By gailryder17 and bradt4ever

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By gailryder17:

Ever since she arrived at the strange town, Ashby wondered what lay Beneath the Steps. She had noticed it when she and Mom stopped at the apartment they would now live in. It was midday when her mom parked the car and started unpacking the few belongings they had between them.
"Ashby," she asked, "Can you help unpack the car?"
"Yes, mom," she said reluctantly. At the moment, she wanted to head on inside and relax. Nevertheless, she started dragging suitcases to the lobby. It wasn't a great apartment, but Ashby wasn't picky. She just wanted the bare necessities, no fancy stuff. She barely came out the lobby when she already received criticism.
"Ashby, don't drag each individual bag in yet. Just take them all out of the car first," Mom instructed, "Honestly, you're fourteen, don't you know how to unpack a car?"
"Yes, mom," she replied, "I'm just tired from the long drive."
Mom closed the trunk and helped Ashby take the suitcases inside. Ashby stood by while Mom received the key to their apartment from the Front Desk and they proceeded. The place was slightly dark and smelled a bit like cigarette smoke, a smell Ashby was accustomed to by now. The walls had smoke-stained wallpaper and the carpet was dirty, like that of a bad motel. Their room turned out to be on the third floor at the end of the hall. The elevator was broken, which forced them to drag many suitcases up the stairs. Ashby's former home was better than this.
"Ugh, those stairs are killer! Why can't they fix the elevator?" Mom asked between breaths.
Ashby didn't bother answering.

Excellent story so far! Keep up the good work!

Umm, thanks? bradt4evr is working on another part which will be featured in the next post.

Ok im gonna have a go at this, Gailryder if you see any spelling mistakes or anything you wanna change please do because im not the best at editing lol
Even though she tried so hard to be happy for what she had, she couldnt help but be sad for what she lost. She still remembered what life used to be like. A life where she lived in a beautiful home, A small two story white victorian, with blue flowers lining the pathway to the door. A time where the house smelled of cinnamon rolls and her fathers cologne, and not the stench of Cigarretes. "fathers smell" she thought" the smell i both loathe and miss. Her mother then spoke as they looked around "well this place isnt too bad, Got it for a steal, Oh ashby i know its not our old home, but its dry and warm"
Ashby only nodded in agreement, she could only stare at that cast on her mothers arm. she could only use one arm for the suitcases, which made the job of unpacking difficult. Her mother told her that it was an accident at work, But ashby knew too well that if it were an accident at work she would be getting work mans comp. She couldnt pretend she never saw her dad hit her mother! she couldnt pretend he wasnt an alcoholic! or that he didnt walk out on the family and didnt pay child support, life just didnt work like that. And she felt a single fiery tear fall down her cheek, Dad! she cried, her mother walked over to comfort her " Ashby you shouldnt blame him for this" ashby said sobbingly "But he walked out on us mom, because of him we lost everything, your job, the house, and i lost my dad!" ashbys mother said" No, you didnt lose your dad, he loves you very much, him and i just have differences. This is a start of a whole new life for us, and were going to make the best of it. Now go unpack your things and get situated in your room, dinners in a half hour" Ashby felt a little better, but she couldnt help feeling betrayed. she did as she was told, and made her way to the bedroom

She stared outside her window and saw kids running around a large structure that looked like a crossbreed between a satellite and a lookout tower. She saw a little staircase right under it. A boy approached it and a woman - likely his mother - quickly pulled him away. No one went near that staircase. It went down, somewhere, but she wasn't sure. In the slight distance, she saw a school where kids were hanging around. There was probably a school-sanctioned event going on. In big letters, it said "Watson-Palemann Public School" and she wondered if this was where she was going. She was used to going to smaller, better schools. Although her dad hit Mom, he still cared for Ashby.
"Ashby?" she heard Mom shout, "Dinner."
She came back to the kitchen, disappointed that it was only pizza. She still ate it, despite her not being so hungry. She was still thinking about the stairs.
"Mom," she asked, "How do you plan on getting a job? Your arm is broken, you can't do much."
"Let me worry about that Ashby. Now, you think about how you're going to school tomorrow-"
"Speaking of which," Ashby interrupted, "What will I need for school?"
"Ooh, forgot about that. Well, we have some of your stuff from last year."
"I thought we threw that out."
"Well, you know, I'm a hoarder," she joked, much to Ashby's lack of amusement.

Keeps getting better (except for Brad's punctuation and grammar mistakes, then again, I assume this is a rough draft)! More please!

By the way, Gailryder, you are very welcome.

I apologize for any grammer or punctuation errors, I always have trouble with it and im sure Gailryder will be able to help me when we edit this.

That night she lay awake in her bed. her mind seemed to be racing at the speed of light with so many thoughts "I wonder if mom will ever get a job, what if she doesnt?" she looked over on her nightstand, at a single photo of her mom, dad and her at the beach. there she was, a chubby, smiling 4 yr old girl in her dad's arms, with a beautiful, vibrant young woman on the other side, her mom had so much life in her back then. In the background of the photo a gleaming ocean seemed to stretch itself across the background while a fiery orange sun slowly set behind their heads. she thought how back then she had her whole life ahead of her. A life full of adventures in woods, and creeks to play in. she thought about how Life was good then, how life was innocent. here she was a 14 yr old girl, and it seemed like her life was over. she seemed to be saying more to herself quietly, she always talked or mumbled to herself, she wasnt sure why. She heard herself say "I wonder what school will be like, maybe moms right, maybe this is only the beginning, i just hope its the beginning of something good" then, she heard a faint clash of metal outside, she was startled. first she saw the time, 2:00 A.M, and she listened more closely, now she couldve swore she heard a faint voice coming from outside her window. She slowly crept across her room, and peeped out the window. It was almost pitch black out, with the moon only being a tiny silver sliver in the great wide open space. But she could make out the shape of the odd structure with the stairs, and then, she saw it. The shape of what appeared to be two people in front of it. she crouched down on the floor and very slowly she opened up the window just a crack to see if she could make out any words. she heard a man say " so far we have no deaths to report, but oddly enough they still find the strength to rebel" Ashby then felt her eyes pop wide open! she realized that was was the voice of the man who checked them in at the lobby! Then she listened more intently, and heard the crackly voice of a woman "Make sure you keep them in line! i dont care what you have to do! I know for what i pay you to keep them in line and keep them working there should not be any problems from them!" then the mans voice said " Yes, and as i promised i will not fail you." then the womans voice said "excellent, now a little advice for you, If they do not wish to work, then cut their rations in half! well see if they have the strength to rebel after that!" then ashby heard a mean laugh from the woman. The woman then said "meet me here tomorrow at the same time for your next report, and i dont want to hear about rebellions in the next one!" The man said "yes, miss, have a good evening" and ashby saw the two walk away.

Last edited by bradt4evr on 24 Jun 2011, 12:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.

The alarm clock on her iPod buzzed repeatedly. She groaned. The alarm seemed to keep getting louder. She put her pillow over her head before Mom busted her door open. She heard the alarm stop; likely because of Mom.
"Ashby, sweetie, you need to get up," she heard, "Look, I took the liberty of getting a backpack for you and some supplies. I even made lunch for you."
Ashby dragged herself out of bed. She walked to her suitcase and picked out a clean-looking shirt and shorts. She didn't bother brushing her teeth.
"Honey, the backpack and lunch is on the kitchen table, don't forget them. You have a tendency to do that," Mom said.
Ashby rushed to the kitchen to grab her backpack and go, but her Mom called her back just as she was about to open the door.
"Ashby, you need breakfast."
"No, I don't, Mom!"
"Yes you do!"
"Seriously?" she asked. She knew all they had was last night's pizza.
"Yes, I'm not letting my daughter go without eating first!"
Fine, she thought. She dropped her backpack and lunch and went to the fridge to take out the old box of pizza. She set it on the table, opening to see that there were only a few slices left. She took one piece and took a bite before leaving, picking up her stuff on the way.
"You aren't staying? You don't have to leave just yet, honey."
"I don't want to be late on my first day," she replied.
"Alright."
She ate her pizza quickly and took the stairs down, as the elevator still wasn't fixed. This place must be cheap! She was used to climbing stairs. She and her mom used to take walks and in her old neighborhood, there was an old set of stairs they used to race on. She smiled at the memory as she entered the lobby. She noticed the man that checked them in was staring at her. They made eye contact for a while until Ashby couldn't take it and ran out the door.
She tried to remember where the school was when she turned herself to face the stairs underneath the structure. The school was right behind it, some distance away. She figured the stairs were in the direction of the school, so she could check them out right before. School didn't start until eight o'clock, so she had a few minutes.
She walked right under the large structure that had no name, at least in her mind. There was a white-gate like rail around the hole, leaving the entrance open. She wondered why they would leave it open like that. She took one step down. She was about to take another when she heard a voice behind her.
"What do ya think you're doin'?" a female voice said.
Ashby turned around to see a girl her age with brown hair and green eyes. She had a pudgy face and was tall. She didn't seem intimidating. Her face had a confused look.
"I, uhh-"
"Nobody ever goes down there, don't you know that?" she asked, "Hey, you're the new kid, aren't you?"
"How'd you know?"
"News travels fast around here," she replied, "What's your name?"
"Ashby. Ashby Collins," she informed her as she climbed out the stairs, "You?"
"Name's Elisa. Actually it's Elisa-Margaret, but people call me Ellie. That, or Mags. Your choice, really. You going to school now?"
"Yeah," Ashby replied, her thoughts still about what secrets the stairs kept, "Can you help orientate myself there? You know how it is, being the new kid."
"Okay," Elisa replied, walking toward the school and waiting for Ashby to follow her, "I'll give you a special tour if we get there early."
Ashby followed her new friendly tour-guide, but occasionally she would turn around briefly, even for the shortest moment, to see if anything else would happen at the Stairs.

Chapter 2

Elisa took Ashby to the front of the school before pausing to check her watch.
"Phew, we're on time," Elisa said, "Anyway, the grand tour, a.k.a. a little walk around through this shit-hole, begins now."
"But don't I have to receive my schedule?" Ashby asked.
"You'll get it after our mini-tour," Elisa replied, dragging Ashby through the doors, "So all the bathrooms are at the end of the hallways, as well as drinking fountains. Over there, the blue door in the middle of the hallway, is the Principal's office for the middle school. The High School is upstairs. It's still the middle of the eighth grade year and already the class has died."
"Of boredom?" Ashby asked, looking around to see many white doors and receiving a sarcastic "yes".
Elisa took Ashby to the doors at the end of the hallway, leading her outside. It was a large school-yard, unlike in schools Ashby has gone to in the past. There were two basketball courts, many tetherball poles, and handball courts. To the end closer to the building were many rows of benches and tables and an out-door "cafeteria".
"So, this is where the school dumps us out when they have their lunch break. Middle and High Schoolers have different times. I usually sit over here," Elisa informed, pointing to a table at the end of the second row, "Oh s**t, school is almost starting."
Elisa and Ashby ran inside: Elisa to her class, Ashby to the Office. There, she saw a tall man with glasses, gray hair and white stubble. He adjusted his gray jacket and red tie before noticing Ashby standing at the desk. He smiled while filing papers.
"Oh, sorry. You're the new student, yes?"
Ashby nodded.
"Ashby Collins? Ooh, uh, we need to get you a schedule. Note that you still have to pick your electives. Conveniently, they all happen around the same periods, so it won't disrupt your other courses. Anyway," he continued, taking a piece of paper from his desk, "Here's your schedule and a form for your electives. You don't have to fill them out until the end of the day. Take note that Photography and Music are full."
Ashby studied her schedule, noticing that her language was "Spanish 1". Her electives were left blank. She noticed they took place after study hall. She tried to remember what day it was. On her long car drive here, days always got mixed up. She saw the time was 8:05 and hoped her current class would excuse her tardiness.
"Umm, what's your name?" Ashby Collins.
"Principal Wilhelm."
"Principal Wilhelm, what day is it?
"Tuesday."
"Can you write me a note? I don't want to go to my first class late and not have a reason why."
"Sure," he replied, taking a notepad and pen, "Who's your first teacher?"
"Umm," she said, looking at her schedule, "Mrs. Fain."
He wrote her the note and gave it to her for her to look at. Ashby thanked him and tried to find her classroom: 105. She found the door and entered to find only one unoccupied seat in the middle. In place of the person who would normally sit there was a blue backpack with a Japanese anime keychain. Right next to it was Elisa, motioning her to the backpack-seat.
"Who are you?" Mrs. Fain, a thirty-something year old woman, asked.
"Ashby Collins. I know I'm late. Principal Wilhelm wrote me a note."
Mrs. Fain took the note and read it out loud, "Excuse Ashby Collins of tardiness. It was due to... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles taking her on a morning mission."
"What?" Ashby shouted, to everyone's amusement.
"Oh, it's okay. Principal Wilhelm enjoys making crazy excuses. That's how we know it's from him. He has a joking-streak. Why don't you take a seat?"
She saw Elisa remove her backpack from the seat and allowed Ashby to sit there. Ashby listened as Mrs. Fain handed out textbooks and instructed the class to turn to some random page. Apparently, they were reading a short story today. Ashby opened the book to find they were reading Flowers for Algernon, a story about a mentally ret*d man who undergoes an operation to boost his intelligence. She knew the grim ending to the story, but decided not to say anything.

Im actually not sure what to next write lol, wow this is so embarressing, Hey gailryder could you maybe write the next part again, im sorry. I think you might have a better idea of what to write next than i do.

You have GOT to be kidding me, bradt4evr. GAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! You suck! Anyway:

"Ashby!" Elisa called right before lunch.
Ashby turned around and followed Elisa to the play-yard, where rows of seats were located. Ashby remembered the table Elisa pointed out earlier today and sat with her there. She had yet to be introduced to the others.
"Hey, you've met the new kid, right?" Elisa asked the kids next to her.
"Yeah," a boy said, "Ashby right?"
Ashby nodded.
"Francis," he continued, sticking his hand out. The kids sitting next to him followed suit as Ashby learned their names: Rhiannon, Stanley and Sophie.
"What're your electives?" Rhiannon asked.
"Don't have any yet. I have till the end of the day to decide."
"What're you interested in?"
"Art and writing."
Sophia chimed in, "Take painting. Try the speech and debate team. We only got a few guys and we need another."
Elisa turned her attention to a table near her and shrugged in disgust.
"Sixth graders," she muttered.
"What's wrong with them?" Ashby asked.
"Sixth graders are always annoying," Elisa complained, "Especially this particular class. Particularly the boys."
Ashby remembered her old school. They always complained about the sixth graders, mainly because they were new to middle school. Once those sixth graders became seventh graders, they were glad to have younger kids take their not-often-envied places. They became new targets.
"Weren't we once sixth graders?" Francis asked before taking another bite of his lunch. Ashby barely ate hers.
"We weren't that bad!" Elisa replied, tilting her head to refer to the younger kids sitting at other tables.
Ashby ignored their conversation for a while. She looked around to notice the gate surrounding the play-yard. Her table was near the gate. As she paid more attention, she realized the structure overlooking the mysterious stairs wasn't that far off. She got up and headed to the gate, staring at the set of stairs. She wondered about its secrets. She remembered when Elisa found her there.
"Ashby!" Elisa called again, "You aren't thinking about the stairs again, are you?"
"Nah," she said, turning around, "Just thought I saw something."
Stanley got up from his seat and came to the fence, standing side by side with Ashby. He focused on the stairs with her and seemed to try figure out what Ashby was thinking.
"You gonna check those stairs out later?"
Ashby thought she wouldn't, but was slightly tempted to consider it. She looked at Stanley and lifted one of her eyebrows.
"Don't try to convince the new kid to do anything stupid just because you can!" Sophie seemed to lecture, "Lunch is nearly over. Aren't you coming?"
"Yeah," Stanley replied, "You give us a sec."
Us? Ashby silently questioned Stanley's motives.
As soon as everyone left, Ashby started heading there. Stanley quickly grabbed her arm, pulled her a little closer, and whispered something.
"You don't have electives yet, right?"
"No," she replied, "I don't."
Stanley glanced at her, at the stairs, and then her again. He started climbing the fence, made it over, and after he was only a few feet above ground, he landed.
"Aren't you coming?"
"Why?"
"You wanted to know about the stairs. Come on!"
Ashby looked around and thought about the consequences. She didn't want to get in trouble on her first day, but she was so consumed with curiosity. She looked around, not seeing anyone, looked back at the fence right in front of her, and started climbing.

Amazing! You guys are both very talented writers.

*In Elvis Presley voice* "Thank you, thank you very much"

Anyway, to continue the story:

"Will we get caught?" Ashby asked as she landed on the other side of the fence.
"Caught?" Stanley scoffed, "What teacher goes near the steps?"
Ashby didn't bother retorting and followed him underneath the odd white structure. She looked up and found the shade it provided somewhat chilling. Ashby looked at the stairs again. The curiosity drove her mad.
"All right, who's going first?" Stanley asked.
"What do you mean 'first'?"
Stanley laughed, "You don't think I'm letting you off easy if you get scared, do you?"
Ashby stood in front of the steps, looking down at the filthy stairs. There was a tarnished rail on one side and evidence that there used to be one on the other. Ashby didn't realize how dirty the place was until now.
"Why don't people go down there?" she asked.
"Some say bad things hide down there. Others say it's off-limits. Either way, I've never met anyone with the guts to see what's there. By bad things, it could mean anything from blood-sucking demons to diseased rats!" he teased, gently pushing Ashby forward, "So do ya have the balls to check it out?"
Ashby looked at him and rolled her eyes. Blood-sucking demons? How old were these people, eight? She proceeded down the steps, hesitant to touch the rail yet staying close to the wall, and after a few steps down, looked back at Stanley to tell him to follow her. He followed suit and watched as Ashby took more steps downward until she was no longer visible from ground level if one was not overlooking the stairs the way Stanley was. Ashby saw another flight of steps and started again when she saw a tarnished fence with a lock. It looked like a misophobe's nightmare. Stanley was soon behind her, still on the last few steps of the first short flight of stairs.
"Behold," Stanley shouted sarcastically, accompanying his last words with claps, "The fantastic wonder of what's beneath the steps! A gate! At last, the ninth world wonder. Whooo!"
Ashby stepped foreword to take a closer look.
"You wanna jump THAT fence later, Ash?"
She kneeled down and looked closer at the fence when BAM! Two hands appeared to grab for her and clasped the fence, shaking it almost violently. Ashby barely saw a flash of the boy's face when they leaped backward and fell. She quickly turned and ran with Stanley back above ground, hearing only a faint voice that gave her the chills. As both of them kept running, they kept hearing the fence shaking. Stanley and Ashby crashed into each other as they got to the top, both knocking each other to the ground.
"What the hell was that?" Stanley asked, raising his voice.
"How would I know?" Ashby replied, "That scared the s**t outta me!"
"We need to get back," Stanley finally realized, "Before they figure out we're gone."
Stanley got up and helped Ashby off the dirt floor. They both ran to the fence that led to the school and Stanley didn't hesitate to climb over it and get back into the safety of the school. Ashby, however, looked back at the steps one more time before climbing up slowly and thinking about the faint voice. She could almost swear that she heard him say something along the lines of "help me" and "run".
The boy that shook the fence looked mournfully at the steps where he previously saw the boy and the girl. He was sure he scared them off and a bit disappointed at himself. He was afraid that he might cry when he heard a sharp voice saying "Hey, get back to work!"
He let go of the fence and crawled back into the dark depths that no one knew. At least not yet.