She was gone.
Less than two weeks after the police had gone through all the rooms, the yard, and every area surrounding the Pink Palace, Wybie could feel Coraline's presnence fading quickly from his life. In the five days that he had known her, she was by far the most interesting person he had ever met. Not only because of her name, but because of...her. She was bossy, she was frustrating, she punched him at every opportunity, she loved gardening, she wanted to have an adventure...
He dreams of her every night.
"Crazy, you're crazy!" He screamed at her, slamming the door. He heard a thunk of an item hitting the door as he ran away as fast as he could. He saw Coraline's face fading from being angry to crying. Behind her stood a sinister shadow, with thin mechanical arms like a spider. Those creepy-as-hell arms reached out and embraced Coraline, before pulling her into the darkness.
Wybie always woke from those dreams sweating and panting. Maybe Coraline was correct about the whole 'Other Mother' thing she was ranting about...
A familiar black cat meowed at him from the end of his bed, it's blue eyes staring at him sleepily.
"Sorry, I woke you, didn't I?" Wybie yawned and scratched his head. "Want some milk? I might get some."
The cat blinked again.
"Alright." Wybie yawned again and shuffled out from under his slug-printed covers. He opened the door quietly, making sure that he wouldn't wake up his grandma. The last time he did...he swore her lecture could've been World War Three easily. He went down the stairs, the cat following behind him.
"Grandma?" Wybie cried out in astonishment. His grandma was sitting at their little kitchen table, looking at a photo and crying. "Grandma, are you alright?"
His aging grandma looked at him through her enormous glasses. "Look." She sniffed, pointing at the photo. Wybie walked over to her. "I know, Grandma. That's the photo of you and your sister." He stated. "I just came to get some milk."
"No, but she's gone." Grandma wailed loudly. "That...monster took her!"
Wybie sighed and looked at the cat. "Looks like no milk tonight." He then put his hands under her frail arms. "Let's go back to bed, Grandma." He said.
His grandma slapped his hands away. He pulled back, surprised. "Wyborne, she's gone. And Coraline didn't help get her eyes back as well..."
Wybie's eyes widened. "What?"
"Coraline is still alive...but she can't go back. Someone needs to go save her and my sister and all the other children." His grandma stared at him intensely. "I've kept you away from that place on purpose your entire life...but Coraline is important to you."
"I-I" Wybie stuttered.
"I see the signs, boy. You have a special connection with her. Sp, I am sending you to where Coraline is to search for her. This is my final wish should I die soon. But, there is an evil dwelling there that is of another world by itself...return with Coraline and save the souls of the children she has stolen..."
Wybie stared at the bent-over woman at the table. "Grandma, it's 2:30 in the morning. This is all very deep but-"
"Boy, you know I don't repeat myself. The cat will help you." She pointed towards the cat, who had been sitting on the floor listening this whole time.
"So where the little door is in the Pink Palace...that's where Coraline is?" Wybie asked.
"Yup. Go know. Take everything you can but not too much so that you continue to stay mobile. Don't be loud, think cleverly, and do not take anything SHE offers you. That was my mistake when I went to save my sister." Grandma started to cry again. "Go now, before Coraline is no longer alive..."
Wybie stood for a second before running upstairs to his bedroom, grabbing anything he could think to be useful into his backpack. The cat meowed from where the door was. "Anything I should definitely bring?" He asked it, tossing a hammer into the bag. "You are supposed to help me, after all."
The cat nodded once before jumping onto his desk. It grabbed his boomerang in its mouth and dragged it over to the bag. Wybie put it in the bag without a second thought. "Alright." He said after a few more minutes, putting on the backpack. "Let's do this." He pulled on his coat and gloves and ran downstairs and out the door, the cat at his heels.
He ran until he reached the Pink Palace. The police crime scene tape was still on the door, but Wybie ignored it and pushed open the creaky door. A dark, abandoned house greeted him with a smell that smelled like moss and cheese. Wybie held his breath as he stepped into the darkness, flicking on his flashlight. He navigated his way through the long hallway till he came to the living room. Instantly Wybie felt as if someone was watching him, but he couldn't find where. He quickly located the little door Coraline had showed him, a button-shaped key was still lodged in the lock.
Wybie walked over and knelt down to the indent, turning the key slowly. When he opened the door his mouth dropped open. A tie-dyed tunnel lay before him, leading towards another small door. Coraline wasn't lying. There was really another world behind the little door. And according to Grandma, something dreadfully evil...
Wybie looked at the cat. "Here we go...I guess." He started to crawl on his hands and knees toward the other door.
"I'm coming, Coraline." He muttered, eyes furrowed. "I'll find you, no matter what. Even if I have to fight scary things in my pajamas."
