Author's Note:

Hello everyone! Finally I've gotten around to updating! It's my Thanksgiving break and I've been really packed with work these last couple of days so sorry for the extended delay. But as I promised from my profile, I'm updating! :) I know it's been ages, and I hope you still read this story and like it.

Have a happy thanksgiving and I hope you guys are all having a good day with your families :)

[ Chapter 10 ]

[After Dusk]

SuzieQuaKes

I exhaled as I stared out of the window of my mother's car. Rain was pouring from above, again—expected. I wasn't even remotely shocked or surprised by this. In fact, the weather wasn't even a part of the mess that was going through my head. Thick droplets splattered against the glass window as I stared at the rolling scenery of Kavlin. The town square. The houses and the people under the dark umbrellas. The late eighteenth century architecture that still stood, after centuries—filled with secrets, filled with knowledge about what went on during those days.

As warm air ventilated from the heating system of the car, my mind wandered across numerous questions that I didn't have the answers to. Who was Mary Anderson? Why did she look like me? What were the dark evil secrets that went on, right here in this town, more than a century ago . . . and why did I have anything to do with it?

Drew . . . Andrew Hayden. Andrew Hayden that was supposed to have died in 1879 but was kept alive for a hundred and thirty years by some supernatural forces. Andrew Hayden that I kissed, just the night before . . . those cold lips that touched mine, piercing into my skin. How could I possibly have kissed a . . . a ghost? It was almost impossible to accept, to think about the fact that he wasn't real—that he wasn't alive.

What kept him from . . . from really dying like all the rest? What kept him wandering? Most importantly of all . . . what brought him to me?

I didn't know. I didn't know half of the secrets that were hidden in this town, but I had to find out.

"Looks like a storm today." The voice of my Mom cut through my thoughts and I was brought back to the present. She looked at me from the drivers' seat with a concerned look in her auburn eyes. "You sure you're going to be okay going to school today, honey?" We had just dropped off Max at his middle school and the car was approaching Cronk-Memorial High School. The ancient-looking school buildings were just coming into view.

I nodded and managed a smile. I had insisted that I was completely fine and that I would like nothing more to get out of the hospital and return back home. My Mom was hesitant but she soon agreed. The doctors informed her that there was nothing really wrong with me anyway. Truth was, I wanted to get out of the hospital and return back to living my life again—but I also knew that this mystery would surround me until I find out all the answers. What better place to search for those answers than at school? "Yeah, Mom." I tried to say in the best possible voice. "I'm fine. Don't worry, okay?"

Mom looked like she was going to say something but apparently thought better of it as she pulled the car over at the central school building. As the car halted to a stop, she turned to me again and smiled as she reached out to stroke my hair. The lines under her eyes crinkled. "Have a good day at school, May."

I smiled back at her before grabbing my bag from the foot compartment and opening the car door. Quickly, I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head and waved to my Mom as I stepped out of the car, into the roaring rain. I slung the backpack on my shoulder and ran quickly into the shelter of the big roof and entered the building. It was bright inside, the overhead lights turned up so that the sea green lockers glowed with a dull glint.

I took a deep breath and pulled my hood down, shaking the droplets of rain out of my hair before walking towards my locker. Some people that I passed turned to look at me strangely and I heard them whispering to each other. I tried not to mind. It was already expected . . . I knew that it was going to be a tough day, with what happened with Misty and April and the entire school at the cafeteria. Everybody probably believed that I wasn't normal. That I had done something bad to Misty. It was a miracle that she was even alive, with the force that she hit herself against the wall.

"May."

I looked up from the ground into cold blue eyes. Coral Frockling. Just the person I needed right then. She was dressed in a black leather jacket and a mini skirt. Her hair waved at her shoulders. She looked at me in a strange way, I realized. Her eyes were stuck on me . . . sizing me up. What did she want anyway? After everything that has happened between me and her, I didn't think that we had any chances at being friends. I let my thoughts be known: "What do you want from me, Coral?"

She glanced around the hallway at all the stares, at all the whispers and frightened looks that people were wearing before cocking her chin up. "I just wanted to tell you that . . . that I want to be friends." She must have seen the look of utter confusion that crossed my face because she shrugged her shoulders with a slight laugh. "I've been where you are. I know what it feels like to walk down a hallway where everybody would stop and stare and talk bull about you. And I want you to know that if you need someone to talk to or hang out with—I'm there."

Coral turned to walk away but I snapped out of my trance-like condition and held out a hand. "Wait!" As she stopped, I continued in a lower voice. "W-Why are you doing this? You saw what happened the other day, right? I-I thought that . . . that you believed that I did that."

She shrugged her shoulders a second time before reaching to draw a wisp of blonde-brown hair away from her face. "I don't know what happened that day, May. But I'm willing to forget about it." Then a different expression came onto her face as her lips drew in a smile. "Hey, there's this party happening tonight at the Kavlin Park. A barbecue and stuff. People from the school are going to be there. You should come."

Without another word, she walked away from me. As I stared at the spot where she stood, I couldn't help but think to myself—what was going on? One moment, Coral was hating on me, scared of me and the next, she wanted to be my friend and invited me to some party? I sighed to myself and with a shake of my head, I walked towards my locker. I was getting sick of school.

No, I was getting sick of life in Kavlin.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. I couldn't really find the strength or desire to really concentrate on my classes and I kept my head down to avoid all the stares and whispers. I was never so glad when the clock struck one. Lunch time. It was time for me to do some research.

I took a quick bite off a tuna-fish sandwich as I headed towards the big, old-fashioned library in the west campus of Cronk-Memorial High. I spotted Charlene and April walking together to the cafeteria, laughing about something and their faces turned grim as I passed by. April pretended to look at something to her side while Charlene fixed her eyes on her phone, pretending to text. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I didn't want to fight with them—especially since they were like the only people aside from bipolar Coral, who tried to actually be my friends. Yet I knew that I couldn't fix things, at least not right now.

I needed to figure things out myself. I needed to know myself exactly what was going on before I could fix anything of this.

What I needed to know was the history of this town. Of Kavlin. Of what happened in Kavlin, years and years ago.

I entered the library, walking quietly passed the smatter of people that were working quietly in the laid out tables and chairs. It was lunch time, so there weren't much of a crowd—only those who had a major assignment due or the few anti-social ones. I guess I fitted that category now. I still had an agenda though and I knew what I had to do in here. I walked over to the nearby counter where the librarian sat, clicking on her computer. I cleared my throat as I approached her and she looked up with her glasses sliding down her nose.

"Can I help you?"

"I wanted to find some old newspapers and stuff from the nineteenth century." I told her. "Some research about Kavlin during those times . . . Preferably those related to . . . witchcraft." Seeing the look that came across her face, I quickly interjected, "It's for a history paper."

She nodded slowly and looked at me carefully. Probably she too had heard about the "spell" that I casted over Misty the other day. I just wanted everybody to forget about it already. "I see. Well, we don't have actual newspapers from those days, but we do keep files of headlines. Just head over to Section C and pick out the time period that you want. You should find what you're looking for."

I murmured a thank you and headed over to the heavy-looking ancient bookshelves. Each section was marked with a faded silver sign. I passed Section A, glancing over the content in the shelves. It looked mostly like fiction books and I walked by them without interest. Section B was filled with textbooks, autobiographies and other non-fiction publications.

Section C was located around the corner of the library, with three mahogany bookshelves that were marked with different months and years. It looked exactly what I was looking for. I stopped and looked over the different dates marked on the shelves. The 2000s . . . 1990s . . . I walked down the aisle, glancing over at all the little signs. My heart started to beat against my rib cage as I approached closer to my destination. The 1890s . . . 1880s . . . And there it was. 1879. The year that was written in Drew's diary.

I couldn't contain my hands from shaking as it wandered across the different files marked by different months. January 1897 . . . February . . . March . . . The entry that I read in Drew's diary was written in December . . . so I needed to find some earlier newspapers. I decided that something in the middle would suffice so in a sudden frenzy, I placed my hand on a file in the middle. It turned out to be June's publications.

Grasping it in my hands, I made my way over to a nearby desk and sat myself down. With extremely shaky hands, I flipped through the first few pages. The headliners mainly consisted of things that I wasn't interested in . . . Floods, crop failures, some wealthy man's establishment of a new public school . . . I was nearing the end of the month when something finally caught my eye.

"Three Slaughtered by Mysterious Beast."

My eyes darted across the small typography. Apparently, three school boys who snuck out at night were found in a crop field, brutally slaughtered. I winced as I continued to read. The boys were torn to pieces and their clothes were shredded by what appeared to be sharp teeth. It was regarded as an attack by a wild creature living in the forests and the article ended right there. I let out a deep breath through my dry lips. Maybe that was what it was—just an attack by a wild grizzly bear or a wolf pack.

I flipped through the rest of June, and found another similar article. It was lengthly, describing in pages about the victim. This time, it was a lady. Her name was Lady Anita von Scheven. She was part of the von Scheven family—a legacy that had dominated the Western oil supply and gained uncountable amount of riches. She led a promiscuous life: going out at late hours, dancing and lived for utter excess and material. She was found twenty miles south of her home, abandoned in the same field that the boys were found.

The field . . . I stared at the black and white photo taken of the crime scene. It was wide . . . but the rows of corn crop were scattered and some appeared to be rotting. It seemed so familiar . . . I felt a certain closeness with it. I closed my eyes and envisioned the scene in the photograph. The sun shining from above, the light smattering onto the rows and rows of failed crops. A stench of rotting soil filled the air . . . I closed my eyes tighter, trying to focus on the image. Why was it so familiar?

The sense of desolation was full in the air, the dry crops crinkled as the wind blew softly. I breathed out slowly, my eyes still closed. There was a girl. She was humming a soft song as she twirled in the middle of the field. She had no shoes on her feet and her wild mop of dark hair flew everywhere. A smile set on her young face, her eyes twinkling. The humming grew louder. It was a slow tune. So slow . . .

Suddenly the humming stopped and all was still. Not a cloud moved in the sky, not a single rustle. A look of fear came onto the girl's face as her eyes opened wide. A dark shadow fell upon her and she turned around in a sudden frenzy. Her tattered dress flapped in the wind as she ran deep into the crops. The shadow chased her . . . It was gaining on her . . . And suddenly, there was an piercing scream that tore through the silence.

"May!"

I opened my eyes wide, my heart beating loudly in its cage. A girl stood in front of me, looking at me with a look of confusion on her face. It was Coral. I ran my tongue across my dry lips. I still could not get the scene out of my head. "Coral? Were you the one that called my name?"

She raised her eyebrows at me and took a seat facing me. "Uh, yeah? You were totally dozing off." Her ice blue eyes dropped to the files scattered across the desk. "What are you doing? What is all of this?"

I bit my lip nervously. I wasn't sure that I was ready to tell her what I was doing. I could never trust her. Worse of all, I didn't know what was happening to me. Did I just imagine the entire thing I saw? Was I really dozing off like Coral said? Just falling asleep and randomly dreaming? My head throbbed as I closed my eyes again for a slight second. "Nothing." I finally said. "I was just bored so I was looking at all of this."

She didn't look like she believed me. She grabbed onto a file before I could stop her and flipped through the pages. "Are these old newspapers?" Her eyes darted up to gaze into mine. "From the year 1879."

I looked back at her, shrugging my shoulders—pretending like the year was of no particular reference. "Yeah, I just picked something random . . ."

"My ancestors were one of the founders of this town." She flipped through the files once again, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. "My great-great grandfather was part of the original settlers—at least that's what my aunt tells me. Apparently a lot of crap happened back in those days."

My ears perked up a little bit. I tried not to appear too curious so I attempted to sound casual. "What do you mean?"

Coral shrugged her shoulders, her eyes still focused on the newspaper articles. "I don't know. People back in those days believed in supernatural stuff way too much. They thought that Kavlin was a town full of these supernatural creatures and apparently my descendants trace back to alpha dragons." She looked back at me with a roll of her eyes. "Dumb, right? But my family really embraced it. Apparently, we're a rare breed."

I swallowed and let out a forced laugh. "Yeah, that sounds really weird!"

Coral rolled her eyes again. "Tell me about it. Anyway, stop reading these stupid old newspapers. They're freaky." She flipped the file shut and stood up, leaning against the wooden chair. "Let's get out of here. Class is almost starting."

I nodded and gathered up the files to put back in their original positions. This was just getting way too complicated.

"Hey honey! How was your day?"

My mom greeted me as I rushed into the car and slammed the door shut. Finally, school was over for the day. Coral was being freakishly nice to me the entire day. I just didn't understand that girl. She could act like my worse enemy one day and then want to be my friend again. She continuously reminded me of the party that was happening tonight. I hadn't decided whether I should go or not yet, but I told her I would keep her posted.

"May?" I realized that I hadn't answered my Mom's question. She gave me a little look of concern and I tried my best to smile and her and appear normal. I shrugged my shoulders. "It was okay." I placed my school bag into the foot compartment of the car and turned around to the face the back seats. "Hey, Max."

My brother looked up from the book that he was reading and slid his glasses up his nose. "Hi, sis." Ralph—our dog—was sitting beside him, his tongue slightly out in a pant as he wagged his tail at me. I smiled at the dog, for no particular reason. It seemed that ever since I got caught up in this entire mess, I was getting distanced from my family and things that mattered. That made me want to find out the answers even more. I wanted to end all of this. I wanted to go back to living my life.

"What are you reading?" I asked my brother. It just seemed like I hadn't talked to him in forever. He shrugged his shoulders without looking up from the book.

"The Great Gatsby."

"That's a good book." I told him with cheerfulness.

He shrugged his shoulders again. "I know. I'm reading it for the third time."

I wanted to say something more but it seemed like he didn't want to talk to me anymore, so I sighed and turned back around. My mom kept her eyes on the road as she drove carefully out of the high school car park. The ride back home was in an uncomfortable silence, at least for me. If Max and my mother felt any uneasiness, they didn't show it. I kept my eyes on the window and the rolling scenery.

The rain had stopped and the party plans for tonight were full on. I decided that I should go to the party. This stupid mystery surrounding my life shouldn't keep me from having a good time at school. It had already done enough damage. I was already being considered a freak at school—I needed to do something to change that.

We arrived back to the house soon and I quietly went up the stairs and into my room. The gloominess of the room stayed, despite my attempts at brightening it up with my posters and photos. I tossed my backpack onto the floor and threw myself on the bed with a sigh. It had been a long day.

"Hi, May."

. . . And it seemed like the day just kept getting longer. My head darted up a little from the bed, startled but calming down once I saw who it was. I guess I had been expecting to see him. He had just disappeared since that kiss that we shared. The kiss . . . I didn't even want to think about it right then. The green-haired boy smirked at me as he stood in front of my window. He still wore his old tattered jacket and trousers.

"You really have got to learn how to stop barging in." I told him as I slowly heaved myself up and leaned against the frame of my bed. I crossed my arms over my chest at him.

Drew's smirk carved deeper as he took a few steps towards me and sat on the edge of my bed. His usual scent of peppermint and musk drifted up my nose and a certain sense of cold spread across my bedsheets. "What can I say? Old habits die hard."

I tossed my hair back and looked at him cautiously. I licked my dry lips and let out a breath through my nose. "So, what do you want?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Can't I visit?"

"Come on, Drew." I rolled my eyes at him. "Since when did you ever just visit? What's going to happen this time?"

The amused twinkle disappeared from his eyes as he stood up from my bed. I had to admit—I missed the sudden lack of fresh peppermint in the air. He walked over to my desk and mused with my school books. "You can't go to the party tonight."

I sat up a little more from the bed and raised a brow. "How did you know . . ." I trailed off before just shaking off the question. He had a way of knowing everything anyway. "Why?"

"I just feel it, May." He told me and turned around to face me with his bright green eyes. "I can sense it. Call it intuition, if you like."

I frowned. I didn't know why, but I just felt so frustrated. I wanted to shout and scream. So many things were going through my mind and I felt like I was about to go insane. Or maybe I was insane. Maybe I was just imagining all of this—imagining Drew, imagining Mary, imagining the little girl . . . "No." I firmly said and observed the startled expression that darted into Drew's eyes. "I am going to that party, Drew. I cannot keep on giving up everything just for your stupid mess. I can't."

He stared into my eyes, the bright emerald so striking. "Come on, May. You know what's best for you."

"Yes, I do!" I exclaimed. I just couldn't take any of this anymore. "That's why I'm telling you—I am going to that party. I can't keep on living like this."

"Something dangerous is going to happen!" He took steps towards me until he stood right in front of me. His eyes pierced into me and his face appeared stern. "I know you lack in the brains department but I'm sure you have the least bit of self preservation in you."

"Shut up!" I exclaimed and stood up from the bed so suddenly that he took a few steps back in surprise. "Stop it! Just stop! I'm just a normal girl, trying to get through my life." I felt tears prick my eyes and for the first time since months, I felt like bawling my eyes out. "I don't want any of this. I didn't ask for this—I didn't ask for you! I don't want to be a part of it!"

"It's no longer a choice." His statement was so firm, so strict. His lips drew together in a tight line. "You are involved in this, whether you like it or not. If you have learnt anything from these past few days, you know that there are things happening—things you can't control. If you have any bit of sense in your brain, you'd know to listen to what I tell you."

I opened my mouth to say something but suddenly, he was gone. I threw myself back onto my bed and felt tears stinging my eyes. A few droplets fell from my eyes and ran down my cheeks. Why was this happening to me? Why me? I never wanted any of this . . .

My phone buzzed in the pocket of my jeans and I dug it out. Apparently I had received a text message. It was from Coral, and she was asking me whether or not I was going to the party because she was going to pick me up if I was. I thought for a moment. According to Drew, something dangerous was going to happen. But concerning this entire evil surrounding this town and me, something dangerous could happen at any time. He warned me that I should know what was best for me . . .

I rapidly wrote back a reply and hit send. I tossed my phone back onto my bed and got up from my bed to wash myself up.

"Sure. Come pick me up at 7. Looking forward to having a good time. -May."

Author's Note:

Be sure to review everyone!

-Suzie x