INTRODUCTION

"25 years from the present, Endsville looks quite a bit different. On the top of a hill is a shiny castle, its spires towering over the city like prison guards, intimidating all those that dare look up. A new dictator is in charge, but there are those who plot to overthrow her. Endsville has become a horrifying place, but everyone is too afraid to leave, because they will be hunted down and brought back for punishment. So they serve their queen the best they can, hoping one day someone can stop her and bring peaceful rule to the city.

I am 35 years old and am a far cry from accomplishing all I've set out to do. But I intend to change that, as I've always been determined and ambitious, and am used to getting what I want. The Dictator has eyes all over, those who serve her out of fear, but it is time she was stopped, as Endsville was never meant to be this way. I had to formulate a plan and take back what was rightfully mine. That meant I had to find Grim.

Dressing in a casual dark sweater and jeans, I wanted to be comfortable. I'd be damned if I wear the white frilly uniforms that SHE required as dress code. I had hidden a few of my own clothes in a hidden compartment in my apartment, and in anticipation of what I was planning to do, such open defiance as wearing them in public was a first step to showing I wasn't some minion who would just do her bidding. I had hid with my tail between my legs long enough...I can't believe I ever could have cowered before her, but then again, the Grim incident was no ordinary occurance.

Satisfied that I looked good and feeling liberated from that pathetic white dress, I made my way a couple doors down and knocked. A prim and proper looking guy opened the door, dressed in the crisp suit and tie attire required to be worn by the men."


"Mandy! What are you doing here? Wearing that?" he said, looking completely shocked and horrified at my appearance.

"Billy, it's time we fought back, I'm through with being her floormat."

"But..." he said, a glimmer of the intelligence he'd gained over the years hanging there.

"Do you really want to be a slave to her forever?"

"She's got Grim, Mandy, there isn't much we can do."

"We can get Grim back. Like we should have done all those years ago."

"I don't know, you know what happened last time..."

I was growing impatient. "Look, I'm going to do this with or without you. But I'd rather be imprisoned forever trying to make things right again than continue to live in this fluffy bunny wonderland Mindy has created."

I could see he was beginning to come around, even if hesitant. He was no genius, but during puberty he had developed more sense than I had ever thought possible. Too bad that he hadn't developed some balls, too...he was as cowardly as they got.

"Come on, Billy. What do you have to lose?" I knew I could persuade him...he would do anything I told him.

"Well...I...it would be nice to have Grim again."

"That's what I wanted to hear. Now get your butt out here, we have work to do. "