| The Ghost of Captain Courage Vs. The Monster Under the Bed, Part II -- by Matthew Cody |
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Illustration by Eric Wight The Ghost of Captain Courage Vs. The Monster Under The Bed, Part II Captain Courage wasn’t quite what Leroy had been expecting. In the old serials and comics, Captain Courage had always been selfless, generous and, of course, brave. He was the consummate hero ready to battle evil wherever it may be found. But this Captain seemed a bit . . . put out. Annoyed, even. Perhaps it was an after-effect of the dying. Or perhaps Leroy just wasn’t trying hard enough. In all the stories, Captain Courage helped the weak to help themselves. Every episode ended with a moral, a message about facing your own fears, or something like that. That was it. This was a kind of test. The Captain was just pretending to be a jerk. He wanted to see what Leroy was made of, and Leroy would show him. In the recesses of his tent, Leroy dug out a cardboard box with a clear plastic lid. It was his second most treasured item, next to the winged boots. The colored packaging was faded, the price tag was handwritten and nearly illegible, the plastic lid had taken on a yellowed tinge over the years. And it had never been opened, not once in sixty years. It was mint-in-box. The mask was a bit too big and the cape was shorter than he’d expected, but otherwise he looked the part. He was trying out the pose - arms up, karate chop hands – when he heard the scream. Was there a damsel in distress in there? Maybe the monster under his bed had a hostage, some poor little girl swiped from another bedroom somewhere. The Captain couldn’t save the girl and defeat the monster all by himself. He would need help. This was a job for Kid Courage! The real Kid Courage had a rider in his contract that specifically allowed him the power to cut in the snack-table line at any time he wished, usually just as Bert was reaching for the last chocolate doughnut. So when Bert saw Kid Courage get snatched up by a hungry, slavering monster his first thought was, “Well, that’ll teach you to keep your fat little fingers off my breakfast!” But then he got a better look at his little sidekick and saw that he was not nearly plump enough to be the real Kid Courage. It was Leroy in a cheap, store-bought costume. Leroy, who’d worked up the courage to run into the very room that terrified him so. And it was Leroy who was about to get chewed up by the same monster Bert had sworn to protect him from. It made no difference that Bert hadn’t actually believed in the monster when he’d made that promise. Seeing a little boy in peril stirred something in Bert’s self-absorbed and cowardly heart. Bert knew how awkward dying could be. Electrocuted in a bucket of soapy water was bad enough, but getting eaten . . . well, that sounded downright uncomfortable. He was newly determined that Leroy should live a long life. He would grow old and die in his sleep, surrounded by friends and family. And science fiction memorabilia. Pulling himself together, Bert willed his ghostly knees to stop trembling and shouted the battle cry: “THIS CALLS FOR SOME BRAVERY . . . CAPTAIN COURAGE! Er, I mean this calls for some COURAGE! Shoot.” He’d flubbed the line. He always did that when he didn’t have time to rehearse. It was good enough to stop the monster, however. The creature brought Leroy up to its ugly mouth, but stopped just short of biting. “Eh,” it said, giving Bert a sideways stare. “Just what kind of little boy are you?” The spotlight was on. This was Bert’s cue and it was time to improvise. “I’m not a little boy . . . fiend! I’m Captain Courage!” Fiend was good. The monster sniffed him again and shrugged. “Hmm. Since I only eat little boys and girls, and since you smell like burnt shoe, we’ve got no problem. So just buzz off, will you?” “I’m afraid we do have a problem,” said Bert. “That little boy is my sidekick, you . . . fiend!” Fiend again? Ouch, improv was hard. “Whatever,” said the monster as he swiped out with a great furry paw, raking Bert along his chest with his claws. Bert grunted, but whether it was from pain or surprise it was hard to tell. It seemed to hurt, but maybe it was just because he expected it to. For his part, the monster sniffed at his claws in confusion. They were sticky with ghostly protoplasm. Leroy whimpered as the monster’s grip on him tightened. “A hit! A solid hit!” shouted Bert. It was Shakespeare, which meant he was technically cheating, but he didn’t think anyone would mind. He ran forward, shouting and waving his arms in a very un-superheroic fashion, and threw himself at the monster. They collided with a splat as protoplasm met monster-fur. “Eww!” shouted the monster in rage. In his fury he tried to pull Leroy into his mouth but his grip was suddenly too slippery to maintain. Bert’s sidekick went sliding and skidding across the floor and out of the creature’s reach. Bert and the monster were fighting now, but it was like a shaggy dog wrestling with a tub full of Jell-O. Neither one of them could get a good grip on the other, and in the dark Bart could barely even see what he was grabbing. Plus, he was getting a stress headache. “The lights! Leroy, get the lights!” Though this slippery wrestling match was hard for both of them, the monster was slowly getting the upper hand. He was, after all, a monster and more used to this sort of thing. Wrestling for your dinner was monster instinct. If only Bert could see what he was punching . . . As the thing’s finger length teeth edged closer and closer to Bert’s neck, he shouted to Leroy one last time. “Kid Courage! A little help, here! Lights!” Out of the corner of his eye, Bert saw Leroy’s dark silhouette slip and slid over to the light switch next to door. The monster must’ve seen it too, because he let out a bellow as he released his hold on Bert, and lunged for Leroy. But Bert held on, managing somehow to keep the massive beast from escaping. Click. As the lights came on, a strange thing happened. Where there had once been a huge, fanged creature there was now a small, spindly green fellow with big ears and buck teeth. He was maybe two feet tall and wore a pair of saggy overalls. Bert blinked at him. Where had the monster gone? Then he looked at the laundry basket, which, in the dark had seemed so ominous. Just a plain old laundry basket with a smelly sock peeking out of the top. In the dark, anything can look frightening. Including a monster under the bed. “You’re the monster?” asked Bert. “You?” repeated Leroy. This little guy came to Leroy’s waist. Maybe. If the guy was standing on a shoebox. “Beware my wrath!” shouted the little monster, but his voice sounded more like a squeak than a roar. “Oh, shut up!” said Bert as he floated over to Leroy. “You alright, kid?” “Yeah,” Leroy answered. “I just can’t believe I was scared of that little pipsqueak.” “I’m the monster under the bed!” cried the little guy as he stomped his wee feet in frustration. “I eat little boys and girls!” Leroy took at step towards him, poking a finger in his face. “No, you don’t! You just scare them in the dark! You couldn’t fit a grape in that little mouth, much less a little boy.” The tiny creature’s shoulders slumped suddenly, as all the monster went out of him like air from a leaky balloon. “Don’t tell anyone, okay?” he said. “It’s all I have! You’re right that I wasn’t going to eat you. Not really. I would’ve let you escape in the end . . .” Bert stepped in. He knew how this scene was supposed to play out. “Are you done with your evil ways? Do you promise to turn over a new leaf and give up this life of crime?” The creature looked at the two of them standing there and whimpered. “But what do I do? I’m a monster! It’s all I know.” “Hmm,” Bert rubbed his chin. “I see your point. Maybe you could take up a new profession. Utilize your natural talents, uh . . . maybe a shoe elf?” “Look,” said Leroy. “Captain Courage is a ghost, but that doesn’t mean he has to scare people. Look at him, he’s a superhero! You can choose to be whatever you want to be!” Bert smiled. There it was, the credits were getting ready to roll, but first – the moral at the end of the story. It was the part of the episode that made thousands of boys and girls groan and roll their eyes, week in and week out, but Bert loved it. And Leroy, or rather his new sidekick Kid Courage, had delivered it pitch perfectly. Maybe there was a future in this superheroing thing, after all. Epilogue! The house at the end of Willow Lane had been abandoned for years. One rumor went that the last owner had gone insane and lived out the last years of his life locked up in the attic by his wicked step-brother. Kids said his restless spirit waited for careless children to walk by so he could scoop them up and lock them away with him, forever. Another old tale said that the house had been bought by a werewolf who spent the full moons chained in the basement. But every now and then he forgot to lock the padlock . . . Whatever the truth of the Willow Lane house, it was shunned by neighborhood kids, and therefore the Willow Lane playground was shunned as well. The only decent playground within miles but you couldn’t get any right-thinking kid to play there, not in the shadow of that haunted and/or werewolf infested old house. As Bert looked up at the moonlit doorway, the overgrown weeds and boarded-over windows, he felt a slight twinge of fear, like something a bit wobbly had just given away in his knees. But he pushed it away with a deep breath – this was just like walking out on a crowded stage for the first time. It was the moment before the director called “Action!” “You ready, guys?” he asked. To his right, Kid Courage saluted with one hand while shining a bright flashlight at the house with the other. Leroy had packed a whole bag of spare flashlights, just in case. To his left, Monster Courage also saluted. He looked a bit ridiculous – a green elf wearing the pair of overly-large but meticulously repaired, original Winged Boots of Courage - but he didn’t tremble. Bert smiled. This had been Leroy’s idea and it was a good one. “All right then,” said Bert. “You all know the words . . .” “THIS CALLS FOR SOME COURAGE!” they shouted together. “THE LEAGUE OF COURAGE!” Bert smiled as they marched behind him up the steps toward the house. That hadn’t been half bad. A little weak, perhaps, but nothing a little rehearsal couldn’t fix. They’d get it perfect next time.
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Hits: 2243 Comments (9)Subscribe to this comment's feednice, but mushy
Very interesting, but i dont get how a tiny monster can look so big in the dark. Nice ending, but mushy though. A little too happy. Also, the end kinda leaves u hanging there w/ the werewolf/ghost house. That's ok though. I still liked it.
1st COMMENT!!!!!!! lols
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April 15, 2011
Hello. shadows?
@Rowan- haven't you ever been in the dark when you were little and something harmless like a jacket or towel looked much scarier? Or if there was just a little light, the shadow would have been much larger.
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April 20, 2011
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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT!!! YOU SHOULD RIGHT A SEQUAL!!!
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April 20, 2011
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I be liking it, nice.
I may even say, it was like a creme egg. It was nice, enjoyable, like the chocolate. And had a sweet ending that wasn't very riveting, but good.
I like me some chocolate. A little bit sweet. I wonder if I could submit something..
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April 26, 2011
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At-
...To his left, Monster Courage also saluted. He looked a bit ridiculous – a green elf wearing the pair of overly-large but meticulously repaired, original Winged Boots of Courage - but he didn’t tremble.... they weren't boots of courage....they were boots of bravery. You want proof? ...Captain Courage died in his boots. His winged “Boots of Bravery” to be exact....
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June 03, 2011
Secret
I think this story was amazing and it wasn't too sweet maybe everything worked out for the gohst and monster but what about nearly friendless Leroy
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October 03, 2011
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