This is just a concept I’m hoping for feedback on before I keep writing. Thanks!

Intro?

Charlotte Miller was your average popular small-town girl. She was prom queen, captain of the cheer squad, longtime girlfriend to the school’s quarter back and a straight A student. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking, she was probably a mean girl, right? Wrong. Charlotte Miller was the nicest person you’d ever met. She was the kind of girl who volunteered at old folk’s homes and taught kids how to read. So, when she went missing, the whole town was in shock. 

Chapter 1

The TV in my new apartment blared “We are still on the search for Charlotte Miller. If you have any information, please contact the Oak Creek police department as soon as possible. A search party is meeting in half an hour at the town square to search for her. The 18-year-old was last seen in jeans, a white t-shirt and her Oak Creek High cheer sweater.” I muted the TV off and shook my head. This was the last thing I was expecting from my first day in such a small town. I never imagined this type of thing to happen in a place like this. 

“I wonder what happened to her?” I said to my mom as we unpacked my last box. I had just moved to Oak Creek, Washington from Seattle. I was tired of the noise of a bustling city and remembered driving through Oak Creek once as a child. It was such a quiet place full of cute mom and pop stores, where everyone knew everyone. I had liked the idea of a place where people waved at their neighbors, and I could go to sleep at night without the sounds of people yelling outside my door. 

“I honestly don’t understand why you want to move to a place like…. this”. My mother said with a disapproving sigh. Of course, my mother, life of the party and club owner wouldn’t understand my need for quiet. She thrived in chaos and could not stand silence. I sighed “I know you don’t get it, but I promise I will come and visit as often as I can. I just need to do this. And hey, if I hate it, I can always come back home, right?” She laughed and gave me a tight hug. “Of course, you can always come back home my sweet girl. Now I have got to get going. You know how Bo is if he has to run the club alone. I swear that place would fall apart without me. Bye baby!” 

As I closed the door behind my mom, I sighed heavily and tossed myself on the couch. For the first time in nearly my whole life, it was completely silent. It had been such a long day driving down from Seattle, meeting Mr. Anderson, my new landlord and listening to my mom talk non-stop as we unpacked and set up my new home. It wasn’t long before I was passed out on the couch with just the glow of my TV lighting the room. I must have rolled over onto the remote because I was suddenly woken up by the news blaring. “This just in. The search team has found the body of missing Charlotte Miller. Charlotte was found near the old mill. A curfew has been set for all young women. It will be enforced until we find who did this. Please travel in groups and be indoors by 9 PM” 

“Great.” I said, rubbing my eyes as I sat up. “My first day here and there is a murder. Now I’ll be afraid to go explore on my own.” While I had hated the sound of the noisy city, there was one thing I always loved. Night. I was looking forward to going out into the quiet night to gaze up at the stars that I never would have been able to see in Seattle. I got up and stretched my arms up high and decided it was time to go get into my new bed. “Maybe I’ll get a dog” I thought, when suddenly there was a pounding on my door. I rolled my eyes and imagined my mom standing there, she probably forgot something like she always does. “Hey mom, what did you forget this…” I swung my door open “time...” Standing in my doorway was not my mother, but a soaking wet Charlotte Miller. Her dirty blonde hair was messy around her face and her kind brown eyes looked scared. “Please Nataline, you have to help me.”

There is a girl on the screen, blonde hair, blue eyes and a smile that shatters everyone because it is innocent and she is missing. Her parents are crying where their words are muffled from their sniffles, “come back home Rachel,” they say.

There is harsh knocking on my front door, making me turn off the tv. I walk to the door but I see my reflection in the mirror I pass, where I let my fingers break apart hair that is tangled together so I look more presentable. Then I open the door to see a hooded figure whose face is bowed down to the floor. “Are you Nova?” Their voice asks in a slight quiver.

“Yes,” I say tightening my eyebrows together and my nostrils flare, confusion wraps around me as this figure walks in to my own home.

“Johnny said that I could always come to you if I was ever in danger,” they say again without revealing their identity to me, just a stranger in my own home. “Is there a place in here that’s secret?”

“Yes, follow me.” From what I have learned in the past, it is better not to question someone if their intention is uncertain. I take the person upstairs to the attic that no one knows exists in my house and it is derelict, abandoned, so there’s spider webs everywhere and dust that is sneaking through my nostrils making me cough. “Will this do?” I ask but no response.

Turning around to see the girl from the screen due to the lack of talking, the silence in this attic is deadly. “Rachel?” I say using the name her parents call her.

“I need your help,” she says where she is trying to gasp for some air as if someone has taken her oxygen, keeping her hostage. “Someone is trying to kill me, and I need you to lock me in here so that I cannot escape and no one can enter. Is that clear?”

I nod.

Ava Knightly was your average 26 year old, middle class, women. She had just finshed university. And instead of working a job that showcased all the hard work she had done in the last four years she was in retail. She was also average in the sense that on Sunday night when she was watching TV and a missing persons report came on, average thoughts came into her head. “I hope the family is okay” “wonder what happpened?” And of course, the one that is only ever said in your head, “they’re probably dead in a ditch somewhere.”

A man’s reflection appeared on the screen, he had brown shaggy hair and a matching beard, he had green eyes like Ava’s only his were dark like a damp forest while hers were light like grass right before it dies. He’s standing next to a group of people dressed in suits that match his navy blue one. The reporter identified him as Ethan Jones, age 29, no kids or wife however when parents made a surprise visit and found his apartment destroyed and their son missing they went into panic mode, rightfully so.

There’s a short clip played of them, Ethans parents, crying and begging people to keep a look out for their son. The screen then changed abruptly onto the football matches over the weekend and then on to politics. Ava took the political debate as a cue to go and refill her snacks.

She had stocked up on them last Tuesday and intended to eat the majority of them before her mother could see the multitude of food stuffed in the cupboard and make a comment about her weight. It’s not like Ava was fat or anything, she just wasn’t skinny. Right in the middle of the size scale, which Ava didn’t think was a bad place to be. However her mother, who had been a model back in the 80s could barely stand to look at Ava’s figure for longer then a minute. Her reaction to Ava gaining 5 pounds while going on a summer trip with her university friends was almost as bad when Ava told her she wanted to study Art History instead of starting her beauty journey.

But Ava had to put her mum out of her mind if she was going to finish this bag of salt and vinegar crisps. Sundays were Ava’s day and no one else’s. She never had work on Sundays because the shops owner was catholic and refused to open on the day of rest. So instead Ava did whatever she wanted. But over the last year her Sundays had turned into a very traditional routine. She woke up around ten and grabbed a drive through breakfast on the way to the art gallery, there she would check out any new exhibits and revisit her favourite ones. Then, after 3 or 4 hours, she would return home and just watch movies.

She had already watched two today and while looking for a third one she had flicked onto the news while they were talking about baby animals in news, which would have been cruel to turn off. Then at some point the remote vanished into the sofa so Ava just accepted that she would be watching the news.

She had finshed filling up her bowl of crisps and was just reaching for a can of coke in her fridge when the door bell rang. Ava paused in confusion. Who on earth would be ringing her doorbell and 8 o’clock at night, she wasn’t that late, but it was November and it had been dark for quite a while now. Sighing, while closing the fridge door, Ava tied up her dressing gown in an attempt to hide her stain covered shirt and set down the corridor to her door.

She could make out a vague shape through the distorted window in her front door but not detailed enough to take a good guess about who waited on the other side. Ava reached for the handle of the door and turned it to see… huh?… Now why did he look so familiar.

Not familiar as in ‘he lives on the street and I’ve seen him in his car’ or in a ‘I think I might have bumped into him at a supermarket once.’ But non the less familiar.

The man stood there staring at her and breathing really heavily, like he’d just run a marathon. Ava wouldn’t be surprised if he had. Sweat marks were on the edge of my green shirt, his shoes and the bottom of his black jeans were covered in splatters of mud. Ava had time to notice all of this while the man still panted, looking at her like she was the cure for cancer. Which was kinda weird.

“Can I help you?” Ava asked uncertainty.

The man’s glasses were squint and were about to fall of, but behind his glasses his eyes were a beautiful shade of green, almost like a damp forest… wait like a what?

“Oh my God, are you Ethan Jo-“ Ava didn’t have time to finish her question before Ethan grabbed her arms and shoved her back into her house, before turning around and locking the door behind her. To say she was shocked was an understatement. He turned back around and Ava backed herself into the wall, scared of the sudden change in atmosphere. As if being able to sense her terror, Ethan stepped away from her before walking back through her corridor to the kitchen while simultaneously turning his head and yelling back at her.

“I know you don’t remember me, that’s fine. But you’ve got to trust me okay? I really need to use your phone.” Then he was gone, turned around the corner leaving amber standing against the wall with her heartbeat nearly breaking her rib cage.

Suddenly the realisation of having a strange man, a missing man who currently had a police search happening for him, barging through her house and searching for her phone (that had extremely private things on it) hit her like a bag of bricks.

“Hey wait a second!” She called running down the corridor trying not to slip in her fluffy socks, “what do you think your doing?! Get the hell out of my house!” Her screaming fell on deaf ears as Ethan, if that was his real name, had already unlocked her phone and started punching something into the search bag of google. How did he know her passcodes?

“I get that you’re scared” he said, splitting his attention between her and the phone in front of him, “but you’ve got to trust me their isn’t enough time to fully explain everything so just roll with it yea?”

Ava was not going to roll with it.

“PUT MY FUCKING PHONE DOWN YOU CREEP” she screeched. Ethan stilled and turned to face her, the still glowing phone clutched in his hand that hung limply by his side. His green eyes full of surprise and his glasses no less askew then when she saw him for the first time, she remembered that as being two minutes ago but this guy seemed to think otherwise.

Maybe he was mental ill. Oh God. Ava had just screamed the f word at a mental unstable man who was a good 5 inches taller then her and could easily kill her with brute strength if he so wished to. Oh God. Ava regretted not signing up for those self defence classes at uni and instead just going out and getting drunk every night.

Ethan was still staring at her, she began to fidget. She couldn’t help it. The intensity of his stare made her severely uncomfortable and without her phone calling the police certainly wasn’t an option and with all of the fights between her and her mum the neighbours probably wouldn’t think anything strange was going on if she stated to yell. This was it, there was no way out of it, he was going to kill her and then go down the street and knock on some other defenceless girls door and kill her to, the cycle would repeat until he was caught. She should have listened to get mum when she said to get one of those door bells with the litter camera so you ca-

“Did you just swear at me?” Ethan asked.

“Yea” Ava answered in a weak over that sounded more confident in her head.

“You hate swearing, you say people who swear only do it beycase they don’t have the vocabulary to properly get their point across.” That was… correct. Ava can remember saying those exact words before, letter for letter. That had been her policy on swearing for as long as she could remember.

Who the hell was this guy.

“I understand that everything must seem really scary right now, but I need to make a quick phone call but then I’ll sit down and I will explain everything, okay Millie.” He took a step closer but Ava wasn’t scared anymore, just confused really.

Her middle name was Millicent but she had always hated it, named after some dead aunt who she never met. It made her feel old and detached from her family and everyone had a story about Anut Millicent besides the person who was given her name to carry on. But hearing this man call her Millie didn’t make her cringe of subconsciously scowl. It brought back that weird feeling of familiarity she had experienced when she saw him for the first time.

Having run out of options, (as previously discussed fighting him was out the window) Ava had no choice but to agree, she nodded her head before jumping back as Ethan came closer opened his arms and came in for a… hug.

Reacting to her retreat he looked back at her and made a face that could only be compared to a kicked puppy. “You really don’t remember do you. At all.”

Ava shrugged her shoulders, “remember what?”

Hearing this Ethan’s face dropped even more, before he shook his head and headed into the corridor to take his phone call. Ava could make out his hushed voice after a few minutes and she could feel herself coming down with a headache.

What in the world had just happened? And more importantly, what was about to happen?

There was no mistake: the missing person report was showcasing someone I had just seen, what felt like minutes ago. I hated to admit it, but my heart was at my toes and my stomach was becoming more upset by the second. I hadn’t experienced this before, this sense of loss and helplessness that comes with not being able to change an event, no matter what you do. Could I try to look for them? Could I call their family and let them know I had just seen them, and how sorry I was? I had tried that once with a missing dog poster. I called the people and let them know how sad it made me to see their dog was missing. The call didn’t go so well and they told me to never call back again if I was only going to mock them. Thing was, I wasn’t trying to mock them.

I ran my hands through my hair and settled them on my hips. It felt like the beginning of the end. I had been trying to ignore the newscast with my thoughts, turned away from the TV. I couldn’t … I turned back, watching as the anchor continued to talk about the missing person, their face so familiar.

I needed a cigarette. I grabbed the pack with my lighter tucked neatly inside and made for the front door. It wasn’t opening. Confused, I continued to push, figuring leaves or snow had been piling up there. I always used the back door, anyway. WIth a final, heavy push, the door swung open and I saw them curled in a ball at my feet, hands still bound: the missing person.

They wouldn’t try to escape again, I thought as I tugged them indoors, ensuring nobody else was outside on the block. My heartbeat settled and the cigarette tasted good between my lips.

I open up the door reluctantly and stare at a girl. She’s weaving to each side, barely able to keep herself standing up. Her hair is disheveled, with dirt and dried blood covering her from head to toe. I stand with the door open and my mouth equally wide open. I literally have no idea what to do. She clutches her arms around her stomach and wearily looks at me.
“Jesus, what happened,” I’m in shock and gather my own shit together. I immediately go into auto pilot and grab the girl to come inside.
There are no houses, no neighbors, no nothing for miles around.
My house sits in the woods, not far from the beach. It’s not tourist season anymore so I can’t even fathom who this girl is but most importantly, how the fuck she even got here.
I bring her into the kitchen and sit her down at the island. She doesn’t say a word, she just drags herself behind me.
“What’s your name?” I ask her softly. She looks to be in her mid twenties, her clothes are a little out of season, it’s a bit chilly for what she’s wearing. I grab a blanket off the couch and put it over her shoulders. She still doesn’t respond, which doesn’t really surprise me. I look outside and realize nighttime is coming and the chances of me getting her any help is slowly dwindling right now. There’s really no police in the off season and they’re not going to be able to get the motivation to come here after dark.
I let out a sigh and pick up my phone. I’m not going to lie, she’s starting to creep me out a little bit.
I unlock my phone and her hand reaches to touch my arm. “No please.” She quietly whispers. I stop immediately and try to process what she just said. “I have to call for you. If you tell me what happened I can help you more.” Still, she doesn’t answer and sits in the chair with her head hanging low. “What’s your name?” I ask her again. Her chest starts to heave up and down and she starts to cry. I grab the blanket tighter around her and hold her just for a second.
Her body is on fire, almost like she has a fever.
I let go of the hug and pull her face up to meet mine. Her eyes are clouded over and she can barely keep them open. I press my hand to her forehead and wonder if she’s sick.
“My name is Reagan.” She whispers through her dry, cracked lips. “What happened Reagan?” Is all I could slowly breathe out. She tilts her head slightly up to look at me, “what’s your name?” “Faelan.” I get up to make us some coffee. It’s getting much darker.
She follows me with her eyes as I move around the kitchen.
“Your Irish?”
“My mother was. Reagan, I have to ask. I really want to help you but I need something to go on here.”
She takes the coffee mugs slowly in her dirty hands. As I drink mine I notice she doesn’t. She stares into the steaming hot cup. “It was an accident. He didn’t mean to do it.” I scoff and roll my eyes. That’s typical. Tears start to fall down her face. I walk over and sit next to her.
“It wasn’t your fault. Don’t make excuses please. They get away with it all the time. They’re fucking pieces of shit sometimes.” “I wanted to. He told me no, absolutely not but I kept pushing him.” She sits upright and looks me in my eyes.
“I don’t understand. So he beat you instead? You still need help. Let me help you. You look like you need medical-“
She stands up straight so fast she pushes the chair from underneath her, clattering to the floor. “No! No cops. No hospitals. I know he’s looking for me and I need to find him, but I’m scared. He was right and I should have listened. It hurt. It hurt so bad. But, it feels so good too.” She steps closer to me as I sit. I stare back at her like a bewildered child hearing a fairytale. “It’s cold here. I didn’t think you’d be way the fuck out here.” She walks over to my back sliding glass doors and opens them wide open.
The earthy woods fill my kitchen as she takes a deep breath. You can hear the ocean faintly in the background.
Hold up. She was looking for me too?
“What the fuck? Who are you Reagan? Where are you from?” I slowly stand up but she stops me in my tracks. She whips her head in my direction, standing tall and confident.
“Do you know what Faelyn means?” I shake my head no. “ it took me about a week to find you. Maybe a little more.” She leaves the doors wide open letting the windy air breeze through. She slowly walks towards me. Like she’s stalking me.
“Answer my questions.” I’m trying hard to stand my ground, but this girl is definitely bat shit crazy. I hear a phone start to ring and I quickly reach for mine on the counter. Reagan reaches it before I do.
“You don’t need this.” She stops it from ringing and puts it in her back pocket.
Then it dawns on me and she smiles as I start to piece the puzzle together.
“Reagan, from Maine, I think. Your family has been all over social media looking for you. You’ve been missing for a little bit. It’s nation wide now that they’re looking for you.” She smiles like she’s proud. “What are you doing here?” My breath picks up as the anxiety starts. She tilts her head up as she senses it. “None of this is my blood by the way,” she points all around herself, “My family is sweet and they mean well but they’ll never see me again.” She’s so close to me now that I stand up out of my chair. She slides right behind me and pushes me right back down. The fucking crazy bitch is strong I’ll give her that. She bends her face right to the side of my face and whispers in my ear, “you feel it though. You always have but you can’t pinpoint it.” Her breath is hot on my face and neck, she starts to squeeze her hand on my shoulder a little harder.
“You’re a crazy ass missing girl who ran away from home. You’re going to use your boyfriend as an excuse saying he raped you, beat you, drugged you or any other cliche victim sob story to get everyone to feel sorry for you, because what? You’re looking for attention? Well fuck you -“ I’m picked up out of my chair and slammed onto the floor. I see nothing but black and I cough to catch my breath and try to turn on my side to gather my barings. Raegan leans down and grabs my throat.
“You couldn’t be farther from the truth.” She leans in my face. My vision starts to blur as I claw at her arms. I hear her laugh at me as she lets go.
I’m coughing uncontrollably, gasping for air. “Fae, I’m not the one looking for you. I’m just the one who found you. It’s an exhilarating, euphoric experience. Don’t get me wrong, it’s excruciatingly painful.” I hear a phone start to ring and she pulls my phone out of her back pocket to look.
I look up at her through my watery eyes and sees she just smiles at it and puts the phone in her pocket again. She grabs me by the front of my shirt and lifts me up off the ground. “Do you trust me?” I cough as I straighten myself, “absolutely fucking not”. Reagan laughs.
“You will. You have no choice. I’m not doing this for attention or daddy issues. I’ve never been raped or beaten either. My family is sweet. Old school go to church weekly catholic. I had good grades and a great boyfriend. The only cliche about my life was how utterly boring my life was. How predictable it was. Now, I’m alive. They won’t ever see me again, not because I’m teaching them a lesson or want attention but because their daughter is dead. And you, you were born with this. You don’t even have a fucking clue. The first time is the hardest. I’ll help you, I won’t leave your side.” She brushes my hair out of my face just like I did to her earlier.
I have nothing but panic coursing through my veins. She’s quick and strong.
She played me. She played me well. Raegan cocks her head to the side like she’s listening in the distance. “Do you hear that? They’re coming.” I hear absolutely nothing except for the angry waves of the ocean in the short distance.
“Run Fealan. Run.” She smiles at me. I take a step back and another. “Hurry. They’re faster than you think. It’s almost dark.”
I’m paralyzed with fear but I take off towards the woods. It’ll take me longer to get to a main road this way but I can make to the beach in minutes. My feet crunch on the dead leaves of the woods but I can’t move fast, it’s dark outside and my only light is the moon above me. I can hear the ocean is getting louder and my only option is to follow that sound. The air is getting colder as I make my way slowly to the edge of the woods.
I stop dead in my tracks. I can hear breathing right next to me. I can feel the warmth of hot air on my neck and I close my eyes in the darkness. “Can you hear them?” The voice whispered “they’re coming for you. It’s time Faelan.”
I don’t question who they are. I don’t want to move at all. I feel like I’m in a warm blanket and strangely I know I’m right where I’m supposed to be. In the distance I do hear them. They’re calling for me. Calling my name. My heart rate speeds up and my instincts take over.
My eyes snap open and I see that I’m still all alone in the woods and I run for the ocean.
I make it to the edge of the woods with the ocean angrily crashing against the beach. Over to my right I see a huge bonfire that I make my way towards. By the time I reach it, I’m out of breath. I stand in front of three males and Reagan. One of the males comes closer to me. “Do you know what Faelan really means?” He asks me as he moves my hair out of my face. I’m too tired and cold to say anything. In the distance I hear howling. He looks up and behind me. His face darkens as he smiles. The howling is starting to come closer quick. You can see my breath come out in short puffs of air.
“No.” I stand my ground and stand up taller. He smiles wickedly, grabs my body and spins me around. His big arms are wrapped around tight around me. I close my eyes to the heat that his body is warming me. He smells of the woods and hay, all earthy smells. “Look.” I open my eyes at his command and I see four sets of glowing eyes. All shrouded in the darkness that the bonfire can’t reach. He whispers in my ear. “Are you scared? Don’t be. It’s time to come home.” I take a deep breath and calm myself. The glowing eyes start to get bigger and I realize as they come closer they belong to wolves. Big wolves. Some are snarling and showing their teeth. It doesn’t scare me.
I hear Reagan standing on the side of us. “Faelan means little wolf, little sister. Welcome home.” Before I can even process what she said to me or my crazy night at all, the man holding me snaps my neck to the side and rips the side of my throat.
The warm blood rushes down my front and I see the four wolves dive right into me.
My world unravels in a blink of an eye.

Chloe has just finished cooking herself dinner. She had tried a new recipe from one of her favourite websites and after several alterations and questions to search engines about what to do and how to make it she was just about to sit down to eat.

Her phone buzzed and she saw a message from the agency. They were still searching for Alex and Ethan, she wondered how they were doing and hoped they had found each other. A third message popped up and Chloe looked closer.

It was Sam. Ethan’s old friend now turned enemy. The two had their memories wiped before the first year at the academy and Chloe had so many burning questions she wanted to ask but knew would be so inappropriate.

This was the first time seeing Sam as a young adult. She still had the same ocean green eyes and dark brown wavy hair. She couldn’t stop imagining what the girl had gone through, from what Ethan had said she had some of her memories revealed but not all of them.

Which memories were shown? How did they convince her of everything without abandoning Ethan? Chloe realised she had been stood standing and shook her head.

It didn’t matter now. She needed to focus on helping Ethan and Alex however she could. Sam was the least of her worries.

Knock knock knock

That was weird. She wasn’t expecting anyone this evening.

Chloe got up and tip toed over to the pad on her wall. Tapping the screen, while still eyeing the door, the camera activated and stood outside her door was Sam.

Sam was staring straight ahead, a hood hung off the back of her head. It was pulled off enough to show her face but it would be easy to put on if someone came by. Chloe couldn’t help but recognise the similarities between Sam and Ethan already.

Their posture was identical, straight backs, shoulders straight, chins up. Chloe thought what she would look like on a camera like this before shaking herself back to the problem at hand.

Sam knocked again.

Chloe weighed up her options.

Sam had tried to kill the President of the agency and her friends a few years ago. However since then they had all worked together while in Portugal and Shay seemed to have taken a liking to her. Sam had also seemed to take a liking to Andrew which Chloe never saw coming.

Chloe walked to the door and opened it. Knowing that if Andrew trusted Sam then she could as well.

“You answered?” Sam asked, the surprise clear on her face.

“Of course.” Chloe replied. “People on my team trust you, that means I do too.”

“Right.” Sam nodded, “I get that. May I come in?”

“Yes?” Chloe said.

“Are you certain or are you asking?”

“I’m just battling a dozen questions I’m dying to ask.” Chloe said, stepping out the way of the door waving Sam in.

Chloe watched closely as Sam entered. She was looking all over the room checking for any traps or tricks. Chloe understood, Ethan had explained what she had been going through so it was understandable she was jumpy. Especially in someone’s flat that she only met in life or death circumstances.

“Do you…want a drink or I ummm. I just cooked some dinner?” Chloe offered shutting and locking the door. Hoping that Sam would take it as a sign of her keeping them safe and not locking them in together.

“Water please.” Sam smiled. Her smile made Chloe warm inside, it felt so genuine. Chloe nodded and heard a stomach rumble, placing a hand on hers she realised it wasn’t her.

“I’ll get another plate.” She said as Sam looked away, acting as if she didn’t hear anything.

With two freshly reheated plates of dinner and two glasses of water the women sat across from each other. Both eating in silence.

“Do you like music?” Chloe asked.

Sam nodded, shovelling food into her mouth as if Chloe had threatened to steal it.

Nodding Chloe went on her phone and turned on a jazz playlist that was from one of her favourite games. Hopefully it would calm her racing mind. She had some many questions for Sam, not only about the current situation but also about the tournament. The earth. What happened in Portugal.

“Probably wondering why I’m here. Well from what I’ve heard about you you’ve probably been listing question after question in that noggin haven’t you?” Sam smirked, taking a sip from her water. “I won’t go into detail but I am after Ethan. He is going down a path he doesn’t want to, he is going to find something that doesn’t want to be found.”

“Ominous.” Chloe smiled.

“Purposely. If those two find each other and try to complete the mission Alex is on. We might have a war on our hands. One very few of us are capeable of dealing with alone.” Sam explained.

“How do you know all of this?” Chloe asked.

“I am part of the Earth remember.” Sam laughed, stopping when she saw Chloe’s worried look. “Oh but I’m not a threat to any of Ethan’s friends. I would never hurt you guys. I can see that you understand me.”

“Well. Doing my best considering how vauge you’ve been.” Chloe nodded, thankful that Sam wasn’t looking to hurt any of their friends. She had watched a lot of footage of Sam fighting and she was a genuine force of nature.

“Back to what I need. I have to follow the path Alex and Ethan went on, I can’t get to those in the academy because obvious reasons. But you, for some reason, were allowed to come back to your flat.”

“At first I opposed Ethan chasing Alex.” Chloe said, shaking her head. She had let her logical side get the better of her. But not this time. “But now I’ve been given another chance to help. So let’s do it.”

The news sometimes seems to repeat itself - a murder here, a scandal there, a story about the stock market. Some days it’s a quick cruise through to realize that there’s not much of note going on. Or at least, not much more than the usual hum of news from the world. But then, sometimes a story will stand out. A particularly gruesome murder, a politician having an affair, a celebrity baby. A missing person story can really have legs - especially if the details about their disappearance are particularly mysterious. That was her story - the headline was “Missing Almost Mrs. In Mississippi.” I honestly think the story gained most of its traction because of the clever title of the article. Someone in the newsroom knew their stuff. I read through the story a bit, but there wasn’t much about it that seemed too outstanding. A woman went missing on her wedding day - a classic tale. She was there all morning - in her dress. Wedding photos had been taken, the guests had all arrived… but when the time came for her to walk down the aisle, she just wasn’t there anymore. The typical “bride walking down the aisle” music was playing, but no bride was to be found. Was it cold feet? Murder? Aliens? That’s what made it a good mystery… nobody knew, and clues were sparse - practically non-existent. She was pretty too - she had captivatingly deep blue eyes that played well online. They really pulled you in, which helped the story carry. People care more about missing people when they’re attractive. I remember thinking it was probably murder. She didn’t look very big - maybe 5’6’’ at the most. I’m not saying she couldn’t hold her own, but she didn’t look like she could hold her own. It probably wasn’t her fiancée, that would be too obvious. Maybe a jealous ex? The world, it seemed, was collectively trying to figure out what happened, and her instagram page was blowing up after her mysterious disappearance. If she wanted, she could have probably been an “influencer” before her disappearance. Well, I guess she kind of is an influencer now. Being a runaway bride apparently has a great affect on you follower count. I was looking forward to watching the story unfold. From afar.

I would have probably been a bit more of an internet sleuth and tried to solve the mystery using the imaginary bread crumbs found in her socials, but Supernova, who’s usually pretty relaxed in the morning, suddenly jumped up from her usual morning grooming session, ran over to where I was sitting and started chewing on my toes - reminding me of just how sharp cat teeth can be. She was just over a year old, so still a bit of a kitten at times. Nonetheless, she was bothered by something - maybe the silence. I realized I had been done with breakfast a while before then and had been in a bit of trance trying to be a modern Sherlock Holmes. I put thick slippers on to protect my feet, but Nova was undeterred and hounded me the whole way to the sink. I was trying wash my dishes and grab a toy for her, but just as quickly as she started, she ran off, howling and hissing the whole way up the stairs - her tail about as big as I’ve ever seen. I shook my head, wondering what got into her this morning, which is when I heard a knock at the front door.

It was a strange thing to add on to what had already started to be a strange morning. For anyone, a knock at your door at 7 in the morning is probably out of the ordinary. But for me, it was practically unheard of. I moved to small town Alaska almost 15 years ago for the peace and quiet, and for the most part, that’s what I got. I could think of no reason that anyone would be at my door that early, and considered pretending that I was still asleep to avoid the need to talk to anyone. Plus, it was December. The morning was cold, windy, and there was a light dusting of new snow on the ground. It was warm inside, and once I opened the door and cracked the seal, the cozy would be gone. I wasn’t about to ruin the warm morning vibes by opening the door and letting in the cold… and I didn’t want to face the inevitable conversation with whoever was at the door. I’m not antisocial, but that early in the morning, I’m certainly not social. I was about to make the decision to stay quiet and ignore whoever it was, they would go away, and I could enjoy the rest of my morning in relative peace. I had almost convinced myself I imagined the knock at the door…

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

I guess I didn’t imagine it. That was the knock of someone that wasn’t going away on their own. As grumpy as it made me, I headed to the door to see what the commotion was all about.

“Just be nice, it’s probably something important,” I said to myself. “It better be something important,” I thought.

I stepped into the arctic entry (where it already felt cold enough to ruin my cozy morning), all the while contemplating the best back handed non-compliment I could give whoever was at my door. “Oh it’s so good to see you…” felt too fake. “What a great way to start the morning…” was definitely too fake. “Is everything ok…” would hopefully make the person realize how ridiculous it was to be knocking at my door on such a morning…

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

“Who would be so impatient as to knock a third time,” I thought. I didn’t know what to say to them, so I figured I would just open the door and leave it to them to fill the silence. If it’s so important for them to see me this early, they probably already have something to say.

I intended to crack the door open to not allow too much cold air in, but the second I turned the handle, the door flew open with a force that I didn’t expect, and couldn’t have stopped. If it wasn’t for the wall, I would have been knocked off my feet. A flurry of snow and cold came rushing into the room - and so did a woman. A woman dressed in a wedding gown. Her cheeks were a bit more rosy red than the pictures of her online, but it was her. Her stature, her pixie cut brown hair… I mean the wedding dress… Any doubts I may have had melted away when she looked at me and her icy blue eyes stared into mine.

“I’ve finally found you,” she said. “I thought you were going to let me freeze out there!”

I was frozen myself, but not from the cold. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know where to move. I didn’t know if what was happening was even real. When she realized I wasn’t going to, she turned and shut the door.

“Are you trying to let all the warm air out?” She asked as she pulled the curtains shut. She peeked out window as she did, “good, looks like I wasn’t followed.”

I found my voice in the sea of incredulity, “Followed!” I said. “From Mississippi?!”

“People do generally follow you from where you’ve been.” Was the only answer she seemed keen on providing.

“What are you doing here? How are you here?” I couldn’t believe what was happening. In fact, I decided not to believe it. Someone was playing a joke on me. I smiled, thinking I had figured out the trick.

“Who put you up to this? Was it Sean?” I asked as she started moving into the house.

“I’m starving.” She groaned as she made her way around the house, shutting the curtains to keep prying eyes out. Once satisfied that nobody could see in, she turned to me, “Please, can I have some breakfast?”

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

“I promise, everything will make sense soon enough, but I’m starving! It’s been a long night.”

“Of course, why not?” I chuckled, “why wouldn’t I offer a meal to such an honored guest!”

I still hadn’t decided whether I was excited for the adventure that this prank was leading me on, or whether I should be angry for the interruption in my day. My emotions were in the middle. I had a feeling Sean was up to this, or maybe Phil? As I went into my pantry, I couldn’t help but think the effort someone went through… the fake news articles, the fake profiles… although the profiles might have be real - obviously she’s a real person. Was this all a big ploy to get more followers? Was my birthday coming up? I was in my thoughts as I gathered breakfast for my unexpected guest, and realized I hadn’t asked what she wanted.

“What will it be?” I yelled from the pantry.

“Grits,” she replied, “with walnuts and maple syrup.”

I looked down at what I had absentmindedly collected - Grits, walnuts, and maple syrup. I leaned out of the pantry and looked at her. She was seated at the table. She couldn’t see the pantry from where she was. How could she know what I already gathered?

“With an egg on top, over easy,” we both said at the same time.

She looked up at me, her eyes piercing mine, “Good, you’re starting to remember.”

“Remember?” I gasped to myself as much as her.

How could I remember something I’ve never known? Was her favorite breakfast in one of the articles I skimmed? It must have been on her instagram! My thoughts all felt upside down, and I started doubting what I knew. I started doubting that any of this was going on.

“Jeremy,” she implored, snapping my thoughts back to the present. “I need you to remember. The quicker the better. Whether they followed me or not, it’s only a matter of time before they track you down.”

“Isn’t that why they sent you, Chloe?”

I heard the words falling from my mouth, but didn’t believe they were mine. I could see them landing on the floor with the grits that had scattered across the hardwood from when they slipped from my grip. The words got stuck in the maple syrup that was slowly spreading - the bottle shattered.

“Not this time,” she whispered.

I felt intoxicated. I started to remember things I had no way of knowing - sounds and smells. I started to remember my emotions, my anger, pain, and love. I remember being confused on top of already feeling confused. I felt myself slipping away and losing my grip on reality.

“Jeremy, look at me.”

I looked up from the mess on the floor - words and all. I snapped back into consciousness. My eyes falling up into hers yet again.

“They’ll be here soon,” I said resolutely, “we have to go.”

I remembered everything.

“Not until I’ve had my breakfast,” she replied through her smile, “and a change of clothes.”

She never did like to rush a meal.

“I don’t care. You can’t stay,” Peter said as he handed his brother a hot cup of coffee.

When he saw the news alert on his phone yesterday afternoon Peter knew either Percy or Pearl would be appearing at his front door with an outrageous story. His triplet siblings were always pieces of work. Thank God he’d convinced Lucy to take the girls and hide out at her mother’s place. Peter didn’t want his old family’s shit spilling over into his new life. The Piggs were garbage.

Speaking of shit, Percy looked horrible but nothing permanently disfiguring. Both eyes blackened, split lip, bruises along his chiseled jaw line, the handsome triplet was a right mess. Arms crossed, Peter watched his brother drink his coffee with shaky hands.

Before dawn, Percy had broken into Peter’s house’s basement through the emergency access window. Peter had been waiting in the kitchen with a pitchfork, a pair of brass knuckles, and a carafe of black coffee. The news alert said celebrity DJ/club promoter P Squared, Percival Pigg, was missing, presumed kidnapped. Percy’s Ferrari was found abandoned in a Walmart parking lot. The shopping center surveillance showed a dramatic scene of the D list celeb being snatched from his vehicle and dragged into a white van by two masked figures.

“Saw the footage of your capture. Sloppy work. Black ski masks and white vans what is this an after school special? Who did your contract? Looked like those meth head Tweedle brothers. Everyone who knows you knows you don’t shop at Walmart. You chose that location in broad daylight for the lot cameras. Pros snatch at night or early morning at a private residence. That kidnapping was pure theatre for the public,” Peter said.

“Petey, please I’m desperate. I had to fake my disappearance to throw Lupine Black off my trail,” Percy said. “I’m terrified. Help me escape. You have connections and I just need a couple of bucks.”

Percy held his jaw as if it hurt to talk. Still holding the six foot pitchfork, Peter poured himself another cup of coffee.

“But you know Lupine and his thugs will not stop hunting you because of whatever stupid caper you got yourself in with the WolfPack. If your fiction didn’t fool me. It will not fool him. Of course, you thought it was a good idea to bring your problem to where my babies sleep,” Peter said, his voice icy.

“They have Pearly, bro. The Pack tried to snatch her from her apartment. She escaped to my condo. Then they came for us both. I got away but Lupine caught her. I couldn’t go back for any of my things. I’m strapped. You know what Lupine will do to me—I mean do to Pearly. We need you,” Percy pleaded.

Pearl called herself a model influencer, but she was just an aimless party girl. She was Pop’s favorite. Pearl was the ultimate summer grasshopper, a spoiled child in a woman’s body who never planned for the future or accepted consequences. Pearl was no camel in distress; she was an agent of chaos.

As teens, the three of them used to boost cars to be chopped and sold through their family’s auto repair shops. They used their aunt’s tow truck to steal in plain sight. The triplets were inseparable until Pearl and Percy left him holding the rap alone for $20,000 in catalytic converters.

Peter went to juvie and from there he went straight. He got a job in construction and worked his way up to general contractor. Marrying Lucy and having kids Peter learned what a real family was all about. Peter turned his back on the chop shops and the fencing and the whole lot of them. He refused to be sucked in again. His siblings went the way of all Piggs.

“What are you slinging for Lupine auto parts? Drugs. Tell me Percy or I will mess up your pretty face permanently. And not just a couple of whacks with a rolled up magazine.”

Putting on the brass knuckles, Peter stared into Percy’s soul. Percy looked sheepish.

“Girls, strippers. Moving them in and out clubs up the coast to Alaska and back. A few escaped I guess and there is a grand jury. Pearl and I wanted to stop him. We were going to testify.”

Peter flung his coffee at his brother’s chest. Jumping back, Percy screamed and overturned the table.

“Get out!” Peter roared. “You’re saving your skin. I

The brothers wrestled in the kitchen. Peter threw Percy towards the basement door. He slammed Percy into the door over and over. Peter stepped back before he killed his brother. His hands were shaking.

Bleeding Percy headed down the steps to exit through the window before the neighborhood woke up. Percy yelled back up to his brother in the kitchen.

“Okay, Petey, don’t help me. I will disappear without your dough. I just hope Lupine doesn’t come after you and that beautiful family of yours to get to me. Bet they’re staying in at old Mother Hubbard, right? Keep on the look out for that big bad wolf.”

(100th writing! I want to thank anyone who has ever read, liked, and commented on my pieces. It means so much to me! Thank you!) ———

“Slightly cloudy with a high chance of rain-“ “Need five off the board to go on-“challenge is to create a holiday appetizer using-“

Lance sighed, flicking through channels. Nothing was ever in at this time of night. Why did he have insomnia again? He wanted a refund.

“—has been missing in the Lavender Valley area.” That caused to his sit up straight. Lavender Valley was the next town over. It was so close that there was only one school for both sides to attend.

Rewinding the segment, he caught the name this time. “Dally Brooks has been missing in the Lavender Valley area for approximately 29 hours. The 25 year old was last seen by his sister. He was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. Here is a recent picture of him. If you see him, please call the authorities.”

Dally Brooks. The picture popped up on his TV screen. Dally had dirty blonde hair and pretty green eyes.

Lance ran his fingers through his hair, trying to concentrate on that face. Something nagged at the back of his brain. Did he go to school with him? They were the same age. No one ever moved to this place so he must have gone to school, but the name doesn’t register.

BANG

Jolting from his seat on his couch, Lance shot up. Something or someone just knocked on his door. He glanced at his clock and the bright digital numbers read 3 am.

Fear gripped his heart as it pounded away in his chest. He grabbed a decorative metal bowl for defense. His mom would laugh at him if she saw him now holding onto the bowl she bought for him.

“Please help me,” a voice whispered, the sound barely passing through the wooden door. Apprehension flooded Lance’s body. Should he open the door? Is this some kind of prank or does this person seriously need help.

Going against his survival instincts, he opened the door slightly. If there was a one percent chance that this person needed help, he had to do this.

On his doorstep is Dally Brooks, those green eyes staring at him.

“Please let me in. She’ll know I’m gone soon.” Automatically, Lance moved out of the way, and Dally scurried in quickly.

“You should shut off your living room light. I saw it from the outside,” Dally suggested. His whole body practically vibrating like he was readying for an attack from any side.

Lance pushed the light switch and they were blanketed in darkness. Only a sliver of light came through the kitchen window. “You probably know who I am, but I’m Dally.”

“I’m Lance.” He studied this new person in his house with the little light he had.

Duct tape was hanging off of one wrist, the other wrist red like it was rubbed raw. His clothing, torn and dirty. Lance realized that there was blood dripping from Dally’s ankles.

He grabs a dish towel from his sink and offers Dally a seat at his couch. He all but collapses onto the soft cushions.

“Is it ok if I wrap your leg in this? I don’t have a first aid kit,” Lance asked. He should have listened to his mom about getting one. “Yeah, ok.” Inspecting the injury, it didn’t look like wound done with a knife. It wasn’t a clean cut. More like something sort of blinding that dig into his ankles.

As gently as he can, he wrapped his ankle in the towel and kept it together with masking tape. Dally winced at the sound of him unrolling the tape.

Once that was done, Lance grabbed his phone. “I’m going to call the police and then you can call whoever you want to notify,” he said.

Dally rested a warm hand on his arm. “Thank you.”

When he unlocked his phone and went to press the green phone icon, he saw the internet bars change. “Shit.”

“What? What’s wrong?” Dally questioned, panic rising. “I don’t have internet.”

“Does that happen to you a lot?” He would applaud Dally for the hopeful suggestion in any other situation.

“No. Someone knocked out my internet.”

I was Keni Hanson, I was a sporty, quirky average freshman, in college and had been given a Summer Internship at NYPC with my roommate's dad, our first case was eventually coming, but I had to wait to see what it was but later in the day I'd get my answer. I woke up, grabbed a shower, ran down the stairs, said " hi " to my dad, and ran downstairs. (My mom was a college professor, so she wasn't always around), My best friends Ashli and Simon were waiting at the bottom of the sidewalk, Simon was a kind of "tomboy meets "punk scientist", kind of guy, out of the corner of his eye, Simon finished his bubblegum and threw the newspaper at Keni who unrolled the paper and