The battered car slowly climbed up the dark, winding roads of the mountain. The driver, a middle-aged man with gray hair and glasses peered into the night illuminated by the car's headlights. For once it was not raining and he was able to see where he was going. As he continued on, he reflected on the area he was driving through.
Many years ago this hard, unforgiving mountain was settled by hardy families from Transylvania, now eastern Romania. Met with superstition and even fear because of their nationality, the families decided to build their homes upon this mountain, away from the others. Despite the bad location and harsh climate which often resulted in a cloudy sky, they survived and formed a close-knit community.
Finally the man turned his car onto Rosebud Lane and drove up to the top of the hill. There in front of him was a castle, constructed by his grandfather from local and imported stone. Pulling off to the side, the man got out of the car just as the first raindrops began to fall. He grabbed his cane and made his way over to the front door. Grabbing the doorknocker, he banged on the door several times before he heard a gruff voice answer from inside.
"What do you want?" The voice demanded.
"Open up Groot." The man said angrily, "I'm getting wet out here."
The front door was thrown open to reveal an old hunch-backed old man, his clothes hanging on him.
"Doctor Mendoza!" Groot exclaimed.
"Yes, it's me." Mendoza snapped as he quickly walked inside. "Did those fools think they could keep me in their prison for long?"
"No of course not, Master." Groot said as he closed the door. "They let me go from that nice hospital too."
"Where is my daughter?" Mendoza asked his valet, "Is she still here?"
Mendoza's daughter then walked into the room. She was wearing a white long-sleeved gown. "Here I am, father." She said. "I'm so glad you're back."
"I am too, my dear Nadia." Mendoza said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I see you have been keeping things in order around here."
"Yes, father." Nadia replied, "I even found a new job."
Mendoza frowned slightly. "Your job is to take of me and Groot." He said, "But whatever…now where is the monster?" He asked, looking around.
Groot and Nadia just shook their heads.
"You mean he hasn't come back?" Mendoza demanded.
"While you were chasing those men father, I left the closet where I had been spying. I looked out a window and saw him being chased by several of our neighbors, but I don't know what happened to him." Nadia said.
"Did you two look for him afterwards?" Mendoza insisted.
"Yes, we looked throughout the castle and even the caves nearby but did not find him, master." Groot said.
Mendoza howled, lifted his cane, and proceeded to smash everything around him. Vases and statues were reduced to pieces on the floor. Groot and Mendoza's daughter clung to each other, fearful that the mad doctor would turn his cane on them.
"Those accursed Monkees undid all my work!" Mendoza shouted when he could find nothing more to smash, "They ruined my plans to make that monster the greatest rock and roll singer ever! He would've been famous! I would have been rich and famous, and hailed throughout the world!" He suddenly stopped and turned to his daughter and valet.
"Perhaps it was a good thing you got a job, daughter." Mendoza said.
"Why father?" Nadia asked.
"First, it will bring us some much-need income. Those Monkees took my last two hundred dollars. And secondly…" Mendoza rubbed his hands together, "One of us needs to go into the outside world and search for those Monkees. I am not through with them yet!"
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The next morning, the Monkees were having problems with their daily rehearsal. This was only a continuation of the problems that had plagued them over the last several days. At first, it started out by lights blowing out when they had been turned on. Next the fridge shorted out and they had to convince their landlord that it wasn't their fault. Then, the TV simply died. It seemed everything electronic was either blowing out or short circuiting around them. Now their bad luck was extending to their electrical instruments. Mike was constantly replacing fuses or guitar strings. Peter was having the same problem.
"There." Mike said as he tightened the string. "I hope this one lasts."
"Yeah, I can't understand why our strings keep breaking." Peter said, "It's almost like…ow!" He gasped, gripping the side of his face.
"What's the matter, mate?" Davy asked.
"It's this tooth again." Peter said, rubbing his cheek. "The dentist said he'll file it down and put a crown on it if it keeps bothering me."
"And it looks like it is bothering you." Micky remarked from his drum kit. "It's been bothering you since we were at the creepy Dr. Mendoza's house. You better go see your dentist."
"Yeah, I guess I will." Peter said, taking the bass off his shoulder, "Do we have any money, Mike?"
"Some. That two hundred we got from Dr. Mendoza helped us keep Babbit off our backs this month and for some food," Mike replied. "But if you need that tooth done, you can use what's left over."
"Thanks, Mike." Peter said, "It's a good thing we took that money back from Dr. Mendoza's pocket before the police arrived."
"It was ours in the first place." Davy said, "After he lied and said we didn't help his monster."
"That guy was nuts." Mike said, shaking his head.
"I'll see if I can make an appointment." Peter said, going for the phone book.
Chapter 2
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