by Justin Sloan
Tiffany stirred and Rick moved to put an arm around her. “She’s my sister, and I don’t plan on staying here that long.”
The large boy chuckled and a couple of other children joined in. “What, you gonna fight them?” The boy’s eyes revealed a moment of fright as he looked around to make sure no monsters were nearby. “You and your sister’ll be destroyed.”
“Ari will save us.”
“Huh? Who’s Ari?”
“My teddy bear.”
Laughter filled the dungeon and the boy said, “That’s hilarious. How old are you that you still have a teddy bear? And he’s gonna save you?”
“He was fighting them, the monsters, he....” Rick eyed them, realizing how silly this sounded.
“Great,” the boy said. “We got one that’s cracked already. He believes his teddy bear’s alive!
Everyone laughed now, except a nerdy kid who stepped forward and said, “It’s true, William, I saw one.”
“No way, Bardy. You saw a real live teddy bear?”
The nerdy kid, Bardy, nodded and made eye contact with Rick. “On the way here, I saw a group of those... things, and there was this teddy bear there, and they were all yelling and—”
“That’s it, then!” Rick exclaimed. “If we can find this teddy bear, we’re safe.”
“Are you deaf, new kid?” the large boy, William, said. “If he’s talking with the monsters—”
“No, if he’s a teddy bear he’ll help us. I know it. We just have to find a way to get to him.” Rick motioned for Bardy. “We just need a plan, come on.”
The other children huddled around, leaving out William. He hesitated, glancing into the darkness, and then joined them. Good, Rick thought. They were going to need this kid’s help if they wanted to have any hope of escape.
Chapter Twelve: The Fortress of Monta
The stone fortress, which Ari now knew to be the Fortress of Monta Mia had mentioned, rose above them like a mountain of jagged rocks. Amid stone walls, gargoyle statues leered down at them. Ari wondered if, with everything else going on lately, those gargoyles wouldn’t come alive and try to eat him.
Klide approached the massive wooden door on the ground, and a sign that read, “All who enter, bear their souls.”
“Are you sure this is the way?” Mia asked.
Klide paused at the doorway, assessing the fortress. “Should be common sense, no? The way to the Shadowlands is through a basement. You see any other houses around here?”
“I’d hardly call this a house,” Ari said.
Klide glared back with his one good eye and opened the door. It creaked so loud that the monsters in their so-called Shadowland probably heard it.
Mia gulped. “I never woulda thought I’d be willingly entering the fortress of the monsters.”
“This was the fortress of the monsters.” Klide glanced back at the swirling darkness beyond the trees. “But, as we all know, they’re gone. Scared?”
Mia pulled herself up, back straight and staring down her nose. “Never! But, you know... They say it’s haunted, ever since the war. And the owner, he’s crazy.” She motioned with her claw looping beside her head as she crossed her eyes. “Long gone.”
“Yes, well. Gonna have to take our chances. Just what do you think they want the kids for, huh?”
“I... I hadn’t considered,” Ari admitted.
“Think long and hard.”
Mia sighed, as if not wanting to be the one to say it. “They’ll turn them into monsters, eventually.”
Ari shook his head in confusion. He couldn’t believe it.
Klide nodded, confirming the horror of what Mia had said. “The monsters have always been jealous of us, they’ve always wanted children to play with. Only they don’t know how to play with them, and when the children eventually become monsters themselves, they want more children to play with.”
Ari’s mouth hung open. He looked with moist eyes at Mia, who turned with crossed arms and wouldn’t meet his gaze. Finally she turned to the door with a “Hmmpph.”
Klide held the door open. “Ladies first.”
Mia peeked inside, and then cautiously led the way. Ari pulled at the dull light until he had a pleasant glow around his fists.
Klide put a paw on Ari’s chest. “Ain’t a lot of light where we’re going.” He stepped aside and waited for Ari to enter.
With a long sigh, Ari stepped into the fortress. Each hallway seemed longer than the one before, covered in cobwebs and what looked like a thin layer of slime. Dimly lit torches lined the walls and a wind caused the flames to dance. The groans of the wind turned to wails deeper within the fortress.
As they turned down an eerie passage, Mia looked to Ari with a look that said, “I told you so.”
He didn’t say a thing in reply, but just followed his companions through the darkness, wondering what he had gotten himself into. A dim light shone ahead, slowly illuminating the hallway. They turned down a passage to find teddy bear armor lining the walls as if to stand guard. The suits of armor held sharp, glimmering spears. An eerie music played from the fortress’s depths.
A clank sounded. Ari spun to see a spear nearly hit him, then saw another spear glint as it fell toward him, but he dodged.
“Run!” Ari led the sprint down the rest of the hall, spears continuing to clatter around them.
They burst into what must have been an armory, judging by the weapons lining the tables. A bucket of water sat by the unlit forge.
Mia slammed the doors behind her. Without thinking, she jumped into Ari’s arms, but a second later pushed off of him, as if holding her had been his choice.
“Ew, keep your hands to yourself,” she said.
“Where’s Klide?” Ari said, realizing only the two of them had made it. “He could be back there with whatever that was!”
“Was it a...?” She looked at him with wide eyes.
“What, a ghost?”
She shook her head furiously and moved away from the door. “I don’t believe in ghosts.”
“You’re the one who said it.”
“Well if they do exist, better to avoid them.” She made sure the door was shut firmly.
“We have to go back.”
She stood in Ari’s way, eyes narrowed.
“We can’t just leave Klide.” Ari reached for the door and Mia’s expression softened. She moved out of the way and Ari opened the door a crack.
The hallway was back to normal, the armor upright. Ari took a step in. One of the armor heads moved with a creak, and before it could turn toward them Ari had the door bolted and was running again.
“I told you we should avoid them!” Mia said as she followed Ari.
She grabbed a torch from the wall before the two darted into a dark room. The torch in Mia’s paw flickered, barely showing two feet ahead. They slowed to a walk, both shaking with fright.
HIC-UP.
Ari jumped and spun around.
HIC-UP! Mia covered her mouth to try and stop the next hiccup, but— HIC-UP!
“It keeps getting better,” Ari said, voice filled with sarcasm.
She glared back.... HIC-UP.
Trying to ignore her, Ari searched the walls. Finding no door, aside from the one they came through, he moved toward the center of the room. He thought he heard a sound like a dripping faucet, but then something caught his foot and he fell with an UMPH.
“Ari!” Mia moved to help him up, a look of worry on her face that faded as soon as she saw he wasn’t hurt. “Be more careful.”
“There was something,” he said, reaching to see what had tripped him. His paw came across a thick rope, which he followed to a hole in the floor. “Klide said the basement, didn’t he? That’s where we need to go.”
“I ain’t climbing down no rope,” Mia said.
Ari leaned over the hole, not wanting to climb down either. But he handed the torch to Mia and began his descent.
“You gotta be kidding!” Mia’s voice echoed from above.
<
br /> The farther Ari climbed, the louder a distant thumping grew. Like a heartbeat. As if the fortress were alive.
Ari lowered himself on the rope. Farther and farther. His arms ached and the rope burned his paws. He thought it would never end. The thumping grew louder and, with a yelp, Ari felt his foot touch something firm and cold as ice. A candle flickered to life and Ari fell.
Chapter Thirteen: Into the Shadows
“Ari?” Mia’s voice called from above.
Ari lifted his head to see that he was on a freezing dining table, which was covered in food. Photographs lined the walls, mostly of Klide. And at Klide’s side, Ari had to stand to see—but, yes, that was Rusty in the photos. Both much younger.
The candlelight flickered across Klide’s face, where he sat at the head of the table thumping his paw on a wooden platter. The noise echoed in the room.
“What’s going on here?” Ari asked.
Mia appeared on the rope above him. “Klide?”
Klide burst into laughter, slapping his knee repeatedly. “Oh, you should’ve seen your faces back there, the way you ran, perfect!”
“Excuse me?” Mia said.
“I’ve been wanting to try that trick for years, but I never have any visitors. And, well, I only just got back my eye.” He chuckled while Ari and Mia shared a look of anger.
“You mean you’re the crazy old loon who lives here?” Mia asked.
“Only slightly crazy. Not so old.”
“Yeah well, I didn’t think it was funny. Ari?”
Ari glared at Klide, who wiped the smile from his face, but then couldn’t help bursting into laughter again. This was serious. Rick was missing, and this bear was playing games? Ari couldn’t take it, and he rushed forward, paws yanking Klide from his chair and pinning him to the wall.
“The monsters have my boy!” Ari said. “Don’t you get this?”
Klide stared him down for a moment, then let his head fall. “You’re right.”
Ari backed off, but his paws stayed clenched into fists.
Klide took a mold-covered orange from the table. “But I’ve always found that when times are tough....” He peeled the orange to reveal the ripe fruit inside. “It’s best to maintain a positive attitude.” In spite of Mia’s cringe, he plopped an orange slice into his mouth.
“A positive attitude?” Ari asked. He snatched the rest of the orange from Klide. “You wouldn’t understand, none of you have lost a kid!”
He spun and flung the orange. It landed with a splat on one of the pictures on the wall, then slid down to leave a shiny line of juice across the image of Klide and Rusty.
Klide walked over to the picture and wiped off the juice. He remained silent for a moment, but then said, “We were good friends, me and Rusty. That was, of course, before I released the monsters.”
“You?” Mia said, stepping back.
“But… how could that be?” Ari asked.
Klide sighed and took a seat. “I thought I could go into their world and destroy them—hubris at its finest. Instead, they took me captive and invaded our lands. They were pushed into the shadows and Rusty saved me, but the shame of it all... That’s when I came here. So you see, Ari, what going down there means?”
“But they’re already released,” Ari said.
“We saw them,” Mia agreed.
Klide shook his head, not so sure. “Aye, we saw something. And they may very well be back, I’m not denying that. But if we are taken, there may be no Rusty to save us this time.”
“We came this far,” Ari said. “I’m not turning back!”
Mia looked from Ari to Klide, and then said, “Then neither am I.”
Klide stood and nodded. “Very well. If indeed the monsters are aboveground, this is the opportune moment to strike.”
He led them to a narrow spiral staircase of stone. A scent of sulfur carried up the stairs, and the air felt stale. Torchlight flickered on stone walls. They slowly descended. At the bottom they found a small wooden door, which they opened with a creak.
Klide walked in first and held the torchlight up high for them to see. This room was more like a dungeon, with dripping water and mossy stone walls. In the corner a furnace burned dimly. Ari eyed Klide, questioning.
“It gets cold, at nights,” Klide said.
They stepped forward and their shadows grew. Ari hesitated, shivering in spite of the heat.
“You can’t be scared of the dark,” Klide said. “Not where you’re going.”
As if in answer, the furnace flared with a roar. Ari looked at the shadows, at the furnace glowing like a demon’s mouth, and he didn’t know what to say. Of course he was scared.
Mia stepped forward. “We’re all going.”
“I’ve been there before,” Klide said. “You think I’d be stupid enough to go back?”
That brought Ari out of his mood. “We need you!”
“Just find the darkest corner, then it’s all downhill.”
“They all look dark to me.”
“But where’s the darkest?”
Ari glared at the furnace. “On the other side of... that.” The furnace flared and they all cringed.
Mia grabbed Klide and thrust him forward. “You’ll be leading the way.”
“After that stunt upstairs, you owe us.” Ari pointed at Klide’s eye. “You owe Rusty, and you owe the children.”
Klide nodded at that, resigned. “Very well.”
The three approached the furnace, pulling back when it howled to life and the fire grew. The fire almost died, leaving a frigid chill in the air. On the other side of the furnace it was indeed dark, as if full of plain nothingness, darker than black.
Klide put his paw on Ari’s shoulder. “Take the first step.”
Ari breathed deep, staring at the spot. Frozen, until a paw grabbed his—Mia’s paw. She half-smiled and they stepped forward, together, into the darkness.
Chapter Fourteen: Dark Depths
Brick and wood beams flew past Ari as he fell, but soon his surroundings opened up into darkness, like a massive cave with walls too far away to see. His screams melded with Mia’s, but when he turned to see above him, there was Klide, falling calmly, as if he was floating and used to it.
An oily dark substance moved far below, rising up fast. Just before landing in it, Ari saw it ripple like a pond. The liquid engulfed them all with a mighty splash.
A hand, or maybe shadows, had him. He felt himself being pulled down, farther away from the surface. Ari kicked and felt Mia beside him as he struggled to the top. With a huge breath, he surfaced.
Klide grabbed Ari and Mia, holding them close. Now Ari could see the oily matter around him was shadows, filling the water and giving it a deeper substance. The shadows circled them, as if waiting to pounce.
“Do something!” Mia said.
Klide simply pointed into the distance where a plank of wood, like a raft, approached. It was steered by a hunched-over figure. As it drew near, the shadows dispersed. Klide pulled himself onboard first, and then helped the other two up.
Ari flopped onto the raft. His arms felt like they were going to fall off. He looked up to see the hunched figure, and something about its face was familiar. It had no nose and large eyes like a fish—it was another ghoul, like Grant in the attic. Unlike Grant, this ghoul was covered in a layer of thick, goopy, green slime.
The slimy ghoul extended a hand, palm up, waiting.
“We have nothing to pay with, ghoul,” Klide said.
“Then you don’t belong here. Back in.” The slimy ghoul lifted an oar above its head, ready to strike.
Ari and Mia both looked to Klide.
“What?” Klide shrugged. “I had gold last time.”
“And now?” Mia asked.
“You didn’t remind me to bring any.”
Ari pushed himself to his feet and faced the slimy ghoul, desperate. “Wait, Mr...?” The slimy ghoul’s eyes bore into Ari, almost hopeful, and Ari realized what he had to do. “How about
Mr. Henderson? Can I call you that? It’s a nice name, Rick’s favorite teacher, and we.... Well, Mr. Henderson, we could really use your help. We’re trying to cross.”
The change that came across the slimy ghoul’s features was like an old man listening to beautiful music. The ghoul, Mr. Henderson, let out a joyous yelp before dropping the oar to grab Ari in a slimy hug.
“Of course I’ll take you!” Mr. Henderson said. “Of course! But....” He looked around in shock. “My oar!”
“There!” Mia pointed to the oar bobbing off.
Mr. Henderson dove for the oar with a splash.
When he was out of earshot, Klide said, “How’d you...?”
Trying to wipe off the slime on his fur, Ari laughed, remembering how Grant had responded to being given a name. It seemed a name was more valuable than gold to ghouls. “Let’s just say I have a way with these guys.”
Mr. Henderson returned, oar in his teeth. He shook himself dry and they continued on the plank, toward the dark form of land in the distance. All the while Mr. Henderson muttered to himself, “How d’ya do, Mr. Henderson? Fine, thank ya. Will that be all, Mr. Henderson? Why, yes, much obliged.”
Mr. Henderson seemed lost in his own world, which was quite all right for the bears. They sat, relaxed, for the long ride. Ari had no idea what was to come, and he needed time to prepare himself for it.
As they approached land, a wailing started from deep within the water. Mr. Henderson raised his yellow eyes to them, a smile forming in his toothless mouth. The wailing intensified along with the darkness.
Ari took a step back, dizzy. He looked to the sky, only to find more darkness. Around him, everywhere was dark. Even his companions seemed to fade as he lost consciousness.
When he awoke, Ari was on land. But his body still felt like he was on the raft, rocking with the water. Mia leaned over him, worried, but Mr. Henderson snickered as he rode back into the waters.
As Mr. Henderson disappeared, he was saying to himself, “Why, thank ya kindly for the mighty fine trip, Mr. Henderson. What’s that? No problem indeed! Oh, Mr. Henderson.” His chuckles echoed across the water, so out of place is this dark land of shadows.
