Tales of Scream Street: Hide and Eek!
Luke Watson lay on the warm grass with his friends and gazed up at the cloudless sky. It was the first time he’d felt relaxed since he discovered he was a werewolf.
“I’m bored!” moaned Cleo Farr, lying beside him.
Luke’s family had been moved to a secret location called Scream Street by GHOUL – Government Housing of Unusual Lifeforms. Since then, he’d had to learn to control his werewolf transformations; adjust to living with vampires, witches and monsters as neighbours; and – worst of all – fit in at a new school.
“Bored. Bored. Bored!”
But now, the summer was here, and it was time to chill. Six homework-free weeks of sleeping in, taking it easy and—
“Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored…”
Luke sat up and scowled at Cleo, the bandaged mummy. “OK,” he said. “We get it. You’re bored!” Having spooky new friends was cool, but they could still get on his nerves from time to time.
“Of course I’m bored!” cried Cleo. “There’s nothing to do! I wish we still had school to go to.”
“Whoa!” said Resus Negative, whipping off his sunglasses. The young vampire didn’t look happy. “Don’t start wishing school back on us!”
“Well, what are we supposed to do for the next six weeks?” asked Cleo.
“I don’t know,” Luke replied. “Sit out in the sun? Get a tan?”
Cleo glanced down at the bandages covering her entire body and scowled. “You are joking!”
“Sorry!” grinned Luke. “But, what’s wrong with doing nothing for a while?”
“I spent thousands of years locked in a pyramid doing nothing,” said Cleo. “I want to play a game!”
“Such as what?” asked Resus.
“I don’t know. How about hide and seek?”
The vampire groaned. “Too energetic for me!”
“Come on,” said Luke. “It could be fun. I bet there are some great places to hide in Scream Street.”
“Oh, alright then,” said Resus. “But you two have to hide and I’ll do the counting.”
“Wow – can you count now?” Cleo teased
“Not very well,” said Luke with a smirk. “But he can get to twenty two if he’s got his fangs in…”
“Ha-ha,” said Resus, flatly. “Now, are you going to hide or shall I just lie down again?”
“We’re going!” shouted Cleo as she jumped to her feet and sprinted away.
Resus pulled his cape over his head and began to count. “One… Two… Three… Four…”
Luke watched as Cleo climbed the tree at the end of her garden and disappeared among the leaves. He was going to have to find somewhere better to hide if he stood any chance of winning…
…and there it was! Tucked away among an overgrown flowerbed was a tool shed in the shape of a pyramid. He’d never noticed it before, but it would be the perfect place to hide. Luke raced across the lawn, dodging around Resus as he continued to count.
“Twenty five… Twenty six… Twenty seven…”
Leaping into the flower bed, Luke ran his fingers over the wooden triangle that made up the front of the shed, searching for a handle – but there didn’t seem to be one. He checked the sides and back of the pyramid, but they too were smooth and featureless. Luke frowned. How were you supposed to get inside if there wasn’t a—
Suddenly, the entire shed twitched. It wasn’t much more than a tremble, but Luke had definitely seen the wooden pyramid move. Only, it didn’t seem to be made of wood anymore. The grained pattern was slowly disappearing; melting away to reveal a smooth, shimmering purple underneath. And there was a thick, green stalk attached to one corner of the pyramid’s base.
The plant raised its head in the air and darted towards Luke, opening its petals wide and clamping tightly around his head and shoulders. He fought against the flower as it sucked hard, dragging him deeper and deeper inside. Luke found himself lifted off the ground, his legs kicking wildly as the plant swallowed him whole. The sound of Resus’s counting became muffled as the flower snapped closed.
In the dim purple glow, Luke could just make out the tiny hairs on the insides of the flower’s petals as each one began to ooze with a clear liquid. There was a HISS as some of the liquid dripped onto his jeans and a tiny hole appeared. More holes were burned into his t-shirt, and his skin began to redden and sting underneath. He was being digested!
Luke Watson lay on the warm grass with his friends and gazed up at the cloudless sky. It was the first time he’d felt relaxed since he discovered he was a werewolf.
“I’m bored!” moaned Cleo Farr, lying beside him.
Luke’s family had been moved to a secret location called Scream Street by GHOUL – Government Housing of Unusual Lifeforms. Since then, he’d had to learn to control his werewolf transformations; adjust to living with vampires, witches and monsters as neighbours; and – worst of all – fit in at a new school.
“Bored. Bored. Bored!”
But now, the summer was here, and it was time to chill. Six homework-free weeks of sleeping in, taking it easy and—
“Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored…”
Luke sat up and scowled at Cleo, the bandaged mummy. “OK,” he said. “We get it. You’re bored!” Having spooky new friends was cool, but they could still get on his nerves from time to time.
“Of course I’m bored!” cried Cleo. “There’s nothing to do! I wish we still had school to go to.”
“Whoa!” said Resus Negative, whipping off his sunglasses. The young vampire didn’t look happy. “Don’t start wishing school back on us!”
“Well, what are we supposed to do for the next six weeks?” asked Cleo.
“I don’t know,” Luke replied. “Sit out in the sun? Get a tan?”
Cleo glanced down at the bandages covering her entire body and scowled. “You are joking!”
“Sorry!” grinned Luke. “But, what’s wrong with doing nothing for a while?”
“I spent thousands of years locked in a pyramid doing nothing,” said Cleo. “I want to play a game!”
“Such as what?” asked Resus.
“I don’t know. How about hide and seek?”
The vampire groaned. “Too energetic for me!”
“Come on,” said Luke. “It could be fun. I bet there are some great places to hide in Scream Street.”
“Oh, alright then,” said Resus. “But you two have to hide and I’ll do the counting.”
“Wow – can you count now?” Cleo teased
“Not very well,” said Luke with a smirk. “But he can get to twenty two if he’s got his fangs in…”
“Ha-ha,” said Resus, flatly. “Now, are you going to hide or shall I just lie down again?”
“We’re going!” shouted Cleo as she jumped to her feet and sprinted away.
Resus pulled his cape over his head and began to count. “One… Two… Three… Four…”
Luke watched as Cleo climbed the tree at the end of her garden and disappeared among the leaves. He was going to have to find somewhere better to hide if he stood any chance of winning…
…and there it was! Tucked away among an overgrown flowerbed was a tool shed in the shape of a pyramid. He’d never noticed it before, but it would be the perfect place to hide. Luke raced across the lawn, dodging around Resus as he continued to count.
“Twenty five… Twenty six… Twenty seven…”
Leaping into the flower bed, Luke ran his fingers over the wooden triangle that made up the front of the shed, searching for a handle – but there didn’t seem to be one. He checked the sides and back of the pyramid, but they too were smooth and featureless. Luke frowned. How were you supposed to get inside if there wasn’t a—
Suddenly, the entire shed twitched. It wasn’t much more than a tremble, but Luke had definitely seen the wooden pyramid move. Only, it didn’t seem to be made of wood anymore. The grained pattern was slowly disappearing; melting away to reveal a smooth, shimmering purple underneath. And there was a thick, green stalk attached to one corner of the pyramid’s base.
The plant raised its head in the air and darted towards Luke, opening its petals wide and clamping tightly around his head and shoulders. He fought against the flower as it sucked hard, dragging him deeper and deeper inside. Luke found himself lifted off the ground, his legs kicking wildly as the plant swallowed him whole. The sound of Resus’s counting became muffled as the flower snapped closed.
In the dim purple glow, Luke could just make out the tiny hairs on the insides of the flower’s petals as each one began to ooze with a clear liquid. There was a HISS as some of the liquid dripped onto his jeans and a tiny hole appeared. More holes were burned into his t-shirt, and his skin began to redden and sting underneath. He was being digested!
Luke kicked out at one of the petals, most of his trainer dissolving as it plunged among the acid coated hairs. The flower buckled under the blow but remained tightly around him. His friends would never find him – winning the game of hide and seek would be the last thing he ever did.
“Let go of him!” Luke heard the cry just as the sharp point of a stone tore through the petal beside him and almost caught him in the eye. Two bandaged hands pushed into the rip and began to pull the flower apart. “Help me, then!” exclaimed Cleo.
His palms burning, Luke forced his hands out of the gap. Cleo grabbed his wrists and tugged against the plant as it struggled to suck Luke back inside. More and more acid flooded the flower, eating through Luke’s jeans – then he was out! He collapsed onto the soil of the flowerbed as Cleo jumped on top of the flower, crushing its quivering petals beneath her feet.
“What was that?” gasped Luke, trying to catch his breath.
“A venus meat trap,” grunted Cleo, stamping what remained of the plant into the dirt. “They have shape-shifting abilities and feed on just about anything they can get hold of.”
“I found that out!” said Luke, rubbing at his burned flesh. “But at least you’ve found something to do today – flower pressing!” Cleo slumped to the ground beside him and laughed.
“Ninety nine… One hundred. Coming, ready or not!” Resus appeared from beneath his cloak and found himself staring at Luke and Cleo as they sat giggling in the flowerbed together.
“Oh, come on!” he groaned. “You two aren’t even trying!”