The Bay Village Chronicles
Pierce and Henry go on adventures with their cousins.
The Bay Village Chronicles
Episode 12 - Into The Under Depths
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The cousins find the Under Depths!
The Bay Village Chronicles of Tenet into the Underdept in the field of underground strawberries featuring Pierce, Henry, Dwayne, and Bear. With their cousins Miles and McCallan, all the way from Kansas City. And Thomas Whitt and Titus all the way from Birmingham, Alabama. Chapter 1. The Kansas City Cousins. It was a bright summer morning in Bay Village. The kind of morning where the grass smells like grass and the whole day feels like it has something planned for you. Pierce, Henry, Duane, and Bear were lined up on the front porch, watching the road. They had been watching the road for a while. They had been watching the road, in fact, since approximately seven minutes after breakfast, which is a very long time when you are waiting for your cousins. Maybe they got lost, said Henry. You can't get lost coming from Kansas City, said Pierce. You just point the car at Ohio and keep going. Bear got lost in the pantry yesterday, said Duane. Bear nodded because it was true, and because he was not ashamed of it. The pantry was confusing. And then, from down the street came a sound. From Honk Honk. We're her. A car pulled into the driveway, and before it had even fully stopped, a door popped open, and out tumbled a five-year-old in a soccer jersey holding a Nintendo Switch in one hand and a giant bowl of strawberries in the other. This was Miles. Miles loved strawberries. Miles loved sports. Miles loved the Nintendo. And most of all, Miles loved Mario Kart, and he had once won eleven races in a row and talked about it for a week. He also loved his mom, who was right behind him. And he was a very caring big brother, which was a good thing because right behind her came his little brother. Dance party yelled the little brother, who was three years old and already dancing. This was McCallan, some people called him Mac, some people called him Cal. He answered to all of it, as long as you were smiling when you said it. He was fun loving and super sweet. He loved to dance more than almost anything, and he loved steak more than that. Is there steak? asked Mac still dancing. It is nine in the morning, said his mom. So later steak said Mac, hopefully. Out of the car came Uncle Joe and Aunt Savvy, stretching their arms and laughing. There were hugs all around, the good kind, the kind that lift the little ones off the ground. And then the screen door opened. And out stepped the king himself. Matt the King, father of Pierce and Henry, ruler of the backyard, wearer of the golf shoes. Joe, boomed the king. You brought your clubs? I brought my clubs, said Uncle Joe. Excellent, said the king. I have been working on my swing. Pierce and Henry looked at each other. Their dad said this every single time. Their dad had been working on his swing for as long as they had been alive. The swing was not, if anyone was being honest, getting better. The plan, announced the king, is simple. Joe and I will go golfing, the moms will go shopping, and you, he pointed at all six children, will stay in the backyard, be kind to each other, and absolutely positively not get into any trouble. No trouble, said all six children at once. In the voice children use when they are definitely going to get into trouble. Chapter two The door behind the willow and the cars pulled out of the driveway. The king waved, Uncle Joe waved, the moms waved. Aunt Savvy called out Be good. And Myles' mom called out Watch your brother And then they were gone, and the six children were alone. There was a long, important silence. So said Myles, what do you guys do for fun around here? Pierce and Henry looked at each other. Duane grinned. Bear bounced on his toes. Can you keep a secret? asked Pierce. I am five, said Myles. I am amazing at secrets. Dance secret, said Mac, who did not fully understand, but supported the idea. He then began dancing around singing chicken, banana, chicken, banana. After the dance interlude, Pierce led them through the backyard, past the swing set, past the old oak tree, all the way to the bottom of the hill where the creek ran cold and clear over the stones. Myles took off his shoes. Mac took off one shoe and then got distracted and danced with the other shoe still on. They followed the creek around a bend to a place where a huge old willow tree leaned over the water, its branches hanging down like a green curtain. Pierce pushed the branches aside, and there in the roots of the willow, half hidden by moss was a door. It was a small stone door, round at the top with a carved handle shaped like a leaf. It looked very old. It looked like it had been there longer than the tree. Whoa, whispered Myles. This, said Pierce, is the secret door. It leads to the depths. The what? said Myles. The depths, said Henry, in a spooky voice. Tunnels and caves under all of Bay Village. We've been down there before. We know our way around. Bear pulled on the leaf handle. The door swung open with a long, low creek, and a set of stone steps went down into the dark. Cool air drifted up out of the doorway. It smelled like stone and water and something else, something sweet that none of them could quite place. Myles took a deep breath. Then he picked up his little brother's hand because he was a caring big brother. And that is what caring big brothers do at the top of dark staircases.
SPEAKER_00Okay, said Myles, let's go.
SPEAKER_01Chapter three Deeper than the depths. Down they went. The stairs curled around and around, lit by little glowing mushrooms that grew right out of the walls. Pierce went first because he was the leader. Bear went last because Bear liked to be the one who made sure nobody got left behind. The depths were just like Pierce, and Henry remembered. There was the wide cave with the underground pond. There was the tunnel with the echo, where Duane always yelled his own name. There was the room full of crystals that glittered like a thousand night lights. Duane yelled Duane into the echo tunnel. Duane, Duane, Duane, said the tunnel back. Classic, said Duane, very satisfied. But then Miles stopped. He was looking at the wall of the crystal room, at a spot down low behind a boulder. Hey, he said, What's that? Everyone came over to look. Behind the boulder, there was a crack in the floor. A new crack. A crack that Pierce and Henry had never ever seen before. And they had been coming here for years. And the sweet smell, that smell they had noticed at the top of the stairs was coming up out of the crack. Stronger now, much stronger. That smells like Miles sniffed. That smells like No. It can't be together. The six of them pushed the boulder. They pushed, and they grunted, and Mac pushed too, mostly by leaning on it and saying Hm and slowly, slowly, the boulder rolled aside. Underneath was a hole and going down into the hole was a slide. A long, smooth, twisty stone slide dropping down into a soft golden glow. There's nothing under the depths, said Henry. The depths are the bottom. Everybody knows that. Apparently not everybody, said Pierce, staring down the slide. What do we call it? asked Duane. If it's under the depths Bear, who did not talk much but always said the right thing at the right time, looked down into the glowing hole and said one word. The under depths. And before anyone could vote on whether that was a good idea, Mac yelled Wee and jumped feet first onto the slide.
SPEAKER_00Chapter four A field of underground strawberries.
SPEAKER_01They had no choice. One by one they jumped after him, down the long twisty slide, around and around faster and faster, the golden light getting brighter and brighter until all six of them came shooting out the bottom and landed in a giant pile in something soft. Miles sat up, he blinked, he looked around, and then his mouth fell wide open. Because the underdepths were not dark, and they were not scary, and they were not small. They went on as far as he could see, a huge cavern as big as a hundred backyards, lit by a soft golden glow from glowing stones in the ceiling that looked exactly like a warm summer sky. And spread out below that sky, in long, neat, beautiful rows stretching all the way to the far walls were strawberries. Fields and fields and fields of strawberries growing underground, plump and red and shining and perfect. Miles did not say anything for a moment, he just put his hand on his heart. I think, he whispered, I died and went to heaven. You're not dead, said Henry. You landed on the strawberries. Best landing of my life, said Myles. McCallan was already up and dancing between the rows, a slow, spinning, happy dance, the dance of a boy who has found a magical place. Is there steak? He asked the strawberry fields. The strawberry fields did not answer. That's okay, Mac decided. I still love it here. Miles picked a strawberry. He looked at it like it was made of gold. He took one bite. His eyes went huge. Guys, he said. Guys this is the best strawberry that has ever existed. In the history of strawberries, I am not being dramatic. You're being a little dramatic, said Pierce, eating one. Then his eyes went huge, too. Okay, you're not being dramatic. For a few wonderful minutes all six of them just ate strawberries and laughed and explored the rows, and Bear filled his entire shirt with strawberries like a basket, and Duane tried to balance one on his nose, and Mac danced, and everything was perfect. Which, in stories like this one, is usually the exact moment when everything stops being perfect. Chapter five Toileta. A sound nobody ever wants to hear when they think they are alone. She wore a crown made of toilet paper rolls. She held a golden plunger like a royal scepter. And she had a sneaky, twisty smile.
SPEAKER_02Allow me to introduce myself, she said, gliding closer. I am Toileta, younger sister of Toiletron, and these she swept the golden plunger across the fields, are my strawberries, grown in secret, watered by me, and you have been eating them.
SPEAKER_01Toiletron has a sister? Henry whispered to Pierce. Apparently he has a sister with a toilet throne. Pierce whispered back. To be fair, said Duane quietly, it runs in the family.
SPEAKER_02Silence, said Toiletta. And also, I heard that, and it was rude. She raised the golden plunger high. For years my brother failed up there in your little town, but down here, down here I have built an empire, and I do not share my strawberries with trespassers. Guards.
SPEAKER_01From behind the strawberry rows marched a squad of guards. They were plungers. Just plungers. Plungers with little stick arms and little stick legs marching in a line, going hop, hup, hup. Those are plungers, said Miles.
SPEAKER_02They are my finest soldiers, said Twiletta proudly.
SPEAKER_01Toiletta snapped her fingers. The plunger guards rushed forward and out of their tops shot rolls and rolls and rolls of toilet paper, whip whip, whip, whip, wrapping around the children's arms and legs faster than they could run, until all six of them were tangled up in a giant soft white cocoon, stuck fast, unable to move. Hey, yelled Pierce, wiggling. Let us go.
SPEAKER_02I think not, said Toiletta. You will make excellent permanent strawberry pickers, twelve hours a day. No snacks, no Nintendo.
SPEAKER_01No Nintendo, cried Myles. Now it was personal. Miles pulled and pulled, but the toilet paper held tight. Mac wiggled, but could only manage a small trapped dance. Bear strained, Duane grunted, Henry squirmed, Pierce pushed. Nothing worked. The plunger guards circled closer, Toletta laughter gurgly laugh, and it really truly looked like the end. And that is exactly when, from somewhere up near the slide, a voice yelled, Don't worry, we're coming. Chapter six The Brothers from Birmingham. Everybody looked up at the bottom of the slide. Three boys came flying out of it, one after another, and landed in fighting stances like they had practiced it, which they had not, but it looked great anyway. The first one was tall and athletic, with the calm, steady eyes of someone who has read a great many adventure books and knows exactly how this kind of thing is supposed to go. This was Thomas. He was eight years old with a birthday coming up in July, the oldest of the three, and he had read the entire Harry Potter series with his dad and was ready for the next book series. The second one had blonde hair, a giant grin, and feet that were already moving before he even landed. This was wit. He was six. He was fast. Not regular fast. Wicked fast. Soccer fast. The kind of fast that makes grown ups say, Where did he go? The third one was three years old. And he hit the ground running and immediately yelled, Let's get her and charged straight at the toilet throne, with absolutely no plan and absolutely no fear. This was Titus, the youngest, who had never been scared of anything in his life. And who got into trouble roughly once an hour, which, in this particular situation, was going to come in extremely handy. Cousins yelled Miles from inside the toilet paper cocoon, you came. We drove up from Birmingham this morning, Thomas called back. We saw the open door behind the willow tree. Wit ran ahead, obviously. I always run ahead, said Wit, grinning.
SPEAKER_02And who? said Twiletta, standing up on her throne, very annoyed now. Are you three?
SPEAKER_01Thomas pushed up his sleeves. Ma'am, he said politely, because their mom had raised them with manners, I've read a lot of books about villains in caves. They never win. You should really let our cousins go.
SPEAKER_02Never, said Twiletta.
SPEAKER_01Okay, said Thomas. Wit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, said Wit. Go get her, said Thomas, and Wit went. Chapter 7.
SPEAKER_01The great toilet paper showdown. Wit ran so fast he was basically a blonde blur. He zoomed around the plunger guards in a circle, then another circle, then a third circle, faster and faster until the toilet paper from their tops started winding around them instead, wrapping the plunger guards up in their own toilet paper until they tipped over like bowling pins. Bonk, bonk, bonk, bonk, bonk.
SPEAKER_02My guards, cried Toiletta.
SPEAKER_01Titus now yelled Thomas. Titus, who had been quietly climbing up the back of the toilet throne this whole time with no fear whatsoever, popped up right next to Toiletta and yelled Boo She shrieked, and dropped her golden plunger which clattered away across the cavern floor. Bear, called Pierce, your shirt. Bear, still wrapped in toilet paper, but with both arms free, did the bravest thing of his whole life. He reached into his strawberry stuffed shirt, grabbed two big handfuls of strawberries, and threw them as hard as he could at Toileta's twisty smiling face. Splat splat splot.
SPEAKER_02Toileta staggered backward, covered in strawberry, completely unable to see. My eyes, my beautiful evil eyes, they are full of fruit.
SPEAKER_01Meanwhile, Thomas had run to the trapped children and was untangling them fast and careful, exactly the way you would if you had read a hundred books about how heroes free their friends. Miles, he said, you're the Mario Kart guy, right? We need a plan to keep her busy. What have you got? Miles' eyes lit up. He was free now, and he knew exactly what to do, because he had won eleven races in a row, and Mario Kart had been training him his entire life for this exact moment. Banana peels, said Myles. We need banana peels, or you know, the strawberry version. He grabbed the squishiest, ripest, slippery strawberries he could find, and squashed them all over the floor in a line, right where the toilet throne was rolling. Red shell incoming, he shouted, which did not mean anything to anyone, but felt extremely correct to yell. Toileta wiped the fruit from her eyes, grabbed her throne, and came charging at the children one last time. Her throne hit the squashed strawberries and went whe spinning out of control, sliding sideways across the whole cavern completely out of her control. This is just like chapter eleven of Book four, said Thomas, watching happily. The villain always trips on his own trap. But Toletta was still spinning toward them, fast, and there was no time to run, and that was when McCallan stepped forward. Little three year old Mac, who loved to dance.
SPEAKER_00My turn, said Mac. Chapter eight. Mac saves the day with dancing.
SPEAKER_01Mac stepped right out in front of the spinning toilet throne, planted his little feet, and began to dance. Not a scared dance, the best dance. His whole body, arms everywhere, joy of life dance, the one he did at home in the kitchen, the one nobody could watch without smiling. And here's the thing about Toiletta that nobody knew. Not even her brother Toiletron. Deep down, under all the toilet paper and all the evil, Toiletta had always secretly, desperately, wanted to dance. She had just never let herself. Her spinning throne slowed. Her twisty smile wobbled. Her foot, all on its own, started to tap.
SPEAKER_02What? she said is happening to me.
SPEAKER_01It's okay. Said Mac kindly, still dancing. You can dance too. Everybody can dance. Mac started to chant chicken, banana, chicken, banana. And Toiletta, the great villain of the underdepths, queen of the plunger guards, ruler of the underground strawberry fields, climbed down off her toilet throne, and began very stiffly at first, and then with real feeling, to dance.
SPEAKER_02I'm dancing, she cried, twirling. I'm actually dancing. This is so much better than trapping children. Why did nobody tell me? Why are we dancing to chickens and bananas? What is this madness?
SPEAKER_01We literally just met you, said Henry. All nine children gathered together while Toiletta danced herself dizzy in the strawberry rose. Pierce, Henry, Duane, and Bear. Miles and Mac from Kansas City. Thomas Wit and Titus from Birmingham. Nine cousins. In a glowing cavern, having just defeated a villain with speed, strawberries and dancing. We should probably go, said Pierce, before she remembers she's evil. Agreed, said Thomas. Can we take strawberries? asked Miles, who had his priorities in order. Take what you can carry, said Pierce. They filled their pockets and their shirts and their hands. Bear naturally carried the most. And as they climbed back toward the slide, Toletta called out, twirling, not even mad anymore.
SPEAKER_02Come back any time, little dancers. Bring snacks.
SPEAKER_00We chapter nine. Home for lunch.
SPEAKER_01Getting back up was easier than getting down, because Wit ran up the twisty slide the wrong way at top speed and pulled everyone else up behind him like a train. They rolled the boulder back over the crack to keep the underdepth safe and secret. They climbed the curling stairs past the glowing mushrooms. They pushed open the stone door behind the willow tree, and the bright summer afternoon came pouring in. They got back to the house, hosed the worst of the strawberry off their faces, and flopped into the backyard grass exactly four minutes before the cars came back. The king came in first, looking grumpy. How was golf? asked Pierce very innocently. I have decided golf is a broken game, announced the king, and that it is not my fault. He lost eleven balls in the pond, said Uncle Joe cheerfully. I was working on my swing, said the king with great dignity. The moms came in next holding shopping bags and laughing about something. Aunt Savvy looked around at all nine children sprawled happily in the grass. Well, she said. We just, you know, played in the backyard. Stayed out of trouble. Total trouble free, said Henry. Dance party, announced Mac, and got up and danced because some secrets are too big and too happy to keep all the way inside. And dancing is the safest way to let a little bit of it out. Mac started chanting, Chicken banana, chicken, banana, Uncle Matt is the king. That night, after the Kansas City cousins and the Birmingham cousins had all gone to bed and sleeping bags on the floor, Miles lay awake in the dark, smiling, with a switch on his chest and one last strawberry in his hand. Hey Mac. He whispered to his little brother. You awake?
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01Said Mac sleepily. That was the best day ever. Said Miles. Said Mac. Was there steak? No, said Miles, laughing softly. There was no steak. Tomorrow steak, Mac decided. And he fell asleep. And somewhere far below Bay Village, deeper than the depths, in the underdepths, in a glowing cavern full of the best strawberries in the world, a villain in a toilet paper crown danced all by herself. Very happily, all night long. The end for now. Let it be known that Matt is king.