Teenage Monster Hunters

By Charlie Wood

As Halloween nears, the danger begins...

Sarah, Mike, and Paige were never sure if they should believe their uncle's wild stories about being a monster hunter.

But all that changes when their hometown is attacked by bloodthirsty vampires, howling spirits, and powerful witches.

Now, with their uncle missing, the three cousins must band together and protect their neighborhood from an invasion of monsters.

However, the cousins better hurry. A mysterious being has been secretly living among them, waiting to unleash something he has been planning for 30 years...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charlie Wood
• Release date: Jul 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005845360

Charlie Wood

Charlie Wood lives with his wife, Kate, in Massachusetts. He enjoys movies, baseball, and comic books. This is his first novel.

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Teenage Monster Hunters

Charlie Wood

Copyright © 2019 Charlie Wood

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written consent from the publisher and author, except in the instance of quotes for reviews. No part of this book may be uploaded without the permission of the publisher and author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is originally published.

This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

To contact the author:

[e-mail]

www.charliewood24.blogspot.com

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Also by Charlie Wood

About the Author

Chapter One

As I came around the corner, I knew something was there—I could hear it, above me, skittering across the hospital’s walls. Finally, when I got my flashlight working, I pointed it upward, and there it was: a vampire, with its fingers pressed against the wall; its scrawny, purple body dressed in tattered rags; and its jaw hanging open, hissing at me. Its mouth was filled with long, sharp teeth that looked more like ivory stakes, and its eyes were foggy, like saucers of milk.

It was Sarah Weathers’ ninth birthday, and her Uncle Eddie was once again regaling her and her cousins—Mike and Paige—with stories about his days as a vampire hunter. Paige, eight years old, sat on the living room floor, her eyes wide and her mouth dropped, while Mike, eleven years old, shook his head, his mouth turned up in a smirk. Unlike his younger cousins, Mike had recently begun to doubt his Uncle’s wild claims.

It was a vampire? Sarah said. Here, in Portland?

Yup, in the old shuttered hospital, down on 12th Street. I had heard rumors of something living in the building—dashing through the halls and only coming out at night—but I had no idea what I’d find until I got there. Then, suddenly, it was just me and the creature, and before I knew it, it jumped down, falling from above. I was frozen, seconds from being ripped apart, when…your aunt burst in through the door behind me, wielding her crossbow.

Whoa! Sarah shouted.

Wow! Paige exclaimed.

"Without a word, she stepped into the room, raised her crossbow, and fired two shots: ZIP, ZIP! The golden arrows flew through the air, lit up the operating room with bursts of sunlight, and pierced the vampire through its heart. It dropped to the ground, dead, right in front of me, its purple arms already contorted and stiff."

Amazing, Sarah said.

Totally amazing, Paige replied.

Yeah, okay, Mike snorted. A vampire. In New Hampshire.

Yup, Uncle Eddie said, rubbing his grey beard. That’s right. And that was just the first of many your aunt and I found, all over New England. Along with other creatures.

But where did they all come from? Sarah asked.

Uncle Eddie leaned forward. If I tell you, do you promise not to panic?

Yes, Sarah said.

Uh-huh, Paige replied.

Uncle Eddie waved his hand in front of him. "There’s a world, not far from this one. It’s so close, in fact, that it’s actually connected to this world, by an invisible bridge. We can’t go there right now, but if we did, we’d find it’s filled with…creatures. Monsters that travel in the night. Beings that you’d only see in your nightmares. But these creatures? They’re actually worse than the ones in your nightmares, because they’re real. And they’re constantly trying to cross over into this world. So they can get to people just like…us."

Uncle Eddie jumped forward and shouted "BOO!", startling his nieces and nephew. Sarah and Paige looked at each other and laughed, but Mike only rolled his eyes.

Yeah, yeah, he said, and the only people who can stop them are the members of your NightWatchers Gang, right? Can I go play video games now?

Uncle Eddie laughed. Not the NightWatchers Gang—the NightWatchers Guild. And there’s not just one, there’s many guilds, all over the country. Or at least there used to be.

Not far from the living room, Sarah’s mother and father, Phil and Whitney, stood in the kitchen, setting the table with party plates.

Where are the kids? Phil asked. It’s almost time for presents.

Whitney nodded to the living room. They’re over there, listening to your brother’s stories.

Oh, no, not that again. Phil shook his head. Well, at least it’s not us listening to them for once. He started telling them the other day at my campaign fundraiser. I wanted to kill him—if he keeps that up, I’ll never be voted mayor.

Oh, honey, if you’re not voted mayor, that won’t be why.

It won’t?

No, it’ll be because you constantly say the wrong thing and make terrible decisions.

Phil nodded. Fair point.

Kids, Whitney said, picking up the cake, time for cake and ice cream.

In the living room, Mike jumped up. Finally.

Following him, Sarah and Paige walked with Uncle Eddie.

Uncle Eddie, Sarah said, there aren’t any more vampires in this world, right? You haven’t seen any in a long, long time?

No, not since your aunt was here. It’s been…close to 19 years now.

And they’re stuck in the other world, right? Paige said. They can’t come back?

Uncle Eddie sighed. Well, I’m afraid they may come back some day, Paige. They may find a way. If they do, I just hope there’s still a NightWatchers Guild that can take care of them.

Chapter Two

Eight Years Later

In Nick’s Country Tavern—a small restaurant set on an old farm on the coast of Maine—Madison Larkin pushed open the door to the kitchen with a sigh. It had been a long night: her waitress uniform was filthy, her blonde hair was frazzled, and the dining room was still packed even though it was almost closing time.

Josh, she said, putting her tray down, can you please do your job so I don’t get yelled at? The guy asked for no mushrooms.

Madison’s twin brother, Josh, looked up from the grill. The 18-year-old’s curly hair was stuck underneath a hairnet and his large belly was covered by a cook’s apron.

The guy yelled at you? he said. And that’s my fault how?

You made the burger.

Josh stared at Madison’s lip. You know, as you get older, you’re getting this weird little mustache. You should really get that looked at.

Madison turned with a grumble and headed back to the dining room. Near the door, the owner of the restaurant, Nick, grabbed yet another order of fish and chips.

I swear, Nick said, I’ve never seen a brother and sister who fight as much as you two. I don’t know how you survived being in the womb together. He pushed the door open with his back. Madison, why don’t you help Josh take the trash out to the barn? That way we can get out of here before midnight.

What? I don’t want to go in there, Nick. It’s creepy.

I don’t care if it’s creepy. The faster he gets back in here, the faster we can all go home. So go ahead and help him.

But Nick, I—

Josh shoved a heaping bag of trash into Madison’s arms.

There ya go, he said. The extra smelly and heavy one.

Moments later, Madison followed Josh out the back door and toward the creaky, red, 20-foot-tall barn behind the restaurant. While Josh easily carried his small bags of trash over his shoulder, Madison struggled with hers, dragging the bulging bag with both hands.

C’mon, let’s pick up the pace, huh? Josh said, turning around. We don’t have all night, you know.

Finally, when Josh reached the barn, he pushed open its giant, rotted door. He took the trash out to the barn nearly every night he worked, and every time he did, he was sure the ancient barn’s door would fall off its hinges.

Okay, Madison said, dropping her bag. Let’s get out of here. This place is disgusting.

Josh stepped inside and looked around the barn. The dark building was crammed with the usual items one would find in a New England barn—farm equipment, half-repaired kitchen appliances, broken gardening tools—but that’s not what Josh was interested in. He was more curious about the tables full of cobwebbed antiques; shelves of bizarre, rusted electronic devices; and boxes of moldy books.

Hold on, Josh said. I love looking at all this stuff, it’s so weird.

The wind picked up behind Madison. It howled high above her in the ceiling’s wooden beams.

Yeah, that’s great, Josh. Let’s go, I’m freezing.

Josh walked toward one of the barn’s long walls. In the darkness, he could see it was plastered with old circus posters and pencil drawings of exotic animals.

Don’t be such a baby, he said. Look, it’s Nick.

Madison walked toward Josh. Above a workbench, she saw a small framed photo. It appeared to be from the 1980’s—judging from its faded colors and hideous living room furniture—and it showed a young boy sitting on a couch with a white-haired old man, reading a book. The old man wore sunglasses with black, perfectly round lenses.

Oh yeah, it must be, Madison said. Who’s that guy with him, his grandfather?

I don’t know, maybe. Whoa, check it out—old magazines.

Josh crouched next to a bookshelf and inspected a box filled with tattered magazines.

I don’t think you should touch those, Josh. They look like collector’s items or something.

What, you think someone’s gonna care? Holy crap, this one is from 1935. He read the cover. ‘Wellemore’s Chronicle of Magic and Monstrous Creatures.’

With a shrug, he tossed the magazine away and looked through another one.

Madison turned around. With the wind whipping behind her, the giant barn door creaked back and forth and then closed. She shivered.

C’mon, Josh. This is creepy and it’s getting cold, let’s go.

No, wait, wait, hold on. Look at this.

A banging came from the roof, as if someone was stomping on it with their foot. Madison looked up.

Josh, we need to go help close the restaurant. Come on.

Josh laughed. Wow, are you really scared right now, Maddie? That is really sad. He held up the magazine with his fingertips and did a little dance. Oh no, look at me, I’m a monstrous creature! Whoooooooooo!

Opening to a random page, Josh read from it loudly.

Cosino! he yelled, his arm outstretched. Malandrihide! Keenasovo! Krandoo! He laughed and turned the page. What is that, Pig Latin or something?

Madison rolled her eyes. Okay, I’m going back. You can stay here and be an idiot, but I— She stopped. She noticed something on Josh’s hands.

Josh…

What?

Josh.

He looked up at her. What?

She pointed at Josh’s hands. He looked down.

A red, blood-like ooze was pouring out of his fingers and dripping onto the floor in slithering streams.

Aaaaaaaaaaah! he screamed. Tossing the magazine away, he jumped back and held up his hands. The glistening ooze gushed from his fingers like a faucet, gathering in red puddles around his feet.

What is that? Madison screamed. What is that? Is that blood?

I don’t know, I don’t know! He spread apart his fingers. But it burns! It burns!

Jumping up and down in a panic, Josh waved his hands, flinging red ooze around the barn. Two streaks of it splashed across Madison’s face.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! she screamed. Stop it, Josh! Stop!

Turning away, Madison covered her face, but then something lit up the barn, shining up from the floor. Peering above her arm, she looked back to her brother.

The magazine he had been reading was now laying on its back, open, its brittle pages fluttering and sending up a flashing beam of silver light. As each page flipped by, black smoke billowed up from the magazine’s spine, filling the area around Josh.

Oh my god, she whispered, her mouth dropped. Then, hearing a rattling to her left, she turned to one of the barn’s workbenches.

A silver, oval-shaped hand mirror the size of a dinner plate sat on the bench, vibrating and shaking among the tools. The mirror looked like a piece of antique technology—at least 100 years old—as its round, metal frame was covered in dozens of tarnished gears, rusted springs, and acid-burnt batteries. As the magazine fluttered on the ground and filled the barn with smoke, the mirror danced frantically on the shelf, as if the glass inside was ready to burst.

What the hell is that, Maddie? Josh said, watching the mirror. We better get out of here, we better—

KA-BOOM! The mirror exploded in a burst of thunder and light, throwing Madison and Josh backward, causing them to crash to the wooden floor and skitter through the dust. Pushing themselves up, their heads ringing, they looked to the mirror. A group of five people now stood in front of the workbench, and when they stepped into the light, Madison and Josh gasped. One of the people was a slick-haired man dressed in a black, pinstriped suit from the early 1900’s, but the rest of the new arrivals—the rest of the creatures—were not human.

The first was a six-foot-tall woman with teal skin, the color of a tropical sea. She had long black hair in a high ponytail and a thin body wrapped in a black dress. Her cheeks and jawline were marked with red, swirling tattoos, and a glowing energy that matched the color of the tattoos emanated from each of her fingertips, as if they were lit from within.

Floating on either side of the woman were creatures even stranger than her: two swaying, translucent spirits. One of them was a wide-bodied male, with blue skin covered in green blotches, a head with two twisting horns growing from the sides, and a face that looked more like a bulldog than a man. The other spirit was female, with a white, cylinder-shaped body; purple, glittering hair resting on her shoulders; and pointed, elf-like ears. The two spirits hovered in the darkness, the bottom halves of their bodies glowing like shifting, ethereal mist.

Finally, crouched in front of the man in the pinstriped suit—as if it was his pet—there was a scrawny, five-foot-tall creature with purple skin, a pushed-up nose, a bald head, bat wings folded against its back, and webbed feet that ended in talons. It was dressed in brown rags, and its arms were so long that its hands rested on the dirty wooden planks of the floor.

What the hell was that? the man in the suit asked, looking around.

It appears it finally worked, Master, the teal-skinned woman said. We’re back on Earth.

The man sniffed the air, then smiled. Hot damn, I think you’re right. Look at that. He turned to Madison. You—what’s your name?

Me?

Yes, you.

Madison.

And where are we, Madison? New Hampshire, I’m guessing?

No, this is—this is Maine.

Oh, Maine, huh? Hmm. Interesting. He looked her over. "And what are you doing here? Did Eddie Weathers send you?"

No, I don’t—I don’t know who that is.

You don’t? Then why the hell are you here?

We just work here, at the restaurant.

The man looked out the window. Oh, that’s a shame. You have no idea what’s going on, do you? Well, that’s okay—you can still be of use. We do need two bodies to make our floating friends here a little more permanent. He turned to the teal-skinned woman. Trinette, there you go. Two houses for your spirits.

Without a word, the woman pointed her red, glowing fingers at Madison and Josh. Instantly, the large-bodied, blue spirit with horns and the white spirit with purple hair swooped toward them, dropping their jaws and howling in pain. Before the terrified brother and sister could turn and run, the two spirits crashed into their bodies, disappearing with a purple and blue flash.

Shocked, the brother and sister dropped to the ground, their eyes pinned open. Sitting there, they huddled together, their breath caught in their chests as they gasped for air. A buzzing, tingling sensation ran through their arms, legs, and torsos, vibrating their bones.

Don’t worry, the man in the pinstriped suit said. That feeling will only last a few more moments, and then you’ll feel back to normal. As for us… He smiled, revealing sharp, pointed teeth. "I’m sure you’ll be seeing us again real soon."

Chapter Three

The morning after the incident at Nick’s Country Tavern, Sarah Weathers sat on the edge of her bed, her phone in her hands. She knew she shouldn’t, but she just couldn’t help it.

Opening Instagram, she went directly to her ex-boyfriend Ian’s page (a habit that was becoming all too pathetically familiar). There weren’t any new photos, only the same one she had seen the night before: Ian at the movies, waiting for the show to begin and holding up a box of Sour Patch Kids. Next to him, playfully sipping from a soda, was a beautiful, 18-year-old red-head. Someone from one of his college classes, Sarah assumed. Someone, judging from the photo’s tag, named tennischick_529xo.

Finally stopping herself before she fell down yet another whirlpool of Instagram misery, Sarah put her phone away and walked downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, she found her parents, Phil and Whitney, sitting at the table for breakfast.

Oh, hey, honey, her father said. He was already dressed in a suit and tie for his day as mayor of Portland, New Hampshire. Geez, you’re heading out early.

Yeah, me, Mike, and Paige are working the morning shift at Autumn Fest, in the candy apple booth. I gotta go pick them up.

Oh, that’ll be great, her mother said. That’ll be so nice, to get out of the house and have some fun for a while. She looked at Sarah, then frowned. "Honey, did you get any sleep last night? You look terrible."

Sarah rolled her eyes. Geez, Mom, thanks. Thanks so much.

No, you know what I mean: you look so tired, honey. I know you haven’t been sleeping well since Ian—since you and Ian… She stopped and shook her head. "I just wish there was something I could do, some way to make you feel better. I’m worried