Darkness is something one cannot escape. It's everywhere, and it'll always be everywhere. You can't get rid of it. It will always catch up to you no matter how fast you run. Darkness is in everything; and everyone. Children understand this. The Darkness is what they fear. But sometimes they forget the fear the Darkness struck into them, and that is when it watches and plans. And at the end of every journey, the Darkness is there. Waiting for you, just as it always has been…

The Darkness Inside

I was awaken by a large hand shaking my left shoulder. I opened my eyes to see a Marina filled with ships and a small restaurant across the street packed with people. I glanced around, squinting from the sunlight. 'Welcome to Haven, Maine' a sign said, 'Haven, huh? Looks like a damn fair than a haven to me…' I looked over at the drivers' seat to see my father smiling. Not one of those fake smiles adults have when they tell their children that a divorce isn't their fault, but an actual, genuine smile. Like an 'I just won the lottery!' smile but a bit more easy-going.

"God, it's good to be back! Just look at that diner, and that Marina! Man, it's beautiful… Whaddya think, punk?" My father, Markus Vanheld, grew up in Haven. He met his wife and my mother, Lindsey Vanheld, who was also born and raised just as he was. They lived here for quite a while up until trouble happened. I could never get an actual answer out of either of them for why they moved away, they'd just say it was trouble. The town didn't look like trouble to me; the diner was lively and I could even see a farmers' market in the mirror. No gangs or trouble for as far as the eye can possibly see. "It looks alright."

"Alright?! What're you talkin' 'bout, punk? This town is wonderful! Haven't been back here in almost 27 years and it still hasn't changed a single bit." His smile grew wider as he gently patted my arm with his hand, "Get your bag, kiddo. The hotel's just up the street here, and I'll bet you that diner there serves pumpkin pie, your favorite! Now c'mon, punk." Punk. Every parent has a nickname for their child. When I was little, my favorite pie was pumpkin, and it still is to this day. I always thought he was saying pumk instead of punk. Like when you take out the 'in' in pumpkin and then the 'p,' you get pumk. But nope. Turns out he's been calling me a punk since I was born. But hey, could be worse. Probably.

I shut the passenger door and rolled up the sleeves of my zip-up hoodie. It'd been a going-away gift from a friend. I never owned any band merchandise, so they had gotten me the hoodie with one of my favorite band lyrics on the back, "Keep your hopes up high and your head down low." It was black, not like I wanted to look goth or anything, but it didn't come in any other colors. So here I was, in Haven, Maine, with my recently-dumped father in the middle of summer wearing a black hoodie. God, I missed Wisconsin.

I looked in the back of the pick-up and saw my bag, quickly scooping it up with my dominant hand and swinging it over my shoulder, securing it and walking to the other side of the truck to see my dad still in the truck, smiling over at me. "You know, when I was your age, I made friends on my walks around the town, how about you walk around for a bit?"

I glared at him, "You want me to walk around a town with twenty-five thousand people in it, on a day with 90 degree weather just so I can make friends?" He gave me one of those fatherly laughs, "Alright, alright, kiddo. Why don't you at least grab a bite to eat at the diner and meet me at the hotel?" He rummaged through his pockets and found his wallet, pulling a crinkled ten dollar bill out of it and handed it to me along with a key, "I gotta take care of some business real quick… Be safe, punk-o!" I stepped back and watched my father drive off, leaving me in the middle of the street. I sighed heavily, unzipping my hoodie and pulling my multi-colored hair to the side. I'm not a rebel or anything like that, but I've always been fascinated with colors, so my hair has it's original blonde, faded pink, purple, and faded green. Sounds like a mess, right? As long as the blonde was still intact I could care less how it turned out really, just so there's colors mixed in somewhere.

I looked down at the ten dollar bill I had in my hands and laid a hand over my stomach as it growled. I was asleep for most of the ride and was still slightly sick from one of my famous illnesses, so eating really wasn't a good idea for me while we were on the road. I crossed the rest of the road and headed for the diner, slowly taking in the scenery as I went along. There wasn't much of a breeze honestly, but still you could see the trees sway from side to side. As I approached, the door was held open for me by an older gentleman, who nodded in a 'you're welcome' gesture that followed my thanks. I looked around the crowded diner for a place to sit, my eyes scanning the room until I finally came upon some empty stools by the counter and, sure enough, there was a covered plate of pumpkin pie. I smiled a little on the inside and walked over to sit down. I placed my bag on the ground in front of my feet and waited for the waitress who seemed otherwise occupied with refills at the other end of the diner. I took in my surroundings little at a time, surveying the area that I would have to get accustomed too at some point while I was living here.

"One piece of pumpkin pie, Darcy." My visual was soon cut off by a tall man looking down at me with a smile. Eye contact felt a bit weird so I ignored the fact the the waitress had given the man the piece I was hoping to get, but hey, any other piece would be just fine too. I heard the waitress whisper something under her breath as she walked away, but couldn't make it out…

"So, uh… I saw you looking at this piece like it was a winning lottery number or something. So, I'll trade you. Your name for the pie." I glanced up at the man as he taunted me with the pie, sliding it under my nose and over my head. "My name is Jamie." He smiled brightly in the cute way that only bad boys seem to be able to. "Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" He placed the pie down in front of me and sat down on the stool next to me. He held out his hand, "The name's Duke. Duke Crocker." I hesitantly extended my own hand to shake his, "Jamie Vanheld." I saw something falter in his eyes the moment I said that. He quickly let go off my hand, obviously trying to hide something.

"Well, it was nice meeting you. Enjoy the pie." WIth that he turned tail and walked out the door, disappearing. I looked over at the pie which had been given to me and all of a sudden, it didn't seem so appetizing as before. I quickly thought back to the conversation that had just happened. 'He didn't react like that upon seeing me, or when I introduced myself… But when I shook his hand, I said my last name, unlike the first time. Maybe he know's dad…? But dad hasn't been here for almost 30 years… No way he could've known him.'

When the waitress came near me, I quickly got her attention and asked for a container. I made sure my pie was safe and left with the intention of just going to the hotel. I began walking down the road when a certain truck caught my eye. 'Dad said he was going to take care of some business… So then why is his truck parked by the Marina?' I had never been one to investigate things like that. In horror movies, it always ends with someone getting killed. Usually the curious one. So I shook it off and continued down the road until I heard muffled screams come from the truck. I examined the truck, trying to make sure I actually heard something and wasn't just losing my mind. Although, it wouldn't be the first time someone in my family lost their damn minds. After a minute or two or examining, I was about to commit myself to a loony-bin until I saw the truck start shaking. I ran over and looked in the back, only to see my father tied up and duct taped. A wave of fear suddenly pulsed through me as I tried the door handle, only to find he was he locked inside, and there was no way I was strong enough to break the window.

I quickly took notice of the fact that a 50-ish year old man was tied up in his own truck in 90 degree weather with the window rolled up tight. It was probably a miracle he hadn't had a heat stroke already. I panicked when I realized there was nothing I could do except look for something to get the door open with. I was a bit of a criminal to say the least. I looked around the ground and thankfully found a paper clip. I took out a screwdriver I kept on myself at all times and put both into the lock. The truck was an old model, so it honestly wasn't that hard to unlock without a hanger. After a minute or two I finally got it, opened the door and untied my father.

"Jamie! Thank god! I thought I'd have a stroke with this damned heat!"

I looked at him with serious eyes, "Dad… I know you didn't tie yourself up and lock yourself in here. Who did this to you…?" His eyes grew wide with a fearful expression blazing through them, "Jamie… I'm sorry Punk, but I'm not gonna tell you. I'm gonna tell the police, and they'll take care of it." I gave him a confessed looked that soon turned into realization. "Yeah… I guess I really wouldn't be able to do much… Let's get you to the hotel first though, alright? Then I'll drive you down to the station, Dad." He gave me a light smile, "Sounds like a plan, kiddo." I looked around him for the keys, assuming they'd at least be hidden. "Dad… What did they do with the keys?" He glanced around the truck and then past me to view around the truck, "I… Oh no… Punk, they might be, uh…. In the water…"

I walked around the truck and into the Marina we were practically parked right next to. "Damn... What about the spare?" "I thought I gave it to you before you went into that diner over there, kiddo." I did a quick pat down of myself, "I think I remember that… But…" As I came up with nothing but money and the hotel key, I let out a sigh. "Damn… I'll be right back, I think I left them in there when I was getting something to eat. I'll be right back, hold this for me, will ya dad?" He nodded and I handed him the container holding my pie and the bga I carried around. I walked across the street in a sort-of rush and pulled the door open, stepping in and surveying to see if anyone was sitting in my previous seat. No one was, so I walked over and scanned it, looking under the seat, on to table, then asked the waitress if she'd seen a pair of car keys. She shook her head, "Sorry hun, haven't seen any keys around here lately. But if I find 'em, I'll let you know." I gave a casual thanks and walked out to run into a body, "Hey, wanna watch where you're going, Jamie?"

I look up to see one of the only two people I know in Haven, "Duke! You wouldn't happened to have grabbed a pair of keys on the table by mistake, did you?" He backed up off the steps and put both hands in his pockets, "You know, I did actually happen to come across some keys that were not actually mine. Now, of course, being the good citizen that I am, I was just out looking for the owner when I saw you. I take it they're yours?"

I nodded and held out a hand, "Yeah, I need to for the truck."

He took a hand out of his pocket and threw it up into the air, "Sorry, new girl. The only keys I took from the diner were mine. And I'm pretty sure that I would've noticed if you had a pair of keys on the table in front of you when you came in." I looked up at him, "Well I had them and now they're gone. They were the only spare I had and the originals are pretty much lost now."

He threw a questioning look my way, "Pretty much? What happened to the original set?" I crossed my arms in a non-mad way, "They got thrown into the Marina."

"Well, it just so happens that I have a boat on the Marina. I could help you look for them." I looked over at the Marina and then looked even farther until it met with the sky. "Uhm… I'm not trying to be negative or anything, but I'm pretty sure you're not going to find them." He moved his body so that he was directly in my line of sight, "Well, as a sailor I pick up quite a few things in my line of work that would… Enable, one person or another to pick up certain lost objects." My curiosity got the best of me once again, "And I assume you would like something in return?" He looked away, acting a tad bit shy for the first time out of this entire encounter. "Well… I won't lie to you. You seem like a nice girl buuut… It might be a bit out of your price range. So, I'll cut you a deal. Since I am such a stand-up citizen, I will give you a ride around town when you need one until I can find your keys."

"Really? No offense, but you're not exactly the person I'd pick out of a crowd to be a good citizen…"

He touched his chest, "No offense, huh? ...Well, anyways, I wouldn't be much of a stand-up citizen if I didn't offer a new girl a ride. Where am I taking you?" I pointed over to the truck with my dad sitting on the ground, "You're apparently taking me and my dad to our hotel, and then the police station. Like the 'stand-up citizen' that you are." I could see the look of regret start to form in his eyes as he let out a sigh and began walking over the my father's truck and extended a hand, "Mr. Vanheld. I'll be your ride around town for the time being."

My dad, being his usual self, didn't even notice he'd been offered a hand to shake. He stood up and looked Duke right in the eyes, his expression going white for just a moment. I thought it was just my imagination… "Well then, we should probably get going, eh, Crocker?" Duke nodded and gestured us to his own truck, even held the door open for me. Once everyone was in there seats and buckled up Duke started driving down the road, "So, where am I taking you guys?"

That was the last thing I heard before I heard the cock of a gun coming from my father's hands.

This was the first installment of this story. I worked very, very hard on it and it would be sooo appreciated if you could like review on what you thought! Thank you for reading!