Razor nudged the bomb with
his nose and rolled it toward the back of the Leviathan’s throat.
The worms and bacteria latched onto Razor and the bomb and tried to
steer the device away from the epiglottis and esophagus. Razor
opened his mouth and blasted the creatures with a surge of fire.
The intense heat from the flames incinerated them and singed the
side of the Leviathan’s mouth. It opened its mouth and bellowed in
pain. Razor shoved the bomb and watched it slide under the
epiglottis and drop into the esophagus. He whirled on his feet,
scurried across the Leviathan’s trembling tongue, and leaped out of
the beast’s mouth seconds before its jaws clamped shut again. Razor
landed in the outstretched arms of Angelique, who hugged him and
wiped saliva off of his wet fur. Razor grunted when she scratched
his ears and patted him on his head.
“
I thought I’d lost you
forever! I love you so much, Razor!” she said.
“
I can’t believe he avoided
being swallowed. He’s a resilient little guy,” Dr. Stine
said.
Everyone gasped when blood
and gore erupted from the Leviathan’s abdomen. Chunks of flesh and
shards of bone whirled through the air and splattered the residents
of Kamakura. The Leviathan roared and screamed. Moments later, it
dived under the surface of the sea and vanished from view. A pool
of blood and a pile of intestines tainted the water and washed onto
the beach. The citizens of Kamakura cheered when they realized the
Leviathan had been defeated. Dr. Stine and Angelique scampered onto
the beach and helped Alexander after he emerged from the
ocean.
“
Oh, wow! Look at their
eyes!” Alexander said. He pointed at the villagers.
Dr. Stine and Angelique
followed the path of his finger. They gasped when they noticed the
color of the villagers’ eyes. The residents of Kamakura boasted
dark brown and black eyes with irises and pupils. Their eyes
weren’t solid blue anymore. They’d finally awakened from the Blue
Sleep of the Leviathan.
***
Thirty minutes later, Amaya
stood on what remained of Kamakura’s dock and smiled at Dr. Stine,
Angelique, and Alexander. She reached down and patted Razor on his
head. The dog licked her hand and wagged his tail. Amaya strolled
toward a long, slender sailboat. When she clapped her hands, four
men, in white kimonos, boarded the ship. They agreed to take Dr.
Stine and the others to Cadaver Island.
“
I’ve assembled the best
crew I could find. These men can navigate the sea better than
anyone I know. They can transport you safely, even in the worst of
storms,” she said.
“
What’re you going to do
about Persephone? I’m worried that her presence in Kamakura could
cause problems for you,” Dr. Stine said.
“
Don’t worry about her, Dr.
Stine. We’ll keep a close eye on her. When you’re ready to come
back and help her, we’ll be waiting,” Amaya said. She smiled and
bowed to him.
“
Please tell her that I
love her. I’ll find a way to remove the mask after I help Angelique
and rescue Sir Zachary Plate. I’d help her now if I could, but
we’re running out of time. To make matters worse, we’re being
chased by Reverend Stark,” Dr. Stine said.
“
Be assured that Persephone
is in good hands. I’ll relay your message to her. For now, focus on
your journey to Cadaver Island,” Amaya said.
The people of Kamakura
cheered when the boat sailed away from the dock. Dr. Stine stared
at the pagodas of Kamakura and wished he could be with Persephone.
He remembered when he rescued her from the Cyclops and won her
love. He remembered when Persephone broke off her engagement to
Xavier so she could be with him. He wept softly while he watched
the buildings of Kamakura grow smaller and smaller as the boat
glided across the surface of The Dark Sea. Even though he knew
Persephone was sitting in a jail cell, he sensed she was with him.
Her mind and spirit soothed his nerves.
Stanley landed on Dr.
Stine’s shoulder and hooted in his ear. Dr. Stine smiled and kissed
the top of the owl’s head. Razor collapsed on top of Dr. Stine’s
feet and fell asleep.
“
Look! It’s Reverend
Stark’s ghost ship!” Alexander said. He pointed to the
west.
Dr. Stine stared at the
ancient ship as it raced toward Cadaver Island. Strong gusts of
wind caused the torn, white sails to flutter and billow. The long,
red cape of Reverend Stark trailed behind him as he walked back and
forth across the ship’s deck. Even from here, Dr. Stine could sense
Reverend Stark’s determination to seize and kill them.
“
He won’t stop chasing us
until we’re dead, will he?” Angelique said.
“
No. We’ll have to confront
him sooner or later. During our journey, I’ve always known that
Reverend Stark would affect the outcome of our mission,” Dr. Stine
said.
“
What do you mean? Do you
think he’ll get to Cadaver Island first?” Angelique
said.
“
We might get there first,
but I believe he’ll catch up to us. It terrifies me when I think
about what he might do to us,” Dr. Stine said. He stared at
Alexander and trembled.
Fifteen minutes later, they
arrived at Cadaver Island. The sailors from Kamakura used a rope to
fasten the boat to the support beams of a pier. Dr. Stine,
Alexander, and Angelique stared at the towering walls of Thames
Keep, which rose from the treetops of a dense forest. They
disembarked from the boat and walked across the decayed boards of
the old pier. Far away, Dr. Stine thought he could hear Persephone
singing to him.
Ten minutes later, Dr.
Stine walked swiftly along a narrow trail, which carved an S-shaped
gash through a dense forest. The tree limbs of oak and maple trees
formed a tunnel of leaves and branches. Overhead, bolts of
lightning formed electric webs in the sky while thunder rumbled and
shook the ground. Huge drops of water penetrated the ceiling of
tree limbs, which prompted Angelique to retrieve the bottle of oil
supplement tablets. Sheets of rain slanted sideways and soaked the
group while Angelique offered a tablet to Razor, who gulped it down
quickly. Angelique dropped a tablet onto her tongue and swallowed
it. Then she broke into a sprint to catch up to Dr. Stine, who
approached a fork in the trail. He sighed and wondered which route
was the correct one to follow.
“
The western trail is
plagued by weeds and overgrown foliage,” Alexander said.
“
It was probably used as an
access road long ago. I think it leads to the mountains. I remember
a time when miners worked in deep shafts to look for diamonds,
rubies, and emeralds. Let’s take the eastern path,” Dr. Stine said.
He wiped water off of his face.
“
We need to move faster or
Reverend Stark is going to catch up to us! You told me that you
can’t defeat him!” Angelique said. She glanced over her shoulder
and trembled.
“
He’s very powerful. No one
knows how to stop him,” Dr. Stine said. When he walked faster,
Angelique jogged to keep pace. She listened to the footfalls of
Alexander and Razor, who ran to catch up. Stanley flapped his wings
and soared above them.
Dr. Stine paused when he
heard a loud CRASH! Behind them, beyond a barrier of trees and
foliage, a large object crashed into the boat dock. Planks
splintered and wood creaked. Moments later, Dr. Stine and Angelique
cringed when they heard the squeak of rodents and a shrill,
high-pitched shriek. They realized that Reverend Stark’s ghost ship
plowed into the dock upon arrival. They feared Kamakura’s sailors
were dead or injured.
“
Run as fast as you can!
Try to keep up with me!” Dr. Stine said.
Angelique and Alexander
gasped for air, sprinted across the wet, muddy surface of the
trail, and jumped over the exposed roots of nearby trees. Razor
trotted at Dr. Stine’s heels. Stanley soared above them and scanned
the trail for hazards. Sheets of rain slanted between the oak and
elm trees, hindering their view.
Dr. Stine guided Angelique,
Alexander, and Razor toward a wide clearing in the forest, where
the dilapidated buildings of an abandoned town rose on both sides
of narrow, muddy streets. On the right side of the main road, a
church rose from unruly rose gardens and knee-high weeds. Across
the street from the church, the door of a small grocery store
banged back and forth, propelled by gusts of wind from the
thunderstorm. At the end of the main road, about a mile from where
they stood, the wrought-iron fence and arched gate of a cemetery
loomed in the foreground of Thames Keep’s vine-covered, stone
walls. Tombstones, stone crosses, and mausoleums loomed in the
midst of oak and elm trees on the other side of the fence. Bolts of
lightning illuminated the cemetery.
“
Where is everyone?”
Alexander asked. He scanned the buildings for survivors.
“
I think they’re all dead!
Look over there!” Dr. Stine pointed at a toy store.
A bloated, purple woman
slouched on a bench in front of the toy store’s glass window.
Behind her, teddy bears flanked both sides of an old-fashioned
train set. Green mold and layers of dust covered the stuffed bears,
the dormant train, the miniature village, and the tiny train
tracks. Alexander focused his attention away from the toys and
stared at the dead woman. White maggots writhed in her empty eye
sockets. Her blouse’s buttons struggled to keep her bulging abdomen
from popping free from its stretched, pink cloth. Alexander placed
his hand over his face and leaned away from the dead woman while he
poked his head into the open door of the toy store. He vomited when
the stench of death intensified. Behind the front counter, a man’s
corpse leaned in a leather swivel chair near the cash register.
Huge flies buzzed around his green, swollen face.
Alexander waddled toward
the street. He wiped regurgitated food off of his chin. Then he
said: “We need to get out of here. They might’ve died from…the
plague.”
Somewhere in the forest
behind them, the high-pitched shrieks and shrill squeals of
Reverend Stark’s minions increased in volume. Angelique pointed
toward a gap between two trees and gasped. She cringed and watched
the long, red cape of Reverend Stark glide across the pine needles
and water puddles of the western path. Dr. Stine’s hand grabbed her
left wrist, which caused her to gasp.
“
Reverend Stark followed
the wrong path! It’ll buy us some time! But we need to
hurry!”
Angelique screamed and
pointed at the sky above the cemetery. Dr. Stine and Alexander
shielded their eyes against the falling rain. Razor growled, rocked
on his haunches, and stood at attention next to Angelique’s left
foot. Together, they watched a green dragon
glide through
the dark, swirling clouds of the thunderstorm. The dragon’s ribcage
protruded from the rotten flesh and torn skin of its underside. The
beast’s yellow eyes glowed like lanterns in a dark cave. Huge,
snake-sized maggots throbbed on the slimy scales and black flesh of
its corpse. The ground shook and rumbled when the dragon’s feet
landed on the muddy road near the arched gate of the cemetery.
Decayed flesh and squirming maggots erupted from its throat when it
exhaled a deafening roar.
A green-skinned woman
jumped off of the dragon’s back and landed in a large puddle of
water next to the fence. She wore a black robe and a crown, which
boasted a network of interconnected bones. Her long fingernails
curled at the tips. Insects swarmed in the tangled mess of her
brown hair. Her left hand hoisted a jewel-encrusted wand into the
air. The dragon roared while its master danced in the street and
cackled wildly.
“
I never
dreamed
you’d make it this far, Dr. Stine! I find it highly
amusing
that you’ve decided to continue your journey!” Lysette said. When
she spoke, black chunks of flesh separated from the roof of her
oral cavity and plopped to the ground.
“
I’m not scared of you,
Lysette! If you think you can intimidate me, then you don’t know me
very well!” Dr. Stine said. His scepter emitted white flashes of
electricity.
“
You’re such a fool, Dr.
Stine! Your precious lover, Persephone, has succumbed to the mask
of Beelzebub! Your sweet princess, Angelique, will go into cardiac
arrest before she locates a fresh battery pack! Your new friend,
Alexander, will succumb to his father’s desires and become a
werewolf! You don’t even realize it yet, but your mission has
already failed! Drop to your knees and beg for mercy!” Lysette
said.
“
You’re insane, Lysette! I
will never surrender to you!” Dr. Stine said.
“
Ha! You’ll never make it
to Thames Keep, Dr. Stine! You’re about to find out why this place
is called…
Cadaver Island
!” Lysette said. She aimed her wand
at the ground and exhaled an eardrum-rattling shriek. Spirals of
green light radiated from the tip of the wand and flowed into the
muddy ground. Low moans radiated from nearby buildings.
The dragon lunged forward
and bared its teeth at Dr. Stine. He gagged when the overwhelming
stench of decay flowed from the beast’s throat and formed a dense
cloud around Dr. Stine’s face. The dragon whipped its long, spiked
tail across the muddy ground and tried to knock Dr. Stine’s feet
out from under him. Dr. Stine whispered a levitation spell and felt
his feet lift high off the ground. The dragon’s yellow eyes blinked
and its forked tongue dangled from between its teeth. Huge chunks
of decayed flesh plopped to the ground while the dragon plodded
toward Angelique and Alexander.