearing rubber-soled shoes may be protected from the shock." Chase says just as I slap him across the face.
"Stop talking, or I'm taking you out first," I say.
"Let's go get 'em." Bree cackles as she, Chase, and I run out of the room.
In the common room, Douglas was sitting by one of the consoles. "You know, when I made the virus, I probably should've created an antidote for it," Douglas says.
"You don't have an antidote?" Leo says.
"No. When creating deadly viruses, the cure is somebody else's problem." Douglas says.
"There's no cure for what I got for you, either," Perry says.
"The virus has infected their human tissue. We'd have to be surgeons to remove it." Douglas says.
"Great. So we send Bob to medical school and meet back here in twenty years. Actually, better make it twenty-one. I need a year to find myself." Adam says.
"What about Big D's nano-bots? They're like microscopic surgeons that seek out diseased cells and destroy them." Leo says.
"He told me he didn't bring those to the island," Douglas says.
"That's because he didn't want you using them to experiment on the students," Leo says.
"Yeah, that was a good call," Douglas says.
Not long after, Douglas grabbed a syringe and placed the nano-bots inside. "I put the nano-bots in this high-tech tranquilizer pen. We just have to get close enough to Bree, Chase, and Cassie to inject them into their bloodstream." Douglas says.
"Let's go find them," Leo says.
"No need," I say as I step into the room with a knife in my hand, making Douglas, Leo, Bob, and Perry scream. When they try to run away, Chase and Bree step in front of them, blocking their path.
"We found you," Chase says.
Douglas tries to use the tranquilizer pen but Bree super speeds past him, knocking him down. Douglas hands Leo the pen but Chase uses his magnetism app to make it fly across the room. Chase, Bree, and I begin to surround them, making them back up into a corner.
"Oh, I don't like this. I wanna be a blank slate again." Bob says.
"Trick or treat!" Adam says, walking into the room, his skin pale and eyes red.
"Adam, take 'em out!" Douglas says.
"Actually, I'm gonna take you out. Let's do it, guys." Adam says. Bree, Chase and I stand beside Adam.
"Oh, no. He must've touched the skull, too. There's no way we can fight off four deranged bionic superhumans." Leo says.
"You're right, Dooley. We are all gonna die. You first." Perry says, shoving him forward. Just then, Adam stuck the needle into Bree, Chase, and I, and we fell to the floor unconscious.
"What just happened?" Bob says.
"I used my heat vision to fake like I was infected so I could get close enough to 'em to inject 'em," Adam says.
"Good thinking," Leo says. "But how'd you get your skin to look like that?"
"Oh, I used some of Bree's makeup. She's got some good stuff in her purse. Smell me. It's razzleberry body mist." Adam says.
"Adam, I can't believe you came up with that idea all on your own," Douglas says. "That may be the smartest thing he's ever done."
"Yep, who knew it would come down to me and this little tranquilizer thingy to save the day?" Adam says. He accidentally sticks himself with the pen and he falls to the ground unconscious.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You guys really don't remember anything about becoming possessed and trying to destroy us?" Leo asked as he, Adam, Bree, Chase, Perry, Bob, Douglas and I sat in the Mentor's Quarters.
"Nope." Bree, Chase, and I say.
"And you don't remember borrowing two hundred dollars from me?" Perry says.
"Nope." Bree, Chase and I say again.
"Then it was three hundred," Perry says, holding out her hand.
"I don't understand any of this. And how come there was a potato in front of my face when I came to?" Chase says, holding up a potato. "It's weird. It's like its eyes are following me."
"Well, it's time to get that skull back where it belongs. Buried with the rest of my evil past. Now, where is it?" Douglas says, looking around the room for the skull.
"It's right here," Bob says, walking into the room with the skull in his hands. His skin was pale and his eyes were red. "I'm going to destroy you all. Merry Halloween."
"Come on, Bob. You know you're not supposed to touch that. Give it to me." Adam says, walking over to Bob and taking the skull from him, making all of us groan.
"I'll go get the nano-bots," Leo says. He gets up and walks out of the room.