Young Writers Society

Every town has its demons.

Willowcreek, Georgia is a coal mining town. At least, it was ten years ago. Now it is a husk, the small town full of empty houses and fallow farm lands. The main square is almost all boarded up, aside from a few loyal folk who stand by their home.

But now, a long empty church has lit its sign again. The doors are open, and it is building a substantial congregation. Silas Ardell came up out of no where. One night, the church was empty. The next, his congregation showed up. They were an odd bunch, to say the least. Some would say disturbing.

It's no coincidence that with his arrival, students at Vale County High School have started to vanish. Law enforcement has turned a blind eye. Most of them, the ones who have left, were trouble makers anyway.

Everyone's special, you are disturbed.

Willowcreek was a safe place at one time, safe for the 'freaks' and 'monsters' who were too hated to show their faces anywhere else. At Vale County High School, a study group formed. At least, that's what the kids called it. It was more of a gathering place for the 'paranormals'. The Silver Bullet Club formed, the group has remained a secret for nigh on thirty years. Leadership of the club passed down from senior to senior, but now a new leader must rise, as the current leader has vanished.

Welcome to the SBC!

First things first, the rules.



Next up, character template.



Originally, the club was formed as a support group for werewolves. However, they let in other outcasts as well, and the club has grown to what it is today. A group for all 'Paranormals'.

Andrea Stoddard - Home, Stone Manor - New Genesis

I sat in my chair at a desk that was in front of a large fireplace, one wall was lined with bookshelves and books. On the other was the portraits of my ancestors who have lived here, worked here, and maintain the home known as Stone Manor. In front of me was two empty chairs. In front of me, on the desk was a single hat, a black fedora that had belonged to my girlfriend Amanda, in which I had been staring at for the last hour now.

Amanda had been missing for three days now, Silver Bullet Club was without a leader. The silence was growing thick to the point of suffocation. Everyone was looking to me to lead now and I just wasn't sure if I could do it. I sighed, I needed to make a decision, then a knock came at the door.

"Come in," I said.

The door open and in came in Daniel Nitram, one of the oldest members of the S.B.C. His lanky body with browned skin and raven black hair that reached just under his shoulders, he had a calm demeanor and was very level headed in any situation in the past. He eased himself into the chair on my left leaning back in the chair.

"Have they decided?" I asked.

"Yeah, they have," he replied in a quiet tone.

Daniel leans forward, elbows to his knees as he gave me a small smile. "They've decided you should be the next leader of the Silver Bullet Club. Because your a Mind Reader, you've protected everyone in the past, you protected the club in the past. From people like Ms. Weller who came close to discovering everything, Nancy Blackmiller who got suspicious of us. Even stopping a threat from within from taking hold of the club and using it for the wrong reasons." he said.

"I'm not sure I can do it alone," I said looking down at my desk.

"I'm sure you can Andrea, and if you ever need any help you can come to me. Every leader needs an adviser right?"

Classic Daniel, weather it be for a history exam or dealings with the club our friendly neighborhood amnesiac remembers everything he needs except his past. I nodded my answer, and his smile only grew.

"Wait here, I'll go call the others in for the first official meeting of the new club leader."

Daniel got up and and left the room closing the door behind him, I leaned back in my chair placing my arms on the arm rests. I took a deep shaky breath, I was the next leader, and now I had to prove I could leader. I look at the fedora on my desk again, and I reached for it and I placed it on my head, adjusting it slightly, the door opened again.

The members of the Silver Bullet Club poured into the room, as well as there thoughts, I knew each one of them: Samantha Hampton, Eli Walker, Chris Lanyard, Daniel Nitram, Emmelia Stevens, Amako Mai Gushiken finally me, Andrea Stoddard, New leader of the Silver Bullet Club.

I stood from my seat, taking off my fedora and holding it against my chest. "I thank you all for your decision, I will do the best to my ability to lead each of you. Daniel will be assisting me as he had before me." I said, then took a deep breath. "But please, do not think this is permanent, when Amanda makes her return, she will resume her leadership for the club. It is only proper that it is like this," I took my seat again.

"You can't be serious!" Em started.

"Andrea, we are assuming the worst has happened and Amanda might be dead, this town is small and police have been combing the woods for days now." Daniel said.

"I got to agree with Em and Daniel, Amanda has either been kidnapped or she's dead already." Em said.

Eli---Stone Manor SBC Meeting


It was late August, and the sticky Georgia heat sunk down through Eli’s skin and into his bones. He panted as he climbed up the winding, narrow road that led up into the forest. Down below him, to the south, he could see a thick cloud of brownish haze that had been pushed up from the wetlands. It had settled over the small town of Willowcreek, but he was high enough where the humidity didn’t reach him. He was grateful for that at least. Normally, it took him about twenty minutes to reach the Stone Manor in the hills above town, but the heat was slowing him down today, and he felt as though he was fighting his own body to get anywhere. Soon, however, he found himself on the section of road that snaked along above a dry, rocky ravine. A few crows circled overhead, like they always did, and the lazy gold of the late noon sun glinted off the skeletal remains of a few old car wrecks at the bottom of the gulley. Eli had once considered climbing down there to examine the old cars, they had to be from before the fifties, but he had discarded the idea. It was a steep drop. One slip and he could end up tumbling down into a serious injury. Maybe he could hike up from the bottom someday.

He took the small, dirt off-road that branched off from old 46, and was soon deep into the mountain forest. Andrea’s house was a little ways up the road, and if he would have continued to follow it to the north he would have found Daniel’s home. But here was far enough. He wondered why Amanda had called a meeting, especially on such short notice, and here of all places. It was obviously something important. Eli, as a general rule, hated the Silver Bullet Club meetings and tried to avoid them as much as possible. But this one had seemed too crucial to pass up.

He finally found himself standing at the foot of the spacious, sprawling estate. Large slab steps led up to the front door, and he pushed it open and stepped inside without much heed to ceremony. The first thing he noticed was how cool it was compared to the outside, and his shoulders sagged in relief. The second thing he noticed, once his eyes had adjusted to the dim interior, was how many people were actually here. He was late, as usual it seemed.

“You’re late.” Someone pointed out.
“Yes that would be obvious.” someone else sighed.
“Why didn’t you ask for a ride man?” Chris came over and slapped him on the back. There was a resounding clap as his wide hand thudded into his shoulder, and Eli winced. That’s gonna leave a mark.
“What are you guys talking about?” he asked, rolling his shoulder gingerly.
“You mean you haven’t heard?” Eli shook his head.
“Dude, Em’s been missing for three days now!”
Eli blinked, and it took him a moment for the full realization of what they had said to dawn on him.
“Why?” he asked with a frown. “Where is she?”
“That’s what we would like to know.” Daniel sighed as he rose from his seat in the corner. “But what is more important now, is whether or not we will accept Andrea as our temporary leader.”
“She’s the vice pres, after all.” Chris added.
“What did everyone decide?” Eli asked. Daniel smiled.
“Well, everyone has said that they agree to it, except for you of course.”
“It’s fine with me.”
“Good. Now that it’s been settled…” Daniel disappeared down the hall that led to the back of the house. Eli suspected to find Andrea, who was not in the front room with everyone else.

“What do you think happened to her?” Em mused.
“Do you think she was attacked by a cougar?” another girl asked.
“That’s unlikely.” Zuri added coolly.
“Whatever it was, I don’t think it was human.” Someone else threw in. They discussed the topic in some detail, until Chris finally asked:
“Hey Eli, do you think it could have been a demon?”

Everyone grew quiet at that. He looked up, then frowned.
“I don’t think so… the last demon we had was back in Spring.”
“So you haven’t noticed anything?” He shook his head.
“No, not yet.”
But the possibility was there. Eli had been thinking about the idea for a while now, and it seemed more likely than some of the other theories.

“Why don’t you all come into the study?” Daniel had appeared at the door suddenly, causing Eli to jump. Everyone got up and followed him into the room. It had a high ceiling, like the front room had, and had beautiful wood panels and floor-length windows along the walls. Andrea stood behind a huge mahogany desk in the center of the room.

“As you all know, Amanda is missing.” She said in her brisk, no-nonsense manner. “Since we don’t know what happened to her, I’m going to organize groups of search parties.”

“Why?” someone broke in. “I mean, knowing Amanda, she probably just went to investigate something on her own. It’s only been three days, I don’t see why we all have to get all worried about—”
“Don’t you get it?” Eli growled, cutting them off. Daniel cleared his throat.
“We are assuming the worst has happened. Willowcreek is a small town, and the police have been combing the woods for days now. We would have heard from her by now.”
“So you think someone kidnapped her, or something?” Em asked.
“Either that or she’s already dead.” Eli stated flatly. This caused everyone in the room to promptly glare at him. “What?” he asked.
“It’s obvious that something has happened,” Andrea went on, ignoring him. “Which is why it’s important that we find her as soon as possible.”
“So we’re going to split up?” Eli asked.
“Exactly. I’m going to assign everyone to a group based on where they live. You can work as part of a closely knit team, or branch out a bit depending on what you need to do. The goal is to effectively search for Amanda.” She said. “So, Daniel, Akiza and I will be in the northeast section of town. Zuri and Micky are with Chris, you guys watch central. Amako and Sam will be with Em, you handle the southeast. And Eli…” she narrowed her eyes and studied him for a moment. “You’ll be with Chris.” She said. “And try not to wander off and do things on your own.”

Eli opened his mouth to say something, but she held up her hand to stop him. “Don’t tell me you 'knew that already,' I can read your thoughts.” Eli clenched his jaw, smoldering for not catching himself in time. “This is a team effort.” She said with a meaningful finger jab in his direction. “Got it?”
“What about the west end of town?” he asked. “Who’s going to search there?”
“You and Zuri can probably handle that.” Chris said.
“What about the fields then? Or the swamp? Or the ghost town? Who’s going to…”
“Let’s concentrate on the town for now.” Daniel cut in. Andrea nodded.
“Right. We’ll meet back here at this same time tomorrow. If we haven’t found her by then, we’ll widen our scope.” She looked around at the group. “Everyone got that?” Everyone nodded, but Eli wasn’t so sure if the plan would work as effectively as planned. Willowcreek might be small, but he knew there was lots of land out there. Lots of wild, rough land. Land you could easily hide a body in.

Daniel Nitram

Everyone had been given their marching orders and a group, except for me. "This may be a team effort but I think I'll do some solo snooping." Andrea looked at me confused, and I could see a bit of anger sparking in Eli. "Well large groups investigating an area, or even two people questioning others raises suspicion that's why I figured I could do some more in depth investigation."

Eli spoke first, "Andrea said this is a team effort why do you get to go on a solo mission?!"
It was clear he was mad and I needed to tread lightly.

"Granted I'll be the first to admit with my memory I may be poorly suited to information gathering, but I'm persuasive and good at asking the right questions." I laughed, "Plus if I need to disappear in case I end up being followed I'll just make myself look older or younger."

"He has a point," chimed in Em," If anyone should be asking shop owners and such that knew Amanda, Daniel is our best bet."

"Thank you Em."

Everyone began agreeing and begrudgingly so did Eli. "So it's settled," said Andrea. "Daniel will do his solo snooping then we'll all meet back up and say what we've found."

As everyone left I had already decided the first place I'd check, the library. Aside from Amanda spending large amounts of time their I recalled an incident like this happening in the past. Ugh...I hated having so many memories to sort, I guess old newspapers would be my best bet. It didn't take me long to get to the library after leaving and I immediately headed to the town history section, aside from genealogies, almanacs, and a few scarce other things the papers were about it. I grabbed all I could from the past 20-30 years and began studying.

I removed a small tablet from my messenger bag and began taking notes on any patterns in disappearances or deaths. The faint glow of my eyes was reflected on the screen and I hoped the library would stay as empty as it had been on my arrival. I suddenly heard footsteps, so much for solitude. I turned to see a girl coming towards the room, she was beautiful long raven black hair that fell about her. Even in such casual clothes she cut a stunning figure. I couldn't help but be self conscious illuminated by the lights of the microfiche reader and my tablet. I suddenly became acutely conscious of my eyes and how their luminescence must be even more noticeable in the low light. I wanted to move to just leave and quietly walk past her with my notes but I was glued to my seat.

"Hi I'm Akiza," She flashed me a smile and my heart was pounding in my ears," what's your name?"

Akiza

Walking up the steps to the Willowcreek Public Library, I opened the door and walked over to the front desk. The only sound I heard was sound of fingers on a keyboard which turned out to be the woman at the front desk. As I approached, the clicking stopped once she saw me coming her way. The woman smiled at me once I stopped in front of her. She was older. Maybe in her fifties, though she still had something about her. Her graying hair still had some of it's color, though, looking a dark shade of a coffee brown. She had smile lines around her still bright blue eyes that made her seem somehow grand motherly to me. And from the look of her smile, she still had all of her teeth.

"You must be new here," she looked me over. "A beautiful thing such as yourself wouldn't be forgotten or ignored in a town like this."

At least she was being sincere, and I appreciated that. Smiling back at her, I said, "I just moved into to town today and decided to do a little exploring."

She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "In a library?"

"What can I say?" I shrug. "I like my peace ad quiet."

"What's your name, sweetheart?" she looked at the shades I was wearing.

"Akiza." I answer

People always looked at my shades. It always looked odd to people when they saw or met a person who wore shades inside. Go figure. They always wanted to know what was underneath them. Most people would never look me in the eyes as a kid, and others picked me on and tried to bully me because of it, though it didn't work very well for them. None of the other kids would hang out with a someone they thought was freak, so they just turned their backs on me, which was just fine anyway. I could barely hold myself together with all of their negative and ugly feeling about me and towards me were beginning to overwhelm me. I didn't have much control over them at the time, so I didn't need to be around. I had always preferred being on my own as it was.

"Well young Lady," she said. "my name is Daisy, and welcome to Willowcreek."

After talking a little bit more, I went ahead and got a library card before heading off to wander around. silence was the only thing that echoed in the here, and I liked it. The library was also a lot bigger than it looked on the outside. I'd be spending a lot of time here, that's for sure. I walked past row after row of countless books, just parusing my way through, learning where everything was. There were giant couches and comfortable little chairs along with tables that had not as accommodating looking chairs where open books had been left. For the most part, the place looked well maintained, and smelled just fine.

Just as I stopped, wondering where to turn next, I spotted an open door where
someone else was and begin to walk towards it, feeling drawn by an unseen force. Coming to a stop at the door, there was a guy sitting in a chair, looking back at me.He was rather tall and muscular. They were beautiful. He was wearing a dark blue button up shirt that reached to his elbows, showing off his muscled forearm, and a pair of blue jeans that looked like they fit just right. I would have loved to have seen how they fitted in back. I mentally chastised myself for that and frowned inwardly. Thoughts like this had never happened before. Hm. Interesting.

The first thing I read off of him was something along the lines of attraction or want, shock, and then self consciousness, which surprised me. I smiled. "Hi. I'm Akiza. What's your name?"

"I'm Daniel," he moved his head down trying to hide his eyes. "I've not seen you around before are you new in town?"

"Yea," I nodded, looking around. "I just into town today."

"That's neat, have you seen much of the city?" He seemed nervous, despite his looks, which I found kind of cute and adorable.

"No. This is the first place I've been besides my house." I stepped farther into the room, looking at everything Daniel had laying out. "I tend to gravitate towards libraries."

He shoved his notebook in to his bag becoming, seemingly more interested. "I mostly came by to do some research, you know look in to things I couldn't easily find online." Daniel turned off the microfilm reader and put the microfiche in to it's container. "I've had a friend go missing recently and had recalled," he paused for a second as though he had to consider his words. "I had recalled reading about some similar events in the town history." He walked to put away the microfiche and I followed, "anyway I think I've found all I can so now I'm going into town to do some questioning. Would you care to join me? It would be a great way to get to know the city better."

I looked at him for a long moment, not really sure what I was getting from him. He was hiding something. Sensing his slight uneasiness at my stare, though my eyes were hidden behind my shades, I smiled harmlessly. "What reason do I have to say no?"

Probably too many to count, but it wasn't like I was counting anyway.

Michael Lauren -Old plantation house.


Men are masters of their silences, and slaves of their words.
I know this is true.
I've always known.

Life is cruel.
Most people never run out of things to complain about, but few ever have a thing to truly fear. My father always told me that a man who wasn't willing to die for something wasn't a man at all. That that man could never be a man. Not until he learned what it truly was to be fearless.

I am not a man.

Not yet.

Not ever.

You can learn to face your fears, you can learn to fight your fears . . . but can you ever be truly fearless? My father believed so, up to the very day that some still-unnamed murderer nailed him to the door of his own house.
“You gotta learn to look above your fears, son.” He'd said. “There's more to life out there than what you think. Find something that matters more to you than life. Something you'd die for. Then and only then your fear will be controlled. You'll be able to understand it . . . and learn to see it as something not worth fearing.”
Of course, he hadn't really been my father. My real father had died long before I'd gotten to know him, but Craig Guyson was the man who had raised me, cared for me, and taught me. He was my father for all intents and purposes.
I still tried to live his advice. To find something more important to me than life . . . but how could I? Open my eyes and the shadowy reality that the darkness fabricated for me would disappear, and nothing would be real anymore.

I'd been hiding in this closet for hours. The sun was well-up. The day was begun. But I couldn't step out. I couldn't face my fears, much less look beyond them.
Nobody understood my disability because the only people who'd ever cared were gone.
Open your eyes Mike.
I took a deep breath and allowed my eyes to flutter open. I was still burried under my ancient blanket, and I felt endless relief at the prolonged darkness.
Get out of there Mike. There is no purpose in the dark . . . or food.
I did this ever morning, forcing myself to get up. I had to . . . or die. Sometimes the option seemed pretty appealing, but dad wouldn't have wanted that. If I could come up with no better reason to live, there was always that: Someone HAD cared. Someone would care again.
Throwing the blanket off of me, I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Sighing to myself I shoved the door of the closet open, allowing the light of the morning to light up my room.
To tell you the truth, the room was pretty clean. I usually kept to my closet -not liking the openess of the bed, and was pretty careful not to make a mess. I didn't like dark corners, and heaps of garbage. My mind always made sure there was something hiding in them.
But looking at the room I already knew something was wrong. The floor was perfectly clean, the sheets didn't have a single wrinkle in them. It looked like my mom had just been over everything. Reaching out I ran my finger along the floor.
My finger came away, stained black with dust. Instantly the illusion disappeared and the reality replaced it. It seemed like someone had taken a bucketfull of dust and just doused the whole room, covering everything in a nice thick coat of the stuff. It was still neat, but it wasn't clean. It was still un-cluttered, but the path through the dust up to the closet was all too obvious.
It sometimes took an effort to tell myself that everything wasn't an illusion. If I didn't then I'd go mad for sure. If I didn't tell myself that it was a disability I had -not a madness- I'd break.
I stood as calmly as I could, still dressed in my ragged old jeans and T-shirt, and still wearing my shoes. I didn't step out of my path through the dust, and kept my eyes glued to the floor in front of me -forcing myself to ignore the flashes of color and movement in the corners of my eyes, beconing me to be led astray.
Into the hall.
Down the stairs.
Through the living room.
Out the front door.
Permission to look up. I sighed to myself, straightening and looking around. I don't know why I stayed in that house. It held more horrors -and memories- for me than any other place in the world. Enclosed spaces seemed to make my illusions grow more and more vivid and variant. But I couldn't force myself to leave.
Outside, standing in the abandoned parking space, before the two story, pane-glass windowed house, the paint peeling from the wooden fence that enclosed the long-overgrown garden, I knew for a moment that what I saw was real. Sometimes I knew. Sometimes I didn't.
I forced myself to pace forward toward the gate, not looking back. I couldn't look at the door. They were always there. Always.
Over the years the dirt road to the plantation house had become overgrown, and now was little more than a path with brush and grass on either side. But it led to town.
There were more visions and illusions in town, what with all the people and complications, but that was where the food was. I had money -not a lot- but enough to keep me alive for some definite, uncalculated amount of time. I'd have to get to the store, get what I needed, and then crawl back to the plantation house before dark. If I was outside at night there would be nothing to keep me in one piece. The more time I spent around other people these days, the worse the illusions got. And the worse the illusions got, the harder it was to find out what was real.

The forest was nice. That much I had to admit. It calmed me, especially when I got to the clearer area, where there was little enough underbrush that you could actually walk through it fairly comfortably.
I was right in the middle of a long, straight stretch of forest road when some sensor in the back of my mind started going wacko. Color flashed on the edge of my vision and my ears pounded, painfully. Around me the forest began to morph. Blood dripped from the branches of a tree right beside me . . . asking me to look up. A deep, sickening humm seemed to fill the air, and everything seemed to be in sharp focus. I was certain I heard someone screaming.
Gasping I dropped to my knees, feeling like someone was driving nails into my ears.
That was when the first strike fell.
It was like getting cold water splashed in your face just in the middle of a vivid dream. The force of the blow knocked me onto my face and my skin tingled. I felt no pain.
That wasn't a vision. I tried to roll over, to see what was going, but as I moved my hand I felt it sink into something hot and pulsing. I jerked away, just as another blow fell. Someone screamed -probably me- in pain this time. I rolled over onto my knees, aware of two dark shapes standing over me.
SMASH! Pain bloomed in a dozen places as blows fell in quick succession. I tried to block them, but my arms were knocked aside.
I couldn't think. The pain was too much. The fear. Every time I actually saw something of my attackers, I saw either some indescribable horror, or someone I knew -or had known. Voices screamed their disappointment, hatred, intent, and sadness.
And then it stopped.

A car drove up, a pair of heavy leather boots planted themselves in my vision, and my eyes slid shut.

Chris Lanyard

The sidewalks I strutted down were cracked, and dense clumps of grass grew from between the broken slabs of concrete. The lawns here were little squares of overgrowth that pervaded the buildings the complimented. My neighborhood in two words is ruin and neglect.

The old row houses are thin and straight jammed in next to each other. Half are abandoned, and half hold older, stubborn families of what was once a promise of economic growth, southern clans who had to retreat into underemployment when two massive fires devastated both their town and their means of breadwinning. A thick, red rust creeps around corners and glass and boarded up windows here.

I am standing in the part of the town that city officials want everyone to forget about. That’s why they made the detour off Route 666 (and given a name like that, the detour should start before the highway begins) that leads to the new, nice Eastside section of town that smells like roses and chemical cleaner and have pretty suburban houses and an average family size of 4.2. But that new section of town is alien to me, and now I walk down the dangerous streets that were the playground of the neighborhood in my youth.

The Silver Bullet Club really took a hit after graduation last year. Lonny Martinez, the human socket, is now off at Georgia Tech and Kyle Durand, who could see fifteen seconds into the future, is living on campus at the County College twenty miles away from here. Stacy Richards moved away with her family when her Dad got a better job and I’m sure she’s having a grand old time magically healing illness in Florida. So I’m alone in searching these half-standing apartment complexes and two-family homes for our friend Amanda who mysteriously disappeared.

I go door to door, and on foot, as my truck would only slow me down at this point. I had to get a favor and get off work today to search in the hot sun, sweat staining key points of my ratty white shirt.

I knock on the door of a house through which music is pumping, the baseline steady and the guitars swooning. No one notices. I knock harder and someone pulls back the shade on the single front window and I see an eye look me over. A few second later, the door opens and Jimmy Stinson appears as I’m hit with a wall of sound and the sickly sweet smell of cannabis and rot.

He’s jacked up on something, and it’s not pot, but he’s wearing a huge smile showing yellow teeth. “Chris Lanyard, my main man! You here to join the party?” Jimmy is a lot different than he was as a kid, once pudgy and now ultra-thin. He wasn't in school for a year, and I'm not sure whether he still lived in town.

“Nah, man,” I say, trying to ignore the smell. “Hey, I was wondering, have you seen Amanda around?”

“Amanda Lee? She’s in jail, dude.”

“No, no, Amanda Cramer.”

He tipped back his head and laughed a little too hard. “Amanda Cramer?” He rammed his thumb behind him. “Well, I can tell you she’s not in there. Why are you searching Westside for her? She’s probably in her big-ass house by the park or making out with another chick. Man, you look so serious, what happened to funny old Chris Lanyard?”

“He sweated to death two blocks back,” I quipped back, running a hand over my forehead. “Anyway, I gotta get going, thanks Jim.”

He called back after me. “If you do find her in the neighborhood, tell her to bring a girlfriend over here and provide some entertainment. Good to see you, Chris.”

Jimmy was a bigoted asshole, but they’re not hard to find in this town, and I wasn’t about to teach tolerance to the same fiend that broke Leonard Smith’s teeth on the curb over a lost baseball game in middle school, so I moved on and heard a door slam behind me. He was right, also. Unless Amanda was kidnapped by a local weirdo or developed a liking for subpar cocaine, she wouldn’t be in Westside.

As I moved past a vacant lot, I ended up walking towards another pedestrian. He wore a gray hat and faded blue jeans, with a surprisingly thick blue coat and had a large backpack over one shoulder as that arm walked with a cane. I could see that the hand the gripped the cane was wearing a white latex glove. He was young, maybe a few years older than me and was smiling beneath a short blond beard.

I didn’t recognize him, but something about him was strange and very un-Willowcreek-y. My steps halted and he stopped as well.

“Hello there, friend,” he said warmly. Leaning on the cane.

“Hey,” I replied blandly, not quite sure why I was talking to him.

He nodded and looked around at the sky. “It's pretty temperate, wouldn't you say? They're calling it the coldest year in Georgia since the 50s.”

“Yeah, tis indeed. You new in town?”

“Yes, just passing through. That’s my business, always passing through.” The kid pulled out a water jug and swallowed a few sips before sighing steam into the air. I didn't think it was that cold. I wiped my sweat again.

This person was unseasonably friendly. “Where you staying tonight?” I asked, not sure why. We definitely had no room in our house to invite a stranger.

“Oh I found a nice little place left graciously unlocked and abandoned a few streets back,” he said, pointing north.

“Won’t that be a little cold? May be hot now, but at night, temperatures plummet.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. My friend, do you happen to have any food with you?"

I actually did have an apple, for some reason, and taken slightly aback, decided to give it to him, pulling it from my coat pocket and tossing it to his gloved hand.

“Thank you, my friend,” the man said and turned away slightly as he took a bite. However, his turn was not great enough and I was surprised to see that as soon as his lips touched the apple, the entire fruit frosted over. It was definitely not that cold.

When he saw my incredulous expression, the kid‘s smile disappeared and he pushed past me. When he bumped my I felt a shiver run up my back. “Well, I better be going now.”

“Are you sure,” I asked. He halted but remained with his back to me. “Because I have some friends who might want to talk to you.”

Em~Forest

I'm fairly certain it's a well known fact that all the creepy stuff happens in the woods. But you'd think that after wandering around in them for a few hours I might stop flinching every time I heard a branch snap. Sadly, this was not the case, and I was pretty sure it was only getting worse as the sun began to set. I knew I was being paranoid, I mean if there was anything out there I could torch it in a second, not that I should, given the fact that we were basically standing in a vast expanse of matchsticks.

I sighed and stretched out my wings, maybe if I could find and opening in the trees I could try getting an areal view of some sort... I was about to venture off a little farther when I was startled out of my thoughts by ACDC's Highway to Hell I reached into the pocked of my hoodie and pulled out my phone. "Sup?"

A soft quiet voice answered. "Hey, um... Emmalia right?" It was Sam.

"I prefer Em, but it doesn't really matter, people generally just call me whatever they want anyway; did you find anything?"

"Well, sort of. It's um... It's hard to explain. Would you mind coming over and taking a look before I call it in?"

"Sure thing, where are you at?"

"I'm not entirely sure, there's a big rock type formation next to me, like a miniature mountain, sort of shaped like a foot?"

"Okay, I'll see what I can do, is Ama there with you?"

"Last time I saw her she was down by the road checking out an old farmhouse. She's not that far from me. I can call her- oh no, no no no no no."

"What, what's wrong?"

"I think I see... there's this dark stuff all over the side of the rocks... it's everywhere, and, I-I think it might be... blood."

Dread twisted in my gut. "Okay, uh, just stay calm, I'll be there as soon as I can. We don't know who's blood it is, it could be from an animal for all we know, a bear or a moose... or, something. I'll be there in a sec."

I turned off my phone and shoved into my pocket. Not bothering to look for a clearing in the trees I shot up into the sky. It was close to dark now, and I had to strain my eyes to see through the murky twilight, but I spotted the mini-mountain Sam had described and dove down. But I picked up more speed than I'd intended and instead of the graceful landing I'd planned I smashed into the rock and fell flat on my back in the dirt.

'Well, that was... painful." I blinked at the night sky, going slightly numb and disoriented for a bit, and pulled myself up, shaking off the dirt from my wings and folding them into my back. I turned to Sam, who was ever so politely trying not to stare. "So, where'd you find the, uh- "I swallowed anxiously-"blood?"

She pointed behind the rocks. It was only as I stepped around the corner that I could see exactly how bad it was.

When Sam had said everywhere she had literally meant everywhere. The entire side of the mini-mountain was covered with it. There's no way anyone could of survived losing that much blood, but it was hard to believe that it was possible for someone to bleed that much whether they survived it or not. And another outlandishly peculiar thing about it was that it wasn't splattered, in fact it looked painted on.

There was no way this could have been the result of an overzealous hunting party. I looked down at my feet and stepped back, carved into the stone ground bellow the rock were six jagged letters that spelled bellum.

My heart stopped. I looked over at Sam, seeming just as much or more bewildered than I was. "What do you think it means?" she asked.

"Well, it's Latin," I said.

"Do you know what it says?"

I paused, still not entirely certain, but when I looked back at the hastily carved letters I knew there was now mistaking them."Yeah, I think I do. And if I'm right..." I looked up and met her gaze. "In direct translation, it's... well..."

"What?"

I took a steadying breath, hoping against hope that I was wrong, I had to be wrong. "War," I said. "It means war."

Andrea Stoddard - Lonely and Searching

I was by myself my hands in my pockets with my thumbs sticking out, I wanted to go alone because if Amanda was anywhere to be found it would be in two places. I picked up my pace and headed for the first place, Vale County High School's football field. Arriving at the school, there was little to be seen on the weekends, the teachers were gone, no students around for clubs. Everything was quite, I go around the school and make for the football field.

I look into the stands and see a piece of paper sticking up, it was very out of place. I hope the fence and walk over to the stands quickly climbing up and made for the folded piece of paper. I scan the area quickly, seeing nothing I open the folded paper and read it.

Dear Andrea,

Something big has entered the town, and I've been working to stop it. I cannot get the club involved in fear of making it stronger, I don't want to be found. Please understand, I love you, I always will, but it's dangerous right now. Do everything you can to prevent panic in the club, cause this might even spur them to find me even more so.

Sincerely, Amanda Cramer

I scanned the area quickly crushing the note between my hands, and only took me a second to see her. The African American girl that I fell in love with, She had raven black hair and bright silver eyes. She wore her usual silver school hoodie that had

Vale County High School, home of the Silver Hawks! in black letters.

She pointed downwards and at her feet was someone just lying there. I don't think the person was awake, I rush as fast as my feet will carry me over to her, but she simply teleports away from me. The person she pointed downwards at, I go straight to the person. I see the person is a guy, dirty blond hair, pale skin, a thin, muscular build and had what looked like an old jacket on.

"Hey you alright? can you hear me?" I gently hit his cheek with my open palm trying to stir him. I knew he was alive, he moved slightly, "hey wake up!" I yelled now shaking him. His eyes flung open and stared straight into mine, he then quickly pushes himself away from and he seemed almost scared.

"Hey, hey, it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," I said.

"Where's that girl I saw earlier?!" he nearly screamed at me.

"Girl? you mean Amanda?" I asked.

"I think that's her name," he said.

His thoughts were rapid, uncontrolled, it's hard to tell what he was even thinking right now. It was like listening to static, that much I was sure. He looks off to my right and then look, I turn and look the same way and I see Amanda!

"Amanda I thought you took off again, I'm so glad to see you!" I said almost joyous.

I reached over to hug her, and passed straight though her almost hitting myself on the hard mental bleachers. "You can see her?" he asked. "Of course, but it's illusion that much I can see." I said waving my arm back and forth though Amanda's image. I turn to him, "I think." I begun, "you need to come with me."

Zuri Mortomo - with Chris

Being a semi-nomad was something I'm rather familiar with, but I was always open for new faces to be around me. The Georgia cold didn't seem to bother me at all, but I knew that was because of my cyrokinetic disorder. This new friend I met was polite, but seemed suspicious of me. It was no surprise to me. Many people were that way when they see me for the past two months. The apple he tossed to me looked rather tasty and I was a little hungry.

When the skin of the apple touched my lips, I almost froze in fear at the sight of the fruit freezing over. It seemed that my disorder affected my body in more ways than one. I had to get away before someone else tried to find me. When the person mentioned other friends, I stopped cold and thought it over. What were the possibilities of being among other outcasts, those of us who were disowned because of what we could do? This question brought back the memory of my own parents.

My parents were a peaceful yet nomadic couple and they had just me. They disowned me rather quickly when my hydrokinetic power surfaced. I tried to win their love back, but they never took me back after that day. I've been on my own since then. I still had my wanderlust, but sometimes being semi-nomadic gets very lonesome. I often longed for other people to take me in, but until now, that never happened.

I turned around and raised my hat a little so the young man could see my eyes. "You know others who would speak to me?" I asked, raising my brow. "What you saw happen to the apple would've happened to you if my hands weren't covered and you decided to shake hands. It tends to be a barrier in my attempts at making friends. A little hard to keep in control from time to time, but it's easy if I use it in small doses." I got close, but not too close. "Zuri Mortomo. Call me Z if you want to. I'm hydrokinetic, but it's advanced to cyrokinesis as time passed. My disorder affects my hands the most, which is why I wear these gloves." I gripped the head of the cane hard. "You say there are others, so could you show me where they are?"

Daniel Nitram

I walked through the downtown area with Akiza, stopping in to some of the business and asking questions, or just sharing with her interesting tidbits about the town. Even with some of my memory being a bit fuzzy I retained odd bits and pieces primarily fun facts. We discussed several topics and she struck me as a confident and intelligent young woman, she oddly enough reminded me of Andrea. As we walked along I found very little but everyone kept mentioning a Snake Church, not directly when I asked about Amanda, but in hushed whispers after hearing her name mentioned. "Hey let's stop here," I pointed out an old cafe bookstore that had been in town for years, Sweetwater Books. What it lacked in the newest releases it made up for in an excellent cafe and having Wi-Fi.

We walked in and the bells on the door announced us, "Daniel your usual peppermint and vanilla Italian Cream Soda?" Called the young man that was working behind the counter.

"That would be awesome Erwin, oh and get my here whatever she would like as well." I waved to him as I headed to my usual area, "I'll be back in my favorite chair, by the way practice next Tuesday night don't forget it, if you wouldn't mind tell the other guys for me." I sat down as Akiza order and pulled out my tablet typing Snake Church in to my search engine.

I didn't expect a church website telling me come here we have your friend Amanda, but it would have been nice. What I did find was interesting, I had to admit I found the idea of faith making you able to speak new languages, heal the sick, and not fear the bite of a snake must be appealing to some. Akiza came over and sat down next to me and looked over my shoulder, "reading up on some new religion?"

"Actually relatively old, compared to some, granted it doesn't still use venomous snakes in it's practices, it was briefly made illegal here in Georgia because a little boy was bit and killed by a snake." I looked at my tablet. "It's perfectly legal now though, but Willow Creek isn't on the list of places that has one. Granted these are considered snake handling churches and I just know that people call this one Snake Church. I'm not certain there's a relation between the two."

Akiza continued to look at the screen, "okay but what's the relation between your friend Amanda's disappearance and the church?"

"Nothing, maybe everything, people kept mentioning it in hushed whispers whenever I would mention her name." Erwin came over with our drinks and set them on the table.

"Just a heads up man I think you two have a fan, some girl has been staring at you two from between the bookshelves." He went back up behind the counter and we looked for the mystery girl. I spotted a short pale girl that after I.made eye contact went back up the row of books.

Akiza looked at me confused, "do you know that girl?"

"No honestly I've never seen her before." I racked my brain, not the most reliable source, "nope nothing."

"She's been following us for most of the day I noticed her out of the corner of my eye she didn't seem dangerous so I didn't worry about it." She looked towards where the girl was hiding again,"I figured she wasn't hindering us so why confront her."

"Perhaps we should I vote you go talk to her," I put my tablet in my bag and stood up. "I'll stay back as moral support."

"Why can't you go talk to her?"

"Because you're a girl I'm like a giant guy compared to her I would intimidate her."

She put her hand to her face in what some would call a "face-palm gesture", "fine I'll do it." She walked over to the girls isle and I hid in the next isle over so I could hear, the girl spoke in a hushed tone speaking quickly. Next thing I know Akiza is laughing pulling the small girl in to the isle I'm on, "tell him what you said to me."

The girl looked down at the ground and then up at me, "are you real? Like I uh..." the girl trailed off and I slapped her on the shoulder jokingly.

"Feel real enough?"

The girl laughed a little, " yeah I guess, I just thought you might be dead like a ghost or something." She laughed a quite sort of chuckling laugh. But, all I could do is stare at her I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket a message from Andrea: get to your house with whatever you've found already told others to go, see you soon.

"So Akiza, there's going to be a party at my house apparently and hey why don't we invite our new friend. Plenty of my friends will be there it'll be good for y'all to meet them. What was your name I hadn't gotten yet?" I held out my hand to the short young woman. "I'm Daniel Nitram and this is Akiza, and you are?"

She took both of our hands shaking them, "Achlys, but you can call me Lys."

"Well," I said to both of them. "Would you like to join me."

~Akiza~

I walked through the downtown area with Daniel, stopping in to some of the business with him and asking questions, or just sharing interesting tidbits with me about the town. As we walked along Daniel found very little but everyone kept mentioning a Snake Church, not directly when he asked about Amanda, but in hushed whispers after hearing her name mentioned.

"Hey let's stop here," he pointed out an old cafe bookstore that had been in town for years, Sweetwater Books. What it lacked in the newest releases it made up for in an excellent cafe and having Wi-Fi.

We walked in and the bells on the door announced us, "Daniel your usual peppermint and vanilla Italian Cream Soda?" Called the young man that was working behind the counter.

"That would be awesome Erwin, oh and get my friends here whatever she would like as well." he waved to him as he went to sit down, "I'll be back in my favorite chair, by the way practice next Tuesday night don't forget it, if you wouldn't mind tell the other guys for me."

We sit down as I ordered an iced tea.

I came over to where Daniel was on his tablet and sat down next to him and looked over his shoulder, "reading up on some new religion?"

"Actually relatively old, compared to some, granted it doesn't still use venomous snakes in it's practices, it was briefly made illegal here in Georgia because a little boy was bit and killed by a snake." he looked at is tablet. "It's perfectly legal now though, but Willow Creek isn't on the list of places that has one. Granted these are considered snake handling churches and I just know that people call this one Snake Church. I'm not certain there's a relation between the two."

I stared at the screen, "okay but what's the relation between your friend Amanda's disappearance and the church?"

"Nothing, maybe everything, people kept mentioning it in hushed whispers whenever I would mention her name." Erwin came over with our drinks and set them on the table.

"Just a heads up man I think you two have a fan, some girl has been staring at you two from between the bookshelves." He went back up behind the counter and we looked for the mystery girl.

We spotted a short pale girl that made went back up the row of books.

I looked at him, "do you know that girl?"

"No honestly I've never seen her before." he looked as if he were wracking his brain, "nope nothing."

"She's been following us for most of the day I noticed her out of the corner of my eye she didn't seem dangerous so I didn't worry about it." I looked towards where the girl was hiding again,"I figured she wasn't hindering us so why confront her."

"Perhaps we should I vote you go talk to her," Daniel put his tablet in his bag and stood up. "I'll stay back as moral support."

"Why can't you go talk to her?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Because you're a girl I'm like a giant guy compared to her I would intimidate her."

I twice her size and probably had a good twenty pounds on her, plus my weird ass eyes would probably startle her, but I didn't mention that. But I mean, really? I face palm myself and say, "fine I'll do it."

Making my way over to the girl I turn the corner and top in front of her. Her eyes flit around, like she's looking for a quick escape. She's not going to find it with me. "Wanna tell me why you've been following us around?"

What she said had me laughing, though not for the reason you would think. I pull her out of the Isle and over to the one Daniel was on. "Tell him what you said to me."

The girl looked down at the ground and then up at Daniel, "are you real? Like I uh..." the girl trailed off and he slapped her on the shoulder jokingly.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes, though he didn't see. Who slaps a stranger on the arm, and a girl at that? I shrugged to myslef. I would never understand Men.

"Feel real enough?" he asked.

The girl laughed a little, " yeah I guess, I just thought you might be dead like a ghost or something." She laughed a quite sort of chuckling laugh.

I would have laughed with her, but what she said stuck with me. When i'd touched his hand after meeting him, I picked up on something I couldn't put my finger on. Something....Not quite right. His hair was the oddest color, as were his eyes, but then again, so were mine.

Daniel pulled out his phone

"So Akiza, there's going to be a party at my house apparently and hey why don't we invite our new friend. Plenty of my friends will be there it'll be good for y'all to meet them. What was your name I hadn't gotten yet?" he held out his hand to other girl. "I'm Daniel Nitram and this is Akiza, and you are?"

She took both of our hands, shaking them, "Achlys, but you can call me Lys."

I snatched my hand out of hers so fast she blinked. This is why I didn't like people touching me, and why I didn't touch them. I read things off of them I don't want to. I'm glad I only got a glimpse off of her, but it was more than enough.

"Well," he said to us both. "Would you like to join me?"

I looked at my phone. I didn't have to be home for a while, and it's not like I have curfew anyway. "Sure. I'm in. What about you, lys?"

"Um..."

"Great then," I say before she can answer. "I guess we're going to a party."

There was no way I was going to let go go after what i'd just gotten off of her.

"Uh," Daniel looked at me for a moment. "Great then. It's settled."

Putting my Phone in my pocket and pulling my keys out, I smile. "We'll follow you in my car. Lead the way."

Achlys Nyx

Again, I had gotten through all of the books I owned, it was about time I bought some more. Boredom almost always leads to curiosity, so once again I found myself wandering the streets of Willow Creek, searching for something new that I might've not already discovered.

I walked slowly down the cracked pavement, not really paying any attention the where I was headed. After a few minutes of aimlessly wandering, I found myself back at the cafe/bookstore combo. I walked straight to the back of the store, and started looking at books. After a few minutes, two people walked in, a man and woman. They sat at a table a few feet away from the shelf I was studying. What if they're not really there... it's just a mind trick. Despite what my brain told me, I was curious. The two people stood out, tall and mysterious like. I studied the pair for a few moments long, until they caught me looking. I quickly retreated further into the shelves, hoping they didn't confront me.

Unfortunately, they did just that. The tall girl came around to me and I quickly looked around hoping to escape the tyrant that she was probably about to speak. "Wanna tell me why you've been following us around?" She said.

"I wasn't... it's just, uh, I thought you might, uh." Oh come on, Lys, speak up. "Are you real? Like, uh..." The tall girl started laughing and I frowned. This is exactly why I never talk to people. If they're not real, they talk to me and make me look crazy, and if they are, they still think I'm crazy because of the stupid things I say. The girl pulls me out of the isle, much to my annoyance. Just because I'm smaller than a lot of people, doesn't mean I can be pushed and pulled around like a little rag doll. "Tell him what you said to me." She says, gesturing to her friend.

I repeated my earlier question and he slapped me on the shoulder. Uh, manners much? "Feel real enough?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I guess. I just thought you might be dead; like a ghost or something." I laughed a little to ease my own anxiety. The people introduced themselves as Daniel and Akiza. I told them my name was Lys. The girl shook my hand, but pulled away so fast, it startled me.

Daniel answered his phone, and told us there was a party. Apparently I didn't get a choice in saying whether I wanted to go or not, I was just going. Well, it wasn't like I had anything better to do.



Akiza led me to her car and said we'd follow Daniel to the party. It was strange that such strangers would just take me on board like these seemed to be doing.

We hadn't been driving for nearly five minutes before Akiza started with the questions.

"So, Achlys? What type of name is that?"
"Greek."
"Oh, cool. So, how long you lived in Willow Creek?" She asked, taking a sideways glance at me.
"A couple years."
"Oh right." We sat in silence for a few minutes, then the questions started again.

"What did you mean back in the store... about us maybe being dead?" Here we go...
"I just, uh, well... It's always a possibility. You could've been ghosts or something." I laughed, although it was obviously forced.
"Oh. Do you normally see ghosts?"
I stayed silent for a few minutes before I answered. "I guess you could say that."
Akiza nodded and we drove in silence for the rest of the way.

After around five minutes we pulled up outside what I presumed to be the location of the party. We got out of the car and walked along the pavement to meet Daniel.

Eli—Day after the (original) meeting, central part of town

Eli was thoroughly done with waiting. Chris had told him to meet at the southeast corner of North Park, and that was where he had been for almost an hour now. The heat was crippling, as it had been the day before, and he had found little relief in the “shade” beneath the park’s one, ancient tree. The leaves were drooping under the sun, and the wide, rough bark was warm to the touch. He shook his head. Not even the plants can stand it.

Eli grew more and more impatient by the minute. It wasn’t like Chris to let him down like this—Chris was usually the most reliable member of the Silver Bullet Club. Eli wondered if he had run into trouble somewhere… still, he could have at least called to let him know where he was. Then again, Eli didn’t even have a phone, so it wasn’t like that could have worked anyway. But it was the thought that would have counted…
At any rate, there was no point in standing around here. Eli decided to take matters into his own hands. This is a group effort, Eli he imagined Andrea saying. Yeah well, she should just go climb a tree, for all he cared. He took off in a southeasterly direction, knowing that Amanda didn’t usually hang around Westside that often, and soon found himself on Main Street. He kept his eye out for Chris, but didn’t spot him.

He did, however, catch Daniel heading out of the bookstore. When he saw Eli he smiled and waved his hand.
“Eli,” he called. “Where have you been?” Eli jogged across the parking lot to meet him.
“I was waiting for Chris at North Park… have you seen him?” Daniel shook his head.
“It’s fortunate that we met here though.” He said. “Were you notified of the meeting?”
“What meeting?” Eli asked. Daniel sighed and sadly shook his head. “You should seriously consider purchasing a phone.” He told him. Then added: “We’re calling an emergency meeting together, at the manor.” He meant of course, his manor. It was an odd little quirk about Daniel… he never referred to the house as being his. But Eli knew what he meant.
“Why?” he asked.
“Well, although we were unable to find any information on Amanda’s whereabouts, the search was fruitful in one regard…” he explained. “It seems there are a number of Paranormals about town that we had been previously unaware of… it’s fascinating to think of how they avoided our detection for so long.” Eli looked around.
“Like them?” he asked, motioning towards an odd pair of girls coming out of the bookstore. One was a walking freak show, the other looked like she had just seen a ghost.
“Well, actually, um, yes.” Daniel said, clearing his throat.
“Any word on Amanda?” he asked, changing topics. Daniel looked at him, his piercing gray-green eyes shone mysteriously.
“None yet. No one seems to have any information on her disappearance.”
“Have you thought about going to the police?”
“I fear that would be more harm than help in the end,” he said. “Remember, we need to keep a low profile on this matter.”
Eli shrugged.
“I—”
“However,” Daniel cut him off suddenly. “There have been mentions of a church… the Snake Church, to be precise. Only rumors of course, but it does seem to be connected to Amanda in some way.” He said. “Simply judging by the reactions of the people who’ve spoken about it, if I remember correctly.”
“What do you think it means?” Eli asked.
“It’s hard to say.” Daniel said in a slow, low voice.
“I’ll look into it.” Eli said firmly.
“It may be wiser to continue focusing our energies on finding Amanda, at this point.” Daniel objected.
“Well, I’ll do that then.” He turned to leave, eager to be on his way again. “See you around.”
“Wait, what about the meeting?” Daniel called after him.
“Tell Andrea I’m… on a group project.” Eli said. “Scare the new members for me.”
Daniel tried to say something in reply, but Eli was already too far away to hear.

The Snake Church… the name seemed familiar for some reason. Maybe it was one of those Holy Roller cult things that travelled around the mountains in a circuit. That could be bad. He had heard that a kid died once trying to “handle” one of the venomous reptiles, and shivered. Willowcreek was already weird enough, they didn’t need another bizarre attraction.

At any rate, he would start searching for Amanda at the ghost town. That had been his idea ever since Chris had failed to show up. If no one had found out anything in town, that meant that she had probably gone off to wander the outskirts somewhere. He was a little frustrated that they hadn’t started to search there in the first place. Then again, it was strange for Amanda to just wander off on her own without telling anyone. Something was up. What were you doing? He silently asked her.

Eli headed north. He would stop by his house on the way and grab his bike. He didn’t know why he hadn’t brought it to start with; he had already covered a lot of ground and that was just heading down to Main Street and back. But when he got to 4th Ave, he stopped.

It was barely perceptible, just hovering on the edges of his conscious thought, but he could feel it nonetheless.

The presence of a demon.

Without a moment’s hesitation he altered his course and began to follow the signature. It led him west, and he knew it was coming from outside the town, towards the direction of the river.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The old mill stood abandoned in the clearing, solitary and somewhat haunted; with great black sockets hollowed out where the door and windows should have been. There was a waterwheel that leaned against one side of it, but it was lodged in the dirt and was about fifty yards away from the river. The bank had probably changed course in the hundred or so years that the building had been there. Eli could hear the water gushing over the rocky bank, and even though it was the middle of the day there was a chorus of croaks from the frogs hidden somewhere in the reeds. A few gnats hovered over the water, and cicadas buzzed away from back in the trees, but other than that everything was utterly still. The place had an odd feeling about it, and Eli could feel the traces of a demon left here. He headed towards the building, despite the knot in the pit of his stomach that was telling him to turn back, and stepped inside the dim, murky interior. The scent of the demon grew stronger. He could feel it in the dust-choked air. The room was shrouded in dark, but he could make out a few of the details; such as the thick, water-swollen cedar floor and the hulking shapes of discarded equipment lurking in the shadows. The light that did manage to enter played across the floor in an odd, shamanistic pattern.

Eli heard a scuffling in one corner of the building.
“Hello?” he called out, half-expecting the dusty cobwebs that blanketed the ceiling to come crashing down on his head. It turned out to be a mouse. The tiny nocturnal creature scurrying across the floor, avoiding the light. He smiled to himself. He was getting nervous for nothing. There was nothing here.

But there was something here. He couldn’t deny it. He moved towards the back of the building, avoiding the gaps in the floor, blinking whenever he hit a patch of bright, yellow light. He wondered if there was a cellar… but he didn’t see a door.

In the center of the room, taking up most of the space, there was a giant structure made out of metal and wood. It almost looked like an old crane our something, like a giant press. Eli realized it was the millstone. Behind this there was a ladder that led up to a loft. He wondered how sturdy it was. Something had turned rancid back here. The stench hung in the air. A heavy, bitter, almost sweet scent. It reminded him of the time he had found a long-gone rat rotting away in the crawl space beneath his house. He wondered if there was a dead rat or coon or something back in the corner.

Eli looked up at the loft, and spotted a corner of blue cloth hanging over the edge. Immediately he began to have grave misgivings about the place. The traces of the demon was much stronger now, crashing into him like a wall. He wondered how he had not noticed it before, it was so strong.

He placed one hand on the ladder, and tested it to see if it would hold his weight. Every step upwards only made him feel more and more uneasy.

He reached the top and was stopped by a trap door. At first he thought it was latched, but when he pushed on it the door moved. It felt like something heavy had been pushed on top of it. The stench had grown worse, and it made him feel dizzy, balanced precariously on the ladder. But he knew that whatever was up there was laden with the scent of a demon as well.

He pushed a little harder.

The door gave way suddenly, hinges torn from the wood, dropping down on top of him.

A human arm fell across his face. Clammy and limp.

At that moment the ladder gave way, and everything came crashing to the ground. The door ended up on top of Eli and the body gave a sickening thump as it landed a few feet away. He threw the wood off of him and scrambled backwards, suddenly feeling naseous.

It was Amanda.

Or rather, had been Amanda. The body was swollen and discolored, and he might not have recognized her if not for her long, dark hair. Eli bit his hand, trying to keep from vomiting. The smell of decay filled his head, and every instinct in his body was telling him to run away.

But he couldn’t. He had to do something. Eli steeled himself and managed to stand on his shaking legs. Amanda’s body lay twisted in an odd, inhuman shape on the floor. He held his breath, then went over and rolled it onto its back. He placed the arms at the side and the feet together, then straightened the head so it wasn’t lolling to one side.

While doing this he saw the wound on her neck the same instant he caught the electric signal of a demon’s signature. It was a snakebite. He could see the two little black marks on her neck. Eli stumbled back, unsure of what he should do next. His foot brushed against a scrap of canvas, and he found that it was actually a tarp that had been crumpled up against the wall. In one, final gesture he placed the heavy covering over the body of Amanda… then he sprinted out as fast as possible. He had reached his limit.

Eli ran to the river and washed his arms, then threw the brown, lukewarm water over his head. He found that he was shivering uncontrollably, despite the soaring temperatures. He took a few slow, deep breaths and told himself to think.

The police. He needed to call the police. He took off towards town, following the river bank as he ran. His feet carrying him farther and farther away from that place. He did not allow himself to think. Did not allow his mind to turn back to what he had just seen.

Israel- Highway outside of Willowcreek

The sun beat down on Israel’s head and shoulders, weighing down his footsteps. Even though he was only wearing a light v-neck T, his sweat had soaked through it, making wet gray streaks on the white shirt. He smiled to himself. Now I really do look like a homeless bum. It was unbelievably humid. He fingered his empty water bottle and sighed, hoping he was close to the next town. As if in answer to his thoughts, he caught sight of a distant road sign on the side of the highway. As he grew closer he was finally able to make out the white numbers that wavered in the heat.

Willowcreek, 15 miles

Fifteen… that would take him a couple of hours. But Israel wasn’t as frustrated as he might have otherwise been. He had finally reached Willowcreek. A paranormal hotspot in the northern half of Georgia. Why the supernatural seemed to be tied to such a small, seemingly insignificant spot on the map… well, Israel had his suspicions. He assumed it had something to do with the old coal mines north of town. Dig too deep, reap the consequences.

Israel’s musings were interrupted by the sound of a distant motor. He could tell it was a truck by the engine, and soon he could see the old Dodge coming over the hill. He started walking again, and held out his thumb as the truck got closer. He wasn’t expecting it to stop, and was pleasantly surprised when the driver slowed down.
“Goin’ towards town?” he asked in a lazy drawl.
“Yeah. Just take me that far and I’d sure be glad.” The man behind the wheel chewed his toothpick over to the other side of his mouth and, with a sweeping gesture, motioned for Israel to get in.
He climbed into the truck, and it took him a couple of tries to get the door to shut all the way.
“Sorry. That latch don’t work right anymore.”
“What year is it?”
“82… but as many miles as she’s got, might as well be 52.” The man pushed his ball cap up on his forehead and chuckled. He was older, probably in his sixties, and had thick sideburns on the sides of his face. Israel was impressed the man could stand any extra insulation in the heat.
“I’m Walter, but most folks call me Walt.” He said.
“I’m Israel. Nice to meet you.” Walter shifted into drive and the truck lurched to a start. It was slow at first, but they soon picked up speed. Wind flooded into the cab. Even if the air was still warm it was moving, and Israel felt himself beginning to cool off.
“That’s a pretty uncommon name ‘round here,” Walt yelled over the roar of the wind and engine. “Where are ya from?”
“Up north. Wisconsin and Vermont mostly.”
“Big change.” They continued to make small talk as they got closer to the town. Israel was actually able to gain a lot of information about Willowcreek without seeming too inquisitive. Which was good; he was getting most of his prep work out of the way.

They came to a bridge, fast brown water running underneath, when something darted out across the road. It happened too fast. All Israel could see was that it was a person. Walt had already slammed on the brakes and was swerving to the side. For one sickening second Israel knew they would hit him, but at the last second he moved with an incredible amount of speed and dodged to the side.
The truck skidded to a stop and the engine died. It smelled hot, and the scent of burning rubber was hanging in the air. Walt got out, and Israel followed him.
“Kid, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” he hollered. The “kid” simply limped over to the truck. He looked in bad shape. His face was ashen and his legs were shaking.
“I—” he slumped against the side of the truck, then collapsed to his knees. Walt was at his side in an instant.
“Hey, hey. Are you alright? Can you hear me?” he shook his shoulder. Israel knelt down and examined the young man.
“Hey Walt, do you have any water?”
“Yeah yeah, it’s in here…” Walt went back into the cab and began to dig around behind the seat.
The kid sat back against the tire and held his head in between his knees. His eyes were wide and his breath was coming in fast and short.
“Listen,” Israel said. “You need to calm down or you’ll start hyperventilating.”
“Call—call the police.” He said. Israel grinned.
“No, you’d need an ambulance for that…”
“No…” the kid shook his head, then started to take in deep, slow gulps of air. “That’s not it,” he said in between breaths, “It’s…”
“Here.” Walt handed him an old thermos. Israel could see beads of condensation on the side of the metal, and almost wished for a moment that he was the one hyperventilating. The kid took a few slow, deep drinks. It seemed to help a lot.
“Call the police.” He said as evenly as possible. “There’s… someone’s died.” Israel jolted back at that. A murder?
“What? Where?” Walt asked.
“She’s… I…” he shook his head, his voice suddenly stopping.
“You found her, didn’t you?” Walt asked in a softer tone. The kid nodded. “Where is she?” he asked. He pointed to the north side of the highway, back towards the bridge.
“Up at the old mill.” He said.
“I see.” Walt said. “You just stay there.” He went back to the cab, probably to find his phone this time.

Israel, for his part, considered questioning the young man, but quickly discarded the idea. No, if he needed any more information he could find him later easily enough. Willowcreek was a small town. And at any rate, it was probably best if he made himself scarce before the police showed up.
He quietly slipped away and removed himself from the road. He headed north along the creek, in the direction the kid had pointed. Sure enough, he came upon the ruins of what had once been a watermill. The clearing was silent. Apart from the rushing of the river and the buzzing of insects in the reeds, there was no sound.

Israel quickly stepped inside the dim and dusty interior. Towards the back of the room he spotted a shape lying on the ground, and when he got closer he saw that it was the body. A tarp had been placed over the corpse, and the arms and head had been tucked in some small gesture of respect. He assumed the kid had been responsible for that. He had to admit, doing something like that—handling a dead body—took some guts. Israel wasn’t sure if he could have done the same thing at that age.

The girl had been dead for at least a day. The body was bloated and had a very putrid stench. He was surprised to find that there were very few flies around… perhaps the cobweb-laden ceilings had something to do with that. It was impossible to tell how long it had been there for certain though, Israel knew that the heat and humidity could have sped up the decomposition… which meant she could have been murdered as early as last night.

That was another fact. It was obvious that she had been murdered. A person didn’t simply wander out to an old building and die… thinking over all the possibilities it was too improbable that the death had been a natural one. As Israel gave a closer examination of the body, he found that his suspicions were confirmed.

There were two small puncture wounds on her neck. The skin around the wound was a raw red, and the marks themselves had turned black. Instantly he identified their source—the fangs of a snake. From the looks of it, possibly a cottonmouth or copperhead, maybe even a rattler. Something that could be easily obtained by someone in the south wishing to do harm.

He moved his hand over the bite-wound, and felt a sudden jolt as the last traces of a demon’s scent suddenly hit him. It was an odd, sure sort of pressure. Remnants of an evil spirit’s malevolence. It lingered in the blood.

On a sudden whim Israel took his empty water bottle and unscrewed the cap. He concentrated on the snake bite, moving his hand in a rhythmic pattern in the air above the punctures. He was rewarded by two thin streams of blackened blood that seeped up from out of the marks. The tainted blood hovered in the air for a moment, and he swiftly caught it in the water bottle. When there was about an ounce of liquid in the bottom he stopped, and quickly tightened the lid. Israel smiled as he held up the sample. Knowing that he was probably running out of time, he quickly replaced the tarp and left the old mill, heading in the direction of town. He was already five steps ahead of the game. With the sample of the poisoned blood he would be able to easily recognize what form of demon happened to be plaguing the town… especially if the signature belonged to one, certain demon-possessed snake.
“I’ll be damned if it isn’t you,” he murmured to himself. “Silas.”