Their window of opportunity to catch the imp queen was fast approaching. While Jesse had been retrieving Lucy, the others had hid in the school, waiting for everyone else to go home for the day. Siobhan let him back into the building and when Noah texted them the all clear for when the last of the faculty had left, they made their way to the rendezvous point in the cafeteria.

  Alicia was already seated at their usual table, Brom sitting in front of her, alongside Dr. Rotbart’s trap. When Noah joined them, Jesse asked, “Are we ready to get this over with?”

  “Got everything we need,” she said. “Dr. Rotbart left written instructions for the trap and I studied them all night. And I made sure Brom didn’t break it any further.”

  “That wasn’t my fault,” he insisted. “Rotbart made a flimsy trap.”

  “You know, I’m kind of impressed you managed to keep him quiet while you hid.”

  “Ooooh, you want to know what she did?”

  “Did she duct tape your mouth shut?” Noah joked.

  A guilty look crossed Alicia’s face.

  “No way, you actually did?”

  “In my defense, he has a terrible track record with this sort of thing. If I didn’t, I would have been caught for sure.”

  “Just you all wait,” Brom said menacingly. “When I cash in that favor, I’ll make you kids pay for everything you’ve put me through.”

  His threat went ignored. “Anyway, did you get that bat you told us about?”

  Jesse nodded, cracking open the lid to the shoebox he was carrying Lucy in. When Damien granted him custody over her, he insisted on making up the box all comfortable for her, with soft tissue paper for her to curl up in. It was so comfortable, in fact, that she had fallen asleep on the walk over to the school, but was starting to wake up now with all the commotion around her. She yawned widely, showing off cute, tiny little teeth.

  “Awww,” Siobhan and Alicia cooed at the same time. Even Noah gave a small smile at the sight of the baby animal.

  “Yeah, we get it she’s adorable. Sorry to wake you up, Lucy, but we have an important job for you.” Along with the box, Jesse had also taken a pair of latex gloves. His mom had always drilled into him the importance of handling wild animals carefully, and as cute as Lucy was, she was still a feral bat.

  She stretched her wings, still not able to fully open them because of the bandage, and as she came to her senses after her nap, one of her ears twitched. She hopped over to a corner of the box, acting like she wanted to fly out, but her injured wing kept her in place.

  She must be trying to follow the queen. “This way.”

  Jesse led the group out of the cafeteria, holding the box out in front of him as he walked so he could keep an eye on Lucy’s movements. Whenever she adjusted her position, he mirrored her direction, leading through the empty corridors of the school.

  He tried to focus on where they were heading, but that became difficult when Brom started whistling from Alicia’s arms, the sound echoing throughout the halls.

  “What are you doing?” Noah hissed at him.

  “Oh, it’s just an old song I know about a hunter and a rabbit. You all reminded me of it.”

  Are we the hunter, or the rabbit? Jesse wanted to ask, but then thought it was better if he didn’t know the answer to that.

  Just then, Lucy let out a small oink from her box, flapping her wings anxiously, and Jesse motioned for everyone to be quiet. She was facing in the direction of the band room, where the members of the school band practiced their music and stored instruments that weren’t in use. A prime destination for any imps looking to cause some trouble.

  He pushed open the door, slowly and deliberately, not wanting to cause any sound that could give them away. Inside was indeed the imp queen, who was taking great joy in ripping up all of the sheet music that had been stored in a once tidy bookcase.

  They watched as she chortled to herself over the noise it made as she teared the paper from the books, leaving a mess of scattered music around her. She looked like a toddler that had been left unsupervised in her parents' home office.

  Alicia took the lead, creeping forward quietly with the trap in one hand and Brom, who was surprisingly keeping his mouth shut, in the other, letting himself be used as a light source.

  Just as she was starting to get close enough to use the trap, Lucy squeaked again, causing the imp to jump and whirl around. As soon as she saw them, she barked out, “Filthy humans!” before she vanished into thin air.

  Jesse hugged Lucy’s box close to his chest just as he felt the wind whipping past him, leaving a long, thin scratch on his arm as an invisible claw slashed at him.

  “Brom!” he cried out. Thankfully, the jack-o-lantern could tell what he wanted, and the light from Brom’s insides grew brighter, engulfing the entire band room in a soft orange glow. Were it not for their current predicament, Jesse would have admired the way the light gleamed on the brass instruments and reflected from the tall windows, but the most important thing was that it revealed the imp queen zipping around like a gnat.

  Alicia pressed some buttons on the side of the trap and lunged towards the queen, but she was too fast, flying out of range as the device pulsed with a blue light.

  “On your left!” Brom shouted unhelpfully. “No, your other left!”

  She held up the trap and activated it again, only this time, the queen barreled directly towards her, knocking it out of her hands and sending it crashing towards Jesse.

  He quickly backed up, still hugging Lucy tightly, putting as much distance between them and the trap as he could before it went off with a bzzt! He had no idea if Lucy would get sucked into the trap like the queen would and he did not want to find out.

  Noah and Siobhan made attempts to grab at the queen, but she nimbly avoided them, flying straight towards the open door and out the band room, fading into nothingness as she left the range of Brom’s light.

  “That could have gone better,” Jesse remarked as he checked Lucy over for injuries. She looked a bit shaken, but otherwise unharmed, and was once again trying to leave the box to follow the imp queen.

  “Let it be known that it wasn’t my fault this time,” Brom announced. “In fact, out of everyone, I was the only one who did my job flawlessly.”

  “Are you okay, Jesse?” Siobhan asked him, looking at his arm with worry.

  “I’m fine.” Truth be told, he’d gotten worse scratches from the cats at his mom’s clinic. But if he had been just a second slower, her claws could have gone a lot deeper, in a lot worse of a place than just his arm.

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  “That imp is way too fast,” Noah said, echoing his thoughts. “We’re never going to catch her like this.”

  Alicia sighed. “I hate to admit defeat, but maybe we do need to wait for Dr. Rotbart to fix the trap.”

  “Or...” Siobhan started hesitantly.

  “Or what?” Jesse prompted.

  She bit her lip. ”I have an idea, but I’m going to need you all to distract the queen and then lure her to me.”

  “Easier said than done,” Noah said. “How are we supposed to do that?”

  Jesse thought for a second, trying to recall everything they learned about the creatures. “Didn’t Dr. Rotbart say that imps love shiny things? Maybe we can use something shiny to lure her out and distract her, like one of those cat laser pointers.”

  Alicia perked up, a devious smile spreading across her face. “Oh, I know just the thing.”

  “I’m never going along with one of your plans ever again,” Noah grumbled, holding a pair of shiny blue and gold pom poms.

  “You will if it works!” Alicia chirped, waving a pair of similar poms, having quickly grabbed them from the gymnasium storage room.

  Jesse had been fortunately spared from such embarrassment with the excuse of having to hold Lucy and Brom, but he did get to watch as the two waved their pom poms, the glittering tinsel-like material sure to capture the attention of any imp that set eyes on them.

  They walked through the hallways, slowly making their way around the school by once again letting Lucy lead them to the imp queen. Siobhan had split up from them, heading to the art classroom to enact her plan. Jesse had faith in his best friend, but he still couldn’t help but feel a little nervous at leaving her by herself, hoping the queen wouldn’t try to attack her. His arm was still stinging from where she had scratched him earlier.

  “Come on, shake those pom poms!” Brom shouted encouragement. “You’ll never catch the imp with that attitude.”

  “This is so stupid,” Noah complained.

  “No, you look great,” Jesse said, quickly shifting everything in his arms so he could snap a photo on his phone.

  “Delete that,” he said automatically.

  “After I show Siobhan.”

  “Boys, focus.” Alicia waved her pom poms to get them back on track. “We’re on a mission.”

  Jesse returned his attention to Lucy. She was still facing the direction that they were currently going, and they continued like that for a few more steps, until she abruptly turned around to try to scramble towards Jesse’s chest, like she wanted to go back where they just came from.

  What...? He scanned the hallway, looking for any sign of the imp queen, but it was empty save for the five of them. Brom’s light would have revealed her even if she had turned invisible. He was just about to suggest that Lucy may have gotten confused or was tired, until he noticed the vent just above the lockers shudder.

  “Look out-!” Was all he had time to say before the imp queen burst from the metal grate, tackling one of the pom poms Alicia had been holding right out of her hand.

  “Ow! You little monster,” she glared at the creature, but she was too absorbed in her shiny new prize to pay her any mind, swatting at the poms’ reflective strands.

  “Great, you’ve got her attention,” Brom said. “Now what?”

  “Now we keep it long enough for Siobhan to do... whatever it is she’s doing.” Noah whistled, waving his own pom poms high in the air for the imp to see.

  She completely forgot about the one she had just tackled and set her sights on the new moving objects. She was like an overactive golden retriever, going from one chew toy to the next. In a flash, she zipped forward, almost faster than Jesse could see, grabbing a hold of the pom pom and trying to race off with it. But she clearly made up for in speed what she lacked in strength, and Noah kept an iron grip on the pom, refusing to let go.

  She snarled, gnashing her sharp teeth in an attempt to intimidate him, but he just snarled right back, making the two look like a pair of dogs locked in a game of tug-o-war.

  During this struggle, Jesse had been trying to keep Brom’s light fixed on the imp so she wouldn’t be able to disappear on them again, but while he had been focused on that, Lucy let out a loud squeak, attempting to once again rejoin her queen.

  The imp queen cast a quick glance their way, then immediately did a double take, eyes brimming with malice as she abruptly let go of the pom pom, sending Noah crashing to the floor. All of her attention was fixed on Jesse, or rather, the box in Jesse’s hands.

  “Traitor!” she hissed.

  Uh oh.

  “I’d run if I were you,” Brom advised, and he didn’t need to be told twice. He turned and bolted down the hallway as fast as his legs could carry him, ducking into the nearest classroom.

  If the door had been just a bit farther away, the hallway just a bit longer, the imp queen would have caught him with her incredible speed. He just barely managed to slam the door shut behind him before she rammed into the glass pane window, leaving a hairline fracture.

  So much for not breaking anything.

  Through the cracked window, Jesse could see the queen disappear out of sight, narrowly avoiding Noah as he lunged to grab her.

  Noah cursed. “She turned invisible again.” Jesse had almost forgotten he’d been holding Brom when he ran, and now his light couldn’t reach the hallway from behind the closed door.

  “Are you okay, Jesse?” Alicia asked, catching up with them.

  “I’m fine, but what about you guys?” he said. “The queen is still nearby.”

  “No, she’s not,” Brom said. “I saw her take off to the left. I’m also fine by the way, thanks for your concern.”

  Jesse reached for the door handle, but Brom stopped him. “Woah, woah, woah. What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Getting out of here?”

  “And what if the queen is hanging around just out of sight, waiting to ambush you as soon as the door opens? On second thought, never mind. Go ahead, it’ll be funny to watch.”

  “Don’t listen to him,” Alicia instructed. “Can Lucy tell us what direction the queen is in?”

  He looked down to find that the poor bat in question was huddled against the side of the box closest to his chest, shaking in fear. Clearly all the excitement was taking its toll on her.

  “Sorry, she’s too frightened to tell us.”

  Alicia sighed. “This is all going sideways. Okay, new plan. You stay there for the time being while Noah and I see if we can pick up her trail. She seems fixated on Lucy. If she’s not here, then I’ll bet she’s trying to find another way into that room.”

  Jesse nodded. “Alright. I’ll wait a couple of minutes and check if she’s still in the hallway. If not, then I’ll come join you guys.”

  With their new plan in action, Noah and Alicia took off in different directions, spreading out to try to find any sign of the queen as fast as possible. It wasn’t the smartest course of action, but with only the three of them, they didn’t have many options.

  The only silver lining was that there didn’t seem to be any other way into the classroom that Jesse now found himself trapped in; there were no vents, the windows and emergency exit were shut tight, and he was about ninety percent certain the imp queen couldn’t open doors.

  With a little bit of time to kill, Jesse returned his attention to the cowering bat in his arms. At some point, his grip on the cardboard box had tightened so much he left indents in its sides. Setting Brom down on the teacher’s desk, he loosened his hold on the box, cradling it gently in the crook of his arm. Using his now free hand, he hesitantly stroked the fur on the top of her head.

  “It’s okay, girl,” he said soothingly. “It’s okay.”

  She stiffened at first, but then gradually eased into his touch. He found it was similar to petting a very small kitten. Her fur felt soft and fluffy, even through the latex gloves he was still wearing.

  “See? No one’s going to hurt you.”

  Eventually, she calmed down, even starting to let out her regular chirps and squeaks again.

  “Nice job, bat whisperer,” Brom said. “I bet it thinks you’re its mother now.”

  Jesse had almost forgotten he was there, the jack-o-lantern's presence a stark reminder of their current predicament. “That title belongs to Damien.”

  “You know, there’s a really simple solution to your problem. I mean, this whole imp queen thing,” he clarified.

  “And what would that be?”

  “Use the bat as bait.”

  At first, he didn’t think he’d heard him right, but the jack-o-lantern continued.

  “Think about it. While the queen is busy doing... whatever it is she wants to do to the bat, you all could use the trap on her while she’s distracted.”

  “Hard no,” Jesse said firmly. “I’m not using Lucy as bait.”

  Lucy, apparently sensing they were talking about her, or maybe just Jesse’s rising aggravation, oinked in response.

  “Why not? It would be so much easier than all this running around you’ve been doing.”

  The conversation was starting to take a darker turn than he was comfortable with, for a reason he couldn’t really explain, and a chill ran down his spine. He always knew that Brom was heartless, but this was a bit much, even for him.

  He willed himself to calm down by petting Lucy some more. “I promised Damien I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. And even if I didn’t, that’s just a messed-up thing to do.”

  “You didn’t think it was messed up when your friends were trying to draw her attention earlier,” Brom pointed out. “Is this really so different?”

  “Noah’s almost six feet tall and built like a linebacker, and Alicia’s Alicia. Besides, they agreed to it. Lucy can’t.” It was one thing when they were acting as a distraction for the queen themselves, it was another altogether using an innocent creature that couldn’t defend itself.

  Brom stared at him, as if evaluating him, and just as Jesse was starting to fidget under his gaze, he let out an exaggerated sigh.

  “Fine, if you won’t use the cute baby animal as live bait, what are you going to do then?”

  Lucy squeaked again, as if demanding more pets, and as Jesse obliged, an idea started to form. Using her as bait was off the table, but there might have been another way he could grab the imp queen’s attention, without having to put her in danger.

  Tween adventure stories that feature the main characters breaking into school after hours

  Realism: 1/10

  Vibes: 1000/10