Ruins pt. 28

We stuck to the shadows, moving quickly through the town. 

Those things, those broken things, were everywhere. 

If one spotted us, it would start laughing, alerting the others. 

By the time we made it to the edge of Oak Park, we were exhausted. 

The sun was coming up, the sky turning a purpled pink.  

The laughter was fading now.

There was one, though. There was one who was still following us as the sun continued to rise. 

Lance. 

He was reaching for us. 

“Wait… HA! For… HA! Me!”

He was speaking.

“Don’t… HA! Leave… HA! ME!”

I turned just as the sunlight broke through the sky. 

The light hit Lance, and it knocked him off his feet. 

His body shook, his laughter turning to agonizing cries of pain.

He didn’t burn. No, that would be too simple.

Lance exploded.

As bits of him fell the streets seemed to absorb them, hiding away any evidence of violence, and setting the trap for the next group of travelers.

Eye See You: Randy Connects pt. 5

I don’t know why, but I don’t tell Luke about the message.

Something about him has started making me feel uneasy.

He has started pulling away  from me.  Out of jealousy?

Is he angry that I spend time with Bella?

I was the reason she was in this mess.  How could I not be there for her? 

I take my phone to Dave. He’s the tech wizard. He could probably tell me where it came from. 

Letters from the Dead pt. 57

She was fuming. Her eyes were wide her teeth clenched.

I pushed her hand away. 

I asked her if she would want to know who, and more importantly why someone was doing this to you?

I was getting angry.

I couldn’t help it.

Let it go?

Someone was trying get my past to kill me.

Someone had driven a young man to suicide.

There was no letting it go, and I told her as much. 

She started pacing, her eyes darting from me, then to the floor. 

She was mumbling to herself.

She was scaring the shit out of me.

“It shouldn’t be taking this long.”

It was whispered, not meant for my ears, but I heard it.

What? I asked. What shouldn’t be taking this long?

Leah froze, her head slowly turning towards me.

Letters from the Dead pt. 56

Leah sat with me on the edge of my bed, the yearbook resting in her lap.

I had started crying the second she had walked in the door, and it had taken me close to an hour to get control of myself. 

I told Leah everything.

I knew she thought I was crazy, but I didn’t care.

I was crazy, but there were outside forces aiding my mental breakdown.

“A student and a youth pastor?”

She was looking at me, dumbfounded.

“This is who you blame for your conspiracy? An uppity rich bitch and a guy with frosted tips? “

I knew it was more than just them, and I told her as much.  I just didn’t know all the pieces yet.

“You need to let this go, Felicia.”

She rested her hand on my shoulder.

I couldn’t. Not yet.

I felt her hand squeeze my shoulder a little harder. 

Hard enough that it hurt.

“Let. It. Go.”

Leah didn’t look like my friend anymore. 

She looked… dangerous.

Eye See You: Randy Connects pt. 4

It isn’t from the Unknown Sender.

It’s from…

Janelle.

Her name seems to float there, on my screen, like a ghost. 

Her phone was destroyed when she died.  It had been crushed by the train.

Was this some sick joke?

I open the message, tensing up as I anticipate its contents.

He’s closer than you think.

I shiver. 

Ruins pt. 27

Doug’s screams woke me up. 

Moonlight poured into the bedroom. 

It was still night.

The bedroom door burst open. 

Doug was wide eyed, his face scratched. 

“They know we’re here. Lance brought those things right to us!”

It didn’t take long for us to grab our things.

We never really unpacked. 

I scooped up Nora, who was still groggy with sleep, and we rushed towards the back door. 

The laughter was almost deafening, and it was growing louder.