Destiny: Chapter 4
Samara POV
We just finished eating breakfast and the entire time Emily was completely zoned out. Every time one of us would try to include her in the conversation she would just cut us off with one-word replies.
As soon as we were all done eating she immediately made her way to her bunk and just laid there. She denies all of our attempts at conversation except for one last night with Toby, but he won't tell any of us what they talked about.
She has always acted sort of withdrawn from the group but never to this extent. The more I think about it, the more I notice this all started after we left the mall. After we were ambushed by fans. After she talked to that hot guy who worked at that creepy t-shirt store. As much as I really do not want to return to that dirty pit of hell, I know that's the only lead I have to finding out why Emily's so upset. And she's worth it.
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I walk into the mall and head straight for the 'Vampire Lair'. I walk in and see a short girl, in some sort of werewolf mask, restocking some of the empty shelves so I approach her.
"Hi, there was a guy working here yesterday, tall, tan skin, dark hair. Is he working today?" I ask, trying not to sound like some creepy stalker. The girl turns to face me but jolts back slightly when she sees who I am. I'm used to this kind of recognition so I don't really think much of it. "Umm, yea, I'll be right back" she says, going into the storage room to go retrieve the boy for me.
I hear a bunch of bickering whispers before the boy I was looking for emerges from the room. "Hi, I'm Noel" he says awkwardly grinning and offering me a hand. "Samara" I say shaking the boy, I now to be named Noel's hand. "So, what can I help you with, I saw you getting a little friendly with my friend Mr. Giggles here. Did you come back to take him home" he says sarcastically, referring to the creepy clown mask that scared the hell out of me yesterday. "No actually, umm, don't get me wrong, Mr. Giggles is lovely but he's not really my style" I say trying to get off the topic of the creepy clown mask. "Ok, so if you don't want the mask, how bout the web shooter" he asks holding up the mechanical Spiderman arm "No Noel, I didn't come here to buy anything" I say, getting frustrated with the immature boy. "I came to ask about Emily" I say and he begins to fidget with a shirt hanging from a rack nervously "Ok, what about her" he asks, looking down at his shoes. "Well two questions, 1. How do you know her and 2. Why is it that after she talked to you, she started acting…different" I ask crossing my arms over my chest. "Well 1. We went to high school together and 2. I don't know" He answers, mimicking my position. "We had a lovely chat. Maybe she was just upset over the fact that her shopping trip was cut short by those screaming teenagers." he continues, stopping his fidgeting and looking me right in the eyes.
We just stare at each other for a couple of minutes. I try to read whether he's telling the truth or not but it's hard to tell.
Our daggering stares are interrupted by the girl I first talked to when I walked into the store, but now she took off that hideous mask. She quickly pops her head out of the storage room door and I catch a quick glimpse of her face. "Noel, could you stop flirting for 2 minutes and help me with the last couple boxes" she says before she goes back into the room. 'I've seen her before' I think to myself as I try and fathom where I have seen her face before. "Look, I gotta get back to work but if you really wanna know what's going on, talk to Emily." He says, turning and walking towards the back room but her turns back. "And you seem like a very rational person. Just remind her that her eyes can play tricks on her and something's are better left a mystery" he says looking into my eyes "NOEL!" the girl in the back yells, causing him to follow her voice before I can reply, leaving me with more questions than I came in with.
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When I get back onto the bus everyone is doing what they normally do. Toby and Caleb are screaming into their headsets as they lose in MW3. Ezra is telling them to shut up while he types away on his laptop, most likely working on his book. And Emily is nowhere to be seen. "Where's Emily" I ask and they all simultaneously point towards her bunker 'as if I had to ask' I think as I make my way towards the curtain covered bed, built into the wall of the bus.
I slightly draw back the curtain, revealing the sleeping beauty behind it. She looks so peaceful, wrapped in a blanket and clutching a framed photo. A photo that once sat on her nightstand, containing Emily and another girl. A girl that is beginning to look extremely familiar. 'But it can't be' I think to myself as I look at the picture in Emily's hands and recall the events of my day. 'But it is. She's alive'. I close Emily's curtain and make my way to my own bunk. Thinking of how this could have happened and what I should do about it.