[IC] Everbrook: A Teenage Mystery RP

[Carlyle]

---

_{Location: Court Street, Everbrook Public Library}

Date: May 28th, 2020

---

Will. Asélie repeated in her head, making a mental note for later.

By then, more and more kids had begun to realize the temperature change, each with own thoughts and opinions on the matter. What they had to say, however, wasn't of much interest to Asélie, who was more intrigued by Will. It had only been a few years since they had moved to Everbrook, but even she was highly aware of the weirdo that Will was. Being an anti-social dork and having an obsession with the supernatural often painted a target on his back, and though Asélie wasn't going to mug Will for his lunch money like the jocks did, she found his hobbies amusing.

After all, ghosts and the like were purely fictional—just something to sell Halloween costumes in October or make for cheap laughs at someone else's horror. By the looks of it, however, not many seemed to agree with her, instead being either highly interested or terrified of what could be down the staircase.

"Look, Will, I highly doubt that you're going to find some spooky ghost hiding in the basement," Asélie asked, as a girl, one she didn't quite know, knocked on the door. "But I figured someone like you would at least know that the first ones to investigate are always the first to go in the movies. Which speaking of movies, why don't we all go see the one Danny mentioned instead? I'd rather not hang around an old library for longer than I need to on the first day of summer."

Though Asélie hoped everyone would accept her offer (seeing movies by yourself was a boring and sad experience), a part of her was certain that some of them wouldn't. Will seemed keen on finding his next big supernatural experience alongside a few others that had been poking around the stairwell. Oh well; it would be their loss. At least she wouldn't be wasting her summer away investigating something that simply didn't exist or be around for when Jenny or some other library employee yelled at them for loitering by the basement entrance.

"Well? Are you guys coming or not?"

[DruSM157]

---

Everbrook Public Library
Stairwell. May 28th 2020.

---

“You're seriously going to poke around? Really?”

Of course, he was. Will had no intention of simply walking away when something weird was going on. Besides, he'd come to the library for a reason, and that reason was also in the basement. He was about to reply when Danny of all people responded. "Hey, Willy, 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?" Will and Danny had lived on the same street since they were kids. Will parents were very chummy with the Norrises, with Danny's father being a regular at the Hardware Store. They'd played a little as kids, and had been pretty close-until Sarah's death. Still, Will had nothing bad to say about Danny, regardless of his aloofness.

"Look, regardless if there is something weird happening or not, I need to go downstairs to look for a book. If I'm not back in five minutes, everyone can call the cops to go look for my corps-" The rollerblade girl-the one Will didn't recognize, pushed past Danny and him to go towards the door.

”So someone want to do the honors or should I?” Jesus, everyone was getting in his space today, weren't they? The other girl, was Gabi her name? Had also joined the group all creeping at the door. Finally, the Canadian princess herself called the others to just leave and go to the movies. Slaughter Night 2, Camp Blood to be precise, Will noted, before pulling the door into the stairwell open.

No jump scares. No ghosts. No...nothing. Will nodded at Jessica, holding the door open as he took a few steps into the stairwell. "Nothing." He stated bluntly, slightly disappointed. He took a few more steps, giving some space for anyone else who wanted to join him on this ghostly snipe hunt. "Five steps down and I'm still alive," he called to the others. The stairwell was bland, with rubber covers over the stone steps to add a little extra grip for anyone walking down, and to add some extra padding for any old biddies that fell. Beyond a few spiderwebs in the corners of the stairwell, the only scary thing about the stairwell was the overwhelming amount of dust in the air.

Stepping into the lower stacks was unnerving, as it always was.

Will walked down the stacks, looking down the rows. Nothing. A mix of relief and disappointment mixed in his stomach, and he casually called back to anyone that didn't follow him down: "Absolutely nothing down here but a bunch of old books!" He was answered with a booming thud, making him jump in a mixture of shock and fear. He clenched his chest, heaving in his breath as he looked around him. Was someone else down here, screwing around? He cautiously crept down the stacks, looking for what could have fallen.

It was in the history section that he found it. A large, dirty tome that looked ancient. Will knelt to inspect the book, finding the title faded. He opened it and inspected the first few pages. History of the Denton Sisters and Witchcraft in Everbrook. His stomach sank just a little. "Okay. Ghost witches haunting the place they were hung. Let's hope they're not angry enough to-" Black fabric skirted past the corner of his vision, heading deeper into one of the basement's halls. Every instinct in his mind told him to just turn around, grab his book, and head up the stairs. Every instinct was telling him that this was not a good place to be and he should be back amongst living people.

He ignored his instincts.

He walked out of the stacks, turning left down a dim hallway. It was obvious that the library didn't use this part of the building, and it looked more sinister than any other part of the library had been. He saw the black fabric sticking out from one of the doors, and walked towards the door, his heart beating harder and harder with every step forward he took. He moved his hand on the door handle, turned, and pulled it open to find-

An old black robe hanging from the door, and cleaning supplies tucked away in a hall closet. "Goddamn it," he muttered to himself again. He was letting the history and ambiance of this place scare him. This entire thing had been nothing but a stupid snipe hunt. He closed the door, turning down the hallway, only to see a door further down opened, completely ajar. Fuck. He walked towards the door, calling out to it. "Hey, uh...is anyone there? I'm sorry if I'm not supposed to be back here, I thought I saw someone and-" He was only met with more silence.

Once again, he ignored common sense and walked towards the door.

***

A few minutes later, Will ran back through the stacks, yelling for everyone to meet him down the stairwell. "Please," he gasped, looking at the group of teenagers, "Please. You need to see this."His face was solid white, his eyes wide, with sweat dripping from his forehead. He moved frantically, ushering the group to follow him down past the stacks and into the dark hallway, where the door at the end of the hallway was open.

The room was dimly lit, with a single fluorescent light flickering above. Several old candles lay around the room, stacked on books and various shelves. A large table sat in the middle of the room, covered with old newspapers of various ages. Books from the library laid open, covered in a deep layer of dust from years of being left in the room, forgotten. The strange thing was this: everything in the room was all based on one simple thing: the sudden deaths of people in the town, dating back to the 1700s. The mine collapse. The mill accident. The prom night deaths. All of the town's ghost stories were all here, in this dingy room.

Will had made his way around the table to a book he'd been looking through. Everyone could see by now that he was visibly shaking as he held the thin black notebook in his hands, showing it to the group. The notebook was simple, something you'd buy for school, and the front cover was adorned with various punk rock and metal band stickers. The middle of the notebook cover displayed three blocky letters: SAM, with the A being adorned with an anarchy symbol.

"This notebook is my sister's. Sarah's. The locals knew why this had him distressed. She'd been dead coming up on ten years that summer. "But...here's the crazy thing. At least, the thing that makes me sound crazy." He opened it up to one of the early pages, dated June 2nd, 2010.

Tried leaving town again. I guess I could call this experiment number 5. I took dad's old station wagon out yesterday, only to have it completely die on me before I crossed the bridge. I pulled it over onto the side of the road and tried to walk across the bridge on foot. And here's the weirdest thing: I fell asleep. Or passed out, or got knocked out, who knows. But when I woke up, I was in the middle of Cider park, like the weird woodsy place that Tammy Mulligan gave Kyle Goodman a blowjob last year. The station wagon was parked on the side of the road nearby too as if someone had just dropped me and the car off there. It's official. I can't leave this stupid ass town.

"Look, I don't know if anyone else has seen any weird shit around here lately. But I haven't been able to leave either. Everything I had planned out of town was canceled. I tried to ride my bike across the bridge today-literally just before I came here, and I...passed out or something. I felt like I fell off the bridge, but I woke up-" He slammed his index finger on the page where his sister had written, "Right here, in fucking Cider Park. Just like Sarah."

He looked over the faces of those around him, knowing that he sounded crazy. Maybe he had finally snapped. Years of being the weird kid after his sister died? Why wouldn't he just go bonkers in the end? His eyes were pleading to the others to just believe him, just to listen to him.

[Fever Dream]

---

As if on cue, the moment Amira stood up from her chair, she shivered from a sudden temperature drop. It was then she realized what the other kids were talking about because originally, she thought they'd gone bonkers. That, or they were all coming down with something, and the latter was very possible given that there was a good chance they ran into each other from time to time. But now that she had felt it too, she couldn't help but be drawn to the conversation that the others were having. Amira focused mainly on Will, who had practically garnered everyone's attention, or at least the attention of those nearby. For the young girl, their gathering almost seemed rehearsed. Ghost, strange noises, etc... Yes, it was an old building, but the thought of it being something other than what could logically be explained was a bit of a reach. Nonetheless, the idea piqued her curiosity. If they were indeed wrong, which is what more than likely would end up happening, then she'd just go on home.

She approached the group, taking a few steps to be closer to the door but not directly in front of it. As she wondered about the many possibilities that danced around in her head, a girl suggested they go watch a movie. Amira looked at her and noticed she had her in some of her classes. She didn't quite remember her name, but she would know of her if they were to otherwise describe her.

"This is like a movie, no?" she chimed in, deciding to throw in her two cents. "I think we have our own mystery right here in front of us."

Amira shrugged her shoulders and watched Will go down the steps a few moments later. As he would go on down, he would call out any updates letting them know he was alright. A small part of her wished something exciting would happen if only to break the monotony of another morning in the small town, but he kept on his way as if everything was alright. Amira then walked over to the wall adjacent to the door and leaned on it, taking out her phone to look at the time. She decided she would wait for Will to come back up despite having the others around. It was a bit silly, but Amira would have found it kind of rude of her to just leave without at least waving a goodbye.

What happened next left her shook.

Will called out for them liked a crazed man. Amira put her phone in her pocket while simultaneously pushing herself off of the wall. She peeked into the doorway before hurrying downstairs, her heart rate picking up with every step she took. So it seemed he was right after all.

Amira rushed alongside the others as Will guided them to a room. Once there, he explained the reason for his urgency. Amira remained silent, as if on a trance, when everything started to click in. She too had been unable to move forward with her summer plans. The first time it occurred, her aunt in the UK had told her she'd recently been on a weekend roundtrip for business and didn't have any issues with that same airline. But not Amira. She was the only one in the family that apparently couldn't get on a damn plane. Though now they apparently had an explanation, as bizarre as it seemed.

"I haven't been able to get a flight to the UK. I booked twice and both were cancelled without good reason..."

She eyed the room, suddenly feeling as if something would jump out to get them. She told herself it was simply her nerves, but she was having a very hard time believing herself.

[Akayaofthemoon]

---

Everbrook Public Library
May 28th 2020 | Stairwell/The Stacks

---

She gave a small nod in return to Will, waiting until he had traversed the doorway before holding it open for him. In all honesty, Jessica wanted to head down herself to begin her history search since she was a firm believer of working from the ground up so the bottom of the stairwell was the most obvious place to start, but she didn’t see a think anyone would be willing to keep the door open so that she could. The last thing she wanted was to let the door slam shut or get stuck again while someone was in there. It was very possible there would be no signal and it would be better to have people on the outside to get help should anything happen. She wasn’t the least bit surprised by him stating he was still alive during his descent through the stairwell and even less surprised when he said there was nothing but books in the stacks below.

She glanced at the others, debating on who might be the most willing to hold the door so she could explore as well but most of those nearby were the same few that had been trying their damndest to keep Will from entering the stacks. Jess didn’t get why they were all so freaked out about some little bit of strange, unless there was something she didn’t know about like an axe murderer had hid in the stacks and prayed upon an unsuspecting librarian which seemed very unlikely. She was just about to call down to Will, let him know that she was on her way down when she noticed him zooming back up to the steps like a bat out of hell. He looked as pale as a ghost, eyes wide as if he had found something disturbing or frightening, and she had no idea if he was sweating from the sprint which seemed doubtful or if it was for a completely different reason. Either way, she left her post of holding the door and carefully made her way down.

He was frantically moving and trying to usher them all in the direction of whatever it was they needed to see. She was truly a bit worried for him but now didn’t seem to be a right moment to ask and just followed along with the group that had decided to head on down. They walked past the stacks, a dark hallway making its appearance which had a single open door at the end. ’Nothing creepily disturbing about this at all.’, she sarcastically thought to herself before continuing onward. The room itself was dimly lit, only a single strobing fluorescent and a fire hazard waiting to happen worth of candles to light it. Various books were stacked on shelves, a large table with newspaper clipping, open books left untouched for who knows how long if the layering of dust meant anything but to her, it seemed like an investigation. It appeared like one of those cork boards or something cops used in the movies but instead it was a whole room.

Why was this even here? It was just...odd. Jess pulled her attention away from the room itself and back onto the person who had led them all down here. What could he have found that was so important out of this...no offense, junk. Whatever it was, it clearly had him shaken in more ways than one. It was shocking that out of everything in this room, a simple black notebook slapped with rock/metal band stickers and SAM written in the middle would be the cause of so much distress? Panic? Fear? She wasn’t even sure but was this really what they had all been pulled here to see? What was so special about that? It was like her inner questions were answered when he said it was his sister’s notebook but again, she didn’t quite understand why that should cause this kind of reaction. She probably just left it by accident right? Jess kept her mouth shut though, listening to the passage instead but all it sounded like was a made up tale or craziness.

She took a glance at the others, seeing if any of them had some kind of similar reaction as Will had. It left her just a bit skeptical about this whole situation. Was she the only one? Her attention was pulled back to Will as he spoke once more, explaining that the same thing had happened to him. It just was hard to believe and of course, no one would want to call their own sibling a liar so it left her a bit confused on which way to lean on believing. Anyone can say anything but that doesn’t make it true, that is why more evidence the better, right? ”I hate to burst anyone’s bubble but isn’t it not all that strange that things are cancelling? I mean, it happens on a normal day and with the whole quarantine thing that happened recently, it’s to kind of be expected. That aside, this whole...no leaving town, teleporting situation….has anyone else had it happen? Or thought to have someone come with them to film or maybe take photos as the other heads across the bridge? I am open minded but all this is just kind of hard to swallow. I’ve only been here a few hours though so maybe I don’t know anything but that is kind of how I am feeling about all this. Sorry….”, Jess said awkwardly and rubbed her arm gently. She hated to be cynic as she usually tried to be optimistic but she just kind of hoped there was a little more proof. She was also curious to know more if this all was indeed true.

[Eggs]

---

Tension locked up Gabi's jaw as Will made his way down the stairs. Though she didn't immediately jump onto the "shit's haunted" train of thought, she was clearly uncomfortable as the exchanges went on and Will got further down the stairs. She didn't really know him that well, aside from snippets of overheard gossip. Some of the typical things she'd picked up on - Will's reputation, the near-encyclopedic critter knowledge he apparently had, that type of stuff - and while she was admittedly a bit of a believer in certain things, she was more than anything just anxious about the very real, very mundane possibility that she was about to witness the designated weird kid make a fool of himself in front of some apparently less-than-amused bystanders. Her heartbeat quickened a little just imagining that, and she mumbled uncomfortably as she pictured what she thought would be the scene-to-be.

Curious as she might've otherwise been about the basement, she more just hoped Will wouldn't get ribbed too hard for putting on a weird show. She'd been in similar straits during some past episodes, and it never felt good afterward. The odd mix of hindsight, embarrassment, and being judged was enough to make someone just want to die, she thought. Will didn't deserve to go through that.

Perhaps fortunately, he broke both her concentration and the tension Gabi had been putting herself through when he came running back, yelling for everyone. She jumped and yelped, slapping her palm over her mouth in a vain attempt to catch the noise. "Shit!" She hissed, feeling something drop in her gut when she noticed how instantly haggard he looked. She didn't resist being guided into the basement, maybe against better judgement, but she gave Will a look of sympathetic concern when she passed by him.

The dim flicker of the buzzing light instantly made her recoil. Something about dim lighting freaked her out. It was enough to see, but just dark enough to make shadows deeper and messier. She caught herself staring at particularly dark spots around the group, half-expecting something to come and ruin their day. All the while Will talked about his discoveries, she kept watch, but she turned her head to look at him intently when he showed them the page and recounted his experience.

"...It ain't exactly the same, but I've been trying to go visit my grandpa in Portland for like, a month now. Every time we try to get out and go see him, something fucks up," She added, glancing towards Amira. It definitely seemed like her experience was closer to Gabi's, compared to Will's. "We haven't even been able to make it as far as city limits before it happens. Just today our car's engine just started farting out a bunch of smoke, and it's kinda old, but the timing's been really weird, you know?" It sounded less convincing the more she thought about it. Were car troubles really cause for concern about something supernatural? Even if Amira's plans were falling out too, did that mean there were definitely ghosts? She couldn't say yes to either. Even Will seemingly warping might've just been either a delusion or a lapse in memory, but she wasn't so sure about that either. He looked legitimately freaked in ways that were hard as hell to fake.

Unease slithered down her spine, carrying a chill that made her shiver just a bit. "Yo, could we talk about this back upstairs? I don't wanna sound paranoid, but the vibes here are real fuckin' nasty," she asked. Everything about this room felt bad. The poor lighting, the ghost stories all laying about together, and the wildly suspicious fact that Will's dead sister's personal journal had been there made her feel primally unsafe there.

[mickilennial]

---

“You sound crazy.”

Abbie sighed, as she listened to everyone recounting their experiences. Cancelled plane tickets, broken vans, and teleporting bikes. It all sounded like nonsense, even with Will's paranoid dead sister recounting the same wild story he did.

Everything everyone said could be explained away. Gabi was poor, Will was delusional and probably sick in the head, and the pandemic wasn't even officially officially over so of course things got canceled. Thinking weird shit was real was something people who were always going to be stuck in this town thought about, and Will was the exact type of person to try to push something like this. His sister's death had made him even weirder than he already was--and he was pretty frickin' weird.

“Just because the ferry's out or whatever doesn't mean shit. Personally, I think you have brain worms. But yeah, I agree that we need to get out of here. The faster I'm out of this stupid library the better.”

[DruSM157]

---

Everbrook Public Library
Old Room. May 28th 2020.

---

“You sound crazy.”

Of course, he sounded crazy. He felt crazy. But there was one thing that made him feel that he wasn't simply losing his mind. He gripped Sarah's notebook in his hand. "I know I sound nuts. And I don't care if you believe me or not." He stood up, looking towards the door of the room. "But my sister was worried about something before she died. I'm going to find out what it was, and maybe find out why she and those others killed themselves."

He wiped the sweat from his brow, and slowly looked at the others gathered in the room. "You guys don't have to believe me either. I'm used to it. But I want to find out what happened to Sarah." He pushed past the others, and walked out of the room. The Prescott girl...her family ran the whole damn town. He wondered if her family knew more about the things that went on than they let on, but he had no place to question or argue, especially with one of the social royalty of town.

[Akayaofthemoon]

---

Everbrook Public Library
May 28th 2020 | The Stacks/Old Room

---

“You sound crazy.”

Jess cringed a bit at that one, the comment while sighed still seemed too direct and to the point. Sure, she herself was skeptical of the idea that something supernatural was happening but flat out calling someone crazy was a bit harsh. She couldn’t really say anything though as she didn’t even know these people and maybe the two didn’t get along. Will seemed to be the outcast after all and if the girl was in with the popular loop it would make sense that they might not get along. Still, she really should have tried to consider the boy’s feelings a bit more though that was unlikely since the added words to her previous statement weren’t much better. This all suddenly seemed unbearably awkward and Jess worried about how the boy before them might react.

Honestly, he had taken it in stride with the words he first spoke but his body language said differently. The tight grip and the eyes glancing to the door as if wanting to escape spoke volumes that the girl's words had probably hurt him after all but it was the continuation of his initial statement that sent Jess reeling. Died? She felt her stomach drop instantly before twisting in knots at that. She had thought he was being the defending brother, not someone lost and looking for answers about his own sister. It made it even worse to hear that she had taken her own life and apparently, she was not the only one to do so. It made her think of her own mother's death and how she had been desperately trying to find answers after it happened, trying to look back for any signs that she might have missed, anything that she should have done differently. She knew that stinging pain and her heart went out to him in understanding.

Jess barely registered when he spoke to the rest of the group as she had been lost in the past but there was no missing when he brushed past them. She bit the inside of her cheek slightly, telling herself not to ask the other girl if it was really necessary to have said those things as nothing good would come of it. Instead, she turned heel and exited the dusty room. It was creepy as hell in there and that was not the type of history she had been wanting to find. What kind of town was this?! One thing was for sure, it felt wrong to let Will leave like this. It was probably gonna be a wild goose but if it helped him get closure then why not? She had nothing better to do and maybe she would learn more hearing from someone or multiple people who lived there then in these books.”Will! Wait up!”, she called, working to catch up with him.

[Fever Dream]

---

"Yes, we can help!"

Amira went off after the both of them, quickly deciding against staying in that room for any second longer. The poor kid had a lot on his shoulders, and losing his sister was the absolute worst. Shew couldn't even begin to imagine what it must have been like; not that she had any siblings, but nonetheless losing a loved one you were close to was beyond horrible. Amira followed behind them at a quick pace, not wanting to idly stand by knowing that Will was going through his difficult moment. She wasn't entirely sold on the supernatural being responsible for these occurrences, but there had to be something more at play other than mere inconveniences that kept creeping up on people, herself included.

"Where are you going to start?" The girl adjusted her bag, still rushing after William. "You should make a plan rather than rushing in and getting involved in something like this."

Was she overstepping? Quite possibly, but Amira was concerned about Will. She didn't want to see him to get hurt, and she knew the guilt would kill her if she didn't at least try to reason with him.

[Carlyle]

---

_{Location: Court Street, Everbrook Public Library}

Date: May 28th, 2020

---

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call this a mystery." Asélie replied, skeptical to the core, to Amira.

All and all, it was crazy talk, like the blonde suggested. So what if Will found his sister's journal, or that they were having trouble leaving town? The world had been experiencing a pandemic; of course people would experience difficulties in getting around with everything being shut down or delayed. Sure, Asélie had been practically begging her parents to move back to Canada, but making it out to be some sort of supernatural issue was scoff-worthy. To Asélie, the only thing even remotely spooky about all of this was learning that Will's sister, Sarah, had killed herself.

"Tu me prends pour un poisson," She commented in reply but to no one in particular. "But whatever. It's something to do, I guess."

Leaning her skateboard against her shoulder, Asélie walked over to the return box for library material and deposited her items that needed to be returned before following Will and the two girls out of the room.

[Eggs]

---

"Fuck, man..." Gabi huffed. Of anyone present, she thought she should have been the one to believe Will without hesitance. But on some level, for some reason, she couldn't. It wasn't that she didn't believe in the supernatural. In some form, there had to be something more out there. There was just too much weirdness in the world to fully explain away. For fuck's sake, she'd been bigfoot hunting. Maine wasn't even really peak sasquatch country. Maybe on some level, she realized it would have been a wild goose chase rather than a wild ape chase, but she still had some faith in the concept.

So why wasn't she sold on this? Why, when confronted with something possibly paranormal, did she find herself doubting? It didn't make sense to her. Maybe if this wasn't so raw and personal, she might have been more open to it. Some long-forgotten local legend that would lead to a night in some abandoned cabin talking to nobody, trying to contact the spirits of the departed through some culturally appropriated board game might have been an instant in, but the fact that it was Will's sister was throwing her off. Grief was a hell of a thing. Logic and clear thought became foggy in its wake, and when it came crashing down on someone's psyche, it could make them believe in truly crazy stuff.

But dammit, if Will needed anything, it was a bit of support. Gabi ran her fingers through her hair and let out another anxious breath, then started after him and Amira. Up the stairs, and mercifully out of the creepy old archive room, she hurried her pace to catch up. "Hey. I know I don't know ya too much, but I'm in. Doin' this alone's no way to deal with this, yeah?" She offered, giving the two a tight-lipped smile. There was a definite aura of sympathy in the action, but part of her worried it might have been misconstrued as overtly pitiful.

She agreed with Amira's suggestion of a plan. A passionate moment and a desire for truth could well have sent them on a dead ended path. "Yeah, yeah, for sure. Whaddaya think? Anywhere ya think we should check out first?"

[mickilennial]

---

Had she been too harsh?

It was a thought that entered Abbie’s mind after Will stomped off rambling how he knew how he sounded and how he didn’t care if she believed him or not. The other kids that Will had convinced to come check out the old library room with him seemed more sympathetic and it made Abbie, if only for a moment, to think like she was the crazy one. Despite the fact she didn’t believe Will’s story about the bridge or the park, she had to admit, albeit quietly to herself, that some of the stories they were sharing did hint at something being off. She could explain away Gabi’s van problems or her own travel issues. Everything didn’t suddenly go back to normal after half-of-a-year of a global pandemic. She almost wanted to be as stupid as people who believed it.

As she saw how Will reacted to her opinion, the girl's brows furrowed and she bit her lip, but kept her cool as she headed outward, intending to leave the library as quickly as possible.

“Christ.” She muttered, under her breath as she moved back the way she came until she was out of the library. However, for some reason, she couldn't will herself to take off. Not yet. She leaned against her car, keys in hand, eyes fixated on the library door's--waiting to see when the others would exit the library. She wasn't sure why.

[DruSM157]

---

Everbrook Public Library
Basement. May 28th 2020.

---

He'd not gotten too far from the others when he'd been chased, specifically by Jessica, Amira, and Gabi. They were all concerned with him, and who wouldn't be? After all, he was acting crazy. "Look-" he started, gripping Sarah's journal in his hands tightly. "For ten years I thought my sister hated me or something because out of the blue she took her life. After that, my parents started fighting, my mom got big in the church and my dad pretty much stopped being around. For ten years I thought it was my fault, that somehow me being around her all the time made her miserable." He shook his head. "But this journal can give me something, even if it's just closure on why she died."

Amira had the right idea in her own line of questioning: Where are you going to start? He opened the journal to her earliest entry after her explanation on what was going on:

June 4th, 2010: Checked out the old mine last night. The clues were right. Another group was killed. The third shaft had the mark.

"She wrote about some kind of mark in the old mine." He looked to the girls, then back to the journal. "She found some kind of clue there. And it might still be there. I think that's where I need to go." Jesus, he'd need a lot of gear for it. Plus the old mine was condemned. Going in might mean never getting out. But what else could he do now? He was prepared to follow this to its natural conclusion.

[Akayaofthemoon]

---

Everbrook Public Library
May 28th 2020 | The Basement

---

Once Jess had caught up to Will with a few others by her side, he proceeded to paint a picture that hinted heavily toward the problems within his home life. She really wasn’t sure if that was still an issue for him but the feeling of blame, that he was at fault for all these years was very clear. She couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like to have your sister pass in such a way and then believe that she must have hated you. No wonder the journal had so much meaning to him because not only was it a part of her, it was obviously answers to some of his questions. The burning need to know more would be how she would have felt in his shoes. He read a passage about an old mine and while she was all game for exploration, mines were dangerous. New ones could threaten collapse if you weren’t careful or if something went wrong and they were now talking about an old one.

If it wasn’t already collapsed then it might be blocked off. If they did manage to get past that, there was no guarantee that the lighting system would still work. She wasn’t sure if ten years would hold the same clues as they had for his sister but maybe they could find a clue or something she had left behind. She was all game to help but they needed to be smart. Her dad had always told her to be prepared when going into any situation. Were they prepared? She wasn’t sure. Jess looked to Will then, studying him for a moment and deciding that this time, it might be best to roll with the punches and think on her feet. If they really couldn’t get through it then they would try again once they had prepared.”Sounds like as good a place as any other to start with but far away is it? And where is it exactly?”, Jess chuckled nervously, not wanting to hold them up but she was lacking a car or experience of the town itself. She hoped she could just follow one of them or possibly catch a ride.

[Fever Dream]

---

Amira silently chastised herself.

"Here, let me see that," she motioned for him to hand her the journal. Apparently, Will's sister had mentioned the mine and Amira instantly felt a lump form in her throat. On occasion, Carl and his family had been invited over her home for dinner. There, he would go on with one of his many stories, one which had been about an incident down at the mine. To her, in the safety of her large, well-lit dining room, the stories never lingered over her. But now, it was a bit more real. Not that Amira had been forced into helping him out, but rather, it was her own curious mind doing the work.

The girl briefly read the entry before giving him back the journal.

"That sounds about right..." Amira whispered to herself. She took out her phone, spending a moment deleting some notifications she'd received in the short time she wasn't paying attention to the device. The girl then tried to do a quick location search on the map but it was awfully slow, too slow for her liking. "I could get us there if only this thing would tell me how," she glanced over at Jessica with a shrug. Amira honestly didn't mind doing the driving, but she'd rather not end up lost somewhere without service. Trying once more, she force closed the app before restarting it again, only to be met with the same fate. "Sorry, it doesn't seem to want to work for me," she added, shaking her head.

[Carlyle]

---

_{Location: Court Street, Everbrook Public Library}

Date: May 28th, 2020

---

"The old mine? It's not that far off from that old, abandoned building up in the hills that looks like someone forgot to clean up after Halloween. The Raeburn Lodge, I think they call it?" Asélie replied, approaching Will and the others. "Anyway, I might just know a couple of bozos that sneak their way in to drink out of sight. I could call and ask them if they would be willing to sneak you guys in later today, but only if you all swear to keep your mouths shut and don't rat anyone out."

Reaching into her pocket, Asélie pulled out her phone and clicked on her contact list. Maybe she was making a mistake bringing them up, considering some of the vibes Asélie had been getting from their motley crew. Some, like Will, gave off the appearance of a goody two-shoes, teacher pet-like character that would crack easily under pressure, and Asélie didn't need any trouble from her parents, the law, or anyone else. But James still owed her some weed, and she might be able to snag a favor down the road for helping Will and the others, so offering to lend a hand would at least kill two birds with one stone.

"So, what will it be, Will? You in or out?"

[DruSM157]

---

Everbrook Public Library
Court Street. May 28th 2020.

---

"So, what will it be, Will? You in or out?"

The fact that so many had come back to help Will made him sigh with relief. Maybe it wasn't as bad as the Prescott girl had made it out to be. The girls that had surrounded him all seemed willing to at least check the mine out, which meant that he wouldn't be alone in this. "Of course I'm in." he nodded to Asélie.

He looked back at the other girls. "It'll probably be dangerous. I understand if you guys don't want to go too."

[Akayaofthemoon]

---

Everbrook Public Library
May 28th 2020

---

Jessica shook her head before giving a soft smile to Amira as she spoke,”It’s alright, shit happens. I can always look it up later but thanks for trying.” She should have known better that the signal up here wouldn’t be the best. Instead of worrying about the location details, she listened to Asélie explain that she might know a way to get them in which was the first half of any battle. A way in and one that had been successful more than once was better than stumbling in blind and running into problems. ”I won’t say anything, the last thing I want is to rat someone else. Besides, if I did, then I would have to admit that I was there or did it as well.”, she stated with a small shrug, looking to Will to see if he was on board with that idea.

The answer was really no surprise to Jess. If she had been in Will’s shoes, she knew she would be in even if there was a risk. It was nice that he was worried about them. She didn’t know how the others felt about it but she was game for a bit of adventure. ”It’s only dangerous if you don’t prepare for the possibilities. We just need to be smart about how we enter, make sure to stick together, have some way to lead us back out if there are too many paths, and some light so we don’t rely on a system that may no longer work or cause problems. We’ve got this!”, she replied with determination.

[DruSM157]

---

Everbrook Public Library
Court Street. May 28th 2020.

---

Will walked outside of the library, unlocking his bike from the bike rack in front of the building. "I don't think I can borrow my parent's car tonight," he muttered to himself. His eyes gazed towards Abigail, as she stood by her car in the parking lot. Why the hell was she still here?

Will sighed and walked his bike over to where the Prescott girl stood. "Hey, look-" he started, his eyes downcast as he tried not to even look at her. "I'm sorry I got all wigged out in there. I understand if you don't believe in any of this, but I still want to know why my sister and those other kids died. That's all. No ghosts, no stupid horror movie shit, I just want answers.

[mickilennial]

---

“I'msorry.” She quickly retorted before the rest of the group could be in earshot as she tightened her grip around her arms. “Yeah, whatever, right. I get it. Where are we going?”

It was probably not the response that Will expected out of the “blue blood”, but Abbie always tried to be honest. Her sense of pride was strong, sure, but in situations like this where things smelled off she always went with her gut and her gut told her to own up to it before anybody else could notice and help Will get some answers. Even if she didn't entirely believe in a supernatural element, part of her always knew something was up with the town's history.

“You're paying for gas, wherever it is.”