Act 12: Mysteries

-August 29, 2010: Sunday-

-Midnight-

A loud and petrifying scream had rung through the air, piercing the very sound barrier of the atmosphere it seemed. The scream was so piercing in fact that it drove Julie straight from her bed, away from her slumber. Frantically, she searched around her room, jumping out of the bed, onto the cold floor and ventured over to the window, looking out into the rainy night sky. The rain was heavy and louder than the sound of the scream earlier.

JULIE: What?

Confusion washed over her whole face as she arched a brow. What was going on? What was that scream she heard? She knew it was a male's scream but didn't know as to whose scream it was.

JULIE: What was that scream just know? Who was it from?

With nothing but blankness floating in her mind, she felt the need to return to her slumber for the next day. As she sat in the bad, drawing the covers over her body, the warm subtlety that came with the covers did not shake her curiosity and concern in regards to the suspicious scream she heard earlier.

-J.J.'s Pizza Shop-

ASHLEY: Wait! You heard a scream too?

CLAYTON: No way! I heard a scream last night as well!

IAN: Same here!

Apparently, Julie wasn't the only one who had heard the scream from last night. The group, along with Tara, had gathered at JJ's Pizza Shop simply to hang out, but given Julie's testimony, it turned to something else. The group was sharing a round pizza that was cut into fourteen slices, so naturally, the slices were small. Now there were thirteen because Clayton, as usual, took the first bite of every meal the group shared. Julie grabbed the next slice.

Ian wore a black leather jacket with khaki pants, dress shoes, and a gray long-sleeve shirt underneath.

JULIE: Isn't this a coincidence? We all heard a scream last night, but we don't know who it was from. Do you reckon anyone else heard it?

Clayton shook his head.

CLAYTON: No. I woke up my parents and asked if they heard it, but they said "no". It's odd because a scream that loud was able to wake me up and I'm a pretty deep sleeper. It didn't even alarm Rocky.

IAN: Do you believe we heard it through our Personas?

The conversation was followed with silence as the group thought about Ian's question. Could that scream truly be linked to their Personas? They all turned to Tara, who had just finished her slice. Tara wore something a little different. She wore a long green strapped-dress with a teal poncho, decorative green beads on her wrists, and black slippers. What was interesting to note was that her hair was tied up into a high ponytail.

TARA: Likely because I do not know anything about this scream you four heard. 'Tis possible that your Personas may have heard it and sent it through you, but for what reason?

With that question stated, the group fell into a moment of silence and thought. What would be the reason for the group to hear a scream in the middle of the night? As they collected the evidence piece by piece, eventually, Julie came to an understanding.

JULIE: The next victim...

Everyone turned to Julie, confused and unsure on what she said and she repeated herself again.

JULIE: The next victim... It makes perfect sense. A scream of fear; that's what the Shadows represent: fear.

The widened eyes quickly gave away that the group was starting to come to a consensus. The screams represented who the next victim will be.

ASHLEY: You're right. It does make perfect sense!

IAN: If that is true, then how will we know if that victim is taken into Hofu? How do we know if they are not in Hofu already?

Suddenly, everyone's blood ran cold until Tara spoke.

TARA: Do not worry about that. I keep track of things going on inside of Hofu and so far, it appears to be relatively quiet. But something is collecting, yet no one's inside. It may be the next victim, but whoever he is, he's not in that realm yet.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief from Tara's assurance.

CLAYTON: Thank God. I got scared for a second.

ASHLEY: It still doesn't change the fact that someone is going to be in Hofu. If someone's in danger, we need to find out who.

CLAYTON: I believe our best choice for now is to wait and see. If Tara can check on whoever is next to enter, we can rely on her to tell us and we'll be prepared.

Ashley turned to him with a slight expression of disapproval.

ASHLEY: That is true, Clayton, but what happens if we're not prepared? At best, we'll reach him a little late and fight his Shadow. At worse, we might not reach him at all and he'll die. I'm not doubting Tara's abilities, but we can't rely on her forever. We should put some effort into coordinating our team.

JULIE: Ashley-san's right. We are dealing with an enemy beyond our power and we know he's scheming dastardly deeds to thwart our efforts. We need to thwart back.

Clayton nodded at Ashley and Julie's statement. The group then turned back to Tara.

TARA: However, I have figured out how it will happen. On the night of a storm following the rain, that is when the Fiends will roam. It goes back to an old legend from Truenia, where the night of a storm after the rain, a child will be taken from his home. If I were to apply this legend to our current situation, I'd say our enemy is using the same method.

ASHLEY: So that means that if there's a storm following a stormless yet rainy day, we'll know if someone's going into Hofu.

CLAYTON: Then that scream's only a warning?

Ashley nods.

ASHLEY: That's our assumption. I don't know if it will happen again, but now that we know, or at least have some glimpse of the situation, we can act on it.

JULIE: We'll meet at the shed to train again. Remember, we cannot rely on our Personas entirely to assist us. If we do, we'll be exhausted by the time we reach him.

IAN: We should also keep track of the weather. If there's a storm following after a rainy day, we need to be prepared.

ASHLEY: Right.

The group agreed to their plans and moved to what they were supposed to talk about today. After that, the group parted ways with Clayton and Ian taking Tara home. Julie walked out of the mall and into the parking lot with her purse in tow.

JULIE: Times like these is where I really wish I had a car.

She then went on to walk down the parking lot, pass the cars, and started heading towards the bus stop ahead. As she walked down the path, she caught sight of a familiar face who was standing beside a black jeep. She moved in closer to observe further and saw that it was Devon, who was on the phone, apparently in a heated argument with someone.

Of course, curiosity killed the cat and Julie moved in further, but discreetly, to catch wind of the conversation. She couldn't hear everything, but heard just a few words and sentences that caught her attention.

DEVON: I don't care! ... Look, I said I don't care! Why are you even calling me?! I changed my number! ...

What was going on? Who was he on the phone with? She ducked behind a red sports car after he turned around, trying her best to make sure he was unaware of her presence.

DEVON: Well, you hear my voice, so goodbye! ... I said "goodbye"!

And just like that, Devon hung up the phone, rather heated if Julie were any judge. She may have not known what was going on, but the conversation between Devon and the other person on the other line sounded like an argument. The first time she had seen Devon, he was upbeat and quite energetic, so it was rather astonishing to see him lose his temper. But the real question she had was the person he was on the phone with. What were they talking about that got Devon all heated up?

It was then that fate would play their strings for her. She had tried to get up, but as she lifted her foot, she felt that it was still stuck to the ground. She looked down at her foot, trying to pull it off of the ground again, but it barely budged. Disgust swam all over her face; she stepped on gum!

JULIE: Eww! And it's fresh!

Disgust and irritation playing a key role in her emotions, she forcefully lifted her foot from the ground to see the sticky pink mess that had caught onto the bottom of her shoe. Julie's face grimaced upon noticing the sticky substance.

DEVON: Something the matter?

A voice had caught her attention and she looked up to notice Devon overshadowing her with a curious look on his face. Apparently, he didn't know that she was eavesdropping on his conversation with whoever was on the phone with him, so she could play it off.

JULIE: Nothing. I dropped my house key and found it, only to notice that I stepped on gum.

A chuckle escaped from Devon's lips as Julie brought the bottom of her shoe for him to notice the gum.

DEVON: Eww! That sucks!

Julie returned the chuckle.

JULIE: It is! There's a trash can, for God's sake!

She rose her body up, brought her foot up, and slid it back to the ground, scraping the gum from her shoe since she was too disgusted to actually touch it herself. Once she was certain that she had scraped just enough off of her shoe, she turned back to Devon, extending her hand to him.

JULIE: My name is Julie Amano, by the way. I attend Riverside High School.

Devon grabbed a hold of her hand and gave it a shake, flashing a warm smile at her.

DEVON: Word? My name is Devon Williams. I hear you're a sophomore. So am I.

A look of surprise flourished her face.

JULIE: Really? Well, it's nice to meet another sophomore. By the way, what are you doing right now?

Julie had to make sure that her question didn't seem like she was eavesdropping on the young man's conversation. Thankfully, her lie was well spoken.

DEVON: Oh. Well, I just got off the phone with… someone. I was actually on my way to practice my archery.

Confused at first, Julie took a second to notice that the boy had a quiver and bow strapped on his back, as well as a pouch of pine resin that was starting to stick out of his pockets. She gave the young man merit for being as dedicated as he was, but couldn't help but find it odd that he was practicing on a Sunday.

JULIE: You're going to practice your archery now? But practice for the archery team is only on school days.

DEVON: I know, but if I want to get as good to get into a good college, I have to practice. My grandmother hounded me for not coming to church just so I could practice.

JULIE: Really? But I thought she would be proud of your dedication.

DEVON: She is, but in her words, "not when it interferes our time with the Lord". Trust me, when you have a black grandmother as religious as mine, you'll understand.

The joke rewarded a giggle from Julie. She stopped laughing and turned to a new subject.

JULIE: By the way, I'm on the school's newspaper club. If you have time, I would like to interview you.

Devon, slightly taken aback, grinned a little before agreeing to the deal, pushing in the pine resin that was starting to fall out of his pocket. Elated, Julie reached into her purse and pulled out a pencil and a small notepad that she kept with her at all times. She even pulled out the camera she bought a while ago, hooking the strap around her neck and leaving her camera suspended in the air under her midriff.

JULIE: Okay, first question: when did you first start archery?

Devon wasted no time answering the question.

DEVON: It was about, what? Several years ago? I was eight when I started practicing, but I wasn't in any teams at the time. It was a Christmas gift that my uncle gave me so I could develop a hobby. Eventually, I started to get the hang of it and made it into a practice. The first team I got in was for my middle school.

This was rather intriguing and it started to develop some progress. Julie continued with the interview.

JULIE: Next question and now that I think about it, I should have made this the first question. Anyway, where were you born?

DEVON: I lived in Minnesota for nine years, but I was born in Atlanta, Georgia. My mama worked as a concierge for a hotel before moving down here. Once we moved here, she worked as a waitress for our family's diner. She… died when I was seven.

It was then that something caught Julie's attention. Devon mentioned much about his mother, including her death, which Julie fought sorry to hear about. However, he didn't mention his father anywhere. Normally, someone would say something about both parents, whether it be positive or negative, but Devon never mentioned it. In fact, before he told her about his mother's death, he seemed rather hesitant about it. She wondered why it was so. What happened to his mother that made Devon hesitant to speak?

JULIE: I'm sorry about your loss.

Devon flashed Julie a sad smile.

DEVON: Don't worry about it. I should be sorry for suddenly making this interview moody.

JULIE: Anyway, what about your father?

Before he spoke, Devon paused. His eyes averted to the ground before he looked up at Julie again. Was he hiding something?

DEVON: I… rather not talk about it. Let's just say that my father and I do not have a healthy relationship.

It was something that Julie could understand and respect. She did not wish to pry the young man of anything that he felt was unnecessary or too personal to discuss. It was one of the few things she had learned from Maya as to being a good journalist: never make the person you're interviewing feel uncomfortable and never push anything out of them.

JULIE: Understood. Can I ask you one final question?

Devon nodded.

DEVON: Sure.

JULIE: What would you do once you receive a scholarship? What are your plans for after you graduate?

DEVON: Oh, that's simple. I plan to receive an archery scholarship and attend school back in Atlanta. After graduation, I'll try taking part in the Olympics' archery team. Any money I win will go straight to my grandparents.

JULIE: That's commendable, Devon.

DEVON: Yeah, well, they deserve a lot for raising me after Mama passed away. Grandma said that she doesn't want me to give her money because my love is just enough. Grandpa, on the other hand, said to give him whatever amount I can give!

JULIE: *giggles* Really?

DEVON: Yep. Anyway, I should head out so I can practice.

JULIE: And I should leave too. Thanks for taking the time for an interview.

DEVON: No prob, it was nice. Hopefully, we can see each other again.

The two exchanged valedictions as Devon departed from Julie. She stood there for a while, thinking on Devon's story for a bit. While she found some of it to be quite amusing and uplifting, there were a few things that worried her. Devon didn't seem too excited about mentioning his father and he even stated that their relationship was not healthy. There was also the idea that he was going to practice his archery again. She understood dedication, but why was he going to practice at this time of day? She was not thinking badly on Devon's motives, but could not erase the fact that they were highly questionable.

JULIE: What's going on with him?

-Amano Residence-

-Evening-

ASHLEY: He said that he didn't wish to talk about his father?

Julie had arrived home about an hour ago, and came home to see only Hanbei after he had come home from work. She quickly exchanged greetings with him, followed by asking about his day and mentioning hers before she walked to her room. Once she did, she made it her first objective to speak with Ashley as soon as possible. She needed to tell her about what had happened.

JULIE: Correct. I don't know why, but… it was almost as if he was hiding something. I didn't pressure him, but still… something wasn't right.

ASHLEY: Yeah. Something's not right and all of this happens just after we heard a scream. What do you think we should do?

Julie had to analyze the situation first. Right now, the group had heard a scream last night and all possibilities were now open to the table. Recently, she came across Devon, who seem to be hiding something in regard of his father. Something noteworthy was his persistence in perfecting his skills in archery. She already knew that he was a skilled archer and she respected his desire for continuing to perfect his skills, but something about this was not adding up in a positive way. Just why was Devon so persistent in wanting to perfect his archery skills?

JULIE: Let's meet up tomorrow at lunch on the rooftop. We'll discuss the situation.

ASHLEY: Understood. I'll go tell the others. By the way, would you and Tara like to come over to my house?

Suddenly, everything that had been tensed following the discussion had became light as a feather. The serious expression that had surfaced on Julie's face was replaced with curiosity.

JULIE: Really? Why you ask?

ASHLEY: Well, you know how Clayton and Ian practically devoured our meals last time? I would like for us to get together and cook up a meal for them. Can you cook?

JULIE: I have some experience.

ASHLEY: Good. We'll get Tara, do some shopping for some ingredients, and meet up at my house to cook. It'll be fun.

Julie nodded with a smile.

JULIE: Sounds like a plan. I'll see you tomorrow.

ASHLEY: Thanks! I'll see you tomorrow! Goodnight!

After giving her valedictions, Ashley hung up her phone and Julie followed. She placed her phone on the dresser and looked out to the window to see that a light rain had proceeded without her knowledge. It was then that she remembered how she was able to learn when Ian would be sent to Hofu. She then felt a great wave of relief over the thought of saving him before he could end up like the CEO. That night, she had a dream of Ian and when she woke up, she felt as though she grew closer to him.

A/N: Happy New Years! Or late New Years... So… I'm doing this still. Well, I did say that it may take another year for me to continue. I just pray it won't take another for me to finish. Anyway, what's going on with Devon? Is he hiding something? Also, the girls will be cooking meals for the guys. Julie and Ashley have some experience in cooking, but Tara may try some of her traditions into cooking the meals. We'll see what happens next! Also, looking back at the chapter where Nadina, Tara's grandmother, is introduced, I realized that I made in error in her age. In the earth realm, Nadina is actually 75 years old, but to others, she appears to be in her mid-thirties. To be honest, she could actually pass up as Tara's mother. So I'm sorry about that error. Another error that I made (which seems to be an unending trend for me) is Tara. I stated that she has telekinesis, which is true, but she also has healing powers and can form barriers. Like I said, the scene where she fights against Shadow Ian will be explained later. Please forgive me, I am mess when it comes to explanations. Anyway, stay tuned! Also, this is a pretty short chapter, huh?