Carmen was 12. She had fiery red hair for no reason, dark hazel eyes, long, thick, black eyelashes, thin lips and a small nose. She had freckles all over her body, which made her embarrassed. She lived on a small farm in Virginia, her dad owning it, and mom off in la la land. She was a very grounded person, didn't like fiction books, or fantasy movies. Carmen kept to herself most of the time, only talking when she wanted to.

Her cousin was coming to live there soon, but she didn't know. She hated him lately. All he talked about was this stupid mystical world with giant rats and bats, and violet eyed people with pale skin. He was being so immature, and Carmen hated it, especially since he was older than her. Oh by the way his name was Gregor.

Carmen was watching TV when a knock on the door startled her. She walked to the door and opened it, there standing in the threshold, was her annoying cousin. Oh no, Dad, I swear if I find out he is living with us! She thought.

"Yes?" she said, directing the question at her aunt and uncle standing behind Gregor. Behind them was Lizzie and Boots, her other cousins.

"We're moving in?" Gregor said, his voice sounding a bit confused. Carmen groaned, but opened the door to its full extent.

"Come in." She said, moving a box in front of the door so it would be propped open. She walked upstairs and found her dad. "What are they doing here?" She asked in a hushed whisper.

"Oh, their moving in. Gregor and Lizzie are staying in your room, and Boots is sleeping with her parents. I'm sorry, but they are having a hard time, they just lost their grandmother." He explained. Carmen groaned. She walked out without a word, and stepped out the front door. The sun was starting to set, casting an orange glow over the vibrant green fields.

She walked in that direction in her small moccasins. Her feet moved her forward until she reached the fence that showed where their property ended and another started. She finally looked up and saw the edge of the sun duck below the horizon. She sighed, and was about to turn around, when a small shine caught her eye.

She stopped dead in her tracks, turning her head towards the shimmer. Her feet slowly followed her eyes, and she walked five steps to what she was seeing. She bent down, and realized it was a small, pale, violet rock. Her hand scooped it up, and she turned it over and over, studying it in the small light that the sun left behind.

She noticed another, and another, and followed the shiny rocks to a huge boulder. It was the same color as the rocks, and a series of too fats to hear taps and scratches flowed from within it. Then she heard a yell. Her father wanted her. She pulled out her phone and started to record how she got there, wanting to explore it more tomorrow. Then she ran back, the one thing she was good at was running.

She used to do things like track, but all the other kids couldn't catch up. She would lap them, on her fifth lap while they were on their secondth. It took her a third of the time it took to walk to the boulder when she ran back.

Her feet stopped when they hit the cracked wood of her porch steps. Sweat slid down her back. She opened the door and slipped off her shoes, she walked to the kitchen, tracking the amazing scent of pasta. Her dad was in the kitchen, stirring the noodles, and she smiled. Carmen had always loved the way he adapted to the new things in life. Her head turned to the dinner table. Boots was in a high chair, although she clearly was old enough to be sitting in a regular chair with just a booster seat in it. Next to her was Lizzie, and then Carmen's aunt and uncle, and finally Gregor.

Carmen walked to her seat, which was obnoxiously close to Gregor's own. It was at that time Carmen noticed Gregor looked depressed, almost on the verge of tears. He had strikingly white scars covering his arms. Maybe he wasn't lying about the Underlanders. Wait, stop, your being irrational, he is probably a stupid kid that gets into a lot of fights. Carmen thought.

"Gregor?" Carmen said subtly.

"Yeah?" He asked. Carmen realized that her aunt and uncle were there, so it probably wasn't the best time to talk about the scars.

"Anything new happen lately?" She asked.

"Got attacked by a giant rat, hat my bat friend's head ripped off by the same rat, and I fell in love with a princess, soon to be queen." He said, staring at the wood table. That was it. He had broken Carmen's last thread of patience. First, he moves into her room, then he talks about this stupid fantasy world, and her dad wants her to feel sympathy because his Grandma died.

"My god Gregor! Shut up about this fantasy world. It's not real and your being super annoying, with your stupid princess and dead bat friend!" She yelled. Everyone stared at her. Gregor got to his feet, he was a couple inches taller than Carmen, and kind of intimidating.

"The Underland, is real. And all of my friends there are real too." He said in an aggravated voice.

"No they are not! You're being stupid, and all those creatures are not real either! They are stupid, silly, idiotic figments of your imagination. And frankly, you should stop believing in the unreal!" when Carmen said this, fear rose in her chest. She could see the fun Gregor start to fade away. A new, more wise, more knowing Gregor replaced it. He had seen things unimaginable, she could tell. His eyes were focusing in and out, and little did Carmen know, he was starting to feel his rager side bubble up in his chest.

"Take. It. Back." He said, his voice warning.

"No." Carmen didn't break eye contact, and held his angry gaze.

Before Carmen could blink Gregor had pinned her to the floor, his arm raised to punch her. Lizzie caught his arm and tried to stop it. Carmen's uncle did the same, pulling Gregor off of her. All she could do was hold her arms up to protect her face from the punches raining down on her. When her legs were free she sprinted for the door, only one of her legs were caught by a hand. It was Gregor.

She let out a startled yelp as he pulled her backwards. Finally someone slapped him out of his dazed state. He blinked a few times and realized what happened.

"Oh god, I'm so so sorry Carmen. I'm so sorry." He said, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I-I forgive you." Carmen said. Clearly he didn't mean it. Clearly he had another side that tried to come out every now and then, and he couldn't control it. She ran up the stairs, her arms hurt from where he had punched them. Thank the lord she was strong enough to cover her face. She sat on her bed, realizing she attacked something dear to him and she deserved what she got.

When Gregor came in she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm sorry Gregor. I didn't mean to say those things." She said, knowing her apology wouldn't help whatever came next. "Can you tell me the story? About the Underland?" She asked, wanting to understand what he held so close to him.

By the time he finished explaining, it was almost two in the morning. The part about code had triggered a memory.

"Gregor, the code, was it really fast, and did it have, like, taps and scratches or something?" When she said it Gregor's face lit up.

"You've heard it?" He asked.

"Yes, in a field, it seemed to be coming from under a huge boulder." She replied.

"You are going to take me there tomorrow." That was not a request. Carmen laid her head on her pillow, soaking in the information as she drifted off.