TOYBOX

Prologue

Lightning blazed across the sky as Laurie Kent drove down the highway. She looked forward with great determination. She sighed as she looked at the signs of the highway zooming by her car, each proclaiming an exit she didn't need to take. To her, it felt as though she were on a car ride that would never end. She looked nervously in her back seat, and saw the only occupant. A large wooden trunk, locked tight with a padlock. She sighed in what sounded like relief at the sight of the padlock, and continued her journey down the interstate.

Soon, she saw the sign she had been waiting for. "Exit 2" it read in bright white letters that shimmered in the reflection of her headlights. She turned on her blinker and headed for the exit, and drove forward, not seeing the speed bump that had been placed there…and when she hit it, the whole car shook, and un-seen to her, the padlock on the chest slipped open.
"It's alright. It's just a bump. Nothing to worry about…" she whispered to herself as she exited the highway and pass a sign that read "Welcome to Springsdale" and proclaimed that it was a very nice place to live. She paid no attention to it, however, as she sped down the road.

What happened next is really a mystery. You see, the next morning, her car was found, stuck in a ditch, with no sign of her except, oddly, her clothing…

…and a large ornate trunk filled with toys.

Chapter One: Welcome to Springsdale

Meg Jameson had lived in Springsdale all of her life, and she could tell you all about it if you asked. For example, if you asked, she could tell you that Springsdale had always been a quiet town stuck in the middle of Massachusetts. Not really near enough to Boston to be considered part of the city, and yet not really a rural place. Meg had never really had much of an issue with her town, but knew things were much more exciting outside. She frequently ventured into the city on the weekends, but to be honest…it was getting old. Life was never really as good as it was in good old Springsdale.

Meg frequently took back roads home from her job, because she knew them like the back of her hand. Today seemed like any other day as she drove down one of the more secluded streets. Only one house resided there, and most people avoided it due to tales of ghost. Meg had even heard that it was populated by fairies, which of course was preposterous. Meg , looking ahead down the road, saw something very odd. A car, it seemed had been driven off the road.
She pulled over to see what had happened. Stepping out of her car, she saw that the car wasn't really damaged. She looked inside and saw…nothing.

"How odd" she said to herself as she used her sleeve to open the door. She peered inside and saw nothing out of the ordinary, except for a pile of clothes at the base of the driver's seat, and in the middle of the pile was a skeleton key.
"What in the hell…this makes no sense. Where is the driver?" she said. She closed the door and pulled out her cell phone and dialed the local police.

"Yes. I'd like to report a car that is off the road. Yeah, Down by the old Sanderson place. No one is hurt…but…" she said when suddenly her attention is caught. Sitting next to the car was a large ornate trunk, padlocked shut. "…well…everything seems okay, but I thought you should know." she added flipping the phone closed.

She looked at the trunk and saw designs of what looked to be a stage magician waving one of those black and white wands around. "Curious" she whispered as she noted the padlock. She then quickly went back into the car and took the skeleton key. She ran back to the trunk, and found the key was a perfect fit to the padlock. Hearing the click, she undid the lock and lifted the lid on the trunk. It creaked loudly, showing its age, and she gasped when she saw what was inside. A very large collection of dolls sat in the box. Some action figures, some old wooden dolls, some even made of porcelain…
"This is cool. Very cool." She said, and in a moment of weakness, she made a rash decision. The trunk of strange toys was going with her. She locked it, and pocketed the key, and lugged the heavy old box to her car.

"It wasn't in the car…so…finders keepers" she said to herself, trying to justify what she had just done as she drove away. She honestly felt like this trunk was worth investigating further.

"…and besides, no one will miss it. It's just a bunch of old junk." She said to herself with a satisfied grin.

---

"A trunk full of toys?" asked Cynthia Jones, but most people called her Cyn. "Who cares? It's just junk. Why are you so interested?" she added as she tucked a strand of her dyed black hair behind her ear.

"Because…I found it near the abandoned car, where all that was left of the driver was her clothes." Meg said, looking at the stack of books on the counter. Cyn worked in the local bookstore, practically owned the place.

"…isn't that something?"

Cyn looked strangely at her best friend. "Oh, it's something alright...and they call me the crazy one."

"Look, Cyn, I don't care if you care…I just thought it'd be cool to check this out…like old times."

Meg was referring to when the two girls were in junior high together, and they would seek out strange and mysterious stuff. The even went into the Old Sanderson House once.

"Those times are in the past, Meg. We have to face the fact that…this world? Yeah, it's all we got. There isn't strange and unusual stuff. No magic, no aliens…we aren't Indiana Jones." Cyn said sounding somber.

"I know…but for at least a little while we can relive the good old days. Come on, it'll be fun. I promise." Meg pleaded.
"I'll think about it. I have to work until Midnight, so I am gonna be bushed…but if I feel up to it, I'll swing by." Cyn sighed as she fiddled with the keys of her register.

Meg merely smiled at the exasperated look on her friends face. The "Terror Twins" that's what they called her and Cyn in high school. Closer than sisters…and yet…now that High School was over, Meg could feel their relationship…shifting, changing…and if she were being honest, she would admit that this whole thing with the toys was her trying to hold on to her best friend before the waves of the real world swept her away.

Upon thinking this, Meg sighed, left the bookstore and headed for home.