“That’s the end of lunch. See you… tomorrow?”


“I don’t see why not,” she beamed.

The same day Max walked up the driveway leading to his house. He had an exceptional imagination, always working. His house was nowhere near normal when his mind was at work. A large, dark brown door greeted him. He stepped into the marvelous foyer, and beheld the superlative cherry wood spiraling staircase with a large golden chandelier hanging above the beautifully carved railing. Wonderful scarlet embroidery laced the windows. As he walked, his shoes made a popping sound on the expansive white marble floor. He felt so safe and alone in this home of ersatz magnificence. How could one possibly hurt when the mind has built up such a barricade to the outside world? Then he opened his eyes. A wooden stair case was lit with a small light. It was late, so he went to bed.



Max woke up in West Chamberland, his hometown. It was of no surprise since he woke up in this town all of his mornings. The streets held tall, voluminous trees that dappled the ground with clumps of shade. The shade conveniently blocked Max’s bedroom window from the sun’s glowering morning face. It turns out that today the alarm clock sitting expensively on the night stand decided not to go off as if on its own accord.

The front door slammed shut, forcing Max’s eyes open, and his eyelids almost forgot to stop when the clock clearly read 8:40 am. With no minutes left to spare, he was out the door with pajamas and unkempt hair.

The Chamberlands. From an aerial view, four major cities on the island of Onsattle are clearly noticeable. Max lives and was born in West Chamberland, the least populated city of the bunch. It’s home to wonderful greenery and pleasantly tilled farms. Farmers and the middle class thrive on this selection of land. Many tourists flock to see the beautiful falls and graceful, rolling hills during the crisp, spring season. The city is considerably perfect with the exception of a desert adjacent to the west coast. The desert meets the ocean abruptly, a strange phenomenon. The sand is dry even as the intimidating waves of the ocean expanse slap the surface and drag its content to the sea. The water that washes upon the shore is dry, dry as the desert itself. Despite the signs forewarning of the desert, ignorant tourists still travel across the desert in high hopes to see this impossibility. The signs read:

Do not enter by command to the Onsatalian government.
This area is restricted due to extreme hazard and abnormal amount human disappearances. Please obey.


Ganzania is from a well-lit city known as North Chamberland. North Chamberland is the monster city of the island with a bustling and busy community of over half a million people. It’s thousands of magnificent onyx-colored arches protect the entire city from the sky; unnatural forces are repelled and cannot penetrate its dome. Its populous city makes up just over three fourths of the island of Onsattle. East Chamberland is just as interesting as South Chamberland which is… not very. These four Chamberlands act as a chamber for the Onsatalians for no one can leave this island.



“Ah!” The shout of surprise leapt from Max as he suddenly felt himself being pulled in the opposite direction, “Why aren’t you in school?”

“Just be quiet and follow me!” Ganzania beamed excitedly walking away from school counterproductively, “I’m in West Chamberland now, Max. I have to see the desert beach, of course.”

“You know it’s not anything to ditch school about,” he warned jocosely, and then with serious tone, “I wouldn’t feel good about it.” She looked lost; caught between right and wrong, but Ganzania inevitably blurted, “Let’s go!”









Chapter Three

The sun baked the sand at a hot temperature, making each step a scream for the barefooted. Both Ganzania and Max, not barefooted, stood on the border of a desert that stretched for two miles. Both were also too afraid of the rumors to move. His mind raced; a vision of a man striving for the border of the burning sand.

The man’s feet numb as well as his mind. It bargained senseless to continue through the desert, never finding a way out. He’s seen hours and days, but no border. An instant passed were it was though best to lay and permanently forget, but suddenly, the sun flickered out. What time was it? The sand still burned, so night could not have fallen much before he had awoken. The man stared the moon down with anxious insanity. No sun to light his path. Was his life nearing an end? A nasty snarl, then a creature descended at a rapid pace, almost falling through the air. Its talons stretched outward, and its clawed slashed wildly. It spun downward, coiling itself together only bearing dark fangs. Its shadowy body evaporated like a shooting star as it sped in alacrity towards the victim. In pathetic attempt, the man outstretched his arm.

“Take me. I’m—I’m…” Before the demon breached his aura, all was at peace.

Similarly, Ganzania had a remembrance of a tale she was told, although it happened considerably nearer the shore. A father and his son, innocently new to West Chamberland, took vacation in the form of a fishing trip.

The father and his son stood at the border of the tell-tale desert.

“I don’t know, papa. I’ve heard many stories about this stretch of land here, the one of sand,” A cautious look spread to the man’s face as well.

“I’m sure all you heard were simply myths. Those kids trying to pick on you, you know? However, it never hurt a body to be safe; let’s take the long way to the beach.” The trek was brutal along the edge of the infamous sand-filled wasteland. Eventually, the two reached the shoreline and stood.

“Papa, we’re just gonna fish, so give me that rod already!” The youngster persisted eagerly. Agreeing, they both started to fish. The father whipped the line out as far as his eye could see, however the son sat rigidly with the bobber placidly in the ocean. Despite his excitement, he had a slight, existing edge of fear. His mind mulled over the possibility of the myths being actual events. No way had it truly happened. It was only a myth.

“Already, and I have one!” The father shouted with joy-filled eyes. His muscles strained and his mouth formed into a concentrated scowl. “It’s mighty big! What kind of bait did we use again, son?” Calm. The surface of the lake was a glass table. The bobber disappeared from the surface again, and the entire rod soared from the man’s grasp as he struggled to maintain hold. The pair backed up frenetically-paced away from the ocean. Suddenly, it became no longer an ocean, but an enigmatic abyss of horrifying possibilities. The bobber returned to the same spot. Several points became visible, then arising into a monstrous face. An ugly visage emerged from the abyss, causing the son to scream and the father to continue staring in horror. The beast’s skull completely showed, the water sucking in at the sides from such amazing pressure. The gargantuan beast roared and bound forward at an alarming velocity. In desperate, but pitiable attempt, the pair sprinted only a single step before the tongue has wiped them from the Earth. The monster brought his head upright and submerged back into his cage, the ocean.
Max and Ganzania looked spontaneously toward one another with painful faces; each knew what the other was worrying about.

“No, Max. We’re still going.”


The couple walked along the perimeter, Ganzania in mild relaxation, and Max in angst. The sand on their left blended with the brown, dry grass on their right. Max looked dully at the barren landscape, and as time progressed, the shore, grass and desert met at their ankles. Both stood rubbing their bare arms in the morning chill; the sky considerably darkened with rain clouds. Ganzania suddenly spoke her mind.

“So this is where all those tales took place. Just over there,” she pointed to the nearby desert shore, “Mortswar showed himself to that fishing family. We’re so close, too. It gives the chills just standing here.”

“Yeah, don’t forget the other sea demon appearance, the one that just happened recently over in the mid-desert,” warned Max.

“Which?” She exclaimed. He shared the sinister story of Sombradov to his audient friend. As if summoned by the spirit himself, the sky above continued to form a gloomy wall of clouds. The air darkened, and the two unanimously agreed to head back to Cam’s house.

“Hold it. What’s that,” Ganzania bent down and inspected a large dark-hued stone that caught her eye, “This side is more of a dark purple,” she squinted at the other side, droplets of rain sliding down the face of the stone, “and I can’t tell this side’s color. Have a look.” Max studied the strange stone’s color.

“It’s kind of purple, but mostly black,” he announced, studying the rock.

“That’s what I was thinking, too. Should be bring it home and look at it? I’m getting too wet out here,” Ganzania begged with her eyes. Max stood and bent his knees to grab for the stone, but his grasp was unsuccessful. Unperturbed, he tried again, thinking his hand had had lazy aim.

“Tell me you just saw that!”

“What?” Ganzania glanced back toward him.

“The rock just passed straight through my hand! It’s like a ghost,” Max said amazedly.

“Liar. Come on, we don’t have time for what ever game you’re playing. I’m getting wet,” she swiped for the stone and matched Max’s expression, “You’re right. It must be a ghost stone,” Both stood, and their fingers tingled. Ganzania’s interest quickly dwindled, and she suggested to her friend, “We’d better get going, but we won’t be able to haul it with us.”

“What if—”, Max halted when he saw Ganzania had clearly taken off ahead of him. He sighed but brought himself to full height to pursue her, “What if that stone had dark magic?”

“It doesn’t.” She stated.

“What makes you so sure?” He scowled.

“Don’t be a goof. Rocks are possessed by demons,” She responded coolly.

“Shh, shh, shhhh! Don’t say that here! That’s the best way to get detected at eat alive. We should leave now. I’m getting goose bumps from the cold” Max stated, unsure of how Ganzania unexpectedly came to the previous, blunt conclusion. The sum of his thoughts was painted on his face. He yet again caught up to his wandering friend.


Max and Ganzania trudged away from the shore, and they traveled through the small, forest-like thicket that acted as a barrier between civilization and evil.

Without the squabble of humans, the scene was warm and serene, like a picture of a watery horizon with the new, gentle sun beating down. Grass blew crisply in the breeze beside the harsh desert. Breaking the serenity was a sudden and unperturbing ploop. A low altitude mountain —almost like an island— arose from the water’s surface. Its gargantuan eye demoted the giant squid’s to that of a flea, but the true horror lied in its submerged, colossal grin. An arm-like fin breached the surface and whirled through the air to caress the large boulder, taking with it literally tons of sand. The massive beast immersed back into the depths a mile from the shore, where it had been during the whole event.