Title: Pieces of Blue - Chapter 11
By Ashley Delfín
Notes: Remember to comment in the forum!

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Mr. Lawrence did not like the sunlight, and he coped as well as he could with the moonlight. If it was up to him, he would wear his cloak everywhere. The Brotherhood, however, forbid it. He tried to make do with hats and other accessories, but he ended up looking silly most of the time.

Which is why, once he was deep enough in the forest, Mr. Lawrence put on his cloak. The hood covered his face, making him unrecognizable.

Although the path towards the secret entrance he was looking for was subtly marked by clues hidden here and there, he no longer needed them. He went straight towards the seemingly unaccessible entrance behind a huge boulder, making sure he was not being followed.

He met a Brother and Sister on the way to the Chamber. They nodded each other in greeting and walked side by side. Soon enough they had reached it.

The Chamber was a vast underground domed room. The legends say that it was once lit up by magick, but nowadays the only light came from thousands of candles scattered around the room. The three of them sat on the whatever seats were closer to the center. In a few minutes the whole room was filled with Brother and Sisters, but no word was uttered. They all entered and sat quietly.

The Father walked into the room through a door that led to the podium in the center of the room. All of the stood up, until the also cloaked father reached the podium and motioned for them to sit.

"Brother, Sisters," he began. "The underground beasts have failed repeatedly at acquiring the Pieces." He cleared his throat. "Such incompetence was expected of them. We, however, have decided to give them one more chance before exterminating them."

"Thanks to one of our Brothers, we have the location of one of the Pieces. A large one. The beasts will once again attempt to steal this Piece for us."

The Congregation stirred, several members voicing disapproval.

"I must remind you, Brothers and Sisters, that we have waited long for the Pieces to reveal themselves, and a hasty action on out behalf could ruin our Lord's plans. Before we ourselves risk our secrets while searching for the Pieces, we do good in letting this race of beasts believe they might be saved by helping us."

---

"I don't see why we have to have a sleepover at Esper's house," Cee Cee said.

"I told you," Amaranth said from the back seat. "There's something important there."

"A psychologists dream study case?" Cee Cee scoffed.

"Would you get off Esper's back?" Matt said, stopping in Esper's driveway. "He's done nothing to you."

Amis rang the bell while Amaranth once again tried to explain to Cee Cee that a girl whose parents can predict the future can't really accuse some other family of being weird.

"Amaranta, Amaranto, Cee Cee!" Esper's mom said once she had opened the door. Her smile fell as her eyes landed on Matthew, instead she looked annoyed. "Matthew, still playing that barbaric game, aren't you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Leary," Matt responded. "Might get a college scholarship for it, too."

"Well, what other hope you have of-"

"Mom!" Esper said, appearing from behind her. "You're annoying the fairies."

"Really?" Matt asked. "Are you annoyed, Amaranth?"

Amaranth rolled his eyes. "Witty, Matt, very witty."

They all went to Esper's room while his mom prepared dinner. Soon after, Amis and Esper were in the middle of a tickle fight, while the other three unrolled their sleeping bags. Esper's mom called them, and after a healthy vegetarian dinner Amaranth gave in to Cee Cee and explained.

Well, first he asked Cee Cee to get off him and stop choking him.

"Man, do you always have to make me almost faint?" Amaranth said, rubbing his neck.

"After years of knowing you, I find that it is the most effective way of making you talk," Cee Cee responded.

Amaranth rubbed his neck some more. "Anyway, I think I know what kind of monster we're dealing with. It's a monster from under the bed."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, as I've told you, a teddy bear always feels when someone enters the room when his or her owner is there. A sort of defense mechanism. No matter how secret the door may be, a teddy bear can always feel a trespasser."

"So?" Cee Cee asked.

"So, Laura's teddy bear didn't feel the monster come in the first time. He felt them when they came back into her room, which means they're not magicked or anything."

"So they were in the room to begin with?" Matt asked.

"They were, or at least they made their entrance a part of her room, so entering it wasn't actually entering it," Amaranth explained.

"And the only monsters that can do that are those that live under the bed!" Amis said all of a sudden.

"Because they feed on dreams," Amaranth completed. "The system isn't that old. It was implemented soon after teddy bears were invented."

"But those monsters have no real use for any human valuables," Cee Cee said.

"So why are they stealing people's stuff?" Matt asked, unconvinced.

"Maybe because they need to feel ALIVE!" Esper exclaimed.

"Esper, hush," Cee Cee said.

"Did your blue friend tell you that, Esper?" Amaranth asked, turning to the younger boy.

"Amaranth, you do not really believe his blue friend is real?"

"Yes he is, and yes he did!" Esper said. "Can you learn how to make origami penguins from imaginary friends? NO! You need a book, or a friend, or a lot of paper and a penguin model with lots of patience."

"Well, I didn't, I thought it was another one of Esper's ramblings until I remembered that even before teddy bears, monsters under the bed couldn't just enter anyone's room."

"You mean that 'if you don't believe in them, they can't hurt you' deal parents tell you?" Matt asked.

Amaranth nodded. "Only the bed of a person who believes in monsters can be used as a portal out of their cities."

"But you, Amis and I know they exist," Cee Cee said. "How come our beds don't work?"

"I don't know," Amaranth replied. "Maybe because we don't expect them to."

Matt stood up. "Well, let's go.

"We have to wait until later," Amaranth said. "Esper's dad should come by to check on us before going to bed. We'll go a little after that."

"What?" Cee Cee and Amis said in unison.

"You mean you expect us to go into a monster city?" Amis asked. "You know how dangerous that is?"

"Dangerous? It's downright stupid," Cee Cee added. "Just because Esper's twisted mind allows monsters to come visit him doesn't mean it will allow us to visit them."

Amaranth just smiled and lifted the Esper's comforter, which reached all the way to the floor. Matt whispered a "dude" and Esper begged Amaranth not to tell his mom that there was a cave under his bed. Cee Cee touched the hard blueish stone in order to convince herself it was real.

"Amaranth, we can't just go in there. We have no idea of what's down there," Amis said worriedly. "You don't just walk into the city of monsters with big, sharp claws."

"We're not going all the way to the city," Amaranth said.

"It's a reconnaissance mission!" Matt said, rubbing his hands excitedly.

"It's still dangerous!" Amis protested. "What if they find us?"

"Well, we can either invite them in for tea, or we can ask them to show us the nearest telephone."

They all looked at Esper.

"Well, I would like my mom to know I'm okay."

"Besides, one of these blue guys is one of Esper's friend, right?" Matt looked at Esper, and the boy nodded. "They can't be that bad."

"There!" Amis said. "I don't remember the museum monsters being blue, and how did they get in the museum in the first place?"

"It was dark, Amis, for all we know those two were neon pink."

"But how did they get in?" Cee Cee asked, stepping closer to Amaranth. The albino just looked away.

"Didn't you once say that a doorless room was, in certain magick terms, not a boundary?" Matt asked.

"Yes, but the museum has doors!"

"Not the room where they have the antique furniture," Matt said, triumphantly.

"So what do you call the big thing people come in and out of from it?" Cee Cee asked.

"It doesn't close. It's a continuation of space, not a door," Amis said.

Cee Cee let out an exasperated sigh and sat down on her sleeping bag.

"But-"

"Look," Amaranth interrupted his sister. "I didn't think you'd be so against the idea. Doubt, I expected, but not this. If it will make you more comfortable, we can do some research before we explore the passage."

"What?" Matt asked, crestfallen. "Dude-"

"No, Matt, they're right," Amaranth said. "It would be smart to know a bit more before going."

"And it would be better if we had an invitation," Esper said.

"I'm going to go wash my teeth," Cee Cee said, standing up. "We've finally talked some sense into these two jerks and I'm tired."

"You can't go to sleep right now!" Esper said. "It's strictly against sleepover regulations."

"Esper's right, Cee Cee. If you go to bed first we are obligated to play pranks on you," Amis said.

And so, even Cee Cee was up when Esper's father came to check up on them nearly an hour later. The jock girl and Amis had taken over the bed and were chatting while the other three boys played videogames. An hour after that, Cee Cee said that she was going to bed and whoever pranked her would suffer greatly. Once she was in her sleeping bag, however, she suddenly sat up. Everyone looked at her.

"Did you happen to find my pet rhino?" Esper asked.

"Amaranth," Cee Cee said, completely ignoring the other boy. "Get here, now."

"Can this wait? I'm about to beat Matt at this stupid game."

"Ha! You wish," the jock said.

"No, come read this."

Amaranth sighed loudly, but stood up and walked to her. Once she saw what she was looking at, he raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?"

"It was on my pillow," Cee Cee said, handing it to him. Amaranth read it and looked at the rest of them.

"It's an invitation," Amaranth said, handing the paper to Amis. Soon after, the five of them had read it.

It is our greatest pleasure to extend a welcoming hand to:
Mr. Esperanto Leary and friend(s)
should they choose to visit.

-Yusiy, head of the Hendrix City Council

"We're going," he said.

Esper smiled and Matt threw his arms up as a sign of victory. Amis looked at Cee Cee, who instantly stood up to face Amaranth.

"I thought we were going to wait and think," she said.

"They obviously have something to tell us, and I think it's something important. It's not every day some random group of kids gets invited to Monster Town."

"This could be a trap," Cee Cee added.

"Did you predict any danger for tonight?" Amaranth asked her.

"No, but you know that I only predict the unaltered future."

"This is the unaltered future, Cee," Amaranth said. "Everyone, get dressed."