Hi everyone! Agh, gosh, where do I even begin to apologize for taking so long. I've gone and done it again; started to many stories for me to keep up with. But, rest assured, I never leave a story unfinished for forever. Eventually, I get back to all of them. And, well, I was feeling a little bit like writing me some Bone tonight, and, well, this is the result. So, enjoy! And thank you all for your amazing patience!
Fone Bone awoke with a start, momentarily confused as to where he was and what had awoken him so abruptly. Everything was dark, and though he could have been virtually anywhere, he somehow knew he wasn't in his bed in Boneville. His eyes darted around the musky smelling surroundings, his mind beginning to catch up just as he spotted Smiley, Bartleby, and Phoney at his side.
They were back in the Valley.
More than that, they were back in Gran'ma Ben's old farmhouse. But that still didn't answer the question as to what had woken him u-
"HELP!"
Before he had even managed to fully shake the mental cobwebs from his head, Fone jumped to his feet, his experiences in the world of the Valley coming back to him instinctively. His reflexes were faster than most, and his past adventures had sharpened that skill to an almost mastering degree. He was already heading for the door, his voice rising in the darkness as a urgent shout.
"Guys! Wake up! Now!"
With a snort and a gasp, his cousins and Bartleby snapped awake, thrashing their limbs to get untangled from their blankets, but responding just as quickly to the call as Fone had. Smiley even had the forethought to grab a poker from the fireplace. Of the three of them, the taller Bone knew how handy a weapon could be in battle.
Fone Bone made it to the door first, grabbing the handle and giving the old, wooden frame a sharp jerk. Moonlight flooded his vision, causing him to blink, despite it not being all that bright; but it did not obscure his view of the scene playing out before him.
Rat creatures, large and hissing, were no more than twenty paces from the door of the cottage. Their big, bulbous eyes kept catching the moonlight, sending off what almost looked like sparks as the light reflected. They were far larger than Fone Bone remembered, though that might have been because, for the past year, he had only been around Bartleby. And though their rat creature friend was of considerable size, the cousins had long since forgotten that he was still very young, and apparently not full grown.
But it was not the sight of the rat creatures that jolted the Bone into action; it was the sight of Lathan Bone squirming around on the ground, using his trembling hands to try and push away the claws of the beasts trying to grab him.
To his credit, Lathan was putting up quite a fight, legs kicking and arms flailing to the point that the rat creatures seemed reluctant to grab him. But that only lasted a moment. Lathan let out a gasp and a cry as the braver of the to beasts snatched forward, grabbing tight hold of the Bone's exposed neck.
"HEY!" Fone was pretty sure he had never yelled so loudly in his life. Well, not since leaving the Valley anyway.
The rat creatures blinked, turning their enormous eyes on the Bone standing just outside of the cottage door. The moonlight caught the glass-like orbs fully now, making them appear to be glowing a blood crimson. Fone Bone gulped.
"W-Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" It was cliche. He knew it. But it was really the only thing that came to him mind at the moment.
Smiley and Phoney ran up behind him just as the rat creatures gave a threatening hiss, the one dropping Lathan before both creatures were racing for the door and its occupents.
"Holy-" Phoney probably would have sworn, the pure terror that filled him at the sight of two, deadly creatures leaping for him and his cousins. And, frankly, no one would have blamed him for doing so in the least. But the words never fully left his mouth, as, with a horrid hiss of his own, Bartleby leaped over their heads, out the door and landed square in front of the two charging beasts.
The larger animals let out shrieks of surprise, crashing into the smaller rat creature, all three tumbling to the side in something that very much resembled a cat-fight. Bartleby began tearing into the older, more experienced monsters, putting his usually harmless claws and teeth to good use. Fortunately, it was enough to keep the rat creatures' attention away from the cousins. Unfortunately, they had far larger teeth and claws.
Smiley had to stop himself from rushing forward to help his animal-like friend, a flash of concern flitting across his face. But he knew that getting between the three fighting beasts would more than likely sign his death. Bartleby was giving them time, and they needed to utilize it to the best of they ability.
"Come on!"
Fone Bone led his cousins out into the moonlight, feet brushing cold against the moisture that had gathered in the grass. Sounds of hissing and growling became a background cacofony as the Bones raced over to their companion.
Lathan was still gasping for air when Fone Bone slid to his side, kneeling to check him over while Phoney and Smiley kept glancing to a different section of the clearing. Lathan could barely make out a veil of noise coming from that direction, but the ringing in his ears and pounding in his head prevented him from deducing exactly what it was. Even Fone's voice seemed muffled.
"Lathan! Lathan?! Come on, get up!"
Hand gripped him, pulling him to his shaky feet, and then they were running again. Running; the movement making his all the more dizzy and naseous. All he wanted to do was sit for a moment, let the pain pass. But the minute he began to try and drag his feet he was pulled roughly forward, prevented.
Phoney glanced up from his shared hold on Lathan Bone's arms. He and his cousins were running full speed back in the direction of the cottage, for lack of a better shelter. It wouldn't be much, but it was better than being out in the open.
Lathan was muttering something, seeming dazed, and Phoney held back a curse as the Bone's legs nearly gave out. Even with his cousins' help, Lathan was nearly a dead weight. He gave a non-too-gentle tug forward and that seemed to do the trick; though he winced slightly when Lathan cried out in protest.
They were almost to the door.
Wet grass turned to cobblestone flooring as the cousins and their burden raced in through the old threshold, gasping for breath and steadying a moaning Lathan. Smile let go of his hold the minute they crossed inside, allowing Fone and Phoney to finish the job, instead running back to the door to give a sharp, commanding cry.
"BARTLEBY!"
The smaller rat creature's ears perked up, then flattened just in time to escape losing them to one of his adversary's claws. He ducked and dodged the other beasts' talons easily, his youth enabling him to be quick and agile. A few more dodges, and a final raving of his claws across the hide of his enemy, and Bartleby was up and racing for the door and his friends. The two rat creatures, snarling, rose up, following right on his heels.
Smiley braced himself, one hand beckoning frantically as he practically squirmed in place, as though that would somehow turn the situation in their favor. His other hand gripped the door knob, sweaty fingers gripping it so tight that his knuckles creaked under the intensity.
"BARTLEBY, NOW!"
In what was surely the most well timed stunt in history, Bartleby gave a mighty leap, just barely missing the gnashing teeth of his pursuers as he soured up and over Smiley's head as the Bone ducked, his clawed feet sparking against stone as he landed within the cottage. During the leap, when his friend was in mid air, Smiley pulled with all his might, closing the door with a speed that defied most laws of science that he knew of. As Bartleby landed, the door slammed shut, followed almost immediately by the thundering sound of two, full grown rat creatures rubbing up against its surface.
The pure force of the blow nearly threw the door and Smiley three inches, purple fur and claws making its way into the crack between the door and the wall, before Fone Bone lurched forward, adding his weight against the door at Smiley's side. Their combined energy, edged on by fear and desperation, was somehow enough. Fur tore as the door slammed back shut, causing the beasts outside to recoil. Though, surely, not for long.
There was a shriek, and a bit of noise as claws raked against the wood; one of the creatures must be trying to pull its furry hide free of the door. The frame rattled loudly, and it was all Fone and Smiley could do to keep the door from opening any more than a fraction with each buck of the beast.
"What were you thinking?!" Phoney yelled, kneeling as he assisted Lathan to a sitting position; his helpfulness completely opposite his harsh words. When Lathan merely blinked in dazed confusion, the smallest cousin gave a growl, pushing away and running to add his weight to the door as well. Together, the three managed to hold the door a little more steady. But Phoney could just as easily berate someone from afar as he could from up close.
"Why'd ya even go outside?!"
Lathan managed to gain enough awareness to realize he was being scolded. By Phoncible, no less. His fear and frustration came out as one, directed at the shortest cousin heatedly. "That's no concern of yours!"
"The heck it is!" Phoney gritted his teeth as he strained against the door, trying to keep it closed. His feet kept slipping in the dirt of the floor, making his heart sink with each inch of lost ground. His voice cracked, strained to the limit as he gave a commanding bark. "Get over here and help us!"
The true urgency of the moment washing over him, Lathan stumbled to his feet, rushing to place himself beside his companions, his face still flushed with anger against Phoney's accusations. "You're not the boss of me!" He panted, trying to think of a stinging comeback, but all that came out was a pathetic excuse. "I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk!" His blood boiled at the other's sarcastic reply.
"Oh! Yeah! Great idea!"
Sweating and shaking, eyes blown wide and adrenaline raging through them, the Bones tensed in anticipation of the next attack as the first settled to a dull raging. The beasts had regained their freedom from the doorjamb long since, and the sounds of clawing paused, like a calm before a storm. At any moment, any second, they expected the opposing weight to return, and there would be literally nothing they could do against it. Their panic was lending them speed and strength, but that was no advantage against creatures so much bigger than themselves. They expected the rat creatures to tear through the wall, ripping down their only barrier against them. It wouldn't take much. The beasts had done so once, all those many, many adventures ago. Back when Thorn was still nothing but an innocent farm girl, Gran'ma Ben an old woman, and the cousins simple lost travelers. Back then, it had been Gran'ma who had saved them.
She was not here to do so now.
Tense and breathing hard, the Bones and their rat creature companion waited in doomed silence, expecting at any moment for the blow to come, in a shower of wood and splinters.
But the blow never came.
There was a fair amount of hissing, along with the pacing of clawed feet against dirt and stone, but that was all. The sound of the creatures' fury shifted from one side of the door and wall to the other, the beasts prowling but never striking. Then, after a time, even those sounds disappeared, growing first faint, then nonexistent. Pretty soon, all that was left was the rustle of wind in the leaved trees outside, and the frightened panting of those within the small, abandoned cottage.
Still leaning shaking limbs against the door frame, Smiley and Fone looked to one another, sweating and chilled by the cooling ebb of their fear.
"I...I-I think they've...gone?" Smiley's tone was hushed and hoarse. "I don't...hear anything."
Fone Bone nodded dizzily, the rush of adrenaline wearing off and making him feel ill. He waited a moment longer before he allowed himself to slump down against the wood of the door, back sliding down until he was sitting. Smiley mirrored his actions. "Neither do I."
"What is wrong with you?!"
The shout made the two Bones jump, eyes flitting up to a very wrathful Phoney and a cringing Lathan. Both were still standing, shaking, though more now with anger than fear; though the fear certainly had something to do with it. Phoney was rarely this upset anymore, but Lathan had somehow pushed his limits.
"You could have gotten killed!" the small Bone nearly thundered, pushing away from the door to stand stiff, with hands fisted at his sides. "Heck, you could have gotten us all killed!"
"Well, I didn't! So just back off!"
"STOP IT!"
Fone Bone was up and between them in an instant, forever the moderator. His strong command froze the two feuding Bones in place, and silenced everyone until Fone had managed to reign in his wave of anger. He continued in a considerably softer voice. Though it was dangerously low. "Enough, Phoney. Lathan didn't know. How could he? We never told him about the dangers that reside in the forest. He isn't at fault."
Phoney looked slightly cowed by his cousin's words, though it barely showed. He quickly fixed his posture to bring himself to as close to Fone's height as possibly. "Fault, smault. We didn't even know there were still rat creatures in this stupid Valley!"
"Exactly." Fone eyed him sternly. "So no one is at fault. Happy?"
With a disgruntled "no", Phoney crossed his arms, frowning to the side like a pouting child. But Fone paid no attention to that, however. Turning his back on his sulking cousin, Fone shifted his attention to a fully intimidated Lathan. He forced his voice to be calm and gentle. Lathan had just been through a bad fright. Fone should know; he still remembered his first time coming across the monsters of the Valley. There was no use in trying to yell. That would only make things worse.
"You alright?"
Lathan nodded, still dazed. His eyes were comically wide, even more so than his companions, and his mouth hung open in a mix of stunned silence and terrified paralysis. Now that his anger had died off, his terror, and the memory of that terror, returned. His mouth felt uncommonly dry, and his limbs felt weak and frail. It was all he could do to remain standing.
"W-What...What were th-those things!"
"Rat creatures," Smiley supplied, carefully getting to his own feet with Bartleby's help. "Like Bartleby. Only bigger. And less friendly." He said it so matter-of-factly.
Lathan blinked at how calm the cousins seemed to be. Calm, in that they were shaking and sweaty like him, but weren't completely immobilized. They had been scared, yes. Even Lathan could tell that. But a certain, stubborn courage hung on them like residue.
With a shuddering sigh, Lathan took off his little, black derby, running a hand along his head in agitation. "W-Will they be back?"
"I don't think so. They would have done so by now. They could be going to get some reinforcements, but that doesn't seem right." Fone shook his head at their pitiful, ragtag group. "It's not like we're that much of a chore to beat."
"So what scared them off?" Phoney chimed in, his interest in the conversation overriding his stubbornness to keep sulking silently.
Fone Bone shrugged. "Don't know. But I don't think we should hang around to find out. If they're scared of it, we probably should be too." Though he doubted very much that fear had been the force to drive the rat creatures away. Like he had said, it wasn't like four Bones and one, small rat creature were that big of a challenge. Then again, he could be wrong. He could be wrong about a lot of things.
"We'll leave at first light," he concluded. "As soon as the sun starts coming up, we;ll take what we can carry and leave."
Phoney crossed his arms once more, once again dissatisfied. "To where?"
"To wherever isn't here. Now, come on. Let's see what we can find here for provisions."
Fone turned to start searching, the others slowly following in his wake. Lathan stayed a few seconds longer before the door, using it to brace his balance and whirling thoughts. Phoney gave him a final glare and a grumble that sounded uncommonly like 'idiot', before he too moved on from the incident.
"We need some light now, I think," Smiley said, the sound of his ruffling about before the dim light of the room became slightly less dim in the glow of a candle. "I might be able to get the fire back up and going again too. Unless you think I'll draw attention." He looked to Fone, as though for permission.
Fone shrugged. "I think it's quite obvious to the entire forest that we're here. Go'n ahead and make a fire, Smiley. It's okay."
Lathan gave a snort of derision, still upset over the whole ordeal. He pushed away from the door himself, before the anger on his face quickly turned into one of pain. A sharp hiss made its way through his teeth as he suddenly found himself clutching his right hand over his left wrist, tightly. Without even looking, he would have known he was bleeding, just by the warm, wet throb beneath his fingers. But he did look, and so saw it first hand.
Smiley was at his side before the hiss had completely left his mouth, prying his shaking fingers away to have access to the wound. Fone turned back, realizing something was wrong, as did Phoney, boths' hearts dropping at the sight.
"How bad is it?" Fone asked.
"Not...too bad." Smiley's answer was more cheerful than it should have been, as though he were trying to hide his true thoughts on the subject, but he was at least partially right.
The 'wound' was more of a scratch. Or three nasty scratches, made by three very nasty claws. The blood looked so dark and red against his pale, white skin, and even in the dim light of the cottage it was easy to see the mess of stain it was creating. Lathan continued to squirm and hiss with each gentle movement Smiley made.
"Bet it stings, though," Smiley commented.
Teeth gritted and eyes watering slightly, Lathan gave him a nod of agreement.
No one had noticed that Phoney had already gathered the leftover water from their stew, what they hadn't used, and brought it over. He handed Smiley a rag as well, not looking Lathan in the eyes, but clearly subdued from his anger just before.
It took only a short time for the wound to be all cleaned up. Lathan had yelped and squirmed all the more, but he had good reason, Smiley supposed. The fellow was from the city, as they had always been. Life in Boneville was pretty cozy. One didn't often meet with injuries, like those often obtained through adventure. Smiley remembered when he had first arrived in the Valley. He had been little more than a village idiot back then. His life had comprised of making jokes and pulling stupid pranks. It had always been all he needed back home. But as his adventures in the Valley with his cousins had carried on, he had become more and more aware that life wasn't a game. People got hurt; he had seen it. He'd been hurt too, to a degree. He'd even seen his own cousins get hurt, and it had wiped away every ridiculous notion about life he had ever had up until that point. He still knew how to have fun. But he also knew how to be serious.
He figured it was much the same with Lathan. Life in Boneville was not life in the Valley; especially when adventure was involved. Vaguely, Smiley wondered what kind of person this adventure would make Lathan into.
"There you go! Good as new."
Lathan looked down at his bandaged wrist. "It's...certainly colorful." They had had no choice but to use his necktie as a bandage, to stop the flow of blood and keep the wound clean. But it still felt a little...silly. Or, at least, like a waste of a perfectly good Christmas present.
Fone Bone smiled, clapping his hands together as though preparing for a great project. "Okay. Like I said before; let's see what we can find here for provisions."
Turned out there really wasn't all that much more in the old farmhouse that was salvageable. There were the few blankets they had already found, and a bit of very dry bread that even a starving man would have had a tough time choking down. Plenty of pottery resided in a cupboard, but the travelers had very little use for that. In the end, they finished they scouring with very little reward; coming up with only the blankets and a few extra water sacks. They might starve, but they wouldn't die of thirst.
"We should try and get a little sleep, at least," Fone directed, when they had all rejoined in the cottages center with their meager findings. "The rat creatures won't attack more than once in a night; I'm sure of it."
Bartleby hissed in agreement. "True. True, they will not. I do not sense any of my kind for a very great distance. Not at all."
"And just how big a range of a sniffer have you got?" Lathan questioned, sitting on a dusty, grey stool by the now empty fire. He felt rather then saw the glare Phoncible gave him.
Smiley took up the answer, even though he himself was only guessing. He could still feel the hostility between his cousin and Lathan, and was hoping to make as light a conversation as he could. "Oh, Bartleby can sense things for miles. Like he could sense the Valley from the desert."
"Then, Bartleby," Fone interjected carefully. "Maybe you can keep watch? You know, just to keep up the alert?"
The young rat creature nodded its furred head eagerly. "I can do that. I have slept all I have need to."
"I'll stay up with him," Smiley added quickly. When he saw Fone open his mouth to protest, he added even quicker, "I'm really not tired. We can switch off. Do shifts."
It wasn't that bad of an idea.
"Sure." Fone Bone sounded reluctant. But, in all honesty, he was exhausted. Exhausted and frustrated. Frustrated by their return to the Valley not being anything like he had envisioned. The place, though it had once held its horrors for him and his family, was a place he thought of very fondly. He had sensed it was in trouble, but nothing like he had witnessed so far. Where was everyone? The people; the animals; the very nature of the Valley? It seemed to have all been choked out, and it frustrated Fone because he had no idea how or why. And he was exhausted from trying to figure it out.
"Sure," he concluded more strongly. "Wake one of us when you get tired and we'll switch off."
"Okey-dokey. 'Night."
"Night, Smiley."
The Bones settled down for the night, returning once again to the messed up sheets and blankets of their beds. Smiley settled at Bartleby's side over by the door, watching his animal friend as his ears and senses worked to keep them safe. Before long, he could hear the sounds of light snoring, the kind that is only little puffs of air against a folded arm. Lathan was a little bit louder than Fone Bone, which Smiley found funny, since Lathan was smaller. Just about Phoney's height.
And speaking of Phoney...
"I know you're awake."
Smiley's voice was soft, even lower than a whisper, but it somehow carried a fair amount of disapproval. There was a moment of silence before Phoney sat up with a frown.
"How can you tell?" he whispered back, a little too hoarsely. Fone Bone groaned in his sleep and turned over, before his soft snoring continued. Phoney lowered his voice, asking again. "How where you able to tell?"
Smiley shrugged. "Just can." He watched as his cousin nodded, the older seemingly uncertain of what to say next. Smiley could tell something was on his mind. "Want to talk?"
"'Bout what?"
"I don't know. Lot's happened in the last few days. And I don't even remember the first part of it." Smiley's half smile dropped. "I...don't really like that."
Phoney, for all of his greedy, selfish life in the past, could always tell when there was something wrong with his family. After a blink, he carefully rose from his blankets and crept past their sleeping companions. He gave Bartleby a rare and comforting pat on the back as he slid down to sit beside his younger cousin.
"Don't you remember any of it? I mean, you walked right out of the city and into the desert, Smiley...That's kinda hard to not remember."
Smiley curled his legs up to meet his chest, wrapping his arms and locking them around his knees. "And yet...I don't...It's just like..." He broke off, gnawing anxiously at his lip.
Phoney cocked his head, now even more concerned. Impatient, but concerned. "It's like what?"
"Like just before all that darkness came into our apartment back in Boneville. After you guys got back from the meeting and all. It just feels like..." He shuddered. "Like we're being watched."
Phoney shuddered too. He didn't want to admit it, but, now that they were the only ones awake, he felt very much the same way. "And you...you think its...him."
Smiley opened his mouth, but no answer came to him. He ended up just shaking his head. "I don't see how it could be."
"Yeah. Me either."
"But...something's wrong."
"Yeah. I know, Smiley."
"And it's getting worse."
"I know." His voice was tight now, and Smiley glanced down to him worriedly.
"Are you alright?"
No. That was what he wanted to say. But, instead, he answered, "Why wouldn't I be?" He always had to make it difficult, didn't he.
Smiley shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I don't know. You're not sleeping, for one thing."
That caught Phoney by surprise. "W-What?"
"You're not sleeping. Nightmares. Right?"
Phoney lowered his gaze, slightly embarrassed. "...Yessss." He breathed the answer like a hiss. Like it pained him to admit. He allowed his true exhaustion to show, dropping his head down into the palms of his hands. "That's right...I forgot you witnessed that." He couldn't believe he had forgotten that Smiley had been there the other night when he had woken up kicking and shouting.
Smiley nodded sagely. "It's alright though; you didn't wake me up. I've been having them too."
Yes. Now that Phoney was thinking about it, Smiley had already told them that. And, from the sound of it, he had been having them for a heck longer time than he had. Phoney couldn't think of anything else to say but, "Sorry. Wish there was something I could do."
Again Smiley nodded. "I think we're already doing it."
"What'd ya mean?"
"I mean, coming here to the Valley feels...right. Somehow. You know? I think we're going to find the answers here."
Phoney shrugged eyes drooping but to afraid of nightmares to let them fall. "Yeah. Maybe." He hoped so. They sat in silence a moment, before Phoney gave a light cough. "Um...Is it alright if I sit up with you two? I mean, just until I get, ya know, sleepy?"
Smiley gave a very soft chuckle. "Sure."