---

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H

---

In spite of herself, Rory expected a noncommittal shrug and a long, awkward stretch of silence in response, something she had grown accustomed to when speaking, or attempting to, with Felix Brooks. Receiving an actual answer instead was such a change of pace that she couldn't stop herself from blatantly saying so. She smiled up at him, a multitude of questions already at the tip of her tongue, ready to burst out like water out of a broken dam. But another classmate shushed her right as she opened her mouth, as though sensing the ensuing torrent of chatter.

Rory abruptly turned to face the front, properly chastised. It was the first time since arriving in the classroom that she got a proper look at all of the other students. Belatedly, she realized that she'd missed the chance to give Esther a proper greeting before she had excused herself. Esther would understand, though—she'd been privy to the not-so-secret heart-eyes Rory has cast upon the former football player. Even now, as Rory had come to notice their legs barely touching and the dimpled smirk making his face look more handsome than usual, Esther for sure would have spotted the giddiness in her smile.

When she was certain the nosy student wasn't paying attention to her any longer, Rory turned back to Felix. "Later?" she whispered, hoping that when later came, he would still be willing to talk to her.

Perhaps it was the lack of tormentors in the room, or maybe his own guilt in being so stand-offish, that made Felix come out of his shell enough to actually consider engaging in conversation with the girl who sat next to him. Although he couldn’t figure out what to say, he simply nodded lightly while he took this instance to actually draw in her appearance since he only gave her half-minded glances before. She was small and lithe—like one of those girls that looked so fragile that Felix was afraid he’d snap them in half. It didn’t stir any feelings of distaste, but instead, he found himself to be somewhat allured by her small-frame, somewhat because she made him appear giant in comparison, reminding him of his once-high ego. While girls of her stature would normally not attract him, it was her combined optimism that was contagious and appealing to Felix.

His gaze was broken once Elroy entered the room on his taunting high horse. Felix’s soft smile, drawn by Aurora, vanished into a scowl faster than Elroy was to cut to the chase about the missing girl that Felix apathetically had no interest in. Instead, he zoned out to imagine firing a burst of force energy at Elroy to watch him fall back and crack the wall behind him, only to mock him and his embarrassment. He let the vision mingle within his mind before he shook the fantasized event away. Thoughts such as this seemed to fill Felix’s head lately since his days were full of bottled up emotions and rage—primarily rage. Felix couldn’t help but scoff loudly at the mention of the dance, rolling his eyes before sitting back in the couch, his broad shoulders unintentionally crowding Aurora as he straightened out.

It was nothing more than a gentle and accidental brushing of their arms, but it didn't escape Rory's notice. She cast what she thought was a furtive glance (it wasn't) up at him, sucked into a brief daydream about the upcoming dance where the two of them were chatting and swaying to the music… and surrounded by zombies for some reason. In this reverie, she was somehow magically able to coax Felix into talking to her dad about his abilities and he finally looked happy again. Tiiiny crush aside, this was all she had wanted from Felix: the chance to help him out through what she could imagine was a trying time for him. Rory has met too many Hyperhumans whose life would've been immensely better had someone only lent an ear or a helping hand earlier; she couldn't possibly let it happen to him.

The ringing bell snapped her back to reality, and Rory was once again faced with the handsome ex-quarterback with the sad eyes.

As the bell echoed, Felix sighed in relief, packing things into his backpack with an urgency to get the hell off of school grounds. In a pointless rush, he stopped to realize that he accidentally took two passcards. He leaned over to Aurora, looking at her in silence for a few seconds before forming the words, “I almost took this from ya.” Felix flipped the card up and let it fall to his hand to try and impress her before offering the passcard. He lifted his other hand as a confused gesture as he tried to describe its use, speaking with a tone of unimportance, “It’s to, uh, get in the room or something. I don’t know. Everyone has one, I guess.”

"Oh," Rory said, momentarily dazed. For a split second after the bell rang, the sting of rejection began to seep in: since Felix was packing his things in a rush, it seemed like 'later' wouldn't have come after all. Rory never held it against him—he didn't owe it to her to listen to what she had to say when they were practically strangers—but being disregarded always left her feeling like she'd been pinched and it took a moment to rub away the hurt.

That’s not what was happening right now, though, she realized. "Thank you!" she said, quickly regaining her cheer. Before accepting the pass card, Rory fished for a different type of card in the side pocket of her backpack. She traded the glossy business card for the passcard and closed his hand in it.

"Here, I'll trade you this. My dads operate a hotline for 3HA. They're really good listeners, so y’know, just in case... " Rory trailed off awkwardly, afraid to push too hard, and rushed to think of the best way to switch topics.

Felix remained expressionless despite the burst of emotions from this small, trivial interaction. The mention of 3HA were words that beat at him: his brain, his heart, his self-esteem—it was an opportunity to open a door that would unfold many possible outcomes—outcomes that could give him light again. Felix glanced at his closed hand, feeling the sharp corners of the card press against his palm with an unwavering enigma, but he dismissed the thought of it quickly—like he always does. He shoved it into his pocket and moved to zip up his bag, turning to face Aurora, “So—are you gonna go?—I mean, to the rescue thing to find whats-her-face?”

"Mhmm!" Rory responded quickly and certainly. She would have gone by herself if the school hadn't created a volunteer group; what better way was there to make use of a human flashlight than to brighten up the dark woods, right? Her dads didn't let her tagalong the first night they went searching, but now they won't have an excuse to stop her. "I really hope we can find Kaitlyn soon. She must be so scared all alone. Do you think you'll go?"

Felix was still unsure of what decision he should make—to go, or to not go. He couldn’t give her a straight answer, so he averted his attention to the kindness that was spilling out of her since she stepped into the room. Her compassion couldn’t be unnoticed, but Felix refused to comment on that either, so he ignored the statements entirely, “What are you doing after school? There’s a really cool spot I found at the docks that has an amazing view—would you wanna, maybe, see it?”

"Really? Yeah, I wanna see!" The disbelief-turned-excitement that emanated from her was almost palpable, and in that instant, she had forgotten about a certain promise to return home immediately after school to rest. Her dads will understand once she goes and tells them this was Felix Brooks, and uh, how could she say no? They wouldn't be too upset with her… probably. If anything, Rory thought she could use her newly broken arm as leverage, at least for the remainder of the day.

C R E S T W O O D P O R T

---

“Amazing right?” Felix whispered to Rory as they faced the beautiful landscape.

They sat upon a hill with a colorful forestry surrounding them, and a prepossessing horizon of Crestwood’s Port to their front, casting a tender tranquility. The ambiance was full of pleasant sounds of nature—rustling trees, the crashing of delicate waves against the docks, boats rocking back and forth along the water as their bells knock at each other, echoing into the fall air. It was peaceful. The setting sun cascaded its last bit of warming rays, creating beautiful hues along the skyline to match the colors of the changing leaves.

Rory had no words to express just how amazing she thought it. Her eyes were unable to pull away from horizon, now set afire with colors. She inhaled deeply, soaking up the last vestiges of the late afternoon's warm glow. Unlike the sunrise, which felt vigorous and frenetic and infinite upon her skin and deep in her soul, the disappearing sun left her wistful and somber. She thought about her light, how she is only able to experience these strange but wonderful sensations because of it and how grateful she was for it. If only she could share this feeling with Felix. What would it take for him to see his abilities as something precious given to him? As a blessing that can help him do even more wondrous things.

As the cold of night approached shyly, Felix was unaffected by its chilling tenor, his attention drawn to the serenity of the moment. He kept his gaze fixated onto the view as he spoke, “Aurora,” he stated, “That’s a pretty fitting name for someone that brings so much light into the room.” Felix referred to her enticing personality that seemed to have a steady charm on him—one that pulled him in like nature’s calm—softly, effortlessly.

Rory's heart has been beating so irregularly during her time with Felix that another effortless display of charisma should have no longer affected her. Yet it had, and all at once her legs became jelly and her cheeks reddened. She wanted to make a joke about literally being able to light up a room, if only to release the sudden nervousness and bashfulness that overcame her, but she didn't want him to close up again. One thing she learned over the couple hours they'd chatted was that he was pretty darn good at skirting around topics that get too close to Hyperhumans or their abilities.

"Right back at ya," she said after a moment, when she was sure more than giddy gibberish would spill out of her lips. Felix meant fortunate and successful, and she thought nothing could be more apropos. "I don't think you see it yet, but anybody would be lucky to be you."

Felix denied it. He couldn’t seem to find any bit of validity in her statement, holding tight to his self-hatred that rooted itself like the trees that dress the horizon. He stared down towards his bracelet that subdued his abilities, rubbing the shiny silver band that confined him of his true self that Rory must’ve been referring to. Still, he acted as though he wasn’t listening even though his mind became stuck on the thought. Lucky—a term he could only hope would apply to himself one day.

Rory’s phone beeped right then, setting off the alarm she had put as reminder for the night's activity. The search party for Kaitlyn would be starting soon. Rory pouted as her hand begrudgingly tapped on the off button, a bit infuriated that the alarm ruined the lovely atmosphere. Even now, she was still worried that the past couple of hours was just a hallucination brought on by the painkillers she took earlier that day. Rory wanted to milk this rare time with Felix for as long as she could, but the logical part of her brain, however little it seemed to be, berated her about the importance of finding her missing schoolmate.

"Hey, so the search party's gonna start soon," Rory said, puppy dog eyes already in effect before she had even asked the favor. "Wanna come?"

Felix paused, “What do you think happened to her?” he asked, coldly.

"I… I don't know," Rory had been too afraid to think of what could have happened to her, of what dangers could be lurking in the woods. She wanted to believe Kaitlyn was just waiting to be found, with just the most minor of injuries preventing her from going home herself. "But I do know I want to help find her as soon as possible. Do you think we will?"

Felix was a pessimist at heart, so he would only answer with some sort of morbid and dark response. He could just say no, but he also believed that she’s probably dead somewhere, rotting. Felix looked to Rory, feeling guilty for opposing her optimistic personality, so he saved her the lie he would’ve said if he were to say yes. “Do you ever wish you had different powers? I mean, if I had a third-seeing eye or something like that, maybe she’d be found already.”

Rory stared up at him with quiet wonder for a moment, beyond pleased that he'd brought up the topic when she knew he was very sensitive about it. Baby steps! "I've thought about how cool it would be to teleport so I can go anywhere I want for free. And sometimes I think it'd be nice if I had powers like a genie. Then I can grant everyone's wishes!" She pursed her lips in thought as she seriously considered trading her current abilities for either, but she already knew her answer.

"But, no. My powers are a part of me and I don't think I can give it up for anything else." Rory raised her non-broken hand and moved it toward Felix as a small ball of light began forming on her palm. She closed her fingers around it, causing the orb to shatter into smaller pieces that floated around them like fireflies before fading. "My dad told me before that it’s not what powers I have that matters, it’s what I choose to do with them. I'll light up the whole forest all night if that can help find Kaitlyn."

Felix chuckled as her mind creatively stirred up other powers, watching her imagination take over. Teleportation would agreeably be useful, but granting wishes could be a heavy burden. The display of her powers amazed him, his blue eyes gleaming with the explosion of light, watching as the light scattered around them gracefully. Felix was mesmerized by the beauty of it, “I guess that’s a fitting power for a girl like you,” he spoke with a wink. He listened to her, though—to her passion, to her kindness, to her selflessness. It was pleasant and relieving to find a girl that practiced such core values, but it triggered a sense of abiding chivalry, feeling it necessary to protect someone that made themself so vulnerable. It worried him. The way that she held her arms open so wide. He questioned her, bluntly, but without any means of offense, “Why do you care so much about people? I feel like you’re too nice for your own good.”

Rory laughed. "Because all we have is each other, and hey, I'm just the right amount of nice, thank you very much."

If she mulled it over longer, perhaps she'd have a better explanation for him, instead of just a treacly response that very well dismissed his own experiences. Or perhaps it was something he could experience for himself? "Let's go find Kaitlyn. You'll see, there are people worth caring about."

The invitation to come along invited all sorts of mixed feelings. There were many things to consider when making the choice, but his heart was pulled by her innocence. He ignored the foreseen lecture he'd get from his parents, and the possible remarks he could get from the jocks and cheerleaders who are attending. Instead he paid his attention to the opportunity to come back out of his shell, and attempt at friendships again. It was something about Rory that gave him a sliver of hope again; even though it was fragile, it was there regardless. He stood up. “Sure,” he spoke simply with his signature smirk, “Let’s go.”

Conner's Apartment

---

The couch sagged under Conner's weight he plopped down on the plush cushions. A sheen of sweat covered his forehead. He beheld the product of his last few hours of work. The apartment was neat, tidy, in perfect order. It was a small one bedroom affair, with a kitchenette, living room, a tiny dining room, and a surprisingly large bedroom. In the few hours following his landing in Crestwood Hollow, Conner had unloaded his things, put everything away, and cleaned the place top to bottom. Sheer frustration drove him. His flight had been delayed and he had arrived just after noon. Missing the first day of school made Conner angrier than he cared to admit. For hours that familiar itch of scale growing down his back fueled those embers in the pit of his belly. Truth was the combination of the long flight, being held over twice and for no less than twelve hours each time had driven him a little crazy- never mind the fact he hated flying!

In the end the clean, orderly apartment made him feel content for the first time in nearly thirty six hours. A sigh escaped his lips as the itch subsided. Conner wiped his brow and sank into the cushions a little further. Things were looking up from the second he'd gotten off that damn plain. He was in a nice neighborhood, overlooking a park, and his neighbors were nice enough, even giving him a casserole; said casserole lay in scattered remains on the kitchenette counter. What’s more, Crestwood reminded him of his home, quaint, quiet. Sadly a tension hung over the town that was impossible to ignore. The recent disappearance of a girl had the entire town scared and confused. His neighbors had had said they would joining the search party. A big gathering would occur in a nearby park around six or so. A glance at the wall clack told him it was twenty to six.

Conner spent the next several minutes drumming his fingers`s on the arm of the chair and his leg refused to quit bobbing up and down. He needed a distraction or he’d go mad he just knew it. Dressed in a thin, black sweater, dark grey slacks and a thick pea coat headed out the door. Conner stopped when he brushed his hair back and felt his quartet of fashion disasters were growing in again. With a huff he stomped back inside to retrieve a dark grey wool fedora; he just wasn’t in the mood to deal with the pain it was to shear the damn things. He fussed with his hat in the mirror for a moment or so before heading back toward the door.

MATHER PARK

---

More people than he expected were at the park that evening. Conner expected ten, maybe twenty, but he lost count how many people shuffled about. Worst part was he could feel the amount of eyes on him. Standing well over six feet tall with a farm boy's physique and having impeccable taste in fashion had that affect Conner knew, hell he relished the looks he got once upon a time. Since that cursed monster inside him reared its ugly head however Conner couldn’t help but think people knew what he was when their eyes fell on him. "If only past me could see what we’ve become," he joked under his breath. “The disappointment would be palpable.”

Conner shook his head of such thoughts, trying to conjure up the old Conner; a swaggering mountain of a guy with confidence for days. He shook his shoulders, straightened out that coward's posture, and got in line behind another young man with short brown hair and tanned skin who- if Conner allowed himself to be honest- was rather attractive with. In a rush of anger fueled courage at how timid he was fast becoming he struck up a conversation with the other young man.

“Did you know the missing girl by chance?” he asked, tapping the other boy’s shoulder.

MATHER PARK

---

Alexander flinched slightly as he felt a small tap on his shoulder. He turned around and faced the person. It was a man a little bit older than himself, by how much Alexander couldn't really tell, with pale skin, auburn colored hair, and orange(?) eyes who was dressed in a black sweater, dark grey slacks, and a thick pea coat.

"I'm sorry, I don't. I go to the same school that she did before she went missing, but I've never met her personally." He said, shaking his head slightly. The line moved forward again and Alexander took a few steps forward before coming to a stop.

"The only thing I do know is her name. Kaitlyn." He said, refocusing his attention on the line in front of him.

"Oh, I almost forgot..." He said, turning back around and extending his right hand for a shake. "My name's Alexander. Alexander Thomas."

MATHER PARK

---

Conner felt a smile cross his lips as he firmly shook Alexander's hand. "Conner Hughes." He couldn't help but feel a little foreboding that a girl from the school went missing the week he came to town. The thought sent shivers down his spine. He moved with the line and stuck his hands into his pockets.

"Couldn't imagine what her family's going through." He was silent for a moment then said: "Have they checked the woods?"

His own... experience with being lost made him wonder if she was in a similar situation. Lord help her if she was like him. He felt a certain sense of urgency. Conner felt his heart start to race at that grim pine of thinking. He felt the itch and a fang sprouted, cutting his cheek. The coppery, hot taste of blood filled his mouth. Self-consciously he tugged his collar up to hide his neck.

"How long has she been missing?"

M A T H E R M E M O R I A L H I G H S C H O O L:

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 2:50 PM | Boy's bathroom 27 near the Loft}

Ben was still weeping when he heard a strange reverberating voice echo around him. It was an unusual sensation, kind of ghostly. He had never encountered a telepath, so he hadn’t even realized that the voice he had heard was in his head. But instinctively, he looked up to the mirror to see who had spoken to him and it was a girl, her face showing concern. He recognized her from his class, vaguely. He turned off the water he was running over his burned arm and sniffled, “Oh…” he mumbled, “It’s nothing…”.

Moving to hide his arm under his sleeve, though noticeably still in pain by his muffled moaning, he wiped away the tears and got a hold of himself, looking at her curiously, “Ummm..what are you doing in here anyways? This is the boy’s lavatory.”

Esther remained at an arm length’s distance. The boy was right in that the space was the boy’s lavatory, and she had no business being there in the first place. The trail of events that had led her there were no secret, however. On her way to the girl’s room, Esther had met a visibly disgruntled or distraught boy coming out of the lavatory in a hasty fashion. The scene had followed with sounds of distress from someone who had remained. This was by no means the truth as to why Esther had found her way in there, but it was good enough for an answer.

“I was on my way to the bathroom myself, and then I heard you. There was another boy out there that passed me in the corridor. Did he do something to you?” Esther’s inner voice spoke in Benjamin’s mind. The girl modestly extended herself to assist him if he so needed, but the boy seemed strong in himself and his ability to withhold suffering. She took a step back while holding the outer door slightly open, unsure of whether to just leave him or wait for him to get back to class.

The girl’s reverberations within his mind echoed and rattled like they were bouncing between the inner walls of his head. He had heard of telepaths, but had never encountered one before, let alone had one use their powers to communicate with him. The sensation was a bit jarring now that he was actively aware of it, his gaze falling away from her, mouth gaping as though it all suddenly made since, “You’re a telepath...” he stated in shock, wiping away the last of his tears on his sleeve.

He paused for a moment in silence, his focus eventually tracing back on her once he finished contemplating her question, “Anyways, He didn’t do anything, at least, I don’t think he meant to.” Ben hesitated, holding his hand to his arm and rubbing it gently. He felt he had already said more than he should have, because his countenance suddenly went frigid, “There’s nothing to be concerned with. Just...” he stepped up closer to her, heading for the door, his eyes meeting her own in a deep icy stare, “Promise you won’t say anything about this. Please..”

Esther did not have to be inside of his head to know that something was wrong. Between the fanatic handling of whatever happened to his arm and the remaining moisture around his eyes, things were quite clear from where she was standing. However, the boy was rather articulate about not wanting it to be a big deal. Perhaps this was not the time or place to pry any further, but Esther simply could not help herself when it came to these kinds of matters. But she also knew when to not do what she usually dabbled in. And one of those things was to stop speaking in his head. It was clearly his first time for such a thing seeing as he reacted as he did. Esther signed the words ‘I promise’—two simple moves of a silencing finger covering her lips followed by a palm hitting her closed fist, as in putting the words into a locked box. A wide smile flew his way along with squinty eyes as her arms gently came around his lower frame in a modest hug. Esther turned heel and continued into the girl’s bathroom right next door.

“Ummm…” he murmured, unsure of what she was doing with her hands. Obviously sign language, but this was something he had no knowledge of and any attempt at trying to reciprocate would probably be insulting. The best he could do was simply shake his head, acknowledging her movements as her acceptance of compliance, “Okay then.…I guess” Benjamin finally said, sighing deeply in relief.

However, it was when the girl suddenly embraced him that his body went stiff, her petite arms wrapping around his thin frame. “Eh..” was the only sound he could make, his eyes bright and perplexed. Why the hell was she suddenly hugging him? Affection, especially of this nature often him made him feel uncomfortable, particularly with people he didn’t know. Boundaries. It was so abrupt and completely caught him off guard, evident by his arms being slightly arched above them, frozen in shock, unwilling to reciprocate the embrace she presented to him; He watched as she left, a confounded gaze lingering at where she once stood.

---

@Prisk

S T. B E T R A N M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 06:47pm | Outside, in the cemetery.}

It was easy to forget how old the Hollow was sometimes. For a small town, it held a lot of cemeteries, but St. Betran's was the oldest. The lot had been expanded to accommodate, and while the west end had neatly ordered flat plaques for easy maintenance, the original graves nearer the church were random in size, placement, and condition. It was there a dark shadow crossed Chloe's path. A dark hound running through the graves. No wonder Crestwood had such an eerie reputation. Stray or not, the sight was familiar enough and the sunset light enough to keep Chloe's own superstitions at bay.

Fortunately, Hannah and her crew had chosen to set up on the newer end of the graveyard, though there were only two when Chloe reached them.

"You're late." Mikaela approached her, arms cross and expression petulant, while Hannah bent over four buckets behind them.

"Doesn't seem like I missed much Kiki" Chloe replied with the hated childhood nickname alongside a mockingly sweet smile as he dropped her purse to the ground and went to inspect the buckets. Mikaela wasn't high enough on the totem pole for Chloe to give much thought to her opinion. "Did someone bring their dog or something?"

It wasn't until she was standing right next to her that Hannah seemed to notice her existence. "Dog? No. You're here, though which is good. Nadine should be here with the girls in a minute, and Gabby's just picking up a few last minute things. Want something to drink?" A thermos with a suspiciously dark liquid in her hand as Hannah vanished from sight. The buckets were filled with ice.

"Going to give me a clue as to what we're doing?" But Hannah had forgotten her existence all over again, digging through a duffle-bag for another drinking vessel.

"Not really." Mikaela smiled sweetly at her. Chloe drank.

"I've arrived ladies!" Gabby joined the group holding an unmarked box at arms length in front of her. None of the girls were wearing their uniforms at least.

"Oh Chloe you made it! I'm glad, we're going to have such a good time."

"You're late."

"Oh boo hoo K, did you want my job?" Hannah stood straight and waved for them to be quiet before Mikaela could respond.

"Shut up they're right there, Gabby put the box next to the grave." Chloe's attention snapped to the giant empty hole that lay less than five free from where they all stood.

"What-"

"Shh- Shut up!"

She managed to get a last swig before Gabby stole the thermos, abandoning the mysterious box. "Old lady Mitras died two days ago funeral is day after tomorrow." She explain in hushed tone before downing the rest of the drink.

Chloe felt very cold as the final six girls approached. Nadine led three blindfolded freshmen through the grave yard. Whatever directions she was gave couldn't stop the girls from tripping over the flat gravestones and the ten yard walk over ended up taking a very awkward three minutes. Still the four waiting seniors remained silent until they were all neatly lined in front of them, and Chloe realized why she was there, and almost had to hold back a laugh.

She was Kaitlyn's replacement. Five seniors for five freshmen. It would have been hilarious that she had taken on one of her former tormentor's position's, if it wasn't on the same day half the town was out looking for her body. And here were her supposed best friends, not even taking part in the effort.

"Welcome girls to your official Raven initiation ceremony. Each of you have been assigned a mentor from the senior year to help you through the process." One by one each of the freshmen was paired off. Chloe found herself guiding a barely five foot tall blonde away from the perilously close grave. Whatever their blind trek had entailed, the girls hadn't come out clean or unscathed, and Chloe's was shivering already.

"I'm Shannon." Chloe ignored her, eyeing the bucket, box, grave, and Hannah with equal levels of suspicion. The captain herself had chosen the odd girl out, and Chloe's grip on the small girl's shoulder tightened enough to make her whimper. Hannah's chosen 'initiate' was going to have a rough night. It was a fat girl. There wasn't any way around it, whatever her face looked like behind the blindfold there was no way Hannah Ellis; the girl that had pulled Chloe's frizzing curls and cut the straps off her bra in gym was letting a fat girl onto the ravens cheer squad. There wasn't much left to deduce from there, four buckets, five girls desperate to fit in, and a very deep hole. She wasn't about to hold out that Gabby's box was filled with celebratory donuts.

"Hannah"

"Seniors, bring your freshmen each a bucket." It wouldn't be a gentle fall. How deep were graves? It looked deep, too deep for anyone to get her out without serious help.

Chloe didn't move. "Hannah" Ellis gave her a glare that stripped away whatever protest she'd been preparing, if she wasn't careful she'd be the one finding out exactly how deep that hole went. Gabby handed her the bucket full of ice, while Chloe stood staring at the blindfolded fat girl wile Shannon fidgeted endlessly beside her.

"Take it." She finally managed, placing the weight in the younger girls hands and looked away as the official cheerleaders all converged around Hannah's girl.

It wasn't a gentle fall. Chloe winced as the girl screamed and the resounding thump. There might have been a snapping bone, but it was impossible to be sure as panic struck the other freshmen, calling out for each-other and asking what was happening. Hannah put an end to the unrest by simply clapping her hands twice.

"Ladies! Blindfolds off!" Chloe's hand was steady as she undid the knot. It wasn't her that was screaming at the bottom of a hole, what did she care? The muttering began again as the initiates realized what had happened to their peer. Another clap for order came from Hannah.

"To be a part of the Raven Cheer Team is to join the elites in the history of Crestwood Hollow. There is a reason Mather is the best high-school around, and we're it." She paused for dramatic effect, eyeing each of the girls, daring any one of them to say anything. Pleas for help and confusion came from the grave in the center of them all.
"We're the best cheer team in the state- hell we're best in the entire east coast, and with that comes responsibility." With every word, Hannah looked somewhat less high-school teen, and more commanding officer. She began pacing in front of her recruits.
"We've already lost one of our sisters this semester, but that doesn't diminish us. That doesn't make the Raven's Cheer team an open extra-curricular for just anyone. We are a sisterhood, and tonight you forge yours." Finally she gestured to the hole where the confused cries for help had subsided to loud sobs.

"Allison" Mikeala pushed her freshman forward. "Are you ready to be a Raven?" The girl looked around nervously and nodded. At the direction of the two older girls she poured the partially melted crushed ice into the hole. Chloe winced at the resulting cry before bracing herself for the following rounds.

"Trisha" Another splash, again Chloe turned away, opting to look at the sky. It was a full moon. Or close enough at least.

"Becky" The fat girl had again stopped screaming. Chloe wondered if the stray was still wandering the cemetery somewhere.

"Shannon" Nothing happened. Chloe looked down to trembling girl in front of her. She wasn't moving. A dangerous look of annoyance began to creep across Hannah's face.

"Is there a problem Shannon?" Chloe held her breath while Shannon remained rooted, the sound of crying came to an abrupt stop. Shannon still didn't move

"God damn it." Chloe muttered, barely audible as she snatched the bucket from Shannon's hands and dumped it down the grave herself.

"What the hell Chloe! She-"

"It's done. You've had your fun. Move on already." Hannah was glaring at her, but Chloe had conceded too much for the night already, and glared right back.

"Fine. She'll just-"

"This way! It came from over here!"

It had grown too dark to see much past their small gathering place, sparely lit as it was, but the voices weren't far and in the seconds the group were struck still, small pricks of flashlights became visible. Everyone looked to Hannah, who broke the stillness by lunging for her duffel-bag. When she turned around again to see everyone still staring at her she gave an exasperated but urgent "Move!" to kick them all in motion.

There was chaos as the seniors stumbled over freshmen to retrieve their items, while avoiding the pit.

"Gabby the bugs-"

"I'm not touching them!"

"You're all utterly useless"
She didn't see who's shoe kicked the box over, but Chloe did see the contents; thousands of dead crickets, went flying everywhere, in the grave, through the air, and towards the girls; inciting further panic. Chloe was vaguely aware of a few landing in her hair.

It took only a handful of seconds to find herself completely alone.

"I swear- It sounded like a girl too. Hello?! Anyone there?!" Chloe looked down at the hole. The sun was gone and without the other girls' lights, it was impossible to see. It would be easy to pull the kid out, there was no danger of dropping or slipping in herself.

"Kaitlyn?!" It would be so easy. The girl in the grave was too silent. A light landed on Chloe's boot, and she fled.

_{A t H o m e}

---

Home was quiet. Lisa had not returned from work yet. Esther sat in the kitchen with a glass of milk and some old cookies, scrolling through the feeds on her phone. The thing about the missing girl seemed to be trending everywhere. The thought of Esther’s father having something to do with it briefly entered her mind, but was discarded equally fast. He was not the kind of man that would kidnap random strangers. Despite everything that she had been through with him, he was a man of honor and discipline. Perhaps he was out there looking for the missing girl. It would not have surprised Esther if he actually was.

Esther had not bothered with changing into something more comfortable. She was going to attend the community search, anyway. Esther knew that her mother would object, but eventually she would give in and probably come along as well. Lisa did not fear much for her daughter when it came to—how should one put it?—worldly matters. She knew that Esther could make any mugger or rapist think that they are a pig with wings for the rest of their lives. No, the fear was Esther’s father. Lisa knew that he was still out there, and that he could take Esther away again. Even if it came to pass, and they met him, Lisa would not be able to do much about it, but at least she could live with herself if she tried to resist and save her daughter.

She wiped the screen of the phone clean and snapped a photo of herself. A wide grin along with a silly face was the snap and the text read: u goin to the search thing?😘😋. The picture and message was delivered to Rory. In the same instance, Esther’s mother came home. “Eshter? Are you home?” Lisa shouted with a hint of worry, as she removed her coat and shoes. The girl simply tapped the kitchen table three times with her first to make some noise. Lisa came to find her daughter, giving the girl a kiss on the cheek as always. “How was school?” the woman asked while keeping eye contact this time, unlike earlier that morning. “It was alright. They told us to go to the search thing for the missing girl,” Esther signed.

Lisa was always hesitant to let her daughter go out alone. Despite the obvious and underlying reasons, the woman was a bit of a control freak sometimes. There was so many things about Esther that could attract trouble, not to mention her good-natured heart. Whenever a serious subject such as this one came along, Lisa signed herself for her daughter to use the inner voice. Even if the woman understood sign language quite well, some of the more complex language was still difficult for her.

“Did your teacher tell you this? Or was it the whole school?” Lisa asked with stern expression.
“The teacher told us. Or, well, me, after class. I was at the bathroom when they talked about it,” Esther spoke with her inner tones.
“And this is something arranged by the school, or what?”
“No, it’s a community search. It’s all over social media. You haven’t seen it?”
“I work for a living, Esther. You know, to put food on the table.”
“I know, but most people do find a minute or two to take a break.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
“What? Why?” There will literally be hundreds of people there.” The expression on Esther’s visage grew sullen.
“That’s exactly the problem. You know what I’m talking about,” Lisa said and sat down opposite to her daughter.
“Mom, please—he is not going to be there and he wouldn’t do anything even if he was.”
“Sweetie, you don’t know him like I do.”
“And you don’t know him like I do. You don’t think he showed me what you two did together? I’ve seen all of it, Mom—it’s peanuts and shenanigans compared to what I went through, but he is not evil.”
“For someone with such empathy, you can be really cruel sometimes.”
A sadden frown came onto Esther’s expression and she decided to just leave.
“Esther, wait—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Please, sit down,” Lisa pleaded. Esther hesitated for a moment, but ultimately gave in. She gave her mother the stare of death.
“I’ll go with you. And before you object, I won’t disturb you if you want to be with your friends from school. If this search is a community thing, then I want to do my part as well. So, I’ll drive us there, we’ll stay in touch through texts, and then we meet up at the end and I’ll drive us home. Okay?”
“Fine,” Esther muttered, but she could not help herself to smirk a little. She loved her mother more than anything in the world, after all.

The two of them left home shortly after the minor argument. Esther could bicker about things with her mother, but they had never gotten into an all-out fight about anything. Or, at least not in Esther’s definition of the word ‘fight’. She had fought with her father on several occasions, however. That was what she would consider a real ‘fight’, if anything. Most of it had been conducted in the dreamworld wherein they could do almost whatever they wanted to each other without physically hurting someone. Esther was young at that time, though. One could hardly call it a fair fight.

The drive to the park was quiet. Lisa focused on the road and Esther focused on her texts. Some of her friends from her own classes would be there, but she hoped to see Rory as well. She was the only hyper-friend that Esther knew. But that aspect was not all that important to Esther. It was more about how Rory was as a person—radiant and alive—and as an artist. Esther had two other friends that she had made shortly after moving to town: Megan and Jennifer. They were all the same age and often hung out together. Both of them had learned a great deal of sign language already, but they also did not mind Esther’s inner voice. However, it had taken quite a long while before Esther had revealed her ‘hyper’ nature to them. There was a bit of a backlash from Megan and Jennifer, but a few days later they reunited.

_{T h e P a r k}

---

Lisa found a parking spot near the park. The turnout for the effort to find the missing girl had already grown quite impressive. Esther and Lisa made their way into the heart of it, slowing down as the crowd became ever so dense. The actual search had not begun yet. Esther texted Megan and Jennifer that she was somewhere in the middle. Lisa seemed to be distracted by something, as if she was looking around for someone. Esther leered at her mother with a mischievous expression, waiting for Lisa to catch that glimpse.

“What?” Lisa asked as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Are you looking for someone?” Esther signed.
“No, I’m not,” Lisa said and chuckled. Her acting was extremely poor.
“Yeah, right.”
“So, are Megan and Jennifer coming?” Lisa quickly changed the subject.
“Yes, I texted them. They’ll be here soon.”
“How is this organized? Is everyone going to search at once?” Lisa kept a dialog with herself while looking around. Being the business woman that she was, managing people and complex projects, things that appeared sloppy always stressed her out.
“Just relax, will you?” Esther signed as her eyes rolled around like carousels.
“I can’t, you know that. I’ll wait here with you until all of this begins, then we’ll part ways. Okay?”

Esther simply nodded at her mother’s carefully crafted plan.

H O P E R E S I D E N C E

---

Moving to a new country was difficult. Having no friends was difficult. Losing his father was difficult. It seemed to be an accumulation of these things and other factors that perpetuated the discontent within Ben's heart. He had believed in some kind of cautious optimism when he started his first day of school, but according to his standards, it had all but proved to fail him tremendously. Before he left school for the day, he had been approached by Mr Lehrer about volunteering to search for the missing girl that night, the man presenting it as his duty to the community if you will. A way to potentially meet others as well.

Ben was not too keen on the idea of venturing into the dark forests of night with random strangers, but when his mother caught word of the search, she had favored a different perspective from his own. When she had arrived home that evening, she found Ben's younger brothers gorging on pizza at the kitchen table. And he himself...well..he was curled up in a ball in front of the fireplace, surrounded by opened books, the gentle sounds of his weeping echoing off the flames that danced to warm his frosted heart.

Georgette's face resonated with motherly concern as she kissed Danior and Malachi, took off her coat, and sat her purse down on the dining table. "What's wrong with your brother?" Georgette murmured to Ben's younger brothers. She began to slowly approach him, his frame feebly stirring against the flames. Malachi only shrugged, his mouth still stuffed. Danior looked up to his mother and shook his head, "Not sure. I think something happened to him at school today, but he wouldn't talk to me. He's been like that for about an hour now." Georgette gave him a fleeting nod as she turned her attention back to Ben, kneeling down to the floor once she reached him. She gently began running her hands through his soft curls, "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

Ben didn't turn to look at her, he was still facing towards the fireplace, "It's nothing...." he whispered miserably, the soft sobs more audible now that she was near him. She continued to caress his hair; wiping away the tears that had formed and semi dried upon his nose and cheek.

Somehow she managed to convince him to aid in the search that night. Something about it being Cathartic.

---

M A T H E R P A R K

---

Even amongst the crowd that had gathered, Ben was essentially alone. He meandered through the crowd as he looked for any familiar faces that he felt even remotely interested in seeing, the only one coming to mind was Esther. But, even she was familiarly unfamiliar enough that he probably wouldn't know what to say if he were to run into her. Not to mention their bathroom interaction earlier that day left him feeling awkward and embarrassed. The shy wallflower didn't make any effort to talk anyone as he headed towards the forest's edge. He was more afraid to talk tot these strangers than he was to find a missing girl. Tapping his flashlight against his hip to turn it on, he took one last glance at the crowd behind him, before slowly entering the dark forest.

It didn't seem like anyone noticed him entering alone...

The winds whistled and rustled the leaves as he proceeded deeper in, the lights of the park fading in the distance. Only shadows of his surroundings glimmered by the moonlight that peaked through the canopies. He gulped, wondering if he should have found someone to go in with. But at this point, thoughts like these only served to distract him from the primary objective at hand, and Benjamin was a very goal-driven type of individual, the type to jump right to it. He had a grave proclivity to get things done by himself. He hated having to rely on others to take action and he hated having to wait on others. Wasteful.

15 minutes in and the sounds of the crowd had all but faded at this point. The owls brought a strange serenity to the relative darkness of the forest with their songs. Ben wasn't quite sure what he was looking for frankly. Maybe the girl or perhaps a fragment of her presence. A relic known to her. Anything remotely related to her would suffice for now.

The sudden crack of wood and dried leaves caused his body to stiffen and swivel, his flashlight focused towards the direction from which he heard the sounds. Seeing nothing of note, he continued his search, looking behind large boulders and in deep crevices of trees. Anywhere that a body or a girl might lie in hiding. It didn't take long before a strange sound was heard again, a misplaced rustling of branches echoing from behind him. Yet again, further investigation proved fruitless. At that moment, he swore he had heard the howling of wolves in the distance. Were there wolves in the forests of Crestwood Hollow? Certainly not right?

Having come to a brief halt, Ben rested upon a large rock, a bottle of water in hand. He took several sips as he looked around, caressing some of his curls behind his ear. Strangely enough, he found that he could see better if he just utilized the natural light provided by the moon. Something about the ambiance was soothing. Cathartic his mother mentioned. He let himself rest upon the rock, laying on his back, head on his arms, eyes looking up at the sky. Not long after, his mind began to drift, suddenly dozing off into darkness.

.... .... ....

He hadn't fell asleep long, maybe 5 minutes. When his eyes cracked open again, a dark figure lingered over him, causing Ben to shriek and jump away off the rock in his frenzy. When his gaze finally acclimated to the figure before him, he sighed deeply, his hand resting upon his palpitating chest "Hakeem? What are you doing here?"

The much taller jock, Hakeem, stepped forward, brushing off his pants, "Did you have to scream? Scared the shit out of me."

Ben frowned, folding his arms across his chest "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that. It's unsettling." Hakeem walked closer to Ben, a look of penitence on his face, "My bad. I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I saw you enter the forest alone, so, I just don't want to see you get hurt. It was hard to keep up with you."

The sincerity in his voice was stirring to Ben, but then feral howls could be heard, much more immediate this time than before, causing them both fall silent and look around their surroundings. "See?" Hakeem protested, pacing steadily behind Ben, who had already began walking away deeper into the forest, "I'll be fine." he assured the jock, his flashlight zipping about the shadowy landscape. "You should go back and wait for the others. I can do this on my own. I'm not afraid."

"I never said you were, but I'm not leaving you out here alone." Hakeem declared, resting his gloved hand on Ben's shoulder. Ben paused, letting out a deep uncomfortable sigh, "Please don't do this." he whispered softly, turning around to face the taller jock.

"Do what?"

Been stared at him, his eyes showing a peculiar pain that Hakeem immediately understood, "This..." he mumbled.
Hakeem suddenly jerked his hand off of Ben's shoulder, "I'm really sorry man. I've actually been wanting to talk to you about that. I...

But without warning, Ben stepped closer to Hakeem and placed his finger to the jock's lips, the warmth of his mouth cascading on his fingertips. Shh... Ben mouthed, his eyes focused behind Hakeem's muscular frame, which had suddenly gone stiff like a plank of wood. Ben's gaze twisted in horror as two red eyes hissed and radiated from within the brush. He had never seen something so horrifying in his life and instinctively, he grabbed onto Hakeem in a tight hug as the red-eyed wolf-shaped creature lunged forward. Ben's power activated, causing the beastly creature to pass through them and crash into the opposing tree, dispersing into what seemed to be a goop of acidic black sludge upon impact, causing the tree to suddenly catch in flames, illuminating the surrounding area to reveal more of these red-eyed black wolves. Up close, their howling now sounded more like a strange hiss.

Hakeem fucking jumped out of his skin, grabbing onto Ben in an even tighter embrace than the one Ben had initiated to save their lives with his power.

"What the fuck!"
"I don't know but run!"

Ben grabbed Hakeem's hand and they were off, running as fast as they possibly could to avoid being, from what he imagined, melted piles of bone and flesh. The beast kept on their tails as Ben and Hakeem jumped over logs and ran under winding limbs, scratches appearing on their arms, legs, and faces as they ran without a care for anything they brushed up against. Much better than being caught by these freaky red-eyed, flame inducing, acidic skin-melting, wolf-shaped black-furred hissing beasts. Up ahead, Ben spotted what appeared to be a cave, the entrance blocked by a large boulder. Ben affirmed his grip in Hakeem's hand as the the wolves and the cave simultaneously got closer.

"Run for the cave!" Ben exclaimed.

"But it's blocked!

"Trust me!"

With only a few seconds difference between the wolves and the cave, Ben and Hakeem managed to make it, Ben using his power to phase them through the boulder and into the dark leaky cave on the other side. The hissing red eyed wolves could be heard on the other side, Ben and Hakeem breathing too heavily to pay attention to that at the moment. Ben was slopped on the floor. Hakeem was standing and heaving against the wall.

They both then looked towards the boulder between them and certain death.

"What are we gonna do? What are those things out there?" Hakeem asked between deep breaths. Ben was heaving too, though his mind much more focused on how they were going to get out of here. "I don't know..." he said calmly, looking around. The cave looked like it went in deeper. Much deeper.

They weren't getting out the way they came in anytime soon. That's for sure.

MATHER PARK

---

Alexander let out a curse as he almost tripped over another root hidden in the darkness below. He pulled out the flashlight he had been given and switched it on, causing the ground ahead of him to become bathed in a circular pool of bright light. "That's better." He thought as he trudged deeper into the dark woods. As he wandered deeper and deeper into the forested area ahead of him, Alexander began to wonder if separating from his group, as he had been told not to, was such a good idea.

But he just couldn't stand the suspicious looks he got or the hateful comments directed towards Hypes in general that the other's in his group had made sure he overheard. He knew that if he stayed with that group any longer, he'd end up punching someone. So he had waited for his chance to sneak off without them noticing and when it finally came, he took it.

In hindsight however, it might not have been the best decision. Here he was in the middle of the woods, with no food, water, means of making a shelter should he need one, and nothing more than a flashlight to guide him through the dark. He shook his head and was about to mentally berate himself for his foolishness, when he noticed strange looking ruts in the earth at his feet that lead off to the left.

Deeper into the forest.

He crouched down and examined them more carefully. It seemed as though someone had dragged something off into the woods. Alexander assumed that whatever it was didn't weigh very much as the ruts were very shallow, almost non-existent really. Standing up, Alexander shone the beam of his flashlight off in the direction the ruts lead and saw nothing but forest. He furrowed his brow and looked back down at the ruts, before following them. He didn't know where they would lead him or why they were here, but he was going to find out.

MATHER PARK

---

A growl came unbidden from Conner's throat. He felt his neck tighten and fire-bladders quiver then the itch came. His hand touched a tree, rough bark scrapping soft skin. Conner walked at the very back of his group, some ten feet or so. They walked deeper into the woods with an officer leading them, his little group of six. Conner flicked his eyes around, he'd noticed the boy he'd been talking to wander off from his own group when the officers split from the main group; why was the question.

Conner backed away and split from his group. He allowed the itch to grow and his nose was assaulted with the smells of pine, loam, and a variety of animals. A familiar dull ache signaled the fangs forming in his mouth, with it his mouth became slick with saliva. He hated the part of himself that thought the people he watched leave him behind unknowingly smelled good, in a mouthwatering way. He pushed those thoughts away and wandered further away from the group. Led by his nose, Conner went in search of the other boy, the boy's faint scent still fresh in his mind. While his sense of smell was in no way on par with a dogs (as of yet) it was one of the few good things that came with the monster sharing his body, even if his vision began to blur.

N O R T H C R E S T W O O D

---

^{Tuesday, August 21st, 2018 - 07:10pm | Kettle Bridge}

Of course the damn dog would come back just in time to make things worse. Chloe stumbled over gravestones until she found solid footing on pavement and continued in whatever direction it took her; someone was still following. The streets were mostly lit, but she didn't dare turn to see who it was. The other girls had gone off in another direction, or at least gotten enough of a head start that their paths never crossed.

Never the greatest athlete, and hardly aided by heeled boots; she was nearly tripping over her own feet by the time she reached Kettle bridge. Of course, she could outpace any pursuant, but the past month had been spent hiding and repressing such displays. Panting she finally turned to face whoever was following, only to find the stray dog, stopped just behind her.

"What do you want?!" She yelled at the animal, frustrated by the events of the night, her senseless attempt of escaping a dog, and the definite blister forming on her right foot. She leaned forward and forced herself to take a deep breaths. A cricket dropped from her hair sending her jumping and shaking out her hair and clothes in attempt to dislodge any more of the hitchhikers. The process only served to further dishevel her appearance further. The dog was still there.

"Shoo. Go home." Chloe hadn't ever been a dog person. Where most saw cute she had a hard time getting past the teeth and claws, not to mention the size of the one in front of her. Finally calm enough to stand, she took in her surrounding and cursed. Running wildly hadn't been wise; she was no nearer home and closer to the even less savory part of town. She dropped to the curb and unzipped her boot to try and relieve some of the pressure on the foot. The dog was still there.

Well past the end of her patience, she threw the shoe at it. "Get lost already!"

Catching the shoe out of the air, the dog sat back on its haunches before placing the shoe on the ground. Barking playfully towards Chloe before it picked the shoe up again and slowly walked forward, gently placing it at her feet. Backing up a few steps, the dog sat down again, barking once before throwing its head back in the direction of the church, looking back at Chloe and then again back at the church before letting out a low whine and impatiently stomping its front paws.

Chloe blinked at the dog with a look of surprise that quickly turned to scowl. Something was obviously wrong with this dog. She examined the boot before putting it back on, the soft suede was ruined; but that was more due to sprinting through a muddy graveyard then the stray. He clearly was expecting her to follow, but back to the way they had both come. Just the thought of returning to the church gave her the chills. But a quick look around provided only worse options; she had not stopped in a nice neighborhood, and the fastest way home was back south through Mather park anyways. Her mind fell to Kaitlyn again, missing without a trace, and suddenly having a large animal around didn't seem like such a annoyance. She stood carefully on the blistered foot, with her head cooled some, she was able to reduce the chafing enough to walk without limping.

"Back we go I guess."

MATHER PARK

---

Loose soil and grass kicked up under Conner's feet as he dodged a lunging wolf. The beast was black as oily pitch, bigger than any wolf he recalled seeing, and had eyes that burned like embers. If he didn't know any better he'd think some hellhound was attacking him. Two of the beasts circled him, hissing like a pair of snakes. His neck pulsed, he was temped to bath the things in fire but better judgement told him the flames might light the whole forest on fire. He got into a boxer's stance, rolling onto the balls of his feet. Lord help him he was about try and punch a bloody wolf.

"Come and earn your pound of flesh ya bastards," he growled out.

They took the bait, both lunging after him with fang ridden mouths agape and snarls echoing in the clearing. He side stepped one and cuffed the other with a swift right hook across its jaw. Rather than the satisfying feel of his knuckles against flesh, Conner's fist went right through he beast as it turned into a puddle of black goo. Pain lanced up his arm as the goo caught fire and splashed on his arm. He panicked, patting away at the flames dancing a merry tune all their own up his bloody arm.

Conner landed on his ass, in pain and now thoroughly pissed. He felt the itch run down his back and his fangs grew a little sharper in his mouth. He stood up and felt the weighted thud his tail hit the ground. Conner struggled to keep instinct at bay, to remain in control of his senses. With some effort he wrested control away, just.

The last wolf circled him unfazed by the mess its companion made. Flames burned between them. Conner kicked up dirt with his hands to smother the flames then rushed through the dwindling fire. He spat a little ember at the thing and rolled away at the last moment. He jumped back up just in time to watch the beast burst into flame. He spent the next several minutes burring the flames, the work calming his rage. The smell was acrid and burned his nostrils; the smell was however, very distinct, and he could smell it further into the woods. A growl erupted from his throat and his tail lashed behind him.

Conner walked toward the smell with renewed purpose.