Cold...Hurt...Monster!
The moment James woke up, he popped out of bed, much to his parents' surprise. For most of the summer, he had been lazing in his room for as long as humanly possible. It was always about midday by the time he went to visit Max. He showered, and got dressed quickly into the same clothes he always wore on his misadventures. His parents finally decided to say something. "Son, I understand that you are excited, but can you please tell us where you are going?" James turned around, his sunglasses in hand, backpack slung on his shoulder. "Library." He said, but for once it was actually true.
James loved his bike. It had always been there for him. Even at this moment. Max had been too afraid to come with him, so James was just going to solve this himself. Even as he thought it, he felt scared himself. His speech last night had all been craziness spouting from the fountain of words that was his mouth. SQUEAL! A car screeched out of James's way, and James swerved out of the road. Due to this split second decision, he fell off his bike into the nearby ditch. "Hey, Germ." James looked up, and went pale. It was the Owen brothers. Over time, they had ceased to become a threat, but without Max, he was toast.
James sighed. "Son of a bitch." He scrambled to his feet. "Hey guys. Nice summer?" The Owens looked at each other. "Shut the fuck up, Germ." The taller, and frankly, less terrifying one said. James turned to the opposite direction, and ran for his bike. In a second, he had reached it. In another, it was up. And by the time five seconds had passed, he was riding off. The Owen brothers were furious. "YOU'RE DEAD, GERM! HEAR ME? DEAD!" He held his middle finger high that day, until they started running after him. By the time he reached the library, he had lost the brothers and discovered a course of action. James had deduced that some of this might be related to the Egg Man. Now it was time to find out how he could find it.
James stepped up to the librarian's desk. "Excuse me ma'am, but do you have any books on the Egg Man?" She raised an eyebrow, but started to grab a particularly dusty journal, before James interrupted. "And can I have some paper and a pen?" Once the confused librarian gave him his materials, he set up at the nearest table and began to make a rough sketch of Brimstone, including every building, some of them overlapping from all the different years since the town was founded. He pored through the book, looking for any clues about where he could find it, until he found a certain section.
The men keep working, despite the horrors that come with the hard labor. Screams echo through the shafts as guttural howlings follow. And yet still, the men toil on, thinking the hole will never be finished.
James starting writing notes on the back.
Working?
Shafts?
Hole?
Screams?
Howling?
He frowned as he quickly worked out what the poor writer of this journal must be speaking of. The mines...And by extent, the worst place it could possibly be located. He stood up quickly, the chair scraping loudly. It was finally time to see if he could find the monster behind it.