Chapter Text
The wind whistled through the dense woods. Heavy footsteps caused the critters to crawl away, burying themselves under dirty leaves. She left a trail few could follow and the leaves sprang back up as her feet leave the ground step after step. And she left this trail as she followed another, the imprints of a large creature created the path she followed. Suddenly her ears perked up at a low snarl, a distant growl. She froze and turned her head to the sound. A pair of eyes glowed in the shadows, burning red in contrast to the darkness. A shrill scream echoed through the woods as the mysterious beast pounced on her.
Her heart dropped as the screen turned black and the credits rolled. April stared at the screen with her mouth agape. What a disappointing ending to an otherwise thrilling film. But in an attempt to not to dwell on the disappointment, April closed her laptop and shifted in her position on the couch for the first time in two hours. The light flicked on behind her as her older brother, Casper, walked into the room.
“What are you watching?” He asked, arms propping him up as he leaned against the back of the couch. April looked up from her lap as she replied with the title of the movie. “Huh, never heard of it.” Casper said, walking away into the kitchen. “Did you want to order food? Dad got called into town.
“Yeah, sure.” She replied with a sigh. “What were state police called in for?” April asked, mainly to herself but Casper caught it as he flicked through the fliers on the kitchen counter, searching for the pizza place.
“Dunno, he didn't say.” Casper said, catching her tone of worry. April did lots of that, and having had spent almost sixteen years together, Casper knew she often needed reassurance. "Don't worry, it’s not as if Beacon Hills is a dangerous place.”
There wasn’t much happening around the town, it was rather quiet, rather boring. Proven further by the fact she was sat at home almost every night this week watching one science fiction thriller after another. It was shocking the video store even had movies she hadn’t seen yet. April hummed, agreeing with her brother. He was right, or had been right. Up until now.
As the two siblings were sat at home, somewhere in the woods, their father was searching for a dead body. His left hand held up a flashlight, like a spotlight in the dark dense forest, while his right hand rested steady on his gun. His fellow officers were doing the same, an uneasy feeling resting in their stomachs. This was the first time most of them had come across anything like this. Hell, just yesterday they’d been complaining about how the most frequent calls in town were noise complaints. But when presented with this, they would be praying for mundane calls. Heavy boots walked the forest, searching for this poor young woman’s body. Some officers tried not to let their minds wander off to the worst case scenario. Others avoided the mental imagery of a dead body laying lonely amongst the twigs, leaves and rocks. Or in this case, half of one.
The doorbell rings back at home, April called out a loud “Coming!” as she rushed to the door. She payed and tipped the pizza boy and hurried into the kitchen, flipping open the box and greedily grabbing for a slice. Casper who had wandered off then wandered back into the kitchen. April motioned at the pizza and Casper quickly grabbed a slice for himself, sitting on a stool beside the counter.
“Buddha does not approve of your gluttony.” Casper said, mouth full of pizza.
“Bet he’s not a fan of yours either.” April responded after taking a gulp of a soda she grabbed from the fridge. She pointed to the can. “Did you want one?” Casper shook his head. Suddenly they heard the door open, and their father soon walked in to the kitchen. Instead of his usual smile, his forehead was wrinkled and his shoulders were tight.
“Which one of you left the door unlocked?” He asked. He shrugged his jacket off and tossed it onto the couch behind him. April raised her hand admitting it had been her, in a moment of forgetfulness. He sighed and put a hand on her shoulder before taking a slice of pizza for himself, comfort food.
“Is everything okay?” Casper asked, a worried look on his face that he shared with his sister. Their father was quiet for a second before responding.
“Tonight we got a call, two joggers found a body.” April and Casper didn’t know how to respond. “So I want you two to be careful, extra careful.” The two nodded at their father, still processing the information. He began walking off, in hopes of catching a shower before bed.
“Wait, dad,” April started. “Did they… did you find the body?” she said, her words fading in volume as she reached the last word. His two children’s eyes were focused on their father, waiting for his response. He shook his head before walking away, their eyes dropped from where their father had been standing as their tense demeanours changed into something confused between relief and dread.
The next morning April rolled out of bed, tired as if she hadn’t slept a wink. Her sleep had been disrupted by the confusing images of a disjointed dream. This wasn’t a strange occurrence for her but it had been a while since she’d had such a fitful night’s sleep. She glanced at the time and there was too little of it. She dragged herself into the bathroom, feeling wide awake once the cold water shocked her out of the tired state she had woken up in. A short yelp bounced off the white tiles and echoed through the bathroom before she adjusted the water temperature. She rushed through her shower routine and, much to her displeasure, jumped out soon after getting in. After wrapping a towel around her body, she looked at the fogged mirror and wiped it for clarity. She looked at herself, at the dark rings under her eyes. She threw her head back and let out a frustrated breath. No time to dwell on it. She twisted a towel around her hair and rushed into her room and into her clothes. Not thinking too hard, she zipped up her jeans, pulled on her top and a large sweater. Rummaging through her drawers, she searched for one pair of matched socks. No time to waste she gave up and grabbed mismatched socks, and rushed down the stairs with her bag swung over one shoulder.
“You need a ride?” Casper asked, observing his frantic sister as she pulled foods from all sides of the kitchen and shoved them into her bag. April shook her head, knowing he’d be too slow. Casper laughed. “Okay.” He sang. “Just don’t complain when you’re lat-” April waved her brother off and rushed out the door before he could even finish. She pulled her bike out of the garage and pedalled as fast as she could without being careless. Around the corner, down the hill, left on Kilroy, and down Smith. And there it was, Beacon Hills High School.
April slowed down at the sight of students still standing around outside the front of the school. She had made it on time. She pedalled toward the target destination; the bike rack, and caught the glimpse of a short cut between two cars. She moved ahead, checking for more cars pulling into the parking lot, listening for them too before picking up speed to ride through the gap. But a car door swung open abruptly, and before she could steer away, April and her bike crashed into it, slamming it shut as she fell off the bike, helmet clad head hitting the ground before she could break the fall.