Tales of Scream Street: Clear and Present Danger
“Happy birthday, Uncle Otto…” sang the thin, ginger-haired man.
“Sir Otto!”
“Sorry. Happy birthday, Sir Uncle Otto… Happy birthday to you!”
Sir Otto Sneer, the landlord of Scream Street, removed the fat cigar from his mouth just long enough to blow out the single candle on his cake. “There!” he snapped. “Now can I go?”
“Not yet,” grinned Dixon, his nephew. “Party games first!”
Sir Otto’s face flushed a deep purple. “Party games?”
“Yep!” giggled Dixon. “Pass the parcel!” He grabbed a hastily wrapped box and pressed PLAY on the CD player., Loud zombie rock music blared out.
“Get on with it!” grumbled Sir Otto.
Dixon handed the parcel to his uncle, then stopped the CD. “You win!”
Muttering impatiently, Sir Otto slammed the box onto the table. As he tore at the wrapping paper, something inside the parcel began to screech and thrash about.
Sir Otto dropped it hastily. “Dixon…” he growled. “What did you get me?”
“Well, I wasn’t sure at first, so I asked everyone in Scream Street…”
“You asked the freaks for advice on my birthday present?” bellowed the landlord.
Dixon nodded and there was a sound like running water as his body began to transform. Sir Otto knew that his nephew was a shapeshifter, but it still freaked him out to watch.
Within seconds, Dixon had taken the shape of Egyptian mummy, Niles Farr. “What you should get…”
Another ripple and he changed into a bog monster. “…is something he’ll never forget…”
Finally, the landlord’s nephew became Eefa Everwell, the witch who ran the local store. “…and I have just the thing!”
The present exploded as a squawking bundle of black feathers burst from the box. Sir Otto screamed and grabbed the creature, holding it at arm’s length. A red bill with sharp fangs snapped in his face. “You got me a vampire duck?!”
Dixon shifted back to his own shape and beamed. “Say hello to Count Quackula!”
THE END