“Nightline,” a Children’s Chapter Story

In the dark, as the three crooked kings on Earth send their most deadly henchman to find the gateway to the world of Nightline, the children protected in their homes in their beds fall asleep unawares. But Seungwon is one of the few children awake, chosen to enter through the magical universe of Nightline, to be knighted a Nightling, and battle against the Canine King who conspires to overrun them all. 

Prologue 

The Homeless king sits in his humongous tent underneath the waterbridge. What he sits on is a throne of cereal boxes, plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, and meatless pets. His crown, a wide trashcan lid inlaid with apple cores, rat tails, and duck feathers, is worn like a Mexican hat. He munches on a bag of Ruffles and scratches his skinny behind with hands bejeweled in Ring pops and plastic baby pacifiers. Behold. King of the Untouchables, beaten up extravagantly by oncoming vehicles and pedestrians. The policemen are still looking to evacuate them, but his magic allows his herd to stay a little longer. 

We’re camping nomads, he likes to think. Hippie gypsies. Circus folk. His orange and green Costco tent extends for miles and miles. Those who are dying from drugs, disease, or dirty water are dragged closest to the tent’s flap while the cleanest sit farthest in. They sit around loitering, drawing, sleeping, waiting. The drugs don’t kill him as he’s nearing around a millennium himself, but they’re sure tasty as hell. He can still remember the day when the Canine king came inside his tent. He was younger and eating another bag of chips that day. Lays flavored sour cream. He pointed and laughed at the rubber head mask on the guy. It looked like a rottweiler. He waved at it sardonically, even tugging at the mask, then realized that the face was grubby and real. A dog-human. And it smiled very clean, straight human teeth. 

The Homeless king screamed and toppled from his mountain pile of expiration dates. He stared at it. 

The dog-man introduced himself over an imaginary cup of Joe and spoke business: “There is a place that you humans do not know of. It is a midnight paradise, cool and warm, heavily laden with fruit branches, hikes, and waterfalls. You help me reclaim it, and your people will live in a village, free from hurt, from death. Fight for me, and it is yours. There, you and your people will live free.” The Homeless king has never been ambitious before, never sought hope or led his people to any place better. So, avoiding its eyes, he shakes the dogman’s hand.

~~~

The Criminal king sits incarcerated in his cell, peeling garlic. He peels one and eats it whole, munching thoughtfully. He weaponizes every single evil thought and flavor into something real and honed. Kept behind stone at the ready. But so far, there haven’t been any wars he’d felt interested in winning yet. The cellmates sleep, and play cards, some tantalizing a black rat with an imaginary piece of food. There are hundreds of boys here who are life-sentenced as they await trial, boys who are kept in for ingenious work. Some just want to be here. The criminal king is bored, waiting. So the dog king visits him. 

When he enters the domain, there is a series of deaths and knives belt in. Bleeding bodies lie around his feet. The Criminal king, impressed, and intrigued by the same story, shakes his hand on the condition that they will take the meadows, the Nightling girls, the animals, the rivers, the mountains, and the forest. The canine king benevolently agrees and leaves just the way he came. Through the floors, underneath. 

The Canine king knows that with the other two kingdoms, Nightworld will be defeated. The homeless in their number will be his spies. The dog king has watched them work their magic: treated so unseemly, as if they weren’t there, they’ve developed powers of invisibility. They escape and stay hidden. They will give him intel whilst scouring the region. The criminals will be the first line of attack--rid of those pathetic Nightling children. And his brethren will eat the head of the queen. It is an invincible plan, an unsurpassable legion. All of Nightworld will bow down before him…

But the dog king struck a deal with the two kings. And of course, he lied. He will devour everyone. Once the war is won, he can do away with the humans easily. Criminal or homeless, their insides are the same. He did not tell either race about his kind, that he and his kin are called by another name, born deep below the surface to swallow them whole.

One month later..

A balding, homeless man mutters to himself, wringing his hands while sitting up in a red sleeping bag. He lays flat down, pulls the zipper up, wiggles in it a bit, and with his hands in an X on his chest, counts 1, 2, 3. And as if a pair of invisible hands had grabbed his ankles and yanked, he chutes down. The airless sensation of gliding through the soft sides of the bag is nice, but he shortly stops. He unzips and sits up in what looks like a grey sleeping bag in a prison cell. Before he can speak, he feels a knife at his throat, breath reeking of garlic and rot and he vomits a little. He looks up and gulps at the yellow teeth of the good-looking Tear, king of cells, mother bearer of third-degree felonies. 

“So, birdie. You’ve got a message for me?”

“He callin’ onurr men. He has yer mission to foller..”

“Does he now? Tell him I send the best of my boys.” The homeless man nods and grasps the zipper to go, but Tear shakes his head a little no-no. 

“Remember that I am his second. Our share comes first and what’s left is your king’s.”

“We was told we was enoffta herd all three--”

“Or I can skin you right clean, clean away all that dirt and mold like good cheese, and give you to the dog king if you’d like, yeah?” Tear’s leery eyes widen, and the homeless man scrambles back into the musty bag, yanks the jammed zipper closed, and is sucked down. 

Chapter 1 Seungwon Cho Was Not Sleepy

If a child has a dire need to go potty more than three times during the night, it could be a sign. If for three days a child cannot sleep but feels perfectly happy and restless throughout, it is most likely a sign. If a child dreams of a big, circular oak tree with a bubbling brook and a million stars, it is most definitely a sign. Twelve-year-old Seungwon Cho had all three of these symptoms in the past week and did not feel the slightest bit of fatigue. She pretends like a squirrel with nuts, in her nest, with her squirrel babies. When she gets bored of playing hibernation, she squirms. She kicks up the yellow blankets dotted with white flowers, and the summer breeze blows through them, whispering time to go. The brass bed creaks, saying good luck and congratulations! She gets up and crawls through the mosquito tent, out the mesh net. The screen door swings open and the porchlight is dead. The mosquitos smell her keenly for a second before she teeters forward, and jumps off the ledgers into a run. The brown lawn crapped on, the wet sidewalks, the working sprinklers, and the quiet suburban neighborhood are all sucked backward into a black hole as she is blown skyward into the portal. She spins and lands feet first on a trail. The girl spurs her stubby legs. The rocks call her entreatingly forward. The moon mutes the darkness of her path in blue, black, and green outlines, but despite its help, she crashes full-on into a mossy branch into a cluster of bushes.

 She laughs and there’s a confident sound of running water. Seungwon discovers a river. She makes her way near the water squats down and washes her knees. A small scream of “Ooh eee aah aaah!” issues from somewhere. She says hello, good night, and how do you do? The capuchin monkey catches hold of a dark shape of fruit and hands it to her, scratching his head in earnest. She bites into a peach and thanks the monkey generously by handing it the rest. And--

The golden fluid licks a leaf, rubs against a shadow, and slinks up and down again past the girl, kissing her cheek. The girl laughs, pulls lightly on its tail, and brushes herself as she stands up. She watches it fully materialize into a great lioness, but when she thinks this, it growls, slightly offended. She’s mistaken. The Lion Cub wears no mane.

“I saw you in my dreams.”

“Is this your first time here, girl?”

“Yes.”

“I have watched you. You are very slow. I am strong and fast. I am second in line to rule Nightline. I am the guardian warrior that single-handedly defeated the ancient Devils, and I can fly.” His tail twitches playfully. He menacingly growls at it, bites it furiously then lolls it back out. The girl giggles. 

“But I am hungry.” The lion is now flat on his back, massaging itself on the Earth. 

“If you plan to stay here, then I’d require that you lend me your arm.” His two hind legs sweep the air in catty motions. 

“Sure, you can have it,” she jokes. “Just don’t eat my legs, or else how can I get any faster?”  She dawdles around, nightdress afloat, and is gently enveloped by the lion’s enormous torso. Green eyes look into the light brown. Satisfied, the lion licks her face. 

“I’m Basta, Lion Cub, and Protector of Nightline, in this world you are in right now. I like you, so let me tell you something. There are princely beasts like me and monsters bred in the most frightening form to eat flightless birds like you for supper.”

Seungwon smiles. 

“Humans code, build houses, shoot each other. But are you brave?”

“I don’t know.”

“You have been chosen. You might not be born to be brave like I am, but we will see. Get on, I am to escort you to Her Majesty.”

“We’re going to fly there?”

“Hmm. Perhaps, because I like you.”

The girl excitedly climbs on his back and watches dumbfounded as Basta grows tufts of fur, then a mane, into hundreds and hundreds of lengths in feet. They shoot up high and grab hold of the wind. When they get their hooks in, Seungwon is hoisted further and further up, the mane gets tangled, and the lion rips away, plunging deep into the woods. They leap over trees and swim past bogs. They fly up and bound away on the lion’s powerful legs for what seems like a blissfully long time until they arrive at the oak tree.

Arrived at the oak tree, three oak trees in one. Fireflies. The girl's hair turns orange, then silver, and the colors of the sky become a part of her skin. The panther sings

Come tend the soil

Come tend the soil of my soul

And like a garden

And like a garden, I will grow. 

The oak tree is a tower. And the black panther comes to life. The little girl is entranced by the most massive and beautiful black creature she has ever laid eyes on. Seungwon slips off Basta and lands on her bum. Basta takes his place behind her. When Seungwon doesn’t move, Basta bites the back of her shirt and lifts her an inch closer.

My name is Nisha.

The panther’s eyes are a neon green, a molten heat. They look at her, then at Basta. 

“Canine’s spies have trespassed. They are not his specimen, but they’ve covered most of our territory.” 

Basta uncomfortably shifts in his place. “My Lady, only children can enter through the portal.” 

The panther is silent for a time. 

“It seems he’s been stealing children to gain passage.” The Lion’s snarl is so sudden and loud in the dark, that Seungwon trembles when she thinks of his fangs.

Basta growls. “It doesn’t always work. Pre-chosen nightlings wander by themselves. The boy must have run out, interrupted the night he was chosen. How was he followed?” 

Nisha whispers, “And why start the kidnapping now?” 

“Is the child safe?”

The panther inclines her head. “I saved the Nightling boy right after he was about to be murdered after his captors entered through. One of them I brought here for questioning. The rest I killed.”

Seungwon speaks out. “Is he the only one? Are there more children kidnapped?”

The liquid eyes turn to her. “The portal extends to every part of the human world. From Ethiopia to London. And the enemy is just as ubiquitous. It is hard to keep track of multiple portals that open and close. The portal is unpredictable, Seungwon.”

“You know my name.”

“I know you very well.” The black beast did not answer her question.

Basta snarls, “That dog will never rule.” The panther stays him with her paw.

“Basta, check on the novice, and if he is well, begin the initiation. After you are done, you will accompany me in the questioning.”

Seungwon feels Basta leave.

“Time is our friend sometimes in that it protects us from other days and keeps us safe momentarily in this one. And now,” the panther looks at her. “We begin your ceremony.”

“Ceremony? For me?”

“Yes. It is tradition to welcome a child into our world as a Nightling. A share in the responsibility to protect us until they are sent back.”

~~~

Seungwon drinks water, and wears a flower in her hair, and the panther has her floating up in a pond gathering water lilies. Impossibly, she falls asleep. She dries in the warmth of a zillion fireflies. And rests in the hollow base of an oak tree, spread with comfortable moss and monstera leaves. She wakes up older. Much older.

Look at yourself! She thinks in the reflection of the pond. It was like she grew older by ten years.

“You will meet the other Nightlings soon. There are fighting other battles for us at this very moment. When you are ready, you will join their forces.”

The panther drops a small knife, and a necklace into her hands.

“For your protection.” The panther inhales on her eyelids and fades into the shadows. 

The Lion Cub approaches her.

“Are you finished? Good, you will be working with the boy. He is a human boy. Your age, chosen and saved by Her Majesty. He is done healing from his wounds. Your first mission is to observe these spies and report back to us as we interrogate the enemy and find out exactly what we are facing.”

The Lion directs her to walk a few yards west, further on he tells her that there will be a fallen tree where she will see the boy. She leaves him. After a couple of trees pass, she meets him soon. He sits on the trunk, picking his nails, and Seungwon is reminded vaguely of an animal. The boy is very long in body and face. His nose slopes curiously downward. He is very peculiar in the way he slouches, like he’s itching to go down on all fours, but feels too embarrassed to do so. He is tall and looks around twenty. 

He gets up and greets her awkwardly. “I’m Andrew. Not my real name, I just call myself that.”

She offers her hand. “Seungwon.” Andrew takes it. 

“Seewon,” he tries. 

“Seungwon”

“Seewoo.”

“Seungwon.”

“Seaweed.”

“Seung. Seung.”

“Sin. Sin.”

“That’s right.” She gave up. His palms felt very furry and rough. They let go of their hands and started walking. His eyes are brown and especially puffy. 

The thought came to her. She looks at him solemnly and nods.

“You’re an Anteater.” She made up her mind to call him that.

“Aha! Wanna be friends?” 

“Yeah, okay. I saw an anteater on television, Nature PBS.”

“How old are you?”

“Twelve.”

“I’m Fourteen.”

“We don’t seem like it somehow.” Anteater ducked under a branch.

“This world must’ve changed us, that’s all I know. No point in questioning it.”

They walk a bit further and she thinks about her grandma and if she’s still asleep when Anteater asks, “Did they put you in like a weird ritual?”

“No, mine was beautiful. Did they do that for you?”

“Yeah, the lion took all my clothes off, left me entirely naked to mosquito bugs except me and my socks and he said I had to salute him like this every time.” He puffs his chest and lifts his head high up until she can only see his chin and salutes. She spurts out laughing. 

He relaxes and grins at her.  “I was on coals and had to fit my head into his mouth, but I guess the cool part was that he gave me these.” He shows her six pretty, sharp knives curved in, each three hung on two interwoven strings. He puts them on like gloves. He now has claws. She touches one of them.

“So.. Her Majesty saved you?”

“Yeah, from those dog-headed people.”

“Where’s your home?” For a simple question, the boy struggles to answer and focuses on taking off his claws. Somehow, Seungwon feels safe enough to say it.

“It’s okay, I don’t have parents. They died in a car crash in Korea and I moved to America where I live with my grandma.” 

The boy looks up in surprise. “I don’t know what happened to mine. I live in an orphanage.” The two look at each other for a long moment. She notices his neck. She hadn’t see it before, but looking closer there was a long spindly cut on the side of his throat. She didn’t know if it reached his back. 

“Did they cut you?” 

“Yeah, nicked me pretty bad. I couldn’t see them, ‘cause a bag was over my head. I passed out. The panther saved me and carried me here. But it wasn’t fun getting carried upside down.”

And right as Anteater said this, fate terribly laughed as the two were thrown forward, swept up by the ankles, and hanged helplessly like two meats. 

Seungwon gasps as fear and nausea flood her head. When the blood rushing abates, she hears voices that immediately sound so strange, so unlike anything that she has ever heard before. 

“Oho! Eeeeh! Eeeerrh! Lookee here, caught two scrumptious, wiggling little arses!” 

“Garghh! Buldrog! Theses wulnut make two halflings of meatpie. Don’t weigh nothing but issal fleas nor be tasty ‘less you cook ‘em.”

“Then startin’ firin’ about now. I keepin’der time ‘til we head on back.”

“King’s relyin innus.” 

“Aye, except feelin’ hungry now aren’t we? No, can’t let them off.”

There is a sound of flint striking steel, and fright suffocates her, bringing her down--

“Seung.Won.” The girl swivels around and sees Anteater pulling out a knife. She feels her weapon. But before a single bind can be cut, a roaring fire is set ablaze and Seungson sees the distorted faces of her opponents in the pitch-black uncovered.