Exclusive Preview: Chapter One of The Awakening
Start the adventure…
Read the opening chapter of The Neverdale Chronicles: The Awakening and step into the storm that started everything.
1 The Necklace
Maria usually liked storms, but last night’s felt personal.
The wind had roared through the Hood Canal fjord for hours, rattling her bedroom window and shaking the house hard enough to wake her several times. It didn’t sound wild. It sounded deliberate. The noise itself wasn’t what unsettled her. It was a sense of being noticed.
Then, sometime just before dawn, it stopped. Not faded. Stopped.
She remembered the sudden silence more than the storm itself.
By morning dark clouds still smothered the Olympic Mountains, but there was no wind. No rain. Only the neighborhood creek, swollen and loud against its banks.
She stood at the bus stop, the scent of wet cedar hanging in the cold morning mist. A chill caught the back of her neck as she yanked her hood over her damp black hair, cinching it tight.
To her right, a blue flash cracked through the murk near the water’s edge.
The creek’s movement remained unchanged, yet the glimmer pulsed a second time, then a third.
What was that? Trash doesn’t glow. Not like that.
Something more than her curiosity tugged, but she hesitated. Her shoes would get soaked, and the bus could show up any moment.
The blinking intensified, too much to ignore.
Okay, I’ll go.
Gravel slid underfoot as she approached the embankment where icy water splashed onto her sneakers.
Up close, the water roared, tossing branches and leaves downstream. The mud sucked at her shoes as she picked her way along the bank, strands of wet hair clinging to her cheeks.
Another quick flare appeared behind a tangle of silt and twigs ahead. A shiver raced up her arms.
Was it sending a signal?
Bending, she cleared the debris. A sliver of metal poked out from the moss and leaves. She plucked the object from the mud and wiped her hands on her pants.
The item was deceptively heavy, its edges tarnished and rough, etched with peculiar designs that changed in the light. It flashed at her again.
She held it by a slender silver chain, letting it sway freely, its dirty, worn clasp clicking with each swing.
“A… necklace?” she asked, her voice nearly lost in the torrent.
The carved ridges framed a pulsing turquoise face, the patterns strangely familiar even though she couldn’t place them. A rush of heat warmed her hand.
“Hey, what’s that?”
Maria jumped and clutched the chain to her chest as she spun. The pendant swung near her wrist.
Jake bounced toward her, curly tufts of wet, sandy bangs poking from beneath his hoodie. His grin was wide as ever, bright blue eyes dropping to her hand.
“What did you find?” he asked again.
She moved before she thought, looping the chain around the muddy charm and shoving it deep into the front pocket of her jeans. Immediately, heat pressed through the denim.
“Nothing.”
The pendant quivered against her thigh.
A prickle of guilt crawled up her neck.
Jake raised an eyebrow.
“It doesn’t look like nothing. Why are you hiding it? Didn’t you ever learn that sharing is caring?”
The sound of boots on the gravel interrupted their conversation. Malik was heading toward them, fully zipped up in his jacket to shield himself from the cold. Large headphones draped around his neck. Dewy mist beaded on his short black curls and gathered along his lashes.
He stopped beside them. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“Maria found something,” Jake said, tipping his chin at her. “She won’t show me. It’s probably cursed or haunted, or both.”
As Malik stepped closer, a sudden, earthy smell wafted around them, seizing Jake’s attention with its pungent aroma.
“Hey, do you guys smell that?” His face twisted, distracted by the unexpected odor. “It’s like…,” he paused to sniff, “burning tar mixed with microwaved tuna.”
Malik grimaced and glanced up. “Yeah, I smell it too. Smoky, but... spoiled?” His nose crinkled with distaste. “Could be you, Jake. When’s the last time you washed those pants?”
Maria caught it now, too. A sickly, burned scent tightened her stomach. The acrid tang thickened, dense and oily, curling around her as if drawn to its source.
Disgust hit Jake, and he jerked back from Malik and Maria. “Dude, did one of you fart?”
“Shut up, Jake,” Maria warned. Both boys towered over her now, all gangly limbs and awkward new eighth-grade height, but she somehow still made herself the center of gravity.
Malik scrunched his nose at the awful smell, forcing it aside in favor of the mystery Maria was hiding. He tilted his head, brown eyes narrowing with cautious curiosity as he studied her guarded expression.
“What’d you find?”
“It’s nothing, really,” Maria repeated, though the hidden charm weighed down her pocket, too heavy for a thing that small. Intermittent buzzing sounds began to invade her thoughts, mild but distracting.
A twig snapped. They all turned.
Layla strode toward them, rosy jacket and matching boots blazing against the gray-green woods. A bright pink backpack bounced on her shoulders. Only her jeans and the oversized green umbrella broke the color scheme. She kept it angled low, shielding the neat braids her grandmother had woven days earlier from the dripping branches overhead.
Layla took braids seriously; no misty drizzle was messing with them. Under the dim morning light, her dark, discerning stare seemed to draw the world in rather than reflect it. Her eyes followed the creek for a second before locking on Maria, who definitely looked like she was hiding something.
“You aren’t supposed to use Grandpa’s umbrella,” Malik said, folding his arms.
She cut him a glare sharp enough to slice cheese. “I couldn’t find mine, and if you tell on me, I’ll tell on you for the model airplane paint you spilled down in the couch cushions.”
She shifted to Jake and Maria. “What’s happening?” she asked.
“Maria’s being shady,” Jake shrugged. “She found something and is hiding it.”
Maria’s hand moved to her side, but she didn’t offer a defense.
Layla wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, it smells like burned garbage is being fried out here. What is that?”
“We were going to ask you,” Jake joked, putting a palm up for a high-five with Malik, but was left hanging. “Hey, don’t be a geek, Malik. Oh, wait, that rhymes. I think I have a new nickname for you.”
Malik ignored his friend.
Layla didn’t, though. She mouthed, “You’re not funny,” and trudged closer, her pink boots squashing the wet ground as she adjusted her umbrella strap.
“I’d better not miss the bus,” she said. “I studied for my science quiz. On purpose. And I’m not doing that twice.”
“Relax, we’ve got time,” Malik reassured her.
“Besides, don’t you want to find something cool?” Jake asked.
Layla kicked at a pile of leaves. “Define cool. If it stinks worse than you, then no.”
“Storms leave stuff behind, Layla. One time I found a Canadian quarter on the beach after a big one.”
“Bro, that was kindergarten, and you’re still talking about that?” Malik said, balancing on a slick log. “You lost it by the swings and straight-up bawled until your mom came to pick you up.”
“Hey, that quarter meant something to me. A quarter is still a quarter, even if it only worked in Canada.”
“I don’t think Maria would be hiding a quarter.” Malik hopped down.
Jake craned his neck. “Then it’s either a banana slug or pirate treasure.”
“Right,” Layla said, rolling her eyes. “Because who wouldn’t want to shove a slimy slug in their pocket?”
Their voices blurred around Maria. The object in her pocket tugged harder at her thoughts.
“Whatever it is, it’d better not be a banana slug. Terrestrial gastropod mollusks are for the tourists,” Jake continued.
“Huh?” Layla asked.
He shrugged. “You’re the one who just studied for your science quiz. I can’t help it if I’m good at biology and basketball. I guess I just have a thing for Bs.”
Layla crossed her arms. “If you think it’s so lame, why are you so interested?”
The sound in Maria’s head swelled, swallowing everything else.
“Because it might be valuable,” Jake grinned. “What if she rubs it and a genie pops out?”
“Not likely, dude,” Malik replied. “She couldn’t fit a genie’s lamp in her pocket.”
“Unless she used one of her three wishes,” Jake added. “But if she starts floating or speaking in tongues, I’m out. Horror movie rules. The funny guy always dies first.”
Their bickering snapped Maria back. Why was she even hesitating? These were her friends. She trusted them.
“Okay… fine,” she said, finally pulling the necklace free.
The metal’s sour stench lingered in the air, though the open space took some of the bite out of it. Blue light swept across their faces as strange patterns drifted over the surface. A dull, whining noise burrowed into their ears, and the earlier teasing faded away.
“Whoa,” Malik scratched his shoulder. “That’s not normal.”
Layla angled her umbrella for a better view. “Why is it shining like that?”
Jake’s smile faltered. He stood beside Malik, mesmerized by the swirling symbols. “Uh, yup.
It’s cursed. Are you sure that thing’s not also radioactive? This is absolutely how the zombie outbreaks always start.”
“It’s vibrating,” Layla said, standing in a puddle with her boots. “Do you hear that?”
Maria didn’t respond. The lines moved slowly, hinting that something beneath the surface was stirring.
“Is it getting brighter?” Layla asked, troubled.
“Maybe it’s solar-powered,” Jake guessed.
Without waiting for a response, Maria reached for the necklace with her left hand. This time, her fingers closed around the pendant, and in the instant she touched it:
BANG!
Everything around them imploded, sucking the breath from their lungs.
Sound and color collapsed into a blinding point, then detonated outward in a wave of heat.
They hadn’t even blinked when a new wave of pressure blasted out, sending a rainbow shockwave slamming back into them.
Maria cried out, the force knocking her down.
The necklace ripped free and flung itself as if it were alive, landing back in a patch of muck.
A cascade of colors burst all around them before everything jolted back into place.
Despite the chill in the air, the trees bowed and swayed, and the creek's waters continued their hurried journey, as if untouched by any event.
The friends stood frozen.
“Holy crap!” Jake hollered, grasping his head.
Malik lost his footing and fell on the log, catching himself before he fell completely over. He stared at the thing Maria had found, which was half-buried in the wet earth near her feet.
“Did you feel that?” he asked. “What the—” His words dried up in his mouth.
Layla stood rigid, the umbrella trembling in her grip. Her legs seemed hollow, as though all their strength had been drawn out from within. She thought she’d seen a shadow slip out of the necklace in the wash of colors.
Was that real? Or in my head?
She shivered. Small bits of pine needles and leaves from the blast covered her braids. There was no saving them now. Closing her umbrella with a snap, another tremor ran through her as the terrifying moment replayed in her thoughts.
“You okay?” Malik asked his little sister.
Layla wavered. Am I?
“Yeah. I think so.” Her expression didn’t match her words.
Maria steadied herself and retrieved the charm again. Her ears were throbbing.
“It… did something,” she said hesitantly.
Jake’s mind was racing, trying to decide whether to stay and fight or run away. “Yeah, no kidding.” His words broke apart mid-sentence. “Can we, like, not touch that thing again? I’m pretty sure that it isn’t from the dollar store.”
Malik wavered, his focus never leaving the object. “Whatever this is… it’s not a regular necklace.”
“Um, duh,” Jake shot back, but his sarcasm sounded thin. “But in case anyone forgot, I didn’t choose the magical apocalypse. That’s on Maria. I just wanted to get on the school bus.”
“We should leave it here. Throw it into the creek,” Layla advised, stepping back. “It seems dangerous. What if it belongs to someone, and they come looking for it?”
No one paid attention to what she said.
The thought struck Maria with the sharpness of a piercing pain. The mysterious object tingled on her thigh.
The idea of the strange necklace being found by someone else sent a spike of panic through her chest. She closed her hand over it, careful not to touch the centerpiece as its presence permeated her skin, digging into her ribs and bones.
A low rumble interrupted them. The big yellow bus rounded the corner, absurdly ordinary against the chaos of the explosion.
“C’mon!” Jake called, already moving closer to the highway. He was done with the adventure.
“Bus is here.”
Maria’s fingers cinched around the chain, tucking it into her pocket with the pendant at the bottom. The resonance dulled, but didn’t leave, as if listening to them. She exhaled, her hand stinging from the contact.
Malik looked at her, concerned and uncertain, silently questioning her choice to take it with them.
Her lips formed the words, “I have to.”
They rushed over together, and she watched as her friends boarded ahead of her. They teased each other, but they always had her back. Jake’s quick wit often dragged them into trouble, but he came through when it mattered. Malik was their regular voice of reason. And Layla, though a year and a half younger, and a grade behind the rest, missed nothing. She was no tagalong.
Jake glanced at Maria. “So, uh, what’s the plan?” he questioned. “Hide it all day? Pretend as if we all didn’t almost become enchanted barbecue?”
“Nobody’s hiding anything,” Maria said. “And stop making jokes. We’re saving it until we figure things out.”
“Making jokes is how I process trauma. Don’t take that from me.”
Malik faced them as he climbed onto the steps. “She’s right. We keep it to ourselves until we know more.”
“Yes, one thing at a time,” Maria said, flipping down her wet hood as she stepped in. “Act normal, okay?”
The necklace droned again, as if acknowledging her plan.
Present.
Patient.
And listening.
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