The Extremely Crappy Days at Ashfield High
Chappy Eleven: Something Involving Something
Another strike of lightning signaled another boom of thunder as the storm raged on outside the Townsend household and all over the city of Ashfield. It was, once again, the end of another week of school and work, and this day known as Friday came as a saving grace for many.
Henry took a sip of coffee as he leaned against the green, marble counter in the kitchen; he was staring at the newspaper his wife was reading as she was sitting down at the kitchen table.
In truth, Henry had been feeling uneasy the entire week. He had this feeling of dread in his stomach, and as much as he tried to rid himself of it, it just would not cease to be there.
It was the exact same feeling he got when he saw the chains…
"Hello, dear parents…" Joshua stepped into the room, fully dressed, his hair a bit of a mess, and his backpack over his shoulder. His mother looked up at him as he rubbed his eyes. "What's the matter, honey? It's a little early… Did you sleep well?"
The teenager walked over to the refrigerator and opened it, scanning its insides. "Well… let's just say that the next time you two decide to 'express your love for each other', could you do so in a quieter manner? I was awake for two hours, saw two episodes of Law and Order, and actually read a book."
Mrs. Townsend was left speechless for a moment as Joshua grasped a granola bar and closed the refrigerator door. "Oh, I'll be walking to school today; the rain should wake me up…"
He then turned to his father. "Hey, at least I can scratch off Cialis XG on my list of birthday presents for you, right Dad?" he asked in a joking manner.
Henry just nodded slowly and looked up at his son, making eye contact. "Be careful, okay?" The way he spoke surprised Joshua, along with his wife; Henry was never this serious, and his tone was shaky, in a way.
"Yeah, sure…" Joshua replied, a hint of uncertainty in his voice, before he left the house.
Mrs. Townsend rose from the chair and stared fearfully at her husband. "What's wrong, Henry? What is it?"
"It's… No, nothing… I'm fine…"
"And so, class, that-,"
A knock on the classroom door interrupted Mr. Wells, and most of the students turned their heads to the door. The Mathematics instructor sighed and placed the piece of chalk down before walking to the door and opening it.
After conversing with the woman outside the room, Mr. Wells backed away, allowing a teenage Asian girl to step inside. She had raven black hair, with a few red streaks running through it; most likely the work of a hair stylist. She wore an orange shirt with long black sleeves, and both her jeans and Converse shoes were black, as well.
Her hair was long, slightly covering the abstract design on the center of her shirt.
She had this quirky smile on her face though, and it didn't seem to fade…
"Alright, class, say hello to Miss Naomi Takahashi; she is our newest student, coming from New York City itself! Well, Miss Takahashi, you can go ahead and take a seat next to Joshua Townsend."
"Is he the one asleep?"
"Hmm… yes he is… Joshua!"
The teenager stirred slightly, his head rising and turning to see his teacher. "Oh, sorry sir… I didn't get much sleep…"
"It's quite all right, Joshua, but this is your newest classmate, Naomi; she'll be sitting next to you for the time being."
Mr. Wells smiled and sped to the front of the room as Naomi sat down in the desk beside Joshua's.
"For the last time, Chris, it's just a damn town…"
Christian took a bite out of his sandwich as he flipped through his mahogany colored folder. He had been gathering information on Silent Hill and the cities around it since Tuesday, when he realized there was a strange connection between Ashfield and Silent Hill.
"But it's so interesting, Josh; there were, for example, several murders that took place in Silent Hill and in Ashfield; they were all by the same killer."
"Coincidence…? There's like a forty mile distance between the two…"
Joshua sighed and let his head fall back onto his backpack as Myron sat down at the cafeteria table. "H-Hey g-g-guys…"
"Hi…" the blonde said while dropping the folder back in his backpack. "Well, at least it's Friday, right?"
Myron nodded as Joshua continued sleeping.
"So, you like Ashfield High, Chris?" Joshua inquired while his blonde friend watched an ant scurry across the concrete sidewalk they were walking on.
"Yeah, it's okay… Hold on, since we started walking home, have you noticed it stopped raining…?"
"Um… yeah, I did…"
Christian stopped walking completely and looked up at the gray sky. "Ever since the first day of school, the sun hasn't actually shown, you know? It's either raining, or just cloudy, but in these last two weeks, not a clear day at all…"
"So? What about it?"
"It doesn't make sense… There's something… something wrong…" Christian began to walk into the street, possibly unknowing of what he was doing. Joshua watched him do this, but his attention was caught by something else… a puppy, to be exact.
"No way… Crap…"
His head swung to the right, suddenly seeing a red car gliding down the street. Coming from the left was also another vehicle, a van, to be specific. Both showed no signs of stopping, and as they drew closer to colliding with the oblivious Christian, Joshua ran to the edge of the street.
"Christian, look out!"
The blonde teenager's head spun around to stare directly at the driver of the red automobile. The man driving finally took notice and swerved to the left; the one controlling the van suddenly did the same, only to the right.
And to the unfortunate Joshua they both sped at…
Cheryl Mason took a small sip of her coffee as she leaned back in the wooden chair. She always came to this same café every Saturday; it was not a very large structure, but a good sum of people would come.
The television set above the cashier's counter was currently displaying the news, and Cheryl, rather than watching, only listened.
"The two teenage boys involved in the crash a little ways off from Ashfield High School were not harmed, but the police and ambulance were slightly surprised that the two vehicles had rammed into the exact same tree, at the exact same angle. Fortunately, the two drivers only suffered minor broken bones…"
"Hello, Ms. Mason…"
She looked up to see a young man standing beside the table she sat at. He had quite dark hair, but it was by no means black, unlike the long coat he wore. He was wearing, however, a peculiar red medallion.
"May I have a seat?"
Cheryl nodded, her eyes never leaving the medallion.
"So I see your cult still goes on…"
"Well, not exactly… It's barely clinging to life; we have no actual funding, and our members are far off and between."
"Get to the point; I'm not involved with this anymore; you're sixteen years too late."
Noah chuckled. "Too bad, because I came to discuss something, should I say, very important…"
"Just get to the point."
"Alright, I will… The other members of the cult… they're searching for a teenage boy, older than thirteen, but younger than sixteen… In other words, your son."
Cheryl shook her coffee cup slightly, looking down at the ripples forming in the brownish liquid.
"I never had a son; I never had any children."
"That's what you think, but allow me to explain…" Noah leaned forward ever so little, before speaking.
"You never, really, killed the premature god Claudia Wolf gave birth to. Instead, its soul took another form, and as its grotesque shell died, it became a male baby."
"Wait-,"
"What was left of the cult took the baby and began to raise it, but, they were a little too reckless, and they lost the baby; it disappeared one day in the forest near the town of Silent Hill, but those idiots think it was found, taken in by some person… They've been trying to find it all these years… and now, they think the baby, or the teenager it is now, is living here, in Ashfield."
"So… what do you want me to do? It's not my business…"
"Oh, you don't have to do anything, just realize, that this isn't over. I know that all of this resulted in your father's death, but he wasn't even your father. You're exactly like that boy, maybe somewhat different, but basically the same."
Cheryl sighed and continued staring at the spot of the chair between her legs. She did not respond and Noah stood up. "By the way, I'm not like them; in the end, though, if they succeed, that boy will be the end of it."
He shrugged and walked over to her, his hand outstretched. "Oh, I forgot; I am Noah Franklin; nice to meet you."
AUTHOR NOTES
(I'm quite satisfied with the way the story is coming out, but I'm at an absence of what will happen in the next few chapters, so an update may not come so soon.)