Lying Liars from Leland High Pt. 02

In the morning, Crystal gives you an affectionate hug before you slip back through the narrow strip of trees and parking lot to your apartment. Thankfully the spare key is under the mat and you are able to get in, get dressed and get ready for school.

Jules is waiting for you at the street as usual.

"Hey, Crystal already headed off, she's got a zero hour thing this morning," he says.

"So, did you hear that wild Coyote last night? Something was howling like crazy."

You blush, "I missed it sorry. Hey, let's talk." You offer your arm. He eagerly takes it and the two of you stroll down the sidewalk.

"Thank you for the suspect board you made, Crystal showed it to me last night. It really helped."

He beams at the compliment.

"Thank you! Have you figured out who did it yet?" He asks.

"Who killed Tom or who killed Matt? We've got two murders now to investigate."

"Don't forget the murder attempt on you with the truck," Jules says.

"You are right!" The two of you walk a few paces lost in thought.

"So you had a question for me?" you ask.

"I do." He takes a deep breath. "Have you gotten your Sadie Hawkins tickets yet?" he asks.

"Is that your question?" you ask with a playful smile. He blushes.

"Not really," he says.

"No, I haven't gotten my tickets." You say.

"Don't forget, you have to pick them up at the student office before Friday, if you want to go to the dance next week," he says. The two of you walk for a moment, before he sucks up the courage.

"Okay, my question is this - am I just permanently stuck as a sidekick? We've known each other forever, and I'm always there for you. Does that count for something? You know I like you, why can't we date? I know you've done stuff with other people. What about me?"

You sigh and give him a little squeeze.

"Lots of stuff to unpack there. First, women are not a magical sex vending machine where you put in kindness coins until sex pops out."

He splutters objections but you press on.

"Second, you are not my sidekick, you are my friend. Someone I care about and trust. That's more valuable to me than getting hot and sweating for a few minutes. It can be a deeper connection, so yes, it counts for quite alot."

He holds up his finger.

"Objection, you have actual superpowers, I think that makes me the sidekick by default."

"Objection overruled, I have traumatic brain visions that leave me weeping in my bed or writhing in the street. That's not a superpower, that's a curse with perks."

"Like Rogue from the X-Men?" He offers.

"Fine. Yes. Like Rogue from the X-Men." You roll your eyes.

"But my last point, Jules, is this." You stop and face him towards you. "Romantic connection is complicated. Even when two people like each other, it often doesn't work out. People have different needs, different speeds, different directions and not everything lines up. I know right now dating and having sex feels really important but once you've cleared that hurdle, there's a wide world of companionship out there and you'll need to navigate it."

He nods, a little glum but understanding.

"I'm not saying we can't date, we still might. But if you only see me as a girl who has 'done some stuff' with other people and not you, then that's a terrible place to start a relationship. It begins with a grievance, on what you are owed, rather than two people connecting with each other because they enjoy each other's company."

You fold him into a deep hug. "And Jules, I enjoy your company."

He rests his head on your shoulder for a moment.

"When did you get so smart all of a sudden?" He murmurs.

"Because some of us don't use Wisdom as a dump stat," you whisper back. He laughs and gives you a squeeze.

"I'll do some thinking about what you said," he said.

"Good, thank you for listening," you say, squeezing his hand and the two of you walk down to the high school, arm in arm.

###

Your first stop is the administrative office in hopes of seeing Detective Morris. When you arrive, Patricia is in the middle of a very animated conversation with a parent, so you duck down low and slip right past the reception towards the back offices. As you creep down the hallway, you hear Simon Pendegrast's soothing voice in Principal Sheffield's office.

"... and the readings were off the chart! I don't think she even knows the full extent of what she can do."

"Good. Very good. I had hoped that this... unfortunate situation could be turned into an opportunity," Sheffield responds. "See if you can get her in the device again, we cannot let someone of that capacity simply pass through our fingers, without the proper guidance."

"Don't worry, I'm keeping her close. Very close." Simon says.

The door to the office begins to move and you scamper backwards, as quickly as you can towards the back closet where Morris' office is. You catch the briefest glimpse of Simon as you slide into Morris' office, safely out of sight.

"Got some overdue library books, love?" Morris quips.

"What?" You say, startled, firmly closing the door behind you.

"Thought I heard that ponce of a librarian out there. Figured that's why you are in here all in a huff," he gives you a sly smile. "Or were you just desperate to see me?"

You give him a saucy grin. "So what if I am desperate to see you, what then?"

He clicks his tongue. "Careful love, wouldn't want to set chins wagging, would we?"

He closes the folder he had open on his desk.

"So, you want to tell me how you knew that there was a dead student with his arm ripped off at the quarry? The coroner tells me that they were killed in the middle of the night, and that someone with your shoe size walked all over that space between then and when we secured the crime scene."

"You don't honestly believe it was me?" You say, incredulous. Morris leans forward and pulls out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket, glances up at the smoke detector above the door, sighs and puts them away.

"Do I think you ripped off the kid's arm and slashed his throat? No. Of course not. But I think you know who did, and I'm not going to like the answer."

"It was a slavic forest spirit, probably being controlled by either Mr. Jovanovic or Maribeth Jovanovic."

He stares at you blankly.

"I was right. I don't like the answer." He runs his hands through his hair. "A tree spirit? Bloody hell."

"Here, let me bring you up to speed..."

###

It's disorienting going through classes where everyone turns in homework except for you, but the teachers never seem to notice. You literally bombed an Algebra 2 test by putting "zero" as the answer for every problem but got it back today with *84/100" marked at the top.

With the fear of actually doing the work gone, the classes become a rather dull exercise where you are stuck in a chair surrounded by students an hour at a time although you did revive your love of doodling, long-lost since being a best-selling author and mother left you little time downtime. In some ways, the enforced slower pace is relaxing but then a teacher calls on you and asks about the Townshend Act and you have to take a wild guess and miss.

Finally, you have a free period and are able to track down Clarissa. She's in the middle of pottery class, held in a little art space tucked behind the main school building. The students are each assembled around spinning wheels and after informing the teacher, a big haired, horn rimmed glasses woman with chunky jewelry, she graciously lets you sit down next to Clarissa and ask your questions.

"Um hi?" Clarissa says, nervously. Her voice sounds like a rusty harmonica but her eyes are kind and friendly. "Can I help you?"

"Hi, my name's Brenna, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

She looks around nervously. "Is this... is this about the weed? Because I just found that joint on the floor of the locker room, I didn't spark up."

"No, god no. This is for the student paper." you reply.

"Oh phew, you didn't look like a narc." She giggles and then glances at the teacher who has her hands full trying to help another student recenter her pot.

"So, what's this about, Brynnnnnaaaaa?" she says, letting your name roll off her tongue.

"It's about Tom, I need to ask you a few questions about Tom Jovanovic." Her smile fades.

"Yeah, that was... real sad. Sorry to hear about him." She picks at her tools, turning away from you for a moment.

"Clarissa, I know you and him were close." She shrugs, starting to spin the pottery wheel again.

"Yeah, he knew plenty of folks, so what?" She says.

You give her a skeptical look.

"Clarissa..." you begin but she throws up her hands.

"Alright, alright. Ease up there with the harsh interrogation.," she grumbles. "Yeah, me and Tom were an item. We held hands, we saw some movies, I blew him in the back of his Toyota Corolla every once and a while, and that's no easy task. He had a schlong like a horse."

You give a snort of laughter drawing the art teacher's eyes but you quickly pretend to jot down a few notes and she goes back to what she was doing.

"He was a good guy." Clarissa says. "Most days. Some days, I felt like he wanted nothing to do with me but whatever, some days, I wanted nothing to do with him so fuck him."

"Were you at the party where he... died?" You whisper the last part but she gives you a conspiratorial look.

"Yeah, I was there, but that's the thing. I'm not sure he did."

"Did what?" you ask.

"Die." She leans in and begins a whispered recounting of her night.

"Look, I was there, drinking and, you know, riding high. I'd holed up in the library, or at least that's where Tom's friend Dylan had put me before Lizzy got ahold of him. Tom popped in a few times but he was being a jackass to me, shouting about Matt stabbing him in the back and then something about Billy. You know Billy, right? I'd bought some angel dust from him earlier and thought, fuck it, why not? No time like the present. So I smoked that shit right away."

"So there I was in that grand library of theirs, looking over all the books, absolutely high as a kite. It was great. I must have dozed off in their fancy chair for a bit because when I came to, everyone was gone. It was still tripping balls but I thought I heard Maribeth and Tom arguing in the hallway."

"What were they saying?" You ask.

"Maribeth was chewing him out about some sort of mess that she needed to clean up. I assumed it was because his friends had trashed the house but she didn't sound angry, she sounded scared, you know? And Tom just kept saying that he was free, he was finally free."

"So I get up, still seeing plenty of crazy shit because, again, high as balls, and I call out to Tom. Maribeth comes running in, all freaked out. I don't think she knew I was there. She grabs me and starts rushing me out the door. As I was grabbing my coat, I looked back and there was Tom at the top of the stairs. Or at least, I thought."

She shrugs. "Who knows, it could have been Maribeth's big goon of a boyfriend, what's his name, Charlie? Maybe he grabbed Tom's coat or something. It's not like anything else I saw that night makes sense."

"What else did you see?" you ask. She looks at you, as if just putting the pieces together in her head.

"You. I think I saw you." She says, her voice barely a whisper.

"What do you mean?"

"When Maribeth was rushing me out the door, I saw you standing out on the lawn. You looked like a ghost, all translucent and shit. As I walked by, you said something to me but I couldn't make out what it was, and then you ran past me to get into the house."

She gives a little chuckle. "Huh, pretty weird huh? I'd never really talk to you before today but now that I think about it, it was you. At the time I was just like, who's this hot chick with great tits floating out in the yard? Must be another one of my lesbian fantasies come to life!"

"Oh!" you say, blushing. "Was I naked?" She shakes her head.

"Naw, but you looked good. You had one of those low cut halter top things on, it was flattering, that's what I'm saying, very flattering." She gives you a warm smile. "You know, for a hallucination."

"Alright everyone, finish up where you are at, it's time to get cleaned up," the teacher announced. Clarissa scraps the half made pot she was puttering with and begins gathering her tools in a tin can to get cleaned up.

"Hey, thanks for sharing Clarissa, this helped," you say.

"I hope so." she says, sadly. "I miss the big guy."

You lean in and give her a hug. She squeezes into you, filling your face with her voluminous curls.

"It was good to talk about it," she says. "Thank you."

And with the chiming of the bell, it was time for you to hustle on to Chemistry.

Dylan - you know that he holds some of the missing pieces to what happened that night at the party but getting him alone, that's a challenge. Thankfully, you know when swim practice gets out.

Briefly, you consider waiting for him outside the locker room but Cody and his other friends like to hang out and wait for everyone to get to get out and you aren't quite ready to see Cody yet. Especially if you want to get an honest answer out of Dylan.

No, the best option is just to sneak into the boys locker room.

Getting in was surprisingly easy - just walking swiftly when no one was paying attention. Once inside, you keep your head down, easily ducking between the rows of lockers and staying out of sight of the inset office. But you quickly realize that the space is mostly empty. The swim team hasn't arrived yet.

You need to ensure that he stays long enough to squeeze him for information, and you are going to need to act fast.

Ducking into the office, you riffle through the papers till you find "locker assignments". Thankfully, there is only one Dylan listed under "athletic lockers" so you grab a few paperclips from the desk and head to locker number 154.

Once at Dylan's desk, you go to work, interlacing the flattened metal with the lock, in the locking mechanism and through the loops of the locker. Not enough to completely jam up the mechanism but certainly enough to slow him down.

Just as you are finishing your sabotage, you hear the swim team coming, raucous and loud, stampeding into the locker room. As quickly as able, you slip into the bathroom side of the locker room, barricading yourself inside one of the toilet stalls and pulling up your feet. As quietly as possible, you shed your shoes and socks and hang them up on the coat hook inside the stall. Barefoot is quieter.

You needn't have bothered. The cacophony is immense, the running water, the shouting and hollering. Over the din, you hear a few snippets that raise your hopes.

"Dude, who fucked up your locker?" and then, "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." and then just the shower going and relative silence.

Carefully, you poke your head out of the bathroom stall, peering over toward the showers.

Success! Your plan worked! From your vantage point, you could see Dylan's lanky form in the communal shower. He was faced away from you, towards the spigot, providing an excellent view of his muscular backside.

"Hey there Dylan," you say, casually strolling into the shower.

"Jesus!" Dylan whirls around, quickly covering his genitals with both hands. "What the fuck are you doing here, Brenna?"

You give him a coy smile.

"Enjoying the view, obviously." You say. "You are a hard man to get a hold of."

Dylan gives you an appraising look, lingering on your chest. "You trying to get a hold of me, are you?"

"I am. I've got some questions for you about what went down at Tom's party that night."

"And ambushing me in the shower was your plan? You take this whole teen detective business seriously, don't you?" He gives you a cocky grin. "Hmm..." he scratches his chin, revealing his already growing erection.

"How about this? For every question you want answered, you have to take off a piece of clothing. It's only fair, I'm already naked."

You drink him the view, he is hot. Why not?

"Alright - what happened the night Matt died after you and Matt left the... uh... 'Mat?"

He blanches. "I thought this was about Tom," he says, but you are already pulling your shirt over your head, revealing your black bra.

"Answer the question, Dylan." You say, tossing your long hair over your shoulders and arching your back, showing off the goods.

Dylan's face is stuck in a goofy grin, his erection lengthening before your eyes, hard and thick.

"Uh, Matt and I headed out at around eleven. We were just going to drive out to the quarry and knock back a six pack of tall boys but Billy was waiting for us in the parking lot. He's pissed because..."

"You owe him money for the firespores." You say.

"Yeah. He was tweaking, all over the place. We tried to get him to calm down but he kept saying he was running out of time and needed that money. We gave him all the cash we had on us and invited him to join us at the quarry. But he peaced out." As he is talking, he's slowly stroking himself, his eyes fixed on your chest.

"Then what happened at the quarry?"

"Hmmm, that sounds to me like another question," he says, grinning.

"Ha! Sure." Reaching back, you unclasp your bra, carefully hanging it up on a dry spigot nearby. Dylan's eyes cling to your body, making your heart beat faster with excitement.

"So we're out there, have a good time and I start hearing something thrashing around in the bushes. Matt thinks it's Billy so he tells me to go grab my dad's gun from the truck. But as I run to the truck, I hear Matt screaming and some sort of hissing noise. Like some sort of demented steam engine. By the time I got back, there was blood everywhere. I took one look at that and ran."

His cock is full, filling his hand and you see his body flexing, and there's a hunger in his eyes.

"Ask me another question." he commands. You blush at the boldness.

"The night of the New Years Eve party, did you see or hear anything while you were in the boathouse?"

He cocks his eyebrows. You roll your eyes, secretly thriving on his open desire. You slide your skirt off, careful to keep it from getting wet on the tile.

He circles his fingers and you do a little twirl. He moves closer, looming over you.

"That night I heard plenty, from Busy Lizzy. She's noisy when she's treated right, if you know what I mean."

You bite your lip.

"You treated her right?" You ask.

"Hmmm, that sounds like another question." He says.

"Fuck." you mutter, peeling off your panties, leaving yourself as naked as he is.

"She came twice that night, one on my tongue and once on my dick, but I was on firespores, so I kept going and going." He reaches out and slowly traces his fingers along the side of your hips.

"Mmmmm," you moan. "But did you see anything?"

"Another question, and look at you, all out of clothes." He muses.

"I think that's just restating the question from earlier." you disagree, but he grabs your hand and puts it on his cock. Slowly you jack him, slowly sliding his foreskin back and forth over his giant bulbous cockhead. He groans appreciatively.

"Yeah, I saw something. I was pretty out of it but Lizzy was smoking a jay at the window and when I came to see how she was doing and saw two guys yelling on the beach. They were too far away to hear what they were saying, but they looked pissed."

"Was one of them Tom?"

"Ah ah. That's another question." He tsks. "Turn around."

"I don't know if I'm going to do that," you say, somewhat nervous about how this is going.

"I wasn't asking." He snarls, grabbing your shoulders and twisting you around roughly. You grab ahold of the shower fixtures to steady yourself. He's already moving on, squeezing your breast roughly and twisting the nipple till it stands tall.

"Fuck!" You shout, echoing on the tiles.

"Sssshhh, you wouldn't want anyone to find us like this, now would you?" He says, pushing your feet apart. "That wouldn't look good, would it?"

"Tell me what you saw." You hiss and then bite your lip as his fingers find your already wet folds, strumming your clit with expert skill.

"I saw Lizzy's tits. I wasn't paying much attention but if I had to guess, it was Tom and another guy about his size."

"What happened next?" You ask, his fingers bringing you to the brink as your legs tremble.

"Another question." He whispers into your ear, and he flexes his hips, guiding his thick cock inside your moist folds.

"Oh fuuuuuuck," you moan, reaching back to feel his taut butt flexing as he goes deeper and deeper inside you, filling you completely.

"Mmmm, you are so tight," he groans, slowly, purposely sliding in and out of you. "That's what I like." he reaches around, strumming your clit and you cum in a gush.

"Ahhh!" You bend forward, all the air rushing out of your lungs in the force of the orgasm. He uses the new angle and your sudden wetness to fuck you even deeper. You fold over completely as he fucks and fucks, your wet bodies slapping together, echoing through the locker room.

"Oh god, such good pussy." he moans, "Too good!" he gasps and he shouts a wordless cry and you feel him swell inside of you.

"Yesssssss," you say greedily, pushing back into him, taking the last couple of spurts of his thick load deep inside you.

For a moment, the two of you just try and catch your breath. You straighten up, hitting the shower button and welcoming the hot water gushing over you as you wash up after sex. He stands, with his arms crossed, watching you appraisingly.

"I never realized how fucking hot you are, Brenna. No wonder Cody won't shut the fuck up about you." You blush.

"That's sweet." He shrugs and hits the shower button as well, enjoying the quick rinse off before grabbing his towel. He wraps it around his waist and then turns back to you as you fuss with your clothes.

"After I saw the two of them arguing, Lizzy and I got busy again, and I lost track of time. When I came too, Lizzy and I snuck back up to the house and went straight for our cars to go home. I'm sorry I can't help with your mystery, Brenna. Maybe Lizzy will know more, she was less drunk than I was."

"Okay." you say, still quite aware of how naked you are. He takes one more good look at your tits.

"Damn fine pussy." he mutters and heads back to the lockers.

You quickly get dressed and slip out of the locker room, ready for the next step.

###

With little fanfare, you duck out of the school campus and walk home. The air is cold and clear in that blisteringly beautiful way Januaries in the northwest can be. As your breath comes in steamy puffs around your face, you mull over the facts of the case.

If Tom was arguing with another man his size on the beach and ended up with his head bashed in, that would point the finger at Billy, Matt or Cody. Obviously it wasn't Dylan, because he was a witness. He could be giving you the run around but you are reasonably confident that his alibi, Busy Lizzy, will probably check out.

If Matt is the one who killed Tom, then who killed Matt? Maribeth? Mr. Jovanovic? Was it revenge? How does that square with what Clarissa saw after the party?

You shake your head. You need more information, you just don't have all the pieces.

As you round the corner to the parking lot of your apartment complex, you see the Admiral in his long navel jacket, pacing back and forth in front of the building. As you approach, he turns smartly and pauses, waiting for you to approach.

"Evening, Miss." He says. "Best be on the lookout, I saw the harbor constables here earlier, sniffing about, looking for stowaways." He taps his pipe out onto the concrete. "Didn't find nothing but probably watching from the crows nest."

"Harbor constables?" You ask. He looks left and right.

"Mind your anchor line, Miss, tack towards the wind, lest you be blown off course!" He harrumphs and turns, returning to his pacing.

"Wait, what do you mean?" You call to him but he's already shuffling away, muttering to himself under his breath.

You sigh, more nonsense, and push on passed to the stairs leading up to your apartment, grateful for the welcoming warmth of home.

"Hey sweetheart!" Tammy calls out to you from the kitchen. "You've got a visitor."

You hang up your coat and set down your bag - peering into the main room, looking for another person but only seeing the television, set to KOMO 4 news but on mute.

"Where? Who?" You ask.

"In your room, one of your school friends." Tammy says, giving you a quick kiss on the cheek. She whispers, "She looked pretty upset when she got here so I just thought I would get her settled in her room till you got home."

"Is she... brunette?" You have a vision of Maribeth bursting out of your closet and stabbing you with a knife, or scissors or something. Tammy gives you a confused look.

"What do you mean is she a brunette? No, she's blonde. Ask her if she wants mexican, I'm making dinner." She shoos you out of the kitchen.

Taking a deep breath, you make your way through the hallway and push open your door.

Sitting on your bed, eyes red-rimmed, is Jessica.

"Hey," she says softly.

"Hey Jessica, what's going on?" You sit on the bed next to her.

"I... I need to tell you the whole truth about what happened the night Tom died." She takes a deep breath as you sit and wait patiently.

"I'm here, what happened?" you say, finally.

"I went to the party. It was... loud. Everyone was drinking. I tried hanging out with Tom but he was handsy and got pissed off when I tried to keep it, you know, PG in front of everyone. We yelled at each other a bit and I went upstairs to get away from it all and after a bit, Matt came up."

She took a shuddering breath, and then pressed on. "Matt and I have known each other since middle school, and he has always been so sweet. So we were talking, or I was talking and he was listening about how hard things had been with Tom and how I'm not sure if I even want to date him anymore and then he leans in and kisses me!"

She lets out a sobbing cry as you find a box of tissues on your desk and hand it to her.

"I should have stopped him right there, but I was just in such a state, I let him kiss me. Finally, I look up and there's Tom at the top of the stairs watching us. He was so angry! I called out, trying to say something but he just stomped off. I tried to chase after him but I lost him in the crowd."

"I never saw him again. He died thinking I betrayed him!" she lets out a long wail and you hold her as the tears flow.

"Did you and Matt talk about it after that night?" You ask.

"No, I never got a chance, I was hoping we might get to catch up but now he's dead too and it's all my fault!"

"What do you mean?"

"I think that the ghost of Tom is still with us and he killed Matt." She turns towards you, eyes wide with concern. "Do you think that's possible, Brenna? I keep seeing him, in my dreams, watching me. Hounding me."

She shakes her head, fat tears tumbling down onto your bed spread. "Tom is dead, Matt is dead, everything I touch turns to ash. I'm cursed!"

You squeeze her tight. "This isn't your fault. Whatever happened to Matt, you didn't kill him by kissing him that night. It's not your fault." The tears come and come and then finally stop.

"There," You dab at her tears with a kleenex. "How about some food? Mexican?"

She smiles through the tears.

"Unless you've got another deep dark secret to confess?" You ask, with a coy smile.

She laughs, briefly, breaking the tension. "Oh, I think I've still got at least one more of those stored away."

"Well, don't keep it to yourself," you say, punching her in the shoulder. She cracks a big smile, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"Okay, but I have to whisper it," she purses her lips and leans in close. You feel her hot breath on your neck, making all the hairs on your body stand on end.

"I think I like girls." she whispers, cheeks blushing furiously.

"That's okay," you whisper back. "I do too."

Her mouth opens and closes in shock as she tries to come up with something, anything. You recognize the look of universal lesbian panic and soften it with a kiss. Her lips are warm and inviting and when you gently cup her breast through her shirt, she moans into your mouth.

"Girls! Time to eat some tacos!" shouts Tammy from the other room. You and Jessica lock eyes and immediately dissolve into a fit of giggles.

"Coming!" you call out.

###

You and Jessica enjoy a lively dinner with your "mom", before dancing in the living room to some Bon Jovi and Cranberries before she gives you a warm hug and heads home.

"Is she going to be alright?" Tammy asks, cracking open a cold beer and taking up her spot on the couch.

"I think so," you say. You come over and give Tammy a hug. "Thanks for helping."

She winks. "What are cool moms for? Alright, go knock out that homework before bed, sweetheart."

"Good night, mom!" and you retreat to your bedroom, marveling at how easy it is to slide into the role of teenage daughter. Despite only knowing her for a handful of days, you already feel a deep well of affection for Tammy - maybe, before the end of this adventure, you should talk to her about her drinking.

You pull out your pile of books and papers, once again marveling at the complete lack of homework required. You flip open the chemistry textbook, skim the next chapter out of general boredom but already your mind wanders back to your family back at home.

It had already been almost a week here inside this world, was it a week outside? You glance over at the NextGen watch, glowing faintly on your arm. Odd how no one has mentioned it, it must be part of the creation of this world that everyone ignores it.

If you were stuck here for too long, there would be some sort of communication from the outside. You just have to assume that this is all going like normal. You go to your bedroom window, trying not to see moving shapes in the shaking tree branches outside. Just the wind, you tell yourself, closing the curtains shut.

###

Unlike Patricia at the school administrative office, the student affairs office has a lively, chewing gum popping woman with short blonde curls and a smile in her voice.

"Happy Friday!" She says as you poke your head into the office before the first bell, "What's up?"

"Hey, I'm here to pick up my Sadie Hawkins tickets." You say, somewhat sheepishly.

"No problemo!" She rolls over to a file cabinet and pulls out a folder. "Let me see here, Stevens, right?"

"Yep." You say, glancing out the office windows at the kids swarming past.

"Do you know who you are taking?" She asks, skimming a list of students.

"Not yet." You mumble. "Haven't asked anyone yet." The woman gives you a sympathetic smile.

"Don't worry, you can always just show up as yourself if you want."

She hands you an envelope with two maroon and white tickets inside - with Let the Woman Lead embossed with a fancy top hat over the Ls.

"Looks like you are the last senior one to pick up your tickets," she says, checking your name off the list.

"Well, almost the last senior." You say. "Considering Tom Jovanovic probably isn't coming."

She shakes her head. "Nope. He picked up his tickets earlier this week. Says right here, picked up Wednesday."

"What?" You say, alarmed.

"Why, were you thinking of asking him?" She says. "I know it's weird to give out tickets to the boys and the girls for Sadie Hawkins but we figure better to make sure everyone who wants to come and come then try and just restrict it to girls..."

"No, he can't have picked up tickets," you begin to say but you look at the smiling, helpful face of the woman and swallow your comment. "Does it say who picked them up?"

The woman shrugs. "Nope. I was out that day so it was the sub."

"Of course." You say, sighing. The bell rings. "Well, thanks," you offer.

"No problemo!" She says again cheerily. You open the door to the hallway and she calls after you, "Good luck getting a date!"

The two guys lurking next to the soda machine burst out in snickers and you blush in embarrassment. High school really was the worst sometimes.

###

"She cheated on Tom?" Crystal says in an excited whisper. She pokes at the mashed potatoes on her cafeteria tray with disgust, "That's a hell of a motive for murder."

"I don't know if she cheated on him..." Jules says, munching on his turkey sandwich. "Matt kissed her, after all."

"Yeah but she didn't like, slap him and push him away," said Crystal. "I'm sorry, but if you are seeing someone, you have a responsibility to hold the line." She puts down her fork, giving up on the gelatinous mess in front of her.

"I think things can be complicated sometimes," you say carefully. "She was upset, she cared about Matt, Tom was being a jerk. Stuff happens, especially when you're young."

"Exactly." Jules says. "Not her fault." But then a thought crosses his face and he sits back, thinking.

"... when you're young? She's older than you!" Crystal cracks. "Sometimes, Brenna, you sound like a complete and utter grownup." She drags out the last word with a tilt of her head.

"Wait, when you said that they had a motive for murder, were you talking about Matt or Jessica?" Jules asks.

"Jessica, of course," says Crystal. "I don't trust her. I think something is up there. Ever since we were on the basketball team in Middle School, she's always given me a weird vibe."

Summoning her courage, Crystal takes a scoop of the gravy, eying the chunks in it with suspicion.

Maybe Crystal's gaydar kicking in, you think loudly but do not say. Not here.

"Oh shit." Jules says, staring at his sandwich.

"What?" Crystal asks. "Did you forget the extra mayo?"

"No. Matt getting his arm ripped off," Jules begins.

"Eww, trying to eat here." Crystal puts down the spoon of gravy, untouched, with a slop.

Jules turns to you, his eyes bright.

"Something ripped Matt's arm off, after he put his arms around Jessica?" Jules says, "As if to say, 'don't lay a hand on my girl'?"

"Oh! That is something!" your mind whirls. "But Tom is dead,"

"But the creature is not." Jules retorts. "Maybe he's controlling it... from beyond the grave!!!" Jules does a great Vincent Price and finishes with an evil laugh.

"I've heard stranger ideas," you say with a smile.

"So what's next for your investigation?" Crystal asks, taking a bite out of an apple, the only safe part of her lunch she can locate.

"I need to catch us with Detective Morris. I'm meeting him after school... at his hotel room." You mumble the last bit.

"Girllllllllll..." Crystal says, Jules looks vaguely irritated.

"I'm just comparing notes about the case. He had to attend a thing with his lieutenant back in Seattle but he said he'd be back tonight and I could stop by where he's staying on the island. It's the Econolodge on..." you glance down at the scribbled note Morris had left for you with Patricia, much to her intense frustration. "... 7th and Dallas road?"

"Oh, that's hella sketch back there," Jules says. "Be careful, homeskillet."

"Are we... is that my nickname?" You ask confused. Both friends dissolve into laughter.

###

Jules wasn't wrong. The hotel was tucked behind a rundown stripmall and featured peeling green paint, a flickering neon sign and a parking lot that was more potholes than pavement. It was evening, sevenish, but not too late. You told your mom that you and Crystal were hanging out so she wouldn't worry if you needed to stay the night.

You hope you get to stay the night. You blush, thinking of Detective Morris' hands over your body. Yes, that would be nice. You had borrowed Crystal's car, and squinting out through the light drizzle, you can make out the faded room number nine on the bottom floor. Taking a bracing breath, you hop out of the car, dash across the scuzzy parking lot to the dimly lit overhang and knock on the door.

He opens the door immediately, dressed in casual clothes, stepping aside to let you in.

"Hello love, dreadful weather blowing in, best get you indoors." You duck inside and he swiftly closes the door.

Glancing around the room, you are struck by how empty it is. He has a suitcase up on the desk, closed, a bottle of cheap vodka on the bedside table and a few changes of clothes hanging by the bathroom and that's it.

"I know, pretty spartan but it's just till I get this case wrapped up."

"No, no, it's fine." you say clumsily. He smiles, pouring himself some of the vodka over ice in the plastic cup.

"Well, maybe for my next murder investigation, they'll put me up in the bloody Hilton." He laughs a little bitterly, and takes a swig of the liquor.

"Would you like a bit? A tough gal like you, probably not the first time you've had booze in a plastic cup."

You laugh. "Alright, I'll have a drink with you but only if I can mix it with a soda from the machine. Straight vodka is a little much for me."

"Fair enough, love." He peels off a couple of dollar bills from a roll of cash in his pocket. "Round the corner, try not to strike up a conversation with any prostitutes you might see, I'm trying to keep a low profile here." You chuckle but note the serious look in his eyes and give him a firm nod.

"Back in a flash." You step back outside, keeping close to the building to stay out of the rain that is now blowing somewhat sideways. There's definitely a storm coming in and fast.

As you make your way around the side of the building, you see the women Morris mentioned. Two blondes, in their twenties, smoking cigarettes up on the second floor. One was wearing patchy fishnets and the other had a mesh top over a bra. You give them an awkward nod before grabbing two diet pepsis from the machine, enjoying the classic 90s logo on the front.

On the way back, you notice a non-descript black Ford pull into the parking lot. You almost walk right by them but you catch sight of the occupants and nearly drop your soda. Cops. Agents? A slender woman in a finely tailored suit and a stocky man hunched over a radio. Might as well just announce to the world they are on a stakeout.

"Oh shit." You duck into the stoop of the laundry room, just out of sight of the car.

Weighing your options, you decide to make a trip all the way around the other side of the Econolodge, stumbling through the rain, and hopping the small fence surrounding the empty swimming pool behind the motel.

When you reach the door, Morris is concerned.

"Did you get lost, look at you, you're all wet!" You scurry inside.

"We've got company - two government agents are in the parking lot."

Morris swears and goes to the window, peaking through the curtain.

"Shit, they are going room-to-room, knocking on doors. They are looking for someone." He glances nervously at the liquor bottle, and then you, soaking wet in the hotel room, and then back to the window.

"This would... not look good if they found us here."

"You think?" you say.

"Okay, I've got an idea. How adventurous are you feeling?"

"I'm up for anything." He gives you a sultry look.

"Anything? Good, I'm going to need you to get loud. Let's get so loud, they don't want to bother us."

"What sort of loud?" you say with a coy smile. He bites his lip.

"How about you drop your panties and get on the bed and we will see?"

"Oh!" you blush hard, but riggle out of your underwear and spread out on the bed.

Morris pulls his shirt over his head, revealing his toned chest, and climbs on to the bed, gently pushing apart your legs. "Time to get noisy," he mummers and then softly kisses the inside of your thigh.

You gasp, as you feel his strong hands wrapping around your hips, as his tongue traces a lazy path along your outer lips.

"Oh fuuuuuckk," you moan and then gasp again as he flicks your clit with the tip of his tongue.

Dimly you hear steps upstairs and knocking on a door. The agents are making a loop upstairs, time to up your game.

"Give it to me," you moan, writhing on the bed. He swirls his tongue around your clit, causing your hips to buck off the bed. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" You feel the pleasure building and building as he teases and strokes, using his fingers and his tongue to get you right to the edge. You shout and gasp and moan, building in intensity and volume.

You usually hate being this noisy but there's something thrilling about it, being reckless and full throated in your pleasure. Suddenly, he sits.

"Get on your knees and touch the wall." He commands. You quickly roll over onto your knees, hiking up your skirt around your waist. He unbuckles his pants and positions himself behind you.

"Fuck me, fuck me hard!" you shout, feeling wanton and slutty.

"Oh you earned it now," he guides himself into your wet and waiting pussy. "Take it!" he smacks your ass, revealing in the feel as he thrusts deep inside you.

"Ugn, ugn ugn!" you shout out your groans, pounding on the wall. "Yes! Yes! Fuck me! Harder!"

"OH god! Oh GOD!" he shouts his pleasure, "Fuck yes!"

His thrusts are hard and fast, his body slapping against yours. The headboard bangs against the wall, thump, thump, thump.

He reaches down and works your clit, setting off fireworks behind your eyes. You gasp your shuddering climax, clamping down and gushing all over him. He thrusts deep and holds it there as you finish your orgasm.

Exhausted, you slump forward.

"Oh, I'm not done with you yet." he says, "I haven't finished."

He grabs you and in one smooth action, flips you over on your back.

"Oh fuck" you moan encouragingly as he forces your legs across and thrusts into you, deep and hard, his hips grinding into yours with every down stroke.

You lift your legs into the air, grabbing at your knees but he keeps pushing deeper and deeper inside you. Your breasts jiggle helplessly as he fucks the hell out of you, rabid, raw and intense.

You lock eyes with him. Through gritted teeth, you call out. "Cum! Cum inside me you bastard!"

And you lock your legs behind his pounding hips.

He thrusts deep, and holds it there. You feel him swell inside you, his thick cock belching blast after blast of hot sticky cum deep inside your pussy.

He bellows his release, grabbing your breasts and pulling at them as he delivers another sloppy blast of cum into your twat. Finally, he leans forward, resting his head on your chest and slides out of you. You cradle his head for a moment, the two of you listen for distant footsteps.

After a few minutes, he gets up, and peeks out the window.

"No sign of them love, they must have heard us and left us alone."

"So I was loud enough?"

"Bloody hell, you were loud enough to peel the paint off the walls, and I loved every bleeding minute of it."

He cracks open one of your sodas and mixes you a drink, and the two of you crawl into bed.

"Now, let's see where we are with this case..."

###

You are wandering through the school corridors, decked out with red and white banners and ribbons. Is it Sadie Hawkins week already? Where are the other kids?

No. This is a dream. You know that to be true instantaneously. You look around, why are you here? The flyers on the wall have the words all blurred out.

Distantly, you hear a wet slithering noise, followed by a hiss of escaping steam.

"Oh no," you groan softly, peering down the corridor, looking for the skittering creature.

You round the corner of lockers and see... not the creature but a giant, pulsating eyeball.

"Fuck!" You shout, scampering backwards. The eye turns and looks straight at you.

You take off at a run but you can feel its gaze following you as you burst through doors and race towards the cafeteria.

There in the middle of the cafeteria, the Leshy is crouched on a table in the center of the large room. He turns towards you as you enter, his exposed heart pulsating with an eerie green light. His head tilted to one side, his knees bent, his long, claw-like fingers scratching slow circles on the cafeteria table.

He looks at you and you see one eye is missing. You whirl around to see the giant eyeball closing on you fast. You scream and run towards the exit, only sparing the briefest glance backwards.

The Leshy gives a keening cry, back arched as the bloodshot orb shrinks down and affixes itself to his face.

You grab the doors to the outside and push but they are frozen shut. You tug at them, pulling this way and that as the Leshy tilts its head and then moves, skittering along with those frames missing as if you only see part of how it moves. But it's coming closer. Closer.

Suddenly it is there in front of you, inches from your face. You freeze, terrified to move.

You feel its gaze on you, looking not at your eyes but into your heart. Suddenly, you feel a rush of emotions; sadness, longing, heartbreak, fear, love, guilt, worry, all of it sweeping over you like a river. Tears begin pouring down your face but still the creature stares, gazing through your very soul. As if all your faults, and misgivings, your personal failures and defeats, were exposed to this creature.

"Why?!" you sob through tear streaked eyes. "WHY?"

BOOM! The crack of thunder illuminates the dingy motel room.

"WHY!" You sob, jolting up in the bed, tears flowing down your cheeks like the rain pelting the window.

"Woah, hey there, lass," Morris sits up with you, wrapping his arms around you as your breath comes in shuddering gasps. "You okay?"

You nod slowly, trying to slow your breathing. He reaches up and cradles your cheeks in his hands, brushing your tears away and replacing them with soft kisses.

"Easy there love, it's just a bad dream. I'm here. I'm right here." You pull him to you, kissing his soft lips, letting the warmth of his naked body pressed against yours drive the feels and hurt and shame from your bones.

"I just need... you to be here. With me." you whisper in his ear. He cradles your body in his arms and gently kisses your lips as the rain beats out a tattoo on the window outside.

Your kisses turn more passionate as he gently pushes you back onto the pillow. You reach down beneath the covers and find his hard cock, already aroused and ready for you. You give it a few strokes.

"Oh, eager for round two, eh?" he says, but then he sees the look in your eyes. The fear and the sadness. He gently spreads your legs and moves on top of you, tenderly kissing your eyelids closed and caressing your sides.

With the utmost gentleness, he guides himself inside you and you welcome his cock, wrapping his ridgid manhood in your soft, warm folds.

He groans softly, as he sets a gentle rhythm, sliding back and forth, never breaking that eye contact.

"Brenna..." he moans, "I can't.. hold back."

"Don't try," you say, softly and he groans and you feel him spurt deep inside you. You wrap your body around him, revealing in the closeness, as the thunder and lightning echoes outside.

###

By the time the rains let up, the sun was just beginning to turn the thick clouds from dark grey to light grey. Morris was out of bed before you, coaxing the barely functional coffee machine into spitting out something better than sludge. He was only mildly successful, but at least he had real milk in the mini fridge. You accept the cup and take the unsaid hint to gather your clothes.

"Best head out, love, lest we get any other unexpected visitors." His words are gruff but his tone is not. He gives you a passably affectionate hug but keeps his stiff upper lip.

"Aye aye, partner. Looking forward to future briefings on our case," you give him a big goofy wink and he cracks a smile.

"You are a menace, you know that?" He swats at your butt as you duck out into the shitty parking lot.

You drive back to Crystal's house, dropping off her car and ducking through the strip of trees back to your apartment. Your mind is all filled with the memories of last night, which means you completely missed the government agent's car lurking out front.

You open the door, hoping to make a beeline for the shower but Tammy's voice pulls you up short.

"Hey sweetheart," Tammy says. She's sitting in the living room folding laundry. "How's Crystal?"

"She's good," you say, cautiously. "I'm going to go take a shower..." but Tammy interrupts you.

"Those FBI agents stopped by again," she says.

"Oh?" You say, with an air of disinterest, "What were they asking about?"

"Not you," Tammy says, finally looking over at you. "I was really worried that this had something to do with your... gifts but no. They were looking for a man."

"They are looking for a man?"

"Aren't we all?" she says with a laugh then turning serious. "They were asking about some convict that escaped the brig at Bangor. They think he might have something to do with the kids who were killed."

You shake your head. "I don't think so."

"Have you cracked the case?" She says, eager to hear but you shake your head.

"Not quite but I don't think it is some axe murderer hiding in the bushes."

"Oh no, they said this guy on the run is quite the looker. A former con man."

"Really? Huh."

"Anyway, they left their number again. They want to talk to you at some point. Oh! And your new friend called."

"What? Who?" You go over to the answering machine. There's a scribbled note Jessica - please call - with a number underneath.

"Oh! Her. Yes, I'll give her a call after this shower." Tammy nods.

"Hey, if it's okay with you, I was going to go visit your Uncle Gary tonight over in Tacoma. If I leave some cash for pizza, will you be cool on your own?"

"Yeah, of course." Tammy gives you a grateful smile.

"Thanks Brenna, you're such a good kid," you blush guiltily thinking about what you were up to last night and what your mom would think of that. But you quickly push those thoughts away so you can relish in the nice hot shower.

###

Jessica was delighted to hear your voice. Her mom was also out of town, and she wanted to have you over for a good old fashioned sleepover. Her voice was light and playful, a mention of her mom's well stocked liquor and promise of a Leonardo DiCaprio movie, but underneath it all, the tension, the fear. She didn't want to spend the night alone in her house. And if your suspicions were correct, you don't blame her. Of course you agreed.

Which is how you ended up painting your toenails Saturday night, listening to Smashing Pumpkins at full blast and talking about boys.

"So, did you pick up your Sadie Hawkins tickets?" She asks over the din.

You nod.

"Me too," she says. "I was going to take Tom but now, I don't know." She shrugs, putting the toe nail polish away.

"If you want to go, you should go!" You say. "Just go and dance and have fun."

"What about you? Which boy are you going to ask? Or girl." She slips it in at the very end, almost under her breath and you can tell it is the question she wants the answer to more than anything.

Best tackle it head on.

"Oh I haven't made up my mind yet, it might be a boy, it might be a girl. I've dated both. Either one is good for me, people should bring a person they like, and if other people have a problem with it, fuck 'em! That's on them."

Her head whips up, eyes fierce.

"Yeah! Fuck 'em!" She gestures with her wine glass, both of you making good progress on a passable red from her mother's liquor cabinet.

"I mean, not,... uh fuck 'em but like go to hell," she says, suddenly cautious over the profanity.

"Well, I'll fuck some of them." You say, reveling in her scandalized look.

"Maybe someone like... Cody?" Jessica prompts, her eyes full of mischief.

"Cody? What makes you say that?" You ask suspiciously.

"Word is that he saved your life and is now hopelessly in love. Everywhere he goes, all he speaks of is his chestnut haired beauty who stole his heart!" She puts her hand to her head theatrically. "Oh Brenna!"

You clobber her with a couch cushion and she goes down in a squeal of laughter.

"I know what you should do." She snatches her phone off the handset on the table. "You should call him right now."

"Oh no," you hold up your hands in protest, "I wouldn't know what to say!"

"Uh, he's a boy, right? He will do all the talking. Come on! It'll be fun!"

"Ugh... fine." She gives an excited giggle and starts punching in the number.

"Wait, you have Cody's number memorized?" You ask.

"Duh? He was Tom's best friend?" She hands the handset over to you. "It's ringing!"

You put the seemingly large phone to your ear and she presses her ear to the other side of the device, her chest rubbing up against your arm in a way that was impossible to ignore.

"Hello?" A woman's voice answers."Harris residence?"

"Oh, it's his mom!" Jessica hisses but you are already speaking,

"Hey Nicole, it's me, Brenna."

"Brenna!" Her voice lights up like a million Christmas lights all at once, "I'm so glad you called, I've been thinking about what you said last time we talked. What you said and what we..."

You cut her off.

"I'm really sorry, Nicole, I want to catch up too but I'm in a little bit of a time crunch here. Is Cody home?"

"Silly me, of course, yes Cody. Cody!" She calls out while Jessica gives you a very suspicious look around the phone.

"So you know Nicole, do you?" She whispers as Nicole goes to retrieve her son.

"I've seen her once or twice," you say, cheeks blazing.

"Uh huh." Jessica smirks as Nicole comes back on the line.

"Here he is, and Brenna? Stop by anytime, I'd love to see you again." You ignore the continued climb of Jessica's eyebrows as Cody's voice comes on.

"Hey Brenna, what's up?" He sounds nervous, but excited

"Hi Cody. What's.. going on?" Gawd did you hate doing this as a teenager and the intervening years haven't helped.

"Not much, I was just... you know.. hanging out." You hear a shuffling in the background as Cody moves to a different room.

"Cool. Cool." You say, fumbling for something to say.

"Hey, it's nice to hear your voice. I have been meaning to talk to you," Cody says. Jessica gives you a smirk.

"Oh? What about?" you ask.

"I was wondering if you were interested, I mean, if you wanted to, catch a movie at some point? With me?"

"Ooooooooh!" Jessica coos, but you muffle her with another couch cushion.

"That sounds nice, yeah!" you say. Jessica does a little excited hop.

"Hey, are you doing anything later tonight? 'Cause me and the boys are headed down to the quarry. Sounds like there's going to be a blast."

"I don't know..." you say but Jessica snatches the phone from you. "Yes! We're coming!"

You wrestle the phone back from her.

"Was that Jessica?" Cody says incredulous.

"Yeah, we're having a sleepover."

"Oh, I don't want to interrupt..."

"It's no problem!" shouts Jessica, in the background. "We will meet you there!"

"Great!" Cody says, "I can't wait to see you."

"Me too." There's an awkward pause as you both try to say goodbye at the same time and then both hang up simultaneously.

"You set me up!" you glare at Jessica. She feigns innocence.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she says. "I just may have heard from Sarah's cousin's boyfriend that the party was happening at the Quarry and I figured it would be cute if Cody asked you."

"That's literally a set up!" You complain. "I have nothing to wear!"

"No problem, you can wear some of mine! I've got just the thing." You give her an extremely skeptical look, at her lanky blonde form but to your surprise and delight, her closet was full of a second set of clothes that fit you like a glove.

Unfortunately the outfit was a tartan school girl skirt that comes to your knees, high black socks with surprisingly sensible black shoes and a tight fighting top that went about three inches lower than anything you would have gotten away with in high school. Thankfully, she has a tasteful peacoat to go with it. Jessica switches into some bell bottom leather pants, and a patterned top that ties in the front. She tops this whole look off with a jean jacket. Oh the nineties.

After a quick back and forth about who was more sober and could drive, Jessica took the wheel and together you headed out to the abandoned quarry.

###

The quarry is a completely different experience at night - filled with bonfires and teenagers, it had been transformed from a grim, gravelly place to a raucous party scene with music, shouts and some sort of metal clanging noise.

Jessica parks the car along the gravel forest road and the two of you, well, three if you count the discrete flask you filled up with expensive vodka before leaving Jessica's house, stagger along the gravel path down towards the quarry floor.

"There must be almost a hundred people here!" you whisper to Jessica.

"Uh yeah, pretty much our entire class, plus whatever losers haven't gotten off the island after graduating."

"You excited to graduate?" You ask.

"That's the plan" she says. "You graduate, you move to Seattle, and get the fuck out of here. Have you applied yet? I'm still working on my applications."

The two of you reach the outer rings of barrel fires and boom boxes.

"I'm thinking about going to Western Washington University," you offer. Jessica smiles, "My aunt went there, she really liked it. I applied for UW, thinking about doing pre-med."

"Ooooo, a doctor?" You ask. "Hopefully, or maybe a nurse. We will see."

She turns and greets one of the girls around the fire, Mallorie you think. You turn out slightly, taking in the wild party scene. Guys sitting in the back of their trucks, girls dancing around a big bonfire, plenty of beers as far as the eye can see and not a single adult. Well, maybe a few. Your eyes narrow as you spot Billy lurking by a beat up camper trailer next to a couple of younger kids.

"Cody Harris? Yeah, he was just here," Mallorie says, as Jessica gives you a nudge bringing you back to yourself. "I think he's over there by the Night Knights."

"The what?" You ask. Jessica gives an excited squeal.

"Have you never seen the Night Knights? Oh, you are going to LOVE this."

You approach the clanging metal sound to find a great gathering of people next to the largest bonfire. Within that circle, two combatants slowly paced back and forth. They were dressed in football pads and helmets and each clutched a long broom handle. At the end of the broom handle, a tin can had been loosely nailed, like a blunted spear.

In a whirl of activity, the taller of the two pugilists lashes out with his broom handle, aiming for his opponent's helmet. The shorter knight whirls back, parrying the blow, causing both broom handles to give off a loud clank as the cans rattled on the end of their poles.

Clank! Clank! Clank! The blows ring out as the two circle round each other, jabbing, swinging and thrusting, the crowd cheering along with the spectacle. You notice one of the swim team guys, Darren maybe, standing at the side with a large gong, obviously "borrowed" from the band room.

Finally the shorter combatant scores a direct hit on his opponent's helmet, knocking the taller fighter to the ground.

"VICTORY!" Shouts Darren, banging the gong. The crowd cheers wildly. The winner pulls off her helmet and sheds the football pads to reveal a full head of dark hair and an impressive bust.

"Guess I know how to handle a pole!" She boasts, drawing cheers from the crowd. "Fuck yeah, you do, Lizzy!" shouts Dylan from the sidelines. You catch Dylan's gaze on the other side of the bonfire. He's got an arm draped around another girl, a spindly blonde. He gives you a nod.

Lizzy helps up her fallen opponent as you approach. He pulls off his helmet to reveal Cody's smiling face.

"You came!" he says to you.

"Told you I would get her here." Jessica replies.

"Ssshhhh", he pantomimes, embarrassed. Lizzy looks you up and down.

"Damn girl, I can see why you've got my boy all in a twist. Check out that skirt on you!" you blush at the attention.

"Hi. What is this game? Night Knight?" You ask. Darren is already retrieving and redistributing the equipment to the next set of fighters as the four of you, Lizzy, Jessica, Cody and yourself, move out of the fighting arena.

"This is the pride and joy of your Mercer high school athletics department, obviously." Lizzy snarks. "Who else could invent a sport that combines the timeless aesthetic of sticks and cans, with the ability to beat yourself in the face?"

Cody rolls his eyes. "It's something me and the boys came up with to pass the time. The goal is to hit your opponent in the head with a can. No blows below the pads, winner gets a beer, and... actually, I think that's it for the rules. Oh! You have to play it at night, obviously."

"Obviously." Jessica says drolly.

"And that way, if you get hit too hard, it's night night, get it?" Cody says, very proud of himself.

You snort at the dumb joke.

"I'm really glad you came out." Cody says. "Have you met Lizzy before?"

"Not yet, but she's on my list," you say with a smile.

"Let me guess, your shit list?" Lizzy asks. You shake your head.

"Celebrity hall pass list. You know, the people you'd like to fuck before you die." Jessica cackles and Cody spits out his beer in surprise. She cracks a big smile.

"You and I are going to get along great." She wraps an arm around you. You offer her a quick draft off the flask which she gleefully accepts. "So, party animals, what should we do next?"

Lizzy and Cody, clearly old hands at this, lead you over to a smaller barrel fire where it is quiet enough to talk. From here, you can enjoy the plentiful splash of the milky way overhead, and the dark outlines of the trees on the edge of the quarry, looking down like stern sentinels on the partiers below. You notice the tall madrona and quickly look away, pushing Matt's haunted rotting face from your mind's eye.

"So, I don't think I've seen you out at the Quarry before," Lizzy says. "You think you're too good to play with us in the dirt and rocks?"

"Lizzy..." Jessica says, but Cody steps in.

"I don't know, have you invited her?" Cody says. Lizzy glares at him.

"Not my job, I'm here for a fun time, not a long time," she says.

"I'm glad I came," you say. "Does this happen often?"

The clanging of the night knights has resumed to the cheers of the crowd.

"Yeah, although it is not always this big. Sometimes it's just me and the guys out here, under the stars, you know?"

"Under the stars... hoping to get your dick sucked?" Lizzy asks. "I know how you swim team boys can be. Any port in a storm, right?"

Cody gives an awkward laugh, "Not that I know about but hey, it's dark out here so who knows?"

"So you all are pretty familiar with the area?" You ask. Jessica gives you a strange look but you press on. "Like the woods around here and stuff?"

Cody nods. "Yep, we come out here all the time. We've all camped throughout these woods and know every tree and hill."

"You and the boys," you ask. He nods, "Yep."

"So if you had to leave the quarry in a hurry, where would you go?" you ask.

"Thinking of beating a hasty retreat?" Lizzy asks, taking a swig of her beer. Cody points over to the far end of the stone valley.

"Over there, there's a path that the original masons cut into the wall. It's a narrow staircase but it's perfectly sturdy and covered from view. Slip back there and you can duck out no problem. We found it after the cops showed up one time and now it's our bug out space. Dylan's got his dad's gun in his truck and usually has someone posted as a lookout so if you hear two gunshots in a row, then head for those stairs."

You follow his gaze to the end of the quarry, right underneath the tall Madrona tree where you found Matt.

"Does that happen often?"

"Fucking pigs." Lizzy swears. "Yeah, they've been coming more often. I think we have a rat."

Jessica waves at the sea of teenagers. "There's over a hundred people here, hard to narrow that down."

"Now it isn't," says Lizzy. "You just keep an eyeout for whoever isn't drunk or getting laid. That's probably the bitchy mother fucker who sells us out." She cackles and you can't help but smile.

There's a lull in the conversation and Jessica gives you a meaningful look, nudging you towards Cody.

"Anyway, Lizzy, I heard that Maddie's mystery boyfriend actually showed up for once, and he's a total douche. Want to point him out to me so we can toss beer cans at him?" Lizzy glances at you, then Cody, then back to you, before nodding.

"Sure thing, Jess. Let's go! You two behave yourselves while we are gone..." she says with a mocking laugh.

You loop your arm in Cody's and lead him away from the party, out under the stars. He walks with you, slowing his long legged steps to match your gait.

"So... what made you...

"I heard..."

You both start speaking at once, and then apologize to each other and try to get the other to say something. After some prompting, Cody proceeds.

"How's the investigation going?" he asks, "do you have any suspects?"

"It's... I'm closing in," you say. "Actually, I wouldn't mind asking you a few more questions about Tom and that night, if you don't mind."

"And here, I thought your interest in me was purely personal," Cody gives you a grin. "What do you want to know?"

"How well did you know Tom?" you ask.

"I mean, he was one of my best friends. When he moved here, we clicked right away."

"You always got along?" He rubs the back of his head with his hand, while the other drifts around your waist in a move that is almost graceful.

"Well, not always. Homies gonna be a dick sometimes, right? But yeah, some days he was a jerk. I really didn't like how he treated Clarissa."

"Was he mean to her?" You ask, leaning into him, giving him a green light to rub your side and peak a look down your shirt.

"He wasn't mean, well, sometimes he was a bit, but he definitely was messing around with two girls at once and Clarissa, she got the short end of the stick, you know? Like she was an afterthought. Some days, he was all over her, and sometimes, he'd just stick her in the back seat and pretend she wasn't there. It was awkward."

Cody shrugs. "I just think if you've got a girlfriend, you should treat her right, you know?"

"I like that. I agree," you say softly. "Have you had many girlfriends Cody?"

He smiles. "A gentleman never kisses and tells."

"A rare breed," you say, reaching up and pulling his lips to yours. The stars spin overhead as he cradles your body, his muscular body pressed against yours.

"Mmmm, that's nice." you sigh and rest your head against his chest for a moment.

"Did you ever find out what Tom was so upset about? When he called you the night before the party?" you ask. Cody shakes his head.

"I asked Dylan about it but he's not talking. Although he did say a few things about you."

You blush, thankful for the darkness of night to hide your face.

"What'd he say?" you ask.

"Just that you are cooler than you look and that I should go to Sadie Hawkins with you."

"Oh really? Is that all?" you ask with a smirk.

"That's all I'm saying," Cody says with a laugh."I told him it wasn't up to me."

"That's right, it's not," you reach up and pull him in for another kiss that takes your breath away. He slides a hand inside your shirt and gently rolls your nipple to hardness, taking pleasure in your bountiful chest. You feel his cock, straining against his pants and briefly consider fucking him right there in the cold quarry ground but glancing back at the sounds of the party, you feel guilty leaving Jessica for too long.

"One more question, did Tom ever have an interest in the occult? Magic and folklore and spells and stuff?" Cody gives you a big smile.

"Oh man, he never shut up about it. He was absolutely convinced that there was some sort of masonic ritual that could be done that would, I don't know, make him rich or get him chicks or something. Which is strange because he had money, he had plenty of girls, I don't know what he was looking for."

"I might," you say thoughtfully. Reaching down, you gently stroke Cody through his pants, eliciting a frustrated groan from him.

"We should get back to our friends but I promise, there will be more opportunities for.. this." you rub him faster and watch as his knees tremble, "more of this later on, okay?"

"Only if I get to return the favor," he says, kissing you again. When you come up for air, the two of you make your way back to the fire circle where you can hear the crowd chanting, "Maribeth! Maribeth! Maribeth!"

###

The roaring bonfire illuminates the two combatants. In the middle, Maribeth whirls her can-stick as her opponent dances out of range. Despite wearing the football pads and helmet, her slender frame and leather outfit immediately identifies her. That and the cheering crowd.

"Maribeth! Maribeth! Maribeth!" You and Cody sidle up to Jessica and Lizzy.

"Maribeth is beating the shit out of everyone!" Lizzy shouts in your ear over the roar of the crowd.

CLANG! With a sweeping blow, Maribeth's stick-can collides with her opponent's head. The man staggers a few drunken steps and then flops over into the gravel. The crowd cheers wildly as the mostly unconscious man is dragged away.

Maribeth whips off her helmet and turns to the crowd,

"Who's fucking next?" she shouts.

"Oh this bitch is going down." Lizzy says, pushing her way to the front.

"Hey, I don't know if that's a great idea..." Cody says.

"Probably isn't but fuck it! Who wants to live forever?" Lizzy says as she dives into the middle of the circle.

"Finally!" Maribeth shouts. "You come to challenge me for queen bitch of the school?" The crowd ooooos in response.

"You know, not every fight between two girls has to be a cat fight," says Lizzy. "You can get your ass kicked without making it sexist."

Maribeth snorts. "Look, that feminist crap might play well with some of the boys you're fucking," she waits as the crowd guffaws, "but to me, you're just another girl who sucks alot of dick because she's too ugly to date."

Lizzy has finished strapping on the football pads and grabs her can-stick.

"You done with the foreplay?" she shouts, "Let's fucking go!" and throws on her helmet.

Maribeth gives a psychotic grin and pulls her helmet on as the crowd explodes in a frenzy of betting, cheering and jeers.

"Go Lizzy!" Jessica shouts, wrapping her arm around yours and jumping to peak over the crowd. With Cody pressed against your left side, his tight pants still giving you little thrills when he bumps into your hip, and Jessica hanging off your right, you are already feeling flushed and having a little trouble focusing on the action.

And there is definitely action. Maribeth faints, sweeping to the side and then jabbing her pole arm. Lizzy blocks with the butt end of her stick, spinning away and then spring forward with an overhead slash.

Clack! Clack clack! The sticks beat out a frantic tattoo over the roaring crowd and the boombox music.

"Come on! Cooooome on!" Maribeth pounds her chest, goading Lizzy who charges forward, jabbing left and then right, trying to score a blow on Maribeth's head.

"Fuck, someone's going to end up in the hospital." Cody mutters under his breath.

"Stand still, you little bitch!" Lizzy shouts as Maribeth twirls back, leaping out of range once again. Stooping to the ground momentarily, she grabs a fist full of gravel.

"Watch out!" you shout but your voice is lost in the crowd as Maribeth hurls the gravel at Lizzy who takes most of it in the face.

"Aggh!" Lizzy staggers back, trying to clear it from the inside of her helmet as Maribeth launches a frantic assault. Clack! CLACK CLACK! Lizzy retreats, barely managing to block the blows with her stick as she is pushed towards the edge of the circle.

Maribeth crouches, preparing for her killing blow when a new sound rings out across the quarry.

POP POP! Two gunshots in sequence. There was a pause and then again. POP POP!

"Oh shit, the police!" Cody says, but he's not the only one. Like cockroaches with the lights turned on, the mass of teenagers are scattering in all directions, leaping in the back of trucks, kicking over fire cans and running in like crazy.

You are being jostled in all directions. Cody leans down and shouts in your ear so he can be heard.

"I've got to meet up with Dylan, can you get Jessica out of here?" he says.

You nod and take Jessica, pulling her through the crowd towards the secret steps in the back of the quarry. Most of the teenagers are going the opposite direction, but you can hear the police sirens and see the flashing lights on the walls of the quarry.

"Oh my mom is going to KILL me if I get arrested!" Jessica says as the two of you scramble along the gravel floor, finally separating from the crowd and stumbling through the boulders in the darkness.

"We're here," you say as you reach the stone wall. With a little searching, you find the discrete staircase and swallowing your fear, the two of you follow the narrow carved steps up towards the forest above.

###

From your vantage point at the edge of the quarry, you can see the three squad cars parked down below. They have a handful of students sitting in handcuffs next to the patrol vehicles and are now doing a thorough search of the party scene looking for stragglers.

"Do you think they will find the staircase?" Jessica asks.

"Let's not stick around to find out," you say, leading her back to her car.

###

Jessica had finished off most of the flask by the time you make it back to the car, so the police officer lounging on the hood of her family's honda civic nearly caught her by surprise. Thankfully, you were able to grab her from behind and muffle her "oh shit!" before the officer took notice.

"What are we going to do?" She whispers in a giggle hushed tone. You shush her again and glance back around the tree to get a better look. Yep, there's a police officer there and you immediately recognize him.

Officer Sorensen, from the fake world Quilp had created to capture you on your way home from Scotland. Now Sorensen was here, in a Mercer Island police officer uniform, blocking your way home. Surveying the scene, you can see his squad car is parked a few paces away with the door propped open so he can hear the radio. Mostly, he's just staring up at the sky, enjoying the stars that are being rapidly covered up by the storm clouds blowing in.

"Okay, give me the keys and then wait here," you tell Jessica, "count to twenty, and then see if you can distract the officer, can you do that?" Jessica giggles again waving the flask at you.

"Wait, all the way to twenty?" She asks.

You roll your eyes and snatch the flask, taking the last belt of vodka for courage.

"Count to twenty and then get his attention. Got it?"

"No problem, boys always give me attention," she says, her face twisting into a pout. "Girls don't though."

"One... two... " you start her counting and she picks it up as you slip around behind her car and over towards the patrol vehicle.

"Eighteen... nineteen..." you get as close as you can to the open driver's side door without coming within view of the officer. "Twenty," you mutter under your breath.

"Oh officer? What do you think of these?" Jessica hops out behind the tree and unties her top, showing her black lacy bra.

"Hey, come over here!" the officer shouts. You scamper into the squad car, quickly putting it in neutral and deactivating the parking brake. Already, it begins to slowly roll down the gravel road towards the edge of the quarry ledge. You lock the driver's side door, leap out of the passenger side and as it rolls by, you give the bumper a kick for good measure.

"Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck!" The officer begins swearing up a storm, racing past you to catch up with his squad car.

"Come on!" you shout to Jessica as you leap into her Honda Civic firing it up. Jessica is laughing maniacally as Officer Sorensen wrestles with the driver's side door as the car approaches the edge of the cliff.

"GET IN!" you shout. Jessica gives a "oh yeah" expression and runs up, her shirt flying open, giving you a fantastic view as she bounces into the passenger seat.

"No no no no... oh man!" the officer shouts as he jumps free of his car as it goes over the cliff, plummeting to the quarry floor below. He stands on the edge watching it accordions on a boulder down below.

He whirls around to exact his revenge but you are already gone.

###

Jessica is a sloppy mess of laughter and limbs as the two of you tumble back inside her house.

"His face when the car went over the edge?! Amazing!" Jessica says clicking on the lamp in her living room and flopping down on the couch. The rain that had been blowing in at the quarry has now arrived and is beating a tattoo against the french doors to her backyard. "Never liked the cops," she says.

"ACAB, right?" you say, instantly regretting it as Jessica looks at you in confusion.

"I don't think cabs go out there. He'll probably have to walk back to his cop friends." You grab her a big glass of water, and one for yourself and join her in the living.

"Sorry, I meant 'Fuck the Police'." Jessica grins.

"My mom wouldn't let me buy that 'gangster rap' album but Matt played N. W. A for me at his last birthday party." Her smile melts into big sad eyes. "Poor Matt, I can't believe he's gone."

"Hey," you kneel next to the couch, looking her in the eyes, "It's going to be okay. At least he knows, wherever he is, that you are living life to the fullest, right?" Her face lights up.

"Hell yeah!" She clicks her big plastic cup of water with yours. "To life!" She takes a big gulp.

"You are so good to me," she says softly. "I had just hoped to have some fun and forget about things for a while, maybe do Cody a favor while I'm at it..." you playfully punch her in the arm.

"... but this has been exactly what I needed." She rests her forehead against yours, her breath synching up with you as you both feel the tension in the air.

"And the best part," you whisper to her. "The officer will never be able to identify you because he never took his eyes off these," you reach out and gently caress her bra through her untied top. She closes her eyes and moans.

"They are even better without the bra," she says huskily. "Let me show you."

She quickly unlatches her bra and tosses it and the shirt aside. Her full breasts, larger than they seemed originally, fill your hands as you gently tweak the nipples. She arches her back, pressing them into you.

"Help me with my boots so I can get this skirt off," she whispers. "And then I want to see you."

The clothes hit the floor and in less time than it takes to tell, you are intertwined on the couch, her lips on yours, her long leg wrapped around your hip, and both your hands roving everywhere.

"Oh Brenna," she pleads. "Touch me!'

Your fingers find her curly blonde bush and slide between her lower lips, gently tracing them then delving inside. You are rewarded with a gasp and throaty moan.

"Yes! More!" she gasps, as you find her clit and start strumming it fast and light. She bucks against you, pulling at your breasts roughly in her passion, crying out louder and louder as the sensations build.

You feel her getting close but you want to take your pleasure too. Lifting one of her legs onto your shoulder, you straddle her other leg and lower your sopping wet slit to hers.

She looks at you in shock and then closes her eyes as the sensations overwhelm her as you grind against her. She opens her mouth and out pours a stream of obscenities in a very un-Jessica-like way. You reach down and strum her clit, and it sets her off like a firecracker, bucking off the couch and pulling at your hips frantically as the orgasm sweeps through her body.

Seeing her flushed face nearly brings you to completion yourself. You don't let up, continuing to grind against her as she moans and writhes beneath you.

"Ah! Ah! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" she gives another shuddering gasp, her nipples standing tall and hard as rocks. She reaches down and finds your clit, barely brushing it and you cum. All the air rushes out of you as you double over, overcome by the orgasm that shakes you to your core.

"Gghnnnnnnn," you moan, taking her hand and putting it on your breast, she eagerly squeezes as the last tremors of the orgasm shake through your body. You look down and see her eyes gleaming up at you in lust and love. You smile, relieved and satiated.

And that's when you see Tom watching you through the french doors, his eyes full of rage.

You scream, leaping to your feet, looking around wildly for clothes or a weapon or something. Jessica's head whips up and sees Tom, adding her screams to yours. Lightning flashes outside and you see he's holding a knife.

You grab Jessica's hand and race through the house, buck naked. The two of you dive into the bathroom, locking the door behind you.

"Fuck!" Jessica shouts, but you clap a hand over her mouth.

"Ssshhhh." You grab the bathrobe hanging on the inside of the door and hand it to Jessica and then immediately start rummaging through the bathroom cabinets for a weapon - coming up with only a mildly sharp pair of scissors.

The two of you wait, your hearts beating loud in your ears as you strain to hear something, anything, over the torrential rain and thunder outside.

"We should call the cops!" Jessica hisses.

"With what phone?" You ask. "And tell them what?" Jessica looks at you, gears turning before nodding.

Finally, after a good fifteen minutes, the two of you summon the courage to unlock the bathroom door and proceed into the house. Going room by room, there is no sign of Tom. The only evidence you can find of his appearance is a couple of muddy footprints on the patio next to the french doors.

After much back and forth, the two of you decide to get fully dressed, drive to your house and spend the rest of the night in sleeping bags on your bedroom floor, a decision that left you achy, sleep-deprived but thankfully, unstabbed by the time morning arrives.

###

Sunday morning was eggs and pancakes, hangovers and rehashing last night's adventures but by early afternoon, Jessica was feeling good enough to go home before her mom returned, giving her time to hide the evidence (water down the vodka bottle).

For your part, you eat and catch up on sleep until Tammy arrives home. The two of you played cribbage until dinner and you prepare for the next day at school

###

Jules and Crystal were suspiciously quiet on the walk into school, Crystal slurping on her thermos of coffee and Jules still half asleep because of the late night PBS marathon of Red Dwarf.

You, for one, were grateful for the time to think. The sudden appearance of Tom confirmed your initial theory - he's not dead. But how? There was an autopsy, of course, and theoretically there is a dead body in a morgue somewhere. If another kid was missing, surely everyone would have noticed, right?

As you enter the school building, the mad chaos of Monday morning, you notice big red and white banners hanging in each hallway. "Follow Your Heart's Desire to Sadie Hawkins Dance".

"It's Valentine's day themed?" you ask incredulously. Jules perks up.

"Yeah, we all voted, remember?" He shrugs. "Hey, I think I have a lead for you for your case - meet me after school at the cafeteria?" You give Jules a warm smile.

"Of course. See you then." He grins.

"Later!" and slips into the crowd.

###

After a particularly mind-numbing history class delving into the intricacies of the War of 1812, you were grateful for the lunch bell. Usually, you take your lunch with Crystal and Jules but today, Cody Harris intercepts you before you make it to the cafeteria.

"Hey, Brenna, can I talk with you?" He waves you into the band room, empty except for the rows and rows of instrument lockers.

"Hey Cody, what's up? You make it out of the quarry without getting arrested?"

He gives a nervous laugh. "I did but plenty of other guys didn't. Apparently they were just going to write some tickets but then someone smashed a police car so they took them all back to the station for booking. They couldn't stay the night there because there's not enough room at the Mercer Island police station to hold ten drunk seniors, so they just called their parents."

"Oooff." You wince, feeling a sudden surge of guilt.

"So, anyway," he begins, looking around to make sure the two of you are alone. "I have something for you."

You give him a skeptical look, glancing at his all too tight jeans.

"No, not that," he blushes. "I mean, I have that too if you want to... " he shakes his head. "Sorry, not the right time. No, it's about Tom's locker."

"His school locker or his sports locker?" you ask, all business once again.

"His school locker. And Dylan." He says, taking a deep breath.

"Now, I love Dylan like a brother, he's a good dude. All of us swim guys are in tight. But Tom and Dylan? They were real close. As soon as Tom arrived, he and Dylan hit it off." Cody shakes his head.

"I bet that was hard for you," you say, softly. Cody nods.

"It always is when there is a new friend in the picture, do they like hanging out with him more than me, are they doing fun stuff without me, did my mom make it weird or something?" Cody shrugs.

"Anyway, they were always close and Dylan took Tom's death pretty hard. Then, last week, I saw him hanging around Tom's old locker. I almost said something but then I saw him slip a note into the locker. I figured it was a private goodbye so I didn't embarrass him."

"Is the locker still locked up?" You ask.

"It's still got his lock on it but we all know the combination."

"Okay, so what's to worry about?" Cody presses his lips into a tight grimace.

"Today, I got here early to do a make up test for AP Bio and I saw Dylan at Tom's locker. He was super shifty and looked like he hadn't slept in days. He unlocked Tom's locker, and then pulled something out of backpack and put it in the locker."

"What was it?"

"I only got a quick look and I was on the other side of the hallway." Cody says, hands up in protest. You give him a level gaze.

"What did you see, Cody?"

Cody looks down at his feet and then back at you.

"His gun. Dylan put his gun in Tom's locker."

###

You blow right past Patricia, leaving her squawking in your wake as you push open the door to Morris' office. The spikey blonde brit gives a startled grunt, turning from his half-packed box of belongings.

"Bad news love, I've been reassigned, apparently the top brass at Seattle don't think... " he looks at your panicked expression and his voice trails off. "What is it, little bird?"

"There's a gun at the school." Just saying it aloud sends chills through your veins but Morris gives you only a furrowed brow.

"What? One of these little wankers bring daddy's hunting rifle in to prove he's got a little hair in his knickers?"

You have a brief moment of sadness, remembering a time when guns in school were not the terrifying norm. You press on.

"One of Tom's swim buddies brought a gun to school and put it in Tom's locker."

In a moment, Morris is serious, his face tight and drawn.

"Show me."

###

You spin the combination lock, reciting the numbers Cody shared with you aloud.

"28-7-19" With a fierce tug, the lock pops open and you open the locker.

Inside there is a dusty English textbook and an empty chips bag on the bottom shelf. Right at eye level, there's one ticket taped to the inside of the locker. " "Follow Your Heart's Desire to Sadie Hawkins Dance"

Written in pen on the outside of the envelope are two words.

"Be ready."

###

Jules is waiting for you on the front steps of the school when the last bell rings. In his hands, he holds a slender manilla folder.

"Is that my lead?" You ask.

"It is." He smiles. "I figured we need to start crossing some suspects off the big board..."

"I do like your big board," you interject. He grins.

"All the ladies do!" The two of you jog down the stairs and start walking down the hill towards main street.

"... anyway, so I figured I would see what I could find about our potential drug dealer, Billy."

You flip open the folder, looking at a blonde senior photo with a dopey grin.

"I figured that he was probably local, so I started with all the Williams who went to school here five to seven years ago, starting with the ones that had disciplinary records. And voila! Paydirt."

You page through the student record for William Buchart. He got mostly Cs and Ds, played some football and got a nice letter from his shop teacher. But the discipline reports...

"Bringing drugs to school, being caught with liquor on school property, fighting in the cafeteria..." you flip through the pages.

"Check out the last one," Jules says as the two of you stroll past the shops on main street, boutiques and antiques for the tourists, a convenience store, an insurance office.

"Suspended for screaming at a faculty member and theft of school property," you skim the report. "Who's Mrs. Lovelett?" you ask. Jules looks at you a little strangely.

"She was our old school librarian, remember? Before the new guy arrived this year? She had the huge... tracts of land!" You snort but your attention is still on the report.

"He stole some books? And the librarian caught him in the act? What books would be worth all that?" You flip the page. "Oh, the Golden Stag by Alister Crowley. That's the same book that Tom had checked out."

Jules nods excited. "I'm not sure if that counts as a lead,"

"Oh it definitely counts! This is great!" You say with a grin. He blushes at the attention.

"Okay, well in that case, want to talk to Billy?" The two of you stand in front of Minh's Autobody.

"No time like the present." You square your shoulders and head in the main garage door.

###

There's loud music playing somewhere and the clank of tools against metal as you and Jules step inside the dark garage.

"Hello?" you call out. "Anyone here?"

A portly man with a spotty beard and dirty hands pops his head out of a door.

"Yeah? What's up?" Jules and you share a look.

"We're looking for Billy, is he around?" The man looks irritated, swears under his berath.

"Yeah, he's here." He turns around and bellows deeper into the garage. "Billy!"

There's the rolling of wheels and the clatter of tools and from behind a Honda with a crumpled bumper, Billy stands up.

"Thanks boss," he says, giving the portly man a little nod. The man sighs and goes back inside his office.

Billy saunters up to the two of you, giving you both an appraising look, his eyes clinging to your chest, as he wipes his hands.

"So what the fuck do you two want?" He asks.

"My name is Brenna..." you begin but he shakes his head.

"I know who you are, what the fuck do you want?" He repeats.

"Have Dylan and Cody paid you back for the firespores yet?" You ask, loudly.

"Keep your fucking voices down." Billy says, alarmed, glancing at his boss' office. "No, they haven't, for the record. Why? You here to work it off, because I'll give them twenty-five bucks off if you show me your tits."

"Fuck you, douchebag," says Jules.

"Oooooh, big man here." Billy says, waving his hands. "You're right, they are worth at least fifty."

"They are worth far more than that," you correct, "But no, I'm not here on their behalf. I'm here to find Tom's killer."

"Good, he was a nice guy, I'm going to miss him."

"Miss his business, you mean?" you ask but Billy shakes his head.

"No, he wasn't my best customer. But we hung out, smoked some pot... "

"Talked about ceremonial magick?" You ask casually. Billy's head whips up.

"Where'd you hear that? Maribeth talking again? That bitch. She needs to know when to shut her fucking mouth. I swear, you stick your dick in one chick and they just start running their mouth about your business."

"Dude, you have some serious issues with women." Jules says, amazed.

"What were you and Tom up to with the Golden Stag?" you ask, trying to keep the conversation on track.

Billy takes a deep breath and puts down the oily cloth he had been holding and waves you deeper into the garage.

"In high school, I once did some ecstasy on the roof of the school with Perry Longmire, you know Perry?" Billy shakes his head. "Anyway, I had the most earth shattering vision. Time and space, all become immaterial for me. It was as if the curtain of reality was pulled back and I could see that we were all creatures of the same substance, breathed into existence not for our own edification but to be playthings by some god-like celestial beings that walk among us. Crazy, right?"

"Right." you say, unconvincingly.

"As we were there, I was reading aloud from that book while under the influence and I swear on my mother's coked out third husband's grave, I summoned a demon."

"Bullshit." Jules scoffs.

"It's true, there was a burst of flame and a small little creature appeared, no bigger than your hand and before we could say anything, it flew off. The burn mark is probably still up there on the roof, it made a perfect circle."

"Were you ever able to do it again?" Billy shook his head.

"No, we tried though. But neither one of us could remember what part of the book it was, and since you needed to be high to make it work, it was hard to replicate. But Tom, I told him that story and he got real excited. Started talking about some ceremonial knife that his dad brought over with him that would be a 'lynchpin'." Billy shrugs.

"That was before I started fucking his sister. He didn't talk to me much after that." Jules rolls his eyes but you press on.

"Are you still fucking her?" You ask.

"No, why? You looking for a slice? She likes girls, too."

"What happened there?" Billy shook his head.

"Same thing that always happens. Girl goes through a mood swing, I mean a complete one eighty, go get a haircut and a new tattoo and ditch you. Not a problem for me, plenty of other chicks out there for Billy."

You sigh and turn to Jules. "I think we are done here." The two of you turn to go, but Billy follows you.

"Okay, but seriously, am I getting to see your tits or not?"

You shoot him the bird and the two of you beat a hasty retreat out of Minh's Autobody.

###

It's getting dark by the time you get home, bidding Jules a kind goodbye in the parking lot and promising to update him if you have any visions tonight. The admiral is waiting in his usual perch - a fake crows nest mounted in his backyard. As you approach, he blows his nautical whistle and beacons you over.

"You're running out of time, missy. That storm is nearly breaking upon the shore, and you haven't constructed a lifeboat!"

"Are we talking a literal storm here or a figurative storm?" you ask, glancing up nervously at the thick grey clouds.

"A storm of evil, violence and destruction! The kind that stirs up the worst creatures from the depths of the sea, where neither man nor beast is fit to live." The admiral's cheeks shake in concern.

"If neither man nor beast lives there, what are the creatures that get brought up?" You ask sardonically, heading back towards the stairs.

"Heed my words, you need to get to high ground!" the Admiral says but you're already at the door to your apartment.

"Hey Mom," you call out. Tammy is working away at dinner with the tv blaring in the background.

After a few pleasantries, Tammy corners you over the egg salad sandwiches that make up dinner.

"So, it's Monday night. If you are going to Sadie Hawkins this Friday, we need to grab you a dress. Do you know who you are taking yet?"

You poke at your sandwich. "I think I'm going to take Cody Harris."

"Cody Harris?" She repeats, "I don't think I've met him."

"He's a nice guy, actually saved my life already when a car nearly hit me downtown. He was friends with Tom and I've gotten to know him as part of the investigation."

"Is he pushy?" Tammy asks suspiciously. You laugh, startling her.

"No, not like that. He's fine and will be a good date." She nods, satisfied and takes a swig of her Rainer.

"Okay, but if you need me to, I'm always happy to hit him with a bus. Not hard, just to put the fear of mom into him."

He's already got enough emotional baggage about moms, you think wryly but instead you say, "Thanks" and head to bed.

###

The howling vortex whips around you, causing your clothes to beat against your skin as you stumble through an empty void.

"Fuck," you mutter. "Why? Where?" You crane your neck, desperate to see something out in the darkness.

"Brenna!" you hear a voice, faint but audible above the noise. There - squinting, you can see the outline of rocks and the curve of the shore.

It's the beach next to Jovanovic's house. You take a deep breath and will yourself closer, as the gravel rushes up to meet your feet. Glancing over the water, you see inky blackness beyond the very edge of the water and forever, the twisting sound of the wind. Or is it screams? The more you listen, the more it calls to you, pulling at you, tugging at the edges of your hair. As if it would take you away and rip you to shreds in an instant.

You shake your head, squaring your shoulders.

Focus.

"Brenna!" the voice calls again. A woman's voice, in pain. You walk down the beach, your feet moving almost of your own accord, till you see it. The yawning black mouth of the cave.

You take a step forward and hit something. A film of sorts stretches across the mouth of the cave, a sticky black substance like molasses. You yelp in alarm, recoiling in fear.

Just beyond the film of the cave, you see a face. Lizzy! Her arms are bound above her head, her mouth open in a wordless scream of pain and fear.

"Hold on, I'll get you out of there!" you shout. You reach back in, tentatively, probing the substance with two fingers. Lizzy shouts your name and something else that you can't quite make out. You look at her, but she's very deliberately looking past you, over your right shoulder.

There's a click, click, click of metal on metal and you feel all the hairs on the back of your body stand on end. CLICK CLICK CLICK HISSSSSSSS.

You turn and in that moment, the black liquid of the cave sucks in your arm. You scream but it quickly covers your mouth and swallows you whole.

.

..

...

"AAAHHH!!!" you are screaming and coughing, your lungs clawing for breath. You thrash yourself free of your covers, crashing to the bedroom floor in an awkward thump.

RING RING RING. The phone is ringing. Has it always been? You desperately try to slow your breathing as you fumble for the receiver.

"Hello?" You say with a shaky voice, glancing over at the clock. 2:17 AM in the morning. What the hell?

"Brenna?" Her voice is terrified, barely above a whisper but instantly recognizable.

"Lizzy?" You ask.

"I think... I think I'm in big trouble. I don't know who else to turn to but.. we need to talk."

You are dimly aware of Tammy clicking on the light in your bedroom but you are focused on the thin, reedy voice on the end of the phone call.

"Are you okay?" you ask.

"No. No I'm not." Lizzy says. "Meet me behind the bleachers after second period today, I'll tell you everything. What I saw, what happened, and what she is going to do."

"Bleachers, second period," you repeat.

"And Brenna? Watch your back." Click. The line goes dead.

You stand there in the middle of your room, your blankets a tangled mess, your body covered in sweat.

"Everything okay sweetie?" Tammy asks. You gently put the phone down on the receiver.

"We will see." Only five more hours till dawn.

###

"You look like hell!" Crystal remarks as you, Jules and her make your way down the hill towards the high school.

"Didn't sleep." You mutter. Jules looks over concerned.

"Did you have another vision?" He asks. "Maybe a clue?" You shrug.

"I think so but I'm not really sure what it means, other than watch out for the Leshy."

You recap the vision and then the alarming phone call from Lizzy.

"You shouldn't meet her alone." Crystal says. "But I've got a history test."

"What, like she's going to jump me?" You ask as the two of you cross the school parking lot.

"I can be there." Jules offers, excited. "I can be your bodyguard."

You roll your eyes.

"I don't need a bodyguard," you objected. "It's going to be fine. She's not some giant thug, she's just some..."

A scream cuts through the air. The first thing you see is blood dripping down the steps leading up to the front doors of the school. Horrified, you follow the trail up, up, up, to where a body is skewered above the doors, the flag pole sticking out through her chest.

A paper sign hangs around her neck. "WHORE" is written in big bloody letters. It's Lizzy. Her face twisted in a soundless howl.

"... body." you finish as a crowd rapidly gathers around.