After Christmas Horror Stories: Scary Christmas Novella Double Feature

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, my spookies, Christmas is over. The wrapping papers
in the trash, the cookies are stale, and the lights
are still up because none of us have the energy
to admit the season has ended. Which is perfect because
the day after Christmas is when the world gets quiet

(00:22):
enough for the weird stuff to start moving again. The
crowds go home, the stores they go dark, the cheer
drains out of the air, and what's left is cold
and still tonight. You're getting a double feature of holiday horror,
two big nasty gifts with the tags ripped off, a

(00:44):
sort of spooky swan song for the holiday. First, we've
got mirrors, but the kind that don't just reflect you.
They study you, measure you, and sometimes decide they could
do your life better than you ever did. Then we're
going to take a hard left into the world of vampires,

(01:08):
where the holidays aren't about tradition, they're about appetite. And
if you think post Christmas means the danger is gone,
you've clearly never met something that doesn't care what day
it is. So pour yourself something warm, keep your back
to a wall, and if your reflection starts smiling a

(01:31):
little later than you do, whatever you do, don't smile
back and make sure you're subscribed for all the spooky
goodness coming in the remainder of the year and in
twenty twenty six. But now let's settle in for the

(01:53):
first story. Mirror images by Rob Fields, Monday, December eighteenth. Perspective,
Richie Horton, Why does this always happen to me? Why
does buzz Hitzigger feel he's always got to come after me?

(02:16):
For I did ask him one day why he keeps
giving me a hard time? Cause you exist, he belted out.
Today must have been one of those days when he
came to Strickfield Junior High hating the world. It didn't
take him long to come right after me. I've been
managing to avoid him throughout school. When you know your

(02:37):
way around the building well enough, you know where you
can lose Hitzigger when he's looking for you. As soon
as we were done with the school day, he was
on his bike and chasing me down. The problem is,
I'm on foot. I can only cut through so many
yards before Hitzigger is going to finally get me. Bill
Chapman keeps telling me I ought to go out for

(02:58):
track in the spring. He's probably right, since I'm in
great shape with all the running I have to do.
You stop right there, wimp, hit Zigger yells from across
the street. I'm gonna pulpe you good when I get you.
He's almost got me when I grab a trash can
and pull it behind me. He's yelling some choice words

(03:18):
when he tries stopping and slides onto his side. I'm
putting more distance in between us. Hit Zigger's twice my
size around the mid section. He's still able to get
up fast and get back on his bike. You're dead, Horton.
You hear me, D e D He yells, I'm cutting
through another yard and end up on Pleasant Valley Road. Unfortunately,

(03:42):
it isn't long before hit Zigger finds me again. I'm
pouring it on when I hear his heavy grunting. It's
only going to be a few more seconds before he
grabs me. I suddenly turn and run along the side
of a brick wall to escape. He's yelling more choice
words before he's got to stop. You can't run for
me forever, Horton. Hitzigger yells, you gotta take your fist

(04:05):
beaten sooner or later, and then I do stop running.
But not because of Hitzigger. I stop because I'm looking
right at the old Carnivosh estate. I can't believe I
really ran from Strickfield Junior High all the way out here.
You stop right there, hit Zigger, yells. I don't have

(04:26):
a choice. I quickly grab the top of the wall
and scale it. Then I jump and land on the
other side. The next thing I know, hit Zigger's coming
up over the wall himself, or trying to. When his
feet slip down the wall, I take off again. Now
I've got another problem. There's no way I can climb
over the high vine covered fence. I run to the

(04:50):
wall on the other side. As I'm ready to scale it,
this big dog is right there and barking at me.
When I get away from the wall, I see Hitzigger
coming and start running again. I realize the only way
I can possibly lose him is to do the unthinkable.
I have to go inside the Carnivosh estate. I remember

(05:13):
being in there back when we all ended up in
nineteen fifty five in a freak occurrence last Halloween, just
after Chapman, Chunker and I came back to the Mortal realm.
But looking at this old mansion. Now you just know
it's empty, not to mention scary. I make it to
the back double doors and stay out of sight as

(05:34):
Hitzigger runs right past me. When I reconsider running back
to the wall I used to come in, one of
the doors opens. I slip inside and close the door quietly.
I'm safe in here, assuming hit Zigger didn't see me
come in. I quietly lock the doors and move away slowly.

(05:56):
I know you're around here somewhere, Horton. You'll whim. I
hear hit Zigger yell. You either come and face me now,
or I'll give you a double beating at school tomorrow.
At least it's a little warmer inside this creepy house.
I don't know how long I'll have to stick it
out in here. Knowing hit Zigger, he'll try lulling me

(06:17):
into a false sense of security. When I come out,
he'll spring out and get me. I start walking through
the carnivosh estate. Now the floor is squeaking underneath me.
Suddenly I hear Hitzigger crashing against one of the back doors.
I move through the house faster. As I turn down
a hallway, I hear one of the doors give way. Yeah,

(06:39):
I'll bet you ain't here, ain't you? I hear him sneering.
I ain't afraid of no house. If you're in here,
I'll find you. I continue moving quietly down the hallway
until I come to two doors across from each other.
I open one of them to reveal a room full
of magic stuff. Then I got an idea. I open

(06:59):
the other door and slam it hard. Next, I go
into the room I just found and quietly close the door.
Seeing this big mirror, I go and hide behind it.
I hear Hitzigger coming to the doors. Now he's opening
the one I slammed and moving downstairs. Time to get

(07:19):
out of here. I stand up and suddenly see myself
in that big mirror. Whew, at least I didn't scream.
Then I noticed the glass has this weird red hue.
From a distance, you can't really see it when you're
right up to the glass though. Okay, enough hanging around.

(07:41):
I'd better get out of here. I open the door
and quietly see the basement doors open across from me.
I slip out and start making my way to the
open back door. So far, so good. As I'm coming outside,
a hand grabs my shoulders, and pulls me. Oh no
o oh, hit Zigger was waiting to trap me about

(08:03):
time I found you, Horton perspective Carter Cross. Horton calms
down when he sees it's me hit Zigger chasing you again,
I ask him. He points behind him with his thumb.
He's in there. I point over my shoulder. Madeline's out front.

(08:25):
Go to her. I got this. I stay and wait.
Soon bull Hitzigger comes barreling out. That's when I slap
him on the back. Uh you dead, meet Horton, he yells,
before turning around. Surprise. I tell him I saw you
chasing Horton again. What did I tell you about leaving
him alone any other time? Hit Zigger backs off. This

(08:50):
time he points right at me. You alone, Cross, ain't
got your other friends with you. He pounds a fist
into his palm. I can take you. I'm ready for him.
Show me what you got, fat boy. When Hitzigger comes
at me, I easily sidestep him, so he trips back
inside the house and falls. When he's on his feet again,

(09:13):
he comes back out and takes a wild swing at me.
I duck it to grab him and put him in
a hammer lock. Then I shove him up against the
other door and make him cry out, what's that about
you taking me irving? I ask, don't you call me that?
He yells I'm gonna kill you. I'm sorry, What did

(09:33):
you say? Then I crank up the hammer lock again. Okay, okay, uncle, uncle.
He yells, you gonna leave Horton alone. I persist, cranking
on his arm one more time. Yes, I'll leave the
wind alone. Let me go, he wails. Before I let
him go, I pull him away from the wall to

(09:54):
turn and shove him towards the few steps leading up
to the back doors. He stumbles down the but doesn't fall.
Then hit Zigger turns and sneers at me. I point
right at him. You better remember, Horton's got friends, something
you're in very short supply of. Now get lost, hit
Zigger points at me. Now, you ain't always gonna be

(10:17):
there to protect him. I shrug. That's why Chapman and
Chunker are around too, Or did you forget what happened
when you cross Chapman last time? For the record, hit
Zigger tried fighting Chapman to get to Horton. I was
a sweetheart today compared to when Chapman decked him. Chapman
looks like a hood and can back up what he says. Honestly,

(10:40):
He's real easy going until you cross him. Hit Zigger
crossed him. When he sees he ain't getting Horton, he
yells a choice word before going back over the fence.
It took a few tries. He gets back on his
bike and rides away. I move across the yard and
find Madeline Donnerly sitting on her mong goose and Horton

(11:01):
sitting on mine. I take it you handled things, buddy,
Madeleine asks, in her mousey voice. Yeah, he got the point.
I tell her today anyway, You okay, Horton. Horton smirks. Yeah,
he didn't get me at least today. What did you
do this time, Madeline asks him. Horton shrugs nothing. I

(11:24):
swear he saw me and Bailey downs together at bobble
Topia yesterday. Then today he comes to school and comes
right after me in the hallway. You don't suppose he's
got a thing for Bailey, do you? Madeline shakes her
head a little. Nah, I can't see it. Also, Bailey
would have said something to the rest of us well,

(11:45):
at least as girls. Then I point to the house.
I can't believe you actually went in there. Dude, you
do know what this place is, right? Or did Hitzigger
clock you and you don't remember. Had to make a
quick decision, Carter, he says, simply cross Horton, Maddie. A
familiar voice calls out, we turned to see Bill Chapman coming.

(12:08):
He points right at us. You guys see hit Zigger.
I saw him chasing after Horton. Carter got him before
you did. Madeline tells him, sorry, buddy, didn't know you
were chasing hit Zigger too. I tell Chapman. He gently
smacks my shoulder. Hey, you're okay, Cross. I told Hitzigger
I'd kill him if he didn't leave Horton alone. He

(12:30):
just doesn't listen. Glad you were there. I guess we
both saw him. I said, we're good. Chapman turns to Horton.
You good, I'm good, Horton confirms. Then Chapman looks at
the house. It don't take him long to put two
and two together. You ran in there, Horton shrugs, like,

(12:52):
I just told these guys. It was a quick decision.
Either I face hit Zigger or hiding there besides him
before I left. Then Horton's telling us about this magic
room he found. Magic room, Chapman asks, we all know
what kind of magic the Carnivoches were into. Huh, don't

(13:13):
remind us, Madeline mutters. Then Horton tells us about this
weird antique mirror he looked at in that magic room. Oh,
I gotta see this room, Chapman says, I put my
hand on his shoulder. Dude, this is supposed to be
a real haunted house here in Strickfield for many reasons.
The last story Madeline and me read about it on

(13:35):
the Strickfield University website was how these two Strickfield High
girls through this big Halloween party. There didn't take long
for things to go south fast when this monster showed
up and crashed the party. One of the girls was
a mirror. No one's ever seen her again? What about
the mirrns? Carter a voice side kind of rather not

(13:57):
here right now, calls out. We all turn to see
Ariel Miran coming. Then she points right at me. You're
gonna be on the Strickfield University website if you don't
quit posting videos of me in that rotten goober Stewart
on Facebook. I kind of look at Madeline now. She
just shrugs. You're the one who likes tempting fate with Ariel, buddy.

(14:20):
Then Ariel forgets she's mad at me when she sees
where we're all gathered at. Seriously, are you people crazy?
There are plenty of places to hang out in Strickfield,
and you're all hanging out here. Hello, this is the
Carnivosha State. Chapman looks her way. We didn't plan on

(14:40):
meeting here, Cross and me. We're chasing down hit Zigger
when he was chasing down Horton. Ariel looks at Horton, now,
and you had to come here? Horton gives her a
weak smile. Which would you choose hit Zigger's fists or
the haunted House? It's a rock and a hard place.
But then Chapman speaks up again. I want to see

(15:03):
this magic room Horton was talking about. Ariel slaps his arm.
I guess you are stupid. Chapman points at me and Horton.
These two were just in there and came back out. Okay, besides,
it's still daylight yet, it ain't gonna be dark for
another hour. We just go in, look at Horton's room,
and come back out. One of us can stay by

(15:26):
the door just in case. Uh. I agree with Ariel,
Madeline says, I don't think we ought to be tempting
fate here, Maddie, it's just for a few minutes. Chapman persists. Besides,
I'm curious on what else these carnivoches are into since
we kind of came here on Halloween night, nothing doing.

(15:49):
There's no talking Chapman out of this. I point at him. Okay,
but I'm coming in with you. Somebody's got to have
your back in case something happens. That's fine, Chapman agrees.
Then Ariel snatches my arm. No, Carter, no, I'm ready
to shake Ariel off. But then our eyes meet. Why

(16:10):
does this always happen whenever Ariel and me are together.
Don't get me wrong, Ariel and me have been on
each other's nerves since the third grade. But there's times
when we really do get along. Only lately Ariel and
me have been Madeline knows there's something happening between me
and Ariel. I'll admit it. I really like her. She's

(16:34):
really a nice person. When she's not putting up her
mirror and shield. Then Chapman slaps my arm. Just kiss
her already. When Ariel and me look at him, She's
growling and ready to slap him. I hate you, Chapman,
I point at him seriously, Buddy, I'm gonna kill you.

(16:54):
Chapman laughs, Hey, dude, I'm just calling it like I
see it. Then Ariel points at Madeline. I see you
biting on your lower lip. Mouse, go on, laugh it up.
She growls again. When Madeline does just that, I hate
you Mouse. Then Chapman starts walking toward the house. I'll

(17:15):
be right back, I sigh, and look at the others.
I said I'd go in with him, Carter, Ariel calls out.
When I'm trotting after Chapman perspective, Madeline donnerly, when I'm
seeing two of my buddies going in, I hop off

(17:36):
my mongoose. Then Ariel grabs my arm. You are not
thinking of going in there, I shrug. There are friends, Ariel.
I ain't gonna just leave him to go on like that. Besides,
Carter would do the same for me. Ariel points to Horton,
this is your fault, bean Pole. Then she groans, fine, mouse,

(17:59):
I'm coming with you. Wait for me. Horton squeaks, I'm
not staying out here by myself. Who knows if Hitzigger
might come back? Good thinking, I say, let's be honest here,
this little mouse. He still ain't forgotten about going back
to nineteen fifty five and spending a whole week in
this house. Back then, the place was still nice, but

(18:23):
it still had that creepy vibe to it. But you
didn't have to worry about whether you were gonna come
back out the same way you went in. We're all
at the back doors now. Carter and Chapman already went in.
Horton goes back inside. The room's over here, guys. Then
Ariel and me are looking at each other kind of saying,

(18:44):
we can't let the guys go in by themselves. So
Ariel and me go in. I think I was expecting
the door to suddenly slam shut right behind us, but
it didn't. It ain't long before we find the guys
in the room. Horton found he was right. There's all
kinds of magic stuff in here, Not like the kind

(19:06):
of magic the Carnivoches are known for. This is all
illusion like the rabbit out of the hat kind of stuff.
Chapman's looking at one of them boxes where somebody gets
inside and the magician saws it in half. Man, I
wonder how this trick really works. Carter points to it
as he's raising a saw. Get in and let's find out.

(19:29):
Chapman laughs, No way. Carter laughs too, and puts the
saw back down. Now we're all seeing that mirror Horton
was talking about. Soon we're gathering round it. Horton points
to it. See like I was telling you, guys, there's
some kind of red tint or hue. When you're close
enough to the glass. Everybody else is looking in the mirror,

(19:53):
we do see the redness Horton was talking about. When
they finished checking the mirror out, I come and stand
in front of it. What the Chapman gasps, You guys
seeing this mouse aerial chokes? Is there something you want
to tell us, Madeline, Carter asks, just as shocked. Yeah,

(20:17):
I ain't believing this myself. Seriously, I'm looking straight at
the glass, but there ain't another me looking back. I
can see the reflection of the rest of the room
and the others around me. Just know me, You're not
a vampire, right, Horton asks, sounding kind of scared. I

(20:37):
raise my finger. I ain't getting this, you guys, But
I do know I ain't no vampire. But you ain't
casting no reflection. Chapman's stressing, vampires don't cast no reflection.
I turn around and raise my hand in front of me.
Honest to goodness, you guys, I ain't no vampire. I

(20:58):
point to the open back door. I've been out in
daylight all day, right, I've been in classes at school
with all of you. Then I get an idea and
pull out my compact I used to talk to or
Somemon Mary Worth. Then I turn back around and show
everybody I got a reflection in it. This is so weird,

(21:19):
Ariel mutters. Then she pulls her own compact out and
stands next to me. Mouse reflects in mine too. But
why ain't you reflecting in this big mirror, Maddie, Chapman asks, puzzled,
I shrug. Your guess is as good as mine. I
don't know what to tell you. Then Horton hands me

(21:40):
a candy bar. Eat this. Vampires aren't supposed to be
able to eat anything, right, Not true? Bella tabon or
Bell's is the only vampire I know that can eat
food and walk in the daylight. Other than that, Horton's
right about vampires not being able to eat normal food.
Far as I know, they can drink blood, and that's

(22:01):
it anyway. I accept the candy bar and eat it
in front of everybody. Okay, you all saw that, Carter says,
come in to my side. Madeline passed our tests, so
she ain't a vampire. Hold it, let's check her teeth,
Ariel says, Open up, mouse. Suddenly I'm raising my hands

(22:22):
into claws. Bla blay. Ariel shrieks, getting everybody else laughing.
Then Ariel's glaring right at me. Oh, I hate you mouse. Sorry,
I couldn't resist, I chirp. Then I open my mouth
and let Ariel feel my canine teeth. They're pretty much
the same size as everybody else's. Better be careful, Princess,

(22:46):
Carter warns her Madeline just might be a vampire, and
chomp down on your fingers. When Ariel's ready to get
on Carter, I lean in toward her. Blea bleaur. Ariel
gasps and gets out everybody laughing again. She tightens her
fists and growls, I hate you mouse, Then she calms down. Still,

(23:09):
why don't you cast a reflection in this particular mirror?
That's something I want to know the answer to myself.
I know who I gotta talk to for that later on. Okay,
now can we get out of here? I ask? I
would have expected Ariel to give me a hard time
about being scared. Yeah, this little mousey's a little scared,

(23:31):
but not because we're inside the Carnivosha State. I really
want to know why ain't casting no reflection in that mirror? Also,
when the others weren't looking, I looked again to see
if Mary Worth would appear, and she didn't. Not concrete proof,
though Mary might have just been keeping out of sight
so she wouldn't be seen. The five of us finally

(23:53):
leave the Carnivosha State and head back to our bikes.
We look for any signs of Irvin Hitzigger, but we
ain't seen him around. But you just know he's gonna
try for Horton again when he knows none of us
are around. Thinking about it, hit Zigger did kind of
give up on Horton for a little bit and started
coming after me. Believe it or not, I ain't afraid

(24:14):
of Hitzigger. Try as he might, he never could get
a hold of me. Nah, this little Mouseie's way too
wily for someone like Hitzigger. He even tried catching me
on bikes. All hit Zigger can do is ride, and
he ain't even good at doing that. I've been riding
with Carter Cross for years. We actually won bike competitions together,

(24:34):
so I could easily ride circles around hit Zigger. I
don't know for sure if Hitzigger finally gave up on
me and went back to Horton, but he'll never catch
this little mouseie on her best day. After making sure
Horton and Ariel get back home, okay, Chapman heads off
to his house, Carter and me are riding to our
part of downtown village. We pull in the driveway between

(24:57):
our houses and get off our bikes. You sure you're okay, Madeline?
Carter asks, Ah, come on, buddy, you still thinking I'm
a vampire? I sigh, Okay, what other vampire test you
want me to do? He holds up his hand. Nah,
we're good. I believe you. I just keep wondering why

(25:17):
you didn't reflect in that Carnivoche mirror. I take Carter's hand.
I promise you, I'm okay, buddy. Just then the back
door opens. Mom's right there. You kids want to come
in for something warm. I turn her way. Coffee. Mom smiles,
fresh maid. I brighten up. Yes, Carter and me go inside.

(25:42):
Mom had peppermint hot chocolate going too, which is what
she gave Carter. Carter watches me drink my ginger dead
death Wish coffee. He also sees me eat a few
Christmas cookies Mom made. Nah, he don't think I'm a vampire.
He just worries about me like a best buddy would.
After a while, Carter leaves and heads back home to

(26:03):
finish up on homework. I head upstairs and into the bathroom.
Sure enough, Mary Worth's waiting for me. You know what
happened earlier, I asked her. I was able to hear
your conversation once you an Ariel opened up your compacts.
Mary replies, I did not have the chance to look
over that mirror, but I have a bad feeling about it.

(26:27):
I'm thinking maybe i'd better keep an eye on everybody
and see I say, I shall do the same, since
I have access to their mirrors. Mary promises, I just
got a bad feeling myself, same as you. It's the
Carnivosh estate, after all, I tell her, I'm afraid we
may only wait and see Madeleine. We end our conversation

(26:51):
from there. I head back down to help mom with dinner.
Dad'll be home in a little while. I got a feeling,
my mousey sense, my t tell me ain't gonna stop
panging for a while. Tuesday, December nineteenth, Perspective, Ariel Miron,
Mouse and I walk home from school together. I don't

(27:13):
know what happened to Mona Abels and Bailey downs. Oh wait,
I think Bailey's working with Horton on some project at
Strickfield Public Library. I just hope Irving hit Zigger isn't
waiting somewhere to jump Horton again. Oh he tried giving
me a hard time, but he's just a coward deep down.
Irving is bigger and fatter than me. But I don't

(27:34):
back down from anybody, not even my own mom. When
we reach the side door next to the main gate,
I ask Mouse if she wants to come in with me. Yeah,
I can study with you for a little while, she replies.
I punch in the gatecode for us to go in.
After I close the door, we walk to my house
a few blocks down and off Capitol Court. As soon

(27:55):
as we're inside, I'm ready to call out to Mom
and let her know I'm home, like she really cares
whether I'm here or not. But on this particular day,
Mom does care. She suddenly comes right out of the
downstairs hallway and grabs hold of my shoulders. Why would
you do such a thing, Aeriel Renaissance mirror. Then I'm

(28:18):
seeing my little four year old goober of a cousin
just behind her. Now I'm looking Mom in the face.
What do you mean do what? I just got home
from school, ask Madeline. Here she walked with me. I've
seen Mom at her worst before, but this time, if

(28:38):
I didn't know any better, I'd swear she's ready to
literally skin me alive. She takes her hands off one shoulder,
clamps down on the other one, and makes me come
into the grand dining room. Look at it, she roars.
I put my hands to my mouth and gasp. This
is where we usually eat dinner at night, but you

(29:00):
wouldn't know it. Now. Then I hear mouse gasp behind me.
I'm half expecting Mom to point at mouse and order
her to leave, but she never makes so much as
a single glance at her. Getting back to the grand
dining room, it's completely wrecked. Two of the china cabinets
are tipped over, and many of the antique dishes and

(29:21):
cups are shattered. Mom mentioned how expensive they were in
the past. The cabinets themselves are antique, and the glass
is shattered out on those doors. If that's not enough,
all of the old oak chairs are busted up. Even
the grand table is all scratched. I mean, this very
room was all full of priceless antiques. Then Mom turns

(29:45):
me to face her and starts shaking me. Why would
you do this? Why? She shoves me away. I've always
known you were a spoiled brat, Aeriel, but this is
just too much. I tighten my fists. What are you
talking about, I yelled back, I didn't do anything to
this room. Then I see Stuart pointing at me and

(30:08):
snickering where Mom can't see him. I rush right around
her and grab his shoulders. Did you do this, you
rotten little goober? Did you? Stuart responds by kicking me
hard in the shin. That's when Mom turns me back around.
Oh no, you don't, child, You come with me this instant.

(30:28):
Mom brings me to her office where she codes her
computer games. I rarely ever come in here. In fact,
Mom never likes me to disturb her while she's working,
unless it's a real emergency period. She shoves me to
her computer and points to some security footage. Now I'm
gasping when I see something impossible. That's right, aerial renaissance mirror.

(30:55):
Mom snaps, that is you in that security footage. There's
no way that you can deny it, don't you dare?
Put the blame on Stewart. He was with me the
entire afternoon. Then Mouse steps up and points to the
time listed on the upper left square. Is this the
correct time the video was recorded? Missus mirn Mom looks

(31:16):
at Mouse like she's out of line. She seems ready
to yell at her, but she doesn't. Yes, it is Madeline.
Why do you ask? Well? If this happened at two
four pm today? Mouse looks right at Mom. Ariel and
I were in eighth period at school at that time.
Ariel's in all of my classes with me, Missus Mirron.

(31:38):
I nod fast. Yeah, yeah, that's right, Mom, I've been
in school all day. You can go to school and
ask all my teachers. You can ask all my friends.
Madeline's right, we're in every class together. How could I
have come home and wrecked the Grand dining room while
I'm still at school? But Mom isn't buying it. The

(32:00):
camera footage clearly shows you, Ariel, and you wrecked the
Grand dining room. I have a good mind to send
you to live with other relatives. You're just getting to
be too much anymore. But I didn't do this, Mom,
I protest, didn't you hear Madeline? We were in school
together all day, all day. Mom again, I've got lots

(32:24):
of witnesses. Mouse taps my forearm. Take out your test.
I quickly open my backpack and take out my test paper.
Madeline and I were taking this test during eighth period,
right at the time she pointed to on that screen.
I'm sorry, Mom, but I'm not taking the blame for
doing this. Mom snatches up the test paper and looks

(32:47):
at it. Then she rips it right up in front
of me, throwing the remains on the floor. She puts
her finger right in my face. Now, you can't talk
your way out of this, you little monster. Then she
points to the computer screen again. That is obviously you
on all of these angles, and that's not all you did. Suddenly,

(33:10):
Mom grabs my arm and pulls me out of the
living room. When we're there, she shoves me in. I
gasp when I see the living room itself is also wrecked.
What do you have to say for yourself? Mom scolds me.
You weren't content with destroying the grand dining room. You
also had to destroy the living room. Look what you

(33:32):
did to the Christmas tree and all the presents. Now,
she turns me around. Do you realize how much money
it's going to cost to restore everything that you destroyed today?
I'm seeing Mouse behind her giving me that look. No,
she's not scared of me. She's scared of what I'm
about to do. I'm tightening my fists and heaving now.

(33:54):
Then I point at my mom and scream, I didn't
do this. I'm so beyond I'm mad right now that
I run to grab something and throw it at Mom.
But then Mouse is right there to stop me. No,
don't do it, Ariel. I'm looking Mouse in the face
as she's shaking her head quickly. No, Madeline, step aside.

(34:15):
Mom tells her, let Ariel throw that debris in her
hand at me. Show me how much you truly hate me, Ariel,
do it. When I see Mouse's pleading face, I shake
my head myself and drop the thing in my hand.
If you know me by now, you know I give
Mouse a hard time. At the same time, you also
know that I truly cherish my friendship with her. I

(34:38):
couldn't tell you how many times Madeline Donnerly has proven
to be my conscience in extremely bad situations. I take
a deep breath and look at Mom. I don't care
what your camera footage says. I'm sticking by what I said.
I didn't do any of this, and I've got witnesses
to confirm where I was. Mom still won't back down either.

(35:01):
She sighs now. I see, well, then, Ariel, since it
seems you've grown too wild beyond my control, I want
you out of my house. I gave you a good home.
I've let you have your slumber parties on Friday nights
with your friends. I've usually let you have your way
in most instances, but you went too far this time.

(35:22):
I've tried to teach you how to be a dominant
miran but this is not what I had in mind.
I mean it, child, get out of my house. Normally,
I have tried to be a dominant miran. I've tried
to be more like Mom. But I can't handle this anymore.
My feelings become too much and I start crying. Mom

(35:44):
and I have always had a strained relationship, but now
this horrible thing has happened. I really don't know how
to fix this. Mouse even vouched for me, but I
can't prove it wasn't me. No, Ariel, you don't get
to do this. Mom snaps, Go pack what you need

(36:04):
and get out of my house. You think you don't
have to listen to me anymore, then leave here and
go make your own way in the world. Then Mouse
says to her, I'm telling you it wasn't Ariel, missus Miron. Now.
Mom gives Mouse this weird look, then she approaches her
and puts her hand on Mouse's shoulder. Madeline, you've always

(36:27):
been the most level headed person among Ariel's friends that
I know. I know your mother, so I feel that
I also know you. So I'm going to ask you nicely.
Would you please stop trying to cover up for Ariel?
Mouse remains calm and doesn't back down. Ariel didn't do this, ma'am,

(36:49):
and I'm gonna stand by that Ariel really was with
me at school all day Again, she's in all of
my classes. Please just ask our teachers. They'll all tell
you she was in their classes today. Then how do
you explain the video footage? Mom persists, I can't. Mouse replies,

(37:11):
I'm just as puzzled myself. But I do know Ariel
was with me all day at school. I even walked
home with her. I promise I ain't lying to you. Also,
Carter Cross is in our eighth period class with us.
He'll also tell you Ariel was there. Now. Mom seems conflicted.
Then she takes a deep breath. What did Ariel threaten

(37:34):
you with? Madeline? What? Mouse and I both cry out together.
Mom points at Mouse. I would have expected better from you,
Madeline Donnerly, Seriously, what did Ariel threaten you with? Now?
She looks right at me. I myself taught you the
mere in ways. So what did you threaten little Madeline

(37:56):
Donnerly here with Ariel? I point right at her. Now,
Oh you you, you ah man. Mouse groans and quickly
covers your ears before I belt out the absolute most
blood curdling scream I've ever belt it out to date. Perspective,

(38:19):
Bill Chapman. It ain't long before I make it home.
I'm only halfway in the driveway when I hear someone, Chapman,
I turn around and see Horton running my way. I
quickly drop my backpack and get my fists ready. Seriously,
if hit Zigger's chasing Horton again, Nope, Horton's by himself.

(38:40):
He stops running when he reaches me. You okay, Horton,
I ask, what are you running from this time? Is
it hit Zigger again? Horton takes a few deep breaths. No,
mom's after me. Now, huh, what do you mean your
mom's after you? I ask. He raises his arm up
and outward. Mom's being a complete psycho today, Chapman. I

(39:05):
give him a weird look. She's always a complete psycho, Bud,
I'm not lying ever. See Stephen King's it. Remember that
psycho mom who tried keeping Eddie from his Loser's club friends. Well,
in the real world, that's Horton's mom. She don't hide
the fact she can't stand any of us. I couldn't
tell you how many times Meredith Horton's tried keeping her

(39:27):
son in the house forever and ever. Now, Richie's usually
a pretty easy going kind of guy. A little too
easy going if you ask me. Anyway, he stood up
to Meredith when she'd get out of line with him.
After Halloween night, Meredith told Richie he'd never hang with
us ever again. He told us about it when we

(39:47):
started going to Strickfield Junior High again. Oh, and get this,
Meredith just hates Maddie Donnerly. I ain't got no clue
why none of us do. I couldn't tell you how
many times merediths yelled at her, just her. He got
to hand it to Maddie, though, she just shrugs her
off and never lets Meredith get to her. Also, Horton's

(40:09):
mom won't even let Maddie come into the house. She
barely tolerates us. But why hate on Maddie. Ritchie finally
talks to me. I got in the door after school
and mom was there. Suddenly he puts his hands on
my shoulder. Now, I know something's wrong when he's doing that.
I mean, I don't care because Horton's my bud. But

(40:31):
you remember the Christmas tree and all the presents in
the living room. Yeah, I utter the living room was
a complete wreck. Chapman. Horton continues, the tree was destroyed,
all the presents were opened, and the content's thrown everywhere.
Mom got me a new video game console and it

(40:51):
was all busted up. When I ask Mom what happened,
she blamed me. She said I did it. She said
she's he saw me wreck the living room. Then she
said I knocked her down and ran out the back door.
I'm just looking at Horton. Now. Let's get real here.

(41:12):
I've known my two best friends, Richie Horton and Brian
Chunk since we were pups. We've been through thick and
thin together, especially when it comes to Abigail Tomlin's ghost
and us disappearing for a whole year. I guess what
I'm saying here is that Horton ain't the kind of
person who just make crazy stuff up. Yeah, what he

(41:34):
just told me sounds nuts. I know. Before I can
answer Horton, we hear tires squealing. We look to see
Horton's mom's car out in front of my driveway. You
get back here right now, Richie. Meredith yell's pointing at
him right now. Then she points at me. I'll bet

(41:55):
you and that Madeline donnerly put my son up to this,
didn't you. I take a few steps her way and
throw my arms up. Ah, would you just get serious
for once in your life? She quickly backs up enough
to where she can haul right into the driveway. I
quickly turn back to Horton back door. Bud. Horton and
me run to the back porch. I quickly get the

(42:18):
door open and push Horton inside before Meredith can rush
into the house. I quickly slam the door and lock it.
Hopefully she ain't psycho enough to break the glass to
unlock the door. Horton and I go into the living room,
and what the I yell Horton and I see my
living room. I don't know what happened here, but it

(42:38):
looks just like what Horton said his living room was like.
The branches on the artificial Christmas tree are all over
the place, the presents are all destroyed. Even the huge
new TV Dad had just installed has a huge hole
in the center of it. What's going on here, Chapman,
Horton squeaks, Yeah, he's right to be scared. I look

(42:59):
at him, Just tell me this. Ain't you here? Horton
throws his arms up. Ah, come on, Chapman, where would
I find the time to trash my house and yours?
He points to the back door, where that nag still
banging away. Mom there said I did all that back
at my house around the time we were at school
during lunch period. Lunch period? Are you serious? I quickly

(43:23):
raise my hand, Yeah you are. You don't lie. Also,
we were having lunch with Chunker Cross and Maddie in
our school's cafeteria, so we can definitely vouch for you.
Horton looks worried. But who can vouch for you? We
don't know when this happened. Now, I ain't one to
be scared of nothing. But then Bill, that better not

(43:47):
be you boy any other time. I don't mind hearing
my army drill sergeant dad talking like that, but I
ain't liking how he's calling out my name right now.
If what I'm thinking happened the way and said happen
to him, I know I ain't gonna wanna face my
old man. Soon as we hear him moving fast to
the stairs to come down, Horton and I don't think

(44:09):
twice and hit the front door. Horton and Me leap
off the front steps and run for it. Horton and
me can run pretty fast, but there's two people I
know for sure we can't outrun. Arielmeren's one of them.
The other one is my old man. And believe me
when I say, you never want my old man chasing

(44:29):
after you. Company, Halt, Dad yells at us. Dad's really
a great guy, even though he's an army man. But
when he's got it in his mind about something kind
of like what just went down, good luck trying to
explain your side. Man. I don't know about Horton, but
I can hear my old man catching up. He's gonna
get both Horton and me. Horton's mom's a little ways behind,

(44:53):
but she's chasing us down, too, I said, Company. Halt
Dad yells even louder. We're dead meat, Horton. I tell
him I'd rather face hit Zigger than your dad and
my mom right now, Horton says. Just then, Cross and
Maddie appear on their bikes and stop as we're about
to cross the street. Get on, Cross tells us. They

(45:15):
both lift their butts off their seats so Horton and
me can get on. We gotta move, Mattelin, Cross tells
her when he sees my old man in Horton's mom
Maddie gulps when she sees how fast Dad's running. Still,
she and Cross are pedaling as fast as they can.
They'd probably get away from my old man easier if
Horton and me weren't on their seats. Maddie and Cross

(45:35):
keep pedaling for all their worth. Dad's nearly fifty, but
you wouldn't think so with how fast he runs. He
comes so close to catching us he almost grabs me
off Maddie's bike, but the smallest and thinnest girl in
our group finally out pedals my old man. You gotta
come back to base and face your court martial sometime, boy,

(45:58):
Dad yells. Maddie and Cross keep riding until we make
it to the driveway in between where they live. We
all pull in and head out back. Soon we stop
and are off the bikes. Then we see Ariel Miran
coming out of Carter's house, which is the red brick
one on the right. Cross points to his house. Let's
go inside. The four of us join Ariel, who holds

(46:20):
the door open and lets us in. When she closes it,
Cross faces all of us. Somebody want to tell me
what's going on here? He points to Ariel and Maddie.
The girls both said Princess's castle in the gated community
got trashed big. Then I jump a little when I
feel someone moving around my leg. I look down and

(46:42):
see a little kid. That's my four year old cousin, Stuart.
Ariel tells us Mom was really freaking out when Mouse
and I made our jail break from my house. Guess
Mom also scared Stuart and he ran after us. We
had to bring him along. Then she looks at him,
I should have left you back there for kicking me earlier,

(47:03):
you little goober. Stewart gives her a mean look and
looks ready to grab something, but Maddie quickly gets in
between them. Come on, you two, we got bigger problems
here right now. Then Maddie takes off her beret and
puts it on Stuart's head. He don't look so mad now.
Then Cross continues, My parents ain't home yet, but they're

(47:26):
already freaking about their classic van in the garage. It
was cherry. Now it's all dented on the outside and
busted up inside. He points upstairs. Their bedroom is also destroyed,
including their waterbed, and that living room's a wreck. The
Christmas tree and presence are destroyed. Cross's parents are a

(47:48):
couple of laid back hippies, but it don't sound like
they're gonna be so laid back when they come home
and find him. Can't you explain to your parents when
they get home, Carter, Maddie asks, Cross whips out a smartphone. Yeah,
kind of a problem there, Madeline. When she sees the phone,
she gasps. Then Cross shows the rest of us it's

(48:10):
his Instagram. Only now there's pictures showing him wrecking the van,
his parents' room, and the living room. How about you two,
Cross asks us perspective Madeline donnerly, Oh man, seriously, what

(48:30):
is going on here? We're listening as Horton and Chapman
explain their stories and why they were running when we
found him. I don't get it either, Carter tells us, Okay,
I think we agree. We all were at school when
we supposedly did all this stuff, but somehow our parents
have witnessed us doing everything. Ariel replies Carter's right, how

(48:54):
could we all have trashed everything we supposedly trashed when
we were all at school that. She looks right at me.
You better go check your house, mouse. I ain't really
wanting to, but at the same time, I gotta know. Fine,
let's go. We leave Carter's house and head next door

(49:14):
to my place. I open the back door and let
the others come in. After closing the door, Carter tells
me he'll check the basement. We stay and wait. All
good down here, Madeline. He calls up. We wait for
him to come back up. Then we check the rest
of the first floor. I'm almost afraid to look in
Mom's studio. I gulp and open the sliding doors. Whew,

(49:39):
everything's looking good so far. The rest of the rooms
down here ain't trashed or destroyed in any way. Also,
the Christmas tree, presents and decorations are still intact in
the living room. I really don't want to go upstairs,
but I gotta see. We all head up. So far,
we ain't seen Mom nowhere, and Dad usually don't get

(49:59):
home to around six. If anybody's gonna be here, it'll
be Mom. When we reach the top, Carter goes and
checks the bathroom. When Ariel's pointing at a spare bedroom
that's kind of got some junk in it. I nod.
She turns on the light and looks inside. Looks okay, mouse,
She tells me, we finally reach my bedroom. Really, mouse,

(50:22):
Ariel asks, pointing to the sign on my door that
says welcome to the Mousehole. I remember seeing that sign
earlier in December, when I came looking for you and
Carter before you both slipped out and got away. You
both remember that, right, don't remind us, Princess, Carter tells her.
I take a deep breath and open the Mousehole's door.

(50:45):
Then I flip on the light. I'm both shocked and
relieved at the same time. Everything's still intact in there.
Just for good measure, I open my sliding closet doors.
I turn around to face the others. Then I remember
we still got one more room. Ah. Man, if mom
and Dad's room's wrecked, I ain't never gonna hear the

(51:07):
end of it, I mutter. I'll go and take a
quick look. Wait here. I'm ready to walk out of
the mousehole when Mom suddenly appears in the doorway, making
us all shriek. Ariel never saw me but I did
gasp a little. I ain't forgot how Ariel promised she'd
see me get scared one day. Well, this is one
more she just missed. Mom ain't looking at all of us,

(51:31):
just me, Mom, it wasn't me. I tell her, I
just got home. I swear I ain't never trashed your bedroom.
I heard the guys say. Mom was a dead ringer
for Violet from Friday the Thirteenth, Part five, with her
looks and her punk rock clothes. Mom's giving me a
weird look and folding her arms in front of her.

(51:52):
Excuse me, Maddie, what your bedroom ain't trashed or busted up?
I ask weekly. Mom laughs a little, and why exactly
would my bedroom be trashed or busted up? Then she's
looking at all of us again. Okay, kids, She points

(52:12):
at Ariel. Honey, your mom just called here looking for
you and little Stewart there. And believe me when I
say she sounded like she was about to have an aneurysm.
She kept repeating something to the extent of how you
wrecked her dining room and living room. Ariel groans, missus Donnerley,
I swear I never did any of those things, Mom,

(52:34):
unfolds her arms and extends her little finger. You willing
to pinky promise on that, Ariel think very carefully before
Ariel quickly locks her little finger with Mom's pinky promise.
Mom nods at Ariel and points at Carter. I also
got a call from your parents too. Sounds like you're

(52:54):
in big, big trouble when you get home. Carter holds
out his pinky. I'm willing to make the same promise,
missus Donnerley. Mom waves him off, no need. She looks
over all of us again. I believe you. Now, let's
go downstairs to the living room. Then you're all going
to tell me everything, and I do mean everything. As

(53:17):
Mom's turning around, Chapman calls out, Hugh ain't gonna believe us, ma'am.
Mom raises her eyebrow to him. Try me, Bill, and
that goes for the rest of you. Now downstairs, Carter
flips off the mousehole's light. Then we all follow Mom
downstairs to the living room and sit. Mom goes into
the kitchen and comes back with some Christmas cookies. She

(53:40):
puts them on the table and then brings sodas to
go with them. Little Steward ain't sure if it's okay,
Mom smiles and hands him a couple cookies before she
goes and sits in her recliner, kind of like she's
the head of a meeting. After she crosses her legs,
she folds her arms in front of her again. Okay,
Mom says, with finance, try me perspective, Carter Cross Madeline's mom,

(54:09):
Tiffany listens as we're telling her everything we're in trouble for.
She still don't seem too convinced. She unfolds her arms
and raises her finger. Okay, you kids need to go
further back. Something had to have happened in between all
of you leaving school and the incidents that took place today.

(54:29):
We all tell Tiffany everything we did, but she still
doesn't look convinced. Okay, did you guys do anything out
of the ordinary or interesting on another day prior? She asks?
Then Horton finally says it, we were at the Carnivosha
State yesterday. Tiffany raises her eyebrow to him. Ah, now

(54:54):
we're getting somewhere, do tell. Horton tells her how we
originally ended up at the carnivosh Estate and how we
weren't there with him originally. The rest of us pick
up and tell Tiffany how we all ended up there.
And aside from you, Richie, did any of you go
into the house, she asks. We all admit we did.

(55:15):
Then Madeleine tells her mom about the big mirror. We
all chime in about that magic room and how we
all looked into the mirror. That's it, Missus Donnery, Ariel finishes,
We all pretty much stayed together. We didn't mess around
with anything in that room, and we didn't go into
any other rooms. We just looked at that mirror. After

(55:38):
that we left. Tiffany looks at all of us now
before giving her two cents. Personally, I believe things don't
just happen. Something makes things happen. All of you should
remember that when it comes to that old house, things
are never as seldom as they seem. I myself have

(55:58):
never been in the Carnivosh estate, but there's a reason
why things in Strickfield end up on the university's website.
Do you believe us? Missus Donnerley, Ariel asks, Let's be honest, Ariel,
there are many reasons why I shouldn't believe any of
you here, even my own daughter, Tiffany admits. However, I've

(56:22):
known most of you for years, including you, Carter Cross.
I also know my own daughter. As for Richie and Bill,
I'm getting to know you two as well. None of
you look like you're the sort to do the things
you were seen doing at the same time people saw you.
All of you, with the exception of you, Maddie. Then

(56:44):
Madeline comes out with it, funny thing, Mom, I was
the only one who didn't cast a reflection in that
Carnivoge mirror. She raises her finger for the record, I
ain't no vampire. Maddie's right, ma'am. We all saw it.
Chapman agrees, Oh, I have absolutely no reason whatsoever to

(57:05):
doubt my own daughter. Tiffany tells him. Baxter and I
both raised Maddie, and she doesn't lie to us now.
The way I'm seeing things here, that mirror probably has
a lot to do with what's going on with all
of you. All of you were seen doing damage of
some kind to your parents' houses, except for you, Maddie.

(57:26):
Then Madeline remembers something I ain't been out in the
garage yet, Mom. Carter and me parked our bikes out there.
But what if the garage is wrecked like Carter's. Tiffany
gives Madeline a gentle smile. I can assure you the
garage is definitely not wrecked, since I just pulled my
car in there. Also, absolutely nothing in this house is

(57:49):
wrecked either, Honey. I got home just before all of
you came here, and I checked all the rooms myself.
So what do we do now? Horton asked, we can't
just sit here, right, No, I don't think so. Tiffany
agrees we can't do nothing either. Truth be told, I

(58:10):
honestly don't think anything will happen here. I'm thinking it
would have happened already, not that something couldn't happen, mom.
Madeline says, you could be right, but I don't think so.
Tiffany replies, you thinking that mirror at the Carnivosh estate
has something to do with what's going on with the

(58:31):
rest of us, Chapman asks Tiffany. Tiffany leans forward in
her recliner a little. Well, we know what's going on
with the rest of you is most illogical. How can
all of you be creating chaos at your homes when
you're at school? Doesn't make sense by itself, does it?
With all you've mentioned about that mirror you looked into,

(58:52):
That's what makes all this have perfect sense. Maddie looked
into it with the rest of you. Yet nothing happened
here at the house. The rest of you saw yourselves
in that mirror. Ariel suddenly remembers Stuart here wasn't at
the Carnivosh estate with us yesterday, so he didn't look
in the mirror. Tiffany looks at him. Now quite right, Ariel, Stuart,

(59:16):
would you come here please? Much to our surprise, he
listens to Tiffany and goes to her. Now he's waiting
for her to talk to him. Stuart, you're not in
any trouble here, okay. I just want to ask you
a few questions. Are you okay with that? Stuart nods slowly.
Tiffany points at Ariel as she talks to Stuart again,

(59:39):
did you actually see your cousin here in her home,
wrecking the dining room and living rooms this afternoon? Stuart
nods quickly. Perspective, Ariel, mirrn, I shoot to my feet
and point at him. Oh, you lying little goober. Tiffany
glances my way. Ariel, Please, I know you're angry, and

(01:00:02):
you have every right to be. I want to know
what happened from Stuart's point of view. Please, I groan
and sit back down. Okay, missus Donnerley, I'm sorry, it's okay.
Missus Donnerley murmurs. Then she looks at Stuart again, points
my way, and repeats her original question to him. Stuart

(01:00:23):
nods quickly again. Missus Donnerley lowers her hand. Stuart, has
Ariel ever shown any kind of behavior like this afternoon
that you remember? I know you and Ariel don't get
along the greatest, but I need you to be as
honest with me as possible here. Stuart looks at me.

(01:00:44):
I really don't know what the little goober is thinking.
Then he looks back at Missus Donnerley and shakes his
little head. Okay, thank you, Stuart. Missus Donnerley asks him
one more question. Ariel is sitting here in the living
room right now. Do you feel she wants to hurt
you in any way? Please think about this very carefully

(01:01:07):
before you answer again. Stuart looks from me to Missus
Donnerley and back again. He's hesitant in answering her. He
looks at me one more time, then back at Missus Donnerley. Finally,
he shakes his head. Then he points at Mouse, who's
sitting next to me. What about Madeline, Stuart, Missus Donnerley asks.

(01:01:30):
He points to Mouse again and looks like he's scared.
Soon he shakes his head and points at me. Missus
Donnerley asks Mouse. You aren't scared of Ariel, are you,
dear Nope, Mouse replies, I ain't scared of nobody in
this house right now. Then Stuart gets all happy and
claps his hands. Missus Donnerley gets it. I don't believe

(01:01:55):
Stuart is afraid of you, Ariel, because Maddie isn't scared
of you. I think that's why he feels safe too.
Stuart nods quickly. Missus Donnerley smiles. Okay, thank you very much.
You can go sit down now. Then she watches Stuart
come and sit in between Mouse and me. Now he
looks up at Mouse. He's always liked her. Missus Donnerley

(01:02:20):
is looking at the rest of us. I'm thinking if
anything further happens, it's going to happen at your houses.
She points to Carter. It's a good thing you live
next door because here's what I'm thinking, and then missus
Donnerley tells us exactly what's on her mind. When mister

(01:02:43):
Donnerley comes home, his wife explains to him what's going on,
and that we're all staying at the house for a
little bit, and why I can't believe Missus Donnerley believes
everything we told her. Baxter doesn't seem to show any
signs of doubting Tiffany. When she's finished talking to him,
he just nods and says, okay. Baxter comes and talks

(01:03:04):
to me. Now, Tiffany tried calling your house, Ariel. I'm
in agreement with my wife. I don't think you should
go back to your house right now, at least not
until all of this is settled. Tiffany's going to call
Stuart's mom and see if she can come and get him.
Good luck, mister Donnerley. I gave your wife Aunt Margaret's number,
but she's very hard to get a hold of. I say, understood,

(01:03:27):
he replies. Then he goes to Carter, who's discreetly keeping
an eye on his house from a mid upstairs window.
Anything Son Carter looks his way, Not yet, sir, did
I hear Tiffany write about why you're watching your house, Carter,
Baxter asks, you're looking to see if another you may

(01:03:49):
turn up. It was her idea, Carter replies, it's the
only one that makes any sense right now. After a
little bit, Tiffany comes and finds me. I'm afraid I
still can't reach your aunt. I don't have any other
numbers for her. I tell her that's fine. She puts
her hand on my shoulder. How about you come help

(01:04:11):
me make dinner. Maybe it'll ease your nerves. Then I
can't help myself and hug Tiffany. To my surprise, she
hugs me back. It's all right, honey, she tells me softly.
We suddenly come apart, and not because it's getting close
to dinner time. A window shattered near Mouse to get

(01:04:31):
our attention. Then I see him a second horton you
belong to me now, he tells Mouse as he grabs
her help. Mouse calls out as Carter's ready to move
away from the window he's at and go help her.
That window shatters too. I gasp when I see another

(01:04:51):
me wrapping her arms around him. I hate you, Carter,
the other me tells him in an evil tone, then
one more win No breaks to reveal another carter. Suddenly
a second Chapman kicks in the back door and enters.
Things just erupt into complete pandemonium here. You know things

(01:05:12):
just got bad when little Stewart comes and hugs my leg.
Perspective Madeline Donnerly, Oh man, this ain't supposed to be happening.
Now we're under attack by the other's mirror doubles. No one.
My real friends from the mirror versions ain't very hard.
One they all got red glowing eyes. Two, they just

(01:05:34):
got those evil vibes when you see them. Three and
the most obvious of all is what they're wearing. For example,
our Chapman's wearing a camouflage T shirt with army on it.
Chapman's doubles wearing one two except the patterns reversed with
ymra on his. Also, there ain't no mirror double of

(01:05:56):
this little mouseie. Yeah, but I'm gonna be bringing in
my own doubles shit shortly if you catch my drift here.
But I gotta get away from the other Horton first.
I quickly drop to my knees and scurry in between
mirror Horton's legs. I'm back of my feet and quickly
run into the stairway leading into the basement. After pulling
the door shut, I haul my keyster downstairs and pull

(01:06:17):
my compact out of my pocket. We're in real trouble, Mary,
I tell her, you know what to do, Madeleine. She
tells me, merry Worth, Marry Worth, Marry Worth. I quickly
say to the mirror. Now the ghostly energies come out
of the mirror and go into me. Before long, I'm

(01:06:37):
once again a passenger in my own body. As Mary
Worth takes over. Mary floats up and out of the house.
Then she enters in on the ground floor when she
sees what's going on. Ah, yes, now I understand why
you could not cast a reflection in the mirror at
the Carnivosh estate, Madeleine. Mary thinks to me, The mirror

(01:07:00):
is a doorway between the mortal realm and into my
part of the after life, known as the mirror Realm.
You did not cast a reflection because I myself reside
in the mirror realm and am currently possessing you and
them mirror doubles. I ask, these are beings who have
escaped and are looking to bring your friends back to

(01:07:21):
the mirror. If they should succeed, your friends shall remain
in the mirror realm for all time. Good thing, we
ain't near that mirror, I say, with relief. No, Madeleine,
not that mirror. It can be any mirror in this case.
They just need that one back at the Carnivosh estate
as their doorway to the mortal realm. I must stop

(01:07:45):
those doppelgangers before they place your friends in mirrors. Mary,
Look that Chapman's got a mirror and he's gonna use
it on Mom. Mary casts a spell and causes the
mirror to shatter. When the mirror doubles see Mary, they
scream and quickly run out of the house in different directions.
Two of them drop whatever mirrors they already had as

(01:08:06):
they run. Okay, I was wrong. Our carter cornered mirror
Ariel before she escaped. Chapman and Dad get over to
her and keep her there. Mary quickly casts a spell
to make a rope appear around mirror Ariel. Then she
casts one more spell to fix all the windows and
the back door to keep the cold out. Now Mom

(01:08:28):
and Mary are face to face. Mom ain't even scared,
and then Mom actually talks to Mary where the others
can't hear. Thank you for coming. You are safe for
the moment, Tiffany Donnelly, Mary tells her. Then she floats
back out of the house and into the basement. Mary

(01:08:50):
brings out my compact and returns to the mirror realm
to give me control of my body again. Then I
look in the mirror and see Mary's face. Those doppelgangers
will return, Madeline. Mary warns me they cannot remain in
the mortal realm as long as their real counterparts still
exist here. Return to the others, call upon me if

(01:09:13):
you need me again. Thanks Mary. I close up the
compact and head back upstairs. When I open the door,
Ariel grabs me where were you mouse? Then she looks
at me, funny, it is you right, I'm me, Ariel,
I assure her. Then Stuart comes and hugs me. I
hug him back. You're definitely you, Ariel says. Stuart wouldn't

(01:09:38):
have done that if you were one of those things.
We go into the kitchen where Mirror Ariel is tied
to one of the chairs at the table. You think
you're safe, Mirror Ariel sneers, You just wait the others
will be back one way or another. You will all
be going into the mirror realm. Now she's looking right

(01:09:58):
at our Ariel. I I had so much fun wrecking
those rooms in your house, ruining Christmas. I'm still laughing inside,
knowing you got the blame for everything. Now your own
mom doesn't even want you anymore. Ooh, I bet that's
got a hurt. Are Ariels shaking? Now? Oh? You you?

(01:10:21):
She tightens her fists and screams. Then she raises her
fists to hit the other Ariel perspective, Bill Chapman, I
reach out and stop Ariel. Then she turns and looks
right at me. What are you doing? Chapman? Come on,
what good will hitting her do? I ask, it's not

(01:10:43):
gonna fix anything back at your house or get you
back home. Ariel's still shaking, but she finally backs off.
Chapman's right, you guys, Even after we fix everything, I
still can't go home. Mom will keep thinking I was
the one who trashed those rooms. Then Mattie's got her
smartphone out. Hey, Ariel, why don't you go stand behind

(01:11:05):
your twin sister and smile real pretty? Ariel gives Mattie
a weird. Look. Have you flipped your Mickey Mouse ears
or something? But Mattie's dad gets it. No, do it, Ariel.
Mattie's going to take pictures of the two of you
then we can send them to your mom. But what
if mom doesn't buy it? Ariel asks, she's the absolute

(01:11:28):
most stubborn woman I know, probably next to Aunt Margaret.
Then she sighs, Okay, I'll do it, but only because
you ask me to. Mister Donnery. Actually, I'm starting a
video chat to your mom's phone. Mattie tells her. Got her.
Ariel quickly moves up behind her mirror double. Then Mattie

(01:11:51):
gives the signal say hello to our mom, Ariel tells
her double. Then she looks at the phone. Hi, Mom,
look what we've got to show you. No, your eyes
aren't deceiving you. This isn't a trick. There really was
another me who wrecked the house while I was at school,
and she's sitting right here looking all pretty for you.

(01:12:14):
She slaps her double shoulder. Well, come on, say hi
to mom. Then the other Ariel growls at our Aeriel
and glares at Maddie. Oh you you cover your ears.
Everybody quick Horton quickly tells us. The other Ariel belts
out a high pitch scream. When she calms down, Cross

(01:12:36):
has a towel in his hand from the downstairs bathroom.
You get far away from me with that, you muscle
bound oath. The other Ariel snaps at Cross. Then Our
Ariel grabs the towel from him. I'll gag you myself
if you don't shut up. You still got mom on
the lin mouse yep, keep going, Maddie answers. Now, little

(01:12:57):
Stuart Miron's right there. He gives the other Ariel a
mean look before he kicks her hard in the shin.
She cries out before she thrashes forward. Stuart backs up
when she roars at him. Our Ariel backs him up. Careful, you,
little goober, Ariel tells him this other me might eat
you up. Stuart looks up at his real cousin. He

(01:13:18):
almost looks like he's ready to kick our Ariel too,
but he doesn't. Then Ariel asks everybody, Okay, now what
do we do with this other me here? She turns
to Maddie's phone. Still don't want to talk to me, mom.
We're all trying to tell you you're not seeing things. This
isn't a trick for you to let me come back home.

(01:13:39):
Then Ariel explains everything about us going to the Carnivosh
estate and finding that mirror, which was how we let
our doubles come into the real world, and how they
were the ones who wrecked all those rooms at our houses. Look, Mom,
I know you and I don't really get along that well,
Ariel says, But I really thought you you kN me

(01:14:00):
better than that. If you don't want to talk to
me anymore, that's fine. Show everybody here at the Donnerly
House what kind of mom you really are. Suddenly, Maddie's
mom gets a call on her smartphone. She answers it, Oh, hello,
missus Miron. Yes, here's Ariel. She hands her the phone.
Ariel and her mom get into it. Then Ariel's double

(01:14:23):
gloats to Missus Miron about how she wrecked everything and
loved every minute of it. Oh does Ariel's mom give
her double and earful When she asks to talk to
her real daughter, Ariel's mom tells her she can come
back home, but that she's still in big trouble for
going into the Carnivosh estate. Then I can see Ariel's
mom give her a wicked look, and do you know

(01:14:45):
how you'll be paying me back for all the damages
Ariel renaissance, Miron. Let's just say that you and Stuart
are going to be getting real close over the next
several months. Her mom hangs up. Now Stuart's giving our
Ariel an evil kid look. I think Ariels probably wishing
her mom had kept her out after all. Now that

(01:15:06):
I think about it, the rest of us can get
off the hook once Mattie's parents explain everything. I don't
think they'll kick us out of our houses the way
Ariel's mom did her. I think even my old man
might be willing to listen to reason. Then Horton has
an idea. I wonder what would happen if we went
back to the Carnivosh estate and shattered that mirror. No,

(01:15:29):
the other Ariel yells. Then she goes crazy and starts
trying to get free. Our Ariel approaches her. What happens
if we break it? Huh? When the other Ariel won't talk,
our Ariel shows an evil smile. If you don't talk,
I'll have Stewart kick your shins again. When the other
Ariel starts screaming and thrashing again, crossing me go to

(01:15:52):
her and keep her chair planted. Then she screams loud
one more time you finished. Our Ariel asks, okay, if
you don't talk, I think I'm going to scream again
myself right in one of your ears. Better be talking.
Mattie tells her, I don't know about you, but I've

(01:16:12):
seen our Ariel actually crack windows with her screams. Then
I say, in the other Ariel's ear, I wouldn't want
our Ariel doing that to me. Our Ariel gives Cross
a wicked look. I could scream to get your sodas
at school now, Cross shakes his head. Never gonna happen, Princess.

(01:16:33):
Maybe once you get back home you can start using
King Daddy's royal credit card again to get your own sodas.
Ariel growls at Cross, oh you you and again Cross
an Aeriel are in their trance when their eyes meet.
When Cross reaches out and holds Ariel's hand, the other
Ariel rolls her eyes. Q two are making me sick here.

(01:16:57):
Our Ariel quickly takes her hand back. Maddie's biting on
her lower lip to keep from laughing. When Horton sees
she's ready to burst. He quickly covers up for her
by laughing himself. Our Ariel points at him, you just
keep laughing at up Horton. Then she points at Maddie.
I heard you Mouse. Then she grumbles, I hate you

(01:17:19):
Carter anything you say. Princess Cross sneers. Then I get
things back to where they gotta be. Maybe Horton's right,
Maybe we ought to go back to that house and
break that mirror. The other Aerol starts thrashing in her
chair again. Don't you dare? If you shatter that mirror,
none of the others can come through. We'll also have

(01:17:41):
to go back, since we haven't gotten any of you
to take our places. What happens if we end up
in the mirror world? Cross asks? When the other Ariel
won't answer, Our Ariol opens the refrigerator door and takes
out a coke. Then she comes and stands next to Cross.
Now the other aeriels eyeing the coke. Our Aeriel quickly notices.

(01:18:05):
Then she smirks, I think now we're getting somewhere perspective,
Aeriel Mirror. I crack the coke and take a drink.
If it weren't for my girls sneaking this bubbly slice
of heaven over to our sleepovers at my house on
Friday nights, I'd both be stuck drinking diet sodas and

(01:18:26):
losing my mind. Oh you want some of this, I
ask my double. Don't you dare taunt me like that?
My double snaps, Then she looks desperate. I want that soda.
Mouse points to the refrigerator. Tell us what we want
to know, and I'll give you one of your very own.
We got plenty. She doesn't believe Mouse until she opens

(01:18:50):
the refrigerator door. Improves it. Now, my double starts spilling everything.
She answers Chapman's question by telling us, if we end
up in the mirror Realm, then we stay there forever,
as in, we just take your places in the mirror
realm itself. Horton asks, that's right. The other Aeriel answers,

(01:19:10):
then we can finally experience everything you experience, including Christmas.
Baxter points at her, now, and you just gave me
an idea. Mouse's dad gathers all of us into his
wife's studio and quietly explains his plan. What about my coke?
We hear the other Ariel calling out, come on, I

(01:19:33):
told you what you wanted to know. Please. When Baxter
finishes explaining his plan, we go back into the kitchen.
You realize you're going back, right, Chapman asks her. She
gets mad. I'll fight you every step of the way.
I'll go kicking and screaming. Yeah, we'll see about that,

(01:19:54):
Mouse says, and keeps her word. By getting my double
her coke, she asks to crack it, hold it for
her to drink, since we won't be untying her. People say,
I'm obsessed with SODA's, But the other me, whoa mouse,
ends up giving her two cokes. Better enjoy it because
I'm sure there ain't no coke where you're going back

(01:20:15):
to mirror, Aerial growls, I hate you, you little squeaker,
I point at her. Nope, nobody says they hate mouse
except me and me. Only don't care if you are
supposed to be me. Carter gives me a strange look. Now,
you sure know how to be a princess. Princess, and

(01:20:36):
don't you forget it. I return, then I raise my
own coke can to Carter cheers. That night, the five
of us return to the Carnivosh estate with our prisoner.
Mouse's parents are parked just outside until we need them.
Let's be honest. You know how many times I've found
myself envying Mouse. She's not as rich as my family,

(01:21:00):
but she's got way more than I've got. Right now,
looking at my parents and then Mouse's I definitely want
her parents getting back to Now we're moving the other
me to the back door of the Carnivosh estate. You
really think those other mirrored versions of us are going
to come back here, I ask Mouse. She shrugs. I

(01:21:22):
just got thinking how we're always hanging out. If these
versions of us are the same as us in most
every way, maybe they're like us and being there for
each other too. I mean this other you's gotcha soda craving, right.
I look at the half drunk coke that Mouse gave
me before we left. Oh, I hate you Mouse. Then

(01:21:43):
she snickers. The next thing we know, Mouse digs into
her jacket and pulls out another coke. I'm ready to
snatch it up, but she scurries away from me. Nope,
this one ain't for you, Ariel, She looks to the
other me, who's still tied up. This one's for your tow.
The other me looks desperate for that unopened can. The

(01:22:04):
others are going to turn on me when they learn
I helped you. She bites her lower lip and groans,
I want that coke. It's yours, Mouse promises her. All
you gotta do is call for help. See, I'm betting
your friends are around here someplace. Either they're coming to
rescue you or they're wanting to get us. So now

(01:22:25):
that we're back here where all this started, it'll be
two birds one stone, right, So go ahead and call them.
Soon as they show up, I'll let you have this delicious,
icy cold sweet refreshing. The other me suddenly yells for help.
Chapman leans in and says to Mouse, this really is
a crazy plan, Maddie. You sure it'll work. Mouse is optimistic. Yeah,

(01:22:49):
I'm thinking so. Chapman sighs and shakes his head a little. Okay.
Ever since Horton, Chapman, and Chunker became a part of
our circle, Chapman always seems to have trouble understanding Mouse,
but I think he finds her interesting. The other me
keeps calling for her friends. As soon as we're outside
the door where those magic tricks in that mirror that

(01:23:11):
caused all this trouble is. Mouse looks inside the room. Yep,
the mirror is still here. Do we dare go near
it again? Horton asks, I know what you're thinking, buddy,
Mouse replies, but I got a hunch. Mouse walks up
to the mirror again. She doesn't cast a reflection, but

(01:23:33):
then again, neither does Horton when he stands next to her.
I go and stand on the other side of Mouse.
I don't have a reflection either. I look over my
shoulder and see the other me. I can see the
reflection of the room itself, but nothing of us. Was
that your hunch, Mouse, I ask? Yep, she replies. Now

(01:23:55):
we just got to wait till that other April's friends
show up. We're already here, someone calls out. Suddenly, mirror
Chapman slams the door to the room. We never thought
to look behind the open door. The other Horton and
Carter come out from their hiding places too. It's then
when the mirror starts glowing red. Horton said, how it

(01:24:15):
only had a slight tinge of red when we all
looked into it yesterday, but now it's really glowing. Crimson
about time you guys found me, the other me says
after their carter untiser. The four of them are coming
at us. Now. Time for you guys to take our
places in the mirror. Realm there, Chapman jeers. Don't worry.

(01:24:37):
You'll get used to it after a while. We had
our whole lives. When their eyes start glowing as bright
as the mirror, we know we're in trouble, but we're
not going into that mirror so fast. You want to
take our places, you're going to have to fight us
for it. I tell our doubles. Then I look at
my double. Don't forget honey, Mouse here still has your coke.

(01:25:01):
She looks desperate now as she moves toward Mouse, give
it to me. Through my peripheral vision, I can see
something coming out of the mirror. I gasp when this
big glowing hand wraps around my waist. Guys, I yell fast,
help me perspective, Madeline Donnerly, Oh man, seriously, how come

(01:25:29):
plans never go the way you want them to? I
wasn't expecting this. Guess it just goes to show you.
I think that's how you say it. I don't know anyway,
I know I gotta bring Mary Worth back. Only thing
is everybody you'll see me. But suddenly the door bursts open.
My parents are here now. Guess they must have saw

(01:25:50):
the glow coming from the window and knew we were
in trouble. Mirror Chapman sees my parents and sneers at us. Really,
you gotta call mommy and daddy when you're in trouble,
what whimps? Mom points at him. It's got nothing to
do with that, and you know it. We're parents. We're
supposed to be here for our children when they need us.

(01:26:12):
Then the mirror Horton's looking at my parents in a
weird way. What's with the Christmas costumes? Yep? Dad's wearing
a Santa Claus suit and has a big red bag
over his shoulder. Mom's dressed up like one of Santa's elves.
Who wants presents? Mom asks the mirror doubles cheerfully presence.

(01:26:34):
The other Chapman groans, what's the joke here? No joke, son,
Dad says in a deep Santa voice, don't you have
Christmas where you come from? Then Dad puts the sack
down and opens it to reveal lots of presents. Now
our doubles look stunned, except the aerial one, who wants
the pop I'm still holding. Now she's pointing right at me.

(01:26:58):
I want that koke, you little mouse, I point to dad.
But Santa's got presents for you, Ariel. Don't you guys
want presents for Christmas? Now? She looks confused. Guys are
Ariel shrieks A little help here, think mouse? Think ah,
I got it. I draw back to throw the can.

(01:27:19):
Let our Aeriel go and you get the can. No, no, no,
absolutely not, Mirror Ariel refuses. You're all going into the
mirror so we can live in the mortal realm. We'll
finally get to have a real Christmas. This isn't negotiable.
Then I hold the can up and put my fingernail
under the pop tab. Okay, I guess I'm gonna drink

(01:27:43):
your pop. Mirror Ariel really looks desperate. Now stop the
big glowing red hand. Let's go of our aerial and
goes back into the mirror. Okay, you got what you wanted,
you little squeaker. Mirror Ariel snaps, Now give me the pop.
I toss it to her. It's yours. She catches it,

(01:28:05):
almost dropping it then she opens it and groans as
she drinks it down. The other mirror versions of us
are still wondering what to make of Dad. Then he
starts handing out presents to them. It don't take them
long to know what to do with them. They open
the presence, just like they did at the houses they wrecked,
only this time they don't destroy the presence. Dad even

(01:28:27):
gives Mirror Ariel some She looks surprised before she opens them.
Since they're distracted, I creep to the door and slip out.
I move into the next room down and pull out
my compact Mary Worth, Merry Worth, Mary Worth. For the
second time today, my ghostly friend comes out of the
mirror realm and possesses me. I shall put an end

(01:28:50):
to this, Madeleine, she tells me. Mary floats right through
the wall and appears in the room. The mirror versions
are screaming like they did at my house. They're ready
to drop their presence and run, but Mary makes the
door slam shut and lock behind them. Mirror Ariel turns
to her, don't kill us. We just wanted to live
in the mortal realm. We just wanted to experience Christmas.

(01:29:14):
It's not fair. You misunderstand. I am not here to
kill any of you. You know that you cannot remain here.
You must return to the Mirror Realm or you will
indeed cease to exist. The others look sad. Now, are
Ariel's right? We just wanted to live in the mortal

(01:29:34):
Realm and experience Christmas. Mirror Chapman groans, how come you
get to be here? I am an astral projection, while
you children are the reflections of your mortal counterparts. Mary explains,
I'm afraid we are not the same. So the laws
that govern you do not govern me, you know. I

(01:29:58):
kind of feel sorry for him now. Yeah, they caused
a lot of trouble, but they never really hurt nobody.
As if Mary heard my thoughts, She tells the mirrored kids.
The rules dictate that you may remain in the Mortal
Realm for forty eight hours from the time you leave
the Mirror Realm. You have one more day, then you

(01:30:20):
must return until next month. The Mirror doubles talk among themselves.
They come out of their huddle. I guess we really
never knew how this worked. Mirror Chapman tells Mary, if
we can come back during certain times, that's good enough
for us. Then Mirror Horton tells us, we live in

(01:30:42):
the mirror realm, but we don't get to enjoy the
same things mortals do, especially Christmas. We just wanted to
live as mortals instead of just being your reflections all
the time. You do understand that you have caused much
trouble for your mortal counterparts. Mary reminds them, we can

(01:31:03):
fix all that. Mirror Carter says, we still got a
day to be here yet, so we can make everything
right again. Then our carter points at him, that would
be just great. If you can fix everything, then we'll
call it even and you even get to keep your
Christmas gifts. Dad says, still playing as Sannah, can we

(01:31:28):
get some more coke before we leave? Mirror Ariel asks,
I think that can be arranged. Mom replies, Mirror Ariel
turns to the others. Let's make everything right again. Mary
took care of everything at my house earlier. But I'm wondering.
But I'm wondering how exactly our doubles will fix up

(01:31:50):
everything they wrecked at the others' houses. Epilogue, Wednesday, December
nintheenth perspective. Richie Horton. Our doppelgangers went back into the
mirror at the Carnivosh estate and headed back home. They

(01:32:11):
even took their Christmas presents back with them. Now we're
all hanging out here at Roth's Rings. Well, us kids
are here. Mattie's parents went home after they dropped us off.
Maddie and Carter just finished playing the new Grand Turismo game.
Ariel's got little Stewart up at the counter. Looks like
she ordered him a slice of pie and a coke.

(01:32:34):
My eyes go wide. When Stuart picks up the items
and throws the mat her, The pop hits Ariel and
just explodes all over. This is not going to end good.
Ariel takes a deep breath and is dripping pop down
her face and jacket. Then she grabs Stuart's shoulders. What

(01:32:54):
is your problem, you little goober? Then I see Carter
just recorded the whole thing on his smartphone. Maddie's trying
to tell him not to do something. But then I
get a Facebook notification on my phone. I tap it
to see the new video Carter posted called Little Stuart
treats Princess Ariel to a coke. Then Stuart kicks Ariel

(01:33:16):
on her shin. That's when Maddie comes over and helps
Ariel out. Stuart turns to her and is happy she's around.
I don't know what Maddie does that makes Stuart like
her so much. Maddie lowers herself to talk to him.
He seems to be listening to Maddie because when Ariel
buys him another coke, he doesn't throw it at her. Then.

(01:33:38):
I'm seeing all the emojis people are posting on Carter's
latest video, many of which are laughing ones. I'm thinking
Carter did this because Ariel stole his soda when we
were in the cafeteria for lunch. Sometimes they got along
super well, and other times they're at each other's throats.
I'm guessing she'll be hot after Carter once she sees

(01:34:01):
this video. I suppose you're wondering what happened to our doubles. Well,
they were true to their word and fixed everything. Don't
ask me how, but they did it. I mean they
didn't just super glue everything back together. It was like
everything those guys did never even happened. Even the presents

(01:34:22):
were fully restored. When Mom talked to me about it,
she chalked it up to being majorly stressed out. She
even apologized to me repeatedly for coming after me the
way she did. You should have seen Chapman's dad, remember
how he was chasing after Chapman and me before Carter
and Maddie came to save us. Chapman's dad apologized too,

(01:34:45):
but Chapman said he overheard him wondering if aliens might
have invaded his house. Carter's parents never said anything to
him about what was wrecked there, even so Mattie's parents
vouched for him. When we get to Ariel, she was
allowed back home again. Like we heard on Maddie's phone

(01:35:05):
during that video chat, Ariel wasn't off the hook, though.
Her mom told her that while she was glad the
rooms were as they were again, she wasn't going to
trust Ariel anytime soon. I think Ariel looked a little
hurt over it, but she sounded like she expected that
from her own mom. Also true to her mom's word,

(01:35:27):
Ariel's got Stuart with her. I know Ariel's trying to
do the right thing with Stuart. Maybe he's just mischievous
at heart, or he really doesn't want to be around Ariel,
who knows good thing Maddie's there to diffuse him. Oh,
we ended up telling Chunker, Mona and Bailey about what happened.
We knew they'd believe us. Why wouldn't they after all

(01:35:51):
we went through in the last few months. Right. In fact,
it's a few days later when it's us guys in
the cafeteria and Bailey come in to talk to us.
It's not long after that when Ariel finally sees the
video Carter posted from Wednesday and tried to get to him.
Unfortunately for her, principal Benjamin van Deist came in and

(01:36:14):
sent Ariel and Carter both back to class. When it's
just Mona and Bailey and the three of us, Bailey
tells us that she and Mona are going to Pendleton
this weekend to work at the Home Sweet Home Orphanage
for a Christmas celebration, and Mattalie Donnerly's going to drive
them there. After some talk, Chapman convinces Bailey to let

(01:36:37):
the three of us tag along. When that's all settled,
we just have to get through the rest of the day.
I think this will be a good spot for us
to say goodbye for now. Don't worry, we'll be back
for some more scary happenings. This is Strickfield, Ohio after all.
Oh and especially since December isn't over yet. Merry Christmas,

(01:37:08):
A Vampire's Holiday by Rob Fields, Prologue, December twenty third
perspective Madeline Donnerly. First off, let me just say this
ain't no family friendly story. Having said that, I only
been wherever here is for a short period of time

(01:37:32):
late summer up till now don't seem like much. I
think it's because I spent most of my life in
a reality where one night I went to bed and
everything was hunky dory, and woke up the next morning
to the beginning of a vampire apocalypse. I was only
thirteen when I had to abandon my life as a
teenager and become an adult. Fast. I fell in with

(01:37:56):
a clan who trained me to be a superb fighter.
Eventually I became the nemesis of Mayor Patrick Gunter, one
of the people responsible for starting the vampire apocalypse. I'm
thinking he didn't act alone. Not sure who else helped
him though. Anyway, I fought Gunter and kept proving to
him mortals could still win. Where only a few of

(01:38:18):
us remained The day finally came when Gunter bit me.
I was royally screwed, because when you get bit by
a vampire, you're gonna turn for sure. When I returned
to my clan, one of them discovered I had no reflection.
I massacred all of them. I massacred my entire tribe

(01:38:41):
by drinking them all for my first meal. Patrick Gunter
took so much from me, including my first and only
love in Carter Cross. Gunter hurt and broke me more
than any person should have to endure. In trying to
escape from him and his hordes of Vai vampires at
the Strickfield Carnival, the Mayor himself was able to channel

(01:39:04):
lightning from a passing storm. I ran into the Funhouse
to try and escape. Gunter's lightning struck the funhouse repeatedly,
resulting in me being zapped myself. When I woke up,
I found myself in this new reality. After examining the
Funhouse and the Strickfield Carnival, I eventually found the reason

(01:39:26):
I ended up here. Turns out that funhouse had circuits
controlling a time portal. I'm reasoning in my universe, Gunter's
lightning struck those circuits and caused me to be transported
to a different universe. Here, there ain't no vampire apocalypse,
nor any sign of one. I ended up removing those

(01:39:49):
circuits from the funhouse and hiding them where only yours
truly knows. Ain't no way I'm letting Patrick Gunter come here.
This is my universe, My my home universe became a
dark dead world in just days because there were so
many vampires and not enough mortals to sustain them. All.

(01:40:10):
Not true here, No Mayor Gunter literally sent me to Utopia.
It's just me here. I got all the mortals I'll
ever want or need for food. Also, I make sure
these blood bags don't come back like me, decapitating or
destroying the bodies after I feed. I'm the only vampire

(01:40:31):
of my kind here, and it's going to stay that way. Oh.
I already found other vampires here too, who also made
very delicious meals. The vampires here got many differences compared
to me. For one, he don't turn after getting bit.
Vamps got a drink from the mortals, Then the mortals

(01:40:52):
got a drink from you. I haven't seen vampires here
drink from each other, But I reason this does nothing
back home. You ain't supposed to drink from each other.
When I started doing it, I just wanted to die
and was hoping to. But my powers grew from drinking
from other vampires, and my powers keep growing drinking from

(01:41:14):
vampires here. But you know what, I actually found a
new home here in Strickfield, an outside area people are
scared of, called the backwoods. It didn't take long to
see why people are scared of it. There are actually
dead people walking around in there, like what you see

(01:41:35):
in scary movies. There's also these things called ghouls. Just
like I drink blood to live, they eat flesh for
the same reason. It's a few more days till Christmas,
and I am so bored. Okay, stay calm, Mattie. You
only been here a short time. Remember this world is utopia.

(01:42:00):
But I ain't gonna have much fun just freely grabbing
these walkin blood bags. Nah, I need an event. In fact,
I'm sitting here in my cabin. I took from some trapper.
I was already in downtown village earlier this evening and
picked up some stuff. After grabbing a few bobbleheads for
my collection, I started from bobble Topia. I grabbed a

(01:42:22):
copy of the Strickfield Journal, which also confirms this ain't
my universe. Our paper was called the Strickfield Source. Anyway,
you get lots of great news out of here. Hopefully
I can find some fun and excitement. I want to
create some havoc that'll bring heroes wantin to fight me. Ooh,

(01:42:45):
now this is an idea. I'm reading an article about
some Mirran woman who's supposed to be coming home to
Strickfield today. Okay, so what right? Well, turns out Mirans
are just as high profile here as they use to
be in my universe, aside from the aerial Mirran where
I come from, Mirans pretty much fell off the map

(01:43:06):
when the vampire apocalypse happened. Not here. I've been leaving
the backwoods here every night and flying into Strickfield to
hang out and get used to my new digs. That,
and I gotta eat. Oh. I can't believe I got
all this delicious food walking around whenever I want it.

(01:43:27):
Like I said, Patrick Gunter, you messed up big funny thing.
I actually found another you here. She ain't no vampire,
and you live here in the backwoods with me. But
don't worry. I ain't gonna come after you, at least
not yet. And when I do come after you, I

(01:43:47):
won't turn you. For all I know you might be
just as much a battie as my mayor Gunter. Still,
long as you're living far enough away from me, I'll
leave you be for now. Oh, but this Mirran chick's
really holding my attention. I'm gonna go after her. Since

(01:44:09):
Mirans are so high profile here, I'm wondering what kind
of negotiations her family will want to do to get
her back. M m mm. Now I ain't feeling so
bored no more. I put my paper down and leave
the cabin. I leap into the air and fly. Another

(01:44:29):
difference between me and the vampires here. We can both
turn into bats, but I can fly without changing. Today's
paper says Analie's Miran will be coming home to Strickfield today. Well,
it's night now, so she's got to already be in
the mir gated community. This will give me a reason

(01:44:50):
to really see it up close. Back home, the vampires
laid waste to it and made it an eyesore. It
don't take long to hover over stra I turn into
a bat. At this point, I can't believe how bright
this village gets around Christmas time. There's all kinds of
decorations nearly everywhere, lights, animatronics, fake snow, decorated trees. We

(01:45:16):
never had this kind of dedication back home. Anyway, I'm
gliding into the mirrangated community now. Hmm. Not much in
the way of decorations in here. Guess these mirans don't
care for Christmas much. Looking around inside here, you'd swear
this place was a whole other world, the way the
Mirans are getting it all walled off. I fly to

(01:45:39):
a tree and change back into me again. Thanks to
my night vision, I can see everything easy, funny. For
all they do to keep non mirans out, they don't
keep people like me in mind. No wonder the vampires
back home leveled this place. Oh but I'm loving how
it looks. Believe it or not, I could definitely live here.

(01:46:03):
I drop and change into a wolf. Now I'm walking
around for all these Mirans who see me know, I'm
just a doggie who got loose from somebody's mansion, and
I'm just out looking for a place to squat. Ah.
But my patience is gonna be rewarded back home. I
remember this used to be Felicia Myron's place. She doesn't

(01:46:26):
seem to be living here now, but I'm seeing Annalee's
mirror sitting out on the back patio. There's a hot
tub right there, and it looks like she's throwing a party. Oh,
this is gonna be such a recipe for disaster. For
one thing, I'm gonna be taking Annale's mirror. Two, I'm

(01:46:46):
I'm just craving what's on the menu right now, which
means three, it's time to create something beautiful carnage. I
change back to my human form again and walk to
these mortals when one of Annalise's girls sees me in
points everybody's looking at me now. I'm wearing a backless
black leather top that shows off my glorious gallery of tattoos,

(01:47:10):
sleeves on both arms with lots and lots of skulls,
and the one on my back that used to be
the symbol of the clan who trained me to fight
the way they once did. Remember they were my first
meal after I turned. I'm also wearing matching pants and
ankle high boots, plus a choker around my neck. Can

(01:47:31):
we help you? Analiz Miron asks real snotlike I smirk. Yeah,
I'm looking for Felicia Miron. Is she home? I know
she ain't, but I want to hear him talk. Annaliz
starts laughing scornfully. Felicia doesn't live here anymore. She wanted
to move out of the community so bad, so I

(01:47:52):
bought our family mansion from her. It's all mine now,
just as well, since I never really cared for my
baby sister anyway. Now the snob's getting defensive. I know
you aren't a mirror or a guest here, so how
about leaving before I call the police. I'm laughing it
up now. The police will never make it here in time,

(01:48:15):
especially not after I'm through with all of you. Now
they're all laughing. To these snobs, I look like a skinny,
little weakling, even at standing five foot ten. Call me vain,
but I think I ain't looking too bad for being
all grown up. I'm not bustier sporting fakeies like these
women here, but I'll gladly keep what I got. Speaking

(01:48:37):
of fakies, they're showing their nasty sides, so I'm gonna
show them mine. I vamp out and hear them screaming
at my face and claws. I've been eating normal people
food since I got here. Now I'm gonna have me
some rich people food. A few of them are trying
to go inside, but I appear and slide the door shut.

(01:48:59):
A beef guy slams into the glass and crashes right
through it. I grab him and pull him back my way.
His throat gets slashed on a shard coming out. He's
gagging and gurgling before falling on his back. I quickly
get down and drink him up. I ain't got to
bite him since he's already cut open. It don't take

(01:49:22):
long to finish the first course. I'm back up and
moving around till I get him all. With the exception
of Annalies, of course, I ain't gonna killer. She's backing
up against the corner. Don't know if she's shivering because
she's wearing a bathing suit in December, or if she's
afraid of me. Probably both. What do you want, Annalise stammers?

(01:49:47):
I can give you money, please, I'm laughing at her. Now,
what would I want with money? I can take whatever
I want. I could walk into a bank right now
and leave with as much money as i'd want. Getting
the picture yet your rich blood bag. I don't watch
your money. I want you. I pull Analise away from

(01:50:10):
the corner and Glamour invite me into your house. Analiz
nods slowly, you can come in, okay, So maybe I
can't go everywhere I want to go with the whole
needing an invite to get into private dwellings. Good thing.
Glam gets the job done. Anali's and me go into

(01:50:31):
her mansion. Nice place you got here, I compliment. Now,
I want you to put some warm clothes on, because
you're gonna need them where we're going. Analiz nods once
and works on obeying me. While she's doing that, I
got one more course to eat. I open the basement
door and find that snotty woman who talked to me earlier.

(01:50:55):
She screams and flees. She won't get far. I appear
in front of her and hug her to me. She
cries out when I'm drinking from her neck. Oh please please, no,
no stop. She's whimpering while she's feeling herself dying in
my arms. I let go over and watch her drop.

(01:51:17):
Then I drop to one knee so I can snap
her neck and keep turning to pull her head off.
After dropping it, I peer back upstairs and find Annalise
ready to go. She's wearing warm winter clothes and a coat.
I order her back outside. When we're back at the patio,
I admire my latest horrific masterpiece. I got half a

(01:51:41):
mind to call the cops and see their reactions when
they'd see all these headless bodies, aside from the first
one I drank up. Ooh, unlocking. Give me your phone,
I tell Annalise when she hands it to me. I
remember the number for the Strickfield Police to apartment and
give them a call after reporting the murders. I crush

(01:52:04):
the phone and drop it. Then I change into a
bat and snatch up Analees. From there, I'm flying my
Christmas present back to my cabin in the backwoods of Strickfield.
She ain't no bobblehead, but I'll make her the centerpiece
of my collection. I'm really hoping they're going to be
heroes that'll come looking for annales I'm dying for both

(01:52:28):
the competition and a challenge perspective. Felicia Miren Greetings, comic
book nerds, it's me, your favorite spider girl. I'd like
to say this is finally my second issue, but not
just yet. This is both another team up and a

(01:52:48):
bit of going back in time. This story takes place
a few months after my Origin issue ended. However, we
can pick up kinda where I left off. I remember
telling you I decided to take a chance with my
college guy that I met. Yeah, he's the guy I
found myself naturally drawn to when I first met him.

(01:53:10):
From there, we started having hours and hours of sexy
time during my ovulation periods, all because I feel I
want to be a mommy and make babies. Eventually it
got to be more than just our hot monthly meetings
between us. We finally became a couple. In fact, right now,

(01:53:31):
I'm letting my boyfriend hold me to him while we're
in bed. We've been quite intimate since last night, before
going to sleep together. When we woke up, we had
shared some more intimacy together. It's like the more we're
around each other, the more we're in bed together. Believe me,
I ain't complaining in the least funny thing. We still

(01:53:54):
haven't fully exchanged names or digits. I think we mutually
I agreed that this relationship of secrecy we've got going
on is a major turn on between us. Anyway, We've
been having so much intimacy I don't even know if
I'm just craving my guy or if I'm on my
time of the month. Ever since my freak occurrence that

(01:54:17):
gave me spider powers, I started exhibiting traits like a spider.
In fact, I can even turn into a giant version
of one, complete with eight legs in two arms. I
also got the spider's ovulation where I want a mate
and make babies. I'm gonna say I ain't feeling my
mommy vibes at the moment since I'm not wanting to

(01:54:38):
make babies. Speaking of babies, my boyfriend's got a little
girl named Millie. I actually first met her on Halloween
Eve when I was a giant spider, then for the
first time as a human the very next day. She's
such a sweet little girl. What's more, she took to
me right away when her daddy told her he was

(01:55:00):
seeing me. Of course, I had to tell her my
first name since I know hers. In light of that,
my guy and me finally agreed to exchange first names only,
and his is Gabriel. Getting back to Millie, Gabriel actually
left her in my care a few times. The more

(01:55:22):
I'm around her, the more I'm just loving her, and
the more I'm getting too close to Gabriel. I mean,
you can't be in a relationship with somebody who has
kids and not accept them. Right lately, that's all I've
been thinking about. I'm eighteen, a senior and the cheerleading
captain at Strickfield High School. Gabriel's a senior at Strickfield

(01:55:44):
University and a Beta Theta Pie fraternity brother. He's also
got nine years on me. Every time he gives me
that lady killer smile, I always turned to butter. Is
our relationship based mostly on our intimacy, Well, you wouldn't
be wrong. Just the same, Gabriel trusts his little girl

(01:56:05):
around me. I can't believe I'm thinking about this when
I'm sharing intimacy with Gabriel yet again. When we finish,
I let him hold me to him close again. When
we look into each other's eyes, he gives me that
lady killer smile. We're pecking for a little bit before
we look at each other again. I love you, Gabriel

(01:56:30):
tells me for the first time ever. Oh my god,
do I tell him back? Am I really too young
to be thinking about being with Gabriel full time. The
problem is, that's all I'm thinking about here. I am
a mutant spider girl in her last year of high school,
the cheerleading captain, and I'm already in a relationship with

(01:56:53):
a wonderful man who has a wonderful little girl. Yeah,
we've gone on dates and stuff, but Hugh, guess even
us mutant spider girl's gotta make those tough decisions called life, right.
I look him in the face, a serious one. You
do realize what you said is dangerous? Right? What that

(01:57:18):
I love you? Gabriel asks, in his suave voice, which
goes really well with his lady killer smile. I narrow
my eyes on him and put my finger on his
ripped chest. You do realize we don't fully know each other? Right?
What if you find out something about me and hate

(01:57:39):
me for it? He chuckles? What could I hate about you?
I shrug. I don't know, But what if you did?
I mean it, Gabriel saying you love me is very dangerous. Now.
I give him my sweet smile, which he loves from me. Oh,

(01:58:00):
I get it. You're telling me you love me and
knowing how much I care about Milly to further entangle
me with you. Right, damn it, there's that lady killer
smile again. You ain't leaving, babe, You're still here in
my life. I raise my eyebrow seriously, I'm that good
in bed to where you tell me you love me.

(01:58:23):
Before he can answer, we hear knocking on the back door.
We're at his parents' house. We've been kind of living
here together while he's house sitting for them over the holidays.
Little Milly was out for a sleepover with her friends
last night. Seems like she's home. Gabriel gets off me
and we put some clothes on. We go downstairs where

(01:58:46):
he lets Milly in. He quickly steps outside to wave
at the woman who dropped her off. Milly immediately comes
right to me so I can lower myself and hug
her tight. For a little girl, she can hug just
as tight as me. I stand up and hold her
while waiting for Gabriel to come back in. When he
sees me holding Milly and both of us are looking

(01:59:08):
at him, he's smiling again. I think now I can
see why Gabriel's interested in me like he is. We've
been intimate many times. He knows Milly and I love
each other. I'm thinking he's seeing me as a potential
mommy for Milly. To be honest, I'd love being a
mother to her. Then the phone rings. Gabriel answers, it

(01:59:34):
sounds like he's talking to his parents. I'm thinking he's
going to be on the phone for a little bit,
so I ask Milly if she wants to watch TV. Yeah,
she exclaims quickly. I bring her into the living room
and turn on the set. We're watching some classic cartoons
for a little bit. When I see the paper carriers

(01:59:55):
just dropped off the Strickfield Journal, I tell Milly I'm
going to get the paper and head outside to bring
it in. After closing the door, I gasp and nearly
drop the paper. That's when Gabriel gets off the phone
and sees me fell a show. What's wrong? The front
page says massacre at Mirn Mansion. The pit of my

(02:00:19):
stomach hurts when I read the article. My older sister,
Analie's bought the mansion from me when I didn't want
to live there anymore. It just kept getting too rough
for me to stay there after our parents died. Also,
I never really got along with Annalie's much, but I
still love her for the fact that she's my sister.

(02:00:39):
According to the article, the police found many decapitated bodies,
all drained of blood. It also says Annalise is missing.
I've got to find her. Suddenly, I cry out when
I feel myself being held against Gabriel. Of course, my
spider instinct did didn't go off. Gabriel's no danger to me.

(02:01:03):
I look up at him and bite my lower lip.
I'm afraid I gotta go for right now. I tell him.
He sees I'm spooked you Okay, baby, I nod quickly, Yeah,
something's come up. Then I give him my sweet smile
again to tell him it's not him. I'll be back later. Okay.

(02:01:25):
He doesn't want to let go of me, but he
eventually does. I go back upstairs and get fully dressed.
After I come back down, I go say goodbye to
Milly and promise her I'll be back. Milly sad and
hugs me tight again. Seriously, Am I ready to commit
to being part of a family unit. When Milly and

(02:01:47):
I let go of each other, I promise her and
Gabriel again that I'll be back. I'm leaving my stuff here,
so that should tell Gabriel I'll be keeping my promise.
I leave the house and no, I got to go
into the mere engated community to begin my own investigation.
Things are gonna start getting scary from here. Comic book

(02:02:09):
Nerds Perspective. Aileen Donnerly, Bells and I are training together.
We've been training more and more since our run in
with those freaks back when we went to her home
in Ravenhenge for Thanksgiving last month. I still can't believe

(02:02:30):
Bells grew up there and that that's the tab on Homeland. Still,
I nearly died last month. I know I don't want
to be in that predicament ever again. Also, those pills
Bells made for me to help me with my sickness
keep working. I don't know what she made them from,
but she hasn't had to make any of the new

(02:02:51):
medicines she brought back from Ravenhenge. Yet I keep taking
the pills like Bells told me, and I'm still feeling fantastic.
I'm actually able to keep the pace with Bells as
she's training me. She puts her hand on my shoulder. Okay,
iiny ready to show me what you learned. Let's do it, Bells.

(02:03:12):
I tell her we assume our fighting stances. When she
says go, we spar with each other again. Good, bell says,
very good. Keep it up. Yes, Bell's has learned many
different fighting styles during her time as both a tabon
and a master vampire. Right now, she's teaching me a

(02:03:32):
little bit of everything, mostly the stuff she learned as
a tabon growing up. I've been matching her more and
more as she's attacking. That's the exercise. She attacks and
I defend. We keep going for several minutes. Whatever that
stuff is Bells gave me is amazing. I feel like
I've got so much energy. Finally she stops attacking. Remember,

(02:03:57):
iiny what I'm teaching you. You do not use on
people at school, even when they upset you. You could
kill an innocent if you let your anger get the
better of you. I nod, I know, Bells. Then I
tighten my jaw and look at the house. You just
know how much I hate Martin. Bell's puts her hand

(02:04:18):
on my shoulder. He's not worth it. I only agreed
to teach you because you're my partner. I mean, it's great.
You make all our toys for when we go out.
But you got to know how to fight too. I
know we always stick close, but what if I'm not
there to help you? Like last month, I remind her
as we go inside, and like the Thanksgiving before, Bell's

(02:04:43):
points at me, Ah, but you did handle yourself a
year ago without me. Face it. Iini, you're tougher than
you look. But if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't
even be here right now. I further remind her. Then
Bell's hugs me, I hug her back. We love each other,

(02:05:05):
but not romantically. Belle's and I have been with each
other through a lot. We come apart fast when mean
Martin comes in, my older brother, who I hate so much.
When he sees me, I know he wants to call
me a little snippet. Martin's always made it clear that
he never wanted me to him. I was always the

(02:05:27):
little sister who kept getting in the way. I kept
trying to win him over, growing up to be fair,
Sometimes he would appreciate me. All that went out the
window when his actions with Courtney Rickman came back to
haunt me. I didn't take advantage of Courtney when she
was drunk at a party, but when she wanted payback.

(02:05:51):
Long story short, Courtney got her payback when her brother
brutally assaulted me and gave me aids. Immune system couldn't
handle a lot of the drugs I was being given. Really,
if it wasn't for Bells coming into my life and
using her knowledge her gram's taught her, I really don't

(02:06:12):
think i'd be here right now. I have hated Martin
ever since that night. To be fair, he's tried to
do right by me, but I can still tell he'd
rather be out of his life for good. The reason
he doesn't verbally attack me is because Bells told him
if he ever messed with me again that she would

(02:06:33):
mess with him. Martin throws his arms up and just
storms right back out the door. That is the kind
of tension going on here. Martin wants Bells as his girlfriend,
but he hates me. Bell's and I both hate him.
I turned to Bell's. I really don't know how much

(02:06:54):
more I can tolerate him. Bells walks to the door
and picks up the strickfield journe Martin dropped before leaving.
Then she turns back to me. I know this is
your house, Eine you said you were born here. Again.
If you want to leave here, we'll leave together. I sigh.

(02:07:16):
I really don't want to leave this house, but I'm
seriously considering letting Martin have it all. Like you once said,
anywhere we go is home. Yes, I did. Then she
looks at the paper. Looks like we got something. Iiny.
Bell's reads for a little bit before handing the paper

(02:07:38):
to me. I gasp after reading about the bodies. Then
I look up. It doesn't say Annalise Miron was among them. Nope.
Bell's agrees we'll have to go into the gated community
when it's dark and investigate maybe the hospital Morgue too.
I give Bells that icky look. Ah gross, She smirks

(02:08:03):
a little, Sorry, irony, I know you hate the Morgue,
but it always smells so gross, Bells, I tell her.
Then Bells and I have our little stare off before
I agree we might have to go there. Can we
go there first and just get it out of the way.
Bells laughs, Sure, better go make sure the toys are

(02:08:27):
tuned up and ready to go. I already did. I
even upgraded the battery in the sun lamp. I say,
I know it's still not perfect, but I can get
it to work better. I know it. You know I
trust you, she assures me, even when you puke your
guts up at the morgue. When she laughs, I grab
a pillow and throw it at her. Shut up Bells.

(02:08:51):
Then I growl a little. I hate going to the
Strickfield General Hospital morgue, but oftentimes Bells is right about
us sneaking around down there. I get the feeling she's
going to be right about us going down there again tonight.
Perspective Bella tabon. Ainie and me use our same plan

(02:09:13):
for getting into the hospital morgue. I disguise myself to
get into the hospital and get downstairs. Since the cameras
can't see me, I can get into the morgue and
open a window to let Aini in if someone's in there,
I use GLAMs so Ainie and me can do our
business and get out of there. Funny thing they still

(02:09:34):
never put cameras down here. That's good. In Heine's case.
It ain't long before she's making weird faces. She's probably
gonna puke, but at least she's a trooper. AINI opens
a drawer. You found one, she mutters in her mousy voice, Ainie,
and I pull the drawer out. It's not the bodies

(02:09:57):
themselves that get to Eine, but the smell of the chemicals. Anyway,
I'm looking around the neck area carefully. These heads were
ripped off, Bells. Aini says, you can see the necks
broken here. Then I put my hand to my chin.
I love how you easily diagnose the bodies we look at,

(02:10:20):
but this really bothers me, not you, Ainy. I mean,
why rip the heads off? Wouldn't it be a lot
easier to just chop them clean cut and all Iiny
pulls out her phone and brings up today's paper. After
reading the article again, she says, the bodies were all

(02:10:40):
drained of blood. Bells, you're a vampire, any ideas? I
grown her way, No, and that's what's really bothering me.
Vampires normally drink their victims, and that's it. They usually
don't rip the heads off. It just don't make sense.
From being friends of Analie's Miron, there's nothing saying what

(02:11:03):
the motive is. Ainie's typing away on her new smartphone.
After she got it, she took it apart and modified
it so she'd have access to all kinds of stuff
to help us. She keeps fighting the urge to gag.
There are other newspaper articles from around the area about
similar bodies we weren't investigating at that time, though I'm

(02:11:27):
sure those bodies are long since buried by now. At
least Aini and me both agree it's a vampire. I
pick up the head and take a closer look at
the neck. Right here, heinie definitely fangs. We look over
the body further and see there's nothing else aside from

(02:11:48):
indications of a struggle. After Aini snapped some picks on
her phone, we put the body away. We done? She asks, yeah,
I reply, oh, Aini, if you're not gonna eat that
greasy pork sandwich, ah Aine puts her hands to her

(02:12:09):
mouth and races to the nearby restroom to puke. After
flushing the toilet, she comes out and slaps my arm.
I hate you. Then I open the fridge and hand
her a coke, which she drinks gratefully before we leave.
All right, let's head to the mirngated community, I suggest.

(02:12:30):
Ainy waits for me to grab hold of her so
I can leap us both over to the Miron's compound
perspective Felicia Miron. Thanks to my spider instinct, I can
move around inside the gated community without anybody seeing me.

(02:12:52):
I'm in human form at the moment. At least. It
gets dark early in December. There's no cops around. Plenty
of yellow tape and chalk outlines all over the back patio.
This is the kind of stuff you see in horror
movies comic book nerds. I can't believe more murders happened here.

(02:13:13):
I left this house behind a few weeks ago. Believe me.
I wanted to keep living here after my parents died,
but it was getting to be too much on me emotionally.
That's how close I was to my parents. Unlike Annalise.
As soon as she met her ideal man and ran
away with him, she literally turned her back on our

(02:13:35):
immediate family. I'm sure you've heard the mir and ways
mentioned many times. I myself know the mir and ways,
but Annalies really used them to capitalize on opportunities, which
was how she got to be so rich all on
her own, probably why our parents left everything to me. Still,

(02:13:57):
when she offered to buy this mansion from me, I
accepted Annaliese definitely had the patio remodeled. Mom and Dad
never put a hot tub out here. Last I checked,
there was one in the basement Jim for after workouts.
I never asked anales why she wanted the mansion, but

(02:14:18):
I didn't really care. I took her offer and left.
She was even cruel and told me once I finished
moving out to never come back. That really hurt. We
almost got into a physical fight when she wanted to
kill my pet Tarantula creepy. Nevertheless, I still love my

(02:14:39):
sister because of the fact that she's my blood. That
and I'm also doing this because I want to do
good with these powers. Seeing Little Milly reminds me about
that every day. And Furthermore, I'm still looking for the
Blue Ribbons, the all female secret society who made that
New Life compound that was responsible for much of the

(02:15:02):
tragedy here on that Thanksgiving night and contributed to me
gaining my spider powers. Looking at this scene, however, this
doesn't have the Blue Ribbons written on it. I was
already at the hospital Morgue. While I'm sure multiple murders
aren't beneath the Blue Ribbons, they're more about world domination,

(02:15:24):
no someone else specifically targeted Analies. Not finding anything on
the patio, I go in the house for the first
time since I finished moving out. Looks like Annalies had
more rooms remodeled. Then I see more yellow tape and
chalk lines. Like on the patio. Everybody here got an

(02:15:47):
accompanying circle for their head except for one. The outline
by the broken out patio glass didn't have an additional
chalk circle. I did find one of the bodies at
the more with its heads still attached. Then I remember
the Strickfield Journal saying all of the bodies had no blood.

(02:16:08):
Aside from me, the only other blood drinkers I know
are vampires. I had a few run ins with vampires
since gaining my spider powers. I drink blood, but I
try not drinking straight from other people, which is why
I buy animal blood from Strickfield Meats. I just need
blood in general, doesn't have to be human. But what

(02:16:33):
kind of vampire drinks blood and then rips the heads
off the bodies. I gotta do more research on vampires.
I only just learned they were real, and I don't
know the exact rules for them. Sure, I've seen lots
of movies, but the rules are almost always different. I'm
gonna say the vampire that was here drank the blood,

(02:16:56):
then rip the heads off so they wouldn't come back.
The only body in the morgue that still had its
head also had its throat slashed. The article said by
Glass the vampire didn't bite him then, so there was
no need to rip the head off. Okay, I know
this sounds insane, but it's what I got at the moment. Also,

(02:17:20):
I don't know why the vampire took my only sister
and killed everybody else. Then my spider instinct tells me
I'm no longer alone in my old house. I hear
voices and leap to the other side of the room
to get out of sight. I quietly opened the window
in front of me in case I got a bail.

(02:17:40):
I'm wearing a hoodie, so whoever these people are won't
easily see my face. Then they come into the room.
What Aileen Donnerly and Bella Tabon, what are they doing here?
Their fellow students and cheerleaders at Strickfield Highane Donnerly was

(02:18:00):
also a big help in my solving the puzzle of
what happened with my parents and how I got my powers. Now,
I am intrigued. We haven't been out back yet, heine.
But the vampire's definitely been here, Bella tells Aileen. Don't
vampires have to be invited first? Aileen asks, Bella thinks

(02:18:22):
about it. Ah, if I needed an invite into your house, heine,
all I'd have to do is glam you, assuming you're
in here and looking outside at me, then I'd order
you to invite me in. Aileen gulps. I'll have to
remember that. Yeah, it's very easy to fall into that
particular trap. Bella says, I'm thinking that's how the vampire

(02:18:46):
got in here. Analise Miron is at least one of
the owners here. The article just said Annalise Miron owns
this house Belle's. Aileen tells her are they investigating Annalise? Why?
I'm watching them more now and keeping my breathing quiet
so they don't hear me. I see they both have

(02:19:08):
contraptions strapped to their wrists. They are investigating Annalees again?
Why also? They seem to know a lot about vampires?
Whoever did this sure made a mess. Aileen observes, so
much blood, then Bella sneers, you sure you're finished with

(02:19:31):
that greasy pork sandwich? Iiny Aleen tightens her jaw and
points at Bell's shut up. She lowers her hand blood like,
this doesn't make me puke, Just those chemicals in the
hospital Morgue, Bella pats Aileen's shoulder. Just wanted to make
sure you got it out of your system. Aileen shoves

(02:19:53):
Bella a little. Yeah, I got your greasy pork sandwich.
Bella faces her. Always get your twin cousin Madeline to
come out with me. She never gets sick in the
hospital Morgue. Aileen growls a little, and then they get serious. Seriously,
who are these two? I wait for them to finish

(02:20:14):
up in here. They also say something about how puzzling
it is for a vampire to rip the heads off
their victims. You think the vampire didn't want to sire others,
Aileen asks, Bella looks puzzled. Every vampire I've ever encountered
has been the same. Aside from being masters or not,

(02:20:35):
siring is a one for one exchange. The vampire drinks
from you, then you drink from the vampire. But from
there you can come back two or three nights later.
A simple bite just makes the victim bleed, it never
turns them. The rules are the same for both masters
and garden variety vampires. Not you, bells Aleen counters. You're

(02:21:00):
a master vampire, but you're the only one who has
their own set of rules. This is true, iine, but
even if I could sire people, I wouldn't know how. Also,
having tried to drink blood just after I became a
vampire wasn't a good experience. I mean, I literally dropped
to my knees and puked. That was when I discovered

(02:21:22):
I needed to eat lots of food instead, like greasy
pork sandwiches, alien cracks. I had to keep from laughing.
Then Bella laughs a little to herself. Okay, I guess
you get that one. She gets serious. It still bites
me though. Ripping the heads off your victims ain't normal

(02:21:44):
vampire behavior. Iini, let's go look outside. Then Bella sniffs
we ain't alone, and then she looks my way. Perspective.
Div Bella tabon. It smells like someone who's been just

(02:22:05):
working out. When I start moving to where I smell
the person, someone quickly leaps through an open window. I
can easily tell it's a girl. I couldn't see her
face because of the hoodie, but she was definitely wearing
sweatpants and sandals. I dive right through the window and
sniff for her again. Then I turn and catch iiny

(02:22:27):
when she's diving through the window. After I set her
on her feet, she lowers her night vision goggles. Then
we split up to look around the yard. It's times
like this when I wish I could transmorph into a
bat or even fly. I pick up that sweaty workout
girl's scent again. Then I hear ainy in my earpiece.

(02:22:49):
She's on the roof. Bells. How'd she get on the
roof so fast? If she's our vampire? I leap up
onto the roof myself. The girl's squatting down. She's got
her sandals off and his barefoot with a hand pressed
to a roof tile. I'm leaping at her now, I'll
catch her since she won't see me. Suddenly, the girl

(02:23:11):
turns out of nowhere and shoves me hard, making me
fly right off the roof and hitting the glass below. Okay,
quite possibly our vampire. Not to mention she just made
me mad. I leap onto the roof again, but she's
nowhere to be found. She's in the garage. Bells, Iini

(02:23:35):
communicates to me, she just scaled down the wall and
into the window. Can vampires do that? Now? I hear
a crash, bells help. I quickly leap off the roof
and land where I hear AINI she's secured the siding
by webs. Iine's struggling to break free, but these webs

(02:23:58):
have her wrists and ankles stuck fast. When I break
the webs, they're sticking to my own fingers. You okay, Iiny,
I ask? She nods. By the time I saw her,
she was right on me. Then I ended up like
how you found me? Vamps can't spin webs, right, No,

(02:24:20):
they don't turn into spiders, I assure her, And before
I realize what's happening. Next, someone grabs me from behind
and slams me hard right through the wall and into
the garage. I fly right through the back window and
inside of a jeep. All right, whoever did that just
wrote a check they can't cash. Then I hear Iiny screaming.

(02:24:42):
I kick the door off the jeep and come out.
That's when I see the two glowing red eyes of
the shadowy figure holding iiny. About time somebody got here
to investigate my artwork, The vampire calls out in kind
of a mousey voice. Now I finally get to have

(02:25:03):
some fun perspective, Madeline Donnerly. Yes, wherever here is has
heroes too, and here's two of them. The one I'm
holding onto right now is definitely nostalgia for me, and
the other one looks like I'm gonna get my competition.

(02:25:24):
The girl I took suddenly throws something in my face.
I scream and let her go. That little girl through
garlic essence in my face. It burns, but it don't
take long for me to heal up fast. Now Aileen's
looking right at me through her are those night vision goggles?

(02:25:46):
Then she gasps, are you seeing this? Bells? The other
girl comes and stands with her. This can't be right, iine,
No way it can be her. Now I'm laughing at him.
Oh do I look maybe sound like somebody you know?
Aileen shakes her head. You can't be Madeleine. I hold

(02:26:11):
up my arms out to my sides. Tada looks like
you win the prize, Aileen. Then the one called Bell's
shakes her head. It ain't her, Ainie. Maybe she looks
and talks like Mattie, but this ain't her. It's not
her scent. Believe me, I know Maddie's scent. She's been

(02:26:32):
around us enough times. I fold my arms in front
of me. Now I'm just insulted. Here, I unfold them
and raise my finger. I am Madeline Donnerly, No mistake there,
I just ain't your Madeline Donnerly. Now that I'm seeing you,
Aileen and hearin about another me here? Well, I guess

(02:26:55):
now I know I'm in another universe. Then I look up.
You really messed up sending me here, Patrick Gunter. Now
I'm looking at him again. Come to look at my masterpiece?
Did you maybe to you? I made a real mess here?
But this is art. I just love carnage almost as

(02:27:17):
much as I love blood. Too bad the piggies had
to wreck it. Oh well, but at least you two
are here. Now, what are you? Aileen yells? Come on,
you both gotta know what I am. I returned. I
mean you just threw garlic in my face. Right, I'm

(02:27:38):
a vampire that came from from a whole other universe
where my earth's nearly all vampires, and now I'm here
in yours. I vamp out and extend my claws, and
now I want to play. Then I gasp, Oh, you

(02:27:59):
want to know how else I know? I'm in a
parallel universe, a Leen, I laugh cause I drank you
up myself. I'm thinking maybe I'll drink you again. I
never liked you. Suddenly, the one called Bells leaps right
at me and knocks me on my keyster. Then she's

(02:28:20):
picking me up and slamming me into an suv that's
parked outside. But I'm quickly fighting back and showing this
other vamp I ain't no slouch. Turns out I can
match her for strength. I'm also showing her I got
moves too. Suddenly I'm dropping and moving in between Bell's legs.
When I come up, I jump right on her back,

(02:28:41):
and before she can get me off her, I'm sinking
my fangs right into her neck. Are you serious? Bells
cries out, you just killed yourself. I'm really tightening my
arms around Bells. Now, I drank from several vampires back
in my universe, but this Bell's vampire is so so yummy,

(02:29:05):
I can't stop drinking from her. Then she finally breaks
free and knocks me away. I go fly into the
grass and slide to the patio. I stand up and
lick my lips. Now Bells is coming at me. Seriously,
you little psycho. You're gonna drink from me. Bells yells.

(02:29:26):
Now I'm smiling. I want more. I don't know what
kind of stock you got, but I want seconds, Bells.
This Mattie isn't melting away. A Leen stammers, I'm laughing again.
Melt away, Oh, a Leen, I've been drinking from other

(02:29:48):
vampires back in my universe. You ain't supposed to, but
that's what made me powerful. Then I gasp, Wow, you
got some great stock, Bells, because I'm getting a real
fix off of you right now. Now I'm falling to
my knees and holding myself. I'm thinking they're expecting me

(02:30:09):
to melt like Aileen said, but I don't melt. In fact,
I'm feeling feeling more powerful. I'm moaning and groaning as
I'm feeling sensations i've never felt before. It's like getting
some kind of supercharge. Now, when I'm back on my feet,

(02:30:31):
I'm looking right at Bells. I want seconds. I'm shrieking
with delight. When I leap at her, she draws back
to knock me away. When she goes to punch me,
I quickly grab her arm and swing around to attach
myself to her. Again. She cries out when I sink
my fangs into her neck yet again. My body's really

(02:30:55):
coming to life now, Hm, yes, I moan hard. I
can't get her off me. Bell's cries run iy, But
Aileen don't run away this time. She's throwing holy water
in my face, but I ain't letting go. Finally, Bell's

(02:31:16):
falls on her side. Aileen tries holding a holy wafer
to my forehead and it don't do nothing. Next she's
using a crucifix and even that don't work. Now I
finally do stop drinking and stand up. I look at Aileen,

(02:31:36):
licking my lips and smiling. Your friend, here's some sort
of super vampire. I look down at Bell's I drank
from you. Now I got your powers too, and apparently
you ain't affected by vampire weaknesses. Oh man, things are

(02:31:56):
about to get real Fineuddenly someone else hits me and
sends me flying away. It ain't long before I'm back
on my feet again. Then I'm shrieking again. When I'm
seeing a giant spider. I guess Aileen hasn't ever seen
that before either, because she's freaking out too. The giant

(02:32:19):
spider lady got eight legs and two arms, with gray
fur claw like hands, four eyes, two antennas, and wearing
a T shirt torn down the middle enough to show
she's got a chest. Now she's pointing at me. Where's
Annalie's mirror? Vampire? Now I'm laughing. Why she's somewhere where

(02:32:43):
you ain't willing to go. I got her safely kept
away in the backwoods of Strickfield, and if you want her,
you gotta come and get her. Why are you doing this?
The spider demands, I really love how feel an evil feels.
Why not? Then I head up into the air, come

(02:33:06):
and get her. But I'm suddenly stopped when I'm tangled
up in a sticky web. Now the spider's pulling me back. Perspective,
Aileen Donnerly, I can't believe that giant spider woman is real.
There have been pictures of her in the Strickfield Journal.

(02:33:30):
I almost wondered if our paper was going tabloid. No,
this is Strickfield, Ohio. Vampires exist here. Then again, I
just found out last month that other monsters exist outside
of Strickfield. The more I'm looking at this giant spider,
the more I'm thinking she's on our side. Get back here,

(02:33:54):
the spider tells vamp Maddie. Then she shoots more webs
to entangle her, getting me, Vamp Maddie cries out. I
quickly move up to her. You either stop or I'll
hit you with this UV light. But this Maddie shows
how wickedly smart she is by changing in the mist
to escape from those sticky webs. She becomes human again

(02:34:18):
and lands she gotta do better than that Charlotte. Vamp
Maddie sneers at the spider woman. Then I hear a
groan and look to see Bells is still moving. I
quickly go to her. Bells, Bells, are you okay? I
shriek two weak Bells tells me so hot. I quickly

(02:34:41):
touch Bells's forehead, then turn to the spider. She's burning up.
I can tell the spider wants to go after Vamp Maddie.
She laughs scornfully at the spider. Guess you gotta choose.
You want Annalie's mirror, and you gotta come to the
backwoods of Strickfield, thinking you should just let me have her. Awe,

(02:35:03):
I made your vampire sick. The mirror woman or your
vampire better decide. Vamp Maddie changes into a bat again
and flies away. Then I noticed the sun's going to
come up soon. Bells and I pulled another near all nighter.
Then the spider surprises me by lifting Bells into her

(02:35:25):
humanoid arms. Where are we taking her, she asks me.
I almost struggle to think where we could go. Then
I remember something. The spider nods behind her, telling me
to hop on her back. She was wearing a backpack
and moves it to her shoulder for me to get on.

(02:35:46):
When I'm secure, the spider follows my directions. I have
to hold on tight as the creature leaps far distances.
She's probably as strong as Bells. Eventually we land outside
of a secluded house that Bell's bought here on County
Road one thirteen, outside of downtown village, just in case

(02:36:07):
things come full circle with mean Martin. The spider glances
at me. I can't enter the house like this. I'm
too big. I'll be right back after I dismount. The
spider places Bells in my arms. Then she goes behind
the garage. A few minutes later, a girl comes to us.

(02:36:28):
She's wearing the same sweatpants and hoodie we saw earlier.
She's got sandals on her feet. Now. Then she takes
Bell from me and into her arms again. Yeah, Bell's
is unconscious. I get us inside and turn on the lights.
The girl goes and sets Bells on the couch. Then

(02:36:50):
she thinks to check Bell's wrist. Now she realizes, how
can you have a pulse? She asks Bells, almost as
if she's asking herself. She's not like other vampires. I
tell her I want to pull her hood aside and
see who she is, but she's trying to help us.

(02:37:13):
I leave it go. Bells is more important right now anyway.
I just don't understand it. How could vamp Maddie bite
Bells and still be alive. When Alissa and Ali Mirn
drank from her, they both died horribly from it. They
didn't do it right away, but they melted into this

(02:37:36):
gross goop. Will the same thing happen to vamp Maddie perspective?
Madeline Donnery, I'm flying as fast as I can. I
ain't gonna make it I'm gonna die burning up. As
I'm nearing the backwoods of Strickfield, I know I'm totally screwed.

(02:37:59):
The sun's up enough to where it'll kill me. I
groan and fall fast. I won't die when I hit
the ground, but it's gonna hurt off. I'm in great pain,
but not for very long. I stand up and clear
the cobwebs. Now I'm seeing light in my eyes. I

(02:38:19):
open them and scream. I'm still too far from my cabin,
and I ain't safe from sunlight here in the backwoods,
but I'm not burning up. I stand tall and face
the morning sun. I look at my tattooed arms and
feel my face. Nothing's happening. I admit I'm scared, but

(02:38:43):
I stay where I am and watch the sunrise more. Wow,
I'm still here. I've been out in the sun for
several minutes, and I'm not dying. It's gotta be the
blood I drank from Bells means she can be out
in the daylight too. I'm continuing to feel more and

(02:39:05):
more powerful with her blood in me. I don't know
what all Bells can do, but I seen other vampires
and know they can't be out in the daylight. But
the fact that I am means she can too. I'm
truly free now. I ain't got a fear sunlight ever Again.

(02:39:26):
This whole world's truly mine to play with and do
with as I wish. Now I can truly call my
new world utopia. I haven't seen the sun since Carter
Cross's fourteenth birthday. Still in the sunlight, I start walking

(02:39:47):
back to my cabin. I'm gonna go check on Anale's
mirror first. Then I'm gonna go look for those three
heroes again and show them exactly what I can do now.
Christmas Eve perspective Felicia Miron. Bella is still unconscious. Eileen

(02:40:15):
and I have been doing everything we can. She's bringing
me another cold compress to put on Bella's forehead. I
never felt a fever like this on anyone before. I'm
almost afraid to ask what a thermometer would read on her.
Still I can't believe Bella Tabon is a vampire. Then

(02:40:38):
I realized the sunlights coming through the window and onto her.
She's not even dying. I once fought a vampire and
stopped him by webbing him up. He was stuck fast
until the sun came up and that's what ended him,
not Bella. Though you said Bella was a different kind

(02:40:59):
of vampire. I say to Aileen, she's unique. Aileen replies.
She walks in the daylight and eats lots of food.
She's not fully undead and doesn't drink blood. She's her
own kind of master vampire. I sigh and turn her way.

(02:41:20):
I'm gonna trust you, Aileen. This stays just between us, Okay,
I pull my hood back. Aileen gasps, Felicia Meren, our
cheerleading captain. You're the spider lady. I know, right, I reply.
I take another cold compress from Aileen and put it

(02:41:42):
on Bella's forehead. Will she die? I ask? Aileen looks exhausted.
I really don't know. Then she cries softly. I'd be
dead right now if it wasn't for Bells. I'm sick,
and she's used her family's medicines to keep me alive.

(02:42:06):
She looks me in the face. I can't lose her, Felicia,
She's all I have. I'm a science whiz, just like you,
I say, I don't know how to help a vampire, though,
the only thing I can think of is maybe Bella's
lost too much blood that other vampires seemed to drink

(02:42:26):
quite a bit from her. Just then, Bella groans, I
quickly pull my hood back on just as she's opening
her eyes. She sees me first. Then Aileen goes into
her sight Belle's She groans, I'll live Inini feels like

(02:42:47):
I got poison in my veins so hot. Just stay
here and lay down, Aileen tells her. Suddenly, my spider
instinct's going critical. Quickly snatch up a Leen and pull
her to the floor. As the front window shatters, I
quickly get up to see that vampire again. It doesn't

(02:43:09):
take either of us long to see that she's not
burning up either. Now where were we, the vampire asks,
Then she looks down at Bella. M I think I'll
drink up the rest of that yummy blood of yours.
Bella suddenly strikes and kicks her. The hell you will.

(02:43:30):
The vampire goes flying through another window, and right outside,
Bella is trying to get up off the couch, but
she's still weak and sick. I leap out that same
window and intercept the other vampire. Yeah, fight me, she cheers.
The two of us are locked in mortal combat. Fortunately

(02:43:52):
for me, I'm able to dodge her blows and kicks
thanks to my spider instinct and reflexes. Yes, book nerds,
I am very much a freak, but I'm also trying
to be both a good mirror and a hero. Every
time I punch or kick the vampire, she's stunned for
a moment before getting back up. She's loving every minute

(02:44:17):
of our fight. She's tried warping behind me, but my
spider instinct warns me of that danger too. I can't
believe the kind of reflexes I got. I don't think
I ever experienced these in my spider form. Guess their
advantages to being human over my spider body. Unfortunately, I

(02:44:38):
can't change into the spider because it takes around two minutes,
and that vampire won't give me that kind of time.
When she gets too close and tries biting me, I
quickly cover her face with very sticky webs. Then I
grab her arms and give her my prickles. I hope
my spider venom works on her. I get my answer

(02:45:00):
and she starts wobbling around a little. I prick her
again and inject even more venom. Now she's walking around
like a few stoners I see at Strickfield University. When
I go there to get coffee, I start laying into
her again. I'm thinking, if she's out in the daylight,
she drank from Bella and somehow gained her powers too.

(02:45:23):
Just how powerful is this vampire? I keep throwing my
spider strength into her again and again. I'm even drawing blood,
you know, comic book nerds, She ain't gonna stay stoned
for very long. Suddenly she runs into me with a
shoulder tackle and takes me down. I'm stunned now. Then

(02:45:44):
the vampire slithers onto me. M chow time, she giggles
in her mousey voice. Suddenly Bella's right there to pull
the vampire off me and throw her hard enough to
send her flying halfway through through a farmer's field. Aileen's
right there, now, you okay? I nod, just a little winded.

(02:46:09):
When Aileen gives me her hand, I accept it and
let her help me up. I realize it's now or never.
I move behind the house and strip down to my
T shirt. Then I start the change. In two minutes,
I'm my cute and cuddly giant spider self again. Bella
and I move to the other vampire. I point at

(02:46:32):
her and demand I want Annalie's mirror right now. The
other vampire laughs scornfully, hue Wanner, come and get her.
She quickly flies up into the air and is getting away.
Bella tries leaping up to catch her, but she's still
too weak and falls back to the ground. Damn it,

(02:46:54):
Bella screams. Aileen kneels down beside her. Easy, Bell's, don't
push yourself. Bella gets back to her feet. Then she
sees me, what do you have to do with Analie's mirrn.
Let's just say she's someone I care about. I reply.

(02:47:15):
Bella groans, fine, it's our fight. Then she looks in
the direction the other vampire flew. Guess we're heading into
the backwoods of Strickfield. I really hate that place. All
kinds of nasty things walking around back in there. I
put a hand on Bella's shoulder. You're gonna be okay

(02:47:38):
to do this, she sighs. Honestly, I still ain't feeling
so hot, but I'm gonna do this. Can you carry
both Iiny and me on your back? Spider hop on?
I tell them Bella and Aileen are both short and
skinny enough to ride on my back. Hang On, I

(02:47:59):
show my riders how fast I can move on my
eight legs. It takes a few leaps, but eventually we're
outside the forbidden Forest. No point asking if Bella and
Aleen want to turn back. Knowing we're seeing this thing through,
we head into the backwoods of Strickfield together to have

(02:48:20):
a meeting with destiny perspective. Bella Tabon, I don't understand
how that other Madeline Donnerly could drink from me and
gain my powers. I already know how dangerous I am.
I haven't forgotten how dangerous Thornton Jillian was during my

(02:48:40):
time as immortal. I was the one who finally killed him,
but his powerful master vampire blood mixed with my pure
Tabon blood through injuries while I was unconscious, turning me
into the master vampire I am now. The fact that
this Madeline now seems to have all my powers makes

(02:49:03):
her possibly even more dangerous than I or even Thornton
Gillian could ever be. I can also tell this Madeline's
not playing with a full deck, which makes her that
much worse. Listen you too, when we fight Maddie in there.
Don't hold back, I tell them, And remember, Ainie, this

(02:49:25):
ain't your twin cousin. Believe me, Belles, I know the
difference between our Maddie and that thing we're chasing. Aleen replies,
I'm just hoping what happened in that vampire universe we
went to back in October isn't a sign of things
to come here. I doubt it. Ainie, I tell her,

(02:49:46):
remember she didn't even know who I was. Either I
don't exist in that vampire universe or she ain't never
met me before. Wait a minute, are you two saying
parallel un verses are actually real? The Spider asks, we
don't expect you to believe us. Aileen replies, you had

(02:50:08):
to have been there. No, I believe you. The Spider says,
I guess you can make this stuff up, but at
the same time you can't. Then she stops. It's my
spider instinct. Be ready. It ain't long before these white
people are coming at us, and I mean white hair

(02:50:31):
and skin. They also have puke colored eyes. Hungry, they
both roar, we're ready to jump off, but the Spider
quickly turns to face them. I got this. She snags
them both with her webs, brings them to her and
smashes their heads together. They both fall away and are

(02:50:53):
staggering trying to get up, giving us time to get away.
I swear it seems like we're getting deeper and deeper
into these woods. How in the world did this big
stretch of woods outside Strickfield become such a fearful place?
No cell signal here, Aini informs us, not surprised, The

(02:51:17):
spider replies, just like in the horror movies, we live
them all the time. I informer story of our lives
Inini and me keep riding the spider. Soon we come
to another clearing stop. Spider, I think, I smell Madeline.
I'm right up above you. We hear her call out,

(02:51:40):
but the spider quickly knocks Madeline away as she drops
on us. AINI and me dismount. When Madeline's on her feet,
she cheers, congratulations, you found it. The spider gasps. When
we see Annalie's mirror sitting lazily on the porch of
a nearby car, she looks very weak. Then I remember

(02:52:04):
how Madeleine drank from me and understand what kind of
vampires come from her universe. Don't let Madeline, bite you,
I warn them, or you'll turn for sure. The spider
points to Annalie's mirror. Did you bite her, Madeline? I'll
kill you? Madeline snickers. Maybe I did, and maybe I didn't.

(02:52:29):
She points to me. Oh bells. Since I drank your blood,
I got your powers now. I really love enjoying a
beautiful sunrise. You set me free. I don't care how
weak I still am. Madeleine's gotta be stopped. I'm a

(02:52:50):
tabon and I can't let this creature win. Let's do this.
Only one of us is leaving here, and it ain't
gonna be you. Madeleine tightens her fist. Okay, entertain me.
Suddenly Madeline howls and leaps right at me. Perspective Madeline donnerly. Yes,

(02:53:15):
I'm finally gonna be entertained at last. I was beginning
to think I was gonna be bored here in Utopia.
It's little old me against a mortal, the master vampire
who set me free, and a spider freak. At first,
I'm thinking Aileen'll be easy, peasy, lemon squeezy, but she's

(02:53:36):
showing me she ain't no little mousey with her moves
and those contraptions. She can't really hurt me with her moves,
but she's showing me she ain't gonna go down easy.
The only thing frustrating me is I can't hit that
spider Ah. That's right, spiders sense danger. She'll always know

(02:53:57):
I'm coming, even when I warp behind me. She's definitely strong,
but I'm much stronger since drinking from bells. In fact,
that's what I'm gonna do again. I want all of
her delicious blood. I want all of her power. The
four of us keep fighting into the afternoon. I can

(02:54:18):
tell Aileen's getting tired, but she's still showing she's willing
to fight. Eventually, even with my new powers, these three
just ain't given up. They all triple toe me and
give me a hell of a showdown. Then the Spider
Girl sticks me again. Wow, she really dope me up
this time. I can barely stand. Then I fall on

(02:54:42):
my keyster. Seriously, you're all wanting to kill me so
bad just to get this blood bag over here back
I jeer see. I glamed Anaale's mirn and got her
to open up about herself. She's one of the absolute
the worst people you'll ever meet. Know how many big

(02:55:03):
companies she's taken over. Know how many judges she's bought off.
That's how corrupt this woman is. You ought to just
let me have her. I'd be doing people here a favor.
Then Bell's leaps at me and pops me right in
the face. You'll never understand, Madeline, You're not a hero.
It ain't about what people like Analie's mir and may

(02:55:25):
Or may not have done. When I'm almost on my feet,
a Leen's right there to fire a steak into my heart.
For a brief moment, I'm afraid of dying for good.
Then I'm seeing the benefits of drinking Bells's blood again.
The vampire weaknesses I once had no longer affect me.

(02:55:47):
I pull the steak out of my heart. Oh, I
do know what it's like being a hero. But what
you got to live for when your greatest enemy takes
everything from you? Oh, I'm really mad and break the
steak just by squeezing it. Mayor Gunter caused the vampire
apocalypse to happen in my universe. He took away my world,

(02:56:08):
my family, my friends, and my life. He eventually took
my mortality when he bit me and turned me into this.
Then he finally killed Carter Cross, taking the love of
my life away from me. I ain't got nothing left
to lose. I'm feeling all that power surging through me

(02:56:29):
as I'm getting madder and madder. So you do gooders,
Tell me, then, what else is there left to fight for?
I pause? Don't you understand yet? Goodness is weakness? The
spiders looking upset? You think I don't know what Annale's

(02:56:50):
Miron's done. Has it ever occurred to you that I
could have turned to evil and did everything you're doing
right now? But I got a real chance to do
some good and help make this world a better place.
If it means I gotta save people like Analie's mirror,
then that's what I gotta do. It ain't our place

(02:57:10):
to judge them. That's for God to decide their fate,
not you. Now. I'm just looking at them, and one
more time, I'm laughing hard. When I finish, I just
look right at him. Yeah you all entertain me? Good
You're giving me a hell of a fight. So you

(02:57:31):
think highly of this God? Huh? Well, I got something
here that says the contrary. That's when I'm reaching in
my pocket and pulling out my compact, I open it
up and show them. Yeah, I learned about old Bloodstone,
which lets vampires see their reflection. That means I can

(02:57:54):
use it to finally see my own reflection. Ever, play
video games, don't you know there's always a final boss. Well,
guess what it ain't me? Then I laugh it up
again before looking into the compact and saying Mary Worth,
Marry Worth, Mary wor word boy, oh boy? You people

(02:58:27):
should have seen the looks on the hero's faces when
the ground starts shaking. Soon the evil red energies come
out of the mirror and flow into me. Oh, are
these three ever gonna be in for the fight of
their lives? Maryworth used to be a white witch who

(02:58:48):
fought for good. After Patrick Gunter bit and turned me
tainted my soul, Mary's soul got tainted as well since
she was possessed me. I truly wish I could describe
what she looks like now, but I simply couldn't do
her justice. Now, I just sit back and let Mary

(02:59:11):
deal with these so called heroes. Perspective Aileen Donnerly. Just
when I thought being in that vampire universe last October
was scary enough, I should have seen this coming, Bells,
I groan, No, we should have seen this. Bells disagrees

(02:59:36):
normally when cousin Maddie calls for Mary Worth. She's a
gentle and powerful white witch who wields the power of
the White Light. Though she was wrongfully accused of witchcraft
during the days of the Salem witch Trials, she never
turned to evil. She just simply left her body and
went into a mirror to escape her death. But this

(03:00:00):
evil version of her, She's colored in many different shades
of red, and her eyes are glowing like two burning rubies.
Just seeing the power emitting from her, you can literally
see how evil she really is. Those sharp fangs of
hers truly scare me. Bell's is right, we both should

(03:00:22):
have seen this coming. Vamp Maddie sure played us good.
Now we may not even live to see Christmas Day tomorrow.
Vamp Mary laughs scornfully at us. Her laughter is so
scary when it echoes upward into the sky. Madeleine called
me the final Boss. Vamp Mary says, in her evil voice, Truly,

(03:00:48):
you shall learn, indeed what a final boss can be. Suddenly,
vamp Mary lashes out with her powers and immediately strikes
all of us down a man. Yeah, I know it's
something Cousin Maddie says, but that's how I'm feeling right now.
I really feel like laying right where I am and dying,

(03:01:13):
even though I know I'm dying because of the disease
that's slowly killing me. I know I don't want to die.
I forced myself to sit up. Bell's taught me so
much since she came to be my best friend. I
don't care. I'll die fighting beside my friend. And besides,
Felicia's right about why we're the good guys. Problem is,

(03:01:39):
how can you fight a ghost? Then Bell's raises her hand.
You two are gonna have to sit this one out.
I'm the only one who can fight her. That's right.
Bell's was able to keep Abigail Tomlin from taking Cousin
Mattie and her friends the way she did those three
boys a year ago last Halloween. I don't know what

(03:02:01):
kind of power Master Vampire holds over a ghost, but
I'm placing my faith in my best friend. Very well, Vampire,
I shall accept your challenge, vamp Mary points to Bells.
But it shall mean the end of you. Suddenly, vamp

(03:02:24):
Mary strikes Bells down again with her tremendous power. Bell's
groans and then stands up. That all you got? Vamp
Mary strikes Bells down again again, she gets up. I'm
afraid for Bells. Still, No matter how many times vamp

(03:02:44):
Mary strikes her down, Bells keeps getting right back up.
Sooner or later, you shall remain still for good, vamp
Mary taunts, even you cannot withstand my power. Forever. Bells
forces herself to her feet again. But forever is exactly

(03:03:06):
how long I got? Or did you forget I'm a vampire?
Then Felicia taps me on the shoulder and whispers a plan.
I nod and hop on her back. I don't know
if Belle's is distracting vamp Mary, but we're getting the time.
We need to get over to that cabin and rescue
Annalise Miron. When we reach her, she looks like she's

(03:03:30):
really weak. I climb off Felicia and start checking Annalise's neck.
That's when Annalise herself comes to life and starts punching
and slapping at me. Felicia quickly grabs her wrists and
holds her so I can examine her. I don't see
any bites. I tell Felicia, get your hands off me.

(03:03:52):
Analise growls, seeing Analise is going to fight us, Felicia
sinks a claw into her. Shortly after she's falling fast asleep,
Felicia lifts Antaali's into her arms. Get on, Aileen, I'll
get us out of here. I look up at Felicia.
You can get her out of here. I'm staying with Bells.

(03:04:15):
She's about to ask me if I'm sure. Then she
smiles a little. If you two ain't back at school
for cheerleading practice after Christmas break, I'll come find you
both and assign extra duties. I laugh a little. We'll
be there. Felicia and I slap a quick five before

(03:04:36):
she turns away and takes Annale's to safety. I don't
know if Felicia is coming back or not. I turn
my attention back to Bell's and vamp Mary. I don't
know what I can do in this fight, but I
won't abandon Bells, not when she's never abandoned me. I

(03:04:56):
take a deep breath, then move my little legs. Vamp
Mary keeps striking Bells down, but she keeps showing she
won't stay there, Bell's looks like she got her butt
kicked many many times over. And then I see it,
vamp Maddie's compact. Now I'm thinking of my Maddie. People

(03:05:20):
call her mouse, people used to call me mouse. Okay,
I'll be mouse today. I get on my hands and
knees and move real careful. I'm ever so close to
that horrible vampire ghost. I can literally feel that red
evil radiating from her spectral form. But I have courage

(03:05:44):
and reach out to grab vamp Maddie's compact. Then I
turn around and sneak away you. Then vamp Mary fires
twin ibeams at the compact and destroys it. You have
nothing left to fight me with, little one, vamp Mary sneers.

(03:06:06):
I look past her and see Bell's is again getting up.
You know, I'm really scared, But I stand up and
look right into vamp Mary's face. When I see her
fangs again, I know exactly what to do. I've got this,
I tell her simply. I raise my arm and fire

(03:06:29):
my last remaining stake. It hits its mark and actually
sinks right into the ghost's heart. Vamp Mary gasps, ah, no,
that's impossible. Good thinking, Anie, Bell's calls out, shakingly. Yeah,
she's still very weak. The ghost tries pulling the stake out,

(03:06:53):
but her energies are fading fast. She has enough time
to utter a spell, which opens a portal. Then the
ghost disappears and becomes vamp Maddie again. She points at us. Now,
no fair, what did you do to me? Belle's obliges

(03:07:13):
Vamp Maddie. Now, no, what did you do? Madeline? She
raises her finger. Okay, you got yourself an early Christmas
present by drinking my blood and gaining my powers from it.
In this case, it was only you who got my powers,
not your ghostly friend. That's why AINI was able to

(03:07:34):
stake her. She became a vampire herself through you. Now
that she's faded, it's left you weaken. Two. You never
sent her back into the mirror properly, and since your
Mary destroyed it, Bell's approaches her. Now, oh, here's another
Christmas present. Suddenly, Bell's vamps out and grabs vamp Maddie.

(03:07:59):
Then she gives me one heck of a surprise when
she exposes vamp Mattie's neck and sinks her fangs deep.
Now I'm wondering if somehow vamp Maddie's bite did something
to Bell's, like some kind of trade. Bells keeps drinking

(03:08:21):
and drinking until vamp Maddie is far too weak to
move and goes limp. Bell's finishes by raising vamp Maddie
over her head, then throwing her into the open portal.
Ou vamp Maddie calls out before the portal closes. Where

(03:08:47):
did we send her, Bells? I ask? She shrugs hopefully
back to her home universe. Now I'm noticing he's not
looking so good. You okay? Bell's glares at me. Now, no,

(03:09:08):
I nee, I ain't okay. I just drank a bunch
of blood. I forgot how nasty this stuff tastes. Oh,
I got her. Now I know exactly what to do.
Maybe the taste of a greasy pork sandwich will Suddenly.
Bells drops to her knees and paints the ground with

(03:09:30):
all that blood she sucked out of vamp Maddie. When
she finishes, she stands up and glares at me again.
I'm gonna kill you. I raise my finger. I had
to get you back for at the morgue last night.
Bell's sighs, fine, we're even, I shake my head. Nope,

(03:09:56):
not when you consider how many times you've made me
run to the bathroom when we'd investigate down there. But
I finally got you once. Bell's sighe fine, if we're
done here, let's go home. Mine or yours? I ask,
She groans, you choose? I really feel like crap. Epilogue

(03:10:27):
Christmas Day perspective. Bella tabon Iini chose for us to
go to my house. I had to board up the
windows that got broken out. I'll have to get those
replaced after Christmas. Next, I got the house warm for
Iini and cleaned up the debris from the windows. From there,

(03:10:48):
we both crashed until Christmas morning. When I wake up,
I feel fully restored. It's like I never lost my
blood to begin with. Then Iini comes and find you, okay, bells?
She asks, No, I'm really hungry. I answer, I'm thinking

(03:11:09):
Denoyer's grill and some breakfast platters. You hungry? Yeah, I'll
do breakfast with you, AINI replies. After we get cleaned
up and put fresh clothes on, I get us both
the Denoyer's grill. Since I'm back at full power. That
only means Thornton Gillian has the last laugh on me

(03:11:31):
once again. I'd have thought that after the other Madeline
nearly suck me dry, that I'd finally drop over and
stop being immortal again. I'm thinking I may never be
able to die. On a more positive note, I get
to keep eating this delicious Denoyer's grill food. Even on

(03:11:56):
Christmas Day. They're still serving up breakfast. They're going to
be serving Christmas dinner later on that night. Iinny and
me are at my place. I really wanted to cook
dinner for her like I did on Thanksgiving. Just like
on Thanksgiving, Irony ate good, honestly, we both ate good.

(03:12:22):
Eventually we're sitting in the family room and enjoying the fireplace.
Thanks for letting me stay here with you, Bells. Aini says,
no problem. We kind of had to come here anyway,
since I never got around to buying food to eat
at your place. I knew I had plenty of food here,
so made sense. So what do you want to do?

(03:12:48):
Aini asks? What do you want to do? I ask back,
Irony shrugs. I don't really care, Bells. We're here with
each other Christmas. At least we don't have to see Martin.
I turned to her, how are you feeling. I'm fine, Really,

(03:13:10):
I'm fine. Those pills you whipped up for me at
Thanksgiving keep working. I'm hoping they never stop. Ainie gets
up and comes and sits with me on the couch.
I know we ain't lovers, but I love you, Bells.
I appreciate you training me and letting me be your
partner out in the field. I want to be able

(03:13:33):
to live long enough to help you in whatever way
I can. Only way you're going to get me to
stop is to leave me forever, I sigh. In the beginning,
we both know I tried doing that and failed miserably.
I couldn't do that to you now, Iinie. We've been
friends for far too long. We're family now. I know

(03:13:57):
I'll never be able to stop you from coming out
with me, but I don't want you to die out
in battle with me. I know the only way I
can truly stop you, and I'll never do that. I
thought i'd always be alone after becoming the last Tabon,
but then you came along and all that changed. I

(03:14:19):
don't know. I feel like in some way we're supposed
to be together. I can't explain it, Like you said,
we ain't lovers, but it ain't like that, so I
guess will always be partners, you and me. I take
Ainie's hand in mine and cry a little. Just don't

(03:14:43):
you dare die on me, not unless it's your natural time.
Ainie and I both hug and hold each other for
a long while. Personally, I haven't been a huge fan
of Christmas since I became the last tape and had
no family to celebrate with. But now I've been with

(03:15:06):
Iini for two Christmas holidays. Since she's family to me,
now I have a reason to celebrate again. I don't
want to lose Aini, but I am going to cherish
as much time with her as I possibly can. I'm
hoping we can have many more Christmases and other family

(03:15:30):
holidays together. Grahams used to say, nothing's more important than family.
I guess I gotta thank Thornton Jillian for what he
inadvertently made me into. If it weren't for my becoming
a master vampire, I'd never have met Ainie. Merry Christmas, bells,

(03:15:53):
Ainie says, when we finally come apart, Merry Christmas. I
tell her perspective, Felicia Miron, I don't make it back
to Gabriel's parents' house until late Christmas Eve night. Gabriel's

(03:16:15):
waiting up for me. Naturally, I'm back in my human form,
wearing normal clothes now. Naturally, Millie's asleep upstairs. Gabriel looks
from the TV to me. When he sees I look
like hell, he gets up and comes to me. You, okay, Felicia,

(03:16:36):
what happened? I really don't know if I want to
tell Gabriel everything, but we're getting more and more serious
about each other. I had a huge fight with my sister,
I tell him as the spider Aileen Donnerley, and I
saved Annalise. Thankfully she didn't get turned by that vampire

(03:16:59):
we were fighting. I don't know if I could have
forgiven myself for that. Once I turned back to human
and put my clothes back on, I showed up to
try and take Annalise back home. First thing she did
was slap me hard across the face and told me
she didn't need her pathetic whimp of a little sister

(03:17:20):
to save her. Then she kept rubbing salt in my
wounds by saying I was stupid and a bleeding heart,
just like cousin charity. She said I should have just
left her there, and that's what she would have done
to me if I had been in her shoes. I
couldn't hold back anymore. I went off on Annali's like

(03:17:44):
I'd never gone off on anyone. No, I never hit her,
but I told her how soulless she turned out to be.
To add insult to injury, I told her that I'd
have saved her again and again. It felt really good
to get all that out of my system. It also
felt good that I rescued her, especially when it came

(03:18:07):
to teaming up with other heroes to save the day.
Of course, I couldn't tell Gabriel about that part. Gabriel's
been holding me to him the entire time and being
the most supportive man. I just don't understand how people
can become so apathetic like that. I finish now. He

(03:18:30):
makes me look up at him. He's a head taller
than me. He tells me how sorry he is for
what I went through and that he's glad I confide
it in him about it. He tells me I can
tell him anything and that he'll always be my rock.
Then I finally tell him I love you. There's that

(03:18:55):
lady killer smile again. I love you too, Felicia. I
don't need my spider instinct to tell me someone's watching us.
We both turn and see little Milly. She comes running
right to me. I lower myself and hug her close

(03:19:15):
to me. She hugs me just as tight. I missed you,
she says, I missed you too. I tell her I'm
back now as promised. Just then, the old grandfather clock
in the living room goes off. Now I look at
Gabriel's little girl in the face. Hey, Milly, it's midnight.

(03:19:41):
Know what it is? Now? It's Christmas. Then Gabriel kneels
down with us. Felicia's right, Milly, it is Christmas. Now
you want to open presents? Yeah, she exclaims. Truth be told.
When I agreed to live with Gabriel while he's house sitting,

(03:20:03):
I never knew I'd be feeling things I only ever
thought would happen in movies. I cried many times when
I'd watch them on the Hallmark channel or on Lifetime.
Other things. Anneal's would say I was weak for whenever
I'd show emotions, she'd call me weak. I gladly own

(03:20:24):
my emotions. I don't know if this is truly what
it feels like to be a part of a family unit.
But if it is, I think I want this. I
want to be a good woman for Gabriel and a
good mother figure to Milly. I know I'm only a
senior in high school, but I know I love this
man and his daughter. Oh but it's about to get

(03:20:47):
much worse. Comic book Nerds. After we opened all the presents,
we're all sitting on the couch and watching a Christmas story.
Little Milly actually stays awake. It's when we finally get
to the end, see where the dad surprises Ralphie with
one more present. That's when Gabriel suddenly sits up and

(03:21:07):
looks around. Hey, wait a minute, did we open all
the presents? He asks? Now I sit up myself and
look around. I'm pretty sure we did. Milly, you played
Santa Claus. You didn't miss any by any chance, did you?
She shakes her head, no, Felicia. Then Gabriel looks at

(03:21:30):
Milly suspiciously. You sure about that, little lady? Suddenly Milly
comes to life. I'll be right back, Felicia. Milly goes
and runs upstairs. Then she comes back down and hands
me a small gift wrapped box here, Felicia, Merry Christmas.
I accept the present and smile a little at Gabriel.

(03:21:54):
Then both father and daughter watch me unwrap the gift.
It's a'm all red velvety box. I'm already feeling my
emotions rising, which are only confirmed when I open the
box and see it, and I can't help it and cry.

(03:22:18):
Gabriel when I face him, he says, marry me, Felicia.
He takes my hand. You don't have to answer now.
I love you, MILLI loves you. We know you love us.
A marriage proposal on Christmas Day and Millie's part of it.

(03:22:41):
I really don't deserve this, comic book nerds, I don't know.
Do any of you think I deserve this? I know
I gotta make a choice. Look, Gabriel, you realize if
I accept this ring, We're really gonna have to be
honest with each other. We won't be able to keep

(03:23:02):
secrets anymore. You know that? Right then, he pecks me
on the lips. Being secretive is what I love about you, baby,
But what I care about it is that you're always
honest with Milly, and you're gonna have to deal with Mom,
Millie mutters, that's one thing I love about that little girl,

(03:23:23):
always telling me like it is. You know, comic book nerds,
emotions are a very powerful thing God gave us. They
can certainly make you do strange and unpredictable things. I
look right at Milly, then I'll deal with Mom. I
turned to Gabriel. Yes, Gabriel and Milly are both happy.

(03:23:48):
When he puts the engagement ring on my finger, I'm
still crying. I would never have met these two if
it wasn't for me getting my spider powers. I know
my pet Tarantula is upstairs in Millie's room. Oh you're
really in big trouble now, my spider. But will I

(03:24:08):
be in big trouble down the road. I guess that's
gonna be the next phase of my life's journey. But
for now, this part of my story is gonna have
to end here, well, at least until I appear in
another issue. In the meantime, all of you have a
very merry Christmas and be good to one another. And

(03:24:40):
that's it, my spookies. That's the double feature. Two holiday novellas,
two different kinds of terror, and one important lesson Christmas.
Doesn't really end, It just changes costumes. So take a breath,
toss the last the tinsel in a box, and try

(03:25:02):
not to look too closely at that reflection of yours
when you turn off the lights, because some things don't
stop playing the part once the show is over. Now,
before you go tomorrow, we're kicking open the door to
a twisted New Year's marathon, a whole night of stories

(03:25:22):
built for that strange, liminal hour when the old year
is dead and the new one isn't born just yet
and anything can slip through. And then on Wednesday, a
brand new weekly spooky story drops fresh fear for the
new year, the kind that makes you realize new beginnings

(03:25:45):
can also mean new rules. So keep an eye on
the feed, my spookies. And if you hear fireworks outside,
well don't assume they're just for celebrating. See you tomorrow,

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

Stuff You Should Know

The Bobby Bones Show

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}After Christmas Horror Stories: Scary Christmas Novella Double Feature

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Dateline NBC

Stuff You Should Know

The Bobby Bones Show

All Episodes

After Christmas Horror Stories: Scary Christmas Novella Double Feature

Dateline NBC