Little Fears RPG - Nightmare Edition - Among The Missing

Sure, I remember him.
Used to hang out with that kid

with the crutches and that other one, that girl with the
big glasses.
We werent friends or anything. We just lived on the
same street. He was alright, I guess. His friends bugged
me but he was okay.
I know what the cops said happened, what the parents
said happened, but I dunno. I saw him playing outside
the day before. He seemed happy enough. I heard he left
some kinda note or something so I guess its possible.
He just didnt seem like the kinda kid whod run away.

- Preston Langley, age 12
Book 2: AMONG THE MISSING

a guide to the lost and forgotten
for use with Little Fears Nightmare Edition
Written & Conceived by
Jason L Blair
Top 3 System Designed by
Jason L Blair &
Caz Granberg
Edited by
Matt M. McElroy
Published by
FunSizedGames
Cover illustration by
Veronica V. Jones
Interior illustrations by
George Cotronis
Grumbleputty
Veronica Jones
Jeff Preston
Layout & Graphics by
Jason L Blair
Real lives are not a game.

Amber Alert
www.amberalert.gov
National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children
www.missingkids.com
All text copyright 2011 Jason L Blair. All rights reserved.

Interior illustrations are copyright their respective artists. Used with permission.
Little Fears, Little Fears Nightmare Edition, Top 3 System, and This Game Uses the
Top 3 System are trademarks of Jason L Blair dba FunSizedGames.
www.littlefears.com
www.funsizedgames.com
among
the
missing
Table of Contents
Introduction: Gone, Just Like That
Chapter One: Against Their Wills

(The Abducted)
15
What This Supplement Is

What You Will Find in this Book
Final Note About this Book
10
11
13
Part One: How it Happens
16
Part Two: Why it Happens
18
Part Three: What Happens Next
19
Part Four: Sample Abducted
21
By Convincing
By Using Other Kids
By Force
Without the Kid Knowing
Parental Justification
Replacement Family
Indoctrination
More Nefarious Reasons
Swallowed by Shadows
Escape into Nothing
Agent of Monsters
Change of Heart
16
17
17
17
18
18
19
19
19
20
20
20
Chapter Two: By Inhuman Hands

(The Stolen)

26
27
29
Part Four: Sample Stolen
31
Being Overpowered
Being Ambushed
Falling for a Lie
Falling into a Trap
To Feed
For Sport
For Labor
For Companionship
The Child Escapes

The Child Meets Another Monster
The Child is Let Go
26
27
27
27
27
28
28
28
29
30
30
25
Chapter Three: On Their Own

(The Runaways)

37
37
39
41
Into the Night

Amongst the Crowd
Takes Off
Jealousy
Inadequacy
Feelings of Guilt
To Get Away from Abuse
Get to an Other Family
Independence
Lost on the Road

No Destination in Mind
Not All Its Cracked up to Be
Found a Friend
37
37
37
38
38
39
39
39
39
39
40
40
40
Chapter Four: No Longer Wanted

(The Abandoned)

47
48
49
51
Left on a Doorstep
Left on the Side of the Road
Left with a Friend
Home Economics
Fear of Abuse
Mental Illness
Addiction
Behavioral Issues
New Family
Become a Runaway
Become Forgotten
Quick, Like a Bandage

Fading Memory
45
47
47
47
48
48
48
49
49
50
50
50
Chapter Five: Through The Cracks

(The Forgotten)

35
57
57
57
55
Vanishing Act
Time Jump
Because There is no Love

Chemical Eraser
Side Effect of Grief
Its What Monsters Do
Act of Mercy
Cover up a Crime
Find a Friend
Cling to the Fragments
Go to the Authorities
Start a New Life
58
58
58
60
62
58
58
59
60
60
60
60
60
61
61
I came home and they wouldnt let me in.

I couldnt remember how to get home.
All of a sudden, I was in an empty parking lot.
Chapter Six: One of the Missing

Missing Child as Character
66
Part One: Missing PCs
66
Part Two: Being the Missing
70
Part Three: Missing GMCs
71

Choose the Type of Missing

This is Me

Abilities and Traits

Virtues

Qualities

Stuff

Questionnaire for All

for the Abducted and Stolen

for the Runaway

for the Abandoned and Forgotten

Hes a Survivor
Trust Comes Hard
He is Now One of Those Kids
He is Hiding Something
Introducing a Missing GMC

How They Help
How They Hinder
The Threats They Present
66
66
67
67
67
68
68
69
70
70
70
70
71
71
71
71
71
72
65

What Can Be Done

Save the Kid

Protect the Kid

Missing as Bad Guys

Bad Seed

Unwelcome Reminder
Part Four: Expanded GMCs
72
72
72
73
73
73
73
GMC Type
Making an Expanded GMC
Expanded GMC Rules
73
74
76
Community Centers
Church
A Friends House
Getting into the In-Between

The Halfway House
The Crack in the Grass
Where Monsters Come Through
Living in the In-Between
Aging in the In-Between
Other In-Between Kids
Getting Out of the In-Between
How Kids Get Stuck
The Big Domino

The Ash Pile
85
85
The Nowhere
Hopscotch Hallway
The Old Wintergarden
87
88
89
Part One: People You Can Trust
92
Part Two: People in the Between
95
Chapter Seven: The World Around You

Part One: The Real World
78
Part Two: The World Between
79
77
78
78
78
79
80
81
82
83
83
83
84
85
Part Three: Hiding Places
85
Part Four: Places to Avoid
87
Chapter Eight: The People You Know
91
Karen Finney
Edgar and Alexis Krohl
Walter Highways
Helper
Mabel Mae Belle
92
92
93
95
96
Part Three: Light Amidst Dark
98
The Dogmother
Stephanie Nolastname
98
99
The Cat
Madam Switchswatch
100
102
Smelly Belly
Stranger Danger
The Ghost Car
Sewer Thing
102
104
104
105
Intro
The Scenes
Episode GMCs
The Monsters
110
112
121
122
Part Four: Real Bad People
100
Part Five: Missing Monsters
102
Chapter Nine: The Long Way Home
109
He Left a Note
Play Sheets

Expanded GMC Sheet

Missing Character Sheet
New Questionnaires
125
126
127
124
125
introduction:
gone, just
like that
introduction
n entire street full of cars. The sounds of late autumn fill the air.
A
Beyond, 5 oclock traffic races down the interstate. First shifters coming home. The late
retail crowd heading in. But here, there is no traffic, no rush of cars against the wind. Here, each
one parked outside a brick-faced residence, they are still. They are empty. Except for one.
Down the street, at the basketball court, a group of kids play Horse in that manner children
do. Each calls an impossible shot and fails to pull it off. Bobbys on H. He sank a three pointer. He
calls it skill but everyone knows it was a lucky shot. Antons been trying to dunk all day. At 48,
hes a bit shy of the rim.
In the not-empty car, a shadow turns the ignition. Its a quiet car. The perfect kind. Its
non-descript: Four doors, bluish-grey. Or was it brown? Its hard to say. Yknow, it might be a
hatchback. Or a sedan.
Mick tells Anton to stop messing around and take the shot already. Willie sits on the paintline,
book in hand. Hes tired of sports. Anton tells everyone to chill. Its happening. He can feel it.
Bobby gloats about his H. Calls himself the King of Park Street. Mick tells him to stuff it.
Besides, the boy says, you live on Vine.
Yeah, but the courts on Park and thats what matters.
The car pulls out of its spot. It rolls slowly around the bend, toward the basketball court. Just
past the court is a church. Small, white, wooden cross on top. Black sign in the front with the
hours of Sundays service.
Anton rushes, jumps, and lets loose the ball. It spins around the rim before teetering in.
Dunk! Anton shakes his butt at the other kids. Kiss it! Kiss it! Kiss the dunk masters butt!
he says.
So not a dunk, Mick says, chasing the ball.
Anton says it was so. Says hell do it again.
Mick scoops up the ball. No way Antons getting it again.
Mick offers it to Willie but the boy says hes not playing anymore. He passes to Bobby but the
place the older boy once stood is now empty. All three look around, but no one can see him. No one
knows where Bobby went.
He probably went home, Anton says.
Mick spins in place, scanning the area. Thatd be kinda fast. Howd he skip out without us
seeing?
Maybe he cut across the church.
Yeah, maybe. Probably. Best way to Vine Street.
Anton shrugs, tells Mick to throw it to him. They have three hours before the streetlights come
on and todays the day hes gonna prove hes the dunk champion.
What this Supplement Is
In Little Fears Nightmare Edition, we tell stories of children who are heroes. Children
who fight back against the monsters, who conquer evil, and who saves livestheir own
and others. Most of these children lead otherwise uneventful lives. They live in safe
environments, with trustworthy people, have good friends, normal lives, homework every
night, and an early bedtime every school night.
But there are other children, other heroes. Ones who fight first against the situations
of their lives and then, or sometimes at the same time, the world of monsters. These
characters come from different backgrounds, have different families, and lead different
10
gone, just like that

lives than each other. But they all have one thing in common: They are all missing
children.
There are five ways that a child becomes missing. They are either abducted (meaning
they are taken by another human), they are stolen by a monster, they run away (causing
themselves to become missing), they are abandoned by their families, or they are forgotten
by the real world. Each type has its own story, its own underlying cause, and its own
resolution. But they are all children who became separated from how the real world is
supposed to work, and who became susceptible to Closetlands machinations because of it.
In the real world, a lot of kids reported to be missing are eventually found. Some simply
took a wrong turn and couldnt find their way home. Others went to friends houses
without telling their parents. There are those who were kidnapped but eventually returned
thanks to the concerted efforts of communities, police, and federal agencies. Of course,
not all real missing kids are found. And, if they are, sometimes years or decades pass
before that happens.
This supplement deals with those kids who have yet to be found. They are no longer
captives but they are not free. Somewhere along the path, possibly at the start, possibly
just yesterday, they found themselves in the realm of monsters and they couldnt get out.
Each child wishes for escape, even if he doesnt wish to go back home.
When a child goes missing, when hes severed from the safety of family, he is left open
to being absorbed by Closetland. Its possible for a child to simply sink into a strange bed
and disappear from the real world. Some monsters prey exclusively on the missing, those
who have lost contact with the people whose presence would otherwise deter the beasts.
These monsters swallow the children in their giant empty mouths like ravenous doorways
to a twisted wonderland. Others lead them down dangerous paths, into a cool white light,
promising salvation, promising home, but delivering something far darker.
Some of these children are in Closetland proper, running through its grey hallways and
twisted corridors. They pull on door handles, desperate to escape, but every door leads to
a hundred more. Some children exist in our world but cannot be seen by adults. They are
trapped in the in-between. These children didnt just go missing, the world forgot them.
There are numerous children who are missingfar, far too manyand in this book
well talk about them. How it happened, why it happened, and how your characters can
save them.
What You Will Find in this Book
Book 2: Among the Missing is designed for both players and game moderators
and is written to inspire heroic and horrifying tales about salvation, redemption, and
reconnection. The theme of family, blood and otherwise, runs strong in these pages and is
something we will explore in numerous points throughout.
The Chapters
This book is divided into eight chapters including this introduction. The first five
chapters detail a specific type of missing child, including how it happens and what
happens next. The next two chapters talk about the world around a missing child as well
as the people, and the final one is a complete standalone episode that puts this book into
practice at the gaming table. The chapters are:
11
introduction
Introduction: Gone, Just Like That
This is what youre currently reading. It discusses the scope of this book and briefly
covers its contents.
Chapter One: Against their Will (The Abducted)
This chapter covers the Abducted, those kids who were taken by people.
Chapter Two: By Inhuman Hands (The Stolen)
This chapter talks about the Stolen, kids who were snatched away by monsters.
Chapter Three: On Their Own (The Runaways)
This chapter details the Runaways, the kids who left of their own accord.
Chapter Four: No Longer Wanted (The Abandoned)
This chapter is all about the Abandoned, who are kids left by their families.
Chapter Five: Like They Never Existed (The Forgotten)
This chapter focuses on the Forgotten, those kids who slipped through the cracks
between Closetland and the real world.
Chapter Six: One of the Missing
This chapter goes over rules particular to missing kids and includes new rules for
making GMCs who are a bit more important than your standard minor characters.
Chapter Seven: The World Around You
This chapter talks about the places a missing child can be safe and those places that are
especially hostile to him.
Is This Appropriate?
The subject of this supplement is not something to be taken lightly. In those areas
where I have put the concept of missing children in a fantastic setting, it is to put
these situations in a context appropriate to the game. This isnt done to trivialize what
happens in the real world but give players the tools to explore these issues and themes
in hopes of better understanding them from the victims perspective.
Dramatically, a child who is missingwhatever the causecan be a fascinating
player or non-player character. He would have experiences and exist under
circumstances the other characters probably wouldnt understand otherwise. And a
group of missing kids who have built a network to help save themselves and others are
heroes of the highest regard.
Also, youll see that the more nefarious aspects of missing children, what every parent
dreads to her very core, are not detailed in this book. They are referenced, for the sake
of completeness, but I strongly discourage it from being part of a player characters
backstory and suggest it should only be used as the history of a non-player character
with utmost regard and caution.
My advice to players, with respect to characters who are missing children, is that it is
scarier to not say and more dreadful to not know.
12
gone, just like that

Chapter Eight: The People You Know
This chapter is all about the people, both friendly and not, who can be important to
missing kids. They might be someone to seek out in times of trouble, or a reason to avoid
a particularly dark alley.
Chapter Nine: The Long Way Home
This is a complete episode for use in an existing series or as a one-off episode. In it, the
player characters will help a missing kid find his way back to where he belongs.
Final Note About This Book
The world presented in this book is highly fictionalized. Even though some very real
situations are referenced, detailed, or used as inspiration for some of the material within
this book, everything in here is fiction. I have kit-bashed, altered, repurposed, and flatly
made-up things in order to create a world where children fight back against the creatures
of Closetland and one where missing kids play a particular role in that fight.
For the player and game moderator: Creating and portraying a missing child can be a
sensitive subject for some players and groups should use common sense when doing so. I
urge groups to discuss the impact including such a character might have on the group and
to treat these types with respect. While we may be talking about fictional characters here,
there are real missing children in the world and their struggles and stories should not be
trivialized.
Now, without further ado or disclaimer, open the door and step into a new world. A
frightening world of desperation and isolation. The world of the missing.
13
no!
Chapter ONe:
against their wills
(the abducted)
chapter one
n the far sidewalk, something shiny catches Bobbys eye. Ignoring his friends, the boy skips
O
across to see what it is. He checks traffic before hoofing as fast as he can. Someones left some
money on the sidewalk. A big stack of coins.
Sweet, Bobby says, shoving the change into the pockets of his shorts.
He turns to head back and almost slams into a car thats parked between him and the basketball court. Bobby squints his eyes, trying to see into the darkness of the car. It smells like pine. He
hears someone clear his throat from inside the car.
Say, the voice is kind, familiar. Are you the Stinson boy?
Bobby leans forward a bit. He can make out a few sharp features but nothing much.
Yeah, he nods, unsure.
Names Adam. Im a friend of your moms. She ever mention me?
Bobby thinks for a second. He shakes his head.
Oh, well, she talks about you all the time. Say, Ive come to visit her. I know she lives here
somewhere. Any chance you can show me?
Bobby starts to give directions but the voice inside stops him.
I appreciate that, but Im horrible with directions. I get all turned around. Worst sense of
direction in the world, my wife tells me. Say, if its close, why dont you come in here and show
me?
Bobby shuffles his feet, considering.
Tell ya what, Ill give you five bucks for your trouble.
Bobby cant stop from smiling. He touches the car handle. He pauses a second before opening.
Okay, Bobby says, climbing inside.
The door lock clicks shut next to him. The man puts the car in gear and gently steps on the gas.
I sure do appreciate it, the man says, ruffling Bobbys hair. Sure do appreciate it.
The Abducted
An abducted character is a child who has been taken by another person. It could be a
family member, a family friend, a parent or relative of a kid the child knows, a neighbor,
or a complete stranger. The key element here is that the child was taken by a human.
While this is almost always an adult, its not unheard of for that adult to use another child
as a lure. That child may be the offspring of the kidnapper or another of his victims.
There are many ways a child can be abducted. Some kidnappers use force, some use
sob stories, some use the promise of treats or threats to lure their victims. All prey upon a
childrens naivet, natural inclination to help, or deep-rooted fears.
By Convincing
Convincing is a non-violent, non-physical means of abduction. This is where someone

gets the child to come with them by posing as a friend of the family, someone who needs
help, or through the offering of a treat or reward. This is a con job, playing on the childs
trust or fear to get him to come along.
The person usually establishes himself as a kind person, someone the kid can trust, and
then tells some concocted plea in order to exploit that trust. There are a million stories
and the more the person knows the child, the easier it will be to convince him.
16
against their wills (the abducted)

The person may say his puppy ran away and he could use help finding it. He may claim
he is new to the area and just needs help finding the library. He may say hes a family
friend, or a parents coworker, who was asked to pick up the child after school. He may
say hes going to hurt the kids mommy or daddy if she doesnt get in the car right now.
The person may be a neighbor or family member, someone the child knows, who is using
that familiarity against the child to convince him to get in the car.
By Using Other Kids
This is a form of manipulation where the kidnapper uses another child to lure the
victim. Children have a built-in empathy for other kids. While parents may warn their
kids about creepy men in vans and to never take candy from strangers, they rarely discuss
the dangers of following other kids. After all, learning to trust and engage with other
children is a natural part of the socialization process. Kids connect with kids all the
timein the classroom, on the playground, at the kids gym, or the play area at the mall.
Its so natural and unassuming that parents rarely think to caution.
By Force
When a child is abducted by force, he is overpowered and physically moved to a car, a

van, or wherever the kidnapper wants him. This is usually some mode of transport though
if its in a mall or possibly a very large house, the kidnapper could try to disappear into
the crowd or stow the child away in a cupboard, room, or attic until the place clears out.
Children can be amazingly strong, able to kick, punch, and bite with the ferocity and
abandon of a wild thing, but thats often not enough to stop a healthy and determined
kidnapper.
Theres rarely any subtlety in abduction by force. One moment the kid is playing on
the swings and the next he has a hand over his mouth and an arm around his waste. He
squirms and claws but to no avail. Hes pushed, headfirst into a trunk or the backseat of a
car. Maybe hes bound, with handcuffs, silver tape, or coarse rope, and a bags put over his
head. Its not subtle, its not to be romanticized; its vicious and traumatic.
Without the Kid Knowing
There are a few ways a child can be abducted without knowing thats what happening.
He may have been drugged, sleeping, or going about his everyday routine when his life is
suddenly, drastically changed. The first two are fairly self-explanatory but lets talk about
the latter.
Sometimes kids are taken by those they trust implicitly. Were talking a father, mother,
or really close family friend. Maybe the father always picks the kid up from school. But
this one time, the mother does. The kid rolls with it. Its unusual but its his mom. But
then they dont go home. Instead, they just drive. Day turns to night, they eat a quick
meal at a fast food joint on the interstate. When the kid asks where theyre going, she says
theyre visiting her sister for the weekend. Or maybe a relative is sick. Or mommy has to
see a man about a new job.
But thats not whats happening. The kid may not understand it, but hes just been
abducted. Maybe the mom was about to lose parental rights due to a parole violation
or because the childs dad has filed a court order because shes facing a pending drug
charge. Maybe the lady from Social Services was performing a follow-up visitation that
17
chapter one
afternoon and the mom knew shed fail the interview. Often in these situations, there is
an underlying cause to which the child is oblivious. All they know is that theyre with a
parent. And parents can always be trusted, right?
There are a lot of reasons people abduct children. Before anyone thinks the descriptions
below excuse such behavior, let me state upfront that abduction is a horrible and inhuman
act. For our purposes, we are exploring the reasons behind abduction as potential
backstory for an abducted character. When portraying a character it is important to know
the history that informs his behavior, the actions hell take, and reactions hell have to
events in a story.
Parental Justification
A biological or adoptive parent who feels slighted by his spouse or the legal system will
often take his kid because he feels justified in doing so. Maybe he feels a biased judge
has unfairly taken away his visitation rights following a messy divorce. Or maybe he feels
his spouse is going to leave him and try to prevent him from seeing his kid. There are a lot
of situations that can make a parent desperate enough to do anything in order to protect
his claim to a child. After all, its his kid and no judge or ex-wife is going to keep him
from seeing his own flesh and blood.
Sometimes the parent has lost visitation rights entirely. This is almost exclusively
because the judge has been convinced the parent poses a physical or emotional threat
to the child. Restricted visitation rights might be for those reasons or because the judge
doesnt feel the parent can provide a safe home environment for the child, which may
stem from where the parent is currently living or the people with whom the parent
associates.
No matter what the parent convinces himself of, the flaw here is that there is often
a good reason the supposedly slighted parent has lost or has restricted visitation rights.
Now, whether the parent has been painted in an unfair light is a debate far beyond the
scope of this supplement but the important thing to know is that the parent feels as
though he is justified in his actions and that their taking the child rights an imbalance.
Still, a parent who thinks the correct course of action is to abduct his child isnt making a
good argument for himself.
For an abducted character, who has become separated from a parent by abduction, life
is extremely complicated. He can lose the ability to discern his place in a family or even to
define what family means. He will often get skewed details about the other parent, often
with a demonizing retelling of events the child witnessed or that are being used to justify
to the child what the abductor has done. A parent desperate enough to kidnap his own
child often feels a compulsion to get the child on his side.
Replacement Family
Some folks abduct children to right a greater wrong they feel has befallen them. Some
people, denied their own offspring by God or nature or accident, feel the world owes
them a child. The root can be that the kidnappers are unable to conceive or they had a
child who died or ran away. Or they feel that another child is being treated wrongly by
18

his biological family and that they would provide a better home for the him. In that case,
they are convinced they are serving the greater good.
These people are seeking a replacement family. Either they are seeking a child for
themselves or feel they are serving as better parents for the child. Folks who are seeking
this try to provide as normal a home life as they can for their abducted child. After all, to
them, theyre doing a good deed or correcting a cosmic injustice. They may become quick
to anger if the child doesnt take to the environment they provide or sees them as flawed
or guilty of a crime. In their eyes, they are just and it is the childand the worldthat
must see the light.
Indoctrination
Sometimes parents or relatives hold beliefs on the very fringe of accepted culture. They
may revere a mortal man as a great spiritual leader who is building a flock for a greater
purpose or believe beings from beyond the stars are coming to collect the chosen people
of Earth in their great mothership. It may be that other members of the family disagree
with those beliefs and feel any children involved may be at risk for potentially harmful
actions or beliefs. This would cause the faithful parent to disappear within the sect, usually
under the protection of the religious council or leader, effectively sealing the child off
from the rest of the world.
If not parents, strangers who are members of a cult may be tasked by their priest
to recruit new members. Young kids are far more susceptible to the necessary cult
programming than most adults and make for perfect subjects.
More Nefarious Reasons
People abduct children for all sorts of awful reasons beyond what Ive already discussed.
We all know this and I wont and neednt get into those details. What I urge you to do
is to stick to the reasons aboveas backstory onlyand not delve into the most evil of
mans motivations.
But being abducted is not where the story ends. Abducted characters, especially player
characters, have little playability if they are still captured. Rescuing an abducted friend
who is an NPC can make for a tense and terrifying episode but it just doesnt work for a
player character. So, its important to ask: Then what happened?
When a child is abducted, Closetland has an opportunity that doesnt happen
otherwise. There has been a severing in the childs life as he has been ripped from his
homestead, his safe place, and had his life thrown into chaos. Closetland will capitalize
on this, using its monsters and influence to claim the child as its own during an especially
troubling part of his life. In particular, the Bogeyman is always looking to add a few more
birds to his collection. Though hes far from the only one.
Swallowed by Shadows
Once he has realize what happened, a kid may have such a hard time coping with it
that their soul suffers. The kid becomes so depressed that he goes dark so quickly that the
shadows literally swallow him up. The child wakes up in Closetland with no idea how he
got there and no idea how to get back home. When he comes to, he is nearly despondent,
his Spirit wavering between 2 and 0, almost completely disconnected from the world.
19
chapter one
Escape into Nothing
Lets say the child manages to escape capture, hit the road, head home. But he discovers
that he cant find the way home. Even in a familiar environment, there seems to be an
invisible wall that he cant step past or a fuzz that clouds his head whenever he tries
to remember his address or which way the interstate lies. He knows he needs to get
somewhere but he cant remember where that place is or how to get there. He doesnt
even know to find the police or some other adult; he just wanders, hoping someone who
knows him will help.
Agent of Monsters
Its possible the human being who kidnapped the child was working for the monsters.
People who live extremely sheltered lives, who suffer from certain psychological
conditions such as dissociative identity or schizophrenia, or who have severely
compromised mental faculties are susceptible to manipulation from certain monsters. The
abductor may or may not be aware of it. The monster could be a voice in the persons head,
could appear as the spirit of a controlling mother, or even a maniacal dog who only the
kidnapper can understand hasnt caught the smell of a wandering cat but is barking orders
for him to follow.
In these instances, its probable that the agent brought the kid into an area where
Closetland and the real world overlap if he didnt deliver the child directly to a monster or
a monsters room.
Change of Heart
The kidnapper may have had a change of heart at the last minute and left the child
somewhere. Certainly, he couldnt take the kid home nor could drop the child off at the
police station, for fear of being caught for his crime. Instead, he drops the kid off in the
middle of nowhere or pushes him out while drifting through a quiet neighborhood. This
act, this senseless and needless separation mixed with the kids own boiling fear, weakens
the membrane between Closetland and the real world, allowing just enough corrupted
influence into our world that the kid slips through the cracks and into the world of
monsters, the second skin folding over him and pulling him from the real world.
20
My dad took me.
He and my mom were fighting all the time. He was always coming home late and my
mom was sick of it. She said that he had to choose between his family and something
called a floozy. Im not sure what that is but dad said that my mom cant make him choose
and that hes the man, hell do what he wants.
After that, my dad wasnt allowed in the house anymore. Hed still come over and theyd
yell at each other outside or through the door and my dad would beat on the door with
his fists and call my mom all sorts of names. Mom said I wasnt allowed to talk to him
anymore and that she didnt want me turning out like him.
Then one day, on my way home from school, he showed up with this woman called
Darlene and he said he and mom had made up and that she said I was going to live with
him from now on. Dad said he had this great big house and a puppy and that we were
going to live there and Id love it.
Theres no house that Ive seen, just this dumpy apartment. Dad said the puppy must
have run off while he and Darlene were getting me. I dont really believe him but I
pretend I do.
Dad and Darlene fight about as much as him and mom did only now its because of
money and how come Darlene doesnt have a job and my dad being lazy.
Dad says Ill get to go to school once the new year starts but I dont understand why I
cant go now. School just started like a month before he came and got me.
I miss my mom. Dad says part of the deal is that my mom wants a new life and that she
loves me but just cant talk to me right now. I miss my friends too, especially Riley. Hes so
funny.
Dad didnt even let me get my old stuff. I miss that too.
Last night, I went to sleep like usual. I had these really bad dreams about big black
birds and a guy with a weird laugh. When I woke up this morning, I was herein this
fieldand all I see are trees. So many trees. Ive tried to find my way out but, no matter
which way I go, I always end up here. In this field.
21
chapter one
He said he worked with my mom.
He knew my name and everything. I didnt know him but he seemed okay. He said my
mom got sick at work and that she asked him to pick me up. She wanted him to take
care of me while she got better. He said hed take me to the hospital but that kids werent
allowed in since she was so sick.
His car kinda smelled funny but not really bad, just weird. Kinda like my grampas
house, especially his couch. We drove a long time, just me and him. He told me about his
wife and said he had a daughter named Jane who was about my age.
His house was kinda small but it had a yard. I dont know how long I have to stay here
but he said that my mom should get better any day now. He said shell call when shes
better and she can come pick me up.
His wife is alright even though she keeps asking me to call her mom but I think her
names really Debbie because thats what Jane calls her.
One time the man saw me talking to a boy from down the block. He got really angry at
me. He told the boy that I was his nephew. I dont why he said that.
One day, I saw this cat and he kept looking at me. He had funny eyes, almost like
people eyes. All this time the people in the house have told me not to go past the back
fence but I did this time, chasing after that cat.
I didnt really like it there but I suppose its better than where I am now. I cant see
anything and everything smells like mud. Way worse than that guys car.
I hope my mom gets better soon and comes to get me. I really dont like it here.
22
I woke up in the back seat of a car.
It was dark, and a woman was singing along with some song on the radio. I tried to sit
up my legs felt too heavy to move. I could speak but just barely.
I remember asking what was going on. She said just to relax and we would be there
shortly. When I asked where, she just turned up the radio.
Her phone rang and she started yelling at the person on the other end. Something
about my last name and how I was the wrong one. She kept saying my name, then she
was screaming it, and she slammed on the brakes. So hard I almost fell off the seat.
She looked back and asked me who my dad was. When I said his name, she got really
angry. She threw the phone so hard, I think it broke. She turned the car around and we
went down this really long road. We must have been far out in the country because we
went like ten minutes between houses. I saw a lot of horses and smelled a lot of animal
poop.
She pulled over to the side of the road and asked me if I could sit up. I did okayI
could finally feel my feetso she opened the door and told me to get out. I didnt see any
houses anywhere, except for one light really far down, like a porch light or something.
I guess I didnt do it quick enough because she grabbed my arm and pulled me out. She
threw me to the dirt, almost as hard as she threw her phone, got back inside and took off.
And thats it. No words, nothing. So I took a guess and started walking.
Ive been walking ever since.
23
help!
Chapter Two:
by inhuman Hands
(the stolen)
chapter TWO
n the far sidewalk, something shiny catches Bobbys eye. Ignoring his friends, the boy bustles
O
across the street to see what it is. From where he was, it looked like it was on the sidewalk
but its really in the storm drain. Bobby positions himself as close to the drain as possible. Its
down but not too far.
The grate is loose. Bobby manages to slide it open and get his hand through the opening. He
cant quite make out what it is but hes almost got it. Bobby pushes through, enough so his entire
arm is through the hole. Something sharp brushes against his fingertips.
Ow, the boy says, flinching. He bites down to stifle a louder cry. He glances over at the guys
who are arguing about a shot, oblivious.
Son! A voice says from behind him. Back away, son!
Bobby cant turn around to see whos talking. He ignores it. Maybe the guy is talking to someone else. Bobby inhales and wedges his shoulder into the hole. Now hes got as much arm as he
possibly can down the storm drain.
Son, the voice again, louder. Theres a hand on Bobbys shoulder, tugging at him. Son, get
away from it!
Something else clutches Bobbys hand, the one inside the drain. Its cold, wet, furry. Something
snarls from underneath the sidewalk.
Bobby tries to jerk his hand back but the thing holding on is strong, too strong. The boy twists
his head back to see some guy in a green jacket pulling on his shoulder.
Hold on, son, the man says, tugging with all his might.
The snarl turns into a growl, or rather a bunch of growls, like a dozen cats attacking each
other. Something bites into Bobbys hand. The boy is about to scream when theres a sharp tug.
Bobby feels the rush of wind on his face, the scrape of concrete against his cheek, and hears a brief
popping sound before he is surrounded by darkness.
The man stands on the corner, his hands empty, staring into the grate. Another one. Gone. Just
like what happened to the mans brother so many years ago.
The Stolen
The second most common means by which a child becomes missing is for that child
to be stolen. Any child who has been captured directly by a monster is a stolen child.
If a monster takes a child after the child has been abducted by a human, the child is
still consideredfor our purposesto have been abducted as the monster wasnt what
separated the kid from his family.
Its not always as simple as a monster grabs a kid and runs off. That does happen, yes,
but not all monsters are stronger than children. Kids are not just dolls laying on the floor;
they have minds and wills of their own. If a monsters incapable of overpowering a child,
it will use other tools and tricks it has to capture a child.
Being Overpowered
This is the obvious one. Monster grabs kid, kid tries to get free, kid cant, monster drags
kid away to Closetland. This typically happens at night, while the kid is sleeping (and,
perhaps most importantly, the parents and siblings are sleeping too). Big monsters, such
as a typical Closet Monster, can grab up two, three kids at a time. Some monsters have
26
by inhuman hands (the stolen)

whip-like tails they wrap around children, others have muscular arms with grips like a
vice, and there are monsters whose mouths are like bird cages, slamming shut on some
slumbering child in the quiet of night.
Being Ambushed
Monsters who arent big, bad beasts may gang up to overpower a kid who is going
at it alone or has become separated from his friends. They will lay in wait for some
unsuspecting child to stumble past them before springing into action, using their
combined weight, sheer number, and the confusion of their attacks to take the child
down.
Falling for a Lie
Some monsters prefer subtler techniques. Perhaps the monster sees muscle and
strength in numbers as crude, maybe even garish. These monsters rely on their charm and
(sometimes actually) silver tongues to sweet talk or fast talk a child into following them,
maybe the monster appears as a trusted friend, to convince a child to come with them,
into a rundown house or a carnival thats shut down for the night. The monster seeks to
isolate the child and let the natural course of Closetlands magic capture them rather than
aggressively attempting to get the child.
Falling into a Trap
Were talking physical traps here, not emotional or mental (as those would fall
under the above header). A monster may use a trap to catch a child. These range from
camouflaged holes in the ground that give way to deep pits, to metal cages whose lures
draw in children and then the door slams shut, to ropes laying in the dirt that string up
children by their feet as they rush across. If a physical device is used to contain or restrain
a child (usually until the monster that set the trap can come back to claim its prize), it
falls under this.
Whether a monster snatches a child straight from his bed in the middle of the night,
dons the face of a friend to convince the child to come into an old house, or snares a child
running through the woods in a trap, the child has been stolen. But the reason is another
matter.
To Feed
Just as a wolf will kill for food, monsters will too. Generally speaking, Monsters need to
eat just like anything else. Some eat fear, some drink tears, some crunch bones, and others
like ears. No part of a child goes to waste, by command of the Bogeyman. While monsters
are often forced to make do with woodland creatures, stray animals, mashed up butterflies,
or each other, each and every one would trade those scraps for a nice, fresh, juicy child.
Not all monsters eat their catches right away. Some store the child in a box or bag, stow
them away in a cellar, tie them to a tree, seal them in a glass box, or wrap them in leather
and pack them in salt. Monsters almost always prefer live food.
Of course, playing a digested child wouldnt be much fun so lets assume, if your
character was stolen for the purposes of food, he managed to escape prior to being eaten.
27
chapter TWO
For Sport
Monsters exist that simply like to scare kids. Its what gets their ichor pumping. Some
monsters, such as ghosts, have little use for food, at least human flesh. Theyll grab the kid,
drag him into Closetland, drop him in the middle of the abandoned school, and laugh
their heads off as the tot runs around, desperately searching for a way out. Occasionally,
the monsters will rattle chains, drop buckets of bile or slime, or pop up for a quick boo
that about makes the kid pee himself. After theyve had their fun, theyll simply leave the
kid wherever he is. They dont care if the child ever makes it home.
Some monsters prefer competitive sports. One will pick his champion out of a litter
of freshly-arrived children or maybe field his reigning champion. Another will select his
own fighter. The two children will be forced to fight each otherrarely to the death, more
to submission. The victor wins his monster-controller bragging rights or a prize but, really,
the main draw is the pain the children cause each other.
For Labor
Closetland is a world born from magic and populated by monsters so the idea actual
grunt-level work needs to get done may seem ludicrous but someone needs to clean the
floors and wash the windows of the lands many buildings. While the bigger monsters
could force the smaller ones into doing it (and sometimes do that just because), why not
make the kids do it. In the laundry, children scrub grungy clothes and curtains against
dirty washboards. They suffer a whip across their backs whenever the drapes dont come
out spotless. In the labor camps, children toil day and night for no greater gain than more
work.
Monsters keep their feral brethren, such as the mutant pigs and disfigured dogs, in
pens. Nobody wants to feed these misshapen beasts so they send the kids out, heavy slop
buckets in hand, to dole out rations into the troughs and feedbags.
As a Present
Goblyns in particular think of children as a food, yes, but also presents for their queen
Titania. Innocent blood is an important part of the mixture they use to keep their queen
eternally young. Some monsters, desperate to get on the Bogeymans good side, will try to
capture a bunch of kids as a gift. They think it will allow them to get favors or preferential
treatment from the King of Monsters. It wont (the Bogeyman gives no monster
preferential treatment over himself ), but still the monsters try.
For Companionship
Some monsters are crazed, feral beasts guided only by instinct. Others are conniving
and cunning manipulators. Yet others are lumbering beasts following orders from their
belly and the demands of the master. Now, this may be hard to believe, but some monsters
are just lonely. Some monsters have the emotional maturity of a small childsome have
the physical maturity of one; some are indistinguishable from a real childand they just
want someone to play with. There is a pecking order among the monsters as with any
hostile group and some of the smaller, weaker monsters want someone who is a peer,
can speak on their level, who respects them (even if that respect is really fear), and wont
abandon them because other, bigger monsters come along.
So if these monsters cant make friends, theyll steal them.
28

The kid was stolen, ripped from our world by villainous creatures, and now faces a
lifetime of grueling labor, emotional torment, bizarre tea parties, or being used as cruel
sport. The child is now in the world of the monsters, with hundreds of places to hide,
countless doors to open, and evil beasts at every turn. So what happens to the child next?
The Child Escapes
Monsters may be great at catching kids but theyre not always great at keeping kids.
Monsters tend to recycle boxes and cages from the real world, and sometimes the metal
is a bit rusty or the wood is rotten and the monster is oblivious as to what that means. A
smart child will usually wait until the monster is out of sight to break free though anxious
children may kick a door off its rusty hinges right away and try to make a break for it. For
the curious, its usually better to wait, though potential escapees do risk the chance of the
monster deciding it better eat its catch now before it has a chance to run away.
Even if the kid is successful, hes only escaped immediate capture. Hes still in
Closetland (most likely) and away from his family and loved ones (most definitely).
29
chapter TWO
The Child Meets Another Monster
Some monsters dont like being one-upped by their peers. If one monster sees anothers
trap has a kid in it, the monster may set the child free simply to aggravate the other
monster. Or an enterprising young monster may steal the child when the original captor
has his back turned. In that case, the child either escapes or is let go after he serves his
purpose for that second monster.
In a case where a second monster frees the child or absconds with him in the night,
the original monster may set out to find his prize and show that other monster what
happens to those who infringe on his property. This could lead to the child being caught
in a monster feud, possibly using the confusion of a monster-on-monster confrontation to
make his escape. That, in turn, could lead to both monsters (or whoever is the victor once
the dust settles) looking for the child.
In both of the above cases, a monster exists who believes it has claim on the child. A
claim wrongfully challenged by another monster or cut short by the sudden escape of the
child. A player character on the lam from a monster who is actively pursuing him has the
potential for a lot of action and danger.
The Child is Let Go
Sometimes monsters just let the kid go after theyre done, especially if the kid was
captured for sport or short-term labor. The monster gets its amusement, or its laundry
done, and thats it. It doesnt want to eat the kid; it doesnt want to harm the kid any
further. Who can say why. Monsters are mercurial and unpredictable at the best of times.
Could be the monster is bored, or that the monsters essentially throwing away its scraps
and what the kid doesnt realize is theres another monster in the area who will eat the
child after the first one is done. Could be any number of reasons, really.
The smart thing is for the child to assume the worst: The monsters coming back or a
worse one is around the corner. Find a way out of Closetland or at least to a good hiding
spot.
30
He said he was my friend.
I had fallen asleep next to the big tree in the park. I woke up when I felt him breathing
on me. He was so big and had eyes like my dog. He smiled at me and said he was going
to take me to a magical place, where there were all these other kids to play with. I didnt
know; I thought it was a dream. I looked around all and the other people who were at the
park were gone so I figured I was imagining this whole thing.
He picked me up in his gigantic hands and hugged me. His skin was so hot I thought
my face was going to melt off.
And then he dumped me into a big wooden box, like a treasure chest, and shut the lid.
It smelled like a fart and I could barely move. I was laying on something wet and soft, like
a furry towel, and I think thats what stunk so bad. I had to press my face against a hole in
the wood to stop from choking.
He must have been dragging the chest because it kept hitting bumps, like tree roots
and potholes. I realized this maybe wasnt a dream so I started screaming. When I did, he
shook the box so hard that I hit my funny bone really hard on the lid. It hurt so bad that I
didnt say anything for the rest of the trip.
When he opened the lid, we were in a room with these huge blocks, the kind babies
play with, and a rocking horse twice as big as me. Cartoons were scribbled on the wall and
frilly curtains and blankets and, ugh, just so much cutesy stuff.
He told me to put on this dress, and I told him no way because only girls wear dresses,
but this made him really mad so I just put it on over my clothes. It was frilly and had this
big poofy hat. Everything was blue and yellow; I hated it.
He made me play tea party like I was a little girl. Every day. At night, he would snuggle
me like a teddy bear. Some nights, he wet the bed.
One morning, I woke up before he did, and managed to slip out from under his arm. I
made a break for itrunning as fast as I couldand finally found a way out of this sick
and twisted playroom. I dont know where I am now but Im not there. And you know
what? Thats good enough for me.
31
chapter TWO
I was pulled through the floor.
I was walking into the kitchen to get something to drink when the lights went all weird
and this huge dark spot appeared right by the fridge. I jumped back because, well because,
and then I leaned over to see what the heck it was. It was just black at first, like a really,
really long rabbit hole, but then an arm reached up. I remember it was gross and slimy
and green. It looked like it was covered with moss or something. But this arm grabbed my
pant leg so hard that I fell. Thats when I started to slide across the tile.
It dragged me into the hole but I kept fighting. I grabbed the edge of the floor as hard
as I could but it was slippery, probably from that things slimy arm, and I couldnt hold on.
Next thing I know, I was in a dark tunnel. It was wetI could hear something
dripping, like a leaky faucet or rain maybeand the ground was as slimy and gross as this
thing. And the smell. OH-EM-GEE. The smell was so bad I thought I was gonna hurl. I
swear to God. It like my dads morning crap times a thousand.
We came to this hole and it shoved me in. I fought though! I did. Hard as I could. I
was punching it and kicking it but this thing was so strong I dont think it felt it.
It put me in the hole with this other girl who thought I wanted to eat her. What? No
way. She said she had been there for a couple days at least and that the green monster
kept trying to feed her bugs. I asked her what the thing wanted and she said she thought
she heard the monster take another kid from some other hole and eat it.
Eat it.
The thing eats kids.
The girl was taken before I was. I dont know what happened to her. I hope I find her
though.
When the thing came for me, I was somehow able to slip out of it. It chased me for
what must have been miles. I was so tired by the time it stopped chasing me. My ribs
hurt so bad and I was so hungry. I found some apples in this weird forest. Ive kinda been
living on them since I escaped. I cant find anywhere else to go though. I saw a well, and
tried to open this door that was nailed to a tree stump but it wouldnt budge.
I guess Ill just keep going though. What else is there to do?
32
What I remember most are big yellow eyes.

I said to my friend Julia that we had to get out of there. When she asked why, I pointed
at the eyes but she said she didnt see anything. I started to think I was crazy but no way.
How did she miss them?
She heard the growl though and thats what made us run. I took off like a bat outta
you-know-where but Julia got ahead of me. This is off Myers Rd, near the pond, where
the big curve is. Julia took the turn and I couldnt see her anymore. My legs were pumping
so hard, my blood burned. And Im not much of a runner but those eyes and that growl
and I was a frickin Olympic track star.
I made it to the curve, where theres that big straightaway, and didnt see Julia anywhere.
I looked behind me and I saw those eyes in the darkness so I kept going.
It had already got me by the time I heard the sound. There was a snap, like a tree branch
breaking, but I swear I was already hanging upside-down by then. I looked over and saw
Julia. She was looking at me, more scared than I was. I must have been, I dunno, in shock?
I dont know.
But Julia was upside-down but the right way. Upside-down to me so rightside-up,
really. She was on her feet, I mean. I had fallen into some trap. I remember begging Julia
to get me down but she just stood there and then she took off.
I hung there for a bit before the eyes put me in a bag and then, I think, in a cart or
something. Something with wheels. I couldnt see anything, the bag was really heavy and
dark. It put me in a cage and left me there. It had taken the bag off and given me a plate
of uncooked chicken parts.
I remember it said, Get ready to fight. But, really, I dont know what that means.
I waited until it was gone and then I kicked the cage open. I guess it thought I was
weak or something because the cage was thin and wooden. I got out but then I had to
find my way home. I crawled through a small door in the room I was in and that led to a
forest. Full of trees just like the one that trapped me.
Ive been avoiding trees lately. As you can probably guess.
33
goodbye
Chapter Three:
on their own
(the runaways)
chapter three
obby watched his friends having a good time. They laughed and gave each other crap about
B
their weak shots and lame insults without a care in the world. His own joy suddenly
drained from him, as he recalled his parents conversation from last night, the fight they didnt
think he could hear. But he sat at the head of the stairs and listened down the next step, at the
two adults in the family room. Their voices were low at first, calm but stern, then they got angry.
His father saying he was too tired to fight and his mom saying she didnt want to fight, she
wanted a solution.
A solution.
From the three-point line of the concrete court, Bobby looked toward his house and thought
about the people within. The look on his mothers face every time she received a yellow envelope
with that red stamp. How tired his father was from working double shifts and again on the
weekend. His baby sisters cough and all the trips to the doctor, the overnights at the hospital
when Bobby had to stay with his neighbor Mrs. Greaver.
If he wasnt there, if he was one less mouth to feed, one less person to worry about, they would
have it so much better. His father wouldnt have to work so many hours and could be home in the
evening, to relax and watch some TV. Hed have weekends for fishing, which he loves, and maybe
ball games. His mother might have the money to go back to school like she wants and she could
pay all those stupid bills in the basket by the stove. They could afford to see that doctor they keep
talking about, the one for his sister. The specialist who works up in Brookpark.
Bobby was too young to work, even a stupid paper route which he wasnt even sure they hired
kids for anymore, or he could maybe do that.
The boy heard a door slam. A man got out of his car and walked up one of the brick-fronts.
Bobby looked at the car. He wished he could drive.
Kiss the dunk masters butt! Anton yells, laughing.
Bobby picked up his backpack. It didnt hold much: some books, some paper, his lunch box. He
still had an apple from lunch and the juice box he didnt like. It was fall, and there were places
nearby he could scrounge food. He could make it a couple days at least. Maybe get a ride out of
state.
He loved his family. Hed miss them. He thought maybe he should say goodbye first. But then
theyd know. They would probably try to stop him. It might tip them off and then theyd all freak
out and probably fight again and hed be in trouble. Probably better just to go. Like ripping off a
bandage. The less you think about it, the quicker you do it, the better it is. The less it hurts.
Bobby hoofs across the street, not bothering to check for traffic, and hits the sidewalk at a run.
He goes, as fast as he can, his backpack bouncing loosely off his legs, past a red car then a grey
one then a black one, a white van, the fire hydrant, the stop sign, and keeps on going. He wasnt
sure where he was going but it didnt matter, as long as his family had a better life. Thats what
mattered.
The Runaway
Not every kid who goes missing is forcibly removed from his home by person or a
monster. Some children leave of their own accord for their own reasons. While escape
may be what theyre after, what they findin the case of our charactersis something far
more. The ways are as varied as the whys and well look at both those next.
36
On their own (the runaways)

When a child decides to run away from his family, he needs to find an opportunity.
The calculating child plans his runaway, packing necessary but transportable goods such
as food, water (or soda), and maybe a first aid kit, flashlight, etc. A kid with the thought
and the means may buy a train ticket on his moms credit card or grab enough money
to take the bus or subway out of town. The idea is to put distance between himself
and his parents. Hitchhiking is foolish these days (not that running away isnt foolish
enough already) which makes public transportation a good option. But all that requires
premeditation which kids, especially impassioned ones, dont necessarily take the time to
calculate. Some just (or must) seize the opportunity for escape when it comes.
Into the Night
This is the classic idea of the runaway child. The romanticized version of a kid, hobo
sack over his shoulder, has him escaping in the middle of the night, while the family
slumbers unknowingly in their beds. Well, romanticized or not, this is probably the most
common. The long stretches of night give the kid time to consider his action and prepare
for the journey ahead. He can fill his backpack up with enough food for a few days and
some magazines, music, and books so he doesnt get bored on the road. He may leave a
note, he may not, it all depends on his situation. This gives him one last chance to say
goodbye to his stuff and the pets before heading out on his own.
Once whatever preparation is done, he is free to sneak out and let the door close behind
him forever.
Amongst the Crowd
Just as monsters and people can use crowds to snatch children without being detected,
a kid can use the confusion that comes from a mass of people to escape from his family
unseen. He could lag behind his parents for a step or two, then a few more, until the
parents turn back and hes not there. They glance around but all they see is an ocean of
people, taller heads that hide their young ones sudden exit.
The kid stays in the crowd as long as they need to, trying to find the best place to pull
away from the group. Public entrances and exits are good as they usually attract a bunch
of people but then allow the child to dissimilate on the other side of a gate or pair of
doors to make a break for it.
Takes Off
Maybe the kid isnt subtle about it at all. He could just run, with his parents unable to
catch him. This could happen at home, in public, wherever. The goal here isnt for the kid
to escape without notice but to get away, far away, and as fast as possible.
A kid who takes off may do so in familiar territory, such as his neighborhood, where
he can utilize known short-cuts and pathways to evade his parents (and even authorities
if they are around or later called). The kid may run away in a public place, using the maze
of interconnected stores at the mall or winding walkways of the local amusement park to
mask his exit.
Whether they sneak out the house under the cover of darkness, rush out amongst
a throng of holiday shoppers, or never return from having to pee during the family
37
chapter three
camping trip, these are just the means. The reason is yet unknown and the root can be
varied and complicated, if truly known at all. Here are some common reasons children
become runaways.
Jealousy
The child could be having a hard time coping with the arrival of a new baby in the
house, a cooing, drooling, pooping bundle of joy who leeches all the loves and hogs the
spotlight with its constant crying and neediness. Or the kid could be the outsider who
finds himself living with relatives or friends who already have their own busy lives and
dont have the time or energy to give him the attention he needs.
Inadequacy
Some children dont think they deserve the love their family provides or think they are
in the wrong family, possibly switched at birth, snatched from parents and siblings more
like them. Maybe he stands in the shadow of his smarter, better-adjusted, sports god of a
sibling. Maybe the family is a bunch of brainiacs and the kid is more interested in football
or track than reading and talking about math (of all things). The feelings of inadequacy
could be complete fabrication, a seed planted by the childs own sense of failure, or it
could come from the parents who tell the child how disappointed they are while never
recognizing what the child is good at or helping with the struggles he faces. Children, like
many adults, seek approval and if they feel they arent getting it at home, they will look for
it elsewhere.
38

Feelings of Guilt
The child may have done something he is not proud of. He may have caused an
accident that hurt a friend or family member. Maybe it even killed her. Maybe the child
was playing with his dads old swing-top lighter out in the garage and caused a fire.
Maybe the fire was big enough to do some real damage. Perhaps the childs parents are
divorcing and he blames himself for their separating.
To Get Away from Abuse
Some kids have good reason for getting out of whatever situation they are in. While
running away may not be the smartest, maybe its the only way they will survive. The
abuse may be mental, tearing down the childs self-esteem and instincts, or verbal,
obliterating their self-worth. It may be physical, literally putting the childs life at risk. Or
it may be another type of abuse altogether, which harms the child every way it can.
Get to an Other Family
In some cases, the kid lives with one parent while the other lives somewhere far away. It
could be an old friend who moved away and the kid left behind thinks his friends parents
would love him more and treat him better than his own family does. Or the child may
prefer his aunt or uncle or grandparents or whomeversomeone besides the immediate
family he has. Usually, the kid imagines life would be better with that other parent or
family member. Maybe it is to get away from abuse, as above, or inadequacy (My dads
into sports like I am, not like moms new boyfriend who only wants me to read the
encyclopedia.) but the focus isnt just on escape but on getting to that other person, on
building a life with that (generally idealized) new family.
Independence
Kids are kids, and dont necessarily have a reason so much as an idea. The thought of
running away crosses every kids mind, for some its because of the reasons listed above
and for others its a way to exercise their want for freedom. Running away could be an
expression of independence, a means to prove they dont need their parents, they can
handle things on their own. Voluntary separation from their family is a clean break, a way
for them to say, Im grown-up and dont need you to protect me anymore.
When a child runs away, one assumes a journey of some sort follows. The child may
continue on foot, hitch a ride from a stranger or friend, take the bus, get on the subway,
buy a train ticket, or hop on his bike and go. The word runaway breaks into run and
away so assuming both are involved is very reasonable. The question becomes about the
destination: Where is the child going? And, what happens next?
Lost on the Road
Some kids set out with grand plans in mind. Theyre going to go to the coast, live with
their dad and his new wife, get away from crummy old mom and that idiot of a new
husband she has, and start a new life. Then plans go awry. The kid doesnt have enough
cash to buy the bus ticket or he hitched a ride in the wrong direction and is now 150
miles farther away from where he wants to be. The kid is now just wandering, lost and
without a plan to get back on track.
39
chapter three
Perhaps the kid didnt get so much lost on the road but distracted toward another goal.
Something new that caught his eye and now hes on his way toward that.
No Destination in Mind
Could be the kid had no destination in mind. He set out to wander, to discover
America (or whichever country he calls home), meet people, and live a nomad lifestyle.
Hed rely on the kindness of strangers to fill in the lean times, take some odd jobs mowing
lawns and shoveling sidewalks to earn some cash for food.
Not All Its Cracked Up to Be
In his mind, this was going to be smooth-sailing. He would take a bus to Phoenix,
hitch a ride to Mesa, show up on his Uncle Joes doorstep who would pull him in, arms
wide open, sit him down for a nice big dinner to welcome him into his new family. But
instead, Joe was worried. The kids mom had called him, after finding the note, and she
was worried sick. Joe pulls the kid inside and, after a quick hug and prayer, calls the boys
mom to let her know the man will bring her son back first thing in the morning.
Or the kid had it all planned: Hed pack a bag full of canned food and jarred fruit, a
can opener (cant forget that!), some bottles of soda and water, and hed go out into the
woods to live. He always liked animals better than people anyway and, hey, his years in
the Nature Boys prepared him for the rugged life. And so he did, even managed to set up
a shelter and a fire. Hes working on the hunting part but he has enough rations to last
him another week. Cold set in early though and now theres snow on the ground. The
animals he was going to hunt for food are nestled away. The trees are barren of anything
resembling food and now the boy will have to go down to one meal a day if hes going to
make it until the thaw. Even then, he probably wont have enough.
Found a Friend
Maybe the kid met someone else on the road and is now following their path. This isnt
an abduction per se, as it was voluntary, but it could be the person doesnt have the kids
best interest at heart (if they did, they probably would have contacted the authorities).
Besides, an abduction assumes an adult (usually) while, in fact, the friend may be
another missing kid. They could be commiserating about their lot in life, complementing
each others skills (ones a smooth talker who can scam cash while the other knows the ins
and outs of makeshift shelters and scrounging for food).
The runaway in this case settles into a coexistence where he finds happiness, or some
approximation thereof, even if its not from a healthy source.
40
She treats me like a child.
Im almost thirteen years old. Im practically an adult, and they still treat me like I sleep
in a crib.
For my birthday last year? My mom got me a Serena Ballerina cake.
SERIOUSLY.
For my gifts, I got a Kidz Rock! CD and a pair of fairy pajamas. Its like my parents live
in this bubble where its always seven years ago. Nobody ever grows up, nobody ever gets
older. I was sick of it.
I couldnt live like that anymore. I had to get away. My room still had the same pink
walls from when I was five years old. It was ridiculous. My mom didnt let me pick out my
own clothes. Not just buying the clothes but she would set out an outfit for the next day.
She wouldnt let me wear make-up and still wanted my hair in those stupid pigtail braids.
She was driving. Me. Crazy.
Whatever. I tried talking to her about it and she was all, I just dont want my baby girl
growing up too fast. and I dont know what your hurry to be an adult is all about. And
my dad, ugh, he was all, I leave this to your mother. You should talk to her about this.
Um, I have? And shes as thick as a brick wall. Thanks, dad.
Whatever. Im almost at my Aunt Belindas house and shell understand. Shes moms
baby sister and was probably treated just like I was. Just a few hundred more miles to go
and Ill be there.
Then, finally, Ill be treated like the adult I am.
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chapter three
No one believes me.
I said I didnt start that fire. I didnt. Besides, we didnt think anybody lived in that old
shack anyway. Who would live in that beat-up dump in the middle of the woods anyway.
How was I supposed to know some homeless guy was sleeping inside it?
I couldnt have known that. I couldnt have known he would die.
And then the judge was going to send me to juvie and my mom freaked out. My dad
about had a heart attack. My stupid sister was all I told you he was hanging around the
wrong kids. God, I hate her. Listen, it wasnt my fault. Joeys the one who had the lighter.
Hes the one who brought the gasoline. I just wanted to watch it burn. Thats all.
And then that stupid bum had to be in there and die.
No way I could have stuck around. No way I was going to spend the rest of my life in
juvie because some bum couldnt find a better place to sleep. So I hit the road. Why not?
Nothing for me at home but a life behind bars.
Out here, anythings possible. I can be my own man.
42
My parents dont like me anymore.
My mom said it wasnt true but I knew it was. I was always messing up and letting
them down. They yelled at me all the time. My mom was too busy with the baby. My
stepdad was always working and when he wasnt working he was in the garage working on
projects. They didnt want anything to do with me.
First, I started going over to Maggies house. Her parents are nice and they didnt mind
that I was always over there. I would spend the night whenever I could and her dad was
super sweet to me. Her mom would do my hair, which my mom never had time for, and
Maggie and I would try on her big sisters clothesshe always had the best clothes. It
was great.
But then Maggie and I got into a fight about some stupid thing and she started
hanging out with Katarina and theyre all BFFs nowwhich, God, Katarina? Really?so
I didnt go over there anymore.
I would just come home after school. Lets see, I could stay in my room and do nothing.
Or listen to my mom gaga over their precious baby. Or hang out in that nasty cold garage
and listened to the bandsaw or whatever. I think my stepdad was building a birdhouse or
something stupid like that.
So, whats it matter? Whats the difference? I packed my things and left one night.
Some nice guy offered me a ride. Hes old. Like, 19 or 20. But hes really sweet. I told him
Im 15 and he totally believes me. He says he thinks Im really pretty and could totally
make it out in LA. Thats where hes headed: Los Angeles. So Im heading there too. And
when we get there, were going to have the best life ever. Hes starting a band and Im
going to be the singer. Until the acting or modeling or whatever takes off anyway.
My parents probably havent even noticed Im gone.
43
why?
Chapter four:
No longer wanted
(the abandoned)
chapter FOUR
he house is empty.
T
It has been for weeks, ever since his dad lost his job. With his mom sick, only his dad
worked, and they barely had any money as it was before. They got behind on payments. Bobby
remembers seeing the notices. The yellow envelopes stood out in the stack.
We never could afford this house, his dad would say. Except he threw in a lot more swear
words when he said it.
His mom would sigh and talk about how she was feeling better and that the doctors didnt
know what they were talking about.
She told him she had the flu. But the flu doesnt make you go to the doctor three times a week
and the flu doesnt make your hair fall out.
People started calling on the phone so often, Bobbys dad unplugged them. Then he canceled the
phone. And the television. The internet had been canceled a long time ago. Since before his mom
got sick, even.
Bobby was sent to live with his cousins while his parents figured out what to do. The boy hated
it though and sneaked out every night the first week he lived there. For a while, he would come
back here. His parents were packing everything up. They didnt want him to see. A lot of it was
sold. Thats where the couch went, and the TV, and the CD player. Those were too big to hide and
they were the first things Bobby didnt see anymore.
Rae and Uncle Bill would come get him and they would apologize and Bobbys parents would
say it was alright. And that they loved him. They always told him that.
Bobby looks out the big bay window, at the lawn where he used to practice tee-ball, and the
sidewalk he opened both knees on when he tanked on his first big-boy bike. His mom said he cried
like a baby that day.
But youre a big boy now, she said. So big.
One night, the boy sneaked out of Rae and Bills house and came here. But it was empty. A
few days later, maybe it was just the next day, he got a letter in the mail. It was from his parents
and it was an apology.
Its easier this way, it said. We still love you. And we will come get you as soon as we can.
The boy walks through each room, still as a picture, and remembers all the photos and toys and
stuff that used to be on the walls, on the mantel above the fireplace. In this corner, thats where
dad put up the Christmas tree every year.
Hes been too embarrassed to tell his friends. When he saw his aunts brown car down the street
while they were playing Horse, he didnt bother to even come up with an excuse. His friends
were distracted so he took off.
A door slams shut outside.
Aunt Rae knocks on the door, politely. She knows its been hard on the boy. Bobby opens the
door slowly and they lock eyes for a moment.
Quietly, Rae pulls her nephew close. His instinct is to fight it, but he doesnt. Instead, Bobby
falls into her, clutches her tightly. But he wont cry.
He refuses to cry.
The Abandoned
An abandoned child has been left by his biological family. This is a sharp sensation
when a strong bond is severed, one that cuts to the bone and sends a signal throughout
Closetland and can put the child in both mundane and supernatural peril.
46
no longer wanted (the abandoned)

Characters in Little Fears Nightmare Edition are between six and twelve so its safe to
say were not talking about infants left on church stepsat least, not anymore. In most
cases, when we talk about abandoned children here, we talk about those kids who have
suffered a loss and feel that pain that can only come from sudden, possibly unexplained
separation. There are those who never knew their biological family, or possibly any family
unit, but who long for such a thing so strongly the feeling of separation is just as vibrant
and aching as those who knew their family.
Abandonment is possibly the hardest for a child to understand. We are taught family
is safe, that family looks out for its members. Abandonment can feel like a betrayal of
that foundation. And when a foundation that strong is shaken, other things cant help but
collapse.
The idea someone would move while the child is away at camp sounds like the premise
to a family TV movie and, while that could happen, the following ways in which families
abandon their children are a bit more common.
Left on a Doorstep
It may sound like a bit of a fairy tale but it happens. In fact, some states have nopenalty policies for mothers who wish to drop off children at hospitals and other
designated centers. Folks usually think of babies but it happens to children of all ages as
the situation surrounding a family changes.
The facilities will then work to find temporary care and housing for the child. In some
areas, that means the kid goes to an orphanage or other group care facility. Some enter the
foster system. Others get adopted. For our purposes, we can assume the abandoned player
characters and non-player characters do not have a permanent family. They may be in
foster care or living in a place that takes good care of them but the hole left by not being
raised in a family environment remains unfilled.
Left on the Side of the Road
Sadly, this happens as well. Usually a sign of severe mental illness or wrong-thinking,
a parent who is at an extreme emotional edge may be driven to taking the child
out somewhere and leaving him. Here, there is an urgency to the act. This may be
premeditated but more likely its an act of passion, a reaction to a heightened sense of fear
or depression.
Left with a Friend
The kid may be left with a family friend or family member. Some abandoned are given
to folks the parents trust. That trusted person may think theyre only watching the kid for
a short period of time or could know that the parent isnt coming back for a long time if
ever. The two parties may conspire to not tell the child in order to protect him or because
they dont want to get into the long backstory (maybe one of the whys listed below) that
led them all to this point.
We can assume the new home, the new family is a safe environment, and the main
source of pain is the eventual realization that mommy and daddy are not coming back.
Or we can assume the chosen caretakers are unfit and the child is on the road to a worse
home life than before. For our purpose, well take the former route over the latter. The
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chapter FOUR
new family wont intentionally harm the child but they may still not be fit for parenting
(incompetence can be overcome, if thats the case).
Told to Leave
Maybe its nothing dramatic. No swaddling bundle handed to a nun, no driving out
beyond the city, no makeshift family to fill the gap. Theyre only two words but they say
everything the child needs to know: Get out.
Some families struggle to find harmony. They dont naturally click and need to work
hard if everyone is going to have anything resembling peace. When equilibrium isnt
reached, when the family just cant come together, sometimes elements need to be
removed. In some cases, a parent leaves or an older child moves out. Other times, the
solution the family comes to is for a younger child to go.
When you see the headline that someone has abandoned their child, either to someone
elses care or by shoving him out the door, a natural reaction is one of bewilderment
mixed with disdain. But every act, no matter how despicable, has an underlying cause.
There is a reason the parent abandon the child. Im not saying its a good reason or that
abandonment is justifiablebut that doesnt mean it was a senseless act. Something had
to bring it about, so what was it? Why was the child abandoned?
Home Economics
When parents have more kids than they can financially care for, they only have a
handful of options: keep the kid and take on extra work to fill the fiscal gaps; keep the kid
and apply for financial assistance; keep the kid and tighten the belts even further, or; give
the kid up to someone else.
This is not an option of want. This is an option of need. The family cannot take care of
the child. A sudden downward shift in income could be to blame or the family could have
spent years skirting the edge of abject poverty and maturation or the arrival of a new child
could have altered their financial situation. Either way, the family hit a do-or-die moment
and a hard decision was made.
Fear of Abuse
One parent may feel the other is a threat to the child. This notion may come from past
experience with other children (their own or others) or vile promises made by the abuser
the protecting parent wont let happen. Not to her baby. Not to her child.
Could be a parent abandoned her child because the other parent has abused him
already. A third possible scenario is that the parent feels she will abuse the child herself,
the product of mental illness or poor impulse control.
No matter which of these scenarios is the case, the child is in danger, immediate or
forthcoming. The only solution in the mind of the parent is to give up the child. Abuse
is an ugly concept and even uglier act. I urge that, if this is used, it is only for backstory, a
vague threat possibly, and never depicted or portrayed in a positive light.
Mental Illness
The parent may suffer from a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental illness such as
schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Their brain chemistry is unbalanced; their actions are
48

unpredictable and not always based on fact. The parent may think invisible monsters are
after her and she needs to get the child somewhere safe. The parent may have a moment
of clarity after a particularly harrowing bout and feel abandoning the child is a way to
protect it (possibly a fear of abuse situation as described above). Abandonment due to
mental illness is usually an act of desperation not malice, though the latter does happen.
When it comes to mental illness in a parent, to the level where the adult may drive
the child out to the country and leave him there, warning signs often present far in
advance. These can be subtle but an observant child may sense them and prepare for a bad
situation.
The child may have a handful of provisions to see them through a short while; they may
not. A child who suspects his parents may be up to something (though who could foresee
something like this?) may stash things in a backpack, just in case. As said, there is usually
little warning as this is an act of desperation more than malice but the parent may give off
signals somethings not right.
Addiction
Addiction digs into your bones and makes the object of its desire more important than
anything. Everything else gets put by the wayside: hobbies, jobs, responsibilities, family.
Children of drug- or alcohol-addicted parents are marginalized, made secondary by the
deep-borne need to satisfy the cravings. The children of addicts face a hard life and hard
choices. Some endure, some run away, but others dont get the chance to do either.
When a parent abandons a child because of addiction, it could be because they dont
want the hassle of raising a child. Addicts can be remarkably like needy children in their
disdain for responsibility. But an addicted parent, or the spouse of an addicted parent,
could get rid of the child in order to protect him from the influences of the drug scene
or the threats of an angry dealer. Or it could be the non-addicted parent is choosing the
addicted parents desires over protecting the child. None of these situations is anything
but ugly.
Behavioral Issues
Sometimes the parents just cant handle the child anymore. Lying, stealing, being with
boys/girls in adult ways, drug use, all manner of criminal activity can turn that sweet little
child into a proto-adult whose ability to control his emotions hasnt caught up with their
complexity. Most families suffer through, or reach out to clinics or other professionals for
assistance or to provide temporary housing as well as rehabilitation for the child, but some
parents are in no financial shape to spend the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for
that level of care.
Some parents reach their breaking point and need to get as far away from the unruly
child as possible. When this happens, sometimes the only option is dropping him off with
a relative or no-fault facility.
The questions of Why didnt mommy love me? and What did I do to upset daddy?
gnaw the child, corroding his soul and galvanizing a feeling of hatred toward the world at
large with the fear that everyone they love will leave them given the time and opportunity.
This can come about over years or surge to the forefront like a wave, enveloping the
49
chapter FOUR
childs hope for joy and dragging it to the bottom of the deep. For an abandoned child,
there are only three options and we detail them below.
New Family
The child could find a new family, someone else to protect and care for them. A child
who is abandoned by his family into another person care doesnt necessarily take to that
family. He may remain emotionally distant, separated from his caregivers even if they
attempt to love him and bring him into the family fully. On the flip side, a kid who was
dropped off on a street corner could fall into a new family, a group of people who will
guide and protect him.
You might think a child who went from one family to another would not be considered
a missing child. Monsters exist who love to pick at the wound left by abandonment, no
matter how minor or how deep the child has buried it. Some kids move past their sense
of loss completely and the feeling almost completely heals. But no scab can fully cover
the wound and there will always be a scar, no matter how small. Months may pass, maybe
years, but having been abandoned never fully fades and some monsters can track that like
hounds on the trail of a body.
Become a Runaway
In cases where the child is not put into someone elses care, the child ends up as so
many other missing: free under his own recognizance. For children the ages of the player
characters, that almost always means the abandoned kid ran away from whatever situation
he found himself in. Without the shackles of family, he can do what he wants, go where
he pleases, and be his own man. Which, while maybe the dream of a precocious preteen,
can be a horrible sentence for a fragile seven-year old.
Become Forgotten
Or the abandoned child could become a member of the rarest type of missing: a
Forgotten child. Well talk all about that in the next chapter.
50
I stayed with my auntie while my mom was

at work.
Used to be three times a week at the most but then more shifts became available and
my mom took every one she could. We needed the money and, with dad away on that trip
of his, she had to earn it. Thats what she said. I have to earn it.
Then, after a while, I was at Aunt Lucys every night. Id come over there right after
school. Id walk with my cousin Charice whos a little older than me. Shes alright but
we dont really talk. Lucys nice but she has a lot of boyfriends and when theyre over
she doesnt leave the bedroom. I dont know if theyre sleeping or what but on those days
Charice and I have to make our own food. That usually means cereal but they have one
of those sandwich machines which is really cool. I like to put peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches in there. They get all gushy and warm.
I started staying the night, I dunno, last month or so? Id go home every few days, on
weekends. Then I started bringing more stuff over hereI think all my clothes are over
here nowand I remember thats when my mom started talking about a new job she
wanted. One out of state. I dont know which state just out of this one, I guess.
I havent seen my mom in about a week or so. Lucy said she called once but when I ask
when shes coming back, she just says to not worry about it. She says Im always welcome
to stay here. And thats okay, I guess.
Still, I really miss my mom.
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chapter FOUR
The sisters tell me my mom was a very nice

woman.
She was young and very pretty. Mary Agnes says she was like a movie star. When I
close my eyes, I think of Natalie Portman. Shes probably too young to be my momI
dont even know if shes ever had kidsbut I liked her a lot in that movie where she was a
space princess and that one about the crazy toy store. That was pretty funny.
But I dunno. I guess it doesnt matter who my mom is since Ill probably never see her
in real life. I guess she could be anybody. But, you know, Im going to try to find her at
least. Some day. I mean, thats why I left but I dont think Ill try to do it immediately. The
fosters were alright, one of the better ones, but Im twelve years old now. Its time to stop
jumping from house to house and its time for me to be on my own.
My mom mustve thought I was able to, right? Thats why she gave me up?
52
He said I was trying to kill him and that I

had to go.
I tried to talk to him but he kept telling me to Shut up! and Get out! I didnt know
what to do. I didnt have anywhere to go. We didnt have any money so I couldnt afford to
go anywhere except maybe Uncle Joeys who maybe could help. But he lives three states
over and has his own kids.
Then my dad started throwing things. Books, pillows, stupid stuff. I dont even think he
was trying to hurt me. Hes thrown stuff before, said stuff before, but he was really mad
this time. Like really red-in-the-face mad.
And then he grabbed me by the shirt and started hitting me. I try to get away, tried to
punch him. He was all You work for them! I know you do! and I wont let you take the
rest of my family! I was so scared; I had no idea what to do.
And then he pushed me out the door. No shoes, not even socks. It was so cold. I went
over to my friend Emilys house and she let me borrow some stuff. She asked if I wanted
to call the cops or something. But I didnt. If I did, theyd take him away. Probably lock
him up again in that hospital.
Ill just, I dunno, make it here on the streets for a while. I got friends. I know people.
Im a kid, and folks always give money to kids.
Its not the first time my dads needed to cool off for a while. But the first since mom
died. I guess Ill see how he is in a few days.
53
hello?
Chapter five:
through
the cracks
(the forgotten)
chapter five
go, guys! Bobby says, waving as he runs. His friends, oblivious, keep playing ball.
Iinggotta
The game was dragging on anyways and the way Bobby sees it, his time is better spent doother things. He just got a new game for his GameStation 3 and is already almost done with
it. He hopes he can play some more tonight before bed.
Bobby picks up a stick from the back of the church. Its big, almost as tall as he is, and weighs
about as much as a baseball bat.
He bounces it off the cold ground, once, twice. He beats out a rhythm as he walks.
Excuse me, young man, someone says. Bobby turns around to see a man in a car. The driver
has a map in his hand and a confused look on his face. Can you tell me which way is Overland
Street?
Bobby points down the road. Two blocks that way.
The driver waves a polite thank-you and drives off. The entire subdivision is like a maze.
Folks get lost in it all the time what with Park Street and Lark Street, Vine and Pine, Elm and
Maple and Oak and Redwood. Why did people name streets after trees?
Bobby turns a right down Vine, crosses two lawns and goes up five steps to the familiar red
door. He sets the branch against the wrought iron banister and kicks the dirt of his shoes. The
ground is getting hard now but its become habit for the boy after weeks of late summer mud.
He opens the screen door and pinches the latch, pushing on it. The door doesnt budge. Bobby
reaches into his pocket for the key but comes up with a nickel and some lint. No way was he
walking back to Park Street to hunt for some dumb old key.
He knocks on the door. Two good thumps.
Again.
He hears his mom inside. He hopes shes making dessert. He peers through the glass. Shes sitting at the table, book in hand.
Mom! The boy yells, pounding harder on the door.
The woman inside looks up.
About time, the boy thinks.
The woman sets the book on the table, open face down, and crosses the living room to the door.
She pulls back the sheer white curtain and looks right at Bobby. She looks to the left and then the
right. Bobby waves his hand.
Hello! Mom! Hello! Open the door!
The woman lets go of the curtain, careful to set it properly in its place. She walks back to the
kitchen table, picking up where she left off.
Bobby stands outside, dumbfounded.
Man, what is up with her?
The Forgotten
Another way children become missing is to be forgotten. Not just by their parents,
though thats part of it, but by everybody and everything. A forgotten child has slipped
out of their old lives (and sometimes our reality) and life becomes as though the child had
no life prior to now. Theres no record of him being born, registering at a school or with
the Nature Scouts, no medical history or record of him ever taking piano lessons.
The only shred of memory is in the minds and hearts of the childs friends. And even
that may be sketchy, more along the line of Hey, didnt there used to be a kid in that
house? and Was there a kid who played third base before Mitchell did? A nagging
56
through the cracks (the forgotten)

question that could be picked at and expanded if there was reason to but, as it sits right
now, its just a thought in the back of the friends mind thats hard to put a finger on.
Younger children have an easier time remembering, especially if they were close to the
forgotten kid, say a neighbor, best friend, or even a sibling. Middle-aged kids, from 8 to
11, have a harder time, so much so that they may deny remembering even if they do have
a small flickering memory. Older kids will likely dismiss the idea out of hand, claiming
the kid who does remember is full of it or talking nonsense even if the forgotten kid is
standing in front of them. Never seen her before.
Obviously, adults have a really hard time remembering. The best chance is if the
forgotten kid was their child, nephew, niece, or someone they taught or watched during
the day, someone with whom the adult had regular contact.
Some adults manage to catch glimpses of forgotten children. These brushes with the
in-between can manifest as a shadow on the side of the road, the echo of a child laughing
at the playground, a brief glimpse a familiar-or-is-it face at the supermarket or the park.
No matter how the child appears, his presence is only temporary. A second glance will
show nothing but a road sign, a merry-go-round spinning in the wind, a stack of discount
laundry detergent, or the burnt stump of an old tree. To those within the real world, the
forgotten children are whispers in the wind, passing ideas, a persistent maybe or maybe
not that has yet to be answered.
When a child is forgotten, he has two options. He can accept that hes been forgotten
(sometimes to great relief ) and live on either in the real world, the in-between as a sortaghost, or in Closetland, among other kids who live there. Or he can refuse it and fight to
be remembered again. If he takes the second option, hell likely need some help from a
few stalwart PCs.
The world doesnt make a habit of forgetting the folks who live in it; it takes a
significant event, a strong catalyst, in order for a child to slip bodily from the firm footing
of reality into the in-between non-world that buffers our world from Closetland. We will
get into the reasons behind disappearances next but first lets look at how it happens.
Quick, Like a Bandage
One moment the kids there. The next he isnt. Just like that, a living, breathing, honestto-goodness real-live human boy that saw six, maybe nine, maybe twelve years in this
world is unplugged, yanked into the in-between as if he was never born. This type of
forgotten child is the rarest and the strangest. No one knows what causes such a sudden
(and sometimes violent-feeling) disappearance but the worst part is the kid still has a
good memory of things. The world shut him out right-quick but he still has memories.
And hell need to fight to keep them if he ever wants back into our world.
Fading Memory
It starts with the family forgetting his name or overlooking him at family functions.
Oh, I didnt see you there becomes a common phrase, as does Hey, where did you come
from? Over time, it gets harder to remember the childs name but the parents cover it up
because he looks familiar. The face, the face is familiar. Maybe hes a friend of one of their
other kids? They keep this internalized, trying to never let on, until the blank stares start
to linger and the name doesnt come anymore.
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Vanishing Act
The child starts to physically fade away, becoming transparent so that other people
cant see him or cant notice hes there. He becomes like a ghost, fuzzing into view takes
effort. The child feels this; he feels something is wrong. He starts to lose connections
with people and places that are new and then the older and stronger ties break. He
doesnt remember his sister. And his sister doesnt remember him. He disappears from
photographs with no trace he was ever in them. Over time, could be days or could be
weeks or more, traces of the childs existence strip away one by one until the child is just a
memory. Or worse, not a memory. The kid becomes nothing at all.
Time Jump
Some kids transition from one reality to another, a shift in space, if you will. But others
shift in another way; they shift through time. This could be months or years or decades
aheador behind. One moment, theyre celebrating the first day of summer vacation and
the next theyre standing in a foot of snow. All the other effects happen as well: Folks
dont remember them, paperwork and trophies are suddenly missing, but they are not only
no longer in our world, they jumped forward or backward in time. Usually, you can count
the span that was jumped in weeks but sometimes years or decades pass. A kid who was
bragging about his sweet new portable cassette player one moment finds himself standing
in front of a kid with the latest generation mp3pod the next.
Whether the child slowly fades from view or seems to vanish in thin air, there is always
a reason. Unlike some of the other ways kids go missing, there isnt necessarily a motive.
Kids arent forgotten as punishment or to protect them; whatever intention there may be,
it isnt usually that obvious. That doesnt mean the reasons dont hurt just as much if not
more. Intentional or not, sudden or not, there is a why. Lets look at some of those below.
Because There is no Love
Children who do not have enough love to keep them rooted here can simply slip away
from the world, becoming absorbed into Closetland as a consequence. Not to be overly
sentimental, we are talking about severe negligence on the part of the parent or guardian.
Children who are left to their own devices for long stretches while daddy bounces
between work and the bar, or the mom takes off for three weeks to join her boyfriend
halfway round the world while her kids are locked away in an apartment with instruction
to be good and dont answer the door for anybody but me. These are the children at
risk.
Family, blood or bond, is what connects us to the world. When that doesnt exist, there
isnt much to keep us here. Being forgotten isnt the fate of every neglected child but its a
risk some run, and others succumb to.
Chemical Eraser
As a corollary to the above, the neglect may not be physical but chemical. Meaning:
it isnt that the parent is away from the kid, working or partying or whatever, but is so
insanely out of her head 24/7 that the child isnt so much as an afterthought. Weve talked
about other side effects of addiction in previous chapters and we can chalk this up to yet
another.
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Side Effect of Grief
Say there are these parents, a mom and dad or a mom and mom or a dad and dad, and
they have two lovely, bright, healthy children. Then theres an accident. Doesnt have to
be anyones fault. Could be the car hit an ice patch or no one saw the light change. And
one of the children dies. The parents fall into depression, a sadness so deep and dark and
exhausting, that they fail to recognize the child left behind and can only focus on the
child that was taken from them.
Or say there is another set of parents. They have a kid too, maybe more than one. But
the parents are unhappy. One of them is cheating, thinking of leaving the other. The other
knows this and feels paralyzed, completely helpless, and is consumed by despair and
coming loss that the child who needs love and attention cant be seen through the pain.
Either of these situations, and others, can result in a withdrawal of love so intense,
rooted in pain that runs so deep, the child fades like an old photograph in the
background.
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Its What Monsters Do
Monsters do all sort of things that mess with children and by pulling a proverbial sack
over the child and performing some strange monster hoodoo, some monsters can cause
children to be forgotten. Some slowly unravel the bonds that connect the child to his
family or the real world like a finger lazily working the laces from a pair of shoes. It takes
time but the separation is inevitable. Other monsters rip the child from reality with both
claws, pulling the child into the in-between with a sudden jerk. The scab that forms over
the cut is bulky, imperfect, and this is the cause for most kids remembering something
about their former life but not exactly what.
Act of Mercy
Rumors persist of a monster that makes abusive parents forget they have children. In
turn, the child forgets about the abuse. What follows is a clean separation but the child is
in the same predicament as the other forgotten: He has no family to turn to, his old life
is gone, and he may wander the in-between for eternity. Whether this is the intention
of this monster is unknown. Then again, the entire existence of this monster is often
doubted.
Cover up a Crime
Sometimes something has been done, an act so terrible and incomprehensible that
reality has no choice but to take desperate measures to repair itself. In doing so, it
sometimes needs to rearrange people and events as to make things right. If the child
was involved in the crime, or was the victim of it, he will have little if any recollection
of the event. It will be a black hole in his memory; the harder he focuses on it, the less
he will be able to recall. The sense of bewilderment is generally higher when this is the
root cause behind the change as the child is completely displaced and has a large (or at
least significant) singular event missing from their memory. The lacuna can often cause
confusion, dementia, or extreme emotional shifts in the child without explanation or
apparent cause.
Being forgotten is a strange and bewildering occurrence, possibly more than any other
way a child becomes missing.
Find a Friend
Perhaps he told his story to someone new who wants to help. Or an old friend
remembers bits of what the kid said or is convinced by the things the kid wouldnt
know otherwise. Having someone in his corner does wonders for a child who has been
forgotten. It validates his suspicion, adds fuel to his fire, and gives him a partner who
will stand by him to keep his mind focused on the goal and away from the all-too-easy
dips into insanity. Because being forgottenbelieving that the world just, oops, doesnt
remember youis insane. When somebody has your back, this is all a lot easier to face.
Cling to the Fragments
No matter how deep they are buried, every forgotten child has shards of old memory
locked away. A child may hang onto those bits of his former life with everything he
has. Reclaiming his old family and reinserting himself into his rightful place in reality
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becomes his driving passion. He hunts down every possibility. If theres a monster that he
hears can help him, he will chase that monster down. If theres a door someone says can
tear open reality and let him back through, he will try every knob and latch in Closetland.
The child will stalk his old family, call them daily, try to convince them that what they
know is wrong and that the child was and is a member of their family. The same goes for
his friends who he will remind of all the good times they had, the secrets they shared.
During the down moments though, the times when victory seems impossible when his
fate seems predetermined, the child will visit old stomping grounds like the sandlot by the
old bake shop, his school, and let the feelings of pain and loss wash over him. Maybe hes
tending to the wounds but maybe hes washing himself of the will to keep fighting.
Go to the Authorities
Going to the authorities is a good option though they will have loads of questions. The
kid could fabricate a story about a family that gave him up or about running away. Going
this route, he would need to come up with a family name, address, and enough details to
satisfy the interrogation and give the authorities enough to proceed with an investigation.
Sticking with the truth opens up an entirely different can of worms. They wouldnt
believe the childthough who would?and would likely treat him as an abuse or mental
case. Depending on the childs emotional state, they may treat him like a drug case
though a basic blood test would clear him of that (provided the child isnt on drugs; if he
is, thats a whole other set of problems).
Either option would see the child in the care of professionals in a hospital or care
facility. This isnt a fitting next step for a player character (unless he plans to escape, I
suppose) but can make a great back story for a game moderator character.
Start a New Life
Whether he remembers his old life or not, the child may opt to not push against the
seemingly overwhelming tide and will surrender to his new life. If he doesnt go to the
authorities as detailed above, perhaps he strikes out on his own. The kid could make new
friends, possibly stay with them a while, or live on the street. He could pick up part time
work stocking shelves, walking dogs, or something to get some cash into his pocket.
This road isnt easyand the child will have to become adept at skirting the many issues
associated with that lifebut it is the option that leads to the least amount of hassling
about his past or dealing with monsters (the Closetland variety, anyway).
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I came home and they wouldnt let me in.
My mom looked at me like I was crazy. She kept saying, Devon? Devon who? My
father threatened to call the cops if I didnt get off the porch. I laughed, thinking it was
some sort of weird joke but then I realized they were both serious.
I told them who I was but that just made them angrier.
We dont have a son, they said. Never did, never will. Now go!
The look in their eyes told me they believed what they said.
I tried to remind them. I told them my entire name, the day I was born, about the
house we first lived in, back in Fairfax.
Howd you know about that house? My mother asked, looking at my father, worried.
But the old man shoved me away, told me to go bother someone else.
But Harold, how did he know?
I started to cry, I remember that, once I realized this wasnt some dumb joke. My father
went back into the house. I thought maybe he was going to get his shotgun so I got out of
there quick as I could.
I thought about going to the police but who would they believe? Me? I dont think so.
I went to some of my old friends and they didnt remember me either. Except Kara. She
looked like maybe she remembered me but then her dad asked her if she knew me and
she said no.
So, I just started walking. I didnt have anything on me but what I was wearing. I hid
out in some kids treehouse, I needed a place to get out of the rain, and one day I ran into
the kid by accident and we sorta hit it off.
I have new friends now, as much as anyone here is a friend, and sometimes I walk
by my house but I havent worked up the courage to stop by again. I see my parents
sometimes, bringing in groceries. They seem happy. I think my mom noticed me one
timeshe got this sad look on her facebut thats it.
I dont know what happened, but I wish it hadnt.
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I couldnt remember how to get home.
Most things looked familiarI remembered the street signs and the big black eagle on
the Guevaras garage doorbut other things didnt. I thought it was winter but it wasnt.
It was really hot, like middle-of-summer hot.
How does that happen? How does half a year just disappear?
I walked around the block for hours. I thought hard about my name, my last name, and
I looked at every mailbox. The ones that didnt have names on them, I looked inside to see
what names were on the envelopes. But then my name went away. I had it. I really did. I
had my name but then I didnt.
I stood there, looking at all those houses, knowing one of those roads went by my home
but I couldnt for the life of me remember which one.
So I just walked. I walked down some other streets. I thought, Hey, maybe I was
wrong. Maybe thats not my street.
But the problem is, no matter how much I walked, no matter how many houses I stared
at, none of them felt like home.
No place feels like home.
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All of a sudden, I was in an empty parking

lot.
Just before, my mom had been on my case about coming home late. She was furious.
She was screaming her head off. My little sister came downstairs to see what the problem
was and my mom smacked her butt and told her never to come downstairs again.
She was really angry. And I dont even know why. I told her I was going to be late but
it didnt matter. She was always on my case about where I went and who I hung out with.
Like it mattered. Like shed approve of any friends I had. Unless I was buddy-buddy with
Brad McCourt and his whole stupid bunch of friends. They were perfect.
Theyre a good influence. Yeah, right. Angels to parents, sure, but not to us kids.
Anyway, she was as red as ketchup and ready for round two of telling me how much of
a future criminal I am when I started to yell at her and, then, BAM.
She was gone. The house was gone. I was in this huge parking lot but there were no
cars, nothing. Well, paint lines and those tall lights with cameras but I dont think there
were cameras on those.
I mean, I have no idea where I was. Nothing looked familiar. Then I heard some
growling come from somewhere, some kinda big dog. So I got outta there. Wandered
forever until I found some other people. Same thing had happened to them. So weird.
Three months later, I still have no idea how to get back home.
At this point, I dont even remember where home is.
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Chapter six:
One of the Missing
chapter six
The first five chapters explore the hows and whys of missing children but without the
means and reason to use them in your game, as either player characters or GMCs, its
just information. This next few chapters will make the characters described prior useful
to your game by looking at how characters are made and then exploring the world those
character inhabit.
Missing Child as Character
Choosing to play a missing child, no matter how he became missing, provides a great
roleplaying and storytelling challenge as your character attempts to overcome the sudden
turn his life took, learn to trust other characters, and eventually, maybe, find his way back
home. If you feel you are up to the challenge, the rules for creatingand tips of playing
any of the five types of Missing, are detailed below, along with rules specific to each type
and some tips on bringing the character to life at the table.
Part One: Missing PCs
Most player characters are your average kids; just a gang of well-meaning preadolescents trying to have a good time and take down some monsters. Some kids have
heavier things weighing down their shoulders. This may be a shattered home life, an
uncertain future, or, in this case, that the child is one of the Missing. Missing player
characters are made essentially the same as any other PC, as you will see below.
Choose the Type of Missing
While generally made the same, there are a few specific differences between the five
types so decide the type of Missing first. Lets recap the five types.
Abducted: Kidnapped by a friend, family member, or stranger. The key is that the
person who took the kid is human.
Stolen: Taken by a monster. This could have been in the middle of the night or by a
monster masquerading as (but that wasnt actually) a human being.
Runaway: The kid took off, leaving his old life far behind him. He may have slipped
out under cover of night or found a way to escape in a public place.
Abandoned: For some reason, as a way to unburden themselves or maybe as protection,
his family abandoned the child.
Forgotten: The kid slipped through the seams between Closetland and our world and
has been, at least for the most part, forgotten.
If youre using the Missing character sheet in the back of this book, there is a space for
that information; mark it there. Otherwise, you can write in the margins of the regular
sheet.
But dont stop there! Generate a little backstory for your character. No single word
defines anybody, especially not major characters in the story you and your friends are
about to tell. You dont need to get everything down just yetyoull have opportunity to
flesh this out when we get the Questionnairebut knowing a bit about this character will
help as we continue along the character creation process.
This is Me
Going along with the character creation rules from Chapter Two of the corebook, the
above counts as your characters Concept. Now write down the characters name, age,
whether the character is a boy or a girl, and his birthday.
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One of the missing

Abilities and Traits
Continuing with the steps outlined in the main book, we hit Abilities (the Five Verbs)
and Traits (Good and Bad). These are the same; no changes are made other than keeping
in mind your characters present situation when choosing Traits. Well get into this more
when we get to Qualities.
Virtues
If you want, you can do Belief, Wits, and Spirit the same as regular characters. As an
alternative though, you can trade up to three points of spirit for three points you can put
into either Belief and/or Wits. This reflects your characters strengthened resolve and
connection to the strange magic of Belief but the backlash it has on his soul.
Example: Alex is making a missing kid character. Her name is Tessa and she is a Runaway.
Alex decides that Tessas had a hard life since leaving her family. Shes made some poor decisions,
had to flee from shady characters, and been worn down by the hard life of the streets. She decides
to drop her Spirit by 2, giving Tessa an 8 in that Virtue to reflect Tessas downward-trending
attitude and slowly sinking outlook. She could add two points to Tessas Belief or two points to
your Wits and give one of them a big bump. Alex decides to split the difference though and add
one point to each.
Normal rules apply here so a) you cannot go above ten points in Wits and b) if your
characters Spirit dips to four or below, you take the dice penalties to the affected Abilities.
Qualities
Missing kids get the same number of Qualities as other characters. The difference
comes in balancing the Qualities the child had before he became missing and those he
acquired afterwards.
Qualities reflect immediate, useful skills and perhaps are more fluid than presented in
the core rulebook. The majority of kids grow in straight lines; a kid who has a knack for
sports gets better at sports (if hes allowed to practice and play) just as a talent for math or
science gets better and better as it is nurtured.
But missing kids arent on a straight course anymore. Sure, your whiz kid character
may have been on a path for advanced placement mathematics courses but that goes out
the window when a monster nabs him or the boy takes off in the middle of the night.
Missing kids rarely have the opportunity to practice those things they previously loved to
do and were good at.
That said, a kid with a natural athletic ability may be better suited for long travels on
foot and fending off potential danger than a bookworm is so maybe he is flexing his
native Qualities that way. Or that bookworm may discover previously untapped reserves
of endurance and strength he didnt know before. Such is the way of things.
All this may seem tilted toward more physical Qualities as the above examples show.
This is true: there isnt much opportunity for study when youre on your own. While you
probably have the time, what you lack are tools. You can find substitutes for a ball and
all you need to exercise is your body. Intellectual pursuits are harder to improvise. Those
missing kids who try to stay sharp have well-worn library cards or knacks for finding their
reading material in community dumpsters.
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Stuff
This brings us to Stuff. Missing kids arent rolling in cash and usually need things that
are portable. If something meant a lot to them, they probably grabbed it if they could. If
they didnt have the time or advance notice, a precious object may have been left behind.
The kid may be pursuing this lost object even now, possibly as a means to cope with his
new life (or fight his way through it). Just keep in mind that small is best as are things
that can be used for different purposes or in different ways. Uni-taskers can be wastes of
precious backpack space.
Questionnaire
Finally, we have the Questionnaire which presents the biggest difference between a
missing character and a regular one. If you like, you can fill out the original Questionnaire
from the main rulebook along with this one or only fill out the questions below. There are
some particular to certain types of missing so keep an eye out for those.
As with the Questionnaire in the core rulebook, you should answer these questions as
your character would, as honestly as you can.
Questions for All
First, well tackle those questions every missing kid should answer.
What was your life like before?
Briefly describe your characters home life and general state of being before he became
a missing kid.
Have you made contact with your old life? If so, how did it go? If
not, why not?
If your character has tried to get in touch with his old family or friends, talk about that
here. If he hasnt tried, what prevents him from doing so?
Where are you now?
Your character is no longer abducted but he is not yet home. So where is he? Did your
character stumble into Closetland? Does he wander the backroads of some rural township
he doesnt know in hopes of finding a familiar route? Is he stuck in some strange inbetween and cant tell where he is?
What have you been doing?
How does your character spend his time? Is he actively searching for a way back home?
Is he living in a part of Closetland that pretends is his home? Has he surrendered to a life
of homelessness? Is he living in a shelter?
Do you want to go back home?
This may seem like a dumb question but not all kids who were abducted want to
necessarily go home. That isnt to say they wish to stay abducted, just that maybe they
want a third option. If your childs life was hard at home, does he really want to return
there? Maybe hes found friends now, possibly other missing kids, and is doing alright for
himself, at least from his perspective.
If not, why not?
Why doesnt your character want to go back home? Was his home life rough before he
went missing? Does he think hes not wanted back home?
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One of the missing

Questions for the Abducted and Stolen
The following questions are for abducted and stolen characters.
Do you know the person/monster who took you? If so, who/what

was it?
A lot of kidnap victims know the person who took them. Was your character taken by a
family member, friend, neighbor, complete stranger, someone else? If your character knew
the person, say who it was. If you were stolen, had you ever seen the monster before? Do
you know why it chose you?
What happened to that person/monster?
Does your character know where that person or monster is now? Even if he doesnt
care, knowing what happened to that person and where they are will help if the child is
ever able to go to the police.
How did you get away?
Somehow, your character went from being abducted to being somewhere else. Did he
walk into a shadow? Escape into a closet? Follow a strange creature into the woods? Wake
up one day laying in a field surrounded by cat-toothed critters with weepy yellow eyes? Or
did he escape while his abductor was sleeping?
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Questions for the Runaway
The following are for runaway characters only.
Why did you run away?
Its the question on everyones mind. What made it so your kid felt he had to leave?
You neednt provide a lot of description, especially if the reason is painful, but a quick
summary is good to write down. When other folks hear your character is a runaway, this
will probably be the first thing they ask you. You can tell them the truth, sure, or just give
some stock answer. Here though, tell the truth, as much as your character is comfortable
doing so.
How do you feel about your decision?
Does your character regret leaving? Does it still seem like the right thing? A lot of
runaways regret giving into their impulse but feel its too late to turn back. Is this in line
with what your character feels?
Questions for the Abandoned and Forgotten
The following questions are for Abandoned and Forgotten characters only.
Whats the last thing you remember?
Both abandoned and forgotten kids were pushed out of their old lives. Whats the last
solid memory of his old life he has? Why does that memory stick with him?
Why do you think it happened?
Does your character have any clue as to why his family abandoned him or the world
forgot him? Think back: Were there any clues this was going to happen? This isnt to
say your character should have seen this coming or is somehow at fault but this kind of
reflection could provide some insight into how to reclaim his former life (if he wants to).
Part Two: Being the Missing
Choosing to play a missing child, no matter how he became missing, provides a great
roleplaying and storytelling challenge as your character attempts to overcome the sudden
turn his life took, learn to trust other characters, and eventually, maybe, find his way back
home.
I wont pretend I know anything about what is must be like for real life kids who have
been abducted. But I know a bit about making characters, so I will offer the following:
Hes a Survivor
Your kids a survivor. He has to be or he never would have come out of this sane (or
in any condition befitting a player character). Keep this in mind when youre picking
Qualities and Traits.
Trust Comes Hard
Abducted children have had the floor fall out from under them in the trust department.
More often than not, they have a real difficult time believing peopleeven (maybe
especially) other kidsand will view folks with heaps of distrust.
Having been abducted is going to have psychological effects on your character for the
rest of his life, certainly, but loss of trust is an acute effect he will need to deal with now.
He may sleep with one eye open or not be able to have his back to the door. He may be
uncomfortable in large crowds, where abductors hide.
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One of the missing

He is Now One of Those Kids
Folks who know what happened to your child will now look upon him with pity and
he will have to cope with being treated that way. Some kids may relish it while others just
wish the whispers and stares would stop and life could just get back to, well, not normal
but not this.
He is Hiding Something
You may not know what it is. He may never talk about it. He may claim nothings
wrong but hes lying. Hes hiding the truth at the very least. Every missing kid has some
secret buried deep inside them: a feeling he keeps bottled up, the whole story as to why
he ran away, the real reason he wont go back home. Keep this in mind and figure out
some area or topic of discussion your kid considers off limits. He may react violently if the
subject is brought up or he may go stone quiet and stare coldly at the person asking until
they change the topic.
Part Three: Missing GMCs
Missing characters make engaging characters for the game moderator as well. Now, this
part of the chapter will look at Missing GMCs in general, using the Simplified GMC
rules from the main rulebook. The next two parts, though, present Missing GMCs using
two new sets of GMC rules (that you can use for any other type of GMC as well).
Introducing a Missing GMC
Weve talked a fair bit about missing kids as player characters but missing kids make
interesting game moderator characters as well. As the GM, placing a missing kid at the
center of a mystery (as we will in the included episode The Long Way Home) can make
for an intriguing, engaging scenario. But missing kids dont have to be plot devices; they
could simply be interesting people the player characters know. This gives them long-term
use in your story, from a dramatic as well as practical standpoint.
How They Help
Missing kids have connections to both the people and groups in the next chapter but
ties to Closetland as well. Some live there still, after all. Kids who are forgotten have
no paper trail and are more likely to help out in those less-than-legal situations such as
breaking into a locked house or picking a key from someones pocket. Not that they wont
get in trouble for it. Sure, there may be no one to ground them but breaking the law is
breaking law, no matter how confusing the lack of any records may be. Even with that in
mind, though, some forgotten kids have a brazen stage following the realization of their
situation and become bigger risk-takers.
How They Hinder
Some missing kids are being hunted by monsters. Others have their parents and/or
authorities actively looking for him. Lots of folks pass those Missing posters every day
without a glance but the image sticks with some and if those folks see that kid wandering
around in broad daylight, theyll likely call the police (or at least call out for the kid,
drawing more attention to him).
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The Threats They Present
As youll see in later chapters, a world of trouble awaitsand at times actively

pursuesmissing kids. Having one among your number opens you up to those dangers.
To the monsters after missing kids, any associations the kids have are obstacles to be
overcome in the best light and collateral damage in the worst. An inclination to help a
missing kid is natural but it attracts a whole bunch of danger.
If the kid was stolen, the monster who took him may be looking for him. If the monster
finds him hanging out with a bunch of other kids, the monster may snatch up the whole
lot. If the kid was abducted and runs across the person who did it, that person may decide
the friends of that missing kid know too much and need to be silenced.
Abandoned kids and runaways present threats from associations they have made during
their time as a missing kid, the same as other types of missing.
Forgotten kids pose a unique type of threat in that those who associate with them too
closely or for too long run the risk of becoming forgotten themselves.
What Can Be Done
Most folks hear about a missing kid and want to fix it. Whatever happened, you want
to set things right. Adults with decades of life experience under your belt struggle to
help those in need, even if they have connections with folks like cops and social workers.
When youre a kid with less than thirteen years on earth and very little, if any, credibility
with authority figures, the idea of helping a fellow kid seems easy and impossible all at the
same time. So, what can your characters do to help missing kids?
Save the Kid
Saving a kid isnt always easy. For some, you only need to reunite the kid with his
family. This holds true for the abducted, stolen, and runaways especially. Healing the
wounds that caused the latter is another story and likely one the cast will only be able to
assist with, not do entirely on their own. For the most part, abducted and stolen kids want
to be reunited. Something interrupted their normal life and caused a huge disruption.
Reconnection goes a long way toward fixing that. Runaways may have had good reason
for leaving, and maybe that can be repaired or the situation explained to someone who
can affect change, but sometimes kids runaway for poor reasons and only need to be
talked to in order to bridge the emotional gap that led to their running away.
Abandoned kids are another story. Were talking forceful rejection or removal from a
family unit. How do you heal that? How does a kid learn to trust again? Solve that first or
any second step wont last. Once thats done, its not as easy as placing the kid back in his
original family but maybe they can find another family, either legally or just by accepting
other people into their lives again.
Sometimes saving a kid means getting them back to their old life. Sometimes its a
matter of helping them find peace with their new life (a luxury fictional characters have
over real life missing children). No one true path exists but all resolutions begin with trust
and understanding. Once those are established, the rest will grow from there.
Protect the Kid
If the kid is in immediate danger, you can use your strength in numbers to protect the
kid. Missing kids often form loose-knit networks but having a group of friends who have
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your back is invaluable. The threats coming after the kid can be monstrous or mundane,
from creatures who want to drag him back to their awaiting cages to helping the kid get
a hot meal. Kids new to their missing life need even more help as they havent learned the
hard lessons those who have spent longer on their own have and could use a leg up.
Missing as Bad Guys
Not every missing kid is here to be saved or wants to pal around with the player
characters.
Bad Seed
The missing kid may pretend to be friends with the group in order to get something,
such as information or protection, but will turn his back as soon as he can, or he could
be recruiting for the person or monster that took him, possibly in exchange for his own
freedom.
Unwelcome Reminder
It could be the player characters remind the missing kid of his life before and the
association is not a good one. Maybe one of the PCs looks like a runaways brother, the
cast is from the stolen kids hometown (which he blames for what happened), or its just a
matter of the missing not wanting to be reminded about his life before or the other world.
Part Four: Expanded GMCs
The original GMC rules came in two flavors: fully-fleshed out characters made the
same as the cast members and quick-and-dirty GMCs that acted as a set of obstacles
rather than characters. While the simplified rules worked well for characters such as
teacher, cops, and babysitters that the cast needed to outsmart or otherwise best in order
to reach their goal, the rules didnt allow for game moderator characters with some more
meat, those such as older brothers and sisters who were obstacles sometimes but assets
other times. These new rules, detailed below, give you the tools to create Friendly GMCs
as well as Hostile GMCs and straddle the fence between the simplified rules and the full
characters.
Note: These rules apply only to people and animals. Monsters should always be built
using the monster rules in the main rulebook.
GMC Type
There are two types of expanded GMCs: Friendly and Hostile. Lets look at each.
Friendly GMCs
Friendly GMCs are what you expect: men and women, boys and girls, teens and tweens
who, when push comes to shove, are on the player characters side. This alliance may be
reluctant, as in the case of the exasperated older sister who really doesnt want to spend
her Saturday escorting her little brother around the mallespecially when her friends are
thereor the neighbor who is a grump, sure, but doesnt want to see any children hurt
(just off his lawn and not peddling their devil cookies on his doorstep). It may be against
what the cast wants but is in their best interest, such as the security guard who prevents
the kids from entering the museum even if, yes, the statues are going to come to life and
eat the guard whole or the teacher who keeps a child after class to clean the blackboard
in order to instill some sense of discipline into him. No matter the expression of their
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alliance, Friendly GMCs look out for the characters, possibly in a flawed or incompetent
manner at times.
Hostile GMCs
Now, hostile in this sense doesnt necessarily mean the character is actively attempting
to harm a player character, just that this GMC does not have the characters best interest
at heart. This GMC may act like an enemy, taunting and threatening the cast, or be a
wolf in sheeps clothing and pretend hes on the casts side, possibly not reveal his ultimate
deceit until many episodes (or seasons!) into the series.
As with Friendly GMCs detailed above, this new method of devising GMCs hits the
halfway point between the simplified rules presented in the core book and the full-fledged
character generation. Hostile GMCs are also made with the express purpose they are
working against the player characters, again even if not overtly.
Making an Expanded GMC
Lets look at how you create an expanded GMC. An example follows along with these
instructions to show how these rules and guidelines are put into use. Afterwards, well go
over how these pieces work in play.
Brief Description
Who is this character? Give the character a nameif he warrants a higher level of
system function, he probably deserves a name beyond his job description. Also mark
whether hes Friendly or Hostile. Mark what they really are, not necessarily how they will
present themselves to the group.
GMC Abilities
Expanded GMCs have three Abilities, rated from 1 to 6. These Abilities are Think, Do,
and Feel.
Think: Any time an GMC needs to outwit someone, remember some obscure fact, or
work through a puzzle, use this Ability.
Do: Any action, from climbing to fighting to skipping rocks is handled by this Ability.
Feel: Anything to do with emotion, intuition, or tugging at heartstrings is covered
under this Ability.
These are more general than the Abilities full characters have and thats by design.
While this may make them better overall, its also harder for them to be as good at stuff
as full characters. Also, this allows for much less handling time which is key when coming
up with GMCs on the fly.
These Abilities are rated 1 to 6 just like regular Abilities. As with the Abilities of
standard characters, each Ability starts with one point already in it. You have a number of
points you can use to increase each of these Abilities. The number of points you have to
spend on them depends on how important the GMC is intended to be.
As a general rule, an expanded GMC gets 9 points to divide amongst those three.
If you want a bit stronger, bump that to 12. A little weaker, drop it to 6. 12 is good for
adults, especially ones intended to be tough or imposing. Little kids may only warrant
6. But age isnt the big deciding factor. Whats important here is how long you want
the GMC to stay in play and how much of an influence she should have on the other
characters.
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Example: Lets make a big sister. Now, she isnt your usual just-wants-to-rat-out-heryounger-brother-and-hang-at-the-mall big sister character. She likes her brotherwho is one of
the player charactersand may even accompany him on some of his adventures. Shes 16, just got
her license, and doesnt mind carting her brother and his friends around too much. Ill name her
Marilyn.
Marilyn is your average teen so Ill give her 9 points. Her Think, Do, and Feel already have
one point in them. Shes smart but not brainy, so Ill add 2 points to her Think which gives her
a total of 3. Shes physical, runs track on the school team, so Ill drop 4 points into Do. That gives
her a total of 5. I have 3 points left and put them into Feel, giving her a total of 4 in that Ability. That probably explains her soft spot for her brother.
Think: OOO
Do: O
Feel: OO
Qualities
Each expanded GMC gets three points worth of Qualities. You can choose one of the
following ways of splitting up those points: one 3-point Quality; one 2-point Quality
and one 1-point Quality, or; three 1-point Qualities. Use the rules for Qualities as you do
with player characters though one of the Qualities must be:
I am [blank].
Fill in the blank with a brief one- to three-word description of the character. I am a
cop or I am a librarian or I am the neighborhood bully are good examples.
Example: For Marilyn, I choose one 2-point Quality and one 1-point Quality. Ill start with
the required Quality, and Ill drop in my initial concept for her. For the second, I already know
shes an athlete so Ill use that. I put down:
I am Mikes teenage sister
I run track
The first Quality allows her to put some authority behind any attempts to direct her brother or
get someone to help. It also covers the fact shes older and is a bit more respected by folks like mall
security. Well, at the very least they wont dismiss her as easily as they would her younger brother.
The second reflects her athletic nature and will definitely come in handy if she needs to go
somewhere (or get away from someone) in a hurry.
Weaknesses
As with simplified GMCs from the main rulebook, expanded GMCs have Weaknesses.
This can be social, mental, or physical drawbacks that hold the character back in some
way. These neednt be that broad, but should be something that could come into play and
not have a lot of qualifications or special circumstances.
You can choose either one 2-point Weakness, which would be severe, or two 1-point
Weaknesses, which is a pair of mild ones.
Example: Ive already established Marilyn has a soft spot for her brother and I dont mind
making that a Weakness but I feel putting two points into it is a bit much. Ill take it as a
1-point Weakness instead and give her along with Doesnt like attention at 1. The girl gets
uncomfortable when folks pay her too much attention, even when running track. It looks like:
Soft spot for her brother -1
Doesnt like attention -1
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Health
Expanded GMCs have Health, same as player characters and monsters. Double the
GMCs highest Quality and add that to 8. That number is the characters Health.
Example: Marilyns highest Ability is Do, which is rated at 5. I double that and get 10. 10
plus 8 is 18 so I write 18 next to her Health.
Goals
If you foresee the expanded GMC sticking around or being a big part of the story (or
they become one whether planned or not), give the GMC some Goals, same as you would
player characters. Rate it at 1 (if a minor goal or relatively easy to accomplish in a session
or two) or 2 (if its a big deal to the character or really hard to do).
Example: For Marilyn, I put down a single 1-point Goal. Prove to her father shes a good
driver. I like that: It speaks to a family connection and is attainable under the right circumstances. If Marilyn keeps coming up in the story, does some amazing things during a session,
or becomes a character I really like, I may give her more. The more Goals you give, the more the
character can get better, earning them more time with the player characters.
And thats it. Marilyn is done and ready to take her brother out for ice cream.
Expanded GMC Rules
Not a lot is different. Expanded GMCs use the same rules as regular character, just in
abbreviated form. When an expanded GMC tries something, roll a number of dice equal
to the relevant Ability and add the Quality if it makes sense. If a Weakness applies, drop
the total number of a dice rolled by 1 or 2 points (whichever number the Weakness is
rated at).
An expanded GMC takes damage per usual, except the damage comes out of a general
pool, instead of health levels as it does with player characters.
Expanded GMCs gain Playaround Points by completing Goals, and upgrade their
Abilities and such the same as player characters.
There ya go. Thats how you make and use an expanded GMC.
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Chapter seven:
the world
around you
chapter seven
The life of a missing kid is hard, no two ways about it. Aside from the uncertainty of
his future and questions about his past, he has his present to face. In order to help your
missing kid character make sense of things, lets take a look at the part of the world that
applies directly to him. Well look at places in the real world (good and bad), places in
Closetland (ditto), as well as the world known as the in-between.
Part One: The Real World
For those kids not trapped in the world of monsters or stuck in the twilight zone that is
the in-between, the real world is one that children, missing or not, need to contend with
on a daily basis. Regular kids have their routine: wake up, go to school, do homework, play
with friends, eat supper, watch television, go to bed, repeat. But missing kids, who spend
an inordinate amount of time without predictable routines, shelter, and people to watch
over them, have to take care of themselves. Knowing the right people is key to survival as
is knowing the right places.
Here are some places kids can find shelter and protection in the real world. While these
are written with the missing in mind, regular kids can use these as well, for the most part
anyway.
Community Centers
Kids in trouble, or who need to hide out for a while, can find safety in community
centers, boys and girls clubs, and youth outreach centers. With the corporatization some
of the larger community associations have undergone in recent decades, their doors are
now closed to non-members, but local, smaller centers are still welcoming. Community
centers have a wealth of programs, focused on social growth and harmony, and many of
them have religious affiliation (though are rarely exclusive).
Youth clubs are mostly open afterschool hours and weekends, giving latchkey kids and
others a safe place to play some sports, surf the internet, do homework, and hang out with
friends. Youth outreach centers focus on at-risk children, those in economically-depressed
areas, who live in areas with high levels of crime, drug addiction, and teen pregnancy.
These centers strive to provide positive role models and instill a heavy dose of self-esteem
in its charges.
Church
Depending on where the game takes place, the local churches may keep their doors
open all day and night, providing a spiritual rest stop to any lost and weary souls in need
of solace or shelter. Beyond the obvious religious guidance they offer, local church officials
can also give references for food banks, the names of people who may be able to provide a
meal, a shower, and a warm bed, or an open ear for any child who needs to unburden his
soul (or talk frankly about his current situation).
A Friends House
A friends house can be a safe place, particularly for runaways who want to lay low for a
few days or reconnect with a familiar face after being away for a while. While these places
are safe, from the perspective that your friend will feed you and keep any secrets you tell,
everything else about this can get messy quickly.
If his parents dont like you, they may call the authorities, or your parents, without
waiting to hear your story. They dont care if you have a good reason; they only know
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somethings wrong and they dont want you dragging their child into your mess. If the
parents do like you, they may still call the authoritiesto make sure you get home safe,
are taken care ofthough they will probably listen to what you have to say first and may
be persuaded to hold off making that phone call.
Part Two: The World Between
The in-between is a fabled place. Most kids think Closetland butts up right next to the
real world, clean and close, but the seam isnt perfect and gaps exist. These gaps form the
in-between, a place that exists in both while neither at the same time.
Kids in the in-between can glimpse both worlds, the real and the one for monsters, and
interact in limited ways though the longer they spend in neither world, the harder it is to
do soand the harder it is to escape.
Getting Into the In-Between
There are three ways a child can enter the in-between: intentionally, by accident, and by
being forgotten.
Forgotten children make up most of the population. Though, really, population is
perhaps too leading of a term. Kids live in the forgotten but its not like they have houses
and friends and do stuff on the weekends. You know that feeling of waking up in the
middle of a dream, and your heads foggy and reality shifts in and out of focus for a bit
before your brain kicks into gear. That feeling between sleeping and starting to wake is
what its like in the in-between. You glimpse the neighboring realities of the real world
and Closetland but do not exist in either.
Intentional cross-overs are often in pursuit of a friend who has gone missing, to save a
forgotten child, or retrieve an artifact. Usually this is a matter of finding a weak spot, of
sensing an area where the real world is a bit thinner than normal, and forcing your will
into it.
To find the weak spot, meet or beat a difficulty of 12 with a Care check. Failing bumps
the difficulty up one level to a maximum of 18. Once the weak spot is found, you need
to push your way through it. To do so, make a cross-over check: meet or beat a difficulty
of 12 with a Spirit check. Once a weak spot is found by one kid, other kids can enter
through the same spot just by succeeding in a cross-over check. If more than three kids
are attempting at the same time, drop the difficulty from 12 to 9. The collective will gives
them an advantage.
Kids learn about this trick through folklore, the stories they tell each other from
friends of friends of friendsand, remember, Belief has power. When enough kids think
something is done one way, that thing can then be done that way. The difficulty numbers
are game-knowledge, of course; what the kids know is: You need to concentrate in order
to find it. Once you feel like youre in the right spot, you imagine yourself entering a
magical place. Thats how it usually plays out in the fiction, anyway.
There are a couple well-documented (or at least well-rumored) weak spots that are
often also the site of a number of bizarre happenings. As a weak spot is used again and
again, it becomes so thin that kids can walk into the in-between without trying. These
weak spots also allow some of the spirits stuck in the in-between to menace the real
world, which can be the case behind such instances as poltergeists and cold spots.
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Kids who cross over by accident, tend to do so by being too close to someone who is
crossing over intentionally, someone who is forgotten, or they happen to stumble through
a weak spot that has been used too much and has grown frayed.
Some children can enter the in-between whenever and wherever they wish, such as
Mabel Mae Belle, who you will meet soon.
The Halfway House
The Halfway House, so called because it exists halfway between the real world and
Closetland, has sat abandoned since who knows when. Its not a bad looking place.
Whoever lived there last took good care of it but with no one to oil its wooden pillars and
door frames or dust its many cabinets and built-in cupboards or tend to its lawn, it cant
help but look aged.
How this house became abandoned is unknown by most kids but the truth is
rather mundane. Built in the late 1880s, the house passed through four generations
of the Muldoon family, before Harold Muldoon the last owner, passed away. Harolds
grandparents, Henrietta and Ford Muldoon, expanded the back of the house during their
time while Harolds parents, Harold, Sr. and Margarita Muldoon, put on the second level
back in the 1950s. Harolds parents passed away in 1969 and 73, respectively. Harold
took over the house soon after his papa died and, a reclusive gent who never married or
fathered children, had no one to inherit the house when he succumbed to lung cancer in
the summer of 1993.
Of course, thats the story the paper trail tells. The one passed around the campfire is a
bit more supernatural in its telling of events.
The Muldoon part sticksthats the faded name on the mailbox anywaybut kids
swear up and down that the house was built as a prison for some angry spirits who burst
through the ground back during the Civil War and killed hundreds of people. The WayBack-When Muldoons, it is said, used strange magic and maybe even a pact with the
devil to lock the ghosts in the house and contain them there forever.
The ghosts haunted the Muldoon family every day after that, turning every one of them
mad eventually, until Harold Muldoon (sometimes called Jeb, Epidiah, Raymond, Joshua,
and a million other names) summoned a ghost powerful enough to take them all on.
The big bad ghost took over Harolds body and blasted the angry spirits to smithereens.
But the ghosts power was too much for Harold and, when the battle was over, the man
exploded in a huge fireball of ghostly energy. It was like a mushroom cloud, so strong that
it ripped a whole in our world. And thats how it happened, according to the stories.
Whichever beginnings you believe, the current-day truth remains the same: When you
are within its walls, you are in the in-between.
But more than that, there is a visible line that separates the front of the house (the real
world) from the back (Closetland). There is a distinct difference between the two halves.
The interior looks normal enough but appearances deceive in this case. When you look
out the windows in the front of the house, you see the real world. The people in the real
world, though, dont see you. All they see is an empty houseunless you will otherwise
(using the same rules discussed above). When you look out the windows in the back,
you see Closetland. The real world is always the same real world (and its up to the game
moderator and/or the players to determine the specifics of this). The area of Closetland
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Thing About Houses
Houses tend to crop up in monster lore, from haunted houses to Mothers house to
Baba Yagas chicken-legged shack to the Halfway House. What is it about structures
intended for the living that attract so much strangeness?
Its hard to say. It may be that theyre enclosed structures and spirits, bad energy, or
whatever force is at work finds it hard to escape. Could also be that houses, especially
flat-fronted bi-levels, cut imposing images, especially when seated at the end of a
dimly-lit cul-de-sac. Who can say how much fear and Belief has been pumped into
houses over the ages.
No matter, houses are classic horror images and I hope you enjoy the one described
above.
you see tends to change. Opening and closing the front door triggers this change. That
action serves as a reset switch. Anyone staring out the back window when someone else
sets off the change will see a flash to black and suddenly a new view of the world of
monsters.
Heres the thing though: Kids who step through the back door into Closetland can be
left behind by this. If someone opens and closes the front door while a child is outside the
back of the dwelling, the Halfway House will vanish, magically transported to some other
location in Closetland. So be careful, kids.
For whatever reason, the magic is contained to the house. When youre outside, youre
either in the real world (if you didnt cross over) or Closetland (if you did). Only the
house is in the in-between.
The Crack in the Grass
No, you read that right. The crack in the grass is found within a massive field that is
as long and green as far as the eye can see. Somewhere in it though, between one perfect
line of blades and another, is a crack in the earth. It runs about three feet long and only an
inch or so across at its widest point but its physical dimensions arent what matter. Whats
important are its psychical dimensions.
Youll know youre close when you enter a grassy field in the real world and suddenly
everything around you disappears. Any green plain works, provided its about an acre or so
of land. This can be a lawn, an unturned stretch of farmland, a sports field (or collection of
sports fields such as a community park might offer). When the hustle and bustle up and
leaves though, youll know youre close to the crack.
This magic fissure does not transport you physically into the in-between which makes
it unique amongst the other ways kids cross over. To cross, you have to will your way
through it, same as most ways. Meet or beat a Spirit check against 15 if youre anywhere
in the field or 9 if youre standing on the line. You can only find the line by searching for
it, which is time-consuming but not impossible. If successful, your body drops like a stone
and your consciousness enters the in-between.
When you do, you drop out of the illusion of the neverending field back into the inbetween version of wherever you started (the lawn, farmland, whatever). You are free to
move around from there.
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Whats the benefit of crossing over here instead of another place? Since your spiritual
energy is not contained within a mortal shell, youre more powerful. This means you can
drop attempts to do stuff, such as speak or interact with folks in either neighboring world,
you lower the difficulty by one level. The downside is that your body is vulnerable to any
people, monsters, or animals that wander by. Its a smart idea to have someone with you to
protect your body.
Where Monsters Come Through
When monsters step into our world from Closetland, they open a temporary tear in
both realities. When a monster continually goes in and out of the same spot, that area can
become weak the same as anywhere else. Also, though, if a kid tries to follow a monster
from the real world to Closetland (or vice versa) but the rip mends itself at just the right
moment, the kid can become stuck in between the worlds. And by in between I mean
the in-between. Be wary following monsters.
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Living in the In-Between
As stated, the in-between feels more like a state of mind than a physical location,
which may as well be true. Kids stuck in the in-between can see into both worlds, like
looking through the curtains at the outside world. In the in-between, you can speak to
those on the other sides, either the real world or Closetland, but your voice is weak, a
faint echo, unless you put your will behind it by meeting or beating a difficulty of 9 with
a Spirit check. If you really try, you can make your voice as clear as if you were standing
next to the person youre speaking to (a difficulty of 12). If you get a Passing Grade, you
can manifest physically as well, usually just your face and upper torso. With two Passing
Grades, you can interact with physical objects, much like a poltergeist. You can move
pennies across a table or knock a lamp over. (You can also do it with one Passing Grade if
you choose not to appear physically.)
If you entered spiritually, such as through the crack in the grass, lower each of those
difficulties by one level (which is three points).
In the in-between, youre free to move around. Youre not stuck in a single spot. When
you walk, you see the real world out of one eye and Closetland out of another. The image
is hazy, fuzzy, but will become crisper if you turn both eyes toward it (or walk around with
one eye closed). In that way, moving through the in-between is like being in a video game
with a really poor camera system, or walking with clumsy, robotic legs. Its disorienting
but you can get used to it.
Otherwise, the topologies are the same. The real world is the real, Closetland is the
world of monsters. And, you, you are like a ghost, living inside both worlds at once.
Aging in the In-Between
Strange thing about the in-between: some kids age and others dont. Why do some kids
age and others dont? Dont know. The in-between has laws but only sometimes feels like
obeying them.
You dont get hungry in the in-between. You dont have to use the bathroom either. Your
teeth dont rot and fall out because youre not brushing them. These are three of the many
strange side effects of being stuck between worlds.
Other In-Between Kids
Folks in the in-between will sometimes run into other stuck kids. They can interact just
as they would if both were in the real world or both were in Closetland. They are, after all,
in the same world.
When a kid in the in-between meets someone who crossed over spiritually, not
physically, the other kid looks like a ghost. The kid has the outline of a body but he isnt
solid. The two kids can talk to each other just fine though.
In-Between Adults
Kids arent the only ones who slip into the in-between; some adults do as well.
Plus, some kids continue to age in the in-between, meaning they crossed over young
but may now be grown-ups. Those who stay a long time have a harder time getting
out, and some are driven a bit mad by the experience, but there seem to be no longterm effects outside those.
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Getting Out of the In-Between
You can get in, you can look around, you can do whatever you like. Getting out is the
issue. Escaping is problematic because the gaps are not static. The space between the real
world and Closetland undulates, creating little ripples that form the gaps. This means you
have to find one of those gaps again and try to break through. You can get out, but you
have to anchor yourself to someone (or something) that exists fully in one of those worlds
while standing in the gap. This means you have to physically take hold of the person or
thing in the other world and latch onto it, using their physical force and your will to break
free.
Heres how it works, with game terms included:
First, you have to find the gaps and make that initial breakthrough. Punching a hole
into the webbing around the in-between falls on you. You find gaps not through physical
touch but by gut feeling. If you close your eyes, clear your thoughts, and focus real hard,
you can sense the areas that are weakest. (Care check versus 12. Bump up a difficulty
level if there are a lot of distractions.) You can also sense slight separations which make
it possible to find small openings and follow them to where they are widest. (Two care
checks versus 9. Both must be successful or the first one must get a Passing Grade.) Once
there, you have to get yourself physically ready to leave. While a physical move, its really
a matter of will. Meet or beat a difficulty of 12 to punch through. Then grab onto a person
or thing in whichever world you wish to enter (usually the real world but it could well be
Closetland, depending on your goal here) and will yourself into that other world.
In game terms, this requires a Spirit check against a base difficulty of 12 if the kid has
been there less than a day (24 hours, not a calendar day). If between a day and a week,
bump it to 15. If the kids been in the in-between for over a week, it will take meeting or
beating a difficulty of 18 in order to escape. This would be a good time to have a bunch of
friends putting their Belief in the kid who is trying to escape. Each places his hands on
the kids wrists, all pulling in unison, hoping in themselves and the kid.
If the kids succeed in their rescue, it looks a lot like pulling something through a wall of
gelatin. Except the gelatin isnt some tasty, jiggly treat but the weakened fabric of reality.
The longer you have been in there, the thicker and stickier the threads will be, wrapping
themselves around your wrists and legs as the in-between tries to pull you back in.
As said before, a kid stuck in the in-between can grab onto a thing such as a passing
bicycle or a table leg but that thing cant help you. Even a moving object, such as that
bike, cant help you. This isnt a matter of physical law but of willpower. You can take hold
of a monster, who may try to drag you out for its own purposes but, again, it cant help
you. (In fact, a monster may resist by trying to push you back into the gap.) It all falls on
your kid to break free from the in-between, with maybe some Belief to aid him.
Is The In-Between a Good Place?
The in-between doesnt have a side in the world of people versus the world of
monsters. Its more of a side effect of those two not getting along. It just is, and it
accepts that.
Some see the In-Between as a place bad people go, some see it is a safe haven
they can slip into when the need arises. While not expressly a good place, its not
necessarily a bad one either.
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How Kids Get Stuck
So, if its as easy as grabbing onto a thing and putting all your willpower into wanting
out, how is it possible that kids get stuck? First, most kids who slip into the in-between
spend a good amount of time bewildered by what has happened. A lot of them dont
even realize anything weird has occurred for a good couple hours. If the kid slipped while
sleeping, he may already have been stuck for eight hours before he even starts to realize
anything has happened. Second, once realized, its not like theres a manual telling them
what I just told you above. How are they supposed to know they only just really need to
want out? Or that they have to anchor themselves?
Usually, kids who get stuck need to hear from someone else how to get out. Some may
intuit the action, or they may just hope against hope that wanting out is enough, but most
have to hear from someone else. And those who dont wander confused, desperate to
connect with people on the other sides.
Part Three: Hiding Places
Very few places inside Closetland are safe. Every kid knows this. But what fewer kids
know is that there are havens, places empowered by what good exists in the world or by
something a child is willing to give up, that can protect a child in need. Most of these
have fixed locations, or what passes as fixed in the world of monsters, while some appear
in times of need.
The Big Domino
Found within one of Closetlands more suburban-looking areas, the Big Domino sits
across two uneven stones, not unlike a piece from Stonehenge, though quite a bit shorter.
The flat slab is about a foot thick, seven feet long, and four feet wide. While the slab was
obviously cut or otherwise formed by a stoneworker, the rocks it sits across are natural
formations, still mostly round with only their peaks flattened. One is about three feet
tall with the other easily cresting four. This gives the Big Domino a severe slant but the
structure shows no sign of slipping anytime soon. If anyone tries to move it, he will find
the slab is rooted in its spot.
Obviously not actually a playing piece from the classic game, this giant brick gets its
name from the deep pocks along its surface. Four round divots mark the stones flat,
upward-pointing face, two on each side. When these craters fill with water, whether
rain, tears, or poured from a bottle, the stone generates an invisible field around itself.
Anyone standing next to or under the slab cannot be found by anyone, monsters or man.
The formation becomes invisible as well, but neither the stone nor the people around it
become insubstantial, meaning monsters or people can still bump into it. If its snowing,
piles may collect on it, giving away its form. As mentioned above, precipitation can trigger
the Big Dominos power even if no one is around to take advantage of it.
The Ash Pile
The Ash Pile or, simply, The Ashes is legendary. And like most legends, its hard to
find. Seeking it out doesnt seem to help; kids will find it when they need to.. The Ash Pile
is literally a pile of burned remains. Most of it came directly from wood, some indirectly
(paper), and some of it is old clothing, blankets, and whatnot.
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The mound is impressive. It stands seven feet, easily, and as much in diameter. Some of
the ash is still smouldering, with areas flaring into flames sporadically, and while its not
too hot to touch, its definitely warm.
The Ash Pile is tightly packed. You have to dig your hands into it really hard in order
to scoop some outeven the strongest wind lifts only scant sediment from its bulkbut
its density is the least of its magical abilities. When a child is covered in its ash, they are
invisible to monsters, as is anything they put the ash on.
You need to use a bit of asha smudge wont cut it. But a faint dusting makes you
completely invisible. Marking your face with symbols or patterns confuses monsters.
The monster may ignore you, thinking it doesnt want to mess with anything it doesnt
understand, or the monster may become enraged, angered that something dares challenge
its intelligence.
Kids on the run from monsters, particularly a former-stolen escapee, may dive into the
ash pile. Its an understandable impulse. Take this important note, though, that using too
much, or using the ashes too often, may cause you to become invisible to your friends,
possibly turning you into one of the forgotten.
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Part Four: Places to Avoid
Lots of places exist where children would do well to cross the street before passing but
the places talked about here are particularly nasty and have direct ties to missing children.
The missing would do well to stay away from these places. Legends persist, which means
at least someone has survived the wickedness of these places but that doesnt mean a lot of
them have.
The Nowhere
Any intersection in the real world will do. Anywhere two roads cross can become
the Nowhere. Youll know it when the sound dampens, like water filling your ears, and
everything in front of you goes swimmy. The people around you, even those you know,
will morph into terrible beasts. Giants with slavering jaws, feral creatures with glowing
eyes and acid spit, mean-faced girls and misshapen boys who want to harm you with
sticks, stones, and words. And you start to feel weak, sick as the world comes crushing
down around you. You know only one thing: Fear. You want only one thing: Escape.
The fewer connections you have to the real worldthe fewer family members, the
fewer close friendsthe more severe this sensation is. For the abandoned and the
runaways especially, the sensation brings sharp physical pain, body aches and shivers, and
causes even the most stoic kid to curl up into the fetal position and sob. As this first wave
passes, the feeling of paranoia and accusations toward the others comes. You still feel the
pain but it becomes secondary to survival. You have to get away from the monstersor
get them before they get you. You run, and if they grab you, you fight, bite, kick, punch,
anything to get away.
Whats happening isnt real but you dont know that at the time. You cant think
straight, cant parse out that anything weird is happening. All you know is the immediate.
Somehow monsters descended upon you.
This usually only affects one person at a time. Those who witness someone succumbing
to the Nowhere often feel helpless, unsure, as their friend collapses suddenly, starts crying
and accusing others of being monsters. You reach out to them and they resist, get violent,
and the look in their eyes goes dark as hatred fills their every glance, every word.
The Nowhere will latch onto its victims like a parasite. Wherever the victim moves, the
Nowhere follows. The only way to save the person is through Belief. Three people must
Believe in the victim (give a Belief token to the character) in order to establish the realworld ties required to repel the Nowhere. This clues the victim into the fact something
strange is happening (though not exactly what). The victim feels as though his body has
been hijacked and he is viewing himself from the third-person.
If three people each chipped in one Belief, the victim gets two chances to break the
connection. Meeting or beating a 12 with a Think or Fight check (victims choice) snaps
the ties and the person slowly comes around. For every extra Belief token, whether from
an additional person putting in a token, somebody putting in two or more tokens, or a
mix of those, the victim rolls an extra die.
Missing kids need to meet or beat a 15 as their connection to the real world is already
strained.
Telling that someone has stepped into the Nowhere is hard. The person shows
symptoms, sure, but he cant communicate what has happened to him. Stories of the
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Nowhere creep up here and theremost attribute it to bad fairy magicbut the only way
to be one hundred percent certain its the Nowhere and not something else is to step into
the in-between.
By stepping into the in-between you can see the thin, web-like thread that connects
the victim to the physical location they came into contact with the Nowhere. Each end of
the thread, both at the place the person stepped into it and on the person himself, looks
like a nerve cluster, a bundle of knotty threads and jumbled webbing. You usually see this
attached to the persons back, between the shoulder blades.
Hopscotch Hallway
While mostly appearing in the abandoned schools of Closetland, this deceptive

challenge can show up inside any enclosed building. While listed as a location in this
chapter, you might consider this more of an event, a happening without apparent
provocation or root, not entirely dissimilar from the Nowhere described above. But
instead of focusing on a single person, the Hopscotch Hallway affects all those who see it
and delivers a silent threat to them all: Play the game or pay the price.
First, a point of light appears. It scrawls along the ground, forming a series of squares
some singular, some paired up, until an uneven series is formed. Then the numbers appear,
all at once, all written by shaky, unsure hands like a team of children working in unison.
Some of the numbers are upside-down, backwards, or are a mix of variations such as the
lightning bolt 4 and slashed zero. From start to finish, the entire area takes form in under
ten seconds, flaring to life with a flash once completed.
Laughter follows, as does the shadowy visage of a wild-haired girl. This girl, who varies
from 8 to 10 years of age, is its caretaker and possibly the power behind it. If she has a
name, it isnt known, and she doesnt speak. She just laughs, taunting and dangerous.
She has a tendency to single out a child, by pointing her long finger, staring intently,
or tossing a small pebble at the kid (she seems to have an endless stash of these stones).
Everyone knows immediately what she wants; the girl wants to play. But why?
If the kids accept, reluctantly or not, the shadow-girl will initiate the game. She starts
by tossing a small stone along the hopscotch path. She will then hop the length of the
court, skipping the square upon which the stone landed. The other kids must follow (she
will produce a small pile of stones for them to use if they dont have anything). Normal
hopscotch rules apply: Jump on every square (except the one with the stone), dont touch
any lines, dont lose your balance.
You can play this as a series of Move Tests, wherein the girl would roll six dice against
her opponents. Every time the girl wins though, she adds a die to her next roll (never
going above ten). She grows stronger whenever she wins. She will want to play every
child, best two out of three.
If the kids play the game, win or lose, the shadow-girl is satisfied and will leave them
alone for now.
If the kids refuse her challenge, she and her court will seem to disappear. But make
no mistake: Those who dont play have made an enemy. She will return, each time more
aggressive than before. She will throw multiple stones, stomp her feet, get into a kids
face and sneer, anything to get them to play. If they keep refusing, she will make them
play. She will draw a square around herself and the kids and no one will be able to escape
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(unless someones willing to put some Belief behind it).
Rumors persist that the girl is one of the forgotten. She somehow slipped into
Closetland, perhaps while playing this game, and that she is a hollow shell of a girl who
can still be redeemed, if anyone has the mind to. Some say the hopscotch board is a
monsteror the product of many monstersand she is a stolen child, forced to play this
game until the proper replacement can be found. As with so many things, the truth is
unknown but perhaps the player characters can find out the truth someday.
The Old Wintergarden
You know that image on Christmas postcards of a snow-covered field, filled with an
array of trees alight with the colors of the season, sprawling around a large frozen pond?
That is the Old Wintergarden. Except the ice is thin and the colors of this season are
muted and old.
The etching above the main gate gives the place its name, and the appellation couldnt
be more fitting. From a distance, it looks so inviting and wondrous that few children,
especially those aching for respite, can resist at least a quick look around its inviting
evergreens and mirror-like body of water.
Fences circle the main garden, seven feet high with sharp finials atop the vertical spikes
that dot every six inches. A chill greets you as you enter and the gates close suddenly, as
soon as no one is looking. It becomes very hard to escape the place, not that you will want
to once you come to enjoy its splendor.
Snow is always falling inside the Old Wintergarden. Snow so soft, so fresh, so crisp on
the tongue that no one suspects how malicious it actually is. As the flakes fall, collecting
on hair and clothes, the folks it lands on start to forget. Where were we going? What is this
place? Who are you?
Who am I?
When enough snow has collected, the child vanishes with a flicker. In this way,
children become forgotten. The snow erases who they were and almost imperceptibly the
kid fades into the in-between, and no one suspects anything until it is already too late. It
feels like sleeping, like slowly falling into a warm and perfect slumber.
Once inside the in-between, as the snow melts away and the haze lifts, children become
all too aware of what happened. Those with compromised Spirits go first, followed by
those with the lowest Care. It is possible for those within the in-between to warn their
friends who have yet to slip (using the rules for communicating across the veil detailed
earlier).
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Chapter eight:
the people
you know
chapter eight
Weve looked at the types of the missing, talked about some of the places pertinent to
them, so now lets meet some people who can be important to the missing. Most people
arent out to get missing kids, though it can sometimes feel that way, but not a lot of
people bother to help them either. Folks are skeptical, dont want to fall for some scam,
and arent willing to take the leaps of faith necessary to make a difference sometimes. You
cant really fault them but that doesnt make it any less frustrating. Still, there are good
people in the real world, and other places too, and it pays to know them. Of course, it pays
to know who the bad ones are as well.
Part One: People You Can Trust
While knowing the right places is good, knowing the right people is even better. The
following folks are clued into the struggles of missing kids and some even have an inkling
as to Closetland and the existence of monsters. While not all can actively back up a
missing child in a fight, they can provide food, shelter, advice, and a shoulder when the
weight of a kids fate becomes too much to hold inside.
The people can be in or from any city or town you like, wherever you need them to be.
Karen Finney
Karen Finney spent three decades as an elementary school teacher, primarily Grade 2
but shes done her time at almost every level. She retired a few years ago and spent some
time idling but the sit-down life was not for her and, about six months ago, she decided
to volunteer at a hotline for kids in trouble.
The job isnt easy. Some kids are in a world of trouble and there isnt much anyone can
do for them except listen. If it sounds like the cops need to get involved, the volunteers
have a direct line to local agencies. Karens enjoyed her time there. She likes doing the
good work and has a natural, easy rapport with children that gets them to unburden
themselves. She has turned more than one kid back from the brink.
When a call comes in, she can tell almost immediately if the kid is down in the dumps
or if the kid is in real danger. The cops do a decent job of following up with leads from
the call center, but history shows only a fifth of the flagged calls are legit. When the cops
give low priority to something she feels is urgent, Karen wont hesitate to do her own
legwork. If she can, shell try to find the child and shell help however she can. Her funds
are limited but her heart is not.
Meeting Karen Finney
Missing kids may encounter Karen after calling the hotline and getting in touch with
her. The womans instincts could lead her to an area where missing kids congregate, or one
missing kid could give her a lead on where another is, one who is in even more danger.
Edgar and Alexis Krohl
Hand-me-downs are strange things. Sometimes theyre made on purpose, others by

fluke, sometimes they go missing just as you need them, and sometimes they appear in
the nick of time, giving kids that exact boost they need in order to best a monster, escape
a tricky trap, or shine a light in the darkness. Its almost like they have a mind of their
own. So many hand-me-downs have been made and lost and moved throughout the
years, its impossible to know how many there have been or where you might find any one
particular hand-me-down at any given time.
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That wont stop Edgar and Alexis Krohl from trying though. The couple are social
workers by trade. Edgar worked in patient advocacy at a local large hospital while Alexis
still works in the metropolitan school system. They catalog and collect hand-me-downs,
as best they can anyway, acting as a directory and museum of the enchanted objects.
The two stumbled upon the existence of hand-me-downs about a decade back, when
Al overhead a couple of her kids talking about a porcelain doll they swore up and down
would say your deepest darkest secret into your ear. Per her request, the kids presented
Alexis with the doll a few days later. From all evidence, it was an ordinary Wendy
Whispers doll, a bit rough (it was fifty years old at that point) but otherwise nothing
extraordinary. That was until Gretchen, their niece, stayed over one weekend. Gretchen
fell in love with the doll and wanted it to be her special night-night toy. Alexis told the
young girl to be extra-special careful with it since she needed to return the doll.
The first night, after tucking her niece into bed, Alexis heard the girl chatting in her
room. The woman thought nothing of it until she heard a second voice answer back.
Still, she figured, that was probably just Gretchen affecting a tone, as children often do.
Throughout the next day, Alexis kept hearing that same soft voice from Gretchens room.
Every time she got close, the voice stopped, as if it knew she was a grown-up and the doll
shouldnt act that way around her. But later that evening, as Gretchen was getting ready
for bed, Alexis heard the doll whisper a name from the womans past, Michael Sayers.
Alexis hadnt heard that name in twenty years and she wouldnt have cared if thirty more
went without her hearing it again.
She told her husband Edgar, who was skeptical at first, but as she came across more and
more of these strange artifacts, and was able to piece together the mythology shared by
the children and her own faint memories, the world of hand-me-downs pulled them in.
Edgar works full time now, searching and researching hand-me-downs, while Alexis
uses her position within the school system as an ear to the ground, always on the lookout
for leads to potential additions to their collection.
Meeting Edgar and Alexis Krohl
Missing kids may meet Edgar and Alexis as the pair is hunting down a new object.
Hand-me-downs have a particular affinity for missing kids and tend to appear in some
fashion to aid a child who has been stolen or who ran away. Alexiss job puts her in
contact with a large percentage of the areas homeless family population, and missing kids
may run into her that way.
Walter Highways
Admittedly, Walter doesnt give the best first impression. Hes grumpy, has kinda
crazy-looking eyes, and smells a bit musty. He isnt the type of guy your parents would
normally let you pal around with. Appearances aside, Walter Highways is one of the
best connections a missing kid can make because Walter knows how to get anywhere
anywhereeven places that dont want anyone visiting them. Even places that dont
necessarily exist.
Walter has been homeless for the past thirty years. In that time, he has survived by
panhandling and doing the occasional odd job though hes not as healthy or strong as he
used to be. Times are leaner now than theyve been in a long time, and Walter struggles
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especially. Still, he has a very quick, very dry sense of humor that sustains him through
hardship. That, and the good he does helping kids in need.
Walters talent, finding places, has served him well. He shares the talent with those
who can prove their need of it. He has a knack for sensing when folks are lost, and he
often bewilders passersby by giving them directions to places theyre headed and cant find
before they even ask anyone for assistance. This earns him the occasional hand-out but
more than a few folks have been scared by it.
Kids who are missing, or just plain lost, can reach out to him for help. All you need to
do is tell Walter where youd like to go and hell tell you the most direct route to get there.
The key being the most direct route. That may lead you somewhere youd rather not go
but if youre desperate enough you will get there. Walter wont send you through rivers
or buildingshis powers not that cruelbut it wont shy away from haunted woods or
shadowy car parks. Walters good for more than just directions, though. He tells great
stories, from kneeslappers to spine-tinglers, and he plays a variety of musical instruments
(and occasionally has access to them). Mostly, he toots this little trumpet he can regularly
be seen fiddling with.
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Not only is Walter a member of the Army of St. Nicholas, his bag of belongings and
bushy white beard make him look strikingly similar to the groups namesake. He doesnt
associate much with the group, and doesnt take part of their online world, but he has his
ear to the groups rumblings and helps out where he can.
Walter doesnt talk about his life before, has no interest in reminiscing or wondering
why, but that doesnt stop folks from speculating. Story goes, when Walter was a young
man, he saved a boy from some dog-toothed monsters set upon making the child their
next meal. He fought them off, saved the boy, but the monsters swore vengeance upon
him. The odd thing here is that Walter saw the monsters, an ability he never outgrew for
whatever reason. To this day, he glimpses the beasts that shamble out of Closetland and
he hates every single one of them. The images arent fully detailed, some are just outlines
with rough, smoky edges, but somelike the ones who grabbed that boycome across
clear enough. Walter doesnt talk about the monsters among other grown-ups as he knows
what the oh-so-smart so-and-sos think about old homeless men and he figures theyll
call the paddywagon to cart him off to the looney bin. And he cant afford that, not when
there are still children in danger.
While not happy with his current situation, hes resigned to it and doesnt see the point
in stargazing. He doesnt want to see other kids end up as he did though and will go out
of his way to help kids in trouble as best as he can.
Meeting Walter Highways
Walter aids runaways primarily. He has a soft spot for those who cant hack their old
lives anymore, but he would never turn away any child in need. Walter wanders, its in his
blood, but he sticks to urban areas. The rural sector is not the place for his kind, he says,
and hes not much a fan of fresh air.
Part Two: People in the Between
Others exist in the in-between. A whole world exists, in fact. The in-between lives in
the middle of two worlds but is a world unto itself. For those who are within, you may be
fortunate enough to cross paths with the following folks.
Helper
This sweet-looking pixie can really help in a bind, picking locks and scurrying under
doors and into cracks, and she can carry an impressive amount for a creature her size, but
dont turn your back on this scamp. She may be called Helper but a name is just a name,
especially in this case.
No bigger than a standard dress-up doll, and weighing about half as much, its easy to
pass by Helper without giving her much notice. The fact she can blend into surroundings
doesnt help that. But Helper goes out her way to get attention, either calling out in a
booming voice or by thudding against a childs back. She projects a very sweet and timid
disposition, talking in a cutesy voice and often very soft and slowly to younger kids.
She will help however she can. Her slight frame makes it easy for her to sneak into
places. She can carry remarkably heavy objects, up to the size and weight of a bowling ball
even.
Helper looks like a typical fairy She has a slender build and shes tall, almost too tall,
giving her a bit of a stretched appearance. The loudness of her voice always surprises
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people though she usually keeps it in check and uses room and situation-appropriate
volume and tone. And Helper knows all the languages; a fact she prides herself on. Not
knowing modesty, she doesnt wear any clothingwhich usually brings out a bit of
snickering from older kids. The fairy doesnt mind though; she doesnt know shame or
embarrassment either.
But she does know tit-for-tat and one-hand-washes-the-other. If she helps you, which
she will sometimes do without even being asked, she demands payment. Sweets work
well, as do shiny objects. Those who fail to pay will find their shoe laces stolen or their
pockets picked. Or perhaps even their shoe laces around their throat as they are jarred
out of sleep by lack of oxygen and the warm sensation of blood filling their cheeks and
eyeballs. Helper knows how to put her size and strength to all kinds of uses.
Now, why are you reading about Helper in a book about missing kids? Couple reasons.
First, this fairy is aces at helping stolen kids escape from monster cages. Not only is she
good at it, shes good at finding kids who have been stolen. She can smell new fish, to use
a phrase. Also, Helper hateshates like only fairies can hateparents who are mean to
kids. If theres a bad parent at the core of why a kid went missing, Helper will cross into
the real world and exact some sort of revenge. She cant harm adults directly, but shell set
traps or cause mischief wherever she can. Lacking a firm grasp in the whole punishment
fits the crime thing, her actions can be quite severe.
Meeting Helper
You can run into Helper just about anywhere. If she doesnt make her presence
known by her voice, she may play a small and usually harmless practical joke to get your
attention. Most kids run into her in wooded areas but shes often known to hang out in
and near the school. She doesnt much like Principal Higgins. She doesnt like anyone
with a voice more boomier than hers.
Mabel Mae Belle
Kids have been passing stories of Mabel Mae Belle around campfires for decades, if not
centuries. She isnt always called by her birth name, and the other specifics almost never
stay the same, but the gist carries through every telling: Mabel Mae Belle, the In-Between
Girl. One of the more popular tellings, and my personal favorite, goes like this:
Mabel Mae Belle was only six-years old the day she climbed into the attic of her familys new
house. Her father had left the pull-down dangling into the hallway and Mabel, agile adventurer
that she was, couldnt resist the chance to explore a new area.
Her family had bought the house at auction after the previous owner, Maddy Rolf, passed
away at the age of 103. The passing of the oldest woman in Cornette County was big news and
everyone wanted a peek at the legacy stashed inside her house, but her will was very specific
about what was to be taken out and left behind when it came to her belongings.
Not everything was cleared out. Some furniture was left behind, a small church organ, and
everything in the attic was not to be touchedno exceptions.
The house was put up for auction and the bidding was fierce. Mabels father was persistent
though and was the last man standing when the gavel struck down. Her family moved in a few
weeks later.
They had been living in the house for less than a week when Mabel made her fateful ascent.
Her father was outside, helping unload the truck that had just arrived. Her mother was at work
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at her new job and her older sister, who was supposed to keep an eye on Mabel, was upstairs,
fawning over her new room.
Mabel was a quiet child. Observant, yes. Precocious, yes. But not one for attention. Sometimes
shed slip into a room and it would be a half hour before anyone noticed. Sometimes shed slip out,
and even more time than that would pass before folks took note.
Her father was in and out of that room a half-dozen times without noticing his girl was in
there, rummaging around the boxes Maddy left behind. He didnt notice she was knelt down behind a stack of fresh boxes and didnt notice she was playing with some of the dolls she had found.
One doll in particular, with a perfect porcelain face and lively glass eyes, caught Mabels attention. Something shined inside that cherubic creature but something dark burst from it, like a
snake made of smoke, and smacked right into Mabels face like a frying pan in an old cartoon.
That knocked Mabel straight on her butt. She flew back, hit the ground hard, and knocked her
head against the attics hard wooden floor. When Mabel came to, she saw her father standing
over her but he didnt seem to notice her. He was walking around, moving boxes, straightening
stacks, and mumbling about there being too much stuff in such a small space.
Mabel said hello to him but there was no response. Given how quiet she could be, that was
not out of the ordinary. Mabel stood in front of her father and greeted him again but he still
didnt respond. She was quiet, sure, but she wasnt invisible. The girl waved her arms, nothing.
Stomped her feet, nothing.
She went downstairs and found her sister snacking in the kitchen. The adolescent walked right
by without saying a word. Mabel knew something was up. Then she passed a mirror.
And she saw her face.
Smooth porcelain skin. Clear, dark eyes. Like marble.
Mabel screamed. She clawed at her face, trying to get the mask off but it wouldnt budge. She
dug so hard into her flesh, she drew blood but it wouldnt move, not even a little.
The girl rushed back into the attic and found the doll. Sure enough, it had her face. Impulsively, she ripped the head off the doll. As soon as she did, she heard her father ask, Mabel, what
are you doing up here?
He scolded her for messing with the stuff in the attic and sent her back downstairs. Mabel
looked at the doll head in her hands and it didnt look like her anymore. Gladly, and only a little
freaked out, she went downstairs and vowed to stay away from that attic forever.
Over the next couple days, Mabel noticed strange things out of the corner of her eye. She
glimpsed tears in the air, like peeling wallpaper, and she could pick at them, exposing some other
world beneath. What Mabel was glimpsing was the in-between and, on the other side, Closetland. She didnt dare tell anybody about this. Instead, she practiced it so she could find these little
rips whenever she wanted. And she found them all over the place.
One day she tightened up her courage and tore a hole big enough to step through. Instead of
the world she saw on the other side though, she found herself in a strange haze. Her eyes slowly
adjusted and she realized she could now see two worlds. Her old world and one full of strange
creatures.
She had never heard of Closetland before, and certainly not of the in-between, but now that
she had experienced it, she visited whenever she wanted. She rarely stepped into the other world,
the one full of monsters, but she liked visiting the in-between.
Ever since Mabel has had the ability to fade in and out of the in-between as she likes. If she
chooses, she can take one other person with herwhether they wish to go or not. Now, Mabel
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doesnt know this but as anyone who has accompanied her can attest, when she travels to the inbetween, her face looks just like that dolls head.
Outside of this ability, shes actually a pretty normal girl. She likes school, getting into messes,
seeing new places, and meeting new people. Only thing is, Mabel cant stand dolls. Any time she
sees one, she tears its head right off.
Now, how much of that is true? Does it matter? As you well know, true and want-tobe-true overlap quite a bit in the world of Little Fears, where Belief is as powerful as fact.
Meeting Mabel Mae Belle
If Mabel is real, and she actually has these powers, you can probably meet her anywhere.
Her name may not even be Mabel Mae Belleand you may have heard this story but
with a girl of another name. You may live near her. Or go to school with her. She may
even be a friend of yours.
Part Three: Light Amidst Dark
When you think of Closetland, you probably think of a world brimming with wild
beasts, crazed monsters, and mask-wearing freaks who are way too into birds. Youd be
right for the most part. But there are other people in Closetland, and other things that
arent people, that kids can rely on in a pinch.
The Dogmother
Rumor has the Dogmother wasnt a dog in the real world, just a regular woman who
was very protective of her children. A persistent variant of this rumor has it she, like many
of the adult and quasi-adults in Closetland, lost someone, probably one of her children,
and she followed her grief into the world of monsters. Shes a dog now, though, a big one.
She looks like one, she acts like one, and she most definitely fights like one.
On all fours, she stands about two-and-a-half feet at the shoulder, and she can jump
high enough to clear tall fences, such as the ones outside the Old Wintergarden. Shes
well-muscled and has been seen carrying four large children on her back while running at
full speed. She has a thick black coat and weepy brown eyes. Her jaws are strong enough
to drag even the largest Closet Monster and her teeth can rip muscle from bone.
The Dogmother is smart, in both dog-ways and people-ways, and has a soft spot for
kids. She can nuzzle and play as well, if not better, than she can protect and fight. The
Dogmother is especially protective of kids without proper parents, which sees her crossing
paths with a fair bit of missing children, though shell throw herself in front of any
danger, man or monster, that threatens a child.
The Dogmother is not a friend of any beast, but she especially hates the Cat.
She has a series of small homes for her pups set up throughout Closetland and is
usually no more than a quick journey from any of them. Kids who are taken to these
homes will find a small stash of foodkeep in mind a dogs definition of foodand
blankets. Theyre not great places to live but if you need a place to stow away for the night,
theyll certainly do.
Meeting the Dogmother
You can run into the Dogmother anywhere in Closetland. She roams around, hunting
monsters and seeking out the lost and wounded children. She is especially friendly with
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the Butterfly Knights. Some say Kendra may be the Dogmothers true master but the boy
denies that. He says he and the Dogmother just understand each other.
Stephanie Nolastname
Stephanie Bephanie, Little and Big, Voice of a Monkey, Face of a Pig. Thats what the
other kids at Childhaven would sing at her. Back when, Childhaven was an orphanage/
school in upstate New York with heavy religious affiliation and a reputation for turning
around troubled kids. At the time, the public opinion of orphans wasnt positive with
the popular portrayal being something more Oliver Twist than Annie. In a lot of ways,
the residents of Childhaven deserved that reputation, though Stephanie was a definite
exception.
Left on the doorstep of a local church in the winter of 1921, the baby was wrapped
in nothing but a homemade afghan bearing a trio of brown ponies in the middle. The
bundle, which the sisters named after the patron saint of horses, was a sickly thing. The
fever sapped her strength and the infection that crept in took part of her hearing before
she was able to beat it back. Despite her initially poor health, Stephanie recovered and
grew into a tall, scrawny thing with a pleasant disposition and all-too-forgiving spirit. So
forgiving in fact that she never held the harsh words against those who made her daily life
so grueling. Even when the threats became physical, Stephanie forgave them. Doing so
was in her nature, though the day 13-year old Meredith pushed Stephanie down a flight
of steps, breaking the girls right arm in the process, was a test of her limits.
Father Fitzpatrick was the head of Childhaven but it was Sister Mary Augustus with
whom the kids interacted daily. She was old and gruff but not without kindness, and she
took Stephanie under her wing when it seemed everyone else at that place had abandoned
the child. Stephanies almost saint-like disposition attracted the nuns attention first. Her
exceptional reading and writing ability cemented that attention.
As time went on, Sister Mary Augustus watched out for Stephanie, severely punishing
those who made cracks or took whacks at the poor girl. In 1929, a girl who had stolen
Stephanies lunch disappeared. In 1931, another girl was sent to the reflection room
and came back unable to speak. As years went by, the girls of Childhaven stopped being
so harsh to Stephanie. Until Meredith, who was two years older, broke Stephanies arm.
What happened to Meredith is unknown but the stories ranged from tales of her sudden
adoption to rumors of her remains being served to the kids as porridge.
So was Stephanies life, under the stewardship and gentle arm of Sister Mary Augustus.
But when Sister Mary died in the summer of 1933, no one stepped up to take her place
as the girls guardian. This left Stephanie defenseless and with a long list of enemies just
waiting for their chance at revenge. After all, it was the girls fault what happened to those
other kids.
It wasnt until fall of 1934 that Stephanies body was found at the bottom of Lake
Llewellyn, one mile west of Childhaven. It wasnt until spring of 1935 that the stories of
Stephanies return took root. When Childhaven was shut down in 1941, the demolition
was fraught with accidents and strange sightings. A dozen crewmen walked off that job,
three were injured by falling bricks, one dropped into a sinkhole, and two men admitted
themselves into a nearby sanitarium.
In the real world, nothing but a field occupies the space where Childhaven once stood.
No animals cross over or through it. No people visit it. In Closetland, though, Childhaven
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still exists. Trapped in time, looking the same as it did the year Stephanie disappeared, its
door remain open to the missing, the abused, and those without families.
And Stephanie walks its halls. No longer the reserved and patient girl she was in life,
she is vengeful, angry, unforgiving. She will strike against those who harm the missing
and dispossessed without reservation or mercy.
Meeting Stephanie
Though tied to the orphanages grounds, she is capable of calling to children, a voice in
their head, and of compelling bad people into her world. She is able to reach through the
veil between the real world and Closetland and plant small suggestions into the minds of
bad parents and people who dont know how to treat helpless children.
Stephanie teaches those who need to learn their lessons.
Part Four: Real Bad PEOPLE
It might be nice to think all the bad people are secreted away in the world of monsters
but thats just not true. While plenty of bad folks made the headlines for all sorts of
reasons, well avoid those folks and talk about others. The people here arent the ones
youll find mention of in the newspaper. If youre lucky, youll never find mention of them
anywhere. Still, better to know of them than for them to know of you.
The Cat
When one missing kid says the cat, every other missing kid knows exactly what
hes talking about. The Cat looks like an average tabby, the kind you see walking
through suburban neighborhoods all the time. Its fairly big, a bit stocky, kinda ugly, and
something in its eyes is real unsettling. They dont look like normal cat eyes. They look,
and are, human eyes.
There are a lot of stories about where this feline came from. Some say its a mutant, like
a centaur or mermaid except it only has human eyes instead of a whole head. Some say
its the devils cat and, if youre not careful, it will eat your eyes if you get too close to it.
Others say its a child who was turned into a cat by a wicked witch out in the woods but
the hags magic ran out before she finished.
Those might explain the eyes but none of those explain anything else about the cat, like
its misshapen body, mismatched ears, and oversized feet. To understand those, you need
to understand where the cat came from.
See, the cat didnt begin life as a cat. It began life as a drawing.
The girl who drew this cat had drawn many cats during her eight years on earth.
She drew all sorts of catsthey were her favorite subjectbut there was one cat, one
particular tabby, that held her heart. She loved her creation very much. She didnt just
draw this cat once. She drew it numerous times: On notebooks, in her diary, in the
margins of tests, on the back of her hand during recess. And while the girl became very
good at drawing the cat over and over, she never gave the cat proper eyes. Each and every
time she drew its eyes, she put a dot instead of an up-and-down line.
The girl loved her cat and the Cat loved her right back.
Then, one day, the girl didnt come home from school. The girls family became very
worried. Men and women in black suits and blue uniforms asked a lot of questions. The
family didnt know very much and neither did the people in uniforms. This made the
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the people you know
Cat very sad. But then the Cat got a brilliant idea: It would go looking for the girl itself!
So thats exactly what it did. It took a very long time, and a lot of looking, but the Cat
eventually found her. She was being held in a cage by a very mean shrew who wanted to
crunch the little girls bones. The cat begged and pleaded for the little girls life and the
old woman finally relented. But with a condition.
The cat had to bring not one, not two, but twenty-three little children in exchange for
her one. If it did that, the hag promised, she would set the little girl free.
It is that bargain the cat is looking to fulfill. It is targeting missing children, as they are
more susceptible to its charms and are easier to lead astray, and so far it has given seven
hapless victims to the hag. It still needs 16 to fulfill the bargain, but its finding more and
more every week. By the time you read this, it may only need 12 or 8 or maybe just one.
Can the stolen children still be saved? Where is the hag and where has she hidden the
children? Will the Cat let them help it save its girl? Good questions. Good questions.
Meeting the Cat
The Cat is almost always on the prowl so if youre going to interact with the Cat, the
meeting will likely be on its terms. Its goal isnt inherently evil; it just wants to rescue its
girl. Its open to alternate plans but they better be good and you better speak quickly.
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Madam Switchswatch
Crazy. In a word, thats what she is. And not wacky, cartoony crazy but deeply-rooted,
disturbing, subtle, angry crazy. The kind of crazy you dont really understand until youre
older, which is unfortunate because Madam Switchswatch likes kids. Specifically, she likes
to steal children and hide them away in a series of cages somewhere in a major city sewer
system.
Madam Switchswatch is not a monster in the Closetland sense. Yes, shes a very
disturbed human being who does monstrous acts but shes human, of earthly origin. Shes
just among the worst kind of human.
Kids say she gets her name from her clothes, which are a mash of fabrics and threads.
But thats not true. She gets her name from what she mutters around her kidnapped
children. Most of her words are unintelligible, whispered gibberish, but she will
occasionally punctuate her ramblings with loud shouts of Madam Switchswatch! Madam
Switchswatch! MADAM! SWITCH! SWATCH! Who Madam Switchswatch is, if not
her, is unknown.
The reason people know that name is because of Jaime and Yvonne.
Jaime and Yvonne were kidnapped by Madam Switchswatch but managed to escape.
At the time, four decades ago, everybody knew the case of the two missing girls, grabbed
from outside a major outlet at a local mall. These friends, 10 and 11 respectively, were
missing a total of 21 days before they were found walking down a major highway, in
the same clothes they were wearing the day they went missing. Both girls were filthy,
emaciated, and delirious. They rambled on and on about Madam Switchswatch, the cages,
the smell, something called the soup. But no leads ever came, no suspects ever charged,
and the case sits unsolved in the files.
Jaime and Yvonne are in their early fifties now. Theyve grown up, had families, have
successful careers, and have put their shared traumatic experience behind them. They dont
talk anymore, havent for almost thirty years, and live a thousand miles apart.
The story of Madam Switchswatch spread like wildfire, and occasionally, when groups
of kids go missing, the tales begin anew. But little is known of Madam Switchswatch
outside the well-documented testimony given by Jaime and Yvonne and the greatlyconflicted hearsay from supposed almost-victims and escapees.
Meeting Madam Switchswatch
Are you sure you really want to? If the answers yes, may the powers that be protect you.
Madam Switchswatch lives in the sewers under the city. Find the echoing of painful cries
and go from there.
Part Five: Missing monsters
Plenty of monsters skulk in the real world and stomp around Closetland. And most
arent that picky; theyll take whatever succulent scamps happen to cross their paths.
Other monsters though are a bit more discerning and try to focus on missing children,
those without strong ties to the real world. Here are a few such monsters.
Smelly Belly
This disgusting creature looks like a fleshy bowling ball ambling around on two
elephant legs. Completely blind from its lack of eyes, the beast navigates the halls of
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Closetland by tasting the air with its worm-like tongue. Its thick arms each end in a triad
of stubby claws that are strong enough to break a tree in two with just a half-hearted
swipe. Smelly Bellys feet make a wet sucking sound as it walks, its massive body wobbling
from side to side like a disturbed plate of a gelatin slowly coming to a rest.
Its head is separated from its body by an incredibly wide mouth that opens almost to
the full height of its body and is capable of inhaling with such force it can suck up old
jelly beans from across the room. A wrinkled flap of skin covers a giant belly that sits
just under its enormous maw and takes up almost its entire body. When empty, it looks
a deflated bag covered in veins but when its belly is full, the true terror of this creature
becomes evident.
Its stomach is filled with a goopy green digestive fluid that will slowly eat away
whatever contents Smelly Belly can stuff inside it. Children are preferred, though its
more often small animals, old shoes, thrown-away toothbrushes, and discarded fast food
containers. The exterior lining of its stomach is semi-transparent though, allowing you to
see what it is digesting, no matter the contents state of consumption.
Smelly Belly gets its name from its massive see-through stomach but also its vomitinducing stench. Hyperbole alone hints as the smell this creature gives off, but letting you
know that its aroma acts as an attack might give you a better idea of how offensive this
beasts hygiene is.
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Stranger Danger
A case of life imitating art here. Children have been taught about stranger danger
for decades. Initially, this meant bad men in cars offering candy, friends of the family
who are there to pick you up, and weird people in darkened houses. All of the bogeymen
that become punchlines after the child grows into an adult. But the term has rooted in so
many pre-adolescent minds, been feed by the collective fear of so many impressionable
children, that the warning turned into a living, breathing monster.
Stranger Danger is a living representation of those fears parents have, all those reasons
they refuse to let their children out of their sight, or go around the corner alone, or go
to the neighborhood park without an adult. In this day and age, in the protective parent
culture, Stranger Danger is stronger than its ever been.
Its natural form varies. It is a shadowy man, an outline in the shadows, or an image on
the wall. It hunts this way, lying in wait, until it chooses the form best suited to the task.
It can look as it needs to look and act as it needs to act, in accordance with both real life
crimes and those imagined by fretting mothers and fathers.
The Ghost Car
Kids get into the ghost car and are never seen again. Often associated with real-life
predators and monsters such as Stranger Danger, this ghastly sedan is a creature all its
own. It has no driver and no passenger, though it can create an illusion as to such by
projecting a figure in any of its seats. The image isnt perfect but the flaws are obscured by
the heavy shadow inside the car.
Now, most kids these days, their parents fed horrifying images of children being
snatched up by weirdos in sedans, are smart enough not to jump into the car of someone
they dont know. Part of what makes the ghost car so devious is that it can appear as any
car, including the family sedan. A kid whos overburdened with science project materials
or a too-heavy backpack, or one who is too distracted to notice, may see his fathers trusty
old Buick and hop inside before looking to see if dear old dad is actually behind the
wheel.
The ghost car doesnt need to rely on distraction or deception, though those tools are
available. No, the ghost car can send out an energy, almost like a child magnet, that plants
the notion inside a kids head that he should check out the car. The kid cant explain it,
and can be shaken out of it by someone intercepting or snapping their finger in the childs
face, but if not stopped, the kid will climb into the car, as if in a daze.
To employ this trick, the ghost car will sometimes appear as rusty old truck or
abandoned car with a back door ajar. The kid gets curious, climbs inside to check out the
old wreck or see if anyone left anything fun inside the car, and then the doors slam shut
and the driverless car takes off.
While not entirely dark, a heavy shadow fills a lot of the car, dimming even the
brightest afternoon sun. The seats smell like old cigarette smoke. The windows are tinted
from the inside even if they dont appear that way from the outside. Folks who glance
in wont see the child, just the vague shape of a driver in the front seat, which the victim
doesnt see from inside.
Thing about the ghost car, beyond all the other stuff weve talked about, is that the
memory of it doesnt seem to stick in folks heads. They may remember a car, vaguely, but
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no details. And it seems a lot of the kids who fall prey to it become forgotten. It could be
the interior of the car is a way into the in-between, I suppose, or maybe theres some other
explanation.
Sewer Thing
Sewer Thing is disgusting but, despite its name, it doesnt live in the sewer. It kinda
smells like it does but thats not its home. It lives in the storm drains you see along
suburban streets (and other streets, too, but Sewer Thing operates out of the suburbs).
Kids commonly refer to these grate-covered openings as sewer drains, thus the creature
got its name.
And it doesnt speak anything beyond burbles and burps so its never corrected anybody.
(Unless its name is Buh-hur-buburp?)
Its body is made up mainly of sickly black muscle, like really old rotten meat, and is
covered in a slick grey-green ooze. This fungal component is what gives the creature its
odious aroma. Roughly the shape of a human, maybe a little shorter than normal, that the
creature fits into storm drains is pretty amazing. And it doesnt hog its ability to squeeze
into tight places; when it grabs kids, their bodies become like gelatin for a brief moment.
This allows Sewer Thing to pull children right through the storm drain, even the thin slats
in the grate!
This monster has the longest arms youve ever seen and they wobble and flex like those
sticky toys youre supposed to throw against the wall (they feel like it too).
It uses the shiny objects it finds, or that stick to its mucus-like coating, as a lure for
children. Coins are the most common but large silver barrettes, eyeglasses, and even
pocket knives work also. Kids easily distracted by shiny objects are Sewer Things stock in
trade.
To startle children, it will unleash one of its foul-sounding laughsa cross between
sucking mud, a loud digestive expulsion, and a cat that got its tail caught under a chair.
The smell of its breath smells almost as bad as the laugh sounds. (Come to think of it,
maybe thats how it got its name.)
The creatures adhesive coating, long arms, ample supply of lures, and strange ability to
temporarily turn its victims into putty make it a formidable creature, and the cause behind
many a missing child.
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THE CAT is a Regular Monster.
The Cat began life as a drawing that was loved very much. When its girl went missing, it
decided to venture out to find her. Seeing the girl was the captive of a hag, the feline made a
deal to provide the witch with twenty-three children in exchange for its girl. It has brought
the old woman seven. It needs sixteen more.
It is scary when it arches its back and bares its fangs. It wants to save its girl by any
means necessary.
Abilities
Fight: OOOO
Chase: OOO
Grab: OOO
Scare: OOOO
Virtues
Terror: 5
Health: 30
Stuff
Nasty Teeth

Bite Through Clothing

(Damage +2)
Big Misshapen Claws

Almost Like Hands (Grab +2)
Human Eyes

Freaky-Looking (Scare +1)
Qualities
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It can chase you forever.
It cannot enter brown houses.
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Think: OO
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OOO
Speak:
Chase:
OOOO
Care:
OOOO
Grab: OO
Virtues
Scare:4
Belief:
Virtues
Wits: 8
Terror:1010
Spirit:
Health: 40
Health
Qualities
fine: OOOO
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a seriously deranged woman.
sore:
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hide its victim well.
hurt:
OOOO
It cannot
get into Closetland.
cold:
OOOO
106
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about bikes or bike riding.

Weigh You Down (Move -2)
Its hard for me to Think when Im
Wooden Club
taking a school test.

Hurts Like Heck (Damage +2)
the people you know

SMELLY BELLY is a Scary Monster.
A massive creature that is constantly on the prowl for food. Its see-through stomach lets you
peep what its digesting whether its an old shoe or a goop-covered child and the beast doesnt
even charge you for the show. Like a snake, it swallows its food whole so you can still save
your friend if you make it in time. But run quick because it can suck stuff up from twenty feet
away. Oh, and hold your nose.
It is scary when you see kids trapped in its stomach. It wants to eat; it is always so
hungry.
Abilities
Fight: OO
Chase: OOOO
Grab: O
Scare: OO
Virtues
Terror: 10
Health: 40
Qualities
It is a big-mouthed omnivore.
It can suck up stuff from far away.
It cannot go hungry for long.
Stuff
See-Through Belly

Full of Goop (Damage +1)

Theres stuff in there!

(Scare +2)
Smells Bad

Really bad (Damage +1)

Imgunnabesick (Fight -2)
BIIIG Mouth

Like a vacuum (Grab +2)
Clawed Hands

Stabby-stabby (Damage +2)
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Abilities
Qualities
to trust
it,
thats
all.
Move: OO
I am a Thrillseeker +2
Fight: OOOO
Abilities
Think:
Fight: OO
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Chase:OOOO
OO
Care:
Grab:OOOO
OO
Scare: OOOOO
Virtues
Belief:
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Wits:
8 5
Terror:
Spirit:
1030
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Health
Qualities
fine:
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your parents fears come to life.
sore:
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look as it needs to look.
hurt:
OOOO
It cannot
approach you if you are
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with
or family.

Im not scared +1
An Honest Face
Im good at fixing stuff +1

Looks Familiar (Think -2)
I take karate lessons +1
A Trusting Smile
I dont know when to shut up -1

You Fall into It (Move -2)
I forget to do homework -1
A Calm Voice
Traits

But Somethings Wrong
I can Speak well
when

(Scare
+1) Im talking
Stuff
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THE GHOST CAR is a Regular Monster.
The ghost car is unoccupied automobile that lures children into it. It has the abiility to cloak
itself as any land-based vehicle it has seen and can copy the exteriors of these vehicles perfectly,
including bumper stickers, scratches, and dings. Its unnaturally dark interior is disorienting
to those it traps inside. The ghost car may work for other monsters, hunting and trapping
children to take back to its temporary master. What the car gets in routine is unknown.
It is scary when it closes its doors suddenly. It wants to take you for a ride.
Abilities
Fight: OOOOO
Chase:
Grab: OOOOO
Scare: OOOO
Virtues
Terror: 8
Health: 30
Qualities
It is a fiendish automobile.
It can lure children into it.
It cannot pull into driveways.
Stuff
Strange Allure

Draws Kids Near (Grab +3)
Altered Appearance

Looks Familiar (Grab +2)
Heavy Doors

Only Open from the Outside

Hard to Damage (-1 Damage)
Dark Interior

Cant See (Think -1)
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It wants kids. Yum, yum, yum.
Abilities
Move: OO
Fight: OOOO
Abilities
Think: OO
Fight: O
Speak: OOOO
Chase: OOO
Care: OOOO
Grab:
Virtues
Scare:
Belief: 4
Virtues
Wits: 8
Terror: 12
Spirit: 10
Health: 50
Health
Qualities
fine: OOOO
It is a stinky drain dweller.

sore: OOOO
It can getcha getcha getcha.
hurt: OOOO
It cannot go outside the grate.
cold: OOOO
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Stuff
Im not scared +1
Long Arms
Im good at fixing stuff +1

Latch On (Grab +2)
I take karate lessons +1

Turn You to Jelly
I dont know when to shut up -1
Foul Stench
I forget to do homework -1

Turn Your Stomach (Think -2)
Traits

Make You Cough (Move -1)
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Chapter NINE:
the long
way home
chapter NINE
Lost has many different meanings.
the long way home
Kieran Crosby went missing twelve years ago. His sudden disappearance from the
elementary school playground made headlines nationwide. His father quickly became the
prime suspect though the evidence was flimsy. Still, the accusations and the heartbreak
were too much for his family. His fathers life spiraled into a whirl of alcoholism. His
mother left her family to live with her sister and has been under the care of psychiatric
professionals since. His brother, Jacob, remained with his father and the boy grew up too
fast as a result.
This morning, Kieran Crosby was spotted crossing the street by your characters houses.
This was the first time anyone has seen the boy since that fateful moment a dozen years
ago. But thats not the strange thing. No, whats odd isnt that Kieran is backits that he
hasnt aged a single day.
Whats in Here
This episode, The Long Way Home, is written as a standalone collection of ten scenes,
ready for use in an existing season of play or to set off a new group of young monster
hunters. It can be used to introduce the concept of the missing to your existing players
and, though it deals with some personal drama, is also about findingand optimally
destroyinga creature who is responsible for far too many missing children.
Each scene covers one major action and usually includes a revelation that advances the
plot and bridges to the next scene. As the GM, you may need to drop or add scenes based
on the characters actions but as long as you can stick the big reveals and keep things
relatively on track, youll do fine.
Who the Characters Are
Whether they all witness the inciting incident or if a single member of the group
sees it and calls the others to check it out, the characters just need to know each other.
Alternately, kids who dont know each other can all witness Kierans arrival and that could
be what draws them together. Or it could be a mix of the two.
Inciting Incident
Kierans appearance kicks off the episode and things run forward from there. This is
a fast scenario, hits the ground running, but just because most adults and older teens
remember Kierans disappearance, that doesnt mean his appearance will have much
significance to the player characters. Even the oldest characters were only two years old at
the time he went missing. Chances are the cast members have no idea what that famous
missing kid looks likebut they will almost certainly know the name, even if they dont
know why they know it at first.
Hey There, Players
The following episode is written specifically for the game moderator and are not
intended to be read by potential players. So if you want to retain any level of surprise,
dont read any further.
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If the characters coming into this episode are experienced and have already had some
adventures together, you can probably concoct a good reason for them all to be together in
the same place. If youre bold, you could even have Kierans first appearance pop up while
the kids are on the trail of a monster or hiding out from some wicked creature.
The specifics of the Kierans appearance dont really matter; it can be anywhere at any
time of day or year. The rest of the episode spins out from there regardless of setting
(though some minor details may need to be altered to reflect snow on the ground or the
lateness of the hour).
GMCs
The following GMCs are important to the story and expanded GMC sheets for them
have been included at the end of this episode. As your group explores the story, you may
improvise other characters. Feel free to stat them up as appropriate, using the simplified
GMC rules, expanded rules, or by making them fully-statted characters, same as the
player characters.
Kieran Crosby, 10
The catalyst of the story. Kieran is a ten-year old boy disappeared from Carter
Elementary during recess twelve years ago. Everyone knows the story, remembers the
name, and while many theories exist, only Kieran knows what really happened. As the
story unfolds, the players may learn also. While Kieran knows the truth, he doesnt know
everything as you will soon find out.
Kieran has been through a great ordeal but if the characters are strong, savvy, and caring
enough, he may finally know peace.
Jacob Crosby, 26
Jacob was fourteen at the time of his brothers disappearance. Jake and Kiki got along
famously. They were as thick as thieves and best of friends, against all odds. When Kiki
vanished, the Crosby family fell apart, with Jake left unattended in the center. With his
mom gone and his father as good as, Jake learned to take care of himself (and his father)
and had to learn far too quickly about responsibilities and consequences. Now grown up,
Jacob is a broken man, who works his third-shift job at night only to come home and
drink. He lives in a daze, having no connections to family or friends. Kierans sudden
arrival will come as quite a shock to him.
More Than One Missing Kid
If you have missing PCs in the group, they may know more about Kieran than the
others. The non-missing kids have all heard about Kieran Crosby beforeprobably as
a warning for why they cant leave their parents sightbut they may not know his face.
Missing kid characters though, especially those who have been missing for a while or
who were stolen or forgotten, may have heard rumblings that Kieran is tainted. He
was ripped out of the real world by a creature called Vanish. The monster is legendary
as it is responsible for hundreds (some kids claim thousands) of missing children over
the years. Details about Vanish are vague as only two children have ever escaped his
clutchesand the group has just met one of them.
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The Scenes
The following scenes form the basic story of The Long Way Home. This is just a
framework though, a backbone, and a good group will go off-script numerous times. The
best advice is to roll with it, react to their decisions, and try to aid them back on the path
if they lose the thread or hit a dramatic dead end.
Scene #1
Before we get into this scene proper, you need to do a little bit of set-up. Think of
something a cast member really likes. This doesnt need to be something extra-special
to them (though that would work great) but, ideally, its something the character has
established a fondness for or connection with previously. If nothing comes to you, make
it food from a characters kitchen (perhaps its in distinctive plasticware or the characters
lunchbox). Once you have something in mind, proceed.
The characters are going about their business, having a normal day, playing outside
or maybe duking it out on Rabble Rouser IV (Pugilist Edition!) for the GameStation
3. Average day, nothing out of the ordinary, until one of them spots a boy. He could be
outside the window, in the kitchen (having sneaked in through the back door), or if the
kids are outside he could be standing across the field, driveway, parking lot, or whatever.
Hes not that tall but its hard to gauge his age because his face and clothes are covered in
dirt. His shirt is so thin you can see his skin underneath. His pants are frayed and both
legs have blown-out knees. His once-white high-tops are barely holding together, as
much leather as they are duct tape.
To top it all off, hes got something that belongs to one of the characters (whatever you
thought of ). Once spotted, his big eyes go wide and he takes offprecious object in hand.
Hey player, some kid just stole your stuff!
The natural response is to chase after him so lets stick with that as the most-likely
outcome.
This is a Spotlight scene. The boy is trying to get away from the group so all efforts are
focused on chasing him down.
The boy is agileand quickso make it a challenge. I dont know where youre going
to set this initial scene but I guarantee there are plenty of obstacles you can throw in the
players way. Open rural areas have wire fencing, mud puddles, slick grass, large animal
droppings, tall fields (corn and otherwise) and more among the options. Suburban areas
have picket fences, parked cars, hydrants, clusters of thick shrubs, rushing through strange
houses (to the occupants chagrin) and such. Wooden environments have fallen trees,
bramble, stumps, and low-hanging branches. Urban centers have lots of traffic, walls of
pedestrians, sudden turns down blind alleyways. Dont make it easy. Get the adrenaline
up and call for Move and Think checks as the characters dodge whatever potential
hindrances pop up. Use those accidents rules from the main rulebook (page 34) to bang
up the charactersnot a lot, just a bit. Drive home that the kid theyre chasing is no
stranger to having to get away quickly. But be careful not to reach the point where the
cast is discouraged and stop chasing him.
If the team does give up, have the kid tumble (if they can see him) or cry out from
nearby (if they cant). This should motivate them to finish the pursuit.
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This scene ends when they catch up with the boy, whether they tackled him, cornered
him, or he fell down and twisted his ankle.
Scene #2
Alright, the boys been caught. Now its up to the player characters as to what they say
or do. The kids tough for his size but hes scrawny (and possibly injured, depending on
how things played out in the first scene). He wont instigate a tussle but he will respond
to the best of his abilities if one of the cast members gets physical. Otherwise, hes a
cornered animal: twitchy, unsure, never taking his eyes off the cast members, jumping at
any sudden movements, waiting for whatever the group is going to do. If a spot opens up
that he can escape through, he may act as if hes going to take it but he wont.
If the player characters talk to him (and I hope at least one of the cast members has
a cool head about this), hes not feral or anything, but he barks out his answers with
guttural heft, quick and short. Something is obviously wrong with him, not mentally but
emotionally. Plus hes upset, thats evident to anyone who bothers to really look at him.
And it wont be long until he breaks down crying. If the kids give him some breathing
room and dont come in swinging, this will happen sooner rather than later.
This is a Dramatic scene. The focus is on the cast members assessing and engaging the
boy they caught stealing. Below are some questions the player characters will likely have
as well as some other information you may need to handle any other questions.
Who are you?
His names Kieran. Kieran Crosby.
Why did you steal (this thing)?
If food, he stole to eat. Hes really hungry. If it was a toy or some other object, he
thought it was his. Hes a bit disoriented and may claim it actually is his until he takes
a moment to really look at it where hell realize, somewhat shame-faced, that he was
mistaken.
He immediately apologizes, asks for their forgiveness, and gives back whatever he took.
Where do you live?
It takes him a moment to remember. Hell close his eyes, shake his head slowly, as he
mumbles: yellow, big tree, the dog across the street. The street name will come, as will
solid details about the house. If you want, put the house on the same street as one of the
kids but Id avoid making it a place they are too familiar with.
If your game takes place in a densely-packed city or anywhere apartments and condos
make up the bulk of the real estate, dont sweat making the house a bit out of the way. If
youd rather it was close, you can switch the house to an apartment, just change the other
details to match.
Why are you so dirty?
As I said, the boy is filthy. He doesnt have a good answer. He crawled through a lot of
junk and dirt, he says. Though some of the filth is ash. ( Just a slight dusting though, not
enough to be invisible to monsters, at least anymore.)
Other Details
Kieran is ten-years old. He knows the name of the town or city they are in, but he gets
some information wrong. He may mention a store that shut down five years ago or say
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hed really like some food from a store or restaurant thats no longer there. The player
characters may not have even heard of some of these places and think they are from
another town over or that the boy is more out of it than he seems.
About Kieran
Kieran doesnt remember a lot about the real world; everythings kinda fuzzy. He doesnt
have amnesia; hes just severely out of place and doesnt know it. His slang and references
are out-of-date as well, which is something the cast might pick up on. As you know, this
is Kierans first day back in the real world so hes a bit disoriented and on edge.
After the Talk
Once the cast members have exhausted whatever questions they had, Kieran will ask
them if they know how to get to his house. If they do, hell ask for directions but its
obvious his brains are a bit scrambled and nothings sticking. If they dont, hell thank
them (giving the player characters the opportunity to offer to help him regardless) but, if
no one steps up, hell ask outright.
Now its fully within the realm of expected responses for the group to confront the kid,
get their stuff back, and leave it at that. In case of emergency, Kieran will double over in
painsevere hunger pangs, maybe, or a stomach virus; its hard to tell. Its okay to play
a little dirty here. As the main rulebook says, these kids are supposed to be heroes. This
kid is obviously in need and every good protagonist knows you help those in need. Thats
what usually gets them into the best trouble.
The scene ends when the cast agrees to help Kieran home.
Scene #3
Now we walk! Or ride bikes.

If the kids want to do something before setting off, Kierans amenable to it. He feels
a calling to get home but not an urgencynot yet. He will though if things get too
sidetracked. He wont make a huge pest of himself but he will mutter about getting
home and its late (no matter what time of day it is) with a strange distance in his voice.
On the way, hell make more mention of how things look so much different. Hardly
nostalgic, hes more confused by changes, especially any obvious ones (the aforementioned
closed stores, redone murals, and so on).
As the kids near Kierans house, theyll see that, while the boy got most of the details
right, some things are definitely offand the house is in severe disrepair. Kieran is
hesitant to approach the house but if anyone asks him if something is wrong, hell say no.
I just dont feel well.
Eventually, the boy will screw up his courage and take a few steps toward the house.
Hell ask the cast to stick around, if they dont mind. After trying the buzzer (which
isnt working), hell knock on the door weakly before getting enough strength and/or
gumption to make it heard.
Alternately, Kieran may ask one of the player characters to knock on the door for him.
Almost every group has a leader and hell single out whoever that is.
After a few seconds, and a couple more knocks, a twenty-something man answers the
door. Hes slightly tipsy, unshaven, wreaks of cheap beer, and is smoking an unfiltered
cigarette. Hes not happy about a bunch of punk kids banging on his door and makes that
known first-thing. He wants to know why theyre bothering him and what they want.
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Kieran wont speak. Hes transfixed by the man, staring at him strangely, until he finally
takes a step forward and says, Jake?
The mans face goes sour at this.
Okay, real quick: This exchange is necessary to set up the player character-focused part
of this scene but, admittedly, it suffers from talking head syndrome. Whenever two game
moderator characters are interacting, for purposes of drama or plot, this leaves the players
on the sideline. Despite the role Kieran plays here, this is ultimately the player characters
story so lets not kill the mood by spending a half-hour talking to ourselves. So, Im going
to give you the information that needs to be conveyed from the exchange and let you
decide how to present it. I trust you.
The last time Jacob Crosby saw his brother was twelve years ago. Not only did he give
up hope of ever seeing his brother, he eventually came to terms with the fact his brother
was most likely dead. While this kid on his step looks a bit like Kieran, theres no way he
is and no way the mans going to believe itafter all, Kieran would be 22 years old now.
Kierans in no position to make his case either. He stammers, unsure even himself if
whats happening can be trusted or not. The player characters dont know this kid well
enough to really help. They may back his assertion but they dont have any hard evidence.
If he feels these kids are having fun at his expense, hell get angry and threaten to call
the cops. Should the cast remain undeterred, hell threaten physical violence (though
wont act on it). In the end, Jacobs going to slam the door in their faces. If they push him,
he will call the cops. The kids would do well to scatter before things get heated.
When the door slams, the truth about the situation settles on Kieran. He backs away
from the house, slowly at first then running. He wont go far though before collapsing
onto the ground and sobbing. Kieran is beginning to remember some things and will tell
the group this fact, though he cant give words to exactly what they are.
This is a Dramatic scene. Kieran is scared, confused, and is in desperate need of comfort
and affirmation. Next, theyll need a plan. What are they going to do with this kid? Lots
of doors they could walk through on this one.
Kieran needs a bathhes smelling pretty ripeand wont refuse one. Unless he got
food before, hes really hungry and could use a meal. Hell agree to any options that
involve these. Going to the cops is not something hes eager to do. Getting Kieran
somewhere safe, wherever that is, is a good idea. Lets run with that.
This scene ends when the kids are on their way to wherever they are going. In the next
scene, well see if they make it there.
Scene #4
Im assuming the cast members are headed toward one of their houses but adjust this if
the players took the scene in a different direction. Most important thing is that the kids
are in transit; if events play out well, they wont make it to where theyre headed anyway.
On the way to wherever theyre going, the kids become aware something is trailing
them. It will make itself known slowly and a general sense of impending danger precedes
it. The shadows get darker, one of the kids gets a chill down his back, hair stands on end,
goosebumps up the arm. Then it passes.
Let the group walk on a bit more and have it happen again. More intense. Someone
sees something move out of the corner of his eye. Just as the group starts to doubt,
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another sees it. A shadow, darker than the others. Kieran gets scared; he saw it too. He
cries out, No! No! as a flood of memories wash over him.
He falls to his knees, pleading. I dont want to go back! I dont! No!
The shadow stretches out from a tree (or mailbox or snowdrift or whatever you have;
if nothing, it just comes out of the ground) and creeps toward Kieran. The boy swats at it
weakly; hes in no shape to fight. But the group is.
This is an Combat scene. Whatever this shadow is, its not getting anybody today.
The shadow is in its weak formthe more light in the area they are fighting, the
quicker it will flee. Give the fight a good couple rounds to give the kids a workout but no
more than three or four before it goes.
They are facing Vanishs Shadow. Youll find the stats for this creature at the end of the
chapter.
The scene ends when the Shadow has fled. Kieran, sobbing, now remembers everything.
Scene #5
Kieran remembers who he is and immediately starts freaking out. He was the victim
of a horrendous act and the torrent of emotion pouring forth now is almost enough to
break him. The group needs to calm him down (a series of Care check, first at 15, then 12,
then 9 work). Once hes down a couple steps, hes able to talk about what hes feeling and
remembering. The details are below, for you to dole out as you see fit or as the questions
come up in natural conversation.
Heres what you need to know:
Kieran used to be a normal kid. His dad worked at the local plastics factory, secondshift. His mom worked retailreturns and checkoutat the local Star*Mart. His older
brother Jacob was a freshman in high school, and Kieran was a fifth grader at Carter
Elementary.
Carter Elementary is smack dab in the middle of a residential area, and while the main
entrance faces a street and west side butts up against some woods, half of the back shares
land with houses. Metal fencing separates one from the other, but balls, frisbees, and
such find their way on the other side. Its always a challenge to retrieve them without the
playground ladies catching you. A challenge Kieran accepted one day twelve years ago.
He was tossing a football with his friends Davey Moller and Greg Lynn one spring
day during second recess. Davey botched a pass and it bounced off Gregs hand into a
neighboring houses yard. One round of rock-paper-scissors later, Kieran is being hoisted
over the fence. The ball bounced farther than Kieran had realized, into a thick uncut
patch of fescue on the far side of the house. Given the position of the sun and angle of
the adjacent shed, the patch was covered in shadow. Kieran walked into shadow and when
he turned around, his friends were gone from the other side of the fence. Then he felt
something cold over his face and he couldnt breathe. His entire world went dark and the
next thing he saw was the blackened room with a single light dangling from the middle.
Without light, hell say, you cant have shadow.
And that, he came to learn, is what took him: a shadow. But not any shadowone
of the same kinds that just attacked them. Theyre not the real problem though; the real
monster is Vanish. He makes the shadows. Theyre a part of him.
I did stuff for him. I helped him hurt other kids.
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The details are spottywhether the boy doesnt remember or refuses to relive the
events is unknownbut Kieran was the monsters lure. Vanish used him to gain the trust
of other kids so they would follow him into dark corners where Vanish lives. Vanish is
weaker in light and cant take any children if they are in direct light, natural or otherwise.
Kieran isnt sure how long he did this but it seems like it was a real long time. (The
truth, which Kieran doesnt know and perhaps shouldnt, is that Kieran has been working
for the monster since he was kidnapped. The boy has helped Vanish steal dozens of
children. The captives were then traded to other monsters.
He doesnt remember escaping; hes not sure he really has. The last thing he remembers
is grabbing the arm of some girl, some little girl, and pulling her towards him. Her skin so
warm and his so cold.
Then I was here, hell say. And I was so hungry. And confused. I dont know what
happened, I swear.
He doesnt know why he hasnt aged. He doesnt know anything else.
As much of a relief as it is for him, it does nothing to unburden the guilt he feels. Once
the relevant information is laid out, he doesnt want to talk anymore. Hes far too torn
up to keep talking. He wants to go back home. He wants to talk to his brother one more
time. He needs to.
This is a Dramatic scene. This revelation needs to motivate the team to see them
through the rest of the scenario. Lay it all out, put lots of emotion into it, and get those
players hooked!
The scene ends with the team agreeing to take Kieran back to his house one more time.
Scene #6
The trip back to the Crosby homestead is uneventful. The shadows seem a little longer
than usual and the occasional movement in the periphery gives a start now and then but
they make it back without running into trouble. When they arrive at the steps of Jacob
Crosbys modest suburban home, Kieran approaches the door hesitantly. After taking a
moment to catch his breath, he knocks on the door (unless a cast member volunteers).
Jacobs in no better mood now than before and throws open the door, already swearing.
He immediately lets into the kids, tells them to get off his property or else hell get his
gun (he doesnt have one, but the cast doesnt know that). Hes addressing everyone but
his eyes keep darting back to Kieran. Something inside him knows, against all reason.
If he called the cops before, hell inform the group that the authorities know all about
their stupid stunt. (Police dont prioritize minor nuisances such as this so the chances of
the cops returning or busting the kids for itbeyond a talking-to anywayare incredibly
slim.)
Kieran tries to talk to him but hearing anything from the boy just makes Jacob angrier.
Calming the man down falls on the players. They can approach it with Think or Care,
maybe even Fight if ones inclined to give Jacobs shin a quick kick.
When Jacob is snapped out of tirade mode, he cant help but embrace Kieran. His
brothers face has been burned in his mind for the past twelve years and this kid is his
brother. Kiki made his way home.
This is a Dramatic scene. Tears, relief, joy, and sadness are all mixed up in a swirl of
emotion.
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Jacob has a lot of questions, but direct them to the players. Kierans too emotional to
talk and this helps avoid the talking-head syndrome of GMC interaction.
The scene ends when Jacob is willing to accept the outlandish notion that this is his
brother and invites the group into his house.
Scene #7
The house is like a shrine to Kieran. A long-neglected shrine decorated with cheap beer
cans and old magazines, but a shrine. Pictures of Kieran line the wall and mantel, covered
in dust. Newspaper clippings cling to the wall, stuck with old packing tape and staple.
The boys fifth grade school portrait sits center on the dining room table adjacent to the
main living area. Almost ashamed of the state his house is in, Jacob clears seats and does
a quick clean-up before offering everyone a seat. Still, he cant take his eyes of Kieran. He
questions his sanity, wonders if hes dreaming, and says hed offer the kids something to
drink but all he has is beer.
I dont get much company. Especially kids.
In his heart, Jacobs a good guy, but the years of wear and worry are evident. Show this,
get the kids on Jacobs sideor at least glad the two brothers are reunited before dropping
the hammer thats about to happen, now.
The lights in the house flicker for a moment. Then all but one goes out. Kieran gasps.
You cant have shadow without light.
Jacob has no idea whats going on. Hell make a lame excuse about old wiring but
even he knows somethings up.
You mustnt leave before the job is done, child, a voice says. Vanish. Kieran screams
and falls behind the cast for cover. The lights come back onand theres nothing.
Then they hear the cackling. But wheres it coming from? Vanish can live in any shadow
but he has to jump from one to another. The players dont know this but Kieran does.
If they can isolate the general area, they just need to remove as many shadows as they
canor trap Vanish in one with nowhere else to go.
This is an Investigation scene. Find where the cackling is coming from, eliminate the
shadows, and bring Vanish out of hiding.
Make this a challenge. Houses have hundreds of shadows beyond the obvious ones and
Vanish is no fool; hell move around as the group pushes him into a corner.
One of the kids may get the idea to completely blacken the house (Again, you cant
have shadow without light) but Vanish is already inside the house. At this point,
darkening the house extends the shadow.
This scene ends when Vanish is either found or reveals himself. Grab the dice, things
are coming to a head.
Scene #8
Drawn out of hiding, the monster has no choice but to make his full appearance.
Vanish looks like a person made of solid shadow. This isnt a form he takes often but he
needs to in order to physically interact with people. In this form, he can briefly appear in
lighted areas but will not stay there long. He can break up into shadowy shapes briefly,
usually when rushing from one shadowy area to another. Because he is both made of
shadow and fights from the shadows, he can be hard to spot. He can make his face appear
as people familiar to the kids, like seeing your parents face in shadow. Its almost right,
118
the long way home

but not quite. While he usually employs that trick to lure unsuspecting kids, he may do
it in order to evoke sympathy from the kids or throw particularly sensitive kids off their
guard.
Vanish doesnt want to fight though. Hes not here on business. Hes here to get what
he thinks is rightfully his: Kieran. Vanish has brought up Kieran in monster tradition for
twelve yearstwo more than he was ever a member of the real world. If he can avoid
fighting, he will do so.
The group needs to make sure Vanish cant avoid fighting.
This is a Combat scene. Time to take on a monster, kids. You can find the stats for
Vanish at the end of this chapter.
After hes endured a bit of physical damage, Vanish will explode into a hundred
shadowy bits that flitter around the room like crazed birds. They whip through the air
seemingly without destination until finally settling on Jacob. The bits swirl around his
skin, mixing his pink flesh with black streaks. The man screams, claws at his flesh, but its
too no avail. Jacob stumbles back, grabs his head, and almost bangs into a wall.
The swirl absorbs into his skin and Jacob seems okay at first. Until he opens his eyes
and the kids see the hatred evident within them. In two strides, Jacob clears the room,
grabs Kieran by the collar, and rushes out the door.
The scene ends when Jacob (possessed) takes off with Kieran in his clutches.
Scene #9
Go go go!
Vanish has taken over Jacobs body, used it to nab Kieran, and run off. The cast members
have to hunt him down and save Kieran. Good luck, kids.
Jacob is on the move. (Use Jacob Crosbys monster stats at the back of this chapter for
this scene.) Hell take whatever path is the most likely to trip up the characters.
As we did with Scene #1, throw some obstacles in the kids paths. Jacobs clearing trash
bins, Kieran firmly in his grasp, without breaking stride but the characters have to work
to hurdle the now-toppled cans. The cast members will catch up with Vanish/Jacob but
make them work for it.
Problem is, Vanish cant carry Kieran outside of Jacobs bodypull, push, silence, yes,
but not carry. He needs Jacobs body, but Vanish doesnt know this neighborhood, or
maybe Jacobs spirit is fighting back, either way the monster will eventually work himself
into a corner. Thats when this turns into a fight.
This is a Combat scene. Round two, this time against the possessed Jacob Crosby.
Unless! Unless you need to want to end things here then you could. The way this is
written, the kids will beat Jacob and then Vanish disappears, just in time for Kieran
towell, I wont spoil it. But the kids fight Jacob, Vanish goes away, story ends. But heres
another way this could play out.
When the kids corner Vanish/Jacob, the man will scream and black shadowy bits come
foaming out of his mouth. He collapses on the floor, unconscious. The shadowy bits
fly off, eventually disappearing into some nearby pool of darkness. If you opt for this, I
recommend stretching out the chase. Turn this into a Spotlight scene and throw more
obstacles, more challenges, toss in some accidents and minor damage to bulk up the scene.
In this case, the scene ends when Vanish lives up to his name and goes away.
119
chapter NINE
Otherwise, the kids have another fight on their hands. But before we get into that,
lets talk a bit about possession. When a GMC is possessed, he becomes, at least for the
moment, a monster. So you stat him up as a monster. System-wise, he acts the same as
any other monster. Whats unique is what happens after the possession is over. Heres the
important part: Not all the damage the possessed person takes in his monster form counts
against their actual health as a regular GMC. For every three points of damage their
monster version suffers, their human form only takes one point.
So if the kids take out possessed Jacob, doing all 30 points of damage, only ten transfer
to Jacob the human GMC. Jacob the human GMC has 16 to begin with. Minus the ten
points of damage that could transfer, the most beat up he will be is down to six points of
health. Hell be beat up, but he wont be dead.
But the kids wont need to do 30. Vanish will vamoose after 15. Hell make his exit as
describe earlier. Jacob will collapse, Kieran will rush over to him.
This scene ends when Vanish leaves.
Scene #10
Vanish is gone, for now. Jacob is down, unconscious. Kieran is kneeling next to him. His
hand on his brothers chest. Everything is quiet. Kieran turns to the player characters and
says he has to go. He says hes nothing but trouble, that Vanish will never stop looking for
him, and that the kids cannot protect him forever.
And I cant even protect myself.
He hopes Jacob will wake up, think this was all some strange dream, and forget all
about it. Kieran sniffles back tears as he says this. Its probably the right thing to do but he
doesnt really want to do it.
So hell go, back to Vanish, and do what the monster says. Kieran hates this idea but
tells the other kids that so many other children will get hurt as Vanish tries to get him
back. Though he knows he will be used as the monsters bait.
Whatwhat do you think I should do?
This is a Dramatic scene. Which way will the cast members swing this?
Convince Kieran to Stay
Go back? Are you nuts? Do they feed you crazy pills where you come from, Kieran? No
way youre going back to that monster to help him steal children!
Kieran is free now, however it was that happened, and he needs to stay free. If Vanish
comes back, theyll take him on again. Every time. A hundred times if they have to.
An honorable vow. If Kieran stays, hell spend his life walking around with a missing
kids face. I mean, sure, hell age and grow (probably) but right now he looks like that kid
that went missing twelve years ago. Thats going to be weird. But it should settle, and as
impossible and insane as Kierans story will seem to his older brother, they might be able
to heal some wounds and go on with their lives. Finally.
Agree that Kieran Should Go
Its not a choice a child should have to make but Kieran may be right. Vanish is no joke.
Hes one tough monster and could hurt a lot of kids on his hunt to find and keep Kieran.
Still, they could send him back armedmaybe with a hand-me-downthat can help
Kieran fight back against Vanish. Maybe. But still, what an awful choice to have to make.
120
the long way home

Hunt Down Vanish
Vanish used Kieran to lure children. Now its time for children to use Kieran to lure
Vanish. The group could put forth that Vanish needs to be stopped. Whats this talk of
giving up? Of going back? Forget that noise. Vanish is a monster and we cant let him
keep attacking kids.
Offer Another Option
If your group is anything like the ones Ive had the fortune to play with, they will
probably concoct a scheme far greater, grander, and inventive that what you and I came up
with. And thats great. Thats part of what makes these games so much fun.
Whatever They Choose
Things are far from over for Kieran and the group. If Kieran stays, Vanish will come
backand the monster may try to take out the player characters one by one before
making a grand attack. If they send Kieran back, they may cross paths with him again.
If they hunt down Vanish, they have their work cut out for them, but its definitely not
impossible and you could get a whole other episode out of it. No matter the direction, the
players take this, have fun and be safe. There are monsters out there.
The Long Way Home GMCs and Monsters
The following GMCs are for use with The Long Way Home or any episode of Little
Fears Nightmare Edition. These have been built with the expanded GMC rules found in
this book. Stats for the monsters follow.
KIERAN CROSBY
This is Me!
My name is Kieran Crosby.

Character description: 10-year old stolen boy
who hasnt aged a day in 12 years.
Abilities
Qualities
Health
Weaknesses
Think: OO
Do: OOO
Feel: OOOO

OOOO
Goals
I am a missing child
I have had to steal things to survive
Hunted by a monster called Vanish

Spotty memory
____________________________
__________________________OO
____________________________
__________________________OO
O
OO
O
O
Playaround Points
OOOOO OOOOO
121
chapter NINE
JACOB CROSBY
This is Me!
My name is Jacob Crosby.

Character description: 26-year old, thin,
depressed, slow to speak.
Abilities
Qualities
Health
Weaknesses
Think: OOOO
Do: OOO
Feel: OO

OOOO
I am Kierans older brother

Ive been hardened by life
Misses his brother
O
OO
Goals
____________________________
__________________________OO
____________________________
__________________________OO
Playaround Points
OOOOO OOOOO
Jesse
VANISHS
Albright
SHADOW
is a 9 year
is a Regular
old girl. Monster.
Dontshadow-form
This
call her Jessica.
of the
That
monster
is waycalled
too girly
Vanish
foristhis
a separate
dirt bike-riding
entity entirely.
karate
While
master.
some
Her
monsters
mom
keeps
havetrying
multiple
to forms,
shove Vanish
dolls into
is capable
her hands
of creating
but Jesse
independent,
has no interest
though temporary,
in playing
house. Not
versions
of himself.
when there
This isare
usedmudpits
primarily
to tojump.
scare She
kids,also
get them
has aoffwicked
their guard,
head or
fordistract
figuring
out how
them.
Likethings
a shadow
work.
puppet, it can alter its appearance to ape what terrifies children.
Vanish is a very powerful monster and this isQualities
only a shadow (heh) of its true self.
Abilities
ItMove:
is scary
when
it
darkens
the
area
around
its
victims.
It wants+2to make Vanish
OO
I am
a Thrillseeker
happy.
Fight: OOOO
Think: OO
Abilities
Speak:
Fight: OOOO
OOO
Care:
OOOO
Chase:
OOOO
Grab: OOOO
Virtues
Scare:4OOO
Belief:
Wits:
Virtues 8
Spirit:
Terror:106
Health: 30
Health
fine:
OOOO
Qualities
sore:
It is OOOO
an angry shadow.
hurt:
OOOO
It can
creep anywhere.
cold:
OOOO
It cannot
stray far from darkness.
122
Im good
at fixing
Loose
Form
stuff +1
karate Puppets
lessons +1 (Scare +2)
I takeCreate
know
whenit to
shut up -1
I dont
Any
Shape
Wants
I forget to
do homework
-1
Shadow
Travel

Appear
Suddenly
(Scare
+2)
Traits
I canCatch
Off-Guard
(Think
-1)
Speak well when Im talking

the long way home

JACOB CROSBY is a Regular Monster.
Once Kierans older brother, Jacob Crosbys broken heart and shattered family opened his soul
to the being known as Vanish. Fourteen years of age at the time of his brothers disappearance,
Jacob is now 26 though he looks and acts much older. As Vanishs puppet, he will try to reclaim
Kieran by using the connection the brothers used to have and Kierans desperate need to
reconnect with family.
It is scary when it shows its eyes in the dark. It wants to capture Kieran.
Abilities
Fight: OOO
Chase: OOOO
Grab: OOO
Scare: OOOO
Virtues
Terror: 5
Health: 30
Stuff
Low Voice

Bone-Chilling (Scare +2)

Trance-Like (Think -1)
Strong Legs

Run like lighning! (Chase +2)
Qualities
It is, or was, Kierans brother.

It can hold you tight.
It cannot see in the dark.
Jesse
VANISH
Albright
is a Big
is a
Bad
9 year
Monster.
old girl.
Dont call
Vanish
has her
stolen
Jessica.
hundreds
Thatofischildren
way tooover
girlythe
forcenturies
this dirtfrom
bike-riding
all partskarate
of the master.
world. AHer
creature
mom
keeps
comprised
tryingofto
darkness,
shove dolls
Vanishinto
is capable
her hands
of making
but Jesse
you think
has no
itsinterest
someonein
familiar,
playing
house. Not
however
temporary
when there
even though
are mudpits
its taken
to jump.
no physical
She also
form.has
In addition,
a wickedithead
has the
forability
figuring
to
out how
take
over things
the bodywork.
of people consumed by sadness from personal loss.
It is scary when it shows its true face. It wants
more and more victims.
Abilities
Qualities
Move: OO
Fight: OOOO
Think: OO
Abilities
Speak:
Fight: OOOO
OO
Care:
OOOO
Chase:
Grab:
Virtues
Scare:4OO
Belief:
Wits:
Virtues 8
Spirit:
Terror:1010
Health: 50
Health
fine:
OOOO
Qualities
sore:
It is OOOO
the #1 kidnapper.
hurt:
OOOO
It can
snatch you from shadows.
cold:
OOOO
It cannot
enter well-lit rooms.
Im good
fixing stuff +1
Low
Voiceat
karate lessons +1
I takeBone-Chilling
(Scare +2)
know when (Think
to shut up
I dont
Trance-Like
-1)-1
I forget
to do
homework -1
Old
as Time

Knows Every Hiding Spot
Traits

(Grabwhen
+2) Im talking
I can Speak well

Knows
You
Well
(Scare +1)
A
Familiar
Face

You
Trusttest.
It (Think -2)
taking
a school
Migrant Spirit

Can Possess the Heartbroken
123
he left a note
Well, this took longer than I expected.
When I released Little Fears Nightmare Edition in October 2009, I had grand plans
for the line. I had a list of episodes to write, a book on Closetland, a fiction collection, and
all sorts of stuff. Slated for 2010, they were. On the spine of the main rulebook, theres a
band that says Book 1.
Book 1. That was a promise I made to myself. A promise I wasnt sure I would fulfill.
While I did get three standalone episode PDFs out, the other books didnt materialize.
Of the books I had planned, this book youre reading now wasnt even on the list. I was
sure I was going to do the Closetland book first. Then, after I started getting Campfire
Tales material out, I thought the next book would be a collection of those.
But no. The next book is a setting expansion/character option/episode/I dont know
what mashup all about missing kids. At this point, I dont even remember where the idea
came from, though I remember it came to me driving home from Noble Knight Games.
I had the thought to do these small PDF releases about different kinds of special kids.
It was going to be the One of series of supplements. One of the Stolen. One of the
Forgotten. I had a neat little stack of these ideas. Six of them, if I remember right.
Then I wondered if they wouldnt be better as a collected volume. A whole book
of character options. I brainstormed the idea early last year during a lull in my work
schedule. After drafting a quick outline, I wrote about 12,000 words before putting the
idea away in favor of some freelance gigs.
The idea was like an itch though, and I couldnt help but scratch it. Id read over
what Id written, make notes, write a few hundred more words, put it away. On a lark, I
commissioned a cover from Veronica V. Jones, the same amazing artist who did the cover
to the main rulebook. We hashed out the idea and what Veronica came up with was just
stunning. I love it.
So I had 12,000 words, an outline, and a cover. Id get to it eventually, I reckoned.
And eventually I did. I thought at first this would be a 25,000 word supplement,
something small. I thought, hey, I already have it half-written.
I went about my other writing work, always with this book in the back of my mind. Its
half-written, I said, I only need a couple weeks to finish it.
So I scheduled myself a couple open weeks and set about to write it.
As the pages filled up I realized I had a lot more to say than I thought. There was more
meat to this idea than I initially considered. Turns out this wasnt a 25,000 word project
but a 50,000 word one. Those two weeks grew to a month. I started talking about it on
littlefears.com and folks seemed to respond. I commissioned some art and drafted the
layout and Ikept writing. I switched chapters around, moved huge chunks of text, as the
book solidified. A flurry of art direction, writing, editing, playtesting, and, next thing I
know, I have a Book 2.
And now you do too.
The spine of the main rulebook says Book 1. The spine on this one says Book 2. This
book fulfills the promise I made in 2009. So let me make another one. If you like this
book, I promise youll really like Book 3.

Sleep tight,

Jason L Blair
124
EXPANDED GMC SHEET

This is Me!
My name is ____________________.
Character description:_____________________
_______________________________________.
Abilities
Qualities
Health
Weaknesses
Think: OOOOO
Do: OOOOO
Feel: OOOOO
OOOOO OOOOO
OOOOO OOOOO
Goals
I am ______________________________ OOO
__________________________________ OOO
__________________________________ OOO
____________________________________OO
____________________________________OO
____________________________
__________________________OO
____________________________
__________________________OO
Playaround Points
OOOOO OOOOO
EXPANDED GMC SHEET

This is Me!
My name is ____________________.
Character description:_____________________
_______________________________________.
Abilities
Qualities
Health
Weaknesses
Think: OOOOO
Do: OOOOO
Feel: OOOOO
OOOOO OOOOO
OOOOO OOOOO
Goals
I am ______________________________ OOO
__________________________________ OOO
__________________________________ OOO
____________________________________OO
____________________________________OO
____________________________
__________________________OO
____________________________
__________________________OO
Playaround Points
OOOOO OOOOO
Download a full-sized copy of this Character Sheet at www.littlefears.com
MISSING CHILD
Childs Name: ____________________________________________

Age: ____ Sex: ____ DOB: ___/___/___ Player: ________________
MISSING SINCE: _____________Type of Missing:______________
Last Seen With:____________________________________________
Abilities
o
o
o
o
o
Move: OOOOO
Fight: OOOOO
Think: OOOOO
Speak: OOOOO
Care: OOOOO
TRAITS
VIRTUES
Good: I can ______________ well when

_________________________________
_________________________________.
Bad: Its hard for me to ____________
when _____________________________
_________________________________.
Belief ____
Wits
scared OOOOO|OOOOO calm
Spirit
dark OOOOO|OOOOO whole
MY STUFF
______________________OOO
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
______________________OOO
__________________________
__________________________
QUALITIES
__________________________
I am ______________________________ +2
______________________OOO
______________________________ +3
__________________________
______________________________ +3
__________________________
__________________________________ +__
__________________________
__________________________________ +__
______________________OOO
__________________________________ -__
__________________________
__________________________________ -__
__________________________
__________________________
I FEELl
______________________OOO
fine OOOOOOOOOO
__________________________
sore OOOOOOOOOO (-2)
__________________________
bad OOOOOOOOOO (-4)
__________________________
cold OOOOOOOOOO (-6)
______________________OOO
GOALS
__________________________
____________________________
__________________________
____________________________
__________________________
__________________________OO
____________________________
Playaround Points
____________________________
OOOOO OOOOO
__________________________OO
QUESTIONNAIRE
Questions for All Missing
What was your life like before?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Have you made contact with your old life? If so, how did it go? If
not, why not?
_________________________________________________________________
Where are you now?
_________________________________________________________________
What have you been doing?
_________________________________________________________________
Do you want to go back home?
_________________________________________________________________
If not, why not?
_________________________________________________________________
Questions for the Abducted and Stolen
Do you know the person/monster who took you? If so, who/what

was it?
_________________________________________________________________
What happened to that person/monster?
_________________________________________________________________
How did you get away?
_________________________________________________________________
Questions for the Runaway
Why did you run away?

_________________________________________________________________
How do you feel about your decision?
_________________________________________________________________
Questions for the Abandoned and Forgotten
Whats the last thing you remember?
_________________________________________________________________
Why do you think it happened?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

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Sure, I remember him.

Used to hang out with that kid

- Preston Langley, age 12

Book 2: AMONG THE MISSING

Real lives are not a game.

All text copyright 2011 Jason L Blair. All rights reserved.

Chapter One: Against Their Wills

What This Supplement Is

Part One: How it Happens

Part Two: Why it Happens

Part Three: What Happens Next

Part Four: Sample Abducted

Chapter Two: By Inhuman Hands

Part One: How it Happens

Part Two: Why it Happens

Part Three: What Happens Next

Part Four: Sample Stolen

The Child Escapes

Chapter Three: On Their Own

Part One: How it Happens

Part Two: Why it Happens

Part Three: What Happens Next

Part Four: Sample Abducted

Into the Night

Lost on the Road

Chapter Four: No Longer Wanted

Part One: How it Happens

Part Two: Why it Happens

Part Three: What Happens Next

Part Four: Sample Abducted

Part One: How it Happens

Quick, Like a Bandage

Chapter Five: Through The Cracks

Because There is no Love

Part Two: Why it Happens

Part Three: What Happens Next

Part Four: Sample Abducted

I came home and they wouldnt let me in.

Chapter Six: One of the Missing

Missing Child as Character

Part One: Missing PCs

Part Two: Being the Missing

Part Three: Missing GMCs

Introducing a Missing GMC

Part Four: Expanded GMCs

Getting into the In-Between

The Big Domino

Part One: People You Can Trust

Part Two: People in the Between

Chapter Seven: The World Around You

Part One: The Real World

Part Two: The World Between

Part Three: Hiding Places

Part Four: Places to Avoid

Chapter Eight: The People You Know

Part Three: Light Amidst Dark

Part Four: Real Bad People

Part Five: Missing Monsters

Chapter Nine: The Long Way Home

Expanded GMC Sheet

What this Supplement Is

gone, just like that

What You Will Find in this Book