by Jo Ho
Copyright ©2018 Jo Ho
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this story are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Jo Ho.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Afterword
About the Author
Chapter 1
Becky Stevens wanted to die.
The sun had set hours ago leaving the sky a purple-black haze and it could stay that way forever for all Becky cared. If she never saw daylight again it wouldn’t be a bad thing.
At least then she wouldn’t have to listen to the snickering of those around her, laughing as her world was rocked, and her dreams shattered.
Music blared out from the speakers inside Tonic. The new local hotspot had recently been voted the most popular student hangout of the year but the place seemed too loud tonight, the flashing lights headache-inducing. She felt suffocated by the closeness of the heaving club goers.
She couldn’t move without being pressed up against a sweaty stranger. Despite what her well-meaning friends thought, this really was the last thing she needed.
All she wanted was to veg out in her pj’s in front of Netflix, but they had dragged her out against her will. She had to show him they had said! She couldn’t give him the satisfaction of letting him know how he had broken her.
He was her boyfriend Mark.
Well, technically, he was her ex-boyfriend now.
Earlier in the day she had caught him with his tongue down another girl’s throat. It wasn’t what she had expected to see. Especially that early in the morning during her daily coffee run. The two of them had been together since high school where they were crowned prom queen and king. Dubbed the most popular couple, the two had graduated to the same private college together. As far as she had known, they were a team and Becky had fully expected to live happily ever after with him. They had decided where this amazing life would happen — in California among the palm trees and sunshine. They even knew what they would name their kids: Gemma for a girl, and Logan for a boy.
Why would he do that? Why would he encourage talk like that, getting her hopes up if he had no intention of making any of it happen?
As if the cheating itself wasn’t bad enough, as if seeing him do it wasn’t bad enough, it had to happen as Becky stood blindsided, surrounded by a group of her friends all out getting their breakfast shakes. Her humiliation wasn’t complete it appeared unless it was witnessed by everyone, which was probably why they had insisted on this unfortunate night out. Her friends had figured a few drinks and some twerking later, and Becky would have forgotten all about him.
But although she had tried to enjoy herself, had tried to wipe that picture of him kissing someone else from her brain, there was no hiding that her heart was broken.
She didn’t want to be here.
What she needed was a good cry and to drown her sorrows in a tub of Ben & Jerry’s.
Pushing past the dancers, Becky reached the exit and turned around to wave goodbye to her friends. They shouted something at her, but Becky couldn’t make out what they were saying above the singing of Bruno Mars. Getting the gist of it though, she shrugged apologetically, mouthed “next time,” and made her way outside.
Becky shivered, unaccustomed to the sudden chill, as the fresh air hit her. They had been experiencing an unseasonably warm summer so the abrupt cold was a shock to the system. She clutched her cardigan closed over her chest, wishing she had worn her favorite one with the buttons. Shelby had insisted on this skimpier one. It came with a waterfall opening that didn’t hide her assets and that was a good thing, apparently.
Although no amount of cleavage had kept Mark faithful, Becky thought bitterly.
Picturing her warm bed, Becky hurried towards the dorm she called home. It was only a few blocks away and if she wasn’t wearing these stupidly high heels, she could probably get there in half the time. Unfortunately, everyone knew the price of beauty. The four-inch shoes gave her legs the illusion of length even if they pinched her toes and made balancing an Olympic art form.
Making her way across the square, Becky left the music behind and quickly found herself swallowed up by the silence. As she walked, she noticed that there was something different about the air tonight. She couldn’t put her finger on it. There was a heaviness to it that was almost palpable. She could feel it weighing down on her.
Or maybe that was just the sudden realization that she was single again.
She’d have to date again. She’d have to go through all the uncertainties that came with meeting someone new, but this time, it wouldn’t be as easy as finding him in the same class. Becky was already in her second year at college and she knew the talent — or lack of it — that existed there. The thought of having to be more social, of having to regularly hang out at places like Tonic filled her with dread. While some lived for going out, partying all the time just wasn’t for her.
Her ghostly reflection appeared on the glistening black glass as she approached the John Hancock Tower. She looked away when it creeped her out too much. Her friends always laughed at her for being so jumpy. Becky had grown up with a superstitious mother who always warned her it was best not to look at yourself on shiny surfaces at night, because you might not like what you find there.
It wasn’t like she was five or believed in monsters anymore.
Realizing how ridiculous she was being, Becky mentally shook herself. If she hurried up, she could still catch a few old reruns of Gilmore Girls before bed. That show was what she liked to describe as Hug TV. It was the kind of show that always made you feel better after you experienced it — just like a hug — and a hug was exactly what was required right now.
It was as she was clearing the building that Becky heard a footstep behind her.
She noted it in her mind but kept moving, expecting the person to keep their distance or to move away, respecting her personal space.
But more footsteps came… Closer this time.
Too close for comfort.
She stopped, spinning around to see who it might be. A gang of local kids had taken to water bombing passers-by lately. Becky was not going to be amused if this was them now, especially not in this cold. Scanning the area quickly, she could see no one. Still, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rising, one by one. She couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that someone was watching her. Tentatively, Becky called out.
“Who’s there?”
There was no answer. No other sound.
Just the tap-tapping of her heels, picking up the pace.
Nervously, Becky fumbled for her bag, hoping to take her phone out. She wasn’t sure who she would call, she just knew she would feel better with it in her hand, but in her haste, the bag slipped from her shoulder dropping to the ground. Makeup, and her Tennerson keyring fell onto the sidewa
lk, sounding as loud as gunfire in the silent night. Having fallen from her bag, her phone lay on the ground a little distance away.
Even from a few feet away, she could see a large crack spider-webbing across the dark screen.
“No, no, no…”
Dropping down to the ground, Becky scrambled for her phone, punching the home button, hoping desperately for it to come on but it stayed stubbornly off. Her fingers reached round to press the two buttons that she knew would reset her phone when…
Something moved in the reflection of the glass building.
Startled, her head snapped up to look at it.
What she saw there filled her with such terror that she froze, unable to move…
Chapter 2
COPLEY SQUARE, 1692.
With none of the historical buildings that the world would come to know in existence yet, the square was a large expanse of flat land covered with grass as a young woman drew her cloak around her, hurrying under the light of a blood moon.
She tossed a nervous look over her shoulder. There was nothing behind her but the inky blackness, a giant mouth of darkness that engulfed anything within reach. Still, it was possible that someone or something was following her…
And the thought filled her with a terror so strong that fear constricted her throat.
She was warned not to be out here at night, but she hadn’t listened. She had thought the blood moon was only a story to scare young children into behaving, but there it hung now, low in the sky.
Impossible to miss.
The sun will turn into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
Unbidden, the familiar Bible verse flashed through her mind but what horror did it prophesize?
She moved fast, wading through knee-high grass, hitching up her long skirts so she could cover more ground, ignoring the sharp blades as they whipped against her bare legs, slicing into them. They were only cuts and cuts would heal, but if the warnings were true, then nothing would save her.
Nothing would save any of them.
As she continued through the field, she heard the distinct sound of someone behind her, but there shouldn’t be anyone out here at this time of night. Only she was desperate enough to work so late, ever since her father had fallen ill, and they had fallen behind on payments. There was no other choice. It was either this, or they would lose everything they had worked so hard for.
A low rasping of breath cut into her thoughts.
She was right, someone was following her!
Swallowing her fear, she broke into a run, not caring who saw her panic now. Trees blurred past, but she didn’t look back, instinctively knowing that if she did, she would be lost.
If she could just get past this field, into a more built up area, maybe she could seek help. She knew of a healer who lived nearby, who kept their doors open throughout the night for emergencies. If she could just remember which direction she should head in… Was it… West? Seeing a faint glow of a lamp up ahead, relief washed over her.
There! A house!
As she ran towards it, she felt a forceful tug then found herself flying backward into the night until she landed awkwardly on her rump. Stunned, she didn’t react at first but then pain exploded, sending her senses on fire. It felt as if she had broken every bone in her body. A metallic taste flooded her mouth as she realized she must have bitten her lip in the fall.
What had happened?
Even as the question flashed across her mind, she felt another insistent tug on her cloak. Next came the arms, wrapping around her vice-like until the breath was squeezed out of her.
And still, she couldn’t see who her attacker was.
She tried shouting for help but her words came out a thin, hoarse cry. “Let go of me! Help! Someone, please!”
She flailed, desperate to escape, but the arms were like steel and she couldn’t get free. Feeling hysteria claw at her throat, she opened her mouth to scream when her attacker wrapped thick hands around her neck…
…and snapped it.
She dropped to the ground with a thud.
Chapter 3
COPLEY SQUARE, PRESENT DAY
Becky lay on the ground, her glassy eyes staring blindly across the empty square.
Her face was contorted into an expression of terror that would remain in place when the medical examiner took her back to the morgue to examine her for the cause of death. It didn’t take long for a diagnosis to be made as it was clear for all to see: Becky had died of a broken neck.
When it was time for the mortician to take over the body, he did the best he could to hide the damage but there was no amount of paint or makeup that could disguise that face which would go on to haunt him for the rest of his life.
Becky’s tortured expression stayed the same throughout her closed casket funeral service, where, in front of her family and friends, Mark had sobbed through the entire ordeal having come to the realization — much too late — that it was Becky he loved. The other girl had meant nothing to him. He had only wanted to experience something new, but when he had gotten his chance, only then had he realized just how lucky he had been to have already found the love of his life.
His dreams were now buried with Becky, six feet under the ground, where her face would stay frozen in that awful twisted expression, until the worms and insects came, and the earth would claim her back as one of its own.
Chapter 4
The sun shone down on the gothic monolith that was Blackville University.
Nestled in the picturesque grounds of Walnut Hill overlooking the crystal blue waters of the reservoir, an army of students hurried to their assigned dorms, assisted by their anxious parents, seeing off their kids for the first time.
Among them, Marley Gray hoisted a box against her hip, hoping that she wouldn’t drop the contents all over the floor. Relying on the clean slate that she knew she had here, she was determined not to make a spectacle of herself like she had done, so many times before in the past. Here, Marley was going to have a blast being a normal student, doing normal studenty things. Here, no one was going to find out about her terrible secret.
Not if she could help it.
“You’re sure this is the way?”
Her dad, Paul followed close behind, precariously balancing several boxes of his own, peering at her over the top of them. He was tall and dark-haired. Most women considered him handsome — they were particularly drawn to his being a single parent. It seemed that little fact worked better than a Tinder profile in attracting interested parties, although in the thirteen years he had been single, Marley hadn’t known him to date. He wasn’t able to leave her alone long enough to try, so moving here from San Francisco to let her live in a dorm without him? This was a big deal.
“Yes, Dad. It’s just around the corner,” Marley replied, trying not to roll her eyes at him.
Just because she loved him dearly, it didn’t mean he couldn’t drive her to distraction with all the constant questioning. It was something that had started when she was young, after her mom had left them. On a seemingly normal day, she had gone with only a terse note behind as an explanation. Paul had been crushed although he’d kept it together for Marley’s sake.
At first, it had been pretty tough going.
Five-year-old Marley hadn’t understood why Daddy couldn’t just bring Mommy back. Why didn’t he just get into a car and go after her?
After a few months, the pain began to lessen as Marley became accustomed to having only one parent to call on. After a year, her absence became the new normal, as was ignoring the fact that she had ever existed at all. For most of her life, it had been just the two of them. Marley was pretty OK with that.
Moving past a window, she caught a glimpse of herself in the glass. Her long dark, almost black hair was caught up in a long braid down the side of her face so it wouldn’t get in the way of the moving. She had only bothered with basic make-up today, some mascara to give her lashes more oomp
h, and a little tinted lip balm to keep the dryness at bay. She was lucky that she didn’t need much help to look decent, her good genes being the one thing her Asian mom had passed onto her.
Marley was tall, five foot seven, with a slim but curvy build which all came from her Caucasian dad’s side. She had the almond eyes and small button nose like her mom. Those who didn’t know her would consider her a hottie, but that was only until they got to know the real girl. When that happened, when they discovered the truth about her, it didn’t matter what she looked like.
“Thomas Jefferson Hall,” Paul said, reading from a plaque on the side of a wall. “You were right, here it is.”
He wedged open a door with his foot, leaving space for Marley to go by. Marley smiled at him as she squeezed through, making her way down a hectic corridor, scanning the numbered doors as she went. Students hurried past them, holding up maps looking confused as their parents carried the bulk of their belongings behind them.
“Twenty-two, this is it,” Marley said as she opened the door to find her new roommate already inside, standing next to Hugh Jackman.
Marley did a double take and blinked at him before she realized that it wasn’t the movie star as she had first thought, but a man who looked very much like him. Seeing her, Hugh-alike beamed and leapt forward to assist with her box.
“You must be the roommate! Let me help you with that,” he took the box out of her hands before she could reply and set it on the bed by the wall.
“This is my daughter, Cassie.” He gestured at her, encouraging her to greet Marley. “We hope you don’t mind, but Cassie has chosen the bed closest to the bathroom, but we can swap if you have any objections?”