Beneath

Chapter 1

Humans.
Curious humans.
Questioning, curious humans.
But do we ever ask ourselves, what is beneath?
Humans.
Scared humans.
Unsure, scared humans.
Maybe someday we will, and then we will find out... But until then it is a mystery.
A mystery so complex that even the nosiest humans will turn their noses up at.
And the most anxious humans will never ever try to conquer...

Tiffany Brown sat bolt right up in bed. Something had awoken her once again in the horrifically early hours of the morning. Sighing, she got up to get a glass of water, pausing at the window to look out on the dark silhouette that was the sea although it could be the sky for tiny stars reflected on its smooth surface. Then she hopped back to her bed and prayed for no further disturbances.
She woke up again but this time it was acceptable to get up and start what she predicted to be another useless day of the summer holidays. As Tiffany stumbled down her ladder (her bedroom was in the loft) and made her way to the kitchen, she began to wonder what on earth could be disturbing her. She was getting rather tired of it, whatever it was. When she reached the kitchen table and sank into one of the rickety chairs, she saw a crumpled piece of paper near the cereal. It said,

Hey Tiff,
I've already left for work and I won't get back until late so I've left some freezer food for you. Be careful with the oven, it gets hot!
Love you, miss you,
Mum x

Eughh, trust her mum to treat her like a five year old. Then again she had been a risk assessment obsessed mum since her father had died in a freak accident at sea. Tiffany knew she couldn't blame her mother for they had no other family, only one another, except today when it was only one.
Grabbing a bowl of flakey corns, she started on a project that was due in school in about two months time. Suddenly an invisible force gripped the air, filling the house and paralysing Tiffany, although she was sure she wouldn't be able to move anyway. A hushed voice came closer to her. It smelt of salt and seaweed and it dripped loudly on the floor, continuing to whisper to her. Then as soon as it came, the force was gone. The cottage was a mess, salt water covered the floor and the sea smell lingered, but Tiffany couldn't see or smell any of this. She was far far away...
A scared human...
And
A curious human...
Curiously scared.