Author: N. C. Reed
Date: 2014-12-07 08:00:00+00:00
Description: Five teens. One dearly departed dog. An ancient book full of spells. What could go wrong? Join the gang as they try to bring their dog back to life, only to end up summoning something dark and deadly from somewhere else to their small town. Now, they have to hurry to fix what they've done before the Monster of Creasy's Hollow wreaks havoc on their home. Right after they've done their homework, of course. Customer Review "I really enjoyed this book. It was a refreshing read, light and amusing yet not stupid - silly in the dialog or plot. At first, there were but they were few and far between, a
Publisher: Creative Texts Publishers, LLC

The Monster of Creasy's Hollow

Copyright © 2014

N.C. Reed

All rights are reserved.

This is a work of fiction. All characters and locales in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, or actual places of business, in entirely co-incidence.

Table of Contents

Chapter One 6

Chapter Two 17

Chapter Three 28

Chapter Four 37

Chapter Five 52

Chapter Six 66

Chapter Seven 81

Chapter Eight 104

Chapter One

“Are you sure this is gonna work?”

Alvin’s question was a good one, but no one in the group knew the answer.

“Look, I found this old book in my dad’s closet,” Chip said, holding up the cracked leather tome. “He’s always been into that occult type stuff. And there’s a page in here about re-animation. I think it’s more for people than dogs, but if it’ll work on people, why can’t it work on Waldo?”

The five teens looked down at the body of poor Waldo, a mixture of no telling how many breeds of dog. The mutt had been the neighborhood dog, always friendly, tail wagging, hoping for a treat. Never bothered a soul, never offered to bite anyone. Not even the mail man.

Yesterday, Waldo have been hit by a car that had ran up on the sidewalk near Chip’s house. The car never slowed down. It could just as easily have been one of the gang.

The ‘gang’ consisted of five teens who lived in the same two block area and attended the same school. Alvin Thomas, who’s parents owned the hardware store. Chip Douglas, the son of the local insurance agent most everyone in town used. Angie Harold, her mother owned the ‘Creasy Spoon’ restaurant, and Donny and Donna Craig, brother and sister twins, who lived with their mother and step-dad. Their father had died in Iraq when they were still very small.

The five of them were almost always together, somewhere. Doing something. Usually something that would get them in trouble.

Not serious trouble, of course. They weren’t hoodlums or anything. Just curious, rambunctious kids who prowled and prodded, always looking for something to lighten up the day. The five of them had been friends all their lives, their parents all good friends who visited all the time, having the occasional party. Always adult parties, of course. These ‘parties’ always resulted in a ‘sleep over’ for the teens at another home, with a babysitter.

Waldo had been ‘their’ dog. And they were all heartbroken when he’d been run over. The boys had carried Waldo into Mister Jamison's backyard, since Mister Jamison was in the nursing home and no one was staying at his house at the moment.

Now, the five stood around the dog’s body, already beginning to swell, looking at Chip.

“Look, what have we go to lose?” the fourteen year old said. “If it works, we get Waldo back. If it doesn’t, then. . .well, we haven’t lost anything else. But if you guys don’t wanna. . . .” he trailed off, shrugging.

“I say we try it,” Donny shrugged. “Can’t hurt. And if it works, we can use it on other stuff.”

“I don’t know, man,” Alvin scratched the back of his neck. “Pastor Samuels says stuff like this happens for a reason. Maybe we should just bury him and be done with it.”

“Pastor Samuels says a lotta things,” Donna’s tone was sharper than she meant it to be, but Angie snorted in agreement. Both had caught ‘Pastor’ Samuels giving them a more detailed look than a man of the cloth should be giving a teen-aged girl in his ‘flock’.

“Well, it’s all or nothin’, cause the book says we need all five of us,” Chip pointed out.

“Well, let’s put it to a vote, then,” Donny suggested. “All in favor of trying to get Waldo back, raise your hand.” He raised his own as he spoke. Chip was a close second, followed by Angie, and then Donna. They all looked at Alvin. He sighed.

“Yeah, okay. What the hell,” he half-raised his arm.

“Cool,” Chip nodded, opening the book. “Okay, we got all the ingredients, and we’ve got a bowl,” he pointed to the box of ‘ingredients’, including one of his mother’s favorite mixing bowls. “Now, all we have to do is make a circle around us with the salt, combine the stuff, mix it up, and hit it with the match, and presto! Waldo’s back.”

“I got the salt,” Alvin volunteered, taking the large box of rock salt. “How big a circle?”

“Well, it’s gotta be big enough for all of us to fit in,” Chip said. “I guess just make it wide enough around Waldo that we can all stand inside it.” Alvin nodded, and started spreading the rock salt on the ground.

“Donna, Angie, you guys wanna start adding the ingredients as I call’em out?” Chip asked. The girls nodded, and knelt down to take the bowl from the box, and started organizing the ingredients.

“What you want me to do?” Donny asked.

“Well, someone needs to be a look-out, I guess,” Chip admitted. “I mean, we’d probably get in a lot of trouble if we got caught.”

“You mention this now?” Donny asked, eye-brow raised.

“Look, all we’re trying to do is get our dog back,” Chip pointed out. “But how do you think this is gonna look to anyone else who sees it?”

“Like a satanic ritual,” Alvin said from where he was spreading the salt. All eyes turned to him.

“What?” he asked. “You know it’s true. Heck, for all we know, it is one.”

“Chip, is this some kind of satanic thing?” Donna asked, now leery.

“I don’t think so,” Chip shrugged. “There no pentagram or anything on the book,” he pointed to the cover.

“Pentagrams aren’t satanic,” Donny replied. This time everyone looked at him.

“I learned that on Supernatural. Don’t any of you watch TV?”

“I got better things to do,” Alvin shrugged, finishing the salt circle.

“Like play Call of Valor,” Angie snorted.

“Call of Duty,” Alvin corrected. “And yeah, I consider that better than watching TV. I’m done,” he added, setting the salt aside.

“Okay, good,” Chip nodded. “Let’s get started.” He began calling out the ingredients, and the girls dutifully added them to the bowl. Some of them were strange, and Angie’s curiosity finally got the better of her.

“Chip, where did you get something like a chicken’s foot?” she asked.

“My mom cooked chicken for supper the other night, so I got it out of the garbage,” he told them.

“Ewww,” the girls both said at the same time.

“Oh, stop bellyaching, you already got it in there,” Chip snorted. “All right, that’s all of it. Give it a good stir, while I get the candles. Donny, give me a hand, will you?” The two boys took five candles from the box and set them at five different points around Waldo’s corpse.

“Why five?” Alvin asked.

“One for each of us,” Chip shrugged. “All I can guess. Okay, let’s see,” he looked again at the book. “We need to get into position around Waldo, inside the salt circle. . .no, wait. Outside.” Everyone moved to their spots. Chip looked at their places and nodded his approval.

“All we need now is a little flash powder.”

“What’s that?” Donny asked.

“Stuff magicians use to make smoke and fire,” Chip replied, opening a small packet and pouring the contents into the bowl. “It’ll make the stuff work.”

“How?” Alvin wanted to know.

“I dunno,” Chip shrugged. “Just will. Okay, everybody take your spots.” The five teens all moved to different spots around Waldo’s body, each taking the candle sitting there. Chip made the rounds, lighting each candle. Once he was done, he took his own spot, his candle already burning. He also had a long kitchen match held in his hand.

“That for the bowl?” Angie asked, pointing to the match.

“Yeah. Once we get done with the chant, I have to throw it into the bowl, and then we’ll see what happens.”

“See what happens?” Donna asked skeptically. “I thought Waldo comes back to life, that’s what happens.”

“That’s what we hope happens,” Chip corrected. “Like I said, the way this reads, it’s more for people than dogs. I’m just hoping it works.”

“I don’t know about this, Chip,” Alvin said, suddenly concerned. “What if something goes wrong?”

“We did everything according to the book,” Chip shook his head. “It’ll work.”

“What if it don’t?” Angie challenged, also uneasy now.

“Then Waldo is gone, and we’ll bury him,” Chip sighed in exasperation. “Now, it’s time we do this. Sun will be down soon. I’m gonna call out each line, and you guys repeat it. We only get one chance to get Waldo back, so don’t mess up, okay?” The others nodded, though none of them looked as confident as they had just five minutes ago.

Chip began the incantation, speaking slowly as the words were in some foreign language he didn’t know. Each time he managed to get a line out he nodded, and the others stumbled through the repetition. It seemed to take forever, though in reality it was only about five minutes. Finally, Chip touched the match to his candle, lighting it, and spoke the final words. As the others repeated them, he dropped the match into the bowl.

There was a flash of fire, but the only sound was a slight sizzling. Each teen backed up a step at the flash, but no one ran away.

“Nothing’s happening,” Donny said. Then, before anyone could agree or disagree, there was a loud whoosh, the ground seemed to thump beneath their feet, and a blue light shot out from the bowl along the ground in all directions. All five teenagers were swept off their feet, knocked flat by either the shaking beneath them or the light shooting through where they were standing.

For a second no one spoke or moved. As they stirred from their places on the ground, Chip shook his head.

“Wow,” he said softly. “I didn’t see that coming’.”

“What the heck was that?” Donna demanded, getting to her feet, dusting herself off. She turned to help Angie up, then checked on her brother.

“I guess we did it right!” Chip enthused, grinning broadly. “How ‘bout that!”

“Uh, guys?” Alvin’s tone brought everyone’s attention to him. He was staring at the ground between them.

“Guys,” he repeated. “Where’s Waldo?”

Everyone looked to the ground.

Waldo’s body was gone.

*****

“Okay, let’s not panic,” Chip said, his voice a little shaky.

“No one’s panicking,” Angie pointed out. “We’re wondering what happened to Waldo.”

“I dunno,” Chip admitted. “According to this, he should have come back to life.”

“I think re-animated was the term you used before,” Donna pointed out, eyes narrowing. “Now that I think about it, that doesn’t exactly mean ‘come back to life’, now does it?”

“You mention this now?” Donny asked, looking at his sister sideways. “Where was that little tidbit before we did this crap?”

“I just thought about it,” Donna admitted, shrugging.

“It’s a good question, though,” Alvin voiced. “And we still don’t know what happened to Waldo.”

“Maybe he got up and ran off while we were on the ground?” Chip said/asked hopefully.

“And none of us saw him?” Angie scoffed.

“Well, we were all a little shook up,” Chip defended. “I wasn’t looking at him. Were you?” Angie shook her head.

“Anyone?” Chip asked, looking at the rest. Same result. No one had paid Waldo’s body any attention right after the light show. Not until Alvin had noted that it was gone.

“Well, I don’t know, then,” Chip admitted defeat. “I really thought this would work.”

“Well, I got homework,” Angie said finally. “And it’s laundry night, too.”

“I’m supposed to be online at seven for a tourney,” Alvin agreed, looking at his watch.

“I have to mow the lawn before dark,” Donny nodded.

“Well, that’s that, then, I guess,” Chip sighed. “Will you guys help me get this stuff home?”

“I will,” Donna volunteered.

“Me too,” Alvin agreed, checking his watch again.

“See you guys tomorrow,” Chip told Angie and Donny. With Alvin and Donna’s help, he got the ‘ingredients’ home without mishap, and the other two teens went their respective ways.

Disappointed, Chip walked inside to do his own homework. He’d always had trouble with math.

Chapter Two

Across town, Charles ‘call me Chuck’ Douglas pulled himself off the floor using his desk as a prop, his face showing alarm. He knew what the blue light that had shot through town a bare minute before meant.

Someone, somewhere in Creasy’s Hollow, had just performed a sacrifice of some kind. And it had worked. If it hadn’t, then there wouldn’t have been a power release. This had been a strong one if he was any judge. With his background, he was a pretty fair judge too. And right now, his instincts were screaming at him that something bad had just happened.

He closed his office as quickly as he could, and started for home. He needed to study on this. Try and find out what had happened. And why.

It took longer than normal to lock the door today. His hands were shaking.

*****

Albert and Valina Thomas had been closing their hardware store up when the light shot through the store, and them, knocking both to the floor. The two store owners got to their feet, each checking on the other, then looking at each other, asking the same question at the same time.

“What was that?”

Neither had an answer. Albert shook a little as a shiver went up his spine. As a practitioner of arcane arts, he knew what the blue light represented, but. . . .

“There’s no way they could have done this without us,” Valina said, heading off his thoughts.

“I never thought they would,” Alvin replied honestly. “But. . .that means someone, somewhere here in town probably judging from the strength of that spell, just did. We need to get everyone together and find out what the hell is going on, Val.”

They hurriedly finished locking up their store, and headed for the Creasy Spoon.

*****

Kathryn Harold shook her head in a vain effort to clear the stars from her eyes left from hitting her head on the counter when the light had shot through. She had only a few customers at this time of day, and hurriedly checked to ensure they and her employees were all right. There were no injuries, but everyone was shaken.

“Kat, what the hell was that?” Susie Orly, her waitress asked, still looking a bit shaken.

“No idea,” Kat lied, shaking her head. “Maybe some kind of power surge?”

“Don’t think so,” her cook, Damian Thomas was shaking his head, having walked out front. “If it was, it should have shorted out every appliance in the place. Everything in here is still running.” He pointed to the bubbling coffee maker and the ceiling lights as if to prove his theory.

“Did it damage anything?” Kat asked, more to cover her own fear than anything else. She knew exactly what it had been, and to say she was concerned was an understatement.

“No, we’re fine,” Damian shook his head.

“I need to go and check on Angie,” Kat told the other two. “You two close up and go on home, if you don’t mind?”

“We’ll take care of it,” Damian promised, and Susie nodded. Neither had children to check on.

“Thanks, both of you,” Kat managed to smile. “See you tomorrow.” I hope.

She had scarcely stepped outside when the Thomas’ pulled into the parking lot, looking worried.

“Kat, did you. . . .?” Alvin began.

“Yes, I did. I’m on my way home to check on Angie, and then. . .we have to find out what happened.”

“We’ll do the same. Meet you at Chuck’s?”

“Works,” Kat nodded, hurrying to her car.

Whatever had just happened, it could only be trouble. For all of them.

*****

Belinda Craig-Johnson had been leaving the local supermarket when the spell light had passed through her. She had managed to stay on her feet, but the chill ran completely through to her bones.

Knowing immediately what had happened, or at least having a working theory about it, she had loaded her groceries in record time and was on her way home. She tried calling Chuck, but there was no answer. Not even voice mail, which was odd.

Pulling into her drive, she was relieved to see Donny mowing, as he should have been. Donna came out when Belinda honked the car horn.

“Hi, mom!” she waved.

“Hi, sweetie,” she smiled despite her worry. “Have your brother help you unload the groceries, and put them away, please,” she asked, walking to her husband’s truck. “I have another errand I have to run, and then I’ll be home to fix supper.”

“Sure, mom,” Donna agreed, waving for her brother. Belinda’s husband, Paul Johnson, was the kid’s step-father, and a long haul truck driver. The pay was good, and he had enough time in that he was home most weekends, including Fridays. He wouldn’t be home for two more days.

Belinda forced herself to pull away from the house slowly, so as not to alarm her children. She had to see Chuck, right away.

*****

“Hi, dad,” Chip said when Charles walked into the house. “You’re home early.”

“Slow day,” Chuck said absently. “Where’s your mom?” he asked.

“Out back doing something,” Chip shrugged, returning to his homework.

“Thanks, buddy,” Chuck nodded, slipping outside. He saw his wife of eighteen years, Stacey, looking out at the darkening sky to the east, arms wrapped around herself.

“Hey, babe,” he said gently, so as not to startle her. She almost jumped, turning to see him, relief passing over her face.

“Charles,” she almost whispered, hugging him. “Did you feel. . . .?”

“I sure did,” he told her, hugging her tightly in return for a second. “Do you think the others. . . .?”

“No,” Stacey shook her head firmly. “They’d never try without you, and the four of them aren’t strong enough for something like that, anyway.”

“I’m not sure any of us are,” Chuck admitted. “There was real power behind that spell light, Stace. It was stronger than anything I’ve ever felt.”

“Me too,” she agreed. “I. . . .” Whatever else she had been about to say was cut off by the screeching of brakes toward the front of their house. Hand in hand, the two walked around front to see the Thomas’ getting out of their truck.

“Hey you two,” Chuck said in way of greeting.

“Chuck, did you feel that?” Albert said without preamble.

“I’d say everyone in Creasy’s Hollow felt it, Al,” Chuck nodded. Before either could say anything else, Belinda Johnson screeched to a halt in front of their house in her husband’s truck.

“Guys! Guys did you. . . .”

“Keep it down,” Valina cautioned. “And yes, of course we did.” Belinda had always been a little high-strung, and something like this would have her approaching panic mode if they weren’t careful.

“What in the world was it?” Belinda asked breathlessly.

“We don’t know,” Chuck admitted. “All I know is that it was very, very powerful. Honestly, at this point, I’m more interested in who did it. Well, I’m at least as interested,” he corrected. “Not knowing what it was is troubling.”

“Troubling?” Valina eyebrow’s shot up. “Chuck, your understatement is showing.” The others enjoyed a good laugh at that, albeit a nervous one. They needed it. Before anymore discussion started, Kat arrived, pulling into the drive a bit more sedately than the others.

“Well, looks like the gang’s all here,” she snorted, getting out of her car. “I take it we all experienced the same thing?”

“The whole town experienced it, I’m sure,” Albert replied, nodding.

“I had maybe eight customers, plus Susie and Damian. All of them felt it. Saw it.” Kat’s face showed concern. “That was some strong stuff, guys. Someone’s playing in our back yard, and they’re pretty powerful.”

“Agreed,” Chuck nodded. “As I see it, the first thing we have to do, if we can, is figure out what kind of spell that was. We need to know what happened, or what’s going to happen, as a result of all that. I’m almost positive it was a sacrifice of some kind, but what kind I don’t know.”

“Sacrifice?” the others managed to say in unison.

“Yep,” Chuck nodded. “I don’t know what, or who to or for, but there’s almost nothing else that would produce a wave like that with a blue tinge. I don’t know of anyone else anywhere near us,” he added. “Have any of you heard anything at all about a different group in our area?”

Heads shook in the negative all around the huddle. The small group of practitioners, always careful to avoid the word ‘coven’, had thought they were the only active practicing occultists in their area of the state, let alone the Hollow. It was obvious to Chuck that all were worried.

“Whoever they were,” Albert said into the silence, “I’d say they’re a lot more powerful than we are.”

“I have to agree,” Chuck nodded grimly. “We’ve never practiced a spell or ritual that produced that kind of power.”

“What does that tell us?” Kat asked. “How does it help us?”

“For the moment, it doesn’t, not really,” Stacey shook her head. “Without knowing who they are, or where they might be, our options are pretty limited.”

“Is there any chance they’re. . .well, aggressive?” Belinda asked, looking around as if someone even now might be watching them. “Could they know about us? Be a threat to us?”

“Let’s don’t jump to conclusions, now,” Chuck held up his hands in a placating manner. “Until we actually know something, we don’t know anything. Agreed?”

“No,” Valina shook her head. “We know for sure someone else is practicing, and you already said they’re stronger than we are. So we know that, don’t we?”

“I didn’t say they were stronger than us,” Chuck replied carefully. “I said we’d never done anything that produced that kind of power.”

“I said they were more powerful than us, and you agreed,” Albert pointed out.

“Okay, I did say that,” Chuck admitted. “But let’s don’t automatically assume that whoever did this is aggressive toward us, or even know who we are. For all we know, they’re just passing through the area.”

“Or they’ve been here all along, and we never noticed,” Valina retorted. “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough, Chuck.”

“What do you expect him to do?” Stacey asked. “You know as much as we do!”

“Chuck is the leader,” Belinda shot back. “It’s his job to know!”

“Look, this isn’t getting us anywhere,” Chuck himself held up a hand before the argument could develop further. “All we know, for sure, is that someone worked a spell of some kind. One I’m fairly certain was a sacrificial spell, though I can’t say I know that for sure, or what kind it was. What I’m worried about is whether or not it was a summoning.”

“You mean. . . ?” Albert’s eyes widened.

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Chuck nodded. “I can’t imagine anyone actually doing a spell like that. They’re stupidly dangerous. Even the best ones. The simplest summoning can open a door you just don’t want to open. One that’s hard to get closed again, too.”

“We’ve never done anything like that, have we?” Kat asked hesitantly.

“Not even close,” Chuck shook his head. “Remember, we started this as an alternative healing method, and then began using it for good fortune in business. Everything we’ve done has been passive. Positive. Completely so,” he added for emphasis.

“Well, someone must have decided to open that particular box,” Belinda piped up again. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know that we can do anything,” Chuck admitted. “We don’t know who did it, or where. I can’t even be sure what kind of spell it was, like I said. I think it was a sacrificial one, but . . . that covers a lot of ground, guys. I need to study on this,” he added, frowning. “Maybe there’s something I can find, a description that matches what we saw, that will tell us what we’re dealing with. Other than that, all we can do is stay alert.”

The others weren’t happy with that, but everyone had to admit Chuck had a point. It wasn’t like they were experts in any sense of the word. Even calling them ‘hobby occultists’ would be stretching it. Deciding to wait and see what Chuck could find out, Belinda, Alvin, and Valina headed home, leaving Chuck and Stacey in their yard alone.

“Do you really think it was a summoning?” Stacey asked, once it was just the two of them.

“I’m almost certain of it,” Chuck admitted grimly. “But what did they summon?”

Chapter Three

Monusuol took in his surroundings with a jaundiced eye. He had felt the pull of the summoning from deep within the other plane. Unable to resist the summons, he had been swept along to this realm against his will. To call him unhappy would have been an understatement.

Seeing that his summoners were nowhere in evidence simply added fuel to his already burning ire. Finding himself the recipient of the body of a dead canine served only to enrage him further.

Monusuol sniffed the air around him, testing it for anything familiar. The smell of salt was almost overpowering to him, and he could see the grains of the hated element on the ground all around him. His rage was on the verge of boiling over when he realized that the circle of salt trapping him was, in fact, incomplete. Someone, or something, had broken the circle that was meant to contain him.

A slow, predatory smile spread it’s way across the creature’s face. While he didn’t know who it was that had possessed the temerity to summon him from his home, they had, in fact, done him a huge favor. With the containment of his trap broken, Monusuol was free to walk the Earth once more, as he had been millennia ago.

Free, and answerable to no one.

The creature laughed aloud at this discovery, though no mortal human would have recognized the sound as one of humor. It more closely resembled the combination of large gears grinding together and the sound made by steam under pressure leaking from a ruptured pipe.

Testing his freedom, Monusuol lifted one cloven hoof and took a cautious step across the salty barrier. His foot landed safely on the outside of the broken circle with no pain inflicted upon him and no resistance. The horrible sound of his laughter rang louder this time, and dogs across the Hollow began to bark and howl in response.

Monusuol roared in return, the thrill of freedom giving strength to his defiance. He was free! The feeling was heady, almost intoxicating after so long in darkness and despair. With an evil joy permeating his very being, the monster set off in search of mischief and mayhem. There was so much he had missed in his time of confinement.

It was time to make up for that.

*****

“Did you hear that?” Donny asked his sister, as the two of them were finishing their homework.

“Hear what?” Donna asked, looking up.

“That. . .noise,” Donny tried to think of a good description. “It sounded like some kind of howl. Or something,” he added, frowning.

“Probably your stomach,” Donna rolled her eyes. Her brother would be hungry a half hour after supper. And desert.

“No it wasn’t.”

“Shut up and leave me alone,” Donna grumbled. “I have to get this done.”

“I’m telling you I heard something!” Donny insisted.

“You’re gonna be hearing bells if you don’t leave me alone!” Donna shot back. “Shut up!”

Growling under his breath, Donny got to his feet. He knew he had heard something strange. Going to the back door, he slipped on his shoes.

“You’ll get in trouble if you go out without doing your homework, dork,” Donna warned.

“Not unless you tell, snitch,” Donny shot back. “You wanted me to leave you alone, I’m leaving you alone.” With that he stepped outside, leaving a fuming sister behind.

“Jerk,” she muttered, returning to her homework.

*****

Chip had been taking the trash out when he heard the roaring. He wasn’t sure just what it was he was hearing, but he knew that it made the hair on his arm stand up. That and sent shivers down his spine.

“What the. . . .?” he wondered, looking out into the night. He couldn’t see anything, but he could hear what had to be every dog in the neighborhood barking and growling. The sound made him think of poor Waldo. Chip sighed, shaking his head. He had been so sure that the book he’d found would give Waldo back to them.

The roar, or whatever, sounded again, forcing all thoughts of Waldo from Chip’s mind. Whatever was making that noise sounded. . .angry. Angry and mean. And big.

Replacing the trash can lid, Chip decided to go back inside. He didn’t know what was making that sound, but he was pretty sure he didn’t want to meet it.

*****

Monusuol stalked the darkness of Creasy’s Hollow, content for the moment to simply enjoy his new found freedom. Much had changed in the time he had been banished from this realm. Strange lights burned without flame, and large metal beasts with glowing eyes roamed the land. Beasts the like of which he had never encountered. He would need to be cautious, at least until he knew more about them.

The smells of this realm were almost overwhelming as well. Some he could identify, others he could not. A few seemed familiar, as if some ingredient within the smell was known to him, but not in this state. Another mystery he would need to solve.

There were many strange new sounds as well, including the roar of the beasts with the glowing eyes. Some were quiet, almost as if trying to avoid detection. Others, however, were loud, roaring their defiance to others of their kind he supposed. A few were huge, and Monusuol was reluctant to draw their attention. He was not sure that he could defeat these largest of the strange beasts, and thought it better not to challenge one unless there was no choice.

Monusuol found himself walking along a hard surface that blended almost perfectly with the darkness save for brightly colored lines along it’s middle and sides. He had noted that most of the strange beasts traveled these surfaces, and decided that doing so himself might not be a good idea. With that thought, he moved off the hardened area onto the bare ground.

There were structures all along the sides of this marked surface, many showing the same strange lights that burned without any sign of fire. These lights were a source of puzzlement to him. He had seen stones glow in such a manner, but they were rare, and almost always lay in the possession of strong sorcerers, or worse still, knights who spent their lives dedicated to keeping Monusuol and his brethren from roaming the world at will, as was their right.

These structures. Could they be dwelling places of the humans? If so they were much changed from the last time he had walked the Earth. Where were the castles, the rock walls, the trenches and moats? Obstacles to his kind, placed there to protect the weak skinned humans from Monusuol and his kindred. Had the humans advanced to the point that they no longer needed such protection?

Were the strange beasts with the glowing eyes that seemed to patrol this particular settlement some new form of human wizardry meant to prevent attacks by beings such as he? Were they, even now, seeking him out with their glowing eyes and growling sounds?

The creature was confused. He needed time to think, to study his surroundings. There was much to be learned here, and he needed to be cautious. He was strong, of that there was no doubt. But he had been gone from this realm for a very long time. Would his strength still be superior in this new, unfamiliar surrounding?

He did not know, and what he didn’t know was dangerous. Monusuol had learned that the hard way. With great caution he eased his way back into the darkness, then made his way into the woods around the strange human settlement. He needed a safe place from which to watch, learn, and plan. The last time he had rushed head-long into an altercation with humans, he had been banished from the earth for a very long time.

He was determined not to make that mistake again.

*****

Chuck Douglas sat in his study, reviewing texts, trying to decipher what might have happened earlier in the day. He had already confirmed that the blue energy wave was indeed a sign of a successful summoning. That didn’t tell him what, or who, had been summoned, but it did confirm his worse fear. The spell had been successful.

He hoped that whoever had worked the spell had taken the proper precautions. Summoning was, as he’d told the others, dangerous in the extreme. Only the most skilled, or insane, practitioners used them. Binding a creature from another dimension to your will was a way to get things done, to get information, to accomplish any number of things.

Doing it wrong was an invitation to disaster. A disaster that usually began with the death of the summoner, and went downhill from there. Essentially, a summons that didn’t have all the necessary precautions in place left the summoned beast a free entity, able to roam at will and do as it pleased.

Just the thought of such a monster loosed on a small town like Creasy’s Hollow made Chuck shiver. Creatures like that wreaked havoc for fun. Destruction, death, and mayhem came naturally to them as breathing. It was ingrained in their very nature, and there was no changing that.

He set the book he’d been reading aside, rubbing his eyes. He was tired, and his eyes burned from three hours of almost continuous reading. And while he had confirmed his earlier guess, he was no closer to finding out exactly what had happened. He had leaned back in his chair when he heard Chip come inside. His son came to the door of the study, and knocked lightly.

“Dad, I think something is wrong,” Chip said hesitantly.

“What do you mean, son?” Chuck asked, not really paying attention as he searched for another book.

“I heard something really weird outside just now,” Chip told him. Chuck stopped what he was doing, giving Chip his undivided attention.

“Weird how?” he asked, frowning.

“It was like a howl, or something,” Chip told him. “But it was wrong. It wasn’t a dog, I know that for sure. It was too deep for that. It almost sounded like when someone grinds gears on a straight shift transmission. It was loud, too,” he added.

“You just heard it? Just now, I mean?” Chuck asked, suddenly very interested.

“Yeah, when I was taking out the trash,” Chip nodded. “I know monsters don’t exist, but. . .it really sounded like some kind of monster howling. Or growling. Maybe a combination of the two. I can’t really describe it.”

“I’ll take a listen,” Chuck promised. “Probably was someone grinding gears,” he tried to laugh it off.

“I don’t think so, but maybe,” Chip looked dubious. “Anyway, I’m done with my chores, and already got my homework. I’m gonna play for a bit, and then go to bed. Okay?”

“Sure son, go ahead,” Chuck nodded. “Have fun.” He watched his son depart, then headed outside. Slipping his shoes on at the door, he stepped out into the night, listening. Dogs all over the neighborhood were howling and barking, causing quite a ruckus. There could be any reason for that, of course, but it was still unusual. A dog or two barking here and there was one thing. This sounded like every dog in Creasy’s Hollow was up in arms about something.

“Not good,” Chuck shook his head. This was another bad sign. It was possibly a sign that whatever had been summoned was on the move. Possibly even here in town. Even a smaller creature could wreak havoc in the small town. There were very few defenses against them. Most of them were arcane in nature, and would require experienced practitioners to execute.

Experienced and powerful.

Chuck wasn’t sure his small group was up to such a task, either.

Chapter Four

The gang met up at the front entrance of the high school as usual the next morning. Donny and Donna were there first, and were still arguing about whatever Donny had heard the night before when the others arrived.

“I know what I heard,” Donny said heatedly.

“You already said you didn’t know what it was,” Donna shot back, smirking.

“You know what I mean!” Donny exclaimed. “Stop using my words against me!”

“How can I help that you’re too stupid to know how to say anything?” Donna replied, her smirk growing larger by the second. She lived for times like this. Donny was an easy target.

“What are you two arguing about now?” Angie asked, eyes rolling. The twins were famous, or infamous, among the group for their titanic arguments.

“Donny thinks he heard a monster last night,” Donna said derisively, laughing until she saw Chip stiffen.

“What?” she demanded.

“What did it sound like?” he asked Donny, concern evident on his face.

“I can’t describe it exactly,” Donny admitted. “Never heard anything like it before. And I didn’t say it was a monster, either,” he shot his sister a dirty look. “All I said was that it. . . .”

“What did it sound like, Donny?” Chip interrupted, urgency in his voice.

“Well, kinda like a grinding of some kind,” Donny’s face furrowed in thought. “Like metal gears grinding, mixed with the old steam organ at church. It made the hairs on my neck tingle. And I think every dog in the Hollow was barking afterward, too. Sure sounded like it anyway.”

Angie was looking at Chip while Donny spoke, and noticed how pale Chip grew at the description.

“What?” she demanded. Donna had stopped making fun of her brother and was paying attention, and so was Alvin.

“I. . .I heard the same thing,” Chip told them hesitantly. “Last night, about eight or so, I guess, when I was taking the trash out.”

“Yeah, that’s about right,” Donny nodded. “We were doing homework.”

“Are you two making this up?” Donna demanded suddenly. “Did you get together to make up some kind of lame story to sucker us in?”

“No,” Chip replied quietly as Donny just shook his head. “I even told my dad about it. I don’t know if he heard it or not, but he went outside to listen. I don’t know what it was either, Donny, but the hair on my neck and arms tingled when I heard it.”

The warning bell for the beginning of the school day rang before anyone else could speak, and the group gathered their packs and made their way inside. As they split up to go to their separate classes, their eyes met. By unspoken agreement, the friends agreed not to speak of this until they had a chance to discuss it later.

Chip went to class wondering if their attempt to get Waldo back had went awry somehow. Maybe he should tell his father what he’d done? Show him the ritual they had used? He’d probably get into trouble, but at least a grown-up would know what had been done. His father was pretty smart, and was always messing with those old books of his. He’d probably know if they had caused something to go wrong, somehow.

Donny headed to his own class now more sure than ever that he’d heard a monster. He didn’t connect the possible monster to their failed attempt to return Waldo to life. Just the idea that some monster was on the loose around town was exciting. Donny was too excited about it to be scared, in fact. Why, this could make Creasy’s Hollow famous!

Donna walked beside her brother, still wondering if the two stupid boys had made all this up to get attention, or to try and scare the rest of them. She wouldn’t put it past either of them, and together there was probably nothing Donny and Chip wouldn’t at least try to accomplish. Sometimes they were too clever for their own good.

Alvin was thinking about the two stories, but unlike Donny, he was also thinking about their little cult experiment the day before. He was glad he hadn’t heard anything last night, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. He wondered if there was a connection between the two events. Could they have unwittingly caused some kind of monster to be made out of poor Waldo? Just the thought of something so horrible made him want to cry.

Angie was concerned as well. Chip was a joker and had been all their lives. But he hadn’t been joking this morning, she was sure of that. She’d watched the blood drain from his face as Donny described what he’d heard, and Angie knew from experience that Chip wasn’t that good of an actor. It probably wasn’t a monster, but whatever the two had heard was real. Or at least they thought it was.

Despite the group’s thoughts, school work soon drew their attention away from monsters, occult rituals, or anything else other than getting through the school day and preparing for the week-end.

Other problems would just have to wait.

*****

Kat Harold had opened her restaurant at five am., as usual, and she and her crew began preparing for breakfast.

Kat’s mind was far afield as she went through her morning routine. So many times she had done these familiar things that her hands would work from muscle memories alone, so that left her free to think about the day before.

She wanted to be angry at Chuck for not knowing what had happened, but this morning realized that wasn’t fair. Chuck knew more than the rest of them did because he studied more. That didn’t make him infallible, or an authority. It just made him their leader.

Chuck’s reminder of why they had started their little group had also hit home. The group had never done anything that even bordered on malicious or evil. They had performed rituals for good health, healing, and for success in business. Not at the expense of anyone else, either. The small group of friends had no interest in harming others, or seeing harm caused.

The door bell ringing jarred Kat out of her musings, and she put on a smile and went to wait on the first customer of the day, leaving thoughts of summons and spells behind her.

Chuck yawned as he sat down behind his desk and started getting organized for his day. Friday usually wasn’t too bad on him, though he did have a business lunch today at twelve.

He had stayed awake into the late hours studying, but was no closer to an answer than he had been the day before when the blue energy wave had knocked him from his feet. He wasn’t sure there was an answer to be found, at least not in the books he possessed.

This was above him. The event of yesterday afternoon was like nothing he had ever encountered, and his studying had revealed nothing that he hadn’t already known, or at least suspected. There had been real power behind it. A level of power that he and his small circle were unlikely to be able to match. They just weren’t that kind of people. Everything they had ever done had been positive in nature. Yesterday had been anything but positive.

Chip’s report of something ‘howling’ last night had not been encouraging, either. While Chuck hadn’t been able to hear anything like it himself, he had heard what sounded like every dog in the Hollow up in arms. And dogs, historically, reacted poorly to things summoned to the Earth from other realms. For Chuck, that was just another puzzle piece.

The phone ringing jolted him out of that train of thought. He shook his head to clear it a bit, then answered the phone, starting his work day. He would have to worry about the rest later.

*****

Alvin and Valina Thomas were quiet as they began their work day at the hardware store. Both were thinking about yesterday, and wondering what had happened. And who was behind it.

They had never intended to get so deeply involved into this cult type stuff, but both had to agree that their business had improved since it started. Drawing energy from the Earth to heal, to be successful, to have a better life had seemed ideal. Still did at times.

But yesterday had shown them there was always a dark side to things. And someone had tapped into that darkness yesterday. There was little doubt of that, according the Chuck. He was the most knowledgeable of them all, so they didn’t question his statement. Besides, they had already known that something powerful had happened.

Normally the two would have been talking back and forth this time of the day, either with good natured bantering or discussing business details. But neither was in the mood for such things this morning, lost in their concerns about what was happening around them, and how it might affect them before it was over.

The phone began ringing, and as Valina moved to answer, a contractor arrived to pick-up supplies for a job he was working on. The couple had to put aside their fears for the moment and concentrate on business.

*****

Stacey Douglas worked part-time at the Creasy’s Hollow library three days per week. She also had a home business doing sewing and crafting other items for people on order. Her work was purchased local, and over the internet as well, so she was rarely bored, and her income supplemented Chuck’s nicely. Together they had made a good home and life, for themselves and their son.

Friday was one of Stacey’s days at the library. She was pushing a cart of recently returned books through the aisles, placing them back on the shelves for the next borrower. Doing so wasn’t particularly mentally challenging, so she had plenty of time to reflect on the previous days events.

In particular she hadn’t like the tone that the others had adopted toward her husband. A tone that had bordered on accusatory when he didn’t have the answers they were looking for. Chuck wasn’t to blame for what happened anymore than they were, and to expect him to know exactly who had done something like that, and why, was ridiculous.

The group had started when Belinda’s first husband, Donald Craig, had been killed overseas. Support, healing, stress-relief, that kind of thing. Over time it had grown into a small coven, if that was even the right word, that worked for the betterment of themselves in positive ways. Ways that didn’t include acts against anyone else. Positive results for positive actions, that was the motto they lived by.

Yesterday someone had crossed that line. Stacey was positive that no one in their group had done it. They simply didn’t have the power or the knowledge to do so. Chuck might have the knowledge, or know where to find it, but was not strong enough, alone, to perform such a ritual. And even if he was, he wouldn’t do it. He had always been the most insistent of the group that all actions had to be positive in nature.

All of that pointed to another group in Creasy’s Hollow. Or worse, at least to Stacey’s way of thinking, one very powerful individual. If one person had been able to produce that kind of energy then it wasn’t just the group that might be at risk. The entire town might be in danger.

“Stacey? Can you come help me for a minute?”

Broken from her reverie, Stacey moved to assist her fellow worker, leaving the cart, and her thoughts about who might be to blame for the summons behind for now.

*****

Belinda Craig-Johnson went through her day as usual, delivering orders of Mary Kay cosmetics and Avon products that had been ordered the week before. She represented a number of companies as a salesperson, and made a pretty good salary doing it, though it did require a lot of driving. She also had a website that sold the same products that added to her income, but not her work load, since she simply had the company ship directly to the consumer.

Today, however, she was driving, her seats filled with small colorful bags full of products ordered by the women, and a few men, of Creasy’s Hollow. Part of the service was such delivery. And it allowed Belinda to get in on all the gossip, which was an added plus so far as she was concerned.

Not that she was a busy body or course. Never let it be said that Belinda Craig-Johnson was nosy. But she saw nothing wrong with knowing what was going on around her. That’s all.

Today had been an interesting day of gossip, too. Several people she had spoken to had commented on the blue energy wave, or power surge as many had been calling it. Others had commented on a disturbance later that evening that had set practically every dog in the Hollow to barking and growling. Several people had apparently heard a wild animal howling as well. Or growling, depending on who you spoke to about it. The one thing all of them agreed on was that it had scared the tar out of them, and made them seek shelter inside right away.

None of that made Belinda feel any better, considering what she knew. If Chuck had been right, and the spell had been a summoning, then whatever ‘animal’ people had heard last night, and upset all the dogs in town, might have been something very bad indeed. If it was, then those who had heard it had every right to be afraid.

She tried to shove her worries aside as she arrived at her next delivery. Thelma’s Beauty Shop was one of her bigger customers, and there were always plenty of tales circulating among the women who were there having hair or nails done.

Carrying several packages, Belinda painted a smile on her face and stepped inside, leaving the problems of yesterday outside, if only temporarily.

*****

When the dismissal bell rang that afternoon, students streamed out of the building at a steady rate, heading for whatever fun or work awaited them for the weekend. The gang wasn’t in such a hurry today, despite the fact that it was Friday. Instead, they ambled along together in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Angie was the first to break that silence.

“Okay, what’s everyone thinking, here?” she demanded. “We’re acting like we’re going to a funeral or something.”

“I’m just thinking about last night,” Chip admitted. “And yesterday,” he added, frowning. “Trying to make sense of what I heard.”

“I’m thinking about who I can call about the Monster of Creasy’s Hollow!” Donny proclaimed, grinning ear-to-ear. “I’m hoping to get a picture, or at least a recording of that howling sound to send to someone. Monster hunters and stuff.”

“Oh, get real, you dork,” Donna rolled her eyes. “You heard someone trying to grind their car into gear without the clutch or something. Idiot,” she added under her breath.

“I’m not so sure,” Alvin said quietly. “I don’t think it’s a co-incidence that they heard that particular noise last night.”

“What do you mean?” Angie demanded.

“Well, we do that. . .that thing, yesterday, for Waldo,” Alvin replied. “And then that wave happens, and Waldo disappears. We have no idea where he went, or what happened to his body. Later on last night, Chip and Donny just happen to hear something howling, or growling, that upsets every dog in hearing distance? Doesn’t that strike anyone as peculiar at all? Even a little?”

The group grew quiet again, considering Alvin’s words. He had made some good points that no one in the group could actually dispute. All solid facts with no conjecture.

“Might be,” Chip mused into the silence. “Maybe I made a mistake,” he admitted to them, looking a bit scared. “Maybe I shouldn’t have got you guys to do it.”

“We all agreed to do it, Chip,” Angie said, and the others nodded, Alvin a bit reluctantly. Even Donna agreed with that, but. . . .

“Look, even if I believe that you guys heard something, and I’m not saying I do,” she pointed a finger at them, eyes narrowed, “there’s nothing that ties whatever you might have heard to poor Waldo. Waldo got killed by a reckless jerk in a car. We tried to bring him back because we all loved him. It just didn’t work, that’s all.”

“I just don’t know,” Chip said softly. “I just have a feeling that I should have left well enough alone. I mean, I really didn’t think it would hurt anything, guys,” he told them, eyes wide with honest regret. “I just wanted us to get Waldo back, and thought I had found the perfect way to do it. What if I led us into something really bad?”

“Bad like what?” Angie asked.

“Bad like I don’t know what,” Chip shrugged. “What if Alvin’s right, and we, I, turned Waldo into some kind of monster?”

“Oh, that would be so cool!” Donny just had to say. “Maybe we could try it on something else! Like a squirrel maybe?” The excitement in his voice and on his face was all too clear.

“Can you give that crap a rest, Einstein?” Donna snapped out. “In case you missed it, Chip’s worried that we may have transformed our dog, that we loved, into some kind of monster!” The others nodded angrily at Donny, who had the grace to look ashamed.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “It’s just exciting to me, that’s all,” he said lamely.

“Well, if we did transform him into a monster, then we have to do something about it,” Angie declared. The others looked at her in shock.

“Well, what would you suggest?” Alvin was the first to ask. “I guess we could get our pellet guns and go after him, right?” His voice contained more than a hint of sarcasm.

“No, but we do have to do something,” Angie retorted. “If we did it, then we’re responsible. We have to fix it.”

“I’m the one responsible,” Chip said miserably. “It was my idea. But what if it can’t be fixed? What if we did something permanent?”

The others had no immediate answer for that, and silence reigned around them. They began walking again, ambling along toward their houses. Finally Donna spoke up again.

“Look, if a spell from that book made Waldo a monster, and I can’t believe I’m actually saying that,” she shook her head, “then there’s got to be a spell in that book, or another one, that will either turn him back, or. . .or. . .well. . . .”

“Kill him?” Angie asked, eyebrows raised. “Again?”

“Well, yeah,” Donna sighed. “It sucks, I know.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Chip nodded, clearly thinking about it. “Problem is, how do I figure out which one to use? I mean, I picked the one we used yesterday because it said reanimation. I thought that meant it would bring Waldo back to us.”

“And we don’t have Waldo anymore, body or otherwise,” Alvin pointed out. “We might need him to make the spell work. Right?” he looked at Chip.

“I don’t know,” Chip lifted his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “This all seemed so simple yesterday. Now. . .I don’t know,” he repeated. He stood there a minute longer, then took a deep breath. He looked at his friends.

“There’s only one thing I can do,” he said dejectedly. “I’m going to have to tell my dad. Don’t worry,” he held up a hand to ward off objections. “I’ll tell him I did it alone. That I was the one who did it all, and now I don’t know what’s happened. None of you will get in trouble,” he promised.

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Angie frowned, and Donna nodded in agreement. Donny joined them, and they all three looked at Alvin.

“I didn’t want to do it to start with,” Alvin objected. “But I went along with it, so I’m as guilty as anyone,” he admitted. “I’m willing to go with you, Chip. We weren’t trying to do anything wrong. At least we don’t think we were,” he added.

“I’ll go too,” Angie agreed.

“So will we,” Donna said, looking at her brother as if daring him to argue. He didn’t.

“Guys, you don’t have to do this,” Chip told them. “It really is my fault.”

“Your idea, maybe,” Donny said. “But we all helped. If we did something wrong, then, well, we’re all at fault. Like it or not.”

“My dad should still be in his office,” Chip said finally, secretly glad that he wouldn’t have to face this alone. “Let’s go over there.”

Chapter Five

Chuck was surprised to say the least when his son and friends showed up at his office.

“Well, what brings you kids out to see me today?” he smiled, forcing his worry about other things, other-worldly things, down for the moment. “Need some insurance?”

“Hey dad,” Chip said.

“Hello, Mister Douglas,” the others said in near unison.

“Why the long faces?” Chuck asked, noting the tension in the group.

“Dad, I need to talk to you about something important,” Chip said. “Something that we did, and maybe, almost certainly, shouldn’t have done, it looks like.”

“That sounds ominous,” Chuck tried to keep things light. What could these kids have done that could cause all this? It couldn’t be that bad.

“We did a ritual yesterday from one of your books trying to get Waldo to come back to life,” Chip said all in one breath. “Now, we think we’ve turned him into a monster of some kind. That he’s what I heard, me and Donny both heard,” he added, and Donny nodded, “last night. And we don’t know what to do now.”

Chuck sat down. It was just the first thing that occurred to him to do. He had been searching for what had happened, and who could have done it, and now. . .it had been their children?

There has to be another explanation, Chuck thought. It couldn’t have been them. They’re kids, they don’t know the first thing about. . . .

“So, which book did you use?” he asked, trying grin. “And you know you shouldn’t have been messing around with that anyway, right?” he added to Chip. His son nodded mournfully.

“We just wanted to get Waldo back,” Chip told him, and the others all nodded in agreement. “We didn’t mean anything bad.”

“I know you didn’t, son. All of you,” he added, looking at the other teens. “But sometimes just because we don’t mean for bad things to happen doesn’t mean they can’t, or won’t. Understand?”

“We do now, Mister Douglas,” Angie replied. Again, the others all nodded agreement. “We really just wanted Waldo back.”

“Are we talking about Waldo, the stray dog you kids are always playing with and sneaking food out to?” Chuck asked.

“Yes, sir,” Donny answered that one. “He got hit by a car day before yesterday. Whoever the guy was drove right up on the sidewalk. Could have hit one of us just as easy as he did Waldo.”

“Do you know who it was?” Chuck asked, angry that someone had endangered his son and his friends.

“No, sir,” Chip shook his head. “Didn’t recognize him or the car. He hit Waldo and then just kept right on going.”

“I need to know what book you used, son,” Chuck said seriously. “Though I doubt you turned Waldo into a monster,” he added, smiling tightly.

You just offered him to a monster summoned back from another plane, who probably wasn’t happy about that at all, he thought to himself.

“I used that old leather one that you keep in the closet,” Chip replied. “The one that’s kinda cracked and the pages are all yellow and brittle.”

“Did it have a name on it? Anything I can identify it with?”

“No sir, just a plain old book. We used something that was supposed to be for reanimation, or at least I thought we did. But once we said all the words, this blue wave thing hit us, and when we got up, Waldo’s body was gone. Then, me and Donny heard that howling last night, and. . .well, we figured we must have turned him into a monster. We didn’t mean to,” he added. “We just wanted to bring him back.”

“I think we better go to the house,” Chuck said, getting to is feet. “I need to see exactly what you did. That way I can explain better what might have happened.”

“Okay,” Chip sighed. “We’ll meet you there, I guess.”

“That’s fine,” Chuck nodded. “Make it twenty minutes, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” the teens chorused. They left the office, headed back the way they had come.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Alvin said, breathing easier. “For a minute there, I thought we were in real trouble.”

“We still may be in trouble,” Angie was frowning. “Didn’t you guys see?”

“See what?” Donna asked.

“Mister Douglas was scared.”

*****

Chuck was scared, but he had managed not to show it in front of the kids. He was almost certain he knew which ritual they had used. And it wasn’t reanimation, but reclamation. As in reclaiming.

Reclaiming the Earth.

He started dialing numbers as soon as the kids were out of sight. There was no way he was going to face this alone.

As he waited for the first number he dialed to answer, he wondered at the fate that had put all of their children together and allowed them to work one of the most dangerous, most powerful spells ever written.

Some days it didn’t pay to get out of bed.

*****

When the kids all got to Chip’s house, they were surprised to see their parent’s cars there as well as Mister Douglas’ truck.

“I guess we’re in trouble after all,” Alvin said sourly, seeing his dad’s truck sitting on the curb in front of the house.

“Looks like it,” Angie sighed. Of course her mom was there. Chip suddenly moved in front of them, holding up his hands.

“Look, let me take the blame for this,” he insisted. “This is my fault. I’m the one who started it. So let me take the heat. All of you may get some kind of punishment, but most of it should fall on me.”

“Either we’re friends, or we’re not,” Donny said suddenly, and everyone looked at him.

“We’re friends, then we stand together,” Donny said firmly. “We’re not, then. . .well, we’ll just be what to each other? Buddies? People we know? We’ve been friends through thick and thin since we were all in kindergarten together. As far as I’m concerned, we’ll always be friends. No. Matter. What.”

The normally taciturn Donny rarely made such statements, and it caught the others off guard for a moment. Donna looked at her brother with something like respect, which, had Donny noticed it, might have scared him a little.

“I don’t want to be in trouble,” Alvin said miserably, “but Donny is right about one thing. We’re friends. I’m not going to let you take the blame for something I was part of doing, Chip. I’ll take whatever happens. I won’t like it,” he added with a frown, “but I’ll take it.”

“Same here,” Angie nodded. “We all wanted Waldo back. There’s nothing wrong with that, either, as far as I’m concerned. We may have screwed up, but we weren’t deliberately doing anything bad.”

“I’m in,” Donna said simply. “No sense putting it off. Besides,” she pointed toward the house, “we’ve been spotted.” Everyone looked to see all the parents gathered outside the front door watching them.

“Let’s get it over with, then,” Chip sighed. He was proud to have such good friends. He felt guilty that he had led them into this trouble, but proud that they were willing to stand with him.

Walking across the yard toward the adults, the first thing the teens realized was that their parents didn’t look all that angry. In fact, they looked kind of scared.

“This seem wrong to anyone else?” Angie asked softly.

“I thought my dad would be foaming at the mouth,” Alvin admitted just as quietly. “I don’t get it.”

“We’ll know soon enough, I guess,” Chip said. They arrived at the porch before anyone else could speak.

“Let’s go out back, kids,” Chuck said simply. “We all have a lot to talk about.”

*****

“Wait a minute,” Angie said as Chuck finished his explanation. “You mean to tell us that you, all of you, have been doing this stuff? For how long?”

“Yes, we have,” Kat replied to her daughter. “And I’ll remind you to watch your tone young lady,” she added.

“My tone?” Angie almost goggled. “You guys are. . .are. . .what? Witches or something? And you’re worried about my tone?”

“Angie,” Chip tried to calm her down. “Remember this was my fault,” he said.

“That’s bull,” Donna said at once, and Donny backed his sister up with a firm nod. “We’re all to blame. We wanted our dog back. Sue us.” She was just as upset as Angie was, but was better at dealing with her anger. She figured that came with having a twin brother.

“Sue you, huh?” Belinda snorted. “If you had any idea what you kids have done, you’d be worried about a lot more than that.”

“We know what we’ve done,” Alvin said sadly. “We turned poor Waldo into some kind of monster.” The boy looked as if he were going to cry over the dog.

“Waldo?” Alfred started. “You mean that mangy stray you kids were always messing with?” His tone sounded angry, but still scared.

“He didn’t have the mange!” Alvin shot back. “He was a good dog, and the man who killed him could just as easily have killed one of us! We were all on the sidewalk together when the car hit him.”

“What?” Valina stood up, white hot in an instant. “Who was it?” she demanded.

“We don’t know,” Chip admitted. “We’d never seen him or the car before. Haven’t seen it since either,” he added.

“Let’s get back to the spell you used,” Chuck said gently. “Is this the book, Chip?” he held up the battered old book. Just a plain brown leather covered book with yellow pages.

“Yes sir,” Chip nodded.

“Show me,” Chuck ordered, opening the book. Chip turned the pages until he found the spell, and showed it to his father.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Chuck groaned, reading the heading. “What made you use this spell, Chip?”

“It says right here, reanimation,” Chip pointed to the heading. “That’s what we were trying to do. Bring Waldo back to life.”

“That’s old, old script, son,” Chuck sighed. “That doesn’t say ‘reanimation’. It says ‘reclamation’. It’s a spell that allows certain creatures to return to this world from. . .well, somewhere else. Did you follow the ritual exactly?”

“Well, we might have stumbled over the words a little, here and there,” Chip admitted. “But we were pretty close, I thought.”

“This particular spell is written for a demon call Monusuol,” Chuck told everyone. “You had Waldo’s body in the circle I’m guessing?” he asked the kids. All nodded.

“Demons hate dogs,” Chuck rubbed his face with one hand, holding the book with the other. “You basically sacrificed a dead dog to summon a demon that hates dogs, kids. So when he got here he was already mad. Where did you do this?”

“Behind Mister Jamison's house,” Chip replied. “Where no one would see us.”

“Well, I think we can safely assume that you failed to erect the barriers properly, since if Monusuol was still trapped behind the salt barrier in Mister Jamison's backyard, someone would have seen him by now.”

“Salt?” Alvin looked up. “Is that what the salt was for?”

“Yes,” Chuck nodded.

“I did the salt,” Alvin looked stricken. “That was my job.”

“Doesn’t mean you did it wrong,” Chuck promised. “The wave might have dislodged it. Had you knew what you were doing, you would have time to fix it. Since you didn’t, I’m assuming that you all assumed that you had failed, and went home.”

“Pretty much,” Chip agreed, looking at the ground.

“This was very irresponsible of all of you,” Belinda said. “You had no idea what you were doing, or what you were getting into.”

“We know that, now,” Donna agreed. “But all we wanted was our dog back. We thought this would do it.” The others nodded.

“Well, this is Chuck’s responsibility,” Valina said, rising. “You can deal with it, as far as I’m concerned. Had you not let Chip get hold of that book, none of this would have happened. As for you, young man,” she looked at Alvin, “you can forget playing any more games for the foreseeable future. Not to mention some other unpleasant consequences.”

“I agree,” Kat nodded, standing up too. “Chuck, you let this happen. It’s up to you to fix it. And I don’t want Angie playing with Chip anymore.”

“Now wait a minute,” Stacey stood too, hands clenched. “You’re going a bit too far blaming Chuck for all this.”

“I don’t see how,” Alfred entered the fray. “It’s his book, and it’s your son,” he told Stacey. “He led the rest into this, just like you led. . . .”

“Hey!”

The adults all turned to face their children. Angie was standing to the fore, hands on her hips. Donna was standing right beside her. The boys flanked them on each side.

“This isn’t Chip’s fault anymore than it’s ours,” Angie declared hotly. “We all had the chance not to do it, and we did it anyway. We all agreed to do it trying to get Waldo back. And if you think I’m not going to be friends with Chip anymore, you’re mistaken.”

“Ditto,” Donna nodded firmly, folding her arms across her chest.

“Same here,” Alvin managed to get out without his voice breaking. He was afraid, but he was staying true to his friends.

“I’m with her,” Donny jabbed a thumb at his sister. “Whatever she says.” Donna looked at him in shock, only to see her brother wink back at her. She couldn’t help but laugh, and that got all of the teens to laughing.

Soon even the adults joined in, and everyone started sitting back down.

“Well, since you all feel like you’re in charge, what are you planning to do about this?” Valina asked, once the laughter had settled.

“We don’t know,” Chip replied for the group. “But Angie, she says if what we caused this, then it’s our responsibility to fix it. And we all agreed with her.” Kat looked at her daughter.

“Did you say that?” she asked. Angie nodded, and Kat smiled proudly.

“Donna said there had to be something in that book that would fix this,” Chip went on. “And if there was, then we had to do it. We didn’t want to, not then, because we thought it would be like killing Waldo again. But now. . . .” he trailed off.

“We’ll do it,” Donna spoke for them all. “We did this. Teach us how to undo it.” All of the teens nodded in support.

“It’s not that simple,” Chuck hated to spoil the mood, but it was time for some serious truth to be told. “There is a way to send him back, but Monusuol is smart. He’s been banished before, and he’ll be expecting a trap of some kind every time he sees a human. Or a dog,” he added. “Dogs were once used to hound, no pun intended, creatures like him into traps. We’ll have to come up with a way to get him out into the open, and then work the spell before he can get away.”

“But, if he’s a demon, then he could be inside anybody by now!” Donny exclaimed. “We’ll have to find him and exercise him.”

“I think the word you want is exorcise,” Chuck managed to say with a straight face. “Where did you come up with that?”

“From Supernatural,” the teen replied. “Don’t any of you watch that show? Demons live inside humans, and use their bodies to get around and do things!”

“Okay, we may need some broader explanations here,” Chuck held up a hand. “Demon, in this case, is an ancient term for ‘monster’ or ‘unknown beast’. Not some kind of satanic thing. We don’t have to exorcise anyone or anything. But we will have to be careful,” he added. “This beast is strong, and dangerous. Eons ago, creatures like Monusuol roamed the earth, preying on humans. These creatures couldn’t be killed unless someone was able to decapitate them, which was all but impossible. Druids, shaman, and other arcane practitioners found ways to banish them into an alternate plane, to protect the people around them.”

“But, what can be done, can be undone,” Chuck sighed. “And you kids, completely by accident, returned one of these creatures, named Monusuol, to Earth.”

“So you do have a spell to fix this?” Belinda asked.

“Yes,” Chuck nodded. “A fairly simple one, but that doesn’t mean easy. Everyone gather around, and let me explain.”

An hour later the group broke apart, everyone heading home. While still angry, the parents were actually proud that their children were willing to take responsibility for their mistakes. They were also impressed by the way the teens had stood up for each other.

Valina, Kat, and Alfred had offered apologies to Chuck and Stacey, but the group was strained by their harsh accusations, there was no question. Chuck had already decided that once this problem was dealt with, he was done with the group. Twice in two days the others had turned on him. That was two times too many, as far as he was concerned.

But before that, he had to teach five teenagers how to harness the energy they were capable of summoning when they were together. Their group was much stronger than their parent’s had ever dreamed of being. They would need careful training and management over the next few years, or things might go badly for them.

And for anyone around them.

Chapter Six

Saturday dawned clear and a little cool. It wasn’t autumn, but fall was just around the bend, and the weather was starting to show it. Leaves were already starting to turn a bit.

Chuck had spent a good portion of the night teaching his son how to properly pronounce the words of the banishment spell. All of them would have to participate, but Chip would have to lead them, just as he had in the first ritual. Chuck didn’t like it, but there was nothing he could do about it, either. Together the teens had the power to send Monusuol back to his own version of purgatory. The adults simply didn’t have that kind of power.

Some of the parents had argued that it should be them that tried to work the spell, but Chuck calmly pointed out that there would be only one opportunity to make this spell work. Is the adults tried, and couldn’t succeed, then Monusuol would wreak havoc on Creasy’s Hollow. They couldn’t chance it.

The teens were surprisingly calm all things considered. All five showed a level of maturity that made their parents proud of them. They were no less scared for their offspring, but they were proud.

The plan, as Chuck had said, was simple, but not easy. Monusuol had one weakness the group could exploit.

He loved goat meat.

All of the teens had cringed at the thought of sacrificing a goat to make up for their own mistakes, but there wasn’t much choice. Is Monusuol smelled a goat, he’d come to investigate. It had been along time since the creature had had access to goats, so Chuck was counting on him being careless.

Together everyone had picked a spot on the far side of Creasy’s Lake from town. This time of year, even on a Saturday, the area wouldn’t see much traffic. Most tourists, and even most locals, preferred the higher elevations this time of year because of the color change. Chuck had arranged for a goat that was already slaughtered, since he didn’t want the children to be subjected to that. His request that the blood be preserved had caused a raised eyebrow, but he’d gotten it just the same.

Chuck and Alfred would go and hang the goat from a tree, hopefully just high enough that Monusuol would have to work to get it. The harder he had to work, the less attention he would pay to his surroundings. At least, that was the theory.

Meanwhile the others would split up, taking each side of the lake, and carefully allowing the goat blood to ‘leak’ from syringes onto leaves, rocks, anywhere that would preserve the scent and let the wind carry it. The wind was their one variable. If it wasn’t in their favor, then the whole plan might be shot.

Chuck and Alfred would prepare the ground around the goat for the banishment. Since salt wasn’t needed, there would be no scent to scare the monster away. The advantage of using such an open area was that the various diagrams could be drawn larger than normal, making them harder for the demon to spot, even if he wasn’t distracted by the temptation of a tasty goat snack.

The spell was fairly straightforward. Chip would do the chant, while the others repeated after him. The only problem was the distance between the children. Since the signs would be large, each teen would have to stand apart from the others. They would communicate with small two way radios and earphones. Their candles could be masked inside blackened holders to keep their light from being seen if night fell before they could work the spell.

To say that everyone in the group was terrified was a huge understatement. Yet, there was nothing else to be done. Monusuol could not be allowed to roam free. It was as simple as that.

But no one told Monusuol that.

*****

Monusuol had watched the human settlement from the woods near the small lake. As day dawned he could get a better look at the beasts that had concerned him last night. The largest of them concerned him greatly. Great black plumes of smoke roiled from behind their massive heads, spreading into the air around them. He noted that their growling was punctuated with the smoke plumes, and assumed that the beasts could, if they desired, breathe fire.

That was an unwelcome surprise. Monusuol had known creatures that breathed fire in the past. All were of nasty dispositions, and much more powerful than he was. He decided that these beasts must be avoided at all costs.

He had spent the day observing the settlement, watching the comings and goings of the humans and their great beasts. It seemed that the beasts actually allowed humans to ride within them. He had known knights to ride horses in past times, so this was not so strange, but the fact that they rode inside these new beasts was puzzling. Not puzzling enough to force him from cover, however.

There were many humans in this settlement, and they walked to and fro, or rode in their great beasts, with no sign of fear whatsoever. They had either never been attacked by a being such as himself, or knew that any such attack was doomed to failure, and didn’t worry about it over much.

The day drifted into late afternoon, and Monusuol had decided that once darkness fell, he would venture back into the settlement. He was hungry, both for food and for violence. He knew he could find both in this human settlement, so long as he was properly careful around their massive guardians.

He was preparing to move when a slight breeze brought a long familiar smell to his nostrils. His head lifted without conscious thought as he tasted the wind, savoring the scent.

The blood of a goat! Freshly killed, too! Monusuol drooled at the thought of fresh goat, a delicacy which he had not enjoyed in an age or more. The thought of visiting the town left his mind completely as he began to seek out the source of this wonderful scent.

He would feast on his favorite tonight.

*****

“Everyone in place?” Chuck asked quietly over the radio.

“We’re ready,” Chip replied, his mother beside him.

“Good to go,” Donna called, her own mother by her side.

“Same here,” Alvin called, his own parents behind him.

“Ready Mister Douglas,” Angie called for herself and Kat.

“Now we wait, then,” he ordered, placing a steadying hand on Donny’s shoulder. Chuck would much preferred to be with his own son, but Belinda couldn’t be two places at once, and Chip had his mother. Alvin and Valina had refused to be separated. Chuck shook his head mentally at the pair, and the rest of the group in general. What had once seemed like a tight knit group of people had turned into a seething mass of back stabbers at the first sign of trouble.

He and Stacey would be well rid of them once this was over.

“Steady, Donny,” he said softly. “We’re ready for him.” The teen nodded in reply, watching the woods around them. Everyone was covered in the scent of other, smaller animals that should go unnoticed by the demon, hiding their presence. It wouldn’t do for Monusuol to get a scent of human when he went for the goat.

*****

Across the way, Chip had turned to his mother about to say something, but froze at what he saw. Just beyond where they were standing was the most hideous thing he had ever seen in his life, and that included the stupid horror movies that he watched with Angie.

Seeing the look on her son’s face, Stacey turned slowly until she could see the beast. Her own eyes widened at the sight of the monstrous creature.

Standing nearly eight feet tall, with cloven hooves for feet and a short tail that swished back and forth behind him almost cat like, the monster was a vision of horror. Ugly didn’t begin to cover the leathery skin with it’s numerous boils and ulcers, the wide set eyes atop a face that resembled a cross between a rhino and a crocodile, right down to a small horn on the tip of his wide snout.

A snout he was currently using to sniff the air around him. Stacey froze, afraid any movement would draw the beast’s attention. She also averted her eyes slightly, not staring directly at the creature. Chuck had told them all that staring directly at the beast might well attract his attention, almost as if he could feel their eyes on him. That might be an old wives tale, but Stacey wasn’t willing to take that chance.

She heard two clicks in her ear, and realized that Chip, despite his fear, had remained level headed enough to remember the signal that would alert the others. Each party had a specific number of clicks, and theirs was two. She felt immensely proud of her teenage son at that moment.

Of course once this was over he was still grounded for the rest of his natural life, she reminded herself sternly.

Answering clicks came through her ear as the others signaled they had heard them. She listened until everyone else had checked in. There was nothing else to be done now, except wait, and hope the monster took the bait.

*****

Monusuol was suspicious to say the least. Hanging there in the forest was a freshly slaughtered goat, a delicacy he loved above all others. It was all he could do not to charge forward and grab the fresh kill and gobble it down. But something was nagging at his mind.

He had found blood along the way, some of it off the trail he had followed, but some off it as well. He was well aware that this could be a trap. He had been trapped before by humans. They were nothing if not sneaky.

He studied the surrounding area, testing the air for any hint of a human scent. He found none, but knew that humans would try to cover their scent if they were hunting him, usually with something vile. He could smell none of the concoctions that he had encountered before, however. It appeared that a hungry human had simply left his kill here to attend to something else. Likely intending to return once the animal had bled completely out and finish the slaughter.

Well, he would save the human from that labor, Monusuol decided with a snort. And if the human returned before he was finished? Well, Monusuol didn’t really mind the taste of human. It tasted like chicken, mostly.

Tasting the air once more and finding no hint of a threat, Monusuol gave in to his base urge to plunge into the small clearing and seize the goat.

*****

Chip watched from his place, amazed at the speed of such a large creature despite his own fear. He had to fight to keep his fear from taking control and sending him running through the woods for his life. His father had made it clear that there was no outrunning Monusuol. They would have to defeat the creature here, or. . .well, there was no ‘or’ that anyone wanted to discuss.

Stacey placed a reassuring hand on Chip’s shoulder, steadying them both. She was just as afraid as her son was, and even more fearful for the life of her son. Had there been any other way to end this, Chip would have participated in this venture only over her dead body.

Of course, that might happen anyway she reflected, watching the monstrous Monusuol move toward the invitation the group had left for him.

*****

Alerted by the signal from Chip, everyone knew roughly where to look for signs of the approaching beast. Chuck stood with Donny, hand firmly planted on the boy’s shoulder, watching for the first sign of Monusuol’s approach. Knowing that the monster was mere feet from his wife and son was not helping his calm in any way.

A snort was the first sign that Monusuol was near. Despite the monster's size, his footfalls were surprisingly light. That would have been a problem for anyone not prepared for the creature's approach.

Chuck barely contained a snort at that thought. Were they prepared? He hoped so. He had worked through the night to make sure that everything was done exactly as it should be. And to make sure that Chip was able to lead the others through the ritual. The trap was set, and the beast was already inside in. All that remained was to spring it closed.

And then pray it worked.

This was never supposed to happen, Chuck thought to himself, reflecting on how the small group had gotten started. Natural arcane rituals practiced for thousands of years to increase strength, health, ensure success in business, even fertility rites. All of them done in positive ways, all of them passive and in no way harmful to anyone else. The small group had stuck to those rules no matter what.

He should have been more careful, Chuck decided. He should have never left any of his texts were Chip could see them. For that matter, they never should have dabbled in these arcane arts to begin with. There was a reason that information on them was so hard to find. Some of the rituals were dangerous.

Like the one their children had enacted two days ago trying to bring a stray dog back to life. Chuck almost shook his head before catching himself. He didn't want to attract Monusuol's attention any more than his wife had.

Had Chip asked him before hand, Chuck could have told him that bringing dead creatures back to life simply wasn't possible. It was beyond what natural, or 'earthen' magic was capable of. Technically what they did wasn't even magic. It was just harnessing the power of the Earth itself, taking that power and lending it to themselves in positive ways.

But everything positive had a negative side, as they were witnessing now. He swore to himself that once this was over, there would be no more dallying in powers that were simply beyond man's ability to control. He was looking at one possible outcome with his own eyes.

The creature before them was horrifying. Like something from a deranged imagination brought to life right before them. The fact that such a thing could be summoned to this plane by a book he possessed was equally frightening. Chuck found himself wondering how he could ever have been so naive. How any of them could have been.

He gently squeezed Donny's shoulder once more, steadying the teenager. The humor wasn't lost on Chuck. He was trying to infuse courage that he didn't have himself into the young man before him.

It had been that kind of day.

*****

Angie could feel her mom's breath on her neck, and it itched a little. Yet she didn't dare move enough to scratch it, nor to get away from it. The dying light was just enough to let her see exactly what it was she and her friends had 'summoned' when trying to bring their dog back to life.

The beast was hideous. A fan of every creature feature ever made, Angie had never seen anything that frightened her until today. Perhaps, she decided, because she'd always known they weren't real.

Well, Monusuol was real enough, and standing right in front of them all, in the flesh. And Angie was scared silly. The shrouded candle in her hands felt as if it weighed a ton, and her hands were sweaty with fear, making it hard to hold. She tightened her grip, knowing that attracting the attention of this monster would be the last mistake she would ever make.

All we wanted to do was bring Waldo back to us, she thought. That reasoning had been their justification for what they had done, and she had held to it like a ship anchor until now. The excuse rang hollow in her mind as she saw the horrible beast they had summoned from another plane of existence standing before them.

We shouldn't have done it, she told herself. But now that we have, we have to fix it.

That thought steeled her determination. But she was still scared out of her mind.

*****

Alvin watched in silent horror as the monster moved to take the goat hanging from the tree. He had almost cried at the idea of killing another living thing to make up for their mistake, but looking at the hideous Monusuol now, he admitted that it was far better to kill one goat than to let this thing run loose in Creasy's Hollow for another second.

At first he had simply been relieved that Waldo hadn't been turned into a monster by their attempt to revive him. Alvin was as soft hearted as any teenager ever when it came to inflicting pain and suffering on any other living thing. He always had been. He had taken a lot of ribbing about it from others, though not from his friends, who seemed to understand and even agree with his feelings.

Maybe that was one of the reasons he immersed himself in his video games, he thought, as he tried anything to distract himself from the vision of horror in front of him. The games he played, while violent, were just that; games. And Alvin knew that. Unlike some people, Alvin had no trouble simply leaving a game behind and moving on to something else. He enjoyed playing, and had made 'friends' with other kids, and even a few adults, online playing in tournaments and role-playing games. He'd never meet them, of course, but they all came together in the virtual world to play.

That was all it ever was to Alvin. Play. But this. . . . This horrible scene was real, and he had helped cause it. He could have absolved himself by saying he hadn't wanted to do it in the first place, and he had been reluctant. But in the end, he had wanted Waldo back as badly as anyone, and he had put his misgivings aside to try and help make that happen.

Looking at the monster he and his friends had loosed on the world, Alvin finally understood that some things are better left as they are.

*****

Donna felt her mom's presence behind her, and fought the urge to turn and yell at her. Belinda hadn't moved much, but she was fidgeting, and that could cause a disaster.

Donna loved her mom, she really did, but there was no doubt in her mind where Donny got his flightiness from. Their mom was a nervous bundle of energy at the best of times, and these were not in any sense of the term the best of times. Donna was scared too, but she was determined to do her part. She appreciated her mother's desire to be here, with her, supporting her children in a time of dire need, but. . .honestly, Donna wished she was here alone. She would still be scared, but her own nervousness wouldn't be compounded by the presence of her mother.

On the other hand, if she were with Donny, it would be worse, Donna thought suddenly. She spent a few seconds imagining the scene of her mother and twin brother standing together as the monster walked into the clearing, and decided that it was better that their mom be with her.

There was no way the two of them could have remained still and silent enough to prevent being seen.

*****

Chuck tensed as Monusuol reached the goat. It was obvious that the monster was still cautious, and expecting a trap. There was nothing else he could do about that. They had taken every precaution possible and now had to hope it was enough.

He reached out mentally to his son, trying to will Chip to start the incantation. The longer they waited, the more likely they were to fail. He was at the point of calling him when he heard Donny start to whisper.

*****

Chip began the incantation, forcing himself to be calm, recalling each word just as he'd practiced. He wished he'd had more time to study, but desperate times called for desperate measures his father had said. If this wasn't a desperate time, Chip didn't know what was. He knew he felt desperate, that was for sure.

He whispered into his voice activated microphone, leading the others just as he had the day before yesterday. No one else was using the VOX system, so only he could be heard. It wasn't necessary for the others to speak over the radio, just to repeat what they heard Chip say.

They had practiced as well, and knew the incantation almost as well as Chip did, but in their first attempt, Chip had led them. That meant he had to lead them now. Each of the others waited for Chip to finish a stanza, and then repeated it word for word, as quietly as possible.

Fighting the urge to hurry, Chip dutifully counted after each stanza, allowing a given amount of time for the others to say the chant, then started on the next. He wanted to run through the lines as quickly as possible so he could run away, but that would cause them to fail, and probably be eaten by a monster.

The idea of being eaten by a monster was enough to keep Chip from rushing through the chant too fast. He just hoped that everyone was doing their part correctly. His father had said they would only get one chance.

Behind him, Stacey watched the monster devouring the goat at a rate she found alarming. It had been a large goat, and everyone has assumed that it would take time for Monusuol to gobble it up. That wasn't looking like the case to her as the beast consumed the goat far too quickly for her liking.

Her mind raced through options, but found none. There was nothing she could do to slow the beast from eating, and no way to aid Chip in the incantation. All she could do was stand and watch.

*****

Chuck was watching Monusuol's eating habits with the same alarm his wife was feeling. He had known that once the creature had taken the bait, he'd do so rapidly. He hadn't had goat in a while, after all. And despite it's size, it was only one goat. Monusuol was huge, and probably hadn't eaten much in the last two days. But the goat was disappearing much faster than Chuck had anticipated.

Listening to Donny repeat another stanza, Chuck realized that the kids were about three-quarters through the ritual. It was a race now, to see who finished first. Monusuol with the goat, or the kids with the incantation. There was no prize for second place.

Monusuol's eating slowed, almost as if he realized that he was nearing the end of the delicacy and wanted it to last as long as possible. Chuck almost sighed in relief, but caught himself in time. That little bit of indulgence might just make the difference.

And then, it happened.

Chapter Seven

Donna cringed as she heard her mother step on a dry stick behind her, breaking with a loud snapping sound. She finished her part of the stanza before turning to glare at her mother, then turned right back to. . . .

Monusuol's head was up, the goat forgotten in his hand. For the first time Donna noticed how unnaturally quiet it was in the woods around them. The normal night sounds were absent, the animals and insects driven away by the presence of the beast in their habitat.

A beast that was now alerted to the fact that he might not have the forest to himself after all.

Belinda, for her part, froze solid, trying desperately not to move again. The stick was still under her right foot, and she struggled to keep her weight on her left foot instead to keep from making any more noise. It was all she could do to keep her balance.

Monusuol sniffed the air again, as he had when he'd entered the clearing, tasting the air for some scent of whatever might be out there. He had heard the noise but had been so intent on the goat that he wasn't sure which direction it had come from.

Chip had heard the snapping of the branch, and saw Monusuol start, but managed to stay on track, moving to the next stanza right on time. Stacey was proud of him for that, at least in that small part of her mind that wasn't scared beyond rational thought.

Everyone followed on cue, as the group came one stanza closer to success.

*****

Monusuol lowered the goat, though he didn't relinquish his hold on his meal. There was something out of place. He could sense it, though he couldn't see it, not as yet. He had learned to trust his instincts, and right now those instincts were warning him that trouble was nearby.

Cocking his massive head to one side, the beast listened carefully. There was a slight noise, just too low to hear clearly. For some reason the sound was familiar to him, something he knew he should recognize, but didn't. Not yet.

Slowly, reluctantly, the beast let the carcass in his hands fall to the ground. He could not afford mistakes in this strange place. If there was the possibility of a threat, then he had to investigate.

Besides, the goat would still be here when he'd taken care of whatever was in these woods with him.

*****

Chuck held his breath as he saw Monusuol first lower, then finally release the goat. This was bad. The creature had obviously heard the broken branch, and decided to investigate. The only thing that had saved them so far was the monster's inability to pinpoint exactly where the noise had come from.

Right on cue Donny whispered the next stanza, still following Chip's lead. Chuck was proud of the young man, and of his son. The kids were showing a great deal of courage here. He wasn't sure he could have mustered that same courage at their age.

But their courage would be for naught if Monusuol was allowed to move outside the trap before the incantation was finished.

*****

Even as he spoke the next stanza, Chip realized that things were coming apart. Monusuol was moving. There were still three stanzas to go before the chant was finished. The monster had to be kept inside the trap until the incantation was complete. At the same time, he had, had to keep the chant going. If he stopped, the spell was broken, and they would have to start over. There definitely wasn't time to start over.

What to do? His mind somehow compartmentalized the problems as he began the next stanza right on time, accurate as if he were still sitting in his living room. A tiny portion of his mind wondered at how he could stay calm, keep the chant going, and still try to figure out what to do about their current problem.

Monusuol had apparently decided he knew where the noise had come from after all, because just then the monster started moving toward Donna and Belinda his gait steady but slow. Chip knew he had to do something before the monster reached the two, because while Chip was sure that Donna would hold on to the last, he was equally sure that Belinda would lose her mind completely.

Without thinking, Chip stepped out of hiding. Behind him he could hear his mother's harsh whisper, but held a hand up, silencing her, as he finished the stanza. Two more to go. He had a few seconds while the others repeated it.

“Hey! Ugly!” Chip called, but then stepped right back into cover. He saw the beast's head whip around, looking for whoever had spoken. When no target presented itself, the creature sniffed the air, then stalked slowly toward Chip's general direction.

Chip managed to start the next to last stanza right on time, although his fear factor had just increased a hundred fold. While he was sure he done the right thing, he had also just made himself, and by association his mother, targets of the beast.

*****

Chuck almost had a heart attack when he heard his son's voice calling out to Monusuol, and looked in Chip's direction on instinct alone. Just in time to see his son disappear back into the brush he had been hiding in. Chuck could only wonder at what had possessed his son to call out to the monster. . .unless.

Chuck slowly shook his head in admiration of his teenage son. Knowing Belinda as he did, Chip had surmised that the flighty woman would be one step short of fleeing in terror before Monusuol, and so had distracted the beast.

Of course, now Chip and Stacey were the beast's target, instead of Donna and Belinda.

He was about to tell Donny to stay put when the teen began whispering again. Chuck had to marvel. Chip had managed to do all this at one time. He definitely needed to pay more attention to his son's abilities when this was over. Multitasking didn't begin to cover this.

Chuck left Donny to do his part, and moved slightly away from the teenager, picking up a large piece of broken branch as he did so. He stopped twenty feet or so from Donny and threw the branch as hard as he could behind Monusuol, directly opposite of where his wife and son now hid.

The monster whirled at once, looking for the source of the sound behind him. Chuck could tell that Monusuol was wary now, obviously expecting a trap of some kind. The trap was so big, and the kids so spread out, however, that Monusuol would have a hard time discovering what was going on.

I hope, Chuck mentally crossed his fingers.

*****

Monusuol was becoming agitated. More so with each passing second. Not only had someone dared interrupt his feast, but now they were simply annoying him. It passed through his mind that there must be a reason behind this, but anger clouded his judgment.

Had he been thinking more clearly, Monusuol would have wondered who would have the courage to tempt and try him, especially this close to nightfall, traditionally the time that humans would fortify themselves against his kind until sunrise. In his anger, the beast forgot the observation he had made that very day. Forgot his uncertainty of the beasts that prowled the human settlement without fear. Forgot the way that humans went about unconcerned for their safety.

For the moment, there was only a monstrous beast who was accustomed to humans showing him fear. To all other creatures standing aside from his path, paying homage to his strength and his dominance.

He was being taunted. And that made Monusuol angry. Very angry indeed. Angry enough to throw caution aside.

Angry enough to act stupidly.

*****

One more to go, Chip thought to himself as he began the final stanza. He was able to recite the last stanza by rote memory, which in turn allowed a small part of his mind to keep track of what the beast was doing. He was fairly certain that his father had just distracted the monster somehow, and was quietly thankful.

Chip watched Monusuol move to investigate this latest affront as he finished the final stanza. He fought back a sigh of relief as he realized that his part was finished. As long as everyone else did their part, things should be okay. They would have gotten rid of the monster they had mistakenly summoned.

He promised himself, then and there, that he would never again delve into something like this. He knew that his intentions had been good, but good intentions were the cause of many a problem. You know, like summoning an angry, hungry, hideous, eight foot monster from another plane of existence into their world. Good intentions had caused them to do that. And no amount of good intentions could make up for the fact that they had drawn this vicious monster into their presence.

Thing happen for a reason, he reminded himself of Alvin's words before they had performed the ceremony. Maybe the reason that Waldo had died was to prevent one of the gang from being hit by the car. Waldo's death might have saved one or more of his friends, or himself. By trying to undo that, they had belittled that sacrifice.

And now Chip was looking at the ugly, misshapen result, standing right in front of him.

*****

Chuck heard Donny finish the last stanza, and allowed himself a silent breath of relief. They were done. Now all that remained was keeping the monster inside the trap until he could be pulled back to his own plane, and away from Creasy's Hollow.

Simple. Right?

Chuck winced as the thought came to him unbidden.

Way to jinx yourself, Chuck.

And sure enough, right at that very thought, the monster threw his head back and roared a challenge to whatever being was messing with his meal time.

*****

The hideous sound startled everyone in the wood, some more than others. Belinda, to no one's surprise, screamed aloud right along with Monusuol, her fear over taking her.

The monster's head snapped again to look in Belinda and Donna's direction, and this time he didn't pause or hesitate. Instead, he began to stride purposely toward the spot where the two were concealed.

*****

Donna jumped as Monusuol bellowed his challenge out, then again as her mother's answering scream erupted right behind her. Donna was about to turn to glare at her mother again when she saw the monster look their direction and then start toward them.

We finished the chant, she thought to herself, her mind going slightly numb as the monster bore down on her position. Why is he still here?

That thought left her in a hurry, however, as Donna realized the danger her mother had placed them in. He panicked mind warned her that they couldn't flee, at least not yet. If they ran, and the beast pursued, then he would be outside the trap in seconds, and the spell to re-bind him would fail. Even as that thought occurred to her, she felt her mother grab her arm, pulling her.

“We have to go!” Belinda told her daughter.

“We can't!” Donna hissed back. “He has to stay inside the trap!”

“I don't care!” Belinda all but screamed. Donna shrugged her mother's hand off her arm. The sudden release cause Belinda to stumble backward, and then fall, hitting the ground with a loud clatter of dried leaves and broken branches.

No way he missed that, Donna thought bitterly. She turned to see Monusuol almost on them. He apparently still didn't know exactly where they were, but. . .he was close.

Too close.

Donna closed her eyes, not wanting to see the end.

*****

Chip watched the monster heading toward Donna, and then heard Belinda scream. There was no way Monusuol wouldn't find them. Worse still, he knew that Mrs. Johnson lacked the courage to stay put, and quiet, while the binding worked.

It was all going to be for nothing. And the monster would be loose and free on the world, starting with Creasy's Hollow.

Despite his fear, Chip's eye was drawn from the scene playing out before him to a small point of light in the center of the trap his father and Mister Thomas had created. A small ball of blue light had appeared from somewhere, or nowhere, and was glowing a brilliant blue. Glowing, and growing at the same time.

It's working! Chip thought incredulously. That's got to be what that is! It's working!

He looked back to see the monster almost on top of where Donna and her mom where, and realized that he had to keep Monusuol inside the trap. If he didn't, then blue ball of light or no, the trap would fail, and the monster would stay here.

Without a second thought, Chip stepped out of hiding, ignoring his mother's frantic whispering.

*****

Donna was holding her breath, waiting for the end. She didn't know what else to do, and to be honest, her legs wouldn't listen to her anyway. She had tried to move away, but her feet stayed put as if she'd taken root in the ground around her.

Monusuol was almost on top of them when she heard Chip call out;

“Yo! Big nose! Over hear you ugly cretin!”

The monster stopped less than twenty feet from her hiding place, and turned. Donna looked out to see Chip standing in plain sight, waving at the beast.

“Yeah, you!” he called, nodding. “I can see you over there. Come and pick on someone your own size!”

Donna almost laughed aloud at that. There was no one Monusuol's 'own' size, at least not here in these woods. But Chip was willing to risk himself to save her and her mother. Her mother who had caused all this by being too afraid to just sit still and be quiet.

The monster turned to face Chip's challenge, and Donna held a breath, afraid to let it go and draw his attention back to her. Silently she thanked her friend for being brave enough to come to their rescue. Although part of her wanted to scream at him for being so stupid, too.

Suddenly Monusuol moved away, leaving Donna and her mother alone.

Heading toward Chip Douglas.

*****

Chip fought down the urge to panic, and the almost overwhelming need to look toward the blue orb of light. If he looked, Monusuol would look. If the monster recognized the trap before it was sprung, then he would run away, and all of this would have been for nothing, and the beast would be loose.

Oh please, little ball of light, do your thing, and do it quick, the scared teen thought to himself, mentally trying to urge the trap to close shut around the monster. And do it quickly.

“Stay back,” he told his mom, hearing her walking behind him. “All I need to do is keep him focused on me and inside the trap. Don't make it harder.”

Stacey stopped, looking at her son's back in amazement. He sounded so calm, almost detached. Where was he finding the courage to do this. She held back, her instincts warring with each other. Her maternal drive demanding that she go to her son and help him, protect him, while her rational side warned her to heed what Chip was saying, and not make his job any harder.

In front of her, Chip was also wondering where he was getting his courage. He sure didn't feel brave, with his knees trembling, threatening to fold beneath him. All he knew was that this was his fault. The other adults had been right about that. He was the one who found the book, and the spell, and he was the one who had brought it to the others. And convinced them to try it.

All for a stupid dog, the thought came to him unbidden. He had loved Waldo as much as any of the gang had, but he realized, standing here looking at what he had done, that no dog was worth the trouble and risk he had brought to his family, his friends, and his town.

We should have left well enough alone, he realized. Well, it was too late now. All he could do was try and make things right.

And this was all he could think of. Distracting the monster, and willing himself not to look at the small blue orb still growing inside the wood.

How long would it take to work?

*****

Chuck looked at the orb wondering the same thing his son was. He realized what Chip was doing, and was very proud of his son. He was also scared out of his mind with worry that his young son would suffer for his bravery.

But Chuck and the others were helpless to assist him now. If they attracted the beast's attention, then he would see the orb, and know that he was inside a trap. Monusuol had seen such traps before, after all. Had been victim of them before. If he realized what was happening before the orb was ready, then he would flee, and their trap would fail.

Chuck realized that his son recognized the same thing. He also was beginning to realize that Chip blamed himself for everything that had happened, and was assuming responsibility for making it right. Even while scared silly for his son's safety, Chuck couldn't help but feel immense pride in his son. Chuck doubted that he would have been so responsible himself at that age.

Watching the events play out in front of him, Chuck silently urged the orb to hurry, even though he knew that it wouldn't do any good. It did make him feel better, though. A little.

*****

Chip tried to get a look at the orb from the corner of his eye, but couldn't see it. He didn't dare look at it directly. He turned his attention to Monusuol instead, holding up a hand in front of him.

“That's far enough!” he called in a loud, stern voice. Surprisingly, the beast stopped.

There's no way that should have worked, Chip thought to himself.

“You don't belong here,” he said forcefully, looking the beast in the eyes. “You were called here by mistake. My mistake. I know I made you mad, but it wasn't on purpose. There's no place for you here, Monusuol, and no way you can stay. You have to go back where you came from.”

The giant beast cocked his head to the side, obviously recognizing his own name.

I wonder if that's good or bad? Chip thought.

*****

Monusuol heard the man-beast call his name in it's own language, and stopped. He had seen others, long ago, holding a hand up in that fashion, and calling him by name. Those occasions had never worked out well for him. Seeing it again, here, made him hesitate.

How did this puny human know his name? Why was it standing before him instead of fleeing in horror? What did this human know that gave him the courage of a knight of old?

This human was pathetically small, the beast noted. Wouldn't even make a good snack. Yet he dared stand before Monusuol with his hand raised, calling the beast by name. Suspicion tugged at the corner of the monster's mind. When things shouldn't be, but where, there was usually danger.

The small man-thing was speaking again.

*****

“You can't stay here!” Chip called strongly. He had no idea if the thing could understand him, but it didn't matter, as long as he could keep his attention.

“You have to go!” Chip said firmly. “I'm sorry I brought you here, but I did something stupid, that's all. I wanted something that I wasn't supposed to have, and, well, I messed up. You're a mistake, Monusuol, and that's all there is to it. You have to go!”

*****

Monusuol heard his name again, and took a step back. Not out of fear, of course. But from confusion. This human, small as it was and with no armor or weapons, should be running in fear, screaming loudly for help.

But it wasn't. And that bothered Monusuol. Things that should be but were not. Things that should not be, but were. Too many things out of the norm. Was there something wrong? Some danger he had overlooked? Or was it simply because of the changes in this realm since his last visit.

A visit that had ended with his being banished to another plane. One without goats to feast upon. Or humans to prey upon.

Monusuol wasn't stupid. Despite his anger and aggravation, he hesitated, trying to understand what was so different about this place, this time, that it caused his instincts to make him cautious.

That hesitation would cost him.

*****

Chip realized that Monusuol was hesitating, and almost yelled in triumph. That was all he needed. He just needed Monusuol to stay dumb and hesitant a little bit longer. . . .

The orb suddenly began to pulse, it's blue light streaming in and out like a strobe light at a dance party. There was a slight hum audible with that pulse, and Chip watched the monster turn his head to see what was making the noise.

Chip was looking right at the monster when it realized what was happening. The look of confusion turned to one of surprise, and then of anger. The monster roared in rage, turning back to face the puny human before him.

Only to find the puny human gone.

Monusuol was left alone with the orb.

*****

Chip had fled the instant Monusuol's eyes had left him, running as quietly as he could back into the woods where his mother was waiting. Reaching her, he turned to look back.

As long as he lived, Chip would remember what followed.

*****

The orb pulsed brighter, larger, and the hum grew louder. Monusuol hesitated only a few seconds before he turned to run.

It was enough.

The orb lashed out suddenly, no longer pulsing. Instead it had grown to the size of the picture window at the library. A tentacle of blue light from the orb reached out and wrapped itself around the leg of the the fleeing Monusuol, tripping the beast and bringing him crashing to the forest floor. Then, slowly but steadily, the tentacle began to drag Monusuol toward the orb.

Bellowing in rage, Monusuol grabbed at anything within his reach, searching for something, anything, to anchor himself to. Anything that would help him resist the pull of the orb.

There was nothing. Rocks, small trees, even the dirt itself were dragged right along with him toward the rift that the orb held open for him. Screaming in impotent fury, Monusuol was steadily pulled to the opening between the planes. His roars shattered the night, and the human's covered their ears as the sound threatened to burst their ear drums.

But it changed nothing. The orb was far stronger than the monster, and there was nothing Monusuol could do to fight it.

As Chip watched, it seemed as if the rift and the orb ate the beast, slowly consuming the screaming monster and erasing him from their world.

The last he saw of the monster was a hand/claw reaching out desperately from the rift, searching for a handhold, a last second reprieve from the doom he knew was coming.

There was none to be found. The hand slowly disappeared from sight, dragged into the rift along with the rest of the beast. The orb stayed for a few seconds, as if searching for more like Monusuol, then flashed once, illuminating the woods brighter than any full moon ever would. With a sound similar to a low flying plane streaking overhead, it slammed shut, leaving the woods in darkness once more.

The trap had worked. Monusuol was gone.

*****

Chuck and Alfred used flashlights to round up everyone. The two men made sure than no sign was left of what had happened here in the woods, save for the goat carcass. Both looked at it, then used leaves to cover it after dragging it far from any trail. Scavengers would do the rest of the work for them, and what was left would return to the earth, as was natural.

There was silence among the group for several minutes. Then, as if someone had turned on a tap somewhere, everyone wanted to talk at once.

“What were you thinking!”

“Why couldn't you be quiet!”

“This was your fault!”

“Who made all that noise!”

Chip sat down on a nearby rock, listening to everyone try to talk at once. He was so tired. His legs were almost too weak to hold him up at this point. He realized too that he was drenched in sweat. He covered his face in his hands for a few moments, trying to rub off the tired. He felt, rather than heard, someone walk up to him, and looked up to see Donna standing over him.

“Thank you,” she said softly. Chip didn't ask what for.

“You're welcome,” he smiled weakly.

“My stupid mom almost got us all killed,” Donna grumped, sitting heavily beside him.

“No, I almost did that,” Chip sighed. “This was all my fault, Donna. I played around with something I didn't know anything about, and we almost died because of it.”

“We all helped you, Chip,” Donna told him.

“More like I talked you into it,” Chip shook his head. “I have to be honest, Donna. This was my fault. I caused this.”

“Well, it's over now,” Donna sighed, leaning on him a little. “We can go home.”

“I heard that,” Donny's voice came to them from the dark as he, Angie and Alvin walked up to join them. Behind the trio, the adults were almost arguing. Again.

“I think we may have ruined our parent's friendship with each other,” Alvin noted sourly.

“It does seem that way,” Angie admitted. “But their 'friendship' was apparently based on the same stuff that let us bring that thing here. Maybe it's best if they do go their separate ways, you know?”

“Something else I did,” Chip nodded mournfully. “If I hadn't brought that stupid book to you guys, then none of this would have happened.”

“Oh, stop it,” Angie hit his shoulder. “You're such a martyr. We all agreed to try and get Waldo back, Chip.”

“That's right,” Alvin nodded. “We all should have known better, Chip. Not just you. We all messed up.”

“I wonder what's going to happen over there,” Donny said aloud, nodding in the direction of their assembled parents.

*****

“What do you mean, we're through?” Valina demanded, looking at Chuck angrily.

“I'm not telling any of you what you can or can't do,” Chuck raised a hand to ward off any more retorts. “I'm telling you that Stacey and I are done. Finished.”

“Damn straight,” Stacey nodded, anger in her voice.

“If this is about what we said before,” Alvin started, but Chuck cut him off.

“You mean about how this was all my fault, and my son's, and that it was my problem to deal with, and you didn't want your children around Chip anymore?” he demanded, his own anger coming to the fore. “If that's what you mean, then yes, that's got a lot to do with it.”

“We've been working together for years,” Stacey's anger was even more evident. “Every time one of you needed something, you came running to Chuck, wanting his help. The first time, the very first time that something bad happens, you dump it all into his lap, and abandon him! Friends like that we can do without, thanks very much!”

The others had enough shame to look away at that, hit hard by their friends' anger. Belinda was the first to speak up.

“Look, I'm sorry,” she said. “I shouldn't. . .I mean, I was scared, that's all. But we can't stop! I depend on our arts for my business!”

“So do we,” Alfred and Valina spoke almost in one voice, and Kat nodded her own agreement.

“Well, you better either learn to do without it, or learn to do it yourselves,” Chuck warned them all. “No one sits in my own home and lays the blame for a five person incantation on my son's shoulders. Did I know what he was doing? No, or I would have stopped him. Did I leave my books where he could find them? I admit that I did. He had never shown an interest in them. He's a teen-age boy, so any book that doesn't have the word 'comic' as part of it usually doesn't interest him.”

“This was all over that dog,” Stacey pointed out, managing to keep her anger more in check this time. “All of them wanted that dog back, and worked together to try and make that happen. More importantly, they worked together to correct the mistake they made. We should all be proud of all five of them.” The others nodded.

“But that doesn't change how you turned on us at the drop of a hat,” she continued. “All of you,” she glared at Kat, who had, until now, been possibly her best friend. “So far as I'm concerned, that means you'll do it again, even when one of you is to blame for something going bad. And that's not going to happen!” Her tone indicated that as far as she was concerned, the conversation was over.

“Stacey, I'm sorry,” Kat said earnestly. “Please, don't do this. Either of you,” she looked at Chuck.

“As far as I'm concerned, it's already done,” Chuck told her. His voice wasn't unkind, but it was firm. “I decided this last night, to be honest. I'm not willing to risk all of you turning on me again. The next time it might be something much worse. Something that we can't fix.” He paused for a moment before continuing.

“And, I realized that maybe we shouldn't be doing this anyway,” he admitted. “I didn't see the harm in it at first, and to be honest I still don't, as far as anything we've ever done. But a simple thing can easily turn into something bad. Or worse. So I'm done. Finished. You guys can keep on if you want to,” he told them. “But I'm out. We're out,” he added, indicating Stacey.

“So what are we supposed to do, then?” Valina asked bitterly. “You're abandoning us!”

“Just like you did us,” Stacey nodded, and Valina had the grace to look embarrassed.

“We can stand here all night and argue, but it's not going to change,” Chuck said finally. “And it's late. Not to mention that all the noise, and light, may have attracted notice. I've got a teen-age son to get home. One that I'm very proud of,” he said firmly. “You should all be proud as well. They've done something remarkable tonight. I doubt we could have done this at their age.” He turned to walk toward his son.

“We're going home.”

Chapter Eight

It was subdued 'gang' that gathered in front of the high school the next Monday. Their parents, as a group, were on the outs in a major way. Chip's mom and dad were adamant in their declaration that they were through, and the entire next day spent trying to convince them otherwise had failed.

That left the remaining parents arguing among themselves over who was more to blame for the loss of Chuck and Stacey and their knowledge and experience. By Monday morning, when the kids assembled as usual for their morning 'conference', most of their parents were not on speaking terms any longer.

This had led to a brief period, lasting about ten minutes, where each parent or set of parents had informed their child or children they were no longer allowed to associate with the others. Not a single one had agreed to that. Chip's parents were the exception, telling Chip only that things were tense between the former friends, and to use his own judgment. They had added that it might not be a good idea to visit his friends at home for a few days to allow things to settle down, but otherwise, to carry on as he desired.

And he was, of course, grounded for life. Or maybe just graduation. Stacey hadn't made up her mind yet. The rest had endured similar punishments, but had flatly refused to stop associating with each other. The parents were angry, but there wasn't much they could do about it other than be angry.

“Well,” Angie said as the five sat down on and around their bench.

“Yeah, that about sums it up,” Donna nodded, sighing.

Everyone around them was talking about the sounds and lights from Saturday night. The five of them tried to act like they weren't aware of anything.

“I'm sorry, guys,” Chip sighed.

“Stop apologizing,” Angie ordered. “It's not as if our parents are acting like grown-ups, now is it?”

“Mine sure aren't,” Alvin said miserably. He was grounded from his online gaming until further notice. That was almost as bad as anything he could imagine.

“Our mom sure ain't,” Donny agreed.

“Yeah, mine too, neither,” Angie snorted, getting a laugh out of them at last with her bad grammar.

“Well, since I'm grounded until I graduate college I guess I should be mad at my parents, but. . .considering what I did, I can't complain,” Chip told them. “It could be worse.”

“At least your parents are acting like parents,” Donna snorted. “My mom is acting like a teenage girl who didn't get the prom dress she wanted.”

“Yeah,” Donny backed his sister up.

“My mom isn't any better,” Angie agreed.

“My folks are worse,” Alvin said glumly. “After they got through blaming all of your parents, they turned on each other last night. I'll be surprised if they manage to get through the day without ruining their business.”

“Well, they can't stay made forever,” Angie announced, as if making a royal decree.

“I'm sure mine can try,” Alvin snorted. “But I hope you're right.”

“Of course I'm right,” Angie shot back, then stuck her tongue out. Alvin laughed, and the others joined him.

“Well, the important thing is that we managed to fix it, and we're all okay, and nothing bad happened to anyone in town,” Donna added her own proclamation. “Right?”

“Sure.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Whatever.”

The mumbled responses came out one atop the other.

“Oh, come on guys!” Donna exclaimed. “We saved the world Saturday night! I mean, sure, it was our fault to begin with, but still! We get points for making that right. Right?”

“Absolutely,” Angie nodded. “No matter what our stupid parents say.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Alvin nodded. “We did do a good thing, didn't we?”

“We did,” Donny nodded. “And Chip was awesome! Man, you got ba. . .er, guts, dude!” he managed to catch himself, but Donna slapped the back of his head anyway.

“Watch your mouth!” she ordered from her lofty position of being the oldest by a full two minutes and change.

“Whatever,” her brother shot back, rubbing his head. “Anyway, Chip you are the man, no doubt!”

“I have to agree,” Alvin nodded. “I would never have had the courage to do that, Chip. It was all I could do just to mutter the lines.”

“I couldn't move, even when the monster was right over us,” Donna admitted. “I was too scared to move. My feet wouldn't do what I told them.”

“My mom was breathing down my neck the whole time,” Angie noted. “I'm sure if I'd tried to do anything, she would have grabbed me in a second.”

“I just did what I had to,” Chip shrugged, uncomfortable with his friends' praise. “I felt responsible.”

“Well, at least it's behind us now!” Donny said cheerfully. “Now we can think about doing something new!”

His friends, and his sister, were still hitting him when the bell rang announcing it was time for home room.

Still laughing, the five of them walked inside. They were still in trouble, and they would still face irate parents at home, but they had each other.

And they had put the Monster of Creasy's Hollow back where it came from. After all that, whatever life had left to throw at them would be a piece of cake.

Table of Contents

- Copyright
- Chapter One
- Chapter Two
- Chapter Three
- Chapter Four
- Chapter Five
- Chapter Six
- Chapter Seven
- Chapter Eight