A Children's Adventure Book Series

Monster Files by A.E. Stanfill

Series Excerpt

The morning came slowly but surely. Bryan had never been so happy to see the sunrise. It meant that he was safe for another day. He was tired, but that wasn’t going to stop him from doing what needed to be done.

He jumped to his feet, got dressed and ran out the door, not even looking back. Not that he exactly wanted to look back at that dreadful bed. “You’re up early,” his mom said when he ran down the stairs.

Bryan grabbed the phone book and took a seat at the table. “I have something I need to do,” he replied, flipping through the pages of the phone book.

“Do tell.” She smiled.

Bryan didn’t exactly want to explain to his mom what he was up to. He knew that she would disapprove of his actions. “I made a couple of friends, and I wanted to find their phone numbers,” he responded.

“Okay, if you find their numbers you can call them after breakfast,” she told him.

Bryan scarfed his breakfast down and picked up the phone book after excusing himself from the table. He sat down on the couch in the living room flipping through the pages. The number he was looking for was found in the very back of the phone book.

“I found their number,” Bryan announced. “Can I give them a call, Mom?”

“I already said that you could,” she replied. “Just don’t take too long, I’m expecting a call soon.”

“You should have bought me a cell phone,” Bryan smugly replied.

“Never going to happen,” his mom told him.

Bryan rolled his eyes before picking up the phone. He dialed the number, and it rang a few times before someone finally answered. “Monster Files,” a young male voice answered. “This is Miller. What can I do for you?”

“Um… My name is Bryan,” he responded hesitantly.

“You don’t have to be nervous.” Miller laughed. “Tell me, Bryan. Why have you given us a call?”

“I may be in need of some help,” Bryan replied.

“Help with what?” Miller questioned.

“Well, it all started when we first moved here a few days ago,” Bryan replied. “The first night I heard voices coming from under my bed. After that my bed started to move slightly. I brushed it off as a dream. And it only got worse from there. My bed now moves across the floor, and I’ve even seen a hand reach out and grab my snacks and pull them under the bed. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m telling the truth.”

“What do your parents think?” Miller asked.

“They refused to listen to me,” said Bryan.

“Most parents don’t want to believe us,” Miller responded. “Anyways. Where do you live?”

“Hillside Estate,” Bryan answered.

“Hmm… I’ve heard of that place,” Miller replied.

“I was told it was haunted,” Bryan said.

“We need to talk face to face,” said Miller. “Do you know where the little ice cream shop is?”

“I do,” Bryan replied.

“Good,” he said. “Meet me there tomorrow after lunch.”

That night Bryan decided he didn’t want to sleep in his bed. Instead he made a fort out of his blankets and slept in there for the night. It was the first night of good sleep he had gotten in a while. To make things even stranger, nothing happened. No voices, his bed didn’t move—if anything it was a normal night.

After Bryan’s family time at the table, he hugged his mom and dad and apologized for his actions of late. If he was going to get any further with this situation he needed to earn back his parents’ trust.

Later on after lunch the young man made his way towards town to meet up with Miller at the ice cream shop. Except Miller wasn’t alone; there was a young girl sitting across the table from him. And she was the one who looked up at him standing there. She then looked at Miller and whispered something to him.

Miller turned and greeted Bryan, waving him over to the table. Bryan went over and took a seat at the table. “Want some ice cream?” Miller politely asked.

Bryan shook his head. “No, thank you,” he responded. Miller had thick Clark Kent glasses along with wearing a suit. It made the kid look like a bit of a nerd.

Miller felt a foot kick the side of his leg. “Where are my manners?” He laughed. “This is my friend and partner in crime, Smith.” His friend or partner looked more like a normal teen. She had her long reddish-blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. And to Bryan she was really cute; he even felt himself blush a little.

“It’s Diane Smith,” she belted out. “Franky loves to keep calling us by last names only.”

“My name is Frank! FRANK! Not Franky!” he angrily said. “I hate it when you call me that.”

“Gets him every time,” she said with a smirk.

“Can we get down to business please?” Miller grumbled.

“Take all the fun out of it,” Smith sighed. She turned to face Bryan. “So my partner here told me you’re having problems at home.”

Bryan was quick to correct her. “I’m having problems with whatever is under my bed,” he said.

“Do you really think something is living under your bed?” Smith questioned.

“It’s either that or a ghost,” Bryan replied. “I did hear the house was haunted.”

Miller was quick to point out that it wasn’t a ghost, seeing how a hand had reached out from under the bed to grab a candy bar. He also explained how he felt the whole town was strange. Weird things happened in this little town all the time.

That’s why Smith and he had started Monster Files. Because the strange things only happened to the kids for some reason. And they wanted to help where the adults want to ignore the situation. Bryan was caught by surprise learning the story of the town. But he still just wanted to know what was under his bed.

“So then what’s under my bed?” Bryan asked.

“Not sure,” Miller responded. “I do believe that whatever it is only shows up when there are kids living in the house. Nothing happens when it’s just grownups living there.”

“Then what do I do?” Bryan grunted. “I can’t even sleep in my own bed. There has to be something you can do.”

“Give us a couple of days,” Miller insisted. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Or it could be in your head,” Smith responded.

“It’s not in my head,” Bryan hissed.

“We’ll see.” She smiled.