I relented. Karen’s older brother could always be trusted and at one point, when I was younger, I had a crush on him. But that was a long time ago and he already has a girlfriend. Her name is Flora, a blonde from Michigan who has an obsession with rock music. They’re both seniors and not only that, Flora’s a cheerleader and Rick’s on the football team. Who am I to compete with such a perfect match?
“Alright. I’ll go, but only if I can get home before ten. You know how dad is with these things.”
Karen squealed with happiness and threw her arms around me. Maybe I’ll see the mystery boy at the party. The thought brought a little color to my cheeks.
Chapter 2
For a small town school, I thought that I would have bumped into the mysterious boy again, but he was nowhere to be seen. I continued to keep my encounter with the mysterious boy from my two best friends. Karen was too excited about the party and Lydia, well, she had her own problems to deal with at home. They didn’t need to know my fleeting meeting with a stranger who managed to steal my waking moments away from me. It was strange, as no other boy has ever had that effect on me before, let alone on the first brief encounter. This must be what infatuation feels like. I thought myself as being stupid - to be completely obsessed with someone I didn’t even know.
Saturday eventually came and after gaining permission from my parents, Rick picked me up from my house. Lydia, Karen and Flora were already with him, which gave my dad a little bit of comfort to see a car filled with girls.
“Don’t get drunk and don’t kiss any boys,” dad warned as I bounded down the driveway.
“Yes dad,” I told him with a wave.
My own brother, Luke, was somewhere in his room on his laptop, most likely playing some zombie shooting game. He was always inside his room nowadays and as much as I liked to take him with me, he was too young for the party. Maybe next year, when he’s finally in high school. I paused at the thought. Why would I want to take Luke with me anywhere? It was such a strange moment that I blinked with amusement.
I hopped into the car and Flora greeted me with a smile. She always had good teeth and she made sure to flash them at me in a friendly manner. Karen hinted that her brother might get married to Flora after high school. He didn’t have any plans for college, and neither did Flora. It seemed like such a waste, since they’re so smart.
The older students had several fires going near the water’s edge and the party was already halfway into full swing when we arrived at the lake. The students at Angel’s Fall High have always been good to keep the peace and not disturb anyone, and for that, they earned the authorities’ trust that they can party by the lake without anything bad happening.
But adults were still adults. We passed a few cop cars on the way and knew that someone must have told the sheriff, who sent a few of his men to keep an eye on them in case the drinking got out of hand. They kept their distance though, with binoculars, mugs of water and snacks ready in the back seat. It was going to be a long night of blind-eyed supervision. I doubted any other town was as organised and trusting as Angels Fall.
Rick parked the car.
“Alright girls, you have all your phones,” he said to us. “I’m going to meet up with the guys.”
Rick took the water cooler filled with beer from the back of his car. Flora went with him while Karen, Lydia and I went together down towards the water’s edge, where at least a quarter of the school was. Drinks, marshmallows and food littered the place. There was an assortment of familiar faces, young and old. I kept a lookout for the mysterious boy but he was nowhere to be seen. My heart dropped with disappointment.
Karen and Lydia had disappeared to grab something to eat and I found myself alone amongst the other high schoolers. I noticed the fullness of the bright white moon reflected in the dark water, and in the distance, I thought I saw a shadowy figure. It moved through the trees and disappeared into the darkness. I looked over towards the forest and for a brief moment, I caught sight of him, the blonde man I often saw in my dreams. He stood by the trees, just slightly out of the shadows, where the campfire light lit parts of his perfect face. The man seemed to watch us as we partied, or rather, as the other students from Angels Fall high partied. Music blared across the water and hovered in the air.
Without thought, I walked towards him, my eyes glued on his position for fear that he may disappear. He remained fixed at his spot, fixed until I blinked and he was gone. I parted myself from the crowd and climbed up the small slope to where the man that haunted my dreams stood. Only his footprints remained and it walked into the darkness of the forest. The rational part of me warned me against doing something stupid, like going into the forest alone and in the dark. The sound of music and partygoers continued to rage on behind me. I looked over my shoulders towards the moon. It was a different moon from the one in my dream, which meant, as crazy and illogical as it sounds, that I would not die here and now.
I decided to follow the footprints.
The trees stood tall and loomed over me with their darkness as the moonlight trickled through the thin canopy. I walked, almost blind, with the sound of everything behind me, until everything was completely dark and I couldn’t see anything. It didn’t take long for me to regret my stupid decision, based on a nightmare that plagued me for the past three months, only to suddenly stop since I met the mysterious boy. I thought of it as strange, though it is not a sign to say that I miss the nightmares.
I turned around to return to the lake party and gave a short scream. A figure stood in front of me, his strong solid chest clad in a simple shirt and leather jacket. It was him. It was the mysterious boy.
“What are you doing out here, all alone?” he asked. I thought he sounded almost angry with me.
“I…I…I was just walking.”
He did not look convinced. In the darkness of the night, his pale skin seemed to glow slightly in an ethereal manner. He must have noticed my eyes linger on his beautiful face as he quickly turned it away, as if shameful. I noticed that his eyes were a different color, though that might just be the lack of light.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Why not?” It was a stupid question. In the car, Rick had told us to stay with the party and not wonder off, not that he had anything to worry about. Nothing ever happened in Angels Fall. Dad had told me the same thing, for obvious reasons.
“You might get lost,” the mystery boy said. “Come, I’ll take you back.”
I didn’t move. “I still don’t know your name.”
“That’s not very important.” The mysterious boy stepped aside and waited for me. Although he remained calm, I sensed his agitation, as if I had almost caught him doing something that he shouldn’t be doing. I didn’t know how I knew these things, except that I did. It was as if I had some sort of psychic power, not that I believe in that stuff.
“Who are you?” I asked.
The mysterious boy refused to tell me. Instead, he stepped forward and looked into my eyes. My hands attempted to keep his distance from me as he pulled me close to his face. I couldn’t feel his heart beneath his solid chest. But before I had time to comprehend, his hypnotic gaze compelled me to do his bidding.
“You are going to go back to the party,” he said to me, his voice like bells that rang gently in the breeze. “And you are going to stay there until Rick takes you home.”
I wasn’t sure what happened next, except that I soon found myself walking back towards the crowd. I found Lydia and Karen, who gave me a curious look as they noticed something different.
“Where have you been?” Karen asked. She gave me a cup of fizzy drink and a melted marshmallow.
“I…I was just…”
I looked over my shoulders towards the forest I had just come from. The walk from the darkness to the campfire light seemed like a haze, like a small hole in my memory that I could not quite remember, and yet it was there, like the dream that I kept having. I shook my head. “There’s something I have to tell yo
u,” I told her. Lydia joined my side with a cup full of ice in her hand. But just as I opened my mouth to continue, I forgot about where I had just been.
Karen and Lydia looked at me expectantly.
“What is it?” Lydia asked.
“I don’t remember.”
Karen and Lydia lifted their eyebrows.
“Are you really sure you’re alright? You’re not yourself lately,” said Karen.
“Yeah. You know what, let’s have some fun. I haven’t had anything to eat or drink since we arrived.”
Lydia shrugged. “Alright. Here, take mine. I’ll go and get another one. You stay with Karen. I worry about you sometimes, Amy, falling asleep in class, bouts of forgetfulness, if I didn’t know you, I wouldn’t have thought you were on something.”
“I’m fine,” I repeated. I seemed to be saying those two words a lot more than usual and it was almost as if I was trying to convince myself that it was the truth. “And I’m not on anything.”
~
Rick dropped me home just before the clock struck curfew hour and I went straight to sleep. The dream of the blonde man immediately came back to me and I found myself standing in the forest, half drenched in the dying daylight, once again. He stood with his back turned, as expected, but this time, I also noticed the mysterious boy that ordered me to go back to the party. It was strange that he should be part of this dream too. There was something supernatural about both of them and somehow, I’m caught in between.
The blonde man walked down the path and I followed, out of familiarity and necessity for the dream to continue. The mysterious boy loitered amongst the trees, out of sight and without a sound. Yet, I felt his presence as if he was right next to me. I walked until the blonde man disappeared and I found myself suddenly inside a salt circle. Half melted candles littered the clearing and in the distance I thought I heard the sound of water trickling, which was different from the usual nightmarish dream of death. I also began to smell lavender, as if someone had lit a scented candle in the physical world and its smell trickled into my dreams. I wanted to wake up and find out but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t be able to wake up until I died, which was not going to be any time soon.
Without warning, the floor beneath my feet swirled with a fine white mist and I felt as if I straddled between the dream and the physical world. It was as if someone on the outside was trying to help me, trying to coax the soon to be nightmare into something pleasant.
“Who’s there?” I called but no one replied. “I can feel you.”
The lavender merged with the mist and I found myself in a field of light, and that was all I’m allowed to remember. I felt myself slip away towards a proper sleep.
“Thank you,” I whispered before I lost myself completely to the outside power. I didn’t know if the stranger in the physical world could hear me. Perhaps I mumbled it out in my lucid state. The lavender enveloped me with its power and I’m allowed to properly fall asleep for the first time in a very long time.
~
It was almost noon when I finally woke. I was surprised not to see a melted candle in my room. I went to my dresser and sat down in front of the mirror. The rims around my eyes were gone and I looked more alive than usual. I felt amazed by what a good night’s sleep could do.
It was Saturday and my parents didn’t bother to wake me up. When I went downstairs, everyone was already gone. There was a note left on the counter and it informed me that mom was out to get the groceries while dad went into work to sort out some left over paperwork. I didn’t know where Luke went but I guessed he was most likely at the game store next to the mall.
I opened the fridge and took out the bottle orange juice. Last night’s events came back to me as I sat at the counter and had my late-early breakfast-lunch. The cold milk brought back memories of the mysterious boy, who I had completely forgotten when I found Lydia and Karen. My eyes glanced towards the phone. I had to tell them, that is before I changed my mind again or forget. My strange behaviour must have something to do with him, and the blonde man that kept appearing in my dream and now seeped into my daylight hours, or rather, at night and in the darkness where no one else but I can see him.
I picked up the phone and called Karen. Lydia should also still be at her house. Rick answered the call.
“I guess you’ll want to talk to Karen. She just left with Lydia. Try giving her a text.”
“Yeah. Sure. Thanks.”
I went upstairs, back into my room and searched for my phone, but it was nowhere to be found. I was certain that I had it with me last night, but there wasn’t really much to remember. The mysterious boy’s hypnotic gaze left me with gaps in my memory. Perhaps I dropped it in the forest on the way back. I searched everywhere and even tried ringing it up with my home phone.
“Drat,” I said and realised that I would have to go back to the lake.
I got dressed and took out my bike from the shed. The lake was about thirty minutes away on pedal power and I arrived just in time to have the sun right above my head. I checked my watch and found it to be exactly noon. There were some stray bottles forgotten by the senior students who came back to clean up the place, and ashes where the campfires had been. I left my bike chained in the parking lot and decided to walk the rest of the way. My eyes scanned the place for my phone. It had a bright orange cover, which shouldn’t be hard if it was dropped somewhere nearby. I found it strange that I had not noticed its disappearance.
It didn’t take long for me to return to the forest the mysterious boy had been so angry to discover me in. Light dappled down through the canopy and dotted the ground beneath me with its bright rays. I walked with my eyes and ears alert. I could feel my heart race, although I couldn’t understand why. Perhaps it had something to do with the silence of the forest, or the fact that I was completely alone and I hadn’t left a note or told anyone where I will be.
A twig cracked to my right. I spun around. There was no one there. Not even a flash or a shadow. I lifted my hand and pushed my hair out of my face. I gasped as a figure appeared in front of me.
“You!” I said as I took a step back.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.
I stared at him, half bathed in the sunlight, glorious as a young earthbound god, beautiful in every way, from his flawless skin, clean cut face, strong torso and eyes that were the color of emeralds. I could have swooned, but a part of my brain chided me for my dramatic stupidity. Yes, the guy was definitely a looker, but I shouldn’t allow him to have such an effect on me, not that I had much choice. He had appeared out of nowhere and stood over me with his strong body.
The mysterious boy turned his head slightly to the side, lowered his chin in a questioning manner, and demanded an answer with his eyes.
“I lost my phone.”
“It’s not here.”
I blinked. My tongue continued to work despite the sudden blankness I felt. His presence confounded my senses.
“It must be here. I already searched my house and the lake. This is the only place left.”
“You should go home.”
I noticed how he did it again, his alluring eyes locked on mine as the strong urge to follow his instructions took over me. I tore my face away. The spell between us broke and he took a step back.
“Aren’t you at all afraid?” he asked. There was something cryptic about his question. I wasn’t sure if he was speaking about himself, about the forest or about the fact that I am alone in the forest.
“Nothing ever happens at Angels Fall,” I said to him. “You don’t look familiar at all. You know what? Let’s start again, from the beginning.”
The mysterious boy frowned. I extended out my hand.
“Hi,” I said, “I’m Amy Ryans. What’s your name?”
The mysterious boy pursed his lips. He stared at me and refused to accept the handshake.
“Go home,” he said. “And you shouldn’t be talking to strangers.”
I lowered
my arm and sighed. “Okay, I’m going to find my phone and if you don’t like that, I’m sorry.”
I turned around and trudged away from him. He was strange, his broody mood irritated me and if not for his good looks, my opinion of him would have been worse.
“Wait,” he said. “It’s not that way.”
I stopped. “It’s not that way?” I repeated, my voice high and accusing. “What do you mean, it’s not that way?” I spun around to face him again but he had disappeared. The mysterious boy moved like a ghost and he could not be seen anywhere. My eye widened with surprise but is quickly replaced with confusion. On the spot where he stood was my phone, its bright florescent case on the ground.
I went to it and picked up. My skin pricked as I felt someone watching me again, from the trees, invisible to the naked eye. I looked in the direction I felt I’m being watched from, but found nothing.
My phone rang and I jumped at the sudden sharp burst of sound. It was Karen.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?” she asked.
“I’m at the lake’s forest. Why?”
“What are you doing there? Anyway, you can tell me later, but first, come to the hospital.”
“Hospital? What’s wrong?” I didn’t really need to ask the question. “What happened?”
“Lydia’s hurt.”
Chapter 3
Lydia’s phone cut off before I could get any more out of her. She must have run out of minutes again. I did not loiter about in the forest and went right back to the parking lot where I had left my bike.
The journey on bike to the hospital was at least forty minutes away and I looked forward to the day that I will be able to drive to places. I must have broken my own record as I managed to shave off about fifteen minutes by the time I reached the hospital doors. I rushed in and searched for Karen but she was not in the foyer.
I dialled her number and pressed my phone to my ear.
Witchling (Chronicles of Witchood) Page 2