Tales Across Crimson Cove (Anthology)

Welcome to Crimson Cove County

     "Aye new kid," a girl with ebony skin that seems to sparkle under the moonlight says, "You shouldn't be walking around here alone, y'know? But I'm really glad you could make it. Now come follow me." She takes your hand and guides you through the stone arch entrance into what seems like an enclosed beach with large, jagged boulders here and there.

As the girl pulls you along you notice that there's junior and senior high school age kids parting and talking in their own little groups. "Aye, seriously you shouldn't be walking around town at night here. Crimson Cove can look all peaceful and quiet twenty percent of the time, but the other eighty percent it can be really dangerous," the girl says with a dispair tone.

"There are areas we aren't allowed to walk near, or chill around. And those rules aren't just for us kids, but for everyone here in the county. Shoot the country to speak facts." The girl turns to look at you. She notices the nervous look on your face.

"Yeah, there's a steady wave of crime sprees, people going missing without a trace, gangs thinking they own streets, mysterious killings. There's been rumors of supernatural events or creatures appearing with an unneutral mist from the Grove. Oh yeah, places we aren't allowed to..." The girl stops talking because some kids are chasing each other around and nearly bump into you two, but you jump back a bit to let them run between you two.

"Aye, be careful," the ebony girl says to the kids with a smile on her face, she's not too troubled by them. She retakes your hand and leads you again and continues. "The Grove, not sure if you had the chance to see it, but it's like our very own national park," she uses her free hand to make air quotes.

"Yeah, that's what the adults call it, but I never saw any park rangers, or any employees working there, and it looks so unkept. The Grove sits in the middle of the county surrounded by a gate that has seen better days, but it's one of the areas we aren't allowed to go by at any time for any reason. Oh, here we are," she brings you to a small group of kids that look to be in senior high. They're all sitting around a fire a few yards away from the lake, the dark water dances under the light of the moon sparkles. The wind coming from the lake brings a cool breeze that makes you shiver a bit, you're wishing you'd grabbed that thicker sweater tonight, the one your parents suggested.

You and the ebony girl are standing in front of the group with a stone wall lingering behind you two. The girl introduces you to the group as the new kid in town. Everyone greets you and you give them a nervous smile before an attractive teen to your left signals for you to take the seat next to them on the log. You take your seat leaving the ebony girl standing by herself, you watch her as she talks, but your eyes are drawn to her shadow that dances on the stone canvas behind her mysteriously.

"Hey, hey..." the girl calls your name which shakes the silly thought away. "Were you listening?" You shake your head no. The girl squints her eyes at you, but then smiles and repeats herself.

"I was just welcoming you to our lil' hide away from our parents. We call it..."

"The Ultra-Rockin'-Chill-Zone." An enthusiastic boy says, cutting the girl off.

"No, we don't," the girl sighs while the other group members throw marshmallows at the boy. "We just call this place The Cove. Yeah, super simple and on the nose, but it works. Also, this is one of the places I was telling you that was off limits, but none of the adults know us kids hang out here," the girl takes a beat.

"The reason for that is that we follow these top rules: we don't talk about The Cove. We didn't mention that we're meeting at The Cove. And we don't invite anyone that's a Chatterian. You're not a Chatterian, are you?" You stare at her, not knowing how to answer.

"A Chatterian is just a chatty Karain, that's all," the attractive teen says. You understand now and shake your head that you're not one of those. The girl smiles at you.

"Good to hear. Oh yeah, we also have a name. We go by The Residents of Crimson aka ROC, and we accept you as a new member of ROC." Everyone cheers for you.

"Welcome to the group, new kid," the attractive teen next to you says while giving you a devilish grin.

"We were gonna be called Children of Crimson," the boy that interrupted earlier tries to say under his breath.

"Yeah, we vetoed that name 'cause it spelled COC," another girl says. "We also had to veto his other suggestion: Crimson Cove Children, but he swapped the Cs for Ks."

"It just sounded..."

"WHAT," the ebony girl cuts the boy off.

"Man, Midways does it and everyones cool with it, but when I..."

"'Cause yours is a hate crime," another member says.

"Enough of the headache," the ebony girl waves hers, "let's share some tales of Crimson Cove with the newbie here," she gives you a kind smile.

"I got one," a boy on the opposite side of the group raises his hand.

"Bet, let's go," the ebony girl lets the boy take her spot while she sits in his former seat.