Lore of the Underlings: Kid of Lore Read online

  Lore of the Underlings: Kid of Lore

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  Tales of tongues unknown

  Translated by John Klobucher

  (he wrote it too,

  but don’t tell anyone

  and spoil the fun)

  ~ ~ ~

  Copyright 2016 John Klobucher

  Smashwords Edition

  Visit John Klobucher’s author page at Smashwords.com

  ~ ~ ~

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

  ~ ~ ~

  Cover art by John Klobucher

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 ~ Into the Black

  Chapter 2 ~ Out of the Blue

  Chapter 3 ~ Fall Guys

  Chapter 4 ~ Sleepless Knight

  About the Author

  For you

  the Kids of Lore

  out there

  everywhere

  Chapter 1 ~ Into the Black

  It was warm. Hot. The flood of blood and memory that poured from the wound in John Cap's chest. The tip of the pike was crude but sharp. His human skin was no match for it.

  “Unh!”

  Then everything came rushing back to him. Just before the world went black it played like a movie in his mind. Her. Them. He remembered. And smiled.

  “Goodbye Vaam…”

  The universe was in trouble.

  It all began before the darkness. Six years back. When he was still Johnny… Johnny. That kid seemed forever ago. And his own life story sounded like lore…

  “Hank! Hold up!” he begged his big brother. “What’s the rush?”

  Hank barely looked back.

  “Rusty’s got something new for tonight. Don’t wanna miss it.”

  “What?”

  “You’ll see.”

  He followed Hank’s climb up the long, narrow road. Past Broder’s Pond. By the rambling old May house. They hit the main hill and he fell back further. Johnny sighed.

  “Better not start without me…”

  That’s when he heard a voice from behind — a little one — wheezy and out of breath. Yep, it was Haylee. She came running.

  “Wait for me… Johnny…” The girl meant business. Her flip-flops slapped the tar as she ran.

  He came to a dead stop and spun around. His hands automatically waved her away.

  “No. Go home Sis. The trick’s just for guys.”

  “Says who?” Then she grinned. “I’ll tell on you… promise…”

  Johnny knew he’d lost.

  “Come on.”

  Hank was already out of sight by now, but they knew where he went.

  The sun had just about set when they reached the last house before the top of the hill. A dull gray dump on a mini plateau. It was all by itself and hard to miss. Still, Johnny announced, “The Carver place.” It could have easily passed for a junkyard.

  It even came with a junkyard dog. The pit bull charged at Johnny and Haylee before they made the cluttered driveway.

  Grrrrrr…

  He showed his sharpened teeth.

  Rusty reluctantly called him off.

  “Killer!” He glared at Hank and spit. “Okay. So who invited the rug rats?”

  Hank shrugged his shoulders and kicked the dirt. He acted like he didn’t know them.

  Just then a couple of older boys emerged from an opening in the woods. Rusty barked at them. “It’s about time!”

  Eastie, a wise guy with wavy black hair, carried a baggy old pocketbook. Big Oakes was the neighborhood giant. He lugged a bucket and held his nose.

  “Had to get it fresh,” he explained. “Used all our cow chips up the last time.”

  Rusty shook his ginger head. “Whatever. Shovel’s in the garage. Start filling the bag — but leave some room.”

  Eastie and Oakes got right to work. Rusty turned back to Hank and pointed.

  “Grab that broom Cappy. Hold it out… Straighter… Figure I need at least five pieces.”

  Rusty reached into his father’s toolbox and pulled out a rip saw with shark-like teeth. “Good enough.” Then he started cutting.

  Before long the broom was history. A pile of sawdust and short wooden dowels. Rusty picked up the candle-size sticks and made a stack on the driveway wall, right next to a spray can and spool of twine.

  “Tie ‘em up for me,” he ordered Hank while shaking the can. “Then I’ll do the honors…”

  He showed Hank the label. “Check out the color.”

  “Dynamite red.”

  They laughed out loud.

  Eastie and Oakes had a snicker too. Haylee asked Johnny, “What’s so funny?”

  He had a guess but said, “I dunno.”

  Pssssss…

  Rusty sprayed the bundle. He put it on heavy. The paint dripped like blood. Though he didn’t bother to let it dry. He lifted it edgewise. “This goes on top.”

  Eastie brought over the brown leather bag and opened it up. The stink was epic.

  “Be my guest.”

  Rusty shoved it in.

  But his freckled face sank. “There’s something missing.”

  Rusty made Hank and Oakes look too. They winced at the smell. Hank kept his distance.

  “You can’t really tell what it’s s’posed to be,” said Eastie. Big Oakes nodded no.

  Hank looked again. “I’d say it’s a mess. Gross but…”

  “Not what we’re going for. Rats!” Rusty tried spitting a couple more times. That was the sign that he was thinking.

  Inside the Carvers’ telephone rang. It came loud and clear through a broken front window.

  Rusty’s ears twitched. His beady green eyes got buggy. “Duh!” He slapped his forehead and disappeared into the cellar behind him.

  The gang didn’t have to wait for long. He was back in an instant armed with a flashlight and a shoebox full of stuff.

  “This’ll do the trick I bet.”

  He brought the box over to where he had painted and dumped the whole contents onto the wall. Out fell a glow-in-the-dark alarm clock, a big square battery, and some wire.

  Rusty rubbed his hands together then pulled out the flashlight tucked into his belt. “Who wants to help finish off this stink bomb?” The sticky red paint was still on his mitts.

  “I’m in!”

  “Let’s do this.”

  “It’s almost time…”

  Darkness suddenly cloaked the kids. Night came down. A pale moon eyed them.

  Eastie, Oakes, and Hank did the dirty work. Rusty played mastermind, flashing directions. “Wind it up Cappy. They gotta hear ticking.” But he let the spotlight do most of the talking.

  “Pssst.”

  It was Haylee. “I can’t see, Johnny. Your dumb trick is boring. I wanna go home.”

  “Shhh. Hold on Sis,” Johnny begged her. “Can’t leave now. They’re almost done.”

  They squinted at Rusty holding the bag with a grin on his face.

  “Cuz this part’s fun…”

  The teenage entourage made for the moonlit road and stopped to look both ways. There wasn’t a car in sight. Not a soul.

  “The usual spot?”

  “I don’t care.”

  “Your call Rust-man.”

  But Rusty didn’t hesitate. He took a quick left and walked up toward the hillcrest.

  Everyone followed
single file. Hank. Then the older boys. Haylee and Johnny. They didn’t have to go too far.

  Rusty pulled up when he got to a place where the sky opened wide. “They’ll see it good here.” He put down the pocketbook right on the pavement.

  Just then something caught Johnny’s eye. A glow way down the hill. It was growing. And fast. The telephone wires lit up.

  “Car!”

  Now everyone heard it coming. Metal rattled. Tires screeched. The engine roared.

  And Rusty roared too. “Don’t just stand there like roadkill — hide!”

  They scattered in the nick of time.

  A beat-up old pickup truck blew by the bag. It nearly hit it but didn’t stop.

  Heads popped up from behind the gray stone walls that lined both sides of the road. Six of them. Twelve eyes in the dark.

  Johnny could make out four human shapes across the street. One waved him over. He recognized Hank’s silhouette. “Come on Haylee. They got a better view up there.”

  But all of a sudden he noticed a fifth more beastly thing. It came from nowhere. Fangs on four legs — they shined in the moonlight. “Killer…

  “On second thought, let’s stay put.”

  Haylee just nodded and zipped up her sweatshirt. She copied him watching the empty road. But after a minute she cleared her throat. “Hey Johnny,” she asked, “what is the trick?”

  “Huh?”

  She asked again.

  He giggled. “I guess I just figured…”

  She shook her head. “Is it magic?”

  “Not that kinda trick. A prank. And you won’t believe who invented it.”

  “Rusty?”

  “Nope. Not even close.”

  “Who?”

  “Dad.”

  “Dad?”

  “Well maybe he didn’t invent it… but he said they did it when he was a kid.”

  “Did what?”

  He pointed to the road. “His brothers and him, Uncle Jerry and Jack — they’d take one o’ Gramma’s junky old pocketbooks, fill it with cow pies, and see who stopped. They called it the ‘pocketbook trick’. It still works…”

  He paused like he was picturing something.

  “But not everybody gets the joke.”

  “What’d ya mean?”

  “Ummm, just be ready to run.”

  Haylee now had a lot more questions but she could hear shouts from across the street.

  “Incoming!”

  “Red alert!”

  “Battle stations!”

  A big car with tail fins rolled down the hill. It drove slowly. This one had to stop. The kids hoped and prayed…

  But their prayers weren’t answered. The Caddy cruised on heading south toward town.

  Eastie and Oakes cursed the bright red tail lights. Rusty sent Hank out to check the bait.

  “Hold it — we won’t get a bite at this rate boys. Yo! Cappy! Set up a roadblock.”

  Hank scooped the bag up and dumped it dead center, right in the middle of the street. Rusty blinked his Ray-O-Vac flashlight. He seemed to be satisfied. Hank raced back.

  A new pair of high-beams came over the rise. A station wagon followed them. The vehicle suddenly veered toward the shoulder and fishtailed, skidding in the dirt.

  But then it backed up for a look at the object. A woman got out of the passenger side. There were words. She grabbed it and got back in.

  The wagon got moving again, into Hopewood.

  Six kids and a pit bull spilled out of the woods and onto the road. Like it was Christmas. They watched the car going, their eyes all aglow. Rusty grinned Grinch-style and started a countdown.

  “Five. Four. Three. Two…”

  Almost on cue it hit the brakes. A door flew open. The bag flew out.

  The Country Squire took off like a rocket.

  Rusty mimicked a blast. “Kaboom!”

  “Sweet!”

  “That was wicked!”

  “Arooo!” Killer howled.

  The boys high-fived and whooped it up. Even Johnny.

  Haylee just looked confused.

  Rusty aimed his flashlight down the hill. “Go get it. Reset the trap.”

  Eastie, Oakes, and Hank all went. They fished the bag from a sea of poison ivy. Whew. It was still intact.

  They flashed three thumbs up and were back in no time, hoisting the thing like the Stanley Cup.

  Rusty kept score on the ground with his sneaker. “Us one, cars nothing…

  “Let’s do it again!”

  Hooo…

  Haylee jumped.

  “It’s just an owl,” said Johnny.

  She crouched behind the wall.

  “Sis — what’s the matter? You scared or something?”

  “Kinda. I got a bad feeling inside.”

  “About what?”

  She shivered. “Dunno, but I’m cold.”

  Johnny promised. “Just one more car.”

  Hoo hooo…

  Rusty heard it too. He cussed from somewhere in the darkness. “Jeez-louise, Johnny Owl Eyes! Shut up!” He seemed to be only half joking.

  Johnny ignored him but Haylee called back. “Who-who needs you?!”

  They held their breath and they listened…

  Crickets.

  “Lucky he missed that. You never wanna get Rusty mad.”

  “I thought he was always mad,” yawned Haylee, rubbing her hazel eyes. They’d turned stone gray in the late spring night light.

  Right then something dawned on Johnny. “Guess we gotta get you home. Let’s go Sis. That’s enough trick for today…”

  Suddenly Eastie the lookout shouted, “Heads up! Sucker at eight o’clock!”

  That froze the Cap kids in their tracks. They ducked and covered. They waited for it. But then they saw the light. It was blue.

  “Cops!”

  “Cripes!”

  “Run!”

  All heck broke loose.

  Johnny heard car doors. A radio. “Ten-four.” Angry voices.

  He grabbed Haylee’s hand.

  “We gotta get outta here Sis! Come on!”

  They stepped toward the street, but just as a spotlight lit it up. They turned around. Someone was right behind them now.

  “Halt! Who goes there?! Show yourself!”

  Johnny could see only one way out.

  “The woods!”

  He ran and ran and ran.

  No fifth grader had ever gone faster. He plowed through branches and bushes that scratched his arms and poked him everywhere. He fought off shadows and spider webs. They plotted, leading him on and on.

  Finally Johnny had to stop. He doubled over out of breath and sputtered, “Hey… you okay… Sis?

  “Sis?”

  She didn’t answer him.

  “Haylee?!”

  There was no sign of her. Anywhere.

  Grrrrrr…

  Something growled at Johnny. He nearly jumped out of his skin. The creature charged him.

  It was too dark to see.

  Johnny staggered then fell back and over the edge of a cliff just waiting for him. “Aaaaaah…” He rolled down its steep mossy slope, bumping and bouncing his way to the bottom — a deep swampy bog of thick black mud.

  Thud. Thump. Splat. “Mmmph!”

  He came to rest in a patch of skunk cabbage. Dazed and confused. Face down in the muck.

  It stunk.

  He felt something… watching him.

  Chapter 2 ~ Out of the Blue

  Johnny tried hard to lift his head up, out of the goo. It wasn’t easy. The muck was sticky and sucked him in.

  “Unh!” He tried again.

  Slurrrp.

  That did it. He spit out a mouthful of ooze and blinked, though he was afraid to look… The mud in his eye made it all a blur. But the color was clear. It glowed cold blue.

  “Uh-oh.”

  It looked like the jig was up.

  Johnny wiped the slime away and pushed back his mop of dirty blond hair. He was sore just getting to h
is knees. His shirt was torn. His pants were wet.

  But he did his best to shake off the cobwebs and make out the shape in front of him. It was tall. Something looming. With arms. And legs.

  Pretty human.

  Johnny cleared his throat.

  “S-s-sorry Mister Officer sir…” he stuttered.

  Dead silence.

  “We… It was a joke.”

  The figure drew nearer, a stone’s throw from Johnny, and stopped in the dead center of the swamp. Then it whispered. Or made a hiss. Or something.

  Johnny squinted and shivered a little. “Officer?” He tried standing up. He put one foot on an island of sawgrass and deadwood. Squish. He balanced on it.

  Then, still glassy eyed, he remembered Haylee. “Have you seen a little girl? My dumb kid sister, sir — she’s missing…

  “Hair down to here? Like nine years old?”

  Johnny’s gestures were ignored. But there was a sound like humming coming from out of the blue. He finally focused.

  And that’s when he knew. This was no cop.

  It hovered above the bog like a ghost.

  “Who… what are you?” he shuddered. His whole body shook. His sneakers seemed stuck in cement.

  It answered by rising into the air and lit up bright as a midnight sun. It blinded him. Johnny’s blue eyes watered. He tried to shield them with his hand.

  Then it dimmed, revealing an oval bubble. A pool. Just under its ripples, a woman…

  A very young woman or older girl. She was tall and narrow and beautiful. And Johnny had never seen anything like her.

  “Wow…”

  Her face was a pale gray shadow.

  Johnny watched her drift back down to earth, more awestruck than afraid. But he jumped when the bubble suddenly burst and the Shadow Girl surfaced a few feet away.

  Funny thing was, she seemed more scared than him.

  “K’doon oon soosee! Nu keer na plesh…” She brought her long, thin hands together.

  “Veev’uul! Nu meer na plesh! Na plesh…” She pressed her palms like she was praying. Or pleading for something.