The Trench — Richard Martins

Thirteen-year-old Seth Tyler's world has crumbled. Two of his family members have been murdered and the last, his mother, lies dying three floors below in a secluded manor far from his native California. A lifetime of being hunted by a mysterious entity has brought the pair to this apparent dead end in Germany's darkest forest. Desperate, Seth sets out to find his mother's cure, but his quest soon takes an unexpected turn when a misstep drops him into a primitive world existing beneath our own. His arrival does not go unnoticed and our unlikely hero soon finds himself fighting for his life. Thanks to the aid of some unusual allies, he avoids falling prey to troll-like creatures created by the same enemy plaguing his family.

Peopled by a menagerie of unique inhabitants, the Trench is a long-hidden land formed when humans first began their climb up the food chain. When Seth finds out his parents are refugees from this subterranean setting, and that those responsible for his father's death dwell here as well, he begins to wonder whether chance or fate has stranded him in this underworld. But he's not the only one with questions. That sixth sense so prized by those who call the Trench home makes one thing evident to all: Seth is different. Different enough to scare the hell out of friend and foe alike.

As the search for a cure leads Seth and his companions deeper into this realm of constant surprises, the forces of the Trench begin to forge a man from the boy. But the bloodline of this particular boy is frighteningly unique and the young man he will become could tip an age-old balance. Before his journey is done, both Seth and the denizens of the Trench will be forced to confront the evil attempting to break its bonds at the bottom of the world.