A/N: Back again to hit ya with chapter six! We're over the hill and in the final stretch so stay tuned!
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I paced in my bedroom, looking at my phone. I couldn't call Hadley right when I got back because she would question how I got to the barn and back so quickly and I didn't feel like explaining that it was easier to get through traffic when you could fly over it. Checking the clock, I groaned. It was only 4:30 and it would take two hours for someone on foot to get to that barn and back. I had to wait a whole hour to call her.
Giving up on pacing, I grabbed a change of clothes and walked across the hall to my bathroom to take a shower. I was covered in dust and grime from my crash earlier and needed to shower anyway. Having showered quickly, I had time to blow dry my hair so that it wasn't obvious that I had taken a shower before meeting up with Hadley. I picked up my phone, checking the time. 4:13. Close enough.
Going to my recently called list, I scrolled down to Hadley name and hit voice call, putting the speaker to my ear.
"What?" Hadley asked with an annoyed tone. At least she picked up.
"Well hello to you too," I snarkily replied.
"Kara, just tell me why you called." She sounded tired.
"Fine. After I left Sandi's I ran out into the woods to be alone, ya know? But I came across this old, creepy barn, straight out of a horror movie. Chipped paint, creaking noises, the whole nine yards."
"You found an abandoned barn, so what?"
"It wasn't abandoned, Hadley. It has a brand new lock on the door. Weird coincidence that a creepy barn is being used in the same woods where Josh and Thea were found murdered isn't it?" I asked, trying to make it sound more cool and mysterious.
"That is kind of weird . . ." She trailed off and I waited for what she was going to say next. "You aren't lying to me to get back at me or anything, right?"
"Um, no?" I replied. "If you can be at the Mill Creek Bridge in 20 minutes we can go see it."
"I'll bring Gavin along, he can drive us out farther," she answered. I could hear the excitement in her voice despite her efforts to hide it.
"See you then!" I hung up and dropped the phone on my bed, smiling. Maybe I didn't completely destroy or friendship with my moodiness.
I grabbed an old backpack from my closet and flew down the stairs into the kitchen. I grabbed flashlights, snacks, water bottles, and some of those hand warming packs. Shoving my phone into one of the front pockets, I headed out to the barn and grabbed a few more things that might be useful in case we got lost after the sun went down. As I exited the barn, I eyed my dad's worn down baseball bat. I picked it up and forced the base through one of the loops in my jeans so it hung from my side like a sword, one had to be careful when going to investigate a creepy barn that could also be the lair of a murderer.
Feeling sufficiently prepared, I started my walk to the Mill Creek Bridge. It wasn't too far from our farm, we had to cross it to get into town. Hadley, Gavin, and I would hang out under the bridge in the creek during the summer days when it was too hot to be out of the shade. I smiled as it came into sight. I could see Hadley and Gavin leaning over the railing to look at the water. Picking up the pace, I jogged up to them.
"You guys ready to see the creepiest barn ever?" I asked as I met them.
"Hell yeah!" exclaimed Gavin, pumping his fist into the air.
Hadley smirked at me as she spoke, "What's with the bat Danvers, you scared?"
"No!" I defending, hand shooting to the bat on my hip. "I've been there, remember? I thought Gavin would want it so he could feel manly."
"I'm manly!" Gavin's voice, unfortunately, cracked as he spoke. Hadley laughed and I gave him a 'really' look. His eyebrows scrunched up angrily. "Just give me the stupid bat."
We piled into the car and started on our journey to the Midvale forest. The radio played in the background, some country song that I didn't know. Gavin hummed along as we drove further out of town, the trees getting thicker and the road turning to dirt. We turned off onto the shoulder of the road. Once we had all gotten out of the car, we stared at the woods ahead of us.
"It's going to be dark soon," observed Gavin. The trees had long shadows and the sun was barely peeking out from the horizon.
"Scared?" I asked with a grin. He scowled. "I brought some flashlights we'll be fine. Now let's go."
We set off on the well-worn hiking path, Gavin pulling up the rear. From the bird's eye view, the barn was only a little ways off the path, far enough that it couldn't be seen but close enough to easily find. The only problem I was having was figuring exactly where we should turn off.
"So how did you find this place?" asked Gavin, eyeing the trees around him.
"I ran out here to be alone and caught glimpse of it through the trees so I went to investigate," I lied. Hadley scoffed behind me and I stopped. "What?"
"You spotted it? With your eyesight?" My hand shot up to my glasses. My vision had always been strangely superior, so when I took my first eyesight test my parents told me to lie a little bit so that I would seem more average. My child-self had overestimated what a little bit was and ended up with a prescription. I could always see through them fine, so I just kinda kept up with the lie.
"It's not that bad," I grumbled, pulling them off. I could see fine through them, but it was better without them. Hopefully good enough to actually spot the barn from the path like I told Gavin.
Pretending to clean my glasses on my shirt, I squinted at the trees. Gavin snorted, but I ignored him. Suddenly, the trees almost seemed to fall away, revealing the barn. I stumbled backward and rubbed my eyes. What the hell just happened?
"You okay?" asked Gavin, grabbing my shoulder to steady me.
"Yeah," I mumbled, putting my glasses back on. "I just got dizzy. The barn's really close."
The twins gave me a skeptical look, but I shrugged it off in favor of just getting to the stupid barn. Silence fell over us as I contemplated what just happened.
I could see through things now? What was next? Blowing things up with my eyes? As if my life couldn't get any weirder, I could now add literally seeing through stuff to the list of weird superpowers I seemed to possess. Why was this only happening now? Was it because I had never really tried it before? Thinking about it, probably, but come on. I have enough on my plate with the whole murder possibly trying to kill me thing going on and now I could see through stuff. Fate has been a real asshole recently.
"This is where I turned off," I announced to Hadley and Gavin. They peered into the trees.
"I don't see a barn," said Hadley. I smiled, handing her a flashlight.
"Really? With your eyesight?" Gavin shouted 'ouch' and Hadley pouted, taking the flashlight.
"That was uncalled for," she stated as she turned her light on, swinging it around to get a better look at the trees. She pulled off her scarf and tied it to a branch, Gavin and I giving her quizzical looks. "What? If we decide to come back we'll be able to find it faster."
"Makes sense," chimed Gavin as he turned his flashlight on as well. "Well let's get going."
I lead the walk into the forest, trying to avoid the patches of poison ivy. I used my newfound ability to make sure we were headed in the right direction every few steps, not wanting to get lost. As we continued to walk, I could feel the tension in the air grow. We were out in the woods where two kids our age were found dead, pretty much looking for trouble. I tried to push the thoughts from my mind, focusing on the barn. Soon enough, it was looming ahead of us in all of its terrifying glory.
"Well shit," murmured Hadley. "You certainly weren't lying."
I flashed my light in her face and she slapped me on the shoulder. Gavin insisted we stopped acting immature, which sent us both into fits of laughter as Gavin wasn't the most mature one either. After we calmed down, we all split off to look around the barn. Hadley was trying to shine her light through some of the cracks in the wood to see inside while Gavin poked around at the odds and ends that we stacked outside. I stayed back, watching the surrounding area in case we were actually at a killer's hideout. I had on an odd feeling that the killer wouldn't want to be found by three teenagers messing around in the woods.
"I can't get a clear view of anything inside," announced Hadley as she walked over to the front of the barn, pulling on the lock. "Do you think there's anything around here that could break this?"
"Hadley, you are aware that that's breaking and entering right?" asked Gavin, putting down a piece of scrap metal.
"So? There are no cameras out here, what if this is where Josh and Thea were killed? Kara, you're on my side right?"
"No Hads, I'm with Gavin. If this is where Thea and Josh were killed then we should call the cops," I said, giving up in guard duty.
"We aren't going to know that unless we go in there and look around!" She pleaded, rattling the lock around in a childish manner. "Why'd you bring us out here if we aren't even going to go inside?"
"I don't know, I guess I thought it would be a good thing to help us bond you know?" I tried. Hadley saw right through me. "Fine. I brought you guys out here because I didn't want you to be mad at me anymore and since all you seem to care about these days is this stupid investigation, I thought that this would get your attention."
"Really? I only care about the investigation? Because recently, all you've cared about is yourself," she bit back harshly. Gavin winced, behind her, knowing where this was going.
"I care about other people!" I defended, folding my arms across my chest.
She laughed dryly. "Name me the last time you did something for someone else."
"Oh, I don't know, maybe bringing you out here? Spending countless hours in dream hell to find out where Thea was?"
"No, Kara, you did that for yourself. You brought us out here so that you could feel better about yourself after the fight in the diner and you only tried to find Thea so that you would stop having dreams about her, not so that she didn't die."
I opened my mouth to reply but she cut me off. "Save it, Danvers. I'm going back to the car."
She turned on her heel and disappeared into the trees we had come from. I started to go after her when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Don't. She needs some time to herself."
I looked up at Gavin, and then down at the hand on my shoulder. His wrist was peaking out from under his denim jacket and I could see the bruises. I grabbed it and pulled his sleeve back, shining my flashlight on it. The bruises were a sharp contrast against his skin and they were shaped like a hand. My hand. "Did I do this to you?"
"It's fine, Kara. It didn't even hurt." He pulled away from me and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Gavin, it's purple," I said, still staring at the wrist despite it being tucked away. He stepped towards me and I moved backward.
"Kara-"
"I have to go," I said mumbled before turning and running off. I could hear Gavin calling my name behind me but I ignored him pushing myself farther away from the barn. I kept running, not caring that I went through poison ivy or thorns. I knew I had hurt Gavin, but not that much. Not enough to bruise like that. I tore through the trees, only seeing that bruise until my feet hit the pavement. I stopped, crumbling to my knees on the asphalt.
Burying my face in my hands, I tried to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. Angrily, I hit the road, my fist going through it easily. I stared at the damage. I slowly got up and brushed my hands off on my pants. I would need to shower again when I got home.
Composing myself, I got a running start and then shot into the air. I didn't have to go through town to get home so it wasn't a problem. I was home fast. Not bothering with the door, I went through my open window and then straight for the bathroom. I peeled off the grubby clothes and started a hot shower. I needed it.
About twenty minutes later, I was wrapping a towel around myself when I heard a commotion downstairs. Peaking out the door, I saw Gavin rushing up my stairs. I came out and he grabbed me by the shoulders, not noticing my towel.
"Gavin? Where's Had-" I started but he cut me off.
"I couldn't find her. Kara. you have to help me. I went back to the car after you left but she wasn't there. I drove home, but she-she," Gavin fell apart and I stepped back, running into my room and picking up my phone. I dialed the number and it rang twice before he picked up.
"Hello?" asked a male voice from the other line.
"Sheriff Jackson, this is Kara Danvers."
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A/N: I'm a bad person? Also, I wrote this one without any breaks? I'm a hot mess who likes to have way too much drama, sorry y'all gotta deal with me.