Chapter 1
All she needed was a rope, her phone, a pocket knife, and a small pack of assorted snacks. She would not be gone for long. Perhaps an hour--maybe two. Close enough to the mountain, her mind did not fiddle with useless “what ifs”. It wasn’t her first time breaking the rules, and granted her curiosity did not sway, it would not be her last.
Her self-embroidered, rose-ruffle pack was clad against her back as she silently snuck to the front door. The various bags of chips crinkling in her pack were slightly muffled as she moved expertly around her home. Soon to the entrance, she crept outside, closing the door behind her with the most ghostly of clicks.
The lights of her neighbors’ homes were completely out. She heaved a sigh of relief; but sooner shook her head and carried on toward her destination. It did not matter if they saw her; they already had her pegged for a troublemaker--and she did not mind. She was a troublemaker. That was the point. It was her only way to be remembered by anyone in this godforsaken town. If she were seen--if she could be sure she were truly there--she could deal with the lousy title of “troublemaker”.
If that’s how they saw her, that is what she would be.
The troublemaker.
The miscreant.
The rebel-rouser.
That blasted Caroline Hobbs.
A brief glance at her freshly-charged phone confirmed Madison and Cal were on their ways to the agreed location. The entrance of the cave had been revealed to Caroline’s friends months after she visited it for the first time and long before it happened. The scenic spot had proven to be a worthwhile meeting place for long summer days and skipping out on school; It had quickly become a place for Caroline and her closest friends. That was, until it was declared off-limits to the public…
Caroline’s stride picked up speed as she raced silently towards the base of Mt. Ebott. There wasn’t always a fence around the mountain. At first it had been open to the public, after all, no one really came to the town anyways--not unless they were hiding from something. The mountain used to look beautiful, it used to give off the impression of freedom, but now it looked like a prison. The tall, sturdy, grey fence that surrounded it gave off a contained feeling, and it had forever changed the aura of the town.
Though it had been years since she’d been part of track, Caroline had no problem running the distance to the chain-link fence in record time. Carefully hooking her fingers into the metal holes and pushing up with her feet, she scaled the two-meter high obstacle, feeling grateful for the pull-ups her teacher forced her to do in gym class. Caroline maneuvered her small body over the edge of the fencing, and after regaining her footing, leapt down to the awaiting grass on the other side.
Letting out a few fast breaths, she slowly lifted her head to gaze at the dazzling sight, memories sliding in and out of her head. The behemoth peak appeared taller than it really was. Caroline remembered the last time she had dared the daunting slope. She’d been caught spray-painting a provocative visage of Miss Willow--the town’s wrinkly librarian--on the side of Mayor Felloway’s house. Never had she run so fast than when she heard Sheriff Dan’s sirens around the corner. The sprint up the mountain at that time had seemed so short due to the excess adrenaline. When Caroline had finally felt she’d lost them, she had seen an opening in the pines and discovered a large cave. The cave only held a 5 meter hole in the floor of its interior, but the hidden and suprisingly familiar treasure had soon become Caroline’s favorite place on Earth--well--the part of Earth she’d ever seen.
But now, Caroline felt, she would soon have a new favorite place; because under that comforting cave and down the hole she’d written off so easily beforehand, was now known by all to hold so much more.
Under the mountain was a magical place that no one had known even existed till a strange array of creatures arose from under the oversized boulder with a human in tow. They were known as… monsters. And the day they arose… The Day of Advent.
Big creatures. Small creatures. Really disturbingly furry creatures. Dogs. The diversity was dizzying. What was introduced to the world nearly a year and a half ago had changed Ebott drastically. In days, Ebott went from a small town, to a tourist attraction-- from the relatively free sanctuary where Caroline could smash a car and only have to listen to a lecture in exchange to an up-tight, stifling prison where Caroline would get in trouble if she so much as sneezed. It wasn’t even the monsters that truly caused the change; it was what they left behind:
Their former home.
Everyone was sent into a tizzy when the monster’s leader spoke of the world they’d come from. Never had the town built something so fast as they did the fence around Mt. Ebott. Police officers were constantly on guard, ready to stop anyone who tried to jump the fence. Not only was she not able to go up to her hiding place, but curiosity begged her to take a peek into underground wonderland. Caroline had to hold everything back in order to not jump that ghastly fence. She had been patient, believing it couldn’t last forever. It had taken a year and a half, but her patience had payed off. Security had lowered significantly during the night, and Caroline was ready to plunge into the mountain depths.
A break in the trees pulled attention to a grand opening in the grey expanse. Two dark figures were barely contrasted against the shadowy rock behind. A snap rang out into the night as Caroline misstepped onto a short and brittle stick. The figures’ heads snapped up at the unexpected sound. “Sorry, guys. It’s just me,” Caroline whispered loud enough for the shadows, who she could now identify as her friends, to hear her.
A short figure, Madison, huffed their way over to Caroline. Her carmel-colored locks were pulled into a tight ponytail on the crown of her small head. Madison’s cheeks were red with anger. “You scared the crap outta me, Care!” Her arms wrapped around her torso protectively, “I already don’t like the feelin’ in the air tonight, then you just had to go scarin’ me even more.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just think…” she glanced around the surrounding woods. She seemed to be searching for something she could not see, but knew was unreservedly there, “m-maybe, maybe… we shouldn’t… maybe we ought to just--just----”
“Just what?” Cal popped up behind Madison, causing her to jump in surprise. “Chicken out? Not happening! Not on my watch!” The wind blew hard through the trees threatening to blow off Cal’s hat and reveal his amber hair. His hands reached up to adjust his black beanie before continuing on, “We’re literally right here Mads; we might never get another chance.”
Madison glanced up at Cal with obvious worry, “It’s just--no one’s been down there ‘cept the monsters who refuse to leave. We don’t know what we’re gonna find. What if one of the monsters catches us an’ turns us in and what if we get trapped down their what if we fall and dieCalIdon’twannadietoday----” Madison’s breathing increased exponentially. The prospects of the unknown had always put her on edge, Caroline had noticed over the years. Caroline placed her hand on Madison’s shoulder reassuringly.
“Madi, we’ll be fine. We have our phones. If something happens, we can just call for help.” That seemed to do little to quell Madison’s worries.
Cal wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leaning down to her level, “And besides… you know I got your back.”
“Me too,” Caroline added. “We go down together and we leave together; no one dying, no one leaving anyone behind--we’re in this together.”
That seemed to do the trick as Madison’s lips curled into a small smile. Caroline hooked her left arm with Madison’s right, and Cal did the same on the opposite side. Chuckling, the three foolish teenagers moved toward the mouth of the cave and the monstrous cavity leading into, what seemed like, an endless void.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So far, the Underground had been proved to be even better than Caroline had previously imagined. After they all rappelled down the cavern using the rope Caroline had brought, they had been met with what had seemed like ancient ruins.
Cal had found the seemingly endless array of winding passageways somewhat tedious. Caroline and Madison however, took interest in the exceptional craftsmanship of the structures still standing. They both took their time perusing the tiny details around them, much to Cal’s dislike. During the last hour or so, they had been met with a myriad of puzzles, some already solved and others… not so much. Most of the time they had spent already had been because of strange puzzles the three had problems solving.
Aside from a speaking rock, they had not fallen upon any straggling monsters. This slightly disappointed Caroline, as she’d been hoping to see some of the strange creatures up close. Unfortunately, not many of them wanted to stay in Ebott, probably due to the sudden increase in humans who’s only want was to take pictures of them, like they were zoo animals or something. Honestly, Caroline didn’t blame them, she would have left too--scratch that--she did want to leave.
At one point they had come across a home, small and stately. The best way to describe it; warm, Caroline had concluded, very warm. After briefly circling around what they could, and peeking in some windows, they deduced it was abandoned. They carefully made their way inside, thanking God the door was unlocked.
On the inside, there was a dining room to the left with a connected kitchen, a hallway to the right, and a flight of stairs leading down to a basement opposite the door. The dining room had a fireplace and rocking chair--comfy--and a small dining table that could hold no more than four patrons. The kitchen was small, but manageable. A strange smell wafted through the area, and Caroline thought, perhaps, whoever has been here, had left all the food in the fridge behind. Across the dining room and down the hallway, were three doors, one of which was locked. The only two rooms they could enter were a child’s room and what was to be assumed as their parent’s. Neither contained anything very interesting, although, it looked as though some things had been emptied from them. Once they left the hallway, there was only one last place to explore; the basement.
As soon as Caroline stepped foot on the basement floor passage, she knew something was off. She did not think Cal or Madison had noticed given their carefree auras, but Caroline felt it--a stagnant buzz hung uncomfortably in the air. It seemed as if those long hallways had been drenched in tension at one point in time, and Caroline wanted out. She quickly passed Cal and Madison, speed walking to whatever end would await them in that dark maze.
Caroline was almost surprised they did not run into any monsters on their way to the door that led outside. With how on edge she felt, it seemed almost impossible someone else was not there; watching… waiting…
Awaiting on the other side of two enormous stone doors was a completely different climate. The whole expanse of what they could see, and Caroline assumed also what they couldn’t, was covered in blankets of snow. This confused Caroline; how could there possible be snow underground? The question flitted from her mind when Madison called back to her, compelling her to pick up her pace as they moved forward.
And that was where they were now, trekking through the snow, flinging the occasional snowball at whomever looked the least suspecting.
Madison leant back on a tree peering up at the stony sky, “I’m so done. We should go back, guys. It’s gonna be mornin’ soon and I can’t have my parents wakin’ up and not seein’ me in bed.” Caroline was about to persuade Madison into continuing on when Cal howled in excitement.
“Over there! I can see houses in the distance!”
“So what?” Madison retorted. “We’ve seen houses before. They’re empty and boring; let’s just g---”
“But those ones have smoke coming outta the chimneys…” He placed his hand on her shoulder turning her in the direction he had been looking, pointing towards what looked like a little town.
“Okay? And what’re we gonna do? Ding, dong, ditch them? T-that’s so lame…”
Caroline smiled, chuckling lightly, trying to sound offended, “Heeeey; what’s wrong with that? The beloved Triple D is a classic.” Cal slipped his backpack off, in response to the start of squabbling, with a smug look on his face.
“Ladies, ladies, please…” He started to unzip his backpack, and began to search for something within its depths, “You two obviously don’t know me as well as you think. If you did, you’d know I always come prepared to have fun.” Cal’s hand started to retreat from his backpack with whatever item he had been looking for. He looked up at Madison and Caroline, a devilish grin stretched across his face as he pulled out a can of red spray paint.
Caroline’s smile matched Cal’s as possible prospects swirled through her brain.
“And it’s not just this, my sweets,” Cal swung the backpack towards them. As the fully stuffed bag hit the ground, multiple other items of havoc spilled from its contents: all different colors of spray paint, a baseball bat (which Caroline had seen sticking out before they even descended into the cave), and a whole container of already cracked and broken eggs. Cal looked at the egg mess miserably, “You know, I probably should a thought of that before I threw the pack…”
“Ya’ think?” Caroline commented sarcastically as Madison giggled lightheartedly. Caroline swooped down to the goodies, freeing the bat from the gooey wreckage. The baseball bat was worn and wooden, obviously old, but remarkably sturdy. Caroline shuddered with delight, the sweet sound of breaking glass swirling through her head. Oh, yes, she thought, this is going to be A LOT of fun…
Cal seized his backpack before completely booking it towards the occupied houses, Caroline and Madison not far behind. Adrenaline raced through their veins, seemingly shielding their bodies from the cold’s sting. Upon entering the small village, they all dispersed with contentious exuberance. Madison began spray painting various words and faces on nearby buildings. At one point, her excitement had reached a peak, and she started running around merely spraying black lines on everything she ran past, tittering the whole time. Cal threw the eggs not already reduced to a stale goop at what was assumed to be a library, contrary to its misspelled plaque--what the heck is a librarby? Caroline, with the trusty bat in tow, smashed anything and everything in sight. To a decorated christmas tree, to an abandoned bar’s windows, she spared no expense. Long story made short, absolute chaos had broken out--and the three teenagers--they loved every minute of it.
Despite the thrill Caroline was overcome with, she couldn’t help but be surprised no monsters had run out of their homes to see what the racket was. In fact, if there was not smoke still emerging from the chimneys, Caroline would think there was no one there at all.
“Guys! GUYS!” Caroline called to Cal and Madison, willing them to stop their rampage.
Something wasn’t quite right…
Caroline moved toward an igloo in the snow. She reared her arms over her head, grasping tightly onto the wooden baseball bat. She waited one second… then two, and then she swung the bat down onto the igloo. A sickening crack erupted into the night, and surprisingly it was the ice that cracked rather than the bat. Shaking her shock away, Caroline held her breath and listened.
And listened.
And listened…
And then--
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
There was an undeniable lack of response. No gasp, or scream, or rustle— it was almost unnatural. That is when Caroline truly took in her surroundings. Every building in sight, from a hotel, to a bar, to homes and houses, had no lights on at all. Perhaps the few monsters still down there were asleep, but surely, at least one would have stirred at the noises… but still… nothing.
Caroline motioned Cal and Madison to follow her. They quietly swept through the one-way street, looking in through the windows that weren’t broken, searching for anything that would point towards there being anyone there at all. But once again, there was nothing…
Caroline shivered.
She was about to turn around and suggest they just go back home, when a small glow caught her eye. It was barely noticeable, and if Caroline had not been so sharp-eyed, she would have never seen it. Near the middle of the town, there was a two-story house decorated with holiday decorations, fitting in to the snowy atmosphere. Behind the home was a thin scattering of trees. The trees shone lightly, hinting at a miniscule light source of some kind.
Caroline put her index finger to her lips, signalling her friends to be quiet. They crept closer to the back of the house, sliding along the side of it, before leaning around the corner of it ever so slowly.
Low and behold, there was a back-door hidden to anyone who wasn’t nosy enough. The tiniest bit of light seeped out through the bottom of the door. They weren’t alone, at least, that’s what Caroline thought. She suddenly had a sneaking feeling, that whoever was behind that door, was the only one in the whole vicinity.
An evil idea crawled into Caroline’s mind. She quickly turned to Cal, holding her hand out for his backpack. He swiftly slid it off his back and handed it to her. She searched through it for the colors she needed for her wicked plan. Caroline knew exactly what she was going to do. She hurriedly got down to business, trying to be as quick and quiet as possible.
Caroline had gotten rather good at spray paint art. She’d left her mark on a wide variety of places and her art ability had grown exponentially. Her imagination had grown as well. She didn’t mean to brag, but she had grown quite a knack for creating that which would get under others skin the most.
The masterpiece she began to create on the side of the unbeknownst monster’s house, she believed, would be one of her best. The painting swirled between shades of purple and green, depicting a demon rising from the Earth. Above the winged demon was a sorcerer with a diamond displayed across their chest. Their hands were outstretched as they used their magic to attempt to withhold the beast threatening to escape. To any human, the painting would have been almost beautiful, in its own convoluted way, but to any monster or human who had studied monster culture, it was quite the opposite. The illustration was actually an upside down delta rune--a symbol of hope and rich history to the monsters. The sorcerer portrayed the three triangles, and the demon was in place of the angel, hellfire licking at its heels.
To finish it off, Caroline turned to Madison, handing her a can of red spray paint. “You know you’re better at painting words.” Caroline and Madison shared a knowing smile. Madison then turned to the artwork and sprayed a bloodied ‘WELCOME TO HELL’ above and below the artwork.
As if on cue, a creak sounded from behind the house, and light flooded the backway. A shadow was shown in the light. Caroline quickly picked up the baseball bat as all three of them sprinted to the front of the house, hiding around the corner.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The snow made muffled noises as the supposed monster moved closer and closer and closer…
Until…
It stopped…
A lethargic silence filled the air. The snow on the ground seemed to suck in every other noise, silencing the silence. Suddenly, a deep voice reverberated through the space, causing Caroline to flinch and grip the bat tighter. “ya know, i’m always for a good joke, but i think ya need a little lesson on an effective punchline.” Caroline squeezed her eyes shut, a drip of sweat rolling down her face. “c’mon, kid. i know you’re there. might as well have a conversation.” The voice was low and raspy. Caroline could almost call the tone lazy.
She waited for the monster to say something more, but there was only silence. Caroline took in a long breath and opened her mouth to speak. “No one is actively being hurt. No one is supposed to be down here anyways.”
“ ‘s my house, pal. pretty sure i can be here whenever i want. but you’re right. you aren’t s’posed to be here.” He paused. After an uncomfortable few seconds, he continued, “ look, the attempt at upgradin’ the place was nice an all, an i ain’t one to have a short TEMPER-a...” Did he just--? “ but that bat a yours is really becoming a pain in the gl-ASS, if ya know what i mean--”
“If you’re trying to get rid of us, you’re not doing a very good job,” Caroline impatiently stated. She couldn’t fathom why this monster was standing around the corner just speaking to them; and telling jokes for that matter. What was its motive? No matter what conclusion she came to, it didn’t quite add up, and it was getting on her nerves.
“ i’m just saying, three kids in a deep dark cave, messing with things that aren’t theirs, all in a place they aren’t s’posed to be…” Then abruptly, his tone seemed to shift. An eeriness seemed to emanate from around the corner where he supposedly stood. The sudden change in character threw Caroline off guard; she began to shake. How did he know there was three of them? “ sounds like you’re begging to have a
… B A D T I M E.”
Caroline’s heart pounded in her chest. This was dangerous. He was dangerous. Somehow, she knew if she rushed in head first and tried to take on the monster, it wouldn’t end well. She should have agreed with Madison when she said they go back. Madison was almost always right about these sort of things. Thoughts swirled and smacked erratically inside Caroline’s head. A ringing seemed to arise in her ears. She felt as though she were losing control. What is this feeling?
Cal decided to speak up given Caroline’s sudden silence. “You can’t scare us! There’s three of us and only one of you!” As he spoke he was surveying the area, he then paused, apparently finding what he had been looking for. Cal slowly bent down and plucked a chunk of iced snow off the ground about the size of two medium-sized fists.
“ don’t say i didn’t warn ya…”
Cal and Madison shared a determined nod, each holding their respective weapon. Cal looked back at Caroline, his face etched with a stony resolve. Caroline’s eyes widened, not realizing his intent until it was too late.
Madison and Cal leapt out into the open, a spot in full view of whatever awaited around that confounded corner. Cal whirled his arm, flinging the ice chunk at the monster still hidden from Caroline’s line of sight. Madison, however, froze in her tracks. Her face twisted into a disturbed expression before raising her arms aiming the spray can at the monster. Before she could put down enough pressure, a flurry of snowballs were hurled from behind the house at Cal. He was being bombarded from all directions. There seemed to be no one even throwing them, and the rate at which they flew was mind boggling.
Caroline was still frozen in place on the the house’s front porch. It was a wonder how a simple statement had daunted her so. She was absolutely and irrevocably petrified…
Being practically buried was Cal, his protests lost in the snow. Madison was in shock and was just standing still, staring fearfully at Cal’s struggles. An unknown force took hold of Caroline, her new and unwelcome emotion turning her voice into something rushed and strained, “SPRAY!” Madison, immediately, as if being pulled from her trance, pushed down on the cans button. Red paint sprayed forward. The assault on Cal ceased, but soon after, the paint can was magically ripped from Madison’s grasp. It spun swiftly and began spraying her instead. Madison covered her face, screaming and curling in on herself as the fumes continued to surround her.
Cal had just surfaced from his snow prison, but he shot up and dashed to Madison’s side. He slapped the can out of the air, sending it spiraling down into a nearby snow pile. As he wrapped his arms around her, Madison wept. Out of the corner of Caroline’s eye, she noticed the paint can rising, once again, out of the snow. Caroline’s fear of the monster’s powers was miniscule compared to her fear for her friends’ safety--she knew she needed to act. In an attempt to distract their assailant, she slammed the baseball bat into one of the house’s front windows.
The sound seemed to work as the paint can dropped to the ground. Instead, Caroline unexpectedly felt a great increase in gravity. It was as if the very core of her was being pulled violently to the ground. She fell to the porch floor with great force and she found herself unable to move. Looking up to call to Cal, she came to the wretched visage of him and Madison seemingly running away. “CAL! MADISON! HELP!” They looked over their shoulders. Cal, with his arm wrapped protectively around Madison, turned away disdainfully; he almost looked… irritated. Madison, however, gazed at Caroline a bit longer. She looked like she might turn back. This filled Caroline with hope, but then--
“I’m sorry…”
…
Caroline gazed on blankly at the two retreating figures. Her heart fell, or at least it would have, if Madison hadn’t of ripped it out and ran away with it. Once again, she was all alone…
She should have learned her lesson; you can never trust anyone. They all abandon you in the end.
“ looks to me like ya need some new friends.”
Caroline’s eyes snapped open. That’s right… this wasn’t her fault. It was that damn monsters fault. Her closest friends were gone, relationship damaged, trust demolished, kaput; and it was all because of him! Fury bubbled up through Caroline’s bosom. Despite still being held down by the invisible force, Caroline felt herself struggling to rise. She was reminded of the consternation she had endured just moments before and she couldn’t believe herself. To be frightened by such a coward! He hadn’t even shown his face to her once; her friends were gone and he was still standing behind the damn building--with the audacity to question her choice in friends! Needless to say, Caroline was livid. And she was also filled with COURAGE.
She struggled even more, using her free hand to lean on the porch railing, she rose till she was standing. It took all her might to maintain her stance against the gravity. In her right hand, she gripped Cal’s baseball bat, still by her side through the whole debacle. “ ’s all your fault…” she muttered.
“ come again, kid?”
Caroline quaked with every step. She heaved her legs forward--step by step, one by one--slowly, but surely. She refused to be afraid, no matter what happened. “I said…” she reached the corner; the threshold between her and her adversary, “ THIS is all your fault!” Caroline swerved around the corner, casting her arms down. She willed the bat to hit its target as she whirled around to face the monster who’d given her so much trouble. She prepared for the inevitable thunk--but it never came.
Adjacent to the side of the house stood a stout skeleton no taller than Madison’s below average 5’3”. He wore a blue hoodie and black basketball short with a white line running down each leg. Caroline didn’t study much else about him in those few milliseconds. To tell the truth, the only thing her eyes were drawn to, were the two black voids on his skull. They seemed to suck in everything around them like a black hole. She was so entranced, she did not even process the fact she had missed.
However, she did notice when there emerged a sort of turquoise glow from one of his eye sockets. Caroline had only a few short moments to take in all the new information. Her eyes moved down to look at the bat as it became encased in a thin cyan smoulder. “ now that, was a BAT idea…” And just like that, the bat advanced at an alarming rate straight between her eyes.
Caroline only thought of one thing before she blacked out--was he wearing freaking slippers?
*Authors note: Okay, okay, I swear the other chapters won’t be this long. There was so much I needed to accomplish in this one chapter, I couldn’t help its length. I hoped you liked it-- this is the first fanfiction I have ever done. I’ll try not to die.
IN THE MEANTIME! Vote, Comment, and whatever else you can do. I like CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Thank you, Thank you! :)
