A/N: Just an FYI, I'm using short-haired Rapunzel as Boo's teenage self, so you guys can get a better idea of what she looks like! That's why Punzie is in the cover photo!

Boo smiled as Mike held her. Sulley was trying to warn Mr. Waternoose of Randall's schemes, but he insisted that he give a scare demonstration to the new scare recruits.

"Kitty." Boo said, hopping from Mike's grasp.

"No, Boo. No, no!" Mike whispered.

Boo waddled over to Sulley who gave in to Mr. Waternoose. Mike tensed as he watched Boo stand by the bed, where the robot child was sleeping. Sulley inhaled deeply and gave a large roar.

I gasped at the sound of the train's roaring whistle. Then, I calmed down and rubbed my eyes. Yawning, I looked out my window and gasped at the landscape before me. There was a large field of yellow grass and it had several trees with leaves of many colors. The sky was bright blue and reflected off the great lakes. I grabbed my backpack and took out my sketchbook. It was pink, of course, and I sketched out what I saw as fast as I could.

As the train moved along, I noticed that I was alone on the train. I checked my pockets and realized I didn't have much money left. Sighing, I sat up and put my bear away in my pack. I decided to speak with the engineer about how far we were from Kansas.

I brushed my short hair really quick and slid on a pair of yellow rainboots. Adjusting my dress, I walked through the train carts until I reached the engineer's cabin. I knocked on the door and waited. When no one answered, I knocked again.

No one was answering. I looked up at the sun and guessed it was late afternoon so the engineer couldn't have been sleeping.

"Hello? Anybody in there? Anybody?" I asked, putting my mouth close to the door.

I pushed against the door to try and hear something, but the door flung open and I fell inside the room. I brushed off my dress and gasped when I saw the engineer lying dead on the floor. He had a cut behind his neck and appeared to have died from bleeding too much. I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from screaming, and stood up.

No one was driving the train, and I was alone. I looked around to see if there was something I could do to stop the train. I didn't know how to work a train, but I tried what I had seen in movies. I saw a large lever and used all of my strength to pull it. I managed to pull it, but fell on my back in the process.

The train made a sudden stop but kept going. I remembered that trains take several minutes to actually stop when you pull the lever. Looking ahead, I saw that the tracks ahead had been destroyed. My jaw dropped and I shook my head.

"No way." I said, in disbelief.

I'm gonna have to jump.

I ran out of the cabin as the train screeched. Quickly, I ran to the cart where I was sleeping and grabbed my backpack. When I went to open the door to get out of the cart, it wouldn't open. I gasped and began to push my weight against.

"No, no, no!" I cried.

I didn't have much time, so I sat in a chair by a window and gave it a good kick. The glass cracked and another kick finally broke it. I shielded my face from the glass and stood on the chair. Suddenly, I felt something grab my ankle. I screamed as I fell off the chair and landed on my stomach.

I turned and screamed when I saw nothing there behind me. But, something was holding my ankle. I began to panic and kicked at the invisible figure holding me and managed to hit it. My ankle felt free and I ran to the chair and stood on it. Then, I climbed through the window and jumped out of the train.

Without looking back, I ran as fast I could. I could hear the distant train crash but didn't look back. It was getting dark and I was all alone in the wilderness. I walked through the beautiful landscape and nearly collapsed when I saw a cabin in the distance. I ran towards it, even though I was exhausted. Once I reached it, I knocked on the door. A man opened the door and looked surprised to see me. He gave me a humored smile.

"Yes? Can I...help you?' he asked.

I was out of breath. "Hi, how are you? Look, I just survived a train accident and I really need a place to stay for the night. Also, I have a feeling I'm being followed but I won't be here long. So, you don't have to;"

I paused and realized I was babbling. The man chuckled and smiled at me. Suddenly, a woman came to the door and stood beside the man.

"What's wrong, honey?" she asked, glancing at me.

'Oh, this girl says she was in a train wreck. She needs a place to stay." the man replied.

"Just for the night." I added, quickly.

"Oh, well, we don't ususally see people wandering around out here. This place is basically in the middle of nowhere." the woman explained to me.

"Ah, right. Well, if it's too much I'll just keep walking and maybe run into someone else." I said, stepping back and shrugging.

"No, no, its' fine. Y'all can stay if you want." the woman said, opening the door wider.

I thanked them and entered their house. Normally, I would never have done such a thing. But, someone did just try to kill me, so I didn't have many options. The couple, I assumed they were a couple, were very kind to me. We ate some supper and they told me a little about themselves. The man was named Melvin and the woman was Sally.

"So, where are you from?" Sally asked, sipping some coffee.

"Florida." I lied.

"Really? What's a gal like you coming here from Florida for? And all alone?" Sally asked.

"I needed to find something. It's kind of been haunting me." I shrugged like it didn't matter.

"What were you looking for, Kate?" Melvin asked.

I gave them my foster mom's name just because it was the only one that was in my head. I apologized to Kate in my head.

"Well, I don't know if I should say. It'll sound crazy." I said.

"Give it a shot." Melvin smiled.

I sighed. "I'm looking for a monster. It was last seen in Kansas and I need to find it."

Sally giggled. "That's all? I've heard of the monster. But, isn't that too dangerous for a little girl to handle?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. But, I felt like I've seen it before. Maybe catching it will give me some answers. I told you it was crazy."

"It is a bit crazy, but we ain't your parents so we won't judge or tell you what to do. But, you should be careful, you hear?" Sally asked.

I nodded. "I will."

"I think we all better head to bed. It's really late." Melvin yawned.

Sally and I nodded in agreement and headed to bed. I had my own room because Melvin and Sally had had a daughter before she left home for a career. It was a nice room and better then mine back at home. I laid in my bed and looked at the ceiling. I figured that Melvin and Sally thought I was playing some game with them and they were just playing along. I didn't care since I wasn't stayin, anyway. My eyes widened when I heard a tap at my window. I sat up and heard another tap.

Something's out there.

I got up from bed and walked over to the window. A pebble was tossed at the window, and then another. I frowned and opened the window. I looked around but didn't see anyone. Then, I gasped loudly as I heard something rustling in the bushes by my window. I narrowed my eyes and figured it was some dumb animal.

I grabbed a small bat from inside the room and climbed out the window, towards the bushes. I felt my heart beat faster as I stepped closer. A bead of sweat went down my forehead and down the side of my face. Then, I swung the bat at the bushes. A little squirrel jumped out and ran off. I scoffed and went back to the window.

So much for that.

I climbed through the window and closed it. Then, I went back to bed and slept.

The next morning, I got up and grabbed my backpack. Sally insisted that I took her daughter's old jacket to keep warm. I told her she didn't have to but she was persistent. She grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it. The door wouldn't budge. Then, she closed her eyes and smiled.

"What?" I asked.

"I forgot that our daughter always kept her closet locked. I'll grab the key from her dresser." Sally replied, walking to the dresser.

"She...locked her closet?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sally nodded. "When she was little she always told us that monsters would come into her room at night and scare her. She cried every night until we decided to buy her a lock for her closet door. Poor little thing."

"She saw monsters?" I asked, suspiciously.

"Yeah, silly little gal. She used to draw pictures of 'em and hang 'em in her room. I kept most of the drawings in her dresser to make fun of her when she visits. Funny, huh?" Sally asked, laughing.

I faked a laugh. "Oh, yeah! Very funny, Sally."

Sally smiled. "Well? Ready to go?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute to make sure I have everything." I said, holding up my backpack.

Sally nodded and went out to the front of the house to wait for me with Melvin. Quickly, I went to the dresser and looked for drawings. I found a few but none of the monsters matched the drawings I had done. Excpet one. The one of the purple lizard creature. Our drawings looked pretty similar and I realized that I had to leave immediately.

I ran out of the room and thanked the couple. They waved at me as I walked off. When I looked back and they had gone inside, I ran like a mad woman. I had to find a town quick and get to Kansas. Luckily, I found a road and walked on it, hoping to get a car ride.

After about two hours, a car drove by but ignored my cries for a ride. I sighed and kept going. Three more cars came by but ignored me. The fourth one actually picked me up. It was an old woman using her husband's old truck. I asked her to dro me off near a town and she agreed. I paid her some money and thanked her.

The town was pretty big and I was happy to be back in a place with large groups of people. I headed for the town train station and got on the next train to take me to Kansas. It was a two day journey and there weren't any accidents. Thank God.

When the train arrived, I set out to find the swamp with the creature. Several people told me of rumours that the monster was still in the building where it disappeared and I decided to look there first. The swamp didn't bother me, since I had rubber boots on. I trudged along the swamp until I reached the abandoned building. It was starting to get dark so I took out my flashlight.

I was pretty scared but I was too far to back down. The building appeared to be very old and infested with mice. But, luckily, I only heard the mice and didn't run into one. The building's walls were covered in plants and vines. The building looked like a small tire factory. Tires were everywhere and I tripped over several of them. I was surprised it was such a small factory for a big town.

I spotted a closed door and walked towards it. I squinted and thought I saw a faded red light above the door. Something in my head told me I had seen it before. And, for once, I felt like I had seen something familiar before.

"It must've been dark last night because THIS is its door." Mike said, opening the door.

"Uh, sir, that's not her door."

"I know, I know. It's yours."

I opened my eyes and remembered that doors like these only worked if the red light was completely on. The light was flickering on and off, so I Iooked around for a way to fix it. I shined my flashlight and found a tool box already there.

Someone must've tried to get it open. Maybe the light needs more power.

I opened the toolbox and took out a wrench. I looked around the doorframe and found a small converter. I used the wrench to unscrew the screws and found a bunch of wires. They weren't too old and I knew a few things about wires from setting up game consoles and televisions, so I gave it a shot. I mixed the wires and tied a few together and looked up at the light. It was still blinking.

"There's not enough power." I muttered.

I used my flashlight to try and find some sort of control room. Instead, I found a switch. It was huge so I had to use both arms to pull it up. Once I did, the lights in the building came on and I giggled.

Yes!

I turned off my flashlight and headed to the door and smiled at the fully lit red light. I reached for the doorknob, then paused.

What am I doing? I'm here to find a monster, not explore.

I drew my hand back, but then brought it to the knob again.

Maybe a peek.

I opened the door and noticed the room inside was barely lit. Suddenly, something from behind shoved me in and I fell inside, with the door shutting behind me.