Zombie Nightmare

by Robert Teague

This story was written for the entertainment of Monster High fans, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story may be reproduced, provided no changes are made, and you let me know.

Author's Note: This is the fifth story taking place in my unintended MH series. At the moment I have no idea if they will remain disconnected, or join in an overall arc. But for now, enjoy!

mh/mh/mh

The Smartest Ghoul in School, Ghoulia Yelps, walked slowly up the steep sidewalk and into the cycle shop where she had bought her scooter. Looking around, she saw things hadn't changed much.

"Can I help you, Miss?" asked the werewolf behind the counter. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with the Howly-Deadison Motorcycles logo on it.

Ghoulia went to the counter, taking a part from her scooter out of her bag as she did. She put it on the counter, and the clerk looked at it.

"Uuuaaahhh..." said the zombie-girl.

"Oh, yes, the model THX-1138 fuel regulator. A recall has been issued for these," he said.

"Aaahh?" she asked.

"The replacement is free," he answered, "Unfortunately I'm out of stock. The company didn't send enough."

"Ohhh?" asked Ghoulia.

"Oh, yes, I expect more, sometime next week," he answered. "I remember you; you bought a scooter here, so we have your information on file. I can call you when we get them in."

"Ooohh...?" said Ghoulia, putting the part back in her handbag.

"Well, I'm not sure. Let me make a call," said the clerk. He picked up the phone and dialed a number from memory. "Bobby? James. Do you have any THX-1138 regulators in stock? You do? Great! I've got a customer here who needs one. No, I think she wants to do the work herself." He looked at the pale girl, who smiled and nodded.

"Okay, then, I'll send her over. Thanks!" he hung up. "The Westside Cycle Shop has some. Do you know where that is?"

"Uhh uhh..." said Ghoulia, shaking her head.

"When you go out the door, turn left, and at the intersection turn right. It's six blocks down on the left," he said,
gesturing with the instructions.

"Aaaahhhohhh?" said the zombie, crossing her arms.

"Yes, it is in the edge of the normie part of town, but you shouldn't have any trouble. I've sent monsters there before," he said.

"Uuuhhhh..." was the answer.

"It's your choice, Miss," he said, "Wait a week, or go get it now. I would offer to drive you there, but I m the only one here right now."

"Iiihhhhoohhh..." she said.

"All right, then," he nodded, "Sorry I wasn't more help. Have a cloudy day."

Leaving the shop, Ghoulia followed his directions and soon found herself among normies. There wasn't anything noting the line between the normie and monster parts of New Salem, but now there were more of the former, and fewer of the latter.

For the zombie-girl, at her pace it took nearly an hour's walk before she spotted the shop. It was across the street on the next block over. She went to the crosswalk, and started across with a few normies who paid her no attention.

Unfortunately the light changed while she was only a third of the way across. An impatient driver honked, then yelled at her. "Move it! What's taking you so long? You a zombie or something?"

She stopped and looked at the normie driver. "Uhh huhhh..." she nodded.

His eyes got big, and he rolled up the window and locked the door. Then he maneuvered around her and took off down the street. Ghoulia watched him go, then shrugged and shambled on.

Back on the sidewalk she crossed the other street and saw she was nearly there. Concentrating on her goal, she didn't realize the panic she was causing.

"Nine One One," said a female voice on a cell phone.

"I need to report a zombie at Sixth and Main," said the caller.

"Did you say a zombie? What is it doing?"

"Walking down the sidewalk, like she's looking for something."

"You said 'she'? Give me a description."

"She's in a red, black and white coordinated outfit with high heels and glasses. She's very pale, and her hair is white and blue."

"Is she attacking anybody? Does she appear to have been... feeding?"

"Not yet, but it's just a matter of time."

"All right, I'll dispatch a patrol car. Thank you."

The caller watched the zombie go into the shop.

Inside the shop, Ghoulia looked around. It was bigger than the other place, and catered to the high-end of motorcycles. A normie behind the counter was staring at her.

"Can- can I help you?" he asked, nervously.

"Uhh huhh," she answered, and pulled out the regulator.

He stared a moment, then made a connection. "OH! You're the one James from the other shop called about! Got the part right here." He reached under the counter and put on it a box about the size of a toothpaste carton.

The zombie approached and picked it up. It was the correct part. She didn't notice he made sure the counter stayed between them, and that he was out of arm's reach.

"Aaahh kyooo..." she said.

He shook his head. "Sorry, I don't understand zombie. Since it's a recall, the replacement part is free."

Ghoulia nodded, then put both regulators in her handbag.

"If there's nothing else, you might want to leave now. You're attracting a crowd."

'Huhhh?" she cocked her head at him, and he responded by pointing behind her.

Turning, she saw the window was crowded with normies, staring in at her. She turned red, embarrassed to be the center of attention like that.

"Aaaahhrryy..." she said, and headed for the door.

When she got outside the normies backed away a bit, but stayed in a circle around her. What was going on? she wondered. Why were they acting like this?

Just then a police van pulled up to the curb, and two normies in uniform got out and pulled their guns on her.

"Hold it, zombie; don't move!" called the woman, who had been driving.

"You think she understands?" asked the male cop. His name tag identified him as Smith.

Ghoulia was insulted, but didn't move. Getting shot would hurt, not to mention ruining her clothes.

"She seems to," commented the woman officer, putting away her gun. Her name was Jones.

"What are you going to do with it?" asked a woman nearby.

IT? She was an IT to them? Ghoulia's heart sank.

"The law says an unsupervised zombie can be arrested," said Smith, "She'll be held today, and if no one claims her, she'll be destroyed."

Ghoulia was utterly shocked. If she had been able to cry, she would have. She was already dead, so had no fear of it. But the idea of being destroyed was terrifying.

Her translator was at home, being upgraded with new software she had written, so she couldn't talk to them. But she had her iCoffin, so she could call someone for help. Maybe she could call Wade Load, and Kim Possible could come and rescue her. The normie heroine had come to Monster High for a week in a fearleader exchange program.

She reached for her handbag, but stopped when Smith yelled, "Don't move!"

"Hey, she hasn't done anything, and isn't doing anything!" protested a normie, "You shouldn't treat her like that!" It was the clerk from the shop behind her.

Ghoulia looked in his direction and smiled in gratitude, but that just made everyone else step back a pace.

"What was she doing in your shop? asked Jones.

"She came to get a replacement part. The cycle shop over in the monster side was out of them," he answered.

"Why take a chance? Get me the Zombie Control Unit out of the truck," Smith said.

The what? Ghoulia thought. "Hhhuuuhhh?"

A few seconds later, Jones handed the man something that looked like a small fire extinguisher.

"Is that it? What does it do?" asked a man from the crowd.

"It will spray her with a quick-drying foam that will prevent her from grabbing anybody and biting them," he answered, putting away his weapon and taking the device.

BITING someone? That was the LAST thing she was interested in. She hadn't done anything wrong, but they were going to do something like that to her? The prejudice against monsters was still strong, she saw. She wished now she had decided to wait for the part.

"Ooonnnnttt..." said the zombie, getting everyone's attention. Ghoulia didn't expect them to be able to understand her speech, so she opened her handbag to get the new part and show them why she was there.

"It's going for something! Quick! Spray it!" yelled a normie.

The cop aimed and triggered the unit, but nothing happened. "Ahhh, the safety didn't disengage!" He started struggling with the unit.

Ghoulia pulled out the part she had gotten and held it up.

"See?" said the shop clerk, gesturing, "That's what she came for. She got it from me."

That gave the crowd pause.

"Whoa! What's going on here? Let us through!" yelled a female voice. The crowd parted and two familiar normies came to the front. It took a moment before she could put names to them: Chad and Clair. They had met at the Hallowe'en party. Rumor from the Ghostly Gossip was that Clair had been dating Jackson since then.

Without a moment's hesitation they went over to her.

"Are you okay?" Clair asked the zombie-girl.

"Uhh huhhh..." was the reply. Ghoulia relaxed a little.

Clair leaned over and whispered in Ghoulia's ear. "Follow my lead; we'll try to get you out of this."

The pale dead girl nodded slightly. Internally she relaxed a little more.

"You kids get away from her," said Officer Jones sharply. She put a hand on her gun.

"She's not dangerous!" replied Chad.

"Are you responsible for her?" he was asked.

"No, but we know her," answered Clair, "Her name's Ghoulia, and she goes to Monster High."

"If you're not responsible for her, get out of the way," Officer Smith said, and raised the foam unit.

"But we'll take responsibility," Clair said quickly, and Chad nodded in agreement.

"Well..." the cops hesitated.

"We know where she belongs," said Chad, "And we'll take her back there."

"Come on, Ghoulia, Chad's car is around the corner." Clair took the zombie's hand and started leading her away.

"You kids hold it!" said Smith. He went over to them, grabbed Ghoulia's arms and handcuffed them behind her back.

"Ooohhhh..." the zombie protested.

The cop slapped a heavy adhesive cloth over her mouth.

"Hey! What's that for?" protested Clair.

"Keeps her from biting," was the answer. "We're taking her in. If you really want to be responsible for her, come to the station and pay the fine by six today. Then you can have her back." He turned and took Ghoulia to the van.

"Uhh... how much is the fine?" asked Chad.

Jones looked at him. "Five hundred dollars," she answered.

A few people applauded, and the crowd broke up. The shop clerk looked at Chad and Clair helplessly, then went back inside.

Ghoulia had dropped her handbag, so Clair picked it up.

"What do we do now?" Chad asked.

They watched as the van drove off, then the short normie girl looked up at her best friend. "Make some calls."

mh/mh/mh

Inside the van, Jones led Ghoulia over to a hard bench and sat her down as Smith closed the van door. Jones put a belt across the zombie's middle to keep her in one place.

"You drive, I'll keep an eye on her," she told her partner.

"Fine," he answered, and moved past them to the driver's seat.

"Do you understand me?" Jones asked, and Ghoulia nodded in response.

The cop sighed. "I'm sorry about this," she said in a low voice, "I would have let you go with your friends, but he outranks me." She glanced in Smith's direction.

Ghoulia hesitated a moment, then nodded again.

The drive to the station took about ten minutes. The van door opened and Jones released Ghoulia from the belt.

Two cops were standing outside. "Whatta ya got?" asked one.

"Zombie wandering around in our side of town," Smith answered.

Jones led Ghoulia to the van's steps and gently helped her down to the ground.

Suddenly a pole with a collar on the end was snapped around the zombie's neck.

"Got her!" crowed one of the men.

"Take her to the cell and hold her until six. Then off to the incinerator," said Smith. He turned to Jones. "Ill go make the report."

The man holding the pole yanked and almost pulled Ghoulia off her feet. "C'mon, you."

"Hey, don't be so rough," protested Officer Jones.

"Ah, she's dead; she doesn't feel anything," said the other man.

"We know how to handle zombies," said the first man.

Jones followed as Ghoulia was almost dragged into the building, and watched as she was shoved into a cell. The collar released and one man quickly slammed the door.

The cell was bare concrete blocks with a toilet in one corner and a cot with a mattress in another.

"Aren't you going to take off the cuffs and tape?" asked Jones.

"Why bother?" was the answer, "It just saves us having to fight with her to put them back on."

"Besides, zombies are almost mindless. What's she going to do till then, anyway? Complete Schubert's Unfinished Symphony?" he laughed harshly.

"As a matter of fact..." Ghoulia thought.

Jones made a disgusted look and shook her head. "Don't be too quick to get rid of her; she has some friends that might want her back." With one last glance at Ghoulia, Jones left. The other man followed a moment later.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see," said the first man. He sat down and took a drink of coffee, and picked up a doughnut. Then he turned up the volume on a small TV and ignored his "guest".

It suddenly occurred to Ghoulia that her handbag was missing. She tried to think of when she dropped it, but came up blank. Now she really WAS in trouble. She couldn't call anyone or identify herself, or anything.

Alone and terrified, Ghoulia sat on the cot and wished she was capable of tears. She had hoped... thought... that after last Hallowe'en things would have improved, especially between the monster community and the normie police. But apparently not.

Nobody knew where she was except Clair and Chad, and while they showed concern, she couldn't expect them to help her any more than they already had. Five hundred dollars was a lot of money.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head. It was time to resign herself to her fate.

mh/mh/mh

"WHAT!" Frankie Stein yelled.

"Whoa, I need that ear," Clair protested, holding the phone away.

"Are you serious?" Frankie asked.

"Fraid so," Clair answered, "I didn't know what else to do, so I'm calling you."

"All right, let me think a minute... Okay, meet me at Monster High, and get there as quick as you can; I'm going to text the others," Frankie said.

"All right, see you shortly. Bye." answered the normie girl, and hung up.

"Well?" asked Chad. They were sitting in his car.

"Let's go to Monster High," she answered, "Frankie and the others will meet us there."

mh/mh/mh

In the school's parking lot they were met by Frankie, Draculaura, Clawd, Clawdeen, Lagoona, and Cleo. As soon as they got out of the car they were surrounded by monsters demanding to know what happened.

But before Clair could explain, a new voice got their attention.

"Students, what's going on here?" called Headless Headmistress Bloodgood, who was standing on the steps of the main entrance. "You shouldn't be on campus now."

"It's good you're here, Ma'am," called Draculaura, "Could you come over here, please; we can use your help."

The elegant woman quickly walked over to them, and her eyes widened to see normies there.

"You remember Clair and Chad, don't you?" Frankie asked, "They helped rescue Holt at Hallowe'en."

"Of course," she answered, nodding, "Nice to see you again."

Clair looked around. "This is all? I'm kinda disappointed. I thought a lot more of you guys would be here."

"Ghoulia has lots of friends," said Frankie, "But this is everyone who could be here on such short notice."

"Someone please explain what's going on," demanded Ms. Bloodgood, "What about Ghoulia?"

The telling took several minutes because they kept being interrupted by comments and questions. But finally everyone was in the picture.

"...and they said if we came and paid the fine by six o'clock, we could take her with us," Clair finished.

"How much is the fine?" asked Cleo. She was worried for her best friend.

"Five hundred bucks," Chad answered.

"Five hun-! I don't have that kind of cash!" Draculaura exclaimed.

"Me either," said Clawd, and the statement was echoed by his sister.

"Let's take up a collection," said Clawdeen, and reached for her purse.

A minute later Frankie counted the money one last time to be sure. "Sixty-seven dollars."

There were sighs of discouragement all around. It was disappointing, even considering Ms. Bloodgood had added thirty dollars herself.

"Let's call others for donations," said Draculaura.

"This is it, Lala," answered Frankie, sweeping a hand around, "And believe me, I texted EVERYBODY. Even Toralei." She paused and looked at the wad of cash. "Wait a sec. Not everyone put anything in. Cleo?"

They all looked at her, and found she was standing with arms crossed and head down.

"Cleo?" said Lagoona, softly, and put her hand on Cleo's shoulder.

The mummy-girl looked up, and they saw tears running down her face, ruining her mascara. "I- I don't have any money. I maxed out my card, and Daddy cut me off until next month. I'm going to lose my best friend because I'm so selfish!" she wailed. She squatted down and covered her face with her hands. Tears ran between her fingers.

"No, Cleo, you couldn't have known," said Lagoona, trying to comfort her.

"Ms. Bloodgood, can't you do anything?" asked Frankie.

"No, Frankie, I'm sorry," was the answer, "I'm just a school administrator. My authority is limited to this campus."

"Maybe we should talk to the Sheriff," suggested Draculaura, "He seemed to have changed his mind about us at the party."

"I called his office two days ago about traffic during SKRM games," said Bloodgood, "He's out of town until next week."

"Well then, let's go get her!" said Clawd, forcefully.

"Not a good idea," said Bloodgood, "It would undo all the progress we made at Hallowe'en. I hate to say it, but the police acted within the law. We don't want to act outside it."

"So, that's it, then..." said Frankie, softly, tears forming.

"For what it's worth, we're both really sorry," said Chad. Clair nodded in agreement.

Clawdeen turned to look at them sharply. "Why don't you normies just go back to your side of town, and leave us alone?"

"Clawdeen!" protested Lagoona.

"It's because of their kind we're going to lose our friend!" yelled the werewolf, "They need to go home and celebrate their victory! One less monster to worry about."

"Whoa!" protested Clair, "I'm just as upset as you are!"

"Get out of here, before I..." Clawdeen bared her claws and teeth at them.

"Hold it, sis!" said Clawd, grabbing her. "They're trying to help!"

"Let go of me!" yelled the upset monster, struggling.

As Clawdeen tried to break her brother's grip, Frankie stepped in between the werewolves and the normies. "If you want to hurt them, you'll go through me first."

"And me," added Lagoona, standing beside her.

"Me too," said Draculaura, coming up on the other side of the patchwork girl.

"A-and me as well," said Cleo, wiping a tear and standing with them.

Clawdeen stopped struggling and stared at her friends. "But... why would you protect them?"

"Clawdeen, think a minute!" said Frankie, "We wouldn't even know what happened to her if it wasn't for them!"

"They came to us and offered to help," said Bloodgood.

"And even put in some money," added Cleo.

"They've proven to be our friends, and that we can trust them," said Lagoona, "They aren't like other normies! Ask Holt!"

"Yeah, sis, what kind of monster turns on her friends? Even the normie ones?" said Clawd.

All the fight drained out of Clawdeen, and her brother let her go. "Sigh. You're right, everybody." She looked at the two normies. "I'm sorry, really. I..."

"Just saw a convenient target. We understand," interjected Clair.

"Yeah... forgive me?" the embarrassed werewolf asked.

"Sure," smiled Clair.

Chad nodded and checked his watch. "This is no time to be fighting anyway; it's getting late."

"True, but what can we do? We've been through all the options," said Frankie.

"I'd bet Ghoulia would have an idea..." murmured Cleo.

And silence fell over the small crowd in the Monster High parking lot.

mh/mh/mh

The guard in the monster section of the jail stood and stretched, then looked over at his "guest". She hadn't moved for hours, which was strange; zombies usually wandered around the cell moaning the entire time.

Now that he was paying attention, he saw there were other unusual things about her. She was clean, dressed nicely, and her hair was combed. Still, it was a zombie. How someone dressed it up wasn't important.

"Well," he said aloud, "It's five-thirty, and I go home in half an hour. Let's get you sorted."

No response.

"Okay..." he thought, then aloud, "Hey, you want a last meal?"

This time Ghoulia did look at him.

He stuck an arm into the cell and flexed his muscles. "You want a bite of that? It's prime beef!"

The zombie just looked away from him and continued to sit there.

"C'mon, you know you want it!" he said, trying to get her attention. "Come and get it!"

To be honest with herself, Ghoulia WAS tempted, but she felt no urge to follow through. She had mastered that part of herself long ago. And even if she did try, she was still in handcuffs and the sticky cloth was over her mouth. All she would accomplish would be to entertain the normie.

For the jailer's part, this was unprecedented. Never before had a zombie ignored him like that. He waved his arm, then stuck in the other arm. Nothing.

"Charlie, what the heck are you doing?" asked a voice behind him.

Charlie pulled his limbs from the cell. "Just having a little fun."

"You know better than to do that," said the other, "Gets them agitated and harder to control."

"Ah, this one is too stupid to know a meal when it sees one, Ray. Got no response at all," was the answer.

"Really? Huh. That's weird," said Ray.

Ghoulia stiffened in anger, which went unnoticed.

"Let's get her to her final destination; I'm ready to get out of here," said Charlie.

"What's the rush? We're supposed to wait until six," asked Ray, picking up the pole with the collar attached.

"My wife's making that great spaghetti tonight, and I don't want to be late for that," was the answer.

"Yeah, I don't blame you," nodded Ray, "But what if someone comes for her?"

"Like that's ever happened," scoffed Charlie, "Besides, anyone sick enough to keep a zombie in the first place can find another one." He opened the cell, and Ray approached Ghoulia, collar at the ready.

The zombie-girl stood up and waited. There was no point in resisting; she wasn't strong enough or fast enough. And she had resigned herself to this fate. She hoped her friends and family would miss her.

The collar snapped around her neck, and with a tug they took her out of the cell. Ray headed for the door, guiding her, and Charlie fell in behind.

mh/mh/mh

It was five minutes to six when a winded Clair and Chad came into the room.

"Ghoulia? We're here! Where are you?" called Chad.

There was no answer.

"This is the right room," said Clair, pointing to a plaque on the door that read "Monster Holding".

"But where is she?" asked Chad

"Not here, obviously," said the normie girl, shaking her head. She looked at the useless receipt for the fine in her hand. They had managed to raise the money at the last minute, and rushed here, all for nothing.

The best friends looked at each other.

"Everyone is going to hate us," said Clair.

"No, we were here on time," said Chad, "It's their fault for taking her early."

For a long minute they looked around the empty room, the cell door standing open.

"Oh, so you did come," said a voice behind them.

They turned to find Officer Jones in the door.

"And I see you paid the fine," she added.

"For all the good it did," said Clair, "We're too late."

"Yeah, the guys in charge here wanted to go home a little early," said Jones, "But that doesn't mean you're too late." She stepped aside, and in walked Ghoulia, free of the cuffs and gag.

The normies moved over and hugged the zombie, who smiled at them and returned the gesture.

"I intercepted them just in time," Jones explained, "I was really hoping you would make it. I was even going to give you a little extra time, just in case."

"But why?" asked Chad.

The officer smiled. "I wasn't at the Hallowe'en party, but I heard about it. You obviously care about her, and she's not like other zombies I've encountered. She deserved the best chance I could give her."

"Thanks so much," said Clair.

"Not every cop hates monsters," said Jones, "That's why I volunteered for this division."

"I've got your bag in the car," said Clair, to Ghoulia's joy.

"You'd better go now," said Jones, "I'm sure she wants to be away from here."

"Uhhh huuhhh..." nodded Ghoulia, and held out her hand. "Aaann kyooo."

Jones smiled and shook the hand briefly. "If I understood that correctly, you're welcome. Good luck to you."

"Come on, everyone's waiting to see you," said Chad.

And Officer Jones, happy to know she had done the right thing, watched them leave.

mh/mh/mh

Back at the Monster High campus, everyone was overjoyed to see them, and especially see Ghoulia. Cleo had wanted to go with them, but Ms. Bloodgood persuaded her it would be better to let the normies handle it.

Since the earlier meeting, more monsters had shown up, and now the parking lot was filled with a fair number of students concerned with the zombie's fate. Slow Moe, who had just gotten there, was particularly glad to see her.

Chad and Clair were hailed as heroes, to their embarrassment, and Ms. Bloodgood told them they were always welcome on the campus.

The other students cheered for them. Now they knew they had normie friends they could trust, and monster/normie relations had improved, just a little.

The End