Chapter One - The Rabbit Hole

They lived in the woods, in nothing more than a deteriorating two-bedroom shack. Their family was part of the recent gossip in town, particularly the second youngest daughter. She had two older brothers and a younger sister. She didn’t go to school much; her grades were below average. Even more curious, she isolated herself from the other students as if she were afraid. It was more than anxiety; she wasn’t just nervous. There was pure, solid fear radiating from her soul.

People had a lot to say about Jenna McCarthy and her life, yet the full complexity about the events that had occurred were never portrayed. Rumors fly through small towns; some people said Jenna was the way she was because her daddy beat all four of the children. Some said it was because she watched her momma kill him and then herself. Some said both. Nobody knew the actual reason, but little Jenna sure was the talk of the town for a while without ever speaking a word.

Jenna’s oldest brother was Cole Matthews, carrying a different surname because his daddy wasn’t hers. He was already eight years old when Becca gave birth to Jenna, taking his little brother outside every day to play and escape their step-daddy’s wrath. Things calmed down around the house after her birth, and Dale McCarthy became a tolerable man for a while. Penelope was born three years after Jenna, and it was shortly after her second birthday party when Dale’s anger and abuse was resurrected. The party balloons hadn’t even deflated yet before he caught his wife, Becca in another man’s bed, but he just couldn’t bring himself to divorce her, even if it would have been the best decision to make for all of them. He said it was against his nature. That was when he started taking his daily anger out on his wife and kids, right up until the day Becca killed him.

It was a fairly cool day in September. Birds were chirping outside, the leaves on the trees were starting to turn. There was a nice breeze swaying their branches. Penelope and Jenna were in their bedroom, Penelope coloring and Jenna writing. Cole opened the front door of their measly shack to be greeted with a stern look from a police officer, who was looking at him over the shoulder of Cole’s younger brother, Dillon.

“This your son, sir?”

“Brother,” he sighed, swearing he couldn’t have looked that old. “I’m the legal guardian, yes.”

A drawn-out clicking noise was heard and Dillon’s once-bound hands hung freely by his side. The sixteen year old rubbed lightly at his wrists, staring at Cole with a crooked grin on his face, unflinching.

“Caught him trying to shoplift from Uncle Buddy’s Convenience with a few of his friends,” the officer drawled, putting his hands on his hips. He seemed to stare into their home more intensely than what was wanted at that moment, so Cole shifted to block his good view. The officer continued, “Never had trouble with him before, not like the convicts he was grouped with. Gonna let him off the hook this time.”

He peered at Cole with narrowed eyes, “You kids holdin’ up okay?”

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Constructive criticism welcome.

Chapter One

“We’re doing fine,” Cole said, followed by a tight-lipped smile. “Thank you for your concern.”

“Alrighty then,” the officer drew out the first word. “You boys take care of yourselves. Give the station a call if you need anything.”

“Will do, sir,” Cole said, gently closing the door after Dillon stepped in. The officer’s gesture was made on good intentions, but their home had no working phone. Cole worked a mediocre factory job tirelessly enough just to put food on the table, much less buy a phone.

Having been distracted for only a brief second by his thoughts, Cole then turned to the teen who had just lazily sprawled out on the worn couch, and pointed an accusing finger at him. “You’re a bum,” he growled, almost sounding exasperated.

“Yeah, and you’re right ugly,” Dillon retorted, forearm thrown over his eyes. “Tell me something new that might make me give a damn.”

Cole’s frustration was overwhelming him. He could feel it in his chest, and he could feel it clouding his head. Several deep breaths through his nostrils lightened it a bit, but the agitation couldn’t be ignored. Another rant with raised voices, most likely leading to a brawl would not alter this kid’s attitude or change his mind about life. It seemed like nothing would. Dillon was too distraught, sulking and troubled from his mother’s suicide, and oh, his vanished father and murdered step-father who had abused him all his life prior to his death. That’s what people said. The truth was that Dillon had his biological father’s blood in his veins. He was a thief. A lying, apathetic thief.

“You just don’t care, do you?”

“Umm, nope.”

“You’re no better than Dale, or dad for that matter,” he added. “Speaking of which, why don’t you go find him and mooch and live off of his money? Go rob a bank together. Perfect father-son bonding time.”

It was a pathetic excuse for a proper insult, but it drew Dillon to his feet in anger. “Fine,” he said, voice raised just below a shout, but calm. He reached into his coat pocket and Cole flinched, thinking his brother was about to pull a gun on him. Instead, three wrapped cinnamon buns were flung onto the carpet in front of him.

“If you’re so against it,” Dillon said, uncharacteristically beside himself, “Don’t eat one. Let the girls split it.”

He waited, silently begging Cole for a response. Receiving none, he turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

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Chapter One

Cole snatched the goodies off of the floor, too angry and admittedly shocked to fully register what had just happened. He entered the room that the girls were in, unintentionally opening the door so forcefully that its handle hit the wall with a loud bang. Jenna immediately curled into a ball, hands over her head. The pencil and notebook that was in her lap slid to the floor, and she peeked out of hiding when she realized she was safe. Penelope turned to Cole with a wide grin, round glasses perched at the tip of her nose.

“Hey,” she said, looking up at him. “What do you got?”

“Treats,” he smiled softly, handing one to Jenna, making sure to be extra gentle, and then one to Penelope.

“Wow!” Penelope gasped, turning the bun over in her hands. She tugged at its plastic wrapping and it popped open. She sniffed it curiously. “It doesn’t smell like anything. Where did you get it?”

Cole began to feel skeptical about the snacks. He knew most plastic-wrapped baked goods from Buddy’s Convenience were a bit stale and flavorless, but that wasn’t what concerned him. He knew where he got them from, but where did Dillon get them from? How was he sure they came from Buddy’s? He wouldn’t put it past his brother to give them something that would harm them, but then again, why would he? Cole let the thoughts fade.

“Dillon bought them,” he said softly, deciding not to take the credit. He watched Penelope take a bite and felt his heart beat quicker. She hummed happily, obviously enjoying the flavor. He looked over and was surprised to see that Jenna had already eaten the entirety of hers. She grinned at him widely. Cinnamon buns were her favorite and it had been so long since she’d last had one. It was a delicacy.

“Tell him thank you,” she said pointedly. She’d heard them arguing. The walls were thin, and she already knew Dillon left. He wasn’t significant to her. She didn’t love him any more than she was socially obligated to. And even though his absence meant nothing other than that the police would stop knocking on their door (you know, maybe), she still was upset with Cole for handling it the wrong way.

“This is yummy,” Penelope said between bites. “Tell him thanks!”

Jenna watched Cole hug their little sister and then come to pat her on the shoulder. He knew she didn’t like hugs and he respected that. He looked into her blue eyes and sincerely whispered, “He’ll be back. He’ll be fine,” without knowing if he believed his own words.

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Chapter One

He couldn’t afford to be bothered with it at that particular moment. There was supper to made, homework to be finished, and studying to be done. Cole was attempting to attend a local community college while working a job that paid below minimum wage, and support his two little sisters and his little brother at the same time. It was a burden that no eighteen year old should have had to bear only two years after the deaths of their parents, but Cole was tackling that burden head-on, determined not to let his siblings be put into foster care.

The deaths of Becca and Dale were somehow relieving, Cole thought. It gave him a strange sort of peace of mind knowing that neither of them would hurt another human being again. He knew that his mother was a better person than Dale by a long shot. However, Dale was the second person that Becca had cheated on that Cole knew of. She wasn’t exactly morally sound.

The sun outside was dipping below the horizon when Cole lowered his psychology book and peered at Jenna. She was lying on the floor in front of the couch he was seated at, staring at the ceiling. He looked around briefly before asking, “Where’s Penelope? I’m fixin’ to make grilled cheese sandwiches for supper.”

“Can I help?” Jenna asked, ignoring his question.

“If you find your sister and get washed up,” he sighed, setting the textbook aside and walking over to their kitchen’s sink. He was surprised when the water still fell from the tap. Their water bill was overdue.

Jenna mocked his sigh, exhaling heavily through her nose. She wasn’t bothered by the request, though, and instead of refusing, she pulled herself off of the floor and walked past her brother to exit the back door. On the bottom doorstep, she found herself faced with tall weeds and thick woods that she often explored and played in. Her eyes scanned over the weeds and trees quickly before she called out to her sister.

“Penelope?” she yelled. “You out here?”

She waited. For a few moments, her only response was the hissing of the tree leaves as the wind rustled them against each other. Clouds were gathering overhead, signaling an incoming storm. Jenna stepped off the bottom stair and worked her way through the grass that bit at her ankles and made them itch. She pushed a strand of blonde hair out of her vision and trudged into the forest, careful to tread only where she’d been before.

As she cautiously neared an enormous fallen oak, she could hear the faint shushing of someone calming another. Making her footsteps fall as lightly as feathers across the multicolored leaves upon the ground, Jenna peered over the top of the trunk and caught sight of her sister’s frizzy red hair. Coming closer, she gasped at the creature sitting in Penelope’s lap.

“What is that?!” she practically shrieked even though her voice was but a whisper.

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Chapter One

Penelope gathered the animal into her arms and hugged it to her chest protectively, as if it were her own child. She turned around and faced Jenna, exclaiming, “It’s a baby eagle!”

The creature peered up at Jenna with bulging eyes, obviously frightened. Its irises were thin, red rings circling around big, black pupils. It certainly had the features of an eagle, Jenna noted, what with its bright yellow-orange beak, its feathered wings, and its two front legs that did resemble that of a bird’s, sharp talons on the ends and all. However, there was an obvious presence of fur on its smokey torso, as well as a large tuft of thick, white fur on its chest. Furthermore, it had back legs and paws, and a long lion’s tail swinging warily back and forth. When it opened its beak, a soft melodic chirp erupted from its throat.

“Well,” Jenna seemed to inhale the word. “It sure is as big as an eagle!”

When she took a single step forward, the creature let out a blood-curdling shriek and vanished in a cloud of blue mist. The mist left behind a bad smell and sour taste in Jenna’s throat, as well as a fuzzy feeling in her head. As she coughed and attempted to fan the mist away, she watched her little sister fall over onto her side beneath the tree.

“Penny?!” she gasped, feeling faint herself. She had managed to climb half-way over the tree trunk before she, too, fell unconscious.

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Chapter Two

As he waited for Jenna to return with their little sister, Cole had picked his textbook back up and was absently flipping through its pages. He sighed, setting it on the kitchen counter, and stared out their front window. Rain had begun to fall lightly, and the clouds made the evening much darker than it should have been. A quiet, distant roll of thunder broke the silence and calmed Cole’s mind, but only until her realized that his sisters were still out in the woods. Again, he sighed. He turned and opened the back door, and was hit with shock when he saw Dillon standing in front of him with Penelope limp in his arms, unconscious. Before the shock wore off, he felt anger toward his brother and, admittedly, a bit of fear.

“What did you do?” he asked, voice low and threatening.

“I didn’t do anything,” said Dillon, forcing himself past Cole to lay Penelope on their couch. “She’s not hurt. She’s just asleep. Jenna’s still in the woods, in a whole bunch of poppy flowers. I’m guessing that’s why they fell asleep - the poppies.”

Cole was doubtful. “Poppies don’t really make you fall asleep,” he said. “That’s just in the stories. A myth.” As he thought, it made less sense. “And they don’t grow in autumn. Do they?”

Dillon put a hand tenderly on Penelope’s forehead before turning to Cole with a stoic expression. “Stranger things have happened in Rockwell. RIght?”

“I’ll go get Jenna,” the other replied, disregarding the statement his brother had made.

“No.”

Having started for the back door again, Cole stopped in his tracks and looked at Dillon. Puzzled, he asked, “Why not?”

“I know where she is,” he argued. “She was with Penny. I’ll go get her.”

“I’m going with you.”

“No,” Dillon was raising his voice. “You have to stay with Penny.”

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Chapter Two

Cole put his hands to either side of his face in frustration. It was beginning to be just another back-and-forth argument that would get them nowhere, and was ultimately leaving their little sister out in the cold and rain in the woods, longer and longer.

“Look,” said Cole after a moment of silence, “You’re the younger one here, okay? And I am technically your parent now. Penny will be just fine; I was taking care of you and myself when I was seven years-”

“Fine,” Dillon interrupted. “Let’s go.”

If he found himself feeling any more surprised, he might just explode, Cole thought. Nonetheless, he trailed after Dillon into the woods. Crickets chirped and frogs croaked, and both brothers were getting pummeled with rain. Dillon maneuvered through the trees skillfully, almost moving faster than Cole could keep up. Cole was broad and bulky, and Dillon was thin and lanky. Having been looking at the ground, Cole bumped into his little brother, who turned around and practically snarled at him.

Jenna was lying across the fallen oak on her belly. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing lightly and rhythmically, obviously deep in the clutches of sleep. Cole bent over and reached down to shake her awake.

“Stop!” Dillon shouted before he could touch her. Cole looked at him incredulously and saw him biting his lip.

“What?”

“Just hold on a second, okay?” he said, crouching beside Jenna. He lay his hands over her head, not quite touching her. Cole watched with a puzzled expression, utterly confused. He wondered if his brother had lost his mind.

Withdrawing his hands, Dillon looked up at Cole and innocently asked, “Did you eat the cinnamon bun?”

With that question, it clicked in Cole’s head. That must have been it. The snacks Dillon brought them must have been what made the girls faint. He was trying to hurt them.

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Chapter Two

“You gave them poison,” he said accusingly, backing away from Dillon. “You made them pass out.”

“What?” Dylan shook his head, making an almost disgusting face at his brother. “No. Cole - stop!”

He had turned and begun to run away, feeling like a coward for running from his little brother and leaving his sister behind. As he started to run, he ran into something that caused him to fall backward into the mud. When he looked up, there was nothing, and yet he still felt the sting of being slapped in the face with something sharp. He touched his cheek lightly and withdrew bloody fingertips. Frantic, his eyes searched for his assailant fruitlessly. There was no sound but the rain. He felt wind, as if something had just leaped over him, and turned in time to see Dillon be knocked to the ground by an invisible force.

“For gods sakes!” Dillon yelled, head lifted from the ground as something kept the rest of his body from moving. “Eat this!”

Another plastic package was thrown at Cole, only this time it was a brownie. Quickly and without question, he opened the treat and shoved it into his mouth. Within the minute it took for the attacker to fade into view, Dillon had been flung against a tree and a heavy pressure on his chest suffocated Cole. The monster above him closely resembled a black dog. One of its three heads peered down at Cole, sharp teeth bared, and growling slowly became audible.

“What the-”

“Hell Hound,” said Dillon between gasps of air. He swatted his hand toward the enormous beast, a weak spark of purple light falling from his fingers onto the soggy leaves beside him. He cursed under his breath weakly.

A sharp shriek tore through the air. Cole and Dillon both turned to see Jenna cowering behind the log, staring at the creature with its paw upon Cole’s chest.

“Jenna,” Dillon said, low and calm. “Don’t move or make a sound. Actually, I do want you to move. Come to me. Slowly.”

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Chapter Two

Jenna nodded her head quickly and kept her eyes focused on the beast as she started tip-toeing toward her brother. A loud boom of thunder caused her to jump, startled, but still she moved slowly toward Dillon. She managed to reach him without drawing the attention of the Hell Hound, who seemed to be curiously sniffing Cole.

“Good,” Dillon nodded once Jenna approached him.

“You’re hurt,” she said, voice a whisper. She warily examined the wounds the hound had inflicted upon him. Four deep gashes bled furiously on his side.

“I know,” said Dillon. “That’s why I called you over here.”

Jenna looked at him questioningly, and he continued to say, “Put your hands over the cuts.” She obeyed. “Okay… Think really hard about them healing. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered, holding her shaking hands over them. “Nothing happening!”

“Focus!” he barked.

Her hands shook worse, and she gasped as soft, blue light shone from her palms. Slowly, the wounds began to close, leaving behind four pink scars. Dillon groaned as they healed themselves, and Jenna felt herself becoming drained of energy. She collapsed.

“Rest,” he whispered, hand on her shoulder. Her eyes slipped shut.

The Hell Hound had ceased to sniff Cole and was now resting upon him, curled up comfortably. Its eyes flew open as Dillon approached, and it took a defensive stance over his brother. Cole wriggled around nervously, steadily regaining oxygen from where the hound had practically crushed him.

“I think he’s taken a liking to you,” Dillon snickered.

“Yeah, just get this thing off me!” his brother whimpered.

Dillon had a sudden rush of panic, feeling his heart beating irregular. He took a deep breath and cast his hands in the direction of the beast, purple sparks now flying vigorously from them. Immediately, the Hell Hound howled and disappeared in black smoke.

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Chapter Two

“Did you kill it?” Cole grunted as he picked himself up from the soggy ground. His eyes darted all around him, anxiously searching for any further danger. Mud clung to his clothes, making him incredibly uncomfortable. Relentlessly, the rain continued to beat down on them.

“Not quite,” DIllon said solemnly as he trudged back over to Jenna. “That spell alone couldn’t kill more than a sewer rat, much less an enormous Hell Hound. Especially coming from a novice wizard.”

Cole stared at his brother as the words ran around in his mind, “Spells? Wizards? Hell Hounds?” He shook his head, attention then turned to his sister as she lay in the muck. “Is she okay?”

Dillon gathered Jenna in his arms, ignoring the mess of leaves and grass and dirt. Now, he was shivering from the cold and rain. He put a cold hand against her forehead and sighed, “She’ll be fine. She needs lots of rest right now.”

“I think we all do,” Cole said as he approached his brother from behind and rested a hand upon his shoulder. “Let’s get home. Penny’s still there.”

When they arrived home, the mess of mud upon the floor didn’t seem important to them. Their main concern was getting clean and warm. Dillon gently woke Jenna and helped her to a tub of warm water. He couldn’t suppress the awkward feeling that came over him as he assisted his sister in removing her clothes and climbing into the bath. Her mind was fuzzy and her entire body felt weak and achy. She muttered a vague thank you to her brother before he shut the bathroom door and left her alone.

The water relaxed her muscles and seemed to calm her aching bones. She felt a million years older than she really was. Her mind continuously wandered to the strange dreams she’d had, from the odd baby “eagle” to healing Dillon after he’d been attacked by that beast. Never before had she experienced such odd and vivid dreams. She thought about this as she slowly scrubbed her skin with a cloth, freeing her body of the dirt and grime.

Her eyes were heavier when she dragged herself out of the tub than when she’d first gotten in. She pulled a towel off of its shelf and dried herself off, then wrapped it around her body securely.

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Chapter Two

She stood in the entrance of the hallway that lead into the living room until her brothers turned to look at her. They stared at one another as Jenna contemplated the words she wished to speak. Eventually, she slowly walked past them into her bedroom and gently closed the door. Their hushed voices were audible as Jenna dressed herself for bed. Once clothed, she re-opened the door and sat herself down on the couch at Penelope’s feet. She looked to Dillon.

“Where’s Cole?”

“He went to shower,” he said uneasily.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He was standing by the door, barefoot and filthy. Lightly, he leaned against the front wall and chewed on his lip.

“You’re special, Jenna,” he finally said in a soft voice.

“Am I?” asked she, leaning back comfortably against the couch cushions. “How?”

“You weren’t dreaming,” said Dillon, crossing his arms. “Your magic, the Hell Hound - it was real.”

“You’re lying. Stop joking,” she laughed weakly.

“I’m lying?” he scoffed. “Then how did I know what happened, if it was a dream?”

Jenna didn’t have an answer. She stared at her feet while searching for a logical reason Dillon could have known about her dream. When she looked up, he was standing in front of her, shirtless and sporting four bright pink, long and puffy scars along his left side.

“No,” she gasped. “It was real? No. I’m still dreaming!”

She puts her hands to her cheeks and pinched them hard, sucking in a sharp breath when it stung. Her eyes turned upward and soaked in the image of her scarred brother. Again, she laughed.

“I’m magic? I have powers?”

“We all do,” he said softly, crouching down to look his sister in the eyes. “And that’s why we have to leave. We have to go.”

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