September 17 • Tuesday
(4:49 pm)
"It's funny how an event can be life-changing when nothing else changes around you, like a lightning strike that electrifies you, but leaves you physically the same, and your surroundings are untouched. I feel that way now: something happened, and now I have a purpose. It came to me, it found me, not the other way around, and I've lived my life so long without it that I'm not sure I want it- or need it.
"I've been running for so long I'm afraid to stand still. I've been looking behind for so long I'm afraid to look forward. I've been-"
"We're here for research, not blog writing- you know that, right?" Mia asked, interrupting Finnley in his typing.
"Inspiration strikes when it strikes," Finnley said, returning to the screen. Mia scrunched up her face in concentration as she leaned in to read over his shoulder.
"You think we shouldn't pursue this," she said flatly, and Finnley shifted in his seat.
"We don't know where to begin. We don't know what we're up against. The last time this creature struck was years ago- we should be safe."
"The last time it struck that we know of," Mia corrected. "Don't you see? This has been happening for longer than we could ever know. My grandma, she was onto something. My uncle too."
"And they both disappeared," Finnley argued, turning fully towards Mia. "You think two teenagers are going to change anything? Avoid consequences of looking into this further?"
Mia's eyes narrowed and she shut the book she had been reading. "I think that the consequences are inconsequential. This isn't the first mysterious occurrence, and I don't think it will be the last. Do you really think that creature is the only thing lurking in the forest? In this town? For the first time, things are clear to me. My grandma wasn't crazy- she was right. She knew something, and she was going to do something about it for the greater good, to heck with the consequences. Someone has to continue what she started. Why on earth can't it be us?"
Finnley sat in silence for a minute, the ticking of a clock the loudest thing in the quiet library. "You're right." His voice was just as soft, almost strangled. He cleared his throat and tried again, louder. "You're right. I was just afraid of where it might go."
"So you're not backing out?"
"I'm not backing out." He held out a hand to her, a half smile on his face. She took it in her own and held it tight before shanking it. "I don't think the library is being very helpful- the old newspapers are sectioned off, and the books don't tell us the things we want to know about the history of this town and the forest."
"I sure agree with you on that," Mia said, frowning at the stack of books on the table in front of her. Then her eyes slowly lit up. "Maybe... I swear my grandma used to keep a journal. We have to have a box of her old stuff somewhere. It would be a better start than we're getting here." She looked sidelong at Finnley and grinned. "Want to come over to my place and actually meet my parents?" Finnley smiled in return.
The sun was still blazing, but the air was already much cooler than it had been over the summer and at the start of the school year. Finnley glanced over at Mia, who was wearing a scarlet shirt with jean shorts- she really seemed to have a thing for that color. She walked tall and strong with her chin up, facing forward with shoulders thrown back. Everything about her was strong and bold, and sometimes Finnley wished he could borrow just an ounce of that courage.
Mia fished her keys from her pocket and unlocked the door, holding it open long enough for Finnley to slip inside before closing and locking it again. She set her backpack on a chair and her keys on the counter. Once again, the sight and smell of a hundred plants greeted Finnley, and he was nearly attacked by a large bush lurking just behind the door.
"Up here!" Mia called, and Finnley heard her footsteps on the stairs as her voice floated down to him. He clambered up after her, gazing at the wall as he went up, which was filled with pictures of Mia with her family. It made his heart fill with yearning for reasons he didn't want to dwell on. There was no possibility of that now.
Mia lead him through a small hallway, pointing out her room as they went, but they didn't stop there. At the end of the hall, there was a door in the ceiling with a long string attached to it. Mia braced herself and pulled on it, opening the door and letting down a small ladder, which she then swiftly scaled, disappearing into the dark attic. Finnley followed more cautiously, as he was slightly apprehensive when it came to heights- or dark attics.
Finnley probed into the darkness with his hand, unsure how to proceed. Should he pull himself all the way into the attic? Before he could decide, another hand shot out and grabbed his. He shrieked but managed to hold on to the ladder. A snorting laugh sounded from the darkness, and suddenly he felt a little embarrassed. It was just Mia.
She pulled him all the way into the attic, then shut the door, enclosing them completely in the darkness before a little click sounded and a yellow light flickered into existence above them. Finnley stared around in amazement. The room was full of old boxes, furniture, journals.
"Well," said Mia, straightening. "Looks like we have a lot to look through, don't we?"
"I think a lot is a bit of an underestimation here," Finnley breathed.
"We'd better get started, then," Mia said, smiling as she turned to the nearest box and brushed off the dust. "Remember, we want anything related to mysterious disappearances, what's going on in the forest, or my uncle." She dug in.
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