Forlot - Books 1-3 {Completed}

Chapter Forty

"Wow." My brother and I were amazed by the short story.

"I cannot believe that her own father would actually say that," I said.

"Me neither," Hansel agreed. "I know that our parents do not have our best interests as of now, but even they would not say such things." His face saddened. "What a poor girl."

I stared at Dr. Maxwell. "Are you going to tell more of the story or what?"

The man grinned - an evil grin it was - and clicked his tongue. The Creature From Beyond snorted and gently rubbed his hairy body against the scientist's leg.

"That is the whole story," Dr. Maxwell confessed. "At least...that is the only part that I know."

"Only part?" Hansel and I repeated.

"There is more?" Hansel added.

"Absolutely. There is an entire backstory to this Lubriem. Of course, her story will be revealed piece by piece as this series goes on. Not all at once. That way, the readers will be able to put all the pieces together."

Hansel blinked a few times. "Oh."

"Well...that makes sense," I said. "Kind of."

I had no clear explanation as to if he was lying about that factor or not and why. On one hand, I believed that this guy was trouble. Just thinking about him being evil made every muscle in my body ache. Although, his statement had a bit of sense to it. If he did reveal the story in its fullest, then the main mystery of the series would be fulfilled. And the book series would end.

Like now.

"So the girl..." my twin brother began. "...she has a thing for people that are fictional. Is that right?"

"Ding, ding, ding! This kid deserves a prize!" Dr. Maxwell shouted. "How did you get to be so smart?"

I noticed that Hansel's cheeks were becoming red. He chuckled nervously.

"Well...I am the smart one in the family."

I rolled my eyes. If he is smart, then I am a bucket of sardines. Aunt Katrina and I are way smarter. We are not the ones who desired to break into somebody's house that has a monster roaming around!

The scientist crossed his arms. "I beg to differ." He took a step back. "Do you...by chance...own a doll?"

Hansel's eyes widened. "...a doll?"

"You should know. Black buttons for eyes. The buttons are stitched. So is a blue jacket. And the doll has no hair."

Hansel gasped and hopped up and down. He made the chair wobble. "My doll! That is my doll!" His chest heaved up and down. "Do...do you have it?"

"Why, I do not have it." He smirked at the creature. "Do you have the doll, my pet?"

The creature raised its furry head and let out a howl. I shut my eyes and clenched my teeth.

The man snickered. "Then could you get it and bring it to this room?"

The Creature From Beyond barked and ran off. Dr. Maxwell watched the monster run down the hall and disappear around a corner. He turned back to us.

"He has your doll. I demanded him to go and fetch it." He uncrossed his arms. "I am terribly sorry that he took your doll. He just loves that thing. Playing with it every day. He never had a toy of his own."

The Creature From Beyond soon returned. There was something in its mouth.

A doll.

Hansel's doll.

That was when the memory came back to me.
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I saw bright green eyes staring at me from the front door that was wide open and gasped as I saw a creature that I had never seen before appear into the light.

What was he holding?

A doll. My brother's doll.

The creature smiled evilly at me, and then went back into the house and closed the door behind him.
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"You," I said. "You are the monster. The monster that smiled at me. The one who stole my brother's doll."

I should have known from the start.

The beast opened its mouth and dropped the doll. Hansel cried out when he realized that his doll was ripped apart.

"My doll! The heck did you do?!"

"I am sorry," Dr. Maxwell apologized again. He laughed. "He likes to be rough on stuff. That is one thing that I cannot train him on."

My twin ignored him and kept on ranting. "My doll! My precious doll! My grandma made that for me!"

"She did? Aw. That is too bad."

I glared at the scientist and let out a growl. "You will pay for this."

He laughed again. "Ha! It is you who will pay."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out something. Something shiny.

A stone.

I immediately recognized the stone.
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Margie landed on the seat. With a moan, she sat up straight and rubbed her elbows.

"Did we hurt you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. But let me tell ya. What we all just did was the most interesting event to have ever happened in my life. I have never gotten on transportation that way."

I sat next to her. "So what did you find? What did you want to show us?"

She raised her hand, uncoiling her fingers, and there was a yellow stone in her palm.
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"I found this lovely stone in your pocket while you two were unconscious," he explained. "And it is a good thing that I did." He shoved the stone back in his pocket. "One down. Nine more to go." He snapped his fingers.

The Creature From Beyond growled and slowly headed towards us.

"Grr."

Dr. Maxwell tilted his head to the side. "My pet is extremely hungry now. He needs his desserts. And both of you look like desserts. Do you not?"

Cries escaped from my and my brother's throats as the creature came close...

...and suddenly leaped at us.