What if I told you the monsters under you bed were real. The moth man and the werewolves; the evil spirits and the ghosts. They hide away in the woods flowing steadily into our dimension. Though some get restless. Sick of the shadows an army will ar...
Clack. Vurrrr. Vurrrr. Wheels clicked across the cracked pavement at high speed, as heat waves flew up to smother Cort's tan skin. The colour of warm weather and hidden smiles. She jumped the curb and flew down the street as birds raced above in the clear summer sky. Spray can in hand, she slowed down out front of a small general store, popped her skateboard and entered the shop, hiding the spray can behind her back.
"Hey, Trav!" She said, saluting the curly-haired boy at the checkout.
"Hey, Cort. What are you up to?" Cort turned to face him while continuing to walk away.
"You know. The usual." Trav sighed.
"The boss man will be back in five!" He shouted after her as she dropped down her skateboard and zoomed to the back of the shop.
Entering the storeroom she dropped down her canvas backpack and shook her spray can. "Alright, Sunny Grocers. Prepare for a makeover." She covered the wall with the deep blue spray paint, that hid the pealing texture and cream colour. She pulled more spray cans out of her bag and outlined her artwork before adding smaller details. When she finished, she packed away her cans and scrammed. Just as Trav called out, "Mr Peterson. Bossman. My homie." Cort ducked out the back, leaving a giant, blue and green, Loch Ness monster, printedoutbehindher. Her phone buzzed in her pocket as she took off, skating again. Tugging it out of her pocket, she squinted hard at the screen. Her soft brown eyes masked with concentration as she fought the sun to see the message.
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She rolled her eyes and tucked her phone away. Focusing on the wind blowing through her short blonde hair, she watched the same cars, driving down the same streets.
Her phone buzzed again as a call came through and she wrestled it out of her pocket. Seeing the familiar photo of her father and herself sticking out their tongues, making funny faces at the camera.
"Hello, hello, hello," she answered. Slowing down with a sole drag.
"Hey, bigfoot. Are you on your way home?" The familiar hum of Cort's father's voice filled her ear as she popped her board and headed down a dirt road.
"Just on Erken lane now." She said, wiping sweat off her brow, thankful for the soft shade from the branches above.
"All right. I have something to tell you but I'll wait till you get home." He said as Cort kicked up dirt.
"Cya, Yowie." She replied before stuffing her phone back in her pocket.
After another minute of walking, she turned up a narrower street, brushing dirt off her shorts. The sun glared at her through the gaps between the leaves as she opened a waist height, walnut cloured wooden gate. A curved path of pebbles led up to a nice house that was surrounded by bushland. She walked up to the door and swung it open, chucking her backpack and skateboard down. She surveyed the room, letting her eyes graze the worn wooden walls, decorated with sketches and maps; and the fireplace, surrounded by squishy couches.
"I'm home!" She called out, flopping down on the green sofa. The noise of stomping boots on creaky floorboards filled the house, as her fathers hiking boots hit them heavily. He entered the lounge scanning the room for Cort. Spotting her on one of the couches he rushed over and talked her in a bear hug.
"Hey, Bigfoot." She hugged him back, surprised.
"What's up?" He broke the embrace and took a seat next to her, the room aglow around them.
"You know I've been saving money up for," he sighed. "Well, a long time." His dark blonde hair fell over his hazel eyes as the sun caressed his cheekbones. His lips curled into a quiet smile. "I got into the University just outside Sensbrooke." He blurted as he fell back into the couch. "I've been saving up for so long. Ever since your mother left. And, now," He laughed. "Now I can actually follow the career path I want." Cort beamed at him before taking him in another bear hug.
"You did it! I frickin love you, dad." He held her close. "Cort. The thing is. I'll be away from home a lot. Are you sure you're all right with this?" Cort punched him playfully in the shoulder.
"You gotta be shitting me Yowie. Go live! I'm right behind you." He hugged her again and kissed her on the forehead.
"I have to finish up a thing for the park. Then, I'm making burritos for dinner!" He got up walking back to his study. He stopped at the door. "I love you Bigfoot."
The sky was blooming with the colours of old Ms Wally's flower garden as Cort walked down Erkens Lane. She had a web of confusing feelings tangled up inside her and she needed a short walk. She was so flipping happy for her father. Right? She thought, kicking up dirt. Why did she feel this overwhelming anger? She knew the answer. As the dirt swirled around her in the evening breeze. The things worth living for in Blackwell were gone. Frustrated she kicked a rock on the side of the road. It skidded across the ground and something from it glinted in the sun. Curious, Cort picked it up and blew the dirt off of it to reveal a CD case. It was clear and Cort could see the disc secure inside. The cover had strange symbols on it. Or, Cort thought, the person just had shit handwriting. Stuffing it in her pocket she glanced at her watch. Time to head back. She turned around to go back home when she spotted something moving in the trees. Quickly she dropped down and moved cautiously forward. Glancing around, she checked for other people but there were none.
The sun dropped further down in the smooth coloured sky, and Cort squinted harder. Moving forward again, she saw fur. Pale white, like sheets of paper in a printer. Suddenly, she could see a lot more fur. The creature looked up at her with the face of a wolf. Standing at least seven feet tall.
"Fucking hell, Gilbert!" Cort said standing up from her spot on the ground. The giant wolfman looked down at her then closed his dark, empty eyes. His paperwhite fur retreated into his body, his nose shrunk, and he lost a foot of height before opening his eyes again.
"Sorry, Cort," he said. "I'm looking for something" He looked around worriedly. Darkness tinted the sky and Cort checked her watch again.
"Shit," she muttered. "I have to go. If you're gonna go wolf, make sure no one sees you!" She shouted over her shoulder as she took off towards her house leaving tall white-haired Gilbert behind her. Watching him morph again, out of the corner of her eye.
Burritos. She walked back to her house, as eyes followed her from the shade of the trees. Blank and black, but watching.
Hey peeps, thanks for giving this a read. I'll try to update as often as possible, I'm also working on a bunch of other books so it might be slow sometimes. Anywho, tell me what you think of it. Constructive criticism is chill but I don't like people being plain mean so keep your nasty thoughts to yourselves.
