Hi guys. I re-watched Over The Garden Wall recently and got inspiration for a plot. I wondered what it would be like if Beatrice wasn't a native of The Unknown, but rather another lost soul like Greg and Wirt. Thus, this story was born. Perhaps not the most original idea, but I love the little world of OTGW and the idea of telling new tales.

This story will have 12 chapters. A prologue, the 10 episodes of the miniseries and an epilogue. The episodes will be altered in ways, of course. I hope you readers enjoy what I write, as we delve into the mysterious Unknown..

It was a crisp autumn afternoon. The scent of spicy cinnamon and apple was on the wind, both trademarks of the harvest season. In the small town of Cedarbrook children prepared for the fun and trickery of the evening. Groups of friends sat on the soft grass of backyards, pulling on costumes and making arguments about who looked the scariest.

Not everybody was cavorting about with others that day. A young girl of thirteen sat alone against a tree trunk, slowly carving a pumpkin. Her darkened face was pursed in concentration as hands of the same color maneuvered a knife through the orange flesh. A trio of brown freckles lay beneath each of her olivine eyes that flickered back and forth as she decided upon her design.

Although she wasn't talking to others about costumes she was still wearing one. A headband was jammed onto her head, somewhat obscured by curly bushels of dark hair. Stuck onto the headband were a pair of black cat's ears. The rest of the outfit consisted of a striped yellow-and-orange cardigan and a floppy "Tail" tied to the back of her jeans. Her footwear consisted of simple red sneakers that she often wore outside.

This girl's name was Julie Moore. An only child, Julie had grown up to become a somewhat solitary person. She preferred to keep her distance from others, lest they make fun of her for the way she lived. Julie held a thirst for adventure and intrigue, things not often found within Cedarbrook. Because of this she took to wandering the forest around the town, climbing trees and looking for anything unique.

"Unique" essentially meant anything out of the ordinary. Julie collected such things in jars, boxes or other containers which she would place in her bedroom. Examples of her collection included: a rock roughly shaped like the letter L, a leaf with a pattern of holes and a very flat, wide pebble. Her most interesting specimen was a living creature which she'd found close to the nearby river. She liked going out on expeditions after dark, when nocturnal creatures were about.

Julie was looking forward to sunset that day in particular. It was the 31st of October, Halloween. The day that, it is said, the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest. Anything could happen.

At least, she hoped something would. After the trick-or-treating and other more ordinary rituals were over, Julie would go on a long excursion into the forest. It was her sort of yearly tradition, setting out into the woods with just a flashlight and backpack, ready to find something extraordinary. Her anticipation of something strange usually ended in disappointment, unfortunately. Still, she could not help but notice a buzz in the air on Halloween night. Not the type of buzz one gets from people's excitement, either.

A smile crept along Julie's face as she remembered her fortune the previous year. She wasn't ready to give up on her ideas just yet.

There was a soft plunk as the final piece carved from the pumpkin landed on the ground.

'Hmm.. I think this may be my best one yet,' thought Julie as she stood back to scrutinize the vegetable.

The pumpkin appeared to be leering, mouth gaping wide open and rimmed with sharp-looking teeth. The eyes were large and slanted, giving the impression of evil delight. The nose was the simplest part, being a small triangle.

Julie stood and stretched her stiff legs, satisfied with her work. She bent to pick up the new Jack-O-Lantern, carrying it over to the front porch of her small home and placing it down carefully.

Feeling the house was now adequately set up for trick-or-treating, Julie quickly grabbed a small bag and set off to do some of her own.

'Pretty good haul this year!'

A wide grin stretched across the teen's face as she hefted her now bulging bag of candy. Although Cedarbrook was a small town, it's large population of children ensured the adults were well stocked for Halloween. Night had fallen hours ago, the chirping of crickets signaling through the darkness.

Julie hummed to herself merrily, popping a piece of red licorice into her mouth and chewing it slowly. She continued sampling her spoils until making it back to her house.

"I'm back, mom!" The teen's voice rang out as the old door creaked open.

A weary-looking woman came out from the living room, placing down an empty bowl before turning to her daughter. Her skin was tanned, though a few shades darker than Julie's and showing signs of age. Her eyes, too, were different. They were dark as the night outside, but nonetheless they held a fierce spark.

"Ah, look what the cat's dragged in!" Martha quipped, taking note of her daughter's scruffy appearance.

Julie rolled her eyes good-naturedly at the joke. Taking a second to straighten her wonky headband, she pulled the treat bag into the house and dropped it onto a coffee table surrounded by armchairs. She couldn't help but smile as candy spilled out onto the wood with a clatter.

"I got loads this year, mom. Toffees, bubblegum, sherbet, chocolates.."

Julie paused to duck her head into the bag, coming out with a brown pouch clasped in one hand.

"Of course I couldn't forget your favorite. Caramel cremes!" The girl tossed it towards her mother with a cheeky grin.

"Well thank you, dear. But caramel cremes aren't exactly cheap... are you sure you didn't go rifling through old Miss Girder's cupboard again?" Martha eyed Julie with suspicion.

The teen stood innocently, hands behind her back. "Oh, mother, why would you accuse me of such a thing? I'll have you know I asked Miss Girder for those."

"That so? Well, maybe I ought to go thank her for them.." The woman smiled, turning towards the door.

Julie dropped her demeanor and waved her hands in surrender, "Okay, okay! So I didn't exactly ask. But it's not like she'll notice they're gone..."

"Hmmm. Alright, I won't tell her about it. But this time you've gotta pay her back for them, alright?" Martha's tone was stern.

"Okay, mom. I'm gonna go get my backpack."

The teen raced upstairs before she could receive further scolding. Martha sighed and shook her head, absently taking a bite of one of the ill-gotten sweets.

Julie checked her blue backpack a final time, making sure she had what she needed.

"Torch, jars, snacks, water, rope and sweater. Looks like everything's ready!"

The teen zipped up the pack and pulled it onto her shoulders, excited for a new adventure. Before departing, she quickly farewelled her pet tortoise.

"I'll see ya later, buddy. I didn't forget about your treat."

Julie placed some unwrapped candies into the glass enclosure, causing the reptile to start nibbling at them. It was an odd creature, black as ink and with an appetite for sweet things. Julie had found it on her expedition the previous year, injured. After freeing one of it's legs from under a rock she cared for it back at her home, eventually becoming attached. Although it still had no name, Julie felt glad to have it as a companion.

Giving the tortoise one last pat, the girl exited her room and raced downstairs. She waved to her mother as she headed towards the door.

"Bye mom! I'll be back later!"

With one last step, she launched into the cool breeze of the outside world.

'Into the unknown..'

Julie grunted as she hauled herself up onto a tree. She had been exploring the forest for an hour, and it showed. Leaves and twigs were stuck in her bushy mane of hair and woven through her cardigan. Dirt was smudged along the legs of her jeans and on her face. This didn't faze Julie though; she was used to getting dirty and bruised when seeking the extraordinary.

The teen let out a sigh and adjusted her legs, allowing them to freely swing under the branch on which she now sat. Shining her torch around, she took note of the water reflecting it's light below. The river flowed on quietly, trickling around small rocks poking above it's surface. Although Julie had swum in the river before, it wasn't always safe. The particular patch she was shining her torch on was dark, indicating it was deep. It was bound to be very cold as well, considering how the air temperature seemed to be slowly dropping.

Julie turned to rummage through her backpack. Only one of her jars had been filled. The girl squinted at it's contents.

It seemed to be a worn piece of carved grey stone, which Julie had found stuck in the mud of the riverbank. One end was flat, the other sides uneven. This indicated it was chipped off of something. The other giveaway was the large letter chiseled into it. A capital M curved elegantly across, one end of it cut slightly. It was obviously a part of some old monument or a similar artwork.

"M..." Julie rolled the letter around in her mouth, imagining the significance it may have had.

'Like.. the start of a fancy name? Marilla, Marius, Montague...'

While the girl continued to think of names starting with "M", the night breeze started to blow harder. The branch Julie sat on began to shake.

"Brrr... Might be time to put on my sweater." The teen shivered, reaching across into her bag.

CAAAAW!

A sudden, loud screech caused her to jump in surprise. One hand clutching onto her backback, Julie's torch slid out of her grasp as she lost her balance. The cause of this disturbance was a large crow, looking down at her from a higher branch with beady black eyes.

"Whoahh!"

Julie was unable to prevent what came next. She slipped off the shuddering wood, falling towards the river with a scream. She heard her torch hit the water, then felt herself do the same.

A loud splash was the prelude to a mind-numbing cold. Julie found she could hardly move. She was still holding onto her backpack, weighed down by it. With some struggling the girl managed to release it into the depths. This did little to help her move, however. Her breath was almost gone from the initial impact, the chill sapping it even faster.

Julie tried to look around, her vision blurred and darkening. Her consciousness slipped away as she closed her eyelids and surrendered to the water's deadly embrace.

Red sneakers crunched over brown leaves, the sound echoing through the desolate area. Dead-looking trees loomed in a foreboding way over the dirt path. They bore an eerie resemblance to human faces, eyes and mouths locked in an expression of everlasting misery. Tar-like oil oozed from crevices spiderwebbed across their bodies, pooling around gnarled roots.

The crunching noise stopped.

"Where... am I?"

Julie scanned her surroundings, feeling confused and disoriented. She thought she had been cold; was she? Her backpack was slung over her shoulders, her clothes clean and unworn.

"But.. I just started into the forest... didn't I?"

The girl's breathing quickened as she struggled to remember.

"I-I got lost... I don't even know where this is..."

She spun around, gaze drawn to the trees that seemed to be mocking her.

"I-I'm.."

Julie stopped, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths to calm herself. She opened her eyes and observed her surroundings more thoroughly.

"Okay, this is a weird place. Maybe I went the wrong way."

Thinking to herself, the teen spotted a signpost next to one of the trees. The lettering was worn but Julie suspected it might be pointing her way back home. Adjusting her backpack straps, the girl trudged forwards on the path with determination.

That's the end of the prologue, folks. I hope you're enjoying it so far. This chapter was mostly about establishing Julie's character so not much really happened. But the next chapter will be more exciting. It'll show things from Julie's point of view, with Wirt and Greg making their first appearances. Their journey won't really pick up until chapter 3, but I will do my best to keep things interesting with things I'll integrate into the original 10 chapters. Leave a review if you want, I haven't written in this style for a bit and I'm interested to know what you guys think of it!

As a side note, the cover picture is a drawing of Julie and her robin form. I commissioned it myself, but the art isn't mine. All credit goes to the original artist birbbudd on Deviantart.