The bedroom he had been staying in at Lefty's Manor was located on the second floor, and it was so big, it was as spacious as some small homes. It had its own fireplace, enormous bookcases that were filled with dusty tomes, and even a towering suit of armor. Although this all looked undoubtedly awesome by the hours of daylight, it made for less than ideal sleeping arrangements.
At night, Jack would lie awake, with the covers pulled up to his chin, and listen to the many creaks and groans of the old house. He knew that it was just the ancient wood of the residence, moving about and settling, as it was prone to do in elderly homes. But still? it was eerie.
Additionally, the whistling wind rattled the panes of the old windows. Leaves and branches would scrape against the glass, and this at times sounded like the slow drag of long fingernails, seeking a point of weakness that could be exploited.
The light of the moon would cause these swaying branches to generate dancing shadows throughout the bedroom. The suit of armor, meanwhile, cast its own, rather dubious silhouette, as it loomed in the corner. Jack would listen to these noises, and eyeball these shadows, as he lay beneath the covers, fruitlessly counting sheep. He was not afraid, of course? but it was a bit hard to sleep with such an abundance of eeriness.
Nibbler would lie atop the bedspread, his ears twitching at every sound, his snout turning toward every strange shadow. His furry tail would thump reassuringly against Jack from time to time, and his company was as welcome as ever.
Earlier tonight, Jack and Nibbler had been hoping for sleep as they lay in bed, listening to the wind whistle through the old, drafty windows. And then, there had come the other noise? the strange and startling sound that had prompted them to rise from bed, their curiosity engaged.
Thoom! ?Thoom! ?Thoom!
And so it was that Jack, dressed in pajamas, had eased from bed with a flashlight in his hand, and Nibbler by his side. Tracing the source of the noise, they had tiptoed down the creaking staircase, journeyed through several winding hallways, crossed the gargantuan kitchen, eased across the parlor, and finally found themselves at their current location: the door that led to the basement.
It was one of the few places that Jack had not yet explored within the manor. Lefty had not exactly forbidden him from entering it, but it had seemed to Jack to be a personal area for his uncle. Lefty spent the vast majority of his time in the basement, where he could be heard tinkering about and muttering to himself. For this was no ordinary basement? it was a basement laboratory.
Slowly? cautiously? ever so carefully? Jack moved his hand to the doorknob. Were he still prone to the occasional bouts of fear that any ten-year-old boy was sure to feel from time to time, he undoubtedly would have refrained from such bold action. But he was not just any ten-year-old boy. He was possessed of experience (particularly in the realms of weirdness) that defied his young age.
As his fingers wrapped around the doorknob, there passed from the metal to his skin a feeling that was difficult to describe. It was an electric shock! A blue-white wisp of electric current arced through the air, clearly visible in the dim lighting of the hallway.
As the mild jolt passed into his body, Jack's eyes came to resemble saucers, and a hushed utterance passed between his lips. "Gears and sprockets!" he exclaimed.
Nibbler leaped back, eyeing the doorknob with renewed suspicion. After a moment, his tail started wagging, and he licked Jack's shocked fingers.
"Woo," Jack gasped, as he flexed his hand, and the fingers were doused with dog slobber. "That was an electrifying experience, as Coach might say."
He shook his hand once more, and then bolted for the nearest door to the outside, with his dog at his heel. "Come on, Nibbler? Neil's going to want to know all about this, isn't he?"
Chapter Three
Bedtime Can't Stop Me
As he lay in the dreaming stages of sleep, enshrouded in a warm nest of blankets and pillows, Neil murmured to himself. He murmured in quiet contentment, having achieved that singular happiness that occurs when one has put in a hard day, and has lain down to their well earned prize - a night of sound sleep, to refresh and rejuvenate.
And Neil had indeed put in a hard day, which was the norm for him. It had consisted of school, baseball practice, dinner with the family, homework, and (last, but not least) a couple of rounds of online Virtual Baseball with his friends.
Neil's pupils moved slightly against the closed lids of his eyes. "Hem-nem-nem," he muttered to himself, smacking his lips with slumber-filled contentment. "Hem-nem-nem."
It was a magnificent feeling, to drop into sleep in the comfort of one's own bed. But as Neil descended into that land of dreams and nocturnal machinations of the mind, there came a mild disturbance that troubled his slumber.
Rap, so it sounded, against the walls of his mind. Rap? rap? rap!
Slowly, blinking and rubbing at his eyes, Neil rose from his pillow. A gargantuan yawn was loosed from his mouth, and he murmured in the confusion that often accompanies an arousal from sleep.
He looked about, searching for whatsoever had taken him from his slumber. For the most part, his bedroom remained in darkness, but for the streaks of moonlight that penetrated the window, casting a slight, orange-yellow illumination upon the walls and floor.
Rap!
The sound came again. Shaking his head from side to side, Neil looked to the source of the noise. It came from his bedroom window - a sharp, clear sound against the stillness of the night.
Rubbing his fists against his eyes, Neil pulled himself from his bed, still half-asleep. He briefly became entangled in his sheets, but was able to break free from them after stumbling about for a bit. Neil's feet remained unresponsive to mental inputs for the time being, and he staggered across his bedroom until he reached the window.
It was then, while his face was only inches from the clear pane of glass, that the sharp sound issued once more. Rap!
Flinching, Neil lurched backward, away from the window. Gradually, his mind was clearing from the cobwebs of sleep, and he slowly came to comprehend that the noise he had heard was in fact a small stone, colliding against the glass.
"What the??" he murmured, as he unlocked the window and opened it up. He stuck his sleep-befuddled head outside and hollered, "Hey, whaddya doin' to my window? Who's out there? Is it the Cragglemeisters? You trying to bust up my window or somethin'?"
"Shhhhhh!" he heard a hushed voice call from below. "Neil, keep it down!"
"You tryin' to break up my glass?" Neil shouted out the window, still confused and bewildered, from being roused from a sound sleep.
"Neil, it's me!" came the hushed voice. "Keep it down! You're going to wake up your parents!"
Rubbing his fisted hands against his eyes once again, Neil looked toward the voice that had spoken to him. Finally, his eyes locked upon Jack, and the happy (exhilarated would probably be more accurate) Labradoodle that stood beneath, one story below Neil's window.
"Oh, hey, Jack!" Neil called, as he ran a hand through his mussed, sandy hair, and loosed a wide yawn. "Nibbler, what's shaking?"
"Woof!" Nibbler answered, his tail wagging in unrestrained happiness. It made his wiggly rump shake from side to side. "Woof!"
Jack placed a calming hand on the dog's back, and patted him reassuringly. "Okay, boy, let's keep it down." He turned his attention to the window. "Neil, would you try to lower your voice a bit? Aren't your parents sleeping?"
Neil yawned, and blinked fuzzily at his visitors, as if just seeing them now. "Whoa! Hey, Jack! Thought I might be dreaming."
"Shhhhh!" Jack whispered, with a finger pressed against his lips. "What are ya, nuts? Aren't your parents asleep?"
"Oh, yeah," Neil said, lowering his voice. "Good point. Well? I'm not used to being roused from my sleep in the middle of the night, you know? I don't quite feel like myself at the moment? I'm sort of groggy." He paused, and peered up at the moon. "Hey, what time is it, anyway? What's going on around here?"
"Well, it's just shy o
f midnight, since you ask," Jack told him. "And believe me, I wouldn't have woken you up, if it wasn't super important."
"What are you, kidding me?" Neil asked. "You know you can stop by any time, I don't mind. I live for adventure," he added, as he stifled a yawn. "Heck, the last time we were up at this time of night, we came face to face with a swamp beast, I don't have to remind you."
"Nope. I remember that very clearly," Jack assured him. "That was one weird night."
Neil shook his head from side to side, to dispel the cobwebs of sleep, and he was becoming more alert by the moment. The prospect of adventure was a powerful incentive, plenty strong enough to bring a ten-year-old boy to his senses at a time when he should have been fast asleep.
"What's going on?" Neil asked. "Is there trouble afoot? Are the Cragglemeisters involved in foul play? Give me two shakes, and I'll be ready to go!"
"Egads, Neil, keep it down!" Jack whispered. "No, there's no sign of the Cragglemeister Brothers. It's my uncle? Lefty. Something weird is going on at the manor. Well? weirder than usual, is what I mean to say. Something downright crazy!"
"Say no more," Neil assured Jack. He had already drawn away from the window, and had begun throwing on what he might deem some "adventuring" clothes, which was a somewhat stark contrast to Jack's pajamas, slippers, and bicycle helmet. "I'm on my way."
He returned to the window, with only one shoe in place, and the other in hand. Neil launched himself into the maple tree that hugged the house, monkeying down it in short order.
His course was perhaps not the wisest one, in terms of logic and practicality. But it was one that held a great deal of credibility in the world of middle-graders? It was that of faith and friendship.
Neil landed upon the ground and hustled over to his friend, putting his second shoe on as he went. Nibbler greeted him with a wet snout, and Jack met him with a subdued (in an effort to reduce noise) high-five.
Jack grinned at the reassuring touch of immovable friendship. It was a thing that he had become quite familiar with in recent days, as the hardships had piled on, and then resiliently been shaken off.
"Okay, I'm ready," Neil chortled. "Nothing so trivial as bedtime can stop me!"
Chapter Four
Put on Guard
Neil and Jack rode their bicycles to Lefty's Manor, with Nibbler trotting beside them. They pedaled through the darkness on the rural roads of Hollow Oak, their beloved town.
The feel of the cool air against their faces was refreshing, and it helped to keep them alert at this late hour. Flashlights were mounted to the handlebars of their bicycles, and they cast wobbling beams of light upon the paved shoulder of the roads, as well as the trees and brush of the forest.
They met no cars on their journey, for it was a small town, and almost everyone was asleep at this hour. The night was nearly silent, but for the chirping of crickets, the hooting of owls, and the rustling of the leaves that swayed in the wind.
It did not take them very long to reach Lefty's Manor, and once they were near, they approached with caution. The boys stashed their bicycles in some bushes, and began sneaking closer to the manor on foot. They stayed in the woods that surrounded the property, hoping that the cover of the forest would let them proceed undetected.
For his part, Nibbler went into Labradoodle stealth mode. He hunkered low to the ground, with his shoulder blades swaying, his ears perked up, and his nose sniffing with the utmost alacrity.
But as they crept into the forest, it soon became clear to the boys and dog that they were not alone. From deeper within the woods, there came a noise that they instantly recognized: Rustle-rustle-rush-crush.
It was the sound of heavy brush and vegetation being pushed aside. Pushed aside, by something big.
Neil and Jack froze in place. Their heads were turned toward the source of the noise, and their eyes had grown wide. Nibbler tentatively wagged his tail and quirked his ears.
"Is that??" Neil asked, his voice filled with hope.
"Could it be??" Jack wondered, as he peered into the darkened forest.
Rustle-rustle-rush-crush, came the noise once more. It was now louder. Closer. They saw the treetops sway and ripple, as something with incredible force moved everything that stood before it. Rustle-rustle-rush-crush. RUSTLE-RUSTLE-RUSH-CRUSH.
With an enormous surge of motion, the final screen of brush was parted, and the creature that had been creating the noise was suddenly visible. He had a colossal silhouette, towering like a giant, and his green eyes glowed in an otherworldly fashion. His broad shoulders rose and fell as he heaved with deep breath, which washed over the boys and Nibbler with the scent of moss.
"Titus!" Neil gasped.
"Greetings, little ones," came the rumbling voice of the monster before them, a being that was unique in every way.
He was, as Neil and Jack had recently discovered, the swamp beast of Hollow Oak. Titus stood at a height of nine feet, and he was a fantastic sight to behold. Vines, moss, and foliage covered the mottled green skin of his body, lending him an undoubtedly botanical quality. His shoulders were broad, his legs thick, and his arms were the size of tree trunks, rippling with muscle. He had a neck that was like a tree stump, and vines swung about his head, as if dreadlocks of strange, green hair. Defined within his broad face were both strength and wisdom, accumulated during an untold number of years.
A peregrine falcon sat atop one shoulder of Titus, perched and ruffling his blue-gray wings. Neil and Jack instantly recognized the bird as Arturo, Titus' swift-winged agent of reconnaissance.
Titus dropped to one knee, so that he could more easily see Neil and Jack. They ran to him with excitement, for this was one monster that was not to be feared? this was their friend. A strange and magnificent friend, who they had met just a couple of weeks earlier. Titus had recruited them, to help him put a stop to the pollution of the water source for the creatures that were under his protection, in the town of Hollow Oak.
"What are you doing here?" asked Jack. "We were hoping to see you again soon, but this is a pleasant surprise!"
"It is good that we should meet again," Titus rumbled, as he embraced them in a gigantic hug, with Nibbler squeezed in the middle. "Though it has not been long since we last saw one another, I have missed you. I am so grateful for the efforts you put forth for me, and for the creatures of the woodlands and the swamps. Already, the quality of our water has improved, since you helped us put a stop to the pollution."
"That's great news!" Neil exclaimed. "Is there something else you need help with? Just say the word, and we'll rally to the cause!"
"No, little one. But thank you for the offer," Titus chuckled. "I have sought you out in order to warn you of the one who poisoned our river. He is up to something? I'm sure of it."
"Jasper?" asked Jack. His teeth clenched, as he recalled the heinous acts of the immoral school janitor. "Yeah, he was the one who was dumping the toxic goop into the river, alright. But he set up my father, to take the fall for his dastardly deeds. He's a first-rate scoundrel, to say the least! What kind of trouble is he brewing this time?"
"That, I'm afraid, I don't know the answer to," Titus said. "But I've been keeping a close eye on him, ever since you exposed his evildoings. He lives at an isolated farm, and the property's nearness to the woods allows me to study his activities... to some extent, at least. I dare not get too close, for fear of discovery."
Neil and Jack nodded in understanding, for they knew that Titus chose to remain hidden from humans, in all but the most dire of scenarios.
"I cannot say what the one you call 'Jasper' is doing, but I have no doubt that he's up to no good. It seems that he spends a large amount of time working on some project, laboring late into the night? and I can sense that he has learned nothing from his past errors, I'm afraid."
"Yep, he's a real galoot," Neil confirmed. "It doesn't surprise me one bit, that he wouldn't learn."
"I must go now for now? my duties call to me, and there is much to do. But I wanted
to seek you out and warn you, little ones. Be on guard - and should you need my help, I will answer the call, if it is within my power to do so. You are friends of the forest, and I will always be indebted to you."
Titus rose to his full, staggering height. He gently lay one hand upon the top of Neil's head in farewell, and then did the same for Jack and Nibbler. Arturo launched from the swamp beast's shoulder and flew off, with powerful motions of his wings. Titus turned, pushed two small trees aside, and disappeared into the brush. His departure was marked by the sound of his massive body passing through the vegetation? Rustle-rustle-rush-crush.
Neil, Jack, and Nibbler watched in silent awe as the silhouette of the swamp beast blended into the dark shapes of the forest. It was impossible to not be filled with wonder at the encounter. Though it was disturbing to hear the report that Jasper was up to no good, this news was overshadowed by the feeling of exhilaration that swelled in the hearts of the boys, and gratitude for once more having a brief experience with Titus.
Only after the sounds of Titus' passage had dwindled away to nothing, did Neil and Jack return their attention to Lefty's Manor, which they could see from afar. Resuming their stealthy approach, with Nibbler leading the way, they once more crept closer, seeking a superior place of observation.
Chapter Five
Strange Things Are Afoot
As Neil and Jack snuck through the woods, with Nibbler stealthily slinking beside them, they contemplated what they had been told by Titus. It was not terribly surprising to hear that Jasper was back at his dastardly deeds. But he had to be up to something particularly nefarious, for Titus to feel that he had to warn them to be on guard.
When they felt that they were close enough to Lefty's Manor, they crouched amid a colony of assorted shrubberies. From this point of surveillance, Neil, Jack, and Nibbler collectively observed the house. In particular, their eyes were concentrated on the window wells of the basement, which were just above the ground, and built into the concrete of the foundation.
It was in those windows that there appeared a very odd thing. The boys and the dog saw the intermittent burst of blue-white light, an arc of electricity against a pane of glass.
The Green Beans, Volume 1: The Mystery of Hollow Oak Page 14
