{Here are the first two chapters in "Monsters of Brightmoor". Enjoy!}
1: Velma
The eerie air sat around Velma as she walked to the door of Dinkley Bookstore. This morning was very cold, and she shivered as her hands found the metal keys in her pocket. She also found her phone, and quickly checked the time. 7:58 AM. Velma’s bookstore opened at 8. Right on time, she thought. Velma was about to put the correct key into the door’s lock, when someone behind her suddenly shoved her forward.
“Jinkies!” Velma cried out, as she stumbled toward the door. Her whole body had jumped from the strong impact, causing her glasses to fall off her face. Once Velma caught herself, she whipped her head around to glare at the person who shoved her, but all she saw was the simple sidewalk ahead. She thought she could see movement in the bushes around her, but everything was blurry without her eyewear. Velma yelled out to try to scare them off, but whatever pushed her was gone.
“My glasses,” she muttered, “I can’t find my glasses.” She crouched down and searched through the cut grass for them.
Suddenly, out in front of her, a blurry hand held her glasses.
“Like, are you looking for these?” the familiar voice said.
Velma recognized the voice as the higher-pitched cracking voice of her friend, Shaggy.
She grabbed them, smiling, and put them on. Velma was about to say thank you when she gasped.
Stood before her was not her friend. It was a stranger. He was tall, and wore an overcoat and hat, but no eyes or face could be seen. He wore black work gloves, and was holding a tape recorder in one of his hands. In the other, was a large sack.
Velma screamed as the stranger threw the sack over her body, swallowing her into darkness.
2: Fred
Fred checked his phone. The time read 6:49 PM, and there were no new messages. He sighed, and put his phone back in his pocket. Fred grabbed his football from the ground and threw it again, aiming for the middle of the golden poles.
The pigskin sailed through the goalpost, and Fred smiled. But, as the football fell to the earth, it crashed into the forest behind Brightmoor University, and Fred’s smile morphed into a frown. He checked his phone again: 6:51 PM, no new messages. He had nine minutes to find the football before the field’s shining lights above him blinked off.
Fred walked into the forest, and used his phone as a flashlight to try to locate the ball. No luck.
He checked his phone one more time: 6:59 PM, 1 new message. Surprised, Fred opened the text. He wasn't expecting a text from anyone.
Suddenly, the lights shut down, and the only illumination was the rectangular screen of Fred’s phone. He looked around. It was almost impossible to see where to walk, because the fog began to thicken. Fred ignored it for a moment and looked at the message.
FROM: Velma Dinkley
“Hey Fred! I found a mystery for us to solve- our first one of the summer! Grab the gang and come to the Dinkley Bookstore as quick as you can. Thanks!”
{What do you think of the story so far? Comment below! I will post the next few chapters soon.
}