The Bitter Question

In the hushed woods of the Appalachian foothills, a twelve-year-old arrives in a dying Tennessee town in the thick heat of summer. After years of being teased, diminished, and overlooked, he is determined to leave his past behind. A new town means the chance to become the kind of person others don't forget. He changes his name to Will and holds tight to the hope that if he just tries hard enough, he can finally become someone he can be proud of.

That hope takes shape in the form of the Caver Gang, a tight-knit group of friends who gather in the neighborhood's wide open field: Allen, the sharp-tongued jester; Shannon, the watchful skeptic; Alicia, the steady heart; and Theo, the quiet protector.

They offer him the chance to join them and undertake the ritual challenge of the Beginner's Maw. To truly earn his place and become a part of their inner circle, Will must crawl through the claustrophobic limestone tunnel that scrapes skin, twists the mind, and tests the heart. If he reaches the end, he can retrieve the Caver's Gulp, a drink from the underground spring. Will makes it through and earns the right to swear the Caver oaths and carve his name into the stone monolith they call The Rock.

Only after his name is etched does he learn what happens to those who break their promises. They become Scratched. Their names are struck through, and they are forever cut from the group. Will swears the oaths and takes it seriously. For the first time in his life, he belongs.

But initiation is only the beginning.

Soon, the others take him deeper into the woods, across creek-beds, and beneath the hills to a place older than their field, older than their rituals. Here waits something they call the Oracle, a creature that speaks in riddles and borrowed voices, and is said to never lie. If you want to ask it a question, you must bring it three coins from your pocket: one borrowed, one bargained, and one stolen.

It began with a foolish question.

And ends with the price of knowing.

An answer costs three coins. But the truth will cost you everything.