[Fiction Thread] Mother's Hollow

[Cinder]

Greetings everyone, let me explain what's this thread is all about.

Essentially, because I might have too much free time and I spend a great part of such time thinking about stories and/or Chronicles of Darkness, some time ago I've created a small setting that I'm slowly building upon ever since. That setting is Mother's Hollow, your average "Small Town with Dark Secrets", nothing original in the slightest. If you know Twin Peaks, Night Vale or Castle Rock, you've got the picture: it's just a rural town in the Chronicles of Darkness' setting, inhabited by the usual kind of supernaturals. I made it after reading Beast because I wanted to explore some ideas, like the impact Beasts have on a limited community and the struggles they have to go through if they still want to have a positive influence. It's basically a conceptual playground, a sandbox I've been using whenever if I feel it could be useful. I've been working on this for a while and, before I could notice it, I had built a whole city around the Beast's Brood that started it all, with both a detailed mortal and supernatural population.

I'm really making it look better or more important than it is. At this core, it's just a setting I use as an excuse to make stories, test ideas and write fanfiction, probably of the bad kind. Nothing extraordinary. As I said, the premise is far from being original and I've done nothing that others have already done in the past. Still, I hope I can get something good out of this and that some of you will enjoy reading these stories, as I share with you a few of my creative efforts.

I already have a fiction thread opened, but I open this one here because:
1) Mother's Hollow is a Beast setting first and foremost, and many of the stories will probably gravitate around the Begotten and their Family
2) While my other fiction thread is about all sort of things, I thought that keeping all the fiction set in Mother's Hollow in a single, ordered thread would be better

I won't post whole stories, but rather chapter after chapter, with this first post used as a practical hub to access them. Reading fiction online can be hard already, especially if it's not that good, so I'd rather give you small chapters than obnoxious wall of texts. The size of the stories might vary, but it will be usually be around 3 or 4 chapters. Ideally, I'll release a chapter each week, sometimes more, sometimes less. Depends on how much life is willing to collaborate.

I won't post spoilers or reveal much about what's going on in a specific story before it's over, for obvious reasons, but I'm open to all sorts of discussion and feedback. I realize that my fiction writing still has a long way to go before becoming good, but one can hope, right?


+ Ozymandias
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4

[Cinder]

Ozymandias

Chapter 1

Sam was sure that his history teacher was a monster. Not figuratively, as an insult or the sort of name the TV gave to murderers and criminals, but the real kind of monster. The one from legends and fairytales. The one from nightmares.

Not that others would have believed him, obviously. Truth to be told, Mr. King was not a bad teacher and that only made things more complicated. He loved his job, you could tell that at first sight, and showed a degree of care towards his students that not all teachers had. When he talked, it was because he wanted to get your interest and, notably, he always seemed to listen to whatever you had to say. Not merely "listening", like many other adults did, but really focusing all his attention on your words, even if he disagreed. He was attentive and helpful, even if sometimes it made him look like he was trying too hard. Under all aspects, he played his role so well that even Sam could not tell what was true and what a part of the ruse. Then why Sam was so unshakably certain that he was a monster?

His grades were not exactly the best, but Sam was far from being stupid: he knew far too well that accusing his teacher of being a monster right out of myths would have made him look insane, especially given the circumstances. First year of high school, thrown into a completely different environment, a kid who had always showed a fervid immagination has to face the sudden death of the older brother while the community is still dealing with the aftermath of the horrifying murder that shocked it as a whole. Sam could almost picture his parents dissmissing his impressions or his therapist calling it "a way to cope with the trauma". Bullshit. He was angry, yes. And he missed Brian, but whatever happened to him or to sheriff had nothing to do with this. Sure, his parents carried on day after day like zombies and could not care less about whatever happened to Sam, but things were not so simple. He could not give form to his thoughts if asked, but Sam understood their grieving and, even if they made him feel like they loved Brian more, he still accepted it. It was fine; he liked his brother more than he liked himself as well. Brian was cool, fun and always had time to play with his little brother. If anything, he was pissed at the fact that their tragedy went almost unnoticed by others, but if the town's sheriff is found cut into pieces in the main square, his blood and bowels scattered everywhere, the elder son of the Lachance's that dies later that evening crushing into a tree with his bike kinda shifts into the background. For the following weeks, it was almost as if Sam and his parents were the only one affected by the death of Brian. Everybody was talking about Sheriff Holloway's murder while Sam had to fight the urge to scream at their face and make them notice that Brian was gone. He was perfectly not aware of what happened to the sheriff, he was among the few who saw his body before the police came in. Just after the end of the lessons, while going back home, nobody exactly sure how the killer managed to put the corpse in place without getting noticed. Not a fun way to end your first day of school. He forgot it at first, his thoughts swept away by Brian's accident, but it was in the crowd that gathered to see what happened to the sheriff that Sam noticed Mr. King. That's when a shiver went down his spine.

Even after the funeral, Sam could not dismiss the impression that there was something wrong about his teacher. He could not exactly explain it. It was just a sensation, a feeling that just would not go away. Once he saw him that day, perfectly still and silent in the mids of the murmuring crowd, his eyes betraying cold-blooded hatred the kinds of Sam had never seen before, the idea that Mr. King was not human just stuck with Sam and kept growing. He clinged to this obsession as if his life depended on it. For what he knew, Sam was the only one that noticed, meaning he had to the duty to do something. He had no idea what to do, but he could not just stand there and let it go. Monsters hurt people, isn't it? Sam just had to be sure, find proof and then warn others about the danger, protect them. No more tragedies, no more broken families.

Sam started to pay attention, eager to see anything in Mr. King's behavior that would betray his true nature. It was not easy: he knew well how to pretend, not to mention that, no matter how much he would have liked to, Sam could not bring himself to really hate his teacher. He was one of the few that actually bothered to ask Sam how he felt after Brian's death and, absurdly, he seemed to empathize with his loss, as if he knew the feeling. Clever, really clever. He eventually tried to turn their conversation into a tirade about how nothing lasts and that we have to deal with the consequences whether we like it or not. He was no kind about this. He put Sam in front of the harsh truth where all the others treated him as if he was made of glass. It was not pleasant at all, but Sam could not deny the weight of those words and felt they proved to be helpful, in a weird sort of way. Still, that was not not enought to dissuade him from his efforts.

To be fair, Sam wanted to find some real proofs to convince himself as well. There was a part of him that needed to be sure, that held him back. At first, he just kept an eye on Mr. King at school, asking a few careful questions here and there and paying attention whenever his teacher became the subject of a conversation. First, he learned that he was not from Mother's Hollow. He arrived into town a few years back, coming from nobody knows where. He found himself a place and did a bunch of different jobs. Sam knew that Mr. King was young, perhaps a bit too young, at least according to his parents. He began working at the school that very same year. The interesting part was that, as the gossip went, he managed to obtain the job because somebody pulled a few strings. Mr King seemed qualified enough, but it appears like he was helped along the way. Not much, as far as informations go. Sam had to pay more attention. He knew nothing about investigations outside what he learned from moves and TV but managed to notice a few things. While Mr. King managed to be attentive and engaging most of the time, there were some rare days where you could tell he just was not there. Not just tired, as Sam was because of all the restless nights he was going through recently, but something different: it was as if Mr. King's mind was under some sort of strain, about to snap. He was nervous, skittish and harsh. Nothing too glaring, but Sam was able to notice his teacher made great efforts to control himself. He was usually fair with his students, giving bad grades when deserved while also being reasonable enough with them but, on those days, his patience grew thin. It was on one of such of occasions that he made Abbey Meyer cry.

Abbey had some of the best grades in class but that day their history teacher went out his way to demolish them. He asked her countless hard questions, the sort of stuff you're technically supposed to know but nobody ever asks, never accepting a less than perfect answer as valid. When Abbey eventually panicked, he just kept going, each question harder than the previous one, showing no intention to stop. When the bell rang, Abbey was in tears, the whole class speechless. Mr. King gave her an F and dismissed them all. The class went to lunch, but Sam sticked around. He hid outside of the door and peeked at his teacher. The teacher just sat at his desk, his face covered by his hands. He was visibly shaken, drops of sweat showing on his skin. It seemed like he was trembling...crying, perhaps? He lowered his left hand and grabbed the leg of the desk, but that's not what Sam saw. He saw the hand, yes, but he also saw the coil of a giant snake wrapped around that leg. He heard a distant, rageful hiss and felt as if he had sand on his hands. Venom-dropping fangs and cold, reptile eyes; that's what Sam saw. It took some time to recover from that vision but later, when he checked the desk, he noticed that there were some markings on the steel leg, as if someone crushed it with his bare hands.

Sam had no doubts anymore.

[ajf115]

Sorry, popping in here agin, d'you mind if I do something here? I'll understand if you say no. The Ozymandias thing's really good.

It's quite a coincidence actually, In class we're doing stuff on the poem Ozymandias which gave me an idea for a geist named Ozymandias and then I come on here and find a story called Ozymandias. I'm calling God-Machine involvement here.

[Cinder]

Sorry, popping in here agin, d'you mind if I do something here? I'll understand if you say no. The Ozymandias thing's really good.

It's quite a coincidence actually, In class we're doing stuff on the poem Ozymandias which gave me an idea for a geist named Ozymandias and then I come on here and find a story called Ozymandias. I'm calling God-Machine involvement here.

Sometimes the Infrastructure is so much in clear sight that you have to wonder if it's even trying anymore. I'll keep an eye out for gears, try to do the same

(Don't worry, when I said I was open to all kinds of feedback and reactions, I meant it )

[ajf115]

Sometimes the Infrastructure is so much in clear sight that you have to wonder if it's even trying anymore. I'll keep an eye out for gears, try to do the same

(Don't worry, when I said I was open to all kinds of feedback and reactions, I mean it )

Thanks. Sorry for the misunderstanding about the fiction.

[ajf115]

I'm not sure how to take down a post so this'll just have to be here I guess.

[Cinder]

Thanks. Here's a story based on Shadowknight1224's Demon: the Release. It's an excellent fansplat, for all that it's only part-done. One of the best I've seen.

Oh, you mean you wanted to post some fiction here as well? If that's the case I'd rather avoid that. Could you please remove it? Sorry, nothing personal, but I made this thread to keep my stuff about Mother's Hollow ordered.

The story's good, though. Don't hesitate to post it elsewhere.

[ajf115]

Oh, you mean you wanted to post some fiction here as well? If that's the case I'd rather avoid that. Could you please remove it? Sorry, nothing personal, but I made this thread to keep my stuff about Mother's Hollow ordered.

The story's good, though. Don't hesitate to post it elsewhere.

OK, sorry. I might have misinterpreted what you said. My apologies.

[Cinder]

OK, sorry. I might have misinterpreted what you said. My apologies.

No worries, it's probably my fault and no big deal anyways. Let me know when you post it, so I can give you some feedback.

[ajf115]

No worries, it's probably my fault and no big deal anyways. Let me know when you post it, so I can give you some feedback.

At the moment it's just in the gdoc for Demon. It's in the Chronicles of Darkness bit.

[ajf115]

I thought that the Ozymandias story was an excellent example of an otherwise 'benevolent' Beast losing control and giving in and the consequences thereof.

[GibberingEloquence]

I'm on mobile right now, so I can't give feedback, but I heartily recommend that Cinder read some Sloth's Pit stories, which focus on a very similar town within the SCP Foudation setting.

[Cinder]

I thought that the Ozymandias story was an excellent example of an otherwise 'benevolent' Beast losing control and giving in and the consequences thereof.

There's way more coming to it, starting with what will Sam do now that he clearly saw his teacher's Beast side, plus some other things. But that's stuff for the next chapters

I'm on mobile right now, so I can't give feedback, but I heartily recommend that Cinder read some Sloth's Pit stories, which focus on a very similar town within the SCP Foudation setting.

Thanks! I know next to nothing about the SCP Foundation but always wanted to get into it. This seems like a good excuse to do so

[Cinder]

Ozymandias
Chapter 2

"So, what now?"

Sam looked at his friend "You mean you believe me?" he asked Peter, surprised

"Well, Sammy" he answered while smashing his controller "The only thing I'm sure about is that I'm gonna destroy you because, honestly, you suck at this game"

"Don't call me Sammy, only my brother calls me that way"

"I guess I'm carrying on his legacy, then" Sam frowned and Peter noticed "Ok, ok. Look I won't deny that this whole story makes no sense and just screams "traumatized boy desperately needs his pills" but, I don't know, you look so determined" He paused the game "There's something about the way you talk about this mess that somehow makes me want to consider it possible. So, if we are able to pretend for long enough that this is not the craziest idea I've ever heard, it brings us back to my question: what now?"

Sam scratched his head. "I don't know. I told you in the first place only because I needed to talk with somebody before going insane. I have no idea what to do. I have no idea if there's anything we can do. I mean, how can you prove something like this?"

"Perhaps there's a dozen of corpses in his basement or something like that. We find those and then we wait for the torches and pitchforks"

Sam shook his head "Maybe. But it might not be the case and would put other people in danger anyways"

"Oh sure, but that thought did not stopped you from getting me involved" snorted Peter while pouring himself some soda.

"You know what I mean. He's not a serial killer."

Then what's the point of learning more about Mr. King if it's not to unmask him?" Sam stood silent "Wait, you mean you want to fight him?!"

"They won't believe us, Peter. We have to deal with this ourself."

Peter jumped from the couch "Sam, this is madness! You spent the last two hours explaining me that our history teacher is some sort of bloodthirsty monster and now you tell me that you want to kill it?"

Sam replied firmly "It's not that I want to kill it. I want to protect people. And to do so, I have to stop him. Which, in turn, means that there's a good chance that I'll have to fight. And that's what I'll do if I have to, even if I'll have to do so alone"

"Sure! Sam, here's a memo: you're a skinny kid who can barely survive physical education. And now you want to slay a dragon?"

"He. Is. Not. A dragon. Ok?"

"Right, that changes everything!" shouted Peter. He grunted some more and was ready attack again, but then he looked at his friend. He sat on on the ground in front of Sam and said: "Do you...do you think we have the the slightest chance of success?"

Sam inspired deeply "I don't know. We sure could use some help"

"What about Abbey?"

"Abbey?!" asked Sam confused

"Think about it. If there's someone who has seen the bad side of Mr. King and could be willing to aid, it's Abbey"

"Peter, but you hate Abbey..."

"And that's another good reason to get her help. If she ends up eaten by Mr. King, I think I could live with that" he laughed.




"Guys, I don't get what you two are trying to say"

"Sammy thinks that Mr. King is a dragon and we want your help to learn more about him so we can be prepared for the fight"

"He's not a dragon!" shouted Sam.

"Whatever"

Abbey looked at them, crossed her arms and raised her right eyebrow. She always had a talent for theatrics. "You do realize how ridicolous that sounds, right?"

Sam put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes "Abbey, what happened in class was not enough to make you notice?"

She quickly cast off Sam's hand and said "All that I've learned from that mess was that I will never let anyone get me off guard like that. It won't happen again"

Peter turned away "Let's go Sammy, I had a bad idea. She won't help us"

"I haven't said I won't."

There was a brief pause "You...will?" asked Sam

"Of course, If there's an excuse to uncover some dirt about Mr. King or just make is life more complicated, I'll use it. I'm still angry at him."

"Well, that's not exactly..."

"Look, Sam" she interrupted "best case scenario, and that is the best one, we discover something we can use to have a good laugh. If, because of some kind of cosmic event, you're right, then we'll see what to do. So, what you dumbnuts got so far?"

Sam sheepingly replied: "...next to nothing?"

The look on Abbey's face was priceless. She massaged her temples and said: "Perfect. I suppose we could start by talking with Ian Holloway"

"The sheriff's son? Why?" asked Peter.

"Come on, isn't that obvious?" pointed out Abbey, without success. She rolled her eyes: "Oh my God. You mean you don't know that the Sheriff Holloway and Mr. King used to hang out together, like, all the time? They had their own little afterwork club for years. What was it? Four, five people? My mother's is in the police force and she always said that those guys always came and went as if they were owned the place. One is that guy from the historical society, then there's the middle daughter of the Prescotts. I always forgot her name, but she's so perfect I could swear she's not even real. I'm not sure whether I admire or hate her the most. If I'm not mistaken, the sheriff's niece was also part of the group since she moved into town. And of course, last but not least, our Mr. King, ever since he arrived here. Quite a diverse bunch of people, if you ask me. They usually..."

But Sam was not listening anymore. His mind accelerated until he could not hear Abbey's words, his heart beating so fast it began to hurt. He felt as if he found a missing piece of a puzzle he did not even knew he was working on.

"It all makes sense now. Mr. King forces the sheriff to make him obtain a place at school, then kills him because he knows too much" Sam was walking left and right, maniacally restless

"I'm not sure, Sammy, it quite far-fetched. Besides, he was at school that day"

"That does not mean anything! We don't know what he can do. He might teleport, fly or become invisible for what we know." He suddenly stopped "Perhaps...perhaps my brother saw him and that monster killed him as well"

Peter and Abbey looked at each other, worried. "Let's...not get carried away, ok Sam? We should concentrate on theories that make sense" murmured Abbey

"You don't understand!" shouted Sam

"No, what I understand is that you're running too fast. Let's talk with Ian first and see if he knows something, ok?"




"Now, be careful when talking to Ian. I don't know him but they say he has not taken well the death of his father" warned Abbey as they walked toward's Ian's table. He was eating alone in a corner of the hall. Ian was a year older than the three improvised monster hunters and they all knew him by sight, but nothing more.

"I lost my brother and I'm perfectly fine, that does not mean anything" said Sam

"Your brother died in a crash, his father was hacked into pieces. And the "perfectly fine" is debatable"

Sam was about to respond in kind, but Peter saved the situation "You know that this is not a competition, right? Now behave and make a good impression"

"Wanna try good cop and bad cop?"

"I don't think one of use would be able to scare anyone, Peter"

"Abbey is scary!" said Peter, a second before being slapped on the back of his head. As they sat, Ian barely lifted his head to look a them.

"Hellooooooo Ian. My name's Peter, the dame's Abbey and the cool cat here is Sam. Nice to meet you." Abbey slapped him again. "What exactly is your problem?!"

"My problem? Who talks like that?!"

Ian did not let them finish "What do you want?". He was pale, with ugly dark circles around his eyes. Most of his plate was full, as he was too busy drawing on his album to eat. It looked like he had not a good night of sleep for months.

"Ian, you don't know us but we hoped you could help us" said Abbey "we would like to know more about Mr. King, the history teacher, and since he's a family friend of yours..."

"Go away" replied Ian coldly.

Abbey was a bit puzzled, but tried again "We're not asking for much. There are some oddities about him and any sort of clarification you can give us will be much appreciated"

Ian slammed his hand on the table and said "There's nothing I have to tell you. Now leave"

"But..." Sam interrupted her "Ian, I know that Mr. King killed your father and probably menaced your family. I know he's a monster. Don't ask me how, I just do. The point is, we want to stop him and, in order to do so, we need to know what to expect. Is there anything you can tell us?"

In response, Ian abruptly stood up and said "I don't care about what you believe! You don't know or my family and you know shit about my father and his friends, or what it means going to bed hoping to have the right kind of nightmares! Now leave me alone!" He then ran away.

"So long for our main informant" said Peter while scratching his head

"I guess we'll have to work around the problem. Perhaps I can get something interesting from my mother, if I'm clever enough. It's not the same thing, but it's a start" added Abbey.

Sam, on his part, was keeping his eyes on Ian as he was returning to class. "No, I don't give up. He basically admitted that he knows something. There's no chance I'm letting this end here. I'll let you know what I get" he said before leaving.




After school, Sam tried to follow Ian back home without being noticed. The sheriff's son had his secrets and if the only way to uncover them was to force him to spill them, so be it. Either by confronting him face-to-face or entering into his home looking for clues, Sam was determined to obtain something. He knew he risked to get into big troubles by doing so, but he accepted the risks. There were bigger things at stake. Sam always had a talent for hiding but, to be honest, it was not difficult to not get noticed by Ian. The boy walked around the street as a sleepy zombie, barely giving attention to his surroundings. By the time he arrived home, Sam was not even trying to be stealthy anymore. Ian entered inside, but Sam crawled outside around the house, carefully examining it. Apparently, Ian's mother was sleeping on the couch, but left a window open. Sam waited for Ian to get upstairs before moving. As he was about to enter, something grabbed him from behind.

"Easy, kid, I don't want to hurt you if I can avoid it" said the old man "Now I'm going to remove my hand, but you have to promise me not to scream, understood?" Sam was scared, but nodded anyways "Good, now be quick, keep your mouth shut and let's get out of here. We're for too exposed for my taste" He practically carried Sam away.

"Let me go!" shouted Sam, visibly scared.

He dropped Sam down and said "Fine. I expected some gratitude for stopping you from making a big mistake, but here you go"

"I was fine! You messed up things!" shouted Sam.

"Yeah, because breaking into a house while somebody is sleeping right there and you have no idea what to look for it's "fine". That's not how you hunt kid, that how you get caught!"

Hearing this, Sam let curiosity have the best of his anger "Hunt? What do you mean? How do you..."

"I know because I've been keeping an eye on you for a while by know. I know because I'm like you and I've been doing this for years, while you were busy filling your diapers" Sam was completely confused

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

The mysterious man grabbed him by his shoulders "We're Heroes, kid. Killing monsters is what we do."

[Cinder]

I'm probably not going to be around for the next couple of days, it's a busy week, so I won't be able to answer but what do you think of the story so far?

Since the second one is a transition chapter, I kinda feel it's weak