by Sarra Cannon
I hurried into the house and locked the door behind me.
23
Another Dead End
“Everything okay, honey?” Mom asked from the kitchen.
“Fine,” I called out as I ran up the stairs. I locked my door and laid the folder out on my bed.
After what Nicole had said about Jordan, I expected a thick file with all kinds of shady stuff like detentions, records of his many expulsions from various schools, and who knew what else.
Instead, the file was only a couple of pages with very little information at all.
Jordan Greycloud had transferred here from a school in Oklahoma. According to his records, he’d been in the same school system there since Kindergarten. There was nothing in his records about multiple transfers or being expelled.
He didn’t have so much as a single tardy mentioned in his official report. His grades were perfect straight A’s across the board.
There was nothing here to indicate some kind of criminal past.
Nicole had said he’d been in major trouble before he got to Twin Rivers, but just like most things you hear around here, that was apparently just a terrible, unfair rumor.
Even the current address listed for him here was in a respectable neighborhood just a few blocks away. Not exactly the kind of place you expected to find a drug dealer hanging out. His emergency contact person was listed as his grandmother.
No parents mentioned. Maybe something terrible had happened to them. Maybe he was just as lonely here as I was these days.
I closed the folder and slipped it under the mattress of my bed.
Another dead end.
This entire investigation was going nowhere. Other than asking someone about the strange symbol in the back of Hailey’s closet, I had no idea where else to turn. And I really couldn’t show those drawings to anyone. They would ask too many questions, and I didn’t want anyone to know where I’d found them or why I needed to know about them.
And I certainly didn’t want anyone to know that I’d been drawing them, too.
Besides, if my parents or Dr. Millner got wind of the fact that I was asking about strange, possibly satanic or demonic drawings, I’d be locked away in a heartbeat. And this time they might just throw away the key.
It was too risky.
I paced my bedroom, running my hand through my long black hair. What the heck was I going to do?
I couldn’t just drop the whole thing. There was too much weird stuff going on to just let it go. If I could just remember the truth about that night, it could unlock the entire mystery. Dr. Millner had once told me that sometimes a single true memory could have a domino effect, the other memories coming very quickly after that.
I just needed something to jar them loose from the prison of my brain.
I stopped short, suddenly understanding exactly what I needed to do. I needed to go back to the place where Hailey had died.
If there was any place that would be most likely to make me remember, it was that horrible bridge. But the thought of going back there alone made my skin crawl.
I had almost lost my life that night. Something terrible had happened to my friend. I couldn’t go back there right now. I wasn’t ready.
But something in the back of my mind knew that I wouldn’t find the answers I was looking for until I found the courage to face it head on.
24
Just Beyond The Water’s Edge
The freezing water rushed over my body, but I knew I had to make it to the banks of the river. I would die if I didn’t.
I forced myself to swim, despite the rushing rapids.
Each time my head sunk beneath the water, I practically clawed my way back to the surface, gulping for air.
Hailey was dead.
I glanced behind me and could still see the wheels of our overturned car just breaking the surface of the water. My head throbbed and my vision blurred, but I had to get to safety. I had to get help for Hailey, even though I knew it was too late for her.
I pushed myself to the limit, barely holding onto consciousness as I fought against the river and the darkness that wanted to pull me under.
If I could just reach the other side, I would be okay. I would live.
But as my hand grasped hold of the first rock, something else grabbed hold of my leg and yanked me backward. I screamed, trying desperately to hold on, but the rocks were too slippery. Too wet.
I kicked at whatever held me, knowing that if I went under the water again, I would never come back up. I had nothing left to give.
But just as the last of my energy left my body, a bright light appeared in the woods just beyond the water’s edge. The light called to me, and I fought harder, my strength renewed.
The large figure of a bear ran toward me through the light, but as it approached, its form shifted from bear to man.
He reached his hand out to me and pulled me onto the rocks.
When I glanced back, a dark shadow released its hold on my leg and slunk back into the murky water.
“Thank you,” I said, finally taking a moment to look at my savior.
With the bright light behind him, I had to squint to see his face. He was Native, like me, but full-blood and beautiful. Like an angel.
He reached for something around his neck, and I caught sight of a tattoo that ran from the side of his neck down to his shoulder, but I couldn’t quite make it out. He unclasped a necklace and placed it in my hand, closing my fingers around it.
“The Ancient One will be back,” he said. “This will keep you safe for now, but you must learn to embrace the light, else the darkness will consume you.”
With that, he dove into the water, leaving me alone and shivering, the sound of sirens wailing in the distance.
I woke drenched in sweat, still wearing my clothes from the day before.
The dream lingered in the back of my mind, pulsing like a headache. Was it just a dream? Or was I remembering something important?
I peeled myself off the bed and went into my bathroom to start the shower. The clock beside my bed read only five in the morning, but I knew there was no way I was going back to sleep.
I threw my clothes in a pile on the floor and stepped into the warm water.
There was no way that dream had been a memory. I’d seen a bear walk out of a ball of light and shift into a man.
Definitely a dream.
But something about it felt real. Important.
I’d read about animal totems and that sometimes a certain kind of animal appearing in your dreams could mean something, but I had no idea what bears in dreams meant or why it had turned into a man.
I touched the silver medallion around my neck.
There was a bear etched into the center of it, too. What did that mean?
I still had no explanation for where it had come from or who it had belonged to, but it wasn’t the first time I’d dreamed of this Native American man, and I knew it wouldn’t be the last.
And I couldn’t shake the fact that he looked so similar to Jordan Greycloud. Not old enough to be his father, but similar enough to be his brother, maybe, or someone else from his family.
When I got out of the shower and got dressed for the day, I decided that I needed to get a closer look at Jordan’s house and find out more about his family.
He may have just moved to the area, but that didn’t mean his brother or a cousin of his couldn’t have been involved in Hailey’s death somehow.
I still had a few hours before everyone else in my house would wake up, so I sat on my bed and looked up bears as spirit totems in dreams. All I could find was that bears usually represent strength, and that a bear appearing in your dreams could mean that it’s time for you to trust your instincts, listen to your heart, and reclaim your place in the world.
I’d have been lying if I said that didn’t speak to me.
I had no idea where I fit into the world anymore. Maybe my dream was just my subconscious telling me to figure it out, already.
I reached under my mattress and pulled out the file on Jordan Greycloud. I memorized his address and slid it back into its hiding place.
Maybe if I could figure out where this guy I kept seeing in my dreams fit into all of this, I could figure out where I fit in now, too. I had to at least try to find him.
When Kimi and I left for school, I put Jordan’s address into my GPS and told her I needed to swing by a friend’s house real quick on the way. Strangely, the address didn’t come up on GPS, even though I knew that street was just a couple blocks away from our house.
I drove by there, anyway, wanting to at least get a look at his house, but when I pulled onto his street, I realized exactly why 321 Meadowbrook Lane had not come up on my phone’s GPS. The house numbers on this street ended at 319.
The house where Jordan Greycloud lived didn’t exist.
25
Like She Owned It
I searched for Jordan all day Friday at school, but he wasn’t in homeroom. I didn’t see him in the halls, either. Or at lunch.
Of course the one time I was determined to confront him, he wasn’t lurking around every corner, watching my every move.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted from getting up early and from the stress of trying to figure out how he fit into the mystery of Hailey’s death.
“What’s up with you today?” Nicole asked as we walked out to our cars.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Just tired I guess. I didn’t sleep so well last night.”
She frowned. “That sucks. I’m sorry,” she said. “When I can’t sleep, I sneak into my mom’s medicine cabinet and steal one of her sleeping pills. She never even realizes they’re gone. Want me to grab a couple for you?”
I shook my head. “No, thanks,” I said. I couldn’t even believe she was suggesting drugs to me right now. “I’m sure it will be better tonight. I’ll just go to bed early.”
“Up to you,” Nicole said. “Oh, and did you see that list of requirements for the new physics project? It’s about a mile long. You want to be my partner for the project so we can knock this out and get it done early?”
“Sure,” I said, not really caring one way or the other. I hadn’t even noticed that we’d gotten a new assignment, I’d been so out of it.
“Great. Maybe you can come by my house tomorrow, and we can get started,” she said.
“When is it due?” I asked.
“In two weeks, but I don’t want to put it off to the last minute,” she said. Then she stopped, her mouth open.
“What?” I asked, stopping with her.
“Don’t look now, but Lena is sitting on the hood of your car,” she said.
“My car?” I asked, turning to look.
Sure enough, Lena Henderson, Troy’s new girlfriend, was sitting casually on the hood of my car, her legs crossed in front of her like she owned it.
“Awesome,” I muttered. “This should be fun.”
“Want me to come with you?” Nicole asked.
“Nah, I’ll handle it,” I said. “See you tomorrow.”
“Hang in there,” she said. “Text me if you need to talk.”
I straightened my shoulders and walked over to where I had parked. Lena didn’t even bother moving. She just smiled as I approached. She was wearing sunglasses, so I couldn’t see her eyes, but I had a feeling she was glaring at me.
“Hi, Lena,” I said. “Forget where you parked your own car today?”
“No, I just wanted to make sure I caught you before you left,” she said. She slid off the hood and stepped right into my personal space.
I wasn’t about to back away, but I also had a good three inches on her.
“Well, you caught me,” I said. “What’s up?”
She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, as if preparing herself for some great speech.
“I know you’ve been through a lot, and I realize it must have been heartbreaking for you to come back to school and find that Troy had moved on,” she said. “However, it’s important for you to know that no matter what the two of you shared, it’s over now. He’s with me, and I don’t appreciate you texting him or asking him to come over to your house. And I definitely don’t appreciate you asking him to do favors for you.”
I swallowed. Had he told her about the file?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.
She snatched the sunglasses from her face and pointed a skinny little finger at me. “Don’t lie to me, Marayah Freeman,” she said, taking another step closer so that she was actually touching me. “I read Troy’s texts yesterday. I know you asked him to do something, even if he won’t tell me what it was. I know he stopped by your house, too.”
“So?” I said. No wonder he hadn’t wanted to send pictures. “Troy is my friend. I can text him if I feel like it.”
“He’s my boyfriend, and I don’t want the two of you talking to each other anymore,” she said. “I have been in love with him for a very long time, and I don’t want you coming back to ruin that.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call ten months a long time, but whatever,” I said.
“I wanted him long before you got your greedy little hands on him sophomore year,” she said. “And once you were out of the picture, it didn’t take him long to see how perfect we were for each other. I’m not going to let you steal him away from me.”
Once I was out of the picture?
“What exactly do you mean by that, Lena?” I asked, setting my backpack down on the asphalt. “Are you saying you’re glad I got in that accident?”
Anger pulsed through me, and my jaw tightened.
She blinked and stepped back. “Of course not,” she said. “I’m just saying that, well, you know what I meant.”
“I’m sure I don’t,” I said.
I wasn’t sure why I was suddenly so angry, but a darkness fell over me like a cloud hanging over my head. I struggled against it, but my heart beat faster, and I stared at Lena, my muscles tensed and burning.
“What do you know about that night?” I asked. “What are you hiding from me?”
Lena backed away, her butt hitting the edge of my Jeep. “Marayah, chill out, okay?”
But I couldn’t seem to control the anger. It flowed beneath the surface like a river, gaining strength.
“You wanted me to die that night, didn’t you?” I asked, stepping toward her.
A dark shadow seemed to slither off the black pavement of the parking lot behind Lena. I blinked, sure that I was seeing things, but the movement didn’t stop. The shadow slid across the bottom of my car, heading straight for Lena’s leg. She tried to step aside, as if ready to walk away, but the shadow wrapped itself around her boot.
Her eyes widened as she tried to pull her leg forward.
What the hell was happening? Was I doing this?
Whatever anger was raging inside me turned to terror. I backed away and took a deep breath. I allowed my mind to clear and the anger fell away.
The shadow loosened its grip and slunk back toward the blacktop where it dissipated.
“Look, I have to go,” I said, trembling. “I don’t care about you and Troy being together, but if you guys are having issues, that’s between the two of you. I don’t want any part of it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get home.”
I picked up my bag and pushed past her so that I could get into my car. I wanted to get as far away from that shadow as possible.
Luckily, Kimi came over then and opened the door to the passenger side.
“Hi, Lena,” she said.
Lena gave Kimi a nasty look, and then stormed off back toward the school building.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“I guess she’s scared I’m going to steal Troy back from her,” I said.
“Ew, as if you’d want him back after the way he treated you,” she said as we pulled out onto the main road.
“Exactly,” I said.
But I couldn’t get what h
appened out of my mind.
Whatever that darkness was, it had come from me. It had fed off my anger. What would have happened if I hadn’t backed away? Would it have hurt her?
I shook my head and gripped the steering wheel, trying to catch my breath.
I needed to understand what truly happened that night before we went over the bridge. I needed answers about the strange symbols and the oil on Hailey’s shoes. Whatever this was, it was getting stronger, which meant that I was running out of time.
I knew deep down in my bones there was only one place I could go that would help me to remember.
I wasn’t sure I was ready to face it, but I didn’t think I could ignore it any longer.
That night, after my parents were asleep, I would go back to the bridge where Hailey died.
26
We Were Not Alone
Just after midnight, I crept down the hallway and listened in at my parents’ door. The familiar rhythm of my father’s snoring confirmed that they were sound asleep. My parents were both heavy sleepers, so as long as I could get out of the house and get the car started without them waking up, I was home free.
Kimi, on the other hand, was a different story. She was a notoriously light sleeper. She couldn’t even sleep when it was raining, and she tended to hear every little creak.
I just had to hope that if she woke up and figured out I was gone, she wouldn’t rat me out.
I tiptoed down the stairs, pausing with every creak and sound. I decided to slip out the back door, rather than using the front. It was further away from the stairs, so hopefully it was less likely anyone would hear it.
Once outside, though, I started to chicken out.
What the heck was I doing?
My mother was already freaking out about things like me dressing different or not smiling as much as she felt like I should. If she found out I’d snuck out of the house like this, she would completely lose her marbles.
