From inside of his mother's basement, an obese man about 20 or 30 sat in a beanbag chair playing a first-person shooter game on his Xbox One on his plasma screen TV. He was wearing a headset and playing a couple friends.

"Okay, try to shoot that bastard's head off." He cried as his thumbs worked the controller. "No! You got killed again!"

"Lenny!" His mother called from upstairs.

"Hold on." Lenny said pulling his headset off. "Yeah, mom?"

"There's some men here to see you!"

"I hope someone didn't SWAT me." He mumbled to himself.

He struggled a bit trying to get out of his bean bag chair but he managed to do so and trudged up the stairs to the kitchen. He then saw Robert and Aswin.

"Whatever you think I did, you have the wrong person." Lenny said holding his hands up in surrender.

"Relax, slim." said Aswin. "We have the correct person. I think you recognize me."

"Aswin!" Lenny smiled. "What's up, man? And you're...?"

"R.L. Stine." Robert greeted.

"The horror author?" cried Lenny. "I gotta say, while your stories looked scary, they also looked quite ridiculous. Like you ideas from other famous horror movies."

"Like you could do better?" scoffed Robert.

"Actually, yes." smirked Lenny.

"Anyway! We have a proposition for you." stated Aswin.

"And that would be?" asked Lenny.


25 hours later, Aswin, Robert and their impromptu crew were driving in his black Toyota Camry to Dark Falls. He had sold his Wrangler away, since it was very old and beyond repair from the car accident a while back. Jared was driving behind them in his own car.

"So you we have to film a documentary about a creepy ass haunted house?" asked Lenny.

"That's what they said." Caleb replied.

"It took a while for me to get used to it." Aswin said driving.

"How long are we supposed to be there?" asked Lenny.

"All night if possible. I want to get as many good shots as possible." said Aswin.

"Good thing I brought Red Bulls." said Lenny holding up a 24 pack.

"Man, if there's a killer on the loose, it's fatty here that's gonna get it, not me." said Caleb.

"Take that shit back!" Lenny hissed.

"Make me, blob!" Caleb barked back. "Whatcha gonna do, besides sit on your ass!"

"Enough, you idiots!" Aswin scolded.

They finally made it to the old Martin house. Aswin and Robert surveyed the scene.

"Man, it looks even worse than the last time." said Robert.

"Yeah, I would have thought this place would be torn down." said Aswin.

"So tell me, you sure you want to do this?" asked Robert.

"Call me crazy, but I feel that there's something here we need to see and find."

Everyone hopped out of the cars, grabbing their flashlights and the equipment they need.

"This better be worth it." said Jared disgruntled.

"You and me both." Aswin nodded.

The group entered through the old door into they abandoned house, which, undoubtably, looks even more creepy and worse than it did years back.

"So how we gonna do this?" asked Caleb.

"Let's do a B-roll of the interior and exterior. Cover as much as you can while I figure out the main shots." instructed Aswin.

"I got the video camera." Sid said holding said object. "Should I be the cameraman or something?"

"Can if you want." Aswin replied.

Jared pulled out a gun, scaring the others. "What's with the damn gun?!" Robert asked.

"You should be lucky I have this." answered Jared.

"Just be careful with that." Lenny said.

As soon as the group split up around the house, Sid began recording and wondered around the house. He suddenly heard a small creak from a door next to him. Confused, he slowly reached for the knob and opened it carefully. It lead to a dark basement. Naturally, Sid felt uncomfortable with the though of going down there, but it was for his dad's documentary so he went down the steps, nonetheless. It was too pitch black to see and Sid felt his head hit something.

"Ow!" He groaned and reached for what hit him. It felt like a switch, so he pulled it. On came the light switch, providing light and went it did, Sid looked around saw what looked to be skeletons.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"SID! Are you okay?!" cried Aswin from the top of the steps.

His son finally calmed down and shock away the frightened feeling all over his body. He then sprinted back up the step and into his father's face with the camera.

"Watch the camera!" Aswin cried.

"Sorry!" Sid panted.

"What happened to you?" Aswin asked.

"Skeletons." said Sid. "Everywhere down there."

"Now where getting somewhere." Aswin nodded. "Caleb! You and Lenny work on getting some shots down in the basement. Complain and you'll get left behind!"

"Screw you, man." Caleb muttered as he and Lenny went downstairs.

"Skeletons." Lenny shook his head.

As soon as the two walked down to the bottom of the flight of creaky steps, they as well found the mess of dead human remains.

"Maybe they'll come to life." said a worried Lenny.

"Dude, that's not funny!"

They continued filming around the basement, Caleb was getting more creeped out by the minute.


Jared was outside and decided to check the barn.

"See what we here, eh?" He muttered quietly to himself.

He grabbed both of the old sliding doors and with a grunt, pushed them open. Peering inside with his flashlight, it was a bigger mess of cobwebs.

"Blasted spiders."

The inside of the barn was filled with old hay, rotted wood and old, rusted farm tools.

"Not much to see here." He said.

Then he noticed a lump of clothes in a nearby haystack.

"Has anyone ever heard of laundry?" Jared asked.

Unknown, an unseen figure was observing him from the outside, spying on him throw a hole in the wooden walls of the barn. Jared felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

"Am I being watched? 'Cause it sure feels like it?" He noted.

"Hey." He jumped when he heard Sid's voice and saw him standing at the door.

"Don't scare me like that." said Jared.

"Sorry." Sid said.

"What are you doing here, kid?" asked Jared.

"My dad asked me to look for you. Find anything here?" Sid answered.

"Not really. Come on, let's head back to the house."


Meanwhile, Aswin walked up into the attic of the house with his flashlight. He was used the mess of spiderwebs inside an old room like this. In fact, the attic back at his house had webs, dust and boxes everywhere. Then he noticed the chest with the word 'Slappy'.

"How peculiar." said Aswin to himself as it sounded like the name of the character from Robert's books.

Flipping the lid open, he, surprisingly, found it empty. There was no dummy inside. Now this struck him strangely. He closed it and thought, maybe somebody came here at one point and took it home with them.

"Hey Aswin, find anything?" asked Robert climbing up into the attic.

"No. Just an old trunk that says, 'Slappy'." Aswin shrugged.

Robert's blood turn cold.

"What did you just say?" He asked worriedly.

"I found a trunk." Aswin repeated.

"And the name on the trunk?" Robert asked.

"Slappy?"

Robert rushed to the trunk and opened it. His face blanched.

"No! No! Why isn't it in here?!" He shrieked frantically.

"Maybe someone probably took it with them when they visited this place." Aswin suggested.

"I was afraid of this." said Robert gravely.

"Afraid of what?" Aswin asked, looking at his friend.

Robert took a few deep breaths before calming down. "Never mind." He sighed. "Nothing important. Just got a little freaked out."

"Are you hiding something?" Aswin asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"Maybe I am." answered Robert. "But it's best I save that discussion for another time."

"We should probably go." Aswin suggested.

"Yeah." Robert nodded in agreement, still shaken on the inside.

The two climbed back down the stairs, down into the den and met up with the rest.

"What have you all found so far?" Aswin asked.

"Skeletons. So many skeletons." whined Lenny.

"That's really all that was down there." said Caleb.

"There's an old barn outside with rusty tools, old hay and rotten wood." said Jared.

"And all I found was an empty dummy trunk in the attic." Aswin responded.

"A dummy?" Caleb mimed questioningly. "That makes me think about that thing from those books. Slippy, Sammy..."

"Slappy." Robert still looked nervous.

"Okay, seriously Rob, what's your deal?" asked Aswin.

"I can't tell you. I'm not ready. Let's go." Robert shuttered in his voice and wordlessly made for the door.

"It's a school night anyway." Aswin shrugged and followed after him.

"This has been fun, I suppose." said Jared. "Not gonna lie."

"Despite the dead human remains, I could've handled it." Lenny replied.

"Shut up." hissed Caleb.

Everyone followed after Aswin out the front door and back towards the vehicles. Aswin had gotten enough footage for his documentary. Suddenly, Sid stopped and looked back a the top round window to the attic and felt as if he was being watched. But there was no one there. He shook his head and joined the rest as the departed in their cars. However, peering through the attic window was a familiar ventriloquist dummy observing the humans as they left. It's haunting eyes followed the cars driving out onto the road and disappearing into the night.


The school bell rang across the school and Sid was in the main classroom sitting next to his friends, William "Billy" Deep Jr., Amanda Benson and Courtney King. As the rest of the students relaxed and chilled waiting for their teacher to show up and class to begin, Sid shared his experience the night before.

"So your dad wanted footage of an old house in Dark Falls?" Amanda asked dumbfounded.

"You know how he is." said Sid.

"I heard that place is overrun with mutants." Billy brought up. "Ever since that meltdown at the power plant years ago."

"But the news said the town was evacuated." said Courtney on the contrary.

"That's what they want you to think. I bet some people stayed behind and then when the meltdown happened, they became mutants." said Billy.

"You mean like the X-Men?" asked Sid.

"Not those kind of mutants." Billy rebuffed. "I mean like from that Chernobyl disaster. Amanda should know. She and her family moved there once."

Sid looked at her expectedly. Amanda hesitated before replying, "It wasn't the best moving experience of my life."

"What was it like there?" Sid asked.

"I...I don't really know how to explain it." Amanda stammers nervously.

Amanda's mind flashes to that moment. The sirens were going off and her parents were grabbing as much as they could.

"Is that everything?!" cried Amanda's dad.

"I think so! Amanda! We need to go now!" cried Amanda's mom.

"But I can't find my treasure box!"

"We don't have time, Amanda!" said her dad.

"Amanda! Get in the car, please!" yelled her mom.

Amanda grabbed her bags and ran out the door and into the car with her parents and brother, Josh and their pet dog, Petey. Her dad jumped into the drivers seat and peeled out of their driveway. It was the scariest moment in Amanda's life.

"Amanda? Amanda!" Came Courtney's voice as she shakes her friend back to reality.

"Sorry." She shook her head. "Just had a little flashback."

Then the teacher, Miss. Hildegrimm, a young woman with long strawberry blonde hair and black-rimmed glasses, entered the room and stood in front of students.

"I apologize, guys." She told her students. "I was speaking with the principal about something. Nothing fancy. So, anyway, today, we have a new student joining us. Come on up."

A young boy, probably older than Sid, got up from his seat and walked up front, standing next to Miss. Hildegrimm.

"I'd like you all to meet Will Blake." She smiled. "I'd like you all to make him feel welcome."

Will smiled nervously at the class, but not many of them gave him any sort of reaction or greeting. Sid, however, gave a small wave.

"Will, tell us a bit about yourself." said Miss. Hildegrimm.

The black-haired boy was silent for only mere seconds before opening his mouth to speak.

"I come from a place called Fever Swamp." He spoke. "It's somewhere in Florida, 5 miles from the Okefenokee Swamp. I didn't have very much friends back there, except one. But sadly, that didn't last long."

"Oh, I see." Miss. Hildegrimm exclaimed. "Well, I'm sure you'll have some friends here, Will."

Will then took his seat once more while the teacher began the lesson.


Soon, it was lunch time. Sid and his friends had just sat down when they saw Will sitting at a table by himself.

"Must be tough being the new kid." said Billy.

"Yeah, I know how that feels." said Amanda.

"I'm gonna go ask him to sit with us." said Sid.

"Good idea." smiled Courtney.

Just as Sid stood up, someone else approached Will. It was the school bully, Sarah Maas and her crew.

"Hey, newbie. Ya blind?" She remarked snidely.

"What?" asked Will.

"That's my table you're sitting at." Sarah snarled.

"Oh, sorry." said Will sheepishly.

"Oh, you're sorry, huh? Well, how's about I take your lunch as payment." said Sarah as she snatched Will's lunch bag.

"Leave him alone, Sarah!" Sid ordered annoyed as he came up.

"Oh, squeaky boy's gonna stand up for the new fresh meat?" taunted Sarah, eyeing Will.

"Come with me." Sid grabbed Will's hand and he hesitatingly followed him as he lead him away.

"Yeah, you better run, new kid!" Sarah shouted after him. "I see you at our table again, you'll wish you hadn't!"

Will sat with Sid and his friends.

"We're sorry about her." Sid told him. "She's such a pain in the ass. She thinks she can do whatever she wants and get away with just because her dad's the police chief."

"Yeah!" Courtney agreed, glaring. "She says her dad would arrest anyone who would dare defy her."

"Anyway, I'm Sid. And this is Billy, Amanda and Courtney."

"Hi." greeted Courtney.

"Hello." said Amanda.

"Yo." said Billy.

"Hi." said Will nervously. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

"No problem. So what made your folks decide to move here?" asked Sid.

"Uh...I don't have any parents." Will croaked out. "I came here on my own."

"On your own?" Courtney asked. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"My parents kinda had a very bad illness." He answered with a shaky voice.

"So, uh, what's it like in Florida?" asked Amanda.

"It's very wet, as you would expect." said Will. "Always raining, strong winds, but otherwise, it's rather quaint there, especially in the swamps. I find a little solace there."

"So what is this Fever Swamp?' asked Sid.

"It's deep within the Everglades. Kinda secluded. I have my own boat to get me to town and do what I need to do. Not many people know about it."

"So, why are you here in Columbus, Ohio?" asked Billy.

There came an uncomfortable silence as he struggled to find an answer. "Just to get away the swamps, is all." He shrugged.

"We understand." said Billy, giving Will a pat on the back.

"This place sounds kinda dangerous." Amanda remarked.

"Actually, it gets it's name from the contagious fever contained in it's trees, water and vegetation. If anyone ever caught this fever, they will experience severely hot body temperature and go violently insane that they would sprint into the swamps and never come out. That's actually what happened to my parents." said Will.

"Do you have any relatives that live here?" asked Courtney.

Will wasn't sure how to answer that question. Suddenly, all the students started laughing as they all looked to see Sarah giving a boy a wedgie and throwing him to the floor. Her friends dumped his food on him, adding to his humiliation.

"Oh, for the love of..." groaned Sid as he stood up and rushed over.

His friends, including Will, followed behind.

"That's what you get for not bringing me Oreos, dickwad!"

"Sarah! What the hell is your deal?" yelled Sid.

"Oh, now you wanna face me, Lynch?" Sarah snarked. "Well, wait until I'm done with this little rat!"

"You've done enough, Maas!" Amanda growled. "Go back to your dumb prized table and mind your own business!"

"Why don't you make me?" mocked Sarah.

Billy grabbed Courtney and pushed her front of Sarah, preferably an act of cowardice. Courtney glared at him and got a look at Sarah who just rolled her eyes and splashed a carton of milk on her, making her shriek and quiver.

"Goddam!" She screamed.

"That's it! I've had it with your crap, Sarah!" yelled Sid.

"Bring it on, Sticky! Or are you too afraid to hit a girl?"

Sid was always taught to never hit girls, but Sarah made it awfully hard not to.

"Yeah, well I'm not." said Amanda as she punched Sarah out cold. She shook her hand in pain. "That felt good," she giggled.

"Not good, brilliant!" cried Sid.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!"

The students looked to see the Principal making his way to the group. Everyone returned to their seats, while Sarah got up from the floor.

"Showing off again, Miss. Maas?" The Principal asked.

"Don't make me call my dad on you." groaned Sarah, holding her eye.

"Like I haven't heard that before. Get up." ordered the Principal.

Sarah grumbled angrily before standing up to her feet and followed him as the students resumed their business.

"I think you earned yourself a one-way ticket to jail." Billy told Amanda.

"Totally worth it." said Amanda.


"This is an outrage! I demand restitution!"

Later that day, Police Chief Robert Maas was in the Principal's office. When he learned what happened to his daughter, he was not happy.

"Your daughter is merely displaying intolerable behavior towards the students." The Principal replied.

"That is no excuse!" argued the Chief. "No one disrespects and assault my daughter! I want a word with whoever did this!

The Principal, getting annoyed with his arrogance. "Chief, try to understand, your daughter is clearly being kind of a bull-"

"Are you insulting Sarah?" Chief Maas demanded.

"Does the term police brutality mean anything to you?" The Principal asked sarcastically.

"I want those responsible in here now!"

The Principal sighed and picked up his phone.

"Please send them in." he said and then hanging up.

Amanda then walked in with Sid next to her followed by Courtney with her milk stained shirt in hand and Billy and Will.

"So, which one of you hit my angel?" demanded the Chief.

"I did sir. But it was only after your 'angel' stole Will's lunch, gave another kid a wedgie and dumped food on him for not having her favorite cookies and for pouring milk on Courtney's shirt."

Sid was rather impressed at how Amanda seemed so calm. The Chief was not.

"Where are parents?!" He ordered with the bellow of an angry bull.

"At home?" said Amanda sassily. "Where else?"

"Turn around!" He exclaimed.

"Wha-?"

"YOU HEARD ME!"

He pulled out some handcuffs, but Amanda was indifferent, unfazed by the wrath of the bully's father.

"HEY!" The Principal shouted. "That's quite enough!"

"You stay outta this!" Chief Mass pointed at him.

But the Principal picked up his phone. "The Mayor is just a phone call away, Chief. It'll be a real shame to see the Chief of Police abuse his power for his little girl. Eh?"

Chief Maas groaned in defeat.

"I still demand some form of punishment." The Chief yelled releasing Amanda.

"One month's detention for both Amanda and Sarah."

"WHAT!?" yelled both the Chief and Sarah.

"I didn't do anything!" Sarah yelled.

"My decision is final." said the Principal. "Amanda, I will have to call your parents."

"That's fine. I accept my punishment." She then turned to Sarah and her father. "And I don't regret it one bit."

The Chief stormed out but Sarah whispered in Amanda's ear.

"This ain't over. Watch your back."

"Move it, Maas." growled Sid.

Once the two girls left the office of their office, Sid, Billy, Courtney and Will remained as the Principal sighed in aggravation.

"That man just bites me in the ass." He groaned. "So how's your first day going so far, Mr. Blake?"

"Okay, I guess." said Will.

"Bet you weren't expecting quite the show." said Billy.

"It was an interesting sight." Will responded.

"I think we should stick close to Amanda." said Courtney.

"Yeah, I heard what Sarah said to her and it wasn't good." said Sid.

"Sir, are you sure there's nothing else you can do about Sarah?" asked Billy.

"Unfortunately, not at this point. It would take her doing something drastic for her to pay the price for it. You kids best get to class now." said the Principal.

The rest of the kids left the office and saw Amanda sitting on the bench.

"You sure you can handle being in detention." asked Will.

"Hey, that bitch had it coming to her." commented Amanda. "I don't care I get punished for my actions."

"I like your spirit." Will said. "But let it get to your head."

"Thanks." Amanda said. "I guess."

She and Sid hugged tightly while Amanda felt herself blush from the feeling.

"You take care." He said.

"I will. Don't worry about me." replied Amanda.

"Can I walk you home though? I want to make sure Sarah doesn't try anything." Sid whispered.

"S-sure." Amanda stuttered out.

"See you in class." said Sid as he, Billy and Will walked out.

"Girl, you got it bad." snickered Courtney.

"Shut up!" sighed Amanda.


I've introduced Will Blake to the story. But little does Sid and his friends know, he's hiding something. What could it be? I'm sure all you know already know, but I won't spoil the story for you. DJMirnum was gracious enough to help me. So read and please review! Stay tuned for the next chapters.