A/N: Sorry I haven't been posting a lot lately... My best friend is in the hospital for brain tumor and its been a huge shock for me. I thought that instead of being sad and depressed, he said I should write a story about her, like a legacy . When we were little, she read some book (forgot name) and talked about this afterlife called Ever After. It was a wonderful full of adventure. This is dedicate to you, Kiki. I love you and I know you'll be okay!
I sighed and peered out the window and hugged my stuffed polar bear. I'm 16 and mom always bugged him to get rid of the 'mangy thing'. I look at the forest to get my mind off of things.
It was raining outside. My favorite weather. Most people would think that it would seem gloomy, but I always saw it differently. I mean, the rain gives us a lot of things, water for our gardens and mud to splash in. It makes the woods more beautiful too.
I love the woods, the mossy bark and everything in it. It used be a building in there actually. It was some old home, but it's in ruins now. I love going there on dry days. On days like this, it's just soggy. Not much use in exploring something with worms, wet raccoons and maggots in it.
My house is one that I share with my mom and my brother. I mean, I used too. It's a pretty big house and when my mom bought it when I was two. It was a good deal for British Columbia, but we had no neighbors. I like it that way though. I hate the kids in my school. I really do. They hate me back too.
It's not my fault I'm different. Okay, I guess it kinda is my fault. I have weird habits that no one really understand like how I pick at my hair when I'm nervous, or when I bring Kuma to school, or how I'm kind of quiet. And that I live in Victoria's Haunted Swamp'.
I live on the outskirts of Victoria, on the edge of a forest. Technically, it is sort of a swamp, but two hundred years ago, a boy drowned in the swampy waters and the village blamed an old woman that lived there, claiming she was a witch. They hanged her, I think, but then more little boys and girls came to the swamp and drown, so they assumed the witch put a curse on the swamp. The village moved, and then time just took the rest. The village house disinigrated and so did the house of the witch. They built a few more houses, but they got abandoned and wrecked over the years. One of the original house remained, and that's the one in the forest. Ours was built in the 50's for a vacation home. Many people lived in here before us, but there was a decade gap from when we moved in I think. I love where I live though, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I looked out of the muggy window again.
Something caught my eye in those woods... A person! I squished against the window to get a closer look. The person slipped into the forest already. That's weird, no one really comes here..
"Hey mom, I'm going out for a while!"
"Are you crazy? It's raining!"
I pad downstairs. "Mom, it's a Saturday and I have nothing to do!"
She sighed and leaned on the kitchen table. She was really pretty, but she never really dresses up to look it. She just wears her round glasses, like mine, and her hair in braids.
"Fine. If you're gonna be longer then an hour, bring a backpack with snacks and your phone.."
"Sure mom!"
I pack my things and make sure to put Kumajiji (I keep forgetting the name I gave him years ago..) in my backpack with some fruit snacks, an umbrella, my phone and some geode ricks I found in the woods last year.
It's weird to find a person in these woods. You see, a lot of people thinks it's 'haunted', which is why everyone treats me like the Invisible Man. Maybe I can make friends with this person! And it stopped raining too, what luck!
I scurry out my door and dash into the deep forest. My mom get's worried that I'll get lost, mostly because my brother disappeared but I know these woods like the back of my hand.
It's soggy, but I love the smell of pine needle and the soft crunch of leaves under my feet. I head over to the small house and smile. I wonder if that person could be in there.
The house looked like it was melting with the roof collapsed in and peeling greenish white paint. It's pretty.
"Hey! Anyone there?"
"Mattie? Is that you?"
I froze. That's... That's Alfred's voice.
"Alfred! Alfred where are you!" I frantically look around the house for signs of my brother. I haven't seen him in a year, since his seventeenth birthday. Oh God, oh God, oh God! Alfred!
"Matthew! You have to run away! He's after me! I stole something from him, and he's after me! Go home!"
It was as if his voice was surrounding me.
"Alfred! I don't care what you did, come with me! Mom misses you! I miss you! Where are you?" I'm starting to panic and I stare at the melting house. He's inside.
I sling my backpack over my shoulder and crawled inside a small opening because the door was blocked by debris and weeds. Dammit!
"Alfred! Where are y- Oof!"
Something crashed on me and it hurt. It hurt a lot. I shoved it out of the way and made my way out. What the hell was th- Oh maple.
It was the same swampy looking forest, but something was different about it. Very different. It was like I enter another world. I picked myself up and got a good look around. It was quiet, not like the usual soft chirping noise and the shuffling of small feet. It was dead silence except for my breath. I took a step and even the leaves didn't make any noise. What the hell? And it's not really cold either... Like there isn't any weather at all! No wind, no rain, nothing.
I started to panic a little. Was I still in my safe forest? I looked back at the melted house, maybe I bumped my head or something or-
"Hey you!" I turn around to see a boy, not much older then me, and smirking, He looked like he was wearing a ripped, plain clothes that seemed to go out of style a hundreds years ago. He had pale white hair, pale skin, and pale crimson eyes. He looked deadly sick, like almost completely pale, even his clothes. Was this some sort of sick joke?
"Um, hello th-"
"Hey you don't really look like you're around here. Did you come from the Carnival or something? Kesesese, you look lost!" He cackled. He had a string German accent.
"I'm not lost and no, I didn't come from any carnival... There's not one for months, and it's on the mainland, not Vic." The boy looked really confused and cocked his head.
"Um, the mainland? You mean the Capitol? How did ya end up over here and not remember? Where the hell is Vic? And why did you come out of Old Abandoned?"
I nearly snorted. Who the hell was this kid? "Um, Victoria is the town where we are. And is that what you call the old house? I was, uh, looking for something." I took a step back as the boy came closer then bit a gasp as he grabbed my hand. Maple! He was freezing cold!
"H-Hey! What are you-"
His playful grin disappeared from his face. "You're a fleshie. Alive. Mein Gott, how did you get here?" He grabbed my arm and looked around frantically. "Dude, you have to get out of here before the Boogey's mutts sniff you out!" He froze when we heard some distant howling.
"Huh. I thought we didn't have any wolves in Victoria."
"Of course not, you dumkomph! You're not in the human world anymore! You're in Ever After! Come one, we gotta go or else we'll be dog food! We need to go find the Jinn!" He pulled at my arm, and his words echoed in my head. I'm not in the human world? Ever After? I opened my mouth, but the boy just tugged at my arm harder. Before I could make a choice of pulling back, we were suddenly running. The barking and snarling got closer and closer.
As we were running, I noticed something. Why wasn't I getting tired? I'm terrible at sports, I could barley run without wheezing! I tripped over a few twigs, but the strange German boy tugged me along into the deep, thick forest until we got to a strange looking house. It was painted purple with black stripes and it looked almost cartoonish, like something out of a Tim Burtin movie. I looked behind me and I knew it was a mistake when the moment I did.
Behind us was a humongous looking dog, a hound, with blood foaming at the mouth and a large spiked collar. It must have been the size of a horse! It's paws were hoved, making it move faster.
The boy slammed opened the door and threw me in. I was on my ass when he started to lock the door. "H-Hey! What's the big idea? How on Earth is this house supposed to keep that thing out?" He frantically looked around. "It's not!"
The house was actually just one giant room painted yellow. In the center was a huge glass tube with silver buttons on the inside. The boy yanked me inside as I heard a loud clawing noise scrape outside the building. He stuffed his hand in his pocket and retrieved a golden coin and quickly inserted in the slot and clearly press a button clearly labeled 'Animal City'.
In a flash, we were gone. I don't even remember what happened, It was a bunch of light and I felt really dizzy. We stopped and the boy pulled me out.
We looked like we were in some sort of surreal slums. There was trash everywhere, but it was colorful and spray painted with neon colors. The tall buildings were covered in bright graffiti. It seemed like no one was here. I yelped as I was pulled into a alleyway. The boy knocked on the brick wall then it just opened! Just like in the movies!
He shoved me roughly inside, then sealed it again and yawned. "Yo! Bruder! We have company! Stop being a boring ass and come down here!"
It seemed like we were in a living room. It was really nicely decorated too with gold and silver an- "Gilbert!"
I looked up and swallowed thickly. A German man huffed from the wooden staircase and glared at the albino. "I thought I told you to keep your shoes off and- Whose this? A visitor you say" His eyes shifted towards me. He seemed to have similar looks to the other, except he had slick blond hair and sky blue eyes. Not to mention the odd, furry, golden wolf ears that seemed to be slicked back with his hair. Wait a second-
"Ja! I found him by Old Abandoned! It was really weird cuz he came out of her! Not in her! Oh, and he's alive too! Said he was looking for something. Hey do we have any wursts left?" He made himself comfortable in one of the large, comfy sofas. Those golden ears perked up.
"Wh-What?" He seemed to have the same German accent as Gilbert. He turned to me and narrowed his eyes. "Who are you? How did you get here?"
I cleared my throat. "Um, my name is Matthiew Williams. I came from Victoria, Canada. You see, I thought I heard my brother from inside the old, white house inside of the forest, It's kind of like my back yard. Um, I went inside it, something fell on me, and I came back out. This guy saw me, "I pointed to Gilbert, "and he kind of just pulled me along with him them a huge dog started to chase us! Look, I really have no idea where I am at all! I just want to get my brother and come home!" I felt like crying.
The blond sighed, rubbed his temples, then walked calmly down the stairs. "Sorry, it seems like my idiotic," ('Awesome' corrected Gilbert), "brother didn't really tell you anything. He's quite irresponsible. My name is Ludwig, and I guess you already know Gilbert. If you didn't already guess, you're not in the living world anymore. I should explain... Care for a seat?" He motioned me to sit next to Gilbert.
"You are in a place called Ever After. I guess you could say it's an afterlife or heaven (i surely wouldn't call it that) for spirits. Gilbert and I died during the World War II. We were separated by the Berlin Bridge, but after both of us were killed, we found each other again.
Anyways, Ever After isn't just an afterlife. It's like another world for other beings. You see, there are many different races in Ever After. I'll start with the top. Devils are the supreme beings here and are very much involved in politics. They aren't really bad, they just happen to have control of demons. Then comes higher class demons, like succubuses and Alps and so one. Spectators, the former living, coming after then lower-class demons like goblins. But there are certain acceptations I should say. Many demons were actually former spectators, but it determines on your personality and you actually have to apply. But, in other rare cases, you can become one by becoming a rouge. Like Gilbert and I. I'm a Jinn, an animal-type spirit and Gilbert is a poltergeist, a spirit that causes trouble in the human world." he gave his brother a dirty look.
"Like in the movies?"
Gilbert shook his head. "Movies wish they were as awesome as I was! Nah, we don't kill people or do anything crazy. Well, maybe sometimes, but just think of us as invisible pranksters!" Ludwig rolled his eyes.
"As I was saying, we are considered as Rouges or Rebels, those against the the Boogey Man.." Gilbert scoffed. "Oh come on, give the guy details!" He leaned close to me.
"Remember when you were little and afraid of the Boogey Man in your closet? Well, this guy is a whole other deal! He ruins Ever After and is the baddest guy around! He's been kidnapping a lot of innocent spirits and using them for 'experiments' and making his empire and Haunted Castle stronger and bigger! He also has this plan to enslave all of the spectators! Which is totally not cool!" I gulped.
"M-Maple..." I wasn't sure if I should believe these nut-jobs, but then again, a horse-hound nearly killed me, I was transported here and I am almost-positively-certain that I'm not in Canada anymore. Great.
"And," Ludwig continued, "It's gotten worse. You're actually not the first here and certainly not the first out of Old Abandoned but defiantly one of the lucky ones that make escape those Hellhounds that patrol the area. I guess you could be thankful my older bruder was feeling idiotic and foolish today..."
"Wait, he's you're older brother?!"
"I know right? Luddy is built like a fucking tank! He's actually died when he was 16! I was 18 at the time!"
"W-wow..." That guy looks twenty! "Um, so I was wondering if I could go home now. Thanks for having me, but my mom is probably freaking out."
The two brothers exchanged looks and Ludwig's ears flattened again. "Um, sorry Mattie, ya can't. It's more complected. If you really need to go, you can go see Nightmare. She's not as bad as she sounds, don't worry, but she's the only one who could take you back other then that, you're stuck here. If you like, I can kill you or-"
"Uh, that's okay!" I quickly interrupted then groaned. "All I wanted to do was find my brother..."
"Wait a second... What's your brother's name?" Ludwig seemed interested all of a sudden. Huh.
"Alfred F. Jones. He took a tells people a different last name because he thought it sounded more 'heroic' or something. Why do you ask?" The two gaped at me.
"Wait, id he blond, has a stubborn cowlick, and annoying and loud?"
"I guess you can say that..."
Gilbert cackled. "Ha! I knew it! I fucking knew it! You look like him too! Man, I can't believe it!"
"Wait, you know him?"
"Know him? Psh, he's a the Undead Hero! He's a Jumper!" I looked at Ludwig for an explanation.
"There is only one jumper every hundred years. A Jumper is a human that can jump between worlds with ease. Most are foolish and die inside Ever After, but your brother is the first in a long time who could use his powers for good."
"Yeah! He's annoying, but when he was a squirt, I rescued him from some hounds like you and taught him everything I knew! Good fighter he is! He's gonna free us all from Boogey one day!"
The stern blond sighed. "But that's the problem. He's young, foolish and arrogant. He disappeared and no one knows where."
"Disappeared? But, I heard him! He said he stole something from someone! And why didn't he come back?"
Gilbert leaned close again. "No way! He must of taken the Boogey's Shadow! Oh this is big! No wonder security has gone up a ton last week! I couldn't even buy my potatoes and sausages! Look kid, your brother has a huge responsibility and poofing back isn't that easy. He has billions of beings, dead and alive, counting on him."
"But what's so bad about the Boogey Man? I mean, everyone is already dead..." I must have said something because Ludwig and Gilbert both narrowed their eyes.
"You think that being dead makes everything alright? It;s worse, because if he does enslave everyone, you can't escape him, espeacially if you touch the Dead Sea's water here. You'll be transported straight to the dungeons at the bottom of the sea where you'd be tortured by goblins and ghouls for eternity. He also plans on making it to the human world too."
"What? You shouldv'e told me that from the beginning!"
Gilbert nodded. "That's right! He'd turn the living world into Ever After too if he gets the chance!"
My face gets pale. Really? Is that what's gonna to happen if Al doesn't do anything? But he's only a kid...
"Listen, let's make a deal, ja? You help us with our mission, we help you find Alfred and Nightmare. She'll be able to help us find Alfred if we didn't already then you can go home. all safe and sound. Ja?" Gilbert showed a sharp, toothy grin and stuck out his hand. "What do you say, little birdie?"
I hesitate for a moment. "Deal."