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Young Writers Society


Dead End at Something Street



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Wed May 19, 2021 4:58 pm
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Valkyria says...



Her stomach grumbled at the pastries too, but Annabeth ignored it in favor of dumping her bag on the floor and hopping over the counter onto the other side.

She inspected everything, but there was nothing out of place. The cash register didn't look tampered with, and she didn't see any signs of a struggle.

Coffee shops didn't usually have security cameras, but Annabeth glanced around the ceiling anyway. To her disappointment, however, there were none.

Too bad, she thought. Cameras would have helped them figure out what happened.

"I'm going to check that out," she said, gesturing to the Employee's door. She opened the door and went through the same steps, but nothing was amiss.

Some teenagers must have worked there, for she discovered an open bag with a laptop and worksheets stuffed inside. In the corner, she saw a phone with earphones plugged in. To her uneasiness, music was still playing.

"It's like they were blinked out of existence," she muttered, and she rejoined Edward in the main area. Annabeth shook her head and told him what she discovered.

"Did you find anything?" she asked, hoping that he found some luck.
Last edited by Valkyria on Mon May 24, 2021 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Fri May 21, 2021 4:06 pm
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Mageheart says...



When Annabeth glanced at the ceiling, Edward put the pieces together and guessed that she had been looking for the cameras. That's what Schadel did, too, when investigating paranormal things on jobs. He hadn't entirely gotten into the habit of checking cameras yet, but it made sense.

Annabeth went into the employee room.

Edward kept looking around the diner for clues, but he couldn't find anything that really stuck out to him. When she returned and asked him if he had found anything, the most he could do was give a shake of his head.

"It's like they were spirited away," he said. "I don't know why they would vanish so suddenly—I've never heard of anything like this before."

There was still a lot he didn't know about magic, but still. Even before he had learned about reapers, he had heard about them. There weren't stories of things like this happening.

He glanced back up at the ceiling.

"It's too bad that this place didn't have cameras," he said. "They might have caught something. But even if they had, I'm not sure we would have been able to see it."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.
  





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Fri May 21, 2021 4:55 pm
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Valkyria says...



"Hmm, you're probably right," she said. Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth spotted a calendar on the wall, so she walked closer.

The date was the 21st. "It's not Sunday, so they can't be at church," she reasoned, "but even if it was, the shop would be closed. This has got to be the work of something supernatural."

Annabeth's stomach grumbled again, and this time, she grabbed a pastry and munched on it.

"I wish I had that book with me," she said. "The book on monsters," she clarified. "There would probably be something about vanishings in there."

Greta had given her that book about two months ago when Annabeth started training under her. Annabeth wished that she didn't leave it stuffed in her closet.
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- One Hundred Years of Solitude
  





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Sat May 22, 2021 11:13 am
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Mageheart says...



Edward stared at her.

"You have a book like that?" he asked, incredulous. "I wish I had a book like that. I've been learning by experience."

He had obviously known about the differences in ghosts for a long time, but there had been so much he hadn't known about. He hadn't known about reapers. He hadn't known about the Grim Reaper until last week, when Schadel told him and Claire to avoid a boy wearing a black cloak at all costs. And he hadn't known about the way the afterlife functioned until last month, when Claire found out her old friend had died years ago and wanted to know where he had ended up.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.
  





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Mon May 24, 2021 1:01 pm
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Valkyria says...



Annabeth smiled. "I'll have to show you."

She swallowed the last bite of the pastry and wiped her hands on a napkin.

"Well, we can't find any answers here," she said, picking up her bag. "Let's look around, eat a proper lunch, and work our way up from there."
There is always something left to love.
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
  





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Tue May 25, 2021 10:27 am
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Mageheart says...



Edward glanced at the slightly crushed box of donuts he had left on the counter. Annabeth had just eaten one of the pastries, so he wasn't really sure her idea of an actual meal would involve a sugar-y breakfast food. But he also didn't want the donuts to go bad before anyone could eat them, and they were right there...

"How do you feel about breakfast for lunch?" he asked.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.
  





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Tue May 25, 2021 1:30 pm
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Valkyria says...



Annabeth looked at the donuts, then she glanced at the door. As much as she wanted to leave and look for the other townspeople, the pastry wouldn't satiate her for long. Besides, those donuts looked too tasty to be wasted, and her mother only allowed her to eat sweets after a proper lunch.

"Totally," she told him, and she sat down at one of the tables. Then, and idea came to her. Annabeth unzipped her bag and dug around. When she felt the edge of what she was looking for, she pulled out a purple notebook and a pencil and opened to a new page.

She wrote down everything that happened in bullet points and titled the page Ghost Town. Most likely a supernatural is involved, she wrote.
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Wed May 26, 2021 8:12 pm
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Mageheart says...



Edward sat down across from Annabeth as she started to write. It felt weird to be sitting down at a table in a cafe like this. He didn't get to eat out anymore—not that he ever really had. His mom hadn't had the money for that growing up, and dying in a war had ruined the chance of him ever being able to eat in public like this.

He opened the box.

To his surprise, the donuts weren't nearly as messy as he thought they would have been. They still had the right shape. They were just...flat, with a little bit of lopsidedness here and there.

Edward grabbed one of the donuts from the box.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.
  





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Thu May 27, 2021 4:52 pm
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Valkyria says...



Chocolate donuts were Annabeth's favorite, so she immediately zeroed in on them. It didn't even matter that they were slightly mushed. As Edward reached in to grab one, she did the same, and their hands accidentally brushed. Or, rather, her hand went right through his.

Annabeth was about to mutter a sorry, but the word died on her lips.

It was as though the air had gotten 60 degrees colder. It was like touching dry ice.

She pulled her hand back and vigorously rubbed it to get the warmth back.
There is always something left to love.
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
  





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Thu May 27, 2021 8:17 pm
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Mageheart says...



Had the donuts really felt that weird to her-

Understanding suddenly dawned on Edward. He glanced around the diner for any hot drink that had been left behind. He wasn't too successful, but there was a cup of coffee at the table next to them that was still steaming when he squinted.

He got to his feet and grabbed it.

Returning to their table, he slid the cup over to her—careful not to accidentally touch her again.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I completely forgot that would happen. I touch other people at the agency all the time, but Schadel's...Schadel, and Liz is different."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.
  





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Thu May 27, 2021 8:59 pm
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Valkyria says...



The coffee was a welcome sight, and Annabeth gratefully clutched it. The color, to her relief, was starting to return to her hand.

"Don't worry about it," she said, taking a sip. "Really." She took the donut she had been eyeing and ate it.

They sat there awkwardly eating their donuts. Feeling it, Annabeth glanced through her notes again and cleared her throat.

"So, I was thinking that we could stop by the town hall after," she said. "The records might show us that might explain why the town is empty, but I do want to try to find other people." She tucked her notebook in her bag.

Annabeth definitely did not want to have to spend the night there alone.
There is always something left to love.
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
  





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Sat May 29, 2021 12:34 pm
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Mageheart says...



There were still a few donuts left by the time they finished eating, but Edward wasn't all that surprised—the box was meant for an agency with four people. It was surprising that they had eaten as much as they did.

He closed the box and tucked it underneath his shoulder.

"Research never hurts," Edward agreed. He slung his extra clothes over his shoulder and grabbed the box. Once he had managed to hold everything, he slipped out of the booth and got to his feet.
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.
  





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Mon May 31, 2021 10:37 pm
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Valkyria says...



Annabeth swallowed the last donut she was eating and wiped her mouth clean. Following Edward's actions, she also got up and readied her backpack.

She thought about leaving money and an apology note for eating a customer's pastry, but she ultimately decided against it.

It's not like anyone's around to chastise me, she thought, but she still felt a little bad.

They stepped out into the still empty street and looked around.

"Where would a town hall be?" wondered Annabeth. "It'll be a big building, right? Let's go down that way." She pointed left, where some gray buildings stood. "Those buildings look important."

Annabeth actually didn't know if those buildings housed official meetings or not, but it couldn't hurt to try.
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Wed Jun 02, 2021 11:45 am
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Mageheart says...



Edward hadn't seen too many town halls, but the gray buildings in the distance did look vaguely official. If they weren't the town halls, they would probably have some other kind of useful information.

"They do," he agreed. He readjusted his coat so it was resting more naturally on his shoulder and started walking towards the buildings. "If those don't have anything, we could also check the library. They might have some kind of book with the town's history—I know South Haven's library does."
mage

[ she/her, but in a boy kinda way ]

roleplaying is my platonic love language.

queer and here.
  





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Mon Jun 07, 2021 2:56 pm
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Valkyria says...



After a couple minutes of walking, they made it the grey building.

The interior wasn't anything too spectacular. Inside of the big, brown doors, they saw what was basically a big auditorium where the town hall met for meetings.

Looking around, Annabeth spotted stairs on the right side of the room. Next to the door were signs leading to the higher floor levels.

"There's our stop," she told Edward, pointing to the middle sign, encased in a gold square. Town Records.
There is always something left to love.
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
  








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