Hey, everyone! Happy Halloween!
It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Sorry if I haven't published anything since January, but I've been quite busy with my life, mainly with the fact that I bought new territory to build my own house in my birthplace Rio Grande! So yeah, pretty busy.
And I know, I'm just republishing the same story for the third time, but let me explain.
During these past few months, I've come to realize that, the longer a chapter is, the more tedious it becomes to read. So, I decided to divide each chapter into parts, so it'll be easier to read. Besides, I've also been busy writing chapters of this story, because I've been thinking about writing the chapters first, and publish them later when I've done the proofreading.
In regards to the story overall, I'm going to try my hardest to publish more chapters, and I think this new strategy will help me a lot. Maybe the third time will be the charm.
As a reminder of what I want this story to be, it's going to be based on other series based on the supernatural, such as Moville Mysteries, Gravity Falls, Ducktales (2017), Invader Zim, Men In Black, Ghostbusters and Mighty Max (an obscure cartoon from the 90s). It will have a largely episodic format, but it will be mixed with a story arc. I intend to have, at least, 3 acts, and this will be the first.
And what better time to publish this story than on Halloween.
Now, without any further ado, let the story begin!
Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama, but I do own some OCs.
Warning: Rated T for strong language.
Welcome to Polter Hills
It is a peaceful, quiet night. The whole dark sky is sprinkled with stars, as well as the ever omnipresent moon. At the top of a cliff, a wolf is seen howling at the moon, whose glint of light can be reflected on the river below.
Accompanying that river, is the expansive forest of Wisconsin, known as one of the most impressive natural reserves in America. It is quite the ideal place for campers and hikers, as well as nature lovers, and animals that make their home in this majestic green land.
Within the thick forests of the territory, we see two human-sized figures that appear to be cloaked in the shadows. They are wandering the luscious woods, one in a firm, resolute pace, and the other meandering about in relaxed speed. In order to see through the darkness, they use a flashlight that illuminates their path. They continue until they come across small footprints in the mud. One of the guys kneels to the ground places a hand over the footprint.
"It's still fresh. They've been here approximately an hour ago," the figure says with a gruff voice that emphasizes authority.
"Then I guess we just capture the lil' critters, right?" the second figure asks in a less serious tone of voice.
"Negative. First, we must follow the footprints, which will lead us to them."
"Dude, we've spent weeks searching for the lil' guys, and we ain't made no progress yet!"
"Be patient, we have to continue the search until we get results. Miracles don't fall from trees."
Then, they hear a shuffling sound. This makes both look around in suspicion. The sudden hooting of an owl perched upon a nearby branch makes one of them jump.
"What was that?" the second man asks, feeling a chill go through his spine.
"It's just an owl. Nothing serious." Says his partner, who still keeps his coolness. Then, he hears another sound and looks around. He stands up with a hardened look as he cocks up a pistol "It's them. Prepare your weapon."
The other guy pulls out his own gun as readies himself in a fighting pose. The two of them walk in a circle defensively, waiting for something to happen. Their eyes scan the forest from top to bottom, feeling the chilling wind on their faces. One of them feels a bead of sweat run down his forehead as they await for the inevitable.
Then, they hear a twig cracking.
They both quickly point their weapons at the culprit, who is standing still like a statue. Even though it is dark, the glare of the moonlight reveals some outline of the critter. Caught like a deer in front of a daylight, the unknown creature stands still like a statue.
"Uh…. Hi?" it says sheepishly.
"Hold still." The first man says as he aims at the being.
"Now, now, this is a huge misunderstanding," the creature says trying to appease to the men "I was just on my way home, sooo…" it trails off as it slowly walks away. It yelps when a beam is shot its way. It looks up fearfully to see the second man, who had fired the shot.
"Next time I won't miss, so get on the ground, Shorty…" the second man warns.
All of a sudden, the creature felt a red vein appear on its forehead.
"SHORTY?!" the small figure yells in anger.
"That's right, lil' fella. Now turn yourself over."
"Not until you issue an apology, or y'all gonna feel my wrath!"
The taller individuals share an skeptical glance at the threat.
"Oh yeah? You and what army, pipsqueak?" the second figure asks tauntingly.
"Don't taunt the target, you'll make it angry." his partner warns him, but it appears the damage has been done.
Gritting its teeth, the short figure yells "BOYS, ATTACK!"
All of a sudden, many little shadows come out of the treetops and bushes, and start blitzing against the much taller men, punching them with their little hands and feet. Both men struggle to keep their miniature assailants off of them, to no avail.
"They're everywhere!" the second man exclaims while shooting wildly.
"Keep firing!" the first man orders as he shoots with better coordination than his partner.
And yet, despite their best efforts, neither manages to hit their targets. It doesn't take long before they run out of bullets, leaving their guns empty. Soon, both men fall to the ground, while the tiny figures run off, laughing at them mockingly.
"Don't let them escape!" the first man commands as he and his partner get up.
The two individuals quicken their pace as they run after the little creatures. Both of them reload their guns and start shooting at the retreating figures again, while the latter continue mocking them. Soon, they start running out of juice once more, and out of breath. They both stop to catch their breath.
"Damn it! We lost them!" the second man curses as he gasps for air, feeling like he would collapse at any minute.
"Don't worry, Manipogo. They'll be back."
"Dude, I told you to call me Manny." The man, whose name appears to be Manipogo, replies.
The other man rolls his eyes before tapping his left ear "Agent Bodmin here. We lost track of the creatures, but we left a tracking device on one of them. Worry not, we shall find them. No, there were no witnesses."
He pulls his finger off his ear before walking away from the forest, and stopping at the edge. His partner follows him.
"Sooo… what do we do now?" Manipogo asks.
"They must have retreated to their hideout. With any luck, the tracking device will lead us to their whereabouts." Bodmin says.
"So we just go and grab 'em right away?"
"For the time being, no. We're still exhausted and attacking them in our current state would be imprudent. We'll catch them tomorrow in daylight, when they'll be more vulnerable. In the meantime, we must gather recon, and make sure that there's not witnesses around." Bodmin says before he looks ahead of the forest. "No one must know about this…"
The next day…
It is a sunny day, and the previously dark forest from last night is now showcasing outstanding features of green scenery, with hints of orange in between, an indication that fall is nearby.
On the mountain road, we see a car, most likely a van, which seems designed to accomodate many people. From the looks of it, it appears to be quite old, evident by the rust in some of its corners, and the fading paintjob. Other than that, it appears to be in pretty good shape.
Inside the van there is a total of nine people. Among them is a teenage boy who looks bored, reading a book. He has tan skin, shoulder-length dark brown hair and light brown eyes. He is dressed in a red sweater vest over a blue open shirt and white long-sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up, green cargo pants, and green sneakers.
This is Noah Sandhu.
Next to him are two taller, fit boys who, like him, also have tan skin and dark brown hair. They look similar, probably twins, except one of them has short spiky hair, and the other has a puffy pompadour. The former wears a blue sleeveless wife-beater and cargo pants, while the latter wears a long-sleeved green and white T-shirt with blue jeans. They are currently arm-wrestling, much to Noah's annoyance.
These are Deepak and Ajit.
On the other end, there is an old, bearded Indian-looking man, probably their grandfather. He wears a purple turban and a white and orange set of clothes, known as a Salwar Kameez, as well as red sandals. He is sitting in lotus position, no doubt meditating and attempting to distract himself from his grandsons' shenanigans.
This is Mohammed Sandhu.
Behind them there are three young ladies. One of them has shoulder-length black hair, and wears pointy red glasses, as well as a short-sleeved shirt underneath a grey sweater vest and a plaid blue skirt, complete with long black panties and brown shoes. She has her eyes glued to her cellphone, without a care about the world, like Noah.
This is Yasmin.
The second girl wears a more tomboyish outfit, consisting of a white sleeveless shirt and yellow yoga pants, with a matching jacket wrapped around her waist. Her black hair is tied in a messy ponytail.
This is Zahra.
The final girl looks like she came out of India, wearing a somewhat stereotypical Sari dress, and her long black hair done in a braid.
This is Meena.
On the wheel is a possibly middle-aged bearded man wearing a white turban, who must be the father, Rashad. In the passenger's seat is an Indian-looking brunette woman who must have the same age as the driver, and is probably his wife, Priyanka.
To round up, there is one final passenger, their pet. It is a Golden Labrador that is currently sleeping on Noah's lap.
The book Noah is reading is labeled 'Myths and Legends', a rather interesting book about how some legends, such as the Greek heroes and supernatural folk-tales like La Llorona came into existence. Yeah, Noah has always shown interest in knowing the secrets of the universe, which includes the supernatural. Unlike most boys his age, Noah isn't really inclined to dating girls (the chances of him getting a date are as likely as his grandfather letting go of his old ways) or even practicing sports (they're not his forte). No, he always prefers to stick his nose between the pages of a book whenever he can. No wonder he's nicknamed "Bookworm Sandhu" back in Toronto.
While his father is driving, Noah stops reading his book to stare at the window, gazing at the beautiful landscape. When his parents gave him and his siblings the news, Noah thought they were pulling his leg, only for his father to confirm that they were, indeed, moving away. Noah could hardly believe this was happening, but here they are, in their van, going to a new city, leaving behind the life they knew. It has been more or less ten hours since they left, as apparently it is a 12-hour trip from Toronto to this town, by car.
They drive past a sign that says "You are now entering Polter Hills". While Noah stares outside, he gets a look of surprise upon seeing, at a distance, the city his family will be staying in. It is quite a nice metropolis, Noah must admit, not as big and vast as Toronto, but nothing to scoff at. Despite not showing it, however, Noah is actually dreading what his new life will be like. He'll have to start all over again, new classmates, new teachers, new friends…
He'd rather stick his hand in an anthill than go through all that process, as it implies effort. And 'effort' is not in Noah's dictionary, next to 'exercise'.
He still remembers how much his best friend Owen was crying afer Noah gave him the bad news that he was moving away, as well as the rather painful bear hug that the big guy gave him. He can still feel how one of his ribs almost cracked due to the strength of the hug. It was a miracle that he didn't end up in the hospital to have a rib transplant. Then again, being in the hospital would be preferable to moving away to a new city.
How can he forget that day…?
Flashback
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE MOVING AWAY, BUDDY!"
That was the yell that a fat, blond teenage boy let out. He wore a white sleeveless shirt with a teal-colored maple leaf imprinted, and green cargo pants.
Noah patted the bigger boy's back "Calm down, Owen. It wasn't my idea. My dad got a new job at Wisconsin, some place called Polter Hills or something."
"Couldn't you convince your parents to let you stay here?" said a good-looking dark-haired teen with green eyes "I mean, you're almost eighteen."
"Apparently, my opinion doesn't matter when it comes to making family decisions, Trent," Noah replied in a dry tone. "The whole family has to come. No exceptions. So, I guess I'll have to go, despite my objections."
"Yeah, it sucks that we won't see you again, dude," said a skinny brunet boy with a gap in his teeth.
"Yeah, it does, Cody" Noah agreed.
However, not everyone had the same feeling. For instance, among the teenagers there was a young woman with mocha-skin and brunette hair. She wore a grey sweater vest, green khakis and sandals.
Her name: Courtney Martinez, Noah's main political rival.
"Well, I, for one, find this rather fortunate." she said in a haughty tone "Your departure means that I won't to worry about becoming valedictorian. For a so-called genius, you sure were stupid in leaving that valuable position. What, was it too hard for the sloth?"
However, Noah didn't feel affected by her insult "You could say that it was challenging, to say the least. Let's see how you handle the pressure when I'm gone, Martinez."
Courtney scoffed "Please, I'm certain that I can do a much better job than you ever did, Sandhu. I'd say that you were a worthy rival, but I'd be lying." she said with a nasty smirk.
The others glared at her for her insensitive comments; Noah was about to move away, and all she cared about was some stupid valedictorian position. Has she no shame?
A blonde girl who looked like a surfer came up to Noah "Don't listen to her, Noah. We'll miss you." she said reassuringly.
"Yeah, I'll miss you too, guys." Noah replied. "And don't worry, I'll be in contact via Zoom."
He was suddenly hoisted from the ground by Owen, who started hugging him tightly. Noah felt how he was turning blue and how his eyes were about to pop out of his sockets.
"I'm gonna miss you, Noah buddy! I hope you'll still message me!" the big guy exclaimed, tears running down his eyes.
"Owen…let go…. need to…breathe!" the bookworm managed to say while he was asphyxiating.
End of Flashback
The bookworm's so lost in his thoughts, that he barely pays attention to his surroundings, including his parents.
"Noah? Noah!" his father's voice is heard, snapping Noah out of his thoughts.
Noah looks away from the window to look at his father "Yes, Dad?"
"We're here, son,"
Noah sticks his head out of the car and sees that his father was right, as the family van has parked outside what appears to be their new home. Noah takes his time to analyze his surroundings. So far, it appears to be a typical neighborhood, except that all the houses appear to be ancient, around 70 years old.
"Jeez, this neighborhood gives me some Addams Family vibes," Noah comments in regards to the cul-de-sac's state. "It's almost as if Halloween never ended. Gwen would surely love it here."
"And here is where we'll be living." Rashad says as he gestures at what appears to be their new house.
The Sandhus look over and give impressed looks when they see a majestic-looking house.
"Cool!" the twins exclaim in unison.
"I like it, already!" Yasmin comments.
"Well, it's not the worst place I've lived in." his wife comments with a pleasant tone.
Rashad, on the other hand, gives a confused look as he looks back and forth.
"Wait, hold on. This isn't our house." he says before making a U-turn and parking the van "There we go."
The family looks in his direction, and they all frown in disbelief. In front of them, there's a two-story wooden house that, unlike the other one, appears to be in a deplorable state, baring more resemblance to a haunted house than a normal one. Its wood structure seems to be decaying, and it is covered in vines that give off the impression that they haven't been cut for decades.
"Seriously, Dad? This dump?" Yasmin asks in disbelief.
"Well, I'm used to disappointment by now." the grandfather says dryly "You couldn't even afford a decent-looking house, Rashad."
"Come on, Dad, give me some slack. This was the best I could buy with my salary." Rashad replies defensively.
"That's the last time I let you choose the destination." Priyanka criticizes.
"Don't worry. It just needs a little remodeling, that's all."
Noah raises an eyebrow, skeptical "A little? More like a complete overhaul."
Outside, there is a middle-aged man in a fancy suit, probably a realtor, next to a sign saying 'For Sale'. Said sign is immediately pulled as the man approaches the Sandhu family.
"Why hello there. You must be the new tenants?" he greets.
"Yes, that's us. We're buying this house." Rashad replies.
The realtor claps his hands in excitement "Excellent! Now, if you'll follow me so I can show you the place…" he offers.
Soon, the parents leave the vehicle, as does the grandfather.
"Son, help your siblings unpack, and no excuses this time." the patriarch tells his son.
Noah rolls his eyes "Yes, sir." He says sarcastically as he grabs his bags, and then steps out of the car, with Fortune following suit. Just as he leaves, however, the twin brothers leave in a dash, unknowingly pushing Noah out of the way.
"Last to enter the house is a rotten egg!" the twin with the puffy hair, Ajit, says daringly as he and Deepak run towards the new house. The sisters follow them inside.
"I bet I can beat you two!" says their sporty sister as she runs at their speed.
Yasmin and Meena come out as well and, rather than help their brother up, they simply walk past him and take a slower pace than their energetic sister.
Fortune is the last one to leave, as he stares at his master in concern. Noah gets up from the ground and dusts himself. He shakes in head at the twins' antics, then proceeds to walk towards the house's entrance, following his siblings.
Once inside, the bookworm takes his time to analyze his surroundings. So far, the living room appears to have a 19th Century vibe to it. He then takes a look at the stairs, and groans in dismay. With great reluctance, Noah pulls his luggage and starts walking up the stairs. He's clearly struggling due to how heavy his luggage is, not helped by the extra weight of his backpack.
Once he's finally in the first floor, Noah takes a few minutes to catch his breath. After recovering, the bookworm looks around for a room where he can settle in. He walks past one of his sisters' sees Yasmin already settling in. Same with Meena. Continuing his trip, he then sees Zahra organizing her sports equipment.
He then walks past his brothers, who appear to have found their new room and are already unpacking. They are also fighting over who gets top bunk.
"I call dibs on the top bunk!" Deepak declares.
"No fair! I want the top bunk!" Ajit complains.
"I'm older than you!"
"Only for two minutes!"
Noah rolls his eyes again "Some things never change," he mutters before continuing, until he finally found his room.
Placing his backpack and package on the ground, Noah starts pulling out his laptop and places it on the desktop. He then stops and just lays on his new bed, being the lazybones that he is. He grabs his cellphone and starts looking at his Instagram account, going through pages of his old friends. He smiles when he sees pictures of Owen gorging through vast amounts of pizza, or his other friend Cody failing to flirt with a goth girl he had a crush on, Gwen.
While going down Memory Lane, he overhears a pair of voices outside his room. Noah gets up and goes near the door. He can hear his parents talking to the realtor, so he leans in to eavesadrop.
"This house is very good; we'll take it." Rashad says.
"Good, at least you're more eager than the last person who rented It." the realtor says, pleased.
Priyanka raises an eyebrow at that comment "What do you mean by that?"
The realtor shrugs "He said something about this town being 'weird' and 'full of 'mystical creatures' or something like that."
Noah sticks his head out upon hearing that sentence. He raises an eyebrow in curiosity.
"You didn't believe him, did you?" he hears his mother ask
The realtor chuckles "Believing in nonsense like that is bad for business. I assure you that this town is perfectly normal."
Noah thought something was off about the realtor's tone when he spoke. It sounded like denial with hints of desperation, like the guy was trying to sound convincing to his clients, but mostly to himself, as well. But he doesn't pay anymore attention to the matter and continues unpacking, although his curiosity still lingers.
"It looked like it was going to be the same old routine, like it's always been in Ontario. Little did we know, however, that everything would change on our first day of school." Noah narrates.
And that's the first part. Be sure to read parts 2 and 3.
