by Sarah Reeves
“Are you okay, Alex?” Oliver leaned forward in his seat, looking concerned. “You were kinda zoned out there for a bit.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied. “I’m just thinking about Teagan’s party tomorrow.” Hannah and Oliver exchanged looks, and Alex’s face reddened. They clearly knew she was lying, but to her relief, decided to embrace the change in subject.
“So what time should we be there tomorrow? I want to be early so I can help your mom with the decorations.” Hannah bounced in her seat. She loved projects of any kind, and Alex’s mom had already promised that she would let her help in the morning. Hannah was Oliver’s ride to the party, so he would be tagging along as well. Alex had a feeling he wouldn’t want to help much with the decorating, though.
“You should try to be there at about ten.” The waitress arrived, dropped off their plates, and left after refilling their drinks. Alex took a bite of her food, and choked. Why did she have to order something so spicy? She downed half of her glass of water, and continued, ignoring the laughter of the two sitting across from her. “The party won’t start until one, but Mom wants everything to be perfect for Teagan. There is no way she will allow a single mistake on a birthday as important as this one.” Teagan was what doctors called a “miracle baby”. While Alex’s mother had been pregnant with her, the doctors had told Jennifer that her baby would most likely be born without a spine or a brain, and that her best option was to abort the pregnancy. Jennifer had refused, swearing up and down that she’d felt the baby kicking, and on April 15th, 2011, she delivered a healthy baby girl, spine and all. The doctors had been baffled, but Jennifer was over the moon. Tomorrow would be a milestone for the Fleming family, one that Alex was all too happy to be involved in. Teagan was Alex’s whole world.
Hannah, Oliver and Alex talked about every detail of the party, from the bouncy house that Jennifer had ordered, to the kind of cake they were going to have. The cake was already made by Alex; she knew what Teagan liked and loved to bake any kind of confection. They left the restaurant, carrying boxes of leftovers, and made it back to Alex’s home just before six in the evening. Alex invited them in, but they declined.
“We need to get home and wrap these presents,” said Oliver. “With the girliest paper we can find. We’ll see you in the morning, though, at eight sharp.” He gave Hannah a mock glare. “Hannah knows it’s ten, but she’ll be waking me up at seven because she has no respect for sleep.”
Hannah swatted his arm. “No,” she retorted, “I just like being productive, unlike you.” They had reached the front door of Alex’s house, and after they each gave her a hug, they left, still bickering in a mostly good natured way. Alex chuckled to herself, watching them go. She turned and went inside, shutting and locking the door behind her, which was the general rule if she came home before her mother did. Alex expected to find Teagan somewhere, but a note on the kitchen counter told her that Teagan was with her mother instead, and they were out for some pre-birthday shopping. Teagan was probably helping pick out her plates or something. Kids from all over the neighborhood were going to be at the party, along with kids from her second grade class. For a seven-year-old, Teagan was very popular already.
Alex went into the living room and laid out her purchases on the floor, then went to hunt for wrapping paper and scotch tape, both of which she found in the coat closet next to the door. She took these back to the living room, turned the TV on and sat, wrapping presents with the news as background noise. She was halfway done with the first present, the Tigger doll, when the words of the news anchor wound their way into her awareness. She froze, and slowly raised her head. She listened for half a second longer before bolting for the remote, rewinding the news story. With shaking fingers, she hit play.
“Investigators this afternoon are responding to reports of a body found behind the Asheville Mall,” said the anchorwoman gravely. “The body of an unidentified man is now being transported to the Buncombe County morgue for an autopsy, but the preliminary investigation has led police to believe that the cause of death is most likely exsanguination. We now go to Candice Bowman, who is live on scene. What else can you tell us, Candice?”
The camera switched to the scene, where Candice was standing. Alex’s focus narrowed to the harsh yellow caution tape fluttering in the wind behind her. “As you can see behind me, police have this area pretty well blocked off, but if we take a closer look,” the camera zoomed in on the ground next to the ambulance, which was being loaded up with the body bag. “We can clearly see some kind of marking on the ground, which is next to where witnesses discovered the body. Police and investigators do not have any suspects at this time, but from what I’ve been told, this looks to be a murder done as a ritual by a cult of some kind. Now, while we have no identification for the victim, police have released a sketch of his face, in the hopes that either family members or friends would be able to identify him. Here it is.” The picture popped up. “If anyone has any information…” The rest of the speech faded to a buzzing in Alex’s ears, and she paused the TV broadcast. The screen froze on the picture of the murder victim. It was the man from the mall.
Alex slumped back against the couch, awash with horror. So the man had seen someone behind her. That had to be who killed him. But draining his blood? Ritual markings? Alex rewound the recording again, until she was looking at the shot of the markings on the ground. They were very faint, and she couldn’t make out a pattern too well but she thought it looked slightly familiar. She snapped a picture with her phone, and as she put it away, it rang. Hannah. Alex fumbled with it for a moment (her hands were shaking violently), and hit answer, shoving it between her shoulder and cheek.
“Have you seen the news?” Hannah’s voice was high pitched and frantic. “Did you see?”
“Yeah,” Alex replied tensley, rubbing her forehead. “It’s the same guy, Hannah. The one that was talking to me outside the mall. This is what he must have been so terrified of.”
“And I bet that he was killed not long after he left, too. He was found in that parking lot behind the mall.” Hannah paused. “Hold on, Oliver’s calling. I’ll put him on with us.” There was a shuffling sound, then Oliver’s voice came over the line.
“That creepy guy was just murdered, Hannah.” His voice was tight. “Did you see the news story?”
“Yeah, Hannah and I were just talking about it,” answered Alex. “He was drained of blood, and did you see the symbol that was next to him? I couldn’t get a good look at it, but I took a picture with my phone.”
“Oh, hey Alex. I saw it too. I remember seeing it in the book I was reading a few weeks ago on Occult history, hold on.” There was the sound of ruffling pages from Oliver’s end of the line. “Yeah, here it is. The symbol had something to do with demons, I think. It’s warped somehow, different. I don’t know what it means. It kind of looks like a Stygal, but there’s also bits from the symbol for the demon Camael, the destroyer. But that’s not all. There’s other lines here, other pieces that make me think this is something different. It’s definitely something demonic though. Do you think he was killed by a cult or something?”
“Hold on,” said Hannah. “What the hell’s a Stygal?”
“It’s an occult symbol for death,” Oliver answered grimly. “Whoever these people are, they’re sick. It makes me wonder how that man was involved with them.”
“Thank god for your random expertise. But he only freaked out after he asked me if I knew who I was, as if that makes any sense whatsoever.” Alex was thinking hard. “What if he wasn’t supposed to be talking to me?”
“Alex, the guy was nuts, you didn’t even know who he was!” Hannah sounded frantic again. “We can’t assume that you’re a part of it, that’s just going to make us panic for no reason.”
“Yeah, well, he’s dead now, so obviously whoever killed him took him pretty seriously,” Alex snapped, beginning to shake again. Fear began to trickle in, ruining her calm facade. “So I think maybe I should figure out i
f they’re coming for me next, and trying to figure out who ‘they’ are.”
There was silence from the other lines. Then Oliver spoke. “Alex, are you sure digging into this is a good idea? I mean, that’s most likely what got that man killed. And like Hannah said, you don’t know that you’re even a part of this. We just happened to be there when he saw his killer.”
“Maybe, but I can’t shake this paranoid feeling. What if these guys are the type that don’t like witnesses? I at least want to figure out what happened.”
“I agree that you need to figure out what’s going on,” said Hannah. “But this is dangerous, Alex. If this is some cult that’s a part of this, we need to get the police involved.”
“What do you mean, we? This has nothing to do with you guys. You don’t have to get involved.” Alex’s voice was firm.
Twin shouts of protest made Alex pull the phone away from her ear, wincing. “Are you serious?” Oliver was more outraged than Alex had ever heard him be.
“You’re our family!” Hannah’s voice was trembling with anger. “You can’t shut us out of this! They saw us with you, anyway, so if they plan on getting rid of witnesses then they’re most likely coming after us too. There’s no way you’re going to keep us from helping you, because it’s not just you in danger.”
Alex threw up a hand, then remembering they couldn’t see her, snapped out a response. “Fine. You can help. But if they come for me, you need to leave, act like you don’t know me, whatever. Okay?”
There was a pause. Then: “Fine.” Oliver still sounded angry, but he wasn’t shouting anymore. Hannah made a noise of consent. Alex sat back, relieved. She was grateful for her friends insisting on helping, but she was also terrified for their safety, and the safety of her family.
“The only thing is, we can’t start doing anything until after Teagan’s party tomorrow, we need to focus on that first. After -” Alex broke off as headlights swept across the living room. “I gotta go. Mom and Teagan are home.” She hung up before they could answer, and swiftly gathered the presents, wrapping paper and supplies, sprint-walking to her room and hiding everything in the closet. She came back down the hall into the living room just in time; the front door opened and a small, red-headed bundle of human launched itself at Alex, who caught it and swung it up and around in a circle.
“Alex!” Teagan squealed as her sister set her on the floor. “I made you this!” She brandished a piece of paper Alex hadn’t noticed before. On it was a drawing of what Alex guessed was her and her little sister, holding hands. “It’s me, and that’s you.” Little fingers pointed out each stick figure as she spoke.
Alex watched her sister, grinning. Just like that, with her tiny hands and triangle people, Teagan had managed to wipe away all thoughts of the cult and the danger Alex and her family was in. Teagan was a spitting image of her mother, from the auburn hair to the vivid cobalt eyes, to the millions of freckles scattered across her face. Alex had gotten none of these traits, instead favoring her grandmother on her father’s side, with blonde hair and eyes as green as holly leaves in the winter.
“Hey, crazy, what did I ask you to do?” The soft admonishment came from Jennifer, who walked in behind her youngest daughter. She was carrying a tiny purple backpack, and smiling at her children.
“But my hands are clean, Mommy!” Teagan turned around to face her mother, holding her hands out and waving them back and forth. “See?”
“Yes,” Jennifer came close and took Teagan’s hands, linking their fingers together. “But mine aren’t and now they’re touching yours. Now yours are dirty, so I’m thinking we can wash them together before we start making dinner. Okay?” Jennifer caught Alex’s eye and her smile got bigger; this was a common method to getting Teagan to do what she was told.
“Okay!” Teagan raced down the hall, and Alex heard the sink being turned on.
“Hey, honey.” Jennifer wrapped her eldest daughter in a hug. “How was your day?”
“Eventful,” Alex smiled when her mother released her, in what she hoped was a nonchalant way. “We got all of our shopping done, so now all we have to do is wrap the presents.”
Jennifer looked at her daughter’s face, concern flitting across her features. “Come help me with the groceries,” she said, turning and walking out the front door. Alex trailed behind her. Outside, the air was warm for early April, and the sky was clear. She took a deep breath, pausing for a moment beside the car and letting her head tilt back. The sky was beautiful at this time of night. The velvety blackness was broken up by a full moon, and scattered around were millions of burning stars. Alex watched a tiny satellite make its way across those pinpricks of light, and sighed. It all seemed so… powerful, her mind supplied.
“Alex?” The girl in question jolted out of her reverie at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Alex, honey. Are you okay?” Alex focused on her mother, who was watching her carefully. Jennifer was one of the few people Alex would open up to, besides her best friends. Even so, she also knew that Alex would only talk when she felt like it, and not before. Alex paused for a whole ten seconds before answering.
“Just thinking about Teagan’s party tomorrow. After that, I have to start studying for finals, they’re about a month or so away.” Alex thought for another few seconds. “Also there was a man that was murdered behind the mall today.” The words seemed to rush out of her of their own accord. “He was talking to me before it happened, and he knew who I was. He knew my name, and when I didn’t recognize him, he was upset. Then he saw something that terrified him, and he ran off. We didn’t think anything of it, but then got home and saw the news.” Alex took a deep breath and shuddered; she felt cold all of a sudden. “There was a weird symbol next to his body, and he was drained of blood.” She stopped, and watched as her mother’s face turned pale in the glow of the lights in the house and of the moon. Her lips were set in a hard, thin line, and knowledge hit Alex like a stone club. She knew something.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about dear. I’m sure it was just a gang, or something like that.” Jennifer’s serious look was gone as she placed a few bags into Alex’s arms to carry. “I would like for you to be more careful in the future, though. The same goes for Hannah and Oliver.” She gathered the rest of the bags and walked past Alex into the house. Alex stayed where she was for a split second, undecided. Should she press the issue? The last thing she wanted to do was fight with her mother, especially not right before Teagan’s party. But she also needed answers.
Alex came back inside, and helped Jennifer put the groceries away. “Are you sure there’s nothing that we need to worry about?”
“I’m sure, sweetie. There’s no reason for us to get involved in that craziness.” Jennifer bent to grab a pot from the cabinet. “Is spaghetti for dinner okay?”
Alex gave the smallest of sighs and forced a smile. “Are you going to make your own sauce for it?”
“Of course,” Jennifer’s answering smile seemed just a little bit relieved. “No jar sauce tonight, I feel like making it myself. Now go get washed up, and you can help.” Alex left the kitchen, but not before glancing back to see Jennifer lean against the counter, pressing a hand to her stomach.
Chapter Two
Alex went straight to bed that evening, after a tense dinner and a quick goodnight kiss for her sister. Conversation between her and her mother was strained, to say the least. It did nothing to alleviate the hunch that Jennifer knew more about what was happening than she was letting on. Alex didn’t sleep. The smallest noises had her sitting bolt upright, staring at the window across from her bed for hours. Giving up, she finished wrapping Teagan’s birthday presents to give herself something to do. It did nothing to quiet her mind, however, and her hands trembled the whole time. Alex half expected something to leap from her closet or through her window at her, and her imagination was kind enough to supply very graphic images to go along with her thoughts.
Finally, when the first weak rays of sunlight began to w
orm their way through her curtains, Alex gave up trying to settle down and got out of bed. Her muscles shrieked in protest from being overly tense for most of the night. She hobbled, cursing under her breath, to the bathroom and flipped the light on.
“Ugh,” she groaned, catching sight of herself in the mirror. She didn’t have time to finish her disgusted once over, though, because the doorbell rang just as Alex reached for her toothpaste. Grumbling, Alex dropped the toothpaste in the sink and went to answer the door.
“Good morning!” Hannah sailed through the door, an irritable Oliver in tow, carrying bags of presents and decorations. “You look awful, by the way,” she added, giving Alex’s puffy eyes and mussed up hair a glance. “You should take a shower.”
“What I should do is punch you in the head.” Alex lifted her hands to rub at her face. “It’s seven in the morning, Hannah. What are you doing here so early?”
“I asked her the same thing,” Oliver glared at Hannah, who smiled sweetly, batting her eyes. “She showed up at my place, honking the horn at six thirty in the freakin’ morning.”
“We needed to get here, do you guys have any idea how long it takes to get a party ready and decorated?” Hannah walked into the dining room and set the bags down on the table. “I have more bags in the trunk, so you need to help me get them, okay? Oh, hey, Ms. Fleming!”
Alex’s mother stumbled into the kitchen, wearing a terry cloth robe and looking every bit as disheveled as her daughter. She squinted at Hannah and Oliver, grunted slightly and headed over to the coffee maker.
Hannah turned to Alex and gave her a look that clearly said that she needed to know why both Alex’s mother and Alex were so exhausted. Alex rolled her eyes and beckoned to her friends to follow her into the living room.