13 Book One, Chapter Eleven

Published: Sept. 30, 2007, 6 p.m.

"Assam & Darjeeling" is the story of two children who set out to rescue their dead mother from the Underworld -- a nightmare place where the mythological desperately tries to keep pace with the world above. The children encounter cell-phone carrying demons, forgotten deities from defunct pantheons waiting tables, and one nasty character called Juniper who takes a particular, personal interest in their quest. In the eleventh chapter of our story, the boy and girl explore Moontown. Children play and scream all around them until the evening comes and, one by one, they're gone.