Free The Monster of Creasy's Hollow (Defenders of the Rift Book 1) by N.C. Reed Page B

mother. Her mother who
had caused all this by being too afraid to just sit still and be
quiet.
    The monster turned to face Chip's challenge, and Donna
held a breath, afraid to let it go and draw his attention back to
her. Silently she thanked her friend for being brave enough to come
to their rescue. Although part of her wanted to scream at him for
being so stupid, too.
    Suddenly Monusuol moved away, leaving Donna and her
mother alone.
    Heading toward Chip Douglas.
    *****
    Chip fought down the urge to panic, and the almost
overwhelming need to look toward the blue orb of light. If he looked,
Monusuol would look. If the monster recognized the trap before it was
sprung, then he would run away, and all of this would have been for
nothing, and the beast would be loose.
    Oh please, little ball of light, do your thing, and
do it quick, the scared teen
thought to himself, mentally trying to urge the trap to close shut
around the monster. And do it quickly.
    “ Stay back,” he told his mom, hearing her
walking behind him. “All I need to do is keep him focused on me
and inside the trap. Don't make it harder.”
    Stacey stopped, looking at her son's back in amazement.
He sounded so calm, almost detached. Where was he finding the courage
to do this. She held back, her instincts warring with each other. Her
maternal drive demanding that she go to her son and help him, protect
him, while her rational side warned her to heed what Chip was saying,
and not make his job any harder.
    In front of her, Chip was also wondering where he was
getting his courage. He sure didn't feel brave, with his knees
trembling, threatening to fold beneath him. All he knew was that this
was his fault. The other adults had been right about that. He was the
one who found the book, and the spell, and he was the one who had
brought it to the others. And convinced them to try it.
    All for a stupid dog, the thought came to him unbidden. He had loved Waldo as much as any
of the gang had, but he realized, standing here looking at what he
had done, that no dog was worth the trouble and risk he had brought
to his family, his friends, and his town.
    We should have left well enough alone ,
he realized. Well, it was too late now. All he could do was try and
make things right.
    And this was all he could think of. Distracting the
monster, and willing himself not to look at the small blue orb still
growing inside the wood.
    How long would it take to work?
    *****
    Chuck looked at the orb wondering the same thing his son
was. He realized what Chip was doing, and was very proud of his son.
He was also scared out of his mind with worry that his young son
would suffer for his bravery.
    But Chuck and the
others were helpless to assist him now. If they attracted the beast's
attention, then he would see
the orb, and know that he was inside a trap. Monusuol had seen such
traps before, after all. Had been victim of them before. If he
realized what was happening before the orb was ready, then he would
flee, and their trap would fail.
    Chuck realized that his son recognized the same thing.
He also was beginning to realize that Chip blamed himself for
everything that had happened, and was assuming responsibility for
making it right. Even while scared silly for his son's safety, Chuck
couldn't help but feel immense pride in his son. Chuck doubted that
he would have been so responsible himself at that age.
    Watching the events play out in front of him, Chuck
silently urged the orb to hurry, even though he knew that it wouldn't
do any good. It did make him feel better, though. A little.
    *****
    Chip tried to get a look at the orb from the corner of
his eye, but couldn't see it. He didn't dare look at it directly. He
turned his attention to Monusuol instead, holding up a hand in front
of him.
    “ That's far enough!” he called in a loud,
stern voice. Surprisingly, the beast stopped.
    There's no way that should have worked, Chip thought to himself.
    “ You don't belong here,” he said