THE CASE OF THE EVIL LIBRARIAN

 

Chapter 1: Library Class

 

‘Screech.’ The big yellow bus pulled up to Tommy Hayers big blue house Monday morning. He quickly stuck a small navy blue hat on his dark brown hair and pulled a tee shirt over his body. He glanced for only a second at his birth mark, which lay on his right shoulder. It was really strange looking, and his friends always said it meant he was cursed. His mother, Elaine, yelled to him upstairs in his room “Come on Tom, the bus is here!”

 

Tom rushed downstairs through the kitchen where his mother was cooking scrambled eggs. He kissed her cheek and then leaned towards his father who was reading the paper and hugged him.

 

“BYE! See you after school.” Tommy yelled as he rushed out the door after grabbing his backpack and pulling on his shoes.

 

As he jumped onto the bus, he searched the seats until he found his best friend Matt. He sat beside him and smiled. “Hey Matt! Did you study for our big science test today?”

 

“Yup!” Matt nodded his head and winked.

 

Tom always enjoyed Matt’s English accent.  It was just different from his own in a funny way that made him smile. The bus slowly pulled up to the school doors and it was soon emptied into the halls of the School. It was a junior high school with about 200 kids in it.

 

Tom and Matt were both in Grade eight and both thirteen.

 

As the two boys set their books in their lockers the bell rang and they rushed to their classroom. Tom sat behind the most popular girl in school. Her name was Kate and she had bright blond hair and deep blue eyes. Dreamy.

 

Tom was interrupted from his romantic thoughts when Matt said, “Hey, Tom, forget it, she is to cool to even look at us.” Tom threw his pen at Matt and laughed.

 

“Well it’s worth a try.” Tom searched through his backpack, which sat under his desk, and a worried look crossed his face as he looked at Matt.

 

“Matt… I forgot my library books and you know how mean Mrs.Crandle is. I wish she wasn’t the librarian. What am I going to do?” Tom urged Matt for an answer and he began to look nervous.

 

“Okay Tom, don’t panic. Why don’t you just call your mom or dad to bring it to school?” Matt tried to calm Tom down by instructing him to breathe deeply.

 

“They aren’t home! What am I going to do?” Tommy whined, as the teacher began their math class.

 

They both knew that Tom was in big trouble. There wasn’t much to do but to wait and see what was to come. But little did they know what kind of person Mrs. Crandle truly was.

 

          After class at the sound of the bell, the two friends lifted their books from their hard wooden desks and headed towards the door. “What’ll I do Matt?” Tom asked with frustration.

 

          “Okay Tommy, Library isn’t until last period.” He paused and a grin crosses his face and then he continued, “Tom? If your library book isn’t due yet then we are okay… Right?”

 

          Matt searched Tom’s face for a smile but Tom sighed, “But they are due Matt! What is going to happen, huh? The last kid, Jimmy was his name? Well he had an over due book and he was never seen again!”

 

Matt laughed as he looked at his tall and strong friend and then stopped when he noticed that Tom didn’t join him, “Oh Tommy, that’s just a myth, I think that kid just moved away!”

 

 

Tom looked a bit more hopeful as they rounded a hallway and entered another classroom.

 

“Class, turn to page 256 in your text book and…“

Mr.Traut stopped as he watched Tom and Matt come in the room.

 

          “Nice of you to join us in science class today Mr. Hayers and Mr. Demot!” Mr.Traut remarked sourly.

 

Tom always noticed in Science class this girl, Sara, always stared at him. He could only assume she had a crush on him, which surprised him, because he wasn’t very smart, and as far as he knew, she was.

 

He ran his fingers through his short, curly hair, and took out his pencil.

 

Tom slowly started sketching a small picture. As he was adding shading to the lines, he heard Mr.Traut’s voice go harsh. “Guess you won’t need this anymore, Mr. Hayers.” Mr. Traut grabbed up the picture, crumpled it up and threw it away after looking at it momentarily.

 

“No.” Tommy whimpered as he half stood up, and then sat down again as Matt grabbed his shirt, pulling him down.

 

Anger flushed over him for a second, when Mr. Traut added, “I guess we can take these too...” and he grabbed the shading pencils off of Tommy’s desk.

 

Tommy stood all the way up this time, “What, are you going to throw those away too? I bet the art teacher, Mrs. Traut, wouldn’t want to hear you don’t encourage art work.”

 

Mr. Traut glared, “Don’t threaten me…” Mr. Traut paused and lost some of the anger in his voice, “I will keep these until the end of the class!”

 

Every person in the class was now staring at Tommy and Mr.Traut and as Tommy sat down many of the kids gasped and awed.

 

But, the downside for Tom was that Mr.Traut wasn’t the most forgiving person ever, and Tommy would soon pay. He was sure of it. Detention most likely.

 

There were five minutes until the period ended and Mr.Traut walked slowly back up to Tom’s desk and set the small pencils on his study book. Tommy forced a smile as Mr.Traut returned to his large brown desk in the front of the room.

 

Everyone sighed as the bell finally rang. The end of the day rushed near and Tom looked more scared then ever before.

 

“Oh Tom, calm down. What do you think she’ll do? Lock you up and keep you?” Matt laughed at this.

 

Tom stared at him, “Maybe…”

 

Matt giggled, “Oh, you worry too much. Stop over reacting. Heck. Maybe if you didn’t read, then you wouldn’t have to worry about an overdue book.” Matt teased, finding Tom had no time for humour.  

 

 

They finally entered their next class. Gym.

  

                         …

 

“Are you okay Tom?” Matt was standing over Tom who was lying on the ground holding his right arm.

 

“Ouch. I think I broke something....” Tom muttered back to Matt, as he groaned from the pain.

 

“Well, if it makes you feel better, when we go to library, what kind of a terrible old teacher…. or whatever Mrs.Crandle really is, would do something mean to a kid with a broken arm.” Matt whispered.

 

The gym teacher came and walked up to Tom. “You alright?”

 

“Ya” Tom answered as he tried to get up.

 

Matt stood behind him and helped him up. The teacher, Mr. Forster led him and Matt to the nurse’s office. Matt then left again to go back to gym while the school nurse cared for Tommy.

 

“Well Tom, you have badly bruised and sprained your left arm, but I think it will be OK. I will give you this tensor bandage, and then you can scurry off to your next class.” Tom smiled at her and winced as he hopped off of the care table, holding his arm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2: Overdue

 

Finally Tommy was ready and headed dejectedly to his last class after meeting up with Matt. It was Library.

 

“I hate this day! Nothing has gone right.” Tom spoke to Matt as they walked down the hall towards the Library.

 

As they entered the library, Sara, the girl who liked Tommy, came up to him. “What did you do?” She asked.

 

Tom explained and as he was about to sit down with Matt, Mrs. Crandle came to talk to Tommy. “Tommy, I see you have a book over due today. Do you have it?”

 

Tommy shot a glance at Matt. “Um... I forgot it at h-home, Mrs. Crandle.” Tom stuttered.

 

He glanced at Matt and gulped.  Mrs. Crandle motioned Tom to follow her “Right Now!”

 

Sara was listening, when Mrs. Crandle got Matt and Tom to follow her.   Sara walked behind them quietly.

 

Mrs. Crandle escorted the two boys into the backroom and she shut the door only with a small crack, enough for Sara to see through. Sara was surprised by what she heard next.

 

“You two boys have been very bad, especially you, Tommy. And you Matt, helping him to try and avoid ME! I am ashamed of both of you, and for that, you must be punished.”

 

“Punished?” The two boys said in unison.

 

“That’s right. What you did is VERY unacceptable and now you have to face the consequences!”  Mrs. Crandle said as she glared at both frightened boys.

 

“Consequences?!?!” Both boys repeated in awe as they looked at each other and swallowed hard.

 

Tom could feel his hands shaking violently and he could see the colour in Matt’s face go as white as a ghost. And he realized that his face was likely just as pale.

 

 

As Sara watched, her eyes were locked on one person. Tom. A million questions and thoughts raced through her mind as she saw the next terrible things unfold.

 

Mrs. Crandle stood from her spot and pointed to the door and then looked at the boys. “Come Tom, I would like to speak to you, alone. Matt, you may return to your library class with the rest of your students. And don’t even think about interrupting Tom and I in our discussion. We will be talking about what happens to people when they are disobedient!” Mrs.Crandle spoke slyly, as she shot a glare at Tom.

 

Tom’s eyes were pleading with Matt not to leave. As Matt walked out he over heard something said by Mrs. Crandle. “Now what should we do with you…”

 

Matt was so scared for Tom, that he didn’t even see Sara standing by the door and nearly knocked her over completely.

 

“Matt, Oh, thank goodness you’re alright…” Sara said as she gasped for air almost like she had just run a marathon.

 

          “Matt… What is she going to do with Tom?” Sara cried out, almost loud enough for Mrs. Crandle to hear in the other room.

 

“I don’t know Sara, I really, don’t, know…”

 

          Matt and Sara refocused their attention on the door. As they peered through, they almost hit their heads against the door, when Mrs. Crandle smacked her hand to the desk. Tommy almost jumped out of the chair; his eyes open wide in fright.

 

          Sara held her breath, so that she would not scream. She grabbed Matt’s hand in fear and had a worried look on her face.

 

          Matt tightened his grasp on her hand, his palms sweating.

 

          Suddenly Mrs. Crandle walked around her desk and grabbed Tommy by his bad arm. He cringed in pain and yelped helplessly.

         

          Matt almost burst into the room, but Sara held him back, still with the firm grip on his hand.

         

          They could hear Mrs. Crandle murmuring something to Tom. Then she led him to the filing cabinet. Then they heard something uttered by Mrs. Crandle, “Stay here for a second.”

 

          Tom started to back up as Mrs. Crandle turned to the filing cabinet. It looked like she was going to move it.

 

          Tommy continued to move backwards until he hit his bad arm on the desk and cried out. Mrs. Crandle turned towards him and scowled. Tom noticed that she had succeeded in moving the cabinet, and behind it was a small wooden door.

 

          She pushed him on the back towards the door. “Get in!” she hissed.

 

          Poor Tom felt like he was going to faint. He slowly bent down and went in. He turned back around quickly about to say something, when the door was shut in his face.

 

          Matt and Sara let go of each other’s hand and almost fainted themselves. Had what they just saw really happened? If it did, Tom wasn’t so crazy after all about the things he said about Mrs. Crandle.

          Tom couldn’t see anything. Wherever he was, it was pitch black. “Hello?” His voice cracked.

“What is this place?” He whispered to himself.

         

          He sat down on the ground, which was cement. The only light there was, was from the small cracks of the door. He dug his fingernails into the cracks and pulled. Nothing happened. He tried pushing with all his might, but still, nothing happened.

         

          Then he stood up again and started banging on the door with his hands and feet, yelling for help.

 

          He continued fiercely thumping against the door. After a few minutes he grew tired, and sat back down. He cursed under his breath.

 

          An hour passed and Tommy was growing impatient. What was happening? Would he ever escape? School was over now.

 

          He got up onto his knees and slowly crawled, brushing his hands along the surface of the cold, concrete floor. He hit a wall and kept on going, until his hand slipped down, and there was stairs.

 

          Tom started crawling down them bit by bit, very carefully, as to not slip and fall. The steps declined gradually, and as Tom got farther down, he could smell something. It was musty and stale. It reminded him of something else. Matt’s gym socks after a long day of running, he grimaced.

         

          He had to stop then and take a break. His arm was beginning to get very sore, and the fact that Mrs. Crandle grabbed it aggravated the ache.  

 

          Only then was he reminded of his hunger. Tommy’s stomach rumbled from within, and he tried not to think about it. It just made him more hungry, but the thought of a sweet, juicy piece of pizza. Or a nice, filling corn dog. “Heck,” He spoke to himself, “I would even eat some of my mom’s nasty tofu!”

 

          “Then again,” he thought, “Maybe not.”

         

          He scowled and felt his stomach churning. If he didn’t eat soon, he was sure he would die.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3: Rescue Mission

 

          “Okay. So what do we do first Matt?” Sara asked as she sat down on his bed.

 

          Matt scanned his room, walking around as if looking for Tommy in his pile of CD’s.

 

          “Well… First, we need to find out how to get in and out without being seen.” Matt hesitated, “Which won’t be easy, considering we don’t have a key to get in!” He sighed, and returned his eyes back to her.

 

          “Perhaps we do…” Sara looked at him mysteriously.

         

          “What do you mean?” Matt looked at her, confused.

 

          “Well..” Sara stopped.

 

          “Well, what?” Matt said impatiently.

 

          “There is a chance we could get one. My mom is on parent council, and she has a key of the school. She mostly uses it for opening up for meetings and stuff.”

         

          “Perfect!” Matt smiled, deviously.

 

          Sara smiled crookedly, and got up heading for the door. She stopped with her hand on the door knob, facing the door. “Maybe.”

 

          She opened the door, and Matt followed her out. They headed down the stairs and headed for the front door. But before they could open it, Matt’s mother called from the other room, “Matt dear, what are you doing?”

 

          Matt closed his eyes tightly, and his lips creased into solid lines. “Nothing Mom,” He lied.

 

          “Matthew Barthol Demot!” His mother yelled angrily.

 

          “Yes Mom?” Matt called.

          “Is your room clean?” she shouted.

 

          Matt answered softly, “Yes Mom.”

 

          “Okay dear,” She sang out and returned to making racket in the other room.

 

          Matt rolled his eyes as he quickly headed into the kitchen to grab some snacks for him and Sara. Then they grabbed a back pack and filled it with other things, like flashlights, as directed by Sara. ‘You never know what we will need.’ She had said.

 

          Finally they walked through the door and started towards Sara’s house to retrieve the key.

 

          Once they were out in the sun, Sara looked at him and giggled, “Your middle name is Barthol?”

 

          He shot her an angry glare, and then stared straight ahead, ignoring her comment.  He slung the pack over his shoulder as he tried to make small talk.

 

          “So…” Matt whistled.

 

          “So what?” Sara questioned.

 

          Matt couldn’t think of anything to say, so stopped talking, and directed his attention on getting to Sara’s house. A few minutes later he tried to break the awkward silence, which was a mistake on his part.

 

          “I hear you like Tommy!” He burst out.

 

          “You know,” Sara glared at him, “Guys are SO insensitive. What? You’ve NEVER had a crush on ANYONE? Oh, please. Don’t give me that Matt!” She started speaking much louder then she should have been, and other people on the sidewalk glanced at her, and gave her weird looks.

 

          “I didn’t mean—“ Matt slowed his speech.

 

          “Whatever, Matt.” Sara shook her head, and walked ahead of him, and onto her front steps.

          They easily got the school keys, because Sara’s mom left them on the kitchen counter. So now it was off to the school.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 4: Hidden Door

 

          “Shh…” Sara frowned at Matt, though it was too dark in the library to be noticed.

 

          “Sorry!” Matt whispered as he thumped against the carpet, on his knees.

 

          They kept on crawling until they could be sure the coast was clear.

 

          “OUCH! That was my HEAD!” Matt crackled as he rubbed the top of his head.

 

          “Yes, Matt. That would be where the counter is.” Sara spoke sarcastically.

 

          “Can we at least turn our flashlights on?” Matt complained, “No one is in the school!”

 

          Sara scowled at him, and then gave in, “Fine.”

 

          ‘Click’ both flashlights turned on in unison.

 

          “There. Over there. That’s the cabinet that she moved. The door should be somewhere behind that.” Matt whispered, excitedly.

 

          “Do you need help moving it?” Sara spoke in a cool and composed voice. She tried to keep it even, so she couldn’t show that she was frightened. After all, what might they be getting themselves into? Only she could know.

 

          “Oh please,” Matt tried to look tough, “If an old lady can do it, so can I!” He got to his feet and approached the cabinet.

 

          Sara nodded her head and rolled her eyes.

 

                                 …

          “There!” Matt grunted, and regained his balance as he stood away from the cabinet.

 

          There, behind the cabinet, stood the small trap door. Just as they had seen it just hours before.

 

          “Push!” Matt yelled, “Push!”

 

          “Almost- there…” He groaned.

 

          “I don’t think we are any closer to getting in Matt!” Sara criticized.

 

          Matt looked at her, insistently. “Come on, It’s for Tom!”

 

          Sara stuck out her tongue. Matt turned back to the door and started pushing on it again. Then Sara spotted something on Mrs. Crandle’s desk. She flashed the light onto it and spotted keys. Then she turned the flash light back onto the door. There was a key hole. Great!

 

          “Matt,” She pushed him over, keys in hand, “Get out of the way.”

 

          Matt moved aside and Sara tried the first key. Nope.

Second Key. Nope.

Third Key. Nope

She started getting frustrated, “There is like fifty keys on this ring!”

“Tommy!” Matt sang out.

She glared at him as he held the flashlight at the keys.

Fourth Key. Nope.

Finally on the fifth key, it stuck in and ‘clack’, the door was opened. A small breeze blew out, and it stunk.

 

          “Wow... That smells like my gym socks before my mom washes them!”

 

          “Ew!” Sara looked at him in disgust.

 

          “What?” Matt asked, innocently.

 

          She looked angrily at him, “You disgust me!”

 

          “Can we go?” Matt glowered back at her.

 

          Sara nodded her head and went in first, with Matt right behind her. She stepped onto the cement, and could hear Matt’s heavy feet brushing against the hard ground.  

 

          She shone her light around the place. They both expected it to be small, but this place was large. There were long steps leading far below, so far that they could not see the end of them, because they curved around underneath the platform they stood on.

 

          “What is this place?” Matt gasped.

 

          Sara shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, “I have no idea!”

 

          Then, all of a sudden, there was a thumping sound coming from the hidden door. Sara and Matt turned around swiftly. Sara shut off her light, and Matt did the same. But there was a new light. Someone was in the library. They heard a ‘flick’ and another room light turned on in the other area.

 

          A face gazed inside. It was Mrs. Crandle. Matt and Sara both looked stunned and their faces turn a pale, pastel white.

 

          “What do we have here?” Mrs. Crandle snickered cruelly.

 

          “Trying to free Tommy, I see.” Her face went serious, “Good luck with that.”

 

          “He has probably already run into them. And no one survives that!” She was about to shut the door, Matt jumped forward.

 

“You can’t do this!” He screamed, helplessly.

 

          She gave him an evil look, “Oh, yes I can!”

Mrs. Crandle cackled as she shut the door hard. ‘BANG!’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5: Stairs

 

“Stop drinking the water. We only have so much, and who knows how long we will be down here for!” Sara got after Matt as he once again took a big swig from his bottle.

 

Matt shot her a dirty look as he placed the bottle back in the pack. Sara, of course, did not see it, since it was pitch black. They kept their flashlights turned off for now to save the battery.

 

“Alright, let’s go.” Matt stood up after picking up the backpack and zipping it together.

 

‘Snap.’ Matt had already turned on his flashlight. The light illuminated the dark shadows of the place.

 

“Ouch! Could you at least give me a warning before turning that thing on? It’s bright!” Sara sat up, elbowing Matt in the side.

 

He grunted and turned at her for a second, and then turned the light around to face the stairs.

 

“Down we go then I guess,” Matt sighed.

 

          “Down we go.” Sara agreed.

                        …

 

          “I’m beat. I say we have a break. I never did like taking the stairs. Always was more of an elevator person.” Matt sighed, deeply showing his English accent.

 

“But we can’t stop now!” Sara insisted, “We haven’t even found Tom yet!”

 

          “Yes, but personally, I’m not in any shape for saving him either.” Matt complained.

 

          “Try being Tommy. He has a bad arm and is in no condition to be crawling down stairs blindly to who knows where!” Sara panted.

 

          “Alright, alright already. Come on then.” Matt moaned.

 

          Sara shook her head and they turned forward again heading down the deep staircase.

         

                        …

          The smell was even worse now, and the air was thick. They were obviously very far down underground. Matthew and Sara had been walking down the stairs slowly for about half an hour. The water was running low and both were starting to get hungrier.

 

          “Can’t we have some of the food we packed?” Matt asked.

 

          “No, not yet. You think you’re hungry. Poor Tommy hasn’t eaten one thing since this afternoon before…” Sara stopped. Shivers went through her body.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6: New News

 

          Tommy sat down on the last step as he tried to recover his breath. His mouth was dry and his stomach was growling out of control, not to mention his arm, which was throbbing with pain.

 

          He closed his eyes, trying to imagine what his parents were doing right now, worrying for him. And Matt. What was Matt doing? The last he saw of Matt was when he left the room, where Mrs. Crandle took Tom and threw him into this- this place.  

 

          Obviously Matt would notice his absence. They always walked home together after school, and sat together on the bus every morning.

 

          Tom had lost track of time. He couldn’t tell if it was five o’ clock, or nine. But then he remembered something. His watch. He lifted the clock towards his face and pressed his finger nail into the side where a button was. A green light coloured the digits on the watch, and Tommy looked at it carefully.

 

          “Six-fifteen. No wonder I’m so hungry, its supper time!” Tom sighed and let go of the watch, and it was dark again.

 

          Suddenly, Tom heard voices. Someone was speaking. There were two voices, the one sounding like a young boy, about the same age as him. And the other was a woman. An old, wicked woman. Mrs. Crandle.

 

          He listened cautiously to what they were saying to each other. The conversation started with Mrs. Crandle speaking to the boy. Tom couldn’t see anyone or anything, but the voices were carrying themselves over to him.

 

          “Has it really been three long years Jimmy?” Mrs. Crandle laughed.

 

          The boy was quiet for a second, and then spoke. “Why not just kill me and get it over with. Why make me suffer hear for so long. You’ve taken everything away from me, and why?”

 

          “You know very well what I want! Don’t play stupid with me boy!” Mrs. Crandle started to shout.

 

          “Ya, well, it’s pointless. I don’t have what you want. I don’t know who the other two are.” The young man said softly.

 

          “So is that the way you want it then, is it?” Mrs. Crandle questioned him rhetorically. “Then shall I prolong your suffering even longer? It’s just going to get worse from here if you don’t tell me who the one is!”

 

          Then there was light sobbing coming from the boy. “Why?” He could hardly manage a whisper.

 

          “I want power. And I want rid of those foul mortals!” She said as if it was completely obvious to the most stupid of people.

 

          “I WILL NEVER REVEAL THEM! I CAN’T. I WON’T!” The boy cried out. “I will NOT let the world suffer for the mistakes I made. Starting with getting caught by you!”

 

          “Yes, well it won’t be too long now that I have him.” She hissed. “This other boy would give his own mother just to live! If you don’t give tell me, then he will!”

 

          “No—He doesn’t even know who it is” The boy was stopped short as he shook his head vigorously. “NO!” He yelled even louder this time.

 

          He banged his hands against the bars on the cage and he held them and tried to rattle them free. Finally he grew tired and sunk to the floor while leaning against the wall, weeping.

 

                               …

 

          Tommy gasped and quickly stood up. Could it be him they were talking about? What was it that he had to tell her that the other boy—Jimmy—he shuddered, also possessed in his knowledge?

         

          He rapidly turned around, ignoring his hunger, thirst and the pain shooting through his arm, and started to scramble up the stairs as quietly as he could, but managed none of this. He was about ten stairs up already, and then he tripped on a loose rock. He stumbled down the stairs, loud enough for Mrs.Crandle to hear, and knocked his head against the cement floor.

 

          Suddenly his mind went blank and his eyes closed as he fell into unconsciousness.

         

          “Are you okay?” Someone said from above Tommy.

 

          Tom groaned as he lifted his head from the cold floor. He opened his eyes to see a young man sitting in front of him. Then he turned his vision to his surroundings. There were torches lit in a circle all around them, and they were in a cage. Well, sort of a cage. It was shaped in a circle and was on a small platform which sat about a foot off of the ground. There were large metal bars, closely fit together and a cement roof.  

 

          “Are you okay?” The boy repeated.

 

          Tommy just nodded his head and sat up all the way, clearing his throat. The boy was on his knees, and then he stood up. Tom rubbed the back of his head and grabbed the boy’s hand as he offered it. He helped Tommy up so that he was completely standing.

 

          “Ouch.” Tommy said as he grabbed his left arm tightly.

 

          “Careful,” the boy spoke softly to Tommy in a concerned voice.

 

          Tommy refocused his attention to the young man, still holding his arm. He was going to ask his name, but was too afraid. Before he could say anything the boy spoke.

 

          “Don’t be afraid, I’m the good guy. My name is Jimmy.” He said politely.

 

          “How did you—never mind.” Tom paused, “I could’ve sworn you read my mind.”

 

           Jimmy laughed and Tom joined in nervously. Then a bunch of questions rushed into Tommy’s mind at one moment.

 

          “Why are we here?” He asked urgently. “And onto that… where is here?”

 

          Jimmy stopped laughing and looked at him seriously. “We need to talk.”

 

          “Not before we talk.” Mrs. Crandle almost laughed as she walked into the room through a tunnel. Her heels clicked loudly on the hard floor as she approached.

 

          “I want you to come with me Tommy.” Mrs. Crandle said as she took out a key and fastened it into place in the lock.

 

          Tommy started backing up until he hit the other side of the cage. Jimmy stood by the door which Mrs. Crandle was going to open. The boy looked at her and started pleading, “Please don’t. Please don’t do this. He can’t handle it. He’s not strong enough! He doesn’t know who it is!”

 

          Mrs. Crandle ignored him and opened the door, pushing Jimmy out of the way. “Don’t even think about it!” She whispered to Jimmy as she lifted her jacket, revealing a small, blue stone. The stone was glowing brightly, and had inscriptions on it, that were in a foreign language, which Tommy couldn’t decipher.

 

          Mrs. Crandle seemed to have a force field around her, because Jimmy couldn’t go near her, but yet, Tommy could.

 

          She grabbed Tom’s left shoulder, which was painful for Tommy. Tommy grunted and cried out slightly. Mrs. Crandle dug her nails into his skin and pushed him towards the door, then, still holding his shoulder, turned around after they were out and locked the door.

 

          Finally she twisted around and grinned crookedly to Tommy. They started down the deep, dark tunnel, listening to Jimmy’s hopeless cries of desperation.

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7: Missing

 

          “Do you know where Tommy is?” Elaine looked at her husband, Carlos, worriedly as she stood up from the chair in the kitchen.

 

          “How would I know? I just got home.” Carlos stated calmly.

 

          Elaine nodded her head in agreement, and then folded her arms to her chest. As she looked down, she spoke softly, “He should have been home a few hours ago.”

 

          Carlos set down his brief case and hung up his jacket. Then he moved towards her and lifted her chin so that her eyes were looking in his. He searched her eyes for a minute and then said, “I’m sure it’s fine. He’s probably just at Matthew’s place.”

 

          Elaine smiled and walked towards the phone. She picked it up off the wall and punched in the numbers. As she waited, she wrapped the coil around her fingers nervously. “Come on, Come on, pick up!” she whispered to herself.

         

          Then there was a voice on the other line. It sounded anxious and frustrated like they picked up the phone many times already that day.

 

          “Hello? Matthew, sweetie? Is that you?” It was Pamela, Matt’s mother.

 

          “No.” Elaine’s voice faltered.

 

          “I was just wondering if you knew where Tommy was. He has been gone for a few hours, and hasn’t called. I just thought maybe he was at your house.” Elaine spoke quickly.

 

          “No. I’m sorry Elaine. I can’t find Matthew either. He left about an hour after he got home from school with another young girl. Her name was uh—Sara. Her parents are the ones that live over on 34th street.”

 

          “Yes, yes. I know who you mean.” Elaine paused, “So your boy is missing too then?”

 

          Pamela was quiet for a moment and then said, “Yes.”

 

          “I—I have to go. Goodbye” Elaine was about to hang up and then Pamela said something.

 

          “Wait. What are you going to do?”

 

          “First of all, I’m going to see if Sara is still not home. Then, I’m going to call the police” Elaine said reassuringly.

 

          ‘Beep’

 

          “What happened?” Carlos asked her curiously.

 

          “Tommy and Matt are both missing.”

 

                             …

          ‘Beep’

 

          “I just called Sara’s house and her mother said that she had not been home yet either. If her daughter doesn’t show up in an hour, she is getting a hold of the police.” Carlos set the phone down, looking at his wife.

 

          “I think its happening.” Elaine shuddered as she wrapped her sweater closer to her body.

 

          “What do you mean?” Carlos sat down at the table, opposite of Elaine and stretched out his hands to hers.

 

          “She’s back.” She closed her eyes, her lips trembling with fear.

 

          Carlos looked at her until she opened her eyes. Then he spoke. “We must do something.”

 

          He stared at Elaine urgently and tightly pressed his fingers around her palm. Elaine moved her face right up to Carlos and whispered ever so quietly, “We can’t. It’s all in the three’s hands now.”

 

          Carlos clenched his jaw, and released her hands from his. He pounded his fist onto the table, and Elaine jumped slightly, “How can we just sit here and let this happen. He doesn’t even know about his powers yet, or how important he is! If he fails now, all of us are doomed.”

 

          “I know,” Elaine murmured as a tear rolled down the side of her cheek. “I know.”

 

Chapter 8: Jimmy