"This is my other problem, There are four of us now. And I don't know why- but we're feeling MEANER than usual!"
The words echo through Evan Ross' head before he realizes he's having this dream again. The one he hasn't had since he was a kid. Practically a lifetime ago. Maybe it's because he's in a new house now or something. He doesn't know why it's chosen to come back now, really, but instantly, he's teleported back to that awful summer. More specifically, how it had ended. With himself, Andy and Kermit, encircled by four angry clones of Conan Barber. The same Conan Barber who had bullied him through middle school and made his already hell-ish life even more of a living hell, ready to devour him. Conan had eaten the Monster Blood. Of course he'd wind up doing something like that. Then again, it wasn't really Monster Blood, was it? Not the true kind anyway. The blue blobs, or "underwater fighting force" as the Professor had described them, only found their way inside that can of Monster Blood by sheer coincidence. Still, it didn't stop Evan from considering the event just another way Monster Blood had robbed him of a normal childhood. What started out as nothing more than a novelty toy- a can of green slime, the kind you'd find in practically any toy section in any store, spiraled out of control, leading to a chain of events that somehow ended with him suffocated on a street corner by Conan's clones. Not a way out in sight.
In these kinds of nightmares, Evan never survives. The three of them are torn to pieces before he can even scream. In reality, though, events played out differently. Much like the blue blobs, the Conans continued to multiply exponentially as they consumed more and more water, tearing open fire hydrants just to get what they wanted. Each new wave of them were angrier, thirstier than the last and soon, they covered the neighborhood in droves. If Evan could use one word to describe it, it would be chaos. Even the cops and firemen got involved to deal with the Conan situation. Needless to say, the pressurized hoses did little to help.
All seemed hopeless. Hopeless, that is, until Kermit suggested they just wait things out. The blue blobs had eventually turned on each other, so surely the same would eventually happen to Conan? Then bye bye Conan Barber. None of the blobs had survived, after all. That was Kermit's reasoning, and Andy was quick to agree to the plan. I'm sure you have a genius alternative, don't you, Evan? she snarked. Evan was reluctant. He hated Conan, sure, but to just let him die? It seemed a bit screwed up, to say the least, even if a darker side of him liked the idea. But before long, Andy's goading had changed his mind like it always did and the three of them were watching with stunned horror as the Conan clones turned cannibalistic, tearing chunks of flesh out of each other like a zombie flick come to life. The sight of one of the Conans, fresh blood dripping down his mouth, was left etched into his memory, and feels even more vivid as he's forced to relive the moment. As the massacre continues, one of the surviving Conan turns to him and shouts one word: EVAN. His eyes and face are full of such rage it gives Evan chills. No, Goosebumps.
Evan finds himself opening his mouth in a scream of horror before he jolts awake, covered in sweat. As Evan struggles to come back to reality, all that terror floods back into him as he turns his eyes towards something moving at the foot of his bed. Something blue in color. He panics. It must be one of the blue blobs, back to finish off the job!
Evan breathes a sigh of relief as he realizes the blue figure is nothing more than his blanket on the floor. Probably kicked off during his nightmare. Not a monster at all. Still, the color brings back bad memories. At least it's not green, Evan tells himself. He had a whole argument with his mother about it. No way was he touching anything green ever again. Not in this lifetime. It had screwed up so much of his life already. The blue blanket had been a compromise. Not one he was happy about, but a compromise nonetheless. Why couldn't she just have picked red or something? There are more than two fucking colors in the rainbow. Now awake, Evan looks at his alarm. 7 AM. Not enough time to go back to sleep. Not that he even wants to, but it leaves too much time for Evan to wrestle with all the thoughts now running through his head.
Dreams like that feel more like premonitions for Evan. At least that's how he views them. They come creeping into his brain just before something bad was going to happen. Just like the dream he had of his dog, Trigger, getting into the Monster Blood again, growing to the size of a house and swallowing Evan up. That was just days before Cuddles, the hamster in Evan's sixth-grade class, had gotten his own dose of Monster Blood and terrorized the school. Dreams meant bad news for Evan. Still, though, all that stuff was years ago. He was a teenager now, a sophomore in high school. All the terror the Monster Blood had caused finally seemed to be behind him for a change.
He chalks it up as simple nerves. Today is his first day at a new school. His parents decided it was time for a fresh start. While they'd never say it directly, he knew the Monster Blood is largely to blame. At night, he'd overhear his parents arguing, saying how worried they were about him since the green substance had become practically the only thing he'd talk about. Evan's mother once said she'd never seen him smile since that summer at Aunt Kathryn's, and maybe this was true, but it had all caused even more of a rift between Evan and his parents, and they were eager to move somewhere that didn't stir up those bad memories. So they left Atlanta for a small town in Ohio called Dark Falls. Evan had never even heard of it prior. Just the name alone sounded unsettling. Oddly familiar too. Maybe it was on the news or something? But his parents insisted upon the town. It was their first choice, in fact. From what Evan had seen of it, after a weekend spent touring it, Dark Falls looked like your everyday small town, nothing more, and the community was friendly enough. High School was a different story though. Evan didn't quite know what to expect there. Being the new kid hadn't worked out well for him before. That's just because you wouldn't shut up about Monster Blood, he scolded himself. No wonder why everyone thought he was such a weirdo. Just act normal this time around. You can avoid another Conan Barber that way. Conan. Ugh. Evan didn't want to think about him right now. Not after his nightmare.
Maybe I'll just walk to school? Evan questions. Dark Falls was small, after all, so the high school wasn't very far from his house. Plus it would give him the opportunity to clear his head a little bit. Evan made up his mind, getting out of bed and pulling a fresh long-sleeve shirt from his closet. He replaced his current shirt, throwing the new one over his head before buttoning up the top. Evan paused to look at himself in the mirror, a large one of which was fixed on the wall at a slightly crooked angle. His curly ginger hair was currently a mess and the bags under his eyes were more than evident. The shirt did compliment his muscles though, Evan had to admit. He'd spent the past few years working out, vowing if he were ever to encounter any more monsters, he'd be able to fight them this time. Andy would tease the hell out of me if she saw me right now, Evan call me a dork, among many other names. Her new favorite was "fuckboy". She learned that one online. Andy. That was another name he didn't want to think about. Leaving her was the hardest thing. While she promised to visit, Evan knew it wouldn't be the same without her as a neighbor. Now he was back to being on his own again. He hardly had any friends before he met Andy, and surely, Evan never met anyone like her since. She kept things interesting, even if those same things could be dangerous and more often than not, landed him in trouble.
Even walks past the hamster cage on his desk, inside which a tiny animal is currently sleeping.
"Good morning, Cuddles." Evan says to his pet. It doesn't respond.
The hamster wasn't the original Cuddles, the one that had nearly destroyed his middle school after ingesting Monster Blood. No, that Cuddles had lived a long, happy life with him after Mr. Murphy practically gave it away, and had since passed on to wherever animals go when they die. This was Cuddles The Third, named after the original, and technically, the second too, who had also passed, and compared to the first, this Cuddles hardly moved a muscle. Evan wondered if he should get him a new playmate. Another hamster. If he did, he'd name it Andy. After all, everyone needed an Andy in their life, didn't they? Evan slings his backpack over his shoulder, having already packed (hopefully) everything he needs for the first day and leaves a note for his parents, telling them he's walking to school and will see them later. XOXO, Evan. All that jazz. And then he's off, the sound of creaking floorboards following with each step before he's outside, now staring at the front of the house.
On the outside, it doesn't look the friendliest, that's for sure. The blue paint is fading, looking almost gray in color. In fact the whole house feels as if it has been washed over with a coat of deep gray, a color that carries over to the cloudy sky above Evan. Why does Dark Falls have to be so literal in its name? The place is fucking depressing. Maybe there was a time it looked jolly and welcoming, but now is certainly not that time. The trees are practically barren, especially odd considering it's technically still summer, and there are more patches of cold air than there are hot. Maybe it was a good choice that Evan chose long sleeves to wear today, because as he walks, the brisk wind continues to walk alongside him, bringing bits of dead leaves swirling around the streets in a kind of eerie rhythm.
It's about ten minutes of walking before Evan realizes he has no idea where he's actually going. He'd been given directions, but you can bet those fell out of his head very easily. Everything around him looked the exact same. Shit, Evan thought. Shit. Shit. Shit. Am I going to be late on my first day? No. Evan started running, hoping someone could help him. There had to be another teen around here, right? Evan stops just as he reaches a patch of dark trees and freezes as a shadowy figure emerges from behind them.
"Who- who are you?" Evan calls out to the figure in a shaky voice.
It doesn't respond and keeps walking toward him. Before Evan can ask again, the figure is upon him, and this time, there's no way out!