The Notebook
Strange occurrences begin to happen around Everbrook Maine. 10 teenagers meet, discovering that they are all experiencing supernatural phenomena, and cannot leave the town. An important item is discovered.
[IC] Everbrook: A Teenage Mystery RP
- Modern
- Horror
- Casual
- Slice of Life
- Small Group
- Sci-Fi
- GM DruSM157
Join Status:
Full
GM
2010: A Prologue
”Fuck fuck fuck” the curses came as hushed hisses from the teenage girl’s mouth. Her room was full of vintage posters; Universal Monsters, classic b-horror movies, and the 80’s classic. A worn poster of John Carpenter’s The Thing hung behind her doorframe. Sarah Morgan was always different from most of the girls in her 11th-grade class. She’d fallen in love with horror at a young age, devouring the classics with her dad until Will had been born. As soon as he’d been able to talk, Sarah had brought him along on her adventures, already brainwashing his little child-brain with the real good shit. She could hear music buzzing from her headphones on her dresser, as her iPod shuffle continued to play the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in a rasp buzz, bringing her back to what she needed to do.
A black Moleskine journal, decorated in all sorts of vinyl stickers with skulls, blood, and iconography best suited for a Misfits album decked the cover. The pages were filled with scribbles, tons of paranoid writings from a girl who felt trapped. She had to get out of the house, get out of town. Just get the literal fuck away from here. She threw on the thick jacket that Bobby Warren had picked up at a Hot Topic in Bangor last fall. He’d begged her to go to prom with him, and she’d acquiesced. She dug his shitty metal band, even if he couldn’t sing or scream. He was fun.
Summer was supposed to be fun. But ever since she’d tried walking out of town three weeks ago, making it out of the city limits before she began feeling sick and passing out, only to wake up in the middle of Cider Park, everything in her life had come crashing down. She silently opened her bedroom door, a flash of light filling the hallway. Will’s room was open all the way, and she could see her baby brother asleep in his bed. She loved him, deeply and unconditionally, because ever since her mother and father brought him home from the hospital seven Octobers ago, she’d decided that while the child was born from her parents, he belonged to her. She’d taken to mothering the baby as young girls did with their dolls, and her parents found it more cute than annoying. The connection had stuck, and while he could be a brat some days, she let her baby brother more into her life than she’d let anyone else.
She couldn’t risk creeping down the wooden stairs of the house and instead opened the second-story window out onto the black tile roof of the house, carefully tip-toeing her way down the ledge until she could jump safely into the hedges. She dropped, falling into a brush of small brambles and leaves, scratching at her hands and her legs. Nothing was broken as she pulled herself out of the brush, but she’d regretted not at least attempting to sneak out the kitchen door. She opened her notebook and looked over what she’d written the day before: The Library.
She couldn’t waste any more time. She was terrified, her heart fluttering in her chest. But she didn’t want to die like the others.
* * * *
He always had headphones over his ears. Of course, he did. It blocked out the bullshit. His mom and dad arguing, his mom yelling about how he and his dad never came to church with her, the constant yelling from Jeff Warren that he was a fucking freak and how he’d kick his ass if he didn’t get out of the way in the hallway. There was too much bullshit right now to block out.
It didn’t help that these were the worst months when mom and dad were at their most acidic with each other. No one wanted to think about Sarah right now, especially when they’d reached a milestone in their lives: 10 years without killing each other or themselves after she’d died. He wasn’t angry. His therapist said that it was normal feeling anger after a loss. That was totally fine. But over the years after Sarah, he only felt empty. Like someone had taken a knife and carved an important piece of his body and just removed it, leaving a gaping hole where it once was.
He was walking to the old metal mailbox at the end of their driveway. The mailbox had seen far better days, and the numbers 218 were heavily faded. Any projects that needed to be done were rarely done, especially around the summer. He opened the metal flap downwards and reached in to find several letters. Bills, bills, spam, and...there it was he thought, the solitary good thing to look forward to in the summer. Bangor Bloodfest, the premier horror convention in Maine had been something he’d saved up for, with birthdays and Christmases all going to funding his trip.
We’re sorry to confirm…
First Uncle John and Aunt Patty couldn’t have him escape this bullshit war between his parents. And now the one thing he’d been excited for, the one thing he’d spent the past year prepping for was canceled? Why? He felt the tinges of emotion spark through the tips of his fingers, as his left hand curled into a ball. He wanted to punch something, anything but instead realized that it was worthless. “Just...kill me now…” he muttered, walked back to the front door. Screams could be heard inside; so he did what he knew best. He opened the door, quickly slung the papers onto the coffee table in the living room, and quickly dashed out to the garage. He felt anger rising up in his chest as he pulled the old Schwinn bike up, having leaned against the wall for the past month. Being quarantined with his family had been such a hellish, trying time. And now he'd be stuck around them all summer.
Resentment spurred him forward, as he pedaled towards the center of town, before suddenly swerving to the right, heading towards Prescott Mill Bridge, the only way to exit town if you didn't own a boat, good hiking boots or a helicopter. He pedaled. He wanted to get out of this damn place, and just be somewhere different. He'd spent the past nine summers insulated from the outside world, cut off from others because why try when the people you love can just end their lives for no reason. He continued on like this for a solid ten minutes, rounding old streets, passing Courtland Street (but staying off the main road. This wasn't time to get jumped) and finally saw the old concrete and metal bridge in the distance. Even if it was just for an hour. Even if he just rode his bike in the woods. Anything would be better than hanging around the grocery store staring at the handful of cars that drove up the streets.
As the bike's tires hit the metal of the bridge, something felt off. A slight pain, like a hair-thin needle being slowly inched into the back of his neck, began acting up. It was as if his primordial lizard brain, its entire function based around keeping him alive, was awake and screaming: "GO BACK GO BACK IT'S DANGEROUS. But Will was a teenager, and as any good teenager does, he pressed forward.
The pain began to get worse. That single needle grew in size. Pain throbbed. He pushed forward. He began to feel lightheaded, he had to stop the bike and began to slowly walk it down the bridge now. Further and further. Keep moving. Pain. His vision began to blur. Further and further.
The world went black, and as his consciousness faded, he felt his body slip and begin to fall over the railing of the bridge.This is it. He thought. I'm dead.
Birds were chirping, chittering and singing, and Will felt warmth crest over his face. Sunlight. There had been no splash, no infinite darkness into death. He was not in the water but instead laying on the soft grass. He opened his eyes to find himself in thick trees. Clouds were blotting the sky like a Rorschach test, and in the distance, Will could hear the sound of children. He pushed himself upwards, wild-eyed. What had happened?
He checked his limbs, his clothes. There was nothing wrong with any of it. It was as if he'd taken his bike out for a quiet ride in the woods and taken a nap. But where was he? His Schwinn was discarded nearby on the grass as well; with no apparent damage to the frame, chain or tires. Had he imagined all of it? He pulled his bike upwards, pushing it through the grass, trying to catch a lay of the land. Then he saw it, and he knew exactly where he was:
Under the cross inscription was a date: July 15, 2010. This is where Sarah and the others had died.
His stomach sank, and now he began to feel a different kind of dizzy to that on the bridge. Bile and acid seemed to rise in his chest. He wanted to vomit. He clenched his fist, breathed deep through his nose, and kept pulling the bike away from the memorial. Why here? If there was one place on this godforsaken planet he never wanted to be, it was at Cider Park, especially not at the little memorial that his mom's fucking church had decided to erect. There was something wrong about all of this. He needed to think. Somewhere quiet, where kids his age would never go during the start of their vacation: The Library.
He mounted the bike, pedaling with gusto, the wind pushing through his hair for the first time in a while. The Library was only four blocks from his house, but it was nestled atop a hill, which of course meant walking the bike up. Going down was always good; you could get excellent speed from the top. So he pedaled, his heart picking up pace with each forceful push from his legs against the pedals, rolling past the quiet roads of the town.
Summer had come to Everbrook, and with the populace finally free of any more quarantining, life was beginning to resurface in the town. Somewhere in the deepest blackness of the town, hidden away from the world and yet so easily ready to manipulate it, something else was waking up. Something very old and very hungry. The time was coming soon, and new sacrifices had to be made. They were already chosen, though none quiet knew it just yet.
It would all begin at the library. Fate would bring them all there together.
It didn’t help that these were the worst months when mom and dad were at their most acidic with each other. No one wanted to think about Sarah right now, especially when they’d reached a milestone in their lives: 10 years without killing each other or themselves after she’d died. He wasn’t angry. His therapist said that it was normal feeling anger after a loss. That was totally fine. But over the years after Sarah, he only felt empty. Like someone had taken a knife and carved an important piece of his body and just removed it, leaving a gaping hole where it once was.
He was walking to the old metal mailbox at the end of their driveway. The mailbox had seen far better days, and the numbers 218 were heavily faded. Any projects that needed to be done were rarely done, especially around the summer. He opened the metal flap downwards and reached in to find several letters. Bills, bills, spam, and...there it was he thought, the solitary good thing to look forward to in the summer. Bangor Bloodfest, the premier horror convention in Maine had been something he’d saved up for, with birthdays and Christmases all going to funding his trip.
We’re sorry to confirm…
First Uncle John and Aunt Patty couldn’t have him escape this bullshit war between his parents. And now the one thing he’d been excited for, the one thing he’d spent the past year prepping for was canceled? Why? He felt the tinges of emotion spark through the tips of his fingers, as his left hand curled into a ball. He wanted to punch something, anything but instead realized that it was worthless. “Just...kill me now…” he muttered, walked back to the front door. Screams could be heard inside; so he did what he knew best. He opened the door, quickly slung the papers onto the coffee table in the living room, and quickly dashed out to the garage. He felt anger rising up in his chest as he pulled the old Schwinn bike up, having leaned against the wall for the past month. Being quarantined with his family had been such a hellish, trying time. And now he'd be stuck around them all summer.
Resentment spurred him forward, as he pedaled towards the center of town, before suddenly swerving to the right, heading towards Prescott Mill Bridge, the only way to exit town if you didn't own a boat, good hiking boots or a helicopter. He pedaled. He wanted to get out of this damn place, and just be somewhere different. He'd spent the past nine summers insulated from the outside world, cut off from others because why try when the people you love can just end their lives for no reason. He continued on like this for a solid ten minutes, rounding old streets, passing Courtland Street (but staying off the main road. This wasn't time to get jumped) and finally saw the old concrete and metal bridge in the distance. Even if it was just for an hour. Even if he just rode his bike in the woods. Anything would be better than hanging around the grocery store staring at the handful of cars that drove up the streets.
As the bike's tires hit the metal of the bridge, something felt off. A slight pain, like a hair-thin needle being slowly inched into the back of his neck, began acting up. It was as if his primordial lizard brain, its entire function based around keeping him alive, was awake and screaming: "GO BACK GO BACK IT'S DANGEROUS. But Will was a teenager, and as any good teenager does, he pressed forward.
The pain began to get worse. That single needle grew in size. Pain throbbed. He pushed forward. He began to feel lightheaded, he had to stop the bike and began to slowly walk it down the bridge now. Further and further. Keep moving. Pain. His vision began to blur. Further and further.
The world went black, and as his consciousness faded, he felt his body slip and begin to fall over the railing of the bridge.This is it. He thought. I'm dead.
***
Birds were chirping, chittering and singing, and Will felt warmth crest over his face. Sunlight. There had been no splash, no infinite darkness into death. He was not in the water but instead laying on the soft grass. He opened his eyes to find himself in thick trees. Clouds were blotting the sky like a Rorschach test, and in the distance, Will could hear the sound of children. He pushed himself upwards, wild-eyed. What had happened?
He checked his limbs, his clothes. There was nothing wrong with any of it. It was as if he'd taken his bike out for a quiet ride in the woods and taken a nap. But where was he? His Schwinn was discarded nearby on the grass as well; with no apparent damage to the frame, chain or tires. Had he imagined all of it? He pulled his bike upwards, pushing it through the grass, trying to catch a lay of the land. Then he saw it, and he knew exactly where he was:
Forever in our Hearts
Jamie Halsey
Bradley Durrel
Ginnie Easterwood
Kylie Bradford
Sarah Morgan
Owen Grady
Penny Johnson
Victoria Greenwood
Andy Redford
Karen Pine
Jamie Halsey
Bradley Durrel
Ginnie Easterwood
Kylie Bradford
Sarah Morgan
Owen Grady
Penny Johnson
Victoria Greenwood
Andy Redford
Karen Pine
Under the cross inscription was a date: July 15, 2010. This is where Sarah and the others had died.
His stomach sank, and now he began to feel a different kind of dizzy to that on the bridge. Bile and acid seemed to rise in his chest. He wanted to vomit. He clenched his fist, breathed deep through his nose, and kept pulling the bike away from the memorial. Why here? If there was one place on this godforsaken planet he never wanted to be, it was at Cider Park, especially not at the little memorial that his mom's fucking church had decided to erect. There was something wrong about all of this. He needed to think. Somewhere quiet, where kids his age would never go during the start of their vacation: The Library.
He mounted the bike, pedaling with gusto, the wind pushing through his hair for the first time in a while. The Library was only four blocks from his house, but it was nestled atop a hill, which of course meant walking the bike up. Going down was always good; you could get excellent speed from the top. So he pedaled, his heart picking up pace with each forceful push from his legs against the pedals, rolling past the quiet roads of the town.
Summer had come to Everbrook, and with the populace finally free of any more quarantining, life was beginning to resurface in the town. Somewhere in the deepest blackness of the town, hidden away from the world and yet so easily ready to manipulate it, something else was waking up. Something very old and very hungry. The time was coming soon, and new sacrifices had to be made. They were already chosen, though none quiet knew it just yet.
It would all begin at the library. Fate would bring them all there together.
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mickilennial The Elder Fae
Member
Seen
1 day ago
Abigail Prescott’s fingers ran across the lighter in her hands in a repetitive motion. Open. Closed. Open. Closed. It was a pattern that she had been doing for a good fifteen minutes.
The sound of Lydia Loveless played from the radio, from the only station that got a clear reception. Radio Everbrook. College Radio. It was muffled, mostly because Abbie had yet to dial up the volume. In many ways she was in a trance as she sat in her car overlooking the bridge crossing the river that separated the town from most of society. Most of Maine. The only way out, unless you took the ferry out to the mainland. Not that it mattered, or at least, mattered for Abbie.
While her friends had gotten to go to a festival out-of-state with no problems, Abbie had not been so lucky. For the last few days she tried to leave, to follow suit before getting her ticket refunded. A way to leave Everbrook, even if it was for some kind of silly thing. Basketball Camp had been canceled, which was a bummer but given the pandemic had ended professional basketball for the entire season she couldn’t help but not blame them for being cautious. However, things just felt weird. She wanted to head out to Lewiston or Portland, see if she could do something. For the last six days circumstances had forced her to stay in Everbrook. Weird circumstances. The ferry had been down or the bridge had a malfunction or a tree fell onto the road right where the town limits ended across the way. There was always something.
Abbie didn’t believe in weird shit. The kind of weird shit that kids liked to talk about.
There was no such thing as bigfoot or ghosts. Everbrook was a small town built on boring New England bullshit. There was nothing intrinsically strange about it. People just wanted it to be. That’s how bored people were; or at least that’s how she felt ten days ago. She wasn’t so sure anymore.
However, before she could mull over her anxieties longer, Abbie snapped back to reality as the afternoon train swept by on the tracks to her left.
“Eh… fuck.” She groaned as she tossed the lighter behind her, as she took a long drawn out breath. “Stupid train.”
Her eyes looked to the passenger seat, a pile of books, mostly a mix of project books and basketball tell-all’s. They were all nearing to be overdue, so she supposed this was time enough to do it. Not like she could get distracted with her friends with them having the time of their lives in Massachusetts or whatever. Her hand moved to the steering wheel as the voice of some Everbrook hipster mumbled the usual pretentious gibberish on the radio. When the next song came up she’d turn the radio up, but she’d be at the library by then.
Probably.
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Garden Gnome Definitely made in IKEA
Member
Seen
8 mos ago
Ruby was singing again. Singing in her room to Michael's Jackson's 'Billie Jean' with her headphones over her ears. Just like every other morning, as soon as she'd finished waking up and washing the sleep from her eyes, the singing would begin. Her father had once made a remark about how he would know she was awake when her voice accompanied the early morning silence of the home. She was just about halfway through when she heard her father's voice yelling at her. "Ruby love, I know you love singing and all, but can't you do that after breakfast? I need to be in early today. We're preparing for an influx of people now that the quarantine is finally over."
Ruby sniggered to herself as she ended her interrupted routine and headed towards the kitchen. Living with just her father had made them really close, and as the better cook among the two, she had accepted the responsibility of cooking meals for the two of them. On days that she wanted to take a break from cooking, her father would then buy takeaways meals from the local diner after work.
Those weren't bad or anything, but they unanimously agreed that between the diner and her cooking, hers was definitely better, even with her lack of any real professional experience as a chef. Retrieving a pack of bacon, she placed them carefully in the microwave to be quickly defrosted while she started to get to work at making scrambled eggs. While she busied herself with cooking, her father saw at dining table nearby drinking his coffee as he read the morning newspaper. As soon as she was done with the cooking, she took off the apron and set down the two plates as the father and daughter pair tucked into the food. Anything that knew Ruby well recognized how much she loved her food. Eating remains unofficially one of her favorite things to do and she could usually be seen munching on something at any time of the day.
Her father left as soon as breakfast was done, and Ruby was alone once again in the house, but singing had to wait. She was done to the last novel in the stack of books she'd borrowed from the library before the quarantine and she was determined to finish it up before she made the trip to replace them with a fresh bunch today. She'd heard about all the mysterious things happening in Everbrook, and the deaths that had happened in the last couple of years. There was something particularly peculiar about the town that she couldn't quite pinpoint.
The circumstances the town was in just seemed like out of a plot of a mystery novel, and just the thought about something so bizarre just sent a tingle up her spine for no reason. Promptly reminding herself to stop overthinking and frightening herself with all these crazy thoughts, she moved to grab her Schwinn bike as she began the cycle towards the town's only library. As she approached the hill, she walked the bike up. She wasn't expecting there to be many people at the library. Their vacation had only just started, and kids her age didn't tend to go the library so early on. Her backpack was filled with the stack of books she was due to return, and of course, an assortment of snacks.
Because well, cycling makes one hungry after all.
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CaliforniaState Biologist
Member
Seen
14 hrs ago
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A pair of lips here, the twirl of hair there, all pieces of a puzzle still incomplete. The shards of memories scattered all in her mind as she slept and dreamed of better days from before her life was turned on a head. This dream, in particular, was especially vivid as if she were right there living in the moment with her mother again. The young Astrid cracked her bedroom door open only to revel one eye spying on her father and mother’s conversation. She couldn’t hear what they said or make out any of the words from their mouths, it was all just a bit too muffled. When she tried to reach out and call for her mother the space in between just began to stretch and stretch. The harder she tried to close the distance the further away they got. Before she was thrown awake, the silence finally broke, her mother mouthing the words
"She’ll outgrow it, dear. It’s just the age . . .It’s the age when nothing fits."
Gasping as she woke, she looked around her room in a daze, it was still and pristine having not been disturb unlike Astrid. She noticed the alarm first, 7:59 am always the same exact time she’s been waking up recently. Her sheets were soaked in sweat, this would be the fourth time this week she would have to wash them. And then she noticed the TV, she left it on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) to help her fall asleep, but the most unsettling part was Rebel Without a Cause was playing. The movie itself isn’t what triggered her, but the line Judy’s mother utters in the film, “She’ll outgrow it, dear. It’s just the age . . .It’s the age when nothing fits." Was she really dreaming, or had she just been fabricating memories?
Whatever it was, it wasn’t normal. The dreams or at this point what she would call nightmares didn’t start occurring until only recently. Her fathers long list of therapists didn’t help but only to further their own narcissism and scribble out doses of medication she didn’t need. Her mind was healthy, but she just had no proof. Flicking off the TV she decided she needed to get out and if she couldn’t get out of Everbrook at least she could get out of her house. These days it was mostly her alone watching over their estate. The quarantine kept her out of school while it kept her father at the funeral home using his crematory on overdrive. That probably wasn’t politically correct of her to think, but her thoughts were her own and none to share.
Checking the mailbox before she left, she sifted through the mail, bills, bills more bills and then boom another return to sender letter meant for Boston University. While her frustration and disappoint was immeasurable it wasn’t anything new. The string of letters not reaching the universities of her choice was getting stale and wearing thin on her already razor thin sanity. Kicking her stand back and revving the throttle of her bike she took off in a tire screeching dash to their family business. A few knocks were meant with no warm welcome, well it was kind of hard to be warm in a business surrounded by cold. She let herself in with her key only to find the first floor completely devoid of any signs of life. Her dad was downstairs working within the morgue.
Still unable to face the morgue on her own she waited just outside of the door leading in.
“You okay Ast?” her fathers voice echoed out.
“…Yeah I’m fine dad.”
“More bad dreams?” there was no hiding her inflections from her dad whether he could see her or not.
“No, just another letter that didn’t get through.”
“I’m sorry hun, but I can’t get through to them either no matter how many times I call. Why don’t you try going to the library and see if they can do anything for you.”
While she welcomed the suggestion, it felt like it was futile no matter what she tried. Despite her better judgement she decided to go anyways since she hadn’t had much else in the way of plans. She touched the cold steel door once more trying to get her words out before shoving them back down and turning to leave.
“Oh and Astrid, be safe okay?”
Her lower lip was sucked into her mouth while her feet stopped short of the stairs. “Thanks, I will. See you at home.”
It wasn’t shortly after her departure from the Funeral Home that she arrived at the library. The lack of traffic and open road gave her a reprieve from her early morning start. The roads were empty, but the library was just the opposite. Bike racks and parking spots were filling up quicker than she expected, had the quarantine lift cause everyone to return their books in a hurry? Making her way to the entrance she noticed a familiar girl with looked like a deformed backpack from edges of countless textbooks pressing against the material. “Ruby isn’t it?”
"She’ll outgrow it, dear. It’s just the age . . .It’s the age when nothing fits."
Gasping as she woke, she looked around her room in a daze, it was still and pristine having not been disturb unlike Astrid. She noticed the alarm first, 7:59 am always the same exact time she’s been waking up recently. Her sheets were soaked in sweat, this would be the fourth time this week she would have to wash them. And then she noticed the TV, she left it on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) to help her fall asleep, but the most unsettling part was Rebel Without a Cause was playing. The movie itself isn’t what triggered her, but the line Judy’s mother utters in the film, “She’ll outgrow it, dear. It’s just the age . . .It’s the age when nothing fits." Was she really dreaming, or had she just been fabricating memories?
Whatever it was, it wasn’t normal. The dreams or at this point what she would call nightmares didn’t start occurring until only recently. Her fathers long list of therapists didn’t help but only to further their own narcissism and scribble out doses of medication she didn’t need. Her mind was healthy, but she just had no proof. Flicking off the TV she decided she needed to get out and if she couldn’t get out of Everbrook at least she could get out of her house. These days it was mostly her alone watching over their estate. The quarantine kept her out of school while it kept her father at the funeral home using his crematory on overdrive. That probably wasn’t politically correct of her to think, but her thoughts were her own and none to share.
Checking the mailbox before she left, she sifted through the mail, bills, bills more bills and then boom another return to sender letter meant for Boston University. While her frustration and disappoint was immeasurable it wasn’t anything new. The string of letters not reaching the universities of her choice was getting stale and wearing thin on her already razor thin sanity. Kicking her stand back and revving the throttle of her bike she took off in a tire screeching dash to their family business. A few knocks were meant with no warm welcome, well it was kind of hard to be warm in a business surrounded by cold. She let herself in with her key only to find the first floor completely devoid of any signs of life. Her dad was downstairs working within the morgue.
Still unable to face the morgue on her own she waited just outside of the door leading in.
“You okay Ast?” her fathers voice echoed out.
“…Yeah I’m fine dad.”
“More bad dreams?” there was no hiding her inflections from her dad whether he could see her or not.
“No, just another letter that didn’t get through.”
“I’m sorry hun, but I can’t get through to them either no matter how many times I call. Why don’t you try going to the library and see if they can do anything for you.”
While she welcomed the suggestion, it felt like it was futile no matter what she tried. Despite her better judgement she decided to go anyways since she hadn’t had much else in the way of plans. She touched the cold steel door once more trying to get her words out before shoving them back down and turning to leave.
“Oh and Astrid, be safe okay?”
Her lower lip was sucked into her mouth while her feet stopped short of the stairs. “Thanks, I will. See you at home.”
It wasn’t shortly after her departure from the Funeral Home that she arrived at the library. The lack of traffic and open road gave her a reprieve from her early morning start. The roads were empty, but the library was just the opposite. Bike racks and parking spots were filling up quicker than she expected, had the quarantine lift cause everyone to return their books in a hurry? Making her way to the entrance she noticed a familiar girl with looked like a deformed backpack from edges of countless textbooks pressing against the material. “Ruby isn’t it?”
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God, it felt like it had been ages since the quarantine began. With school out and society as good as dead, Gabi'd begun to get even more stir-crazy than usual. Sitting at home while her grandpa Yusuf wasted away in Portland ate at her already. Not being able to visit him during the duration of the lockdown only served to exaggerate her discomfort. The night before the quarantine was officially lifted, she'd barely slept. Promises were exchanged the night before, and finally having something to look forward to after the dreary state of half-existence she'd been floating through was elating.
"Hey, Gabs. Soon as all this is done, we'll go see him, alright?" Her father, Martín, had offered. Dozens of failed video calls and weeks of radio silence bored a hole through her heart, the guilt of abandoning Yusuf in some other city almost too much to bear. It wasn't really her fault, of course, but emotions rarely cared for the logical details. A cruel bit of coincidental timing or not, she felt like she could've been doing more. Fuck, even trying to give him a call had become next to impossible now. First it was the video chat constantly getting dropped, then an inconvenient dive off a table busting her phone's forward camera altogether. Finally being able to go and visit again was just about the only thing that could finally knock some of the built-up stress away.
It made the engine failure that struck the family van that morning even harder to accept.
The old thing had been on its last legs for the past six years. Between financial troubles and the constant pre-quarantine back-and-forth between Everbrook and Portland, the miles built up alongside the natural wear and tear it was already subject to. Something had apparently gone kaput in the engine, judging by the cloud of smoke flowing from the hood. Martín, as much as he was trying, couldn't just fix it by hand.
"Damn it," He mumbled under a defeated huff. "Something's gotta be wrong with the fuel line. Gonna need to take it into the shop to get that fixed..." The hood of the car slammed shut, and Martín returned to the driver's seat to mercy kill the engine. He sat the keys atop the dashboard and looked to Gabi, who silently seethed in the passenger seat. "I'm sorry, mija. Soon as this is fixed, we'll get out there, yeah?"
Gabi sniffed hard, rubbing the back of her wrist against her eye. "Yeah. Yeah, yeah, sure, alright," She answered, a slight but clear wobble under each word. A few quick blinks were supposed to disguise the tears beading up at the corners of her eyes, but one managed to escape. "Shit, shit, shit."
Martín reached over and put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a few pats. Though he could only offer small reassurances in place of an actual visit, he hoped that they could at least lessen the emotional burden. "It'll be alright, Gabi. You know he's not gonna blame you for not showing up, yeah? Between the lockdown an-"
"No, no, yeah. I know. Thanks, dad," Gabi interjected, forcing a smile. She glanced away for a moment, just in time to see another car drive by. "Fuck you," she thought, directing the insult more at the vehicle itself than whoever happened to be driving.
And then it clicked. Other people driving meant they were going somewhere. Now that quarantine was over, maybe she could at least go somewhere else in town. The internet at her house had been the best Xfinity plan they could afford (that is to say, awful), but the library had to have something better, right? Even if the speed was the same, it had to at least be more stable. "Hey, dad? I'm gonna head to the library for a while, yeah?" Gabi asked.
"Oh, yeah, 'course. When do ya think you'll be back?"
"I'unno. Later, not too late. Gonna try to see if I can get a call through to grandpa over there, though," Gabi answered. Martín nodded, taking a moment to retrieve his wallet. He procured a ten and a five and handed them to Gabi.
"Just in case you're not back in time for lunch. Be careful out there, ya never know if someone on the road'll be a little too excited to be back out there." Martín smiled to Gabi, who leaned in to give him a fuller hug. "See ya later, Gabs."
Gabi smiled, much more sincerely this time, as she tucked the bills into her pocket and got out of the malfunctioning van. "If anyone runs me over, let's sue 'em for a better car. Bye dad!" She said with a wave, slinking out of the van and onto the porch. Her bike was stored just inside the house for safety's sake. Once she had it, she walked it down the steps and mounted it, waving Martín off as she rode past him and down the street.
"Just look on the bright side," she thought. "Even if the library's a bust, least I can get something from Luigi's again."
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Akayaofthemoon
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1 day ago
The echoing of boots on metal, the scraping of furniture being placed down, the yanking of tape off of cardboard, the rustling of newspaper, the tinkling of ceramic hitting each other, and the barking of orders from a stern voice were the noises that had filled up her morning. They were not unfamiliar to her and were practically like an old friend, just giving her the sign of yet another early morning move into yet another new home that she would have to adjust to. It wasn’t all bad, at least it was officially Summer and she would get to see where her Aunt Samantha had been living all these years. It felt like they hadn’t seen her at all, just muffled phone calls or stories about her past from her father which was not an often occurrence. It would be nice to get to know more about her and the town she was daffy about. She had practically sung its praises while pitching the idea to move here but maybe that was just to hook her dad into moving. Jess wouldn’t deny that they needed a fresh start but it was hard to move on, feeling like they were leaving her mother’s memory behind even though that was further from the truth.
She gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts before it led down the rabbit hole of negative emotions or old memories. Jess carefully plopped down the box she was carrying into what would be her room, though for now resembled more of a storage room since none of her furniture had made it into the house just yet. Honestly, she knew she should work on helping unpack or at least working on her own room but she had all night to unpack and the last thing she wanted to do was be at this all day. The only reason she had been carrying boxes at all is because she hadn’t trusted the movers to do so since the last group had forgotten what the word ‘gentle’ means and had pretty much destroyed any glass items. Her mother had been so furious…’nope, stop those thoughts right there, she told herself, running her fingers through her wavy blonde tresses. Jess spun on her heels, heading back outside to grab her last box from the U-Haul and figure out a way to convince her father to let her go exploring instead of sticking around this circus for the rest of the day.
“That goes into the bedroom at the end of the hall.” Martin ordered. Jess squared her shoulders, making her way over to her father to do the best convincing she could. No time like the present and no one got anywhere by doing nothing. She stepped up next to him, watching as the movers brought down a mattress from the truck and glanced at the man beside her. This had been a rocky time for the two of them, losing a loved one was hard enough but their main communicator and buffer for each other was gone. Just standing here, made her feel like she was on another planet or simply, feeling alone when surrounded by people. He finally seemed to notice her presence, taking his eyes off the truck and locking them onto her for a moment before focusing back on the task at hand.”Is there something you wish to ask me, Jessica?”he questioned. She felt her brow furrow in annoyance that he couldn’t even bother to look at her as he spoke but shrugged it off. She wasn’t going to get anywhere if she didn’t at least try to play nice.
”I was hoping that I could go and check out the town for a bit.”she answered, noticing his glance and quickly added a ‘sir’ on top of that after a moment's pause. He frowned, obviously thinking it over and not really seeming to be agreeing with her request. “No, you have priorities here that need to be handled, besides, you have the rest of the Summer to explore to your heart's content. One day out of your Summer is hardly a lot to ask for.”he stated with conviction, his mind made up which irritates her to no end. What exactly needed to be done that couldn’t be done tonight or god forbid, tomorrow. ”Please! I have already moved everything from the truck to my room that doesn’t include furniture. The movers are already at work to unpack some of the other rooms and I can finish up any unpacking tonight. I really want to get a head start on finding a Summer job. Everyone else has probably lived here forever and has a position locked in somewhere. I need to be on top of it if I have any chance.”
Okay, so the last part wasn’t completely the truth. Sure, she had no doubts that some teens had jobs they went to during the Summers or even continued ones through the year but she could care less about finding her own today. If it got her old man to let her leave though, it was worth it. She could always stop and actually do what she said she would, pick up a few applications but for now, she just wanted to explore what the place had to offer. She could practically see the cogs in his head turning as he debated on what she had said. Jess could only hope he agreed to let her leave at this point, completely at his mercy on this one. He sighed, rubbing his temples with one hand before looking over at her,”Alright, you have my permission to leave but be back before it gets too late. I mean it Jessica, no staying out until late hours in an area we do not know.”
”I promise! Thank you!”, she replies before skipping to the truck. She was a bubble of excitement, the thrill of exploration driving through her veins as she grabbed the last box and dashed to her room. Jess places it down, quickly grabbing her backpack by the door before heading for the porch to pull off her shoe and replace them with a pair of blades. The second they were strapped on, shoes shoved into the backpack, she took off with a wave as a goodbye. She didn’t bother looking back, not giving any chance for his mind to change. The sunlight felt warm against her pale skin, the fluffy white clouds drifting by providing a picture perfect view as well as a bit of shade now and then during her travels. It didn’t take long to make her way into town and it currently wasn’t long before she found areas much different than the street she was on. It seemed there was a clear ‘type’ to each of the roads she had managed to see so far.
She passed many potential places to look for work, noting some of them down in her mind as she went. It wasn’t like she could go home completely empty handed and not have her dad suspect something. The last thing she needed was to be confined to the house for lying. It just wasn’t on the top of her list on things to complete at the moment. She did have to give it to her Aunt though, this place was quite beautiful. It had an old fashioned charm to it and was as if locked in time, stuck in the past but still a part of the future. It was interesting to think about. Jess found herself stopping now and then to pull out her camera, snapping a few shots before placing it away and moving onward. It felt like no time at all before she found herself at the bottom of a hill, too steep for her to continue up and probably would have still been too steep had she been on a bike. She could pass up the opportunity, just continue on without investigating the building at the top but where was the fun in that?
Jess plopped onto the curb, yanking off her skates and replacing them with sneakers. She pulled the bottom of her ripped jeans over the top of her shoe, hating the feel of them trying to tuck into her shoe. She jumped up, brushing off the back of her baggy striped orange shirt and readjusted her denim vest she had on before heading up the hill. Once at the top, she noticed the building was actually the public library which was intriguing enough. The building itself did not really look like any library she had ever seen but it was probably used for different purposes when it had originally been built. She figured while she was here, she might as well check up on some of the town's history, see if there weren't any kind of books on the place she was gonna call home for the time being. She carefully made her way inside, trying to be as quiet as possible. She glanced around but it was hard since it was quite impressive on the inside, the place called to the small part of her that was a book lover.”Amazing.”, she whispered softly in complete awe.
She gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts before it led down the rabbit hole of negative emotions or old memories. Jess carefully plopped down the box she was carrying into what would be her room, though for now resembled more of a storage room since none of her furniture had made it into the house just yet. Honestly, she knew she should work on helping unpack or at least working on her own room but she had all night to unpack and the last thing she wanted to do was be at this all day. The only reason she had been carrying boxes at all is because she hadn’t trusted the movers to do so since the last group had forgotten what the word ‘gentle’ means and had pretty much destroyed any glass items. Her mother had been so furious…’nope, stop those thoughts right there, she told herself, running her fingers through her wavy blonde tresses. Jess spun on her heels, heading back outside to grab her last box from the U-Haul and figure out a way to convince her father to let her go exploring instead of sticking around this circus for the rest of the day.
“That goes into the bedroom at the end of the hall.” Martin ordered. Jess squared her shoulders, making her way over to her father to do the best convincing she could. No time like the present and no one got anywhere by doing nothing. She stepped up next to him, watching as the movers brought down a mattress from the truck and glanced at the man beside her. This had been a rocky time for the two of them, losing a loved one was hard enough but their main communicator and buffer for each other was gone. Just standing here, made her feel like she was on another planet or simply, feeling alone when surrounded by people. He finally seemed to notice her presence, taking his eyes off the truck and locking them onto her for a moment before focusing back on the task at hand.”Is there something you wish to ask me, Jessica?”he questioned. She felt her brow furrow in annoyance that he couldn’t even bother to look at her as he spoke but shrugged it off. She wasn’t going to get anywhere if she didn’t at least try to play nice.
”I was hoping that I could go and check out the town for a bit.”she answered, noticing his glance and quickly added a ‘sir’ on top of that after a moment's pause. He frowned, obviously thinking it over and not really seeming to be agreeing with her request. “No, you have priorities here that need to be handled, besides, you have the rest of the Summer to explore to your heart's content. One day out of your Summer is hardly a lot to ask for.”he stated with conviction, his mind made up which irritates her to no end. What exactly needed to be done that couldn’t be done tonight or god forbid, tomorrow. ”Please! I have already moved everything from the truck to my room that doesn’t include furniture. The movers are already at work to unpack some of the other rooms and I can finish up any unpacking tonight. I really want to get a head start on finding a Summer job. Everyone else has probably lived here forever and has a position locked in somewhere. I need to be on top of it if I have any chance.”
Okay, so the last part wasn’t completely the truth. Sure, she had no doubts that some teens had jobs they went to during the Summers or even continued ones through the year but she could care less about finding her own today. If it got her old man to let her leave though, it was worth it. She could always stop and actually do what she said she would, pick up a few applications but for now, she just wanted to explore what the place had to offer. She could practically see the cogs in his head turning as he debated on what she had said. Jess could only hope he agreed to let her leave at this point, completely at his mercy on this one. He sighed, rubbing his temples with one hand before looking over at her,”Alright, you have my permission to leave but be back before it gets too late. I mean it Jessica, no staying out until late hours in an area we do not know.”
”I promise! Thank you!”, she replies before skipping to the truck. She was a bubble of excitement, the thrill of exploration driving through her veins as she grabbed the last box and dashed to her room. Jess places it down, quickly grabbing her backpack by the door before heading for the porch to pull off her shoe and replace them with a pair of blades. The second they were strapped on, shoes shoved into the backpack, she took off with a wave as a goodbye. She didn’t bother looking back, not giving any chance for his mind to change. The sunlight felt warm against her pale skin, the fluffy white clouds drifting by providing a picture perfect view as well as a bit of shade now and then during her travels. It didn’t take long to make her way into town and it currently wasn’t long before she found areas much different than the street she was on. It seemed there was a clear ‘type’ to each of the roads she had managed to see so far.
She passed many potential places to look for work, noting some of them down in her mind as she went. It wasn’t like she could go home completely empty handed and not have her dad suspect something. The last thing she needed was to be confined to the house for lying. It just wasn’t on the top of her list on things to complete at the moment. She did have to give it to her Aunt though, this place was quite beautiful. It had an old fashioned charm to it and was as if locked in time, stuck in the past but still a part of the future. It was interesting to think about. Jess found herself stopping now and then to pull out her camera, snapping a few shots before placing it away and moving onward. It felt like no time at all before she found herself at the bottom of a hill, too steep for her to continue up and probably would have still been too steep had she been on a bike. She could pass up the opportunity, just continue on without investigating the building at the top but where was the fun in that?
Jess plopped onto the curb, yanking off her skates and replacing them with sneakers. She pulled the bottom of her ripped jeans over the top of her shoe, hating the feel of them trying to tuck into her shoe. She jumped up, brushing off the back of her baggy striped orange shirt and readjusted her denim vest she had on before heading up the hill. Once at the top, she noticed the building was actually the public library which was intriguing enough. The building itself did not really look like any library she had ever seen but it was probably used for different purposes when it had originally been built. She figured while she was here, she might as well check up on some of the town's history, see if there weren't any kind of books on the place she was gonna call home for the time being. She carefully made her way inside, trying to be as quiet as possible. She glanced around but it was hard since it was quite impressive on the inside, the place called to the small part of her that was a book lover.”Amazing.”, she whispered softly in complete awe.
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Carlyle off-beat lucio
Member
Seen
0-24 hrs ago
Location: Court Street
Date: May 28th, 2020
Par la gloire, ou par la guerre
Un jour on l’aura notre terre promise
On vivra à jamais dans les livres d’histoires
Ou dans les dossiers d’archives de la police
"Crisse de câlisse de sacrament de tabarnak d’osti de ciboire!"
A beautiful string of Quebecois swear words suddenly overtook the music playing in her headphones as Asélie scrambled from the pavement; her eyes locked on the muscle car that continued down the road to the library. Her parents forced Asélie to wear safety pads and a helmet if she wanted to ride her skateboard, but eating asphalt after an unexpected bail was still painful even if having the wind knocked out of you was preferable to a fractured skull and broken bones.
"Watch the road next time, moron." Asélie complained, even though the car was by then long gone.
Brushing the dirt and dust off her jeans, Asélie hurried to catch up to her board before it rolled any further down the neighborhood street. It was still early in the day, but it seemed the world was out to get her. Asélie swore her father woke up on the wrong side of the bed when he off about her overdue fines regarding the books she had borrowed for final projects at the library, and when she tried to abide by her father simply to get him off her case, she nearly ate the front hood of a car even though it technically was her fault for not paying attention at the intersection.
Fucking America. They should've never moved from Montreal, even if it meant "better opportunities" and "more money to spend on themselves", or so were her parents' reasoning for the move.
Hopping back onto her board into a kick turn, Asélie pulled her phone from her pocket and fiddled with her Spotify. Loud's album, "Une année record" had continued to play through her headphones, and was already a good song and a half from where she last remembered she was at before nearly being ran over. Flipping back to the sixth track in the album, Asélie stuffed her phone back into her jacket and let the music fill her ears as she swerved side to side down the rest of the street to the library.
Sure, today might've had a rough start, but as long as she had her favorite music, it couldn't all be bad. After all, what was the chance of being nearly hit by an automobile twice in the same day?
Un jour on l’aura notre terre promise
On vivra à jamais dans les livres d’histoires
Ou dans les dossiers d’archives de la police
"Crisse de câlisse de sacrament de tabarnak d’osti de ciboire!"
A beautiful string of Quebecois swear words suddenly overtook the music playing in her headphones as Asélie scrambled from the pavement; her eyes locked on the muscle car that continued down the road to the library. Her parents forced Asélie to wear safety pads and a helmet if she wanted to ride her skateboard, but eating asphalt after an unexpected bail was still painful even if having the wind knocked out of you was preferable to a fractured skull and broken bones.
"Watch the road next time, moron." Asélie complained, even though the car was by then long gone.
Brushing the dirt and dust off her jeans, Asélie hurried to catch up to her board before it rolled any further down the neighborhood street. It was still early in the day, but it seemed the world was out to get her. Asélie swore her father woke up on the wrong side of the bed when he off about her overdue fines regarding the books she had borrowed for final projects at the library, and when she tried to abide by her father simply to get him off her case, she nearly ate the front hood of a car even though it technically was her fault for not paying attention at the intersection.
Fucking America. They should've never moved from Montreal, even if it meant "better opportunities" and "more money to spend on themselves", or so were her parents' reasoning for the move.
Hopping back onto her board into a kick turn, Asélie pulled her phone from her pocket and fiddled with her Spotify. Loud's album, "Une année record" had continued to play through her headphones, and was already a good song and a half from where she last remembered she was at before nearly being ran over. Flipping back to the sixth track in the album, Asélie stuffed her phone back into her jacket and let the music fill her ears as she swerved side to side down the rest of the street to the library.
Sure, today might've had a rough start, but as long as she had her favorite music, it couldn't all be bad. After all, what was the chance of being nearly hit by an automobile twice in the same day?
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Fever Dream
Member
Seen
9 mos ago
The vehicle was placed in park, and Amira messed around with the screen momentarily. She had time before Damien showed up; his text message from a couple of minutes earlier let her know he would be around 15 minutes late. In the background, In the Air Tonight played from the speakers as covered by Kelly Sweet. Once her hands were free, she reached for the stainless steel bottle on the cup holder filled to the brim with orange and pineapple juice. She'd already had her bagel back home before she left, but now she was thirsty.
Tap tap tap
The sound from the window directly next to her startled the young girl. She quickly looked to the side, noticing a police uniform before recognizing the man in it.
"Carl! You scared me half to death!" she greeted him after lowering the window.
He laughed in response, leaning his arm on the doorframe. "Well, your car ain't hard to miss around here. You tutoring again?"
"Yeah. Trust me, I'd be at home otherwise."
"Speaking of, tell your parents they still owe Linda and I that dinner."
"Glad she's recovering quickly. Little Robert must be anxious for her to get home."
"Oh, you've no idea."
The man went on, telling her about his temporary arrangements at home while his wife was in the hospital recovering from an accident. From the sounds of it, he was having some difficulties raising their son on his own. Amira noticed the tiredness in his eyes, and she couldn't help but feel bad for the man. No one deserved to have their partner be on the brink of death over some carelessness driving, but unfortunately that's what had happened to Carl and his wife. Though on a positive note, she was recovering quite nicely.
"Sorry, I tend to ramble on these days to anyone that'll listen. I'll let you get to your studies." He slapped the roof of her car twice before walking off to his patrol vehicle which she saw parked some distance away.
"See you later."
Amira finally took a sip of juice before turning off her car and gathering her belongings to go into the library.
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Still Lake A Literal Body of Water
Member
Seen
4 yrs ago
Danny
"Yeah, mom. I just got the email - camp got canceled. No, I don't know if it's the virus - look, the email didn't say why, okay? Look, I'll be home in an hour, and we'll talk more about it then - okay. Okay. Love you. Bye."
Danny pocketed his phone and sighed, scratching the back of his head and glancing both ways down the empty street. He'd been mentally preparing for the cancellation of the team's two-week training camp in June ever since the quarantine had started, but that didn't make it any better now that it had actually happened. The camp was a chance to get away from home, have a good time with the guys on the team, and the annual party at Mick's Dad's house never hurt. Of course, it wouldn't all have been fun and games - there would have been college recruiters at the camp watching for talent, and though Danny had already talked to a few, impressing more would have been an important opportunity. Still, he supposed it could have been worse. Lot of people had gotten a lot worse from the virus - if missing football camp was the worst thing that happened to him, he reckoned he'd made it through pretty well.
Danny kept walking down the street, one hand on the strap of the bookbag he'd slung over his shoulder. Guess this meant he'd start work early this summer - Jack'd probably welcome the extra help and the diner, and maybe he could put the extra cash towards something nice for himself. Not that there was much he wanted at the moment, but maybe he'd think of something. Couple days busboying could pay for a few movie tickets - who knows, maybe Megan from third period would want to go see a movie-
A car horn blared through the air, and he jerked back as he was nearly pancaked by a red muscle car blasting down the street in front of him. "Jackass!" he shouted on reflex, though not quite loud enough to be heard, as he watched the car carry on without slowing and vanish over the hill. Man, no wonder this town had so many traffic accidents, if people were driving like that.
Danny shook his head and kept walking, turning the corner and coming in sight of his destination. He wasn't a big library guy - not because he didn't like reading, he just didn't have much time to go - but he wasn't here for himself. His little sister had been very worried at the prospect of losing her library privileges by keeping books out overdue, so while she was out at piano practice, he was here with a backpack full of Percy Jackson books to return. He didn't mind, of course - it wasn't like he was all that busy, and it was a nice day for a walk.
He reached the doors of the library and paused, glancing over his shoulder at the sound of wheels on pavement. The exchange girl was skateboarding down the sidewalk - Amelie? Aselie? She seemed like she was heading towards the library, so he stopped as she approached, holding the door open with a wide smile. "Coming in?"
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---LOCATION: Towards the Library
DATE: 28/05/20---
It had been a week.
A week of no buses. A week of staring down the street, hoping that they'd all appear at once. Sometimes, he'd walk out to the edge of town, standing at the end of Prescott Mill Bridge. It's not like he'd be able to walk all the way to some place with a job without passing out; he was far too scrawny and unathletic, it was just some kind of raw curiosity—like suddenly finding interest in things that were once mundane, such as a bridge. He figured it was just the after effects of being released from quarantine's clutches.
Shaking hair out of his face, Walter tried to focus on his phone, instead of the neglected paper coffee cup beside him. Google search results crawled in on the three-bar public WiFi as he looked up bus timetables for the second time that day. All of them listed nearby cities, going backwards and forwards on a regular basis, but he couldn't find a single result for Everbrook. He tried looking up bus services on Everbrook's news website, thinking maybe they were struggling to get things running again after lockdown. Nothing. (He quickly scrolled past an article reflecting on events a decade ago.)
A notification flashed up on the screen: a text, from Mom.
He mulled over his response for a second.
Though he wouldn't admit it to her, his mom was right about having left things too long. It was time to move on and start looking for jobs around the town instead, despite his past struggles, so Walter bitterly gulped down the remains of his now-cold coffee and made his way onwards. It would be no good poking around the center of town, since he'd used up all his goodwill with the employers there in summers gone by. Any jobs he hadn't tried to bag were boring and menial and would fail to capture his attention for more than a minute.
There was a noticeboard up at the library that people just about cared enough to update. If he was lucky, he'd find a job listing that wasn't too far of a walk on the other side of town. If not, he could maybe ask around the library, see if they had any jobs going. Even a volunteer position, just to stick some experience on his resumé. Besides, it wasn't like he had much else to do. There was nothing at home to entertain him, and travel was out of the question. He'd considered texting a few friends to meet up, but they'd all be out of town and relishing the freedom.
With all things considered, he began a stroll to the library, slipping in his dollar store earbuds to pre-occupy himself with his downloaded Bowie albums.
A week of no buses. A week of staring down the street, hoping that they'd all appear at once. Sometimes, he'd walk out to the edge of town, standing at the end of Prescott Mill Bridge. It's not like he'd be able to walk all the way to some place with a job without passing out; he was far too scrawny and unathletic, it was just some kind of raw curiosity—like suddenly finding interest in things that were once mundane, such as a bridge. He figured it was just the after effects of being released from quarantine's clutches.
Shaking hair out of his face, Walter tried to focus on his phone, instead of the neglected paper coffee cup beside him. Google search results crawled in on the three-bar public WiFi as he looked up bus timetables for the second time that day. All of them listed nearby cities, going backwards and forwards on a regular basis, but he couldn't find a single result for Everbrook. He tried looking up bus services on Everbrook's news website, thinking maybe they were struggling to get things running again after lockdown. Nothing. (He quickly scrolled past an article reflecting on events a decade ago.)
A notification flashed up on the screen: a text, from Mom.
When will you be done? I'm cooking some pasta
He mulled over his response for a second.
just make some for urself, i might be a lil while. still no buses
Youve left it too long, you should have stopped looking at the buses 4 days ago
well ima keep looking. i'll text u when i'm on my way back
Fine. Turn your buzzer on
Youve left it too long, you should have stopped looking at the buses 4 days ago
well ima keep looking. i'll text u when i'm on my way back
Fine. Turn your buzzer on
Though he wouldn't admit it to her, his mom was right about having left things too long. It was time to move on and start looking for jobs around the town instead, despite his past struggles, so Walter bitterly gulped down the remains of his now-cold coffee and made his way onwards. It would be no good poking around the center of town, since he'd used up all his goodwill with the employers there in summers gone by. Any jobs he hadn't tried to bag were boring and menial and would fail to capture his attention for more than a minute.
There was a noticeboard up at the library that people just about cared enough to update. If he was lucky, he'd find a job listing that wasn't too far of a walk on the other side of town. If not, he could maybe ask around the library, see if they had any jobs going. Even a volunteer position, just to stick some experience on his resumé. Besides, it wasn't like he had much else to do. There was nothing at home to entertain him, and travel was out of the question. He'd considered texting a few friends to meet up, but they'd all be out of town and relishing the freedom.
With all things considered, he began a stroll to the library, slipping in his dollar store earbuds to pre-occupy himself with his downloaded Bowie albums.
GM
Everbrook Public Library
Entrance, May 28th 2020.
Two things surprised Will as he entered the library: the first was there were a lot of people his age coming to the library at the end of the month. Probably to return books or check out a DVD to watch, nothing too strange. What was weird to him that apart from Jenny Emerson, the Mayor's youngest daughter who interned at the library, the place seemed devoid of anyone else. Jenny was busy with her left arm cradling her cheek as she listlessly watched a Netflix show on her laptop. Will wondered if he could just walk off with half the furniture before the girl noticed anything.
Still, messing with a stuck-up senior like her wasn't something Will did. Not that he did much of anything. He barely had any friends besides Kim Wilson and Barry Wang, and they only really talked in school. This was how it had always been, and how he expected it to always continue. It was why he needed to get out of this fucking town, away from his parent's constant arguing, away from the small-town small-mindedness, and away from the memory of Sarah, constantly following him around like a creepy reminder that the dead never come back.
The library was stuffy, like always. Poor ventilation even after the huge refurbishment 15 years ago meant that the less-open areas like the book stacks were stifling at times in the summer. At least today's high temperature was going to be 72 degrees Fahrenheit, a nice comfortable temperature. Meaning that with any luck, the stacks would only get up to around 80. Not that Will needed to spend too much time walking around the stacks, he already knew where he was going: Mystery and Horror.
The section was deeper in the stacks, as the Young Adult Fiction and Romance sections were the most well-traveled. There was always a demand for The Hunger Games or Fifty Shades of Gray from bored students to sex-deprived housewives. The DVD section was also near the front; showcasing a lackluster mix of classic films and the previous year's blockbusters. Most of the popular stuff, the Marvel movies, action flicks, and your teen romances, they'd get rented out in a flash and you'd never get a chance to borrow a copy. The only good DVD in Will's opinion was the Masters of Horror collection, something that he and his sister had watched when he was still quite young.
The horror section wasn't even on the first floor of the library and instead was on the lower level of the stacks, in the basement. This was always nice since it was a good five degrees colder in the basement year-round, meaning that you never sweated your ass off searching for a good copy of Poe or Lovecraft. The basement was one of the few sections of the library that had been spared in the extreme refurbishment of 2005. The stone walls were original to the old courthouse, and there was always an air of tension down there that the first floor lacked. Will walked to the door leading to the library's staircase, to find that it wouldn't budge. He didn't see a key to lock the door either. Was something wedged in the door to keep it from opening?
There was still the elevator. The librarians loaded their book carts onto the elevator to move between floors; the children's library on the second floor, the main floor, and the basement. Even though it was reserved for staff, Will felt that if a door was jammed, that constituted enough need to try it. Plus talking to Jenny Emerson was like having your teeth pulled for as many "likes" as she added to every sentence she spoke. He'd rather do things alone.
He walked around to the other side of the first floor, as more people his age filed in. He recognized some; he'd seen them at school or shared a class with them. There was the rich girl, Abbie Prescott. He'd never really spoken to her, even if they'd had classes together. He recognized another girl. Her name was something to do with a gem. Emerald? Diamond? Ruby? Something like that. The gem girl was talking to another one of the school's rich kids. Astrid something or another. Family-owned most of the local fisheries on the coast. There was that redhead girl from Canada, talking to Danny, the football guy. Will had never really had any run-ins with the football team, and Danny seemed nice enough. But it wasn't like he'd had a huge amount of trust for anyone around town. Another underclassman had also walked in. He didn't know her name but the fact that anyone of mixed heritage stuck out like a sore thumb in the mostly-white city was enough to make her memorable.
There was the British underclassman. She'd gotten a lot of attention for her accent. And probably a lot of annoying comments about sounding like she belonged in the Harry Potter movies. He'd recognized nearly everyone at the library, either on their way in or being inside now. They all went to the same school after all. But he didn't recognize one person, the blonde girl holding a pair of rollerblades.Who the hell rollerblades anymore? Was she new? Did she just arrive? It made his theory of being trapped in town feel a little less weighty. He noticed another familiar figure making their way towards the doorway as well: Walter Dawson. He'd never talked to the guy, but he knew him all the same. Fifth-year senior, class clown. It seemed nice enough.
Still, this was no time for talking, especially not to people he knew. He felt a well of anxiety build as teenagers his age were all here. That voice in the back of his head, reminding him that he was weird and had a dead sister and was probably seen as a creep echoed around in the chamber of his mind, and he quickly made his way to the elevator. He pressed the button, but it didn't light up. No sound, no nothing. "Seriously?" He muttered to himself. Was everything out of order or broken in this damn library? He steeled himself because NOW he had to talk to the Emerson girl about getting into the basement.
Walking back into the front of the library, everything felt colder. It was like the air conditioning was on full blast and then some. He shivered slightly, looking around the room, before musing out-loud, "Did it just get really cold in here?"
Jenny Emerson couldn't hear anything and didn't seem bothered by the air. It was what followed that made him jump, and made the hairs on his arms stand up. A loud slam came from the back of the library, and the loud creaking sound of a door opening up. The cold air was starting to get a bit stifling now.
Still, messing with a stuck-up senior like her wasn't something Will did. Not that he did much of anything. He barely had any friends besides Kim Wilson and Barry Wang, and they only really talked in school. This was how it had always been, and how he expected it to always continue. It was why he needed to get out of this fucking town, away from his parent's constant arguing, away from the small-town small-mindedness, and away from the memory of Sarah, constantly following him around like a creepy reminder that the dead never come back.
The library was stuffy, like always. Poor ventilation even after the huge refurbishment 15 years ago meant that the less-open areas like the book stacks were stifling at times in the summer. At least today's high temperature was going to be 72 degrees Fahrenheit, a nice comfortable temperature. Meaning that with any luck, the stacks would only get up to around 80. Not that Will needed to spend too much time walking around the stacks, he already knew where he was going: Mystery and Horror.
The section was deeper in the stacks, as the Young Adult Fiction and Romance sections were the most well-traveled. There was always a demand for The Hunger Games or Fifty Shades of Gray from bored students to sex-deprived housewives. The DVD section was also near the front; showcasing a lackluster mix of classic films and the previous year's blockbusters. Most of the popular stuff, the Marvel movies, action flicks, and your teen romances, they'd get rented out in a flash and you'd never get a chance to borrow a copy. The only good DVD in Will's opinion was the Masters of Horror collection, something that he and his sister had watched when he was still quite young.
The horror section wasn't even on the first floor of the library and instead was on the lower level of the stacks, in the basement. This was always nice since it was a good five degrees colder in the basement year-round, meaning that you never sweated your ass off searching for a good copy of Poe or Lovecraft. The basement was one of the few sections of the library that had been spared in the extreme refurbishment of 2005. The stone walls were original to the old courthouse, and there was always an air of tension down there that the first floor lacked. Will walked to the door leading to the library's staircase, to find that it wouldn't budge. He didn't see a key to lock the door either. Was something wedged in the door to keep it from opening?
There was still the elevator. The librarians loaded their book carts onto the elevator to move between floors; the children's library on the second floor, the main floor, and the basement. Even though it was reserved for staff, Will felt that if a door was jammed, that constituted enough need to try it. Plus talking to Jenny Emerson was like having your teeth pulled for as many "likes" as she added to every sentence she spoke. He'd rather do things alone.
He walked around to the other side of the first floor, as more people his age filed in. He recognized some; he'd seen them at school or shared a class with them. There was the rich girl, Abbie Prescott. He'd never really spoken to her, even if they'd had classes together. He recognized another girl. Her name was something to do with a gem. Emerald? Diamond? Ruby? Something like that. The gem girl was talking to another one of the school's rich kids. Astrid something or another. Family-owned most of the local fisheries on the coast. There was that redhead girl from Canada, talking to Danny, the football guy. Will had never really had any run-ins with the football team, and Danny seemed nice enough. But it wasn't like he'd had a huge amount of trust for anyone around town. Another underclassman had also walked in. He didn't know her name but the fact that anyone of mixed heritage stuck out like a sore thumb in the mostly-white city was enough to make her memorable.
There was the British underclassman. She'd gotten a lot of attention for her accent. And probably a lot of annoying comments about sounding like she belonged in the Harry Potter movies. He'd recognized nearly everyone at the library, either on their way in or being inside now. They all went to the same school after all. But he didn't recognize one person, the blonde girl holding a pair of rollerblades.Who the hell rollerblades anymore? Was she new? Did she just arrive? It made his theory of being trapped in town feel a little less weighty. He noticed another familiar figure making their way towards the doorway as well: Walter Dawson. He'd never talked to the guy, but he knew him all the same. Fifth-year senior, class clown. It seemed nice enough.
Still, this was no time for talking, especially not to people he knew. He felt a well of anxiety build as teenagers his age were all here. That voice in the back of his head, reminding him that he was weird and had a dead sister and was probably seen as a creep echoed around in the chamber of his mind, and he quickly made his way to the elevator. He pressed the button, but it didn't light up. No sound, no nothing. "Seriously?" He muttered to himself. Was everything out of order or broken in this damn library? He steeled himself because NOW he had to talk to the Emerson girl about getting into the basement.
Walking back into the front of the library, everything felt colder. It was like the air conditioning was on full blast and then some. He shivered slightly, looking around the room, before musing out-loud, "Did it just get really cold in here?"
Jenny Emerson couldn't hear anything and didn't seem bothered by the air. It was what followed that made him jump, and made the hairs on his arms stand up. A loud slam came from the back of the library, and the loud creaking sound of a door opening up. The cold air was starting to get a bit stifling now.
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Carlyle off-beat lucio
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0-24 hrs ago
Location: Court Street, Everbrook Public Library
Date: May 28th, 2020
Contrary to what Asélie had expected, the local library had been buzzing with activity as she wheeled her skateboard towards the building. Cars and bikes lined the library exterior, sometimes with faces Asélie recognized from her short career at Everbrook High; faces she expected to be out riding their bikes to the park for a game of baseball or to some other place that teenagers would hang out in a boring town like Everbrook. They all had three months to do whatever they wanted after all the bullshit they put up with, and everyone wanted to visit the library?
"Talk about old-fashioned," Asélie uttered, out loud and to no one in particular.
Stopping momentarily to hop off her board (she didn't want to be yelled at again for riding her skateboard inside the library), Asélie walked up to the front steps of the building, and was greeted by one of the many familiar faces she had recognized seconds ago. "Seems today is full of surprises. I hadn't expected Everbrook High's star wide receiver to be a man of the books." Asélie smiled back, tossing a friendly jab at Danny as he held the door open for her.
"So, how about that football season, huh? Sucks that it was canceled because of quarantine." Asélie commented as she walked inside digging through her bag for the books she needed to return. She didn't particularly care about American football, instead being sucked into the Canadian craze of ice hockey and lacrosse because of her Quebecois roots and—though she would rather die than admit it—her parents, some small talk wouldn't hurt anyone. "I'm sure the Everbrook Grizzlies will be the regional champs next season, though."
As she pulled the library books from her school bag, however, their conversation, and seemingly everyone else's, was suddenly interrupted by someone who said "fuck off" to the old adage of being quiet in the library and announced himself to everyone that had been in the front of the building.
"Cold? I guess it's a little cold in here. But more importantly, Bill? Will? You look like you've seen a ghost. You okay?" She asked, paying little heed to the door slam and creaking—old buildings always had old building issues from wear and tear.
"Talk about old-fashioned," Asélie uttered, out loud and to no one in particular.
Stopping momentarily to hop off her board (she didn't want to be yelled at again for riding her skateboard inside the library), Asélie walked up to the front steps of the building, and was greeted by one of the many familiar faces she had recognized seconds ago. "Seems today is full of surprises. I hadn't expected Everbrook High's star wide receiver to be a man of the books." Asélie smiled back, tossing a friendly jab at Danny as he held the door open for her.
"So, how about that football season, huh? Sucks that it was canceled because of quarantine." Asélie commented as she walked inside digging through her bag for the books she needed to return. She didn't particularly care about American football, instead being sucked into the Canadian craze of ice hockey and lacrosse because of her Quebecois roots and—though she would rather die than admit it—her parents, some small talk wouldn't hurt anyone. "I'm sure the Everbrook Grizzlies will be the regional champs next season, though."
As she pulled the library books from her school bag, however, their conversation, and seemingly everyone else's, was suddenly interrupted by someone who said "fuck off" to the old adage of being quiet in the library and announced himself to everyone that had been in the front of the building.
"Cold? I guess it's a little cold in here. But more importantly, Bill? Will? You look like you've seen a ghost. You okay?" She asked, paying little heed to the door slam and creaking—old buildings always had old building issues from wear and tear.
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Fever Dream
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9 mos ago
A sigh escaped her lips. Amira did not appreciate being stood up last minute, not when she had to leave the comfort of her home. Well, it wasn't so much leaving her house as it was having to get cleaned up and dressed to head out to meet someone in the first place. She reread the message again. Sorry can't make it mom is having car trouble. The girl bit her bottom lip, a tinge of guilt suddenly creeping up on her. Damien didn't exactly live in the wealthiest of families. In fact, him and his single mom were barely keeping their heads above water, so to speak. Amira had noticed that the senior boy had attempted to conceal just how poor he was a few times. But in a town such as Everbrook, that small detail wasn't easily overlooked.
It's okay, some other time! she wrote back before putting her phone away in her bag. She'd already made the drive, and Amira figured she might as well stay in the library for a bit. She could check out a few books, maybe scan through some magazines to catch the latest gossip based on the rich and the famous. Not that the tabloids reported factually accurate information, but nonetheless they made for a fun read. It was one of those guilty pleasures of hers, because every now and then, she needed a break and peel her eyes away from something other than the textbooks required by her classes.
Amira entered the library, noticing that quite a number of kids were already inside. She recognized the majority from school, and she knew the names of only a few of them. Either they were feeling studious to start off the summer break, or they didn't have any alternative plans. She figured it was the latter, not seeing any good reason to be there. Hell, she herself didn't have to be there at the moment, but that didn't stop her from staying. Amira eyed the No Food or Drink Beyond This Point sign, and she hurriedly placed her bottle in her bag. As she did so, she noticed an e-mail notification from her phone. She was curious, and reached for the device to read the message.
To say she was disappointed was an understatement. As she read through the e-mail, Amira tensed up; her grip on the phone tightening. The airlines had postponed her flight until further notice. The reasoning was extremely vague, something about traveling restrictions, and the girl was definitely not happy. She had been looking to visit her family for some time now, to go back to the city and see old friends she hadn't seen in a while. It was her time to get away, and the airlines were now telling her she wouldn't get to do that any time soon. Amira placed the phone back in her bag and decided to use a computer to log into her parents account for the airline. Maybe she'd get a better explanation, or at least be able to rebook for a later date. Not that she wanted to do that, but at that point she had no other choice.
The girl signed her name in the computer log before making her way to one of the stations. She didn't need to contact her parents as she was the one who had initially set up the account. Her parents were smart people, but never really bothered to become tech savvy. They had her to handle any technical matters that may arise. Amira placed her bag on the desk adjacent to the desktop and made herself comfortable on the seat. She was about to click open the browser when she was startled by a door shutting close very loudly from the other side of the library. Then, and just as loudly, another door or possibly the same one creaked open. Instinctively, Amira grabbed her bag and pushed back on the chair, trying to see what had created such noise.
"What the hell was that?" She stood up and took a few steps away from the desk.
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Garden Gnome Definitely made in IKEA
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8 mos ago
Location: Court Street, Everbrook Public Library
Ruby was parking her bike at the remaining unoccupied bike stands when she heard her name being mentioned. You would think that being so early in the vacation, the town's only library would be relatively empty, but no, there seemed to be sizeable crowd already gathering at the library, and perhaps, just perhaps, it being the town's only library had something to do with it. That was most probably the reason unless everyone here today had the same thoughts of her. Since when did people come so early in the vacation to the library anyway?
She turned around to find out who the owner of the voice was, and found it to be none other than Astrid Evans. At least that would who she would be, if she managed to get her name right. She didn't exactly know the girl well, but Ruby was at least 85% sure that the dark-haired girl is indeed Astrid Evans. The one with the Funeral home. Yep, the more she thought about it, the more sure she was that she had gotten the other girl's identity right. "Yup. I'm Ruby. You're Astrid right?" Finishing up with parking her bike, she spoke up once more. "Here to return some books? I am." She gestured towards her deformed backpack. "More than some actually."
Not delaying any longer, Ruby entered the library and ended towards the bookdrop area and emptied the contents of her backpack, temporarily freeing herself of the burden she had been carrying. She was just about to head towards the Mystery section of the library when she saw William heading towards the front of the library with what looked like an apprehensive and slightly worried expression on his face.
At least that was what she thought it looked like. He mentioned something about it getting really cold all of a sudden, and then realization dawned onto her. It was definitely a whole lot colder than it usually was. "It most certainly is. Now that you mention it, I don't remember it ever being this cold before." Will wasn't the only one that jumped when the loud slams came from the back of the library. Loud sounds tend to frightened her, and she too jumped, giving her a good fright.
CaliforniaState Biologist
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14 hrs ago
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Sometimes Astrid wondered how people could be naturally pretty. While they had not had much in the way of a friendship or fleeting acquaintanceship, she knew her enough to notice her in passing. It also helped that the town so small insuring that Astrid almost had to notice Ruby Han’s fathers’ picture in the local supermarket showcasing that he was the manager of their humble grocery operation. “Yeah, at least the last time I checked. Although nowadays I wouldn’t mind being anyone else that doesn’t live here. It’s like this town is preventing me from leaving and not just because of the quarantine.” Astrid didn’t really know why she was venting her frustrations to a girl she barely knew, but she always felt comfortable around people she didn’t know and that weren’t from Everbrook circle.
The unintentional or intentional yoda reference made her giggle in what was otherwise dreary day in a string of dreary days. “I didn’t know you studied that much or that someone could study that much. If you need any help lugging those around, I can help you. By the way, do you know why the parking lot is so crowded? I expected it to be busy but not this much.” Her confusion was only further mounted as they made their way inside and she caught the sight of not one, but several of her peers from Everbrook high in attendance. ”What is going on here?” she pondered in her head, her tongue jabbing the insides of her cheek. It kind of felt like the breakfast club with all of them meeting up so conveniently like this especially with the several stereotypes surround them. There was William the bible thumper, Walter the class clown, Abbie the mean girl, and even your resident jock.
Distracted by the crowd she hadn’t noticed Ruby had left her side, until the crippling cold waved over her like a blanket. It was suffocating to say the least. The cold instantly reminded her of the funeral home, the morgue more specifically. The same cold she felt when she held her moms’ hand for the last time at the wake. It was a feeling that she no longer wished to feel and so her body instinctively reacted by crossing her arms and rubbing her biceps. Without stating the obvious she tried to be more transparent in her questions than William, “Why is everyone here in the first place?”
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GM
Everbrook Public Library
Entrance, May 28th 2020.
"It's Will," he responded to the Canadian girl. He couldn't fault her for not knowing his name, after all, he didn't even have an idea on how to pronounce hers. Still, her assertations were right; he felt something was off. His sister had a big book that went into all of the different signs of a haunting. It had been based on one of those stupid ghost-hunting shows that had been all the rage a decade ago. But he remembered several of the signs quite well.
Unexplained temperature changes. Strange glitches with technology. Unusual smells. Objects moving and strange sounds. Animals reacting in strange, unnatural ways. "Temperature changes and strange sounds..." he muttered to himself. It wasn't enough to go around shouting "GHOSTS! We've got ghosts here!" He was weird enough at school without getting his ass kicked every day. Besides, he still had to survive senior year.
Other girls were also mentioning the cold, and Will nodded to them walking over to one of the vents in the room, running his hand in front of it. Nothing. "The air's not running," he mentioned, and looked back to the stacks. "I came here to get a book from the basement, but when I tried to go down the stairwell, the door was locked. The staff elevator isn't working either." Glitches with technology too. Three signs.
He started walking towards the stacks again, looking towards the corner door that led to the stairwell. It was wide open as if something was holding it open. He turned back to the others. "I swear when I got here the door was shut and lock-" As he turned back to the stacks, he could see the soft motion of cloth in the corner of the door as if a woman's dress had moved enough to be seen.
Like someone was holding the door open for them. Will looked to Jenny Emerson, who was either so involved in her shitty Netflix show that she didn't even register the change in temperature and the commotion from the teenagers in the room, or she just didn't feel anything. Not that Will thought she'd be much help anyway.
"I'm going to check it out." Sarah was always going on about exploring and finding the unknown. This was his chance to do the same. He started walking down the stacks, seeing the door close gently as he moved towards the door. "Is-is anyone there? Is anyone in the stairwell?" No answer. The only way to move now was forward, for him at least. Anyone else was free to follow or stand around and talk, or wait. But you would have to be a blind idiot to think that there was nothing weird at all going on.
Unexplained temperature changes. Strange glitches with technology. Unusual smells. Objects moving and strange sounds. Animals reacting in strange, unnatural ways. "Temperature changes and strange sounds..." he muttered to himself. It wasn't enough to go around shouting "GHOSTS! We've got ghosts here!" He was weird enough at school without getting his ass kicked every day. Besides, he still had to survive senior year.
Other girls were also mentioning the cold, and Will nodded to them walking over to one of the vents in the room, running his hand in front of it. Nothing. "The air's not running," he mentioned, and looked back to the stacks. "I came here to get a book from the basement, but when I tried to go down the stairwell, the door was locked. The staff elevator isn't working either." Glitches with technology too. Three signs.
He started walking towards the stacks again, looking towards the corner door that led to the stairwell. It was wide open as if something was holding it open. He turned back to the others. "I swear when I got here the door was shut and lock-" As he turned back to the stacks, he could see the soft motion of cloth in the corner of the door as if a woman's dress had moved enough to be seen.
Like someone was holding the door open for them. Will looked to Jenny Emerson, who was either so involved in her shitty Netflix show that she didn't even register the change in temperature and the commotion from the teenagers in the room, or she just didn't feel anything. Not that Will thought she'd be much help anyway.
"I'm going to check it out." Sarah was always going on about exploring and finding the unknown. This was his chance to do the same. He started walking down the stacks, seeing the door close gently as he moved towards the door. "Is-is anyone there? Is anyone in the stairwell?" No answer. The only way to move now was forward, for him at least. Anyone else was free to follow or stand around and talk, or wait. But you would have to be a blind idiot to think that there was nothing weird at all going on.
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mickilennial The Elder Fae
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1 day ago
Abbie crossed her arms, after the books she had been hauling were returned.
She wasn’t sure why she had stuck around instead of leaving, but there was just something about the library today that had drawn more people than she had seen at once, especially considering there was no incentive to be at the library in the first place. But no, she was supposed to believe everyone else had decided to return books or use library computers at the exact same time.
“That's a good question.” Abbie uttered as the boy, Will, ushered closer to the stairwell. She raised a brow before smirking wryly to answer the other girl's comment about the library. “The library hasn't been this active in a hundred years.”
It was a joke, a smart-ass like retort, but given Will decided he wanted to play detective instead of leaving the library or minding his own business she felt the need to cut the tension in the air. It was an old library, it happened to get cold all the time. Abbie didn’t really see the need to be this fussy or insistent. She kept her arms crossed as Will called out, wondering if anyone was there, as if this was an episode of Scooby Doo! and he was Shaggy. Based on the cracks in his voice she wondered if he was going to stammer “zoinks!” next. She rolled her eyes before leaning into the nearest wall as she looked over how many exact teenagers had filled into the library at once. Her joke about the library haven’t had this many visitors at once in a hundred years seemed to be a joke, but there was something strange about it.
Being a small town with one high school, she recognized all the faces. Though, nothing felt out of place. It was just weird they all ended up at the library at the same time. Not as weird as Will being Will, though. Her glance moved back to him as she waited for the mayor's daughter to sign off on her books and allow her to leave. Go get lunch. Something else.
“You're seriously going to poke around? Really?”
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Still Lake A Literal Body of Water
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4 yrs ago
Danny
"Wait, you care about American football?" Danny asked, raising his eyebrow at Aselie as she walked past him through the door, slightly put taken aback by her choice in subject matter. He'd just been wondering whether asking her about the canceled ice hockey season would be unfair stereotyping on his part. "Uh, yeah, we sure are. Can't say I got a lot of practice in the past few months, but-"
Then, the creaking door, the rush of cold air. Instantly, Danny felt himself thrown off his balance, felt the energy in the room change. He looked around - some of the teenagers all gathered had reacted, some hadn't, and come to think of it he did think it was slightly strange that so many of his classmates were here - but none moreso than William Morgan. Aselie caught note of it too - he looked like somebody had just walked over his grave, even moreso than usual.
Danny had always tried to be nice to Will, on the infrequent occasions when they interacted. Some of the other guys on the football team liked to pick on him, put him down for being an oddball, but Danny had never taken part in that, even if he didn't do as much as he could have to stop it. The poor kid had been through enough in his life - someone ought to be nice to him.
He watched the scene unfold silently, stepping slowly forward after Will even as he felt his skin prickle into gooseflesh. Aselie asked if Will was alright, Activist Astrid wondered aloud why they were all there, and everyone's favorite Prescott told Will - a little rudely, in Danny's opinion, that there was no reason to investigate. For his part he... wasn't sure what to think. It was a little creepy, sure, but old buildings always were. And that flash of movement from down the stacks... he'd imagined that. Right? Will, horror obsessive that he was, was having a flight of fancy, and it was rubbing off on Danny. Right.
Silently, he held out a hand to mollify Abby, and started off walking. "Hey, Willy," following after the boy as he crept down the stacks, making a brisk pace to catch up with him and reaching out to tap him on the shoulder. "This is kinda creepy. What do you say we get out of here, and... you can tell me if that new horror movie's worse seeing? What's it called, Slaughter Night or something?"
He told himself his desire to pull Will away was for the boy's own benefit, pull him away from a flight of fancy, get him talking to people. Deep down, though, Danny knew he did not want that door opened...
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Akayaofthemoon
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1 day ago
Everbrook Public Library
May 28th 2020 | Entrance
Once her gaze was pulled away from the stacks of books, it would be an understatement to say she was surprised at being met with multiple people her age all converged near the entrance or just entering the library. When she stumbled upon the fact that the building was the library, she figured it would be practically empty except for maybe one or two people, other than the employees of course but still a lot less crowded than this. It made her wonder if there was some kind of project she had missed or something cause why would any come to the library during summer? Okay, yes, she was here but that was more of a coincidence since she was exploring while the others should be out and about to have fun with friends, unless this is what people did to hang out in this town? That would be a little odd, not that she didn’t love books but it seemed like a horrible hang out idea with the needing to be quiet aspect but then again, the girl behind the counter looked as though a bomb could go off in here and she wouldn’t have noticed. She decided it wasn’t any of her business and decided to find the history section or maybe a bulletin board and hope there was a map layout since she doubted the so-called ‘librarian’ would be less than helpful.
Jess was just about to walk away when she suddenly felt like she had been doused in ice water, only slightly more pleasant given that she wasn’t sopping wet but it still froze her in place nonetheless. Shivers ran up her spine, her hair stood on end, and goosebumps crawled up her arms at the sudden shift in temperature. She looked up, honestly expecting a large vent to be above her but she saw nothing. It was about that time that one of the boys asked ‘did it just get really cold in here’ to which she would have answered had it not been done by multiple other people. Honestly, she kind of felt like she had suddenly been thrown in one of those cliche horror movies where you start to see your own breath just before things start flying around. It was probably the old aesthetic of the place that gave her that image but she wanted to chuckle a bit at letting her mind get away from her. It was a library, what was the worst that could happen? She wished she hadn’t thought that though as an astounding slam came from the back of the library before the sound of a creaking of a door opening echoed loudly, making her nerves on edge and she would have been shocked if someone said she didn’t flinch.
It felt awkward, just standing here while everyone who obviously knew each other or about each other chatted. Jess decided to busy herself, tucking her skates into her pack and getting it reorganized as to keep her hands busy. She had found out at least some information though just by being there. One of the boys being part of the football team and the other one that spoke up first was named Will. Someone, she assumed one of the other girls asked what everyone was doing here which was a valid question but not one that anyone seemed keen on answering. Instead, most seemed focused on Will. At least, that is what she could assume with the asking if he was alright, as though he had seen a ghost and another in a most smart-ass joking manner about how it hadn’t been ‘active’ for a hundred years...whatever that meant. Probably some kind of history that she was unclear about but it was pretty clear that Will obviously believed in ghosts and it was made to poke a bit of fun.
Jess got a feeling that he was one of those odd one out kind of people but nice as some of the people around seemed to care. She stood up again, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she did. She debated just moving away from the group, continuing on with her plan but she found herself instead following after the two boys. ”Well, I was basically poking around town anyway, so might as well make this trip interesting.” When she did catch up to the two boys, they were standing in front of a closed door. The football player trying to ease Will away from the door which had her raising an eyebrow. Sure, some strange shit had happened but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be explained and if it was ghosts then who wouldn’t want to find out why they were being responsive. Didn’t they usually have like unfinished business or something and tried to reach out for help or whatever? Not all ghosts were friendly in the movies but cold air and opening doors hardly seemed something to fear.
She brushed past both of them, not hesitating as she made her way towards the door. It wasn’t like the ghosts, if there were any, were going to respond in words since they hadn’t so far. They had been keeping doors shut and things from moving if what Will said was to be believed and not just the signs of a building falling apart so why start now? It was all creep even if it was just the building falling to ruin but might as well keep an open mind on these things. She had no background history to go off of but she had heard some crazy legends in her time with all the moves she had done. ”Why not try the polite approach?”, Jess asked before doing a ‘shave and a haircut’ knock on the door. Obviously, the ‘two bits’ wasn’t going to be answered but it was still fun to do. ”So someone want to do the honors or should I?”, she asked, leaning against the wall next to the door. She wasn’t afraid of a closed door and honestly, it wasn’t all that creepy what had happened so far. Strange, yes, but you had to face things head on and deal with them or what was the point. If you shy away from everything, then were you really living?
Jess was just about to walk away when she suddenly felt like she had been doused in ice water, only slightly more pleasant given that she wasn’t sopping wet but it still froze her in place nonetheless. Shivers ran up her spine, her hair stood on end, and goosebumps crawled up her arms at the sudden shift in temperature. She looked up, honestly expecting a large vent to be above her but she saw nothing. It was about that time that one of the boys asked ‘did it just get really cold in here’ to which she would have answered had it not been done by multiple other people. Honestly, she kind of felt like she had suddenly been thrown in one of those cliche horror movies where you start to see your own breath just before things start flying around. It was probably the old aesthetic of the place that gave her that image but she wanted to chuckle a bit at letting her mind get away from her. It was a library, what was the worst that could happen? She wished she hadn’t thought that though as an astounding slam came from the back of the library before the sound of a creaking of a door opening echoed loudly, making her nerves on edge and she would have been shocked if someone said she didn’t flinch.
It felt awkward, just standing here while everyone who obviously knew each other or about each other chatted. Jess decided to busy herself, tucking her skates into her pack and getting it reorganized as to keep her hands busy. She had found out at least some information though just by being there. One of the boys being part of the football team and the other one that spoke up first was named Will. Someone, she assumed one of the other girls asked what everyone was doing here which was a valid question but not one that anyone seemed keen on answering. Instead, most seemed focused on Will. At least, that is what she could assume with the asking if he was alright, as though he had seen a ghost and another in a most smart-ass joking manner about how it hadn’t been ‘active’ for a hundred years...whatever that meant. Probably some kind of history that she was unclear about but it was pretty clear that Will obviously believed in ghosts and it was made to poke a bit of fun.
Jess got a feeling that he was one of those odd one out kind of people but nice as some of the people around seemed to care. She stood up again, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she did. She debated just moving away from the group, continuing on with her plan but she found herself instead following after the two boys. ”Well, I was basically poking around town anyway, so might as well make this trip interesting.” When she did catch up to the two boys, they were standing in front of a closed door. The football player trying to ease Will away from the door which had her raising an eyebrow. Sure, some strange shit had happened but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be explained and if it was ghosts then who wouldn’t want to find out why they were being responsive. Didn’t they usually have like unfinished business or something and tried to reach out for help or whatever? Not all ghosts were friendly in the movies but cold air and opening doors hardly seemed something to fear.
She brushed past both of them, not hesitating as she made her way towards the door. It wasn’t like the ghosts, if there were any, were going to respond in words since they hadn’t so far. They had been keeping doors shut and things from moving if what Will said was to be believed and not just the signs of a building falling apart so why start now? It was all creep even if it was just the building falling to ruin but might as well keep an open mind on these things. She had no background history to go off of but she had heard some crazy legends in her time with all the moves she had done. ”Why not try the polite approach?”, Jess asked before doing a ‘shave and a haircut’ knock on the door. Obviously, the ‘two bits’ wasn’t going to be answered but it was still fun to do. ”So someone want to do the honors or should I?”, she asked, leaning against the wall next to the door. She wasn’t afraid of a closed door and honestly, it wasn’t all that creepy what had happened so far. Strange, yes, but you had to face things head on and deal with them or what was the point. If you shy away from everything, then were you really living?
Finding herself stylishly late to the budding scene, Gabi furrowed her brow a bit when she saw just how many kids were heading into the old library. Sure, it wasn't weird for a library to be busy, but to attract so much attention so soon after the quarantine lifted? Shit, man, those late fees must've been brutal. She deftly avoided the pillars holding up the second floor balcony, slowing her bike down to a crawl once on the porch. Her first target was a bike rack that had been pretty haphazardly bolted into the floor near the main entrance. Gabi didn't have any books to return or DVDs to rent, and by all means could've just plopped on one of the seats and mooched the Wi-Fi from there, but part of her was curious. Maybe there had been some event announced at the library that she'd just happened to miss? Definitely worth checking, she thought. Not like there was much better to do if her call still wouldn't go through here.
Gabi secured her bike to the rack, nestling the front tire between two metal bars just barely wide enough to accommodate it. Her lock was a pretty cheap, number-locked belt that wouldn't stand up to a good pocket knife, but she felt better looping it through the wheel to keep it at least somewhat more secure than just dumping it out front. She doubted anyone would really want to steal her bike, given it was a bit schlubby, what with its flaking paint and function-over-form design. But damn if she really didn't want to lose it. It was hers.
Her cycle now "secured," Gabi let herself in and immediately plucked her phone from her pocket. Cracked lens and slightly scuffed screen protector aside, the thing worked as well as a phone a few generations behind could in the era of designed obsolescence. A spike of lag hit as it searched for open signals to connect to. Most of them were locked, naturally - a connection for library guests, one for the staff, some would-be comedian's poorly-named hotspot - but her card let her sign in to the first one. "Alright, alright, let's go," she mumbled to herself, watching the connection struggle to form. Just when it seemed like it was about to work, though, a sudden wave of cold hit her.
It was like someone had dumped an ice cube down the back of her shirt, and she uncomfortably squirmed in turn. "The fuck?" She asked, mostly to herself. A quick spin around proved nobody had actually been behind her to do anything of the sort. She knew the place had
pretty shitty airflow, but something like that was far too distinct to merely be the AC being wonky. Her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed uncomfortably. "So, uh," She spoke aloud, a bit more directly to the others. "Y'all feel that too, or..?" The atmosphere of the room already seemed disquieted. One of the kids - Will, she thought? - seemed to have already gone into full on white-guy-in-a-horror-movie mode, going down the needlessly creepy staircase on the other end of the room.
She checked her phone to see if the connection had gone through. To little surprise, it hadn't. "Fuck," She huffed, locking the screen and stuffing the thing back into her pocket. "So much for that. Sorry, grandpa." Letting her curiosity get the better of her, she made her way closer to the group and peeked down the stairs, not quite willing to take a step down just yet. Shit, if anywhere in Everbrook was haunted, the library was a good contender - and she wasn't about to have her afternoon ruined by a wayward spirit. Not when she still had Luigi's to go to.
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