TWELVE

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november 3rd, 1984

november 3rd, 1984

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DUSTIN HENDERSON WAS a nerd. He loved science and all things physics, yet felt passionate about the idea of fantasy. Fantasy games, fantasy books, fantasy worlds. Everything intrigued him. Until it all became real.

He placed the phone back on the cradle base before turning around, plastering on a smile. He watched his mum perk up at the sight, blissfully unaware of the fact that it was all an act. No one had been on the phone. Nobody had told him anything. And he wasn't happy.

Dustin was beyond stressed. The previous night, when the boy had arrived home from school, he'd been meaning to question his newly-found pet about its existence. Where did it come from? What really was it? His questions were quickly answered when he walked into the room to find Dart's enclosure smashed to pieces, with the monster itself hiding behind the couch as it devoured the family cat.

"They found her?" Claudia Henderson suggested, a spark of hope flickering through her worried eyes. Dustin sighed to himself, feeling guilty for lying, but he knew he had no choice. He couldn't tell his mother that her beloved cat was dead, nor about the existence of the realm hidden beneath their very feet. All he could do was cover his tracks, which he wouldn't be able to accomplish if his mother stayed in the house.

"No," Dustin said gently as he stepped closer, his cap shielding the guilt in his eyes. "But they saw her wandering around Loch Nora."

Claudia let out a trembling breath of relief, fidgeting with the handkerchief in her hands. A thankful tear slid down her already damp cheek. "How did the poor baby get all the way out there?"

Dustin examined the mixture of a frown and a smile playing with his mother's lips in an attempt to try and pick apart her innermost thoughts. "I don't know. Lost, I guess. But they're gonna look for her." Dustin reached out to grab his mother's forearms, trying to stop her stuttering and trembling body. "And I'll stay here, just in case they call again. And you're gonna go help look? Yeah? Yeah?"

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐍; steve harringtonWhere stories live. Discover now