05 Cryptid

“C’mon. I want you to meet Frostbite while we’re here,” Danny said to Chelsea.

They were hiding from angry eyeball ghosts in the mountains of the Far Frozen. Once the two arrived, the eyeballs turned around and returned to their home island. Relieved, Danny suggested meeting Frostbite, the leader of the domain.

“Who’s Frostbite?” Chelsea asked, her eyes lighting up. “What’s he like?”

Danny laughed as he led the way. “You’ll see!”

Chelsea wondered who would live in the icy terrain of the Far Frozen. She hugged herself and shivered. She wished she had a jacket. Danny didn’t seem affected by the cold. Lucky him.

As they flew by, things came out of caves to wave at them. Chelsea’s eyes went wide. They were big and hairy, like polar bears, but with horns sticking out of their heads.

“What are they?” she asked.

“Yetis, of course,” Danny said.

“Are they ghosts?”

Danny’s face furrowed. “You know, I never asked. I think they are. They have ghost powers, and they live in the Ghost Zone.”

“But they’re cryptids!” Chelsea said. “They don’t exist!”

“You’re half ghost, and you think yetis don’t exist?” Danny chuckled. “We just fought a group of eyeballs.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Okay, fair point,” Chelsea said, crossing her arms.

“We’re here,” Danny said, and led her into a large cave. The two guards standing on either side simply smiled and waved, despite the pointy spears they held.

Chelsea didn’t get to ask questions because they came upon a yeti with an arm made of ice. He had his back turned to them and worked at a counter.

“Yo, Frostbite,” Danny greeted, patting the yeti on the shoulder. “How’s it goin’?”

“Ah, Great One,” the yeti said, turning around. His already smiling face brightened when he saw Chelsea. “And you brought a friend!”

“This is Chelsea,” Danny said. “We were in the area and I thought I’d introduce you two.”

Frostbite held out a massive hand, and Chelsea shook it. His touch was surprisingly gentle.

“Chelsea has a question for you,” Danny said, failing at hiding a smirk.

Chelsea blushed. “It’s okay, I think I know–”

Danny ignored her. “Are you and the people of the Far Frozen ghosts?”

Frostbite’s face showed confusion. “Why, of course we are. That’s why I knew how to help you in your time of need, Great One.”

Chelsea wondered what help Danny needed and why Frostbite called him “Great One,” but kept her questions to herself for now.

Danny seemed to pick up on her thoughts, however, and said, “You’re probably wondering about the ‘Great One’ thing.”

Chelsea gaped at his clairvoyance.

Danny shrugged. “I may have saved the Ghost Zone from a tyrant king a while back.”

“You did what?” Chelsea asked. “What happened? Who was it? Was it hard?”

“It was no big deal,” Danny said. “Look, we’re not here to talk about me, okay? Do you have any more questions for Frostbite?”

Chelsea blushed again. “Um, I dunno. I guess, what do you do around here?”

Frostbite talked about his many duties as the ruler of the Far Frozen. Chelsea was fascinated to learn more about ghost life.