Cadaver Island (17 page)

When Lysette touched
Persephone’s forehead with the tip of her wand, the Queen of the
Elves dropped to the floor and started snoring. Lysette opened one
of the doors, peeked inside to make sure the examination room was
empty, and dragged Persephone inside. Then Lysette stepped into the
corridor and closed the door. After she spoke the foreign words of
a forgotten language, Lysette started to morph and change. Moments
later, she walked toward the end of the hallway and reached for the
doorknob of the room where Angelique and Alexander were resting.
Lysette, who was now the doppelganger of Persephone, opened the
door and entered the room. And as she walked toward the beds where
Angelique and Alexander relaxed, she whispered: “Now you’ll both
die!”

***

Dr. Stine and Razor
followed three elf warriors behind a cluster of palms and onto an
S-shaped path. The path carved a gash through knee-high bamboo
stalks, hibiscus plants, and mango trees. Dragonflies and
hummingbirds hovered in the air. A black snake slithered across the
path in front of them and vanished into the foliage. As they
penetrated the garden, Dr. Stine heard the crashing roar of a
waterfall. Moments later, they entered a clearing. Razor whimpered
and Stanley hooted while Dr. Stine stared at a giant Venus fly
trap, which towered in the middle of an island.

One of the warriors pointed
at an overgrown patch of golden orchids, which grew in the center
of the island. The waterfall spilled over the high peak of a nearby
cliff and splashed into a small lagoon, which surrounded the
island. Huge lily pads and large boulders formed stepping stones
between the end of the path and the island. When the first warrior
walked toward the water and jumped onto one of the boulders, a
thorn-covered vine emerged from the garden’s dark, fertile soil.
The vine twitched in the air.

“
There’s a vine behind you!
Look out!” Dr. Stine said. He gripped his scepter with both hands
and felt energy throb in the weapon. Yellow light radiated
throughout his body.

The warrior whirled on his
feet. He swung his sword at the vine, but the blow missed when the
vine strafed to the side. Another vine erupted from the soil behind
the warrior and slammed into his lower back. He screamed as he
sailed through the air. A loud splash caused a small tsunami to
surge across the ground when the warrior landed in the lagoon. He
thrashed and kicked in the water while a school of huge piranhas
feasted on him. Dr. Stine gasped and the other warriors screamed
when he crawled out of the water.

The exposed muscles and
tendons of the warrior’s legs twitched. Chunks of flesh dangled
from sections of exposed bone. One of the piranhas latched onto the
Achilles tendon of his left foot. A surge of blood oozed from
dozens of wounds and poured into the lagoon. Several piranhas
tugged on a section of his flesh and yanked it in different
directions. Dr. Stine rushed to the warrior and tried to find a
pulse, but he was dead.

Stanley swooped toward the
patch of golden orchids and tried to snare some of them with his
sharp talons. More vines emerged from the ground and swatted at the
owl. Stanley’s talons gripped the stems of two of the flowers and
uprooted them. One of the vines slammed against Stanley’s
midsection and knocked him onto the ledge of a cliff. Stanley
blinked his eyes, dazed by the impact. Dr. Stine cheered when he
realized that the owl had successfully obtained the necessary
ingredients for Alexander’s cure.

One of the vines wrapped
around Dr. Stine’s upper torso. He screamed when the vine’s thorns
penetrated his robe and stabbed into his chest and abdomen. The
vine lifted him into the air and guided him toward Jezil’s open
mouth. Dr. Stine gasped when his feet brushed against the plant’s
lobes and cilia. When Dr. Stine aimed his scepter at Jezil’s mouth,
a blast of holy energy surged from the weapon and blasted the
trapping mechanism. The vine tightened its grip on Dr. Stine’s
midsection, which caused the thorns to dive deeper into his body.
He felt blood trickle across his stomach and chest.

“
Please help me! The thorns
are killing me!” he screamed.

The other warriors charged
toward the base of the vine. They swung their swords at the vine
and opened deep incisions across its thick exterior. Jezil hissed
and lashed forward when the warriors’ swords caused bolts of
extreme pain. Jezil closed its leaves around one of the warriors
and tightened its cilia so he couldn’t escape. The warrior tried to
kick his way out of the trap, but he stopped struggling after a few
minutes and grew still.

The last warrior severed
the vine after one final swing of his sword. The vine loosened its
grip on Dr. Stine and released him. He glanced down and realized
that he would land in the lagoon. He tried to aim his feet toward
the edge of a giant lily pad. As he dived toward the water, he
watched the eager jaws of the piranhas click and snap. Razor barked
and Stanley hooted while Dr. Stine prayed that he would miss the
water and land safely.

***

“
Where’s the nurse?”
Alexander asked. He bolted into a sitting position when the woman
entered the room. Angelique swung her legs off of the table and
stood up.

“
The only thing you’ll need
is a mortician!” the doppelganger said.

Angelique noticed the wand
in her hand. She remembered when she encountered Lysette in The
Catacombs of the Dead during Razor’s rescue. Angelique stepped in
front of Alexander and grinned at the woman. “Hello, Lysette! We
meet again!”

“
Ah, you’re more
intelligent than I give you credit for!” The clone of Persephone
morphed and changed into its original form. Lysette hovered in the
air and hissed.

Angelique and Alexander
watched as Lysette raised her claws into the air and chanted a
spell in a long forgotten language. Dry wall exploded when green,
maggot-covered fists punched through the room’s walls. Floorboards
splintered when decayed hands burst from the cellar and reached for
their feet. Lysette exhaled a deafening screech, causing their ears
to bleed. Alexander and Angelique groveled next to each
other.

“
You’ll never make it to
Xavier’s castle! And even if you do make it that far, Reverend
Stark will be waiting for you! Your journey was over before it
began!” Lysette said. She hoisted her wand into the air and lurched
toward them.

Alexander snatched his
plastic case off of a nearby countertop and opened it. A hand
wrapped around his left foot. Long fingernails penetrated the calf
of his leg and ripped the skin away. He snatched his Bible and
flipped through its frail pages. Lysette jumped into the air,
extended her left leg, and kicked the Bible away with her foot.
Alexander whimpered while he watched the Bible slide under a nearby
chair and out of view.

“
You don’t speak from your
heart
when you read the Bible. You don’t express your
faith
when you read the verses. You’re cursed and will burn
in Hell!” Lysette said. Her green eyes glowed and Alexander felt
himself becoming hypnotized. He dropped to his knees.

“
Ah, he’s such an
obedient
little boy! He’ll make an excellent slave!” Lysette
said. She walked toward Angelique and planted both of her hands on
her chest. When Lysette pushed her, Angelique stumbled backward
until her tailbone impacted the back wall.

Angelique screamed when the
arms of unseen zombies reached through holes in the wall and seized
her. Several hands wrapped around her arms and legs and pulled her
closer to the wall. Another reached across her left shoulder and
wrapped around her neck. Angelique tried to push herself away from
the wall, but they tightened their grip. She felt the fingers dig
into her esophagus and trachea. She gasped for air and felt
light-headed. Before a dizzy spell seized her, she watched the real
Persephone stagger through the door and enter the room. Angelique
listened to the beats of her mechanical heart slow to a stop. And
that was when she closed her eyes and succumbed to
darkness.

***

Dr. Stine exhaled a sigh of
relief when he landed on the lily pad. He glanced down at the clear
water and watched the piranhas swarm beneath him. High above him,
Jezil twitched and squirmed while it devoured the corpse of the
warrior. He screamed when Jezil’s cilia separated and its leaves
spread open. It spat out a slime-covered skeleton, which broke into
several pieces when it landed on the ground near Jezil’s wide
stalk.

Razor skipped across the
tops of several large stones and joined Dr. Stine, who held his
scepter into the air and pointed it at Jezil. The beast’s vines
swarmed in the air and formed a circle around Dr. Stine and Razor.
When Razor opened his mouth extremely wide, Dr. Stine gave him a
look of concern. Moments later, a black, metal ball rolled out of
the dog’s throat and landed next to Dr. Stine’s feet. He realized
that it was a huge hand grenade. Dr. Stine picked up the weapon,
patted Razor on the head, and laughed.

Stanley lifted into the air
and swooped toward the patch of golden orchids. He snared more of
the flowers with his talons while Jezil focused its attention on
Dr. Stine and Razor. When Jezil opened its leaves and lashed toward
Dr. Stine, he yanked the pin out of the grenade and waited for the
right moment. Seconds before the beast’s leaves closed around his
body, Dr. Stine placed the grenade in Jezil’s mouth and dropped to
the ground.

Chunks of leaves and a
surge of regurgitated flesh sprayed Dr. Stine and Razor when a loud
explosion ripped Jezil apart. Gray smoke billowed from gaps in the
cilia when the leaves burst and caught fire. The remnant of Jezil
swayed back and forth before its stalk collapsed and the beast
splashed into the lagoon. Dr. Stine wiped residue off of his face
and Razor shook slime off of his back. Stanley swooped through the
air and hovered in front of Dr. Stine. He took the golden orchids
from Stanley’s talons and smiled.

“
Our work here is done! Now
Persephone can create a cure for Alexander!” he said. He jumped
across the stones and joined the last warrior. Razor and Stanley
followed him.

Dr. Stine’s left eyebrow
arched on his forehead when he watched Shadow gallop toward them.
An elf warrior sat erect in the saddle. He yanked on the stallion’s
reins and yelled “Whoa!” when they reached Dr. Stine. Shadow nudged
Dr. Stine with his wet nose.

“
I’m afraid I have some bad
news! Angelique and Alexander were attacked by an intruder! Queen
Persephone intervened, but Angelique is unconscious. We’re not sure
if she’s going to survive,” the mounted warrior said.

“
What happened? How did an
intruder get into the infirmary?” Dr. Stine said.

“
It was Xavier’s lover,
Lysette. She somehow managed to escape. Alexander and Persephone
are at Angelique’s bedside. They need you to come as soon as
possible. I’ll relinquish possession of the horse to you at this
time.” He dismounted and focused his attention on Jezil’s corpse.
His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened.

But before he could ask
what happened, Dr. Stine heaved Razor onto Shadow’s back and
galloped away. Stanley flew in the air behind them. They traveled
as fast as they could.

***

Thirty minutes later, Dr.
Stine held Angelique’s hand and begged her to open her eyes.
Stanley hooted from his perch on a high eave. Razor slept on the
floor, using his outstretched, front paws as pillows. Alexander
rested on the other bed and cried.

“
I wish I’d done something.
I should’ve tried to help her,” the boy said.

“
It’s not your fault,
Alexander. At least she’s not dead. Maybe she’ll wake up soon and
everything will be fine,” Dr. Stine said. He watched Angelique’s
chest rise and fall.

Persephone entered the
room. She held a large flask of yellow, bubbling liquid. After she
removed a cork from the opening, she offered the flask to
Alexander. His hand trembled as he took it from her. Persephone
cringed when he almost dropped it.

“
I used the golden orchids
to create an antidote for you. I hope it works,” she
said.

Alexander pressed the flask
against his lips. He closed his eyes and poured the antidote into
his mouth. A strong, bitter taste almost caused him to spit it out.
But he gritted his teeth and swallowed the fluid. Then he placed
the flask on a table and coughed.

Angelique moaned. Dr. Stine
gasped when her eyelids fluttered open. She looked at him and
smiled. Persephone approached the bed and cried with joy. Then she
said: “I’m glad everyone is okay. I’ve decided to join you. I’ll be
with you the rest of the way.”

To express his gratitude,
Dr. Stine hugged Persephone and kissed her lips.

Thirty minutes later,
hundreds of elves gathered in Queen Persephone’s throne room. The
chamber, which was illuminated by wall-mounted torches, consisted
of three oval sections. The oval sections, which were separated by
wide archways and Corinthian columns, surrounded a central,
elevated platform, where the queen sat on her throne. Female elves,
dressed in red, silk gowns, strummed their lyres with plectrums.
Their male counterparts, who wore white robes, played flutes and
fiddles. When Queen Persephone rose from her throne and clapped her
hands three times, the music ceased.