Chapter Text
The first thing Tommy noticed about Blackwater Point was that everything looked grey.
The sky was grey.
The ocean was grey.
Even the buildings seemed grey somehow, as if the color had been washed out of them years ago and nobody had bothered putting it back.
Tommy hated it immediately.
"It's depressing," he announced too absolutely nobody.
The bus driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
"Then you'll fit right in."
Tommy stared.
The bus driver stared back.
The bus driver won.
Tommy looked away first.
The ancient bus groaned as it crawled down the winding coastal road. Rain tapped steadily against the windows. Beyond the cliffs, dark waves crashed against jagged rocks far below.
Everything looked cold.
Everything looked miserable.
Everything looked exactly like the kind of place his mother would send him after he got suspended.
Which was, unfortunately, exactly what had happened.
"Six weeks," Tommy muttered.
Six weeks.
Six weeks in a town so small it probably had more seagulls than people.
Six weeks with no friends.
No familiar faces.
No escape.
He slumped farther into his seat.
This was going to be the worst summer of his life.
The bus finally rolled into town just after noon.
Blackwater Point wasn't much bigger up close.
A handful of narrow streets.
Weathered buildings.
Fishing boats rocking in the harbor.
A grocery store.
A diner.
A bookstore.
A lighthouse visible in the distance, standing atop a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean.
Even from here it looked strange.
The structure towered over everything else in town.
Its white paint had faded years ago.
Dark stains ran down the sides.
The glass at the top reflected the storm clouds gathering overhead.
Something about it made Tommy uneasy.
He couldn't explain why.
The feeling vanished a second later.
Probably nothing.
The bus stopped.
Tommy grabbed his duffel bag and stepped into the rain.
Cold wind immediately smacked him in the face.
"Right."
He pulled his hood up.
"Fantastic."
The bus drove away.
Tommy stood alone in the middle of town.
A seagull screamed somewhere overhead.
Another answered.
A third joined in.
Tommy narrowed his eyes.
The birds sounded like they were laughing at him.
"Shut up."
One of them immediately pooped on the sidewalk nearby.
"You're doing that on purpose."
Nobody responded.
The seagulls remained unapologetic.
Typical.
Tommy started walking.
His aunt's house wasn't far.
According to the directions his mother had texted him approximately seven hundred times.
Take the main road.
Turn left at the bookstore.
Walk toward the cliffs.
Don't get lost.
Tommy got lost in under ten minutes.
In his defense, the directions were terrible.
The streets twisted unexpectedly.
Several signs were missing.
And every building looked identical.
After twenty minutes of wandering, he found himself standing near the edge of town.
Rain fell harder now.
The ocean roared below.
The lighthouse loomed in the distance.
Tommy sighed.
"Brilliant."
A bicycle bell rang behind him.
He stepped aside automatically.
The cyclist shot past.
Then immediately braked.
The bicycle skidded to a stop.
Its rider turned around.
Tommy looked up.
The rider looked roughly his age.
Dark jacket.
Purple hoodie underneath.
Rainwater dripping from his hair.
He studied Tommy with the expression of someone observing a particularly confusing species of bird.
"What?"
Tommy asked.
The stranger blinked.
"What are you doing?"
"Walking."
"Toward a restricted cliff path?"
Tommy looked around.
There was, in fact, a sign nearby.
DANGER.
UNSTABLE GROUND.
DO NOT ENTER.
"Oh."
The stranger stared.
Tommy stared back.
"Well," Tommy said eventually, "that's embarrassing."
"Just a bit."
Something about the response irritated him instantly.
Maybe it was the tone.
Maybe it was the fact that the guy looked annoyingly calm.
Maybe it was because Tommy was wet, cold, and already annoyed at the entire town.
Whatever the reason, he immediately disliked him.
"Thanks for your concern."
The stranger shrugged.
"You looked lost."
"I wasn't."
"You were walking toward a cliff."
"I was exploring."
"You were lost."
Tommy pointed dramatically.
"You don't know me."
"I know enough."
"Oh, do you?"
"Yeah."
The stranger adjusted his bicycle.
"You've been here less than an hour."
Tommy froze.
"How do you know that?"
"Because everyone knows everyone here."
"That's creepy."
"It's a small town."
"Still creepy."
For a second the stranger almost looked amused.
Almost.
Then it vanished.
"You should head back toward town."
Tommy crossed his arms.
"And if I don't?"
The stranger glanced toward the cliff edge.
Then back at him.
"Then you'll probably fall."
Tommy hated how reasonable that sounded.
"Fine."
The stranger nodded.
"Good."
Then he turned his bicycle around.
Tommy watched him leave.
Halfway down the road he called out.
"Wait."
The cyclist stopped.
"What?"
"What's your name?"
The pause lasted a second.
"Purpled."
Tommy blinked.
"That's not a real name."
"It is now."
"What kind of answer is that?"
Purpled simply shrugged.
Then he pedaled away.
Tommy stood there staring after him.
Rain continued falling.
Wind howled across the cliffs.
And somehow his first day had already managed to annoy him.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
He had no idea that before the summer ended, that irritating stranger would become one of the most important people in his life.
He also had no idea that something was watching from the lighthouse.
Something hidden.
Something old.
And that the first disappearance would happen before the week was over.