Hey, I just found out about this story! This seems very interesting, and it is written by the one and only Hope!
I will definitely submit characters tomorrow
If you mean it'll take longer to introduce some characters, then yes and no, I'm gonna get through the characters and introduce them as I can. Hopefully most of them before it reaches the end of the story, but that isn't necessarily the end.
So, you're still welcomed to join if you still want to.
Ok but.....i need some basis.......Do i make an anti hero? A good but trubled person? One of my 'usual' characters?....i just don't know what would suit this story.
If you mean it'll take longer to introduce some characters, then yes and no, I'm gonna get through the characters and introduce them as I ca… moren. Hopefully most of them before it reaches the end of the story, but that isn't necessarily the end.
So, you're still welcomed to join if you still want to.
Your everyday-man who has their everyday troubles, problems, etc. It mainly revolves around normal people, that is to say, this isn't your normal story; supernatural elements, though so far small, have already appeared in the story.
You're free whatever character you wish to make. I don't want to limit that, but if you would like some suggestions I'll be happy to provide one or two.
I am mainly looking for characters with troubled pasts. Of course, the limit of their problems is your imagination. And you don't need to hold back on anything.
Ok but.....i need some basis.......Do i make an anti hero? A good but trubled person? One of my 'usual' characters?....i just don't know what would suit this story.
I have been working on the next part. It's probably a more than half way done, but I feel like it's going to need a lot of polishing. I have been out a lot and haven't devoted too much time to working on it, but I'm going to try to finish this part soon or later. Stay tuned, it should hopefully be out by tomorrow.
Your everyday-man who has their everyday troubles, problems, etc. It mainly revolves around normal people, that is to say, this isn't your n… moreormal story; supernatural elements, though so far small, have already appeared in the story.
You're free whatever character you wish to make. I don't want to limit that, but if you would like some suggestions I'll be happy to provide one or two.
I am mainly looking for characters with troubled pasts. Of course, the limit of their problems is your imagination. And you don't need to hold back on anything.
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convincing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the far end of the room who appeared to be avoiding eye contact with Rachel and himself. Which was understandable. “I guess you should get yourself acquainted with them.” He tilted his head towards the sheriff. “I’ll see you later, I guess,” Clive frowned as lowered his gaze to the floor.
“I’ll see you at home,” Rachel said. Clive looked up at his daughter. This oddly caused Clive to smile, though only for a brief second before it faded, now replaced by a sad frown. “Bye Rachel.”
Clive said his goodbyes and returned to the doorway where Alexander’s body resided. He shook his head, not wanting to see his son like that again. Clive sat outside the door with his head in his hands as Rachel moved towards the sheriff. He was on the phone but was just now getting off of it when she approached.
“Henry Parker; Sheriff’s Deputy,” the deputy introduced himself while extending his hand. “I’m-- I’m sorry for your loss,” Henry added with an awkward, but sympathetic tone of voice. Rachel took his hand and shook. “Rachel Carson. And... thank you,” she replied.
Henry shook his head regretfully. “I’m very sorry to begin questioning you, especially now, but I need to know what you know.” “Ask away then,” Rachel glumly answered.
“Then tell what you know about Alexander Carson involvement with drugs.” Henry pulled a somewhat small zip-lock bag from his jacket pocket. There was a second bag within it. And in that was a leafy material. “It’s pot - weed. We found it on your brother.”
Rachel’s eyes widened and she gestured to the bag to have a closer look. Henry nodded and Rachel took it in her hand. “Jesus Christ,” Rachel exclaimed with frustration as she looked at the contents of the bag. “Pot,” she muttered with disgusted tone. It meant two things. Her brother either did weed, or dealt it.
Henry took back the bag and held it tightly in his hand. “Now you gotta understand: it’s pot. I mean, it could be worse.” He bite his lip. “But your brother was shot. If he was a dealing drugs, a deal could have gone bad, or he was on the other end of the deal and the same thing happened.”
“Shit,” Rachel sighed as she massaged her forehead. “Okay,” she said with a gradually calmer tone, “okay, okay… That makes this a whole lot easier. We--” she paused and looked at the floor for a second before looking back up at Henry. “You --,” she corrected herself, “you know what you’re looking for now.” Henry nodded with an less-than excited expression. “A druggie. And I already know of one in town.”
Rachel’s eyes widened ever more. She opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by Henry. “I’ll tell you about him if you want to join the investigation. You’re an officer from L.A., we could really use someone with fresh experience. Of course, I know this is still a sensitive subject, but your younger brother was killed and for you to be investigating this could ever well cloud your judgment - it’s informal.” The deputy had a point. This was informal - maybe not intensely punishable - but diffidently an inappropriate way to conduct. Henry scratched his neck and looked at her father across the room. “So…” he mumbled, “no tattling?”
She nodded with slightly narrowed eyes. “Alright,” Rachel answered uneasily. “Just to clarify, I want to catch my brother’s killer. Justice, not vengeance.”
“Then I hope we’re on the same page.” He let out a soft sigh. “But we’re not going out tonight. We'll be going tomorrow. You need time to mourn your loss.” Rachel frowned. “Tomorrow then,” she reluctantly agreed. “I guess I’m gonna go home.”
Henry narrowed his eyes and glanced towards her father, Clive. “Is he going with you? You came with him,” Henry brought up. Rachel nodded. “Yes,” she answered. “But he’s not ready to go though, so I might walk home.”
“I can drive you home if you want,” Henry offered.
He gestured towards the front door where out of its window a sheriff’s car could be seen. “That’ll be nice,” she replied. Henry’s vision fell upon Clive once more. “I do want to give you time to mourn before we go looking,” he brought up once more worryingly, “you haven’t had more than an hour since you got the bad news.”
Rachel frowned. She shook her head and replied, “you can consider this my way to mourn.”
Henry nodded uneasily. “‘Right then.” He briefly and awkwardly pointed towards the front door and took several steps back before he turned around completely and disappeared behind a closed door.
Rachel stepped towards the front door and gave her father a long stare from across the room. She frowned regretfully and pushed open the door. Stepping outside, she approached the cruiser and waited as Henry left the building behind her. “So you going to tell me about your ‘druggie’,” Rachel questioned as Henry unlocked the car.
Henry opened his door and sat himself down while Rachel did the same on the passengers side. Once seated, he shook his head disappointedly. “I doubt we’ve got the killer caught, I catch this guy with pot here and there, meaning he’s been getting it from somewhere -- someone.” Henry paused and started the car. He looked over his shoulder as he began to back out. “My guess is your brother could have gotten his from the same guy as this.”
“You haven’t brought him in for this yet?” Rachel exclaimed. “No-- No, of course we have!” Henry replied defensively. “We’ve brought him in plenty of times,” he corrected. “Just never permanently, y’know?”
“Alright,” Rachel replied. By then they were speeding down the highway, on their way to whoever it was they were seeing. “What can you tell me about this guy?”
Henry bite his lip as he thought. “For starters, he’s german. His name is David Schneider.” A smirk briefly lightened his grim expression. “He is a retired Hard Rock singer.”
“Okay... Previous drug offenses, german, hard rock, David,” Rachel reviewed. She sighed. “Anything else I should know about this guy?” Henry’s smirk faded as he shook his head. “That’s about it.” He glanced to Rachel, taking his eyes off the road for a brief second. “We'll be back in Silicon in about twenty minutes.”
Rachel looked out the window at the passing cars and the trees flying by the window. It was a spectacle she liked. The landscape blurred as they drove. Lots and lots of thoughts filled Rachel’s mind, but she didn’t want to think of them. Her brother was dead. Her father was left alone to mourn. Just a few among many. Her eyelids felt heavy. It faded to black.
“Um?” She heard Henry mumbled and felt someone poke her arm. “Miss Carson?” Henry woke her. “Ugh,” she muttered under her breath as the remaining light of day greeted her eyes. Rachel looked to her left and briefly starred Henry in the eyes, who looked somewhat worried.
“You dozed off,” Henry explained. Rachel rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I realized that,” she replied.
As she looked around the car she found that they were parked outside her father’s house. “Well, thanks.” She reached for her seat belt and unbuckled. “I guess I’ll you see tomorrow,” Rachel gloomy said her goodbyes. “Bye,” Henry replied as she left the car and began approaching her father’s house.
Rachel let out a long sigh as she opened the screen door and then unlocked the front door. She stepped inside and looked around the house. It was empty, quiet and somewhat chilly. Rachel moved towards the spare bedroom - through the living room, past the study door and down a hallway, to the right was Alexander’s room, then adjacent to it was the spare.
She stepped in it and seated herself on the foot of the bed. She looked at a very old wardrobe direct across the room. It seemed oddly out of place among the more modern pieces of furniture.
Her eyes wandered across the room. The walls were of a dark red color. Rachel heard an inaudible sound emanate from the bathroom off her own bedroom.“Hello?” she spoke, a look of annoyance on her face.
With the lack of an answer she stood from her bed and approached the silent bathroom. Her footsteps were now the only sound in the house. Rachel entered the bathroom with piercing eyes as she scanned the room. The room was empty. The mirror, on the hand, had a man standing in it. Rachel wasn’t shocked by this, more-so disappointed. It was her long-term boyfriend Thomas Olson.
Rachel felt tears running down her cheeks and quickly wiped them away. She dug through a bag she set by the sink, pulling an orange bottle of pills labeled ‘Risperdal’. These weren’t ever a pleasant experience, and besides, her brother could very well appear next.
[Take the medicine.]
[Have a one-sided conversation with your dead boyfriend.]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
While I would like to see that conversation and as much as I think that it could be more interesting, if Rachel indeed starts to get visions of Alex, she is probably going to take them a lot more seriously if she took the medicine first.
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convinc… moreing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the… [view original content]
I've been procrastinating and working on other projects. Sorry, this will resume soon, but I'm currently trying to finish a chapter of another story that I have left unfinished for about a month of two.
I've been procrastinating and working on other projects. Sorry, this will resume soon, but I'm currently trying to finish a chapter of another story that I have left unfinished for about a month of two.
So, it will return soon!
Sorry about that. My cousins from Florida have been here since then, and I haven't seen them in 3 years. But they leave tomorrow, so I will definitely submit characters then. I certainly haven't forgotten about this.
I will definitely submit characters tomorrow
Yeah... uh... so... um...
Sorry about that. My cousins from Florida have been here … moresince then, and I haven't seen them in 3 years. But they leave tomorrow, so I will definitely submit characters then. I certainly haven't forgotten about this.
(!) Rachel will not take her medicine and will instead start a conversation with the vision of Thomas Olson
Jeez, this is really long over due. Sorry for the lack of, well, anything. I haven't figured out a good way to continue the part until now and am nearing its completion. Hopefully it will be done sometime tonight or tomorrow.
Rachel returned the bottle of pills to the counter and rested her weight on it. “Was it my fault?” she speculated with the hallucination. “It was your fault, too. You started it, then I escalated it to the point of...”
Her vision dropped to the floor with a shameful look. “I miss you,” she sighed. Thomas’ face remained an indifferent stare.
She backed away from the mirror and shook her head disappointedly. “I wish I could fix what happened. I wish I could go back in time and do something different. But I can’t change the past, can I?” Rachel’s eyes hit the floor once again. Of course she couldn’t, Rachel thought. Maybe she shouldn’t long to change it.
Samantha Jones
She opened her mouth to speak but remained silent. Samantha eyed the people returning to their campsite as Eli fearfully stepped back several feet.
“Hey, girly, what are you and your friends doing here?” one of the men spoke, his voice sounded raspy and, much to Samantha’s worry, almost entertained.
Samantha didn’t dare take her vision off the three men, but a sudden sound of fleeing footsteps caused her to turn, only to see Melissa running into the woods. Eli stood between the campsite and the woods with his dog’s leash tight in hand, waiting for Samantha to follow while baring a distressed look.
Samantha looked back at the people for a brief second and bite her lip; she turned and was out of there in a flash with Eli several yards ahead of her as they ran into the woods on the opposite side of which they entered the clearing, leaving the men and their camp far behind them.
Both Eli, his dog Murphy, and Samantha continued to run until they once again left the thick trees behind and reached the creek that ran through Silicon. They were pretty far upstream. And luckily Melissa was there waiting for them.
“What the fuck was that?” Melissa exclaimed as the three regrouped at the creek’s bank.
“Hell if I know,” Eli replied. He ran his hand through his hair worryingly. “So… actual drugs?”
Melissa nodded. “They had something like a card table in the center of the tent with a few lines of white powder. It had to be cocaine… or, fuck, maybe meth.”
Eli looked to the ground and shook his head, then looked back up to give an extremely panicked, distraught expression with that of a hollowing revelation. “They-- They could have fucking killed us!”
Samantha bite her lip and cringed at the thought of how close they might have been to death. “We shouldn’t stay around then,” Melissa spoke up, “they could follow us.”
“What about Anna and Kayla?” Eli questioned. Melissa frowned distastefully. “I don’t know - they fucking left us, so…”
Samantha narrowed her eyes. “Of course they left, Kayla’s fucking blind,” she defensively replied. Melissa narrowed her eyes in turn as Samantha continued. “Though they’re smart. I bet they went back to my mom’s diner. Probably calling the sheriff as we speak.”
“But they don’t know what we know. They don’t know these people have drugs on them.” Eli raised a fair point, and Samantha reluctantly acknowledged it. “You’re right,” she sighed and faced the ground. To her surprise, a metallic object lay buried in the sand partially exposed to the dim light of dusk.
A branch snapped somewhere in the woods and Murphy looked up from the creek bed to the direction of which it came, throwing Samantha’s attention away from the object. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Melissa hissed softly in hopes of remaining hidden.
Samantha and Eli agreed without a word and the three teenagers and the dog began racing upstream while hugging the creek’s bank until they finally reached a path that lead to the road. Upon that path they soon found the highway and made the final leg of the journey without stopping.
Arriving at the diner they hurried to the entrance to find Samantha’s mother, Kayla and Anna standing just inside. “Honey, are you alright?” her mother greeted and took her hand.
She nodded. “We’re... We’re fine, mom.”
The three of them were out of breath and Murphy stood by Eli panting. As a brief silence ensued, Melissa opened her mouth to explain further. She paused when the lights of a car rolled over the hill and stopped outside the diner. The diner’s lights were enough to illuminate the large font spelling ‘sheriff’.
“You called the sheriff?” Eli questioned and Samantha’s mother replied with a nod. A man stepped out of the car and pulled the diner door open. Samantha recognized the man to be the sheriff’s deputy. “Oh Henry, you’re here,” her mother exclaimed.
“They all here?” Henry asked with a worried expression as he joined the circle. “Yes. Yes they’re all here.”
Henry looked to his left at the due of Eli and his dog. He returned his gaze to Samantha’s mother, but then focused on Samantha herself. “Could you explain what happened?”
Having been singled out, Samantha nodded. “We were…” she crossed her arms reluctantly. “We were looking around the woods to see if we could find Luke…”
At this subject Henry narrowed his eyes and gave a disapproving look. “Continue,” he spoke, with soft but frustrated words that were almost menacing.
“We went out and Murphy got riled up about something and by the time we caught up with him, he was standing in a clearing where, in the middle of it, was campsite. Melissa peeked inside the one of the tents and said she saw drugs on like… uh, a table.” As Samantha finished, Henry bite his lip.
“Is that it?” Henry questioned further. Samantha nodded and he began pacing around the diner for just a second. “Fuck…” he muttered under his breath in hopes they wouldn’t hear it, though her Samantha’s mother’s furrowed brow suggest she had.
“Sorry,” he quickly apologized. “It slipped…” He turned his head to the cruiser and took several steps towards it before he stopped and looked back at the freaked out teenagers, as he clearly thought something over in his head. “Promise me you won’t go looking around the woods at night, and for that matter, don’t go wandering around after dark?”
He waited until each one of them, minus Samantha’s mother, nodded in agreeance. He scratched the back of his neck and debated telling them something, but he seemed to push back the thought and sighed. “I really, really need to get on the radio with Kyle. And you all need to go home.” He turned to Samantha’s mother. “I don’t suppose you mind taking them all home? I can’t leave.”
“Of course,” she replied with a sigh. “Everyone go out to the van. I gotta lock up.”
The group awkwardly left the diner and walked past Henry’s car and across the parking lot to a van parked there. “What the fuck…” Melissa muttered under her breath as they approached the light blue van.
“Tell me about it,” Eli sighed as they opened the door and piled in. Anna shot Samantha a somewhat sorry look as she helped Kayla in the van. As the two of them climbed in and took a seat in the back with Kayla, Samantha turned out the window to see Henry talking with her mother one last time. Oddly, her mother held her hand over her mouth in what looked like shock.
After a brief second of what looked like silence, Henry added something, which, of course, Samantha couldn’t hear. Her mother nodded and said her goodbyes before leaving the diner, locked up and lightless, and entering the van with a sorrowful expression.
Samantha simply watched before her mother finally spoke. “Everyone buckled up?” she asked as if half awake. A few mumbled “Yeah’s”, “Yes’s”, and a single “Yep” from Eli were returned as he kept his dog on a short leash, who rested on the floor board. She began driving out of the parking lot and onto the highway.
As a few minutes passed in awkward silence, Anna nudged Samantha’s shoulder and she turned to face her. “Uh…” Anna mumbled with frown. “I’m sorry I left you with those guys…”
Samantha sighed, but gave an understanding look. “It’s alright. I understand.” She forced a smile, not given the subject or the actions of Anna, but given the mood. It was uncannily, unsettling, and dry. To put it simply: it was quiet, too quiet.
Anna seemed to the take the smile to hear though, and replied with her own. “Yeah,” she said. Then the van once again fell quiet. The van soon pulled up to Melissa and Eli’s host family's house and the two left the van with Eli’s dog, but to be fair it wasn’t actually his dog; it was the dog belonging to their hosts. Strangely, Samantha’s mother followed them to the porch and briefly spoke with their hosts.
They all bared glum expressions and soon her mother once again returned to the van. As they pulled up to Anna’s house, Kayla, Samantha and Anna said their goodbyes and soon the van door slammed behind Anna as she left, once more with Samantha’s mother following behind.
As Samantha watched them near the porch, she was taken back when a glimmer of light flashed in her eye from the window she was staring. It wasn’t from outside; it seemed to have reflected from the inside of the van. Samantha briefly scanned it to see where it the light’s source was.
Kayla, who was sat to her right, looked in her direction and sighed. “What do you make of it?” Samantha continued to look around the van, but that didn’t stop her from replying. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” Kayla frowned, “Luke’s missing, weird drug dealers in the woods…” She shook her head having ran out of topics. “You get my point?”
Samantha nodded. “Yeah,” she replied, though her attention was elsewhere. She felt a dizzy feeling in her head and blinked rapidly in hopes of shaking the feeling. “Do you…” Samantha began but could barely finish as the dizziness turned to a slight headache. “Kayla…” she mumbled as she reached for her seat belt.
Kayla gave a worried as she turned to Samantha. “Sam, are you alright?”
“I don’t feel so good…” Samantha eyes drifted close but she forced them open again. “I feel tired…” The once light headache seemed to worsen as she resisted sleeping. “My-- My head!” Samantha exclaimed as it grew worse.
Kayla’s expression softened and she tried her best to retain a calm tone. “Sam, you didn’t… hit your head on anything?”
Samantha shook her head, but since she her head was foggy and she was starting to feel panicked, she didn’t remember that Kayla couldn’t see.
“Sam? Sam what’s wrong?” Kayla began to panic as well. Samantha felt the pain dull whenever her eyes drifted shut, but as she continued to avoid letting her eyelids fall shut completely, the pain would grow worse with every passing second.
“Sam?” Kayla’s worried words could register with her. She felt the urge to fall asleep more and more… and more.
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 4
Rachel Carson
Rachel returned the bottle of pills to the counter and rested her weight … moreon it. “Was it my fault?” she speculated with the hallucination. “It was your fault, too. You started it, then I escalated it to the point of...”
Her vision dropped to the floor with a shameful look. “I miss you,” she sighed. Thomas’ face remained an indifferent stare.
She backed away from the mirror and shook her head disappointedly. “I wish I could fix what happened. I wish I could go back in time and do something different. But I can’t change the past, can I?” Rachel’s eyes hit the floor once again. Of course she couldn’t, Rachel thought. Maybe she shouldn’t long to change it.
Samantha Jones
She opened her mouth to speak but remained silent. Samantha eyed the people returning to their campsite as Eli fearfully stepped back several feet.
“Hey, girly, what are you and your friends doing … [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 4
Rachel Carson
Rachel returned the bottle of pills to the counter and rested her weight … moreon it. “Was it my fault?” she speculated with the hallucination. “It was your fault, too. You started it, then I escalated it to the point of...”
Her vision dropped to the floor with a shameful look. “I miss you,” she sighed. Thomas’ face remained an indifferent stare.
She backed away from the mirror and shook her head disappointedly. “I wish I could fix what happened. I wish I could go back in time and do something different. But I can’t change the past, can I?” Rachel’s eyes hit the floor once again. Of course she couldn’t, Rachel thought. Maybe she shouldn’t long to change it.
Samantha Jones
She opened her mouth to speak but remained silent. Samantha eyed the people returning to their campsite as Eli fearfully stepped back several feet.
“Hey, girly, what are you and your friends doing … [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 4
Rachel Carson
Rachel returned the bottle of pills to the counter and rested her weight … moreon it. “Was it my fault?” she speculated with the hallucination. “It was your fault, too. You started it, then I escalated it to the point of...”
Her vision dropped to the floor with a shameful look. “I miss you,” she sighed. Thomas’ face remained an indifferent stare.
She backed away from the mirror and shook her head disappointedly. “I wish I could fix what happened. I wish I could go back in time and do something different. But I can’t change the past, can I?” Rachel’s eyes hit the floor once again. Of course she couldn’t, Rachel thought. Maybe she shouldn’t long to change it.
Samantha Jones
She opened her mouth to speak but remained silent. Samantha eyed the people returning to their campsite as Eli fearfully stepped back several feet.
“Hey, girly, what are you and your friends doing … [view original content]
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 4
Rachel Carson
Rachel returned the bottle of pills to the counter and rested her weight … moreon it. “Was it my fault?” she speculated with the hallucination. “It was your fault, too. You started it, then I escalated it to the point of...”
Her vision dropped to the floor with a shameful look. “I miss you,” she sighed. Thomas’ face remained an indifferent stare.
She backed away from the mirror and shook her head disappointedly. “I wish I could fix what happened. I wish I could go back in time and do something different. But I can’t change the past, can I?” Rachel’s eyes hit the floor once again. Of course she couldn’t, Rachel thought. Maybe she shouldn’t long to change it.
Samantha Jones
She opened her mouth to speak but remained silent. Samantha eyed the people returning to their campsite as Eli fearfully stepped back several feet.
“Hey, girly, what are you and your friends doing … [view original content]
Comments
I want to JOIN pls
Hey, I just found out about this story! This seems very interesting, and it is written by the one and only Hope!
I will definitely submit characters tomorrow
Thanks! I look forward to seeing your entry.
You're welcomed to! ^-^
Yay ill think up on a character
Aww wait you have too many people already
If you mean it'll take longer to introduce some characters, then yes and no, I'm gonna get through the characters and introduce them as I can. Hopefully most of them before it reaches the end of the story, but that isn't necessarily the end.
So, you're still welcomed to join if you still want to.
Ok but.....i need some basis.......Do i make an anti hero? A good but trubled person? One of my 'usual' characters?....i just don't know what would suit this story.
Your everyday-man who has their everyday troubles, problems, etc. It mainly revolves around normal people, that is to say, this isn't your normal story; supernatural elements, though so far small, have already appeared in the story.
You're free whatever character you wish to make. I don't want to limit that, but if you would like some suggestions I'll be happy to provide one or two.
I am mainly looking for characters with troubled pasts. Of course, the limit of their problems is your imagination. And you don't need to hold back on anything.
Quiet update:
I have been working on the next part. It's probably a more than half way done, but I feel like it's going to need a lot of polishing. I have been out a lot and haven't devoted too much time to working on it, but I'm going to try to finish this part soon or later. Stay tuned, it should hopefully be out by tomorrow.
ideas...................ill pm you just so we can discuss this
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 3
May 14th - 7:38 - Rachel Carson
Rachel looked her father dead in the eye with a convincing stare. “I’m going to put this bastard away,” she answered. Her eyes briefly flared with anger. Clive had seen this look many times before, but this time it was powerful. Determination rang through her expression.
“Alright,” he replied. His expression grew uneasy, almost as if he would cry at any moment. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.” Clive embraced his daughter in a tight hug as several tears dripped onto her shoulder. “Rachel, I love you.”
Clive grimmerced as Rachel removed herself from the hug. “I--” she stuttered with a reluctant tone of voice. “Love you, too,” she finished, but sounding almost unsure of herself, and Clive picked up on this.
Clive nodded with an unhappy but surprised look on his face. “Rachel, I’m going to stay here for now.” His eyes landed on the sheriff standing at the far end of the room who appeared to be avoiding eye contact with Rachel and himself. Which was understandable. “I guess you should get yourself acquainted with them.” He tilted his head towards the sheriff. “I’ll see you later, I guess,” Clive frowned as lowered his gaze to the floor.
“I’ll see you at home,” Rachel said. Clive looked up at his daughter. This oddly caused Clive to smile, though only for a brief second before it faded, now replaced by a sad frown. “Bye Rachel.”
Clive said his goodbyes and returned to the doorway where Alexander’s body resided. He shook his head, not wanting to see his son like that again. Clive sat outside the door with his head in his hands as Rachel moved towards the sheriff. He was on the phone but was just now getting off of it when she approached.
“Henry Parker; Sheriff’s Deputy,” the deputy introduced himself while extending his hand. “I’m-- I’m sorry for your loss,” Henry added with an awkward, but sympathetic tone of voice. Rachel took his hand and shook. “Rachel Carson. And... thank you,” she replied.
Henry shook his head regretfully. “I’m very sorry to begin questioning you, especially now, but I need to know what you know.” “Ask away then,” Rachel glumly answered.
“Then tell what you know about Alexander Carson involvement with drugs.” Henry pulled a somewhat small zip-lock bag from his jacket pocket. There was a second bag within it. And in that was a leafy material. “It’s pot - weed. We found it on your brother.”
Rachel’s eyes widened and she gestured to the bag to have a closer look. Henry nodded and Rachel took it in her hand. “Jesus Christ,” Rachel exclaimed with frustration as she looked at the contents of the bag. “Pot,” she muttered with disgusted tone. It meant two things. Her brother either did weed, or dealt it.
Henry took back the bag and held it tightly in his hand. “Now you gotta understand: it’s pot. I mean, it could be worse.” He bite his lip. “But your brother was shot. If he was a dealing drugs, a deal could have gone bad, or he was on the other end of the deal and the same thing happened.”
“Shit,” Rachel sighed as she massaged her forehead. “Okay,” she said with a gradually calmer tone, “okay, okay… That makes this a whole lot easier. We--” she paused and looked at the floor for a second before looking back up at Henry. “You --,” she corrected herself, “you know what you’re looking for now.” Henry nodded with an less-than excited expression. “A druggie. And I already know of one in town.”
Rachel’s eyes widened ever more. She opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by Henry. “I’ll tell you about him if you want to join the investigation. You’re an officer from L.A., we could really use someone with fresh experience. Of course, I know this is still a sensitive subject, but your younger brother was killed and for you to be investigating this could ever well cloud your judgment - it’s informal.” The deputy had a point. This was informal - maybe not intensely punishable - but diffidently an inappropriate way to conduct. Henry scratched his neck and looked at her father across the room. “So…” he mumbled, “no tattling?”
She nodded with slightly narrowed eyes. “Alright,” Rachel answered uneasily. “Just to clarify, I want to catch my brother’s killer. Justice, not vengeance.”
“Then I hope we’re on the same page.” He let out a soft sigh. “But we’re not going out tonight. We'll be going tomorrow. You need time to mourn your loss.” Rachel frowned. “Tomorrow then,” she reluctantly agreed. “I guess I’m gonna go home.”
Henry narrowed his eyes and glanced towards her father, Clive. “Is he going with you? You came with him,” Henry brought up. Rachel nodded. “Yes,” she answered. “But he’s not ready to go though, so I might walk home.”
“I can drive you home if you want,” Henry offered.
He gestured towards the front door where out of its window a sheriff’s car could be seen. “That’ll be nice,” she replied. Henry’s vision fell upon Clive once more. “I do want to give you time to mourn before we go looking,” he brought up once more worryingly, “you haven’t had more than an hour since you got the bad news.”
Rachel frowned. She shook her head and replied, “you can consider this my way to mourn.”
Henry nodded uneasily. “‘Right then.” He briefly and awkwardly pointed towards the front door and took several steps back before he turned around completely and disappeared behind a closed door.
Rachel stepped towards the front door and gave her father a long stare from across the room. She frowned regretfully and pushed open the door. Stepping outside, she approached the cruiser and waited as Henry left the building behind her. “So you going to tell me about your ‘druggie’,” Rachel questioned as Henry unlocked the car.
Henry opened his door and sat himself down while Rachel did the same on the passengers side. Once seated, he shook his head disappointedly. “I doubt we’ve got the killer caught, I catch this guy with pot here and there, meaning he’s been getting it from somewhere -- someone.” Henry paused and started the car. He looked over his shoulder as he began to back out. “My guess is your brother could have gotten his from the same guy as this.”
“You haven’t brought him in for this yet?” Rachel exclaimed. “No-- No, of course we have!” Henry replied defensively. “We’ve brought him in plenty of times,” he corrected. “Just never permanently, y’know?”
“Alright,” Rachel replied. By then they were speeding down the highway, on their way to whoever it was they were seeing. “What can you tell me about this guy?”
Henry bite his lip as he thought. “For starters, he’s german. His name is David Schneider.” A smirk briefly lightened his grim expression. “He is a retired Hard Rock singer.”
“Okay... Previous drug offenses, german, hard rock, David,” Rachel reviewed. She sighed. “Anything else I should know about this guy?” Henry’s smirk faded as he shook his head. “That’s about it.” He glanced to Rachel, taking his eyes off the road for a brief second. “We'll be back in Silicon in about twenty minutes.”
Rachel looked out the window at the passing cars and the trees flying by the window. It was a spectacle she liked. The landscape blurred as they drove. Lots and lots of thoughts filled Rachel’s mind, but she didn’t want to think of them. Her brother was dead. Her father was left alone to mourn. Just a few among many. Her eyelids felt heavy. It faded to black.
“Um?” She heard Henry mumbled and felt someone poke her arm. “Miss Carson?” Henry woke her. “Ugh,” she muttered under her breath as the remaining light of day greeted her eyes. Rachel looked to her left and briefly starred Henry in the eyes, who looked somewhat worried.
“You dozed off,” Henry explained. Rachel rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I realized that,” she replied.
As she looked around the car she found that they were parked outside her father’s house. “Well, thanks.” She reached for her seat belt and unbuckled. “I guess I’ll you see tomorrow,” Rachel gloomy said her goodbyes. “Bye,” Henry replied as she left the car and began approaching her father’s house.
Rachel let out a long sigh as she opened the screen door and then unlocked the front door. She stepped inside and looked around the house. It was empty, quiet and somewhat chilly. Rachel moved towards the spare bedroom - through the living room, past the study door and down a hallway, to the right was Alexander’s room, then adjacent to it was the spare.
She stepped in it and seated herself on the foot of the bed. She looked at a very old wardrobe direct across the room. It seemed oddly out of place among the more modern pieces of furniture.
Her eyes wandered across the room. The walls were of a dark red color. Rachel heard an inaudible sound emanate from the bathroom off her own bedroom.“Hello?” she spoke, a look of annoyance on her face.
With the lack of an answer she stood from her bed and approached the silent bathroom. Her footsteps were now the only sound in the house. Rachel entered the bathroom with piercing eyes as she scanned the room. The room was empty. The mirror, on the hand, had a man standing in it. Rachel wasn’t shocked by this, more-so disappointed. It was her long-term boyfriend Thomas Olson.
Rachel felt tears running down her cheeks and quickly wiped them away. She dug through a bag she set by the sink, pulling an orange bottle of pills labeled ‘Risperdal’. These weren’t ever a pleasant experience, and besides, her brother could very well appear next.
[Take the medicine.]
[Have a one-sided conversation with your dead boyfriend.]
[Have a one-sided conversation with your dead boyfriend.]
[Take the medicine.]
[Have a one-sided conversation with your dead boyfriend.] Because that's always fun
[Have a one-sided conversation with your dead boyfriend.]
[Have a one-sided conversation with your dead boyfriend.]
[Have a one-sided conversation with your dead boyfriend.]
[Take the medicine] it's never a good idea to talk to halluncinations.
[Have a one-sided conversation with your dead boyfriend.]
[Take the medicine.]
While I would like to see that conversation and as much as I think that it could be more interesting, if Rachel indeed starts to get visions of Alex, she is probably going to take them a lot more seriously if she took the medicine first.
-wrong reply-
[Take the Mediicine]
[Have a one-sided conversation with your dead boyfriend.]
[Take the medicine.] Don't talk to hallucinations!!
Great chapter! I guess I unfollowed this on accident!
[Take the medecine]
[Drugs, yo]
I mean
[Medicine, yo]
It's been a while since your last update. What's going on?
I've been procrastinating and working on other projects. Sorry, this will resume soon, but I'm currently trying to finish a chapter of another story that I have left unfinished for about a month of two.
So, it will return soon!
No worries! I was just curious take as much time as you need.
Yeah... uh... so... um...
Sorry about that. My cousins from Florida have been here since then, and I haven't seen them in 3 years. But they leave tomorrow, so I will definitely submit characters then. I certainly haven't forgotten about this.
It's alright, you can take all the time you need! ^-^
Voting is closed!
(!) Rachel will not take her medicine and will instead start a conversation with the vision of Thomas Olson
Jeez, this is really long over due. Sorry for the lack of, well, anything. I haven't figured out a good way to continue the part until now and am nearing its completion. Hopefully it will be done sometime tonight or tomorrow.
Chapter Two: “Matters of the Heart” - Part 4
Rachel Carson
Rachel returned the bottle of pills to the counter and rested her weight on it. “Was it my fault?” she speculated with the hallucination. “It was your fault, too. You started it, then I escalated it to the point of...”
Her vision dropped to the floor with a shameful look. “I miss you,” she sighed. Thomas’ face remained an indifferent stare.
She backed away from the mirror and shook her head disappointedly. “I wish I could fix what happened. I wish I could go back in time and do something different. But I can’t change the past, can I?” Rachel’s eyes hit the floor once again. Of course she couldn’t, Rachel thought. Maybe she shouldn’t long to change it.
Samantha Jones
She opened her mouth to speak but remained silent. Samantha eyed the people returning to their campsite as Eli fearfully stepped back several feet.
“Hey, girly, what are you and your friends doing here?” one of the men spoke, his voice sounded raspy and, much to Samantha’s worry, almost entertained.
Samantha didn’t dare take her vision off the three men, but a sudden sound of fleeing footsteps caused her to turn, only to see Melissa running into the woods. Eli stood between the campsite and the woods with his dog’s leash tight in hand, waiting for Samantha to follow while baring a distressed look.
Samantha looked back at the people for a brief second and bite her lip; she turned and was out of there in a flash with Eli several yards ahead of her as they ran into the woods on the opposite side of which they entered the clearing, leaving the men and their camp far behind them.
Both Eli, his dog Murphy, and Samantha continued to run until they once again left the thick trees behind and reached the creek that ran through Silicon. They were pretty far upstream. And luckily Melissa was there waiting for them.
“What the fuck was that?” Melissa exclaimed as the three regrouped at the creek’s bank.
“Hell if I know,” Eli replied. He ran his hand through his hair worryingly. “So… actual drugs?”
Melissa nodded. “They had something like a card table in the center of the tent with a few lines of white powder. It had to be cocaine… or, fuck, maybe meth.”
Eli looked to the ground and shook his head, then looked back up to give an extremely panicked, distraught expression with that of a hollowing revelation. “They-- They could have fucking killed us!”
Samantha bite her lip and cringed at the thought of how close they might have been to death. “We shouldn’t stay around then,” Melissa spoke up, “they could follow us.”
“What about Anna and Kayla?” Eli questioned. Melissa frowned distastefully. “I don’t know - they fucking left us, so…”
Samantha narrowed her eyes. “Of course they left, Kayla’s fucking blind,” she defensively replied. Melissa narrowed her eyes in turn as Samantha continued. “Though they’re smart. I bet they went back to my mom’s diner. Probably calling the sheriff as we speak.”
“But they don’t know what we know. They don’t know these people have drugs on them.” Eli raised a fair point, and Samantha reluctantly acknowledged it. “You’re right,” she sighed and faced the ground. To her surprise, a metallic object lay buried in the sand partially exposed to the dim light of dusk.
A branch snapped somewhere in the woods and Murphy looked up from the creek bed to the direction of which it came, throwing Samantha’s attention away from the object. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Melissa hissed softly in hopes of remaining hidden.
Samantha and Eli agreed without a word and the three teenagers and the dog began racing upstream while hugging the creek’s bank until they finally reached a path that lead to the road. Upon that path they soon found the highway and made the final leg of the journey without stopping.
Arriving at the diner they hurried to the entrance to find Samantha’s mother, Kayla and Anna standing just inside. “Honey, are you alright?” her mother greeted and took her hand.
She nodded. “We’re... We’re fine, mom.”
The three of them were out of breath and Murphy stood by Eli panting. As a brief silence ensued, Melissa opened her mouth to explain further. She paused when the lights of a car rolled over the hill and stopped outside the diner. The diner’s lights were enough to illuminate the large font spelling ‘sheriff’.
“You called the sheriff?” Eli questioned and Samantha’s mother replied with a nod. A man stepped out of the car and pulled the diner door open. Samantha recognized the man to be the sheriff’s deputy. “Oh Henry, you’re here,” her mother exclaimed.
“They all here?” Henry asked with a worried expression as he joined the circle. “Yes. Yes they’re all here.”
Henry looked to his left at the due of Eli and his dog. He returned his gaze to Samantha’s mother, but then focused on Samantha herself. “Could you explain what happened?”
Having been singled out, Samantha nodded. “We were…” she crossed her arms reluctantly. “We were looking around the woods to see if we could find Luke…”
At this subject Henry narrowed his eyes and gave a disapproving look. “Continue,” he spoke, with soft but frustrated words that were almost menacing.
“We went out and Murphy got riled up about something and by the time we caught up with him, he was standing in a clearing where, in the middle of it, was campsite. Melissa peeked inside the one of the tents and said she saw drugs on like… uh, a table.” As Samantha finished, Henry bite his lip.
“Is that it?” Henry questioned further. Samantha nodded and he began pacing around the diner for just a second. “Fuck…” he muttered under his breath in hopes they wouldn’t hear it, though her Samantha’s mother’s furrowed brow suggest she had.
“Sorry,” he quickly apologized. “It slipped…” He turned his head to the cruiser and took several steps towards it before he stopped and looked back at the freaked out teenagers, as he clearly thought something over in his head. “Promise me you won’t go looking around the woods at night, and for that matter, don’t go wandering around after dark?”
He waited until each one of them, minus Samantha’s mother, nodded in agreeance. He scratched the back of his neck and debated telling them something, but he seemed to push back the thought and sighed. “I really, really need to get on the radio with Kyle. And you all need to go home.” He turned to Samantha’s mother. “I don’t suppose you mind taking them all home? I can’t leave.”
“Of course,” she replied with a sigh. “Everyone go out to the van. I gotta lock up.”
The group awkwardly left the diner and walked past Henry’s car and across the parking lot to a van parked there. “What the fuck…” Melissa muttered under her breath as they approached the light blue van.
“Tell me about it,” Eli sighed as they opened the door and piled in. Anna shot Samantha a somewhat sorry look as she helped Kayla in the van. As the two of them climbed in and took a seat in the back with Kayla, Samantha turned out the window to see Henry talking with her mother one last time. Oddly, her mother held her hand over her mouth in what looked like shock.
After a brief second of what looked like silence, Henry added something, which, of course, Samantha couldn’t hear. Her mother nodded and said her goodbyes before leaving the diner, locked up and lightless, and entering the van with a sorrowful expression.
Samantha simply watched before her mother finally spoke. “Everyone buckled up?” she asked as if half awake. A few mumbled “Yeah’s”, “Yes’s”, and a single “Yep” from Eli were returned as he kept his dog on a short leash, who rested on the floor board. She began driving out of the parking lot and onto the highway.
As a few minutes passed in awkward silence, Anna nudged Samantha’s shoulder and she turned to face her. “Uh…” Anna mumbled with frown. “I’m sorry I left you with those guys…”
Samantha sighed, but gave an understanding look. “It’s alright. I understand.” She forced a smile, not given the subject or the actions of Anna, but given the mood. It was uncannily, unsettling, and dry. To put it simply: it was quiet, too quiet.
Anna seemed to the take the smile to hear though, and replied with her own. “Yeah,” she said. Then the van once again fell quiet. The van soon pulled up to Melissa and Eli’s host family's house and the two left the van with Eli’s dog, but to be fair it wasn’t actually his dog; it was the dog belonging to their hosts. Strangely, Samantha’s mother followed them to the porch and briefly spoke with their hosts.
They all bared glum expressions and soon her mother once again returned to the van. As they pulled up to Anna’s house, Kayla, Samantha and Anna said their goodbyes and soon the van door slammed behind Anna as she left, once more with Samantha’s mother following behind.
As Samantha watched them near the porch, she was taken back when a glimmer of light flashed in her eye from the window she was staring. It wasn’t from outside; it seemed to have reflected from the inside of the van. Samantha briefly scanned it to see where it the light’s source was.
Kayla, who was sat to her right, looked in her direction and sighed. “What do you make of it?” Samantha continued to look around the van, but that didn’t stop her from replying. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” Kayla frowned, “Luke’s missing, weird drug dealers in the woods…” She shook her head having ran out of topics. “You get my point?”
Samantha nodded. “Yeah,” she replied, though her attention was elsewhere. She felt a dizzy feeling in her head and blinked rapidly in hopes of shaking the feeling. “Do you…” Samantha began but could barely finish as the dizziness turned to a slight headache. “Kayla…” she mumbled as she reached for her seat belt.
Kayla gave a worried as she turned to Samantha. “Sam, are you alright?”
“I don’t feel so good…” Samantha eyes drifted close but she forced them open again. “I feel tired…” The once light headache seemed to worsen as she resisted sleeping. “My-- My head!” Samantha exclaimed as it grew worse.
Kayla’s expression softened and she tried her best to retain a calm tone. “Sam, you didn’t… hit your head on anything?”
Samantha shook her head, but since she her head was foggy and she was starting to feel panicked, she didn’t remember that Kayla couldn’t see.
“Sam? Sam what’s wrong?” Kayla began to panic as well. Samantha felt the pain dull whenever her eyes drifted shut, but as she continued to avoid letting her eyelids fall shut completely, the pain would grow worse with every passing second.
“Sam?” Kayla’s worried words could register with her. She felt the urge to fall asleep more and more… and more.
[Resist further.]
[Give up and sleep.]
[Give up and sleep] you shouldn't resist sleeping in the first place never mind mysterious head aches.
[Give up and sleep.] What's the worst that can happen.
[Give up and sleep.]
[Give up and sleep.]
[Give up and sleep.]
[Give up and sleep.]