by ID Johnson
Whatever the reason, I’d gone to bed early that night, thinking there was a shift on the horizon, something bigger than anything I’d ever known before. Eventually, I dozed off, but my suspicions that all was not well were confirmed when I awoke sometime between 4:00 and 5:00 AM to the sounds of an unfamiliar voice coming from my sister’s room, an engine outside, and footsteps on the roof.
Chapter 3
I think it was the voice that woke me up, though it may have been the purr of a motorcycle engine. I was dreaming about my sister riding off on the back of a motorcycle, leaving Shenandoah forever, and in my dream, I was on the sidewalk outside of our house, screaming for her to come back. So maybe it was the bike that woke me, though it had been incorporated into my dream so that when my eyes flew open, I thought that part wasn’t real.
Then I heard a man talking to my sister. I’d never heard his voice before; I was certain of that. So, it wasn’t Jack or Jon or Kash. He sounded like he was in a rush, like something was wrong, but somehow there was a calmness about each measured word. His voice was a sort of a song, and for once, I actually got out of my bed and pressed my ear to the wall, trying to figure out who this person was and why he was there.
Cadence was upset about something. There was no question about that. She was slamming drawers and doors. Most of the time when she was sneaking around, she’d try to be quiet so as not to wake me, but more than one slam let me know that she wasn’t thinking clearly. While I still couldn’t understand more than a few words, I did hear her call him a “creep” which was alarming, but the next thing I knew she was crying. It wasn’t the sort of cry you might hear when someone is in trouble. It was a lamentable cry, like when the whole world has been upended and you’re just on the cusp of understanding what has happened. I would come to know this cry on a personal level in the days and weeks to come.
Another engine sound caught my attention, and I crept to the window. Below me, pulled up to the curb in front of our unassuming house in the middle of small town USA, was a black sports car I imagined would do just fine in a Grand Prix race. I had no idea what it was, but it was impressive. I heard the motorcycle again and realized it wasn’t a dream after all. In fact, as it pulled off into the distance, I thought I might’ve heard more than one of them. That’s when I heard footsteps on the roof and jumped back away from the window. I had no idea what was happening, but panic began to grow inside of me.
Carefully, I snuck to the door and locked it, something I don’t think I’d ever done before. I also picked up my phone thinking I might have to call 9-1-1. I had no idea what was happening, but I noticed Cadence had stopped crying, and a few minutes later, I heard her bedroom window open and close very quickly. I rushed back to my window, careful not to make too much noise, but I had no idea how anyone could come and go through her window since we were on the second floor.
Below me, I only saw a blur that looked something like a disturbance in the air, sort of like how a superhero might move in a movie. It disappeared out of the yard and down the street, and I held my breath for a long moment. The car was still there, the engine much quieter now as it idled, and then I heard another motorcycle sound. It was almost like whatever had jumped out of my sister’s bedroom window had flashed to a spot down the block to the bike.
It wasn’t Cadence, though. I heard her in her room, heard the creek of her door and the flick of her light switch, heard her boots on the carpet outside of my room, heard the creak of the stairs.
I felt like she was in trouble, like something bad had happened, and I desperately wanted to run out to her, to help her. But my feet were melded into the carpet by the window, and I couldn’t move. I’d never been as confused or as terrified as I was at that moment. I heard another noise on the roof, though this one was softer than the bumps I’d heard before. I hoped that meant whoever—or whatever—was up there was leaving.
Looking down at the car, I saw another flash and then there was a woman standing next to it. I had no idea how she’d gotten there. I hadn’t seen the driver’s side door open or watched her walk around the car, unless that was what the flicker of movement had been. As my sister approached the car, an overnight bag in her hand, I noticed this other woman, who was dressed entirely in black with short, curly, purplish hair, was much shorter than Cadence. They talked for a few moments, and then my sister climbed into the car and rode away with her.
I continued to stand by the window for a long moment, trying to figure out if I was dreaming or if something else was going on. How could everything I’d just witnessed be real? I was about to walk away from the window when movement on the top of the house across the street caught my attention. My anxiety rose, and I thought perhaps we were being invaded by aliens. Panic turning to sheer terror, I did what a five-year-old girl might do and took off toward my bedroom door as fast as I could.
Forgetting that I’d locked it, I ran into the thin wood face first. I had expected to pull it open as I was going out, but instead, I’d come face-to-face with the barrier. Rubbing my smarting nose, I fumbled with the lock as another noise sounded on the roof. I made it out into the hallway, thankful for the nightlight my dad had positioned there eons ago, and ran down the stairs as quickly as I could, watching over my shoulders as I went.
My parent’s bedroom door was closed, but thankfully it wasn’t locked. I expected them both to be sound asleep, but as I threw the door open, I was surprised to see them both sitting up in bed talking, worried expressions on their faces.
“Mom! Dad!” I said, closing the door behind me and trying to hold back the terror in my voice. “Something weird is going on!”
“Oh, Cassidy, honey, you should be asleep.” Leave it to Liz Findley to try and soothe the terror out of me when she clearly knew something odd was happening. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be up this time of day either, not unless she was in the kitchen with the turkey, which she obviously wasn’t.
I flung myself onto the foot of their bed. “Mom, something’s going on with Cadence! There was a man in her room. And I saw her leave with some weird woman in a sports car!”
My parents exchanged glances, and then both of their phones chimed at the exact same moment with a text message. My mother held up a finger and reached for her phone. A small sigh escaped her lips as she showed the screen to my father despite the fact that he was holding his own phone in his hand and likely had just received the same message—from my sister, I presumed. I waited in agony for them to tell me what was going on.
I didn’t miss the look that passed between them. They were aware that something bizarre was going on, but they didn’t look panicked or terrified the way that I was. I continued to stare at my mother for what seemed like an eternity until she set her phone aside.
“I’ll go call Mom,” my dad said, letting out a deep breath. He took his phone and climbed out of bed, his blue pajama pants tangled around one calf. “Everything is okay, Cassidy,” he said almost as an afterthought as he headed into the bathroom so he could call his mom in private. I had no idea what Grandma Janette had to do with any of this, and I returned my attention to my mother.
“Get as much information as you can, Eli!” my mother called out to my father as he shut the bathroom door. Then, she returned her gaze to me. I knew that look. It was the same one she gave me when I came in fourth place in a gymnastics competition when I was six, just missing the podium. I got it often when I’d tried to play coaches pitch and found out I am not so good at hitting balls with large sticks. She reached up and smoothed my long brown hair away from my face. “Everything will be okay, Cassidy. Something unexpected has happened. But I’m sure your sister is just fine.”
Her words seemed measured, and I wondered exactly what that text, which I was certain now had to have been from Cadence, said. “Mom, I heard footsteps on the roof.”
“It was probably just the wind.”
“There was a man in Cadence’s room.”
“It must’ve been Jack.”
I
couldn’t tell my mom that I’d heard Jack’s voice through Cadence’s wall plenty of times and knew it was not him. Also, Jack had never come and gone via the bedroom window before. “What about the sports car?”
“Honey, your sister just sent me a text. She’s made a new friend. I’m sure we’ll know more soon. She’s just going out of town for a bit.”
I raised both eyebrows at her. None of this made any sense. “What does Grandma have to do with anything?”
This one seemed to throw more of a wrench in her deceitful plan. “I think your dad just wanted Grandma to know that Cadence is going out of town for a little while.”
I raised an eyebrow at her. Why would my father call his elderly mother at—I glanced at the clock—4:57 to tell her that my sister had made a friend and was going out of town?
Before I could inquire further, my dad was on his way back to bed, his pant leg righted. “Everything is okay, Cassidy,” he repeated, a solemn smile on his face. Dad sat down on the opposite side of the bed from where I was sitting, and I could tell by his expression that everything wasn’t really okay. He looked at my mom and then at me, as if he was asking her whether or not they should toss me out. My mom only shrugged, and I could tell by her eyes that she was dying for my dad to tell her something.
“Cassidy, why don’t you go back to bed, and we’ll talk about all of this in a few hours?” My dad’s tone was the kind that says he’s asking a question, but he doesn’t really mean to see if you agree or not.
For once in my life, I played dumb. “No, thank you,” I said, as if I thought his question gave me a choice. “I’d like to know what’s going on now. Where’s Cadence? Is she okay?”
My father’s breath could’ve blown out all the candles on his cake if he was a hundred years old. “Cadence is fine, honey. There was some sort of an accident tonight. I’m not sure of the details yet, but Drew Peterson was hurt. They’ve taken her to the hospital. Your sister is going to stay with your grandma for a few days to try to calm down. She’s very upset.”
I listened to my father’s words and felt the blood drain out of my face. I had known all along this Eidolon Festival wasn’t a good idea, and now it was confirmed. Part of me thought I should tell them what I knew, that Cadence hadn’t just gone to Drew’s house that night, but I also didn’t want to get Cadence in trouble, especially if she was involved with whatever had happened to Drew. It seemed very bizarre to me that my sister would head out of town because her friend was in the hospital unless Cadence had something to do with whatever had landed Drew there.
I remembered hearing my sister cry a few moments ago. Had she done something to hurt Drew? Was it on purpose, or an accident, like my dad said? I couldn’t imagine Cadence hurting anyone. Even though we were siblings, we never roughhoused the way that some kids did. She’d never done more than throw a pillow at me. My insides felt all tangled up. So many more questions burned in my mind, but I didn’t feel safe asking any of them right now for fear I’d give my sister’s secret away. As it was, I may have already said too much. Would my parents wonder who the man was that was in my sister’s room? What had Cadence told them about the woman with the purple hair?
Holding back all of the questions that threatened to bubble to the surface, I nodded my head. “Will you tell me if you hear anything more about Drew? Or if Cadence calls?”
“Of course, honey,” my mom said. “But don’t worry. You’re perfectly safe. Any noises you heard have a logical explanation.” She was smiling in reassurance, and I wanted to believe her, but she hadn’t seen what I did.
Nevertheless, I pulled myself up off of the bed and headed toward the door. My parents’ smiles were straightened, tight with anxiety, and they both watched me like they were waiting for me to step outside of the door so that they could breathe again.
I acquiesced and walked out into the hallway, pulling their door closed behind me. As expected, I heard two loud exhales as soon as it clicked. I considered lingering for a moment to see if they said anything I needed to know, but then, my parents were smarter than I was giving them credit for, and they waited for me to walk away before either of them said a word.
As I passed through the living room on the way to the stairs, I noticed the chain on the front door was unlocked. There was no way Cadence could’ve locked it behind herself when she left, so I slid it into place before heading up the stairs, satisfied that the door was secure.
I didn’t go straight to my room, though. Instead, I went to hers. I carefully pushed the door open, afraid that man, or someone else, might be in there, waiting for me to become the curious cat. Nothing stirred, and nothing appeared to be out of place. Even the bedroom window appeared to be locked from the inside. I opened a few drawers and Cadence’s closet, noticing some of her favorite clothes were gone. An inspection of her bathroom proved she’d managed to grab some of her favorite products and little more. I noticed she’d forgotten her phone charger and wondered if her new friends would have one she could borrow since I was pretty sure the only phone my grandma had likely used a rotary dial. The fact that I know what that is should prove I’m not kidding.
I stepped back into the hallway, looking around to make sure I was alone before I headed back to my bedroom. I closed and locked the door behind me and even took my chair out from under my desk and propped it under the handle. I realized that if these people could come in and out of locked windows, jumping up and down from the second story, my flimsy desk chair probably wasn’t going to do much, but it made me feel marginally safer.
Out the window, the street looked just as sleepy as it usually did that time of morning. The sun wasn’t up yet, although I imagined it would be beginning to climb the sky soon enough. The neighbors’ roofs all looked as they should, and I heard nothing else above me.
Blowing out a breath through my mouth, I climbed back under the covers, thinking there was no way I could go back to sleep. I prayed that Drew would be okay and that whatever was going on with Cadence, she wouldn’t be in any trouble. I saw my own phone next to me on the nightstand and thought about calling her, but whatever was going on with her, the last thing she needed was to think that she’d involved me somehow. My sister was overly protective, and I knew I’d be doing her a solid by not letting her know I’d seen or heard anything. For all she knew, I’d slept through the whole thing, and that’s the way it needed to stay until I could figure out what in the world was going on.
I also considered calling Lucy or Emma but quickly pushed those ideas away, too. Lucy likely wouldn’t be up until closer to noon, despite the fact that it was a holiday. And Em had a very strict rule that people shouldn’t be out of bed until the sun was up. Once it climbed above the horizon, then, by all means, start your day, but if the sun was down, so was Em, at least in the morning. Sometimes her rules were a little hard for us to understand, but we did our best to abide by them, which meant I’d have to wait a few more hours to call her, too. It wasn’t likely she would know anything anyway. She didn’t care much for any people other than me or Lucy, so it wasn’t like she would’ve heard anything. Lucy on the other hand had quite a social network. As soon as she was conscious, Lucy Burk would know what was going on. She’d probably hear what had happened to my own sister before I did.
I slumped down into the bed, pulling the covers up over my shoulders, wishing I could just forget the last half hour or so of my existence. Drew was hurt; Cadence was in trouble; and there were some sort of weird beings invading our lives. Whatever had happened at that Eidolon Festival, I needed to find out because, if Cadence’s life would never be the same, neither would mine, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for the kind of drastic changes that brought sports cars to your house in the middle of the night.
Chapter 4
Somehow, I must’ve managed to fall back to sleep because when I opened my eyes again, the sun was streaming in between my curtains, and the clock said it was 9:27. I was so alarmed that I’d missed something important, I leapt out of my bed
and ran to the door, listening for more weird sounds. The house was eerily silent without Cadence next door. I was sure my parents were up, but they were likely in the kitchen preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, and I wouldn’t be able to hear them from here.
I went back and sat on the edge of my bed, trying to decide what to do. I could check all the usual social media sites to see if anyone knew how Drew was or what had happened, but I was a little hesitant to do that. What if someone knew my sister was involved? Did I really want to read that Cadence had killed someone on Facebook? I also considered calling my sister again but decided not to bother her. With a sigh, I grabbed some clean clothes and decided to head down the hallway to the bathroom to take a quick shower. My barricade was still in place, and I felt a little silly moving the chair out of the way so I could exit my room, but at least I knew no one had entered my bedroom in the middle of the night.
Unless, of course, they’d come in the window.
Chills ran down my spine as I thought over everything that had happened the night before. I turned the shower on and let it run for a minute while I took care of other things and brushed my teeth. Had there really been a strange man in my sister’s room? Did he really jump out the window and run away in a blur? What was up with the noise on the roof? And where in the world did Cadence meet someone who drove a car like that?
I got in and let the warm water wash over me, thankful that something normal still existed in my life. As I washed my hair, my thoughts slipped to poor Drew. I had no idea what had happened to her, but I had a burning in the pit of my stomach that told me everything was not okay. My parents were not exactly forthcoming with the information earlier that morning, so I hoped they’d be a little more inclined to share now that the sun was up. They might not be willing to tell me what had happened to the blonde cheerleader with the infectious smile, but I hoped they would at least tell me if she was going to be okay.