The Fallen: Ch. 8

The Toy Room

Ben and Rosie had kept running as fast as they could, hand in hand, never looking back. They heard Jack yelling but couldn’t stop. They bolted through the winding hallways; at first the twists had been annoying, now they were maddening. They stumbled into the room of six and stopped dead in their tracks.

“Which way babe?” Rosie shouted.

“I…”

“Which WAY??”

“I don’t know!”

Jack and Prudence came sprinting in behind them and nearly knocked them over. Rosie turned to Jack. “WHICH WAY?!”

He spun around at the identical pathways. “Shit shit shit.”

The Fallen - Ch. 7

The Children

Each of their hearts dropped in rapid succession, no longer fearing if they would make it out- but if these children would. It was in that moment that they felt they came down there for a reason. To save them. They must have been lost, they must have parents worried sick, they must have been more scared than themselves had been. The group were nearly adults and knew what they were getting themselves into...but the children? Lord knows they couldn’t have been responsible for what had happened; they couldn’t have been more than six or seven. The group looked at each other and had a single thought among them; we have to help them.

The Fallen - Ch. 6

The Labyrinth

It was turning out to be less of a sewer system as was a maze. There was no way for them to reach a consensus on this one, they had to choose wisely.

“Um...guys? What do we do?” It didn’t matter who said it, they all thought it.
“Well we have to think about this...one of these or hopefully more than that, should lead up.”
Jack was nervous but he still was the leader, they were looking to him, even Prudence.

He turned to the right, if it was clockwise it’d be door number 6; three o’clock on the face. Something in his gut told him that that was the direction that would lead back, maybe even meet up with one of the hallways they didn’t pick earlier; back when they were still excited to explore. He started to realize that turning back was no longer an option, they hadn’t paid enough attention to the routes they were picking, it would be just as confusing as it already was.
“I...I think...this way.”

Nobody had a better plan so they just looked at him expectantly. With a deep breath he started down the long dark hallway. When they reached the end he suddenly panicked as it looked like a dead end, but that cleared when it was merely a left turn. His inebriation was being replaced by anxiety. They followed the tunnel and it made another series of turns, he lost his internal compass as they went back and forth.

“How big is this place?” Prudence asked, feeling the same as Jack.
“Seriously, I’d swear we’re reaching Ravenwood at this point.” Ben replied.

They kept following the path and began to get excited when it lead out into another room. However once again they were quickly disappointed; it lead them back to the choice of six paths. They ended up at the tunnel just next to the one they had taken.

The Fallen - Ch. 5

Behind the Wall

Their flashlights all turned down the series of steps that were older than any of the ones they had ventured down so far. The walls were no longer concrete but masonry. There was a noticeably eerie vibe about it that wasn’t lost on any of them. Rosie hesitated but was still happy with her decision. She had read early on in the journals that this wall was already here when the bootleggers made their home. It was mentioned once when they were first describing the room. She hadn’t thought about it until Jack started tearing it down like it was Berlin in the 80s. She could only imagine what was down there if it was older than the distillery. She felt like a time traveler getting a once in a lifetime peek at history; real history, not just the stories she read about in school.

Jack thought, (even through his inebriation) that this was going to make one bitchin’ story to tell the others. What did you do over the summer? Oh nothing much, just became the freakin HARDY BOYS!
Prudence was even more buzzed than he and though she was still excited about the adventure, she regretted drinking that much. Had they headed back instead of down it would’ve been okay, but as it was there was no turning back. She certainly wasn’t going to be the one to call ‘chicken’ first. Leave that to the others, she still had her reputation to maintain. If she wussed out, Jack would never let her hear the end of it. She clung to his arm for stability and for the best view, he had the lantern and it offered more light than her own so she stuffed it in her pocket and focused on her steps.

Lee and Ben exchanged nervous glances, as if telepathically agreeing that this was a bad idea. The eerie feeling had settled on them and refused to leave; but they had been in the gang long enough to know that when there was a majority, everyone went. Also the thought of staying in the distillery with no light, alone save for each other, somehow felt worse. They wanted to head back and call it a day, but Jack was determined, Prudence was drunk, and Rosie became the wildcard that neither of them were expecting.

So they all made their way slowly and carefully down, deeper into the earth. None of them paid attention to the fact (nor really had anyway of knowing) that until then they were just below the surface, beneath the very coffee shop they loved; now they really were burying themselves.

The Fallen - Ch. 4

The Distillery

“No freaking way! You found it?” Jack’s eyes opened with wonder.
“Yep! There’s a hidden passage in the back.”
They hurried into the much larger, yet still relatively familiar hiding spot of the refugees. There were many beds here, plenty of discarded as well as unopened cans of food, and of course- the obligatory coffee cans. Though there was no smell, (besides that of great age) so nobody even bothered to check it out. You see one, you’ve seen em’ all. Sure enough in the back of the concrete room there were boxes that had been piled against a wall, pushed aside revealing a small square opening.

“Rosie spotted it.” Ben said.
“Yeah there was a crack between the boxes, and that wooden pallet was keeping it hidden.”
Jack shone his light into the newly reveal passageway. “Oh cool!” The light revealed a few barrels, a couple more beds, and empty bottles and jugs lining the walls. Without even bothering to ask, he was the first one through; oddly enough, Prudence held back and let the others make their way in, listening to their gasps of amazement. She took one last look around the room at the little scraps of history lining the walls and then followed in after.

The entrance was at the top of the room so she landed on her feet, kicking up a cloud of dust. Even though the others had done the same, there was enough dirt to keep the trend going. This room was more full than any they had seen so far. Boxes were stacked up, there was a desk littered with papers and notebooks, the mattresses actually had blankets on them rather than being bare, and of course, barrels with series of hoses and funnels attached. The distillery.

Fallen update!

Hey everyone!

So as you can see I have (mostly) decided on my cover art for this story. It's a short one so this isn't exactly a novel cover, but not exactly not that. 

What I wanted to update about was that I'm going to be rethinking my once-a-week posting schedule. I'm kind of swamped with my rewrites of A New Leaf, so I won't have much time to dedicate to original content, like I mentioned in the last update I don't want to lean on other people's work too much (especially if it's just internet clips) without contributing.

So I wanna couple those two problems with the content I already have, at least until my deadline for the rewrites is done. Book 1 is gonna be awesome (especially if you read the draft on my other site...like water and fire in their differences.

Basically I'm going to dump half the story today/tomorrow, then when I've made it halfway through my edits the rest of the chapters will drop...and then when A New Leaf is finished I'll post the first three chapters! Keep that Crestwood vein flowing; I do like blogging, but I am still trying to get my author's voice out there.

Also for those who read my previous blog will notice an updated "Read More" function in the form of arrows! ^.^

-Cheers! (or I guess: Chills!)

-Belle

CLICK HERE to go to the chapter list!

The Fallen - Ch. 3

More to Explore

With a renewed sense of excitement among the group they pushed on, down another flight of steps through the dark. They reminded themselves (and each other) that they weren’t exactly burying themselves since they were basically following the same path as the steep hill they drove up to get there. Every now and then they’d see a divot in the wall with a ladder leading up, and a manhole cover at the top. This gave them the comfort that even if they got turned around (or worn out) they could take one of these exits and be back on the streets. Though with this group it’d be a game of chicken for who suggested it first.

They kept walking for some time, though their enthusiasm hardly faltered, now they were determined to find the bootlegger’s hideout, or maybe another Japanese refuge. From what was remembered it housed waay more than 4 people and unless they had thirty people in that one room, there was bound to be other things to find; they just hoped the residents emptied their makeshift toilets.


Eventually they came to another tri-tunnel decision. Without hesitation they stuffed their lights under their arms and threw for who picked the direction. Rosie beat Jack and Lee beat Ben, Prudence just tied so it was between the three. Rosie beat Lee and again tied with Prudence. She was having fun but didn’t expect the decision to fall on her shoulders, but when she threw rock and Prudence threw scissors they all looked to her.


“So Rosie the Riveter, where to?” Jack said with a smile. He was always making puns with her name, but she didn’t mind. It was good to have friends. “Um...well I’d say we should go down more, it’ll bring us closer to town- but I’m already dreading the hike this is going to become on the way back...so that way I guess?” She chose the path on the right. The two daredevils wanted to keep going down, but they follow their code seriously.

The Fallen - Ch. 2

Into the Deep

It took them all but 20 minutes to converge on the coffee shop again, geared up and ready to go. A new sense of excitement started buzzing through them. As each of them gathered their things they had the chance to reflect on this plan and found fewer and fewer reasons to say no. All but Rosie who still held her hesitation, but she had grown used to being the nervous one out of the group. Always did she feel that it was a bad idea, yet they always had fun. By the end of each excursion she found herself glad she went or sometimes more realistically glad she wasn’t left behind.

She assumed that this would be no different. As each of them leapt feet first into the unknown (usually Jack and Prudence first) she would ultimately follow and find that she had worked herself up unnecessarily.

They piled into the car, her squished in the middle- tightly grasping Ben’s hand in her right; Lee to her left. Prudence of course was driving and without fail Jack would take shotgun, either to establish his dominance or so he could fiddle with the radio until Prudence went nuts. They didn’t have much to say on the way up that wasn’t already said in the shop. Adventure, mystery, the town sucks; they ran out of topics pretty soon. Luckily it wasn’t too far of a drive, it just happened to be up the steepest hill in town- on the northeast side. The part of town that if wandered far enough into one would most certainly die of exposure before reaching the next town over. Ravenwood, Cedar Creek and anything else Crestwood kids would find fun was to the southwest. The next closest town was to the northwest; to the east was miles of trees. They lived inland enough that going to the beach was always a hassle, but close enough that it was always possible. It was the Crestwood conundrum.

They eventually reached the top, it offered no view except for the street below them but even that was so muddled by trees that they couldn’t even get a good look at the town. Prudence parked and they hopped out like eager beavers. They all followed Lee as he was the one who knew where it was (though he only had the faint recollection of his father’s drunken ramblings to go off of) and with some semblance of luck found it after a few minutes of wandering. However there was one small problem.

“Shit.”
“This is it, right?” Ben asked.
“It’s supposed to be.”
“Then what’s that grate doing there, I thought you said this was the access point?”
“Well I didn’t know.”

The Fallen - Chapter I

Stagnation Kills

The coffee shop was small and quaint, brick walls, exposed rafters, roaring-20s inspired lighting, and large beautiful windows that cascaded the evening sun into it. This was a central hub for the community and though it wasn’t the only coffee shop in town, when someone said ‘the coffee shop’ it was undoubtedly implied. It doubled as a bakery and tripled as a deli; there were only a handful of employees and the owner took great pride in working alongside them. Like the building, she too was a staple of the community.

The group had spent a considerable chunk of their teen years in the shop, they even had their favorite table (much like everyone in town had) centered between three bay windows in the front, large enough for them all to gather and enjoy their favorite past time; cards.

Prudence returned from the counter with her steaming coffee in hand but looked hurt as the others were already knee-deep in a game; which was more specifically known as The game since it had been the only one they had played the past few years. It was complex and competitive; equal parts tactic and luck. It required two decks and often got heated.

“Heey! I thought you were going to deal me in?”
“Those who arrive late get no fruit cup.” Jack said, voice full of sass.
“We can start over…” Rosie offered.
“Nah come on, we can make it quick.” Lee had a good hand, not yet willing to give it up.
“It’s not like we’re going anywhere anytime soon.” Ben remarked.
“Do we ever?” Prudence said with a defeated sigh as she took a seat at the end.
“Eat it!” Jack said throwing down an ace, to which Lee had to take the whole pile.
“Laugh it up tough guy, you’re gonna be weeping by the end of this.” Lee wasn’t bothered.


The game took longer than they had implied which left Prudence frustrated.


“Come onnnnn. Hurry up!”
“Hold your mallet girl, I’m about to take the pot.” Jack confidently boasted.
“Oh my god, can you imagine actually betting on this game?”
“It wouldn’t do any good, there’s no way of predicting a win.” Lee pointed out.
“You can take over my hand hun…” Rosie offered.
“What, are you out already?” Jack asked.
“Come on babe, we’re almost at the home stretch.” Ben was also winning, but in secret.
“I’m just…”
“What? Losing?” Jack teased her.
She looked embarrassed, “A little bored.”
“How can you be bored?”
“Well we’ve been playing all day.”
“Not to mention all week…” Lee added.
“What else is there to do?” Ben asked, or rather pointed out the obvious.
“I don’t know...I’m just saying maybe let’s do something else?”
“You know what? She’s right. This has gotten a little repetitive.” Lee threw his cards down.
“Oh don’t tell me you’re out too?!” Jack really wanted to win.
Rosie followed his lead and laid her cards down, looking at her boyfriend for support.
He too didn’t want to give up the win, but he knew the wisdom in complying with that look.
He laid his cards down too, “Sorry mate, they got a point.”
“Oh come on!”
“Yeah! You guys make me wait this whole time and then give up?” Prudence was frustrated.
Lee offered his cards to her, “Here you can take my spot.”
“It’s not going to be fun then!”
“Hey!” Jack spouted.
“I’m saying with just two people, it’s nothin’ on you mr sensitive.”
He too threw his cards down, “I resemble that remark.” He folded his arms but then grinned.
She rolled her eyes. “Are y’all seriously just gonna give up then?”

The Fallen- Prologue : Summer in Crestwood

Summer in Crestwood

Crestwood is a sleepy little town in the pacific northwest, nestled amongst the trees, it is like a little island in a sea of green. The High School is the main source of employment for most of the residents, the rest were working at, or managing the local businesses. Church is always on Sunday, the produce is always organic, and the coffee is always flowing. There wasn’t much that changed there and the townsfolk liked it that way. Every now and then a new person would move in and be greeted with open arms, those ‘just swinging through’ were mistrusted- greeted with standoffishness; and very few people ever left. Though it seems like a haven for unextraordinary lives and comfortable predictability- it has a sinister side to it that few are aware of. The very essence of Crestwood is an aura of dark energy.

Summer was beginning to peak, school had been out for weeks and the youth were restless. In a tiny mountain town there was little they could do in the way of entertainment. It seemed as though all the anticipation for the break would always lead to restless disappointment and they would spend the last few weeks of summer anxiously waiting to go back to school. Most ideas were burnt through quickly and typically were the same things every year.

The group of five friends were stuck in this very predicament; being incoming seniors their anticipation for the year was strong, but not as strong as the desire to make the most of their last summer together. Soon they would be going their separate ways, off to prestigious universities or run down Community Colleges. Either way they knew that things would be different next summer. Which is why they set out to make this one the best ever.

Jack was the undeclared leader of them, always the one with the plan and always first out of the gate. He fancied himself a ‘bad boy’ or at least attempted to cultivate the appearance; he was rarely ever seen without a leather jacket. In truth he was a heartbroken romantic. Standing at 5’11” he was also the tallest of them. His skin was pale and his hair was a contrasting black, typically messy, always out of control though he spent much time in the mirror to achieve this look. A narcissist and a loud personality, he couldn’t help but exhibit the charisma to get others to follow. He had a brief affair with one in the group, Prudence- it ended when he realized she was just too square for him; or at least that’s what he told people.

Jack’s best friend and total confidant was Lee. Almost an exact opposite, Lee stood at 5’5” with sandy blond hair and dorky glasses that would slide off his face at the worst times. The group would tease him as he blindly went chasing after them. He lacked confidence, though being friends with Jack had the benefit of fitting in with the ‘cool’ crowd and experiencing a world that normally would’ve been shut off to him due to High School politics. They had grown up next to each other for years, eventually he moved to another part of town but that didn’t let their friendship waver. He had strong feelings for Prudence but neither the confidence nor the permission to pursue it. Jack had a strict ‘no dating bro’s exes’ policy and though Jack didn’t know of Lee’s feelings, he would often remind him of that code. Inherently making her off limits. He put up with this even though he wished it could be different. He didn’t mind being friends though, it was just such a treat to be around her, he would take whatever he could get.

The other boy in the group was Ben, who was a nice balance between the two. Shy like Lee, but adventurous like Jack. He was even the middle height at 5’8” and would always appear between them in photos. He was laid back and loved reading; he dreamed of someday writing his own books, or maybe working in a bookstore, or a publishing company; though he had no idea how to begin any of those dreams. He had barely scraped his way through the last three years of high school and wasn’t particularly looking forward to the next one. Colleges scared him, paperwork made him anxious, and he usually didn’t like his teachers. This wasn’t to say he wasn’t smart, he was actually quite brilliant; most of it coming from self-directed study. The problem was that he didn’t care for the class-directed study, so often it went by the wayside in favor of his reading. He was the only one of the three was currently in a relationship and as luck would have it, she was best friends with Prudence. In small towns, relationships become incestious in the aspect that friends were constantly changing partners between themselves until everyone in the group has dated everyone in the group. It bothered Jack to have Prudence around, but he couldn’t tell his friend that his girlfriend couldn’t hang around- and he certainly wasn’t going to tell Rosie that her bestie couldn’t hang with them either. Instead Jack suffered quietly with the attitude that nothing was ever wrong.

Rosie was also shy and quiet, more like Lee than Ben; she was short, standing at 5’3” and sported glasses with big black frames (though she didn’t have the problem of losing them like he had). She was a natural redhead with long flowing hair that Ben loved to play with. She too was quite smart, but she loved school. She wanted to be an Architect and was pursuing that passion with every fiber of her being. She was often bummed when Ben would complain about school, but she passed it off as his personality. As an adoring girlfriend she would often try to inspire him towards academia, though rarely got frustrated at his lackadaisical attitude. Also like Lee, she wasn’t naturally part of the popular crowd; she merely fit into it by means of her best friend Prudence. She looked up to her courageousness and carefree attitude; often following along to things she wasn’t sure about, but not wanting to be left behind.

Prudence was fearless, she was outspoken, she would’ve been the leader of the group if Jack wasn’t so thick-headed. Standing at 5’7” with strikingly black hair in a short pixie cut, and an athletic build- she was the image of perfection in that town. She too didn’t care for school, nor for the small township in where she lived; her eyes had stars in them. She loved drama class and when her senior year was over planned to leave Crestwood in the dust for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. She felt most at home in the limelight and often fought Jack for the attention of any crowd they may be in. She had some feelings for Lee, he was always sweet to her and unlike any boy she had met before; though he never seemed interested in her so she just left it at friendship. She had a brief relationship with Jack though it ended when she learned what he was really like, she was disgusted by the philandering mess of a man he would no doubt become. This was the truth, regardless of the stories she had heard from others around campus.

The group had been friends all through high school, even before the dating had begun. Others had joined in but usually ended up leaving, or being less-than-desirable friends. The five of them had always been the core, and though they’d soon be going their separate ways, they knew that they would remain friends long into adulthood and even old age. They too were struck with the same exasperated boredom that fell on every other youth in that town. Having exhausted most of their fun ideas already and determined to make this the summer to remember, they met one morning at the Four and Twenty Blackbirds coffee shop in the heart of Crestwood.

⤝  ⛛ ⤞

The Fallen : Introduction

So once I was done writing the Witches of Crestwood Series I needed a break; but I wasn't done writing so I decided on starting the horror series of the Crestwood Saga. These are going to be a series of short-stories, gaining length and complexity with each new story.

Though I'm far from publishing these, I still like offering my readers a taste of my writing. This first story will be going out for free when I do eventually publish so there's nothing holding me back from posting it here. I won't be posting any more of the Witches series since they are still in the beta reader phase; so if you do want to read it, send me a message and I'll send you the book!

The first installment of the Horrors of Crestwood Series follows five friends as they struggle to find entertainment in their boring mountain town. One of them comes up with the plan to explore the town's underbelly and with a little convincing they all jump on board. The tale takes them through the history of the town, but turns dark as they dive further into the depths.

I will upload one chapter every Saturday under the tags #Crestwood Saga and #The Fallen

Begin the tale...